Evening Star Newspaper, June 15, 1895, Page 16

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1895—TWENTY PAGES. (Copyright, 1805, by Irving Bacheller.) When I told you some little time ago how ft was that I won the special medal for valor, I finished, as you will doubtless re- member, by repeating the saying of the emperor that I had the stoutest heart in all his armies. In making that remark, Napoleon was showing the insight for which he was so famous. He disfigured his sentence, however, adding some- thing about the thickness of my head. We will pass that over. It is ungenerous to dwell upon the weaker moments of a great man. I will only say this, that when the emperor needed an agent he was always very ready to do me the honor of recalling the name cf Etienne Gerard, though it oc- casionally escaped him when rewards were to be distributed. Still I was a colonel at twenty-eight, and the chief of a brigade at thirty-one, so that I have no reason to be dissatisfied with my career. Had the wars lasted another two or three years I might have grasped my baton, and the mar who had his hand upon that was only one strije from the throne. Murat had changed his hussar’s cap for a crown, and another light cavalry man might have done as much. However, ali those dreams were driven away by Waterlco, and, although I was not able to write my name upon his- tory, it is sufficiently well known by all who served with me in the great wars of the empire. What I want to tell you tonight is about the very singular affair which first started me upon my rapid upward course, and which had the effect of establishing a se- cret bond between the emperor and myself. There is just one little word of warning which I must give you before I begin. When ycu hear me speak you must always bear in mind that you are listening to one who has seen history from the inside. I am talking about what my ears have heard and my eyes have seen; so you must not try to confute me by quoting the opin- fons of some student or man of the pen “My boy, the emperor wants to see - you.” who has written a book of history or me- motrs. There is much which is unknown by such people, and much which never will be known by the world. For my own part, I could tell you some very surprising things were |: discreet to do so. The facts which I am about to relate to you tonight were kept secret by me during the emperor's lifetime because I gave him my promise. that they should be, but I do not think that there can be any harm now in my telling the remarkable part which I played. You must know, then, that at the time of the treaty of Trisit I was a simple lieu- tenant in the tenth hussars, without money or interest. It is true that my appearance and my gallantry were in my favor, and that I had already won a reputation as be- ing one of the best swordsmen in the army, but among the host of brave men who sur- rounded the emperor it needed more than this to insure a rapid career. I was confi- dent, however, that my chance would come, though I never dreamed that it would take so remarkable a form. ~ ‘When the emperor returned to Paris after the declaration of peace in the year 1907 he spent much of his time with the em- press and the court at Fontainebleau. It Was tie time when he was at the very pi nacle of his career. He had in three suc- cessive campaigns humbled Austria, crush- ed Prussia, and hurled the Russian armies across the Niemen. The old bulldog over the channel was still growling, but he could not get very far from his kennel. If we could have made a perpetual peace at that moment France would have taken a higher place than any nation since the days of the Romans. So I have heard the wise folks say, though, for my own part, I had other things to think of. All the girls were glad to see fhe army back after its long absence, and you may be sure that I had my share of any favors which were going. You may judge how far I was a favorite in those days when I gay that even now, in my sixtieth year—but why should I dwell upon that which is already sufficiently well known? Our regiment of hussars was quartered with the horse chasseurs of the guard at Fontainebleau. It is, as you know, but a little place buried in the heart of the forest, and it was worderful at this time to see it crowded with grand dukes and electors and princes who thronged around Napo- leon like puppies around their master, each hoping that some bone might be thrown to him. There was more German than French to be heard in the street, for those who had helped us in the late war had come to beg for a reward, and those who had opposed us had come to try and escape their punish- ment. And all the time our little man, with his pale face and his cold gray eyes, was riding to the hunt every morning, si- lent and brooding, all of them following in his train in the hoge that some word would escape him. And then when the humor seized him he would throw a hundred Square miles to that man or snip as much off the other, round off one kingdom by a river or curtail another by a chain of mountains. That was how he used to do business, this little artilleryman whom we had ratsed so high with our sabers and our bayonets. He was very civil to us always, for he knew where his power came from. We knew, also, and showed it by the way in which we carried ourselves. We were agreed, you understand, that he was the finest leader in the world, but we did not forget that he had the finest men to lead. . , Well, one day I was seated in my quar- ters playing cards with young Regnier of the horse chasseurs, when the door open- {It Made Me Smile us I Wrote it. ed and in walked Lasalle, who was our colonel. You know what a fine swagger- ing fellow he was, and the sky blue unl- form of the tenth suited him to a marvel. My faith, we youngsters were so taken by him that we all swore and diced and drank and played the devil, whether he liked {t or no, just that we might resemble our colo- nel! We forgot that it was not because he drank or gambled that the emperor was going to make him the head of the light cavalry, but because he had the surest eye for the nature of a position or for the strength of a column, and the best judg- ment as to when infantry could be broken, or whether guns were exposed, of any man in the army. We were too young to under- stand all that, however, so we waxed our mustaches and clinked our spurs and let When He Heard My Name. the ferrules of our scabbards wear out by trailing them along the pavement in the hope that we should all become Lasalles. When he came clanking into my quarters both Regnier and I sprang to our feet. “My boy,” said he, clapping me on the shoulder, “the emperor wants to see you at 4 o'clock.” The room whirled around me at the words and I had to lean my hands upon the edge of the card table. 