the_adventures_of_gerard
no way to compare when less than two revisions
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
| — | the_adventures_of_gerard [2020/02/08 04:16] (current) – created briancarnell | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <h1> | ||
| + | THE ADVENTURES OF GERARD | ||
| + | </h1> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | By A. Conan Doyle | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <pre xml: | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | | ||
| + | | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> <br /> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <hr /> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> <br /> <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | PREFACE | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I hope that some readers may possibly be interested in these little tales | ||
| + | of the Napoleonic soldiers to the extent of following them up to the | ||
| + | springs from which they flow. The age was rich in military material, some | ||
| + | of it the most human and the most picturesque that I have ever read. | ||
| + | Setting aside historical works or the biographies of the leaders there is | ||
| + | a mass of evidence written by the actual fighting men themselves, which | ||
| + | describes their feelings and their experiences, | ||
| + | point of view of the particular branch of the service to which they | ||
| + | belonged. The Cavalry were particularly happy in their writers of memoirs. | ||
| + | Thus De Rocca in his & | ||
| + | given the narrative of a Hussar, while De Naylies in his & | ||
| + | guerre d' | ||
| + | Dragoon. Then we have the & | ||
| + | which treats a series of wars, including that of Spain, as seen from under | ||
| + | the steel-brimmed hair-crested helmet of a Cuirassier. Pre-eminent among | ||
| + | all these works, and among all military memoirs, are the famous | ||
| + | reminiscences of Marbot, which can be obtained in an English form. Marbot | ||
| + | was a Chasseur, so again we obtain the Cavalry point of view. Among other | ||
| + | books which help one to an understanding of the Napoleonic soldier I would | ||
| + | specially recommend & | ||
| + | wars from the point of view of the private of the Guards, and & | ||
| + | Memoires du Sergeant Bourgoyne,& | ||
| + | same corps. The Journal of Sergeant Fricasse and the Recollections of de | ||
| + | Fezenac and of de Segur complete the materials from which I have worked in | ||
| + | my endeavour to give a true historical and military atmosphere to an | ||
| + | imaginary figure. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | March, 1903. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> <br /> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <hr /> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> <br /> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <h3> | ||
| + | Contents | ||
| + | </h3> | ||
| + | <table summary=""> | ||
| + | <tr> | ||
| + | <td> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </a> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </a> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </a> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | Waterloo </a> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p class=" | ||
| + | <a href="# | ||
| + | </a> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | </td> | ||
| + | </tr> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> <br /> | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <hr /> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /> <br /> <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | I. How Brigadier Gerard Lost His Ear | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was the old Brigadier who was talking in the cafe. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have seen a great many cities, my friends. I would not dare to tell you | ||
| + | how many I have entered as a conqueror with eight hundred of my little | ||
| + | fighting devils clanking and jingling behind me. The cavalry were in front | ||
| + | of the Grande Armee, and the Hussars of Conflans were in front of the | ||
| + | cavalry, and I was in front of the Hussars. But of all the cities which we | ||
| + | visited Venice is the most ill-built and ridiculous. I cannot imagine how | ||
| + | the people who laid it out thought that the cavalry could manoeuvre. It | ||
| + | would puzzle Murat or Lassalle to bring a squadron into that square of | ||
| + | theirs. For this reason we left Kellermann' | ||
| + | Hussars at Padua on the mainland. But Suchet with the infantry held the | ||
| + | town, and he had chosen me as his aide-de-camp for that winter, because he | ||
| + | was pleased about the affair of the Italian fencing-master at Milan. The | ||
| + | fellow was a good swordsman, and it was fortunate for the credit of French | ||
| + | arms that it was I who was opposed to him. Besides, he deserved a lesson, | ||
| + | for if one does not like a prima donna' | ||
| + | but it is intolerable that a public affront should be put upon a pretty | ||
| + | woman. So the sympathy was all with me, and after the affair had blown | ||
| + | over and the man's widow had been pensioned Suchet chose me as his own | ||
| + | galloper, and I followed him to Venice, where I had the strange adventure | ||
| + | which I am about to tell you. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You have not been to Venice? No, for it is seldom that the French travel. | ||
| + | We were great travellers in those days. From Moscow to Cairo we had | ||
| + | travelled everywhere, but we went in larger parties than were convenient | ||
| + | to those whom we visited, and we carried our passports in our limbers. It | ||
| + | will be a bad day for Europe when the French start travelling again, for | ||
| + | they are slow to leave their homes, but when they have done so no one can | ||
| + | say how far they will go if they have a guide like our little man to point | ||
| + | out the way. But the great days are gone and the great men are dead, and | ||
| + | here am I, the last of them, drinking wine of Suresnes and telling old | ||
| + | tales in a cafe. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But it is of Venice that I would speak. The folk there live like | ||
| + | water-rats upon a mud-bank, but the houses are very fine, and the | ||
| + | churches, especially that of St. Mark, are as great as any I have seen. | ||
| + | But above all they are proud of their statues and their pictures, which | ||
| + | are the most famous in Europe. There are many soldiers who think that | ||
| + | because one's trade is to make war one should never have a thought above | ||
| + | fighting and plunder. There was old Bouvet, for example& | ||
| + | was killed by the Prussians on the day that I won the Emperor' | ||
| + | you took him away from the camp and the canteen, and spoke to him of books | ||
| + | or of art, he would sit and stare at you. But the highest soldier is a man | ||
| + | like myself who can understand the things of the mind and the soul. It is | ||
| + | true that I was very young when I joined the army, and that the | ||
| + | quarter-master was my only teacher, but if you go about the world with | ||
| + | your eyes open you cannot help learning a great deal. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Thus I was able to admire the pictures in Venice, and to know the names of | ||
| + | the great men, Michael Titiens, and Angelus, and the others, who had | ||
| + | painted them. No one can say that Napoleon did not admire them also, for | ||
| + | the very first thing which he did when he captured the town was to send | ||
| + | the best of them to Paris. We all took what we could get, and I had two | ||
| + | pictures for my share. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One of them, called & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It must be confessed, however, that some of our men behaved very badly in | ||
| + | this matter of the statues and the pictures. The people at Venice were | ||
| + | very much attached to them, and as to the four bronze horses which stood | ||
| + | over the gate of their great church, they loved them as dearly as if they | ||
| + | had been their children. I have always been a judge of a horse, and I had | ||
| + | a good look at these ones, but I could not see that there was much to be | ||
| + | said for them. They were too coarse-limbed for light cavalry charges and | ||
| + | they had not the weight for the gun-teams. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | However, they were the only four horses, alive or dead, in the whole town, | ||
| + | so it was not to be expected that the people would know any better. They | ||
| + | wept bitterly when they were sent away, and ten French soldiers were found | ||
| + | floating in the canals that night. As a punishment for these murders a | ||
| + | great many more of their pictures were sent away, and the soldiers took to | ||
| + | breaking the statues and firing their muskets at the stained-glass | ||
| + | windows. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This made the people furious, and there was very bad feeling in the town. | ||
| + | Many officers and men disappeared during that winter, and even their | ||
| + | bodies were never found. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For myself I had plenty to do, and I never found the time heavy on my | ||
| + | hands. In every country it has been my custom to try to learn the | ||
| + | language. For this reason I always look round for some lady who will be | ||
| + | kind enough to teach it to me, and then we practise it together. This is | ||
| + | the most interesting way of picking it up, and before I was thirty I could | ||
| + | speak nearly every tongue in Europe; but it must be confessed that what | ||
| + | you learn is not of much use for the ordinary purposes of life. My | ||
| + | business, for example, has usually been with soldiers and peasants, and | ||
| + | what advantage is it to be able to say to them that I love only them, and | ||
| + | that I will come back when the wars are over? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Never have I had so sweet a teacher as in Venice. Lucia was her first | ||
| + | name, and her second& | ||
| + | this with all discretion, that she was of one of the senatorial families | ||
| + | of Venice and that her grandfather had been Doge of the town. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She was of an exquisite beauty& | ||
| + | a word as & | ||
| + | have memories, I have the means of comparison. Of all the women who have | ||
| + | loved me there are not twenty to whom I could apply such a term as that. | ||
| + | But I say again that Lucia was exquisite. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Of the dark type I do not recall her equal unless it were Dolores of | ||
| + | Toledo. There was a little brunette whom I loved at Santarem when I was | ||
| + | soldiering under Massena in Portugal& | ||
| + | was of a perfect beauty, but she had not the figure nor the grace of | ||
| + | Lucia. There was Agnes also. I could not put one before the other, but I | ||
| + | do none an injustice when I say that Lucia was the equal of the best. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was over this matter of pictures that I had first met her, for her | ||
| + | father owned a palace on the farther side of the Rialto Bridge upon the | ||
| + | Grand Canal, and it was so packed with wall-paintings that Suchet sent a | ||
| + | party of sappers to cut some of them out and send them to Paris. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had gone down with them, and after I had seen Lucia in tears it appeared | ||
| + | to me that the plaster would crack if it were taken from the support of | ||
| + | the wall. I said so, and the sappers were withdrawn. After that I was the | ||
| + | friend of the family, and many a flask of Chianti have I cracked with the | ||
| + | father and many a sweet lesson have I had from the daughter. Some of our | ||
| + | French officers married in Venice that winter, and I might have done the | ||
| + | same, for I loved her with all my heart; but Etienne Gerard has his sword, | ||
| + | his horse, his regiment, his mother, his Emperor, and his career. A | ||
| + | debonair Hussar has room in his life for love, but none for a wife. So I | ||
| + | thought then, my friends, but I did not see the lonely days when I should | ||
| + | long to clasp those vanished hands, and turn my head away when I saw old | ||
| + | comrades with their tall children standing round their chairs. This love | ||
| + | which I had thought was a joke and a plaything& | ||
| + | understand that it is the moulder of one's life, the most solemn and | ||
| + | sacred of all things& | ||
| + | wine, and a second bottle cannot hurt. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And now I will tell you how my love for Lucia was the cause of one of the | ||
| + | most terrible of all the wonderful adventures which have ever befallen me, | ||
| + | and how it was that I came to lose the top of my right ear. You have often | ||
| + | asked me why it was missing. To-night for the first time I will tell you. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Suchet' | ||
| + | Dandolo, which stands on the lagoon not far from the place of San Marco. | ||
| + | It was near the end of the winter, and I had returned one night from the | ||
| + | Theatre Goldini, when I found a note from Lucia and a gondola waiting. She | ||
| + | prayed me to come to her at once as she was in trouble. To a Frenchman and | ||
| + | a soldier there was but one answer to such a note. In an instant I was in | ||
| + | the boat and the gondolier was pushing out into the dark lagoon. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I remember that as I took my seat in the boat I was struck by the man's | ||
| + | great size. He was not tall, but he was one of the broadest men that I | ||
| + | have ever seen in my life. But the gondoliers of Venice are a strong | ||
| + | breed, and powerful men are common enough among them. The fellow took his | ||
| + | place behind me and began to row. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A good soldier in an enemy' | ||
| + | on the alert. It has been one of the rules of my life, and if I have lived | ||
| + | to wear grey hairs it is because I have observed it. And yet upon that | ||
| + | night I was as careless as a foolish young recruit who fears lest he | ||
| + | should be thought to be afraid. My pistols I had left behind in my hurry. | ||
| + | My sword was at my belt, but it is not always the most convenient of | ||
| + | weapons. I lay back in my seat in the gondola, lulled by the gentle swish | ||
| + | of the water and the steady creaking of the oar. Our way lay through a | ||
| + | network of narrow canals with high houses towering on either side and a | ||
| + | thin slit of star-spangled sky above us. Here and there, on the bridges | ||
| + | which spanned the canal, there was the dim glimmer of an oil lamp, and | ||
| + | sometimes there came a gleam from some niche where a candle burned before | ||
| + | the image of a saint. But save for this it was all black, and one could | ||
| + | only see the water by the white fringe which curled round the long black | ||
| + | nose of our boat. It was a place and a time for dreaming. I thought of my | ||
| + | own past life, of all the great deeds in which I had been concerned, of | ||
| + | the horses that I had handled, and of the women that I had loved. Then I | ||
| + | thought also of my dear mother, and I fancied her joy when she heard the | ||
| + | folk in the village talking about the fame of her son. Of the Emperor also | ||
| + | I thought, and of France, the dear fatherland, the sunny France, mother of | ||
| + | beautiful daughters and of gallant sons. My heart glowed within me as I | ||
| + | thought of how we had brought her colours so many hundred leagues beyond | ||
| + | her borders. To her greatness I would dedicate my life. I placed my hand | ||
| + | upon my heart as I swore it, and at that instant the gondolier fell upon | ||
| + | me from behind. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When I say that he fell upon me I do not mean merely that he attacked me, | ||
| + | but that he really did tumble upon me with all his weight. The fellow | ||
| + | stands behind you and above you as he rows, so that you can neither see | ||
| + | him nor can you in any way guard against such an assault. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One moment I had sat with my mind filled with sublime resolutions, | ||
| + | next I was flattened out upon the bottom of the boat, the breath dashed | ||
| + | out of my body, and this monster pinning me down. I felt the fierce pants | ||
| + | of his hot breath upon the back of my neck. In an instant he had torn away | ||
| + | my sword, had slipped a sack over my head, and had tied a rope firmly | ||
| + | round the outside of it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There I was at the bottom of the gondola as helpless as a trussed fowl. I | ||
| + | could not shout, I could not move; I was a mere bundle. An instant later I | ||
| + | heard once more the swishing of the water and the creaking of the oar. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This fellow had done his work and had resumed his journey as quietly and | ||
| + | unconcernedly as if he were accustomed to clap a sack over a colonel of | ||
| + | Hussars every day of the week. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I cannot tell you the humiliation and also the fury which filled my mind | ||
| + | as I lay there like a helpless sheep being carried to the butcher' | ||
| + | Etienne Gerard, the champion of the six brigades of light cavalry and the | ||
| + | first swordsman of the Grand Army, to be overpowered by a single unarmed | ||
| + | man in such a fashion! Yet I lay quiet, for there is a time to resist and | ||
| + | there is a time to save one's strength. I had felt the fellow' | ||
| + | my arms, and I knew that I would be a child in his hands. I waited | ||
| + | quietly, therefore, with a heart which burned with rage, until my | ||
| + | opportunity should come. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | How long I lay there at the bottom of the boat I can not tell; but it | ||
| + | seemed to me to be a long time, and always there were the hiss of the | ||
| + | waters and the steady creaking of the oar. Several times we turned | ||
| + | corners, for I heard the long, sad cry which these gondoliers give when | ||
| + | they wish to warn their fellows that they are coming. At last, after a | ||
| + | considerable journey, I felt the side of the boat scrape up against a | ||
| + | landing-place. The fellow knocked three times with his oar upon wood, and | ||
| + | in answer to his summons I heard the rasping of bars and the turning of | ||
| + | keys. A great door creaked back upon its hinges. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My monster gave a laugh and kicked the sack in which I lay. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | steps, and I was thrown down upon a hard floor. A moment later the bars | ||
| + | creaked and the key whined once more. I was a prisoner inside a house. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | From the voices and the steps there seemed now to be several people round | ||
| + | me. I understand Italian a great deal better than I speak it, and I could | ||
| + | make out very well what they were saying. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | met in my thumb as I pulled the sack over his head.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The cord which bound me was undone and the sack drawn from over my head. | ||
| + | With my eyes closed I lay motionless upon the floor. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | again.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I felt a hand within my tunic. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | lie and he will soon find his senses.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I waited for a minute or so and then I ventured to take a stealthy peep | ||
| + | from between my lashes. At first I could see nothing, for I had been so | ||
| + | long in darkness and it was but a dim light in which I found myself. Soon, | ||
| + | however, I made out that a high and vaulted ceiling covered with painted | ||
| + | gods and goddesses was arching over my head. This was no mean den of | ||
| + | cut-throats into which I had been carried, but it must be the hall of some | ||
| + | Venetian palace. Then, without movement, very slowly and stealthily I had | ||
| + | a peep at the men who surrounded me. There was the gondolier, a swart, | ||
| + | hard-faced, murderous ruffian, and beside him were three other men, one of | ||
| + | them a little, twisted fellow with an air of authority and several keys in | ||
| + | his hand, the other two tall young servants in a smart livery. As I | ||
| + | listened to their talk I saw that the small man was the steward of the | ||
| + | house, and that the others were under his orders. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were four of them, then, but the little steward might be left out of | ||
| + | the reckoning. Had I a weapon I should have smiled at such odds as those. | ||
| + | But, hand to hand, I was no match for the one even without three others to | ||
| + | aid him. Cunning, then, not force, must be my aid. I wished to look round | ||
| + | for some mode of escape, and in doing so I gave an almost imperceptible | ||
| + | movement of my head. Slight as it was it did not escape my guardians. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | say,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Never in the world was a command obeyed so promptly as that one. In an | ||
| + | instant I had bounded to my feet and rushed as hard as I could to the back | ||
| + | of the hall. They were after me as I have seen the English hounds follow a | ||
| + | fox, but there was a long passage down which I tore. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It turned to the left and again to the left, and then I found myself back | ||
| + | in the hall once more. They were almost within touch of me and there was | ||
| + | no time for thought. I turned toward the staircase, but two men were | ||
| + | coming down it. I dodged back and tried the door through which I had been | ||
| + | brought, but it was fastened with great bars and I could not loosen them. | ||
| + | The gondolier was on me with his knife, but I met him with a kick on the | ||
| + | body which stretched him on his back. His dagger flew with a clatter | ||
| + | across the marble floor. I had no time to seize it, for there were half a | ||
| + | dozen of them now clutching at me. As I rushed through them the little | ||
| + | steward thrust his leg before me and I fell with a crash, but I was up in | ||
| + | an instant, and breaking from their grasp I burst through the very middle | ||
| + | of them and made for a door at the other end of the hall. I reached it | ||
| + | well in front of them, and I gave a shout of triumph as the handle turned | ||
| + | freely in my hand, for I could see that it led to the outside and that all | ||
| + | was clear for my escape. But I had forgotten this strange city in which I | ||
| + | was. Every house is an island. As I flung open the door, ready to bound | ||
| + | out into the street, the light of the hall shone upon the deep, still, | ||
| + | black water which lay flush with the topmost step. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I shrank back, and in an instant my pursuers were on me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But I am not taken so easily. Again I kicked and fought my way through | ||
| + | them, though one of them tore a handful of hair from my head in his effort | ||
| + | to hold me. The little steward struck me with a key and I was battered and | ||
| + | bruised, but once more I cleared a way in front of me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Up the grand staircase I rushed, burst open the pair of huge folding doors | ||
| + | which faced me, and learned at last that my efforts were in vain. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The room into which I had broken was brilliantly lighted. With its gold | ||
| + | cornices, its massive pillars, and its painted walls and ceilings it was | ||
| + | evidently the grand hall of some famous Venetian palace. There are many | ||
| + | hundred such in this strange city, any one of which has rooms which would | ||
| + | grace the Louvre or Versailles. In the centre of this great hall there was | ||
| + | a raised dais, and upon it in a half circle there sat twelve men all clad | ||
| + | in black gowns, like those of a Franciscan monk, and each with a mask over | ||
| + | the upper part of his face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A group of armed men& | ||
| + | the door, and amid them facing the dais was a young fellow in the uniform | ||
| + | of the light infantry. As he turned his head I recognised him. It was | ||
| + | Captain Auret, of the 7th, a young Basque with whom I had drunk many a | ||
| + | glass during the winter. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was deadly white, poor wretch, but he held himself manfully amid the | ||
| + | assassins who surrounded him. Never shall I forget the sudden flash of | ||
| + | hope which shone in his dark eyes when he saw a comrade burst into the | ||
| + | room, or the look of despair which followed as he understood that I had | ||
| + | come not to change his fate but to share it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You can think how amazed these people were when I hurled myself into their | ||
| + | presence. My pursuers had crowded in behind me and choked the doorway, so | ||
| + | that all further flight was out of the question. It is at such instants | ||
| + | that my nature asserts itself. With dignity I advanced toward the | ||
| + | tribunal. My jacket was torn, my hair was dishevelled, | ||
| + | bleeding, but there was that in my eyes and in my carriage which made them | ||
| + | realise that no common man was before them. Not a hand was raised to | ||
| + | arrest me until I halted in front of a formidable old man, whose long grey | ||
| + | beard and masterful manner told me that both by years and by character he | ||
| + | was the man in authority. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | arrested and brought to this place. I am an honourable soldier, as is this | ||
| + | other gentleman here, and I demand that you will instantly set us both at | ||
| + | liberty.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was an appalling silence to my appeal. It was not pleasant to have | ||
| + | twelve masked faces turned upon you and to see twelve pairs of vindictive | ||
| + | Italian eyes fixed with fierce intentness upon your face. But I stood as a | ||
| + | debonair soldier should, and I could not but reflect how much credit I was | ||
| + | bringing upon the Hussars of Conflans by the dignity of my bearing. I do | ||
| + | not think that anyone could have carried himself better under such | ||
| + | difficult circumstances. I looked with a fearless face from one assassin | ||
| + | to another, and I waited for some reply. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was the grey-beard who at last broke the silence. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | THE Colonel Gerard, five times mentioned in despatches and recommended for | ||
| + | the sword of honour. I am aide-de-camp to General Suchet, and I demand my | ||
| + | instant release, together with that of my comrade in arms.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The same terrible silence fell upon the assembly, and the same twelve | ||
| + | pairs of merciless eyes were bent upon my face. Again it was the | ||
| + | grey-beard who spoke. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | until we have dealt with the others.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They advanced upon me, and for an instant I thought of resistance. It | ||
| + | would have been a heroic death, but who was there to see it or to | ||
| + | chronicle it? I might be only postponing my fate, and yet I had been in so | ||
| + | many bad places and come out unhurt that I had learned always to hope and | ||
| + | to trust my star. I allowed these rascals to seize me, and I was led from | ||
| + | the room, the gondolier walking at my side with a long naked knife in his | ||
| + | hand. I could see in his brutal eyes the satisfaction which it would give | ||
| + | him if he could find some excuse for plunging it into my body. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They are wonderful places, these great Venetian houses, palaces, and | ||
| + | fortresses, and prisons all in one. I was led along a passage and down a | ||
| + | bare stone stair until we came to a short corridor from which three doors | ||
| + | opened. Through one of these I was thrust and the spring lock closed | ||
| + | behind me. The only light came dimly through a small grating which opened | ||
| + | on the passage. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Peering and feeling, I carefully examined the chamber in which I had been | ||
| + | placed. I understood from what I had heard that I should soon have to | ||
| + | leave it again in order to appear before this tribunal, but still it is | ||
| + | not my nature to throw away any possible chances. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The stone floor of the cell was so damp and the walls for some feet high | ||
| + | were so slimy and foul that it was evident they were beneath the level of | ||
| + | the water. A single slanting hole high up near the ceiling was the only | ||
| + | aperture for light or air. Through it I saw one bright star shining down | ||
| + | upon me, and the sight filled me with comfort and with hope. I have never | ||
| + | been a man of religion, though I have always had a respect for those who | ||
