The Wildfire Club - The Emma Hardinge Britten Archive

180 THE IXPBOVV18ATORE,
erous part they assigned her, and by thus manifesting
open antagonism to their interest, excited their enmity,
and even in the mind of the base and cowardly general
officer who had covertly detained her, as much fear of her
strange gift, as anxiety to avail himself of it.
Colonel Kalozy had not been altogether mindful of his
patron the Earl of R&vensworth's interest, moreover. The
service of the Hungarian patriots was more remunerative in
honor than wealth, while that of the Austrians was exactly
the reverse. To reconcile himself to both, and appropriate,
if possible, the spoils of both, he had long professed himself
an open champion of the tattered banner of liberty,
whilst he in reality acted as a secret agent beneath the
golden standard of oppression. For many past months, it
had been evident to the patriots that 80me undetected
treachery was at work amongst them. Their best laid
plans were thwarted, and their most secret operations so
obviously under the espionage of their enemies that all
their efforts were bent to discover the traitor.
Just at this time came missive after missive from Lord
Ravensworth, insisting upon the destruction of the hapless
minstrel. Availing himself of his knowledge of Austrian
tactics, the double traitor, Kalozy, contrived to reveal
some of their manreuvres to the Hungarians, and then
apprised the Austrians that the secret had been disclosed
through the instrumentality of the famous clairvoyant,
whom the Hungarian officers availed themselves of, as he
insinuated, to procure surreptitious information. Thus
stimulating alike their vengeance and their Buperstition,
Kalozy hoped that the indignant Austrians would save
him the trouble of doing the executioner's work upon his
young lieutenant; but when he heard the poor patriots,
driven to desperation by the constant disclosure of their