7 “What!” cried I; “the emperor!” “Precisely,” said he, smiling at my as- tonishment. “But the emperor does not know of my existence, colonel,” I repeated. “Why should he send for me?” “Well, that’s just what puzzles me, cried Laselle, twirling his mustache. “If he wanted the help of a brave man why should he descend to one of my Heutenants, when he might have found all that he needed at the head of the regiment. How- ever,” he added, clapping me upon the shoulder again in his hearty fashion, “every man has his chance. I have had mine, otherwise I should not be colonel of the tenth. I must not grudge you yours. Forward, my-boy, and may it be the first step toward changing your busby for a cocked hat.” It was but 2 o’clovk, so he left me, prom- ising to come back and to accompany me to the palace. My faith, what a time I passed, and how many conjectures did I make as to what it was which the em- peror could want of me! I paced up and down my little room, in a fever of antle pation. Sometimes I thought that pe! haps he had heard of the guns which we had taken at Austerlitz, but then there were so many who had taken guns at Aus- terlitz, and two years had passed since the battle. Or it might be that he wished to reward me for my affair with the aid- de-camp of the Russian Emperor. But then, again, a cold fit would seize me, and I would fancy that he had sent for me to reprimand me. There were a few duels which he might have taken. in ill part, and there were one or two little jokes in Paris since the peace. But no! I considered the words of Lasalle. “If he had need of a brave man,”said Lasalle. It was obvious that my colonel had some idea of what was in the wind. If he had not known that it was to my advantage he would not have been so cruel as to congratulate me. My heart glowed with joy as this conviction grew upon me, and I sat down to write to my mother and to tell her that «he em- peror was waiting at that very moment to have my opinion upon a matter of import- ance. It made me smile as I wrote it to think that, wonderful as it appeared to me, it would probably only confirm my mother in her opinion of the emperor's good sense. At 8:30 I heard a saber come clanking against every step of my wooden stair. It was Lasalle, and with him was a little gentleman very neatly dressed in black, with dapper ruffles and cuffs. We did not know many civilians, we of the army, but my word, this was one whom we could not afford to ignore! I had only to glance al those twinkling eyes, the comical upturned nose, and the straight precise mouth to know that I was in the presence of the one man in France whom even the emperor had to consider. CHAPTER II. “This is Monsieur Etienne Gerard, Mon- sieur de Talleyrand,” said Lasalle. I saluted, and the statesman took me in from the top of my panache to the rowel of my spur with a glance that played over me like a rapier point. “Have you explained to the Heutenant the circumstances: under which he is sum- I Think That My Appearance Gave Him Pleasure. moned to the emperor’s presence?” he asked in his dry, creaking voice. They were such a contrast, these two men, that I could not help glancing from one to the other of them, the little, black, sly politician and the big, sky-blue hussar, with one fist on his hip and the other on the hilt of his saber. They both took their seats as I looked, Talleyrand without a sound and Lasalle with a clash and jingle like a prancing charger. “It's this way, youngster,” said he, in his brusque fashion. “I was with the em- peror in his private cabinet this morning when a note was brought in to him. He opened it, and as he did so he gave such a start that it fluttered down onto the floor. I handed it up to him again, but he was staring at the wall in front of him, as if he had seen a ghost. ‘Fratelli dell’ Ajaccio,’ he muttered, and then again, ‘Fratelli dell’ Ajaccio.’ I don’t pretend to know more Italian than a man can pick up in two campaigns, but I could make nothing of this. It seemed to me that he had gone cut of his mind, and you would have said so also, Monsieur de Talleyrand, if you had seen the look in his eyes. He read the note, and then he sat for half an hour or more without moving.” “And you?” asked Talleyrand. “Why, I stood there, not knowing what I ought to do. Presently he seemed to come back to his senses. ‘I suppose, Lasalle,’ said he, ‘that you have some gallant young cfficers in the tenth? ‘They are all that, sire,’ I answered. “If you had to pick one who was to be depended upon for action, but who would not think too much—you understand me, Lasalle, which would you select?” he asked. I saw that he needed an agent who would not penetrate too deeply into his plans. ‘I have one,’ said I, ‘who is all spurs and mustaches, with never a thought beyond women and horse is the man I want,’ said Napoleon. youngster, I came straight away to you at once, and mind that you do credit to the tenth hussers. I was flattered by the reagons whi led to my colonel’s chofce, and I must have shown as much in my face, for he roared with laughter, and Talleyrand gave a dry chuckle also. “Just one word of advice before you go, Morsieur Gerard,” said he, “you are now coming into troubled waters, and you might find a worse pilot than myself. weil have none of us any idea as to what this little affair means, and, between ourselves, it is very important for us, who have the destinies of France upon our shoulders, to keep ourselves in touch with all that goes on. You understand me, Monsieur Gerard?” I had not the least idea what he was driving at, but I bowed and tried to look as if it were clear to me. “Act