A Vendean Heroine

It was a pretty üttle windmill, with lts big round tower'capped l-y a weather vane, its long aruis or bladeswhiob rattlediu the west wind üke the sails of a boat in stays, .::;! lts little round win dows icoking over the bilis of Anjon '.ike the !c-!e?rcpe of an astronomer - Kich was the windanill cf Bernardean and wljtn :' w.i working all the wind milis arc-nd the ceighborhood iookeil !;ke white sea guils pursued by a bird ot prey It was situated ou the íope ol the Guigneat the end oí a '. i 1 1 ! e crooked pathway bardly wxle euough for the mili donkey, and in whicb 0119 might search in vain tor traces of human footprints, beoanse it was so dark under its vault of shrnbbery. se muddy and rugged Chat the woman of the mil! always took to the vines whec ou her way te Ancenis ot; foot And a handsonie woman. too, was this lady of the ruill She was 25 yoars oíd. with a wel! rounded forru, a little hand, flashing dark eyes, hps as red as wild cherries and a well turced leg. She wa smart in her attire, and thcre was little iu her appearance to reveal the fact that she was a widow When she came into tho villuge mouiited upou the donkoy that carried lier bags of flowr, all the young feüows came out te admiro her fine figure and the. beautiful .imbs which appeared below her short akirts. Eveu the donkey hiuiself seemed prourl of bistmstïess Hotraveled along at an easy yait tossing his head and cockin;: his ears. as if to .-ay to everybody '"Here she is You have only te look at her Ia Mqnniere of Beruardeau There isn't another woman like her in all the country!'.' And that was tbe truth. But she was the subject of ; grt-at deal of gossip How the tongues (lid wag 011 her account! It wa= said that siuce the death of her husband. a poor goose of ; fellow who had taken her without a cent froin a fartu and left her all his property, she frequeutly tassed her cap over the bladen of her windmill. Whether this was true or rjot, the blades certainly nsver told. bnt one thiüg is certain, and that i= tiiat she dul hang up her cap there publicly on one occasion, and it cost hoi ber life Here is her story The first thing tbe Vendeans dirl when tbey rose in revolt against the republic veas to make use of the wind milis Nothing could be better suited for signaling or more troublesome i'or the enemy. Where the Blues could only s=ee white wings tnrning round in a melaucholy fashion, the Chouaus possessed a perfect telegraphic systeru. which told them of the movenieuts of the republiciin army. The windmill of Bernardeau was one of the principal vedettes on the Loire. Three days before the attack upou N antes, Cathellnean came to the raill of Bernardeau and asked for shelter. It was the 22d of June, 1703. Bonchamp was at Ancenis since the l?th awaiting the maia body of the army The weather was magnifïcent, and the Vendeans camped in the open ;ür When Cathelineau at the end of a little road fouud hirnself face to face with the beautiful woman of the mili, he asked her if she was a royalist 'One mighr easily become a royalist to serve under so handsome an officer as you, " said she. "Good enough! Theu let me have shelter here touight. " The meuniere obeerfnlly welcorned him, and C'athelineau slept rhat night in the mili. The nest worning when he was leaving she sent to him from the threshold of the mili a perfect volley oí kisses, af ter which she went up to the highest little window in the inill and waved her little white handkerchief. Eight days afterward C'athelineau, mortally wounded, was coming from Aneen sis in a carriage, and as he passed by tho mili he cast a long and sad look at il. Accordiug to the order, its blades were arranged so as to announce the approach of the soldiers of Canclaux. From the 17 th of October to the 17th of Uccember, during the 60 days which separated the two retreate of tho Vendeun army on the Loire, thu mili of Bernardean contiuuod its signáis of intelliiience with those of La Vendee. But the 17th of December was its last day, Harassed by the Mayencais. that crushed them at the battle of .Mans, tho Vandeens reached Aucenis and eudeavored to cross the Loire, but for want oí Hufficient rafts a considerable nutnber of them were obliged to abandon the effort and to advance through the country, in the hope of escaping the enemy At aight of this óld mili, which they immediately recognized as an ally. about 20 men took refnge in it .iust at the moment when Westermann came to the heights of Bel Air. Suddenly a puff of blue smoke rolled from one of, the upper windows of tbe mili. Tho meuniere herself commenced the fight. "Good shot!" she sain. "There is oue 1ol-:s novv. ' ' Westermann ordered a oompany of hussarri to surrotind tho oíd mili He was in too great a hurry to finish with La Rochejacquclin to bother bimself with windmills Tho hussurs had