Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

42 DELIVERANCE OF MADAME DE CUSTINE.

They read the petition; it was that dictated by Nanette, and signed by the workmen of Niderviller.

" How fortunate," shouted the young men; " the lovely Custine, a second Roland ! ЛУе will go and fetch her from prison in a body."

Legendre returned home at one o'olock in the morning, under the influence of wine like the others. The petition fur my mother's liberty was presented by three giddy youths, signed by a drunken man, and at three o'clock in the morning, the former, empowered to open her prison gates, knocked at the door of her apartment.

She at that time slept alone ; and would neither open her door, nor consent to leave the prison.

Her liberators explained to her as well as they could, the circumstances of their coming; but she resisted all their urgent entreaties; she feared to enter a hackney coach with strangers in the middle of the night; and all they could obtain from her was the permission to return at the hour of ten.

When she finally left the prison, they related to her, with many details, the circumstances to which the liberation was owing, more especially with the view of proving to her that she had nobody to thank for it; fur at that time a species of traffic in liberty was carried on by certain intriguers, who would often extort largely from the liberated parties, for the most part already ruined by the revolution.

A lady of rank, and nearly related to my mother, was not ashamed to ask her for 30,000 francs, which she pretended had been expended in bribes to procure her release. My mother replied by simply relating the story of Rossigneux, and saw her relative no more.