The Washington herald., 1912-11-24
THE MINISTER OF POLICE .s..@e3
By HENRY MoUNTJoY

than a man. By your ambition,
mean the intrigues against the state in
which you are engaged and which will
bring you to ruin. You wish for me-
and / am yours, but only on the con1
dition that you leave Paris when =
leave it, join me in Vienna, and re-
nounce forever these plots and con-
spiracies which will end in the ruin Of
France and will include your own in
evitable ruin"
What you ask from me now IS my
soul" replied the young man, rising
and pacing the floor.
"Have it so, / ask for your soul,
but for no bad purpose. know you
intimately, as only woman can know
the man she loves. / know your am
bition, and | honor you for II. i came
France; | see all the elements of dis
aster and ruin; see a house about
to fall, and would pluck you from
the ruin J"
There are others to fill your place.
And mark this, no man can ruin a
state. states ruin themselves. Why
should you, young, innocent, wealthy.
with all the elements of happiness IN
ed in the ice-jam of folly"
De Lussac ceased pacing the hoon
and gazed at her for a moment. as IL
drinking in her words. Then he took
her hand, led her to one of the wins
dows of the room and flung II open.
The sounds of the Rue Cog Heron.
all sorts of weird cries of old Paris
filled the room; the cry of the street
hawker came across the little court
yard, the blind mans pipe. the rumble.
of a hackney-coach and the footsteps
of the passers-by.
That is why" said he, pointing be-,
fore her. 'Iookl Look at those peo-;
pie; look at their faces: see that wom-
an. that rag-picker who is herself a
bundle of Tagsi And this is not a
mean street, but the Rue Cog Heron;
and this is nothing IN city given
over to starvation, misery, and despair;
filled with a people whose blood has
been sucked by a vampire and Van-,,
pire courtesan."
She closed the window.
Tomorrow" said she, gently lead;
ing him from It, those people, should
they destroy their vampire king, would
turn vampires themselves; out of that
gutter another king would arise as
surely as another sun will dawn to-
morrow. What you are attacking Is
not the evil of the king and court but
the evil that lies in the human heart
By the fierce overthrow of the existing
state of things, will you alter the heart
of man? Never, never, aeverl No
more than by furiously destroying a
bad crop will you make new corn grow
Destruction, my friend, IS the logic OF
a mailman You would raise the peo-'
pie by running the mobiles. when your
policy ought 10 be to ruin the mobiles
by raising the people" Then, turn
ing TO the window, she paused for a
moment, gazed out at the street, and
turned again
TT seems to me. from my experi-
ence of the world, that all conspirators
are children. One cannot help lov-i
ing them as they beat their bare palms
on the door. break their toys, succeed.
sometimes in their little revolutions
which. however, leave the great world.
somehow the same as before. She.
came to him where he was sitting with
his face between his hands, drew them
away from his face and kissed him
Then taking him by the hand, she
talked to him, talked to him the phil.
esophy of humanity divorced from the
philosophy of hate, spoke simply and
truly and well With humor and logic
and that bell-fike voice that was IN it.
self an argument, she led his mind az
a child is led by a firm and gentle
hand to the heights of her point of
view.
And now" finished she, choose, nv
friend, which you will have. Myself,
my future. my love and the power to-
work for your fellow-men by rational
methods-Or the course you are now
pursuing and the ruin It will lead to-"
He stood up. took both her hands
and held them while he spoke, looking
into her eyes as he spoke.
For you I would deny my religions
and my country. renounce my wealth.
and title, walk barefoot through the
world and fling my soul to Satan, if by
so doing l could buy you paradise"
Then you will leave France With
me?"
Il will"
Forget your enuity to the king?'A
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT SUNDAY.