The Headsman; Or, The Abbaye des Vignerons

p; by Heaven

light, o'er glan

re may sigh and

ate when we r

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and influence of the former in the great canton rendering him an object of interest to more than those who felt affection for his person and respect for his upright qualities. Roger de Blonay

are that there shall be a constant flight of shot, great and small, across the most accessible of its approaches. By one of the exclusive ordinances of those times, in which men were glad to get relief from the violence and rapacity of the baron and the satellite of the prince, ordinances that it was the fashion of the day to term liberty, the family of Hofmeister had come into the exercise of a certain charge, or monopoly, that, in truth, had always constituted its wealth and importance, but of which it was accustomed to speak as forming its principal claim to the gratitude of the public, for duties that had been performed not only so well, but for so long a period, by an unbroken succession of patriots descended from the same stock. They who judged of the value attached to the possession of this charge, by the animation with which all attempts to relieve them of the burthen were repelled, must have been in error; for, to hear their friends descant on the difficulties of the duties, of the utter impossibility that they should be properly discharged by any family that had not been in their exercise just one hundred and seventy-two years and a half, the precise period of the hard servitude of the Hofmeisters, and the rare merit of their self-devotion to the common good, it would seem that they were so many modern

rder to be in readiness to receive his friend. Here he found the bailiff, pacing the public promenade, which is washed by the limpid water of the lake, with the air of a man who had more on his mind than the daily cares of office. Although the Baron de Blonay was a Vaudois, and looked upon all the functionaries of his country's conquerors with a species of hereditary dislike, he was by nature a man of mild and co

from Genf in yonder bark?" said

d t

lading will sojourn among us during the festival of the Abbaye, and secret notice has been sent that there will b

, under feigned names and without the éclat of their rank, for the great, when they

cial--I cannot help imagining that a bailiff cuts but a shabby figure before the people, in the presence of so many gods and

is like to be a change among some o

who never did an hour's duty in a charge can acquit themselves like those

thee; but others say that eve

mortal, like all of us, and even a created being; but a man is not a charge. Let the clay die, if thou wilt, but, if thou woulds

ter--and yet I like not the time! There are evil signs playing about th

eable, and I should take it truly in evil part, were the rebellious lake to get

aron de Blonay, laughing. "I repeat it; the signs are suspicious. Let us consult the wat

phere. The opinions were various. Most believed there would be a gust; but, as the Winkelried was known to be a new and well-built bark, and none could tell how much beyond her powers she had been loaded by the cupidity of Baptiste, and as it was generally thought the wind would be as likely to bring her up to her haven as to be against her,

elried, as to draw about them more than the sympathy that would ordinarily be felt for travellers in distress. Every exertion that the case admitted was made in their behalf, and, the moment the state of the lake allowed, boats were sent off, in every probable direction, to their succor. But the Winkelried was running along the coast of Savoy, ere any ventured forth, and the search proved fruitless. When the rumor spread

ruth, the latter derives its name. The Bernois noble was too much affected with the scenes through which he had so lately passed, and with the strong and ungovernable tenderness of Adelheid, who had wept over him a

ning on his shoulder, they went into the chateau. "But for yonder brave youth, and as honest a mariner as ever floated on water, fre

hy bark: but it has been wiser ordered. This brave young man, who, I see, is both a Swiss and a soldier, is doubl

content with making the usual felicitations, whispered in his ear that a service like this, render

ent, and we thank God, as Roger de Blonay has just so well observed. Our Abbaye is like to be a gallant ceremony, for divers gentlemen of name are in the town, and

hast often heard me name, Sire de Blonay, as one that I love. Gaetano Grimaldi is a

n thou first returnedst from the Italian wars, thy tongue was never weary of recounting his praises

er in company. I had him in my arms in that fearful moment, Roger, when the sky, and the mountains, and all of earth, even to that dear girl, were fading, as I thought for ever, from my sight,--he, that had already been my part

eling that sometimes poured through his southern temperament, in a way to unsettle the deportment of mere convention. He was presented to Roger de Blonay and the bailiff, as the person just alluded to, and as the oldest and

iminutive by which the bustling bailiff was usually addressed by those who could take the

red by the sun if ye will, and less known to the world;--but we have our manners! A man that hath been intrusted with authority as long as I were unfit for his trust, did he not tell, as it might be by instinct, when he has those in his presence that are to be honored. Signore, the loss of Melchior vo

