A Gentleman from Gascony: A Romance of the Huguenots — page 181: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

BENEATH THE SHADOW OF THE AXE, 177 The cell in which he was confined was in one of the towers of the Chatelet. About ten feet below the win- dow was a broad platform, with a parapet some two feet high. Beyond the parapet was a sheer descent of at least a hundred feet to the river which lay shimmer- ing in the moonlight, spanned by its dozen of bridges. A little below Raoul could see the lights of the city and the towers of Notre Dame standing like twin sentinels on guard over the capital of France. Oh, if he were but yonder, with his trusty sword in his hand! Why had he allowed himself to be taken thus by surprise and without striking one blow in self- defence? To die upon the battle-field or in fair encounter with a worthy foe would have been a glorious death. But abjectly, miserably, disgracefully, in the very flower of his youth, with all the world before him, beneath the shameful axe of a paid headsman! Oh! it was horrible! And in impotent rage, Raoul shook the iron bars which stood between him and freedom. And then before him rose the vision of her to whom his whole heart had gone out, as he had seen her that night at the Louvre with her lovely eyes looking that love into his which her sweet lips so tremblingly con- fessed. ' Ah, death would not be so hard, if he could but once hold her close in his longing arms, but once more hear her voice murmur his name. And bending his head upon his clasped hands, his frame shook in a tearless, voiceless sob. But even then, could he have known it, friends were near, faithful friends who had vowed to risk life and limb in his rescue. Not twenty feet away from him on the platform below 12 CORMNIE OOOMKKS (©)