| + | were, but I remember that night that the star shining down the shaft | ||
| + | seemed to be an all-seeing eye which was upon me, and I felt as a young | ||
| + | and frightened recruit might feel in battle when he saw the calm gaze of | ||
| + | his colonel turned upon him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Three of the sides of my prison were formed of stone, but the fourth was | ||
| + | of wood, and I could see that it had only recently been erected. Evidently | ||
| + | a partition had been thrown up to divide a single large cell into two | ||
| + | smaller ones. There was no hope for me in the old walls, in the tiny | ||
| + | window, or in the massive door. It was only in this one direction of the | ||
| + | wooden screen that there was any possibility of exploring. My reason told | ||
| + | me that if I should pierce it& | ||
| + | would only be to find myself in another cell as strong as that in which I | ||
| + | then was. Yet I had always rather be doing something than doing nothing, | ||
| + | so I bent all my attention and all my energies upon the wooden wall. Two | ||
| + | planks were badly joined, and so loose that I was certain I could easily | ||
| + | detach them. I searched about for some tool, and I found one in the leg of | ||
| + | a small bed which stood in the corner. I forced the end of this into the | ||
| + | chink of the planks, and I was about to twist them outward when the sound | ||
| + | of rapid footsteps caused me to pause and to listen. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I wish I could forget what I heard. Many a hundred men have I seen die in | ||
| + | battle, and I have slain more myself than I care to think of, but all that | ||
| + | was fair fight and the duty of a soldier. It was a very different matter | ||
| + | to listen to a murder in this den of assassins. They were pushing someone | ||
| + | along the passage, someone who resisted and who clung to my door as he | ||
| + | passed. They must have taken him into the third cell, the one which was | ||
| + | farthest from me. & | ||
| + | a scream. & | ||
| + | Gerard!& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | heard him shout and then everything was silent. A minute later there was a | ||
| + | heavy splash, and I knew that no human eye would ever see Auret again. He | ||
| + | had gone as a hundred others had gone whose names were missing from the | ||
| + | roll-calls of their regiments during that winter in Venice. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The steps returned along the passage, and I thought that they were coming | ||
| + | for me. Instead of that they opened the door of the cell next to mine and | ||
| + | they took someone out of it. I heard the steps die away up the stair. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At once I renewed my work upon the planks, and within a very few minutes I | ||
| + | had loosened them in such a way that I could remove and replace them at | ||
| + | pleasure. Passing through the aperture I found myself in the farther cell, | ||
| + | which, as I expected, was the other half of the one in which I had been | ||
| + | confined. I was not any nearer to escape than I had been before, for there | ||
| + | was no other wooden wall which I could penetrate and the spring lock of | ||
| + | the door had been closed. There were no traces to show who was my | ||
| + | companion in misfortune. Closing the two loose planks behind me I returned | ||
| + | to my own cell and waited there with all the courage which I could command | ||
| + | for the summons which would probably be my death knell. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was a long time in coming, but at last I heard the sound of feet once | ||
| + | more in the passage, and I nerved myself to listen to some other odious | ||
| + | deed and to hear the cries of the poor victim. Nothing of the kind | ||
| + | occurred, however, and the prisoner was placed in the cell without | ||
| + | violence. I had no time to peep through my hole of communication, | ||
| + | moment my own door was flung open and my rascally gondolier, with the | ||
| + | other assassins, came into the cell. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | hairy hand, and I read in his fierce eyes that he only looked for some | ||
| + | excuse in order to plunge it into my heart. Resistance was useless. I | ||
| + | followed without a word. I was led up the stone stair and back into that | ||
| + | gorgeous chamber in which I had left the secret tribunal. I was ushered | ||
| + | in, but to my surprise it was not on me that their attention was fixed. | ||
| + | One of their own number, a tall, dark young man, was standing before them | ||
| + | and was pleading with them in low, earnest tones. His voice quivered with | ||
| + | anxiety and his hands darted in and out or writhed together in an agony of | ||
| + | entreaty. & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | let judgment take its course.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I saw the young man throw himself in an agony of grief into his chair. I | ||
| + | had no time, however, to speculate as to what it was which was troubling | ||
| + | him, for his eleven colleagues had already fixed their stern eyes upon me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The moment of fate had arrived. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | represents that arch-robber Buonaparte?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was on my lips to tell him that he was a liar, but there is a time to | ||
| + | argue and a time to be silent. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | duty.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The blood flushed into the old man's face and his eyes blazed through his | ||
| + | mask. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | doing here? You are Frenchmen. Why are you not in France? Did we invite | ||
| + | you to Venice? By what right are you here? Where are our pictures? Where | ||
| + | are the horses of St. Mark? Who are you that you should pilfer those | ||
| + | treasures which our fathers through so many centuries have collected? We | ||
| + | were a great city when France was a desert. Your drunken, brawling, | ||
| + | ignorant soldiers have undone the work of saints and heroes. What have you | ||
| + | to say to it?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was, indeed, a formidable old man, for his white beard bristled with | ||
| + | fury and he barked out the little sentences like a savage hound. For my | ||
| + | part I could have told him that his pictures would be safe in Paris, that | ||
| + | his horses were really not worth making a fuss about, and that he could | ||
| + | see heroes& | ||
| + | ancestors or even moving out of his chair. All this I could have pointed | ||
| + | out, but one might as well argue with a Mameluke about religion. I | ||
| + | shrugged my shoulders and said nothing. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | man glared round him at the others. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | would remind you that there is a very particular reason why an exemplary | ||
| + | punishment should be inflicted in the case of this officer.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | you ample satisfaction in another.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The young man who had been pleading when I entered the room staggered to | ||
| + | his feet. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | tribunal can act without me. I am ill. I am mad.& | ||
| + | with a furious gesture and rushed from the room. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | can be asked of flesh and blood that he should remain under this roof. But | ||
| + | he is a true Venetian, and when the first agony is over he will understand | ||
| + | that it could not be otherwise.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had been forgotten during this episode, and though I am not a man who is | ||
| + | accustomed to being overlooked I should have been all the happier had they | ||
| + | continued to neglect me. But now the old president glared at me again like | ||
| + | a tiger who comes back to his victim. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | said. & | ||
| + | eyes in love to the grand daughter of a Doge of Venice who was already | ||
| + | betrothed to the heir of the Loredans. He who enjoys such privileges must | ||
| + | pay a price for them.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | lead this prisoner to the wooden cell. To-night is Monday. Let him have no | ||
| + | food or water, and let him be led before the tribunal again on Wednesday | ||
| + | night. We shall then decide upon the death which he is to die.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was not a pleasant prospect, and yet it was a reprieve. One is thankful | ||
| + | for small mercies when a hairy savage with a blood-stained knife is | ||
| + | standing at one's elbow. He dragged me from the room and I was thrust down | ||
| + | the stairs and back into my cell. The door was locked and I was left to my | ||
| + | reflections. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My first thought was to establish connection with my neighbour in | ||
| + | misfortune. I waited until the steps had died away, and then I cautiously | ||
| + | drew aside the two boards and peeped through. The light was very dim, so | ||
| + | dim that I could only just discern a figure huddled in the corner, and I | ||
| + | could hear the low whisper of a voice which prayed as one prays who is in | ||
| + | deadly fear. The boards must have made a creaking. There was a sharp | ||
| + | exclamation of surprise. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | for Etienne Gerard is by your side.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | always music to my ears. I sprang through the gap and I flung my arms | ||
| + | round her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was & | ||
| + | speeches at moments like that. It was she who came to her senses first. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | with me. They have simply returned me to my cell.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | I learned what love is, Etienne. He will never forgive you. He has a heart | ||
| + | of stone.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | you& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | over. They mean it as a badge of infamy, dear, but I will carry it like a | ||
| + | crown of honour since it was through you that I gained it.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Her words froze my blood with horror. All my adventures were insignificant | ||
| + | compared to this terrible shadow which was creeping over my soul. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | about to do. Tell me, Lucia! Tell me!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | would me. Well, well, I will tell you lest you should fear it was | ||
| + | something worse. The president has ordered that my ear be cut off, that I | ||
| + | may be marked for ever as having loved a Frenchman.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Her ear! The dear little ear which I had kissed so often. I put my hand to | ||
| + | each little velvet shell to make certain that this sacrilege had not yet | ||
| + | been committed. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Only over my dead body should they reach them. I swore it to her between | ||
| + | my clenched teeth. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | same.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | judged, but he may have pleaded for me after I was gone.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I knew that it was not so, but how could I bring myself to tell her? I | ||
| + | might as well have done so, for with the quick instinct of woman my | ||
| + | silence was speech to her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | will find that I am worthy to be loved by such a soldier. Where is Lorenzo | ||
| + | now?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Afar off I heard those fateful steps and the jingle of distant keys. What | ||
| + | were they coming for now, since there were no other prisoners to drag to | ||
| + | judgment? It could only be to carry out the sentence upon my darling. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I stood between her and the door, with the strength of a lion in my limbs. | ||
| + | I would tear the house down before they should touch her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | least, is safe. For the love you bear me, Etienne, go back. It is nothing. | ||
| + | I will make no sound. You will not hear that it is done.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She wrestled with me, this delicate creature, and by main force she | ||
| + | dragged me to the opening between the cells. But a sudden thought had | ||
| + | crossed my mind. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | without argument. Go into my cell. Quick!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I pushed her through the gap and helped her to replace the planks. I had | ||
| + | retained her cloak in my hands, and with this wrapped round me I crept | ||
| + | into the darkest corner of her cell. There I lay when the door was opened | ||
| + | and several men came in. I had reckoned that they would bring no lantern, | ||
| + | for they had none with them before. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | To their eyes I was only a dark blur in the corner. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | ruffian, Matteo. & | ||
| + | less I should like it. I am sorry, signora, but the order of the tribunal | ||
| + | has to be obeyed.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My impulse was to spring to my feet and to rush through them all and out | ||
| + | by the open door. But how would that help Lucia? Suppose that I got clear | ||
| + | away, she would be in their hands until I could come back with help, for | ||
| + | single-handed I could not hope to clear a way for her. All this flashed | ||
| + | through my mind in an instant, and I saw that the only course for me was | ||
| + | to lie still, take what came, and wait my chance. The fellow' | ||
| + | felt about among my curls& | ||
| + | fingers had ever wandered. The next instant he gripped my ear and a pain | ||
| + | shot through me as if I had been touched with a hot iron. I bit my lip to | ||
| + | stifle a cry, and I felt the blood run warm down my neck and back. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | pat on the head. & | ||
| + | I only wish you'd have better taste than to love a Frenchman. You can | ||
| + | blame him and not me for what I have done.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | What could I do save to lie still and grind my teeth at my own | ||
| + | helplessness? | ||
| + | the reflection that I had suffered for the woman whom I loved. It is the | ||
| + | custom of men to say to ladies that they would willingly endure any pain | ||
| + | for their sake, but it was my privilege to show that I had said no more | ||
| + | than I meant. I thought also how nobly I would seem to have acted if ever | ||
| + | the story came to be told, and how proud the regiment of Conflans might | ||
| + | well be of their colonel. These thoughts helped me to suffer in silence | ||
| + | while the blood still trickled over my neck and dripped upon the stone | ||
| + | floor. It was that sound which nearly led to my destruction. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | surgeon or you will find her dead in the morning.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Rouse up, signora, rouse up!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He shook me by the shoulder, and my heart stood still for fear he should | ||
| + | feel the epaulet under the mantle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I made no answer. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | fairest woman in Venice,& | ||
| + | your handkerchief and bring a light.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was all over. The worst had happened. Nothing could save me. I still | ||
| + | crouched in the corner, but I was tense in every muscle, like a wild cat | ||
| + | about to spring. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | If I had to die I was determined that my end should be worthy of my life. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One of them had gone for a lamp and Matteo was stooping over me with a | ||
| + | handkerchief. In another instant my secret would be discovered. But he | ||
| + | suddenly drew himself straight and stood motionless. At the same instant | ||
| + | there came a confused murmuring sound through the little window far above | ||
| + | my head. It was the rattle of oars and the buzz of many voices. Then there | ||
| + | was a crash upon the door upstairs, and a terrible voice roared: & | ||
| + | Open in the name of the Emperor!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Emperor! It was like the mention of some saint which, by its very | ||
| + | sound, can frighten the demons. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Away they ran with cries of terror& | ||
| + | all of the murderous gang. Another shout and then the crash of a hatchet | ||
| + | and the splintering of planks. There were the rattle of arms and the cries | ||
| + | of French soldiers in the hall. Next instant feet came flying down the | ||
| + | stair and a man burst frantically into my cell. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | to find his words. Then he broke out again. & | ||
| + | love you, Lucia? What more could I do to prove it? I have betrayed my | ||
| + | country, I have broken my vow, I have ruined my friends, and I have given | ||
| + | my life in order to save you.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was young Lorenzo Loredan, the lover whom I had superseded. My heart | ||
| + | was heavy for him at the time, but after all it is every man for himself | ||
| + | in love, and if one fails in the game it is some consolation to lose to | ||
| + | one who can be a graceful and considerate winner. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was about to point this out to him, but at the first word I uttered he | ||
| + | gave a shout of astonishment, | ||
| + | hung in the corridor and flashed it in my face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | for the wrong which you have done me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But the next instant he saw the pallor of my face and the blood which was | ||
| + | still pouring from my head. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I shook off my weakness, and pressing my handkerchief to my wound I rose | ||
| + | from my couch, the debonair colonel of Hussars. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | matter so trifling and so personal.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But Lucia had burst through from her cell and was pouring out the whole | ||
| + | story while she clasped Lorenzo' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | it for me. He has suffered that I might be saved.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I could sympathise with the struggle which I could see in the Italian' | ||
| + | face. At last he held out his hand to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | for if you have wronged me you have made a noble atonement. But I wonder | ||
| + | to see you alive. I left the tribunal before you were judged, but I | ||
| + | understood that no mercy would be shown to any Frenchman since the | ||
| + | destruction of the ornaments of Venice.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | in our palace.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This was the way, my friends, in which I lost my ear. Lorenzo was found | ||
| + | stabbed to the heart in the Piazza of St. Mark within two days of the | ||
| + | night of my adventure. Of the tribunal and its ruffians, Matteo and three | ||
| + | others were shot, the rest banished from the town. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Lucia, my lovely Lucia, retired into a convent at Murano after the French | ||
| + | had left the city, and there she still may be, some gentle lady abbess who | ||
| + | has perhaps long forgotten the days when our hearts throbbed together, and | ||
| + | when the whole great world seemed so small a thing beside the love which | ||
| + | burned in our veins. Or perhaps it may not be so. Perhaps she has not | ||
| + | forgotten. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There may still be times when the peace of the cloister is broken by the | ||
| + | memory of the old soldier who loved her in those distant days. Youth is | ||
| + | past and passion is gone, but the soul of the gentleman can never change, | ||
| + | and still Etienne Gerard would bow his grey head before her and would very | ||
| + | gladly lose his other ear if he might do her a service. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | II. How the Brigadier Captured Saragossa | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Have I ever told you, my friends, the circumstances connected with my | ||
| + | joining the Hussars of Conflans at the time of the siege of Saragossa and | ||
| + | the very remarkable exploit which I performed in connection with the | ||
| + | taking of that city? No? Then you have indeed something still to learn. I | ||
| + | will tell it to you exactly as it occurred. Save for two or three men and | ||
| + | a score or two of women, you are the first who have ever heard the story. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You must know, then, that it was in the Second Hussars& | ||
| + | Hussars of Chamberan& | ||
| + | junior captain. At the time I speak of I was only twenty-five years of | ||
| + | age, as reckless and desperate a man as any in that great army. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It chanced that the war had come to a halt in Germany, while it was still | ||
| + | raging in Spain, so the Emperor, wishing to reinforce the Spanish army, | ||
| + | transferred me as senior captain to the Hussars of Conflans, which were at | ||
| + | that time in the Fifth Army Corps under Marshal Lannes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was a long journey from Berlin to the Pyrenees. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My new regiment formed part of the force which, under Marshal Lannes, was | ||
| + | then besieging the Spanish town of Saragossa. I turned my horse' | ||
| + | that direction, therefore, and behold me a week or so later at the French | ||
| + | headquarters, | ||
| + | Conflans. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You have read, no doubt, of this famous siege of Saragossa, and I will | ||
| + | only say that no general could have had a harder task than that with which | ||
| + | Marshal Lannes was confronted. The immense city was crowded with a horde | ||
| + | of Spaniards& | ||
| + | most furious hatred of the French, and the most savage determination to | ||
| + | perish before they would surrender. There were eighty thousand men in the | ||
| + | town and only thirty thousand to besiege them. Yet we had a powerful | ||
| + | artillery, and our engineers were of the best. There was never such a | ||
| + | siege, for it is usual that when the fortifications are taken the city | ||
| + | falls, but here it was not until the fortifications were taken that the | ||
| + | real fighting began. Every house was a fort and every street a | ||
| + | battle-field, | ||
| + | blowing up the houses with their garrisons until more than half the city | ||
| + | had disappeared. Yet the other half was as determined as ever and in a | ||
| + | better position for defence, since it consisted of enormous convents and | ||
| + | monasteries with walls like the Bastille, which could not be so easily | ||
| + | brushed out of our way. This was the state of things at the time that I | ||
| + | joined the army. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I will confess to you that cavalry are not of much use in a siege, | ||
| + | although there was a time when I would not have permitted anyone to have | ||
| + | made such an observation. The Hussars of Conflans were encamped to the | ||
| + | south of the town, and it was their duty to throw out patrols and to make | ||
| + | sure that no Spanish force was advancing from that quarter. The colonel of | ||
| + | the regiment was not a good soldier, and the regiment was at that time | ||
| + | very far from being in the high condition which it afterwards attained. | ||
| + | Even in that one evening I saw several things which shocked me, for I had | ||
| + | a high standard, and it went to my heart to see an ill-arranged camp, an | ||
| + | ill-groomed horse, or a slovenly trooper. That night I supped with | ||
| + | twenty-six of my new brother-officers, | ||
| + | them only too plainly that I found things very different to what I was | ||
| + | accustomed in the army of Germany. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was silence in the mess after my remarks, and I felt that I had been | ||
| + | indiscreet when I saw the glances that were cast at me. The colonel | ||
| + | especially was furious, and a great major named Olivier, who was the | ||
| + | fire-eater of the regiment, sat opposite to me curling his huge black | ||
| + | moustaches, and staring at me as if he would eat me. However, I did not | ||
| + | resent his attitude, for I felt that I had indeed been indiscreet, and | ||
| + | that it would give a bad impression if upon this my first evening I | ||
| + | quarrelled with my superior officer. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So far I admit that I was wrong, but now I come to the sequel. Supper | ||
| + | over, the colonel and some other officers left the room, for it was in a | ||
| + | farm-house that the mess was held. There remained a dozen or so, and a | ||
| + | goat-skin of Spanish wine having been brought in we all made merry. | ||
| + | Presently this Major Olivier asked me some questions concerning the army | ||
| + | of Germany and as to the part which I had myself played in the campaign. | ||
| + | Flushed with the wine, I was drawn on from story to story. It was not | ||
| + | unnatural, my friends. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You will sympathise with me. Up there I had been the model for every | ||
| + | officer of my years in the army. I was the first swordsman, the most | ||
| + | dashing rider, the hero of a hundred adventures. Here I found myself not | ||
| + | only unknown, but even disliked. Was it not natural that I should wish to | ||
| + | tell these brave comrades what sort of man it was that had come among | ||
| + | them? Was it not natural that I should wish to say, & | ||
| + | rejoice! It is no ordinary man who has joined you to-night, but it is I, | ||
| + | THE Gerard, the hero of Ratisbon, the victor of Jena, the man who broke | ||
| + | the square at Austerlitz& | ||
| + | tell them some incidents which would enable them to say it for themselves. | ||
| + | I did so. They listened unmoved. I told them more. At last, after my tale | ||
| + | of how I had guided the army across the Danube, one universal shout of | ||
| + | laughter broke from them all. I sprang to my feet, flushed with shame and | ||
| + | anger. They had drawn me on. They were making game of me. They were | ||
| + | convinced that they had to do with a braggart and a liar. Was this my | ||
| + | reception in the Hussars of Conflans? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I dashed the tears of mortification from my eyes, and they laughed the | ||
| + | more at the sight. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | army?& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | that Captain Gerard has arrived.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Again there was a roar of laughter. I can see the ring of faces, the | ||
| + | mocking eyes, the open mouths& | ||
| + | Pelletan thin and sneering, even the young sub-lieutenants convulsed with | ||
| + | merriment. Heavens, the indignity of it! But my rage had dried my tears. I | ||
| + | was myself again, cold, quiet, self-contained, | ||
| + | within. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | paraded?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | he, and again there was a burst of laughter, which died away as I looked | ||
| + | slowly round the circle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Some mocking answer was on his tongue, but my glance kept it there. & | ||
| + | assembly is at six,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | do with fourteen officers, two of whom appeared to be boys fresh from St. | ||
| + | Cyr. I could not condescend to take any notice of their indiscretion. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There remained the major, four captains, and seven lieutenants. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | feel myself unworthy of this famous regiment if I did not ask you for | ||
| + | satisfaction for the rudeness with which you have greeted me, and I should | ||
| + | hold you to be unworthy of it if on any pretext you refused to grant it.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | prepared to waive my rank and to give you every satisfaction in the name | ||
| + | of the Hussars of Conflans.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | these other gentlemen who laughed at my expense.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They looked in surprise from one to the other. Then they drew off to the | ||
| + | other end of the room, and I heard the buzz of their whispers. They were | ||
| + | laughing. Evidently they still thought that they had to do with some empty | ||
| + | braggart. Then they returned. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | How do you propose to conduct such a duel? The terms lie with you.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | with you, Major Olivier, at five o' | ||