very guardedly, then, and say noth- ing to anybody,” said Talleyrand. “Col. Lasalle and I will not show ourselves in public with vou, but we will await you here, and we will give you our advice when you have told us what has passed between the emperor and yourself. It is time that you started now, for the emperor never forgives unpunctuality.” Off I went on foot to the palace, which was only a hundred paces off. [ made my way to the antechamber, where Duroc, with his grand, new scarlet-and-gold coat, was fussing about among the crowd of people who were waiting. I heard him whisper to Monsieur de Caulaincourt that half of them were Gernian dukes who ex- pected to be made kings and the other half German dukes who expected to be made paupers. Duroc, when he heard my name, showed me straight in, and I found myself in the emperor's presence. I had, of course, seen him in camp a hundred times, but I had never been face to face with him before. I have no doubt that if you had met him without knowing in the least who he was y would simply have said that he was a sallow little fellow with a good forehead and fairly well-turn- ed calves. His tight white cashmere breeches and white stockings showed off his legs to advantage. But even a stranger must have been struck by the singular look of his eyes, which could melt into ten- derest sympathy or harden into an expres- sion which would frighten a grenadier. It is said that even Auguereau, who was @ man who had never known what fear was, quailed before Napoleon's gaze, at a time, too, when the emperor was but an unknown soldier. He looked mildly enough at me, however, and motioned me to re- main by the door. De Meneval was writ- ing to his dictation, looking up at him between each sentence with his spaniel eyes. “That will do; you can go,” said the emperor abruptly. Then, when the sec- retary had left the room, he strode across with his hands behind his back, and he looked me up and down without a word. Though he was a small man himself, he was very fond of having fine-looking fel- lows about him, and so, I think, that my appearance gave him pleasure. For my own part I raised one hand to the salute and held the other upon the hilt of my sa- ber, looking straight ahead of me, as a soldier should. “Well, Monsieur Gerard,” said he at lest, tapping his forefinger upon one of the brandebourgs of gold braid upon the front of my pelisse. “I am informed that you are a very deserving young officer. “I have been thinking, sire,” Cried I. Your colonel gives me an excellent account of you.” I wished to make a brilliant reply, but I could think of nothing save Lasalle’s phrase that I was all spurs and mus- taches, so it ended in my saying nothing at all, The emperor watched the struggle, which must have shown itself upon my features, and when finally no answer came he did not appear to be displeased. “I believe that you are the very man that I want,” said he. “Brave and clever men surround me upon every side. But a brave man who”—. He did not finish his sentence, and, for my own part, I could not understand what he was driving at. I contented myself with assuring him that he coyld count upon me to the death. “You are, as I understand, a good swordsman,” said he. “Tolerable, sire,” I answered. “You were chosen by your regiment to fight the champion of the hussars of Chamborant,” said he. I was not sorry to find that he knew so much of my exploits. y comrades, sire, did me that honor,” said I. “And for the sake of practice you insultéd six fencing masters in the week before your duel?” . “I had the privilege of being out seven times in as many days, sire,” said L “And escaped without a scratch?” “The fencing master of the twenty-third light infantry touched me on the left elbow, sire.” “Let us have no more child’s play of the sort, monsieur,” he cried, turning sud- denly to that cold rage of his, which was so appalling. ‘“‘Do you imagine that I place veteran soldiers in these positions that you may practice quarte et tierce upon them? How am I to face Europe if my soldiers turn their points upon each other? Another word of your dueling and I break you between these fingers. saw his plump, white hands flesh before my eyes as he spoke, and his voice had turned to the most discordant hissing and growling. My word, my skin pringled all over as I listened to him, and I would gladly have changed my position for that of the first man on the steepest and nar- rowest breach that ever swallowed up a storming party. He turned to the table, drank off a cup of coffee, and then, when he faced me again, every trace of this storm had vanished, and he wore that Pleasant smile with which he had won s0 many a rough soldier’s heart. CHAPTER III. “I have need of your services, Monsieur Gerard,” said he. “I may be safer with a good sword at my side, and there are rea- sons why your should be the one which I select. But, first of all, I must bind you to secrecy. Whilst I live what passes be- tween us today must be known to none but ourselves.” I thought of Talleyrand and of Lasalle, but I promised. “In the next place I do not want opin- fons or conjectures, and I wish you to do do exactly what you are told.” I bowed. “It is your sword that I need, and not “You know the Chancellor’s Grove in the forest?” I_bowed. “You know also the large double fir tree where the hounds assembled on Tuesday?” Had he known that I met a girl under it three times a week he would not have asked me. I bowed once more without re- mark. “Very good. You will meet me there at 10 o'clock tonight.” I had got past being surprised at any- thing which might happen. If he had asked me to take his place upon the imperial throne I could only have nod- ded my busby. “We shall then proceed into the wood to- gether,” said the emperor. “You will be Trying to Make His Peace With Tal- leyrand. armed with a sword, but not with pistols. You must address no remark to me, and I { shall say nothing to you. We will advance in silence. You understand?” “T understand, sire.” “After a time we shall sce a man, or more probably two men, under a certain tree. We shall approach them together. If I signal to you to defend me, you will have your sword ready. If, on the other hand, I