An Historical Mystery........................................................................................................................................1

Honore de Balzac .....................................................................................................................................1

PART I .....................................................................................................................................................1

CHAPTER I. JUDAS .............................................................................................................................1

CHAPTER II. A CRIME RELINQUISHED ........................................................................................10

CHAPTER III. THE MASK THROWN OFF ......................................................................................17

CHAPTER IV. LAURENCE DE CINQCYGNE ...............................................................................21

CHAPTER V. ROYALIST HOMES AND PORTRAITS UNDER THE CONSULATE ...................25

CHAPTER VI. A DOMICILIARY VISIT ...........................................................................................30

CHAPTER VII. A FOREST NOOK ....................................................................................................36

CHAPTER VIII. TRIALS OF THE POLICE .......................................................................................41

CHAPTER IX. FOILED .......................................................................................................................51

PART II .................................................................................................................................................58

CHAPTER X. ONE AND THE SAME, YET A TWOFOLD LOVE ...............................................58

CHAPTER XI. WISE COUNSEL ........................................................................................................66

CHAPTER XII. THE FACTS OF A MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR ...........................................................71

CHAPTER XIII. THE CODE OF BRUMAIRE, YEAR IV. ...............................................................76

CHAPTER XIV. THE ARRESTS ........................................................................................................80

CHAPTER XV. DOUBTS AND FEARS OF COUNSEL ...................................................................84

CHAPTER XVI. MARTHE INVEIGLED ...........................................................................................89

CHAPTER XVII. THE TRIAL ............................................................................................................92

CHAPTER XVIII. TRIAL CONTINUED: CRUEL VICISSITUDES ................................................96

CHAPTER XIX. THE EMPEROR'S BIVOUAC ..............................................................................103

CHAPTER XX. THE MYSTERY SOLVED .....................................................................................111

The autumn of the year 1803 was one of the finest in the early part of that period of the present century which

we now call "Empire." Rain had refreshed the earth during the month of October, so that the trees were still

green and leafy in November. The French people were beginning to put faith in a secret understanding

between the skies and Bonaparte, then declared Consul for life,a belief in which that man owes part of his

prestige; strange to say, on the day the sun failed him, in 1812, his luck ceased!

About four in the afternoon on the fifteenth of November, 1803, the sun was casting what looked like scarlet

dust upon the venerable tops of four rows of elms in a long baronial avenue, and sparkling on the sand and

grassy places of an immense rondpoint, such as we often see in the country where land is cheap enough to

be sacrificed to ornament. The air was so pure, the atmosphere so tempered that a family was sitting out of

doors as if it were summer. A man dressed in a huntingjacket of green drilling with green buttons, and

breeches of the same stuff, and wearing shoes with thin soles and gaiters to the knee, was cleaning a gun with

the minute care a skilful huntsman gives to the work in his leisure hours. This man had neither game nor

game bag, nor any of the accoutrements which denote either departure for a hunt or the return from it; and

two women sitting near were looking at him as though beset by a terror they could illconceal. Any one

observing the scene taking place in this leafy nook would have shuddered, as the old motherinlaw and the

wife of the man we speak of were now shuddering. A huntsman does not take such minute precautions with

his weapon to kill small game, neither does he use, in the department of the Aube, a heavy rifled carbine.

"Shall you kill a roebuck, Michu?" said his handsome young wife, trying to assume a laughing air.

Before replying, Michu looked at his dog, which had been lying in the sun, its paws stretched out and its nose

on its paws, in the charming attitude of a trained hunter. The animal had just raised its head and was snuffing

the air, first down the avenue nearly a mile long which stretched before them, and then up the cross road

Madame Michu looked appealingly to heaven. A beautiful fair woman with blue eyes, composed and

thoughtful in expression and made like an antique statue, she seemed to be a prey to some dark and bitter

grief. The husband's appearance may explain to a certain extent the evident fear of the two women. The laws

of physiognomy are precise, not only in their application to character, but also in relation to the destinies of

life. There is such a thing as prophetic physiognomy. If it were possible (and such a vital statistic would be of

value to society) to obtain exact likenesses of those who perish on the scaffold, the science of Lavatar and

also that of Gall would prove unmistakably that the heads of all such persons, even those who are innocent,

show prophetic signs. Yes, fate sets its mark on the faces of those who are doomed to die a violent death of

any kind. Now, this sign, this seal, visible to the eye of an observer, was imprinted on the expressive face of

the man with the rifled carbine. Short and stout, abrupt and active in his motions as a monkey, though calm in

temperament, Michu had a white face injected with blood, and features set close together like those of a

Tartar,a likeness to which his crinkled red hair conveyed a sinister expression. His eyes, clear and yellow

as those of a tiger, showed depths behind them in which the glance of whoever examined the man might lose

itself and never find either warmth or motion. Fixed, luminous, and rigid, those eyes terrified whoever gazed

into them. The singular contrast between the immobility of the eyes and the activity of the body increased the

chilling impression conveyed by a first sight of Michu. Action, always prompt in this man, was the outcome

of a single thought; just as the life of animals is, without reflection, the outcome of instinct. Since 1793 he

had trimmed his red beard to the shape of a fan. Even if he had not been (as he was during the Terror)

president of a club of Jacobins, this peculiarity of his head would in itself have made him terrible to behold.

His Socratic face with its blunt nose was surmounted by a fine forehead, so projecting, however, that it

overhung the rest of the features. The ears, well detached from the head, had the sort of mobility which we

find in those of wild animals, which are ever on the quivive. The mouth, halfopen, as the custom usually is

among countrypeople, showed teeth that were strong and white as almonds, but irregular. Gleaming red

whiskers framed this face, which was white and yet mottled in spots. The hair, cropped close in front and

allowed to grow long at the sides and on the back of the head, brought into relief, by its savage redness, all

the strange and fateful peculiarities of this singular face. The neck which was short and thick, seemed to

At this moment the sunbeams, falling in long lines athwart the group, lighted up the three heads at which the

dog from time to time glanced up. The spot on which this scene took place was magnificently fine. The

rondpoint is at the entrance of the park of Gondreville, one of the finest estates in France, and by far the

finest in the departments of the Aube; it boasts of long avenues of elms, a castle built from designs by

Mansart, a park of fifteen hundred acres enclosed by a stone wall, nine large farms, a forest, mills, and

meadows. This almost regal property belonged before the Revolution to the family of Simeuse. Ximeuse was

a feudal estate in Lorraine; the name was pronounced Simeuse, and in course of time it came to be written as

The great fortune of the Simeuse family, adherents of the House of Burgundy, dates from the time when the

Guises were in conflict with the Valois. Richelieu first, and afterwards Louis XIV. remembered their

devotion to the factious house of Lorraine, and rebuffed them. Then the Marquis de Simeuse, an old

Burgundian, old Guiser, old leaguer, old frondeur (he inherited the four great rancors of the nobility against

royalty), came to live at CinqCygne. The former courtier, rejected at the Louvre, married the widow of the

Comte de CinqCygne, younger branch of the famous family of Chargeboeuf, one of the most illustrious

names in Champagne, and now as celebrated and opulent as the elder. The marquis, among the richest men of

his day, instead of wasting his substance at court, built the chateau of Gondreville, enlarged the estate by the

purchase of others, and united the several domains, solely for the purposes of a huntingground. He also built

the Simeuse mansion at Troyes, not far from that of the CinqCygnes. These two old houses and the bishop's

palace were long the only stone mansions at Troyes. The marquis sold Simeuse to the Duc de Lorraine. His

son wasted the father's savings and some part of his great fortune under the reign of Louis XV., but he

subsequently entered the navy, became a viceadmiral, and redeemed the follies of his youth by brilliant

services. The Marquis de Simeuse, son of this naval worthy, perished with his wife on the scaffold at Troyes,

leaving twin sons, who emigrated and were, at the time our history opens, still in foreign parts following the

The rondpoint was the scene of the meet in the time of the "Grand Marquis"a name given in the family to

the Simeuse who built Gondreville. Since 1789 Michu lived in the hunting lodge at the entrance to the park,

built in the reign of Louis XIV., and called the pavilion of CinqCygne. The village of CinqCygne is at the

end of the forest of Nodesme (a corruption of NotreDame) which was reached through the fine avenue of

four rows of elms where Michu's dog was now suspecting spies. After the death of the Grand Marquis this

pavilion fell into disuse. The viceadmiral preferred the court and the sea to Champagne, and his son gave

This noble structure is of brick, with vermiculated stonework at the angles and on the casings of the doors

and windows. On either side is a gateway of finely wrought iron, eaten with rust and connected by a railing,

beyond which is a wide and deep haha, full of vigorous trees, its parapets bristling with iron arabesques, the

The park walls begin on each side of the circumference of the rond point; on the one hand the fine

semicircle is defined by slopes planted with elms; on the other, within the park, a corresponding halfcircle

is formed by groups of rare trees. The pavilion, therefore, stands at the centre of this round open space, which

extends before it and behind it in the shape of two horseshoes. Michu had turned the rooms on the lower floor

into a stable, a kitchen, and a woodshed. The only trace remaining of their ancient splendor was an

antechamber paved with marble in squares of black and white, which was entered on the park side through a

door with small leaded panes, such as might still be seen at Versailles before LouisPhilippe turned that

Chateau into an asylum for the glories of France. The pavilion is divided inside by an old staircase of

wormeaten wood, full of character, which leads to the first story. Above that is an immense garret. This

venerable edifice is covered by one of those vast roofs with four sides, a ridgepole decorated with leaden

ornaments, and a round projecting window on each side, such as Mansart very justly delighted in; for in

France, the Italian attics and flat roofs are a folly against which our climate protests. Michu kept his fodder in

this garret. That portion of the park which surrounds the old pavilion is English in style. A hundred feet from

the house a former lake, now a mere pond well stocked with fish, makes known its vicinity as much by a thin

mist rising above the treetops as by the croaking of a thousand frogs, toads, and other amphibious gossips

who discourse at sunset. The timeworn look of everything, the deep silence of the woods, the long

perspective of the avenue, the forest in the distance, the rusty ironwork, the masses of stone draped with

At the moment when our history begins Michu was leaning against a mossy parapet on which he had laid his

powderhorn, cap, handkerchief, screwdriver, and rags,in fact, all the utensils needed for his suspicious

occupation. His wife's chair was against the wall beside the outer door of the house, above which could still

be seen the arms of the Simeuse family, richly carved, with their noble motto, "Cy meurs." The old mother, in

peasant dress, had moved her chair in front of Madame Michu, so that the latter might put her feet upon the

"Round the pond; he is crazy about the frogs and the insects," answered the mother.

Michu whistled in a way that made his hearers tremble. The rapidity with which his son ran up to him proved

plainly enough the despotic power of the bailiff of Gondreville. Since 1789, but more especially since 1793,

Michu had been wellnigh master of the property. The terror he inspired in his wife, his motherinlaw, a

servantlad named Gaucher, and the cook named Marianne, was shared throughout a neighborhood of twenty

miles in circumference. It may be well to give, without further delay, the reasons for this fear,all the more

The old Marquis de Simeuse transferred the greater part of his property in 1790; but, overtaken by

circumstances, he had not been able to put the estate of Gondreville into sure hands. Accused of

corresponding with the Duke of Brunswick and the Prince of Cobourg, the marquis and his wife were thrust

into prison and condemned to death by the revolutionary tribunal of Troyes, of which Madame Michu's father

was then president. The fine domain of Gondreville was sold as national property. The headkeeper, to the

horror of many, was present at the execution of the marquis and his wife in his capacity as president of the

club of Jacobins at Arcis. Michu, the orphan son of a peasant, showered with benefactions by the marquise,

who brought him up in her own home and gave him his place as keeper, was regarded as a Brutus by excited

demagogues; but the people of the neighborhood ceased to recognize him after this act of base ingratitude.

The purchaser of the estate was a man from Arcis named Marion, grandson of a former bailiff in the Simeuse

family. This man, a lawyer before and after the Revolution, was afraid of the keeper; he made him his bailiff

with a salary of three thousand francs, and gave him an interest in the sales of timber; Michu, who was

thought to have some ten thousand francs of his own laid by, married the daughter of a tanner at Troyes, an

apostle of the Revolution in that town, where he was president of the revolutionary tribunal. This tanner, a

man of profound convictions, who resembled SaintJust as to character, was afterwards mixed up in

Baboeuf's conspiracy and killed himself to escape execution. Marthe was the handsomest girl in Troyes. In

spite of her shrinking modesty she had been forced by her formidable father to play the part of Goddess of

The new proprietor came only three times to Gondreville in the course of seven years. His grandfather had

been bailiff of the estate under the Simeuse family, and all Arcis took for granted that the citizen Marion was

the secret representative of the present Marquis and his twin brother. As long as the Terror lasted, Michu, still

bailiff of Gondreville, a devoted patriot, soninlaw of the president of the revolutionary tribunal of Troyes

and flattered by Malin, representative from the department of the Aube, was the object of a certain sort of

respect. But when the Mountain was overthrown and after his fatherinlaw committed suicide, he found

himself a scape goat; everybody hastened to accuse him, in common with his fatherin law, of acts to

which, so far as he was concerned, he was a total stranger. The bailiff resented the injustice of the

community; he stiffened his back and took an attitude of hostility. He talked boldly. But after the 18th

Brumaire he maintained an unbroken silence, the philosophy of the strong; he struggled no longer against

public opinion, and contented himself with attending to his own affairs, wise conduct, which led his

neighbors to pronounce him sly, for he owned, it was said, a fortune of not less than a hundred thousand

francs in landed property. In the first place, he spent nothing; next, this property was legitimately acquired,

partly from the inheritance of his fatherinlaw's estate, and partly from the savings of six thousand francs a

year, the salary he derived from his place with its profits and emoluments. He had been bailiff of Gondreville

for the last twelve years and every one had estimated the probable amount of his savings, so that when, after

the Consulate was proclaimed, he bought a farm for fifty thousand francs, the suspicions attaching to his

former opinions lessened, and the community of Arcis gave him credit for intending to recover himself in

public estimation. Unfortunately, at the very moment when public opinion was condoning his past a foolish

affair, envenomed by the gossip of the country side, revived the latent and very general belief in the ferocity

One evening, coming away from Troyes in company with several peasants, among whom was the farmer at

CinqCygne, he let fall a paper on the main road; the farmer, who was walking behind him, stooped and

picked it up. Michu turned round, saw the paper in the man's hands, pulled a pistol from his belt and

threatened the farmer (who knew how to read) to blow his brains out if he opened the paper. Michu's action

was so sudden and violent, the tone of his voice so alarming, his eyes blazed so savagely, that the men about

him turned cold with fear. The farmer of CinqCygne was already his enemy. Mademoiselle de CinqCygne,

the man's employer, was a cousin of the Simeuse brothers; she had only one farm left for her maintenance

and was now residing at her chateau of CinqCygne. She lived for her cousins the twins, with whom she had

played in childhood at Troyes and at Gondreville. Her only brother, Jules de CinqCygne, who emigrated

before the twins, died at Mayence, but by a privilege which was somewhat rare and will be mentioned later,

This affair between Michu and the farmer made a great noise in the arrondissement and darkened the already

mysterious shadows which seemed to veil him. Nor was it the only circumstance which made him feared. A

few months after this scene the citizen Marion, present owner of the Gondreville estate, came to inspect it

with the citizen Malin. Rumor said that Marion was about to sell the property to his companion, who had

profited by political events and had just been appointed on the Council of State by the First Consul, in return

for his services on the 18th Brumaire. The shrewd heads of the little town of Arcis now perceived that Marion

had been the agent of Malin in the purchase of the property, and not of the brothers Simeuse, as was first

supposed. The allpowerful Councillor of State was the most important personage in Arcis. He had obtained

for one of his political friends the prefecture of Troyes, and for a farmer at Gondreville the exemption of his

son from the draft; in fact, he had done services to many. Consequently, the sale met with no opposition in

The Empire was just dawning. Those who in these days read the histories of the French Revolution can form

no conception of the vast spaces which public thought traversed between events which now seem to have

been so near together. The strong need of peace and tranquillity which every one felt after the violent tumults

of the Revolution brought about a complete forgetfulness of important anterior facts. History matured rapidly

under the advance of new and eager interests. No one, therefore, except Michu, looked into the past of this

affair, which the community accepted as a simple matter. Marion, who had bought Gondreville for six

hundred thousand francs in assignats, sold it for the value of a couple of million in coin; but the only

payments actually made by Malin were for the costs of registration. Grevin, a seminary comrade of Malin,

assisted the transaction, and the Councillor rewarded his help with the office of notary at Arcis. When the

news of the sale reached the pavilion, brought there by a farmer whose farm, at Grouage, was situated

between the forest and the park on the left of the noble avenue, Michu turned pale and left the house. He lay

in wait for Marion, and finally met him alone in one of the shrubberies of the park.

"Yes, Michu, yes. You will have a man of powerful influence for your master. He is the friend of the First

"I don't say that," replied Marion. "At the time I bought it I was looking for a place to put my money, and I

invested in national property as the best security. But it doesn't suit me to keep an estate once belonging to a

"a servant," said Michu, violently. "But you shall not sell it! I want it; and I can pay for it."

"That's none of your business," replied Michu; then, softening his tone, he added in a low voice: "My

"You must put it off, monsieur!" cried the bailiff, seizing his master by the hand which he held as in a vice. "I

am hated, but I choose to be rich and powerful, and I must have Gondreville. Listen to me; I don't cling to

"But do give me time to get off my bargain with Malin; he's troublesome to deal with."

"I'll give you twentyfour hours. If you say a word about this matter I'll chop your head off as I would chop a

Marion and Malin left the chateau in the course of the night. Marion was frightened; he told Malin of the

meeting and begged him to keep an eye on the bailiff. It was impossible for Marion to avoid delivering the

property to the man who had been the real purchaser, and Michu did not seem likely to admit any such

reason. Moreover, this service done by Marion to Malin was to be, and in fact ended by being, the origin of

the former's political fortune, and also that of his brother. In 1806 Malin had him appointed chief justice of an

imperial court, and after the creation of taxcollectors his brother obtained the post of receivergeneral for

the department of the Aube. The State Councillor told Marion to stay in Paris, and he warned the minister of

police, who gave orders that Michu should be secretly watched. Not wishing to push the man to extremes,

Malin kept him on as bailiff, under the iron rule of Grevin the notary of Arcis.

From that moment Michu became more absorbed and taciturn than ever, and obtained the reputation of a man

who was capable of committing a crime. Malin, the Councillor of State (a function which the First Consul

raised to the level of a ministry), and a maker of the Code, played a great part in Paris, where he bought one

of the finest mansions in the Faubuorg SaintGermain after marrying the only daughter of a rich contractor

named Sibuelle. He never came to Gondreville; leaving all matters concerning the property to the

management of Grevin, the Arcis notary. After all, what had he to fear?he, a former representative of the

Aube, and president of a club of Jacobins. And yet, the unfavorable opinion of Michu held by the lower

classes was shared by the bourgeoisie, and Marion, Grevin, and Malin, without giving any reason or

compromising themselves on the subject, showed that they regarded him as an extremely dangerous man. The

authorities, who were under instructions from the minister of police to watch the bailiff, did not of course

lessen this belief. The neighborhood wondered that he kept his place, but supposed it was in consequence of

the terror he inspired. It is easy now, after these explanations, to understand the anxiety and sadness

In the first place, Marthe had been piously brought up by her mother. Both, being good Catholics, had

suffered much from the opinions and behavior of the tanner. Marthe could never think without a blush of

having marched through the street of Troyes in the garb of a goddess. Her father had forced her to marry

Michu, whose bad reputation was then increasing, and she feared him too much to be able to judge him.

Nevertheless, she knew that he loved her, and at the bottom of her heart lay the truest affection for this

aweinspiring man; she had never known him to do anything that was not just; never did he say a brutal

word, to her at least; in fact, he endeavored to forestall her every wish. The poor pariah, believing himself

disagreeable to his wife, spent most of his time out of doors. Marthe and Michu, distrustful of each other,

lived in what is called in these days an "armed peace." Marthe, who saw no one, suffered keenly from the

ostracism which for the last seven years had surrounded her as the daughter of a revolutionary butcher, and

the wife of a socalled traitor. More than once she had overheard the laborers of the adjoining farm (held by

a man named Beauvisage, greatly attached to the Simeuse family) say as they passed the pavilion, "That's

where Judas lives!" The singular resemblance between the bailiff's head and that of the thirteenth apostle,

which his conduct appeared to carry out, won him that odious nickname throughout the neighborhood. It was

this distress of mind, added to vague but constant fears for the future, which gave Marthe her thoughtful and

subdued air. Nothing saddens so deeply as unmerited degradation from which there seems no escape. A

painter could have made a fine picture of this family of pariahs in the bosom of their pretty nook in

Francois Michu, a child of ten, played in the park and forest, and levied his little tithes like a master; he ate

the fruits; he chased the game; he at least had neither cares nor troubles. Of all the family, Francois alone was

happy in a home thus isolated from the neighborhood by its position between the park and the forest, and by

"Pick up these things," said his father, pointing to the parapet, "and put them away. Look at me! You love

your father and your mother, don't you?" The child flung himself on his father as if to kiss him, but Michu

made a movement to shift the gun and pushed him back. "Very good. You have sometimes chattered about

things that are done here," continued the father, fixing his eyes, dangerous as those of a wild cat, on the boy.

"Now remember this; if you tell the least little thing that happens here to Gaucher, or to the Grouage and

Bellache people, or even to Marianne who loves us, you will kill your father. Never tattle again, and I will

forgive what you said yesterday." The child began to cry. "Don't cry; but when any one questions you, say, as

the peasants do, 'I don't know.' There are persons roaming about whom I distrust. Run along! As for you

two," he added, turning to the women, "you have heard what I said. Keep a close mouth, both of you."

Michu, who was carefully measuring a charge of powder, poured it into the barrel of his gun, rested the

Man and beast feel a spy. Couraut and Michu, who seemed to have one and the same soul, lived together as

the Arab and his horse in the desert. The bailiff knew the modulations of the dog's voice, just as the dog read

"What do you say to that?" said Michu, in a low voice, calling his wife's attention to two strangers who

The two men who now crossed the wide open space of the rondpoint were typical enough for a painter.

One, who appeared to be the subaltern, wore topboots, turned down rather low, showing wellmade calves,

and colored silk stockings of doubtful cleanliness. The breeches, of ribbed cloth, apricot color with metal

buttons, were too large; they were baggy about the body, and the lines of their creases seemed to indicate a

sedentary man. A marseilles waistcoat, overloaded with embroidery, open, and held together by one button

only just above the stomach, gave to the wearer a dissipated look,all the more so, because his jet black

hair, in corkscrew curls, hid his forehead and hung down his cheeks. Two steel watchchains were festooned

upon his breeches. The shirt was adorned with a cameo in white and blue. The coat, cinnamoncolored, was a

treasure to caricaturists by reason of its long tails, which, when seen from behind, bore so perfect a

resemblance to a cod that the name of that fish was given to them. The fashion of codfish tails lasted ten

years; almost the whole period of the empire of Napoleon. The cravat, loosely fastened, and with numerous

small folds, allowed the wearer to bury his face in it up to the nostrils. His pimpled skin, his long, thick,

brickdust colored nose, his high cheekbones, his mouth, lacking half its teeth but greedy for all that and

menacing, his ears adorned with huge gold rings, his low forehead,all these personal details, which might

have seemed grotesque in many men, were rendered terrible in him by two small eyes set in his head like

those of a pig, expressive of insatiable covetousness, and of insolent, halfjovial cruelty. These ferreting and

perspicacious blue eyes, glassy and glacial, might be taken for the model of that famous Eye, the formidable

emblem of the police, invented during the Revolution. Black silk gloves were on his hands and he carried a

switch. He was certainly some official personage, for he showed in his bearing, in his way of taking snuff and

ramming it into his nose, the bureaucratic importance of an office subordinate, one who signs for his

The other man, whose dress was in the same style, but elegant and elegantly put on and careful in its smallest

detail, wore boots a la Suwaroff which came high upon the leg above a pair of tight trousers, and creaked as

he walked. Above his coat he wore a spencer, an aristocratic garment adopted by the Clichiens and the young

bloods of Paris, which survived both the Clichiens and the fashionable youths. In those days fashions

sometimes lasted longer than parties,a symptom of anarchy which the year of our Lord 1830 has again

presented to us. This accomplished dandy seemed to be thirty years of age. His manners were those of good

society; he wore jewels of value; the collar of his shirt came to the tops of his ears. His conceited and even

impertinent air betrayed a consciousness of hidden superiority. His pallid face seemed bloodless, his thin flat

nose had the sardonic expression which we see in a death's head, and his green eyes were inscrutable; their

glance was discreet in meaning just as the thin closed mouth was discreet in words. The first man seemed on

the whole a good fellow compared with this younger man, who was slashing the air with a cane, the top of

which, made of gold, glittered in the sunshine. The first man might have cut off a head with his own hand,

but the second was capable of entangling innocence, virtue, and beauty in the nets of calumny and intrigue,

and then poisoning them or drowning them. The rubicund stranger would have comforted his victim with a

jest; the other was incapable of a smile. The first was forty five years old, and he loved, undoubtedly, both

women and good cheer. Such men have passions which keep them slaves to their calling. But the young man

was plainly without passions and without vices. If he was a spy he belonged to diplomacy, and did such work

from a pure love of art. He conceived, the other executed; he was the idea, the other was the form.

"We don't say 'my good woman' here," said Michu. "We are still simple enough to say 'citizen' and 'citizeness'

"Ah!" exclaimed the young man, in a natural way, and without seeming at all annoyed.

Players of ecarte often have a sense of inward disaster when some unknown person sits down at the same

table with them, whose manners, look, voice, and method of shuffling the cards, all, to their fancy, foretell

defeat. The instant Michu looked at the young man he felt an inward and prophetic collapse. He was struck

by a fatal presentiment; he had a sudden confused foreboding of the scaffold. A voice told him that that

dandy would destroy him, although there was nothing whatever in common between them. For this reason his

"Mesdames," said the young man, assuming a most polite air, "are we not at Gondreville? We are expected

"Why are you hiding that gun, my fine girl?" said the elder, catching sight of the carbine as he passed through

They both turned back with a sense of distrust which the bailiff understood at once in spite of their impassible

faces. Marthe let them look at the gun, to the tune of Couraut's bark; she was so convinced that her husband

was meditating some evil deed that she was thankful for the curiosity of the strangers.

Michu flung a look at his wife which made her tremble; he took the gun and began to load it, accepting

quietly the fatal illluck of this encounter and the discovery of the weapon. He seemed no longer to care for

"There are always wolves where there are sheep. You are in Champagne, and there's a forest; we have

wildboars, large and small game both, a little of everything," replied Michu, in a truculent manner.

"I'll bet, Corentin," said the elder of the two men, after exchanging a glance with his companion, "that this is

"No, but we both presided over Jacobins, citizen," replied the old cynic,"you at Arcis, I elsewhere. I see

you've kept your Carmagnole civility, but it's no longer in fashion, my good fellow."

"The park strikes me as rather large; we might lose our way. If you are really the bailiff show us the path to

Michu whistled to his son and continued to load his gun. Corentin looked at Marthe with indifference, while

his companion seemed charmed by her; but the young man noticed the signs of her inward distress, which

escaped the old libertine, who had, however, noticed and feared the gun. The natures of the two men were

"I've an appointment the other side of the forest," said the bailiff. "I can't go with you, but my son here will

take you to the chateau. How did you get to Gondreville? did you come by CinqCygne?"

"We had, like yourself, business in the forest," said Corentin, without apparent sarcasm.

"Francois," cried Michu, "take these gentlemen to the chateau by the wood path, so that no one sees them;

they don't follow the beaten tracks. Come here," he added, as the strangers turned to walk away, talking

together as they did so in a low voice. Michu caught the boy in his arms, and kissed him almost solemnly

with an expression which confirmed his wife's fears; cold chills ran down her back; she glanced at her mother

"Go," said Michu; and he watched the boy until he was entirely out of sight. Couraut was barking on the

other side of the road in the direction of Grouage. "Oh, that's Violette," remarked Michu. "This is the third

Violette, mounted on one of those little nags which the farmers in the neighborhood of Paris use so much,

soon appeared, wearing a round hat with a broad brim, beneath which his woodcolored face, deeply

wrinkled, appeared in shadow. His gray eyes, mischievous and lively, concealed in a measure the treachery of

his nature. His skinny legs, covered with gaiters of white linen which came to the knee, hung rather than

rested in the stirrups, seemingly held in place by the weight of his hobnailed shoes. Above his jacket of blue

cloth he wore a cloak of some coarse woollen stuff woven in black and white stripes. His gray hair fell in

curls behind his ears. This dress, the gray horse with its short legs, the manner in which Violette sat him,

stomach projecting and shoulders thrown back, the big chapped hands which held the shabby bridle, all

depicted him plainly as the grasping, ambitious peasant who desires to own land and buys it at any price. His

mouth, with its bluish lips parted as if a surgeon had pried them open with a scalpel, and the innumerable

wrinkles of his face and forehead hindered the play of features which were expressive only in their outlines.

Those hard, fixed lines seemed menacing, in spite of the humility which countryfolks assume and beneath

which they conceal their emotions and schemes, as savages and Easterns hide theirs behind an imperturbable

gravity. First a mere laborer, then the farmer of Grouage through a long course of persistent illdoing, he

continued his evil practices after conquering a position which surpassed his early hopes. He wished harm to

all men and wished it vehemently. When he could assist in doing harm he did it eagerly. He was openly

envious; but, no matter how malignant he might be, he kept within the limits of the law,neither beyond it

nor behind it, like a parliamentary opposition. He believed his prosperity depended on the ruin of others, and

that whoever was above him was an enemy against whom all weapons were good. A character like this is

Violette's present business was to obtain from Malin an extension of the lease of his farm, which had only six

years longer to run. Jealous of the bailiff's means, he watched him narrowly. The neighbors reproached him

for his intimacy with "Judas"; but the sly old farmer, wishing to obtain a twelve years' lease, was really lying

in wait for an opportunity to serve either the government or Malin, who distrusted Michu. Violette, by the

help of the gamekeeper of Gondreville and others belonging to the estate, kept Malin informed of all

Michu's actions. Malin had endeavored, fruitlessly, to win over Marianne, the Michus' servantwoman; but

Violette and his satellites heard everything from Gaucher,a lad on whose fidelity Michu relied, but who

betrayed him for castoff clothing, waistcoats, buckles, cotton socks and sugarplums. The boy had no

suspicion of the importance of his gossip. Violette in his reports blackened all Michu's actions and gave them

a criminal aspect by absurd suggestions,unknown, of course, to the bailiff, who was aware, however, of the

"Again! is that meant as a reproach, Monsieur Michu?Hey! I did not know you had that gun. You are not

"It grew in a field of mine which bears guns," replied Michu. "Look! this is how I sow them."

"Have you got that bandit's weapon to protect your master?" said Violette. "Perhaps he gave it to you."

"People are talking all round the neighborhood of this journey of his; some say he is in disgrace and has to

retire from office; others that he wants to see things for himself down here. But anyway, why does he come,

"I did not know he was here till I got back from my rounds in the forest," said Michu, reloading his gun.

"He has sent to Arcis for Monsieur Grevin," said Violette; "they are scheming something."

"If you are going round by CinqCygne, take me up behind you," said the bailiff. "I'm going there."

Violette was too timid to have a man of Michu's strength on his crupper, and he spurred his beast. Judas slung

"Ever since he heard of Monsieur Malin's arrival he has been gloomy," replied the old woman. "But it is

After the two women had settled themselves in the chimney corner they heard Couraut's bark.

"I distrust that little scamp. Go up in the garret, look in the hay loft, look everywhere for him."

Marthe left the room to obey the order. When she returned she found Michu on his knees, praying.

The bailiff took his wife round the waist and drew her to him, saying in a voice of deep feeling: "If we never

see each other again remember, my poor wife, that I loved you well. Follow minutely the instructions which

you will find in a letter buried at the foot of the larch in that copse. It is enclosed in a tin tube. Do not touch it

until after my death. And remember, Marthe, whatever happens to me, that in spite of man's injustice, my arm

Marthe, who turned pale by degrees, became white as her own linen; she looked at her husband with fixed

eyes widened by fear; she tried to speak, but her throat was dry. Michu disappeared like a shadow, having

tied Couraut to the foot of his bed where the dog, after the manner of all dogs, howled in despair.

Michu's anger against Monsieur Marion had serious grounds, but it was now concentrated on another man,

far more criminal in his eyes,on Malin, whose secrets were known to the bailiff, he being in a better

position than others to understand the conduct of the State Councillor. Michu's fatherinlaw had had,

politically speaking, the confidence of the former representative to the Convention, through Grevin.

Perhaps it would be well here to relate the circumstances which brought the Simeuse and the CinqCygne

families into connection with Malin,circumstances which weighed heavily on the fate of Mademoiselle de

The CinqCygne mansion at Troyes stands opposite to that of Simeuse. When the populace, incited by minds

that were as shrewd as they were cautious, pillaged the hotel Simeuse, discovered the marquis and

marchioness, who were accused of corresponding with the nation's enemies, and delivered them to the

national guards who took them to prison, the crowd shouted, "Now for the CinqCygnes!" To their minds the

CinqCygnes were as guilty as other aristocrats. The brave and worthy Monsieur de Simeuse in the endeavor

to save his two sons, then eighteen years of age, whose courage was likely to compromise them, had confided

them, a few hours before the storm broke, to their aunt, the Comtesse de CinqCygne. Two servants attached

to the Simeuse family accompanied the young men to her house. The old marquis, who was anxious that his

name should not die out, requested that what was happening might be concealed from his sons, even in the

event of dire disaster. Laurence, the only daughter of the Comtesse de CinqCygne, was then twelve years of

age; her cousins both loved her and she loved them equally. Like other twins the Simeuse brothers were so

alike that for a long while their mother dressed them in different colors to know them apart. The first comer,

the eldest, was named PaulMarie, the other MariePaul. Laurence de CinqCygne, to whom their danger

was revealed, played her woman's part well though still a mere child. She coaxed and petted her cousins and

kept them occupied until the very moment when the populace surrounded the CinqCygne mansion. The two

brothers then knew their danger for the first time, and looked at each other. Their resolution was instantly

taken; they armed their own servants and those of the Comtesse de CinqCygne, barricaded the doors, and

stood guard at the windows, after closing the wooden blinds, with the five menservants and the Abbe

d'Hauteserre, a relative of the CinqCygnes. These eight courageous champions poured a deadly fire into the

crowd. Every shot killed or wounded an assailant. Laurence, instead of wringing her hands, loaded the guns

with extraordinary coolness, and passed the balls and powder to those who needed them. The Comtesse de

Sublime words,said also by the mother of Godoy, prince of the Peace, in Spain, under similar

In a moment eleven persons were killed and lying on the ground among a number of wounded. Such results

either cool or excite a populace; either it grows savage at the work or discontinues it. On the present occasion

those in advance recoiled; but the crowd behind them were there to kill and rob, and when they saw their own

dead, they cried out: "Murder! Murder! Revenge!" The wiser heads went in search of the representative to the

Convention, Malin. The twins, by this time aware of the disastrous events of the day, suspected Malin of

desiring the ruin of their family, and of causing the arrest of their parents, and the suspicion soon became a

certainty. They posted themselves beneath the portecochere, gun in hand, intending to kill Malin as soon as

he made his appearance; but the countess lost her head; she imagined her house in ashes and her daughter

assassinated, and she blamed the young men for their heroic defence and compelled them to desist. It was

Laurence who opened the door slightly when Malin summoned the household to admit him. Seeing her, the

representative relied upon the awe he expected to inspire in a mere child, and he entered the house. To his

first words of inquiry as to why the family were making such a resistance, the girl replied: "If you really

desire to give liberty to France how is it that you do not protect us in our homes? They are trying to tear down

this house, monsieur, to murder us, and you say we have no right to oppose force to force!"

"You, the son of a mason employed by the Grand Marquis to build his castle!" exclaimed MariePaul, "you

"He shall be released at once," said Malin, who thought himself lost when he saw each youth clutch his

"You owe your life to that promise," said MariePaul, solemnly. "If it is not fulfilled tonight we shall find

"As to that howling populace," said Laurence, "If you do not send them away, the next blood will be yours.

The Conventionalist did leave it, and he harangued the crowd, dwelling on the sacred rights of the domestic

hearth, the habeas corpus and the English "home." He told them that the law and the people were sovereigns,

that the law was the people, and that the people could only act through the law, and that power was vested in

the law. The particular law of personal necessity made him eloquent, and he managed to disperse the crowd.

But he never forgot the contemptuous expression of the two brothers, nor the "Leave this house!" of

Mademoiselle de CinqCygne. Therefore, when it was a question of selling the estates of the Comte de

CinqCygne, Laurence's brother, as national property, the sale was rigorously made. The agents left nothing

for Laurence but the chateau, the park and gardens, and one farm called that of Cinq Cygne. Malin

instructed the appraisers that Laurence had no rights beyond her legal share,the nation taking possession of

all that belonged to her brother, who had emigrated and, above all, had borne arms against the Republic.

The evening after this terrible tumult, Laurence so entreated her cousins to leave the country, fearing

treachery on the part of Malin, or some trap into which they might fall, that they took horse that night and

gained the Prussian outposts. They had scarcely reached the forest of Gondreville before the hotel

CinqCygne was surrounded; Malin came himself to arrest the heirs of the house of Simeuse. He dared not

lay hands on the Comtesse de CinqCygne, who was in bed with a nervous fever, nor on Laurence, a child of

twelve. The servants, fearing the severity of the Republic, had disappeared. The next day the news of the

resistance of the brothers and their flight to Prussia was known to the neighborhood. A crowd of three

thousand persons assembled before the hotel de CinqCygne, which was demolished with incredible rapidity.

Madame de CinqCygne, carried to the hotel Simeuse, died there from the effects of the fever aggravated by

Michu did not appear in the political arena until after these events, for the marquis and his wife remained in

prison over five months. During this time Malin was away on a mission. But when Monsieur Marion sold

Gondreville to the Councillor of State, Michu understood the latter's game,or rather, he thought he did; for

Malin was, like Fouche, one of those personages who are of such depth in all their different aspects that they

are impenetrable when they play a part, and are never understood until long after their drama is ended.

In all the chief circumstances of Malin's life he had never failed to consult his faithful friend Grevin, the

notary of Arcis, whose judgment on men and things was, at a distance, clearcut and precise. This faculty is

the wisdom and makes the strength of secondrate men. Now, in November, 1803, a combination of events

(already related in the "Depute d'Arcis") made matters so serious for the Councillor of State that a letter

might have compromised the two friends. Malin, who hoped to be appointed senator, was afraid to offer his

explanations in Paris. He came to Gondreville, giving the First Consul only one of the reasons that made him

wish to be there; that reason gave him an appearance of zeal in the eyes of Bonaparte; whereas his journey,

far from concerning the interests of the State, related to his own interests only. On this particular day, as

Michu was watching the park and expecting, after the manner of a red Indian, a propitious moment for his

vengeance, the astute Malin, accustomed to turn all events to his own profit, was leading his friend Grevin to

a little field in the English garden, a lonely spot in the park, favorable for a secret conference. There, standing

in the centre of the grass plot and speaking low, the friends were at too great a distance to be overheard if any

one were lurking near enough to listen to them; they were also sure of time to change the conversation if

"Didn't you take notice of those two men whom the prefect of police has sent here to me?"

