The Chevalier De Maison Rouge (31 page)

is to deliver their passport to another world." It was this intelligence that had put the citizen general in such

good humor. He then galloped away. The battalion

just quitted guard followed him, then the municipals

also gave place to those who had received Santerre's

instructions respecting the queen. One of the munici-

pals who went up to Marie Antoinette perceived, while

thanking him, that her daughter turned from red to pale,

while the sister seemed engaged in thanks to God.

"Ah!" thought she, looking through the window

toward heaven, "your soul reposes there, seigneur; but will your terrible doom be allowed to fall heavily on us ? "

" Thanks, monsieur," said she, with that fascinating 204 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

smile which had proved the ruin of Bernane, and turned

the heads of so many of his fe'low-men, " thanks ! "

Then, turning round to her little dog, who leaped

after her, walking on his hind-legs, for he well under-

stood, from the looks of his mistress, that something un-

usual was about to take place :

" Come, Jet," said she, " we are going for a walk."

The little animal began to frisk and jump, and after

looking at the municipal attentively, comprehending, no

doubt, that from this man originated the intelligence

which had made his mistress so happy, ran toward him,

and wagging his long and silky tail, ventured even to

caress him. This man, who perhaps might be insensible

to the prayers of a queen, could not resist the caresses of a little dog.

" If only on account of this little beast, you should go out more frequently, Citoyenne Capet. Humanity commands us to take care of every creature."

"At what hour shall we go out, monsieur?" de-

manded the queen. " Do you not think the sun would

do us good ? "

" You can go out when you please," said the municipal ; " there has been no restriction on the subject. If you like to go out at midday, as that is the time they

change the sentinels, there Avill be less bustle in the

court."

"Then let it be at midday," said the queen, pressing her hand to her side to still the beating of her heart.

And she regarded this man, who appeared to her less

stern than his associates, and who, perhaps, for kindly

yielding to the wishes of a prisoner, might fall a sacrifice to the conspiracy which they meditated. But at the

moment when compassion was stealing over the heart

of the woman, the mind of the queen was aroused. She

thought of the corpses of her faithful friends strewed

upon the floor of the palace on the 10th of August ; she

recalled to memory the 3d of September, and the head

of the Princess Lamballe, carried on a pike before her

windows ; she remembered the 21st of January, when

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 205

her husband died upon the scaffold, the noise of the

drums extinguishing his feeble voice ; then again she

thought of her son, whose cries of distress had more than

once reached her ears, and her heart became hardened.

"Alas " cried she, "misfortne is like the blood of the ancient Hydras it is is teemf ul of crops of future evils ! "

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE LITTLE DOG JET.

THE municipal left to call his colleagues, and to read

the proems-verbal left by the former municipals. The

queen remained alone with her sister and child. They

all three regarded one another. Then Mme. Royale

threw her arms round the queen, and warmly embraced

her. Mme. Elizabeth approached her sister, and held

out her hand.

" Let us offer up our prayers to God/' said the queen, t( but in a manner that no one hears us."

It was one of those fatal epochs when prayer, that nat-

ural hymn of praise which God has implanted in every

human heart, became suspicious in the eyes of these

men, since prayer is an act of praise and acknowledgment

for mercies received. But in the ideas of these guard-

ians hope and gratitude afforded subject for inquietude,

since the queen could only hope for flight, and could

thank God only for affording her the means of effecting

it. This mental prayer concluded, all three remained

without uttering a word.

Twelve o'clock struck, then three quarters, then one.

But the moment when the last stroke resounded from

the bronze timbrel, the noise of arms was heard on the

spiral staircase ascending to the queen.

" They are relieving sentinels," said she ; " they come to seek us."

She saw her sister and daughter turn very pale.

" Courage ! " said she, trembling herself with emotion.

206 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

te It is one o'clock," said a firm voice below. " Let the prisoners descend."

" We are here, gentlemen," replied the queen, who, with a sentiment almost of regret, embraced at a glance

the black walls and the rude appurtenances which had

been more or less the companions of her captivity.

The first wicket opened, they gained the corridor,

which, being dark, enabled the three captives to conceal

their emotions. Before them frolicked little Jet ; but

when they arrived at the second that is to say, the door

from which Marie Antoinette endeavored to turn her

eyes the faithful little animal first placed his nose to

the ground, then laid his head upon his paws, and gave

utterance to a succession of plaintive cries, which ter-

minated in a prolonged howl. The queen passed on

quickly, not having strength sufficient to recall her dog,

and supported herself against the wall ; then, essaying

to advance again a few steps, her limbs refused their

office, and she felt herself compelled to stop. Her sister

and daughter approached her, and for a few moments

the three females remained motionless, forming a melan-

choly group, the mother resting her face upon the head

of her daughter, when little Jet rejoined them.

" Well ! " cried the voice, " do you or do you not mean to come down ? "

" We are coming," said the municipal, who had re-

mained standing, respecting this grief in all its simplicity.

"Let us go now," said the queen, as she prepared to descend.