speak to these fe you will wait and see what happens. If you are called upon to draw you must see that neither of them, in the event of there being two, escapes from us. I shall myself assist you.” “But, sire,” Iveried, “I have no doubt that two would not be too many for my sword, but would it. not be better that I should bring-a comrade than that you sania be forced; ta; join.in such a strag- gle?” 2 “Ta, ta, ta,” sajd he, “I was a soldier before I was an:.emperor. Do you think, then, that artillerymen have not swords as well as the hussars? But I ordered you not to argue with me. You will do exactly what I tell you. If swords are once draw! ther of these men is to get away aliv ‘hey shall not, sire,” said I. “Very good. I have no more instructions for you. You cap go.” ° I turned to the door, and then an. idea occurring to me, I turned: “I have been thinking, sire,” said T- He sprang at me with the ferocity of a wild beast. I really thought that he would have struck me. “Thinking,” he cried. “You! You! Do you imagine I chose you out because you could think. Let me hear of your doing such a thing again! You, the one man—but there! You meet me at the fir tree at 10 o’cloc! My faith, I was right glad to get out of the rcom. If I have a good horse under me, and a sword clanking against my stir- rup iron, I know where I am. And in all that relates to green rodder or dry, barley and oats and rye, and the handling of squadrons upon the march, there is no one who can teach me very much, but when I meet a chamberlain and a marshal of the palace, and have to pick my words with an emperor, and find that everybody hints in- stead of talking straight out, I feel like a troop horse who has been put in a lady’s caleche. It is not my trade, all this minc- ing and pretending. I couldn’t do it, and I never like those who can. So I was right glad to get into the fresh air again, and I ran away up to my quarters like 2 school- boy who has just escaped from the semi- nary master. But as I opened the door the very first tring that my eyes rested upon was a long pair of sky-blue legs, with hussar boots, and a short pair of black ones, with knee breeches and buckles. They both sprang up together to greet me. “Well, what news?” they cried, the two of them. “None,” I answered. ‘The emperor refused to see you!” ‘No, I have seen him.” i ‘And what did he say?” “Monsieur de Talleyrand,” I answered, “E regret to say that it is quite impossible for me to tell you anything about it. I have promised the emperor.” “Pooh, pooh, my dear young man,” said he sidling up to me as a cat does when It is about to rub itself against you. “This is all among friends, you understand, and goes no further than these four walls. Be- sides, the emperor never meant to include me in this promise.” % “It is but a minute's walk to the pal- ace, Monsieur de Talleyrand,” I answered. “If it would not be troubling you too much to ask you to step up to it, and to bring back the emperor’s written statement that he did not mean to include you in this promise, I shall be happy to tell you every word that passed.” He showed his teeth at me then, like the old fox that he was. “Monsieur Gerard appears to be a little puffed up,” said he. “He is too young to see things in their just proportions. As he grows older he may understand that It is not always very discreet for a subaltern of cavalry to give such very abrupt refusals.’”’ I did not know what to say to this, but Lasalle came to my aid in his downright fashion. “The lad is quite right,” said he. “If I had known that there was a promise I should not have questioned him. You know very well, Monsieur de Talleyrand, that if he had answered you, you would have laughed In your sleeve and thought as much about him as I think of the bottie when the Burgundy is gone, ‘As to me, I promise you that the tenth would have had no room for him, and that we should have lost our best swordsman, if I'had heard him give you the emperor's secret.” But the statesman became only the more bitter when he .aw that I had the support of my colonel. “I have heard, Cok Lasalle,” said he with an icy dignity, ‘that your opinion is of great weight upon the subject of light cav- alry. Should I have occasion to seek in- formation about that branch of the army I shall be very happy to apply to you. At present, however; the matter concerns di- plomacy, and you will permit me to form my own views upon that question. As long as the welfare of France and the safety of the emperor's person are largely committed to my care, I will use every means in my power to secure them, even if it should be against the emperor’s own temporary wishes. I have the honor, Col. Lasalle, to wish you a very good day.” He shot a most unamiable glance in my direction, and turning upon his heel he walked with little, quick, noiseless steps out of the room. I could see from Lasalle’s face that he did not at all relish finding himself at enmity with the powerful minister. He rapped out an oath or two, and then, catching up his saber and his cap, he clattered away down the stairs. As I looked out of the window I saw the two of them, the big blue man and the little black one, going up the street together. Talleyrand was walking very rigidly, and Lasalle was waving his hands and talking, so I supposed that he was try- ing to make his peace. The emperor had told me not to think, and I endeavored to obey him. F took up the cards from the table, where Regnier had left them, and I tried to work out a few combinations at ecarte, but I could not re- member which were trumps, and I threw them under the table in despair. Then I drew my saber, and practiced giving point until I was weary, but it was all of no use at all. My mind would work in spite of myself. At 10 o’clock I was to meet the emperor in the forest. Of all extraordinary combinations of events in this whole world, surely this was the last which would have occurred to me when I rose from my couch that morning. But the responsibility—the dreadful responsibility! It was all upon my shoulders. There was no one to halve it with me. It made me cold all over. Often as I have faced death upon the battlefield, I had never known what real fear was un- til that