The Vision Of Evil. A Story Of Old Paris.

Heaven will give me strength and fortitude , will I lay one of you dead at my feet . " The astonishment and almost ludicrous dismay of the men were something curious to behold , as in the semi-darkness of the room , the light attire of the maiden and the excitement of the moment , they thought that they were confronted b y an avenging spirit from the other world .

" Louise , Louise , ' faintl y murmured her lover , " do not , I beseech you , peril your sweet life in the vain endeavour to preserve mine . It is useless , I am sinking fast . No human power can save me . Oh ! Charles and Catherine , " he went on , " you will have much to answer for when the time comes for you to be placed at the judgment seat of the . Almight y ! It is by your plots and butcheries , that

this the eve of a Hol y Festival -will hereafter be regarded as one of the most crime-stained in the history of the world ! Louise my poor girl , what will you do now that you are left -without a protector ? Adieu ! my beloved—may the prayers of a dying man avail you in this your hour of need . Adieu for ever , Dieu vous garde . " Thus murmuring and with a deep sig h , the spirit of the hi g h-minded and accomplished youth fled .

Nothing could equal the joy of "le Serpent" and "le Renard , " when they learnt that the lad y who so boldly stood between them and their victim was the one that they had been hired to abduct . The fair Louise , whose bearing and attitude had not in the least alteredalthough tears had forced themselves down her pale cheeks as the foregoing words of her murdered lover fell upon her eai—then spoke in such tones as to create awe in the hearts of the miscreants who

stood as if spellbound before her . "To think , " she cried , "that innocent men , women , and children are to be slain by ruffians—lost to all sense of shame and humanity —under ( he sacred name of religion ! Oh ! shame , shame upon you , and your so-called noble masters ! Do you think , poor fools , that God in the world to come will stud y —in His Infinite Mercy—any

distinction of creed in those He has to judge ? Are you furthering His Holy cause by rnthlessly slaying poor people , whose only fault in your bigoted minds is that they differ outwardly in the performance of their religious rites ? " Then as if indued with the spirit of prophesy , she exclaimed , "A day of retribution will arrive and that soon , when the last of the noble line of Valois shall perish as

suddenl y and as horribly as yonder poor unoffending youth . " The poor heartbroken girl , who clearl y comprehended the frightful enormities that were then being committed in the streets , continued in this strain ; " If His Holiness Pope Gregory sanctions such an impious sacrifice of human life , he deserves to die unattended , unpardoned , and unregretted , with the cold earth for his pillow , and the scream of the night hawk as his requiem !!!

" Who is it that daves to question the acts of the Hol y Father ? " demanded a bold , loud voice at the door . With a piercing scream Louise dropped the weapon and darted forward , as these words fell from the lips of the now coiner . " Ha ! " exclaimed the same voice sternly , " a woman ? Then die , thou accursed heretic in th y sin , and may the Lord have mercy on your Avretched soul !"

So saying , the heartless , and blasphemous miscreant plunged his rapier into the bosom of the maiden . She staggered , and , with a sad heartrending cry that resembled the low wail of a dying child fell upon the senseless breast of the assassinated D'Arcy . At that , moment a number of armed men holding torches advanced into the apartment and there beheld a scene that made them fairl y shudder .

The floor of the room resembled a slaughter-house , inasmuch , as the boards were rendered horribl y slippery by blood . In one corner was stretched " le Tigre , " whose face even in death presented an appearance of ferocious joy . On the other side lay 7 the dead soldier , with his sword still firmly clenched in his grasp , and his poor cur l y ing on his breast pitifull y licking the cold inanimate

lips which never again would open , to call to him in toncs ^ of affection , for the slain ruffian had dearly loved the creature . In the centre of the group was the gallant D'Arcy , whose pale face was stamped with an expression of sorrowful anguish , and recumbent by his side was the beautiful Louise . Erect and motionless , as if overcome b y the appalling nature of the scene , were the two masks , leaning on their ensanguined blades , which glittered fitfully as the

glare of the torches fell upon the steel . In the adjoining apartment with the gleams of the pale moon shining upon her placid face , was stretched the cold rigid form of the dead Jeanne . In the background were the soldiers , standing respectfully behind ( he man who had so ruthlessly stabbed Louise . The whole forming a tragic "tout ensemble" that would have formed a fitting subject for the pen of a dramatic poet or the pencil of an artist to depict .