Though Fouche made himself in the matter of the Pichegru, Georges, Moreau, and Polignac conspiracy the

soul of the Consular cabinet, he did not at this time control the ministry of police, but was merely a councillor

"Those men," continued Malin, "are Fouche's two arms. One, that dandy Corentin, whose face is like a glass

of lemonade, vinegar on his lips and verjuice in his eyes, put an end to the insurrection at the West in the year

VII. in less than fifteen days. The other is a disciple of Lenoir; he is the only one who preserves the great

traditions of the police. I had asked for an agent of no great account, backed by some official personage, and

they send me those pastmasters of the business! Ah, Grevin, Fouche wants to pry into my game. That's why

I left those fellows dining at the chateau; they may look into everything for all I care; they won't find Louis

"Ha, my friend, a double game is a dangerous one, but this, taking Fouche into account, is a triple one. He

In few words the Councillor of State gave a clear and succinct account of the critical position in which

Bonaparte was about to hold England, by threatening her with invasion from the camp at Boulogne; he

explained to Grevin the bearings of that project, which was unobserved by France and Europe but suspected

by Pitt; also the critical position in which England was about to put Bonaparte. A powerful coalition, Prussia,

Austria, and Russia, paid by English gold, was pledged to furnish seven hundred thousand men under arms.

At the same time a formidable conspiracy was throwing a network over the whole of France, including

"Louis XVIII. held that as long as there were three Consuls anarchy was certain, and that he could at some

opportune moment take his revenge for the 13th Vendemiaire and the 18th Fructidor," said Malin, "but the

Consulate for life has unmasked Bonaparte's intentionshe will soon be emperor. The late sublieutenant

means to create a dynasty! This time his life is in actual danger; and the plot is far better laid than that of the

Rue SaintNicaise. Pichegru, Georges, Moreau, the Duc d'Enghien, Polignac and Riviere, the two friends of

"France is being silently invaded; no stone is left unturned; the thing will be carried with a rush. A hundred

picked men, commanded by Georges, are to attack the Consular guard and the Consul hand to hand."

"For the last two months the Consul, his minister of police, the prefect and Fouche, hold some of the clues of

this vast conspiracy; but they don't know its full extent, and at this particular moment they are leaving nearly

"As to rights," said the notary, "the Bourbons have much more right to conceive, plan, and execute a scheme

against Bonaparte, than Bonaparte had on the 18th Brumaire against the Republic, whose product he was. He

murdered his mother on that occasion, but these royalists only seek to recover what was theirs. I can

understand that the princes and their adherents, seeing the lists of the emigres closed, mortgages suppressed,

the Catholic faith restored, antirevolutionary decrees accumulating, should begin to see that their return is

becoming difficult, not to say impossible. Bonaparte being the sole obstacle now in their way, they want to

get rid of himnothing simpler. Conspirators if defeated are brigands, if successful, heroes; and your

"The matter now is," said Malin, "to make Bonaparte fling the head of the Duc d'Enghien at the Bourbons,

just as the Convention flung the head of Louis XVI. at the kings, so as to commit him as fully as we are to the

Revolution; or else, we must upset the idol of the French people and their future emperor, and seat the true

throne upon his ruins. I am at the mercy of some event, some fortunate pistolshot, some infernal machine

which does its work. Even I don't know the whole conspiracy; they don't tell me all; but they have asked me

to call the Council of State at the critical moment and direct its action towards the restoration of the

"Well, the Simeuse brothers are in the conspiracy; they are here in the neighborhood; I must either have them

watched, let them compromise themselves, and so be rid of them, or else I must privately protect them. I

asked the prefect for underlings and he has sent me lynxes, who came through Troyes and have got the

"Gondreville is your real object," said Grevin, "and this conspiracy your best chance of keeping it. Fouche,

Talleyrand, and those two fellows have nothing to do with that. Therefore play fair with them. What

nonsense! those who cut Louis XVI.'s head off are in the government; France is full of men who have bought

national property, and yet you talk of bringing back those who would require you to give up Gondreville! If

the Bourbons were not imbeciles they would pass a sponge over all we have done. Warn Bonaparte, that's my

"Ah! Now I understand your bewilderment, and it is for me to see clear in this political darkness and find a

way out for you. Now, it is quite impossible to foresee what events may happen to bring back the Bourbons

when a General Bonaparte is in possession of eighty line of battle ships and four hundred thousand men. The

most difficult thing of all in expectant politics is to know when a power that totters will fall; but, my old man,

Bonaparte's power is not tottering, it is in the ascendant. Don't you think that Fouche may be sounding you so

"No; I am sure of my gobetween. Besides, Fouche would never, under those circumstances, send me such

"They alarm me," said Grevin. "If Fouche does not distrust you, and is not seeking to probe you, why does he

send them? Fouche doesn't play such a trick as that without a motive; what is it?"

"What decides me," said Malin, "is that I should never be easy with those two Simeuse brothers in France.

Perhaps Fouche, who knows how I am placed towards them, wants to make sure they don't escape him, and

"That's right, old fellow; it is not under Bonaparte that the present possessor of Gondreville can be ousted."

Just then Malin, happening to look up, saw the muzzle of a gun through the foliage of a tall linden.

"I was not mistaken, I thought I heard the click of a trigger," he said to Grevin, after getting behind the trunk

of a large tree, where the notary, uneasy at his friend's sudden movement, followed him.

"Don't let us seem afraid," said Malin, who walked slowly away, saying at intervals: "Why is that man so

bitter against the owners of this property? It was not you he was covering. If he overheard us he had better

ask the prayers of the congregation! Who the devil would have thought of looking up into the trees!"

"There's always something to learn," said the notary. "But he was a good distance off, and we spoke low."

A few moments later Michu returned home, his face pale, his features contracted.

Michu took a chair and sat down quietly before the fire, into which he threw a letter which he drew from a tin

tube such as are given to soldiers to hold their papers. This act, which enabled Marthe to draw a long breath

like one relieved of a great burden, greatly puzzled Violette. The bailiff laid his gun on the mantelshelf with

admirable composure. Marianne the servant, and Marthe's mother were spinning by the light of a lamp.

"Run down to the cellar," he whispered, when they reached the stairs. "Empty one third out of two bottles of

the Macon wine, and fill them up with the Cognac brandy which is on the shelf. Then mix a bottle of white

wine with one half brandy. Do it neatly, and put the three bottles on the empty cask which stands by the cellar

door. When you hear me open the window in the kitchen come out of the cellar, run to the stable, saddle my

horse, mount it, and go and wait for me at PoteaudesGueuxThat little scamp hates to go to bed," said

Michu, returning; "he likes to do as grown people do, see all, hear all, and know all. You spoil my people,

"Goodness!" cried Violette, "what has loosened your tongue? I never heard you say as much before."

"Do you suppose I let myself be spied upon without taking notice of it? You are on the wrong side, pere

Violette. If, instead of serving those who hate me, you were on my side I could do better for you than renew

"I want to leave the neighborhood, and I'll let you have my farm of Mousseau, the buildings, granary, and

"I am on my way back from where I spent this afternoon, and I only stopped in to say goodevening."

"Back without your horse? What a fool you must take me for! You are lying, and you shall not have my

"Well, to tell you the truth, it was monsieur Grevin who sent me. He said 'Violette, we want Michu; do you

go and get him; if he isn't at home, wait for him.' I saw I should have to stay here all this evening."

"You shall have my farm; we'll settle the terms now. Wife, go and get some wine to wash down the contract.

Take the best Roussillon, the wine of the exmarquis,we are not babes. You'll find a couple of bottles on

"You have fifty thousand francs beneath the floor of your bedroom under your bed, pere Violette; you will

give them to me two weeks after we sign the deed of sale before Grevin" Violette stared at Michu and

grew livid. "Ah! you came here to spy upon a Jacobin who had the honor to be president of the club at Arcis,

and you imagine he will let you get the better of him! I have eyes, I saw where your tiles have been freshly

cemented, and I concluded that you did not pry them up to plant wheat there. Come, drink."

Violette, much troubled, drank a large glass of wine without noticing the quality; terror had put a hot iron in

his stomach, the brandy was not hotter than his cupidity. He would have given many things to be safely home

After a good halfhour's decision on the time when the buyer might take possession, and on the various

punctilios which the peasantry bring forward when concluding a bargain,in the midst of assertions and

counterassertions, the filling and emptying of glasses, the giving of promises and denials, Violette suddenly

fell forward with his head on the table, not tipsy, but deaddrunk. The instant that Michu saw his eyes blur he

"You, Marianne," said the bailiff to his faithful servant, "stand in front of his door and watch him. You,

mother, stay down here, and keep an eye on this spy; keep your eyes and ears open and don't unfasten the

door to any one but Francois. It is a question of life or death," he added, in a deep voice. "Every creature

beneath my roof must remember that I have not quitted it this night; all of you must assert thateven though

your heads were on the block. Come," he said to Marthe, "come, wife, put on your shoes, take your coat, and

For the last three quarters of an hour the man's demeanor and glance were of despotic authority, allpowerful,

irresistible, drawn from the same mysterious source from which great generals on fields of battle who inflame

an army, great orators inspiring vast audiences, and (it must be said) great criminals perpetrating bold crimes

derive their inspiration. At such times invincible influence seems to exhale from the head and issue from the

tongue; the gesture even can inject the will of the one man into others. The three women knew that some

dreadful crisis was at hand; without warning of its nature they felt it in the rapid actions of the man, whose

countenance shone, whose forehead spoke, whose brilliant eyes glittered like stars; they saw it in the sweat

that covered his brow to the roots of his hair, while more than once his voice vibrated with impatience and

fury. Marthe obeyed passively. Armed to the teeth and with his gun over his shoulder Michu dashed into the

avenue, followed by his wife. They soon reached the crossroads where Francois was in waiting hidden

"Go back to the house, hide in a thick tree, and watch the country and the park," he said to his son. "We have

all gone to bed, no one is stirring. Your grandmother will not open the door until you ask her to let you in.

Remember every word I say to you. The life of your father and mother depends on it. No one must know we

After whispering these words to the boy, who instantly disappeared in the forest like an eel in the mud, Michu

"Mount behind me," he said, "and pray that God be with us. Sit firm, the beast may die of it." So saying he

kicked the horse with both heels, pressing him with his powerful knees, and the animal sprang forward with

the rapidity of a hunter, seeming to understand what his master wanted of him, and crossed the forest in

fifteen minutes. Then Michu, who had not swerved from the shortest way, pulled up, found a spot at the edge

of the woods from which he could see the roofs of the chateau of CinqCygne lighted by the moon, tied his

horse to a tree, and followed by his wife, gained a little eminence which overlooked the valley.

The chateau, which Marthe and Michu looked at together for a moment, makes a charming effect in the

landscape. Though it has little extent and is of no importance whatever as architecture, yet archaeologically it

is not without a certain interest. This old edifice of the fifteenth century, placed on an eminence, surrounded

on all sides by a moat, or rather by deep, wide ditches always full of water, is built in cobblestones buried in

cement, the walls being seven feet thick. Its simplicity recalls the rough and warlike life of feudal days. The

chateau, plain and unadorned, has two large reddish towers at either end, connected by a long main building

with casement windows, the stone mullions of which, being roughly carved, bear some resemblance to

vineshoots. The stairway is outside the house, at the middle, in a sort of pentagonal tower entered through a

small arched door. The interior of the groundfloor together with the rooms on the first storey were

modernized in the time of Louis XIV., and the whole building is surmounted by an immense roof broken by

casement windows with carved triangular pediments. Before the castle lies a vast green sward the trees of

which had recently been cut down. On either side of the entrance bridge are two small dwellings where the

gardeners live, connected across the road by a paltry iron railing without character, evidently modern. To

right and left of the lawn, which is divided in two by a paved roadway, are the stables, cowsheds, barns,

wood house, bakery, poultryyard, and the offices, placed in what were doubtless the remains of two wings

of the old building similar to those that were still standing. The two large towers, with their pepperpot roofs

which had not been rased, and the belfry of the middle tower, gave an air of distinction to the village. The

church, also very old, showed near by its pointed steeple, which harmonized well with the solid masses of the

castle. The moon brought out in full relief the various roofs and towers on which it played and sparkled.

Michu gazed at this baronial structure in a manner that upset all his wife's ideas about him; his face, now

calm, wore a look of hope and also a sort of pride. His eyes scanned the horizon with a glance of defiance; he

listened for sounds in the air. It was now nine o'clock; the moon was beginning to cast its light upon the

margin of the forest and to illumine the little bluff on which they stood. The position struck him as dangerous

and he left it, fearful of being seen. But no suspicious noise troubled the peace of the beautiful valley

encircled on this side by the forest of Nodesme. Marthe, exhausted and trembling, was awaiting some

explanation of their hurried ride. What was she engaged in? Was she to aid in a good deed or an evil one? At

"Go the house and ask to speak to the Comtesse de CinqCygne; when you see her beg her to speak to you

alone. If no one can overhear you, say to her: 'Mademoiselle, the lives of your two cousins are in danger, and

he who can explain the how and why is waiting to speak to you.' If she seems afraid, if she distrusts you, add

these words: 'They are conspiring against the First Consul and the conspiracy is discovered.' Don't give your

"You don't understand me," cried Marthe, seizing his large hand and falling on her knees beside him as she

When he no longer heard her step his eyes filled with tears. He had distrusted Marthe on account of her

father's opinions; he had hidden the secrets of his life from her; but the beauty of her simple nature had

suddenly appeared to him, just as the grandeur of his had, as suddenly, revealed itself to her. Marthe had

passed in a moment from the deep humiliation caused by the degradation of the man whose name she bore, to

the exaltation given by a sense of his nobleness. The change was instantaneous, without transition; it was

enough to make her tremble. She told him later that she went, as it were, through blood from the pavilion to

the edge of the forest, and there was lifted to heaven, in a moment, among the angels. Michu, who had known

he was not appreciated, and who mistook his wife's grieved and melancholy manner for lack of affection, and

had left her to herself, living chiefly out of doors and reserving all his tenderness for his boy, instantly

understood the meaning of her tears. She had cursed the part which her beauty and her father's will had forced

her to take; but now happiness, in the midst of this great storm, played, with a beautiful flame like a vivid

lightning about them. And it was lightning! Each thought of the last ten years of misconception, and they

blamed themselves only. Michu stood motionless, his elbow on his gun, his chin on his hand, lost in deep

reverie. Such a moment in a man's life makes him willing to accept the saddest moments of a painful past.

Marthe, agitated by the same thoughts as those of her husband, was also troubled in heart by the danger of the

Simeuse brothers; for she now understood all, even the faces of the two Parisians, though she still could not

explain to herself her husband's gun. She darted forward like a doe, and soon reached the road to the chateau.

There she was surprised by the steps of a man following behind her; she turned, with a cry, and her husband's

"From the hill up there I saw the silver lace of the gendarmes' hats. Go in by the breach in the moat between

Mademoiselle's tower and the stables. The dogs won't bark at you. Go through the garden and call the

countess by the window; order them to saddle her horse, and ask her to come out through the breach. I'll be

there, after discovering what the Parisians are planning, and how to escape them."

Danger, which seemed to be rolling like an avalanche upon them, gave wings to Marthe's feet.

The old Frank name of the CinqCygnes and the Chargeboeufs was Duineff. CinqCygne became that of the

younger branch of the Chargeboeufs after the defence of a castle made, during their father's absence, by five

daughters of that race, all remarkably fair, and of whom no one expected such heroism. One of the first

Comtes de Champagne wished, by bestowing this pretty name, to perpetuate the memory of their deed as

long as the family existed. Laurence, the last of her race, was, contrary to Salic law, heiress of the name, the

arms, and the manor. She was therefore Comtesse de CinqCygne in her own right; her husband would have

to take both her name and her blazon, which bore for device the glorious answer made by the elder of the five

sisters when summoned to surrender the castle, "We die singing." Worthy descendant of these noble heroines,

Laurence was fair and lilywhite as though nature had made her for a wager. The lines of her blue veins

could be seen through the delicate close texture of her skin. Her beautiful golden hair harmonized delightfully

with eyes of the deepest blue. Everything about her belonged to the type of delicacy. Within that fragile

though active body, and in defiance as it were of its pearly whiteness, lived a soul like that of a man of noble

nature; but no one, not even a close observer, would have suspected it from the gentle countenance and

rounded features which, when seen in profile, bore some slight resemblance to those of a lamb. This extreme

gentleness, though noble, had something of the stupidity of the little animal. "I look like a dreamy sheep," she

would say, smiling. Laurence, who talked little, seemed not so much dreamy as dormant. But, did any

important circumstance arise, the hidden Judith was revealed, sublime; and circumstances had, unfortunately,

At thirteen years of age, Laurence, after the events already related, was an orphan living in a house opposite

to the empty space where so recently had stood one of the most curious specimens in France of

sixteenthcentury architecture, the hotel CinqCygne. Monsieur d'Hauteserre, her relation, now her guardian,

took the young heiress to live in the country at her chateau of CinqCygne. That brave provincial gentleman,

alarmed at the death of his brother, the Abbe d'Hauteserre, who was shot in the open square as he was about

to escape in the dress of a peasant, was not in a position to defend the interests of his ward. He had two sons

in the army of the princes, and every day, at the slightest unusual sound, he believed that the municipals of

Arcis were coming to arrest him. Laurence, proud of having sustained a siege and of possessing the historic

whiteness of her swanlike ancestors, despised the prudent cowardice of the old man who bent to the storm,

and dreamed only of distinguishing herself. So, she boldly hung the portrait of Charlotte Corday on the walls

of her poor salon at CinqCygne, and crowned it with oakleaves. She corresponded by messenger with her

twin cousins, in defiance of the law, which punished the act, when discovered, with death. The messenger,

who risked his life, brought back the answers. Laurence lived only, after the catastrophes at Troyes, for the

triumph of the royal cause. After soberly judging Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre (who lived with her at

the chateau de CinqCygne), and recognizing their honest, but stolid natures, she put them outside the lines

of her own life. She had, moreover, too good a mind and too sound a judgment to complain of their natures;

always kind, amiable, and affectionate towards them, she nevertheless told them none of her secrets. Nothing

forms a character so much as the practice of constant concealment in the bosom of a family.

After she attained her majority Laurence allowed Monsieur d'Hauteserre to manage her affairs as in the past.

So long as her favorite mare was wellgroomed, her maid Catherine dressed to please her, and Gothard the

little page was suitably clothed, she cared for nothing else. Her thoughts were aimed too high to come down

to occupations and interests which in other times than these would doubtless have pleased her. Dress was a

small matter to her mind; moreover her cousins were not there to see her. She wore a darkgreen habit when

she rode, and a gown of some common woollen stuff with a cape trimmed with braid when she walked; in the

house she was always seen in a silk wrapper. Gothard, the little groom, a brave and clever lad of fifteen,

attended her wherever she went, and she was nearly always out of doors, riding or hunting over the farms of

Gondreville, without objection being made by either Michu or the farmers. She rode admirably well, and her

cleverness in hunting was thought miraculous. In the country she was never called anything but

Whoever has read the fine romance of "Rob Roy" will remember that rare woman for whose making Walter

Scott's imagination abandoned its customary coldness,Diana Vernon. The recollection will serve to make

Laurence understood if, to the noble qualities of the Scottish huntress you add the restrained exaltation of

Charlotte Corday, surpassing, however, the charming vivacity which rendered Diana so attractive. The young

countess had seen her mother die, the Abbe d'Hauteserre shot down, the Marquis de Simeuse and his wife

executed; her only brother had died of his wounds; her two cousins serving in Conde's army might be killed

at any moment; and, finally, the fortunes of the Simeuse and the CinqCygne families had been seized and

wasted by the Republic without being of any benefit to the nation. Her grave demeanor, now lapsing into

Monsieur d'Hauteserre proved an upright and most careful guardian. Under his administration CinqCygne

became a sort of farm. The good man, who was far more of a close manager than a knight of the old nobility,

had turned the park and gardens to profit, and used their two hundred acres of grass and woodland as

pasturage for horses and fuel for the family. Thanks to his severe economy the countess, on coming of age,

had recovered by his investments in the State funds a competent fortune. In 1798 she possessed about twenty

thousand francs a year from those sources, on which, in fact, some dividends were still due, and twelve

thousand francs a year from the rentals at Cinq Cygne, which had lately been renewed at a notable increase.

Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre had provided for their old age by the purchase of an annuity of three

thousand francs in the Tontines Lafarge. That fragment of their former means did not enable them to live

elsewhere than at CinqCygne, and Laurence's first act on coming to her majority was to give them the use

The Hauteserres, as niggardly for their ward as they were for themselves, laid up every year nearly the whole

of their annuity for the benefit of their sons, and kept the young heiress on miserable fare. The whole cost of

the CinqCygne household never exceeded five thousand francs a year. But Laurence, who condescended to

no details, was satisfied. Her guardian and his wife, unconsciously ruled by the imperceptible influence of her

strong character, which was felt even in little things, had ended by admiring her whom they had known and

treated as a child,a sufficiently rare feeling. But in her manner, her deep voice, her commanding eye,

Laurence held that inexplicable power which rules all men,even when its strength is mere appearance. To

vulgar minds real depth is incomprehensible; it is perhaps for that reason that the populace is so prone to

admire what it cannot understand. Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, impressed by the habitual silence and

erratic habits of the young girl, were constantly expecting some extraordinary thing of her.

Laurence, who did good intelligently and never allowed herself to be deceived, was held in the utmost respect

by the peasantry although she was an aristocrat. Her sex, name, and great misfortunes, also the originality of

her present life, contributed to give her authority over the inhabitants of the valley of CinqCygne. She was

sometimes absent for two days, attended by Gothard, but neither Monsieur nor Madame d'Hauteserre

questioned her, on her return, as to the reasons of her absence. Please observe, however, that there was

nothing odd or eccentric about Laurence. What she was and what she did was masked, as it were, by a

feminine and even fragile appearance. Her heart was full of extreme sensibility, though her head contained a

stoical firmness and the virile gift of resolution. Her clearseeing eyes knew not how to weep; but no one

would have imagined that the delicate white wrist with its tracery of blue veins could defy that of the boldest

horseman. Her hand, so noble, so flexible, could handle gun or pistol with the ease of a practised marksman.

She always wore when out of doors the coquettish little cap with visor and green veil which women wear on

horseback. Her delicate fair face, thus protected, and her white throat tied with a black cravat, were never

Under the Directory and at the beginning of the Consulate, Laurence had been able to escape the observation

of others; but since the government had become a more settled thing, the new authorities, the prefect of the

Aube, Malin's friends, and Malin himself had endeavored to undermine her in the community. Her

preoccupying thought was the overthrow of Bonaparte, whose ambition and its triumphs excited the anger of

her soul,a cold, deliberate anger. The obscure and hidden enemy of a man at the pinnacle of glory, she kept

her gaze upon him from the depths of her valley and her forests, with relentless fixity; there were times when

she thought of killing him in the roads about Malmaison or SaintCloud. Plans for the execution of this idea

may have been the cause of many of her past actions, but having been initiated, after the peace of Amiens,

into the conspiracy of the men who expected to make the 18th Brumaire recoil upon the First Consul, she had

thenceforth subordinated her faculties and her hatred to their vast and well laid scheme, which was to strike at

Bonaparte externally by the vast coalition of Russia, Austria, and Prussia (vanquished at Austerlitz) and

internally by the coalition of men politically opposed to each other, but united by their common hatred of a

man whose death some of them were meditating, like Laurence herself, without shrinking from the word

assassination. This young girl, so fragile to the eye, so powerful to those who knew her well, was at the

present moment the faithful guide and assistant of the exiled gentlemen who came from England to take part

Fouche relied on the cooperation of the emigres everywhere beyond the Rhine to lure the Duc d'Enghien

into the plot. The presence of that prince in the Baden territory, not far from Strasburg, gave much weight

later to the accusation. The great question of whether the prince really knew of the enterprise, and was

waiting on the frontier to enter France on its success, is one of those secrets about which, as about several

others, the house of Bourbon has maintained an unbroken silence. As the history of that period recedes into

the past, impartial historians will declare the imprudence, to say the least, of the Duc d'Enghien in placing

himself close to the frontier at a time when a vast conspiracy was about to break forth, the secret of which

The caution which Malin displayed in talking with Grevin in the open air, Laurence applied to her every

action. She met the emissaries and conferred with them either at various points in the Nodesme forest, or

beyond the valley of the CinqCygne, between the villages of Sezanne and Brienne. Often she rode forty

miles on a stretch with Gothard, and returned to CinqCygne without the least sign of weariness or

Some years earlier, Laurence had seen in the eyes of a little cowboy, then nine years old, the artless

admiration which children feel for everything that is out of the common way. She made him her page, and

taught him to groom a horse with the nicety and care of an Englishman. She saw in the lad a desire to do well,

a bright intelligence, and a total absence of sly motives; she tested his devotion and found he had not only

mind but nobility of character; he never dreamed of reward. The young girl trained this soul that was still so

young; she was good to him, good with dignity; she attached him to her by attaching herself to him, and by

herself polishing a nature that was half wild, without destroying its freshness or its simplicity. When she had

sufficiently tested the almost canine fidelity she had nurtured, Gothard became her intelligent and ingenuous

accomplice. The little peasant, whom no one could suspect, went from CinqCygne to Nancy, and often

returned before any one had missed him from the neighborhood. He knew how to practise all the tricks of a

spy. The extreme distrust and caution his mistress had taught him did not change his natural self. Gothard,

who possessed all the craft of a woman, the candor of a child, and the ceaseless observation of a conspirator,

hid every one of these admirable qualities beneath the torpor and dull ignorance of a country lad. The little

fellow had a silly, weak, and clumsy appearance; but once at work he was active as a fish; he escaped like an

eel; he understood, as the dogs do, the merest glance; he nosed a thought. His good fat face, both round and

red, his sleepy brown eyes, his hair, cut in the peasant fashion, his clothes, and his slow growth gave him the

The two young d'Hauteserres and the twin brothers Simeuse, under the guidance of their cousin Laurence,

who had been watching over their safety and that of the other emigres who accompanied them from Strasburg

to BarsurAube, had just passed through Alsace and Lorraine, and were now in Champagne while other

conspirators, not less bold, were entering France by the cliffs of Normandy. Dressed as workmen the

d'Hauteserres and the Simeuse twins had walked from forest to forest, guided on their way by relays of

persons, chosen by Laurence during the last three months from among the least suspected of the Bourbon

adherents living in each neighborhood. The emigres slept by day and travelled by night. Each brought with

him two faithful soldiers; one of whom went before to warn of danger, the other behind to protect a retreat.

Thanks to these military precautions, this valuable detachment had at last reached, without accident, the

forest of Nodesme, which was chosen as the rendezvous. Twentyseven other gentlemen had entered France

from Switzerland and crossed Burgundy, guided towards Paris with the same caution.

Monsieur de Riviere counted on collecting five hundred men, one hundred of whom were young nobles, the

officers of this sacred legion. Monsieur de Polignac and Monsieur de Riviere, whose conduct as chiefs of this

advance was most remarkable, afterwards preserved an impenetrable secrecy as to the names of those of their

accomplices who were not discovered. It may be said, therefore, now that the Restoration has made matters

clearer, that Bonaparte never knew the extent of the danger he then ran, any more than England knew the

peril she had escaped from the camp at Boulogne; and yet the police of France was never more intelligently

At the period when this history begins, a cowardfor cowards are always to be found in conspiracies which

are not confined to a small number of equally strong mena sworn confederate, brought face to face with

death, gave certain information, happily insufficient to cover the extent of the conspiracy, but precise enough

to show the object of the enterprise. The police had therefore, as Malin told Grevin, left the conspirators at

liberty, though all the while watching them, hoping to discover the ramifications of the plot. Nevertheless, the

government found its hand to a certain extent forced by Georges Cadoudal, a man of action who took counsel

of himself only, and who was hiding in Paris with twentyfive chouans for the purpose of attacking the First

Laurence combined both hatred and love within her breast. To destroy Bonaparte and bring back the

Bourbons was to recover Gondreville and make the fortune of her cousins. The two sentiments, one the

counterpart of the other, were sufficient, more especially at twenty three years of age, to excite all the

faculties of her soul and all the powers of her being. So, for the last two months, she had seemed to the

inhabitants of CinqCygne more beautiful than at any other period of her life. Her cheeks became rosy; hope

gave pride to her brow; but when old d'Hauteserre read the Gazette at night and discussed the conservative

course of the First Consul she lowered her eyes to conceal her passionate hopes of the coming fall of that

No one at the chateau had the faintest idea that the young countess had met her cousins the night before. The

two sons of Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre had passed the preceding night in Laurence's own room,

under the same roof with their father and mother; and Laurence, after knowing them safely in bed had gone

between one and two o'clock in the morning to a rendezvous with her cousins in the forest, where she hid

them in the deserted hut of a wooddealer's agent. The following day, certain of seeing them again, she

showed no signs of her joy; nothing about her betrayed emotion; she was able to efface all traces of pleasure

at having met them again; in fact, she was impassible. Catherine, her pretty maid, daughter of her former

nurse, and Gothard, both in the secret, modelled their behavior upon hers. Catherine was nineteen years old.

At that age a girl is a fanatic and would let her throat be cut before betraying a thought of one she loves. As

for Gothard, merely to inhale the perfume which the countess used in her hair and among her clothes he

At the moment when Marthe, driven by the imminence of the peril, was gliding with the rapidity of a shadow

towards the breach of which Michu had told her, the salon of the chateau of CinqCygne presented a

peaceful sight. Its occupants were so far from suspecting the storm that was about to burst upon them that

their quiet aspect would have roused the compassion of any one who knew their situation. In the large

fireplace, the mantel of which was adorned with a mirror with shepherdesses in paniers painted on its frame,

burned a fire such as can be seen only in chateaus bordering on forests. At the corner of this fireplace, on a

large square sofa of gilded wood with a magnificent brocaded cover, the young countess lay as it were

extended, in an attitude of utter weariness. Returning at six o'clock from the confines of Brie, having played

the part of scout to the four gentlemen whom she guided safely to their last haltingplace before they entered

Paris, she had found Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre just finishing their dinner. Pressed by hunger she

sat down to table without changing either her muddy habit or her boots. Instead of doing so at once after

dinner, she was suddenly overcome with fatigue and allowed her head with its beautiful fair curls to drop on

the back of the sofa, her feet being supported in front of her by a stool. The warmth of the fire had dried the

mud on her habit and on her boots. Her doeskin gloves and the little peaked cap with its green veil and a whip

lay on the table where she had flung them. She looked sometimes at the old Boule clock which stood on the

mantelshelf between the candelabra, perhaps to judge if her four conspirators were asleep, and sometimes at

the cardtable in front of the fire where Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, the cure of CinqCygne, and

Even if these personages were not embedded in this drama, their portraits would have the merit of

representing one of the aspects of the aristocracy after its overthrow in 1793. From this point of view, a

sketch of the salon at CinqCygne has the raciness of history seen in dishabille.

Monsieur d'Hauteserre, then fiftytwo years of age, tall, spare, high colored, and robust in health, would

have seemed the embodiment of vigor if it were not for a pair of porcelain blue eyes, the glance of which

denoted the most absolute simplicity. In his face, which ended in a long pointed chin, there was, judging by

the rules of design, an unnatural distance between his nose and mouth which gave him a submissive air,

wholly in keeping with his character, which harmonized, in fact, with other details of his appearance. His

gray hair, flattened by his hat, which he wore nearly all day, looked much like a skullcap on his head, and

defined its pearshaped outline. His forehead, much wrinkled by life in the open air and by constant

anxieties, was flat and expressionless. His aquiline nose redeemed the face somewhat; but the sole indication

of any strength of character lay in the bushy eyebrows which retained their blackness, and in the brilliant

coloring of his skin. These signs were in some respects not misleading, for the worthy gentlemen, though

simple and very gentle, was Catholic and monarchical in faith, and no consideration on earth could make him

change his views. Nevertheless he would have let himself be arrested without an effort at defence, and would

have gone to the scaffold quietly. His annuity of three thousand francs kept him from emigrating. He

therefore obeyed the government de facto without ceasing to love the royal family and to pray for their return,

though he would firmly have refused to compromise himself by any effort in their favor. He belonged to that

class of royalists who ceaselessly remembered that they were beaten and robbed; and who remained

thenceforth dumb, economical, rancorous, without energy; incapable of abjuring the past, but equally

incapable of sacrifice; waiting to greet triumphant royalty; true to religion and true to the priesthood, but

firmly resolved to bear in silence the shocks of fate. Such an attitude cannot be considered that of maintaining

opinions, it becomes sheer obstinacy. Action is the essence of party. Without intelligence, but loyal, miserly

as a peasant yet noble in demeanor, bold in his wishes but discreet in word and action, turning all things to

profit, willing even to be made mayor of CinqCygne, Monsieur d'Hauteserre was an admirable

representative of those honorable gentlemen on whose brow God Himself has written the word

mites,Frenchmen who burrowed in their country homes and let the storms of the Revolution pass above

their heads; who came once more to the surface under the Restoration, rich with their hidden savings, proud

of their discreet attachment to the monarchy, and who, after 1830, recovered their estates.

Monsieur d'Hauteserre's costume, expressive envelope of his distinctive character, described to the eye both

the man and his period. He always wore one of those nutcolored greatcoats with small collars which the

Duc d'Orleans made the fashion after his return from England, and which were, during the Revolution, a sort

of compromise between the hideous popular garments and the elegant surtouts of the aristocracy. His velvet

waistcoat with flowered stripes, the style of which recalled those of Robespierre and SaintJust, showed the

upper part of a shirtfrill in fine plaits. He still wore breeches; but his were of coarse blue cloth, with

burnished steel buckles. His stockings of black spunsilk defined his deerlike legs, the feet of which were

shod in thick shoes, held in place by gaiters of black cloth. He retained the former fashion of a muslin cravat

in innumerable folds fastened by a gold buckle at the throat. The worthy man had not intended an act of

political eclecticism in adopting this costume, which combined the styles of peasant, revolutionist, and

Madame d'Hauteserre, forty years of age and wasted by emotions, had a faded face which seemed to be

always posing for its portrait. A lace cap, trimmed with bows of white satin, contributed singularly to give

her a solemn air. She still wore powder, in spite of a white kerchief, and a gown of pucecolored silk with

tight sleeves and full skirt, the sad last garments of MarieAntoinette. Her nose was pinched, her chin sharp,

the whole face nearly triangular, the eyes wornout with weeping; but she now wore a touch of rouge which

brightened their grayness. She took snuff, and each time that she did so she employed all the pretty

precautions of the fashionable women of her early days; the details of this snufftaking constituted a

For the last two years the former tutor of the Simeuse twins, a friend of the late Abbe d'Hauteserre, named

Goujet, Abbe des Minimes, had taken charge of the parish of CinqCygne out of friendship for the

d'Hauteserres and the young countess. His sister, Mademoiselle Goujet, who possessed a little income of

seven hundred francs, added that sum to the meagre salary of her brother and kept his house. Neither church

nor parsonage had been sold during the Revolution on account of their small value. The abbe and his sister

lived close to the chateau, for the wall of the parsonage garden and that of the park were the same in places.

Twice a week the pair dined at the chateau, but they came every evening to play boston with the

d'Hauteserres; for Laurence, unable to play a game, did not even know one card from another.

The Abbe Goujet, an old man with white hair and a face as white as that of an old woman, endowed with a

kindly smile and a gentle and persuasive voice, redeemed the insipidity of his rather mincing face by a fine

intellectual brow and a pair of keen eyes. Of medium height, and very well made, he still wore the

oldfashioned black coat, silver shoebuckles, breeches, black silk stockings, and a black waistcoat on which

lay his clerical bands, giving him a distinguished air which detracted nothing from his dignity. This abbe,

who became bishop of Troyes after the Restoration, had long made a study of young people and fully

understood the noble character of the young countess; he appreciated her at her full value, and had shown her,

from the first, a respectful deference which contributed much to her independence at CinqCygne, for it led

the austere old lady and the kind old gentleman to yield to the young girl, who by rights should have yielded

to them. For the last six months the abbe had watched Laurence with the intuition peculiar to priests, the most

sagacious of men; and although he did not know that this girl of twentythree was thinking of overturning

Bonaparte as she lay there twisting with slender fingers the frogged lacing of her ridinghabit, he was well

Mademoiselle Goujet was one of those unmarried women whose portrait can be drawn in one word which

will enable the least imaginative mind to picture her; she was ungainly. She knew her own ugliness and was

the first to laugh at it, showing her long teeth, yellow as her complexion and her bony hands. She was gay

and hearty. She wore the famous short gown of former days, a very full skirt with pockets full of keys, a cap

with ribbons and a false front. She was forty years of age very early, but had, so she said, caught up with

herself by keeping at that age for twenty years. She revered the nobility; and knew well how to preserve her

own dignity by giving to persons of noble birth the respect and deference that were due to them.

This little company was a godsend to Madame d'Hauteserre, who had not, like her husband, rural

occupations, nor, like Laurence, the tonic of hatred, to enable her to bear the dulness of a retired life. Many

things had happened to ameliorate that life within the last six years. The restoration of Catholic worship

allowed the faithful to fulfil their religious duties, which play more of a part in country life than elsewhere.