moment. But then I considered that after all I could but do my best, like a brave and honorable gentleman, and, above all, obey the orders which I had re- ceived to the very letter. And if all went well, this would surely be the foundation cf my fortunes. Thus alternating between my fears and my hopes, I spent the long, long evening until it was time for me to keep my appointment. CHAPTER Iv. I put on my military overcoat, as I did not know how much of the night I might have to spend in the woods, and I fastened my sword on the inside of it. I put off my hussar boots also, and wore a pair of shoes and gaiters, so that I might be lighter upon my feet. Then I stole out of my quarters and made for the forest, feeling very much easier in my mind, for I am always at my best when the time of thought has passed and the moment for action arrived. I passed the barracks of the chasseurs of the guards and the line of cafes all filled with uniforms., I caught a glimpse as I went by of the ‘bkie and gold of some of my comrades amid’the swarm of dark in- fantry coats and the light green of the guides. There they sat, sipping their wine and smoking their cigars, little dreaming what their comrade had on hand. One of them, the chief of my squadron, caught sight of me in the lamplight, and came shouting after me into the street. I hur- ried on, however, pretending not to hear him; so he, with’a curse at my deafness, went back at last to his wine bottle. It is not very hard to get into the forest at Fontainebleau. The scattered trees steal their way into the very streets like the tirailleurs in front of a column, I turned into a path which led into the edge of the woods and then I pushed rapidiy forward toward the old fir tree. It was a place which, as I have hinted, I had my own reasons for knéwing well, and I could only thank the fates that it was not one of the nights upon which Leonie would be waiting for me. The poor child would have died of terror at the sight of the emperor. He might have been too harsh with her— and, worse still, he might have been too kind. There was a half moon shining, and as I came up to our trysting place I saw that I was not the first to arrive. The emperor was passing up and down, his hands be- hind him and his face sunk somewhat f« ward upon his breast. He wore a g! great coat, with a capote over his head. I had seen him in such a dress in our win- ter campaign ‘n Poland, and it was said he used it because the hood was such an ex- cellent disguise. He was always fond, whether in the camp or in Paris, of walk- ing round at night and overhearing the talk in the cabarets or round the fires. His gure, however, and his way of carrying his head were so well known that he was always recognized, and then the talkers would just say whatever they thought would please him best. I was afraid that he would be angry with me for having kept him waiting, but as I appreached him we heard the big church clock of Fontainebleau clang out the hour of 10. It was evident, therefore, that it was he who was too soon, and not I too late. I remembered his injunction that I should make no remark, so I con- tented myself with halting within four paces of him, clicking my spurs together, grounding my saber and saluting. He glanced at me, and then without a word he turned and walked slowly through the forest, I keeping always about the same distance behind him. Once or twice he seemed to me to look apprehensively to I Saw That I Was Not the First to Arrive. right and to left, as if he feared that some on. were observing us. I looked also, but, although I have the keenest sight, it was quite impossible to see anything ex- cept the ragged patches of moonshine he- tween the great black shadows of the trees. My ears are as quick as my eyes, and once or twice I thought that I heard a twig crack, but you know how many sounds there are in a forest at night, and how difficult it is to even say what direc- tion they come from. We walked for rather more than a mile, and I knew exactly what our destination was long before we got there. In the cen- ter of one of the glades there is the scat- tered stump of what must at some time have been a most gigantic tree. It Is call- ed the Abbot’s Beech, and there are so many ghostly stories about it that I know many a brave soldier who would not care about mounting sentinel over it. How- ever, I cared as little for such folly as the emperor did, so we crossed the glade and made straight for the old broken trunk. As we approached I saw that two men were waiting for us beneath it. When I first caught sight of them they were standing rather behind it, as if they were not anxious to be seen, but as we came nearer they emerged from its shadow and walked forth to meet us. The emperor glanced at me, and slackened his pace a little, so that I came within arm's length of him. You may think that I had my hilt well to the front, and that I had a very good look at these two people who were approaching us. The one was tall, remarkably so, and of a very spare frame, while the other was rather below the usual height, and had a brisk, determined way of walking. They wore black cloaks, which were slung right across their figures and hung down upon one side like the mantles of Murat’s dragoons. They had flat black caps, like those which I have since seen in Spain, which threw their faces into darkness, though I could see the gleam of their eyes from beneath them. With the moon behind them and their long, black shadows walking in front, they were such figures as one might expect to meet at night near the Abbot's Beech. I can re- member that they had a stealthy way of moving, and that as they approached the moonshine formed two white diamonds be- tween their legs and the legs of their shadows. The emperor had paused and these two strangers came to a stand also within a few paces of us. I had drawn up close to my companion’s elbow, so that the four of us were facing each other without a word spoken. My eyes were particularly fixed upon the taller one, because he was slight- ly the nearer to me, and I became certain as I watched him that he was in the last state of nervousness. His lean figure was quivering all over, and I heard a quick, thin