The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-04-11

the regent, but which few could have
accomplished. DO not belittle your
self, NJ. de Brancas. I admire strong
men who pause % nothing, even
though they be against me. Few corld
have done what You have done since
you have been In Paris"
"And to what end?" I cried. Every
thing that I have done, every hope tfat
air this morning"
There is one thing which even the
bravest men assault in vain" and the
regents msnner had q certain majesty
which became him we'll. u, THAT, is the
state. They nay break themselves
against it as they will, they nay think
that they have victory within their
grasp, but in the end the state standf
firm, mistaken. II oannot stop to eX.
anime every heart, M. de Brancas. 1t
must o steadily forward towards
the goal It has in view. Some hearts
may be crushed, come lives enbittered,
but the state lives, and the state is
above everything"
But did the state demand this sacri-
fice?" / asked.
THE state demanded it. yes, NJ. de
Brancas," and q cloud descended upon
the regents face. II love my daughters,
monsieur. / do not delight in
torturing them. But the father
must yield to the. regent, just as
the man yield to the state. /
tell o plainly n q no other price
could have bought the head OF Richie
lieu. l was determined that no member
Of my house-the ~reigning house
should continue q liaison with a ~traitcr.
l was determined that treason should
not be permitted to conceal itself be-
hind the throne, ready 90 hurl it down
at any moment; and had there been
no other way, that traitors head should
have fallen on the Place de Greve as
a warning to other traitors. But there
was another way, and it has been ac-
complished. A severed neck has never
been known to heal, monsieur, but
broken hearts are not so fatal, for
Time is a wonderful surgeon. | will
govern France with justice and kind
ness if l "a but when Treason raises
its head, l will strike and without
mercy. Above everything, it shall be l
who governs France and no one else.
My daughters marriage with this tai
ian prince has strengthened France,
and she needs all the strength the de-
votion of her subjects can give her
He paused for a moment, the cloud
still on his brow.'
You have doubtless heard many
stories about me, NJ. de Brancas," he
SpIllIiluSu. VI " i L AZ PSi =
haps, but there is one which is not true.
1t Is the most monstrous OF all. Chan
Gel has made the most of it in his last
philippic."
knew what he meant. Indeed, / had
heard Chancel r~eciting it at the house
of Madame du Maine, and had turned
away in disgust at the statement that
Orleans aimed to poison the king and
seize the throne himself.
,uCl-Nt r A1r -.-.. L. 4. 49,
ambition Of my life? 1t Is to place In
the hands OF Louis XIV, when he
ascends the throne, a kingdom greater
than the one which / now hold In trust;
O kingdom free from debt n from
the abuses which grind the people into
the earth. I may have mistresses, M. de
Brancas, but no one a ever yet been
able to say truthfully that 1 deliver
the kingdom into their hands, as other
and greater rulers han I have DONE"
He had risen as ne spoke and at
these word he stood beside my chair
and laid his hand upon my shoulder.
I vas strangely moved Assuredly
there was no enmity in my heart for
this man, however great the sorrow he
had caused my dearest friend.
Il do not know why l tell you this"
be continued, in a calmer voice, unless
1t be that l know you for a brave and
hoyoA ~ "h'oAf "hA
proud to measure myself. The bravest
act OF all, monsieur, was the one you
did last night In the apartments Of my
daughter"
you knew Of it, them" 1 asked in
wonderment.
Yes, I knew of It," and the regent
smiled with a brighter face. MY
daughter came to me after you had gone
and told me of it-not to ask anything
for hpISalf monsieur hnf fn aSk -
thing for some one else she loves. And
l was proud OF my daughter-how
proud l cannot tell you-and l prom
ised her hat what she asked should
be done. Indeed, l had already thought
Of 1t before she asked"
But Richelieu also deserves some
praise. monsieur" l said. HE chose
the nobler part"
Yes, but required prompting in it,"
answered the regent, quickly. How
ever, he has his reward, monsieur. I
had intended banishing him as a fire.
brand dangerous to the peace Of the
kingdom. Instead I have merely sent
him to Bayonne, n will soon release
him even from there. The reward is
for others. monsieur, who behaved more
nobly still"
gazed at him in astonishment too
deep for words, for this was not the
Philip d'Orleans whom l had known
and whom the world knew. This was
a handsome gentleman with smiling
lips and brilliant eyes, a man whose
whole appearance was singularly win
ming.
There is yet wanting n person to
our conference" he said, after a mo-
ment. THAT person will DOR be here.
In fact, she is coming now"
l heard the door open behind me-
the rustic Of a dress. My heart told
me who il a l spring from my
chair and faced Louise Dacour.