Utica Free Academy - Academician Yearbook (Utica, NY)

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them, H And with a feint in octave, he cut a piece off from the captain 's coat. H HI have your ruffles upon my point, observe. The comedy played between these two was dreadful in its detail. One by one, Gervais cut the rufflesoff from his adver- sary's shirt, and touched him with his points upon the arms' and breast. Finally, when a rush of men was heard in the hall, the dead guard having probably been found, and the alarm given, Gervais ran his man through the heart, crying: Revenge! - G He wiped his dripping sword upon the bedclothes, and opening the casement, looked out upon the snow-covered ground below him. There he saw the figure of a man -holding two horses. ,By this time the soldiers had arrived at the captain's door, and receiving no answer to their. calls, had begun to beat the door in. 'Then Gervais began to wonder how he was to reach his friend below.. Was he -to be caught and hanged after all? He dismissed that thought and deter- mined to jump, trusting to land in a big bank of snow, beneath the window. Thendrop fromlthe casement to the snow below was a high one, but, since life was at stake, he did not hesitate. The woodwork was flying in splinters, and he could see the great door yielding under the assault' of the menf He thought of the risk of jumping, he might strike a buttress anywhere, but in the yielding snow. But as the door gave at last, and furious soldiers rushed in, he sprang into the air. 4 It seemediages to him before he struck the ground, and the sensation was not at all pleasant. But he -landed H--safely in a .snow-bank. After getting his breath, he crawled out and shook himself. His friend, the trooper grasped his hand, and then helped him upon his horse. Amid a volley of muskets, the two leaped forward, and galloped into the night. G At noon, the next day, Gervais and the trooper were safe in Angonlaine. r ' -24 ..

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door being unlocked and opened. Instantly with noisless foot he crept out into the hall. 'There his sword was thrust into his hand, and someone whispered in his ear. '4The stairs are to the right. ' Gervais needed nothing more to start him, and so he quietly crawled up the dimly lighted stairs, until he came within sight of the captain's door, before which he beheld a trooper, nodding drowsily. In an instant Garvais had him by the throat, and with the 'point of his sword at the trooperls heart said. f'Give the alarm, and you speak no more. The startled guard, believing that his fate had arrived roared: Captain! Captain! I-Ie had hardly uttered these words than Gervais thrust him through the heart. As the great -door of the bed-chamber opened, and Captain Felix appeared, a blow from Gervais' fist sent him realing back into his room. The fencing master, witha leap, was after him, and had the door boltedand barred, ere a man couldtake two breaths. HIn heaven's name, who are you?'7 cries the frightened captain, perceiving that this wasnot Poquefort. I 'fBy your .own admission, one who should have been a fencing master, was the answer.. . HBut, we have very little room here, Monsieur. - Well Captain, we can put it to the testf' . Gervais could not kill this man in cold blood, and so- he decided to try a ruse. With an air of intent preoccupation, he began to- light the tapers onthe mantleshelf. Instantly Felix, fallinginto the trap, snatched up his sword and rushed at the fencingemaster. Gervais was expecting this, and, with a quick spring, and a little cry. of triumph, stood on guard. Rushing forward blindly, .and with no skill, Felix's sword struck the wall. When on recovering himself and feeling steel upon his own, he knew his time hadcome, and beganto weaken. He offered Gervais his freedom, but the ,fencing master, knowing he could not be trusted, refused. Upon this the trembling brute in despair cried for the guards. Then the fight began in earnest. Felix, though very frightened, fought well, but was no match for Gervais. My lord, said the fencing master, Hthose ruftles are somewhat over-full for this business. Let me relieve you of -23... ,

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The Absent Portrait H HE winter of 18- had been a most trying one for me in theprofession. Never had the hospitals been more- crowded, nor 'had the cases seemed more hopelessly intricate, and much as I loved the work, the awful strain was telling. on me. So it was, that, when a letter. arrived from old r ' 'college chum, Richard Ainsworth, inviting me to spend a Couple of months with him at his old home near Salem, I gladly accepted the much-needed opportunity for rest and recreation, besides being delighted at the prospect of seeing my old friend, Dick, again., , The Ainsworths' place had proved to be a large, well-kept farm, known as The Elms, with a magnificent, old-fashioned country-house, parts of which were almost two centuries old. The first two weeks of my stay 'had provided excellent weather, so that most of the time had been consumed out-of-doors, in long excursions, or simply delightful laziness. But at length one rainy day, when we were obliged to stay in doors, Dick planned for me a long-promised treat, a more thorough eX- amination of the curious old mansion, with its many nooks and hidden crannies, and in particular a minute inspection of the old library, with all the family relics it contained. T Accordingly I passed through massive and curious old chambers, revelled in the fine old works of art and the magnificent plate which were family heirlooms, and imbibed all the ancient beauty of the- place. . T But for beauty, richness, antiquity and historical interest, the library, with. its collection of books, old and new, its massive carved furniture, its family portraits and relics, was indeed a 'revelation to one who had always lived so much in the present as myself. With almost every portrait there was a story to relate, some characteristic of the individual, pleasing' or otherwise. The walls were covered entirely with the por- - I ' i201