panting like that of a tired dog. Sud- denly one of them gave a short hissing signal. The tall man bent his back and his knees like a diver about to spring, but be- fore he could move I had jumped with drawn saber in front of him. At the same instant the smaller man bounded past me, and buried a long poinard in the emperor’s heart. My God, the horror of that moment! It is a marvel that I did not drop dead my- self. As in a dream I saw the gray coat whirl convulsively round and caught a glimpse in the moonlight of three inches of red point which jutted out from between the shoulders. Then down he fell with a dead man’s gasp upon the grass, and the assassin, leaving his weapon buried in his victim, threw up both his hands and shriek- ed with joy. But I—I drove my sword through his midriff with such frantic force that the mere blow of the hilt against the end of his breastbone sent him six paces before he fell, and left my reeking blade ready for the other. I sprang upon him with such a lust for blood upon me as I had never felt, and never have felt in all my days. As I turned a dagger flashed An Instant Afterward He Was in Full Flight. before my eyes, and I felt the cold wind of it pass my neck and the villain’s wrist jar upon my shoulder. I shortened my sword, but he winced away from me, and an in- stant afterward was in full flight, bounding like a deer across the glade in the moon- light. ‘Bui he was not to escape me thus. I knew that the murderer's poinard had done its work. Young as I was I had seen enough of war to know a mortal blow. I paused but for an instant to touch the cold hand. “Sire! Sire!” I cried in an agony, and then, as no sound came back, and nothing moved save an ever-widening dark circle in the moonlight, I knew that all was, indeed, over. I sprang madly to my feet, threw off my greatcoat and ran at the top of my speed after the remaining assassin. Oh, how I blessed the wisdom which had caused me to come in shoes and gaiters. And the happy thought which had thrown off my coat. He could not get rid of his mantle, this wretch, or else he was too frightened to think of it. So it was that I gained upon him from the beginning. He must have been out of his wits, for he never tried to bury himself in the darker parts of the woods, but he flew on from glade to glade until he came to the heath Jand which leads up to the great Fontaine- bleau quarry. Thus I had him in fuil sight, and knew that he could not escape me. He ran well, it is true—ran as a coward runs when his life is the stake. But I ran as destiny runs when it gets behind a man’s heels. Yard by yard I drew in upon him. He was rolling and staggering. I could hear the rasping and crackling of his breath. The great gulf of the quarry sud- denly yawned in front of his path, and, glancing at me over his shoulders, he gave a shriek of despair. The next instant he had vanished from my sight. Vanished, utterly, you understand. I rushed to the spot and gazed down into the bieck abyss. Had he hurled himself over. I had about made up my mind that he had done so, when a gentle sound rising and falling came out of the darkness beneath me. It was his breathing once more, and it showed me where he must be. He was hiding in the tool house. At the edge of the quarry and beneath the summit there is a small platform, up- on which stands a wooden hut for the use of the laborers. It was into this, then, that he had darted. Perhaps he had thcught, the fool, that in the darkness I would not veniure to follow him. He lit- | tle knew Etienne Gerard. With a spring I was on the platform, with another I was through the doorway, and then hearing him in the corner, I hurled myself down upon the top of him. He fought like a wildcat, but he never had a chance with his shorter weapon. I tkink I must have transfixed him with that first mad lunge, for though he struck and struck his blows had no power in them, and presently his dagger tinkled down upon the floor. When I was sure that he was dead I rose up, and passed out into the moonlight. I climbed up onto the heath again, and wandered across it as nearly out of my mind as a man could be. With the blood singing in my ears and my naked sword still clutched in my hand I walked aimlessly on, until, looking round me, I found that I had come as far as the glade of the Abbot’s Beech, and saw in the dis- tance that gnarled stump which must ever be associated with the most terribie mo- ment cf my life I sat down upon a fallen trunk with my sword across my knees, and my head between my hands, and I tried to think about what had happened, and what would happen in the future. CHAPTER V. The emperor had committed himself to my care. The emperor was dead. Those were the two thoughts which clanged in my head until I had no room for any other ores. He had come with me, and he was dead. I had done what he had ordered when living. I had revenged him when dead. But what of all that? The world would look upon me as responsible. They might even look upon me as the assassin. What could I prove? What witnesses had I? Might I not have been the accomplice of these wretches? Yes, yes, I was eter- nally dishonored—the lowest, most despic- able creature in all France. This, then, Was the end of my fine military ambitions, of the hopes cf my mother. I laughed bit- terly at the thought. And what was I to do now? Was I to go to Fontainebleau, to wake up the palace, and to inform them that the great emperor had been murdered within a pace of me. I could not do it—no I could not do ii! There was but one course for an honorable gentleman whom fate had placed in so cruel a position. 1 would fall upon iny dishonored sword and so share, since I could not avert, the em- peror’s fate. I rose with my nerves strung to this last piteous deed, and ds I did so my eyes fell upon something which struck the breath from my lips. The em- peror was standing before me. He was not more than ten yards off, with the moon shining straight upon his cold pale face. He wore his gray overcoat, but the hood was turned back and the front open, so that I could see the green coat The Emperor Was Standing Before Me of the guides, and the white breeches. