The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall: The Works of G. P. R. James, Vol. XV.James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
History
The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall: The Works of G. P. R. James, Vol. XV.
James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
France -- History -- Louis XIV, 1643-1715 -- Fiction
The people made a movement round us; and I saw that there was nothing
for it but decision. Halting abruptly in the midst, I cried, with
every appearance of fury and indignation, that either my voice or
features would take on, "He calls me a Mazarine!--me!--a
Mazarine!--when he knows us both for officers of the Prince de
Condé:--me a Mazarine!" and, without farther ceremony--seeing that
the incarnate fiend, who, most probably, recognised M. de Villardin,
was about to retort upon me--I presented my musket, and, at the same
moment, pulled the trigger. He fell directly; and the people,
convinced by the boldness of the action that I was really a follower
of the Princes, who were then omnipotent amongst them, made way,
shouting, "Vivent les Princes! Vive Condé!"
Without giving time for those who had crowded round my fallen opponent
to become interested in his cause, or to hear anything he might have
to say in case he were only wounded, I hurried forward as fast as
possible, directing my course away from the river, towards which M. de
Villardin seemed inclined to proceed. The fact was, however, that at
the window of one of the houses in that part of the Grève I saw the
head of the Duc de Beaufort backed by the faces of several of his
officers; and, as I did not feel at all sure that he might not point
us out for massacre as we passed, I thought it best to get out of his
sight by the nearest road.
When once we were fairly away from the Place and its immediate
vicinity, where the fury of the people was blind and indiscriminate,
the straw in our hats secured us a free passage, though the streets
were everywhere thronged with rioters; but as Monsieur de Villardin
might each moment be recognised by some one who had known him during
his former residence in Paris, I made the best of my way to the house
of an honest shoemaker, who had served the whole household of the
Duke, and served them well. All the shops were by this time shut up,
for fear of pillage; and long were we obliged to knock before the good
man ventured to open his door and let us in: when he did so, however,
he showed us every sort of kindness, and thanked heaven a thousand
times for the escape of the Duke. Bringing us to a neat upper room,
where we could lie concealed from any one who might enter the lower
part of the house, he pointed out to us the means of escaping over the
roofs should it become necessary; but of this neither Monsieur de
Villardin nor myself entertained the least apprehension; and, while
the good shoemaker went down to provide, as far as possible, for our
comfort and security, we began to breathe more freely than we had done
for some time, and to talk over the adventures of the last few hours.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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