hom Providence has chosen to be the inheritor of my
sorrows and my captivity, I desire to make another bequest.
There is in this prison a toad. He was tamed by a man (peace
to his memory!) who tenanted this cell before me. He has
been my friend and companion for nearly two years of sad
imprisonment. He has sat by my bedside, fed from my hand,
and shared all my confidence. He is ugly, but he has
beautiful eyes; he is silent, but he is attentive; he is a
brute, but I wish the men of France were in this respect
more his superiors! He is very faithful. May you never have
a worse friend! He feeds upon insects, which I have been
accustomed to procure for him. Be kind to him; he will repay
it. Like other men, I bequeath what I would take with me if
I could.
"Fellow-sufferer, adieu! God comfort you as He has comforted
me! The sorrows of this life are sharp but short; the joys
of the next life are eternal. Think some times on him who
commends his friend to your pity, and himself to your
prayers.
"This is the last will and testament of Louis Archambaud
Jean-Marie Arnaud, Vicomte de B----."
Monsieur the Viscount's last will and testament was with difficulty
squeezed into the surface of the larger of the stones. Then he hid it
where the priest had hid his bequest long ago, and then lay down to
dream of Monsieur the Preceptor, and that they had met at last.
The next day was one of anxious suspense. In the evening, as usual, a
list of those who were to be guillotined next morning, was brought into
the prison; and Monsieur the Viscount begged for a sight of it. It was
brought to him. First on the list was Antoine! Halfway down was his own
name, "Louis de B--," and a little lower his fascinated gaze fell upon
names that stirred his heart with such a passion of regret as he had
fancied it would never feel again, "Henri de St. Claire, Valerie de St.
Claire."
Her eyes seemed to shine on him from the gathering twilight, and her
calm voice to echo in his ears. "_It has been in my mind all to-day.
There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest._"
_There!_ He buried his face and prayed.
He was disturbed by the unlocking of the door, and the new gaoler
appeared with Antoine! The poor wretch seemed overpowered by terror. He
had begged to be imprisoned for this last night with Monsieur the
Viscount. It was o
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