New Hampshire Statesman

FEMALE HEROISM.
In a charming village, situated in a
truly romantic country, but at a consid-
erable distance from the high road.
Baron R. was accustomed to spend the
summer. His mansion built on an em-
inence, was perfectly adapted to his for-
tune. It was a spacious building ele-
gant both within and without, and dis-
played a good style of architecture.—
it was about two hundred paces from
the village.
Business obliged the Baron to take
a journey of a few days. His wife a
young and beautiful woman, scarcely
twenty years of age, remained at home.
He took with him two of his best
servants, and two others were left for
the baroness. No violation of the
public security had ever been heard
of in that part of the country; and as
the baroness did not belong to the tim-
id portion of her sex the ideas of dan-
ger were far from entering her mind.
The second evening after the bar-
on's departure, she was just stepping
into bed, when she heard an alarming
noise in an apartment near her cham-
ber. She was at a loss to conceive
what could be the matter, and hastily
putting on a light garment went to dis-
cover the cause. What a horrid spec-
tacle presented itself! two of her ser-
vants half naked, were extended lifeless
on the floor; the room full of strange
and ferocious looking men; the bar-
oness' chambermaid was kneeling be-
fore one of them, but instead of the
mercy she implored, received the fatal
stroke. No sooner did the door open
than two of the barbarians rushed tow-
ards it. What man, not to say what wo-
man, would not have been struck with
the utmost terror, and have given up
life and every thing for lost? A loud
shriek of despair, a flight of a few
paces, a fruitless entreaty for mercy,
would probably have been the last re-
source of many thousands: the baroness
however, conducted herself in a very
different manner.
"And are you come at last"? exclaimed
she with a tone of heart-felt joy and
advancing towards her two assailants
with a haste which highly astonished
both, and fortunately stopped their up-
lifted weapons. "Are you come at
last"? repeated she, "such visitors as
you I have long wished to see."
"Wished!" muttered one of the as-
sailants, "What do you mean by that?
But stay, I will."
He had already raised the cutlass,
but his comrade averted the stroke
"Stop a moment, brother," said he, "let
us first hear what she would have."
"Nothing but what is your pleasure,
brave comrades. You have made charm-
ing work here I see. You are men af-
ter my own heart, and neither you nor
I shall have reason to repent it, if you
will listen, for two minutes, to what I
have to say.
Speak! Speak," cried the whole com-
pany.
"But be brief." added one of the fierc-
est of them, "for we shall not make much
ceremony with you either."
"Nevertheless I hope you may if you
but grant me a hearing. Know then
that I am, to be sure, the wife of the
richest gentleman in this country; but
the life of the meanest beggar cannot
be more unhappy than I am. My hus-
band is one of the most jealous and nig-
gardly wretches on the face of the earth.
I hate him as I hate the devil, and it has
long been the wish of my heart to get
out of his clutches and at the same time
pay him off all old scores. I should have
left him many a time had I been able to
contrive how to escape. All my ser-
vants were my spies; that fellow, whose
business you have done so completely.
was the worst of them all. I am scarce-
ly twenty two, and as I flatter myself at
least not ugly, if any one of you choose
to take me along with him I shall have
no objections; I would accompany him,
no matter whither to the woods or to
the mage alehouse. Nor shall any one
of you have reason to repent of having
saved my life. You are in a well stor-
ed mansion, but it is impossible you
should be acquainted with all its secret
corners. These I will show you, and
if I do not make you richer by six thous-
and dollars, then serve me as you have
done my chambermaid."
Robbers of this kind are certainly
villains, but nevertheless they are still
men. The whole unexpected tenden-
cy of the baroness's address, the un-
affected tone with which she spoke, the
more than ordinary beauty of a young,
half-naked female, altogether produced
a powerful effect on men whose hands
were yet reeking with the blood they
had shed. They all stepped aside and
consulted together in a low tone for
some minutes. The baroness was left
quite alone, but she betrayed not the
least wish to escape. She heard two
or three thus express themselves: "Let's
dispatch her, and the game will be up."
She, however, scarcely changed color,
for the opposition of others did not es-
cape her acute ear. One who was
probably the captain of these banditti.
now advanced towards her.
He asked twice or thrice, whether
they might absolutely rely on what she
had said; whether she actually wished
to be released from the tyranny of her
husband and go with them; and wheth-
er she was ready to resign her person
to one of them, to himself, for instance.
during a few peaceful nights they could
enjoy? Having replied in the affirma-
tive to all these questions, having not on-
ly suffered the warm embrace of the rob-
ber but even returned it—for what will
not necessity exact? he at length said.
