The Chevalier De Maison Rouge (60 page)

wish to say to me, Maurice ? "

" You have been arrested through me, condemned for

her ; as for Genevieve and I, let us pay our debt ; it is

not fair, at the same time, that you should be made to pay

also."

" I do not understand you."

" Louis, you are free."

"I, free ? you are mad !" said Louis.

" No, I am not mad ; 1 repeat that you are free ; see, here is the pass. They will iiu|uire who you are ; you

are cmploved at the register of the Carmelites, and are

going to speak to the registrar of the palace ; you have,

from motives of curiosity, requested a pass from him to

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 4Q1

see the condemned ; you have seen them, and are now

leaving, perfectly satisfied with your visit."

" This is a joke, is it not ? "

"~So, indeed, my friend ; here is the card, take advantage of it. You are not a lover, like myself ; you do not

wish to die that you may be enabled to pass a few more

minutes in the society of the well-beloved of your heart,

and not to lose a second of eternity with her."

" But, Maurice," replied Louis, " if one might be able to get out from here a circumstance I swear to you I could

not have believed possible why do you not save madame

first ? as to yourself, we will consider afterward about that."

"Impossible !" said Maurice, with a frightful oppression at his heart ; " this card is for a citoyen, not for a citoyenne ; besides, Genevieve would not depart and leave

me here to live herself, while knowing that I remained to

die."

" If she would not, then why should I ? Do you im-

agine I possess less courage than a woman ? "

" Xo, dear friend ; I know and acknowledge your

bravery, but nothing can excuse your obstinacy in this

case. Then, profit by this moment, and allow us the su-

preme felicity of knowing and feeling that you are free

and happy.''

"Happy ! '' said Louis. ''You are facetious, surely

happy without you, eh ? What the devil am I to do in

this world without you ? In Paris, without my usual

avocations, without seeing you again ; to weary you no

more with my bouts-rimes ; ah, pardicu, no ! '"

' Louis, my friend ''

" Exactly ; it is because I am your friend that I persist in my opinion, with the prospect of recovering you both ;

were I a prisoner, as I now am, I would tear down the

walls, but to save myself, and go out from here alone into

the streets, my head bowed down with a feeling resem-

bling remorse, and a continued cry in my ears, ' Maurice

Genevieve ! ' To pass into certain quarters, and before

certain houses, where I have seen your persons, but shall

now only recognize your shadows ; to arrive at last to exe-

402 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

crate this dear Paris that I love so well ; ah, ma foi, no !

And I find there was good reason to proscribe these kings ; might not this be the motive of King Dagobert ? "

" And what relation has King Dagobert with what

concerns us ?"

" What ? Did not this frightful tyrant say of the

grand Eloi, ' He is not such good company that one can-

not quit him.' Ah, well ! I am a Republican. I say one

never ought to quit good company, even the guillotine ; I

feel very comfortable here, and I will remain."

" Poor fellow ! poor fellow ! " said Maurice.

Genevieve said nothing, but looked at them with eyes

suffused with tears.

" You regret your life, then ?" said Louis.

" Yes, on her account."

" And I have nothing to regret in mine, not even on

account of the Goddess Reason, who, I had forgotten to

tell you, has latterly behaved most shamefully to me ;

who will not take the trouble even to console herself, like the other Arthemises of old. I shall go to my death perfectly cool and rather facetious. I will amuse all the beg-

garly wretches who follow the cart. I will repeat a pretty

quatrain to Monsieur Sanson, and wish the company good-

night that is to say wait, then " Louis interrupted

himself. " Ah ! if so," said he, " I will go out. I well know I love no one, but I forgot that I hated some one.

The time, Maurice, the time ! "

'Half-past three."

' I have time, mon Dieu there is time."

"Certainly," cried Maurice; '-there are nine more accused persons still to be tried, this will not terminate

before live o'clock ; we have, therefore, nearly two hours'

respite."

" That is all that I require ; lend me your card, and

also twenty sous."

" Ah, mon Dicu ! what are you going to do ?" mur-

mured Genevieve.

Maurice pressed his hand ; it was important to him that

Louis should go out.

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 403

tf I have my own plan," said Louis.

Maurice drew his purse from his pocket, and placed it

in his friend's hand.

" Now, the card, for the love of God I ought to say,

for the love of the Supreme Being."

Maurice gave him the pass. Louis kissed Genevieve's

hand, and availing himself of the moment when a fresh

batch of the condemned were ushered in he leaped the

benches, and presented himself before the principal en-

trance.

" Eh ! " said the gendarme, " here is one, it appears to me, trying to escape."

Louis drew himself up, and presented his card.

" Hold, Citizen Gendarme," said he, " and learn to know people better."

The gendarme recognized the signature of the registrar,

but, belonging to a class of functionaries rather wanting

in confidence and as at this moment the registrar himself

came down from the tribunal with a nervous shudder,

which had not left him since he had so imprudently haz-

arded his signature :

' Citizen Registrar," said he, " here is a pass bearing your signature, with which this person wishes to leave La

Salle des Morts ; is it all right ? "

The registrar turned pale with fright, and, feeling con-

vinced that if be turned his eyes in that direction it would only be to encounter the terrible figure of Dixmer, hastily seizing the card, quickly replied :

" Yes, yes, it is my signature."

11 Then," cried Louis, "if it is your signature, return it to me."

' Xo," said the registrar, tearing it into a thousand

pieces, " these cards can only be once available."

Louis remained for a moment irresolute.

" So much the worse," said he ; " but, above all things, it is necessary I should kill him ;" and he passed through the office.

