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188 &!)£ 9*t*tott* [Saturday,
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Apprenticeship Of Life. B* G. H. Lew...
traps laid for Mm , and fancying that he was implicitly trusted hy the General , now thought it time to endeavour to make him yield some information ; for that he was an agent of the police the reader has long suspected . " You were about to tell me how matters stood with Madame de Berg , " he inquired . " I can only suspect tliatthey are favourable from certain indications .. . " " Ay .. . what are they ?" " The extreme quietness and contentedness of all Mademoiselle de Gock ' s relatives ( the Bonapartists ) . " " Is that all ? " s
" All I can judge from . A word in your ear . Although my attachment to Mademoiselle Gock is very sincere , my attachment to my own welfare is sincerer . Mademoiselle Amilie ( the army ) may interest herself if she likes ; meanwhile , I so strongly object to M . Farina ( prison ) that I do not meddle in the affair at all . Mademoiselle Gock has my sympathy " The police agent bit his lip ; he saw that the General was on his guard , and that he had been too precipitate ; but , not suspecting the betrayal of ignorance which he had given just before , he still hoped to worm himself into the General ' s secrets . At this moment a jovial-looking , middle-aged man , in military undress , came up and spoke to the General . Salutations over , he said :
" Have you heard from Delamare ? He has had an interview with M . Corsum ( he has been arrested ) .. . " The General looked round at the police agent , who , instead of meeting his eye , inquired eagerly of the new comer : " Yes , but he avoided M . Farina , did he not ( escaped from prison ) , and is now only waiting till he can secure Mademoiselle Helene ? " The new comer , surprised to hear this man using their secret language , looked at him with a keen penetrating glance , which the other withstood Unmoved : " Monsieur is a friend of Mademoiselle Gock ... ? " he enquired . "And a warm one , I flatter myself , " replied that individual .
" Yes , " added the General with inimitable calmness , * Monsieur comes direct from the Colonel ; we may open ourselves freely to him . " As he said this he carelessly passed his fingers over his eyebrows , as if mechanically smoothing them . The new comer observed it , and twirled his moustache . These were two signs ; the first said : This man is a police agent : the reply was : All right , I understand ! Nothing could have been more natural than these actions , in which the most suspicious observer could not have detected any latent significance . The police agent , moreover , was by no means alive to the fact that his object was penetrated by the General .
All this while the garcon was listening , but at last gave it up as hopeless . Either the General was only talking about some women and their affairs , in vhich Colonel Delamare seemed to be mixed up , or else these names were but cyphers , and , not knowing their signification , it was useless his listening . " Suppose we adjourn to my house , " said the General as he paid his bill . " We can talk over coffee there , and discuss matters more freely and pleats ntly . " This was joyfully accepted , and the three departed . Captain Cassone—the new-comer—was excessively interested to see what Laboissiere would do with the police agent , whom he was pretending to trust . The General was so calm , that it was quite evident he had not betrayed
himself ; yet what could bo his purpose ? As they seated themselves in a fiacre , and drove to the General ' s house , Rue de la Ville de FEveque , behind the Madeleine , the Captain pulled up his military stock . The General answered by a yawn . This is the translation of this telegraphy : — " Are we to make away with this fellow ? " " That depends on circumstances . " The chuckling police agent , believing himself on the point of making some invaluable discovery , entered the General ' s house with a buoyant step .
So little were the agent ' s suspicions aroused , that he did not even remark the fact of the General ' s placing him opposite to the light , that every shadow of expression on his face might be visible . Coffee and cigars were served them in a study , where , however , the agent noticed almost a greater variety of pistols , carbines , sabres , and poniards than of books . As neither party scorned disposed to begin their communications , the General observed : — * ' It is for you , Monsieur , to opon this subject . " € ( \\/ l I 1 •¦* *^» 1 a * . I t .-i . ... ^ ... 1 . 1 * a _ . _ i \ _ _ . __ " 1 __ i . £ ? __ _ — 1 . 1 . n f . « . aL * « - % I fA /\ l Willinglbut would it not be ular if the fact isI feel
_ " y ; more reg you ... , a sort of difficulty ... not having the honour of a personal acquaintance with you ; and , my mission being confidential , I do not us yet know how far it would be propor in me to seek your assistance . Let me explain . My interview with Colonel Delamare was very hurried , lie had only time to tell me , if I should meet with you in Paris , to any that he could not leave France till he got a new passport ; adding , you will find the General staunch , and willing to act with you in every way . lYom your known character I should have guessed as much , General ; but you yourself , by what you said in the Cafe de Paris , have made inc hesitate . " " And what was that ? " asked the General , cautiously .
