"It happened only last spring in our neighbourhood
that a robber had been tracked to a village, but though this had
happened on several occasions, yet the authorities failed to find him.
It was known that he had a sweetheart there, a handsome peasant girl,
who was herself a favourite with everybody. One day, however, the
soldiers discovered him hidden in a hay-loft. There was a terrible
struggle; the robber, discharging his revolver, killed one man and
wounded another. At length he was secured, strongly bound, and placed in
a waggon to be conveyed to the nearest fortress. When passing through a
wood the convoy was set upon by a lot of women, who flung flowers into
the waggon, and a little farther on a rescue was attempted; but the
military were in strong force, and the villagers had to content
themselves with loud expressions of sympathy for the 'poor lad.' He was,
in truth, a handsome, gallant young fellow--open-handed, generous to the
poor, and with the courage of a lion--just the sort of hero for a
mischievous romance."
The following story, related by my friend Baroness B----, proves that
there were men amongst these outlaws who were not destitute of patriotic
feeling. In the year 1867 a band of "poor lads" surprised a country
gentleman's house by night. It was their habit to ask for money and
valuables, and woe betide those who refused, unless they were strong
enough to resist the demand.
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