| + | five minutes to each before the assembly is blown. I must, however, beg | ||
| + | you to have the courtesy to name the place of meeting, since I am still | ||
| + | ignorant of the locality.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They were impressed by my cold and practical manner. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Already the smile had died away from their lips. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Olivier' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | held a few affairs of honour there and it has done very well. We shall be | ||
| + | there, Captain Gerard, at the hour you name.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was in the act of bowing to thank them for their acceptance when the | ||
| + | door of the mess-room was flung open and the colonel hurried into the | ||
| + | room, with an agitated face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | among you for a service which involves the greatest possible danger. I | ||
| + | will not disguise from you that the matter is serious in the last degree, | ||
| + | and that Marshal Lannes has chosen a cavalry officer because he can be | ||
| + | better spared than an officer of infantry or of engineers. Married men are | ||
| + | not eligible. Of the others, who will volunteer?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I need not say that all the unmarried officers stepped to the front. The | ||
| + | colonel looked round in some embarrassment. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I could see his dilemma. It was the best man who should go, and yet it was | ||
| + | the best man whom he could least spare. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He looked at me with a hard eye. He had not forgotten my observations at | ||
| + | supper. & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | and by convenience.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | not be missed in the regiments since the men have not yet learned to know | ||
| + | me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The colonel' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | think that you are indeed best fitted to go upon this mission. If you will | ||
| + | come with me I will give you your instructions.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I wished my new comrades good-night as I left the room, and I repeated | ||
| + | that I should hold myself at their disposal at five o' | ||
| + | They bowed in silence, and I thought that I could see from the expression | ||
| + | of their faces that they had already begun to take a more just view of my | ||
| + | character. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had expected that the colonel would at once inform me what it was that I | ||
| + | had been chosen to do, but instead of that he walked on in silence, I | ||
| + | following behind him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | We passed through the camp and made our way across the trenches and over | ||
| + | the ruined heaps of stones which marked the old wall of the town. Within, | ||
| + | there was a labyrinth of passages formed among the debris of the houses | ||
| + | which had been destroyed by the mines of the engineers. Acres and acres | ||
| + | were covered with splintered walls and piles of brick which had once been | ||
| + | a populous suburb. Lanes had been driven through it and lanterns placed at | ||
| + | the corners with inscriptions to direct the wayfarer. The colonel hurried | ||
| + | onward until at last, after a long walk, we found our way barred by a high | ||
| + | grey wall which stretched right across our path. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Here behind a barricade lay our advance guard. The colonel led me into a | ||
| + | roofless house, and there I found two general officers, a map stretched | ||
| + | over a drum in front of them, they kneeling beside it and examining it | ||
| + | carefully by the light of a lantern. The one with the clean-shaven face | ||
| + | and the twisted neck was Marshal Lannes, the other was General Razout, the | ||
| + | head of the engineers. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Marshal Lannes rose from his knees and shook me by the hand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | added, handing me a very tiny glass tube. & | ||
| + | by Dr. Fardet. At the supreme moment you have but to put it to your lips | ||
| + | and you will be dead in an instant.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This was a cheerful beginning. I will confess to you, my friends, that a | ||
| + | cold chill passed up my back and my hair rose upon my head. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | volunteered for a service of great danger, but the exact details have not | ||
| + | yet been given to me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | officer to volunteer before he has learned what the perils are to which he | ||
| + | will be exposed.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But already I was myself once more. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | greater the glory, and that I could only repent of volunteering if I found | ||
| + | that there were no risks to be run.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was a noble speech, and my appearance gave force to my words. For the | ||
| + | moment I was a heroic figure. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | As I saw Lannes' | ||
| + | think how splendid was the debut which I was making in the army of Spain. | ||
| + | If I died that night my name would not be forgotten. My new comrades and | ||
| + | my old, divided in all else, would still have a point of union in their | ||
| + | love and admiration of Etienne Gerard. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The engineer officer rose, his compasses in his hand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He led me to the door and pointed to the high grey wall which towered up | ||
| + | amongst the debris of the shattered houses. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the great Convent of the Madonna. If we can carry it the city must fall, | ||
| + | but they have run countermines all round it, and the walls are so | ||
| + | enormously thick that it would be an immense labour to breach it with | ||
| + | artillery. We happen to know, however, that the enemy have a considerable | ||
| + | store of powder in one of the lower chambers. If that could be exploded | ||
| + | the way would be clear for us.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | brave man has been in constant communication with us, and he had promised | ||
| + | to explode the magazine. It was to be done in the early morning, and for | ||
| + | two days running we have had a storming party of a thousand Grenadiers | ||
| + | waiting for the breach to be formed. But there has been no explosion, and | ||
| + | for these two days we have had no communication from Hubert. The question | ||
| + | is, what has become of him?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | or shall we attempt the attack elsewhere? We cannot determine this until | ||
| + | we have heard from him. This is a map of the town, Captain Gerard. You | ||
| + | perceive that within this ring of convents and monasteries are a number of | ||
| + | streets which branch off from a central square. If you come so far as this | ||
| + | square you will find the cathedral at one corner. In that corner is the | ||
| + | street of Toledo. Hubert lives in a small house between a cobbler' | ||
| + | wine-shop, on the right-hand side as you go from the cathedral. Do you | ||
| + | follow me?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | still feasible or if we must abandon it.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He produced what appeared to be a roll of dirty brown flannel. & | ||
| + | the dress of a Franciscan friar,& | ||
| + | useful disguise.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I shrank away from it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Remember, also, that the Spaniards take no prisoners, and that your fate | ||
| + | will be the same in whatever dress you are taken.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was true, and I had been long enough in Spain to know that that fate | ||
| + | was likely to be something more serious than mere death. All the way from | ||
| + | the frontier I had heard grim tales of torture and mutilation. I enveloped | ||
| + | myself in the Franciscan gown. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Hubert that at four o' | ||
| + | ready. There is a sergeant outside who will show you how to get into the | ||
| + | city. Good-night, and good luck!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Before I had left the room, the two generals had their cocked hats | ||
| + | touching each other over the map. At the door an under-officer of | ||
| + | engineers was waiting for me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I tied the girdle of my gown, and taking off my busby, I drew the cowl | ||
| + | over my head. My spurs I removed. Then in silence I followed my guide. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was necessary to move with caution, for the walls above were lined by | ||
| + | the Spanish sentries, who fired down continually at our advance posts. | ||
| + | Slinking along under the very shadow of the great convent, we picked our | ||
| + | way slowly and carefully among the piles of ruins until we came to a large | ||
| + | chestnut tree. Here the sergeant stopped. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | simpler. Go up it, and you will find that the top branch will enable you | ||
| + | to step upon the roof of that house. After that it is your guardian angel | ||
| + | who must be your guide, for I can help you no more.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Girding up the heavy brown gown, I ascended the tree as directed. A half | ||
| + | moon was shining brightly, and the line of roof stood out dark and hard | ||
| + | against the purple, starry sky. The tree was in the shadow of the house. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Slowly I crept from branch to branch until I was near the top. I had but | ||
| + | to climb along a stout limb in order to reach the wall. But suddenly my | ||
| + | ears caught the patter of feet, and I cowered against the trunk and tried | ||
| + | to blend myself with its shadow. A man was coming toward me on the roof. I | ||
| + | saw his dark figure creeping along, his body crouching, his head advanced, | ||
| + | the barrel of his gun protruding. His whole bearing was full of caution | ||
| + | and suspicion. Once or twice he paused, and then came on again until he | ||
| + | had reached the edge of the parapet within a few yards of me. Then he | ||
| + | knelt down, levelled his musket, and fired. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was so astonished at this sudden crash at my very elbow that I nearly | ||
| + | fell out of the tree. For an instant I could not be sure that he had not | ||
| + | hit me. But when I heard a deep groan from below, and the Spaniard leaned | ||
| + | over the parapet and laughed aloud, I understood what had occurred. It was | ||
| + | my poor, faithful sergeant, who had waited to see the last of me. The | ||
| + | Spaniard had seen him standing under the tree and had shot him. You will | ||
| + | think that it was good shooting in the dark, but these people used | ||
| + | trabucos, or blunderbusses, | ||
| + | and scraps of metal, so that they would hit you as certainly as I have hit | ||
| + | a pheasant on a branch. The Spaniard stood peering down through the | ||
| + | darkness, while an occasional groan from below showed that the sergeant | ||
| + | was still living. The sentry looked round and everything was still and | ||
| + | safe. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Perhaps he thought that he would like to finish of this accursed | ||
| + | Frenchman, or perhaps he had a desire to see what was in his pockets; but | ||
| + | whatever his motive, he laid down his gun, leaned forward, and swung | ||
| + | himself into the tree. The same instant I buried my knife in his body, and | ||
| + | he fell with a loud crashing through the branches and came with a thud to | ||
| + | the ground. I heard a short struggle below and an oath or two in French. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The wounded sergeant had not waited long for his vengeance. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For some minutes I did not dare to move, for it seemed certain that | ||
| + | someone would be attracted by the noise. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | However, all was silent save for the chimes striking midnight in the city. | ||
| + | I crept along the branch and lifted myself on to the roof. The Spaniard' | ||
| + | gun was lying there, but it was of no service to me, since he had the | ||
| + | powder-horn at his belt. At the same time, if it were found, it would warn | ||
| + | the enemy that something had happened, so I thought it best to drop it | ||
| + | over the wall. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Then I looked round for the means of getting off the roof and down into | ||
| + | the city. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was very evident that the simplest way by which I could get down was | ||
| + | that by which the sentinel had got up, and what this was soon became | ||
| + | evident. A voice along the roof called & | ||
| + | and, crouching in the shadow, I saw in the moonlight a bearded head, which | ||
| + | protruded from a trap-door. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Receiving no answer to his summons, the man climbed through, followed by | ||
| + | three other fellows, all armed to the teeth. You will see here how | ||
| + | important it is not to neglect small precautions, | ||
| + | gun where I found it, a search must have followed and I should certainly | ||
| + | have been discovered. As it was, the patrol saw no sign of their sentry, | ||
| + | and thought, no doubt, that he had moved along the line of the roofs. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They hurried on, therefore, in that direction, and I, the instant that | ||
| + | their backs were turned, rushed to the open trap-door and descended the | ||
| + | flight of steps which led from it. The house appeared to be an empty one, | ||
| + | for I passed through the heart of it and out, by an open door, into the | ||
| + | street beyond. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was a narrow and deserted lane, but it opened into a broader road, | ||
| + | which was dotted with fires, round which a great number of soldiers and | ||
| + | peasants were sleeping. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The smell within the city was so horrible that one wondered how people | ||
| + | could live in it, for during the months that the siege had lasted there | ||
| + | had been no attempt to cleanse the streets or to bury the dead. Many | ||
| + | people were moving up and down from fire to fire, and among them I | ||
| + | observed several monks. Seeing that they came and went unquestioned, | ||
| + | took heart and hurried on my way in the direction of the great square. | ||
| + | Once a man rose from beside one of the fires and stopped me by seizing my | ||
| + | sleeve. He pointed to a woman who lay motionless on the road, and I took | ||
| + | him to mean that she was dying, and that he desired me to administer the | ||
| + | last offices of the Church. I sought refuge, however, in the very little | ||
| + | Latin that was left to me. & | ||
| + | cowl. & | ||
| + | pointed forward. The fellow released my sleeve and shrank back in silence, | ||
| + | while I, with a solemn gesture, hurried upon my way. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | As I had imagined, this broad boulevard led out into the central square, | ||
| + | which was full of troops and blazing with fires. I walked swiftly onward, | ||
| + | disregarding one or two people who addressed remarks to me. I passed the | ||
| + | cathedral and followed the street which had been described to me. Being | ||
| + | upon the side of the city which was farthest from our attack, there were | ||
| + | no troops encamped in it, and it lay in darkness, save for an occasional | ||
| + | glimmer in a window. It was not difficult to find the house to which I had | ||
| + | been directed, between the wine-shop and the cobbler' | ||
| + | within and the door was shut. Cautiously I pressed the latch, and I felt | ||
| + | that it had yielded. Who was within I could not tell, and yet I must take | ||
| + | the risk. I pushed the door open and entered. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was pitch-dark within& | ||
| + | me. I felt round and came upon the edge of a table. Then I stood still and | ||
| + | wondered what I should do next, and how I could gain some news of this | ||
| + | Hubert, in whose house I found myself. Any mistake would cost me not only | ||
| + | my life but the failure of my mission. Perhaps he did not live alone. | ||
| + | Perhaps he was only a lodger in a Spanish family, and my visit might bring | ||
| + | ruin to him as well as to myself. Seldom in my life have I been more | ||
| + | perplexed. And then, suddenly, something turned my blood cold in my veins. | ||
| + | It was a voice, a whispering voice, in my very ear. & | ||
| + | voice, in a tone of agony. & | ||
| + | sob in the darkness, and all was still once more. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It thrilled me with horror, that terrible voice, but it thrilled me also | ||
| + | with hope, for it was the voice of a Frenchman. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was a groaning, but no reply. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | water, for Heaven' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I advanced in the direction of the sound, but only to come in contact with | ||
| + | the wall. Again I heard a groan, but this time there could be no doubt | ||
| + | that it was above my head. I put up my hands, but they felt only empty | ||
| + | air. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I stretched my hand along the wall and I came upon a man's naked foot. It | ||
| + | was as high as my face, and yet, so far as I could feel, it had nothing to | ||
| + | support it. I staggered back in amazement. Then I took a tinder-box from | ||
| + | my pocket and struck a light. At the first flash a man seemed to be | ||
| + | floating in the air in front of me, and I dropped the box in my amazement. | ||
| + | Again with tremulous fingers I struck the flint against the steel, and | ||
| + | this time I lit not only the tinder but the wax taper. I held it up, and | ||
| + | if my amazement was lessened my horror was increased by that which it | ||
| + | revealed. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The man had been nailed to the wall as a weasel is nailed to the door of a | ||
| + | barn. Huge spikes had been driven through his hands and his feet. The poor | ||
| + | wretch was in his last agony, his head sunk upon his shoulder and his | ||
| + | blackened tongue protruding from his lips. He was dying as much from | ||
| + | thirst as from his wounds, and these inhuman wretches had placed a beaker | ||
| + | of wine upon the table in front of him to add a fresh pang to his | ||
| + | tortures. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I raised it to his lips. He had still strength enough to swallow, and the | ||
| + | light came back a little to his dim eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | tell you what I know. A little more of that wine, please! Quick! Quick! I | ||
| + | am very near the end. My strength is going. Listen to me! The powder is | ||
| + | stored in the Mother Superior' | ||
| + | the train is in Sister Angela' | ||
| + | days ago. But they discovered a letter and they tortured me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | do one little service for me. Stab me to the heart, dear friend! I implore | ||
| + | you, I entreat you, to put an end to my sufferings.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The man was indeed in a hopeless plight, and the kindest action would have | ||
| + | been that for which he begged. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And yet I could not in cold blood drive my knife into his body, although I | ||
| + | knew how I should have prayed for such a mercy had I been in his place. | ||
| + | But a sudden thought crossed my mind. In my pocket I held that which would | ||
| + | give an instant and a painless death. It was my own safeguard against | ||
| + | torture, and yet this poor soul was in very pressing need of it, and he | ||
| + | had deserved well of France. I took out my phial and emptied it into the | ||
| + | cup of wine. I was in the act of handing it to him when I heard a sudden | ||
| + | clash of arms outside the door. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In an instant I put out my light and slipped behind the window-curtains. | ||
| + | Next moment the door was flung open and two Spaniards strode into the | ||
| + | room, fierce, swarthy men in the dress of citizens, but with muskets slung | ||
| + | over their shoulders. I looked through the chink in the curtains in an | ||
| + | agony of fear lest they had come upon my traces, but it was evident that | ||
| + | their visit was simply in order to feast their eyes upon my unfortunate | ||
| + | compatriot. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One of them held the lantern which he carried up in front of the dying | ||
| + | man, and both of them burst into a shout of mocking laughter. Then the | ||
| + | eyes of the man with the lantern fell upon the flagon of wine upon the | ||
| + | table. He picked it up, held it, with a devilish grin, to the lips of | ||
| + | Hubert, and then, as the poor wretch involuntarily inclined his head | ||
| + | forward to reach it, he snatched it back and took a long gulp himself. At | ||
| + | the same instant he uttered a loud cry, clutched wildly at his own throat, | ||
| + | and fell stone-dead upon the floor. His comrade stared at him in horror | ||
| + | and amazement. Then, overcome by his own superstitious fears, he gave a | ||
| + | yell of terror and rushed madly from the room. I heard his feet clattering | ||
| + | wildly on the cobble-stones until the sound died away in the distance. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The lantern had been left burning upon the table, and by its light I saw, | ||
| + | as I came out from behind my curtain, that the unfortunate Hubert' | ||
| + | had fallen forward upon his chest and that he also was dead. That motion | ||
| + | to reach the wine with his lips had been his last. A clock ticked loudly | ||
| + | in the house, but otherwise all was absolutely still. On the wall hung the | ||
| + | twisted form of the Frenchman, on the floor lay the motionless body of the | ||
| + | Spaniard, all dimly lit by the horn lantern. For the first time in my life | ||
| + | a frantic spasm of terror came over me. I had seen ten thousand men in | ||
| + | every conceivable degree of mutilation stretched upon the ground, but the | ||
| + | sight had never affected me like those two silent figures who were my | ||
| + | companions in that shadowy room. I rushed into the street as the Spaniard | ||
| + | had done, eager only to leave that house of gloom behind me, and I had run | ||
| + | as far as the cathedral before my wits came back to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There I stopped, panting, in the shadow, and, my hand pressed to my side, | ||
| + | I tried to collect my scattered senses and to plan out what I should do. | ||
| + | As I stood there, breathless, the great brass bells roared twice above my | ||
| + | head. It was two o' | ||
| + | be in its place. I had still two hours in which to act. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The cathedral was brilliantly lit within, and a number of people were | ||
| + | passing in and out; so I entered, thinking that I was less likely to be | ||
| + | accosted there, and that I might have quiet to form my plans. It was | ||
| + | certainly a singular sight, for the place had been turned into an | ||
| + | hospital, a refuge, and a store-house. One aisle was crammed with | ||
| + | provisions, another was littered with sick and wounded, while in the | ||
| + | centre a great number of helpless people had taken up their abode, and had | ||
| + | even lit their cooking fires upon the mosaic floors. There were many at | ||
| + | prayer, so I knelt in the shadow of a pillar, and I prayed with all my | ||
| + | heart that I might have the good luck to get out of this scrape alive, and | ||
| + | that I might do such a deed that night as would make my name as famous in | ||
| + | Spain as it had already become in Germany. I waited until the clock struck | ||
| + | three, and then I left the cathedral and made my way toward the Convent of | ||
| + | the Madonna, where the assault was to be delivered. You will understand, | ||
| + | you who know me so well, that I was not the man to return tamely to the | ||
| + | French camp with the report that our agent was dead and that other means | ||
| + | must be found of entering the city. Either I should find some means to | ||
| + | finish his uncompleted task or there would be a vacancy for a senior | ||
| + | captain in the Hussars of Conflans. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I passed unquestioned down the broad boulevard, which I have already | ||
| + | described, until I came to the great stone convent which formed the | ||
| + | outwork of the defence. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was built in a square with a garden in the centre. In this garden some | ||
| + | hundreds of men were assembled, all armed and ready, for it was known, of | ||
| + | course, within the town that this was the point against which the French | ||
| + | attack was likely to be made. Up to this time our fighting all over Europe | ||
| + | had always been done between one army and another. It was only here in | ||
| + | Spain that we learned how terrible a thing it is to fight against a | ||
| + | people. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | On the one hand there is no glory, for what glory could be gained by | ||
| + | defeating this rabble of elderly shopkeepers, | ||
| + | priests, excited women, and all the other creatures who made up the | ||
| + | garrison? On the other hand there were extreme discomfort and danger, for | ||
| + | these people would give you no rest, would observe no rules of war, and | ||
| + | were desperately earnest in their desire by hook or by crook to do you an | ||
| + | injury. I began to realise how odious was our task as I looked upon the | ||
| + | motley but ferocious groups who were gathered round the watch-fires in the | ||
| + | garden of the Convent of the Madonna. It was not for us soldiers to think | ||
| + | about politics, but from the beginning there always seemed to be a curse | ||
| + | upon this war in Spain. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | However, at the moment I had no time to brood over such matters as these. | ||
| + | There was, as I have said, no difficulty in getting as far as the convent | ||
| + | garden, but to pass inside the convent unquestioned was not so easy. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The first thing which I did was to walk round the garden, and I was soon | ||
| + | able to pick out one large stained-glass window which must belong to the | ||
| + | chapel. I had understood from Hubert that the Mother Superior' | ||
| + | which the powder was stored, was near to this, and that the train had been | ||
| + | laid through a hole in the wall from some neighbouring cell. I must, at | ||
| + | all costs, get into the convent. There was a guard at the door, and how | ||
| + | could I get in without explanations? | ||
| + | how the thing might be done. In the garden was a well, and beside the well | ||
| + | were a number of empty buckets. I filled two of these, and approached the | ||
| + | door. The errand of a man who carries a bucket of water in each hand does | ||
| + | not need to be explained. The guard opened to let me through. I found | ||
| + | myself in a long, stone-flagged corridor, lit with lanterns, with the | ||
| + | cells of the nuns leading out from one side of it. Now at last I was on | ||
| + | the high road to success. I walked on without hesitation, for I knew by my | ||
| + | observations in the garden which way to go for the chapel. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A number of Spanish soldiers were lounging and smoking in the corridor, | ||
| + | several of whom addressed me as I passed. I fancy it was for my blessing | ||
| + | that they asked, and my & | ||
| + | Soon I had got as far as the chapel, and it was easy enough to see that | ||
| + | the cell next door was used as a magazine, for the floor was all black | ||
| + | with powder in front of it. The door was shut, and two fierce-looking | ||
| + | fellows stood on guard outside it, one of them with a key stuck in his | ||
| + | belt. Had we been alone, it would not have been long before it would have | ||
| + | been in my hand, but with his comrade there it was impossible for me to | ||
| + | hope to take it by force. The cell next door to the magazine on the far | ||
| + | side from the chapel must be the one which belonged to Sister Angela. It | ||
| + | was half open. I took my courage in both hands and, leaving my buckets in | ||
| + | the corridor, I walked unchallenged into the room. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was prepared to find half a dozen fierce Spanish desperadoes within, but | ||
| + | what actually met my eyes was even more embarrassing. The room had | ||
| + | apparently been set aside for the use of some of the nuns, who for some | ||
| + | reason had refused to quit their home. Three of them were within, one an | ||
| + | elderly, stern-faced dame, who was evidently the Mother Superior, the | ||