Peterchen's hyperbolical compliments; though it was quite plain

overwhelming a punishment, for a fault so venial, or at least so natural. I beg, however, that the lake may be pardoned; since, at the worst, it was but a secondary agent in the affair, and, I doubt not, it would have treated us as it treats all travellers, had we kept out o

ut the night, as indeed was the fact on all other occasions during his visit, the Signor Grimaldi received from him so marked and particular attentions, as to cre

he welcoming beacon still blazed. By means of chars-à-banc, the peculiar vehicle of the country, the short distance was soon overcome, the bailiff, not a little to the surprise of the owner of the house, insisting on seeing the strangers safe

bserved Roger de Blonay, while showing his guests into the castle. "Thy Bernese authoriti

other and better bailiwicks, beyond a question, in the gifts of the Councils, and the Sign

credit for a good heart, his own, no doubt, being touched at seeing those who are, as it may be, redeemed from the grave. I owe him grace for the kindness, and should a better thi

experienced in the windings of the human heart, or possessing some reasons known only to himself, merely smiled at the remarks that he heard, as if he thorou

by a look at the loveliness of the night. In sooth, the change was already so great, that it was not easy for the imagination to convert the sof

gly pervades and governs the universe, whatever may be the local derangements or accidental struggles of the inferior agents. The foaming and rushing waves had gone down nearly as fast as they had arisen, and, in their stead, remained myriads of curling ridges along which the gli

tion, that brings a more sober tranquillity, when the fit is over. Your northern phlegm may render the analogy less apparent, but it is to be found as well among the cooler temperaments of the Teutonic stock, as among us of warmer blood. Do not this placid hill-side, yon lake, and the starry heavens, look as if they regretted their late unseemly violence, a

er, without whose coolness and forethought all would have been lost. He has c

od before the party to whom he had rendered so signal

s," he said, addressing the Genoese; "but, having my ow

first thought was of thee, as thou knowest: but other things h

ore,

at cou

re; a Genoese, as I

t seem to please him. He looked around, as if to detect

we should know something of each other. Hast eve

k cloud passed over his swarthy lineaments, and he lost his pleasantry

fe know something of your eccellenza; if it is only to be questioned

life, and am well answered. But there is a heavy account to be settled between us, and I will do something towards wiping out the bala

arcelli. This was soon emptied of its contents, a fair show of sequins, all of which were offered to the mariner, without reservati

t shall be fairly settled; but this is all that a traveller can prudently spare

this very metal; mock at God's laws; overlook the right; trifle with justice, and become devils incarnate t

to go a-begging! Good Marcelli, empty thy hoards, and I will have, recourse to Melch

thy gold, Gaetano, and leave me to satisfy the honest mariner for the present. At a later day,

uditors thought in a manner that was forced--"but poverty and meanness are not always inseparable. You have more than suspected to-day that my life is free, and I admit it; but it is a mistake to believe that, because men quit the high-road which some call honesty, in any particular practice, they are without human feeling. I have been useful in saving your lives, Signori, and there is mo

even after the tongue was silent The bright suffusion that covered the maiden's face was visible even by the pa

and his more particular meaning, "and they excite a stronger wish to be thy friend. I will sa

ce was inexplicable, but he retain

s in Genoa that might better knock at the door of your palace than I; and there are t

suit so free from danger, of so much repute, or, judging by thy attire, of so much profit even, that thou needest be wedded to it for l

ughed o

r has got his art by cheating the revenue; and I have been in lands where it was said, that all they who most fleeced the people began their calling as suffering patriots. The rule is firmly enough established without the help o

t in thee the materi

, in the late gust, than we are masters of our fortunes. Signor Grimaldi, I have in me the materials that make a man; but the laws, and the opinions, and the accursed strife of men, have left

u seemest--thou hast friends w

, as if bearing down, by the force of an indo

an!" he said, with

ained at thy present course--

t he had put it. Maso evidently struggled to subdue some feeling which harrowed his v

have been a mariner, and--and--" laying his hand on his throat, as if to keep down the sense of su

e further of thy fortunes. A fair spirit has been perverted in thy fall, and th

earnestness of such a sentiment. The truculent nature of Maso was touched by this show of interest, and a mul

is is not the first time that our flesh has touched each other, though it is the first time that our hands have joined. Let it now be in amity. A humor has come over me, and I would crave your

rted. With perfect dignity and self-possession, and with a degree of feeling that was not unsuited to the occasion, the fruit of emotions so powerfully awakened, he pronounced the benedictio

ture had been singularly shaken. On recovering his thoughts, the Signor Grimaldi, too, felt certain there had been no mockery in the conduct of their inexplicable preserver, for

eived this blessing, and that it might have been of use to him, in the sight of God! Nay, he may yet hear of it--for, canst thou believe it, I have th

al kind. The rest of the party soon sought their beds, though lamps were