" lou said that your sympathy was with Mademoiselle Cock , but that you did not meddle in her affairs . How am I to understand that ? Don't you see , General , that I should be guilty of a breach of trust if 1 wore to open myself to you before ascertaining whether I can count on your assistance ? "
" Powerfully reasoned ! " said Captain Cassone . " What you say is not without justice , " replied the General ; " nevertheless you are a perfect stranger to me—even your name is unknown . Oh ! " he added , seeing a movement on the part of the agent , " I have no doubt it is a very honourable name ; indeed there is something in your whole manner which inspires confidence ... " " The General is going too far ! " said the Captain to himself . " The General , in spite of his reputation , is an ass ! " thought the agent . " Before committing myself , " pursued the General , " I should wish to know exactly how far you yourself are implicated ... " " To the uttermost , General ; to the uttermost i " " That is , you are prepared to ... " General Laboissiere paused for him to complete the sentence , which he did with an accent of enthusiasm capable of giving meaning to his vague expressions : — " ... for everything , General ! I risk my head in this matter . " " Then , may I ask , what your plans are ?" " There you must excuse me : at least for the present . When I ask your assistance I shall deem myself bound to communicate my plans to you ; but I have not yet resolved on taking that step . In these delicate matters one cannot be too cautious , you know , General . " " Right . I will not seek to penetrate your plans . But a question : You are fully acquainted , I presume , with the present state of our party and our plans ?" " Fully . " " Will you be kind enough to state them to me ?" " To you , General !" " To me . " " And wherefore pray ?" " That I may know whether you really are implicated , " replied the General . "Oh , oh ! the cunning fellow ! " said Captain Cassone , to himself . " He wants to ascertain how much the blackguard really has discovered . " Before the agent made his reply , the door was opened , and a man of gigantic stature and martial appearance entered the room . It was Colonel Delamare ! Simultaneously his two friends exclaimed : — " Colonel ! have you heard what has happened to Delamare ?" The Colonel looked a little astonished , but not more so than the tone in which the question was made might warrant a friend in feeling , so that the agent , though his eye was on him , saw nothing suspicious . " Delamare is arrested , or rather has been ; but Monsieur , " pointing to the agent , " assures us of his escape . " " Monsieur is a friend of the Colonel's , " said Cassone , smoothing his eyebrow as hs spoke to inform Delamare that this pretended friend of his was one of the police . Delamare fixed a most ferocious look on the agent , which the General observed with some uneasiness , lest the natural fierceness of the Colonel ' s disposition should spoil the plan he had schemed for discovering the extent of the agent ' s knowledge . " Monsieur is on a secret mission to Paris , " said the General ; " and we are at present trying to understand one another , though a very natural prudence keeps both of us a little backward . " " If Monsieur is a friend of Delamare ' s , " said the Colonel , "he must be well informed on all points ; though , for my part , I have a shrewd suspicion Delamare bragged to us about Ins influence—am I right , Monsieur ?" " To speak frankly , I incline to that opinion , " replied the agent . " I have often been very much puzzled to reconcile his statements . " " Bah ! he is a humbug ! " a most significant twist of his enormous moustache accompanied this declaration of his own worthlessness by the Colonel . The other two enjoyed the scene amazingly . The unhappy agent was , to use the expressive phrase , " trotted out , " made to show his paces to the infinite amusement of the three conspirators who played with his unsuspecting confidence . In a little while they ascertained that he knew enough to make him dangerous . The General improvised some extensive scheme which he said he and his friends were engaged in , as a sort of bait thrown out to the agent ; but , when they had evidently wormed from him all he knew respecting this party , Cassone once more pulled up his stock as an inquiry whether the agent was to be made away with or not . A slow drooping of the eyelids was the consent by the General . " Since we have gone so far with you , " said the Colonel , " we may as well tell you frankly that although Delamare is of our party , we have heard that he is not to be trusted . What think you ?" The agent , glad of any opportunity for sowing the seeds of dissension among the party , eagerly fell into the trap and said : " Between ourselves , 1 know ho is only waiting his opportunity to betray us . " " Then , sir , I have but three words to say to you , " said the colossal Colonel , walking up to the agent and laying a heavy hand upon his shoulder : " 1 am Colonel Delamare—you are a police agent—and you must die !" Like three thunderclaps these sentences fell on the terrified agent . He saw , as in a flash , the whole peril of his situation and extent of his own folly . Summoning his courage for the conflict , he said ;
188 &!)£ 9*T*Tott* [Saturday,
188 &!) £ 9 * t * tott * [ Saturday ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 18, 1850, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18051850/page/20/
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