bespierre waved his hand impatiently; and the old woman, with a sigh,
patted his pale cheek, kissed his forehead, and submissively withdrew.
The next moment, the smiling, sober man we have before described, stood,
bending low, before the tyrant. And well might Robespierre welcome one
of the subtlest agents of his power,--one on whom he relied more than
the clubs of his Jacobins, the tongues of his orators, the bayonets of
his armies; Guerin, the most renowned of his ecouteurs,--the searching,
prying, universal, omnipresent spy, who glided like a sunbeam through
chink and crevice, and brought to him intelligence not only of the
deeds, but the hearts of men!

"Well, citizen, well!--and what of Tallien?"

"This morning, early, two minutes after eight, he went out."

"So early?--hem!"

"He passed Rue des Quatre Fils, Rue de Temple, Rue de la Reunion, au
Marais, Rue Martin; nothing observable, except that--"

"That what?"

"He amused himself at a stall in bargaining for some books."

"Bargaining for books! Aha, the charlatan!--he would cloak the
intriguant under the savant! Well!"

"At last, in the Rue des Fosses Montmartre, an individual in a blue
surtout (unknown) accosted him. They walked together about the street
some minutes, and were joined by Legendre."

"Legendre! approach, Payan! Legendre, thou hearest!"

"I went into a fruit-stall, and hired two little girls to go and play
at ball within hearing. They heard Legendre say, 'I believe his power is
wearing itself out.' And Tallien answered, 'And HIMSELF too. I would not
give three months' purchase for his life.' I do not know, citizen, if
they meant THEE?"

"Nor I, citizen," answered Robespierre, with a fell smile, succeeded by
an expression of gloomy thought. "Ha!" he muttered; "I am young yet,--in
the prime of life. I commit no excess. No; my constitution is sound,
sound. Anything farther of Tallien?"

"Yes. The woman whom he loves--Teresa de Fontenai--who lies in prison,
still continues to correspond with him; to urge him to save her by thy
destruction: this my listeners overheard. His servant is the messenger
between the prisoner and himself."

"So! The servant shall be seized in the open streets of Paris. The Reign
of Terror is not over yet. With the letters found on him, if such their
context, I will pluck Tallien from his benches in the Convention."

Robespierre rose, and after walking a few moments to and fro the room
in thought, opened the doo