Protected by the conservative edicts of the First Consul, Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre had been able to

correspond with their sons, and no longer in dread of what might happen to them could even hope for the

erasure of their names from the lists of the proscribed and their consequent return to France. The Treasury

had lately made up the arrearages and now paid its dividends promptly; so that the d'Hauteserres received,

over and above their annuity, about eight thousand francs a year. The old man congratulated himself on the

sagacity of his foresight in having put all his savings, amounting to twenty thousand francs, together with

those of his ward, in the public Funds before the 18th Brumaire, which, as we all know, sent those stocks up

The chateau of CinqCygne had long been empty and denuded of furniture. The prudent guardian was

careful not to alter its aspect during the revolutionary troubles; but after the peace of Amiens he made a

journey to Troyes and brought back various relics of the pillaged mansions which he obtained from the

dealers in secondhand furniture. The salon was furnished for the first time since their occupation of the

house. Handsome curtains of white brocade with green flowers, from the hotel de Simeuse, draped the six

windows of the salon, in which the family were now assembled. The walls of this vast room were entirely of

wood, with panels encased in beaded mouldings with masks at the angles; the whole painted in two shades of

gray. The spaces over the four doors were filled with those designs, painted in cameo of two colors, which

were so much in vogue under Louis XV. Monsieur d'Hauteserre had picked up at Troyes certain gilded pier

tables, a sofa in green damask, a crystal chandelier, a cardtable of marquetry, among other things that served

him to restore the chateau. In 1792 all the furniture of the house had been taken or destroyed, for the pillage

of the mansions in town was imitated in the valley. Each time that the old man went to Troyes he returned

with some relic of the former splendor, sometimes a fine carpet for the floor of the salon, at other times part

of a dinner service, or a bit of rare old porcelain of either Sevres or Dresden. During the last six months he

had ventured to dig up the family silver, which the cook had buried in the cellar of a little house belonging to

That faithful servant, named Durieu, and his wife had followed the fortunes of their young mistress. Durieu

was the factotum of the chateau, and his wife was the housekeeper. He was helped in the cooking by the

sister of Catherine, Laurence's maid, to whom he was teaching his art and who gave promise of becoming an

excellent cook. An old gardener, his wife, a son paid by the day, and a daughter who served as a

dairywoman, made up the household. Madame Durieu had lately and secretly had the CinqCygne liveries

made for the gardener's son and for Gothard. Though blamed for this imprudence by Monsieur d'Hauteserre,

the housekeeper took great pleasure in seeing the dinner served on the festival of SaintLaurence, the

This slow and difficult restoration of departed things was the delight of Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre

and the Durieus. Laurence smiled at what she thought nonsense. But the worthy old d'Hauteserre did not

forget the more solid matters; he repaired the buildings, put up the walls, planted trees wherever there was a

chance to make them grow, and did not leave an inch of unproductive land. The whole valley regarded him as

an oracle in the matter of agriculture. He had managed to recover a hundred acres of contested land, not sold

as national property, being in some way confounded with that of the township. This land he had turned into

fields which afforded good pasturage for his horses and cattle, and he planted them round with poplars, which

now, at the end of six years, were making a fine growth. He intended to buy back some of the lost estate, and

to utilize all the outbuildings of the chateau by making a second farm and managing it himself.

Life at the chateau had thus become during the last two years prosperous and almost happy. Monsieur

d'Hauteserre was off at daybreaks to overlook his laborers, for he employed them in all weathers. He came

home to breakfast, mounted his farm pony as soon as the meal was over, and made his rounds of the estate

like a bailiff, getting home in time for dinner, and finishing the day with a game of boston. All the

inhabitants of the chateau had their stated occupations; life was as closely regulated there as in a convent.

Laurence alone disturbed its even tenor by her sudden journeys, her uncertain returns, and by what Madame

d'Hauteserre called her pranks. But with all this peacefulness there existed at CinqCygne conflicting

interests and certain causes of dissension. In the first place Durieu and his wife were jealous of Catherine and

Gothard, who lived in greater intimacy with their young mistress, the idol of the household, than they did.

Then the two d'Hauteserres, encouraged by Mademoiselle Goujet and the abbe, wanted their sons as well as

the Simeuse brothers to take the oath and return to this quiet life, instead of living miserably in foreign

countries. Laurence scouted the odious compromise and stood firmly for the monarchy, militant and

implacable. The four old people, anxious that their present peaceful existence should not be risked, nor their

spot of refuge, saved from the furious waters of the revolutionary torrent, lost, did their best to convert

Laurence to their cautious views, believing that her influence counted for much in the unwillingness of their

sons and the Simeuse twins to return to France. The superb disdain with which she met the project frightened

these poor people, who were not mistaken in their fears that she was meditating what they called

knighterrantry. This jarring of opinion came to the surface after the explosion of the infernal machine in the

rue SaintNicaise, the first royalist attempt against the conqueror of Marengo after his refusal to treat with

the house of Bourbon. The d'Hauteserres considered it fortunate that Bonaparte escaped that danger,

believing that the republicans had instigated it. But Laurence wept with rage when she heard he was safe. Her

despair overcame her usual reticence, and she vehemently complained that God had deserted the sons of

"I," she exclaimed, "I could have succeeded! Have we no right," she added, seeing the stupefaction her words

produced on the faces about her, and addressing the abbe, "no right to attack the usurper by every means in

"My child," replied the abbe, "the Church has been greatly blamed by philosophers for declaring in former

times that the same weapons might be employed against usurpers which the usurpers themselves had

employed to succeed; but in these days the Church owes far too much to the First Consul not to protect him

From that day forth whenever the four old people talked of submitting to the decrees of Providence, Laurence

left the room. Of late, the abbe, shrewder than Monsieur d'Hauteserre, instead of discussing principles, drew

pictures of the material advantages of the consular rule, less to convert the countess than to detect in her eyes

some expression which might enlighten him as to her projects. Gothard's frequent disappearances, the long

rides of his mistress, and her evident preoccupation, which, for the last few days, had appeared in her face,

together with other little signs not to be hidden in the silence and tranquillity of such a life, had roused the

fears of these submissive royalists. Still, as no event happened, and perfect quiet appeared to reign in the

political atmosphere, the minds of the little household were soothed into peace, and the countess's long rides

It is easy to imagine the deep silence which reigned at nine o'clock in the evening in the park, courtyards, and

gardens of CinqCygne, where at that particular moment the persons we have described were harmoniously

grouped, where perfect peace pervaded all things, where comfort and abundance were again enjoyed, and

where the worthy and judicious old gentleman was still hoping to convert his late ward to his system of

obedience to the ruling powers by the argument of what we may call the continuity of prosperous results.

These royalists continued to play their boston, a game which spread ideas of independence under a frivolous

form over the whole of France; for it was first invented in honor of the American insurgents, its very terms

applying to the struggle which Louis XVI. encouraged. While making their "independences" and "poverties,"

the players kept an eye on the countess, who had fallen asleep, overcome by fatigue, with a singular smile on

her lips, her last waking thought having been of the terror two words could inspire in the minds of the

peaceful company by informing the d'Hauteserres that their sons had passed the preceding night under that

roof. What young girl of twentythree would not have been, as Laurence was, proud to play the part of

Destiny? and who would not have felt, as she did, a sense of compassion for those whom she felt to be so far

"Durieu tells me her mare is almost foundered," remarked Madame d'Hauteserre. "Her gun has not been fired;

"Bah?" cried Mademoiselle Goujet; "when I was twentythree and saw I should be an old maid all my life, I

rushed about and fatigued myself in a dozen ways. I understand how the countess can scour the country for

hours without thinking of the game. It is nearly twelve years now since she has seen her cousins, and you

know she loves them. Well, if I were she, if I were as young and pretty, I'd make a straight line for Germany!

Poor darling, perhaps she is thinking of the frontier, and that may be the reason why she rides so far towards

"Not at all," she replied. "I see you all uneasy about the goings on of a young girl, and I am explaining them

"Her cousins will submit and return soon; they will all be rich, and she will end by calming down," said old

"God grant it!" said his wife, taking out a gold snuffbox which had again seen the light under the Consulate.

"There is something stirring in the neighborhood," remarked Monsieur d'Hauteserre to the abbe. "Malin has

"Yes," replied the abbe, "but he leaves tonight; everybody is conjecturing the motive of this hasty visit."

The countess had been dreaming of her cousins and the young Hauteserres; she saw them in peril. Her

beautiful eyes grew fixed and glassy as her mind thus warned dwelled on the dangers they were about to

incur in Paris. She rose suddenly and went to her bedroom without speaking. Her bedroom was the best in the

house; next came a dressing room and an oratory, in the tower which faced towards the forest. Soon after

she had left the salon the dogs barked, the bell of the small gate rang, and Durieu rushed into the salon with a

The mayor, a former huntsman of the house of Simeuse, came occasionally to the chateau, where the

d'Hauteserres showed him out of policy, a deference to which he attached great value. His name was

Goulard; he had married a rich woman of Troyes, whose property, which was in the commune of

CinqCygne, he had further increased by the purchase of a fine abbey and its lands, in which he invested all

his savings. The vast abbey of ValdesPreux, standing about a mile from the chateau, he had turned into a

dwelling that was almost as splendid as Gondreville; in it his wife and he were now living like rats in a

cathedral. "Ah! Goulard, you have been greedy," Mademoiselle had said to him with a laugh the first time she

received him at CinqCygne. Though greatly attached to the Revolution and coldly received by the countess,

the mayor always felt himself bound by ties of respect to the CinqCygne and Simeuse families. He therefore

shut his eyes to what went on at the chateau. He called shutting his eyes not seeing the portraits of Louis

XVI., Marie Antoinette, and the royal children, and those of Monsieur, the Comte d'Artois, Cazales and

Charlotte Corday, which filled the various panels of the salon; not resenting either the wishes freely

expressed in his presence for the ruin of the Republic, or the ridicule flung at the five directors and all the

other governmental combinations of that time. The position of this man, who, like many parvenus, having

once made his fortune, reverted to his early faith in the old families, and sought to attach himself to them, was

now being made use of by the two members of the Paris police whose profession had been so quickly guessed

by Michu, and who, before going to Gondreville had reconnoitred the neighborhood.

The worthy described as the depositary of the best traditions of the old police, and Corentin phoenix of spies,

were in fact employed on a secret mission. Malin was not mistaken in attributing a double purpose to those

stars of tragic farces. But, before seeing them at work, it is advisable to show the head of which they were the

arms. When Bonaparte became First Consul he found Fouche at the head of the police. The Revolution had

frankly and with good reason made the management of the police into a special ministry. But after his return

from Marengo, Bonaparte created the prefecture of police, placed Dubois in charge of it, and called Fouche to

the Council of State, naming as his successor in the ministry a conventional named Cochon, since known as

Comte de Lapparent. Fouche, who considered the ministry of police as by far the most important in a

government of broad ideas and fixed policy, saw disgrace or at any rate distrust in the change. After

Napoleon became aware of the immense superiority of this great statesman, as evidenced in the affair of the

infernal machine and in the conspiracy with which we are now concerned, he returned him to the ministry of

police. Later still, becoming alarmed at the powers Fouche displayed during his absence at the time of the

affair at Walcheren, the Emperor gave that ministry to the Duc de Rovigo, and sent Fouche (Duc d'Otrante)

as governor to the Illyrian provinces,an appointment which was in fact an exile.

The singular genius of this man, Fouche, which had the power of inspiring Napoleon with a sort of fear, did

not reveal itself all at once. This obscure conventional, one of the most extraordinary men of our time, and

the most misjudged, was moulded, as it were, by the whirlwind of events. He raised himself under the

Directory to the height from which men of genius could see the future and judge the past, and then, like

certain commonplace actors who suddenly become admirable through the light of some vivid perception, he

gave proofs of his dexterity during the rapid revolution of the 18th Brumaire. This man with the pallid face,

educated to monastic dissimulation, possessing the secrets of the montagnards to whom he belonged, and

those of the royalists to whom he ended by belonging, had slowly and silently studied the men, the events,

and the interests on the political stage; he penetrated Napoleon's secrets, he gave him useful counsel and

precious information. Satisfied with having proven his capacity and his usefulness, Fouche was careful not to

disclose himself completely. He wished to remain at the head of affairs, but the Emperor's restless uneasiness

The ingratitude or rather the distrust shown by Napoleon after the affair at Walcheren, gives the keynote to

the character of a man who, unfortunately for himself, was not a great seigneur, and whose conduct was

modelled on that of Talleyrand. At that time neither his former colleagues nor his present ones had suspected

the amplitude of his genius, which was purely ministerial, essentially governmental, just in its forecasts and

incredibly sagacious. Today, every impartial historian perceives that Napoleon's inordinate selflove was

among the chief causes of his fall, a punishment which cruelly expiated his wrongdoing. In the mind of that

distrustful sovereign lurked a constant jealousy for his own rising power, which influenced all his actions,

and caused his secret hatred for men of talent, the precious legacy of the Revolution, with whom he might

have made himself a cabinet capable of being a true repository for his thoughts. Talleyrand and Fouche were

not the only ones who gave him umbrage. The misfortune of usurpers is that those who have given them a

crown are as much their enemies as those from whom they snatch it. Napoleon's sovereignty was never

convincingly felt by those who were once his superiors or his equals, nor by those who still held to the

doctrine of rights; none of them regarded their oath of allegiance to him as binding.

Malin, an inferior man, incapable of comprehending Fouche's hidden genius, or of distrusting his own

perceptions, burned himself, like a moth in a candle, by asking him confidentially to send agents to

Gondreville, where, he said, he hoped to obtain certain clues to the conspiracy. Fouche, without alarming his

friend by any questions, asked himself why Malin was going to Gondreville, and why he did not immediately

and without loss of time, give the information he already possessed. The exOratorian, fed from his youth up

on trickery, and well aware of the double part played by a good many of the conventionals, said to himself:

"From whom is Malin likely to obtain information when we ourselves know little or nothing?" Fouche

concluded therefore that there was some either latent or prospective collusion, and took care to say nothing

about it to the First Consul. He preferred to make Malin his instrument rather than destroy him. It was

Fouche's habit to keep to himself a good part of the secrets he detected, and he thus obtained for his own

purposes a power over those concerned which was even greater than that of Bonaparte. This duplicity was

Fouche knew of the swindling transaction by which Malin became possessed of Gondreville and which led

him to keep his eyes so anxiously on the Simeuse brothers. These gentlemen were now serving in the army of

Conde; Mademoiselle de CinqCygne was their cousin; possibly they were in her neighborhood, and were

sharers in the conspiracy; if so, it would implicate the house of Conde to which they were devoted.

Talleyrand and Fouche were bent on casting light into this dark corner of the conspiracy of 1803. All these

considerations Fouche saw at a glance, rapidly and with great clearness. But between Malin, Talleyrand, and

himself there were strong ties which forced him to the utmost circumspection, and made him anxious to know

the exact state of things within the walls of Gondreville. Corentin was unreservedly attached to Fouche, just

as Monsieur de la Besnardiere was to Talleyrand, Gentz to Monsieur de Metternich, Dundas to Pitt, Duroc to

Napoleon, Chavigny to Cardinal Richelieu. Corentin was not the counsellor of his master, but his instrument,

the Tristan to this Louis XI. of low estate. Fouche had kept him in the ministry of the police when he himself

left it, so as to still keep an eye and a finger in it. It was said that Corentin belonged to Fouche by some

unavowed relationship, for he rewarded him lavishly after every service. Corentin had a friend in Peyrade, the

old pupil of the last lieutenant of police; but he kept a good many of his secrets from him. Fouche gave

Corentin an order to explore the chateau of Gondreville, to get the plan of it into his memory, and to know

"We may be obliged to return there," said the exminister, precisely as Napoleon told his lieutenants to

Corentin was also to study Malin's conduct, discover what influence he had in the neighborhood, and observe

the men he employed. Fouche regarded it as certain that the Simeuse brothers were in that part of the country.

By cautiously watching the two officers, who were closely allied with the Prince de Conde, Peyrade and

Corentin could obtain precious light on the ramifications of the conspiracy beyond the Rhine. In any case,

however, Corentin received the means, the orders, and the agents, to surround the chateau of CinqCygne

and watch the whole region, from the forest of Nodesme into Paris. Fouche insisted on the utmost caution,

and would only allow a domiciliary visit to CinqCygne in case Malin gave them positive information which

made it necessary. By way of instructions he explained to Corentin the otherwise inexplicable personality of

Michu, who had been watched by the police for the last three years. Corentin's idea was that of his master:

"Malin knows all about the conspiracyBut," he added to himself, "perhaps Fouche does, too; who knows?"

Corentin, having started for Troyes before Malin, had made arrangements with the commandant of the

gendarmerie in that town, who picked out a number of his most intelligent men and placed them under orders

of an able captain. Corentin chose Gondreville as the place of rendezvous, and directed the captain to send

some of his men at night in four detachments to different points of the valley of CinqCygne at sufficient

distance from each other to cause no alarm. These four pickets were to form a square and close in around the

chateau of Cinq Cygne. By leaving Corentin alone at Gondreville during his consultation in the fields with

Grevin, Malin had enabled him to fulfil part of Fouche's orders and explore the house. When the Councillor

of State returned home he told Corentin so positively that the d'Hauteserre and Simeuse brothers were in the

neighborhood and probably at CinqCygne that the two agents despatched the captain with the rest of his

company, who, fortunately for the four gentlemen, crossed the forest on their way to the chateau during the

time when Michu was making Violette drunk. Malin had told Corentin and Peyrade of the escape he had from

lying in wait for him. The two agents related the incident of the gun they had seen the bailiff load, and Grevin

had sent Violette to obtain information as to what was going on at Michu's house. Corentin advised the notary

to take Malin to his own house in the little town of Arcis, and let him sleep there as a measure of precaution.

At the moment when Michu and his wife were rushing through the forest on their way to CinqCygne,

Peyrade and Corentin were starting from Gondreville for CinqCygne in a shabby wicker carriage, drawn by

one posthorse driven by the corporal of Arcis, one of the shrewdest men in the Legion, whom the

"The surest way to seize them all is to warn them," said Peyrade to Corentin. "At the moment when they are

well frightened and are trying to save their papers or to escape we'll fall upon them like a thunderbolt. The

gendarmes surround the chateau now and are as good as a net. We sha'n't lose one of them!"

"You had better send the mayor to warn them," said the corporal. "He is friendly to them and wouldn't like to

Just as Goulard was preparing to go to bed, Corentin, who stopped the vehicle in a little wood, went to his

house and told him, confidentially, that in a few moments an emissary from the government would require

him to enter the chateau of CinqCygne and arrest the brothers d'Hauteserre and Simeuse; and in case they

had already disappeared he would have to ascertain if they had slept there the night before, search

Mademoiselle de CinqCygne's papers, and, possibly, arrest both the masters and servants of the household.

"Mademoiselle de CinqCygne," said Corentin, "is undoubtedly protected by some great personages, for I

have received private orders to warn her of this visit, and to do all I can to save her without compromising

myself. Once on the ground, I shall no longer be able to do so, for I am not alone; go to the chateau yourself

The mayor's visit at that time of night was all the more bewildering to the cardplayers when they saw the

Goulard was dumb with surprise as he noted the tranquil ease of the faces about him. Observing the peaceful

and innocent game of cards which he had thus interrupted, he was unable to imagine what the Parisian police

At that moment Laurence, kneeling in her oratory, was praying fervently for the success of the conspiracy.

She prayed to God to send help and succor to the murderers of Bonaparte. She implored Him ardently to

destroy that fatal being. The fanaticism of Harmodius, Judith, Jacques Clement, Ankarstroem, of Charlotte

Corday and Limoelan, inspired this pure and virgin spirit. Catherine was preparing the bed, Gothard was

closing the blinds, when Marthe Michu coming under the windows flung a pebble on the glass and was seen

Gothard was in the garden in less time than a bird would have taken to fly down from a tree.

"In a minute the chateau will be surrounded by the gendarmerie. Saddle mademoiselle's horse without

making any noise and take it down through the breach in the moat between the stables and this tower."

Marthe quivered when she saw Laurence, who had followed Gothard, standing beside her.

"The conspiracy against the First Consul is discovered," replied Marthe, in a whisper. "My husband, who

"Take care, you will kill them. Come with me, I implore you in the Simeuse name," said Marthe, clasping her

hands and stretching them towards Laurence. "Have you papers here which may compromise you? If so,

destroy them. From the heights over there my husband has just seen the silverlaced hats and the muskets of

Gothard had already clambered to the hayloft and seen the same sight; he heard in the stillness of the

evening the sound of their horses' hoofs. Down he slipped into the stable and saddled his mistress's mare,

"Where am I to go?" said Laurence to Marthe, whose look and language bore the unmistakable signs of

"Through the breach," she replied; "my noble husband is there. You shall learn the value of a 'Judas'!"

Catherine went quickly into the salon, picked up the hat, veil, whip, and gloves of her mistress, and

disappeared. This sudden apparition and action were so striking a commentary on the mayor's inquiry that

Madame d'Hauteserre and the abbe exchanged glances which contained the melancholy thought: "Farewell to

"The chateau is surrounded. You are about to receive a domiciliary visit. If your sons are here tell them to

"So much the better," said Goulard; "but I care too much for the Cinq Cygne and Simeuse families to let any

"Yes, if you have any, burn them at once," said the mayor. "I'll go and amuse the police agents."

Goulard, whose object was to run with the royalist hare and hold with the republican hounds, left the room; at

"There is no longer time," said the abbe, "here they come! But who is to warn the countess? Where is she?"

"Catherine didn't come for her hat and whip to make relics of them," remarked Mademoiselle Goujet.

Goulard tried to detain the two agents for a few moments, assuring them of the perfect ignorance of the

The two agents, insinuatingly dangerous, entered the house at once, followed by the corporal from Arcis and

one gendarme. The sight of them paralyzed the peaceful cardplayers, who kept their seats at the table,

terrified by such a display of force. The noise produced by a dozen gendarmes whose horses were stamping

"Come with me, ladies," said Corentin, turning to pass through the antechamber and up the staircase,

followed by Mademoiselle Goujet and Madame d'Hauteserre. "Rely upon me," he whispered to the old lady.

"I am in your interests. I sent the mayor to warn you. Distrust my colleague and look to me. I can save every

Madame d'Hauteserre fainted. To Mademoiselle Goujet's great astonishment and Corentin's disappointment,

Laurence's room was empty. Certain that no one could have escaped from the park or the chateau, for all the

issues were guarded, Corentin stationed a gendarme in every room and ordered others to search the farm

buildings, stables, and sheds. Then he returned to the salon, where Durieu and his wife and the other servants

had rushed in the wildest excitement. Peyrade was studying their faces with his little blue eye, cold and calm

in the midst of the uproar. Just as Corentin reappeared alone (Mademoiselle Goujet remaining behind to take

care of Madame d'Hauteserre) the tramp of horses was heard, and presently the sound of a child's weeping.

The horses entered by the small gate; and the general suspense was put an end to by a corporal appearing at

the door of the salon pushing Gothard, whose hands were tied, and Catherine whom he led to the agents.

"Here are some prisoners," he said; "that little scamp was escaping on horseback."

"Fool!" said Corentin, in his ear, "why didn't you let him alone? You could have found out something by

Gothard had chosen to burst into tears and behave like an idiot. Catherine took an attitude of artless

innocence which made the old agent reflective. The pupil of Lenoir, after considering the two prisoners

carefully, and noting the vacant air of the old gentleman whom he took to be sly, the intelligent eye of the

abbe who was still fingering the cards, and the utter stupefaction of the servants and Durieu, approached

Corentin answered with a look at the cardtable; then he added, "They were playing at boston!

Mademoiselle's bed was just being made for the night; she escaped in a hurry; it is a regular surprise; we shall

A breach has always a cause and a purpose. Here is the explanation of how the one which led from the tower

called that of Mademoiselle and the stables came to be made. After his installation as Laurence's guardian at

CinqCygne old d'Hauteserre converted a long ravine, through which the water of the forest flowed into the

moat, into a roadway between two tracts of uncultivated land belonging to the chateau, by merely planting

out in it about a hundred walnut trees which he found ready in the nursery. In eleven years these trees had

grown and branched so as to nearly cover the road, hidden already by steep banks, which ran into a little

wood of thirty acres recently purchased. When the chateau had its full complement of inhabitants they all

preferred to take this covered way through the breach to the main road which skirted the park walls and led to

the farm, rather than go round by the entrance. By dint of thus using it the breach in the sides of the moat had

gradually been widened on both sides, with all the less scruple because in this nineteenth century of ours

moats are no longer of the slightest use, and Laurence's guardian had often talked of putting this one to some

other purpose. The constant crumbling away of the earth and stones and gravel had ended by filling up the

ditch, so that only after heavy rains was the causeway thus constructed covered. But the bank was still so

steep that it was difficult to make a horse descend it, and even more difficult to get him up upon the main

While the young countess was hesitating to follow Marthe, and asking explanations, Michu, from his

vantageground watched the closing in of the gendarmes and understood their plan. He grew desperate as

time went by and the countess did not come to him. A squad of gendarmes were marching along the park wall

and stationing themselves as sentinels, each man being near enough to communicate with those on either side

of them, by voice and eye. Michu, lying flat on his stomach, his ear to earth, gauged, like a red Indian, by the

"I came too late!" he said to himself. "Violette shall pay dear for this! what a time it took to make him drunk!

He heard the detachment that was coming through the forest reach the iron gates and turn into the main road,

At that instant the countess appeared. Michu took her with a firm hand and pushed her into the covered way.

"Keep straight before you! Lead her to where my horse is," he said to his wife, "and remember that

Seeing Catherine, who carried the hat and whip, and Gothard leading the mare, the man, keenwitted in

presence of danger, bethought himself of playing the gendarmes a trick as useful as the one he had just played

Michu let the mare follow her mistress and took the hat, gloves, and whip from Catherine.

"You have sense, boy, you'll understand me," he said. "Force your own horse up here, jump on him, and draw

the gendarmes after you across the fields towards the farm; get the whole squad to follow youAnd you," he

added to Catherine, "there are other gendarmes coming up on the road from CinqCygne to Gondreville; run

in the opposite direction to the one Gothard takes, and draw them towards the forest. Manage so that we shall

Catherine and the boy, who were destined to give in this affair such remarkable proofs of intelligence,

executed the manoeuvre in a way to make both detachments of gendarmes believe that they held the game.

The dim light of the moon prevented the pursuers from distinguishing the figure, clothing, sex, or number of

those they followed. The pursuit was based on the maxim, "Always arrest those who are escaping,"the

folly of which saying was, as we have seen, energetically declared by Corentin to the corporal in command.

Michu, counting on this instinct of the gendarmes, was able to reach the forest a few moments after the

"Go home now," he said to Marthe. "The forest is watched and it is dangerous to remain here. We need all

"I shall not go a step further," said Laurence, "unless you give me some proof of the interest you seem to have

"Mademoiselle," he answered, in a gentle voice; "the part I am playing can be explained to you in two words.

I am, unknown to the Marquis de Simeuse and his brother, the guardian of their property. On this subject I

received the last instructions of their late father and their dear mother, my protectress. I have played the part

of a virulent Jacobin to serve my dear young masters. Unhappily, I began this course too late; I could not save

their parents." Here, Michu's voice broke down. "Since the young men emigrated I have sent them regularly

"Yes, mademoiselle; the correspondents of Monsieur Girel of Troyes, a royalist who, like me, made himself

for good reasons, a Jacobin. The paper which your farmer picked up one evening and which I forced him to

surrender, related to the affair and would have compromised your cousins. My life no longer belongs to me,

but to them, you understand. I could not buy in Gondreville. In my position, I should have lost my head had

the authorities known I had the money. I preferred to wait and buy it later. But that scoundrel of a Marion was

the slave of another scoundrel, Malin. All the same, Gondreville shall once more belong to its rightful

masters. That's my affair. Four hours ago I had Malin sighted by my gun; ha! he was almost gone then! Were

he dead, the property would be sold and you could have bought it. In case of my death my wife would have

brought you a letter which would have given you the means of buying it. But I overheard that villain telling

his accomplice Grevinanother scoundrel like himselfthat the Marquis and his brother were conspiring

against the First Consul, that they were here in the neighborhood, and that he meant to give them up and get

rid of them so as to keep Gondreville in peace. I myself saw the police spies; I laid aside my gun, and I have

lost no time in coming here, thinking that you must be the one to know best how to warn the young men.

"You are worthy to be a noble," said Laurence, offering her hand to Michu, who tried to kneel and kiss it. She

saw his motion and prevented it, saying: "Stand up!" in a tone of voice and with a look which made him

"You reward me as though I had done all that remains for me to do," he said. "But don't you hear them, those

"Think only of sitting firm," he said, "and of saving your head from the branches of the trees which might

Then he mounted his own horse and guided the young girl for half an hour at full gallop; making turns and

half turns, and striking into woodpaths, so as to confuse their traces, until they reached a spot where he

"I don't know where I am," said the countess looking about her,"I, who know the forest as well as you do."

"We are in the heart of it," he replied. "Two gendarmes are after us, but we are quite safe."

The picturesque spot to which the bailiff had guided Laurence was destined to be so fatal to the principal

personages of this drama, and to Michu himself, that it becomes our duty, as an historian, to describe it. The

scene became, as we shall see hereafter, one of noted interest in the judiciary annals of the Empire.

The forest of Nodesme belonged to the monastery of NotreDame. That monastery, seized, sacked, and

demolished, had disappeared entirely, monks and property. The forest, an object of much cupidity, was taken

into the domain of the Comtes de Champagne, who mortgaged it later and allowed it to be sold. In the course

of six centuries nature covered its ruins with her rich and vigorous green mantle, and effaced them so

thoroughly that the existence of one of the finest convents was no longer even indicated except by a slight

eminence shaded by noble trees and circled by thick, impenetrable shrubbery, which, since 1794, Michu had

taken great pains to make still more impenetrable by planting the thorny acacia in all the slight openings

between the bushes. A pond was at the foot of the eminence and showed the existence of a hidden stream

which no doubt determined in former days the site of the monastery. The late owner of the title to the forest

of Nodesme was the first to recognize the etymology of the name, which dated back for eight centuries, and

to discover that at one time a monastery had existed in the heart of the forest. When the first rumblings of the

thunder of the Revolution were heard, the Marquis de Simeuse, who had been forced to look into his title by a

lawsuit and so learned the above facts as it were by chance, began, with a secret intention not difficult to

conceive, to search for some remains of the former monastery. The keeper, Michu, to whom the forest was

well known, helped his master in the search, and it was his sagacity as a forester which led to the discovery of

the site. Observing the trend of the five chief roads of the forest, some of which were now effaced, he saw

that they all ended either at the little eminence or by the pond at the foot of it, to which points travellers from

Troyes, from the valley of Arcis and that of CinqCygne, and from BarsurAube doubtless came. The

marquis wished to excavate the hillock but he dared not employ the people of the neighborhood. Pressed by

circumstances, he abandoned the intention, leaving in Michu's mind a strong conviction that the eminence

had either the treasure or the foundations of the former abbey. He continued, all alone, this archaeological

enterprise; he sounded the earth and discovered a hollowness on the level of the pond between two trees, at

One fine night he came to the place armed with a pickaxe, and by the sweat of his brow uncovered a

succession of cellars, which were entered by a flight of stone steps. The pond, which was three feet deep in

the middle, formed a sort of dipper, the handle of which seemed to come from the little eminence, and went

far to prove that a spring had once issued from the crags, and was now lost by infiltration through the forest.

The marshy shores of the pond, covered with aquatic trees, alders, willow, and ash, were the terminus of all

the woodpaths, the remains of former roads and forest byways, now abandoned. The water, flowing from a

spring, though apparently stagnant, was covered with largeleaved plants and cresses, which gave it a

perfectly green surface almost indistinguishable from the shores, which were covered with fine close herbage.

The place is too far from human habitations for any animal, unless a wild one, to come there. Convinced that

no game was in the marsh and repelled by the craggy sides of the hills, keepers and hunters had never

explored or visited this nook, which belonged to a part of the forest where the timber had not been cut for

many years and which Michu meant to keep in its full growth when the time came round to fell it.

At the further end of the first cellar was a vaulted chamber, clean and dry, built with hewn stone, a sort of

convent dungeon, such as they called in monastic days the in pace. The salubrity of the chamber and the

preservation of this part of the staircase and of the vaults were explained by the presence of the spring, which

had been enclosed at some time by a wall of extraordinary thickness built in brick and cement like those of

the Romans, and received all the waters. Michu closed the entrance to this retreat with large stones; then, to

keep the secret of it to himself and make it impenetrable to others, he made a rule never to enter it except

from the wooded height above, by clambering down the crag instead of approaching it from the pond.

Just as the fugitives arrived, the moon was casting her beautiful silvery light on the aged treetops above the

crag, and flickering on the splendid foliage at the corners of the several paths, all of which ended here, some

with one tree, some with a group of trees. On all sides the eye was irresistibly led along their vanishing

perspectives, following the curve of a woodpath or the solemn stretch of a forest glade flanked by a wall of

verdure that was nearly black. The moonlight, filtering through the branches of the crossways, made the

lonely, tranquil waters, where they peeped between the crosses and the lilypads, sparkle like diamonds. The

croaking of the frogs broke the deep silence of this beautiful forestnook, the wild odors of which incited the

"Yes, mademoiselle. But we have each some work to do. Do you go and fasten our horses to the trees at the

top of the little hill; tie a handkerchief round the mouth of each of them," he said, giving her his cravat; "your

beast and mine are both intelligent, they will understand they are not to neigh. When you have done that,

come down the crag directly above the pond; but don't let your habit catch anywhere. You will find me

While the countess hid the horses and tied and gagged them, Michu removed the stones and opened the

entrance to the caverns. The countess, who thought she knew the forest by heart, was amazed when she

descended into the vaulted chambers. Michu replaced the stones above them with the dexterity of a mason.

As he finished, the sound of horses' feet and the voices of the gendarmes echoed in the darkness; but he

quietly struck a match, lighted a resinous bit of wood and led the countess to the in pace, where there was still

a piece of the candle with which he had first explored the caves. An iron door of some thickness, eaten in

several places by rust, had been put in good order by the bailiff, and could be fastened securely by bars

slipping into holes in the wall on either side of it. The countess, half dead with fatigue, sat down on a stone

bench, above which there still remained an iron ring, the staple of which was embedded in the masonry.

"We have a salon to converse in," said Michu. "The gendarmes may prowl as much as they like; the worst

"If they do that," said Laurence, "it would be the death of my cousins and the Messieurs d'Hauteserre. Tell me

"They are already on the road to Paris; they were to enter it tomorrow morning," said the countess when he

"Lost!" exclaimed Michu. "All persons entering or leaving the barriers are examined. Malin has strong

reasons to let my masters compromise themselves; he is seeking to get them killed out of his way."

"And I, who don't know anything of the general plan of the affair," cried Laurence, "how can I warn Georges,

Riviere, and Moreau? Where are they?However, let us think only of my cousins and the d'Hauteserres; you

"The telegraph goes faster than the best horse," said Michu; "and of all the nobles concerned in this

conspiracy your cousins are the closest watched. If I can find them, they must be hidden here and kept here

till the affair is over. Their poor father may have had a foreboding when he set me to search for this

"My mare is from the stables of the Comte d'Artois,she is the daughter of his finest English horse," said

Laurence; "but she has already gone sixty miles, she would drop dead before you reached them."

"Mine is in good condition," replied Michu; "and if you did sixty miles I shall have only thirty to do."

"Nearer forty," she said, "they have been walking since dark. You will overtake them beyond Lagny, at

Coupvrai, where they expected to be at daybreak. They are disguised as sailors, and will enter Paris by the

river on some vessel. This," she added, taking half of her mother's weddingring from her finger, "is the only

thing which will make them trust you; they have the other half. The keeper of Couvrai is the father of one of

their soldiers; he has hidden them tonight in a hut in the forest deserted by charcoalburners. They are eight

"Mademoiselle, no one is looking for the others! let them save themselves as they can; we must think only of

"What! abandon the Hauteserres? never!" she said. "They must all perish or be saved together!"

"They are only chevaliers, I know that," she replied, "but they are related to the CinqCygne and Simeuse

"The gendarmes are here,don't you hear them? they are holding a council of war."

"Well, you have twice had luck tonight; go! bring my cousins here and hide them in these vaults; they'll be

safe from all pursuitAlas! I am good for nothing!" she cried, with rage; "I should be only a beacon to light

the enemybut the police will never imagine that my cousins are in the forest if they see me at my ease. So

the question resolves itself into this: how can we get five good horses to bring them in six hours from Lagny

"And the money?" said Michu, who was thinking deeply as he listened to the young countess.

"I'll answer for them!" cried Michu. "But once hidden here you must not attempt to see them. My wife, or the

little one, shall bring them food twice a week. But, as I can't be sure of what may happen to me, remember,

mademoiselle, in case of trouble, that the main beam in my hayloft has been bored with an auger. In the

hole, which is plugged with a bit of wood, you will find a plan showing how to reach this spot. The trees

which you will find marked with a red dot on the plan have a black mark at their foot close to the earth. Each

of these trees is a signpost. At the foot of the third old oak which stands to the left of each signpost, two

feet in front of it and buried seven feet in the ground, you will find a large metal tube; in each tube are one

hundred thousand francs in gold. These eleven treesthere are only elevencontain the whole fortune of

"It will take a hundred years for the nobility to recover from such blows," said Mademoiselle de CinqCygne,

"'France and Charles' for the soldiers, 'Laurence and Louis' for the Messieurs d'Hauteserre and Simeuse.

Good God! to think that I saw them yesterday for the first time in eleven years, and that now they are in

danger of deathand what a death! Michu," she said, with a melancholy look, "be as prudent during the next

fifteen hours as you have been grand and devoted during the last twelve years. If disaster were to overtake my

cousins now I should die of itNo," she added, quickly, "I would live long enough to kill Bonaparte."

Laurence took his rough hand and wrung it warmly, as the English do. Michu looked at his watch; it was

"We must leave here at any cost," he said. "Death to the gendarme who attempts to stop me! And you,

madame la comtesse, without presuming to dictate, ride back to CinqCygne as fast as you can. The police

The hole once opened, Michu flung himself down with his ear to the earth; then he rose precipitately. "The

gendarmes are at the edge of the forest towards Troyes!" he said. "Ha, I'll get the better of them yet!"

He helped the countess to come out, and replaced the stones. When this was done he heard her soft voice

telling him she must see him mounted before mounting herself. Tears came to the eyes of the stern man as he

"Fool them! yes, he is right!" she said when she heard him no longer. Then she darted towards CinqCygne

Madame d'Hauteserre, roused by the danger of her sons, and not believing that the Revolution was over, but

still fearing its summary justice, recovered her senses by the violence of the same distress which made her

lose them. Led by an agonizing curiosity she returned to the salon, which presented a picture worthy of the

brush of a genre painter. The abbe, still seated at the cardtable and mechanically playing with the counters,

was covertly observing Corentin and Peyrade, who were standing together at a corner of the fireplace and

speaking in a low voice. Several times Corentin's keen eye met the not less keen glance of the priest; but, like

two adversaries who knew themselves equally strong, and who return to their guard after crossing their

weapons, each averted his eyes the instant they met. The worthy old d'Hauteserre, poised on his long thin legs

like a heron, was standing beside the stout form of the mayor, in an attitude expressive of utter stupefaction.

The mayor, though dressed as a bourgeois, always looked like a servant. Each gazed with a bewildered eye at

the gendarmes, in whose clutches Gothard was still sobbing, his hands purple and swollen from the tightness

of the cord that bound them. Catherine maintained her attitude of artless simplicity, which was quite

impenetrable. The corporal, who, according to Corentin, had committed a great blunder in arresting these

smaller fry, did not know whether to stay where he was or to depart. He stood pensively in the middle of the

salon, his hand on the hilt of his sabre, his eye on the two Parisians. The Durieus, also stupefied, and the other

servants of the chateau made an admirable group of expressive uneasiness. If it had not been for Gothard's

When Madame d'Hauteserre, pale and terrified, opened the door and entered the room, almost carried by

Mademoiselle Goujet, whose red eyes had evidently been weeping, all faces turned to her at once. The two

agents hoped as much as the household feared to see Laurence enter. This spontaneous movement of both

masters and servants seemed produced by the sort of mechanism which makes a number of wooden figures

Madame d'Hauteserre advanced by three rapid strides towards Corentin and said, in a broken voice but

violently: "For pity's sake, monsieur, tell me what my sons are accused of. Do you really think they have

The abbe, who seemed to be saying to himself when he saw the old lady, "She will certainly commit some

"My duty and the mission I am engaged in forbid me to tell you," answered Corentin, with a gracious but

This refusal, which the detestable politeness of the vulgar fop seemed to make all the more emphatic,

petrified the poor mother, who fell into a chair beside the Abbe Goujet, clasped her hands and began to pray.

