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Article THE GUIDE. ← Page 3 of 8 →
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The Guide.
" My emotion was so great that I could not reply . "' Brave young man , and warm-hearted as brave ; ' he pursued ; ' compose yourself ; you see that I am calm , although I am well aware of the severity of your laws , and that my destiny will , in all probability , be terminated within an hour or two . Ancl , oh ! if I were but alone on earth , it ivould scarcely cost me
a pang to end it thus . ' '" Do not despair / I exclaimed convulsively ; 'in spite of what has occurred , I feel satisfied that you are a man of honour ; and I pledge you my word that I will do all in my power to save you . ' " ' Ha ! it is then as I apprehended' he rejoined ; ' you also
, consider my career as well nigh ended . Be it so . I do not regret the past . I shall have sacrificed my life for my country . ' " Then , suddenly unfolding his arms from about me , he paced to and fro the narrow floor , speaking rapidly and energetically in Spanish , and apparently forgetful of my presence . After a
while , however , he became more calm , ancl once more turning towards me with a smile , half triumph and half bitterness : ' They will hear it ! ' he said enthusiastically ; ' even the walls pf a dungeon cannot stifle the song of liberty : even blood cannot dim its light ; and my voice will be as firm when I march to the scaffold as when I vowed myself to the venture . '
" I could contain myself no longer , and the large tears fell upon my cheeks . The Spaniard perceived it , and taking my hand , he entreated that I would procure for him the means of Avriting a last farewell to his children .
"' But , ' I said , willing at the same time to delude both him and myself , ' why should you despair of justifying yourself ? Have you no explanation to offer ? Listen—and promise to be frank in your reply—I am conversant with our laws ; I am a member of one of our military tribunals , I can give you valuable advice . Speak to me as to a friend , and trust to my honour . '
'" What would you have me say ? ' he asked recklessly ; ' what can you do for me ? Nothing ; since even you are convinced that nothing can save me . Nevertheless , in order to prove the confidence with which you have inspired me , I will relate to you the extraordinary circumstances of my life ; and perhaps you may occasionally remember the unfortunate
Santa-Croce . ' Then , seating himself beside me with one hand resting upon my shoulder ; ' I swear to you on my honour ; ' he continued , ' on the honour of a Spanish noble , that what you are about to hear is the exact and ungarbled truth ' As he
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Guide.
" My emotion was so great that I could not reply . "' Brave young man , and warm-hearted as brave ; ' he pursued ; ' compose yourself ; you see that I am calm , although I am well aware of the severity of your laws , and that my destiny will , in all probability , be terminated within an hour or two . Ancl , oh ! if I were but alone on earth , it ivould scarcely cost me
a pang to end it thus . ' '" Do not despair / I exclaimed convulsively ; 'in spite of what has occurred , I feel satisfied that you are a man of honour ; and I pledge you my word that I will do all in my power to save you . ' " ' Ha ! it is then as I apprehended' he rejoined ; ' you also
, consider my career as well nigh ended . Be it so . I do not regret the past . I shall have sacrificed my life for my country . ' " Then , suddenly unfolding his arms from about me , he paced to and fro the narrow floor , speaking rapidly and energetically in Spanish , and apparently forgetful of my presence . After a
while , however , he became more calm , ancl once more turning towards me with a smile , half triumph and half bitterness : ' They will hear it ! ' he said enthusiastically ; ' even the walls pf a dungeon cannot stifle the song of liberty : even blood cannot dim its light ; and my voice will be as firm when I march to the scaffold as when I vowed myself to the venture . '
" I could contain myself no longer , and the large tears fell upon my cheeks . The Spaniard perceived it , and taking my hand , he entreated that I would procure for him the means of Avriting a last farewell to his children .
"' But , ' I said , willing at the same time to delude both him and myself , ' why should you despair of justifying yourself ? Have you no explanation to offer ? Listen—and promise to be frank in your reply—I am conversant with our laws ; I am a member of one of our military tribunals , I can give you valuable advice . Speak to me as to a friend , and trust to my honour . '
'" What would you have me say ? ' he asked recklessly ; ' what can you do for me ? Nothing ; since even you are convinced that nothing can save me . Nevertheless , in order to prove the confidence with which you have inspired me , I will relate to you the extraordinary circumstances of my life ; and perhaps you may occasionally remember the unfortunate
Santa-Croce . ' Then , seating himself beside me with one hand resting upon my shoulder ; ' I swear to you on my honour ; ' he continued , ' on the honour of a Spanish noble , that what you are about to hear is the exact and ungarbled truth ' As he