| + | others, young ladies of charming appearance. They were seated together at | ||
| + | the far side of the room, but they all rose at my entrance, and I saw with | ||
| + | some amazement, by their manner and expressions, | ||
| + | welcome and expected. In a moment my presence of mind had returned, and I | ||
| + | saw exactly how the matter lay. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Naturally, since an attack was about to be made upon the convent, these | ||
| + | sisters had been expecting to be directed to some place of safety. | ||
| + | Probably they were under vow not to quit the walls, and they had been told | ||
| + | to remain in this cell until they received further orders. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In any case I adapted my conduct to this supposition, | ||
| + | that I must get them out of the room, and this would give me a ready | ||
| + | excuse to do so. I first cast a glance at the door and observed that the | ||
| + | key was within. I then made a gesture to the nuns to follow me. The Mother | ||
| + | Superior asked me some question, but I shook my head impatiently and | ||
| + | beckoned to her again. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She hesitated, but I stamped my foot and called them forth in so imperious | ||
| + | a manner that they came at once. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They would be safer in the chapel, and thither I led them, placing them at | ||
| + | the end which was farthest from the magazine. As the three nuns took their | ||
| + | places before the altar my heart bounded with joy and pride within me, for | ||
| + | I felt that the last obstacle had been lifted from my path. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And yet how often have I not found that that is the very moment of danger? | ||
| + | I took a last glance at the Mother Superior, and to my dismay I saw that | ||
| + | her piercing dark eyes were fixed, with an expression in which surprise | ||
| + | was deepening into suspicion, upon my right hand. There were two points | ||
| + | which might well have attracted her attention. One was that it was red | ||
| + | with the blood of the sentinel whom I had stabbed in the tree. That alone | ||
| + | might count for little, as the knife was as familiar as the breviary to | ||
| + | the monks of Saragossa. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But on my forefinger I wore a heavy gold ring& | ||
| + | German baroness whose name I may not mention. It shone brightly in the | ||
| + | light of the altar lamp. Now, a ring upon a friar' | ||
| + | impossibility, | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I turned quickly and made for the door of the chapel, but the mischief was | ||
| + | done. As I glanced back I saw that the Mother Superior was already | ||
| + | hurrying after me. I ran through the chapel door and along the corridor, | ||
| + | but she called out some shrill warning to the two guards in front. | ||
| + | Fortunately I had the presence of mind to call out also, and to point down | ||
| + | the passage as if we were both pursuing the same object. Next instant I | ||
| + | had dashed past them, sprang into the cell, slammed the heavy door, and | ||
| + | fastened it upon the inside. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With a bolt above and below and a huge lock in the centre it was a piece | ||
| + | of timber that would take some forcing. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Even now if they had had the wit to put a barrel of powder against the | ||
| + | door I should have been ruined. It was their only chance, for I had come | ||
| + | to the final stage of my adventure. Here at last, after such a string of | ||
| + | dangers as few men have ever lived to talk of, I was at one end of the | ||
| + | powder train, with the Saragossa magazine at the other. They were howling | ||
| + | like wolves out in the passage, and muskets were crashing against the | ||
| + | door. I paid no heed to their clamour, but I looked eagerly around for | ||
| + | that train of which Hubert had spoken. Of course, it must be at the side | ||
| + | of the room next to the magazine. I crawled along it on my hands and | ||
| + | knees, looking into every crevice, but no sign could I see. Two bullets | ||
| + | flew through the door and flattened themselves against the wall. The | ||
| + | thudding and smashing grew ever louder. I saw a grey pile in a corner, | ||
| + | flew to it with a cry of joy, and found that it was only dust. Then I got | ||
| + | back to the side of the door where no bullets could ever reach me& | ||
| + | were streaming freely into the room& | ||
| + | fiendish howling in my ear and to think out where this train could be. It | ||
| + | must have been carefully laid by Hubert lest these nuns should see it. I | ||
| + | tried to imagine how I should myself have arranged it had I been in his | ||
| + | place. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My eye was attracted by a statue of St. Joseph which stood in the corner. | ||
| + | There was a wreath of leaves along the edge of the pedestal, with a lamp | ||
| + | burning amidst them. I rushed across to it and tore the leaves aside. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Yes, yes, there was a thin black line, which disappeared through a small | ||
| + | hole in the wall. I tilted over the lamp and threw myself on the ground. | ||
| + | Next instant came a roar like thunder, the walls wavered and tottered | ||
| + | around me, the ceiling clattered down from above, and over the yell of the | ||
| + | terrified Spaniards was heard the terrific shout of the storming column of | ||
| + | Grenadiers. As in a dream& | ||
| + | heard no more. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When I came to my senses two French soldiers were propping me up, and my | ||
| + | head was singing like a kettle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I staggered to my feet and looked around me. The plaster had fallen, the | ||
| + | furniture was scattered, and there were rents in the bricks, but no signs | ||
| + | of a breach. In fact, the walls of the convent had been so solid that the | ||
| + | explosion of the magazine had been insufficient to throw them down. On the | ||
| + | other hand, it had caused such a panic among the defenders that our | ||
| + | stormers had been able to carry the windows and throw open the doors | ||
| + | almost without assistance. As I ran out into the corridor I found it full | ||
| + | of troops, and I met Marshal Lannes himself, who was entering with his | ||
| + | staff. He stopped and listened eagerly to my story. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the work that was planned and carried out by Monsieur Hubert, who gave his | ||
| + | life for the cause.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | after such a night of exertion. My staff and I will breakfast inside the | ||
| + | city. I assure you that you will be an honoured guest.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | which detains me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He opened his eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | night, will not be content unless they catch another glimpse of me the | ||
| + | first thing this morning.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I hurried through the shattered door of the convent. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When I reached the roofless house in which we had held the consultation | ||
| + | the night before, I threw off my gown and I put on the busby and sabre | ||
| + | which I had left there. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Then, a Hussar once more, I hurried onward to the grove which was our | ||
| + | rendezvous. My brain was still reeling from the concussion of the powder, | ||
| + | and I was exhausted by the many emotions which had shaken me during that | ||
| + | terrible night. It is like a dream, all that walk in the first dim grey | ||
| + | light of dawn, with the smouldering camp-fires around me and the buzz of | ||
| + | the waking army. Bugles and drums in every direction were mustering the | ||
| + | infantry, for the explosion and the shouting had told their own tale. I | ||
| + | strode onward until, as I entered the little clump of cork oaks behind the | ||
| + | horse lines, I saw my twelve comrades waiting in a group, their sabres at | ||
| + | their sides. They looked at me curiously as I approached. Perhaps with my | ||
| + | powder-blackened face and my blood-stained hands I seemed a different | ||
| + | Gerard to the young captain whom they had made game of the night before. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | you waiting, but I have not been master of my own time.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They said nothing, but they still scanned me with curious eyes. I can see | ||
| + | them now, standing in a line before me, tall men and short men, stout men | ||
| + | and thin men: Olivier, with his warlike moustache; the thin, eager face of | ||
| + | Pelletan; young Oudin, flushed by his first duel; Mortier, with the | ||
| + | sword-cut across his wrinkled brow. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I laid aside my busby and drew my sword. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | waiting.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | that you will permit me to attack you all together.& | ||
| + | as I spoke. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But their answer was truly beautiful and truly French. With one impulse | ||
| + | the twelve swords flew from their scabbards and were raised in salute. | ||
| + | There they stood, the twelve of them, motionless, their heels together, | ||
| + | each with his sword upright before his face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I staggered back from them. I looked from one to the other. For an instant | ||
| + | I could not believe my own eyes. They were paying me homage, these, the | ||
| + | men who had jeered me! Then I understood it all. I saw the effect that I | ||
| + | had made upon them and their desire to make reparation. When a man is weak | ||
| + | he can steel himself against danger, but not against emotion. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Something seemed to take me by the throat and choke me. And then in an | ||
| + | instant Olivier' | ||
| + | hand, Mortier by the left, some were patting me on the shoulder, some were | ||
| + | clapping me on the back, on every side smiling faces were looking into | ||
| + | mine; and so it was that I knew that I had won my footing in the Hussars | ||
| + | of Conflans. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | III. How the Brigadier Slew the Fox [*] | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <pre xml: | ||
| + | [*] This story, already published in The Green Flag, is | ||
| + | | ||
| + | may appear together. | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In all the great hosts of France there was only one officer toward whom | ||
| + | the English of Wellington' | ||
| + | hatred. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were plunderers among the French, and men of violence, gamblers, | ||
| + | duellists, and roues. All these could be forgiven, for others of their | ||
| + | kidney were to be found among the ranks of the English. But one officer of | ||
| + | Massena' | ||
| + | abominable; only to be alluded to with curses late in the evening, when a | ||
| + | second bottle had loosened the tongues of men. The news of it was carried | ||
| + | back to England, and country gentlemen who knew little of the details of | ||
| + | the war grew crimson with passion when they heard of it, and yeomen of the | ||
| + | shires raised freckled fists to Heaven and swore. And yet who should be | ||
| + | the doer of this dreadful deed but our friend the Brigadier, Etienne | ||
| + | Gerard, of the Hussars of Conflans, gay-riding, plume-tossing, | ||
| + | the darling of the ladies and of the six brigades of light cavalry. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But the strange part of it is that this gallant gentleman did this hateful | ||
| + | thing, and made himself the most unpopular man in the Peninsula, without | ||
| + | ever knowing that he had done a crime for which there is hardly a name | ||
| + | amid all the resources of our language. He died of old age, and never once | ||
| + | in that imperturbable self-confidence which adorned or disfigured his | ||
| + | character knew that so many thousand Englishmen would gladly have hanged | ||
| + | him with their own hands. On the contrary, he numbered this adventure | ||
| + | among those other exploits which he has given to the world, and many a | ||
| + | time he chuckled and hugged himself as he narrated it to the eager circle | ||
| + | who gathered round him in that humble cafe where, between his dinner and | ||
| + | his dominoes, he would tell, amid tears and laughter, of that | ||
| + | inconceivable Napoleonic past when France, like an angel of wrath, rose | ||
| + | up, splendid and terrible, before a cowering continent. Let us listen to | ||
| + | him as he tells the story in his own way and from his own point of view. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You must know, my friends, said he, that it was toward the end of the year | ||
| + | eighteen hundred and ten that I and Massena and the others pushed | ||
| + | Wellington backward until we had hoped to drive him and his army into the | ||
| + | Tagus. But when we were still twenty-five miles from Lisbon we found that | ||
| + | we were betrayed, for what had this Englishman done but build an enormous | ||
| + | line of works and forts at a place called Torres Vedras, so that even we | ||
| + | were unable to get through them! They lay across the whole Peninsula, and | ||
| + | our army was so far from home that we did not dare to risk a reverse, and | ||
| + | we had already learned at Busaco that it was no child' | ||
| + | against these people. What could we do, then, but sit down in front of | ||
| + | these lines and blockade them to the best of our power? There we remained | ||
| + | for six months, amid such anxieties that Massena said afterward that he | ||
| + | had not one hair which was not white upon his body. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For my own part, I did not worry much about our situation, but I looked | ||
| + | after our horses, who were in much need of rest and green fodder. For the | ||
| + | rest, we drank the wine of the country and passed the time as best we | ||
| + | might. There was a lady at Santarem& | ||
| + | the part of a gallant man to say nothing, though he may indicate that he | ||
| + | could say a great deal. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One day Massena sent for me, and I found him in his tent with a great plan | ||
| + | pinned upon the table. He looked at me in silence with that single | ||
| + | piercing eye of his, and I felt by his expression that the matter was | ||
| + | serious. He was nervous and ill at ease, but my bearing seemed to reassure | ||
| + | him. It is good to be in contact with brave men. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | very gallant and enterprising officer.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was not for me to confirm such a report, and yet it would be folly to | ||
| + | deny it, so I clinked my spurs together and saluted. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I admitted it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Massena was famous for the accuracy of his information. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | in understanding what it is that I wish you to do. These are the lines of | ||
| + | Torres Vedras. You will perceive that they cover a vast space, and you | ||
| + | will realise that the English can only hold a position here and there. | ||
| + | Once through the lines you have twenty-five miles of open country which | ||
| + | lie between them and Lisbon. It is very important to me to learn how | ||
| + | Wellington' | ||
| + | wish that you should go and ascertain.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His words turned me cold. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | condescend to act as a spy.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | will listen you will understand that I have not asked you to act as a spy. | ||
| + | What do you think of that horse?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He had conducted me to the opening of his tent, and there was a chasseur | ||
| + | who led up and down a most admirable creature. He was a dapple grey, not | ||
| + | very tall, a little over fifteen hands perhaps, but with the short head | ||
| + | and splendid arch of the neck which comes with the Arab blood. His | ||
| + | shoulders and haunches were so muscular, and yet his legs so fine, that it | ||
| + | thrilled me with joy just to gaze upon him. A fine horse or a beautiful | ||
| + | woman& | ||
| + | have chilled my blood. You can think how it was in the year '10. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | I desire is that you should start tonight, ride round the lines upon the | ||
| + | flank, make your way across the enemy' | ||
| + | flank, bringing me news of his disposition. You will wear a uniform, and | ||
| + | will, therefore, if captured, be safe from the death of a spy. It is | ||
| + | probable that you will get through the lines unchallenged, | ||
| + | are very scattered. Once through, in daylight you can outride anything | ||
| + | which you meet, and if you keep off the roads you may escape entirely | ||
| + | unnoticed. If you have not reported yourself by to-morrow night, I will | ||
| + | understand that you are taken, and I will offer them Colonel Petrie in | ||
| + | exchange.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Ah, how my heart swelled with pride and joy as I sprang into the saddle | ||
| + | and galloped this grand horse up and down to show the Marshal the mastery | ||
| + | which I had of him! He was magnificent& | ||
| + | Massena clapped his hands and cried out in his delight. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was not I, but he, who said that a gallant beast deserves a gallant | ||
| + | rider. Then, when for the third time, with my panache flying and my dolman | ||
| + | streaming behind me, I thundered past him, I saw upon his hard old face | ||
| + | that he had no longer any doubt that he had chosen the man for his | ||
| + | purpose. I drew my sabre, raised the hilt to my lips in salute, and | ||
| + | galloped on to my own quarters. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Already the news had spread that I had been chosen for a mission, and my | ||
| + | little rascals came swarming out of their tents to cheer me. Ah! it brings | ||
| + | the tears to my old eyes when I think how proud they were of their | ||
| + | Colonel. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And I was proud of them also. They deserved a dashing leader. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The night promised to be a stormy one, which was very much to my liking. | ||
| + | It was my desire to keep my departure most secret, for it was evident that | ||
| + | if the English heard that I had been detached from the army they would | ||
| + | naturally conclude that something important was about to happen. My horse | ||
| + | was taken, therefore, beyond the picket line, as if for watering, and I | ||
| + | followed and mounted him there. I had a map, a compass, and a paper of | ||
| + | instructions from the Marshal, and with these in the bosom of my tunic and | ||
| + | my sabre at my side I set out upon my adventure. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A thin rain was falling and there was no moon, so you may imagine that it | ||
| + | was not very cheerful. But my heart was light at the thought of the honour | ||
| + | which had been done me and the glory which awaited me. This exploit should | ||
| + | be one more in that brilliant series which was to change my sabre into a | ||
| + | baton. Ah, how we dreamed, we foolish fellows, young, and drunk with | ||
| + | success! Could I have foreseen that night as I rode, the chosen man of | ||
| + | sixty thousand, that I should spend my life planting cabbages on a hundred | ||
| + | francs a month! Oh, my youth, my hopes, my comrades! But the wheel turns | ||
| + | and never stops. Forgive me, my friends, for an old man has his weakness. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My route, then, lay across the face of the high ground of Torres Vedras, | ||
| + | then over a streamlet, past a farmhouse which had been burned down and was | ||
| + | now only a landmark, then through a forest of young cork oaks, and so to | ||
| + | the monastery of San Antonio, which marked the left of the English | ||
| + | position. Here I turned south and rode quietly over the downs, for it was | ||
| + | at this point that Massena thought that it would be most easy for me to | ||
| + | find my way unobserved through the position. I went very slowly, for it | ||
| + | was so dark that I could not see my hand in front of me. In such cases I | ||
| + | leave my bridle loose and let my horse pick its own way. Voltigeur went | ||
| + | confidently forward, and I was very content to sit upon his back and to | ||
| + | peer about me, avoiding every light. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For three hours we advanced in this cautious way, until it seemed to me | ||
| + | that I must have left all danger behind me. I then pushed on more briskly, | ||
| + | for I wished to be in the rear of the whole army by daybreak. There are | ||
| + | many vineyards in these parts which in winter become open plains, and a | ||
| + | horseman finds few difficulties in his way. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But Massena had underrated the cunning of these English, for it appears | ||
| + | that there was not one line of defence but three, and it was the third, | ||
| + | which was the most formidable, through which I was at that instant | ||
| + | passing. As I rode, elated at my own success, a lantern flashed suddenly | ||
| + | before me, and I saw the glint of polished gun-barrels and the gleam of a | ||
| + | red coat. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | and rode like a madman, but a dozen squirts of fire came out of the | ||
| + | darkness, and the bullets whizzed all round my ears. That was no new sound | ||
| + | to me, my friends, though I will not talk like a foolish conscript and say | ||
| + | that I have ever liked it. But at least it had never kept me from thinking | ||
| + | clearly, and so I knew that there was nothing for it but to gallop hard | ||
| + | and try my luck elsewhere. I rode round the English picket, and then, as I | ||
| + | heard nothing more of them, I concluded rightly that I had at last come | ||
| + | through their defences. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For five miles I rode south, striking a tinder from time to time to look | ||
| + | at my pocket compass. And then in an instant& | ||
| + | more as my memory brings back the moment& | ||
| + | staggers fell stone-dead beneath me! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had never known it, but one of the bullets from that infernal picket had | ||
| + | passed through his body. The gallant creature had never winced nor | ||
| + | weakened, but had gone while life was in him. One instant I was secure on | ||
| + | the swiftest, most graceful horse in Massena' | ||
| + | his side, worth only the price of his hide, and I stood there that most | ||
| + | helpless, most ungainly of creatures, a dismounted Hussar. What could I do | ||
| + | with my boots, my spurs, my trailing sabre? I was far inside the enemy' | ||
| + | lines. How could I hope to get back again? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I am not ashamed to say that I, Etienne Gerard, sat upon my dead horse and | ||
| + | sank my face in my hands in my despair. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Already the first streaks were whitening the east. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In half an hour it would be light. That I should have won my way past | ||
| + | every obstacle and then at this last instant be left at the mercy of my | ||
| + | enemies, my mission ruined, and myself a prisoner& | ||
| + | to break a soldier' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But courage, my friends! We have these moments of weakness, the bravest of | ||
| + | us; but I have a spirit like a slip of steel, for the more you bend it the | ||
| + | higher it springs. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One spasm of despair, and then a brain of ice and a heart of fire. All was | ||
| + | not yet lost. I who had come through so many hazards would come through | ||
| + | this one also. I rose from my horse and considered what had best be done. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And first of all it was certain that I could not get back. Long before I | ||
| + | could pass the lines it would be broad daylight. I must hide myself for | ||
| + | the day, and then devote the next night to my escape. I took the saddle, | ||
| + | holsters, and bridle from poor Voltigeur, and I concealed them among some | ||
| + | bushes, so that no one finding him could know that he was a French horse. | ||
| + | Then, leaving him lying there, I wandered on in search of some place where | ||
| + | I might be safe for the day. In every direction I could see camp fires | ||
| + | upon the sides of the hills, and already figures had begun to move around | ||
| + | them. I must hide quickly, or I was lost. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But where was I to hide? It was a vineyard in which I found myself, the | ||
| + | poles of the vines still standing, but the plants gone. There was no cover | ||
| + | there. Besides, I should want some food and water before another night had | ||
| + | come. I hurried wildly onward through the waning darkness, trusting that | ||
| + | chance would be my friend. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And I was not disappointed. Chance is a woman, my friends, and she has her | ||
| + | eye always upon a gallant Hussar. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Well, then, as I stumbled through the vineyard, something loomed in front | ||
| + | of me, and I came upon a great square house with another long, low | ||
| + | building upon one side of it. Three roads met there, and it was easy to | ||
| + | see that this was the posada, or wine-shop. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was no light in the windows, and everything was dark and silent, | ||
| + | but, of course, I knew that such comfortable quarters were certainly | ||
| + | occupied, and probably by someone of importance. I have learned, however, | ||
| + | that the nearer the danger may really be the safer place, and so I was by | ||
| + | no means inclined to trust myself away from this shelter. The low building | ||
| + | was evidently the stable, and into this I crept, for the door was | ||
| + | unlatched. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The place was full of bullocks and sheep, gathered there, no doubt, to be | ||
| + | out of the clutches of marauders. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A ladder led to a loft, and up this I climbed and concealed myself very | ||
| + | snugly among some bales of hay upon the top. This loft had a small open | ||
| + | window, and I was able to look down upon the front of the inn and also | ||
| + | upon the road. There I crouched and waited to see what would happen. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was soon evident that I had not been mistaken when I had thought that | ||
| + | this might be the quarters of some person of importance. Shortly after | ||
| + | daybreak an English light dragoon arrived with a despatch, and from then | ||
| + | onward the place was in a turmoil, officers continually riding up and | ||
| + | away. Always the same name was upon their lips: & | ||
| + | Stapleton.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was hard for me to lie there with a dry moustache and watch the great | ||
| + | flagons which were brought out by the landlord to these English officers. | ||
| + | But it amused me to look at their fresh-coloured, | ||
| + | faces, and to wonder what they would think if they knew that so celebrated | ||
| + | a person was lying so near to them. And then, as I lay and watched, I saw | ||
| + | a sight which filled me with surprise. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is incredible the insolence of these English! What do you suppose | ||
| + | Milord Wellington had done when he found that Massena had blockaded him | ||
| + | and that he could not move his army? I might give you many guesses. You | ||
| + | might say that he had raged, that he had despaired, that he had brought | ||
| + | his troops together and spoken to them about glory and the fatherland | ||
| + | before leading them to one last battle. No, Milord did none of these | ||
| + | things. But he sent a fleet ship to England to bring him a number of | ||
| + | fox-dogs; and he with his officers settled himself down to chase the fox. | ||
| + | It is true what I tell you. Behind the lines of Torres Vedras these mad | ||
| + | Englishmen made the fox chase three days in the week. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | We had heard of it in the camp, and now I was myself to see that it was | ||
| + | true. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For, along the road which I have described, there came these very dogs, | ||
| + | thirty or forty of them, white and brown, each with its tail at the same | ||
| + | angle, like the bayonets of the Old Guard. My faith, but it was a pretty | ||
| + | sight! And behind and amidst them there rode three men with peaked caps | ||
| + | and red coats, whom I understood to be the hunters. After them came many | ||
| + | horsemen with uniforms of various kinds, stringing along the roads in twos | ||