"Where did you arrest that blubber?" asked Corentin, addressing the corporal and pointing to Laurence's little

"On the road that leads to the farm along the park walls; the little scamp had nearly reached the Closeaux

"Is that boy the groom, and the girl the maid of the citizeness Cinq Cygne?" said Corentin to the mayor.

After Corentin had exchanged a few words with Peyrade in a whisper, the latter left the room, taking the

Just then the corporal of Arcis made his appearance. He went up to Corentin and spoke to him in a low voice:

"I know these premises well," he said; "I have searched everywhere; unless those young fellows are buried,

they are not here. We have sounded all the floors and walls with the butt end of our muskets."

Peyrade, who presently returned, signed to Corentin to come out, and then took him to the breach in the moat

"And I'll tell you how it was done," added Corentin. "That little scamp and the girl decoyed those idiots of

"We can't know the truth till daylight," said Peyrade. "The road is damp; I have ordered two gendarmes to

barricade it top and bottom. We'll examine it after daylight, and find out by the footsteps who went that way."

"How many horses do you keep?" said Peyrade, returning to the salon with Corentin, and addressing

"Come, monsieur le maire, you know, answer," cried Corentin, seeing that that functionary hesitated.

"Why, there's the countess's mare, Gothard's horse, and Monsieur d'Hauteserre's."

"Does she often ride about at this time of night?" said the libertine Peyrade, addressing Monsieur

"Everybody knows she has her freaks," remarked Catherine; "she looked at the sky before she went to bed,

and I think the glitter of your bayonets in the moonlight puzzled her. She told me she wanted to know if there

The gendarme looked towards Corentin as if expecting an order. But Gothard's speech was evidently so true

and yet so false, so perfectly innocent and so artful that the two Parisians again looked at each other as if to

Monsieur d'Hauteserre seemed incapable of a word; the mayor was bewildered; the mother, imbecile from

maternal fears, was putting questions to the police agents that were idiotically innocent; the servants had been

roused from their sleep. Judging by these trifling signs, and these diverse characters, Corentin came to the

conclusion that his only real adversary was Mademoiselle de CinqCygne. Shrewd and dexterous as the

police may be, they are always under certain disadvantages. Not only are they forced to discover all that is

known to a conspirator, but they must also suppose and test a great number of things before they hit upon the

right one. The conspirator is always thinking of his own safety, whereas the police is only on duty at certain

hours. Were it not for treachery and betrayals, nothing would be easier than to conspire successfully. The

conspirator has more mind concentrated upon himself than the police can bring to bear with all its vast

facilities of action. Finding themselves stopped short morally, as they might be physically by a door which

they expected to find open being shut in their faces, Corentin and Peyrade saw they were tricked and misled,

"I assert," said the corporal of Arcis, in their ear, "that if the four young men slept here last night it must have

been in the beds of their father and mother, and Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, or those of the servants; or

they must have spent the night in the park. There is not a trace of their presence."

"Who could have warned them?" said Corentin, to Peyrade. "No one but the First Consul, Fouche, the

"And watch the spies," said the abbe, who smiled as he overheard the word and guessed all.

"Good God!" thought Corentin, replying to the abbe's smile with one of his own; "there is but one intelligent

"Gentlemen" said the mayor, anxious to give some proof of devotion to the First Consul and addressing

"Say 'citizens'; the Republic still exists," interrupted Corentin, looking at the priest with a quizzical air.

"Citizens," resumed the mayor, "just as I entered this salon and before I had opened my mouth Catherine

A low murmur of horror came from the breasts of all the household except Gothard. All eyes but those of the

agent and the gendarmes were turned threateningly on Goulard, the informer, seeming to dart flames at him.

"Very good, citizen mayor," said Peyrade. "We see it all plainly. Some one" (this with a glance of evident

"Corporal, handcuff that boy," said Corentin, to the gendarme, "and take him away by himself. And shut up

that girl, too," pointing to Catherine. "As for you, Peyrade, search for papers," adding in his ear, "Ransack

everything, spare nothing.Monsieur l'abbe," he said, confidentially, "I have an important communication to

"Listen to me attentively, monsieur," he went on; "you seem to have the mind of a bishop, and (no one can

hear us) you will understand me. I have no longer any hope except through you of saving these families, who,

with the greatest folly, are letting themselves roll down a precipice where no one can save them. The

Messieurs Simeuse and d'Hauteserre have been betrayed by one of those infamous spies whom governments

introduce into all conspiracies to learn their objects, means, and members. Don't confound me, I beg of you,

with the wretch who is with me. He belongs to the police; but I am honorably attached to the Consular

cabinet, I am therefore behind the scenes. The ruin of the Simeuse brothers is not desired. Though Malin

would like to see them shot, the First Consul, if they are here and have come without evil intentions, wishes

them to be warned out of danger, for he likes good soldiers. The agent who accompanies me has all the

powers, I, apparently, am nothing. But I see plainly what is hatching. The agent is pledged to Malin, who has

doubtless promised him his influence, an office, and perhaps money if he finds the Simeuse brothers and

delivers them up. The First Consul, who is a really great man, never favors selfish schemesI don't want to

know if those young men are here," he added, quickly, observing the abbe's gesture, "but I wish to tell you

that there is only one way to save them. You know the law of the 6th Floreal, year X., which amnestied all

the emigres who were still in foreign countries on condition that they returned home before the 1st

Vendemiaire of the year XI., that is to say, in September of last year. But the Messieurs Simeuse having, like

the Messieurs d'Hauteserre, served in the army of Conde, they come into the category of exceptions to this

law. Their presence in France is therefore criminal, and suffices, under the circumstances in which we are, to

make them suspected of collusion in a horrible plot. The First Consul saw the error of this exception which

has made enemies for his government, and he wishes the Messieurs Simeuse to know that no steps will be

taken against them, if they will send him a petition saying that they have reentered France intending to

submit to the laws, and agreeing to take oath to the Constitution. You can understand that the document ought

to be in my hands before they are arrested, and be dated some days earlier. I would then be the bearer of itI

do not ask you where those young men are," he said again, seeing another gesture of denial from the priest.

"We are, unfortunately, sure of finding them; the forest is guarded, the entrances to Paris and the frontiers are

all watched. Pray listen to me; if these gentlemen are between the forest and Paris they must be taken; if they

are in Paris they will be found; if they retreat to the frontier they will still be arrested. The First Consul likes

the cidevants, and cannot endure the republicanssimple enough; if he wants a throne he must needs

strangle Liberty. Keep the matter a secret between us. This is what I will do; I will stay here till tomorrow

and be blind; but beware of the agent; that cursed Provencal is the devil's own valet; he has the ear of Fouche

"If the Messieurs Simeuse are here," said the abbe, "I would give ten pints of my blood and my right arm to

save them; but if Mademoiselle de CinqCygne is in the secret she has notand this I swear on my eternal

salvationbetrayed it in any way, neither has she done me the honor to consult me. I am now very glad of

her discretion, if discretion there be. We played cards last night as usual, at boston, in almost complete

silence, until halfpast ten o'clock, and we neither saw nor heard anything. Not a child can pass through this

solitary valley without the whole community knowing it, and for the last two weeks no one has come from

other places. Now the d'Hauteserre and the Simeuse brothers would make a party of four. Old d'Hauteserre

and his wife have submitted to the present government, and they have made all imaginable efforts to persuade

their sons to return to France; they wrote to them again yesterday. I can only say, upon my soul and

conscience, that your visit has alone shaken my firm belief that these young men are living in Germany.

Between ourselves, there is no one here, except the young countess, who does not do justice to the eminent

"Fox!" thought Corentin. "Well, if those young men are shot," he said, aloud; "it is because their friends have

He had led the abbe to a part of the garden which lay in the moonlight, and as he said the last words he

looked at him suddenly. The priest was greatly distressed, but his manner was that of a man surprised and

"Understand this, monsieur l'abbe," resumed Corentin; "the right of these young men to the estate of

Gondreville will render them doubly criminal in the eyes of the middle class. I'd like to see them put faith in

"Base, odious, cowardly, and so contrary to the generous spirit of the nation," replied Corentin, "that it will

"Monsieur l'abbe," replied Corentin, "let me tell you this; there is for us (meaning you and me) proof positive

of her guilt; but there is not enough for the law. You see she took flight when we came; I sent the mayor to

"Yes, but for one who is so anxious to save them, you followed rather closely on his heels," said the abbe.

At those words the two men looked at each other, and all was said. Each belonged to those profound

anatomists of thought to whom a mere inflexion of the voice, a look, a word suffices to reveal a soul, just as

"I expected to draw something out of him, and I have only betrayed myself," thought Corentin.

Midnight rang from the old church clock just as Corentin and the abbe reentered the salon. The opening and

shutting of doors and closets could be heard from the bedrooms above. The gendarmes pulled open the beds;

Peyrade, with the quick perception of a spy, handled and sounded everything. Such desecration excited both

fear and indignation among the faithful servants of the house, who still stood motionless about the salon.

Monsieur d'Hauteserre exchanged looks of commiseration with his wife and Mademoiselle Goujet. A species

of horrible curiosity kept every one on the qui vive. Peyrade at length came down, holding in his hand a

sandalwood box which had probably been brought from China by Admiral de Simeuse. This pretty casket

"I've an idea!" he said, "that Michu, who was ready to pay Marion eight hundred thousand francs in gold for

Gondreville, and who evidently meant to shoot Malin yesterday, is the man who is helping the Simeuse

brothers. His motive in threatening Marion and aiming at Malin must be the same. I thought when I saw him

that he was capable of ideas; evidently he has but one; he discovered what was going on and he must have

"Probably Malin talked about the conspiracy to his friend the notary, and Michu from his ambush overheard

what was said," remarked Corentin, continuing the inductions of his colleague. "No doubt he has only

postponed his shot to prevent an evil he thinks worse than the loss of Gondreville."

"He knew what we were the moment he laid eyes on us," said Peyrade. "I thought then that he was amazingly

"That proves that he is always on his guard," replied Corentin. "But, mind you, my old man, don't let us make

a mistake. Treachery stinks in the nostrils, and primitive folks do scent it from afar."

"Call the corporal of Arcis," cried Corentin to one of the gendarmes. "I shall send him at once to Michu's

"We started without getting news from him. Two of us are not enough; we ought to have had Sabatier with

usCorporal," he said, when the gendarme appeared, taking him aside with Peyrade, "don't let them fool

you as they did the Troyes corporal just now. We think Michu is in this business. Go to his house, put your

"One of my men heard horses in the forest just as they arrested the little groom; I've four fine fellows now on

He left the room, and the gallop of his horse which echoed on the paved courtyard died rapidly away.

"One thing is certain," said Corentin to himself, "either they have gone to Paris or they are retreating to

He sat down, pulled a notebook from the pocket of his spencer, wrote two orders in pencil, sealed them, and

"Be off at full gallop to Troyes, wake up the prefect, and tell him to start the telegraph as soon as there's light

The gendarme departed. The meaning of this movement and Corentin's intentions were so evident that the

hearts of the household sank within them; but this new anxiety was additional to another that was now

martyrizing them; their eyes were fixed on the sandalwood box! All the while the two agents were talking

together they were each taking note of those eager looks. A sort of cold anger stirred the unfeeling hearts of

these men who relished the power of inspiring terror. The police man has the instincts and emotions of a

hunter: but where the one employs his powers of mind and body in killing a hare, a partridge, or a deer, the

other is thinking of saving the State, or a king, and of winning a large reward. So the hunt for men is superior

to the other class of hunting by all the distance that there is between animals and human beings. Moreover, a

spy is forced to lift the part he plays to the level and the importance of the interests to which he is bound.

Without looking further into this calling, it is easy to see that the man who follows it puts as much passionate

ardor into his chase as another man does into the pursuit of game. Therefore the further these men advanced

in their investigations the more eager they became; but the expression of their faces and their eyes continued

calm and cold, just as their ideas, their suspicions, and their plans remained impenetrable. To any one who

watched the effects of the moral scent, if we may so call it, of these bloodhounds on the track of hidden facts,

and who noted and understood the movements of canine agility which led them to strike the truth in their

rapid examination of probabilities, there was in it all something actually horrifying. How and why should

men of genius fall so low when it was in their power to be so high? What imperfection, what vice, what

passion debases them? Does a man become a policeagent as he becomes a thinker, writer, statesmen,

painter, general, on the condition of knowing nothing but how to spy, as the others speak, write, govern,

paint, and fight? The inhabitants of the chateau had but one wish, that the thunderbolts of heaven might

fall upon these miscreants; they were athirst for vengeance; and had it not been for the presence, up to this

"No one, I suppose, has the key of this box?" said the cynical Peyrade, questioning the family as much by the

The Provencal noticed, not without fear, that the guards were no longer present; he and Corentin were alone

with the family. The younger man drew a small dagger from his pocket, and began to force the lock of the

box. Just then the desperate galloping of a horse was heard upon the road and then upon the pavement by the

lawn; but most horrible of all was the fall and sighing of the animal, which seemed to drop all at once at the

door of the middle tower. A convulsion like that which a thunderbolt might produce shook the spectators

when Laurence, the trailing of whose ridinghabit announced her coming, entered the room. The servants

In spite of her rapid ride, the girl had felt the full anguish the discovery of the conspiracy must needs cause

her. All her hopes were overthrown! she had galloped through ruins as her thoughts turned to the necessity of

submission to the Consular government. Were it not for the danger which threatened the four gentlemen, and

which served as a tonic to conquer her weariness and her despair, she would have dropped asleep on the way.

The mare was almost killed in her haste to reach the chateau, and stand between her cousins and death. As all

present looked at the heroic girl, pale, her features drawn, her veil aside, her whip in her hand, standing on the

threshold of the door, whence her burning glance grasped the whole scene and comprehended it, each knew

from the almost imperceptible motion which crossed the soured and bittered face of Corentin, that the real

Noticing the box, now in the hands of Corentin, the countess raised her whip and sprang rapidly towards him.

Striking his hands with so violent a blow that the casket fell to the ground, she seized it, flung it into the

middle of the fire, and stood with her back to the chimney in a threatening attitude before either of the agents

recovered from their surprise. The scorn which flamed from her eyes, her pale brow, her disdainful lips, were

even more insulting than the haughty action which treated Corentin as though he were a venomous reptile.

Old d'Hauteserre felt himself once more a cavalier; all his blood rushed to his face, and he grieved that he had

no sword. The servants trembled for an instant with joy. The vengeance they had called down upon these men

had come. But their joy was driven back within their souls by a terrible fear; the gendarmes were still heard

The spynoun of strength, under which all shades of the police are confounded, for the public has never

chosen to specify in language the varieties of those who compose this dispensary of social remedies so

essential to all governmentsthe spy has this curious and magnificent quality: he never becomes angry; he

possesses the Christian humility of a priest; his eyes are stolid with an indifference which he holds as a

barrier against the world of fools who do not understand him; his forehead is adamant under insult; he

pursues his ends like a reptile whose carapace is fractured only by a cannonball; but (like that reptile) he is all

the more furious when the blow does reach him, because he believed his armor invulnerable. The lash of the

whip upon his fingers was to Corentin, pain apart, the cannonball that cracked the shell. Coming from that

magnificent and noble girl, this action, emblematic of her disgust, humiliated him, not only in the eyes of the

Peyrade sprang to the hearth, caught Laurence's foot, raised it, and compelled her, out of modesty, to throw

herself on the sofa, where she had lately lain asleep. The scene, like other contrasts in human things, was

burlesque in the midst of terror. Peyrade scorched his hand as he dashed it into the fire to seize the box; but

he got it, threw it on the floor and sat down upon it. These little actions were done with great rapidity and

without a word being uttered. Corentin, recovering from the pain of the blow, caught Mademoiselle de Cinq

"Do not compel me to use force against you," he said, with withering politeness.

Peyrade's action had extinguished the fire by the natural process of suppressing the air.

"Will you promise to behave yourself?" said Corentin, insolently, addressing Laurence, and picking up his

"The secrets of that box do not concern the government," she answered, with a tinge of melancholy in her

tone and manner. "When you have read the letters it contains you will, in spite of your infamy, feel ashamed

of having read themthat is, if you can still feel shame at anything," she added, after a pause.

Peyrade rose. The bottom of the box, which had been nearly burned through, left a mark upon the floor; the

lid was scorched and the sides gave way. The grotesque Scaevola, who had offered to the god of the Police

and Terror the seat of his apricot breeches, opened the two sides of the box as if it had been a book, and slid

three letters and two locks of hair upon the cardtable. He was about to smile at Corentin when he perceived

that the locks were of two shades of gray. Corentin released Mademoiselle de CinqCygne's hands and went

Laurence rose, moved to the table beside the spies, and said:"Read it aloud; that shall be your

As the two men continued to read to themselves, she herself read out the following words:

Dear Laurence,My husband and I have heard of your noble conduct on the day of our arrest. We know that

you love our dear twins as much, almost, as we love them ourselves. Therefore it is with you that we leave a

token which will be both precious and sad to them. The executioner has come to cut our hair, for we are to

die in a few moments; he has promised to put into your hands the only remembrance we are able to leave to

our beloved orphans. Keep these last remains of us and give them to our sons in happier days. We have

kissed these locks of hair and have laid our blessing upon them. Our last thought will be of our sons, of you,

Laurence looked at the agents with a petrifying glance and said, in a firm voice:

Corentin quietly folded the hair in the letter, laid the letter aside on the table, and put a box of counters on the

top of it as if to prevent its blowing away. His coolness in the midst of the general emotion was horrible.

"Oh, as for those," said Laurence, "they are very much alike. You hear the will; you can now hear of its

My dear Laurence,I love you for life, and I wish you to know it. But you ought also to know, in case I die,

that my brother, Paul Marie, loves you as much as I love you. My only consolation in dying would be the

thought that you might some day make my brother your husband without being forced to see me die of

jealousywhich must surely happen if, both of us being alive, you preferred him to me. After all, that

My kind Laurence,My heart is sad; but MariePaul has a gayer nature, and will please you more than I am

able to do. Some day you will have to choose between uswell, though I love you passionately

"You are corresponding with emigres," said Peyrade, interrupting Laurence, and holding the letters between

himself and the light to see if they contained between the lines any treasonable writing with invisible ink.

"Yes," replied Laurence, folding the precious letters, the paper of which was already yellow with time. "But

by virtue of what right do you presume to violate my dwelling and my personal liberty?"

"Ah, that's the point!" cried Peyrade. "By what right, indeed!it is time to let you know it, beautiful

aristocrat," he added, taking a warrant from his pocket, which came from the minister of justice and was

countersigned by the minister of the interior. "See, the authorities have their eye upon you."

"We might also ask you," said Corentin, in her ear, "by what right you harbor in this house the assassins of

the First Consul. You have applied your whip to my hands in a manner that authorizes me to take my revenge

At the mere movement of her lips and the glance which Laurence cast upon Corentin, the abbe guessed what

that great artist was saying, and he made her a sign to be distrustful, which no one intercepted but Goulard.

She took a pin, pushed the head of one of the carved figures, and the two halves of the top, joined by a spring,

opened. In the hollow half lay miniatures of the Messieurs de Simeuse, in the uniform of the army of Conde,

two portraits on ivory done in Germany. Corentin, who felt himself in presence of an adversary worthy of his

"How could you throw that into the fire?" said the abbe, speaking to Laurence and pointing to the letter of the

For all answer the young girl shrugged her shoulders significantly. The abbe comprehended then that she had

made the sacrifice to mislead the agents and gain time; he raised his eyes to heaven with a gesture of

"Where did they arrest Gothard, whom I hear crying?" she asked him, loud enough to be overheard.

"No," said Corentin; "that girl never trusted her cousins' safety to a farmer. She is playing with us. Do as I tell

you, so that we mayn't have to leave here without detecting something, after committing the great blunder of

Corentin stationed himself before the fire, lifting the long pointed skirts of his coat to warm himself and

"Mesdames, you can go to bed, and the servants also. Monsieur le maire, your services are no longer needed.

The sternness of our orders does not permit us to act otherwise than as we have done; but as soon as the

walls, which seem to me rather thick, have been thoroughly examined, we shall take our departure."

The mayor bowed to the company and retired; but neither the abbe nor Mademoiselle Goujet stirred. The

servants were too uneasy not to watch the fate of their young mistress. Madame d'Hauteserre, who, from the

moment of Laurence's entrance, had studied her with the anxiety of a mother, rose, took her by the arm, led

"Do you think I could have let your sons be under this roof without your knowing it?" replied Laurence.

"Durieu," she added, "see if it is possible to save my poor Stella; she is still breathing."

"Forty miles in three hours," she answered, addressing the abbe, who watched her with amazement. "I started

"No," she said. "I admit that my cousins, in their perfect innocence, expected not to be excluded from the

amnesty, and were on their way to CinqCygne. When I found that the Sieur Malin was plotting to injure

them, I went to warn them to return to Germany, where they will be before the telegraph can have guarded

This answer, which Laurence had carefully considered, was so probable in all its parts that Corentin's

convictions were shaken. In that decisive moment, when every soul present hung suspended, as it were, on

the faces of the two adversaries, and all eyes turned from Corentin to Laurence and from Laurence to

Corentin, again the gallop of a horse, coming from the forest, resounded on the road and from there through

Peyrade entered, his eyes gleaming with joy. He went hastily to Corentin and said, loud enough for the

Laurence, to whom the agony, fatigue, and tension of all her intellectual faculties had given an unusual color,

turned white and fell back almost fainting on a chair. Madame Durieu, Mademoiselle Goujet, and Madame

d'Hauteserre sprang to help her, for she was suffocating. She signed to cut the frogging of her habit.

"Duped!" said Corentin to Peyrade. "I am certain now they are on their way to Paris. Change the orders."

They left the room and the house, placing one gendarme on guard at the door of the salon. The infernal

cleverness of the two men had gained a terrible advantage by taking Laurence in the trap of a not uncommon

At six o'clock in the morning, as day was dawning, Corentin and Peyrade returned. Having explored the

covered way they were satisfied that horses had passed through it to reach the forest. They were now awaiting

the report of the captain of gendarmerie sent to reconnoitre the neighborhood. Leaving the chateau in charge

of a corporal, they went to the tavern at CinqCygne to get their breakfast, giving orders that Gothard, who

never ceased to reply to all questions with a burst of tears, should be set at liberty, also Catherine, who still

continued silent and immovable. Catherine and Gothard went to the salon to kiss the hands of their mistress,

who lay exhausted on the sofa; Durieu also went in to tell her that Stella would recover, but needed great

The mayor, uneasy and inquisitive, met Peyrade and Corentin in the village. He declared that he could not

allow such important officials to breakfast in a miserable tavern, and he took them to his own house. The

abbey was only three quarters of a mile distant. On the way, Peyrade remarked that the corporal of Arcis had

"We are dealing with very able people," said Corentin; "they are stronger than we. The priest no doubt has a

Just as the mayor's wife was ushering her guests into a vast dining room (without any fire) the lieutenant of

"We met the horse of the corporal of Arcis in the forest without his master," he said to Peyrade.

"Lieutenant," cried Corentin, "go instantly to Michu's house and find out what is going on there. They must

This news interfered with the mayor's breakfast. Corentin and Peyrade swallowed their food with the rapidity

of hunters halting for a meal, and drove back to the chateau in their wicker carriage, so as to be ready to start

at the first call for any point where their presence might be necessary. When the two men reappeared in the

salon into which they had brought such trouble, terror, grief, and anxiety, they found Laurence, in a

dressinggown, Monsieur d'Hauteserre and his wife, the abbe and his sister, sitting round the fire, to all

"If they had caught Michu," Laurence told herself, "they would have brought him with them. I have the

mortification of knowing that I was not the mistress of myself, and that I threw some light upon the matter for

those wretches; but the harm can be undoneHow long are we to be your prisoners?" she asked

"How can she know anything about Michu? No one from the outside has got near the chateau; she is laughing

"We shall not inconvenience you long," replied Corentin. "In three hours from now we shall offer our regrets

No one replied. This contemptuous silence redoubled Corentin's inward rage. Laurence and the abbe (the two

minds of their little world) had talked the man over and drawn their conclusions. Gothard and Catherine had

set the breakfasttable near the fire and the abbe and his sister were sharing the meal. Neither masters nor

servants paid the slightest attention to the two spies, who walked up and down the garden, the courtyard or

"I found the corporal," he said to Corentin, "lying in the road which leads from the pavilion of CinqCygne

to the farm at Bellache. He has no wound, only a bad contusion of the head, caused, apparently, by his fall.

He told me he had been lifted suddenly off his horse and flung so violently to the ground that he could not

discover how the thing was done. His feet left the stirrups, which was lucky, for he might have been killed by

"He is bargaining with Violette about the sale of some land," said the lieutenant. "They seemed to me drunk;

and it's no wonder, for they have been drinking all night and discussing the matter, and they haven't come to

"Nothing is right if we don't attend to it ourselves!" cried Peyrade, looking at Corentin, who doubted the

"At what hour did you get to Michu's house?" asked Corentin, noticing that the countess had glanced at the

Laurence covered Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre and the abbe and his sister in one comprehensive

glance, which made them fancy they were wrapped in an azure mantle; triumph sparkled in her eyes, she

blushed, and the tears welled up beneath her lids. Strong under all misfortunes, the girl knew not how to weep

except from joy. At this moment she was all glorious, especially to the priest, who was sometimes distressed

by the virility of her character, and who now caught a glimpse of the infinite tenderness of her woman's

nature. But such feelings lay in her soul like a treasure hidden at a great depth beneath a block of granite.

Just then a gendarme entered the salon to ask if he might bring in Michu's son, sent by his father to speak to

the gentlemen from Paris. Corentin gave an affirmative nod. Francois Michu, a sly little chip of the old block,

was in the courtyard, where Gothard, now at liberty, got a chance to speak to him for an instant under the

eyes of a gendarme. The little fellow managed to slip something into Gothard's hand without being detected,

and the latter glided into the salon after him till he reached his mistress, to whom he stealthily conveyed both

halves of the weddingring, a sure sign, she knew, that Michu had met the four gentlemen and put them in

"My papa wants to know what he's to do with the corporal, who ain't doing well," said Francois.

"It's his headhe pitched down hard on the ground," replied the boy. "For a gindarme who knows how to

ride it was bad luckI suppose the horse stumbled. He's got a holemy! as big as your fistin the back of

his head. Seems as if he must have hit some big stone, poor man! He may be a gindarme, but he suffers all

The captain of the gendarmerie now arrived and dismounted in the courtyard. Corentin threw up the window,

"We are back like the Dutchmen! We found nothing but five dead horses, their coats stiff with sweat, in the

middle of the forest. I have kept them to find out where they came from and who owns them. The forest is

"Don't let a hare leave that forest without your seeing it," whispered Corentin. "I'll station Peyrade at the

village to help you; I am going to see the corporal myselfGo to the mayor's house," he added, still

whispering, to Peyrade. "I'll send some able man to relieve you. We shall have to make use of the

countrypeople; examine all faces." He turned towards the family and said in a threatening tone, "Au revoir!"

"What would Fouche say if he knew we had made a domiciliary visit without getting any results?" remarked

"It isn't over yet," replied the other, "those four young men are in the forest. Look there!" and he pointed to

Laurence who was watching them from a window. "I once revenged myself on a woman who was worth a

dozen of that one and had stirred my bile a good deal less. If this girl comes in the way of my hatchet I'll pay

"What difference is that to me? All's fish that swims in the sea," replied Corentin, signing to the gendarme

"How did they get rid of the corporal?" said Laurence to Francois Michu, whom she had ordered to sit down

"My father told me it was a matter of life and death and I mustn't let anybody get into our house," replied the

boy. "I knew when I heard the horses in the forest that I'd got to do with them hounds of gindarmes, and I

meant to keep 'em from getting in. So I took some big ropes that were in my garret and fastened one of 'em to

a tree at the corner of the road. Then I drew the rope high enough to hit the breast of a man on horseback, and

tied it to the tree on the opposite side of the way in the direction where I heard the horses. That barred the

road. It didn't miss fire, I can tell you! There was no moon, and the corporal just pitched!but he wasn't

"You have saved us!" said Laurence, kissing him as she took him to the gate. When there, she looked about

"I have just taken them twelve pounds of bread and four bottles of wine," said the boy. "They'll be snug for a

Returning to the salon, the girl was beset with mute questions in the eyes of all, each of whom looked at her

The countess put a finger on her lips and smiled; then she left the room and went to bed; her triumph sure,

The shortest road from CinqCygne to Michu's lodge was that which led from the village past the farm at

Bellache to the rondpoint where the Parisian spies had first seen Michu on the preceding evening. The

gendarme who was driving Corentin took this way, which was the one the corporal of Arcis had taken. As

they drove along, the agent was on the lookout for signs to show why the corporal had been unhorsed. He

blamed himself for having sent but one man on so important an errand, and he drew from this mistake an

"If they have got rid of the corporal," he said to himself, "they have done as much by Violette. Those five

horses have evidently brought the four conspirators and Michu from the neighborhood of Paris to the forest.

Has Michu a horse?" he inquired of the gendarme who was driving him and who belonged to the squad from

"Yes, and a famous little horse it is," answered the man, "a hunter from the stables of the cidevant Marquis

de Simeuse. There's no better beast, though it is nearly fifteen years old. Michu can ride him fifty miles and

he won't turn a hair. He takes mighty good care of him and wouldn't sell him at any price."

"He's brown, turning rather to black; white stockings above the hoofs, thin, all nerves like an Arab."

"In Egyptlast year. I've ridden the horses of the mamelukes. We have to serve twelve years in the cavalry,

and I was on the Rhine under General Steingel, after that in Italy, and then I followed the First Consul to

"When I get to Michu's house go to the stable; if you have served twelve years in the cavalry you know when

"See! that's where our corporal was thrown," said the man, pointing to a spot where the road they were

"Tell the captain to come and pick me up at Michu's, and I'll go with him to Troyes."

So saying Corentin got down, and stood about for a few minutes examining the ground. He looked at the two

elms which faced each other,one against the park wall, the other on the bank of the rond point; then he

saw (what no one had yet noticed) the button of a uniform lying in the dust, and he picked it up. Entering the

lodge he saw Violette and Michu sitting at the table in the kitchen and talking eagerly. Violette rose, bowed

"Thank you, no; I came to see the corporal," said the young man, who saw with half a glance that Violette

"Well, corporal, how are you?" said Corentin who had run up the stairs and found the gendarme with his head

bandaged, and lying on Madame Michu's bed; his hat, sabre, and shoulderbelt on a chair.

Marthe, faithful in her womanly instincts, and knowing nothing of her son's prowess, was giving all her care

"We expect Monsieur Varlet the doctor from Arcis," she said to Corentin; "our servantlad has gone to fetch

"Leave us alone for a moment," said Corentin, a good deal surprised at the scene, which amply proved the

innocence of the two women. "Where were you struck?" he asked the man, examining his uniform.

On the yellow band with a white edge, which a recent regulation had made part of the equipment of the guard

now called National, was a metal plate a good deal like that of the foresters, on which the law required the

inscription of these remarkable words: "Respect to persons and to properties." Francois's rope had struck the

belt and defaced it. Corentin took up the coat and found the place where the button he had picked up upon the

"Did they bring you up here at once?" said Corentin, noticing that the bed had not been slept in.

"So!" thought Corentin: "evidently they didn't go to bed. The corporal was not shot at, nor struck by any

weapon, for an assailant must have been at his own height to strike a blow. Something, some obstacle, was in

his way and that unhorsed him. A piece of wood? not possible! an iron chain? that would have left marks.

"I have it!" cried Corentin; "somebody tied a rope from tree to tree to bar the way."

"Come, you old rascal," Michu was saying to Violette, "let's make an end of this. One hundred thousand

francs for the place, and you are master of my whole property. I shall retire on my income."

"But don't I offer you time to pay the rest? You've kept me here since yesterday, arguing it. The land is in

"Haven't you drunk enough?" called down Marthe's mother. "This is the fourteenth bottle since nine o'clock

"You have been here since nine o'clock this morning, haven't you?" said Corentin to Violette.

"No, beg your pardon, since last night I haven't left the place, and I've gained nothing after all; the more he

A dozen empty bottles ranged along the table proved the truth of the old woman's words. Just then the

gendarme who had driven him made a sign to Corentin, who went to the door to speak to him.

"You sent your boy on horseback to the chateau, didn't you?" said Corentin, returning to the kitchen. "Will he

"The gun which you were loading yesterday at four o'clock you meant to use in murdering the Councillor of

State; but we can't take you up for thatplenty of intention, but no witnesses. You managed, I don't know

how, to stupefy Violette, and you and your wife and that young rascal of yours spent the night out of doors to

warn Mademoiselle de Cinq Cygne and save her cousins, whom you are hiding here,though I don't as yet

know where. Your son or your wife threw the corporal off his horse cleverly enough. Well, you've got the

better of us just now; you're a devil of a fellow. But the end is not yet, and you won't have the last word.

"Come this way, where we can talk without being overheard," said Michu, leading the way through the park

When Corentin saw the water he looked fixedly at Michu, who was no doubt reckoning on his physical

strength to fling the spy into seven feet of mud below three feet of water. Michu replied with a look that was

not less fixed. The scene was absolutely as if a cold and flabby boa constrictor had defied one of those tawny,

"I am not thirsty," said Corentin, stopping short at the edge of the field and putting his hand into his pocket to

"If the law can't see any clearer than you, there's danger to every one," said the bailiff.

"I'd rather have my head cut off a thousand times, if that could be done, than come to an agreement with such

Corentin got into his vehicle hastily, after one more comprehensive look at Michu, the lodge, and Couraut,

who barked at him. He gave certain orders in passing through Troyes, and then returned to Paris. All the

brigades of gendarmerie in the neighborhood received secret instructions and special orders.

During the months of December, January, and February the search was active and incessant, even in remote

villages. Spies were in all the taverns. Corentin learned some important facts: a horse like that of Michu had

been found dead in the neighborhood of Lagny; the five horses burned in the forest of Nodesme had been

sold, for five hundred francs each, by farmers and millers to a man who answered to the description of

Michu. When the decree against the accomplices and harborers of Georges was put in force Corentin

confined his search to the forest of Nodesme. After Moreau, the royalists, and Pichegru were arrested no

Michu lost his situation at that time; the notary of Arcis brought him a letter in which Malin, now made

senator, requested Grevin to settle all accounts with the bailiff and dismiss him. Michu asked and obtained a

formal discharge and became a free man. To the great astonishment of the neighborhood he went to live at

CinqCygne, where Laurence made him the farmer of all the reserved land about the chateau. The day of his

installation as farmer coincided with the fatal day of the death of the Duc d'Enghien, when nearly the whole

of France heard at the same time of the arrest, trial, condemnation, and death of the prince,terrible

While the new farmhouse was being built Michu the Judas, socalled, and his family occupied the rooms

over the stables at CinqCygne on the side of the chateau next to the famous breach. He bought two horses,

one for himself and one for Francois, and they both joined Gothard in accompanying Mademoiselle de

CinqCygne in her many rides, which had for their object, as may well be imagined, the feeding of the four

gentlemen and perpetual watching that they were still in safety. Francois and Gothard, assisted by Couraut

and the countess's dogs, went in front and beat the woods all around the hidingplace to make sure that there

was no one within sight. Laurence and Michu carried the provisions which Marthe, her mother, and Catherine

prepared, unknown to the other servants of the household so as to restrict the secret to themselves, for all

were sure that there were spies in the village. These expeditions were never made oftener than twice a week

and on different days and at different hours, sometimes by day, sometimes by night.

These precautions lasted until the trial of Riviere, Polignac, and Moreau ended. When the senatusconsultum,

which called the dynasty of Bonaparte to the throne and nominated Napoleon as Emperor of the French, was

submitted to the French people for acceptance Monsieur d'Hauteserre signed the paper Goulard brought him.

When it was made known that the Pope would come to France to crown the Emperor, Mademoiselle de

CinqCygne no longer opposed the general desire that her cousins and the young d'Hauteserres should

petition to have their names struck off the list of emigres, and be themselves reinstated in their rights as

citizens. On this, old d'Hauteserre went to Paris and consulted the cidevant Marquis de Chargeboeuf who

knew Talleyrand. That minister, then in favor, conveyed the petition to Josephine, and Josephine gave it to

her husband, who was addressed as Emperor, Majesty, Sire, before the result of the popular vote was known.

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf, Monsieur d'Hauteserre, and the Abbe Goujet, who also went to Paris, obtained an

interview with Talleyrand, who promised them his support. Napoleon had already pardoned several of the

principal actors in the great royalist conspiracy; and yet, though the four gentlemen were merely suspected of

complicity, the Emperor, after a meeting of the Council of State, called the senator Malin, Fouche,

Talleyrand, Cambaceres, Lebrun, and Dubois, prefect of police, into his cabinet.

"Gentlemen," said the future Emperor, who still wore the dress of the First Consul, "we have received from

the Sieurs de Simeuse and d'Hauteserre, officers in the army of the Prince de Conde, a request to be allowed

"I think you have not met these gentlemen," said Malin, "for they are hidden in the forest of Nodesme, where

He was careful not to tell the First Consul and Fouche how he himself had given them warning, by talking

with Grevin within hearing of Michu, but he made the most of Corentin's reports and convinced Napoleon

that the four gentlemen were sharers in the plot of Riviere and Polignac, with Michu for an accomplice. The

"But how could that bailiff know that the conspiracy was discovered?" said the prefect, "for the Emperor and

"If they have been hidden in that forest for the last seven months and you have not been able to find them,"

"Since they are my enemies as well," said Malin, frightened by the Emperor's clearsightedness, "I desire to

follow the magnanimous example of your Majesty; I therefore make myself their advocate and ask that their

"They will be less dangerous to you here than if they are exiled; for they will now have to swear allegiance to

Talleyrand spoke to the Emperor for some minutes in a low voice. The reinstatement of the Messieurs de

Talleyrand, who had been urged by the Duc de Grandlieu, gave the Emperor pledges in the name of the

young men on their honor as gentlemen (a term which had great fascination for Napoleon), to abstain from all

attacks upon his Majesty and to submit themselves to his government in good faith.

"Messieurs d'Hauteserre and de Simeuse are not willing to bear arms against France, now that events have

taken their present course," he said, aloud; "they have little sympathy, it is true, with the Imperial

government, but they are just the men that your Majesty ought to conciliate. They will be satisfied to live on

Then he laid before the Emperor a letter he had received from the brothers in which these sentiments were

"Anything so frank is likely to be sincere," said the Emperor, returning the letter and looking at Lebrun and

"In your Majesty's interests," replied the future minister of police, "I ask to be allowed to inform these

gentlemen of their reinstatement when it is really granted," he added, in a louder tone.

