"Yes, it is I," she said, breathlessly and with quivering lips. "I come
to beseech you to assist me! You must do so--you must not desert me! My
husband has been arrested! He is charged with having secretly informed
the king of the operations of the French army. He is accused of being a
spy. Oh, merciful Heaven! he will die, for the emperor is bent on having
him executed; he desires to crush and ruin us all! Do you understand it
is my husband?--he whom others charged with being a traitor to his
country, because, in his generous exertions to avoid bloodshed, he
always admonished the inhabitants to be patient and submissive--he is
charged now with having betrayed the emperor, and is to be executed as a
spy! They have dragged him from my side and taken him away. I fainted
with grief and despair. Oh, I hoped--wished it were death that
prostrated me! But God would not let me die; He preserved my life, that
I might try to save my husband. The physician advised me to remain, and
endeavor to take rest. Duroc, how can I take rest while the life of my
beloved husband is in danger? I rose from my couch, for the thought
flashed through my mind, 'Duroc will assist me in saving him!' And now I
am here, and beseech you, have mercy on a wife's despair! Duroc, help
me, so that I may save the prince! You have a kind and generous heart,
and the emperor loves you! Implore him to have mercy on my husband! By
all that is dear to you, I beseech you, beg for him!" And quite beside
herself, pale and in tears, the young princess was about to kneel down
before Duroc, but he quickly raised her up, and, bowing deeply, kissed
her cold, trembling hands.
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