Barlasch of the Guard

un abime qui tromp

on given by Governor Rapp in the great rooms of the Rathhaus. For there

gaily forward on the great venture. There were soldiers from the numerous petty states of the German Confederation which acknowledged Napoleon as their protector, for the good reason that they could not protect themselves against him. Fina

d rumours. Perhaps Rapp himself, speaking bluff French with a German accent, was as honest as any man in the room, though he lacked the polish of the Parisian and

ken them. He was not even rich, and he had handled great sums of money. He was only a General, and he had slept in the Emperor's tent-had had access to him in every humou

llowed him wherever he went. He knew, at all events, that he could hold his own amid these adventurers, many of whom had risen from the ranks; while others, fro

rrow," he said. "All these eager soldiers.

She had had so few chances of moving amidst this splendour, of seeing close at hand the greatness which Napoleon shed aro

with a careless and confident laugh, "whi

ul, and wore the difficult dress of that day with assurance and grace. She possessed something whic

ed some favour upon him-had acceded to some request. He hoped for more. He had overstepped some barrier. She, who should h

e said in an undertone as he passed on; "I

thing from weakness. There was no weakness at all perhaps in Mathilde Sebastian. She had the quiet manner of a skilled car

n. Many who were laughing and talking with the French officers to-night were already in the grasp of Napoleon's secret police, and would drive straight from the door of the Rathhaus to the town prison or to

man. There was nothing above the reach of his mind, it seemed, and nothing too low for him to bend down and touch. Every detail had been consid

the name of Antoine Sebastian, figuring

" he asked, and n

r the human mind, though it be colossal, can only work within certain limits. The greatest orator in the world can only move his immediate hearers. Those beyond the inner

ake exhaustive reports upon the feeling of the burghers. There were many doubtful cases. De Casimir did not pretend to be better than his fellows. To some he had sold the benefit of the doubt. Some had

d a small office to which orderlies and aides-de-camp came by day or night. Two sentries kept guard on the pavement. Since the spring, this office had been one of t

staken. Though it was only ten o'clock, two men were awaiting his return, and, their business despatched, de Casimir deemed it wise to send away his assistants. Immediately after the

n why he should be grateful to me for warning him," he sa

his head. He did not actually expect any one, but a certain surreptitiousness in the approach of

door while she stood watching him in the dark passage, beneath the shadow of her hood. Knowing the val

p lighted his writing-table. She threw back her hood, and it was Mathilde! The surprise on de Casimi

ned," he said, looki

father?" wa

mistake," he answered glib

mptuously into h

e," she said; "they came

and seemed to be mentally assigni

ed, without l

he es

the m

has left

ceived, and yet she was womanly enough to fear deception and to resent her own fears, visiting her anger on an

that it is not. It is the Emperor. He must have given the order for the arrest himself, behind my back. That is his way. He trusts no one. He deceives those n

r he breathed was infected by suspicion. No deception was too s

having deceived you," he said

e truth. She had come to hear his defence, hoping

sked slowly, "do

that she had done it against her will, and it took him by surprise. He had thought that she was trying to attract his love because she believed in his capability to make his for

aback. He was over the last of those barriers which are so easy from the outside and unclimbable from within. She had thrust into his hands a power greater t

had met before. The same instinct made him understand that it was cry

ng satisfaction with my work here and in Konigsberg, where I have been served by an agent of my own choosing. Many have cl

e with the discreet unmistakable chink of gold. "That is the Emperor's. He trusts me, you see. These bags are min

mistake. There are many women who, like Mathilde Sebas

ng another drawer in his writing-table, "before I

some papers, and slowly opened it. He had ot

an opportunity of seeing you thus alone-to

cheap dress, which was the best she had. She looked down at them with a

which is an old tale told over and over again. For in human l

"is so glad to hear that you

rey eyes, she believed him. He drew her cloak rou

ay. And as we go through the streets you must tell me

e to return, and told me at once. Then she went to bed, and I

the drawers of his writing

ut not

l tell you as we go