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Show 150 THE LfLY AND TU£ TOTEM. "Lo Moync has made some very lovely pictures of the country. Tiis landscnpcs nrc to the life, and he has that rare knowlcd(l'c of the painter, which enables him to choose his point of view ha.p~ily, and tells him how much to take in, and how much to leave out. The Admiral will be able to form a better idea of tlH~ country from the pictures of Lc Moync, than he will from the pebbles of Delillo or the dried flowers and leaves of Sorrier. Lc 1\Ioync shows llim the rivers and the trcc111 the valleys and the hills ; and, if his pictures get safely to France, the people there will cm·y us the paradiMe hero which we arc so little able to enjoy." Laudonnicrc hcnrd the youth with Jmlr-slmt eyes, and the dialogue languished on the part of tbc former; butD'.J<Jrlacl1 seemed resolute to keep him wakeful, and suggested continually new pro~ \'OCativcs to conversation, until his superior, absolutely worn out wilh exhaustion, bade him go to sleep him self or suffer him to do so. Alphonse smiled, and left the room perfectly satisfied, as he b~held tho faint streakings of daylight gliding tl1rough the inter~ shccs between the logs of which the building was composed. In les.'i than au hour, hearing a sound as of one entering, he hastily went out of his elJambcr, for he had neither undressed himself nor slept, and met llon Pre, with the salver of coffee, about to go into the chamber of Laudonniere. ::~ell, is it spiced? llas La Raquette furnished tho drug?" n.s own hands put it in." "Very well i let us in together. Lnudonnierc is not likely to awaken soon, and I will remain with him 'till he docs. If the coffee cools, and he offers not to drink, well. 1 will say nothinro It 1~ best that he should kno'"' nothing 'till all's over. o 11 But the rest!" 83id Bon Pre, in a whisper. We must manage that, also, quite as weU as thi.ll." TJ1E CONSPIRACY OF U: CEYftf.:. 151 11 If you should want help ?" " W c must find it. But the thing must go forward to the end. Remember that! This scoundrel must be suffered to burn his :fingers." " Can you contrive i~ott, alont ?" " I think so ; but, Don Pre, you arc here, and CtJallus, and Le )loync, and Beauvnis nnd 1\la.rchand, and, perhaps, one or two more-true men upon whom we cnn rely-and these, mark me, must be in rcadinc~;s. or this you shnll learn hereafter." They entered the chamber of Laudonnierc. Ifc still slept. Bon Pre placed the vessel of coffee beside him nnd disappeared. D'Erlach seated himself at a little distance from the couch. When Laudonnicre wnkened the liquor was cold. Tic laid it down agnin. "What! you here, Alphonse; but you have been to bed?" 11 I do not sleep as soundly as you. I left my chnmbcr as old Bon Pre brought your coffee, and entered with him. You do not drink?" "The coffee is cold." 11 It spoils your breakfast, too, I imagine. You do not cat heartily at breakfast." " K o; dinner is my meal. But, Alphonse--did I dream, or did we not have some conversation about Marchand and chess~ playing: lnst night?" " W c did! This morning rather." " Is he tho great player you d08CriLe him?" 11 He is. I can think of none better." "W c\1-snucy as he is, I must meet him." " You permitted me to arrange for it, to-night. I had your con~ sent to bring some amateurs." |