field of battle. Do you believe that
my regrets will be greater, now that I know that he sacrificed his life
for you--that he did what I would gladly do for you, James, my lover, my
husband!"

"Angela! best beloved guardian angel of my life!" cried the duke; "your
words cannot assuage the violence of my remorse, but at least you know
what religious gratitude I have always had for Sidney, this holy martyr
to friendship. What more can I tell you? I passed two days in a state
bordering on madness; when I returned to myself I found a letter of
Sidney's. He had arranged that I should not receive it until the evening
of the day on which he died for me. He explained his pious falsehood; he
had not seen King James."

"He had not seen him!" exclaimed Angela.

"No; all that he had said to me was false. So you can understand that I
had reason to forever curse the culpable facility with which I had
allowed myself to be persuaded. Meanwhile he had died for me; the fable
which I had believed in now seemed monstrous folly. No, he had not seen
the king! From the depository of my precious stones, he had subtracted
wherewith to procure a sum sufficient to gain over one of the officers
of the Tower, whom he besought to allow him to see me for the last time.
Was this officer in league with Sidney as to the substitution of some
one who desired to save me? or was he deceived by the resemblance to
such an extent that he suspected nothing. I do not know. The following
day, when they went to seek Sidney, he followed the hangman, but he
refused to speak for fear his voice would be recognized. The sacrifice
was accomplished," said Monmouth, wiping his tears away, which had not
ceased to fall during his recital. "I quitted London secretly and went
to France under a false name, in order to seek you, Angela. Sidney had
given me full power to take her away from the persons to whom he had
confided her," said the duke, addressing Croustillac. "Struck by her
beauty, her candor, and her other adorable traits, I, believing myself
worthy and able to fulfill the last wishes of Sidney in making his
adopted child happy, married this angel. We started for the Spanish
colonies, where I believed we would be safe. We took the greatest
precautions not to be recognized. By chance I encountered an English
captain at Cuba whom I had seen at Amsterdam. I believed myself
discovered. We left. After a journey of some months, we established
ourselves here. In order to