bardly arrived at the inill before his Sying artillery begau to cannonade tho few rafts of theC'houans, who were endeav oring to cross the Loire. Thenfflcer who was in cotmnand of tho company sn;n moned the occupants of the taïl to sttïrender. The nieuuiere openeda üttle window, fastened her lace cap on the point of one of the blades and siroutud osr. "Coma and get it, you ill sfaaped puppy!V A vol ley from the hussars waa the only answer te those ilisolent words, The window panes were brnkeu to fragment:- The Vendeens incide returned tho tire and dropped five of the hnrsemen. The coinpany then dismounted and rushert agaiu.st the door of the mili, whicli they broke with the butts of their gana. "Snirender, you scoundrels, or in a few momeuta you'll all be deadl" shouted the officer. "Yon are the seouiidrels1" yelled the woruan of the mili. 'Let me see ii you aio ab!c to get my oap. ' Tho hnssars entered the lower story, but the ladder was removed by the Vendeens, who no ired upon theto froui the .tory above aud marlü terrible ravages in thf'ir racks The woman ot' the mili bosied herself wirh the Work ot oadiug the gun-. ta.-k which she perforraed with aston ïshing rapiclity TheChouans, sheltered behiud the rlour sneks. cared httle for the fire ot -: Bines "Take a",- aim!' cried la meuniere. "Don t let i -:ugle one escape. ' Tht cfflci : seeiug hii meu fall aü around hhn, ordered them te come out and take the place by storm, ■caling the arma of rh, mili It was a uiagniflcent assault Twouty hussars clarubcred up the blatles With their calrbines throwu acros theii backs thcy clatnbercd up like sailoi to the story above. and from therefell eicher killed orwounded ander the ball? or the bayonet thrusts of the V.ii-i ans v)ne brigadier man aged t,o get :.p to the root by makins; a rampart ut the bodies of bis comrades, wüu held 011 to the arins hke drowuin uien to plaiiks. "We are all right, my friends!" cried he. "Gaard wel 1 the entrañen of the mili1" Alter planting the color of the cempany on the weather vane he bored a fióle in tbe roof toadmit the barrel of bis gun Three timos he fired and mortal ly wounded three men. This threw the besieged iuto a panic Resistanoe was becoming impossible, and the Vendeans were already raising the bntts of their gui;s in the air, when la meuniere pnsbed down the ladder and cut off their retreat. "Nowdie like men!" she shouted Then thcre conimenced a per fect massacre. Attacked above and below, the Vemleang fonght like imprisoned lions Wlien the ammnnition was exbausted, they threw down the sacks of corn and flour, and, clabbing their mnskets, jnmped down araong the Blues, who received thein on the points of their bayoneta, It was a horrible spectacle " Where is la meunierer" shouted the hussars. ■■fiere she is, citizeus, " said sho as she lut berself slip along the shaft of the mili. "I have given to yóu no q nar Ser, and I dun 't want any mercy from fellows like yon!" "All right," said the officer "Wo'll settle your account in short order. Place yonrself against that walt. " There was Kometliing singularly graceful and proud in her bearing and a glauco of witbering contempt iu her eye as she advainced toward the wal). Her splendid black hair was now floating in disorder uponher shoulders She gatliered it tnodestly around her breast, 80 as to hide her torn corsets Then she stood against tbe wall. "Now fire and be d d' " said she Thispieceof feminine boldneaa made the offleor hesitate. "Howold are you?" he asked ' 'Twenty-n'vi'. " 1 'Your naiür-1 ' "I am la meuniere du Beruardsau " "Do you svant to live?' "No. l'd rather die thao receive meiey from yon " "Coiuu now. ?imply sliout 'Long live the repnbliol' and I'll let you go free. " "Loug live the king!" she cned in a vibratiug voice. A moment afterward there was the rolling sound of a vol ley. That was the last of the mouiiiere of Bernardeau "She was a pluoky pieoe of rlesh, all the sume, " said the soldiers. Westerinann'íí hussars lost in that. attack 22 men and S wounded. Since then the mili has remained abancioned as if it werecursed. Open to all the.windsof heaven, without n roof, without anus, it stands. Occasionally a tramp passing through the couiitrj' takes shelter thore and sleeps with the swallows and the bats. Following its well known habit, the ivy, which seems to be in 1 ove with rnins, gradually intwined itsell' around it, and from a di.stance the nncrowned tower has the aspoct of a ruiued fortress. How many times have I wandpred through that section of the country seeking for details of the dramatic scène which I haveendeavored to picture, but la meuniere of Bernardeau had so bad a reputation in that country that her heroic death was not suffleient to cover over. ït least in the minds of the peasantry, the f au lts which she had or wbich were attributecl to her