| + | and threes, talking together and laughing. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They did not seem to be going above a trot, and it appeared to me that it | ||
| + | must indeed be a slow fox which they hoped to catch. However, it was their | ||
| + | affair, not mine, and soon they had all passed my window and were out of | ||
| + | sight. I waited and I watched, ready for any chance which might offer. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Presently an officer, in a blue uniform not unlike that of our flying | ||
| + | artillery, came cantering down the road& | ||
| + | was, with grey side-whiskers. He stopped and began to talk with an orderly | ||
| + | officer of dragoons, who waited outside the inn, and it was then that I | ||
| + | learned the advantage of the English which had been taught me. I could | ||
| + | hear and understand all that was said. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | for his bifstek. But the other answered him that it was near Altara, so I | ||
| + | saw that it was a place of which he spoke. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At this moment a window opened, and a handsome young man in a very | ||
| + | splendid uniform looked out of it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | your heels.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | at the window to the orderly below, while the other went on down the road. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The orderly rode away to some outlying stable, and then in a few minutes | ||
| + | there came a smart English groom with a cockade in his hat, leading by the | ||
| + | bridle a horse& | ||
| + | perfection to which a horse can attain until you have seen a first-class | ||
| + | English hunter. He was superb: tall, broad, strong, and yet as graceful | ||
| + | and agile as a deer. Coal black he was in colour, and his neck, and his | ||
| + | shoulder, and his quarters, and his fetlocks& | ||
| + | all to you? The sun shone upon him as on polished ebony, and he raised his | ||
| + | hoofs in a little playful dance so lightly and prettily, while he tossed | ||
| + | his mane and whinnied with impatience. Never have I seen such a mixture of | ||
| + | strength and beauty and grace. I had often wondered how the English | ||
| + | Hussars had managed to ride over the chasseurs of the Guards in the affair | ||
| + | at Astorga, but I wondered no longer when I saw the English horses. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was a ring for fastening bridles at the door of the inn, and the | ||
| + | groom tied the horse there while he entered the house. In an instant I had | ||
| + | seen the chance which Fate had brought to me. Were I in that saddle I | ||
| + | should be better off than when I started. Even Voltigeur could not compare | ||
| + | with this magnificent creature. To think is to act with me. In one instant | ||
| + | I was down the ladder and at the door of the stable. The next I was out | ||
| + | and the bridle was in my hand. I bounded into the saddle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Somebody, the master or the man, shouted wildly behind me. What cared I | ||
| + | for his shouts! I touched the horse with my spurs and he bounded forward | ||
| + | with such a spring that only a rider like myself could have sat him. I | ||
| + | gave him his head and let him go& | ||
| + | long as we left this inn far behind us. He thundered away across the | ||
| + | vineyards, and in a very few minutes I had placed miles between myself and | ||
| + | my pursuers. They could no longer tell in that wild country in which | ||
| + | direction I had gone. I knew that I was safe, and so, riding to the top of | ||
| + | a small hill, I drew my pencil and note-book from my pocket and proceeded | ||
| + | to make plans of those camps which I could see and to draw the outline of | ||
| + | the country. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was a dear creature upon whom I sat, but it was not easy to draw upon | ||
| + | his back, for every now and then his two ears would cock, and he would | ||
| + | start and quiver with impatience. At first I could not understand this | ||
| + | trick of his, but soon I observed that he only did it when a peculiar | ||
| + | noise& | ||
| + | beneath us. And then suddenly this strange cry changed into a most | ||
| + | terrible screaming, with the frantic blowing of a horn. Instantly he went | ||
| + | mad& | ||
| + | the earth and bounded again, twisting and turning in a frenzy. My pencil | ||
| + | flew one way and my note-book another. And then, as I looked down into the | ||
| + | valley, an extraordinary sight met my eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The hunt was streaming down it. The fox I could not see, but the dogs were | ||
| + | in full cry, their noses down, their tails up, so close together that they | ||
| + | might have been one great yellow and white moving carpet. And behind them | ||
| + | rode the horsemen& | ||
| + | a great army could show. Some in hunting dress, but the most in uniforms: | ||
| + | blue dragoons, red dragoons, red-trousered hussars, green riflemen, | ||
| + | artillerymen, | ||
| + | infantry officers ride as hard as the cavalry. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Such a crowd, some well mounted, some ill, but all flying along as best | ||
| + | they might, the subaltern as good as the general, jostling and pushing, | ||
| + | spurring and driving, with every thought thrown to the winds save that | ||
| + | they should have the blood of this absurd fox! Truly, they are an | ||
| + | extraordinary people, the English! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But I had little time to watch the hunt or to marvel at these islanders, | ||
| + | for of all these mad creatures the very horse upon which I sat was the | ||
| + | maddest. You understand that he was himself a hunter, and that the crying | ||
| + | of these dogs was to him what the call of a cavalry trumpet in the street | ||
| + | yonder would be to me. It thrilled him. It drove him wild. Again and again | ||
| + | he bounded into the air, and then, seizing the bit between his teeth, he | ||
| + | plunged down the slope and galloped after the dogs. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I swore, and tugged, and pulled, but I was powerless. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This English General rode his horse with a snaffle only, and the beast had | ||
| + | a mouth of iron. It was useless to pull him back. One might as well try to | ||
| + | keep a grenadier from a wine-bottle. I gave it up in despair, and, | ||
| + | settling down in the saddle, I prepared for the worst which could befall. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | What a creature he was! Never have I felt such a horse between my knees. | ||
| + | His great haunches gathered under him with every stride, and he shot | ||
| + | forward ever faster and faster, stretched like a greyhound, while the wind | ||
| + | beat in my face and whistled past my ears. I was wearing our undress | ||
| + | jacket, a uniform simple and dark in itself& | ||
| + | distinction to any uniform& | ||
| + | the long panache from my busby. The result was that, amidst the mixture of | ||
| + | costumes in the hunt, there was no reason why mine should attract | ||
| + | attention, or why these men, whose thoughts were all with the chase, | ||
| + | should give any heed to me. The idea that a French officer might be riding | ||
| + | with them was too absurd to enter their minds. I laughed as I rode, for, | ||
| + | indeed, amid all the danger, there was something of comic in the | ||
| + | situation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have said that the hunters were very unequally mounted, and so at the | ||
| + | end of a few miles, instead of being one body of men, like a charging | ||
| + | regiment, they were scattered over a considerable space, the better riders | ||
| + | well up to the dogs and the others trailing away behind. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Now, I was as good a rider as any, and my horse was the best of them all, | ||
| + | and so you can imagine that it was not long before he carried me to the | ||
| + | front. And when I saw the dogs streaming over the open, and the red-coated | ||
| + | huntsman behind them, and only seven or eight horsemen between us, then it | ||
| + | was that the strangest thing of all happened, for I, too, went mad& | ||
| + | Etienne Gerard! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In a moment it came upon me, this spirit of sport, this desire to excel, | ||
| + | this hatred of the fox. Accursed animal, should he then defy us? Vile | ||
| + | robber, his hour was come! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Ah, it is a great feeling, this feeling of sport, my friends, this desire | ||
| + | to trample the fox under the hoofs of your horse. I have made the fox | ||
| + | chase with the English. I have also, as I may tell you some day, fought | ||
| + | the box-fight with the Bustler, of Bristol. And I say to you that this | ||
| + | sport is a wonderful thing& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The farther we went the faster galloped my horse, and soon there were but | ||
| + | three men as near the dogs as I was. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | All thought of fear of discovery had vanished. My brain throbbed, my blood | ||
| + | ran hot& | ||
| + | was to overtake this infernal fox. I passed one of the horsemen& | ||
| + | Hussar like myself. There were only two in front of me now: the one in a | ||
| + | black coat, the other the blue artilleryman whom I had seen at the inn. | ||
| + | His grey whiskers streamed in the wind, but he rode magnificently. For a | ||
| + | mile or more we kept in this order, and then, as we galloped up a steep | ||
| + | slope, my lighter weight brought me to the front. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I passed them both, and when I reached the crown I was riding level with | ||
| + | the little, hard-faced English huntsman. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In front of us were the dogs, and then, a hundred paces beyond them, was a | ||
| + | brown wisp of a thing, the fox itself, stretched to the uttermost. The | ||
| + | sight of him fired my blood. & | ||
| + | and shouted my encouragement to the huntsman. I waved my hand to show him | ||
| + | that there was one upon whom he could rely. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And now there were only the dogs between me and my prey. These dogs, whose | ||
| + | duty it is to point out the game, were now rather a hindrance than a help | ||
| + | to us, for it was hard to know how to pass them. The huntsman felt the | ||
| + | difficulty as much as I, for he rode behind them, and could make no | ||
| + | progress toward the fox. He was a swift rider, but wanting in enterprise. | ||
| + | For my part, I felt that it would be unworthy of the Hussars of Conflans | ||
| + | if I could not overcome such a difficulty as this. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Was Etienne Gerard to be stopped by a herd of fox-dogs? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was absurd. I gave a shout and spurred my horse. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was uneasy for me, this good old man, but I reassured him by a wave and | ||
| + | a smile. The dogs opened in front of me. One or two may have been hurt, | ||
| + | but what would you have? The egg must be broken for the omelette. I could | ||
| + | hear the huntsman shouting his congratulations behind me. One more effort, | ||
| + | and the dogs were all behind me. Only the fox was in front. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Ah, the joy and pride of that moment! To know that I had beaten the | ||
| + | English at their own sport. Here were three hundred, all thirsting for the | ||
| + | life of this animal, and yet it was I who was about to take it. I thought | ||
| + | of my comrades of the light cavalry brigade, of my mother, of the Emperor, | ||
| + | of France. I had brought honour to each and all. Every instant brought me | ||
| + | nearer to the fox. The moment for action had arrived, so I unsheathed my | ||
| + | sabre. I waved it in the air, and the brave English all shouted behind me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Only then did I understand how difficult is this fox chase, for one may | ||
| + | cut again and again at the creature and never strike him once. He is | ||
| + | small, and turns quickly from a blow. At every cut I heard those shouts of | ||
| + | encouragement from behind me, and they spurred me to yet another effort. | ||
| + | And then at last the supreme moment of my triumph arrived. In the very act | ||
| + | of turning I caught him fair with such another back-handed cut as that | ||
| + | with which I killed the aide-de-camp of the Emperor of Russia. He flew | ||
| + | into two pieces, his head one way and his tail another. I looked back and | ||
| + | waved the blood-stained sabre in the air. For the moment I was exalted& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Ah! how I should have loved to have waited to have received the | ||
| + | congratulations of these generous enemies. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were fifty of them in sight, and not one who was not waving his hand | ||
| + | and shouting. They are not really such a phlegmatic race, the English. A | ||
| + | gallant deed in war or in sport will always warm their hearts. As to the | ||
| + | old huntsman, he was the nearest to me, and I could see with my own eyes | ||
| + | how overcome he was by what he had seen. He was like a man paralysed, his | ||
| + | mouth open, his hand, with outspread fingers, raised in the air. For a | ||
| + | moment my inclination was to return and to embrace him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But already the call of duty was sounding in my ears, and these English, | ||
| + | in spite of all the fraternity which exists among sportsmen, would | ||
| + | certainly have made me prisoner. There was no hope for my mission now, and | ||
| + | I had done all that I could do. I could see the lines of Massena' | ||
| + | very great distance off, for, by a lucky chance, the chase had taken us in | ||
| + | that direction. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I turned from the dead fox, saluted with my sabre, and galloped away. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But they would not leave me so easily, these gallant huntsmen. I was the | ||
| + | fox now, and the chase swept bravely over the plain. It was only at the | ||
| + | moment when I started for the camp that they could have known that I was a | ||
| + | Frenchman, and now the whole swarm of them were at my heels. We were | ||
| + | within gunshot of our pickets before they would halt, and then they stood | ||
| + | in knots and would not go away, but shouted and waved their hands at me. | ||
| + | No, I will not think that it was in enmity. Rather would I fancy that a | ||
| + | glow of admiration filled their breasts, and that their one desire was to | ||
| + | embrace the stranger who had carried himself so gallantly and well. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | IV. How the Brigadier Saved the Army | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have told you, my friends, how we held the English shut up for six | ||
| + | months, from October, 1810, to March, 1811, within their lines of Torres | ||
| + | Vedras. It was during this time that I hunted the fox in their company, | ||
| + | and showed them that amidst all their sportsmen there was not one who | ||
| + | could outride a Hussar of Conflans. When I galloped back into the French | ||
| + | lines with the blood of the creature still moist upon my blade the | ||
| + | outposts who had seen what I had done raised a frenzied cry in my honour, | ||
| + | whilst these English hunters still yelled behind me, so that I had the | ||
| + | applause of both armies. It made the tears rise to my eyes to feel that I | ||
| + | had won the admiration of so many brave men. These English are generous | ||
| + | foes. That very evening there came a packet under a white flag addressed | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | itself in two pieces, as I had left it. There was a note also, short but | ||
| + | hearty, as the English fashion is, to say that as I had slaughtered the | ||
| + | fox it only remained for me to eat it. They could not know that it was not | ||
| + | our French custom to eat foxes, and it showed their desire that he who had | ||
| + | won the honours of the chase should also partake of the game. It is not | ||
| + | for a Frenchman to be outdone in politeness, and so I returned it to these | ||
| + | brave hunters, and begged them to accept it as a side-dish for their next | ||
| + | dejeuner de la chasse. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is thus that chivalrous opponents make war. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had brought back with me from my ride a clear plan of the English lines, | ||
| + | and this I laid before Massena that very evening. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had hoped that it would lead him to attack, but all the marshals were at | ||
| + | each other' | ||
| + | Ney hated Massena, and Massena hated Junot, and Soult hated them all. For | ||
| + | this reason, nothing was done. In the meantime food grew more and more | ||
| + | scarce, and our beautiful cavalry was ruined for want of fodder. With the | ||
| + | end of the winter we had swept the whole country bare, and nothing | ||
| + | remained for us to eat, although we sent our forage parties far and wide. | ||
| + | It was clear even to the bravest of us that the time had come to retreat. | ||
| + | I was myself forced to admit it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But retreat was not so easy. Not only were the troops weak and exhausted | ||
| + | from want of supplies, but the enemy had been much encouraged by our long | ||
| + | inaction. Of Wellington we had no great fear. We had found him to be brave | ||
| + | and cautious, but with little enterprise. Besides, in that barren country | ||
| + | his pursuit could not be rapid. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But on our flanks and in our rear there had gathered great numbers of | ||
| + | Portuguese militia, of armed peasants, and of guerillas. These people had | ||
| + | kept a safe distance all the winter, but now that our horses were | ||
| + | foundered they were as thick as flies all round our outposts, and no man's | ||
| + | life was worth a sou when once he fell into their hands. I could name a | ||
| + | dozen officers of my own acquaintance who were cut off during that time, | ||
| + | and the luckiest was he who received a ball from behind a rock through his | ||
| + | head or his heart. There were some whose deaths were so terrible that no | ||
| + | report of them was ever allowed to reach their relatives. So frequent were | ||
| + | these tragedies, and so much did they impress the imagination of the men, | ||
| + | that it became very difficult to induce them to leave the camp. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was one especial scoundrel, a guerilla chief named Manuelo, & | ||
| + | Smiler,& | ||
| + | man of jovial aspect, and he lurked with a fierce gang among the mountains | ||
| + | which lay upon our left flank. A volume might be written of this fellow' | ||
| + | cruelties and brutalities, | ||
| + | organised his brigands in a manner which made it almost impossible for us | ||
| + | to get through his country. This he did by imposing a severe discipline | ||
| + | upon them and enforcing it by cruel penalties, a policy by which he made | ||
| + | them formidable, but which had some unexpected results, as I will show you | ||
| + | in my story. Had he not flogged his own lieutenant& | ||
| + | of that when the time comes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were many difficulties in connection with a retreat, but it was very | ||
| + | evident that there was no other possible course, and so Massena began to | ||
| + | quickly pass his baggage and his sick from Torres Novas, which was his | ||
| + | headquarters, | ||
| + | communications. He could not do this unperceived, | ||
| + | guerillas came swarming closer and closer upon our flanks. One of our | ||
| + | divisions, that of Clausel, with a brigade of Montbrun' | ||
| + | to the south of the Tagus, and it became very necessary to let them know | ||
| + | that we were about to retreat, for otherwise they would be left | ||
| + | unsupported in the very heart of the enemy' | ||
| + | how Massena would accomplish this, for simple couriers could not get | ||
| + | through, and small parties would be certainly destroyed. In some way an | ||
| + | order to fall back must be conveyed to these men, or France would be the | ||
| + | weaker by fourteen thousand men. Little did I think that it was I, Colonel | ||
| + | Gerard, who was to have the honour of a deed which might have formed the | ||
| + | crowning glory of any other man's life, and which stands high among those | ||
| + | exploits which have made my own so famous. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At that time I was serving on Massena' | ||
| + | aides-de-camp, | ||
| + | of one was Cortex and of the other Duplessis. They were senior to me in | ||
| + | age, but junior in every other respect. Cortex was a small, dark man, very | ||
| + | quick and eager. He was a fine soldier, but he was ruined by his conceit. | ||
| + | To take him at his own valuation, he was the first man in the army. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Duplessis was a Gascon, like myself, and he was a very fine fellow, as all | ||
| + | Gascon gentlemen are. We took it in turn, day about, to do duty, and it | ||
| + | was Cortex who was in attendance upon the morning of which I speak. I saw | ||
| + | him at breakfast, but afterward neither he nor his horse was to be seen. | ||
| + | All day Massena was in his usual gloom, and he spent much of his time | ||
| + | staring with his telescope at the English lines and at the shipping in the | ||
| + | Tagus. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He said nothing of the mission upon which he had sent our comrade, and it | ||
| + | was not for us to ask him any questions. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | That night, about twelve o' | ||
| + | headquarters when he came out and stood motionless for half an hour, his | ||
| + | arms folded upon his breast, staring through the darkness toward the east. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So rigid and intent was he that you might have believed the muffled figure | ||
| + | and the cocked hat to have been the statue of the man. What he was looking | ||
| + | for I could not imagine; but at last he gave a bitter curse, and, turning | ||
| + | on his heel, he went back into the house, banging the door behind him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Next day the second aide-de-camp, | ||
| + | in the morning, after which neither he nor his horse was seen again. That | ||
| + | night, as I sat in the ante-room, the Marshal passed me, and I observed | ||
| + | him through the window standing and staring to the east exactly as he had | ||
| + | done before. For fully half an hour he remained there, a black shadow in | ||
| + | the gloom. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Then he strode in, the door banged, and I heard his spurs and his scabbard | ||
| + | jingling and clanking through the passage. At the best he was a savage old | ||
| + | man, but when he was crossed I had almost as soon face the Emperor | ||
| + | himself. I heard him that night cursing and stamping above my head, but he | ||
| + | did not send for me, and I knew him too well to go unsought. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Next morning it was my turn, for I was the only aide-de-camp left. I was | ||
| + | his favourite aide-de-camp. His heart went out always to a smart soldier. | ||
| + | I declare that I think there were tears in his black eyes when he sent for | ||
| + | me that morning. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With a friendly gesture he took me by the sleeve and he led me to the open | ||
| + | window which faced the east. Beneath us was the infantry camp, and beyond | ||
| + | that the lines of the cavalry with the long rows of picketed horses. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | We could see the French outposts, and then a stretch of open country, | ||
| + | intersected by vineyards. A range of hills lay beyond, with one | ||
| + | well-marked peak towering above them. Round the base of these hills was a | ||
| + | broad belt of forest. A single road ran white and clear, dipping and | ||
| + | rising until it passed through a gap in the hills. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Do you perceive anything upon the top?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I answered that I did not. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With its aid I perceived a small mound or cairn upon the crest. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | there as a beacon. We laid it when the country was in our hands, and now, | ||
| + | although we no longer hold it, the beacon remains undisturbed. Gerard, | ||
| + | that beacon must be lit to-night. France needs it, the Emperor needs it, | ||
| + | the army needs it. Two of your comrades have gone to light it, but neither | ||
| + | has made his way to the summit. To-day it is your turn, and I pray that | ||
| + | you may have better luck.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is not for a soldier to ask the reason for his orders, and so I was | ||
| + | about to hurry from the room, but the Marshal laid his hand upon my | ||
| + | shoulder and held me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | your life,& | ||
| + | the Tagus, is the army of General Clausel. His camp is situated near a | ||
| + | peak named the Sierra d' | ||
| + | by this beacon he has a picket. It is agreed between us that when at | ||
| + | midnight he shall see our signal-fire he shall light his own as an answer, | ||
| + | and shall then at once fall back upon the main army. If he does not start | ||
| + | at once I must go without him. For two days I have endeavoured to send him | ||
| + | his message. It must reach him to-day, or his army will be left behind and | ||
| + | destroyed.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Ah, my friends, how my heart swelled when I heard how high was the task | ||
| + | which Fortune had assigned to me! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | If my life were spared, here was one more splendid new leaf for my laurel | ||
| + | crown. If, on the other hand, I died, then it would be a death worthy of | ||
| + | such a career. I said nothing, but I cannot doubt that all the noble | ||
| + | thoughts that were in me shone in my face, for Massena took my hand and | ||
| + | wrung it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | detach a large party for the enterprise and a small one would be seen and | ||
| + | destroyed. Therefore to you alone I commit it. Carry it out in your own | ||
| + | way, but at twelve o' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | that my effects are sold and the money sent to my mother.& | ||
| + | hand to my busby and turned upon my heel, my heart glowing at the thought | ||
| + | of the great exploit which lay before me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I sat in my own chamber for some little time considering how I had best | ||
| + | take the matter in hand. The fact that neither Cortex nor Duplessis, who | ||
| + | were very zealous and active officers, had succeeded in reaching the | ||
| + | summit of the Sierra de Merodal, showed that the country was very closely | ||
| + | watched by the guerillas. I reckoned out the distance upon a map. There | ||
| + | were ten miles of open country to be crossed before reaching the hills. | ||
| + | Then came a belt of forest on the lower slopes of the mountain, which may | ||
| + | have been three or four miles wide. And then there was the actual peak | ||
| + | itself, of no very great height, but without any cover to conceal me. | ||
| + | Those were the three stages of my journey. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It seemed to me that once I had reached the shelter of the wood all would | ||
| + | be easy, for I could lie concealed within its shadows and climb upward | ||
| + | under the cover of night. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | From eight till twelve would give me four hours of darkness in which to | ||
| + | make the ascent. It was only the first stage, then, which I had seriously | ||
| + | to consider. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Over that flat country there lay the inviting white road, and I remembered | ||
| + | that my comrades had both taken their horses. That was clearly their ruin, | ||
| + | for nothing could be easier than for the brigands to keep watch upon the | ||
| + | road, and to lay an ambush for all who passed along it. It would not be | ||
| + | difficult for me to ride across country, and I was well horsed at that | ||
| + | time, for I had not only Violette and Rataplan, who were two of the finest | ||
| + | mounts in the army, but I had the splendid black English hunter which I | ||
| + | had taken from Sir Cotton. However, after much thought, I determined to go | ||
| + | upon foot, since I should then be in a better state to take advantage of | ||
| + | any chance which might offer. As to my dress, I covered my Hussar uniform | ||
| + | with a long cloak, and I put a grey forage cap upon my head. You may ask | ||
| + | me why I did not dress as a peasant, but I answer that a man of honour has | ||
| + | no desire to die the death of a spy. It is one thing to be murdered, and | ||
| + | it is another to be justly executed by the laws of war. I would not run | ||