When the prisoners had reached the bottom of the

staircase, opposite the door, under which the sun shed

his rays of bright gold, the rolling of the drum was heard

summoning the guard ; then a profound silence, the effect

of curiosity, ensued, and the massive door opened, revolv-

ing slowly upon its croaking hinges. A woman was

seated on the ground, or, rather, on the corner of the

stone contiguous to this door. It was the woman Tison,

whom the queen had not seen for four-and-twenty hours,

and whose absence at supper the preceding evening, and

THE CHEVALIER DE MAI8ON ROUGE. 207

at their morning's meal, had excited her surprise. The

queen already saw the light, the trees, the garden, and

beyond the barrier which enclosed the garden her eyes

eagerly sought the little hut of the canteen, where her

friends so impatiently awaited her coming ; when, at the

sound of footsteps, the woman removed her hands, and

the queen beheld a pale and care-worn face beneath the

mass of gray, disheveled locks. The change wrought in

these few hours was so great that the queen stood over-

whelmed with astonishment. Then, with the delibera-

tion peculiar to those deficient in reason, she knelt down

before the door, impeding the passage of Marie Antoi-

nette.

" "What do you want, my good woman ? " demanded the queen.

** He said it was necessary that you should pardon me."

" Who said so ? " demanded the queen.

" The man in the mantle," replied the woman Tison.

The queen looked at M me. Elizabeth and her daughter,

surprised at this appeal.

" Go along, go," said the municipal ; " let the "Widow Capet pass ; she has permission to walk in the garden."

" I know it," said the old woman ; " that is why I came to wait for her here, since they will not allow me to go up ; and I ought to ask her forgiveness. I was obliged to

wait for her coming out to see her."

" But why, then, are you not permitted to go up ? "

demanded the queen.

The woman began to laugh.

" Because they pretend that I am mad/' said she.

The queen looked at her, and saw indeed that the wild

eyes of the unhappy being reflected a strange light that

vague expression denoting all absence of intellect.

" Oh, mon Dieu! " said she. " Poor woman, what has happened ? "

" Happened ? Do you not know ?" said the woman ;

" but, if You know very well, since it was on your

account she was condemned."

"Who?"

208 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

" Heloise."

" Your daughter ?"

" Yes, she my poor child."

" Condemned by whom ? How ? Why ? "

"Because she sold a bouquet."

" What bouquet ? "

" A bouquet of carnations. She is not a flower-girl,"

continued the old woman, as if endeavoring to collect her

thoughts, " then how could she sell this bouquet ? "

The queen shuddered ; she felt an invisible link con-

nected this scene with her present situation, and con-

vinced her the time must not be lost in useless conver-

sation.

" My good woman," said she, " allow me to pass, I entreat you ; you can tell me all this by and by."

' No, now ; you must pardon me, and I must assist

you to escape, that he may save my daughter."

The queen turned pale as death.

" Mon Dieu ! " murmured she, raising her eyes to

heaven, then, turning toward the municipal. "Mon-

sieur," said she, "have the kindness to remove this woman ; you see that she is mad."

"Go, go, mother," said the municipal ; "decamp."

But the woman clung to the wall, still reiterating,

" She must pardon me, that he may save my daughter."

" But who is he ? "

"The man in the mantle."

"Sister," said Mme. Elizabeth, "try to console her."

" Oh, willingly," said the queen ; " I believe, indeed, that will be the shortest way ;" thenj turning toward the mad woman, "What do you desire, good woman?"

.said she.

" I wish you to pardon me all the suffering I have

caused you by my unjust behavior all the denuncia-

tions I have made ; and trust that when you see the man

in the mantle you will command him to save my daugh-

ter ; for he will do all that you desire."

" I do not know whom you mean by the man in the

mantle," said the queen ; " but that is not the ques-THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 209

tion. If it is necessary to your peace of mind to obtain

my pardon for all the offenses you imagine yon have

committed against me, I freely forgive you, my poor

woman, from the depths of my heart, and trust only that

any one I may have offended will as sincerely pardon me."

" Oli ! " cried the woman Tison, with an indescribable accent of joy, " he will save my child, since you have forgiven me. Your hand, madame, your hand "

The queen, astonished, and at a loss to comprehend the

meaning, presented her hand to the woman, who seized

it, and ardently pressed her lips upon it. At this mo-

ment the hoarse voice of a hawker was heard in the Temple

resounding from the street.

" This," cried he, " is the judgment and decree condemning Heloise Tison to the penalty of death for the

crime of conspiracy."

Scarcely had these words reached the ears of the woman

Tison, than rising from her knees, with an air of dogged

resolution, she extended her arms to impede the passage

of the queen.

" Oh, mon Dieu ! " cried the queen, who had not lost one word of this sentence, so dreadful to her ears.

" Condemned to death ! " cried the mother. " My child condemned ! my Heloise lost ! He has not, then,

saved her and now he cannot save her. Too late too

late ! "

" Poor woman ! " said the queen, " believe me, I feel for you."

' 'You!'*' said she, looking at her fiercely with her

bloodshot eyes. " You pity me ? Xever never!"

" You are mistaken. I pity you from my heart ; but

do pray allow me to pass."

The woman burst into a hoarse laugh.

'" Lot you pass ? Xo, no. I would have assisted you

to escape, because he promised, if I did so, he would

rescue my daughter ; but since she is condemned to

death, you shall not alone be saved."

" Messieurs," cried the queen, " come to my aid. Do you not see that this woman is quite mad ? "

210 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

" No, I am not mad ; I know well what I am saying ! n

cried the woman. " It is the truth there was a con-

spiracy, and Simon discovered all. It was my poor

daughter who sold the bouquet. She confessed it before

the Revolutionary Tribunal. A bouquet of carnations ;

they had some papers concealed in them."

"Madame," said the queen, "in the name of Heaven ! "

The voice of the crier was again heard repeating :

" This is the judgment and decree condemning the

girl Heloise Tison to the punishment of death for the

crime of conspiracy."

" Do you hear it ? " screamed the lunatic, to the groups of National Guards scattered around, " do you hear ?