The matter did not seem positively decided when the Council rose; but it had the effect of putting into

Napoleon's mind a vague distrust of the four young men. Monsieur d'Hauteserre, believing that all was

gained, wrote a letter announcing the good news. The family at Cinq Cygne were therefore not surprised

when, a few days later, Goulard came to inform the countess and Madame d'Hauteserre that they were to send

the four gentlemen to Troyes, where the prefect would show them the decree reinstating them in their rights

and administer to them the oath of allegiance to the Empire and the laws. Laurence replied that she would

Madame d'Hauteserre looked anxiously after Laurence, who left the room to consult Michu. Michu saw no

reason why the young men should not be released at once from their hidingplace. Laurence, Michu, his son,

and Gothard therefore started as soon as possible for the forest, taking an extra horse, for the countess

resolved to accompany her cousins to Troyes and return with them. The whole household, made aware of the

good news, gathered on the lawn to witness the departure of the happy cavalcade. The four young men issued

from their long confinement, mounted their horses, and took the road to Troyes, accompanied by

Mademoiselle CinqCygne. Michu, with the help of his son and Gothard, closed the entrance to the cellar,

and started to return home on foot. On the way he recollected that he had left the forks and spoons and a

silver cup, which the young men had been using, in the cave, and he went back for them alone. When he

reached the edge of the pond he heard voices, and went straight to the entrance of the cave through the

"Have you come for your silver?" said Peyrade, showing his big red nose through the branches.

Without knowing why, for at any rate his young masters were safe, Michu felt a sharp agony in all his joints,

so keen was the sense of vague, indefinable coming evil which took possession of him; but he went forward

"We are not very harsh," he said to Michu; "we might have seized your cidevants any day for the last week;

but we knew they were reinstated You're a tough fellow to deal with, and you gave us too much trouble

not to make us anxious to satisfy our curiosity about this hiding place of yours."

"If that puzzles you, old fellow," said Peyrade, laughing, "look at your horses' shoes, and you'll see that you

"Well, there need be no rancor!" said Corentin, whistling for the captain of gendarmerie and their horses.

"So that rascally Parisian blacksmith who shoed the horses in the English fashion and left CinqCygne only

the other day was their spy!" thought Michu. "They must have followed our tracks when the ground was

Michu consoled himself by thinking that the discovery was of no consequence, as the young men were now

safe, Frenchmen once more, and at liberty. Yet his first presentiment was a true one. The police, like the

Jesuits, have the one virtue of never abandoning their friends or their enemies.

Old d'Hauteserre returned from Paris and was more than surprised not to be the first to bring the news. Durieu

prepared a succulent dinner, the servants donned their best clothes, and the household impatiently awaited the

exiles, who arrived about four o'clock, happy,and yet humiliated, for they found they were to be under

police surveillance for two years, obliged to present themselves at the prefecture every month and ordered to

remain in the commune of CinqCygne during the said two years. "I'll send you the papers for signature," the

prefect said to them. "Then, in the course of a few months, you can ask to be relieved of these conditions,

These restrictions, fairly deserved, rather dispirited the young men, but Laurence laughed at them.

"The Emperor of the French," she said, "was badly brought up; he has not yet acquired the habit of bestowing

The party found all the inhabitants of the chateau at the gates, and a goodly proportion of the people of the

village waiting on the road to see the young men, whose adventures had made them famous throughout the

department. Madame d'Hauteserre held her sons to her breast for a long time, her face covered with tears; she

was unable to speak and remained silent, though happy, through a part of the evening. No sooner had the

Simeuse twins dismounted than a cry of surprise arose on all sides, caused by their amazing

resemblance,the same look, the same voice, the same actions. They both had the same movement in rising

from their saddles, in throwing their leg over the crupper of their horses when dismounting, in flinging the

reins upon the animal's neck. Their dress, precisely the same, contributed to this likeness. They wore boots a

la Suwaroff, made to fit the instep, tight trousers of white leather, green huntingjackets with metal buttons,

black cravats, and buckskin gloves. The two young men, just thirtyone years of age, wereto use a term in

vogue in those dayscharming cavaliers, of medium height but well set up, brilliant eyes with long lashes,

floating in liquid like those of children, black hair, noble brows, and olive skin. Their speech, gentle as that of

a woman, fell graciously from their fresh red lips; their manners, more elegant and polished than those of the

provincial gentlemen, showed that knowledge of men and things had given them that supplementary

Not lacking money, thanks to Michu, during their emigration, they had been able to travel and be received at

foreign courts. Old d'Hauteserre and the abbe thought them rather haughty; but in their present position this

may have been the sign of nobility of character. They possessed all the eminent little marks of a careful

education, to which they added a wonderful dexterity in bodily exercises. Their only dissimilarity was in the

region of ideas. The youngest charmed others by his gaiety, the eldest by his melancholy; but the contrast,

"Ah, wife," whispered Michu in Marthe's ear, "how could one help devoting one's self to those young

Marthe, who admired them as a wife and mother, nodded her head prettily and pressed her husband's hand.

During their seven months' seclusion in the forest (which the young men had brought upon themselves) they

had several times committed the imprudence of taking walks about their hidingplace, carefully guarded by

Michu, his son, and Gothard. During these walks, taken usually on starlit nights, Laurence, reuniting the

thread of their past and present lives, felt the utter impossibility of choosing between the brothers. A pure and

equal love for each divided her heart. She fancied indeed that she had two hearts. On their side, the brothers

dared not speak to themselves of their impending rivalry. Perhaps all three were trusting to time and accident.

The condition of her mind on this subject acted no doubt upon Laurence as they entered the house, for she

hesitated a moment, and then took an arm of each as she entered the salon followed by Monsieur and

Madame d'Hauteserre, who were occupied with their sons. Just then a cheer burst from the servants, "Long

live the CinqCygne and the Simeuse families!" Laurence turned round, still between the brothers, and made

When these nine persons came to actually observe each other,for in all meetings, even in the bosom of

families, there comes a moment when friends observe those from whom they have been long parted,the

first glance which Adrien d'Hauteserre cast upon Laurence seemed to his mother and to the abbe to betray

love. Adrien, the youngest of the d'Hauteserres, had a sweet and tender soul; his heart had remained

adolescent in spite of the catastrophes which had nerved the man. Like many young heroes, kept virgin in

spirit by perpetual peril, he was daunted by the timidities of youth. In this he was very different from his

brother, a man of rough manners, a great hunter, an intrepid soldier, full of resolution, but coarse in fibre and

without activity of mind or delicacy in matters of the heart. One was all soul, the other all action; and yet they

both possessed in the same degree that sense of honor which is the vital essence of a gentleman. Dark, short,

slim and wiry, Adrien d'Hauteserre gave an impression of strength; whereas Robert, who was tall, pale and

fair, seemed weakly. Adrien, nervous in temperament, was stronger in soul; while his brother though

lymphatic, was fonder of bodily exercise. Families often present these singularities of contrast, the causes of

which it might be interesting to examine; but they are mentioned here merely to explain how it was that

Adrien was not likely to find a rival in his brother. Robert's affection for Laurence was that of a relation, the

respect of a noble for a girl of his own caste. In matters of sentiment the elder d'Hauteserre belonged to the

class of men who consider woman as an appendage to man, limiting her sphere to the physical duties of

maternity; demanding perfection in that respect, but regarding her mentally as of no account. To such men the

admittance of woman as an actual sharer in society, in the body politic, in the family, meant the subversion of

the social system. In these days we are so far removed from this theory of primitive people that almost all

women, even those who do not desire the fatal emancipation offered by the new sects, will be shocked in

merely hearing of it; but it must be owned that Robert d'Hauteserre had the misfortune to think in that way.

Robert was a man of the middleages, Adrien a man of today. These differences instead of hindering their

affection had drawn its bonds the closer. On the first evening after the return of the young men these shades

of character were caught and understood by the abbe, Mademoiselle Goujet, and Madame d'Hauteserre, who,

while playing their boston, were secretly foreseeing the difficulties of the future.

At twentythree years of age, having passed through the many reflections of a long solitude and the anguish

of a defeated enterprise, Laurence had become a woman, and felt within her an absorbing desire for affection.

She now put forth all her graces of her mind and was charming; she revealed the hidden beauties of her

tender heart with the simple candor of a child. For the last thirteen years she had been a woman only through

suffering; she longed to obtain amends for it, and she showed herself as loving and winning as she had been,

The four elders, who were the last to leave the salon that night, admitted to each other that they felt uneasy at

the new position of this charming girl. What power might not passion have on a young woman of her

character and with her nobility of soul? The twin brothers loved her with one and the same love and a blind

devotion; which of the two would Laurence choose? To choose one was to kill the other. Countess in her own

right, she could bring her husband a title and certain prerogatives, together with a long lineage. Perhaps in

thinking of these advantages the elder of the twins, the Marquis de Simeuse, would sacrifice himself to give

Laurence to his brother, who, according to the old laws, was poor and without a title. But would the younger

brother deprive the elder of the happiness of having Laurence for a wife? At a distance, this strife of love and

generosity might do no harm,in fact, so long as the brothers were facing danger the chances of war might

end the difficulty; but what would be the result of this reunion? When MariePaul and PaulMarie reached

the age when passions rise to their greatest height could they share, as now, the looks and words and

attentions of their cousin? must there not inevitably arise a jealousy between them the consequences of which

might be horrible? What would then become of the unity of those beautiful lives, one in heart though twain in

body? To these questionings, passed from one to another as they finished their game, Madame d'Hauteserre

replied that in her opinion Laurence would not marry either of her cousins. The poor lady had experienced

that evening one of those inexplicable presentiments which are secrets between the mother's heart and God.

Laurence, in her inward consciousness, was not less alarmed at finding herself teteatete with her cousins.

To the active drama of conspiracy, to the dangers which the brothers had incurred, to the pain and penalties of

their exile, was now succeeding another sort of drama, of which she had never thought. This noble girl could

not resort to the violent means of refusing to marry either of the twins; and she was too honest a woman to

marry one and keep an irresistible passion for the other in her heart. To remain unmarried, to weary her

cousins' love by no decision, and then to take the one who was faithful to her in spite of her caprices, was a

solution of the difficulty not so much sought for by her as vaguely admitted. As she fell asleep that night she

told herself the wisest course to follow was to let things take their chance. Chance is, in love, the providence

The next morning Michu went to Paris, whence he returned a few days later with four fine horses for his new

masters. In six weeks' time the hunting would begin, and the young countess sagely reflected that the violent

excitements of that exercise would be a help against the teteatetes of the chateau. At first, however, an

unexpected result surprised the spectators of these strange loves and roused their admiration. Without any

premeditated agreement the brothers rivalled each other in attentions to Laurence, with a sense of pleasure in

so doing which appeared to suffice them. The relation between themselves and Laurence was just as fraternal

as that between themselves. What could be more natural? After so long an absence they felt the necessity of

studying her, of knowing her well and letting her know them, leaving to her the right of choice. They were

sustained in this first trial by the mutual affection which made their double life one and the same life.

Love, like their own mother, was unable to distinguish between the brothers. Laurence was obliged (in order

to know them apart and make no mistakes) to give them different cravatsto the elder a white one, to the

younger black. Without this perfect resemblance, this identity of life, which misled all about them, such a

situation would be justly thought impossible. It can, indeed, be explained only by the fact itself, which is one

of those which men do not believe in unless they see them; and then the mind is more bewildered by having

to explain them than by the actual sight which caused belief. If Laurence spoke, her voice echoed in two

hearts equally faithful and loving with one tone. Did she give utterance to an intelligent, or witty, or noble

thought, her glance encountered the delight expressed in two glances which followed her every movement,

interpreted her slightest wish, and beamed upon her ever with a new expression, gaiety in the one, tender

melancholy in the other. In any matter that concerned their mistress the brothers showed an admirable

quickwittedness of heart coupled with instant action which (to use the abbe's own expression) approached

the sublime. Often, if something had to be fetched, if it was a question of some little attention which men

delight to pay to a beloved woman, the elder would leave that pleasure to the younger with a look at Laurence

that was proud and tender. The younger, on the other hand, put all his own pride into paying such debts. This

rivalry of noble natures in a feeling which leads men often to the jealous ferocity of the beasts amazed the old

Such little details often drew tears to the eyes of the countess. A single sensation, which is perhaps

allpowerful in some rare organizations, will give an idea of Laurence's emotions; it may be perceived by

recalling the perfect unison of two fine voices (like those of Malibran and Sontag) in some harmonious duo,

or the blending of two instruments touched by the hand of genius, their melodious tones entering the soul like

the passionate sighing of one heart. Sometimes, seeing the Marquis de Simeuse buried in an armchair and

glancing from time to time with deepest melancholy at his brother and Laurence who were talking and

laughing, the abbe believed him capable of making the great sacrifice; presently, however, the priest would

see in the young man's eyes the flash of an unconquerable passion. Whenever either of the brothers found

himself alone with Laurence he might reasonably suppose himself the one preferred.

"I fancy then that there is but one of them," explained the countess to the abbe when he questioned her. That

answer showed the priest her total want of coquetry. Laurence did not conceive that she was loved by two

"But, my dear child," said Madame d'Hauteserre one evening (her own son silently dying of love for

Adrien d'Hauteserre buried within his breast the jealousy that was consuming him; he kept the secret of his

torture, aware of how little he could hope. He tried to be content with the happiness of seeing the charming

woman who during the few months this struggle lasted shone in all her brilliancy. In one sense Laurence had

become coquettish, taking that dainty care of her person which women who are loved delight in. She

followed the fashions, and went more than once to Paris to deck her beauty with chiffons or some choice

novelty. Desirous of giving her cousins a sense of home and its every enjoyment, from which they had so

long been severed, she made her chateau, in spite of the remonstrances of her late guardian, the most

Robert d'Hauteserre saw nothing of this hidden drama; he never noticed his brother's love for Laurence. As to

the girl herself, he liked to tease her about her coquetry,for he confounded that odious defect with the

natural desire to please; he was always mistaken in matters of feeling, taste, and the higher ethics. So,

whenever this man of the middleages appeared on the scene, Laurence immediately made him, unknown to

himself, the clown of the play; she amused her cousins by arguing with Robert, and leading him, step by step,

into some bog of ignorance and stupidity. She excelled in such clever mischief, which, to be really successful,

must leave the victim content with himself. And yet, though his nature was a coarse one, Robert never, during

those delightful months (the only happy period in the lives of the three young people) said one virile word

which might have brought matters to a crisis between Laurence and her cousins. He was struck with the

sincerity of the brothers; he saw how the one could be glad at the happiness of the other and yet suffer

anguish in the depths of his heart, and he did perceive how a woman might shrink from showing tenderness

to one which would grieve the other. This perception on Robert's part was a just one; it explains a situation

which, in times of faith, when the sovereign pontiff had power to intervene and cut the Gordian knot of such

phenomena (allied to the deepest and most impenetrable mysteries), would have found its solution. The

Revolution had deepened the Catholic faith in these young hearts, and religion now rendered this crisis in

their lives the more severe, because nobility of character is ever heightened by the grandeur of circumstances.

A sense of this truth kept Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre and the abbe from the slightest fear of any

This private drama, secretly developing within the limits of the family life where each member watched it

silently, ran its course so rapidly and withal so slowly, it carried with it so many unhopedfor pleasures,

trifling jars, frustrated fancies, hopes reversed, anxious waitings, delayed explanations and mute avowals that

the dwellers at CinqCygne paid no attention to the public drama of the Emperor's coronation. At times these

passions made a truce and sought distraction in the violent enjoyment of hunting, when weariness of body

took from the soul all occasions to wander in the dangerous meadows of reverie. Neither Laurence nor her

cousins had a thought now for public affairs; each day brought its palpitating and absorbing interests for their

"Really," said Mademoiselle Goujet one evening, "I don't know which of all the lovers loves the most."

Adrien, who happened to be alone in the salon with the four card players, raised his eyes and turned pale.

For the last few days his only hold on life had been the pleasure of seeing Laurence and of listening to her.

"I think," said the abbe, "that the countess, being a woman, loves with the greater abandonment to love."

Laurence, the twins, and Robert entered the room soon after. The newspapers had just arrived. England,

seeing the failure of all conspiracies attempted within the borders of France, was now arming all Europe

against their common enemy. The disaster at Trafalgar had overthrown one of the most amazing plans which

human genius ever conceived; by which, if it had succeeded, the Emperor would have paid the nation for his

election by the ruin of the British power. The camp at Boulogne had just been raised. Napoleon, whose

solders were, as always, inferior in numbers to the enemy, was about to carry the war into parts of Europe

where he had not before waged it. The whole world was breathless, awaiting the results of the campaign.

The jealous girl threw a disdainful look at her twin lovers, which humiliated them while it rejoiced the heart

of Adrien, who made a gesture of admiration and gave her one proud look, which said plainly that he thought

"I told you," said the abbe in a low voice, "that love would some day cause her to forget her animosity."

It was the first, last, and only reproach the brothers ever received from her; but certainly at that moment their

love, which could still be distracted by national events, was inferior to that of Laurence, which, absorbed her

mind so completely that she only knew of the amazing triumph at Austerlitz by overhearing a discussion

Faithful to his ideas of submission, the old man wished both Robert and Adrien to reenter the French army

and apply for service; they could, he thought, be reinstated in their rank and soon find an opening to military

honors. But royalist opinions were now all powerful at CinqCygne. The four young men and Laurence

laughed at their prudent elder, who seemed to foresee a coming evil. Possibly, prudence is less virtue than the

exercise of some instinct, or sense of the mind (if it is allowable to couple those two words). A day will

come, no doubt, when physiologists and philosophers will both admit that the senses are, in some way, the

sheath or vehicle of a keen and penetrative active power which issues from the mind.

After peace was concluded between France and Austria, towards the end of the month of February, 1806, a

relative, whose influence had been employed for the reinstatement of the Simeuse brothers, and who was

destined later to give them signal proofs of family attachment, the cidevant Marquis de Chargeboeuf, whose

estates extended from the department of the SeineetMarne to that of the Aube, arrived one morning at

CinqCygne in a species of caleche which was then named in derision a berlingot. When this shabby carriage

was driven past the windows the inhabitants of the chateau, who were at breakfast, were convulsed with

laughter; but when the bald head of the old man was seen issuing from behind the leather curtain of the

vehicle Monsieur d'Hauteserre told his name, and all present rose instantly to receive and do honor to the

"We have done wrong to let him come to us," said the Marquis de Simeuse to his brother and the

A servant, dressed as a peasant, who drove the horses from a seat on a level with the body of the carriage,

slipped his cartman's whip into a coarse leather socket, and got down from the box to assist the marquis from

the carriage; but Adrien and the younger de Simeuse prevented him, unbuttoned the leather apron, and helped

the old man out in spite of his protestations. This gentleman of the old school chose to consider his yellow

berlingot with its leather curtains a most convenient and excellent equipage. The servant, assisted by

Gothard, unharnessed the stout horses with shining flanks, accustomed no doubt to do as much duty at the

"In spite of this cold weather! Why, you are a knight of the olden time," said Laurence, to her visitor, taking

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf, a handsome old gentleman of sixtysix, in lightcolored breeches, his small weak

legs encased in colored stockings, wore powder, pigeonwings and a queue. His green cloth huntingcoat

with gold buttons was braided and frogged with gold. His white waistcoat glittered with gold embroidery.

This apparel, still in vogue among old people, became his face, which was not unlike that of Frederick the

Great. He never put on his threecornered hat lest he should destroy the effect of the halfmoon traced upon

his cranium by a layer of powder. His right hand, resting on a hooked cane, held both cane and hat in a

manner worthy of Louis XIV. The fine old gentleman took off his wadded silk pelisse and seated himself in

an armchair, holding the threecornered hat and the cane between his knees in an attitude the secret of which

has never been grasped by any but the roues of Louis XV.'s court, an attitude which left the hands free to play

with a snuffbox, always a precious trinket. Accordingly the marquis drew from the pocket of his waistcoat,

which was closed by a flap embroidered in gold arabesques, a sumptuous snuffbox. While fingering his own

pinch and offering the box around him with another charming gesture accompanied with kindly smiles, he

noticed the pleasure which his visit gave. He seemed then to comprehend why these young emigres had been

remiss in their duty towards him, and to be saying to himself, "When we are making love we can't make

"Impossible," he replied. "If we were not so separated by events (for as to distance, you go farther than that

which lies between us) you would know, my dear child, that I have daughters, daughtersinlaw, and

grandchildren. All these dear creatures would be very uneasy if I did not return to them tonight, and I have

After the customary polite inquiries for the Marquise de Chargeboeuf and other matters really uninteresting

but about which politeness assumes that we are keenly interested, it dawned on Monsieur d'Hauteserre that

the old gentleman had come to warn his young relatives against imprudence. He remarked that times were

The Marquis spoke of the wisdom of concession. When he stated, with more emphasis and authority than he

put into his other remarks, the necessity of submission, Monsieur d'Hauteserre looked at his sons with an

"Yes, I would, if the interests of my family required it," replied Monsieur de Chargeboeuf.

Gradually the old man made them aware, though vaguely, of some threatened danger. When Laurence

begged him to explain the nature of it, he advised the four young men to refrain from hunting and to keep

"You treat the domain of Gondreville as if it were your own," he said to the Messieurs de Simeuse, "and you

are keeping alive a deadly hatred. I see, by the surprise upon your faces, that you are quite unaware of the

illwill against you at Troyes, where your late brave conduct is remembered. They tell of how you foiled the

police of the Empire; some praise you for it, but others regard you as enemies of the Emperor; partisans

declare that Napoleon's clemency is inexplicable. That, however, is nothing. The real danger lies here; you

foiled men who thought themselves cleverer than you; and lowbred men never forgive. Sooner or later

justice, which in your department emanates from your enemy, Senator Malin (who has his henchmen

everywhere, even in the ministerial offices),his justice will rejoice to see you involved in some annoying

scrape. A peasant, for instance, will quarrel with you for riding over his field; your guns are in your hands,

you are hottempered, and something happens. In your position it is absolutely essential that you should not

put yourselves in the wrong. I do not speak to you thus without good reason. The police keep this

arrondissement under strict surveillance; they have an agent in that little hole of Arcis expressly to protect the

Imperial senator Malin against your attacks. He is afraid of you, and says so openly."

"A calumny,I am sure of it myself, but will the public believe it? Michu certainly did aim at the senator,

who does not forget the danger he was in; and since your return the countess has taken Michu into her

service. To many persons, in fact to the majority, Malin will seem to be in the right. You do not understand

how delicate the position of an emigre is towards those who are now in possession of his property. The

prefect, a very intelligent man, dropped a word to me yesterday about you which has made me uneasy. In

"Michu, my friend," said the Marquis de Simeuse when the man appeared, "is it true that you intended to kill

"Yes, Monsieur le marquis; and when he comes here again I shall lie in wait for him."

"Do you know that we are suspected of instigating it, and that our cousin, by taking you as her farmer is

"Good God!" cried Michu, "am I accursed? Shall I never be able to rid you of that villain?"

"No, my man, no!" said PaulMarie. "But we will always take care of you, though you will have to leave our

service and the country too. Sell your property here; we will send you to Trieste to a friend of ours who has

immense business connections, and he'll employ you until things are better in this country for all of us."

"Were there any witnesses when you aimed at Malin?" asked the Marquis de Chargeboeuf.

"Grevin the notary was talking with him, and that prevented my killing himvery fortunately, as Madame la

"Grevin is not the only one who knows it?" said Monsieur de Chargeboeuf, who seemed annoyed at what was

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf rose as if to look at the gardens, and said, "You have made the most of

CinqCygne." Then he left the house, followed by the two brothers and Laurence, who now saw the meaning

"You are frank and generous, but most imprudent," said the old man. "It was natural enough that I should

warn you of a rumor which was certain to be a slander; but what have you done now? you have let such weak

persons as Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre and their sons see that there was truth in it. Oh, young men!

young men! You ought to keep Michu here and go away yourselves. But if you persist in remaining, at least

write a letter to the senator and tell him that having heard the rumors about Michu you have dismissed him

"We!" exclaimed the brothers; "what, write to Malin,to the murderer of our father and our mother, to the

"All true; but he is one of the chief personages at the Imperial court, and the king of your department."

"He, who voted for the death of Louis XVI. in case the army of Conde entered France!" cried Laurence.

"He, who probably advised the murder of the Duc d'Enghien!" exclaimed PaulMarie.

"Well, well, if you want to recapitulate his titles of nobility," cried Monsieur de Chargeboeuf, "say he who

pulled Robespierre by the skirts of his coat to make him fall when he saw that his enemies were stronger than

he; he who would have shot Bonaparte if the 18th Brumaire had missed fire; he who manoeuvres now to

bring back the Bourbons if Napoleon totters; he whom the strong will ever find on their side to handle either

sword or pistol and put an end to an adversary whom they fear! Butall that is only reason the more for

"Children," said the old marquis, taking them by the hand and going to the lawn, then covered by a slight fall

of snow; "you will be angry at the prudent advice of an old man, but I am bound to give it, and here it is: If I

were you I would employ as gobetween some trustworthy old fellowlike myself, for instance; I would

commission him to ask Malin for a million of francs for the titledeeds of Gondreville; he would gladly

consent if the matter were kept secret. You will then have capital in hand, an income of a hundred thousand

francs, and you can buy a fine estate in another part of France. As for CinqCygne, it can safely be left to the

management of Monsieur d'Hauteserre, and you can draw lots as to which of you shall win the hand of this

dear heiress But ah! I know the words of an old man in the ears of the young are like the words of the

The old marquis signed to his three relatives that he wished no answer, and returned to the salon, where,

The proposal to draw lots for their cousin's hand had offended the brothers, while Laurence revolted in her

soul at the bitterness of the remedy the old marquis counselled. All three were now less gracious to him,

though they did not cease to be polite. The warmth of their feeling was chilled. Monsieur de Chargeboeuf,

who felt the change, cast frequent looks of kindly compassion on these charming young people. The

conversation became general, but the old marquis still dwelt on the necessity of submitting to events, and he

applauded Monsieur d'Hauteserre for his persistence in urging his sons to take service under the Empire.

"Bonaparte," he said, "makes dukes. He has created Imperial fiefs, he will therefore make counts. Malin is

determined to be Comte de Gondreville. That is a fancy," he added, looking at the Simeuse brothers, "which

As soon as the horses were putto the marquis took leave, accompanied to the door by the whole party. When

fairly in the carriage he made a sign to Laurence to come and speak to him, and she sprang upon the

"You are not an ordinary woman, and you ought to understand me," he said in her ear. "Malin's conscience

will never allow him to leave you in peace; he will set some trap to injure you. I implore you to be careful of

all your actions, even the most unimportant. Compromise, negotiate; those are my last words."

The brothers stood motionless behind their cousin and watched the berlingot as it turned through the iron

gates and took the road to Troyes. Laurence repeated the old man's last words. But sage experience should

not present itself to the eyes of youth in a berlingot, colored stockings, and a queue. These ardent young

hearts had no conception of the change that had passed over France; indignation crisped their nerves, honor

"He, the head of the house of Chargeboeuf!" said the Marquis de Simeuse. "A man who bears the motto Adsit

"But 'We die singing,'" said the countess. "The cry of the five young girls of my house is mine!"

"And ours, 'Cy meurs,'" said the elder Simeuse. "Therefore, no quarter, I say; for, on reflection, we shall find

that our relative had pondered well what he told usGondreville to be the title of a Malin!"

"Mansart designed it for noble stock, and the populace will get their children in it!" exclaimed the elder.

"If that were to come to pass, I'd rather see Gondreville in ashes!" cried Mademoiselle CinqCygne.

One of the villagers, who had entered the grounds to examine a calf Monsieur d'Hauteserre was trying to sell

"Let us go in," said Laurence, laughing; "this is very imprudent; we are giving the old marquis a right to

blame us. My poor Michu," she added, as she entered the salon, "I had forgotten your adventure; as we are

not in the odor of sanctity in these parts you must be careful not to compromise us in future. Have you any

"I blame myself for not having killed the murderer of my old masters before I came to the rescue of my

"But I'll not leave the country," Michu continued, paying no heed to the abbe's exclamation, "till I am certain

you are safe. I see fellows roaming about here whom I distrust. The last time we hunted in the forest, that

keeper who took my place at Gondreville came to me and asked if we supposed we were on our own

property. 'Ho! my lad,' I said, 'we can't get rid in two weeks of ideas we've had for centuries.'"

"Comte de Gondreville!" repeated the elder Simeuse; "what a masquerade! But after all, they say 'your

"Delightful!" remarked Mademoiselle de CinqCygne. "Do they also say 'your Majesty' to the widow of

"Alas, mademoiselle," said Michu, "I was there to put Francois at school, and I swear to you there's no joking

with what they call the Imperial Guard. If the rest of the army are like them, the thing may last longer than

"They say many of the noble families are taking service," said Monsieur d'Hauteserre.

"According to the present law," added the abbe, "you will be compelled to serve. The conscription makes no

"That man is doing us more harm with his court than the Revolution did with its axe!" cried Laurence.

These remarks, made rapidly one after another, were so many commentaries on the wise counsel of the old

Marquis de Chargeboeuf; but the young people had too much faith, too much honor, to dream of resorting to

a compromise. They told themselves, as all vanquished parties in all times have declared, that the luck of the

conquerors would soon be at an end, that the Emperor had no support but that of the army, that the power de

facto must sooner or later give way to the Divine Right, etc. So, in spite of the wise counsel given to them,

they fell into the pitfall, which others, like old d'Hauteserre, more prudent and more amenable to reason,

would have been able to avoid. If men were frank they might perhaps admit that misfortunes never overtake

them until after they have received either an actual or an occult warning. Many do not perceive the deep

meaning of such visible or invisible signs until after the disaster is upon them.

"In any case, Madame la comtesse knows that I cannot leave the country until I have given up a certain trust,"

Michu sold his farm at once to Beauvisage, a farmer at Bellache, but he was not to receive the money for

twenty days. A month after the Marquis de Chargeboeuf's visit, Laurence, who had told her cousins of their

buried fortune, proposed to them to take the day of the Micareme to disinter it. The unusual quantity of

snow which fell that winter had hitherto prevented Michu from obtaining the treasure, and it now gave him

pleasure to undertake the operation with his masters. He was determined to leave the neighborhood as soon as

"Malin has suddenly arrived at Gondreville, and no one knows why," he said to his mistress. "I shall never be

able to resist putting the property into the market by the death of its owner. I feel I am guilty in not following

"All Arcis is talking about it," replied Michu; "he has left his family in Paris, and no one is with him but his

valet. Monsieur Grevin, the notary of Arcis, Madame Marion, the wife of the receiver general, and her

Laurence had chosen the midlent day for their purpose because it enabled her to give her servants a holiday

and so get them out of the way. The usual masquerade drew the peasantry to the town and no one was at work

in the fields. Chance made its calculations with as much cleverness as Mademoiselle de CinqCygne made

hers. The uneasiness of Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre at the idea of keeping eleven hundred thousand

francs in gold in a lonely chateau on the borders of a forest was likely to be so great that their sons advised

they should know nothing about it. The secret of the expedition was therefore confined to Gothard, Michu,

After much consultation it seemed possible to put fortyeight thousand francs in a long sack on the crupper

of each of their horses. Three trips would therefore bring the whole. It was agreed to send all the servants,

whose curiosity might be troublesome, to Troyes to see the shows. Catherine, Marthe, and Durieu, who could

be relied on, stayed at home in charge of the house. The other servants were glad of their holiday and started

by daybreak. Gothard, assisted by Michu, saddled the horses as soon as they were gone, and the party started

by way of the gardens to reach the forest. Just as they were mountingfor the park gate was so low on the

garden side that they led their horses until they were through itold Beauvisage, the farmer at Bellache,

"Oh, it is only I," said the worthy man, coming toward them. "Your servant, gentleman; are you off hunting,

in spite of the new decrees? I don't complain of you; but do take care! though you have friends you have also

"Oh, as for that," said the elder Hauteserre, smiling, "God grant that our hunt may be lucky today,if so,

These words, to which events were destined to give a totally different meaning, earned a severe look from

Laurence. The elder Simeuse was confident that Malin would restore Gondreville for an indemnity. These

rash youths were determined to do exactly the contrary of what the Marquis de Chargeboeuf had advised.

Robert, who shared these hopes, was thinking of them when he gave utterance to the fatal words.

"Not a word of this, old friend," said Michu to Beauvisage, waiting behind the others to lock the gate.

It was one of those fine mornings in March when the air is dry, the earth pure, the sky clear, and the

atmosphere a contradiction to the leafless trees; the season was so mild that the eye caught glimpses here and

"We are seeking treasure when all the while you are the real treasure of our house, cousin," said the elder

Laurence was in front, with a cousin on each side of her. The d'Hauteserres were behind, followed by Michu.

"Now that our fortune is restored, you must marry my brother," said the younger in a low voice. "He adores

"No, give the whole fortune to him and I will marry you," said Laurence; "I am rich enough for two."

"So be it," cried the Marquis; "I will leave you, and find a wife worthy to be your sister."

"So you really love me less than I thought you did?" said Laurence looking at him with a sort of jealousy.

"And therefore you would sacrifice yourself?" asked Laurence with a glance full of momentary preference.

"Well, then, I shall think only of you, and that will be intolerable to my husband," exclaimed Laurence,

"But, after all, you can't marry us both," said the marquis, replying to Laurence; "and the time has come," he

continued, in the brusque tone of a man who is struck to the heart, "to make your decision."

He urged his horse in advance so that the d'Hauteserres might not overhear them. His brother's horse and

Laurence's followed him. When they had put some distance between themselves and the rest of the party

"And let the race of CinqCygne end?" said the younger brother. "Instead of one unhappy man, would you

make two? No, whichever of us must be your brother only, will resign himself to that fate. It is the knowledge

that we are no longer poor that has brought us to explain ourselves," he added, glancing at the marquis. "If I

am the one preferred, all this money is my brother's. If I am rejected, he will give it to me with the title of de

Simeuse, for he must then take the name and title of CinqCygne. Whichever way it ends, the loser will have

a chance of recoverybut if he feels he must die of grief, he can enter the army and die in battle, not to

"We are true knights of the olden time, worthy of our fathers," cried the elder. "Speak, Laurence; decide

"My dear loved ones," said the girl, "I am unable to decide. I love you both as though you were one

beingas your mother loved you. God will help us. I cannot choose. Let us put it to chancebut I make one

"Whichever one of you becomes my brother must stay with me until I suffer him to leave me. I wish to be

"The first of you to whom Madame d'Hauteserre speaks tonight at table after the Benedicite, shall be my

husband. But neither of you must practise fraud or induce her to answer a question."

Each kissed her hand. The certainty of some decision which both could fancy favorable made them gay.

"I believe," thought Michu, riding behind them, "that mademoiselle will not long be unmarried. How gay my

masters are! If my mistress makes her choice I shall not leave; I must stay and see that wedding."

Just then a magpie flew suddenly before his face. Michu, superstitious like all primitive beings, fancied he

heard the muffled tones of a deathknell. The day, however, began brightly enough for lovers, who rarely see

magpies when together in the woods. Michu, armed with his plan, verified the spots; each gentleman had

brought a pickaxe, and the money was soon found. The part of the forest where it was buried was quite wild,

far from all paths or habitations, so that the cavalcade bearing the gold returned unseen. This proved to be a

great misfortune. On their way from CinqCygne to fetch the last two hundred thousand francs, the party,

emboldened by success, took a more direct way than on their other trips. The path passed an opening from

Laurence, who knew all the byways of the forest, left the rest of the party and galloped towards the pavilion,

Michu's old home. Though the building was closed and deserted, the iron gates were open, and traces of the

recent passage of several horses struck Laurence instantly. The column of blue smoke was rising from a field

in what was called the English park, where, as she supposed, they were burning brush.

"Ah! so you are concerned in it, too, are you, mademoiselle?" cried Violette, who came out of the park at top

speed on his pony, and pulled up to meet Laurence. "But, of course, it is only a carnival joke? They surely

At the idea of a danger which was threatening her cousins, Laurence turned her horse and galloped back to

"Quick, quick!" she cried. "I don't know what is going on, but let us get back to CinqCygne."

While the happy party were employed in recovering the fortune saved by the old marquis, and guarded for so

many years by Michu, an extraordinary scene was taking place in the chateau of Gondreville.

About two o'clock in the afternoon Malin and his friend Grevin were playing chess before the fire in the great

salon on the groundfloor. Madame Grevin and Madame Marion were sitting on a sofa and talking together

at a corner of the fireplace. All the servants had gone to see the masquerade, which had long been announced

in the arrondissement. The family of the bailiff who had replaced Michu had gone too. The senator's valet and

Violette were the only persons beside the family at the chateau. The porter, two gardeners, and their wives

were on the place, but their lodge was at the entrance of the courtyards at the farther end of the avenue to

Arcis, and the distance from there to the chateau is beyond the sound of a pistolshot. Violette was waiting in

the antechamber until the senator and Grevin could see him on business, to arrange a matter relating to his

lease. At that moment five men, masked and gloved, who in height, manner, and bearing strongly resembled

the Simeuse and d'Hauteserre brothers and Michu, rushed into the antechamber, seized and gagged the valet

and Violette, and fastened them to their chairs in a side room. In spite of the rapidity with which this was

done, Violette and the servant had time to utter one cry. It was heard in the salon. The two ladies thought it a

"No, nonsense!" said Grevin, "only carnival cries; the masqueraders must be coming to pay us a visit."

This discussion gave time for the four strangers to close the doors towards the courtyards and to lock up

Violette and the valet. Madame Grevin, who was rather obstinate, insisted on knowing what the noise meant.

She rose, left the room, and came face to face with the five masked men, who treated her as they had treated

the farmer and the valet. Then they rushed into the salon, where the two strongest seized and gagged Malin,

and carried him off into the park, while the three others remained behind to gag Madame Marion and Grevin

and lash them to their armchairs. The whole affair did not take more than half an hour. The three unknown

men, who were quickly rejoined by the two who had carried off the senator, then proceeded to ransack the

chateau from cellar to garret. They opened all closets and doors, and sounded the walls; until five o'clock they

were absolute masters of the place. By that time the valet had managed to loosen with his teeth the rope that

bound Violette. Violette, able then to get the gag from his mouth, began to shout for help. Hearing the shouts

the five men withdrew to the gardens, where they mounted horses closely resembling those at CinqCygne

and rode away, but not so rapidly that Violette was unable to catch sight of them. After releasing the valet,

the two ladies, and the notary, Violette mounted his pony and rode after help. When he reached the pavilion

he was amazed to see the gates open and Mademoiselle de CinqCygne apparently on the watch.

