whom I
had left in the vineyard. I beckoned him, and he joined me. He told me
that, being too impatient to await my return, he had soon made up his
mind to follow me, and by joining a band of pillagers was lucky enough to
get safely through Saint-Just. We consulted together as to what we had
better do next, and having applied to our host, found he could supply us
with a trusty messenger, who would carry the news of our whereabouts to
my brother-in-law. After an anxious wait of three hours, we saw him
coming. I was about to run out to meet him, but M____ held me back,
pointing out the danger of such a step; so we sat still our eyes fixed on
the approaching figure. But when my brother-in-law reached the inn, I
could restrain my impatience no longer, but rushing out of the room met
him on the stairs.
"'My wife?' I cried. 'Have you seen my wife?'
"'She is at my house,' was the reply, and with a cry of joy I threw
myself into his arms.
"My wife, who had been threatened, insulted, and roughly treated because
of my opinions, had indeed found safety at my brother-in-law's.
"Night was coming on. My brother-in-law, who wore the uniform of the
National Guard, which was at that moment a safeguard, took us each by an
arm, and we passed the barrier without anyone asking us who we were.
Choosing quiet streets, we reached his house unmolested; but in fact the
whole city was quiet, for the carnage was practically at an end.
"My wife safe! this thought filled my heart with joy almost too great to
bear.
"Her adventures were the following:
"My wife and her mother had gone to our house, as agreed upon, to pack
our trunks. As they left their rooms, having accomplished their task,
they found the landlady waiting on the staircase, who at once overwhelmed
my wife with a torrent of abuse.
"The husband, who until then had known nothing of their tenant's return,
hearing the noise, came out of his room, and, seizing his wife by the
arm, pulled her in and shut the door. She, however, rushed to the
window, and just as my wife and her mother reached the street, shouted to
a free band who were on guard across the way, 'Fire! they are
Bonapartists!' Fortunately the men, more merciful than the woman, seeing
two ladies quite alone, did not hinder their passage, and as just then my
brother-in-law came by, whose opinions were well known and whose uniform
was respected, he was allowed to take them under his protection and
cond
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