But what is the cause of that sudden emotion which in a manner convulses the whole form of the murderer of the maiden ? What is it which prompts him to dash his sword and morion to the ground ? What is it that makes him utter a loud agonising cry which rings throughout the house and dies slowly away like the moan of a departing spirit ? What is it which renders him so helpless as to cause him to fall convulsively at the feet of Louise ? it is this , he

has discovered that he has mortally stabbed his own daughter—his idol—and by so doing has destroyed his peace of mind for ever ! It was a curious coincidence that ( lie first house he had entered in the prosecution of his unholy duty—for he had been chosen one of the leaders of a body of men to exterminate every individual man , woman , and child that professed the Protestant faith in Paris—¦ should have contained his daughter and that she was the first innocent to fall b y his hand immolated at tho altar of an accursed

demon of fanaticism ! Raising her gently and parting her gore bedabbled hair from her face , he carefully bore her in his arms and staggered to a seat . This action appeared to revive the seemingly dead maiden , and opening her large soft languishing eyes she cast

them on her father who was hanging remorsefully over her bosom . No sooner did she perceive in whose embrace she was , than she gave vent to a loud scream , forced herself shudderingly away from him and made a few tottering steps towards the place where her lover was lying dead .

" Approach me not , unnatural ' man ! " she exclaimed , " Your hands are imbrued in the blood of your only child ! Away ! away ! I see them coming to drag my Francis from me , " she murmured , wanderingly . " Oh Heaven ! is there no hel p , must he die in all the pride and strength of manhood ! I will go to him , " she added ,

disjomtedly , for her reason had evidentl y deserted her . " Hark ! hark I hear the sound of heavenl y music floating in the air , and I can see the angels who are bearing my beloved to Jesus whose arms are open

to receive him . Have pity on the childless old man , I forgive him the great wrong he has committed—Heaven have mercy on his soul Ah ! mon Dieu !—My awful dream—les serpents—I remember it all now —Francis , my beloved , I come to thee , I come ! "

These were the last -words the unfortunate girl uttered , and she immediately sank lifeless to the floor , with such a holy peaceful look on her countenance , beautiful in death , that the spectators of the sad tragedy were awe stricken , arid remained for a long time in an attitude of solemn veneration before the bod y , whose gentle spirit had winged its flight , it is hoped to the realms of immortality !

The Baron had remained in his chair in a dull apathetic state during the whole of his child ' s incoherent speech , but no sooner had she expired than he threw himself franticall y upon the corse of his murdered daughter and gave utterance to alternate raving cries for succour and forgiveness .

We will draw a veil over this sad romantic picture which had its stern realit y on many occasions during that terrible eve and ni ght in the year of Grace 1572 , when thousands of Protestant Calvinists suffered for their religion in Paris and other cities and towns in the broad realm of France .

At the present time it seems almost iucredible that the then reigning Pontiff Gregory XIII ., in other respects a good man , should have celebrated the horrible massacre b y a grand " Te Deuni . " # * * # # * Some four days after the foregoing incidents , and as the gloom of the evening was fast settling over a secluded spot in the outskirts

of Paris , a small procession slowly wended its melancholy way to an open grave . There was but one mourner—an old man—who feebly walked behind the bier upon which were two coffins , with his grey head bowed in prayer and leaning heavily on the arm of a faithful servitor . The Baron , in his remorse heedless of the religious and

civil punishment he incurred b y burying in consecrated ground a heretic , as D'Arcy was considered by the authorities , had carried out his determination to inter the lovers in one grave , pitifull y thinking that as they had been united in love , it was but ri ght that they should be wedded in death . After the last sad rites had been paid

to the remains of Francis and Louise , the old warrior broke down and relapsed into a paroxysm of grief for the loss of his daughter , so strong and overpowering that his attendants had to convey him home in that sad state and on the following day he was a raving madman .

Through ( he negligence of his bod y servants and in one of his lucid intervals , he one night , shortly after the funeral , evaded the observation of the household , and escaped into the streets and proceeded in a wonderfull y rational manner towards the northern quarter of the city . Upon his absence being discovered , a search was made for

him , first in the house and . subsequently in the grounds . It was then suggested by ( he Baron ' s personal attendant that probably his master had gona to visit the last resting-place of his martyred child . Accordingly a party set out , and upon arriving at the burial place they found the gates locked . They 7 obtained the keys and having

traversed the p lace they came upon the figure of the old noble , who was l y ing prostrate on a grave , having at its head a monumental stone , bearing the initials " L . de C . " and " F . D'A . " entwined b y immortelles . They carefully raised the poor old madman from the turf and were extremel y horrified to find that they held a lifeless

body . With a ray of reason , he had managed to find the cemetery 7 , and with the energy of despair had scaled the walls , determined to see the grave of his daughter once more . Upon reaching the spot , the strength which had supported him so far had given way , and what with the exposure , his agony of mind and enfeebled frame , the old soldier had also succumbed to the grim destroyer of mankind .

Ere we bid farewell to our readers we have but one more character to deal with , namely , M . le Conite de Warrene , the soi-disaut " Chevalier . " For services rendered to Charles during the terrible massacre , he was presented by ( hut monarch , whose infamous memory is justly held in execration by all lovers of civil and religious

toleration , with ( he confiscated estates of the so-called heretic D'Arcy . In addition to that splendid gift he inherited b y the will of the Baron , the Dc Chantville domains . Thus financiall y favoured , it is , perhaps , unnecessary to state that the Conite became inflated with his good fortune and soon every person of distinction became eager to participate in the princely hospitality which he dispensed