Directly after the young countess had ridden off, Violette was overtaken by Grevin and the forester of the

township of Gondreville, who had taken horses from the stables at the chateau. The porter's wife was on her

way to summon the gendarmerie from Arcis. Violette at once informed Grevin of his meeting with Laurence

and the sudden flight of the daring girl, whose strong and decided character was known to all of them.

"Is it possible that those CinqCygne people have done this thing?" cried Grevin.

"Do you mean to say you didn't recognize that stout Michu?" exclaimed Violette. "It was he who attacked

Noticing the hoofmarks on the sand of the rondpoint and along the park road the notary stationed the

forester at the gateway to see to the preservation of these precious traces until the justice of peace of Arcis

(for whom he now sent Violette) could take note of them. He himself returned hastily to the chateau, where

the lieutenant and sub lieutenant of the Imperial gendarmerie at Arcis had arrived, accompanied by four

men and a corporal. The lieutenant was the same man whose head Francois Michu had broken two years

earlier, and who had heard from Corentin the name of his mischievous assailant. This man, whose name was

Giguet (his brother was in the army, and became one of the finest colonels of artillery), was an extremely able

officer of gendarmerie. Later he commanded the squadron of the Aube. The sublieutenant, named Welff,

had formerly driven Corentin from CinqCygne to the pavilion, and from the pavilion to Troyes. On the way,

the spy had fully informed him as to what he called the trickery of Laurence and Michu. The two officers

were therefore well inclined to show, and did show, great eagerness against the family at Cinq Cygne.

Malin and Grevin had both, the latter working for the former, taken part in the construction of the Code called

that of Brumaire, year IV., the judicial work of the National Convention, socalled, and promulgated by the

Directory. Grevin knew its provisions thoroughly, and was able to apply them in this affair with terrible

celerity, under a theory, now converted into a certainty, of the guilt of Michu and the Messieurs de Simeuse

and d'Hauteserre. No one in these days, unless it be some antiquated magistrates, will remember this system

of justice, which Napoleon was even then overthrowing by the promulgation of his own Codes, and by the

The Code of Brumaire, year IV., gave to the director of the jury of the department the duty of discovering,

indicting, and prosecuting the persons guilty of the delinquency committed at Gondreville. Remark, by the

way, that the Convention had eliminated from its judicial vocabulary the word "crime"; delinquencies and

misdemeanors were alone admitted; and these were punished with fines, imprisonment, and penalties

"afflictive or infamous." Death was an afflictive punishment. But the penalty of death was to be done away

with after the restoration of peace, and twentyfour years of hard labor were to take its place. Thus the

Convention estimated twentyfour years of hard labor as the equivalent of death. What therefore can be said

for a code which inflicts the punishment of hard labor for life? The system then in process of preparation by

the Napoleonic Council of State suppressed the function of the directors of juries, which united many

enormous powers. In relation to the discovery of delinquencies and their prosecution the director of the jury

was, in fact, agent of police, public prosecutor, municipal judge, and the court itself. His proceedings and his

indictments were, however, submitted for signature to a commissioner of the executive power and to the

verdict of eight jurymen, before whom he laid the facts of the case, and who examined the witnesses and the

accused and rendered the preliminary verdict, called the indictment. The director was, however, in a position

to exercise such influence over the jurymen, who met in his private office, that they could not well avoid

agreeing with him. These jurymen were called the jury of indictment. There were others who formed the

juries of the criminal tribunals whose duty it was to judge the accused; these were called, in contradistinction

to the jury of indictment, the judgment jury. The criminal tribunal, to which Napoleon afterwards gave the

name of criminal court, was composed of one President or chief justice, four judges, the public prosecutor,

Nevertheless, from 1799 to 1806 there were special courts (socalled) which judged without juries certain

misdemeanors in certain departments; these were composed of judges taken from the civil courts and formed

into a special court. This conflict of special justice and criminal justice gave rise to questions of competence

which came before the courts of appeal. If the department of the Aube had had a special court, the verdict on

the outrage committed on a senator of the Empire would no doubt have been referred to it; but this tranquil

department had never needed unusual jurisdiction. Grevin therefore despatched the sublieutenant to Troyes

to bring the director of the jury of that town. The emissary went at full gallop, and soon returned in a

The director of the Troyes jury was formerly secretary of one of the committees of the Convention, a friend

of Malin, to whom he owed his present place. This magistrate, named Lechesneau, had helped Malin, as

Grevin had done, in his work on the Code during the Convention. Malin in return recommended him to

Cambaceres, who appointed him attorney general for Italy. Unfortunately for him, Lechesneau had a liaison

with a great lady in Turin, and Napoleon removed him to avoid a criminal trial threatened by the husband.

Lechesneau, bound in gratitude to Malin, felt the importance of this attack upon his patron, and brought with

Before starting he laid his plans with the prefect, who was unable at that late hour, it being after dark, to use

the telegraph. They therefore sent a mounted messenger to Paris to notify the minister of police, the chief

justice and the Emperor of this extraordinary crime. In the salon of Gondreville, Lechesneau found

Mesdames Marion and Grevin, Violette, the senator's valet, and the justice of peace with his clerk. The

chateau had already been examined; the justice, assisted by Grevin, had carefully collected the first

testimony. The first thing that struck him was the obvious intention shown in the choice of the day and hour

for the attack. The hour prevented an immediate search for proofs and traces. At this season it was nearly

dark by halfpast five, the hour at which Violette gave the alarm, and darkness often means impunity to

evildoers. The choice of a holiday, when most persons had gone to the masquerade at Arcis, and the senator

was comparatively alone in the house, showed an obvious intention to get rid of witnesses.

"Let us do justice to the intelligence of the prefecture of police," said Lechesneau; "they have never ceased to

warn us to be on our guard against the nobles at CinqCygne; they have always declared that sooner or later

Sure of the active cooperation of the prefect of the Aube, who sent messengers to all the surrounding

prefectures asking them to search for the five abductors and the senator, Lechesneau began his work by

verifying the first facts. This was soon done by the help of two such legal heads as those of Grevin and the

justice of peace. The latter, named Pigoult, formerly headclerk in the office where Malin and Grevin had

first studied law in Paris, was soon after appointed judge of the municipal court at Arcis. In relation to Michu,

Lechesneau knew of the threats the man had made about the sale of Gondreville to Marion, and the danger

Malin had escaped in his own park from Michu's gun. These two facts, one being the consequence of the

other, were no doubt the precursors of the present successful attack, and they pointed so obviously to the late

bailiff as the instigator of the outrage that Grevin, his wife, Violette, and Madame Marion declared that they

had recognized among the five masked men one who exactly resembled Michu. The color of the hair and

whiskers and the thickset figure of the man made the mask he wore useless. Besides, who but Michu could

have opened the iron gates of the park with a key? The present bailiff and his wife, now returned from the

masquerade, deposed to have locked both gates before leaving the pavilion. The gates when examined

"When we turned him off he must have taken some duplicate keys with him," remarked Grevin. "No doubt he

has been meditating a desperate step, for he has lately sold his whole property, and he received the money for

"The others have followed his lead!" exclaimed Lechesneau, struck with the circumstances. "He has been

Moreover, who could know as well as the Messieurs de Simeuse the ins and outs of the chateau. None of the

assailants seemed to have blundered in their search; they had gone through the house in a confident way

which showed that they knew what they wanted to find and where to find it. The locks of none of the opened

closets had been forced; therefore the delinquents had keys. Strange to say, however, nothing had been taken;

the motive, therefore, was not robbery. More than all, when Violette had followed the tracks of the horses as

far as the rondpoint, he had found the countess, evidently on guard, at the pavilion. From such a

combination of facts and depositions arose a presumption as to the guilt of the Messieurs de Simeuse,

d'Hauteserre, and Michu, which would have been strong to unprejudiced minds, and to the director of the jury

had the force of certainty. What were they likely to do to the future Comte de Gondreville? Did they mean to

force him to make over the estate for which Michu declared in 1799 he had the money to pay?

But there was another aspect of the cast to the knowing criminal lawyer. He asked himself what could be the

object of the careful search made of the chateau. If revenge were at the bottom of the matter, the assailants

would have killed the senator. Perhaps he had been killed and buried. The abduction, however, seemed to

point to imprisonment. But why keep their victim imprisoned after searching the castle? It was folly to

suppose that the abduction of a dignitary of the Empire could long remain secret. The publicity of the matter

To these suggestions Pigoult replied that justice was never able to make out all the motives of scoundrels. In

every criminal case there were obscurities, he said, between the judge and the guilty person; conscience had

depths into which no human mind could enter unless by the confession of the criminal.

Grevin and Lechesneau nodded their assent, without, however, relaxing their determination to see to the

"The Emperor pardoned those young men," said Pigoult to Grevin. "He removed their names from the list of

Lechesneau make no delay in sending his whole force of gendarmerie to the forest and to the valley of

CinqCygne; telling Giguet to take with him the justice of peace, who, according to the terms of the Code,

would then become an auxiliary policeofficer. He ordered them to make all preliminary inquiries in the

township of CinqCygne, and to take testimony if necessary; and to save time, he dictated and signed a

warrant for the arrest of Michu, against whom the charge was evident on the positive testimony of Violette.

After the departure of the gendarmes Lechesneau returned to the important question of issuing warrants for

the arrest of the Simeuse and d'Hauteserre brothers. According to the Code these warrants would have to

Giguet and the justice of peace rode so rapidly to CinqCygne that they met Laurence's servants returning

from the festivities at Troyes. Stopped, and taken before the mayor where they were interrogated, they all

stated, being ignorant of the importance of the answer, that their mistress had given them permission to spend

the whole day at Troyes. To a question put by the justice of the peace, each replied that Mademoiselle had

offered them the amusement which they had not thought of asking for. This testimony seemed so important to

the justice of the peace that he sent back a messenger to Gondreville to advise Lechesneau to proceed himself

to CinqCygne and arrest the four gentlemen, while he went to Michu's farm, so that the five arrests might be

This new element was so convincing that Lechesneau started at once for CinqCygne. He knew well what

pleasure would be felt in Troyes at such proceedings against the old nobles, the enemies of the people, now

become the enemies of the Emperor. In such circumstances a magistrate is very apt to take mere presumptive

evidence for actual proof. Nevertheless, on his way from Gondreville to CinqCygne, in the senator's own

carriage, it did occur to Lechesneau (who would certainly have made a fine magistrate had it not been for his

love affair, and the Emperor's sudden morality to which he owed his disgrace) to think the audacity of the

young men and Michu a piece of folly which was not in keeping with what he knew of the judgment and

character of Mademoiselle de CinqCygne. He imagined in his own mind some other motives for the deed

than the restitution of Gondreville. In all things, even in the magistracy, there is what may be called the

conscience of a calling. Lechesneau's perplexities came from this conscience, which all men put into the

proper performance of the duties they likescientific men into science, artists into art, judges into the

rendering of justice. Perhaps for this reason judges are really greater safeguards for persons accused of

wrongdoing than are juries. A magistrate relies only on reason and its laws; juries are floated to and fro by

the waves of sentiment. The director of the jury accordingly set several questions before his mind, resolving

Though the news of the abduction was already agitating the town of Troyes, it was still unknown at Arcis,

where the inhabitants were supping when the messenger arrived to summon the gendarmes. No one, of

course, knew it in the village of CinqCygne, the valley and the chateau of which were now, for the second

Laurence had only to tell Marthe, Catherine, and the Durieus not to leave the chateau, to be strictly obeyed.

After each trip to fetch the gold, the horses were fastened in the covered way opposite to the breach in the

moat, and from there Robert and Michu, the strongest of the party, carried the sacks through the breach to a

cellar under the staircase in the tower called Mademoiselle's. Reaching the chateau with the last load about

halfpast five o'clock, the four gentlemen and Michu proceeded to bury the treasure in the floor of the cellar

and then to wall up the entrance. Michu took charge of the matter with Gothard to help him; the lad was sent

to the farm for some sacks of plaster left over when the new buildings were put up, and Marthe went with

him to show him where they were. Michu, very hungry, made such haste that by halfpast seven o'clock the

work was done; and he started for home at a quick pace to stop Gothard, who had been sent for another sack

of plaster which he thought he might want. The farm was already watched by the forester of CinqCygne, the

justice of peace, his clerk and four gendarmes who, however, kept out of sight and allowed him to enter the

Michu saw Gothard with the sack on his shoulder and called to him from a distance: "It is all finished, my

Michu, his face perspiring, his clothes soiled with plaster and covered with fragments of muddy stone from

the breach, reached home joyfully and entered the kitchen where Marthe and her mother were serving the

Just as Michu was turning the faucet of the waterpipe intending to wash his hands, the justice of peace

The three gendarmes entered the kitchen leading Gothard. Seeing the silver lace on their hats Marthe and her

"Pooh! why?" asked Michu, who sat down at the table and called to his wife, "Give me something to eat; I'm

"You know why as well as we do," said the justice, making a sign to his clerk to begin the procesverbal and

"Well, well, Gothard, you needn't stare so," said Michu. "Do you want some dinner, yes or no? Let them

"You admit, of course, the condition of your clothes?" said the justice of peace; "and you can't deny the

Michu, supplied with food by his wife, who was amazed at his coolness, was eating with the avidity of a

hungry man. He made no answer to the justice, for his mouth was full and his heart innocent. Gothard's

"Look here," said the forester, going up to Michu and whispering in his ear: "What have you done with the

senator? You had better make a clean breast of it, for if we are to believe these people it is a matter of life or

"Good God!" cried Marthe, who overheard the last words and fell into a chair as if annihilated.

"Violette must have played us some infamous trick," cried Michu, recollecting what Laurence had said in the

Michu bit his lips and resolved to say no more. Gothard imitated him. Seeing the uselessness of all attempts

to make them talk, and knowing what the neighborhood chose to call Michu's perversity, the justice ordered

the gendarmes to bind his hands and those of Gothard, and take them both to the chateau, whither he now

The four young men and Laurence were so hungry and the dinner so acceptable that they would not delay it

by changing their dress. They entered the salon, she in her ridinghabit, they in their white leather breeches,

hightop boots and greencloth jackets, where they found Monsieur d'Hauteserre and his wife, not a little

uneasy at their long absence. The goodman had noticed their goings and comings, and, above all, their

evident distrust of him, for Laurence had been unable to get rid of him as she had of her servants. Once when

his own sons evidently avoided making any reply to his questions, he went to his wife and said, "I am afraid

"Ah!" replied the young girl, laughing, "you'll hear some day what a strange hunt your sons have joined in

Though said in jest the words made the old lady tremble. Catherine entered to announce dinner. Laurence

took Monsieur d'Hauteserre's arm, smiling for a moment at the necessity she thus forced upon her cousins to

offer an arm to Madame d'Hauteserre, who, according to agreement, was now to be the arbiter of their fate.

The Marquis de Simeuse took in Madame d'Hauteserre. The situation was so momentous that after the

Benedicite was said Laurence and the young men trembled from the violent palpitation of their hearts.

Madame d'Hauteserre, who carved, was struck by the anxiety on the faces of the Simeuse brothers and the

"Something extraordinary is going on, I am sure of it!" she exclaimed, looking at all of them.

"As for me, mother," said Robert, "I am frightfully hungry, and that is not extraordinary."

Madame d'Hauteserre, still troubled, offered the Marquis de Simeuse a plate intended for his brother.

"I am like your mother," she said. "I don't know you apart even by your cravats. I thought I was helping your

"You have helped me better than you thought for," said the youngest, turning pale; "you have made him

"What! do you mean to tell me the countess has made her choice?" cried Madame d'Hauteserre.

She told of the agreement made that morning. The elder Simeuse, watching the increasing pallor of his

brother's face, was momentarily on the point of crying out, "Marry her; I will go away and die!" Just then, as

the dessert was being served, all present heard raps upon the window of the diningroom on the garden side.

The eldest d'Hauteserre opened it and gave entrance to the abbe, whose breeches were torn in climbing over

"Innocent or guilty," said the abbe, "mount your horses and make for the frontier. There you can prove your

innocence. You could overcome a sentence by default; you will never overcome a sentence rendered by

popular passion and instigated by prejudice. Remember the words of President de Harlay, 'If I were accused

of carrying off the towers of NotreDame the first thing I should do would be to run away.'"

"Always the same sublime folly!" exclaimed the abbe, in despair. "If I had the power of God I would carry

you away. But if I am found here in this state they will turn my visit against you, and against me too;

therefore I leave you by the way I came. Consider my advice; you have still time. The gendarmes have not

yet thought of the wall which adjoins the parsonage; but you are hemmed in on the other sides."

The sound of many feet and the jangle of the sabres of the gendarmerie echoed through the courtyard and

reached the diningroom a few moments after the departure of the poor abbe, whose advice had met the same

"Our twin existence," said the younger Simeuse, speaking to Laurence, "is an anomalyour love for you is

anomalous; it is that very quality which was won your heart. Possibly, the reason why all twins known to us

in history have been unfortunate is that the laws of nature are subverted in them. In our case, see how

Laurence was stupefied; the fatal words of the director of the jury hummed in her ears:"In the name of the

Emperor and the laws, I arrest the Sieurs PaulMarie and MariePaul Simeuse, Adrien and Robert

d'HauteserreThese gentlemen," he added, addressing the men who accompanied him and pointing to the

mud on the clothing of the prisoners, "cannot deny that they have spent the greater part of this day on

"I shall leave her at liberty under bail, until I can carefully examine the charges against her," replied the

The mayor offered bail, asking the countess to merely give her word of honor that she would not escape.

Laurence blasted him with a look which made him a mortal enemy; a tear started from her eyes, one of those

tears of rage which reveal a hell of suffering. The four gentlemen exchanged a terrible look, but remained

motionless. Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, dreading lest the young people had practised some deceit,

were in a state of indescribable stupefaction. Clinging to their chairs these unfortunate parents, finding their

sons torn from them after so many fears and their late hopes of safety, sat gazing before them without seeing,

"Must I ask you to bail me, Monsieur d'Hauteserre?" cried Laurence to her former guardian, who was roused

He tried to wipe the tears which sprang to his eyes; he now understood what was passing, and said to his

young relation in a quivering voice, "Forgive me, countess; you know that I am yours, body and soul."

Lechesneau, who at first was much struck by the evident tranquillity in which the whole party were dining,

now returned to his former opinion of their guilt as he noticed the stupefaction of the old people and the

evident anxiety of Laurence, who was seeking to discover the nature of the trap which was set for them.

"Gentlemen," he said, politely, "you are too wellbred to make a useless resistance; follow me to the stables,

where I must, in your presence, have the shoes of your horses taken off; they afford important proof of either

The blacksmith of CinqCygne and his assistant had been summoned by Lechesneau as experts. While the

operation at the stable was going on the justice of peace brought in Gothard and Michu. The work of

detaching the shoes of each horse, putting them together and ticketing them, so as to compare them with the

hoofprints in the park, took time. Lechesneau, notified of the arrival of Pigoult, left the prisoners with the

gendarmes and returned to the diningroom to dictate the indictment. The justice of peace called his attention

to the condition of Michu's clothes and related the circumstances of his arrest.

"They must have killed the senator and plastered the body up in some wall," said Pigoult.

"I begin to fear it," answered Lechesneau. "Where did you carry that plaster?" he said to Gothard.

"The law frightens him," said Michu, whose eyes were darting flames like those of a lion in the toils.

The servants, who had been detained at the village by order of the mayor, now arrived and filled the

antechamber where Catherine and Gothard were weeping. To all the questions of the director of the jury and

the justice of peace Gothard replied by sobs; and by dint of weeping he brought on a species of convulsion

which alarmed them so much that they let him alone. The little scamp, perceiving that he was no longer

watched, looked at Michu with a grin, and Michu signified his approval by a glance. Lechesneau left the

"Monsieur," said Madame d'Hauteserre, at last, addressing Pigoult; "can you explain these arrests?"

"The gentlemen are accused of abducting the senator by armed force and keeping him a prisoner; for we do

"Well, as the old law continues in force, and they are not amenable under the Code, the penalty is death,"

The abbe now came in with his sister, who stopped to speak to Catherine and Madame Durieu.

"Madame Marion, Madame Grevin, Monsieur Grevin, the senator's valet, and Violette all tell another tale,"

"I don't understand a thing about it," said Michu, dumbfounded by his reply, and beginning now to believe

that his masters and himself were entangled in some plot which had been laid against them.

Just then the party from the stables returned. Laurence went up to Madame d'Hauteserre, who recovered her

The word excited a general terror, of which Giguet, formerly instructed by Corentin, took immediate

"Everything can be arranged," he said, drawing the Marquis de Simeuse into a corner of the diningroom.

"Perhaps after all it is nothing but a joke; you've been a soldier and soldiers understand each other. Tell me,

what have you really done with the senator? If you have killed him why, that's the end of it! But if you

have only locked him up, release him, for you see for yourself your game is balked. Do this and I am certain

"Dear cousin," said the Marquis de Simeuse, "we are forced to go to prison; but do not be uneasy; we shall

return in a few hours, for there is some misunderstanding in all this which can be explained."

"I hope so, for your sakes, gentlemen," said the magistrate, signing to the gendarmes to remove the four

gentlemen, Michu, and Gothard. "Don't take them to Troyes; keep them in your guardhouse at Arcis," he said

to the lieutenant; "they must be present tomorrow, at daybreak, when we compare the shoes of their horses

Lechesneau and Pigoult did not follow until they had closely questioned Catherine, Monsieur and Madame

d'Hauteserre, and Laurence. The Durieus, Catherine, and Marthe declared they had only seen their masters at

When, at midnight, Laurence found herself alone with Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, the abbe and his

sister, and without the four young men who for the last eighteen months had been the life of the chateau and

the love and joy of her own life, she fell into a gloomy silence which no one present dared to break. No

affliction was ever deeper or more complete than hers. At last a deep sigh broke the stillness, and all eyes

Marthe, forgotten in a corner, rose, exclaiming, "Death! They will kill them in spite of their innocence!"

Laurence left the room without replying. She needed solitude to recover strength in presence of this terrible

At a distance of thirtyfour years, during which three great revolutions have taken place, none but elderly

persons can recall the immense excitement produced in Europe by the abduction of a senator of the French

Empire. No trial, if we except that of Trumeaux, the grocer of the Place SaintMichel, and that of the widow

Morin, under the Empire; those of Fualdes and de Castaing, under the Restoration; those of Madame Lafarge

and Fieschi, under the present government, ever roused so much curiosity or so deep an interest as that of the

four young men accused of abducting Malin. Such an attack against a member of his Senate excited the wrath

of the Emperor, who was told of the arrest of the delinquents almost at the moment when he first heard of the

crime and the negative results of the inquiries. The forest, searched throughout, the department of the Aube,

ransacked from end to end, gave not the slightest indication of the passage of the Comte de Gondreville nor

of his imprisonment. Napoleon sent for the chief justice, who, after obtaining certain information from the

ministry of police, explained to his Majesty the position of Malin in regard to the Simeuse brothers and the

Gondreville estate. The Emperor, at that time preoccupied with serious matters, considered the affair

"Those young men are fools," he said. "A lawyer like Malin will escape any deed they may force him to sign

under violence. Watch those nobles, and discover the means they take to set the Comte de Gondreville at

He ordered the affair to be conducted with the utmost celerity, regarding it as an attack on his own

institutions, a fatal example of resistance to the results of the Revolution, an effort to open the great question

of the sales of "national property," and a hindrance to that fusion of parties which was the constant object of

his home policy. Besides all this, he thought himself tricked by these young nobles, who had given him their

"Fouche's prediction has come true," he cried, remembering the words uttered two years earlier by his present

minister of police, who said them under the impressions conveyed to him by Corentin's report as to the

It is impossible for persons living under a constitutional government, where no one really cares for that cold

and thankless, blind, deaf Thing called public interest, to imagine the zeal which a mere word of the Emperor

was able to inspire in his political or administrative machine. That powerful will seemed to impress itself as

much upon things as upon men. His decision once uttered, the Emperor, overtaken by the coalition of 1806,

forgot the whole matter. He thought only of new battles to fight, and his mind was occupied in massing his

regiments to strike the great blow at the heart of the Prussian monarchy. His desire for prompt justice in the

present case found powerful assistance in the great uncertainty which affected the position of all magistrates

of the Empire. Just at this time Cambaceres, as archchancellor, and Regnier, chief justice, were preparing to

organize tribunaux de premiere instance (lower civil courts), imperial courts, and a court of appeal or

supreme court. They were agitating the question of a legal garb or costume; to which Napoleon attached, and

very justly, so much importance in all official stations; and they were also inquiring into the character of the

persons composing the magistracy. Naturally, therefore, the officials of the department of the Aube

considered they could have no better recommendation than to give proofs of their zeal in the matter of the

abduction of the Comte de Gondreville. Napoleon's suppositions became certainties to these courtiers and

Peace still reigned on the continent; admiration for the Emperor was unanimous in France; he cajoled all

interests, persons, vanities, and things, in short, everything, even memories. This attack, therefore, directed

against his senator, seemed in the eyes of all an assault upon the public welfare. The luckless and innocent

gentlemen were the objects of general opprobrium. A few nobles living quietly on their estates deplored the

affair among themselves but dared not open their lips; in fact, how was it possible for them to oppose the

current of public opinion. Throughout the department the deaths of the eleven persons killed by the Simeuse

brothers in 1792 from the windows of the hotel CinqCygne were brought up against them. It was feared that

other returned and now emboldened emigres might follow this example of violence against those who had

bought their estates from the "national domain," as a method of protesting against what they might call an

The unfortunate young nobles were therefore considered as robbers, brigands, murderers; and their

connection with Michu was particularly fatal to them. Michu, who was declared, either he or his fatherin

law, to have cut off all the heads that fell under the Terror in that department, was made the subject of

ridiculous tales. The exasperation of the public mind was all the more intense because nearly all the

functionaries of the department owed their offices to Malin. No generous voice uplifted itself against the

verdict of the public. Besides all this, the accused had no legal means with which to combat prejudice; for the

Code of Brumaire, year IV., giving as it did both the prosecution of a charge and the verdict upon it into the

hands of a jury, deprived the accused of the vast protection of an appeal against legal suspicion.

The day after the arrest all the inhabitants of the chateau of Cinq Cygne, both masters and servants, were

summoned to appear before the prosecuting jury. CinqCygne was left in charge of a farmer, under the

supervision of the abbe and his sister who moved into it. Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, with Monsieur and

Madame d'Hauteserre, went to Troyes and occupied a small house belonging to Durieu in one of the long and

wide faubourgs which lead from the little town. Laurence's heart was wrung when she at last comprehended

the temper of the populace, the malignity of the bourgeoisie, and the hostility of the administration, from the

many little events which happened to them as relatives of prisoners accused of criminal wrongdoing and

about to be judged in a provincial town. Instead of hearing encouraging or compassionate words they heard

only speeches which called for vengeance; proofs of hatred surrounded them in place of the strict politeness

or the reserve required by mere decency; but above all they were conscious of an isolation which every mind

must feel, but more particularly those which are made distrustful by misfortune.

Laurence, who had recovered her vigor of mind, relied upon the innocence of the accused, and despised the

community too much to be frightened by the stern and silent disapproval they met with everywhere. She

sustained the courage of Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, all the while thinking of the judicial struggle

which was now being hurried on. She was, however, to receive a blow she little expected, which,

In the midst of this great disaster, at the moment when this afflicted family were made to feel themselves, as

it were, in a desert, a man suddenly became exalted in Laurence's eyes and showed the full beauty of his

character. The day after the indictment was found by the jury, and the prisoners were finally committed for

trial, the Marquis de Chargeboeuf courageously appeared, still in the same old caleche, to support and protect

his young cousin. Foreseeing the haste with which the law would be administered, this chief of a great family

had already gone to Paris and secured the services of the most able as well as the most honest lawyer of the

old school, named Bordin, who was for ten years counsel of the nobility in Paris, and was ultimately

succeeded by the celebrated Derville. This excellent lawyer chose for his assistant the grandson of a former

president of the parliament of Normandy, whose studies had been made under his tuition. This young lawyer,

who was destined to be appointed deputyattorneygeneral in Paris after the conclusion of the present trial,

became eventually one of the most celebrated of French magistrates. Monsieur de Grandville, for that was his

name, accepted the defence of the four young men, being glad of an opportunity to make his first appearance

The old marquis, alarmed at the ravages which troubles had wrought in Laurence's appearance, was

charmingly kind and considerate. He made no allusion to his neglected advice; he presented Bordin as an

oracle whose counsel must be followed to the letter, and young de Grandville as a defender in whom the

Laurence held out her hand to the kind old man, and pressed his with an eagerness which delighted him.

The young countess bowed her head in assent, as did Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre.

"Well, then, come to my house; it is in the middle of town, close to the courthouse. You and your lawyers

will be better off there than here, where you are crowded and too far from the field of battle. Here, you would

Laurence, accepted, and the old man took her with Madame d'Hauteserre to his house, which became the

home of the CinqCygne household and the lawyers of the defence during the whole time the trial lasted.

After dinner, when the doors were closed, Bordin made Laurence relate every circumstance of the affair,

entreating her to omit nothing, not the most trifling detail. Though many of the facts had already been told to

him and his young assistant by the marquis on their journey from Paris to Troyes, Bordin listened, his feet on

the fender, without obtruding himself into the recital. The young lawyer, however, could not help being

divided between his admiration for Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, and the attention he was bound to give to

"Is that really all?" asked Bordin when Laurence had related the events of the drama just as the present

Profound silence reigned for several minutes in the salon of the Chargeboeuf mansion where this scene took

place,one of the most important which occur in life. All cases are judged by the counsellors engaged in

them, just as the death or life or a patient is foreseen by a physician, before the final struggle which the one

sustains against nature, the other against law. Laurence, Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, and the marquis

sat with their eyes fixed on the swarthy and deeply pitted face of the old lawyer, who was now to pronounce

the words of life or death. Monsieur d'Hauteserre wiped the sweat from his brow. Laurence looked at the

"Well, my dear Bordin?" said the marquis at last, holding out his snuffbox, from which the old lawyer took a

Bordin rubbed the calf of his leg, covered with thick stockings of black raw silk, for he always wore black

cloth breeches and a coat made somewhat in the shape of those which are now termed a la Francaise. He cast

his shrewd eyes upon his clients with an anxious expression, the effect of which was icy.

"All that you have innocently done can be converted into proof against you," said the old lawyer. "We cannot

save your friends; we can only reduce the penalty. The sale which you induced Michu to make of his property

will be taken as evident proof of your criminal intentions against the senator. You sent your servants to

Troyes so that you might be alone; that is all the more plausible because it is actually true. The elder

d'Hauteserre made an unfortunate speech to Beauvisage, which will be your ruin. You yourself,

mademoiselle, made another in your own courtyard, which proves that you have long shown illwill to the

possessor of Gondreville. Besides, you were at the gate of the rondpoint, apparently on the watch, about the

time when the abduction took place; if they have not arrested you, it is solely because they fear to bring a

"The less so," continued Bordin, "because we cannot tell the whole truth. Michu and the Messieurs de

Simeuse and d'Hauteserre must hold to the assertion that you merely went for an excursion into the forest and

returned to CinqCygne for luncheon. Allowing that we can show you were in the house at three o'clock (the

exact hour at which the attack was made), who are our witnesses? Marthe, the wife of one of the accused, the

Durieus, and Catherine, your own servants, and Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre, father and mother of

two of the accused. Such testimony is valueless; the law does not admit it against you, and commonsense

rejects it when given in your favor. If, on the other hand, you were to say you went to the forest to recover

eleven hundred thousand francs in gold, you would send the accused to the galleys as robbers. Judge, jury,

audience, and the whole of France would believe that you took that gold from Gondreville, and abducted the

senator that you might ransack his house. The accusation as it now stands is not wholly clear, but tell the truth

about the matter and it would become as plain as day; the jury would declare that the robbery explained the

mysterious features,for in these days, you must remember, a royalist means a thief. This very case is

welcomed as a legitimate political vengeance. The prisoners are now in danger of the death penalty; but that

is not dishonoring under some circumstances. Whereas, if they can be proved to have stolen money, which

can never be made to seem excusable, you lose all benefit of whatever interest may attach to persons

condemned to death for other crimes. If, at the first, you had shown the hidingplaces of the treasure, the plan

of the forest, the tubes in which the gold was buried, and the gold itself, as an explanation of your day's work,

it is possible you might have been believed by an impartial magistrate, but as it is we must be silent. God

grant that none of the prisoners may reveal the truth and compromise the defence; if they do, we must rely on

Laurence wrung her hands in despair and raised her eyes to heaven with a despondent look, for she saw at last

in all its depths the gulf into which her cousins had fallen. The marquis and the young lawyer agreed with the

"Ah! why did they not listen to the Abbe Goujet and fly!" cried Madame d'Hauteserre, exasperated.

"If they could have escaped, and you prevented them," said Bordin, "you have killed them yourselves.

Judgment by default gains time; time enables the innocent to clear themselves. This is the most mysterious

case I have ever known in my life, in the course of which I have certainly seen and known many strange

"It is inexplicable to every one, even to us," said Monsieur de Grandville. "If the prisoners are innocent some

one else has committed the crime. Five persons do not come to a place as if by enchantment, obtain five

horses shod precisely like those of the accused, imitate the appearance of some of them, and put Malin

apparently underground for the sole purpose of casting suspicion on Michu and the four gentlemen. The

unknown guilty parties must have had some strong reason for wearing the skin, as it were, of five innocent

men. To discover them, even to get upon their traces, we need as much power as the government itself, as

many agents and as many eyes as there are townships in a radius of fifty miles."

"The thing is impossible," said Bordin. "There's no use thinking of it. Since society invented law it has never

found a way to give an innocent prisoner an equal chance against a magistrate who is pre disposed against

him. Law is not bilateral. The defence, without spies or police, cannot call social power to the rescue of its

innocent clients. Innocence has nothing on her side but reason, and reasoning which may strike a judge is

often powerless on the narrow minds of jurymen. The whole department is against you. The eight jurors who

have signed the indictment are each and all purchasers of national domain. Among the trial jurors we are

certain to have some who have either sold or bought the same property. In short, we can get nothing but a

Malin jury. You must therefore set up a consistent defence, hold fast to it, and perish in your innocence. You

will certainly be condemned. But there's a court of appeal; we will go there and try to remain there as long as

possible. If in the mean time we can collect proofs in your favor you must apply for pardon. That's the

anatomy of the business, and my advice. If we triumph (for everything is possible in law) it will be a miracle;

but your advocate Monsieur de Grandville is the most likely man among all I know to produce that miracle,

"The senator has the key to the mystery," said Monsieur de Grandville; "for a man knows his enemies and

why they are so. Here we find him leaving Paris at the close of the winter, coming to Gondreville alone,

shutting himself up with his notary, and delivering himself over, as one might say, to five men who seize

"Certainly," said Bordin, "his conduct seems inexplicable. But how could we, in the face of a hostile

community, become accusers when we ourselves are the accused? We should need the help and goodwill of

the government and a thousand times more proof than is wanted in ordinary circumstances. I am convinced

there was premeditation, and subtle premeditation, on the part of our mysterious adversaries, who must have

known the situation of Michu and the Messieurs de Simeuse towards Malin. Not to utter one word; not to

steal one thing! remarkable prudence! I see something very different from ordinary evildoers behind

those masks. But what would be the use of saying so to the sort of jurors we shall have to face?"

This insight into hidden matters which gives such power to certain lawyers and certain magistrates astonished

"Out of every hundred criminal cases," continued Bordin, "there are not ten where the law really lays bare the

truth to its full extent; and there is perhaps a good third in which the truth is never brought to light at all.

Yours is one of those cases which are inexplicable to all parties, to accused and accusers, to the law and to the

public. As for the Emperor, he has other fish to fry than to consider the case of these gentlemen, supposing

even that they had not conspired against him. But who the devil is Malin's enemy? and what has really been

Bordin and Monsieur de Grandville looked at each other; they seemed in doubt as to Laurence's veracity.

This evident suspicion was the most cutting of all the many pangs the girl had suffered in the affair; and she

The next day the indictment was handed over to the defence, and the lawyers were then enabled to

communicate with the prisoners. Bordin informed the family that the six accused men were "well

"If he is more in danger than the others, I think that is just," cried Laurence.

"We see certain chances," said Monsieur de Grandville, "and we shall study them carefully. If we are able to

save these gentlemen it will be because Monsieur d'Hauteserre ordered Michu to repair one of the stone posts

in the covered way, and also because a wolf has been seen in the forest; in a criminal court everything

depends on discussions, and discussions often turn on trivial matters which then become of immense

Laurence sank into that inward dejection which humiliates the soul of all thoughtful and energetic persons

when the uselessness of thought and action is made manifest to them. It was no longer a matter of

overthrowing a usurper, or of coming to the help of devoted friends, fanatical sympathies wrapped in a

shroud of mystery. She now saw all social forces fullarmed against her cousins and herself. There was no

taking a prison by assault with her own hands, no deliverance of prisoners from the midst of a hostile

population and beneath the eyes of a watchful police. So, when the young lawyer, alarmed at the stupor of the

generous and noble girl, which the natural expression of her face made still more noticeable, endeavored to

revive her courage, she turned to him and said: "I must be silent; I suffer,I wait."

The accent, gesture, and look with which the words were said made this answer one of those sublime things

A few moments later old d'Hauteserre was saying to the Marquis de Chargeboeuf: "What efforts I have made

for my two unfortunate sons! I have already laid by in the Funds enough to give them eight thousand francs a

year. If they had only been willing to serve in the army they would have reached the higher grades by this

time, and could now have married to advantage. Instead of that, all my plans are scattered to the winds!"

"How can you," said his wife, "think of their interests when it is a question of their honor and their lives?"

While the masters of CinqCygne were waiting at Troyes for the opening of the trial before the Criminal

court and vainly soliciting permission to see the prisoners, an event of the utmost importance had taken place

Marthe returned to CinqCygne as soon as she had given her testimony before the indicting jury. This

testimony was so insignificant that it was not thought necessary to summon her before the Criminal court.

Like all persons of extreme sensibility, the poor woman sat silent in the salon, where she kept company with

Mademoiselle Goujet, in a pitiable state of stupefaction. To her, as to the abbe, and indeed to all others who

did not know how the accused had been employed on that day, their innocence seemed doubtful. There were

moments when Marthe believed that Michu and his masters and Laurence had executed vengeance on the

senator. The unhappy woman now knew Michu's devotion well enough to be certain that he was the one who

would be most in danger, not only because of his antecedents, but because of the part he was sure to have

The Abbe Goujet and his sister and Marthe were bewildered among the possibilities to which this opinion

gave rise; and yet, in the process of thinking them over, their minds insensibly took hold of them in a certain

way. The absolute doubt which Descartes demands can no more exist in the brain of a man than a vacuum

can exist in nature, and the mental operation required to produce it would, like the effect of a pneumatic

machine, be exceptional and anomalous. Whatever a case may be, the mind believes in something. Now

Marthe was so afraid that the accused were guilty that her fear became equivalent to belief; and this condition

Five days after the arrests, just as she was in the act of going to bed about ten o'clock at night, she was called

"A laboring man from Troyes wants to speak to you; he is sent by Michu, and is waiting in the covered way,"

They passed through the breach so as to take the shortest path. In the darkness it was impossible for Marthe to

distinguish anything more than the form of a person which loomed through the shadows.

