The Sword of Honor; or, The Foundation of the French Republic: A Tale of The French RevolutionSue, Eugène
History
The Sword of Honor; or, The Foundation of the French Republic: A Tale of The French Revolution
Sue, Eugène
France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799 -- Fiction
I left the Assembly chamber and returned to take my place in the line
and pass before the Committee. The Committee was presided over, that
day, by Carnot the elder, an officer of genius, and one of the greatest
captains of the time. I had myself inscribed as an iron-worker, and
received the order to appear next morning at daybreak, at the
green-house of the Louvre, where they were setting up the forges and
work-benches for the fashioning of the munitions of war.
While awaiting Victoria, at our lodging, I busied myself with recording
in my journal the various events of the day. One in the morning sounded;
my sister had not returned. Up till now, I had felt no anxiety for her;
only those who would attempt to disarm the popular anger, only those, on
that day, ran any danger; and Victoria partook of the general sentiment
of Paris on the subject of a mass extermination. But suddenly there
flashed back to my mind Jesuit Morlet and his tool Lehiron. I knew the
hatred entertained by the reverend Father for my sister. These thoughts
threw me into deep anxiety. The Jesuit Morlet and Lehiron were capable
of any crime; and on this unlucky day, when blood flowed in torrents,
nothing would have been easier than for the wretches to make away with
Victoria. Faithful to his hope of seeing the Revolution besmirch itself
or lose itself in excesses, Abbot Morlet would not fail to be on hand to
urge on the carnage of the prisoners; he could easily, under a new
disguise, repair to the prisons with Lehiron and his cut-throats, and,
on encountering my sister, point her out to their weapons.
The gloomiest of apprehensions were raised in me by these reflections.
My alarm increased from minute to minute. There was, alas, no way to
still it. My anguish had almost reached the breaking point when I heard
hurried steps on the stair-landing. I ran to the door. It flew open.
Victoria uttered a cry of joy, threw herself into my arms, pressed me
convulsively to her breast, and broke into tears. Then, between her
sobs, she murmured in a voice choked with joy:
"Brother, my poor brother, I find you again! God be praised!"
As her emotion subsided, Victoria acquainted me in the following words
with the source of her alarm:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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