| + | the risk of such an end. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In the late afternoon I stole out of the camp and passed through the line | ||
| + | of our pickets. Beneath my cloak I had a field-glass and a pocket pistol, | ||
| + | as well as my sword. In my pocket were tinder, flint, and steel. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For two or three miles I kept under cover of the vineyards, and made such | ||
| + | good progress that my heart was high within me, and I thought to myself | ||
| + | that it only needed a man of some brains to take the matter in hand to | ||
| + | bring it easily to success. Of course, Cortex and Duplessis galloping down | ||
| + | the high-road would be easily seen, but the intelligent Gerard lurking | ||
| + | among the vines was quite another person. I dare say I had got as far as | ||
| + | five miles before I met any check. At that point there is a small | ||
| + | wine-house, round which I perceived some carts and a number of people, the | ||
| + | first that I had seen. Now that I was well outside the lines I knew that | ||
| + | every person was my enemy, so I crouched lower while I stole along to a | ||
| + | point from which I could get a better view of what was going on. I then | ||
| + | perceived that these people were peasants, who were loading two waggons | ||
| + | with empty wine-casks. I failed to see how they could either help or | ||
| + | hinder me, so I continued upon my way. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But soon I understood that my task was not so simple as had appeared. As | ||
| + | the ground rose the vineyards ceased, and I came upon a stretch of open | ||
| + | country studded with low hills. Crouching in a ditch I examined them with | ||
| + | a glass, and I very soon perceived that there was a watcher upon every one | ||
| + | of them, and that these people had a line of pickets and outposts thrown | ||
| + | forward exactly like our own. I had heard of the discipline which was | ||
| + | practised by this scoundrel whom they called & | ||
| + | doubt, was an example of it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Between the hills there was a cordon of sentries, and though I worked some | ||
| + | distance round to the flank I still found myself faced by the enemy. It | ||
| + | was a puzzle what to do. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was so little cover that a rat could hardly cross without being | ||
| + | seen. Of course, it would be easy enough to slip through at night, as I | ||
| + | had done with the English at Torres Vedras, but I was still far from the | ||
| + | mountain and I could not in that case reach it in time to light the | ||
| + | midnight beacon. I lay in my ditch and I made a thousand plans, each more | ||
| + | dangerous than the last. And then suddenly I had that flash of light which | ||
| + | comes to the brave man who refuses to despair. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You remember I have mentioned that two waggons were loading up with empty | ||
| + | casks at the inn. The heads of the oxen were turned to the east, and it | ||
| + | was evident that those waggons were going in the direction which I | ||
| + | desired. Could I only conceal myself upon one of them, what better and | ||
| + | easier way could I find of passing through the lines of the guerillas? So | ||
| + | simple and so good was the plan that I could not restrain a cry of delight | ||
| + | as it crossed my mind, and I hurried away instantly in the direction of | ||
| + | the inn. There, from behind some bushes, I had a good look at what was | ||
| + | going on upon the road. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were three peasants with red montero caps loading the barrels, and | ||
| + | they had completed one waggon and the lower tier of the other. A number of | ||
| + | empty barrels still lay outside the wine-house waiting to be put on. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Fortune was my friend& | ||
| + | cannot resist a dashing young Hussar. As I watched, the three fellows went | ||
| + | into the inn, for the day was hot and they were thirsty after their | ||
| + | labour. Quick as a flash I darted out from my hiding-place, | ||
| + | the waggon, and crept into one of the empty casks. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It had a bottom but no top, and it lay upon its side with the open end | ||
| + | inward. There I crouched like a dog in its kennel, my knees drawn up to my | ||
| + | chin, for the barrels were not very large and I am a well-grown man. As I | ||
| + | lay there, out came the three peasants again, and presently I heard a | ||
| + | crash upon the top of me which told that I had another barrel above me. | ||
| + | They piled them upon the cart until I could not imagine how I was ever to | ||
| + | get out again. However, it is time to think of crossing the Vistula when | ||
| + | you are over the Rhine, and I had no doubt that if chance and my own wits | ||
| + | had carried me so far they would carry me farther. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Soon, when the waggon was full, they set forth upon their way, and I | ||
| + | within my barrel chuckled at every step, for it was carrying me whither I | ||
| + | wished to go. We travelled slowly, and the peasants walked beside the | ||
| + | waggons. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This I knew, because I heard their voices close to me. They seemed to me | ||
| + | to be very merry fellows, for they laughed heartily as they went. What the | ||
| + | joke was I could not understand. Though I speak their language fairly well | ||
| + | I could not hear anything comic in the scraps of their conversation which | ||
| + | met my ear. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I reckoned that at the rate of walking of a team of oxen we covered about | ||
| + | two miles an hour. Therefore, when I was sure that two and a half hours | ||
| + | had passed& | ||
| + | poisoned with the fumes of the lees& | ||
| + | that the dangerous open country was behind us, and that we were upon the | ||
| + | edge of the forest and the mountain. So now I had to turn my mind upon how | ||
| + | I was to get out of my barrel. I had thought of several ways, and was | ||
| + | balancing one against the other when the question was decided for me in a | ||
| + | very simple but unexpected manner. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The waggon stopped suddenly with a jerk, and I heard a number of gruff | ||
| + | voices in excited talk. & | ||
| + | another. & | ||
| + | his boots.& | ||
| + | window of the posada and I saw him spring into the cask like a toreador | ||
| + | with a Seville bull at his heels.& | ||
| + | said the fellow, and sure enough his fist struck the wood beside my head. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | What a situation, my friends, for a man of my standing! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I blush now, after forty years, when I think of it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | To be trussed like a fowl and to listen helplessly to the rude laughter of | ||
| + | these boors& | ||
| + | and even ridiculous end& | ||
| + | sent a bullet through the cask and freed me from my misery. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I heard the crashing of the barrels as they hurled them off the waggon, | ||
| + | and then a couple of bearded faces and the muzzles of two guns looked in | ||
| + | at me. They seized me by the sleeves of my coat, and they dragged me out | ||
| + | into the daylight. A strange figure I must have looked as I stood blinking | ||
| + | and gaping in the blinding sunlight. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My body was bent like a cripple' | ||
| + | joints, and half my coat was as red as an English soldier' | ||
| + | in which I had lain. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They laughed and laughed, these dogs, and as I tried to express by my | ||
| + | bearing and gestures the contempt in which I held them their laughter grew | ||
| + | all the louder. But even in these hard circumstances I bore myself like | ||
| + | the man I am, and as I cast my eye slowly round I did not find that any of | ||
| + | the laughers were very ready to face it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | That one glance round was enough to tell me exactly how I was situated. I | ||
| + | had been betrayed by these peasants into the hands of an outpost of | ||
| + | guerillas. There were eight of them, savage-looking, | ||
| + | cotton handkerchiefs under their sombreros, and many-buttoned jackets with | ||
| + | coloured sashes round the waist. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Each had a gun and one or two pistols stuck in his girdle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The leader, a great, bearded ruffian, held his gun against my ear while | ||
| + | the others searched my pockets, taking from me my overcoat, my pistol, my | ||
| + | glass, my sword, and, worst of all, my flint and steel and tinder. Come | ||
| + | what might, I was ruined, for I had no longer the means of lighting the | ||
| + | beacon even if I should reach it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Eight of them, my friends, with three peasants, and I unarmed! Was Etienne | ||
| + | Gerard in despair? Did he lose his wits? Ah, you know me too well; but | ||
| + | they did not know me yet, these dogs of brigands. Never have I made so | ||
| + | supreme and astounding an effort as at this very instant when all seemed | ||
| + | lost. Yet you might guess many times before you would hit upon the device | ||
| + | by which I escaped them. Listen and I will tell you. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They had dragged me from the waggon when they searched me, and I stood, | ||
| + | still twisted and warped, in the midst of them. But the stiffness was | ||
| + | wearing off, and already my mind was very actively looking out for some | ||
| + | method of breaking away. It was a narrow pass in which the brigands had | ||
| + | their outpost. It was bounded on the one hand by a steep mountain side. On | ||
| + | the other the ground fell away in a very long slope, which ended in a | ||
| + | bushy valley many hundreds of feet below. These fellows, you understand, | ||
| + | were hardy mountaineers, | ||
| + | quicker than I. They wore abarcas, or shoes of skin, tied on like sandals, | ||
| + | which gave them a foothold everywhere. A less resolute man would have | ||
| + | despaired. But in an instant I saw and used the strange chance which | ||
| + | Fortune had placed in my way. On the very edge of the slope was one of the | ||
| + | wine-barrels. I moved slowly toward it, and then with a tiger spring I | ||
| + | dived into it feet foremost, and with a roll of my body I tipped it over | ||
| + | the side of the hill. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Shall I ever forget that dreadful journey& | ||
| + | and whizzed down that terrible slope? I had dug in my knees and elbows, | ||
| + | bunching my body into a compact bundle so as to steady it; but my head | ||
| + | projected from the end, and it was a marvel that I did not dash out my | ||
| + | brains. There were long, smooth slopes, and then came steeper scarps where | ||
| + | the barrel ceased to roll, and sprang into the air like a goat, coming | ||
| + | down with a rattle and crash which jarred every bone in my body. How the | ||
| + | wind whistled in my ears, and my head turned and turned until I was sick | ||
| + | and giddy and nearly senseless! Then, with a swish and a great rasping and | ||
| + | crackling of branches, I reached the bushes which I had seen so far below | ||
| + | me. Through them I broke my way, down a slope beyond, and deep into | ||
| + | another patch of underwood, where, striking a sapling, my barrel flew to | ||
| + | pieces. From amid a heap of staves and hoops I crawled out, my body aching | ||
| + | in every inch of it, but my heart singing loudly with joy and my spirit | ||
| + | high within me, for I knew how great was the feat which I had | ||
| + | accomplished, | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A horrible nausea had seized me from the tossing which I had undergone, | ||
| + | and I felt as I did upon the ocean when first I experienced those | ||
| + | movements of which the English have taken so perfidious an advantage. I | ||
| + | had to sit for a few moments with my head upon my hands beside the ruins | ||
| + | of my barrel. But there was no time for rest. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Already I heard shouts above me which told that my pursuers were | ||
| + | descending the hill. I dashed into the thickest part of the underwood, and | ||
| + | I ran and ran until I was utterly exhausted. Then I lay panting and | ||
| + | listened with all my ears, but no sound came to them. I had shaken off my | ||
| + | enemies. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When I had recovered my breath I travelled swiftly on, and waded knee-deep | ||
| + | through several brooks, for it came into my head that they might follow me | ||
| + | with dogs. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | On gaining a clear place and looking round me, I found to my delight that | ||
| + | in spite of my adventures I had not been much out of my way. Above me | ||
| + | towered the peak of Merodal, with its bare and bold summit shooting out of | ||
| + | the groves of dwarf oaks which shrouded its flanks. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | These groves were the continuation of the cover under which I found | ||
| + | myself, and it seemed to me that I had nothing to fear now until I reached | ||
| + | the other side of the forest. At the same time I knew that every man's | ||
| + | hand was against me, that I was unarmed, and that there were many people | ||
| + | about me. I saw no one, but several times I heard shrill whistles, and | ||
| + | once the sound of a gun in the distance. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was hard work pushing one's way through the bushes, and so I was glad | ||
| + | when I came to the larger trees and found a path which led between them. | ||
| + | Of course, I was too wise to walk upon it, but I kept near it and followed | ||
| + | its course. I had gone some distance, and had, as I imagined, nearly | ||
| + | reached the limit of the wood, when a strange, moaning sound fell upon my | ||
| + | ears. At first I thought it was the cry of some animal, but then there | ||
| + | came words, of which I only caught the French exclamation, | ||
| + | With great caution I advanced in the direction from which the sound | ||
| + | proceeded, and this is what I saw. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | On a couch of dried leaves there was stretched a man dressed in the same | ||
| + | grey uniform which I wore myself. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was evidently horribly wounded, for he held a cloth to his breast which | ||
| + | was crimson with his blood. A pool had formed all round his couch, and he | ||
| + | lay in a haze of flies, whose buzzing and droning would certainly have | ||
| + | called my attention if his groans had not come to my ear. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I lay for a moment, fearing some trap, and then, my pity and loyalty | ||
| + | rising above all other feelings, I ran forward and knelt by his side. He | ||
| + | turned a haggard face upon me, and it was Duplessis, the man who had gone | ||
| + | before me. It needed but one glance at his sunken cheeks and glazing eyes | ||
| + | to tell me that he was dying. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I could but look my sympathy, but he, though the life was ebbing swiftly | ||
| + | out of him, still kept his duty before him, like the gallant gentleman he | ||
| + | was. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the Marshal that I did my best.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | see that you cannot get away, Gerard, put a bullet into your own heart. | ||
| + | Don't die as Cortex did.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I could see that his breath was failing, and I bent low to catch his | ||
| + | words. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | his head fell back and he was dead. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | at the very side of me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So absorbed had I been in my comrade' | ||
| + | he had crept up without my observing him. Now I sprang to my feet and | ||
| + | faced him. He was a tall, dark fellow, black-haired, | ||
| + | black-bearded, | ||
| + | over his shoulder was slung one of the trabucos or blunderbusses which | ||
| + | these fellows bear. He made no effort to unsling it, and I understood that | ||
| + | this was the man to whom my dead friend had commended me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | find where he had fallen and to make his last hours more easy. This couch | ||
| + | was my making, and I had brought this wine to slake his thirst.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | light cavalry, but I am Etienne Gerard, and the name stands for something | ||
| + | in the French army. May I ask& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | of that name. At present I am the first lieutenant in the band of the | ||
| + | guerilla chief who is usually known as Manuelo, 'The Smiler.'& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My word, I clapped my hand to the place where my pistol should have been, | ||
| + | but the man only smiled at the gesture. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | slipped off his jacket and pulled up his shirt as he spoke. & | ||
| + | this!& | ||
| + | lacerated with red and purple weals. & | ||
| + | to me, a man with the noblest blood of Portugal in my veins. What I will | ||
| + | do to 'The Smiler' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was such fury in his eyes and in the grin of his white teeth that I | ||
| + | could no longer doubt his truth, with that clotted and oozing back to | ||
| + | corroborate his words. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | join your army, when I have done my work here. In the meanwhile& | ||
| + | strange change came over his face, and he suddenly slung his musket to the | ||
| + | front: & | ||
| + | or I blow your head of!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You start, my friends! You stare! Think, then, how I stared and started at | ||
| + | this sudden ending of our talk. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was the black muzzle and there the dark, angry eyes behind it. What | ||
| + | could I do? I was helpless. I raised my hands in the air. At the same | ||
| + | moment voices sounded from all parts of the wood, there were crying and | ||
| + | calling and rushing of many feet. A swarm of dreadful figures broke | ||
| + | through the green bushes, a dozen hands seized me, and I, poor, luckless, | ||
| + | frenzied I, was a prisoner once more. Thank God, there was no pistol which | ||
| + | I could have plucked from my belt and snapped at my own head. Had I been | ||
| + | armed at that moment I should not be sitting here in this cafe and telling | ||
| + | you these old-world tales. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With grimy, hairy hands clutching me on every side I was led along the | ||
| + | pathway through the wood, the villain de Pombal giving directions to my | ||
| + | captors. Four of the brigands carried up the dead body of Duplessis. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The shadows of evening were already falling when we cleared the forest and | ||
| + | came out upon the mountain-side. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Up this I was driven until we reached the headquarters of the guerillas, | ||
| + | which lay in a cleft close to the summit of the mountain. There was the | ||
| + | beacon which had cost me so much, a square stack of wood, immediately | ||
| + | above our heads. Below were two or three huts which had belonged, no | ||
| + | doubt, to goatherds, and which were now used to shelter these rascals. | ||
| + | Into one of these I was cast, bound and helpless, and the dead body of my | ||
| + | poor comrade was laid beside me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was lying there with the one thought still consuming me, how to wait a | ||
| + | few hours and to get at that pile of fagots above my head, when the door | ||
| + | of my prison opened and a man entered. Had my hands been free I should | ||
| + | have flown at his throat, for it was none other than de Pombal. A couple | ||
| + | of brigands were at his heels, but he ordered them back and closed the | ||
| + | door behind him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | my life is at stake. I have some words to say to you, Colonel Gerard; I | ||
| + | wish well to you, as I did to your dead companion. As I spoke to you | ||
| + | beside his body I saw that we were surrounded, and that your capture was | ||
| + | unavoidable. I should have shared your fate had I hesitated. I instantly | ||
| + | captured you myself, so as to preserve the confidence of the band. Your | ||
| + | own sense will tell you that there was nothing else for me to do. I do not | ||
| + | know now whether I can save you, but at least I will try.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This was a new light upon the situation. I told him that I could not tell | ||
| + | how far he spoke the truth, but that I would judge him by his actions. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | see you now. Speak him fair, or he will have you sawn between two planks. | ||
| + | Contradict nothing he says. Give him such information as he wants. It is | ||
| + | your only chance. If you can gain time something may come in our favour. | ||
| + | Now, I have no more time. Come at once, or suspicion may be awakened.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He helped me to rise, and then, opening the door, he dragged me out very | ||
| + | roughly, and with the aid of the fellows outside he brutally pushed and | ||
| + | thrust me to the place where the guerilla chief was seated, with his rude | ||
| + | followers gathered round him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A remarkable man was Manuelo, & | ||
| + | comfortable, | ||
| + | of a kindly father of a family. As I looked at his honest smile I could | ||
| + | scarcely believe that this was, indeed, the infamous ruffian whose name | ||
| + | was a horror through the English Army as well as our own. It is well known | ||
| + | that Trent, who was a British officer, afterward had the fellow hanged for | ||
| + | his brutalities. He sat upon a boulder and he beamed upon me like one who | ||
| + | meets an old acquaintance. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I observed, however, that one of his men leaned upon a long saw, and the | ||
| + | sight was enough to cure me of all delusions. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | General Massena' | ||
| + | and now Colonel Gerard. Possibly the Marshal himself may be induced to | ||
| + | honour us with a visit. You have seen Duplessis, I understand. Cortex you | ||
| + | will find nailed to a tree down yonder. It only remains to be decided how | ||
| + | we can best dispose of yourself.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was not a cheering speech; but all the time his fat face was wreathed | ||
| + | in smiles, and he lisped out his words in the most mincing and amiable | ||
| + | fashion. Now, however, he suddenly leaned forward, and I read a very real | ||
| + | intensity in his eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | our custom, but I can give you an easy death or I can give you a terrible | ||
| + | one. Which shall it be?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | questions which I ask.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A sudden thought flashed through my mind. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | answer your questions, will you let me choose the manner of my own death?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He flushed with anger and his eyes swept round toward the saw. But he | ||
| + | understood from my tone that I meant what I said, and that I was not a man | ||
| + | to be bullied into submission. He pulled a cross from under his zammara or | ||
| + | jacket of black sheepskin. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Oh, my joy as I heard the words! What an end& | ||
| + | first swordsman of France! I could have laughed with delight at the | ||
| + | thought. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was, as you perceive, a terrible thing that I promised, but what was it | ||
| + | compared to what I might gain by compliance? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | note-book from his pocket. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Following the direction of his gesture, I turned and looked down upon the | ||
| + | camp in the plain beneath us. In spite of the fifteen miles, one could in | ||
| + | that clear atmosphere see every detail with the utmost distinctness. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were the long squares of our tents and our huts, with the cavalry | ||
| + | lines and the dark patches which marked the ten batteries of artillery. | ||
| + | How sad to think of my magnificent regiment waiting down yonder, and to | ||
| + | know that they would never see their colonel again! With one squadron of | ||
| + | them I could have swept all these cut-throats off the face of the earth. | ||
| + | My eager eyes filled with tears as I looked at the corner of the camp | ||
| + | where I knew that there were eight hundred men, any one of whom would have | ||
| + | died for his colonel. But my sadness vanished when I saw beyond the tents | ||
| + | the plumes of smoke which marked the headquarters at Torres Novas. There | ||
| + | was Massena, and, please God, at the cost of my life his mission would | ||
| + | that night be done. A spasm of pride and exultation filled my breast. I | ||
| + | should have liked to have had a voice of thunder that I might call to | ||
| + | them, & | ||
| + | army of Clausel!& | ||
| + | be done, and that no one should be there to tell the tale. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | which leads to Coimbra. It is crowded with your fourgons and your | ||
| + | ambulances. Does this mean that Massena is about to retreat?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One could see the dark moving lines of waggons with an occasional flash of | ||
| + | steel from the escort. There could, apart from my promise, be no | ||
| + | indiscretion in admitting that which was already obvious. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I shrugged my shoulders. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | falls back the army of Clausel is doomed.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the truth, and Heaven help you if you don' | ||
| + | he went over the whole army, asking the composition of each brigade. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Need I tell you that I would have had my tongue torn out before I would | ||
| + | have told him such things had I not a greater end in view? I would let him | ||
| + | know all if I could but save the army of Clausel. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At last he closed his note-book and replaced it in his pocket. & | ||
| + | obliged to you for this information, | ||
| + | to-morrow,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | mine. How would you wish to die? As a soldier you would, no doubt, prefer | ||
| + | to be shot, but some think that a jump over the Merodal precipice is | ||
| + | really an easier death. A good few have taken it, but we were, | ||
| + | unfortunately, | ||
| + | the saw, too, which does not appear to be popular. We could hang you, no | ||
| + | doubt, but it would involve the inconvenience of going down to the wood. | ||
| + | However, a promise is a promise, and you seem to be an excellent fellow, | ||
| + | so we will spare no pains to meet your wishes.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | therefore, just one minute before that hour.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | wishes shall be met.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Put me on yonder pile of fagots and burn me alive, as saints and martyrs | ||
| + | have been burned before me. That is no common end, but one which an | ||
| + | Emperor might envy.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The idea seemed to amuse him very much. & | ||
| + | has sent you to spy upon us, he may guess what the fire upon the mountain | ||
| + | means.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | all will know, that I have died a soldier' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | smile. & | ||
| + | sinking and it is nearly eight o' | ||
| + | end.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was a beautiful world to be leaving. I looked at the golden haze below, | ||
| + | where the last rays of the sinking sun shone upon the blue waters of the | ||
| + | winding Tagus and gleamed upon the white sails of the English transports. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Very beautiful it was, and very sad to leave; but there are things more | ||
| + | beautiful than that. The death that is died for the sake of others, | ||
| + | honour, and duty, and loyalty, and love& | ||
| + | brighter than any which the eye can see. My breast was filled with | ||
| + | admiration for my own most noble conduct, and with wonder whether any soul | ||
| + | would ever come to know how I had placed myself in the heart of the beacon | ||
| + | which saved the army of Clausel. I hoped so and I prayed so, for what a | ||
| + | consolation it would be to my mother, what an example to the army, what a | ||
| + | pride to my Hussars! When de Pombal came at last into my hut with the food | ||
| + | and the wine, the first request I made him was that he would write an | ||