"Speak, madame; so that I may be certain you are really Madame Michu," said the person, in a rather anxious

"Very good," said the unknown, "give me your hand; do not fear me. I come," he added, leaning towards her

and speaking low, "from Michu with a note for you. I am employed at the prison, and if my superiors

discover my absence we shall all be lost. Trust me; your good father placed me where I am. For that reason

He put the letter into Marthe's hand and disappeared toward the forest without waiting for an answer. Marthe

trembled at the thought that she was now to hear the secret of the mystery. She ran to the farm with her

My dear Marthe,You can rely on the discretion of the man who will give you this letter; he does not know

how to read or to write. He is a stanch Republican, and shared in Baboeuf's conspiracy; your father often

made use of him, and he regards the senator as a traitor. Now, my dear wife, attend to my directions. The

senator has been shut up by us in the cave where our masters were hidden. The poor creature had provisions

for only five days, and as it is our interest that he should live, I wish you, as soon as you receive this letter, to

take him food for at least five days more. The forest is of course watched; therefore take as many precautions

as we formerly did for our young masters. Don't say a word to Malin; don't speak to him; and put on one of

our masks which you will find on the steps which lead down to the cave. Unless you wish to compromise our

heads you must be absolutely silent about this letter and the secret I have now confided to you. Don't say a

word to Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, who might tell of it. Don't fear for me. We are certain that the matter

will turn out well; when the time comes Malin himself will save us. I don't need to tell you to burn this letter

as soon as you have read it, for it would cost me my head if a line of it were seen. I kiss you for now and

The existence of the cave was known only to Marthe, her son, Michu, the four gentlemen, and Laurence; or

rather, Marthe, to whom her husband had not related the incident of his meeting with Peyrade and Corentin,

believed it was known only to them. Had she consulted her mistress and the two lawyers, who knew the

innocence of the prisoners, the shrewd Bordin would have gained some light upon the perfidious trap which

was evidently laid for his clients. But Marthe, acting like most women under a first impulse, was convinced

by this proof which came to her own eyes, and flung the letter into the fire as directed. Nevertheless, moved

by a singular gleam of caution, she caught a portion of it from the flames, tore off the five first lines, which

compromised no one, and sewed them into the hem of her dress. Terrified at the thought that the prisoner had

been without food for twentyfour hours, she resolved to carry bread, meat, and wine to him at once;

curiosity was well as humanity permitting no delay. Accordingly, she heated her oven and made, with her

mother's help, a pate of hare and ducks, a rice cake, roasted two fowls, selected three bottles of wine, and

baked two loaves of bread. About two in the morning she started for the forest, carrying the load on her back,

accompanied by Couraut, who in all such expeditions showed wonderful sagacity as a guide. He scented

strangers at immense distances, and as soon as he was certain of their presence he returned to his mistress

with a low growl, looking at her fixedly and turning his muzzle in the direction of the danger.

Marthe reached the pond about three in the morning, and left the dog as sentinel on the bank. After half an

hour's labor in clearing the entrance she came with a dark lantern to the door of the cave, her face covered

with a mask, which she had found, as directed, on the steps. The imprisonment of the senator seemed to have

been long premeditated. A hole about a foot square, which Marthe had never seen before, was roughly cut in

the upper part of the iron door which closed the cave; but in order to prevent Malin from using the time and

patience all prisoners have at their command in loosening the iron bar which held the door, it was securely

The senator, who had risen from his bed of moss, sighed when he saw the masked face and felt that there was

no chance then of his deliverance. He examined Marthe, as much as he could by the unsteady light of her

dark lantern, and he recognized her by her clothes, her stoutness, and her motions. When she passed the

pate through the door he dropped it to seize her hand and then, with great swiftness, he tried to pull the rings

from her fingers,one her weddingring, the other a gift from Mademoiselle de CinqCygne.

Marthe closed her fist the moment she felt his fingers, and gave him a vigorous blow in the chest. Then,

without a word, she turned away and cut a stick, at the end of which she held out to the senator the rest of the

Marthe departed giving him no answer. By five o'clock she had reached the edge of the forest and was

warned by Couraut of the presence of strangers. She retraced her steps and made for the pavilion where she

had lived so long; but just as she entered the avenue she was seen from afar by the forester of Gondreville,

"We are so unfortunate," she replied, "that I am obliged to do a servant's work myself. I am going to Bellache

Marthe made no answer. She continued on her way and reached the farm at Bellache, where she asked

Beauvisage to give her some seedgrain, saying that Monsieur d'Hauteserre advised her to get it from him to

renew her crop. As soon as Marthe had left the farm, the forester went there to find out what she asked for.

Six days later, Marthe, determined to be prudent, went at midnight with her provisions so as to avoid the

keepers who were evidently patrolling the forest. After carrying a third supply to the senator she suddenly

became terrified on hearing the abbe read aloud the public examination of the prisoners,for the trial was by

that time begun. She took the abbe aside, and after obliging him to swear that he would keep the secret she

was about to reveal as though it was said to him in the confessional, she showed him the fragments of

Michu's letter, told him the contents of it, and also the secret of the hidingplace where the senator then was.

The abbe at once inquired if she had other letters from her husband that he might compare the writing.

Marthe went to her home to fetch them and there found a summons to appear in court. By the time she

returned to the chateau the abbe and his sister had received a similar summons on behalf of the defence. They

were obliged therefore to start for Troyes immediately. Thus all the personages of our drama, even those who

were only, as it were, supernumeraries, were collected on the spot where the fate of the two families was

There are but few localities in France where Law derives from outward appearance the dignity which ought

always to accompany it. Yet it surely is, after religion and royalty, the greatest engine of society. Everywhere,

even in Paris, the meanness of its surroundings, the wretched arrangement of the courtrooms, their barrenness

and want of decoration in the most ornate and showy nation upon earth in the matter of its public monuments,

lessens the action of the law's mighty power. At the farther end of some oblong room may be seen a desk

with a green baize covering raised on a platform; behind it sit the judges on the commonest of armchairs. To

the left, is the seat of the public prosecutor, and beside him, close to the wall, is a long pen filled with chairs

for the jury. Opposite to the jury is another pen with a bench for the prisoners and the gendarmes who guard

them. The clerk of the court sits below the platform at a table covered with the papers of the case. Before the

imperial changes in the administration of justice were instituted, a commissary of the government and the

director of the jury each had a seat and a table, one to the right, the other to the left of the baizecovered

desk. Two sheriffs hovered about in the space left in front of the desk for the station of witnesses. Facing the

judges and against the wall above the entrance, there is always a shabby gallery reserved for officials and for

women, to which admittance is granted only by the president of the court, to whom the proper management

of the courtroom belongs. The non privileged public are compelled to stand in the empty space between the

door of the hall and the bar. This normal appearance of all French law courts and assizerooms was that of

In April, 1806, neither the four judges nor the president (or chief justice) who made up the court, nor the

public prosecutor, the director of the jury, the commissary of the government, nor the sheriffs or lawyers, in

fact no one except the gendarmes, wore any robes or other distinctive sign which might have relieved the

nakedness of the surroundings and the somewhat meagre aspect of the figures. The crucifix was suppressed;

its example was no longer held up before the eyes of justice and of guilt. All was dull and vulgar. The

paraphernalia so necessary to excite social interest is perhaps a consolation to criminals. On this occasion the

eagerness of the public was what it has ever been and ever will be in trials of this kind, so long as France

refuses to recognize that the admission of the public to the courts involves publicity, and that the publicity

given to trials is a terrible penalty which would never have been inflicted had legislators reflected on it.

Customs are often more cruel than laws. Customs are the deeds of men, but laws are the judgment of a nation.

Crowds surrounded the courtroom; the president was obliged to station squads of soldiers to guard the doors.

The audience, standing below the bar, was so crowded that persons suffocated. Monsieur de Grandville,

defending Michu, Bordin, defending the Simeuse brothers, and a lawyer of Troyes who appeared for the

d'Hauteserres, were in their seats before the opening of the court; their faces wore a look of confidence. When

the prisoners were brought in, sympathetic murmurs were heard at the appearance of the young men, whose

faces, in twenty days' imprisonment and anxiety, had somewhat paled. The perfect likeness of the twins

excited the deepest interest. Perhaps the spectators thought that Nature would exercise some special

protection in the case of her own anomalies, and felt ready to join in repairing the harm done to them by

destiny. Their noble, simple faces, showing no signs of shame, still less of bravado, touched the women's

hearts. The four gentlemen and Gothard wore the clothes in which they had been arrested; but Michu, whose

coat and trousers were among the "articles of testimony," socalled, had put on his best clothes,a blue

surtout, a brown velvet waistcoat a la Robespierre, and a white cravat. The poor man paid the penalty of his

dangerouslooking face. When he cast a glance of his yellow eye, so clear and so profound upon the

audience, a murmur of repulsion answered it. The assembly chose to see the finger of God bringing him to

the dock where his fatherinlaw had sacrificed so many victims. This man, truly great, looked at his

masters, repressing a smile of scorn. He seemed to say to them, "I am injuring your cause." Five of the

prisoners exchanged greetings with their counsel. Gothard still played the part of an idiot.

After several challenges, made with much sagacity by the defence under advice of the Marquis de

Chargeboeuf, who boldly took a seat beside Bordin and de Grandville, the jury were empanelled, the

indictment was read, and the prisoners were brought up separately to be examined. They answered every

question with remarkable unanimity. After riding about the forest all the morning they had returned to

CinqCygne for breakfast at one o'clock. After that meal, from three to halfpast five in the afternoon, they

had returned to the forest. That was the basis of each testimony; any variations were merely individual

circumstances. When the president asked the Messieurs de Simeuse why they had ridden out so early, they

both declared that wishing, since their return, to buy back Gondreville and intending to make an offer to

Malin who had arrived the night before, they had gone out early with their cousin and Michu to make certain

examinations of the property on which to base their offer. During that time the Messieurs d'Hauteserre, their

cousin, and Gothard had chased a wolf which was reported in the forest by the peasantry. If the director of the

jury had sought for the prints of their horses' feet in the forest as carefully as in the park of Gondreville, he

The examination of the Messieurs d'Hauteserre corroborated this testimony, and was in harmony with their

preliminary dispositions. The necessity of some reason for their ride suggested to each of them the excuse of

hunting. The peasants had given warning, a few days earlier, of a wolf in the forest, and on that they had

The public prosecutor, however, pointed out a discrepancy between the first statements of the Messieurs

d'Hauteserre, in which they mentioned that the whole party hunted together, and the defence now made by

the Messieurs de Simeuse that their purpose on that day was the valuation of the forest.

Monsieur de Grandville here called attention to the fact that as the crime was not committed until after two

o'clock in the afternoon, the prosecution had no ground to question their word when they stated the manner in

The prosecutor replied that the prisoners had an interest in concealing their preparations for the abduction of

The remarkable ability of the defence was now felt. Judges, jurors, and audience became aware that victory

would be hotly contested. Bordin and Monsieur de Grandville had studied their ground and foreseen

everything. Innocence is required to render a clear and plausible account of its actions. The duty of the

defence is to present a consistent and probable tale in opposition to an insufficient and improbable accusation.

To counsel who regard their client as innocent, an accusation is false. The public examination of the four

gentlemen sufficiently explained the matter in their favor. So far all was well. But the examination of Michu

was more serious; there the real struggle began. It was now clear to every one why Monsieur de Grandville

had preferred to take charge of the servant's defence rather than that of his masters.

Michu admitted his threats against Marion; but denied that he had made them violently. As for the ambush in

which he was supposed to have watched for his enemy, he said he was merely making his rounds in his park;

the senator and Monsieur Grevin might perhaps have been alarmed at the sight of his gun and have thought

his intentions hostile when they were really inoffensive. He called attention to the fact that in the dusk a man

who was not in the habit of hunting might easily fancy a gun was pointed at him, whereas, in point of fact, it

was held in his hand at halfcock. To explain the condition of his clothes when arrested, he said he had

slipped and fallen in the breach on his way home. "I could scarcely see my way," he said, "and the loose

stones slipped from under me as I climbed the bank." As for the plaster which Gothard was bringing him, he

replied as he had done in all previous examinations, that he wanted it to secure one of the stone posts of the

The public prosecutor and the president asked him to explain how he could have been at the top of the

covered way engaged in mending a stone post and at the same time in the breach of the moat leading to the

chateau; more especially as the justice of peace, the gendarmes and the forester all declared they had heard

him approach them from the lower road. To this Michu replied that Monsieur d'Hauteserre had blamed him

for not having mended the post,which he was anxious to have finished because there were difficulties

about that road with the township,and he had therefore gone up to the chateau to report that the work was

Monsieur d'Hauteserre had, in fact, put up a fence above the covered way to prevent the township from taking

possession of it. Michu seeing the important part which the state of his clothes was likely to play, invented

this subterfuge. If, in law, truth is often like falsehood, falsehood on the other hand has a very great

resemblance to truth. The defence and the prosecution both attached much importance to this testimony,

which became one of the leading points of the trial on account of the vigor of the defence and the suspicions

Gothard, instructed no doubt by Monsieur de Grandville, for up to that time he had only wept when they

"Why did neither you nor Gothard take the justice of peace and the forester to the stone post and show them

"Because," replied the man, "I didn't believe there was any serious accusation against us."

All the prisoners except Gothard were now removed from the courtroom. When Gothard was left alone the

president adjured him to speak the truth for his own sake, pointing out that his pretended idiocy had come to

an end; none of the jurors believed him imbecile; if he refused to answer the court he ran the risk of serious

penalty; whereas by telling the truth at once he would probably be released. Gothard wept, hesitated, and

finally ended by saying that Michu had told him to carry several sacks of plaster; but that each time he had

An argument hereupon ensued as to whether the three sacks included the one which Gothard was carrying at

the time of the arrest (which reduced the number of the other sacks to two) or whether there were three

without the last. The debate ended in favor of the first proposition, the jury considering that only two sacks

had been used. They appeared to have a foregone conviction on that point, but Bordin and Monsieur de

Grandville judged it best to surfeit them with plaster, and weary them so thoroughly with the argument that

they would no longer comprehend the question. Monsieur de Grandville made it appear that experts ought to

"The director of the jury," he said, "has contented himself with merely visiting the place, less for the purpose

of making a careful examination than to trap Michu in a lie; this, in our opinion, was a failure of duty, but the

On this the Court appointed experts to examine the posts and see if one of them had been really mended and

reset. The public prosecutor, on his side, endeavored to make capital of the affair before the experts could

"You seem to have chosen," he said to Michu, who was now brought back into the courtroom, "an hour when

the daylight was waning, from half past five to halfpast six o'clock, to mend this post and to cement it all

"But," said the prosecutor, "if you used that plaster on the post you must have had a trough and a trowel.

Now, if you went to the chateau to tell Monsieur d'Hauteserre that you had done the work, how do you

explain the fact that Gothard was bringing you more plaster. You must have passed your farm on your way to

the chateau, and you would naturally have left your tools at home and stopped Gothard."

"Come," said the prosecutor, "you had better admit at once that what you buried was not a stone post."

Monsieur de Grandville hereupon demanded that the public prosecutor should explain his meaning. Michu

was accused of abduction and the concealment of a person, but not of murder. Such an insinuation was a

serious matter. The code of Brumaire, year IV., forbade the public prosecutor from presenting any fresh count

at the trial; he must keep within the indictment or the proceedings would be annulled.

The public prosecutor replied that Michu, the person chiefly concerned in the abduction and who, in the

interests of his masters, had taken the responsibility on his own shoulders, might have thought it necessary to

plaster up the entrance of the hidingplace, still undiscovered, where the senator was now immured.

Pressed with questions, hampered by the presence of Gothard, and brought into contradiction with himself,

Michu struck his fist upon the edge of the dock with a resounding blow and said: "I have had nothing

whatever to do with the abduction of the senator. I hope and believe his enemies have merely imprisoned

him; when he reappears you'll find out that the plaster was put to no such use."

"Good!" said de Grandville, addressing the public prosecutor; "you have done more for my client's cause than

The first day's session ended with this bold declaration, which surprised the judges and gave an advantage to

the defence. The lawyers of the town and Bordin himself congratulated the young advocate. The prosecutor,

uneasy at the assertion, feared that he had fallen into some trap; in fact he was really caught in a snare that

was cleverly set for him by the defence and admirably played off by Gothard. The wits of the town declared

that he had whitewashed the affair and splashed his own cause, and had made the accused as white as the

plaster itself. France is the domain of satire, which reigns supreme in our land; Frenchmen jest on a scaffold,

at the Beresina, at the barricades, and some will doubtless appear with a quirk upon their lips at the grand

On the morrow the witnesses for the prosecution were examined,Madame Marion, Madame Grevin,

Grevin himself, the senator's valet, and Violette, whose testimony can readily be imagined from the facts

already told. They all identified the five prisoners, with more or less hesitation as to the four gentlemen, but

with absolute certainty as to Michu. Beauvisage repeated Robert d'Hauteserre's speech when he met them at

daybreak in the park. The peasant who had bought Monsieur d'Hauteserre's calf testified to overhearing that

of Mademoiselle de CinqCygne. The experts, who had compared the hoofprints with the shoes on the

horses ridden by the five prisoners and found them absolutely alike, confirmed their previous depositions.

This point was naturally one of vehement contention between Monsieur de Grandville and the prosecuting

officer. The defence called the blacksmith at CinqCygne and succeeded in proving that he had sold several

horseshoes of the same pattern to strangers who were not known in the place. The blacksmith declared,

moreover, that he was in the habit of shoeing in this particular manner not only the horses of the chateau de

CinqCygne, but those from other places in the canton. It was also proved that the horse which Michu

habitually rode was always shod at Troyes, and the mark of that shoe was not among the hoofprints found in

"Michu's double was not aware of this circumstance, or he would have provided for it," said Monsieur de

Grandville, looking at the jury. "Neither has the prosecution shown what horses our clients rode."

He ridiculed the testimony of Violette so far as it concerned a recognition of the horses, seen from a long

distance, from behind, and after dusk. Still, in spite of all his efforts, the body of the evidence was against

Michu; and the prosecutor, judge, jury, and audience were impressed with a feeling (as the lawyers for the

defence had foreseen) that the guilt of the servant carried with it that of the masters. So the vital interest

centred on all that concerned Michu. His bearing was noble. He showed in his answers the sagacity with

which nature had endowed him; and the public, seeing him on his mettle, recognized his superiority. And yet,

strange to say, the more they understood him the more certainty they felt that he was the instigator of the

The witnesses for the defence, always less important in the eyes of a jury and of the law than the witnesses

for the prosecution, seemed to testify as in duty bound, and were listened to with that allowance. In the first

place neither Marthe, nor Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre took the oath. Catherine and the Durieus, in

their capacity as servants, did not take it. Monsieur d'Hauteserre stated that he had ordered Michu to replace

and mend the stone post which had been thrown down. The deposition of the experts sent to examine the

fence, which was now read, confirmed his testimony; but they helped the prosecution by declaring they could

not fix the exact time at which the repairs had been made; it might have been several weeks or no more than

The appearance of Mademoiselle de CinqCygne excited the liveliest curiosity; but the sight of her cousins in

the prisoners' dock after three weeks' separation affected her so much that her emotions gave the audience an

impression of guilt. She felt an overwhelming desire to stand beside the twins, and was obliged, as she

afterwards admitted, to use all her strength to repress the longing that came into her mind to kill the

prosecutor so as to stand in the eyes of the world as a criminal beside them. She testified, with simplicity, that

riding from CinqCygne and seeing smoke in the park of Gondreville, she had supposed there was a fire; at

first she thought they were burning weeds or brush; "but later," she added, "I observed a circumstance which

I offer to the attention of the Court. I found in the frogging of my habit and in the folds of my collar small

"This is enough to change the whole inquiry," remarked Bordin. "I request the Court to order an immediate

Grevin, recalled by the defence and questioned on this circumstance, declared he knew nothing about it. But

But each shrewd head considered the following up of this point useless. Bordin reflected that Grevin would

be silent as the grave; and Grevin congratulated himself that every sign of the fire had been effaced.

To settle this point, which seemed a mere accessory to the trial and somewhat puerile (but which is really

essential in the justification which history owes to these young men), the experts and Pigoult, who were

despatched by the president to examine the park, reported that they could find no traces of a bonfire.

Bordin summoned two laborers, who testified to having dug over, under the direction of the forester, a tract

of ground in the park where the grass had been burned; but they declared they had not observed the nature of

The forester, recalled by the defence, said he had received from the senator himself, as he was passing the

chateau of Gondreville on his way to the masquerade at Arcis, an order to dig over that particular piece of

"I could not say. I saw nothing that made me think that papers had been burned there," replied the forester.

"At any rate," said Bordin, "if, as it appears, a fire was kindled on that piece of ground some one brought to

The testimony of the abbe and that of Mademoiselle Goujet made a favorable impression. They said that as

they left the church after vespers and were walking towards home, they met the four gentlemen and Michu

leaving the chateau on horseback and making their way to the forest. The character, position, and known

The summing up of the public prosecutor, who felt sure of obtaining a verdict, was in the nature of all such

speeches. The prisoners were the incorrigible enemies of France, her institutions and laws. They thirsted for

tumult and conspiracy. Though they had belonged to the army of Conde and had shared in the late attempts

against the life of the Emperor, that magnanimous sovereign had erased their names from the list of emigres.

This was the return they made for his clemency! In short, all the oratorical declamations of the Bourbons

against the Bonapartists, which in our day are repeated against the republicans and the legitimists by the

Younger Branch, flourished in the speech. These trite commonplaces, which might have some meaning under

a fixed government, seem farcical in the mouth of administrators of all epochs and opinions. A saying of the

troublous times of yore is still applicable: "The label is changed, but the wine is the same as ever." The public

prosecutor, one of the most distinguished legal men under the Empire, attributed the crime to a fixed

determination on the part of returned emigres to protest against the sale of their estates. He made the audience

shudder at the probable condition of the senator; then he massed together proofs, halfproofs, and

probabilities with a cleverness stimulated by a sense that his zeal was certain of its reward, and sat down

Monsieur de Grandville never argued but this one criminal case; and it made his reputation. In the first place,

he spoke with the same glowing eloquence which today we admire in Berryer. He was profoundly

convinced of the innocence of his clients, and that in itself is a most powerful auxiliary of speech. The

following are the chief points of his defence, which was reported in full by all the leading newspapers of the

period. In the first place he exhibited the character and life of Michu in its true light. He made it a noble tale,

ringing with lofty sentiments, and it awakened the sympathies of many. When Michu heard himself

vindicated by that eloquent voice, tears sprang from his yellow eyes and rolled down his terrible face. He

appeared then for what he really was,a man as simple and as wily as a child; a being whose whole

existence had but one thought, one aim. He was suddenly explained to the minds of all present, more

especially by his tears, which produced a great effect upon the jury. His able defender seized that moment of

"Where is the body of the person abducted? Where is the senator?" he asked. "You accuse us of walling him

up with stones and plaster. If so, we alone know where he is; you have kept us twentythree days in prison,

and the senator must be dead by this time for want of food. We are therefore murderers, but you have not

accused us of murder. On the other hand, if he still lives, we must have accomplices. If we have them, and if

the senator is living, we should assuredly have set him at liberty. The scheme in relation to Gondreville which

you attribute to us is a failure, and only aggravates our position uselessly. We might perhaps obtain a pardon

for an abortive attempt by releasing our victim; instead of that we persist in detaining a man from whom we

can obtain no benefit whatever. It is absurd! Take away your plaster; the effect is a failure," he said,

addressing the public prosecutor. "We are either idiotic criminals (which you do not believe) or the innocent

victims of circumstances as inexplicable to us as they are to you. You ought rather to search for the mass of

papers which were burned at Gondreville, which will reveal motives stronger far than yours or ours and put

The speaker discussed these hypotheses with marvellous ability. He dwelt on the moral character of the

witnesses for the defence, whose religious faith was a living one, who believed in a future life and in eternal

punishment. He rose to grandeur in this part of his speech and moved his hearers deeply:

"Remember!" he said; "these criminals were tranquilly dining when told of the abduction of the senator.

When the officer of gendarmes intimated to them the best means of ending the whole affair by giving up the

Then, reverting to the mystery of the matter, he declared that its solution was in the hands of time, which

would eventually reveal the injustice of the charge. Once on this ground, he boldly and ingeniously supposed

himself a juror; related his deliberations with his colleagues; imagined his distress lest, having condemned the

innocent, the error should be known too late, and drew such a picture of his remorse, dwelling on the grave

doubts which the case presented, that he brought the jury to a condition of intense anxiety.

Juries were not in those days so blase to this sort of allocution as they are now; Monsieur de Grandville's

appeal had the power of things new, and the jurors were evidently shaken. After this passionate outburst they

had to listen to the wily and specious prosecutor, who went over the whole case, brought out the darkest

points against the prisoners and made the rest inexplicable. His aim was to reach the minds and the reasoning

faculties of his hearers just as Monsieur de Grandville had aimed at the heart and the imagination. The latter,

however, had seriously entangled the convictions of the jury, and the public prosecutor found his welllaid

arguments ineffectual. This was so plain that the counsel for the Messieurs d'Hauteserre and Gothard

appealed to the judgment of the jury, asking that the case against their clients be abandoned. The prosecutor

demanded a postponement till the next day in order that he might prepare an answer. Bordin, who saw

acquittal in the eyes of the jury if they deliberated on the case at once, opposed the delay of even one night by

arguments of legal right and justice to his innocent clients; but in vain,the court allowed it.

"The interests of society are as great as those of the accused," said the president. "The court would be lacking

in equity if it denied a like request when made by the defence; it ought therefore to grant that of the

"All is luck or illluck!" said Bordin to his clients when the session was over. "Almost acquitted tonight you

Mademoiselle de CinqCygne's eyes were full of tears. After the doubts and fears of the counsel for the

defence, she had not expected this success. Those around her congratulated her and predicted the acquittal of

her cousins. But alas! the matter was destined to end in a startling and almost theatrical event, the most

unexpected and disastrous circumstance which ever changed the face of a criminal trial.

At five in the morning of the day after Monsieur de Grandville's speech, the senator was found on the high

road to Troyes, delivered from captivity during his sleep, unaware of the trial that was going on or of the

excitement attaching to his name in Europe, and simply happy in being once more able to breathe the fresh

air. The man who was the pivot of the drama was quite as amazed at what was now told to him as the persons

who met him on his way to Troyes were astounded at his reappearance. A farmer lent him a carriage and he

soon reached the house of the prefect at Troyes. The prefect notified the director of the jury, the commissary

of the government, and the public prosecutor, who, after a statement made to them by Malin, arrested Marthe,

while she was still in bed at the Durieu's house in the suburbs. Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, who was only

at liberty under bail, was also snatched from one of the few hours of slumber she had been able to obtain at

rare intervals in the course of her ceaseless anxiety, and taken to the prefecture to undergo an examination.

An order to keep the accused from holding any communication with each other or with their counsel was sent

to the prison. At ten o'clock the crowd which assembled around the courtroom were informed that the trial

This change of hour, following on the news of the senator's deliverance, Marthe's arrest, and that of

Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, together with the denial of the right to communicate with the prisoners carried

terror to the hotel de Chargeboeuf. The whole town and the spectators who had come to Troyes to be present

at the trial, the shorthand writers for the daily journals, even the populace were in a ferment which can

readily be imagined. The Abbe Goujet came at ten o'clock to see Monsieur and Madame d'Hauteserre and the

counsel for the defence, who were breakfastingas well as they could under the circumstances. The abbe

took Bordin and Monsieur Grandville apart, told them what Marthe had confided to him the day before, and

gave them the fragment of the letter she had received. The two lawyers exchanged a look, after which Bordin

said to the abbe: "Not a word of all this! The case is lost; but at any rate let us show a firm front."

Marthe was not strong enough to evade the crossquestioning of the director of the jury and the public

prosecutor. Moreover the proof against her was too overwhelming. Lechesneau had sent for the under crust of

the last loaf of bread she had carried to the cavern, also for the empty bottles and various other articles.

During the senator's long hours of captivity he had formed conjectures in his own mind and had looked for

indications which might put him on the track of his enemies. These he now communicated to the authorities.

Michu's farmhouse, lately built, had, he supposed, a new oven; the tiles or bricks on which the bread was

baked would show their jointed lines on the bottom of the loaves, and thus afford a proof that the bread

supplied to him was baked on that particular oven. So with the wine brought in bottles sealed with green wax,

which would probably be found identical with other bottles in Michu's cellar. These shrewd observations,

which Malin imparted to the justice of peace, who made the first examination (taking Marthe with him), led

Marthe, deceived by the apparent friendliness of Lechesneau and the public prosecutor, who assured her that

complete confession could alone save her husband's life, admitted that the cavern where the senator had been

hidden was known only to her husband and the Messieurs de Simeuse and d'Hauteserre, and that she herself

Laurence, questioned about the cavern, was forced to acknowledge that Michu had discovered it and had

shown it to her at the time when the four young men evaded the police and were hidden in it.

As soon as these preliminary examinations were ended, the jury, lawyers, and audience were notified that the

trial would be resumed. At three o'clock the president opened the session by announcing that the case would

be continued under a new aspect. He exhibited to Michu three bottles of wine and asked him if he recognized

them as bottles from his own cellar, showing him at the same time the identity between the green wax on two

empty bottles with the green wax on a full bottle taken from his cellar that morning by the justice of peace in

presence of his wife. Michu refused to recognize anything as his own. But these proofs for the prosecution

were understood by the jurors, to whom the president explained that the empty bottles were found in the place

Each prisoner was questioned as to the cavern or cellar beneath the ruins of the old monastery. It was proved

by all witnesses for the prosecution, and also for the defence, that the existence of this hidingplace

discovered by Michu was known only to him and his wife, and to Laurence and the four gentlemen. We may

judge of the effect in the courtroom when the public prosecutor made known the fact that this cavern, known

only to the accused and to their two witnesses, was the place where the senator had been imprisoned.

Marthe was summoned. Her appearance caused much excitement among the spectators and keen anxiety to

the prisoners. Monsieur de Grandville rose to protest against the testimony of a wife against her husband. The

public prosecutor replied that Marthe by her own confession was an accomplice in the outrage; that she had

neither sworn nor testified, and was to be heard solely in the interests of truth.

"We need only submit her preliminary examination to the jury," remarked the president, who now ordered the

Michu looked at his wife, and Marthe, who saw her fatal error, fainted away and fell to the floor. It may be

"I never wrote to my wife from prison, and I know none of the persons employed there," said Michu.

Bordin passed to him the fragments of the letter Marthe had received. Michu gave but one glance at it. "My

The senator was introduced into the courtroom with all the ceremonies due to his position. His entrance was

like a stage scene. Malin (now called Comte de Gondreville, without regard to the feelings of the late owners

of the property) was requested by the president to look at the prisoners, and did so with great attention and for

a long time. He stated that the clothing of his abductors was exactly like that worn by the four gentlemen; but

he declared that the trouble of his mind had been such that he could not be positive that the accused were

"More than that," he said, "it is my conviction that these four gentlemen had nothing to do with it. The hands

that blindfolded me in the forest were coarse and rough. I should rather suppose," he added, looking at

Michu, "that my old enemy took charge of that duty; but I beg the gentlemen of the jury not to give too much

weight to this remark. My suspicions are very slight, and I feel no certainty whateverfor this reason. The

two men who seized me put me on horseback behind the man who blindfolded me, and whose hair was red

like Michu's. However singular you may consider the observation I am about to make, it is necessary to make

it because it is the ground of an opinion favorable to the accusedwho, I hope, will not feel offended by it.

Fastened to the man's back I would naturally have been affected by his odoryet I did not perceive that

which is peculiar to Michu. As to the person who brought me provisions on three several occasions, I am

certain it was Marthe, the wife of Michu. I recognized her the first time she came by a ring she always wore,

which she had forgotten to remove. The Court and jury will please allow for the contradictions which appear

A murmur of approval followed this testimony. Bordin asked permission of the Court to address a few

"Does the senator think that his abduction was due to other causes than the interests respecting property

"I do," replied the senator, "but I am wholly ignorant of what the real motives were; for during a captivity of

"Do you think," said the public prosecutor, "that your chateau at Gondreville contains information,

titledeeds, or other papers of value which would induce a search on the part of the Messieurs de Simeuse?"

"I do not think so," replied Malin; "I believe those gentlemen to be incapable of attempting to get possession

"You burned certain papers in the park, did you not?" said Monsieur de Gondreville, abruptly.

Malin looked at Grevin. After exchanging a rapid glance with the notary, which Bordin intercepted, he

replied that he had not burned any papers. The public prosecutor having asked him to describe the ambush to

which he had so nearly fallen a victim two years earlier, the senator replied that he had seen Michu watching

him from the fork of a tree. This answer, which agreed with Grevin's testimony, produced a great impression.

The four gentlemen remained impassible during the examination of their enemy, who seemed determined to

overwhelm them with generosity. Laurence suffered horrible agony. From time to time the Marquis de

Chargeboeuf held her by the arm, fearing she might dart forward to the rescue. The Comte de Gondreville

retired from the courtroom and as he did so he bowed to the four gentlemen, who did not return the

"Alas, yes! and always through the nobility of their sentiments," replied the marquis.

"My task is now only too easy, gentlemen," said the prosecutor, rising to address the jury.

He explained the use of the cement by the necessity of securing an iron frame on which to fasten a padlock

which held the iron bar with which the gate of the cavern was closed; a description of which was given in the

procesverbal made that morning by Pigoult. He put the falsehoods of the accused into the strongest light,

and pulverized the arguments of the defence with the new evidence so miraculously obtained. In 1806 France

was still too near the Supreme Being of 1793 to talk about divine justice; he therefore spared the jury all

reference to the intervention of heaven; but he said that earthly justice would be on the watch for the

mysterious accomplices who had set the senator at liberty, and he sat down, confidently awaiting the verdict.

The jury believed there was a mystery, but they were all persuaded that it came from the prisoners, who were

probably concealing some matter of a private interest of great importance to them.

Monsieur de Grandville, to whom a plot or machination of some kind was quite evident, rose; but he seemed

discouraged,less, however, by the new evidence than by the manifest opinion of the jury. He surpassed, if

anything, his speech of the previous evening; his argument was more compact and logical; but he felt his

fervor repelled by the coldness of the jury; he spoke ineffectually, and he knew it,a chilling situation for an

advocate. He called attention to the fact that the release of the senator, as if by magic and clearly without the

aid of any of the accused or of Marthe, corroborated his previous argument. Yesterday the prisoners could

most surely rely on acquittal, and if they had, as the prosecution claimed, the power to hold or to release the

senator, they certainly would not have released him until after their acquittal. He endeavored to bring before

the minds of the Court and jury the fact that mysterious enemies, undiscovered as yet, could alone have

Strange to say, the only minds Monsieur de Grandville reached with this argument were those of the public

prosecutor and the judges. The jury listened perfunctorily; the audience, usually so favorable to prisoners,

were convinced of their guilt. In a court of justice the sentiments of the crowd do unquestionably weigh upon

the judges and the jury, and vice versa. Seeing this condition of the minds about him, which could be felt if

not defined, the counsel uttered his last words in a tone of passionate excitement caused by his conviction:

"In the name of the accused," he cried, "I forgive you for the fatal error you are about to commit, and which

nothing can repair! We are the victims of some mysterious and Machiavellian power. Marthe Michu was

inveigled by vile perfidy. You will discover this too late, when the evil you now do will be irreparable."

Bordin simply claimed the acquittal of the prisoners on the testimony of the senator himself.

The president summed up the case with all the more impartiality because it was evident that the minds of the

jurors were already made up. He even turned the scales in favor of the prisoners by dwelling on the senator's

evidence. This clemency, however, did not in the least endanger the success of the prosecution. At eleven

o'clock that night, after the jury had replied through their foreman to the usual questions, the Court

condemned Michu to death, the Messieurs de Simeuse to twentyfour years' and the Messieurs d'Hauteserre

The whole audience was eager to observe the bearing of the five guilty men in this supreme moment of their

lives. The four gentlemen looked at Laurence, who returned them, with dry eyes, the ardent look of the

"She would have wept had we been acquitted," said the younger de Simeuse to his brother.

Never did convicted men meet an unjust fate with serener brows or countenances more worthy of their

Madame d'Hauteserre fell ill, and was three months in her bed at the hotel de Chargeboeuf. Monsieur

d'Hauteserre returned patiently to CinqCygne, inwardly gnawed by one of those sorrows of old age which

have none of youth's distractions; often he was so absentminded that the abbe, who watched him, knew the

poor father was living over again the scene of the fatal verdict. Marthe passed away from all blame; she died

three weeks after the condemnation of her husband, confiding her son to Laurence, in whose arms she died.

The trial once over, political events of the utmost importance effaced even the memory of it, and nothing

further was discovered. Society is like the ocean; it returns to its level and its specious calmness after a

Without her natural firmness of mind and her knowledge of her cousins' innocence, Laurence would have

succumbed; but she gave fresh proof of the grandeur of her character; she astonished Monsieur de Grandville

and Bordin by the apparent serenity which these terrible misfortunes called forth in her noble soul. She

nursed Madame d'Hauteserre and went daily to the prison, saying openly that she would marry one of the

"To the galleys!" cried Bordin, "Mademoiselle! our first endeavor must be to wring their pardon from the

The spectacles of the old lawyer jumped from his nose; he caught them as they fell and looked at the young

girl who was now indeed a woman; he understood her character at last in all its bearings; then he took the arm

The appeal of the Messieurs de Simeuse and d'Hauteserre and that of Michu was the first case to be brought

before the new court. Its decision was fortunately delayed by the ceremonies attending its installation.

Towards the end of September, after three sessions of the Court of Appeals in which the lawyers for the

defence pleaded, and the attorneygeneral Merlin himself spoke for the prosecution, the appeal was rejected.

The Imperial Court of Paris was by this time instituted. Monsieur de Grandville was appointed assistant

attorneygeneral, and the department of the Aube coming under the jurisdiction of this court, it became

possible for him to take certain steps in favor of the convicted prisoners, among them that of importuning

Cambaceres, his protector. Bordin and Monsieur de Chargeboeuf came to his house in the Marais the day

after the appeal was rejected, where they found him in the midst of his honeymoon, for he had married in the

interval. In spite of all these changes in his condition, Monsieur de Chargeboeuf saw very plainly that the

young lawyer was faithful to his late clients. Certain lawyers, the artists of their profession, treat their causes

As soon as they were alone in his study, Monsieur de Grandville said to the marquis: "I have not waited for

your visit; I have already employed all my influence. Don't attempt to save Michu; if you do, you cannot

obtain the pardon of the Messieurs de Simeuse. The law will insist on one victim."

"Good God!" cried Bordin, showing the young magistrate the three petitions for mercy; "how can I take upon

myself to withdraw the application for that man. If I suppress the paper I cut off his head."