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his chin sunk forward upon his breast in the way that was usual with him. “Well,” said he, in his hardest and most abrupt voice, “what acccunt do you give of yours! ~ I believe that if he had stood in silence for another minute my brain would have given way. But those sharp, military ac- cents were exactly what I needed to bring me to myself. Living or dead, here was the emperor standing before me, and ask- ing me questions. I sprang to the salute. “You have killed one, I see,” said he, ad toward the beech. “And the other esceped?” “No, sire; I Killed him, also.” “What!” he cried. “Do I_ understand that you have killed them beth?” He ap- proached me as he spoke, with a smile, which set his eyes and teeth gleaming in the moonlight. “One body lies there, sire,” I answered; “the other is in the tool house at the quarry.” “Then the brothers of Ajaccio are no more,” he cried, and, after a pause: “The shadow has passed me forever.” Then he bent forward and laid his hand upon my shoulder. “You have done very well, friend,” said he. your reputation.” He was flesh and blood, then, this em- peror. I could feel the little plump palm that rested upon me. And yet I could not get over what I had seen with my own eyes, and so I stared at him in such be- wilderment that he broke once more into one of his smiles. “No, no, Monsieur Gerard,” said he. “I am not a ghost, and you have not seen me killed. You 1 come here and all will be clear to you. He turned as he spoke, and led the way toward the great beech stump. The bodies were still lying upon the ground, and two men were standing beside them. As we approached, I saw from the turbans that they were Roustem and Mus- my young “You have lived up to tafa, the two Mameluke body servants. ‘The emperor paused when he came to the gray figure upon the ground, and turning back the hood which shrouded the features, he showed a face which was very different from his own. . “Here lies a faithful servant, who has given up his life for his master,” said he. “Monsieur de Gondin resembles me in figure, and in manner, as you must admit.” What a delirium of joy came upon me when these few words made cverything cleat to me. He led again as he saw the delight which urged me almost to throw my arms round him and to embrace him, but he moved a step away, as if he bad divined my impulse. “¥ou are unhurt?” he asked. “I am unhurt, sire. But in another min- ute I should in my despair” ‘Tut, tut!” he interrupted. ou did very well. He should himself have been more on his guard. I saw everything which passed.”” “You saw it, sire?” “You did not hear me follow you through the wood, then? I hardly lost sight of you from the moment that you left your quar- ters until poor de Gondin fell. The coun- terfeit emperor was in front of you, and the real one behind. You will now escort me back to the palace. He whispered an order to his Mamelukes, who saluted in silence and remained where they were standing. For my part, I follow- ed the emperor with my pelisse bursting with pride. My word, I have always car- ried myself as a hussar should, but Lasalle “You cannot do that,” Said the Em- peror. himself never strutted and swung }s dol- man as I did that night! Who should clink his spurs and clatter his saber if it were not I—I, Etienne Gerard—the confidant of the emperor, the chosen swordsman of the light cavalry, the man who slew the would-be assassins of Napoleon. But be noticed my bearing, and turned upon me like a blight. “Is that the way to carry yourself on a secret mission,” he hissed, with that cold glare in his eyes; “is it thus that you will make your comrades believe that nothing remarkable has occurred. Have done with this nonsense, monsieur, or you will find yourself transferred to {ho sappers, where you would have harder work and duller plumage.” ae ‘That was the way witn the emperor. If ever he thought that any one might have a claim upon him, he took the first oppor- tunity to show him the gulf that lay be- tween. I saluted and was silent, but I must confess to you that It hurt me after all that had passed between us. He led on to the palace, where we passed through the side door and up into his own cebinet. SECOND SUMMER Most Critical Year in the Baby’s Existence. At No Time So Liable to Sud- den Intestinal Disorders, The Earliest Victims to Cholera Infantum. Extraordinary Care With Baby's Food Essential. ping baby in summer is attended with peril, at and improper feeding conspire to derange euch, r comes on children require the nourishing and palatable diet the wholesome, iessible, and lactated food should be in the hands post of every mother. Sudden changes of the atmos- Phere are dangerous, above all things, to infants whose digestive apparatus 1s out of order, and the use of lictated food is expecially to be commended because of its corrective influence in cases of irrl- tability of the stomach. Then, too, the mother who bas tried hard to nurse her child, but growing weak and losing her cwn appetite, until she is nearly worn ont, and finds now that she must wean her Infant while the days and nights are growing hotter and more and more debilitating, can do so, as thousands of moth- ers have done before, upon lactated food. ‘The infant will like it and grow strovg and hap} upon it. The composition of lactated food is simply Its basis is sugar of milk; with it is com- gestive elements of wheat, barley and produckig a pure food, which mccts every re- irement of the growing child. ‘There is no secret about it. It is the food physt- their own families and most generally vibe. Thousands of mothers have testified to the fact that lactated food bas doe what nothing else could do—saved the lives of their little ones. No better evideace can be offered of its superior- ity than the many E instances in’ which fretful, peevish and sle: SS babies, as soon a8 put on lactated tood, p all night and wake up la) ie ane pS lees say, solely d he superior nouris! and satisfyi: I ities of this best of foods.” —— It must be borne in mind that lactated food is fo inexpensive that it is within the reach of every There were a couple of grenadicrs at the Staircase, and their eves started out from under their fur caps, 1 promise you, when they