| + | account of my death and send it to the French camp. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He answered not a word, but I ate my supper with a better appetite from | ||
| + | the thought that my glorious fate would not be altogether unknown. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had been there about two hours when the door opened again, and the chief | ||
| + | stood looking in. I was in darkness, but a brigand with a torch stood | ||
| + | beside him, and I saw his eyes and his teeth gleaming as he peered at me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | one of my fellows has been misbehaving. We have a strict rule of our own | ||
| + | which is no respecter of persons, as de Pombal here could tell you. Do you | ||
| + | truss him and lay him on the faggots, de Pombal, and I will return to see | ||
| + | him die.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | De Pombal and the man with the torch entered, while I heard the steps of | ||
| + | the chief passing away. De Pombal closed the door. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | party. It is neck or nothing. We may save you yet. But I take a great | ||
| + | risk, and I want a definite promise. If we save you, will you guarantee | ||
| + | that we have a friendly reception in the French camp and that all the past | ||
| + | will be forgotten?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | lose! If this monster returns we shall die horribly, all three.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I stared in amazement at what he did. Catching up a long rope he wound it | ||
| + | round the body of my dead comrade, and he tied a cloth round his mouth so | ||
| + | as to almost cover his face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | body. & | ||
| + | beacon.& | ||
| + | entered and bore out Duplessis. For myself I remained upon the floor, with | ||
| + | my mind in a turmoil of hope and wonder. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Five minutes later de Pombal and his men were back. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | say it is not you, and you are so gagged and bound that no one can expect | ||
| + | you to speak or move. Now, it only remains to carry forth the body of | ||
| + | Duplessis and to toss it over the Merodal precipice.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Two of them seized me by the head and two by the heels, and carried me, | ||
| + | stiff and inert, from the hut. As I came into the open air I could have | ||
| + | cried out in my amazement. The moon had risen above the beacon, and there, | ||
| + | clear outlined against its silver light, was the figure of the man | ||
| + | stretched upon the top. The brigands were either in their camp or standing | ||
| + | round the beacon, for none of them stopped or questioned our little party. | ||
| + | De Pombal led them in the direction of the precipice. At the brow we were | ||
| + | out of sight, and there I was allowed to use my feet once more. De Pombal | ||
| + | pointed to a narrow, winding track. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A terrible cry had risen out of the woods beneath us. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I saw that de Pombal was shivering like a frightened horse. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | me. But on, on, for Heaven help us if he lays his hands upon us.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One by one we crawled down the narrow goat track. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At the bottom of the cliff we were back in the woods once more. Suddenly a | ||
| + | yellow glare shone above us, and the black shadows of the tree-trunks | ||
| + | started out in front. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They had fired the beacon behind us. Even from where we stood we could see | ||
| + | that impassive body amid the flames, and the black figures of the | ||
| + | guerillas as they danced, howling like cannibals, round the pile. Ha! how | ||
| + | I shook my fist at them, the dogs, and how I vowed that one day my Hussars | ||
| + | and I would make the reckoning level! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | De Pombal knew how the outposts were placed and all the paths which led | ||
| + | through the forest. But to avoid these villains we had to plunge among the | ||
| + | hills and walk for many a weary mile. And yet how gladly would I have | ||
| + | walked those extra leagues if only for one sight which they brought to my | ||
| + | eyes! It may have been two o' | ||
| + | bare shoulder of a hill over which our path curled. Looking back we saw | ||
| + | the red glow of the embers of the beacon as if volcanic fires were | ||
| + | bursting from the tall peak of Merodal. And then, as I gazed, I saw | ||
| + | something else& | ||
| + | fall upon the ground, rolling in my delight. For, far away upon the | ||
| + | southern horizon, there winked and twinkled one great yellow light, | ||
| + | throbbing and flaming, the light of no house, the light of no star, but | ||
| + | the answering beacon of Mount d' | ||
| + | knew what Etienne Gerard had been sent to tell them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | V. How the Brigadier Triumphed in England | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have told you, my friends, how I triumphed over the English at the | ||
| + | fox-hunt when I pursued the animal so fiercely that even the herd of | ||
| + | trained dogs was unable to keep up, and alone with my own hand I put him | ||
| + | to the sword. Perhaps I have said too much of the matter, but there is a | ||
| + | thrill in the triumphs of sport which even warfare cannot give, for in | ||
| + | warfare you share your successes with your regiment and your army, but in | ||
| + | sport it is you yourself unaided who have won the laurels. It is an | ||
| + | advantage which the English have over us that in all classes they take | ||
| + | great interest in every form of sport. It may be that they are richer than | ||
| + | we, or it may be that they are more idle: but I was surprised when I was a | ||
| + | prisoner in that country to observe how widespread was this feeling, and | ||
| + | how much it filled the minds and the lives of the people. A horse that | ||
| + | will run, a cock that will fight, a dog that will kill rats, a man that | ||
| + | will box& | ||
| + | order to look upon any of these. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I could tell you many stories of English sport, for I saw much of it | ||
| + | during the time that I was the guest of Lord Rufton, after the order for | ||
| + | my exchange had come to England. There were months before I could be sent | ||
| + | back to France, and during this time I stayed with this good Lord Rufton | ||
| + | at his beautiful house of High Combe, which is at the northern end of | ||
| + | Dartmoor. He had ridden with the police when they had pursued me from | ||
| + | Princetown, and he had felt toward me when I was overtaken as I would | ||
| + | myself have felt had I, in my own country, seen a brave and debonair | ||
| + | soldier without a friend to help him. In a word, he took me to his house, | ||
| + | clad me, fed me, and treated me as if he had been my brother. I will say | ||
| + | this of the English, that they were always generous enemies, and very good | ||
| + | people with whom to fight. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In the Peninsula the Spanish outposts would present their muskets at ours, | ||
| + | but the British their brandy-flasks. And of all these generous men there | ||
| + | was none who was the equal of this admirable milord, who held out so warm | ||
| + | a hand to an enemy in distress. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Ah! what thoughts of sport it brings back to me, the very name of High | ||
| + | Combe! I can see it now, the long, low brick house, warm and ruddy, with | ||
| + | white plaster pillars before the door. He was a great sportsman, this Lord | ||
| + | Rufton, and all who were about him were of the same sort. But you will be | ||
| + | pleased to hear that there were few things in which I could not hold my | ||
| + | own, and in some I excelled. Behind the house was a wood in which | ||
| + | pheasants were reared, and it was Lord Rufton' | ||
| + | which was done by sending in men to drive them out while he and his | ||
| + | friends stood outside and shot them as they passed. For my part, I was | ||
| + | more crafty, for I studied the habits of the bird, and stealing out in the | ||
| + | evening I was able to kill a number of them as they roosted in the trees. | ||
| + | Hardly a single shot was wasted, but the keeper was attracted by the sound | ||
| + | of the firing, and he implored me in his rough English fashion to spare | ||
| + | those that were left. That night I was able to place twelve birds as a | ||
| + | surprise upon Lord Rufton' | ||
| + | so overjoyed was he to see them. & | ||
| + | yet!& | ||
| + | him by the way in which I entered into the sports of the English. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There is a game called cricket which they play in the summer, and this | ||
| + | also I learned. Rudd, the head gardener, was a famous player of cricket, | ||
| + | and so was Lord Rufton himself. Before the house was a lawn, and here it | ||
| + | was that Rudd taught me the game. It is a brave pastime, a game for | ||
| + | soldiers, for each tries to strike the other with the ball, and it is but | ||
| + | a small stick with which you may ward it off. Three sticks behind show the | ||
| + | spot beyond which you may not retreat. I can tell you that it is no game | ||
| + | for children, and I will confess that, in spite of my nine campaigns, I | ||
| + | felt myself turn pale when first the ball flashed past me. So swift was it | ||
| + | that I had not time to raise my stick to ward it off, but by good fortune | ||
| + | it missed me and knocked down the wooden pins which marked the boundary. | ||
| + | It was for Rudd then to defend himself and for me to attack. When I was a | ||
| + | boy in Gascony I learned to throw both far and straight, so that I made | ||
| + | sure that I could hit this gallant Englishman. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With a shout I rushed forward and hurled the ball at him. It flew as swift | ||
| + | as a bullet toward his ribs, but without a word he swung his staff and the | ||
| + | ball rose a surprising distance in the air. Lord Rufton clapped his hands | ||
| + | and cheered. Again the ball was brought to me, and again it was for me to | ||
| + | throw. This time it flew past his head, and it seemed to me that it was | ||
| + | his turn to look pale. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But he was a brave man, this gardener, and again he faced me. Ah, my | ||
| + | friends, the hour of my triumph had come! It was a red waistcoat that he | ||
| + | wore, and at this I hurled the ball. You would have said that I was a | ||
| + | gunner, not a hussar, for never was so straight an aim. With a despairing | ||
| + | cry& | ||
| + | wooden pegs behind him, and they all rolled upon the ground together. He | ||
| + | was cruel, this English milord, and he laughed so that he could not come | ||
| + | to the aid of his servant. It was for me, the victor, to rush forward to | ||
| + | embrace this intrepid player, and to raise him to his feet with words of | ||
| + | praise, and encouragement, | ||
| + | erect, yet the honest fellow confessed that there was no accident in my | ||
| + | victory. & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Again and again he said it. Yes, it is a great game this cricket, and I | ||
| + | would gladly have ventured upon it again but Lord Rufton and Rudd said | ||
| + | that it was late in the season, and so they would play no more. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | How foolish of me, the old, broken man, to dwell upon these successes, and | ||
| + | yet I will confess that my age has been very much soothed and comforted by | ||
| + | the memory of the women who have loved me and the men whom I have | ||
| + | overcome. It is pleasant to think that five years afterward, when Lord | ||
| + | Rufton came to Paris after the peace, he was able to assure me that my | ||
| + | name was still a famous one in the north of Devonshire for the fine | ||
| + | exploits that I had performed. Especially, he said, they still talked over | ||
| + | my boxing match with the Honourable Baldock. It came about in this way. Of | ||
| + | an evening many sportsmen would assemble at the house of Lord Rufton, | ||
| + | where they would drink much wine, make wild bets, and talk of their horses | ||
| + | and their foxes. How well I remember those strange creatures. Sir | ||
| + | Barrington, Jack Lupton, of Barnstable, Colonel Addison, Johnny Miller, | ||
| + | Lord Sadler, and my enemy, the Honourable Baldock. They were of the same | ||
| + | stamp all of them, drinkers, madcaps, fighters, gamblers, full of strange | ||
| + | caprices and extraordinary whims. Yet they were kindly fellows in their | ||
| + | rough fashion, save only this Baldock, a fat man, who prided himself on | ||
| + | his skill at the box-fight. It was he who, by his laughter against the | ||
| + | French because they were ignorant of sport, caused me to challenge him in | ||
| + | the very sport at which he excelled. You will say that it was foolish, my | ||
| + | friends, but the decanter had passed many times, and the blood of youth | ||
| + | ran hot in my veins. I would fight him, this boaster; I would show him | ||
| + | that if we had not skill at least we had courage. Lord Rufton would not | ||
| + | allow it. I insisted. The others cheered me on and slapped me on the back. | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the other answered. & | ||
| + | wear the mawleys,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | What the mawleys were I did not know, but presently they brought out four | ||
| + | great puddings of leather, not unlike a fencing glove, but larger. With | ||
| + | these our hands were covered after we had stripped ourselves of our coats | ||
| + | and our waistcoats. Then the table, with the glasses and decanters, was | ||
| + | pushed into the corner of the room, and behold us; face to face! Lord | ||
| + | Sadler sat in the arm-chair with a watch in his open hand. & | ||
| + | he. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I will confess to you, my friends, that I felt at that moment a tremor | ||
| + | such as none of my many duels have ever given me. With sword or pistol I | ||
| + | am at home, but here I only understood that I must struggle with this fat | ||
| + | Englishman and do what I could, in spite of these great puddings upon my | ||
| + | hands, to overcome him. And at the very outset I was disarmed of the best | ||
| + | weapon that was left to me. & | ||
| + | in my ear. I had only a pair of thin dancing slippers, and yet the man was | ||
| + | fat, and a few well-directed kicks might have left me the victor. But | ||
| + | there is an etiquette just as there is in fencing, and I refrained. I | ||
| + | looked at this Englishman and I wondered how I should attack him. His ears | ||
| + | were large and prominent. Could I seize them I might drag him to the | ||
| + | ground. I rushed in, but I was betrayed by this flabby glove, and twice I | ||
| + | lost my hold. He struck me, but I cared little for his blows, and again I | ||
| + | seized him by the ear. He fell, and I rolled upon him and thumped his head | ||
| + | upon the ground. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | How they cheered and laughed, these gallant Englishmen, and how they | ||
| + | clapped me on the back! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | on the ground.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was flushed, and his small eyes were as vicious as those of a bull-dog. | ||
| + | There was hatred on his face. For my part I carried myself lightly and | ||
| + | gaily. A French gentleman fights but he does not hate. I drew myself up | ||
| + | before him, and I bowed as I have done in the duello. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There can be grace and courtesy as well as defiance in a bow; I put all | ||
| + | three into this one, with a touch of ridicule in the shrug which | ||
| + | accompanied it. It was at this moment that he struck me. The room spun | ||
| + | round me. I fell upon my back. But in an instant I was on my feet again | ||
| + | and had rushed to a close combat. His ear, his hair, his nose, I seized | ||
| + | them each in turn. Once again the mad joy of the battle was in my veins. | ||
| + | The old cry of triumph rose to my lips. & | ||
| + | drove my head into his stomach. He threw his arm round my neck, and | ||
| + | holding me with one hand he struck me with the other. I buried my teeth in | ||
| + | his arm, and he shouted with pain. & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | I ever forget it?& | ||
| + | Even my enemy bore me no ill-will, for he shook me by the hand. For my | ||
| + | part I embraced him on each cheek. Five years afterward I learned from | ||
| + | Lord Rufton that my noble bearing upon that evening was still fresh in the | ||
| + | memory of my English friends. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is not, however, of my own exploits in sport that I wish to speak to | ||
| + | you to-night, but it is of the Lady Jane Dacre and the strange adventure | ||
| + | of which she was the cause. Lady Jane Dacre was Lord Rufton' | ||
| + | the lady of his household. I fear that until I came it was lonely for her, | ||
| + | since she was a beautiful and refined woman with nothing in common with | ||
| + | those who were about her. Indeed, this might be said of many women in the | ||
| + | England of those days, for the men were rude and rough and coarse, with | ||
| + | boorish habits and few accomplishments, | ||
| + | lovely and tender that I have ever known. We became great friends, the | ||
| + | Lady Jane and I, for it was not possible for me to drink three bottles of | ||
| + | port after dinner like those Devonshire gentlemen, and so I would seek | ||
| + | refuge in her drawing-room, | ||
| + | harpsichord and I would sing the songs of my own land. In those peaceful | ||
| + | moments I would find a refuge from the misery which filled me, when I | ||
| + | reflected that my regiment was left in the front of the enemy without the | ||
| + | chief whom they had learned to love and to follow. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Indeed, I could have torn my hair when I read in the English papers of the | ||
| + | fine fighting which was going on in Portugal and on the frontiers of | ||
| + | Spain, all of which I had missed through my misfortune in falling into the | ||
| + | hands of Milord Wellington. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | From what I have told you of the Lady Jane you will have guessed what | ||
| + | occurred, my friends. Etienne Gerard is thrown into the company of a young | ||
| + | and beautiful woman. What must it mean for him? What must it mean for her? | ||
| + | It was not for me, the guest, the captive, to make love to the sister of | ||
| + | my host. But I was reserved. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was discreet. I tried to curb my own emotions and to discourage hers. | ||
| + | For my own part I fear that I betrayed myself, for the eye becomes more | ||
| + | eloquent when the tongue is silent. Every quiver of my fingers as I turned | ||
| + | over her music-sheets told her my secret. But she& | ||
| + | It is in these matters that women have a genius for deception. If I had | ||
| + | not penetrated her secret I should often have thought that she forgot even | ||
| + | that I was in the house. For hours she would sit lost in a sweet | ||
| + | melancholy, while I admired her pale face and her curls in the lamp-light, | ||
| + | and thrilled within me to think that I had moved her so deeply. Then at | ||
| + | last I would speak, and she would start in her chair and stare at me with | ||
| + | the most admirable pretence of being surprised to find me in the room. Ah! | ||
| + | how I longed to hurl myself suddenly at her feet, to kiss her white hand, | ||
| + | to assure her that I had surprised her secret and that I would not abuse | ||
| + | her confidence. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But no, I was not her equal, and I was under her roof as a castaway enemy. | ||
| + | My lips were sealed. I endeavoured to imitate her own wonderful | ||
| + | affectation of indifference, | ||
| + | for any opportunity of serving her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One morning Lady Jane had driven in her phaeton to Okehampton, and I | ||
| + | strolled along the road which led to that place in the hope that I might | ||
| + | meet her on her return. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was the early winter, and banks of fading fern sloped down to the | ||
| + | winding road. It is a bleak place this Dartmoor, wild and rocky& | ||
| + | country of wind and mist. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I felt as I walked that it is no wonder Englishmen should suffer from the | ||
| + | spleen. My own heart was heavy within me, and I sat upon a rock by the | ||
| + | wayside looking out on the dreary view with my thoughts full of trouble | ||
| + | and foreboding. Suddenly, however, as I glanced down the road, I saw a | ||
| + | sight which drove everything else from my mind, and caused me to leap to | ||
| + | my feet with a cry of astonishment and anger. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Down the curve of the road a phaeton was coming, the pony tearing along at | ||
| + | full gallop. Within was the very lady whom I had come to meet. She lashed | ||
| + | at the pony like one who endeavours to escape from some pressing danger, | ||
| + | glancing ever backward over her shoulder. The bend of the road concealed | ||
| + | from me what it was that had alarmed her, and I ran forward not knowing | ||
| + | what to expect. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The next instant I saw the pursuer, and my amazement was increased at the | ||
| + | sight. It was a gentleman in the red coat of an English fox-hunter, | ||
| + | mounted on a great grey horse. He was galloping as if in a race, and the | ||
| + | long stride of the splendid creature beneath him soon brought him up to | ||
| + | the lady's flying carriage. I saw him stoop and seize the reins of the | ||
| + | pony, so as to bring it to a halt. The next instant he was deep in talk | ||
| + | with the lady, he bending forward in his saddle and speaking eagerly, she | ||
| + | shrinking away from him as if she feared and loathed him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You may think, my dear friends, that this was not a sight at which I could | ||
| + | calmly gaze. How my heart thrilled within me to think that a chance should | ||
| + | have been given to me to serve the Lady Jane! I ran& | ||
| + | how I ran! At last, breathless, speechless, I reached the phaeton. The man | ||
| + | glanced up at me with his blue English eyes, but so deep was he in his | ||
| + | talk that he paid no heed to me, nor did the lady say a word. She still | ||
| + | leaned back, her beautiful pale face gazing up at him. He was a | ||
| + | good-looking fellow& | ||
| + | seized me as I looked at him. He was talking low and fast, as the English | ||
| + | do when they are in earnest. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | bear malice, Jinny. Let by-gones be by-gones. Come now, say it's all | ||
| + | over.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A dusky red suffused his handsome face. The man was furious. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | my rights, d'ye hear?& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At last my breath had returned to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | possible way in which I can be of service to you?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But neither of them minded me any more than if I had been a fly who buzzed | ||
| + | between them. Their eyes were locked together. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He gave a bitter curse and threw down her hand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | next instant he had spurred his horse and was galloping down the road once | ||
| + | more. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Lady Jane gazed after him until he was out of sight, and I was surprised | ||
| + | to see that her face wore a smile and not a frown. Then she turned to me | ||
| + | and held out her hand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | address I will arrange that he shall never trouble you again.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | name would ever be mentioned by me in the course of such an incident. In | ||
| + | bidding me to go to blazes this gentleman has relieved me from the | ||
| + | embarrassment of having to invent a cause of quarrel.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | a soldier and a gentleman that this matter goes no farther, and also that | ||
| + | you will say nothing to my brother about what you have seen. Promise me!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | explain as we go.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The first words of her explanation went into me like a sabre-point. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | agitation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | need to tell you how he wronged me. I left him and sought a refuge under | ||
| + | my brother' | ||
| + | must above all things avoid is the chance of a duel betwixt my husband and | ||
| + | my brother. It is horrible to think of. For this reason Lord Rufton must | ||
| + | know nothing of this chance meeting of to-day.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Gerard. And not a word at High Combe of what you have seen!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Her husband! I had pictured in my mind that she was a young widow. This | ||
| + | brown-faced brute with his & | ||
| + | dove of a woman. Oh, if she would but allow me to free her from so odious | ||
| + | an encumbrance! There is no divorce so quick and certain as that which I | ||
| + | could give her. But a promise is a promise, and I kept it to the letter. | ||
| + | My mouth was sealed. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In a week I was to be sent back from Plymouth to St. Malo, and it seemed | ||
| + | to me that I might never hear the sequel of the story. And yet it was | ||
| + | destined that it should have a sequel and that I should play a very | ||
| + | pleasing and honourable part in it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was only three days after the event which I have described when Lord | ||
| + | Rufton burst hurriedly into my room. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His face was pale and his manner that of a man in extreme agitation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had seen her after breakfast and it was now mid-day. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | like a madman. & | ||
| + | seen driving full split down the Tavistock Road. The blacksmith heard a | ||
| + | woman scream as it passed his forge. Jane has disappeared. By the Lord, I | ||
| + | believe that she has been kidnapped by this villain Dacre.& | ||
| + | bell furiously. & | ||
| + | your pistols! Jane comes back with me this night from Gravel Hanger or | ||
| + | there will be a new master in High Combe Hall.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Behold us then within half an hour, like two knight-errants of old, riding | ||
| + | forth to the rescue of this lady in distress. It was near Tavistock that | ||
| + | Lord Dacre lived, and at every house and toll-gate along the road we heard | ||
| + | the news of the flying post-chaise in front of us, so there could be no | ||
| + | doubt whither they were bound. As we rode Lord Rufton told me of the man | ||
| + | whom we were pursuing. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His name, it seems, was a household word throughout all England for every | ||
| + | sort of mischief. Wine, women, dice, cards, racing& | ||
| + | debauchery he had earned for himself a terrible name. He was of an old and | ||
| + | noble family, and it had been hoped that he had sowed his wild oats when | ||
| + | he married the beautiful Lady Jane Rufton. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For some months he had indeed behaved well, and then he had wounded her | ||
| + | feelings in their most tender part by some unworthy liaison. She had fled | ||
| + | from his house and taken refuge with her brother, from whose care she had | ||
| + | now been dragged once more, against her will. I ask you if two men could | ||
| + | have had a fairer errand than that upon which Lord Rufton and myself were | ||
| + | riding. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | there on the green side of a hill was an old brick and timber building as | ||
| + | beautiful as only an English country-house can be. & | ||
| + | park-gate, and there we shall leave our horses,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For my own part it seemed to me that with so just a cause we should have | ||
| + | done best to ride boldly up to his door and summon him to surrender the | ||
| + | lady. But there I was wrong. For the one thing which every Englishman | ||
| + | fears is the law. He makes it himself, and when he has once made it it | ||
| + | becomes a terrible tyrant before whom the bravest quails. He will smile at | ||
| + | breaking his neck, but he will turn pale at breaking the law. It seems, | ||
| + | then, from what Lord Rufton told me as we walked through the park, that we | ||
| + | were on the wrong side of the law in this matter. Lord Dacre was in the | ||
| + | right in carrying off his wife, since she did indeed belong to him, and | ||
| + | our own position now was nothing better than that of burglars and | ||