"We can't suppress it; but be sure of one thing, if you ask all you will obtain nothing."

"Yes. The order for execution comes from the office of the attorney general; I will see that you have some

days. We kill men," he said with some bitterness, "but at least we do it formally, especially in Paris."

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf had already received from the chief justice certain information which added weight

"Michu is innocent, I know," continued the young lawyer, "but what can we do against so many? Remember,

too, that my present influence depends on my keeping silent. I must order the scaffold to be prepared, or my

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf knew Laurence well enough to be certain she would never consent to save her

cousins at the expense of Michu; he therefore resolved on making one more effort. He asked an audience of

the minister of foreign affairs to learn if salvation could be looked for through the influence of the great

diplomat. He took Bordin with him, for the latter knew the minister and had done him some service. The two

old men found Talleyrand sitting with his feet stretched out, absorbed in contemplation of his fire, his head

resting on his hand, his elbow on the table, a newspaper lying at his feet. The minister had just read the

"Pray sit down, Monsieur le marquis," said Talleyrand, "and you, Bordin," he added, pointing to a place at the

Sire,Four innocent gentlemen, declared guilty by a jury have just had their condemnation confirmed by

Your Imperial Majesty can now only pardon them. These gentlemen ask this pardon of your august

clemency, in the hope that they may enter your army and meet their death in battle before your eyes; and thus

"None but princes can do such prompt and graceful kindness," said the Marquis de Chargeboeuf, taking the

precious draft of the petition from the hands of Bordin that he might have it signed by the four gentlemen;

resolving in his own mind that he would also obtain the signatures of several august names.

"The life of your young relatives, Monsieur le marquis," said the minister, "now depends on the turn of a

battle. Endeavor to reach the Emperor on the morning after a victory and they are saved."

He took a pen and himself wrote a private and confidential letter to the Emperor, and another of ten lines to

Marechal Duroc. Then he rang the bell, asked his secretary for a diplomatic passport, and said tranquilly to

"I presume I do; but I have reasons to wish for certainty," replied Talleyrand. "Return to Troyes; bring me the

Comtesse de CinqCygne, here, tomorrow at the same hour, but secretly; ask to be ushered into Madame de

Talleyrand's salon; I will tell her you are coming. If Mademoiselle de CinqCygne, who shall be placed

where she can see a man who will be standing before me, recognizes that man as an individual who came to

her house during the conspiracy of de Polignac and Riviere, tell her to remember that, no matter what I say or

what he answers me, she must not utter a word nor make a gesture. One thing more, think only of saving the

"Enthusiasm! in you, Bordin! The man must be remarkable. Our sovereign has an immense selflove,

Monsieur le marquis," he said, changing the conversation. "He is about to dismiss me that he may commit

follies without warning. The Emperor is a great soldier who can change the laws of time and distance, but he

cannot change men; yet he persists in trying to run them in his own mould! Now, remember this; the young

The marquis went alone to Troyes and told the whole matter to Laurence. She obtained permission from the

authorities to see Michu, and the marquis accompanied her to the gates of the prison, where he waited for her.

"Poor man!" she said; "he tried to kneel to me, praying that I would not think of him, and forgetting the

shackles that were on his feet! Ah, marquis, I will plead his cause. Yes, I'll kiss the boot of their Emperor. If I

failwell, the memory of that man shall live eternally honored in our family. Present his petition for mercy

so as to gain time; meantime I am resolved to have his portrait. Come, let us go."

The next day, when Talleyrand was informed by a sign agreed upon that Laurence was at her post, he rang

the bell; his orderly came to him, and received orders to admit Monsieur Corentin.

"My friend, you are a very clever fellow," said Talleyrand, "and I wish to employ you."

"Listen. In serving Fouche you will get money, but never honor nor any position you can acknowledge. But

in serving me, as you have lately done at Berlin, you can win credit and repute."

"To what does Monseigneur allude?" said Corentin, with a manner that was neither too reserved nor too

"Ah, Monsieur!" observed the minister, dryly, "you will never make a successful man; you fear"

"That is the man," said the Marquis de Chargeboeuf entering the room after Corentin was dismissed; "but we

"He is the only man I know capable of playing such a trick," replied the minister. "Monsieur le marquis, you

are in danger of not succeeding in your mission. Start ostensibly for Strasburg; I'll send you double passports

in blank to be filled out. Provide yourself with substitutes; change your route and above all your carriage; let

your substitutes go on to Strasburg, and do you reach Prussia through Switzerland and Bavaria. Not a

wordprudence! The police are against you; and you do not know what the police are"

Mademoiselle de CinqCygne offered the then celebrated Robert Lefebvre a sufficient sum to induce him to

go to Troyes and take Michu's portrait. Monsieur de Grandville promised to afford the painter every possible

facility. Monsieur de Chargeboeuf then started in the old berlingot, with Laurence and a servant who spoke

German. Not far from Nancy they overtook Mademoiselle Goujet and Gothard, who had preceded them in an

excellent carriage, which the marquis took, giving them in exchange the berlingot.

Talleyrand was right. At Strasburg the commissarygeneral of police refused to countersign the passport of

the travellers, and gave them positive orders to return. By that time the marquis and Laurence were leaving

Laurence crossed Switzerland in the first days of October, without paying the slightest attention to that

glorious land. She lay back in the carriage in the torpor which overtakes a criminal on the eve of his

execution. To her eyes all nature was shrouded in a seething vapor; even common things assumed fantastic

shapes. The one thought, "If I do not succeed they will kill themselves," fell upon her soul with reiterated

blows, as the bar of the executioner fell upon the victim's members when tortured on the wheel. She felt

herself breaking; she lost her energy in this terrible waiting for the cruel moment, short and decisive, when

she should find herself face to face with that man on whom the fate of the condemned depended. She chose to

yield to her depression rather than waste her strength uselessly. The marquis, who was incapable of

understanding this resolve of firm minds, which often assumes quite diverse aspects (for in such moments of

tension certain superior minds give way to surprising gaiety), began to fear that he might never bring

Laurence alive to the momentous interview, solemn to them only, and yet beyond the ordinary limits of

private life. To Laurence, the necessity of humiliating herself before that man, the object of her hatred and

"After this," she said, "the Laurence who survives will bear no likeness to her who is now to perish."

The travellers could not fail to be aware of the vast movement of men and material which surrounded them

the moment they entered Prussia. The campaign of Jena had just begun. Laurence and the marquis beheld the

magnificent divisions of the French army deploying and parading as if at the Tuileries. In this display of

military power, which can be adequately described only with the words and images of the Bible, the

proportions of the Man whose spirit moved these masses grew gigantic to Laurence's imagination. Soon, the

cry of victory resounded in her ears. The Imperial arms had just obtained two signal advantages. The Prince

of Prussia had been killed the evening before the day on which the travellers arrived at Saalfeld on their

At last, on the 13th of October (date of illomen) Mademoiselle de CinqCygne was skirting a river in the

midst of the Grand Army, seeing nought but confusion, sent hither and thither from one village to another,

from division to division, frightened at finding herself alone with one old man tossed about in an ocean of a

hundred and fifty thousand armed men facing a hundred and fifty thousand more. Weary of watching the

river through the hedges of the muddy road which she was following along a hillside, she asked its name of a

"That's the Saale," he said, showing her the Prussian army, grouped in great masses on the other side of the

Night came on. Laurence beheld the campfires lighted and the glitter of stacked arms. The old marquis,

whose courage was chivalric, drove the horses himself (two strong beasts bought the evening before), his

servant sitting beside him. He knew very well he should find neither horses nor postilions within the lines of

the army. Suddenly the bold equipage, an object of great astonishment to the soldiers, was stopped by a

gendarme of the military gendarmerie, who galloped up to the carriage, calling out to the marquis: "Who are

"The Emperor," replied the Marquis de Chargeboeuf; "I have an important dispatch for the Grandmarechal

Mademoiselle de CinqCygne and the marquis were, however, compelled to remain where they were on

"Where are we?" she asked, stopping two officers whom she saw passing, whose uniforms were concealed by

"You are among the advanced guard of the French army," answered one of the officers. "You cannot stay

here, for if the enemy makes a movement and the artillery opens you will be between two fires."

Hearing that "Ah!" the other officer turned and said: "How did that woman come here?"

"We are waiting," said Laurence, "for a gendarme who has gone to find General Duroc, a protector who will

"Speak to the Emperor!" exclaimed the first officer; "how can you think of such a thingon the eve of a

"True," she said; "I ought to speak to him on the morrowvictory would make him kind."

The two officers stationed themselves at a little distance and sat motionless on their horses. The carriage was

now surrounded by a mass of generals, marshals, and other officers, all extremely brilliant in appearance,

"Good God!" said the marquis to Mademoiselle de CinqCygne; "I am afraid you spoke to the Emperor."

"The Emperor?" said a colonel, beside them, "why there he is!" pointing to the officer who had said, "How

did that woman get here?" He was mounted on a white horse, richly caparisoned, and wore the celebrated

gray topcoat over his green uniform. He was scanning with a fieldglass the Prussian army massed beyond

the Saale. Laurence understood then why the carriage remained there, and why the Emperor's escort

respected it. She was seized with a convulsive tremorthe hour had come! She heard the heavy sound of the

tramp of men and the clang of their arms as they arrived at a quick step on the plateau. The batteries had a

"Marechal Lannes will take position with his whole corps in the advance; Marechal Lefebvre and the Guard

The Emperor dismounted. At his first motion Roustan, his famous mameluke, hastened to hold his horse.

Laurence was stupefied with amazement; she had never dreamed of such simplicity.

Just then the Grandmarechal Duroc, whom the gendarme had finally found, came up to the Marquis de

Chargeboeuf and asked the reason of his coming. The marquis replied that a letter from the Prince de

Talleyrand, of which he was the bearer, would explain to the marshal how urgent it was that Mademoiselle de

"His Majesty will no doubt dine at his bivouac," said Duroc, taking the letter, "and when I find out what your

object is, I will let you know if you can see him. Corporal," he said to the gendarme, "accompany this

Monsieur de Chargeboeuf followed the gendarme and stopped his horses behind a miserable cabin, built of

mud and branches, surrounded by a few fruittrees, and guarded by pickets of infantry and cavalry.

It may be said that the majesty of war appeared here in all its grandeur. From this height the lines of the two

armies were visible in the moonlight. After an hour's waiting, the time being occupied by the incessant

coming and going of the aidesdecamp, Duroc himself came for Mademoiselle de CinqCygne and the

marquis, and made them enter the hut, the floor of which was of battened earth like that of a stable.

Before a table with the remains of dinner, and before a fire made of green wood which smoked, Napoleon

was seated in a clumsy chair. His muddy boots gave evidence of a long tramp across country. He had taken

off the famous topcoat; and his equally famous green uniform, crossed by the red cordon of the Legion of

honor and heightened by the white of his kerseymere breeches and of his waistcoat, brought out vividly his

pale and terrible Caesarian face. One hand was on a map which lay unfolded on his knees. Berthier stood near

him in the brilliant uniform of the viceconstable of the Empire. Constant, the valet, was offering the

"What do you want?" said Napoleon, with a show of roughness, darting his eye like a flash through

Laurence's head. "You are no longer afraid to speak to me before the battle? What is it about?"

"Sire," she said, looking at him with as firm an eye, "I am Mademoiselle de CinqCygne."

"Do you not understand? I am the Comtesse de CinqCygne, come to ask mercy," she said, falling on her

knees and holding out to him the petition drawn up by Talleyrand, endorsed by the Empress, by Cambaceres

The Emperor raised her graciously, and said with a keen look: "Have you come to your senses? Do you now

"Ah! at this moment I understand only the Emperor," she said, vanquished by the kindly manner with which

"All? No, that bailiff is a dangerous man, who would have killed my senator without taking your advice."

"Ah, Sire," she said, "if you had a friend devoted to you, would you abandon him? Would you not rather"

"And you, a man of iron!" she replied with a passionate sternness which pleased him.

"That man has been condemned to death by the laws of his country," he continued.

He took Mademoiselle de CinqCygne by the hand and led her from the hut to the plateau.

"See," he continued, with that eloquence of his which changed even cowards to brave men, "see those three

hundred thousand menall innocent. And yet tomorrow thirty thousand of them will be lying dead, dead

for their country! Among those Prussians there is, perhaps, some great mathematician, a man of genius, an

idealist, who will be mown down. On our side we shall assuredly lose many a great man never known to

fame. Perhaps even I shall see my best friend die. Shall I blame God? No. I shall bear it silently. Learn from

this, mademoiselle, that a man must die for the laws of his country just as men die here for her glory." So

saying, he led her back into the hut. "Return to France," he said, looking at the marquis; "my orders shall

Laurence believed in a commutation of Michu's punishment, and in her gratitude she knelt again before the

"Ah!" thought Laurence, "there's the sublieutenant after all; he wants to be paid for his mercy."

The marquis bowed without replying. Happily at this moment General Rapp rushed into the hut.

"Sire, the cavalry of the Guard, and that of the Grandduc de Berg cannot be set up before midday

"Never mind," said Napoleon, turning to Berthier, "we, too, get our reprieves; let us profit by them."

At a sign of his hand the marquis and Laurence retired and again entered their carriage; the corporal showed

them their road and accompanied them to a village where they passed the night. The next day they left the

field of battle behind them, followed by the thunder of the cannon,eight hundred pieces,which pursued

them for ten hours. While still on their way they learned of the amazing victory of Jena.

Eight days later, they were driving through the faubourg of Troyes, where they learned that an order of the

chief justice, transmitted through the procureur imperial of Troyes, commanded the release of the four

gentlemen on bail during the Emperor's pleasure. But Michu's sentence was confirmed, and the warrant for

his execution had been forwarded from the ministry of police. These orders had reached Troyes that very

morning. Laurence went at once to the prison, though it was two in the morning, and obtained permission to

stay with Michu, who was about to undergo the melancholy ceremony called "the toilet." The good abbe,

who had asked permission to accompany him to the scaffold, had just given absolution to the man, whose

only distress in dying was his uncertainty as to the fate of his young masters. When Laurence entered his cell

"They are pardoned," she said; "I do not know on what conditions, but they are pardoned. I did all I could for

you, dear friendagainst the advice of others. I thought I had saved you; but the Emperor deceived me with

"It was written above," said Michu, "that the watchdog should be killed on the spot where his old masters

The last hour passed rapidly. Michu, at the moment of parting, asked to kiss her hand, but Laurence held her

cheek to the lips of the noble victim that he might sacredly kiss it. Michu refused to mount the cart.

He would not let the abbe give him his arm; resolutely and with dignity he walked alone to the scaffold. As

he laid his head on the plank he said to the executioner, after asking him to turn down the collar of his coat,

The four gentlemen had hardly time to even see Mademoiselle de Cinq Cygne. An orderly of the general

commanding the division to which they were assigned, brought them their commissions as sublieutenants in

the same regiment of cavalry, with orders to proceed at once to Bayonne, the base of supplies for its

particular armycorps. After a scene of heartrending farewells, for they all foreboded what the future should

The two brothers were killed together under the eyes of the Emperor at SommoSierra, the one defending the

other, both being already in command of their troop. The last words of each were, "Laurence, cy meurs!"

The elder d'Hauteserre died a colonel at the attack on the redoubt at Moscow, where his brother took his

Adrien d'Hauteserre, appointed brigadiergeneral at the battle of Dresden, was dangerously wounded there

and was sent to CinqCygne for proper nursing. While endeavoring to save this relic of the four gentlemen

who for a few brief months had been so happy around her, Laurence, then thirtytwo years of age, married

him. She offered him a withered heart, but he accepted it; those who truly love doubt nothing or doubt all.

The Restoration found Laurence without enthusiasm. The Bourbons returned too late for her. Nevertheless,

she had no cause for complaint. Her husband, made peer of France with the title of Marquis de CinqCygne,

became lieutenantgeneral in 1816, and was rewarded with the blue ribbon for the eminent services which he

Michu's son, of whom Laurence took care as though he were her own child, was admitted to the bar in 1817.

After practising two years he was made assistantjudge at the court of Alencon, and from there he became

procureurduroi at Arcis in 1827. Laurence, who had also taken charge of Michu's property, made over to

the young man on the day of his majority an investment in the public Funds which yielded him an income of

twelve thousand francs a year. Later, she arranged a marriage for him with Mademoiselle Girel, an heiress at

The Marquis de CinqCygne died in 1829, in the arms of his wife, surrounded by his father and mother, and

his children who adored him. At the time of his death no one had ever fathomed the mystery of the senator's

abduction. Louis XVIII. did not neglect to repair, as far as possible, the wrongs done by that affair; but he

was silent as to the causes of the disaster. From that time forth the Marquise de Cinq Cygne believed him to

The late Marquis de CinqCygne had used his savings, as well as those of his father and mother, in the

purchase of a fine house in the rue de FaubourgduRoule, entailing it on heirs male for the support of the

title. The sordid economy of the marquis and his parents, which had often troubled Laurence, was then

explained. After this purchase the marquise, who lived at CinqCygne and economized on her own account

for her children, spent her winters in Paris,all the more willingly because her daughter Berthe and her son

Madame de CinqCygne went but little into society. Her husband could not be ignorant of the regrets which

lay in her tender heart; but he showed her always the most exquisite delicacy, and died having loved no other

woman. This noble soul, not fully understood for a period of time but to which the generous daughter of the

CinqCygnes returned in his last years as true a love as that he gave to her, was completely happy in his

married life. Laurence lived for the joys of home. No woman has ever been more cherished by her friends or

more respected. To be received in her house is an honor. Gentle, indulgent, intellectual, above all things

simple and natural, she pleases choice souls and draws them to her in spite of her saddened aspect; each longs

to protect this woman, inwardly so strong, and that sentiment of secret protection counts for much in the

wondrous charm of her friendship. Her life, so painful during her youth, is beautiful and serene towards

evening. Her sufferings are known, and no one asks who was the original of that portrait by Lefebvre which

is the chief and sacred ornament of her salon. Her face has the maturity of fruits that have ripened slowly; a

At the period when the marquise came to Paris to open the new house, her fortune, increased by the law of

indemnities, gave her some two hundred thousand francs a year, not counting her husband's salary; besides

this, Laurence had inherited the money guarded by Michu for his young masters. From that time forth she

made a practice of spending half her income and of laying by the rest for her daughter Berthe.

Berthe is the living image of her mother, but without her warrior nerve; she is her mother in delicacy, in

intellect,"more a woman," Laurence says, sadly. The marquise was not willing to marry her daughter until

she was twenty years of age. Her savings, judiciously invested in the Funds by old Monsieur d'Hauteserre at

the moment when consols fell in 1830, gave Berthe a dowry of eighty thousand francs a year in 1833, when

About that time the Princesse de Cadignan, who was seeking to marry her son, the Duc de Maufrigneuse,

brought him into intimate relations with Madame de CinqCygne. Georges de Maufrigneuse dined with the

marquise three times a week, accompanied the mother and daughter to the Opera, and curvetted in the Bois

around their carriage when they drove out. It was evident to all the world of the Faubourg Saint Germain

that Georges loved Berthe. But no one could discover to a certainty whether Madame de CinqCygne was

desirous of making her daughter a duchess, to become a princess later, or whether it was only the princess

who coveted for her son the splendid dowry. Did the celebrated Diane court the noble provincial house? and

was the daughter of the CinqCygnes frightened by the celebrity of Madame de Cadignan, her tastes and her

ruinous extravagance? In her strong desire not to injure her son's prospects the princess grew devout, shut the

door on her former life, and spent the summer season at Geneva in a villa on the lake.

One evening there were present in the salon of the Princesse de Cadignan, the Marquise d'Espard, and de

Marsay, then president of the Council (on this occasion the princess saw her former lover for the last time, for

he died the following year), Eugene de Rastignac, undersecretary of State attached to de Marsay's ministry,

two ambassadors, two celebrated orators from the Chamber of Peers, the old dukes of Lenoncourt and de

Navarreins, the Comte de Vandenesse and his young wife, and d'Arthez,who formed a rather singular

circle, the composition of which can be thus explained. The princess was anxious to obtain from the prime

minister of the crown a permit for the return of the Prince de Cadignan. De Marsay, who did not choose to

take upon himself the responsibility of granting it came to tell the princess the matter had been entrusted to

safe hands, and that a certain political manager had promised to bring her the result in the course of that

Madame and Mademoiselle de CinqCygne were announced. Laurence, whose principles were unyielding,

was not only surprised but shocked to see the most illustrious representatives of Legitimacy talking and

laughing in a friendly manner with the prime minister of the man whom she never called anything but

Monsieur le Duc d'Orleans. De Marsay, like an expiring lamp, shone with a last brilliancy. He laid aside for

the moment his political anxieties, and Madame de CinqCygne endured him, as they say the Court of

Austria endured de SaintAulaire; the man of the world effaced the minister of the citizenking. But she rose

to her feet as though her chair were of redhot iron when the name was announced of "Monsieur le Comte de

She left the room with Berthe, measuring her steps to avoid encountering that fatal being.

"You may have caused the loss of Georges' marriage," said the princess to de Marsay, in a low voice. "Why

The former clerk of Arcis, former Conventional, former Thermidorien, tribune, Councillor of State, count of

the Empire and senator, peer of the Restoration, and now peer of the monarchy of July, made a servile bow to

"Fear nothing, madame," he said; "we have ceased to make war on princes. I bring you an assurance of the

Malin was long in the confidence of Louis XVIII., to whom his varied experience was useful. He had greatly

aided in overthrowing Decazes, and had given much good advice to the ministry of Villele. Coldly received

by Charles X., he had adopted all the rancors of Talleyrand. He was now in high favor under the twelfth

government he had served since 1789, and which in turn he would doubtless betray. For the last fifteen

months he had broken the long friendship which had bound him for thirtysix years to our greatest diplomat,

the Prince de Talleyrand. It was in the course of this very evening that he made answer to some one who

asked why the Prince showed such hostility to the Duc de Bordeaux, "The Pretender is too young!"

De Marsay, who grew thoughtful after Madame de Cadignan's reproachful speech, took no notice of these

jests. He looked askance at Gondreville and was evidently biding his time until that now old man, who went

to bed early, had taken leave. All present, who had witnessed the abrupt departure of Madame de

CinqCygne (whose reasons were well known to them), imitated de Marsay's conduct and kept silence.

Gondreville, who had not recognized the marquise, was ignorant of the cause of the general reticence, but the

habit of dealing with public matters had given him a certain tact; he was moreover a clever man; he saw that

his presence was embarrassing to the company and he took leave. De Marsay, standing with his back to the

fire, watched the slow departure of the old man in a manner which revealed the gravity of his thoughts.

"I did wrong, madame, not to tell you the name of my negotiator," said the prime minister, listening for the

sound of Malin's wheels as they rolled away. "But I will redeem my fault and give you the means of making

your peace with the CinqCygnes. It is now thirty years since the affair I am about to speak of took place; it

is as old to the present day as the death of Henri IV. (which between ourselves and in spite of the proverb is

still a mystery, like so many other historical catastrophes). I can, however, assure you that even if this affair

did not concern Madame de CinqCygne it would be none the less curious and interesting. Moreover, it

throws light on a celebrated exploit in our modern annals,I mean that of the Mont SaintBernard.

Messieurs les Ambassadeurs," he added, bowing to the two diplomats, "will see that in the element of

profound intrigue the political men of the present day are far behind the Machiavellis whom the waves of the

popular will lifted, in 1793, above the storm,some of whom have 'found,' as the old song says, 'a haven.'

To be anything in France in these days a man must have been tossed in those tempests."

"It seems to me," said the princess, smiling, "that from that point of view the present state of things under

A wellbred laugh went round the room, and even the prime minister himself could not help smiling. The

ambassadors seemed impatient for the tale; de Marsay coughed dryly and silence was obtained.

"On a June night in 1800," began the minister, "about three in the morning, just as daylight was beginning to

pale the brilliancy of the wax candles, two men tired of playing at bouillotte (or who were playing merely to

keep others employed) left the salon of the ministry of foreign affairs, then situated in the rue du Bac, and

went apart into a boudoir. These two men, of whom one is dead and the other has one foot in the grave, were,

each in his own way, equally extraordinary. Both had been priests; both had abjured religion; both were

married. One had been merely an Oratorian, the other had worn the mitre of a bishop. The first was named

Fouche; I shall not tell you the name of the second;[*] both were then mere simple citizenswith very little

simplicity. When they were seen to leave the salon and enter the boudoir, the rest of the company present

showed a certain curiosity. A third person followed them,a man who thought himself far stronger than the

other two. His name was Sieyes, and you all know that he too had been a priest before the Revolution. The

one who walked with difficulty was then the minister of foreign affairs; Fouche was minister of police; Sieyes

"A small man, cold and stern in appearance, left his seat and followed the three others, saying aloud in the

hearing of the person from whom I have the information, 'I mistrust the gambling of priests.' This man was

Carnot, minister of war. His remark did not trouble the two consuls who were playing cards in the salon.

Cambaceres and Lebrun were then at the mercy of their ministers, men who were infinitely stronger than

"Nearly all these statesmen are dead, and no secrecy is due to them. They belong to history; and the history of

that night and its consequences has been terrible. I tell it to you now because I alone know it; because Louis

XVIII. never revealed the truth to that poor Madame de CinqCygne; and because the present government

which I serve is wholly indifferent as to whether the truth be known to the world or not.

"All four of these personages sat down in the boudoir. The lame man undoubtedly closed the door before a

word was said; it is even thought that he ran the bolt. It is only persons of high rank who pay attention to such

trifles. The three priests had the livid, impassible faces which you all remember. Carnot alone was ruddy. He

was the first to speak. 'What is the point to be discussed?' he asked. 'France,' must have been the answer of

the Prince (whom I admire as one of the most extraordinary men of our time). 'The Republic,' undoubtedly

All present looked at each other. With voice, look, and gesture de Marsay had wonderfully represented the

"The three priests fully understood one another," he continued, resuming his narrative. "Carnot no doubt

looked at his colleagues and the exconsul in a dignified manner. He must, however, have felt bewildered in

"'We may expect everything from Bonaparte,' replied the minister of war; 'he has crossed the Alps.'

"'At this moment,' said the minister of foreign affairs, with deliberate slowness, 'he is playing his last stake.'

"'Come, let's speak out,' said Fouche; 'what shall we do if the First Consul is defeated? Is it possible to collect

"'There is no republic now,' remarked Sieyes; 'Bonaparte is consul for ten years.'

"'He has more power than ever Cromwell had,' said the former bishop, 'and he did not vote for the death of

"'We have a master,' said Fouche; 'the question is, shall we continue to keep him if he loses the battle or shall

"'France,' replied Carnot, sententiously, 'cannot resist except she reverts to the old Conventional energy.'

"'I agree with Carnot,' said Sieyes; 'if Bonaparte returns defeated we must put an end to him; he has let us

"'You go fast, monsieur,' said the Prince, in that deep bass voice which he still preserves and which now

"'Be frank,' said a voice, as a former Conventional rose from a corner of the boudoir and showed himself; 'if

"'So you were there, Malin, were you?' said the Prince, without betraying the least feeling. 'Then you must be

"It is to this one circumstance that Malin, a Conventional of small repute, owes the position he afterwards

obtained and, ultimately, that in which we see him at the present moment. He proved discreet, and the

ministers were faithful to him; but they made him the pivot of the machine and the cat'spaw of the

"'Bonaparte has never yet been vanquished,' cried Carnot, in a tone of conviction, 'and he has just surpassed

"'If the worst happens, here is the Directory,' said Sieyes, artfully, indicating with a wave of his hand the five

"'And,' added the Prince, 'we are all committed to the maintenance of the French republic; we three priests

have literally unfrocked ourselves; the general, here, voted for the death of the king; and you,' he said, turning

"'Yes, we have all the same interests,' said Sieyes, dictatorially, 'and our interests are one with those of the

"'We must act,' interrupted Fouche. 'In all probability the battle is now going on; the Austrians outnumber us;

Genoa has surrendered; Massena has committed the great mistake of embarking for Antibes; it is very

doubtful if he can rejoin Bonaparte, who will then be reduced to his own resources.'

"'It is sure,' replied Fouche. 'You will have the courier when the Bourse opens.'

"Those men didn't mince their words," said de Marsay, smiling, and stopping short for a moment.

"'Remember,' continued Fouche, 'it is not when the news of a disaster comes that we can organize clubs,

rouse the patriotism of the people, and change the constitution. Our 18th Brumaire ought to be prepared

"'Let us leave the care of that to the minister of police,' said the Prince, bowing to Fouche, 'and beware

"'Messieurs!' cried Sieyes, 'our Directory ought not to be subject to anarchical changes. We must organize a

government of the few, a Senate for life, and an elective chamber the control of which shall be in our hands;

"'Find me a sure man to negotiate with Moreau; for the Army of the Rhine will be our sole resource,' cried

"Ah!" said de Marsay, pausing, "those men were right. They were grand in this crisis. I should have done as

"That word 'Messieurs!' was perfectly understood by all present; all eyes expressed the same faith, the same

promise, that of absolute silence, and unswerving loyalty to each other in case the First Consul returned

"Sieyes softly unbolted the door; his priestly ear had warned him. Lucien entered the room.

"'Good news!' he said. 'A courier has just brought Madame Bonaparte a line from the First Consul. The

"'No, a fight, in which Lannes has covered himself with glory. The affair was bloody. Attacked with ten

thousand men by eighteen thousand, he was only saved by a division sent to his support. Ott is in full retreat.

"'And this is the 13th,' said the sagacious minister. 'Well, if that is so, the destinies of France are in the scale

"An eyewitness told me," said de Marsay, continuing the narrative in his own person, "that the consuls,

Cambaceres and Lebrun, knew nothing of this momentous news until after the six personages returned to the

salon. It was then four in the morning. Fouche left first. That man of dark and mysterious genius,

extraordinary, profound, and little understood, but who undoubtedly had the gifts of a Philip the Second, a

Tiberius and a Borgia, went at once to work with an infernal and secret activity. His conduct at the time of the

affair at Walcheren was that of a consummate soldier, a great politician, a farseeing administrator. He was

the only real minister that Napoleon ever had. And you all know how he then alarmed him.

"Fouche, Massena and the Prince," continued de Marsay, reflectively, "are the three greatest men, the wisest

heads in diplomacy, war, and government, that I have ever known. If Napoleon had frankly allied them with

his work there would no longer be a Europe, only a vast French Empire. Fouche did not finally detach

himself from Napoleon until he saw Sieyes and the Prince de Talleyrand shoved aside.

"He now went to work, and in three days (all the while hiding the hand that stirred the ashes of the Montagne)

he had organized that general agitation which then arose all over France and revived the republicanism of

1793. As it is necessary that I should explain this obscure corner of our history, I must tell you that this

agitation, starting from Fouche's own hand (which held the wires of the former Montagne), produced

republican plots against the life of the First Consul, which was in peril from this cause long after the victory

of Marengo. It was Fouche's sense of the evil he had thus brought about which led him to warn Napoleon,

who held a contrary opinion, that republicans were more concerned than royalists in the various conspiracies.

"Fouche was an admirable judge of men; he relied on Sieyes because of his thwarted ambition, on Talleyrand

because he was a great seigneur, on Carnot for his perfect honesty; but the man he dreaded was the one

whom you have seen here this evening. I will now tell how he entangled that man in his meshes.

"Malin was only Malin in those days,a secret agent and correspondent of Louis XVIII. Fouche now

compelled him to reduce to writing all the proclamations of the proposed revolutionary government, its

warrants and edicts against the factions of the 18th Brumaire. An accomplice against his own will, Malin was

required to have these documents secretly printed, and the copies held ready in his own house for distribution

if Bonaparte were defeated. The printer was subsequently imprisoned and detained two months; he died in

"One of the most singular scenes ever played by Fouche's police was caused by the blunder of an agent, who

despatched a courier to a famous banker of that day with the news of a defeat at Marengo. Victory, you will

remember, did not declare itself for Napoleon until seven o'clock in the evening of the battle. At midday the

banker's agent, considering the day lost and the French army about to be annihilated, hastened to despatch the

courier. On receipt of that news Fouche was about to put into motion a whole army of billposters and cries,

with a truck full of proclamations, when the second courier arrived with the news of the triumph which put all

France beside itself with joy. There were heavy losses at the Bourse, of course. But the criers and posters who

were gathered to announce the political death of Bonaparte and to post up the new proclamations were only

"Malin, on whom the whole responsibility of the plot of which he had been the working agent was likely to

fall if it ever became known, was so terrified that he packed the proclamations and other papers in carts and

took them down to Gondreville in the nighttime, where no doubt they were hidden in the cellars of that

chateau, which he had bought in the name of another manwho was it, by the bye? he had him made

chiefjustice of an Imperial courtAh! Marion. Having thus disposed of these damning proofs he returned

to Paris to congratulate the First Consul on his victory. Napoleon, as you know, rushed from Italy to Paris

after the battle of Marengo with alarming celerity. Those who know the secret history of that time are well

aware that a message from Lucien brought him back. The minister of the interior had foreseen the attitude of

the Montagnard party, and though he had no idea of the quarter from which the wind really blew, he feared a

storm. Incapable of suspecting the three ministers and Carnot, he attributed the movement which stirred all

France to the hatred his brother had excited by the 18th Brumaire, and to the confident belief of the men of

"The battle of Marengo detained Napoleon on the plains of Lombardy until the 25th of June, but he reached

Paris on the 2nd of July. Imagine the faces of the five conspirators as they met the First Consul at the

Tuileries, and congratulated him on the victory. Fouche on that very occasion at the palace told Malin to have

patience, for all was not over yet. The truth was, Talleyrand and Fouche both held that Bonaparte was not as

much bound to the principles of the Revolution as they were, and as he ought to be; and for this reason, as

well as for their own safety, they subsequently, in 1804, buckled him irrevocably, as they believed, to its

cause by the affair of the Duc d'Enghien. The execution of that prince is connected by a series of discoverable

ramifications with the plot which was laid on that June evening in the boudoir of the ministry of foreign

affairs, the night before the battle of Marengo. Those who have the means of judging, and who have known

persons who were wellinformed, are fully aware that Bonaparte was handled like a child by Talleyrand and

Fouche, who were determined to alienate him irrevocably from the House of Bourbon, whose agents were

"Talleyrand was playing whist in the salon of Madame de Luynes," said a personage who had been listening

attentively to de Marsay's narrative. "It was about three o'clock in the morning, when he pulled out his watch,

looked at it, stopped the game, and asked his three companions abruptly and without any preface whether the

Prince de Conde had any other children than the Duc d'Enghien. Such an absurd inquiry from the lips of

Talleyrand caused the utmost surprise. 'Why do you ask us what you know perfectly well yourself?' they said

to him. 'Only to let you know that the House of Conde comes to an end at this moment.' Now Monsieur de

Talleyrand had been at the hotel de Luynes the entire evening, and he must have known that Bonaparte was

"But," said Eugene de Rastignac, "I don't see in all this any connection with Madame de CinqCygnes and

"Ah, you were so young at that time, my dear fellow; I forgot to explain the conclusion. You all know the

affair of the abduction of the Comte de Gondreville, then senator of the Empire, for which the Simeuse

brothers and the two d'Hauteserres were condemned to the galleys,an affair which did, in fact, lead to their

De Marsay, entreated by several persons present to whom the circumstances were unknown, related the

whole trial, stating that the mysterious abductors were five sharks of the secret service of the ministry of the

police, who were ordered to obtain the proclamations of the wouldbe Directory which Malin had

surreptitiously taken from his house in Paris, and which he had himself come to Gondreville for the express

purpose of destroying, being convinced at last that the Empire was on a sure foundation and could not be

overthrown. "I have no doubt," added de Marsay, "that Fouche took the opportunity to have the house

searched for the correspondence between Malin and Louis XVIII., which was always kept up, even during the

Terror. But in this cruel affair there was a private element, a passion of revenge in the mind of the leader of

the party, a man named Corentin, who is still living, and who is one of those subaltern agents whom nothing

can replace and who makes himself felt by his amazing ability. It appears that Madame, then Mademoiselle

de CinqCygne, had illtreated him on a former occasion when he attempted to arrest the Simeuse brothers.

What happened afterwards in connection with the senator's abduction was the result of his private vengeance.

"These facts were known, of course, to Malin, and through him to Louis XVIII. You may therefore," added

de Marsay, turning to the Princesse de Cadignan, "explain the whole matter to the Marquise de CinqCygne,

Bordin The Seamy Side of History The Commission in Lunacy Jealousies of a Country Town

CinqCygne, Laurence, Comtesse (afterwards Marquise de) The Secrets of a Princess The Seamy Side of

Derville Gobseck A Start in Life Father Goriot Colonel Chabert Scenes from a Courtesan's Life

Espard, JeanneClementineAthenais de BlamontChauvry, Marquise d' The Commission in Lunacy A

Distinguished Provincial at Paris Scenes from a Courtesan's Life Letters of Two Brides Another Study of

Gondreville, Malin, Comte de A Start in Life Domestic Peace The Member for Arcis

Grandlieu, Duc Ferdinand de The Thirteen A Bachelor's Establishment Modeste Mignon Scenes from a

Granville, Vicomte de A Second Home Farewell (Adieu) Cesar Birotteau Scenes from a Courtesan's Life A

Lenoncourt, Duc de The Lily of the Valley Cesar Birotteau Jealousies of a Country Town Beatrix

Louis XVIII., LouisStanislasXavier The Chouans The Seamy Side of History Scenes from a Courtesan's

Life The Ball at Sceaux The Lily of the Valley Colonel Chabert The Government Clerks

Marsay, Henri de The Thirteen The Unconscious Humorists Another Study of Woman The Lily of the Valley

Father Goriot Jealousies of a Country Town Ursule Mirouet A Marriage Settlement Lost Illusions A

Distinguished Provincial at Paris Letters of Two Brides The Ball at Sceaux Modeste Mignon The Secrets of a

Maufrigneuse, Duchesse de The Secrets of a Princess Modeste Mignon Jealousies of a Country Town The

Muse of the Department Scenes from a Courtesan's Life Letters of Two Brides Another Study of Woman The

Murat, Joachim, Prince The Vendetta Colonel Chabert Domestic Peace The Country Doctor

Navarreins, Duc de A Bachelor's Establishment Colonel Chabert The Muse of the Department The Thirteen

Jealousies of a Country Town The Peasantry Scenes from a Courtesan's Life The Country Parson The Magic

Rastignac, Eugene de Father Goriot A Distinguished Provincial at Paris Scenes from a Courtesan's Life The

Ball at Sceaux The Commission in Lunacy A Study of Woman Another Study of Woman The Magic Skin

The Secrets of a Princess A Daughter of Eve The Firm of Nucingen Cousin Betty The Member for Arcis The

TalleyrandPerigord, CharlesMaurice de The Chouans The Thirteen Letters of Two Brides Gaudissart II.

Vandenesse, Comte Felix de The Lily of the Valley Lost Illusions A Distinguished Provincial at Paris Cesar

Birotteau Letters of Two Brides A Start in Life The Marriage Settlement The Secrets of a Princess Another