"Come along then and lead us round.
The devil trust you ladies of rank, but
however, we'll venture for once. But
let me tell you beforehand, that, were
you ten times as handsome this weapon
shall cleave your skull, the moment we
observe the least disposition to escape
or betray us."
"Then it will be safe enough, and
were this the only condition of my death,
I should outlive you all, and even the
wandering Jew himself." The baroness
smiled as she pronounced these words;
hastily snatched up the nearest light, as
though she had been as anxious as any
of them to collect the plunder and be
gone; conducted the whole company
through every apartment; opened un-
asked every door, every drawer and eve-
ry chest; assisted in emptying them and
packing up the valuables; joked with
the utmost vivacity; jumped with in-
difference over the mangled bodies;
spoke with the familiarity of an old ac-
quaintance to each horrid troop; and
willingly aided with her delicate hands.
in the most laborious occupations.
Plate, money, jewels, cloths and oth-
er valuables, were now collected togeth-
er, and the captain of the banditti was
already giving the order for their march.
when his destined bride suddenly caught
him by the arm. "Did I not tell you"
said she, "that you should not repent
of making a friend of me, and sparing
my life? You may indeed have your
fling in places that you find open; but
'tis a pity that you cannot so easily come
at treasures that are somewhat more
concealed."
"Concealed! What!—Where is some-
thing more concealed?"
What! do you suppose, that among
c offers so full of the most valuable ef-
fects, there are no secret places? Look
here, and then you will be convinced to
the contrary.
She pointed to a secret spring in the
baron's writing desk. They pressed
upon it, and out fell six rouleaus, each
containing six hundred dollars.
"Zounds!" cried the leader of the
robbers, "Now indeed, I see you are an
incomparable woman. I will keep you
for this, like a little duchess."
"And perhaps better still," rejoined
she, laughing, "when I tell you one thing
more. I am well aware you must have
had spies who informed you of the ab-
sence of my tyrant; but did they not tell
you of the four thousand guilders he re-
ceived the day before yesterday?"
"Not a syllable; where are they?"
O, safe enough! under half a dozen
locks and bolts. You would certainly
not have found them and the iron chest.
in which they are deposited, had it not
been for me.—Come along, comrades;
we have finished above ground, and now
we'll see what is to be done under it.
Come along with me, lads, into the cellar.
The robbers followed, but not with-
out precaution. At the entrance of the
cellar, provided with a strong iron trap
door, a man was posted as a sentinel.
The baroness did not take the least no-
tice of this. She conducted the whole
troop to a vault at the very farthest ex-
tremity of the cellar. She unlocked it,
and in the corner of this recess stood
the chest she had described. "Here"
said she, giving the captain the bunch
of keys, "here unlock it, and take what
you can find as a wedding gift, if you
can obtain the consent of your compan-
ions as readily as you have obtained
mine."
The robber tried one key after anoth-
er but none would fit. He grew impa-
tient, and the baroness appeared still
more so.
"Lend me them," said she, "I hope I
shall find the way sooner. Indeed, if
we do not make haste, morning might
overtake us—Ha! only think, the rea-
son neither of us could unlock it, is clear
enough. As welcome as your visit is to
me, yet I make no scruple to confess that
the unexpected arrival of so great a
pleasure has flurried me a little. I have
brought the wrong bunch of keys. A
moment's patience and I'll soon set that
to rights."
She ran up stairs, and presently they
heard her coming down again; but she
went more slowly, as if out of breath
with the haste she had made. "I've
found them!" cried she at a distance.
She was now within about three steps
of the sentinel placed at the entrance
of the cellar; when she made a spring
at the wretch, who as little expected
the dissolution of the world as such an
attack. A single push with all her
strength tumbled him down the stairs
from top to bottom. In a twinkling
she closed the trap door, bolted it and
thus had the whole company secured
in the cellar.
All this was the work of a single mo-
ment. In the next she flew across the
court-yard, and with the candle set fire
to a detached pig-sty. The watchman
in the neighboring village immediately
gave the alarm. In a few minutes all
the inhabitants were out of their beds.
and a crowd of farmers and their ser-
vants hastened to the mansion. The
baroness waited for them at the gate
of the court-yard. "A few of you,"
said she "will be sufficient to put out
this fire, or to prevent it from spreading
But now provide yourselves with arms,
which you will find in abundance in my
husband's armoury, post yourselves at
all the avenues of the cellar, and suffer
not one of the murderers and robbers
shut up in it to escape."
Her directions were obeyed and not
one of them escaped the punishment
due to their crimes.