Maurice had followed Louis with an emotion easy to

comprehend When he had disappeared, Maurice re-

404: THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE,

turned, saying, with an exultation nearly amounting to

joy :

" He is saved, Genevieve ; the card is destroyed, therefore he cannot return-. Besides, even if he were able to

do so, the sitting of the tribunal will have terminated at

five o'clock. He will return, but we shall have ceased to

live."

Genevie've shuddered, and breathed a deep sigh.

" Oh, press me in your arms !" said she, "and let us separate no more. Why is not possible, oh my God ! for

one blow to annihilate us both, that together we might

breathe our last sigh ? "

Then, retiring into the deep shade of the gloomy hall,

Geneveive placed herself near Maurice, who closely twined

his arms around her. Thus they remained, rendered by

the strength of their love insensible to the surrounding

scene, almost to the approach of even death itself. Half

an hour passed thus.

CHAPTER LV.

WHY LOUIS WENT OUT.

SUDDENLY a loud noise was heard ; the gendarmes

opened the lower door ; behind them appeared Sanson and

his assistants, the latter carrying rolls of cord.

" Oh, won ami, mon ami!" said Genevieve, " the fatal moment has arrived, and I feel that my senses are leaving

me."

"There you are wrong," said the cheering voice of Louis.

" Here you are wrong, en veriet,

Since death is now la libert&."

" Louis ! " cried Maurice, in despair.

" Well, that is good, now, is it not ? I have adopted

your opinion since yesterday evening, and could not be so

contemptible "

" Ah ! that is the question. You are returned, unhappy man, you are returned I "

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 405

"I considered that was our agreement. But listen, as

wlnit I have to say to you will also interest madame."

" Mon Dieu ! Mon Dicu ! "

" Allow me to speak, or I shall not have time to tell you all. I wished to go out that I might purchase a knife in

La Rue de la Baullerie."

" What did you want with a knife ? "

" I wished to despatch this nice Monsieur Dixmer."

Genevieve shuddered.

"Ah ! " said Maurice, "I comprehend/'

" I purchased it. Listen attentively to what I tell you, and you will understand your friend has a soul for logic ;

indeed, I begin to think I should have been a mathe-

matician instead of a poet. Unfortunately, it is now too

late. This is the way I reasoned : Monsieur Dixmer has

compromised his wife ; Monsieur Dixmer came to be pres-

ent at her trial, and Monsieur Dixmer will not deprive

himself of the pleasure of seeing her pass in the fatal

cart ; and, above all, he will accompany us. I will

then look for him in the foremost of the spectators. I

will glide near him, and say, ' Bon jour, Monsieur

Dixmer ; ' and then I will drive my knife into his ribs,

or his heart.''

" Louis ! '' cried Genevieve.

'*' Rest assured, dear friend, Providence has arranged all.

Picture to yourself the spectators, instead of remaining

stationary in front of the palace, according to their usual custom, making a demiturn to the right, and assembling

on the borders of the quay.

" Oh ! '' said I to myself, it is doubtless a dog drowned.

Why should not Dixmer be there ? Even a dog drowning

will serve to pass away the time. I approached the

parapet, and beheld all along the high bank a troop of

people, who, throwing their arms aloft in the air, and

uttering loud exclamations, stooped down to gaze into the

water beneath. I joined them and also looked down

there was something guess what it was

" Dixmer ! " said Maurice, in a gloomy tone.

" Yes. How could you guess that ? Yes, it was

406 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

Dixmer, severely wounded. The unfortunate wretch

killed himself in expiation, no doubt."

" Ah ! " said Maurice, with a sad smile, " do you think so?"

Genevive let her head drop between her two hands.

She was too feeble to support these successive emotions.

" Yes, I thought so, from his blood-stained sword being found near him at least sometimes he had not met any

one "

Maurice, without reply, availing himself of the moment

when Geuevieve, overpowered by emotion, did not observe,

opened his coat and displayed to Louis his waistcoat and

shirt stained with blood.

"Ah ! this alters the case," said Louis, as he held out his hand to Maurice. "Now," said he, whispering in his ear, " they have not searched me, seeing that I entered in Sanson's suite. I have the weapon still if the guillotine

is too revolting to your feelings."

Maurice seized his arm with a joyful expression,

" No," said he, "she would suffer too much."

And he returned the knife to Louis.

" You are right," said he, " long live Monsieur Guillotine ! Why, what is it, after all ? a filip on the neck, as I observed to Dan ton. And what is that, after all ? "

And he flung his knife in the midst of a group of the con-

demned, one of whom immediately seized and buried it in

his breast. He was dead in an instant. At the same mo-

ment Genevieve awoke and uttered a piercing cry. Sho

felt the pressure of the executioner's hand upon her shoul-

der.

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 407

" LOXG LIVE SIMON ! "

AT the sonnd of this cry, Maurice understood that the

struggle was about to commence. The influence of love

may be able to exalt the love to heroism it may, against

natural instinct, impel a human being to desire death, but

it had not, in his instance, extinguished the fear of pain.

It was evident that G-eiievieve resigned herself the more

patiently to death since Maurice was to die with her ; but

resignation did not exclude suffering, and to quit this

world is not only to fall into the abyss termed fathomless

and unknown, but also to suffer in the descent. Maurice,

at a glance, embraced the entire scene and thought of

what would follow. In the center of the hall lay the

suicide, from whose breast the gendarme had just torn the

weapon of destruction, fearing, probably, it might be

useful to some others. Around him were several indi-

viduals, mute with despair, and scarcely heeding him,

inscribing in their pocket-books some indistinct words,

or pressing one another's hands ; some repeating, without

any intermission, a cherished name, as if imbecile, or

bathing with tears a portrait, a ring, or tress of hair ;

some hurling imprecations against tyranny, a word ban-

ished and cursed by each one in turn, and sometimes even