saw a young lieutenant of hussars going up to the emperor's room at inid- night. I stood by the door, as I had done in the afternoon, while he 2ung himself down in an armchair, and remained silent so long that it seemed to me ‘hat he had for- gotten all about me. I ventured at last upon a slight cough io remind him. “Ah, Monsieur Gerard,” said he. “You are very curious, no doubt, as to the mean- ing of ajl this?” “I am quite content, pleasure not to tell mc,’ T answered. “Ta, ta, ta,” said he, impatiently. “These are only words. The moment that you were outside that dcor you would begin making inquiries about what it ail means. In two days your brother officers would know about it, in three days it would be all over Fontainebleau, and it would be in Paris on the fourth. Now, if I tell you enough to appease your curiosity, there is some rea- sonable hope that you may be able to keep the matter to yourself.” - He did not understand me, this emperor, and yet I could only bow and be silent. “A few words will make it clear to you,” said he, speaking very swiftly, and pacing vp and dewn the room. “They were Cor- sicans, these tyo men. I-had known them in my youth. We had belonged to the same society—Brothers of Ajaccio, as we called vurselves. It was founded in the old Paoli days, you understand, and we had some strict rules of our own, which were not in- fringed with impunity A very grim look came over his face as he spoke, and it seemed to me that all that was French had gcne out of him, and that it was the pure Corsican, the man of strong passions and of strange revenges, who stood before me. His memcery had gone back to those early Cuys of his, and for five minutes, wrapped in thought, he paced up and down the room with his quick little tiger steps. Then, with an impatient wave of his hands, he came back to his palace and to me. “The rules of such society,”” he con- tinued, “are all very well for a private citizen. In the old days there was no more loyal brother than I. But circumstances change, and it would be neither for my wel- fare nor for that of France that I should new submit myself to trem. They wanted to hold me to it, and so brought their fate upon their own heads. “These were the two chiefs of the order, and they had come from Corsica to sum- mon me to meet them at the spot which they tamed. I knew what such a sum- mons meant. No man had ever returned from obeying one. On the other hand, if I did not go, I was sure that disaster would follow. I am a brother my: » you remem- ber, and I know their way: Again there came that hardening of his mouth and cold glitter of his eyes. “You perceive my dilemma, Monsieur Gerard,” said he. “How would you have acted yourself under such circumstances?” “Given the word to the tenth hussars, sire,” I cried. “Patrols conld have swept the woods from end to end, and brought these two rascals to your feet.” He smiled, but he shook his head. “I had very excellent reasons why I did not wish them taken alive,” said he. “You can understand that an assassin’s tongue might be as dangerous a weapon as an as- sassin’s dagger. I will not disguise from you that I wished to avoid scandal at all cost. That was why I ordered you to take no pistols with you. That also is why my Mamelukes will remove all traces of the affair, and nothing more will be heard about i sire, if it is your it. “I thought of all possible plans, and I am convinced that I selected the best one. Had I sent more than one guard with De Gondin into the woods, then the brothers would not have appeared. They would not change their plans or miss their chance for the sake of a single man. It was Col. Lasalle’s accidental presence at the moment when I received the summons which led to my choosing one of his hussars for the mis- sion. I selected you, Monsieur Gerard, be- cause I wanted a man who could handle a sword, and who would not pry more deeply imto the affair than I desired. I trust that in this respect you will gratify my choice as well as you have done in your bravery and skill.” i “Sire,” I answered, “you may rely upon “As long as I live,” said he, “you will never open your lips upon this subject?” “I dismiss it entirely from my mind, sire. I will efface it from my recolléction as if it had never been. I will promise you to go out of your cabinet at this moment ex- actly as 1 was when I entered it at 4 o’clock.”* “You cannot do that,” said the emperor, smiling. “You were a lieutenant at that time. You will permit me, captain, to wish you a very good night.” ee Trees and Health. From Hall’s Journal of Health. It has been noted that the first settlers in heavily wooded sections of the country have generally been healthy, despite their many privations. The reason for this is that trees and plants of all kinds possess the power of absorbing poisoned air from dezaying vegetation, besides which the emanations from evergreens and the smoke from burning resinous woods are noted for the relief they give to those suffering from pulmonary diseases. New heavily wooded countries, as al- ready noted, are the most healthy for set- tlers, and they continue so for some years, as only a small portion of the forest’ can be cleared away each year. After the for- est is removed and sunlight is admitted, the soil fills rapidly with vegetable mold, which decomposes more rapidly than it can be absorbed by the scant vegetation, and as a result the atmosphere is render- ed impure and malaria becomes a com- mon complaint. In view of these facts, people are beginning to understand the value of trees as disease-absorbing and health-giving agents. Naturally this leads to the question as to what trees are best for protection against disease. On Long Island and in New Jersey there are localities surrounded and hemmed in with pitch pines, which are famed for their curative qualities in consumption, and the pines are thus indicated as valuable sur- roundings in pulmonary complaints. It would seem reasonable to suppose that rees having the largest leaves and the most of them would be the best for this purpose, as such trees would undoubtedly have the most absorbing power. We have seen the eucalyptus tree, mentioned as of special value, as a purifier of the atmos- phere.