He
questioned me, soon saw that I was not the Duke. "My child," he
said, "I die to-day, but as a priest shall be the last to mount the
scaffold.--Let me take your place, assume the same disguise, while you
slip from the cart and live." At first I refused, as I no longer cared
for life! But when he said Diane might not escape unless I lived to
aid her, I yielded.--The night was cloudy. When the moon was hidden,
the priest put on my coat and wig, and as the death-cart neared the
scaffold, I slipped through its slatted floor, and in the darkness
mingled with the crowd.
LA ROCHE.
Who was the holy man who set you free?
PAUL.
The Abbe de St. Simon.
LA ROCHE.
Strange! We heard the Abbe had escaped.
PAUL.
He answered when the Duke was called and so was guillotined; but when
the Abbe's turn had come, they could not find him, and so gave out
that he'd escaped.
LA ROCHE.
Yes, I understand it now.--Proceed!
PAUL.
I found Diane had gone, believing I was guilty of a most ignoble
crime. Too sick at heart to follow her, I enlisted and, seeking death,
obtained promotion to my present grade.
LA ROCHE.
What if your willingness to die to save her father had convinced Diane
that you were innocent, and had taught her a deeper love for you?
PAUL.
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