| + | trespassers. It was not for burglars to openly approach the front door. We | ||
| + | could take the lady by force or by craft, but we could not take her by | ||
| + | right, for the law was against us. This was what my friend explained to me | ||
| + | as we crept up toward the shelter of a shrubbery which was close to the | ||
| + | windows of the house. Thence we could examine this fortress, see whether | ||
| + | we could effect a lodgment in it, and, above all, try to establish some | ||
| + | communication with the beautiful prisoner inside. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There we were, then, in the shrubbery, Lord Rufton and I, each with a | ||
| + | pistol in the pockets of our riding coats, and with the most resolute | ||
| + | determination in our hearts that we should not return without the lady. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Eagerly we scanned every window of the wide-spread house. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Not a sign could we see of the prisoner or of anyone else; but on the | ||
| + | gravel drive outside the door were the deep-sunk marks of the wheels of | ||
| + | the chaise. There was no doubt that they had arrived. Crouching among the | ||
| + | laurel bushes we held a whispered council of wary but a singular | ||
| + | interruption brought it to an end. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Out of the door of the house there stepped a tall, flaxen-haired man, such | ||
| + | a figure as one would choose for the flank of a Grenadier company. As he | ||
| + | turned his brown face and his blue eyes toward us I recognised Lord Dacre. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With long strides he came down the gravel path straight for the spot where | ||
| + | we lay. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | of shot into you. Come out, man, and don't skulk behind the bushes.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was not a very heroic situation for us. My poor friend rose with a | ||
| + | crimson face. I sprang to my feet also and bowed with such dignity as I | ||
| + | could muster. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | would be hot on our scent, and so I was looking out for you. I saw you | ||
| + | cross the park and go to ground in the shrubbery. Come in, man, and let us | ||
| + | have all the cards on the table.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He seemed master of the situation, this handsome giant of a man, standing | ||
| + | at his ease on his own ground while we slunk out of our hiding-place. Lord | ||
| + | Rufton had said not a word, but I saw by his darkened brow and his sombre | ||
| + | eyes that the storm was gathering. Lord Dacre led the way into the house, | ||
| + | and we followed close at his heels. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He ushered us himself into an oak-panelled sitting-room, | ||
| + | behind us. Then he looked me up and down with insolent eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | their own affairs in their own way. What has this foreign fellow got to do | ||
| + | with your sister and my wife?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | merely of a sister or a wife, but that I am the friend of the lady in | ||
| + | question, and that I have the privilege which every gentleman possesses of | ||
| + | protecting a woman against brutality. It is only by a gesture that I can | ||
| + | show you what I think of you.& | ||
| + | flicked him across the face with it. He drew back with a bitter smile and | ||
| + | his eyes were as hard as flint. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | have done your fighting yourself, if it must come to a fight.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | to a side table and opened a brass-bound case. & | ||
| + | that man or I go out of this room feet foremost. I meant well by you, Ned; | ||
| + | I did, by George, but I'll shoot this led-captain of yours as sure as my | ||
| + | name's George Dacre. Take your choice of pistols, sir, and shoot across | ||
| + | this table. The barkers are loaded. Aim straight and kill me if you can, | ||
| + | for by the Lord if you don't, you're done.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In vain Lord Rufton tried to take the quarrel upon himself. Two things | ||
| + | were clear in my mind& | ||
| + | things that her husband and brother should fight, the other that if I | ||
| + | could but kill this big milord, then the whole question would be settled | ||
| + | forever in the best way. Lord Rufton did not want him. Lady Jane did not | ||
| + | want him. Therefore, I, Etienne Gerard, their friend, would pay the debt | ||
| + | of gratitude which I owed them by freeing them of this encumbrance. But, | ||
| + | indeed, there was no choice in the matter, for Lord Dacre was as eager to | ||
| + | put a bullet into me as I could be to do the same service to him. In vain | ||
| + | Lord Rufton argued and scolded. The affair must continue. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | morning with two witnesses,& | ||
| + | across the table.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | George, if you shoot Colonel Gerard under these circumstances you'll find | ||
| + | yourself in the dock instead of on the bench. I won't act as second, and | ||
| + | that's flat.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | be a fool. You see we mean to fight. Hang it, man, all I want you to do is | ||
| + | to drop a handkerchief.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He threw a cloth over the pistols which lay upon the table, and he rang | ||
| + | the bell. A footman entered. & | ||
| + | way. You will find him in the billiard-room.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A moment later there entered a tall thin Englishman with a great | ||
| + | moustache, which was a rare thing amid that clean-shaven race. I have | ||
| + | heard since that they were worn only by the Guards and the Hussars. This | ||
| + | Colonel Berkeley was a guardsman. He seemed a strange, tired, languid, | ||
| + | drawling creature with a long black cigar thrusting out, like a pole from | ||
| + | a bush, amidst that immense moustache. He looked from one to the other of | ||
| + | us with true English phlegm, and he betrayed not the slightest surprise | ||
| + | when he was told our intention. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | responsible for anything that happens.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This Colonel Berkeley appeared to be an authority upon the question, for | ||
| + | he removed the cigar from his mouth and he laid down the law in his | ||
| + | strange, drawling voice. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | That is a clear issue. Time and conditions depend upon the person who | ||
| + | demands satisfaction. Very good. He claims it here and now, across the | ||
| + | table. He is acting within his rights. I am prepared to accept the | ||
| + | responsibility.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was nothing more to be said. Lord Rufton sat moodily in the corner | ||
| + | with his brows drawn down and his hands thrust deep into the pockets of | ||
| + | his riding-breeches. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Colonel Berkeley examined the two pistols and laid them both in the centre | ||
| + | of the table. Lord Dacre was at one end and I at the other, with eight | ||
| + | feet of shining mahogany between us. On the hearth-rug with his back to | ||
| + | the fire, stood the tall colonel, his handkerchief in his left hand, his | ||
| + | cigar between two fingers of his right. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | and you will fire at your own convenience. Are you ready?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His hand opened and the handkerchief fell. I bent swiftly forward and | ||
| + | seized a pistol, but the table, as I have said, was eight feet across, and | ||
| + | it was easier for this long-armed milord to reach the pistols than it was | ||
| + | for me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had not yet drawn myself straight before he fired, and to this it was | ||
| + | that I owe my life. His bullet would have blown out my brains had I been | ||
| + | erect. As it was it whistled through my curls. At the same instant, just | ||
| + | as I threw up my own pistol to fire, the door flew open and a pair of arms | ||
| + | were thrown round me. It was the beautiful, flushed, frantic face of Lady | ||
| + | Jane which looked up into mine. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | is a mistake, I tell you, a mistake, a mistake! He is the best and dearest | ||
| + | of husbands. Never again shall I leave his side.& | ||
| + | arm and closed upon my pistol. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Come away.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | hurt.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | stood my fire like a man, and I won't see him interfered with. Whatever | ||
| + | happens I can't get worse than I deserve.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But already there had passed between me and the lady a quick glance of the | ||
| + | eyes which told her everything. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Her hands slipped from my arm. & | ||
| + | happiness to Colonel Gerard,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | How well she knew me, this admirable woman! I stood for an instant | ||
| + | irresolute, with the pistol cocked in my hand. My antagonist faced me | ||
| + | bravely, with no blenching of his sunburnt face and no flinching of his | ||
| + | bold, blue eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I would, at least, show them how completely his life was at the mercy of | ||
| + | my skill. So much I owed to my own self-respect. I glanced round for a | ||
| + | mark. The colonel was looking toward my antagonist, expecting to see him | ||
| + | drop. His face was sideways to me, his long cigar projecting from his lips | ||
| + | with an inch of ash at the end of it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Quick as a flash I raised my pistol and fired. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | is unknown among these islanders. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I am convinced that the fault lay with the pistol and not with my aim. I | ||
| + | could hardly believe my own eyes when I saw that I had snapped off the | ||
| + | cigar within half an inch of his lips. He stood staring at me with the | ||
| + | ragged stub of the cigar-end sticking out from his singed mustache. I can | ||
| + | see him now with his foolish, angry eyes and his long, thin, puzzled face. | ||
| + | Then he began to talk. I have always said that the English are not really | ||
| + | a phlegmatic or a taciturn nation if you stir them out of their groove. No | ||
| + | one could have talked in a more animated way than this colonel. Lady Jane | ||
| + | put her hands over her ears. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | yourself. There is a lady in the room.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The colonel gave a stiff bow. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | and his monkey tricks.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was splendid at that moment, for I ignored the words that he had said | ||
| + | and remembered only the extreme provocation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | I felt that if I did not discharge my pistol Lord Dacre' | ||
| + | feel hurt, and yet it was quite impossible for me, after hearing what this | ||
| + | lady has said, to aim it at her husband. I looked round for a mark, | ||
| + | therefore, and I had the extreme misfortune to blow your cigar out of your | ||
| + | mouth when my intention had merely been to snuff the ash. I was betrayed | ||
| + | by my pistol. This is my explanation, | ||
| + | apologies you still feel that I owe you satisfaction, | ||
| + | it is a request which I am unable to refuse.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was certainly a charming attitude which I had assumed, and it won the | ||
| + | hearts of all of them. Lord Dacre stepped forward and wrung me by the | ||
| + | hand. & | ||
| + | Frenchman as I do to you. You're a man and a gentleman, and I can't say | ||
| + | more.& | ||
| + | thought. Even Colonel Berkeley paid me a compliment, and declared that he | ||
| + | would think no more about the unfortunate cigar. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And she& | ||
| + | cheek, the moist eye, the tremulous lip! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When I think of my beautiful Lady Jane it is at that moment that I recall | ||
| + | her. They would have had me stay to dinner, but you will understand, my | ||
| + | friends, that this was no time for either Lord Rufton or myself to remain | ||
| + | at Gravel Hanger. This reconciled couple desired only to be alone. In the | ||
| + | chaise he had persuaded her of his sincere repentance, and once again they | ||
| + | were a loving husband and wife. If they were to remain so it was best | ||
| + | perhaps that I should go. Why should I unsettle this domestic peace? Even | ||
| + | against my own will my mere presence and appearance might have their | ||
| + | effect upon the lady. No, no, I must tear myself away& | ||
| + | persuasions were unable to make me stop. Years afterward I heard that the | ||
| + | household of the Dacres was among the happiest in the whole country, and | ||
| + | that no cloud had ever come again to darken their lives. Yet I dare say if | ||
| + | he could have seen into his wife's mind& | ||
| + | lady's secret is her own, and I fear that she and it are buried long years | ||
| + | ago in some Devonshire churchyard. Perhaps all that gay circle are gone | ||
| + | and the Lady Jane only lives now in the memory of an old half-pay French | ||
| + | brigadier. He at least can never forget. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | VI. How the Brigadier Rode to Minsk | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I would have a stronger wine to-night, my friends, a wine of Burgundy | ||
| + | rather than of Bordeaux. It is that my heart, my old soldier heart, is | ||
| + | heavy within me. It is a strange thing, this age which creeps upon one. | ||
| + | One does not know, one does not understand; the spirit is ever the same, | ||
| + | and one does not remember how the poor body crumbles. But there comes a | ||
| + | moment when it is brought home, when quick as the sparkle of a whirling | ||
| + | sabre it is clear to us, and we see the men we were and the men we are. | ||
| + | Yes, yes, it was so to-day, and I would have a wine of Burgundy to-night. | ||
| + | White Burgundy& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was this morning in the Champ de Mars. Your pardon, friends, while an | ||
| + | old man tells his trouble. You saw the review. Was it not splendid? I was | ||
| + | in the enclosure for veteran officers who have been decorated. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This ribbon on my breast was my passport. The cross itself I keep at home | ||
| + | in a leathern pouch. They did us honour, for we were placed at the | ||
| + | saluting point, with the Emperor and the carriages of the Court upon our | ||
| + | right. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is years since I have been to a review, for I cannot approve of many | ||
| + | things which I have seen. I do not approve of the red breeches of the | ||
| + | infantry. It was in white breeches that the infantry used to fight. Red is | ||
| + | for the cavalry. A little more, and they would ask our busbies and our | ||
| + | spurs! Had I been seen at a review they might well have said that I, | ||
| + | Etienne Gerard, had condoned it. So I have stayed at home. But this war of | ||
| + | the Crimea is different. The men go to battle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is not for me to be absent when brave men gather. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My faith, they march well, those little infantrymen! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They are not large, but they are very solid and they carry themselves | ||
| + | well. I took off my hat to them as they passed. Then there came the guns. | ||
| + | They were good guns, well horsed and well manned. I took off my hat to | ||
| + | them. Then came the Engineers, and to them also I took off my hat. There | ||
| + | are no braver men than the Engineers. Then came the cavalry, Lancers, | ||
| + | Cuirassiers, | ||
| + | take off my hat, save only to the Spahis. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Emperor had no Spahis. But when all of the others had passed, what | ||
| + | think you came at the close? A brigade of Hussars, and at the charge! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Oh, my friends, the pride and the glory and the beauty, the flash and the | ||
| + | sparkle, the roar of the hoofs and the jingle of chains, the tossing | ||
| + | manes, the noble heads, the rolling cloud, and the dancing waves of steel! | ||
| + | My heart drummed to them as they passed. And the last of all, was it not | ||
| + | my own old regiment? My eyes fell upon the grey and silver dolmans, with | ||
| + | the leopard-skin shabraques, and at that instant the years fell away from | ||
| + | me and I saw my own beautiful men and horses, even as they had swept | ||
| + | behind their young colonel, in the pride of our youth and our strength, | ||
| + | just forty years ago. Up flew my cane. & | ||
| + | l' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was the past calling to the present. But oh, what a thin, piping voice! | ||
| + | Was this the voice that had once thundered from wing to wing of a strong | ||
| + | brigade? And the arm that could scarce wave a cane, were these the muscles | ||
| + | of fire and steel which had no match in all Napoleon' | ||
| + | smiled at me. They cheered me. The Emperor laughed and bowed. But to me | ||
| + | the present was a dim dream, and what was real were my eight hundred dead | ||
| + | Hussars and the Etienne of long ago. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Enough& | ||
| + | Uhlans. But there are times when Montrachet is better than the wine of | ||
| + | Bordeaux. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is to Russia that they go, and so I will tell you a story of Russia. | ||
| + | Ah, what an evil dream of the night it seems! Blood and ice. Ice and | ||
| + | blood. Fierce faces with snow upon the whiskers. Blue hands held out for | ||
| + | succour. And across the great white plain the one long black line of | ||
| + | moving figures, trudging, trudging, a hundred miles, another hundred, and | ||
| + | still always the same white plain. Sometimes there were fir-woods to limit | ||
| + | it, sometimes it stretched away to the cold blue sky, but the black line | ||
| + | stumbled on and on. Those weary, ragged, starving men, the spirit frozen | ||
| + | out of them, looked neither to right nor left, but with sunken faces and | ||
| + | rounded backs trailed onward and ever onward, making for France as wounded | ||
| + | beasts make for their lair. There was no speaking, and you could scarce | ||
| + | hear the shuffle of feet in the snow. Once only I heard them laugh. It was | ||
| + | outside Wilna, when an aide-de-camp rode up to the head of that dreadful | ||
| + | column and asked if that were the Grand Army. All who were within hearing | ||
| + | looked round, and when they saw those broken men, those ruined regiments, | ||
| + | those fur-capped skeletons who were once the Guard, they laughed, and the | ||
| + | laugh crackled down the column like a feu de joie. I have heard many a | ||
| + | groan and cry and scream in my life, but nothing so terrible as the laugh | ||
| + | of the Grand Army. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But why was it that these helpless men were not destroyed by the Russians? | ||
| + | Why was it that they were not speared by the Cossacks or herded into | ||
| + | droves, and driven as prisoners into the heart of Russia? On every side as | ||
| + | you watched the black snake winding over the snow you saw also dark, | ||
| + | moving shadows which came and went like cloud drifts on either flank and | ||
| + | behind. They were the Cossacks, who hung round us like wolves round the | ||
| + | flock. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But the reason why they did not ride in upon us was that all the ice of | ||
| + | Russia could not cool the hot hearts of some of our soldiers. To the end | ||
| + | there were always those who were ready to throw themselves between these | ||
| + | savages and their prey. One man above all rose greater as the danger | ||
| + | thickened, and won a higher name amid disaster than he had done when he | ||
| + | led our van to victory. To him I drink this glass& | ||
| + | red-maned Lion, glaring back over his shoulder at the enemy who feared to | ||
| + | tread too closely on his heels. I can see him now, his broad white face | ||
| + | convulsed with fury, his light blue eyes sparkling like flints, his great | ||
| + | voice roaring and crashing amid the roll of the musketry. His glazed and | ||
| + | featherless cocked hat was the ensign upon which France rallied during | ||
| + | those dreadful days. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is well known that neither I nor the regiment of Hussars of Conflans | ||
| + | were at Moscow. We were left behind on the lines of communication at | ||
| + | Borodino. How the Emperor could have advanced without us is | ||
| + | incomprehensible to me, and, indeed, it was only then that I understood | ||
| + | that his judgment was weakening and that he was no longer the man that he | ||
| + | had been. However, a soldier has to obey orders, and so I remained at this | ||
| + | village, which was poisoned by the bodies of thirty thousand men who had | ||
| + | lost their lives in the great battle. I spent the late autumn in getting | ||
| + | my horses into condition and reclothing my men, so that when the army fell | ||
| + | back on Borodino my Hussars were the best of the cavalry, and were placed | ||
| + | under Ney in the rear-guard. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | What could he have done without us during those dreadful days? & | ||
| + | Gerard,& | ||
| + | words. Suffice it that he spoke what the whole army felt. The rear-guard | ||
| + | covered the army and the Hussars of Conflans covered the rear-guard. There | ||
| + | was the whole truth in a sentence. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Always the Cossacks were on us. Always we held them off. Never a day | ||
| + | passed that we had not to wipe our sabres. That was soldiering indeed. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But there came a time between Wilna and Smolensk when the situation became | ||
| + | impossible. Cossacks and even cold we could fight, but we could not fight | ||
| + | hunger as well. Food must be got at all costs. That night Ney sent for me | ||
| + | to the waggon in which he slept. His great head was sunk on his hands. | ||
| + | Mind and body he was wearied to death. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | are starving. We must have food at all costs.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He laughed, even in his despair. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | would I. Good, Gerard, good!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He clasped my hand in his. & | ||
| + | He unhooked a lantern from the roof of the waggon and he laid it on a map | ||
| + | which was stretched before him. & | ||
| + | the town of Minsk. I have word from a Russian deserter that much corn has | ||
| + | been stored in the town-hall. I wish you to take as many men as you think | ||
| + | best, set forth for Minsk, seize the corn, load any carts which you may | ||
| + | collect in the town, and bring them to me between here and Smolensk. If | ||
| + | you fail it is but a detachment cut off. If you succeed it is new life to | ||
| + | the army.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He had not expressed himself well, for it was evident that if we failed it | ||
| + | was not merely the loss of a detachment. It is quality as well as quantity | ||
| + | which counts. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And yet how honourable a mission and how glorious a risk! If mortal men | ||
| + | could bring it, then the corn should come from Minsk. I said so, and spoke | ||
| + | a few burning words about a brave man's duty until the Marshal was so | ||
| + | moved that he rose and, taking me affectionately by the shoulders, pushed | ||
| + | me out of the waggon. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was clear to me that in order to succeed in my enterprise I should take | ||
| + | a small force and depend rather upon surprise than upon numbers. A large | ||
| + | body could not conceal itself, would have great difficulty in getting | ||
| + | food, and would cause all the Russians around us to concentrate for its | ||
| + | certain destruction. On the other hand, if a small body of cavalry could | ||
| + | get past the Cossacks unseen it was probable that they would find no | ||
| + | troops to oppose them, for we knew that the main Russian army was several | ||
| + | days' march behind us. This corn was meant, no doubt, for their | ||
| + | consumption. A squadron of Hussars and thirty Polish Lancers were all whom | ||
| + | I chose for the venture. That very night we rode out of the camp, and | ||
| + | struck south in the direction of Minsk. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Fortunately there was but a half moon, and we were able to pass without | ||
| + | being attacked by the enemy. Twice we saw great fires burning amid the | ||
| + | snow, and around them a thick bristle of long poles. These were the lances | ||
| + | of Cossacks, which they had stood upright while they slept. It would have | ||
| + | been a great joy to us to have charged in amongst them, for we had much to | ||
| + | revenge, and the eyes of my comrades looked longingly from me to those red | ||
| + | flickering patches in the darkness. My faith, I was sorely tempted to do | ||
| + | it, for it would have been a good lesson to teach them that they must keep | ||
| + | a few miles between themselves and a French army. It is the essence of | ||
| + | good generalship, | ||
| + | we rode silently on through the snow, leaving these Cossack bivouacs to | ||
| + | right and left. Behind us the black sky was all mottled with a line of | ||
| + | flame which showed where our own poor wretches were trying to keep | ||
| + | themselves alive for another day of misery and starvation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | All night we rode slowly onward, keeping our horses' | ||
| + | Star. There were many tracks in the snow, and we kept to the line of | ||
| + | these, that no one might remark that a body of cavalry had passed that | ||
| + | way. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | These are the little precautions which mark the experienced officer. | ||
| + | Besides, by keeping to the tracks we were most likely to find the | ||
| + | villages, and only in the villages could we hope to get food. The dawn of | ||
| + | day found us in a thick fir-wood, the trees so loaded with snow that the | ||
| + | light could hardly reach us. When we had found our way out of it it was | ||
| + | full daylight, the rim of the rising sun peeping over the edge of the | ||
| + | great snow-plain and turning it crimson from end to end. I halted my | ||
| + | Hussars and Lancers under the shadow of the wood, and I studied the | ||
| + | country. Close to us there was a small farm-house. Beyond, at the distance | ||
| + | of several miles, was a village. Far away on the sky-line rose a | ||
| + | considerable town all bristling with church towers. This must be Minsk. In | ||
| + | no direction could I see any signs of troops. It was evident that we had | ||
| + | passed through the Cossacks and that there was nothing between us and our | ||
| + | goal. A joyous shout burst from my men when I told them our position, and | ||
| + | we advanced rapidly toward the village. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have said, however, that there was a small farm-house immediately in | ||
| + | front of us. As we rode up to it I observed that a fine grey horse with a | ||
| + | military saddle was tethered by the door. Instantly I galloped forward, | ||
| + | but before I could reach it a man dashed out of the door, flung himself on | ||
| + | to the horse, and rode furiously away, the crisp, dry snow flying up in a | ||
| + | cloud behind him. The sunlight gleamed upon his gold epaulettes, and I | ||
| + | knew that he was a Russian officer. He would raise the whole country-side | ||
| + | if we did not catch him. I put spurs to Violette and flew after him. My | ||
| + | troopers followed; but there was no horse among them to compare with | ||
| + | Violette, and I knew well that if I could not catch the Russian I need | ||
| + | expect no help from them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But it is a swift horse indeed and a skilful rider who can hope to escape | ||
| + | from Violette with Etienne Gerard in the saddle. He rode well, this young | ||
| + | Russian, and his mount was a good one, but gradually we wore him down. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His face glanced continually over his shoulder& | ||
| + | with eyes like an eagle& | ||
| + | measuring the distance between us. Suddenly he half turned; there were a | ||
| + | flash and a crack as his pistol bullet hummed past my ear. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Before he could draw his sword I was upon him; but he still spurred his | ||
| + | horse, and the two galloped together over the plain, I with my leg against | ||
| + | the Russian' | ||
| + | up to his mouth. Instantly I dragged him across my pommel and seized him | ||
| + | by the throat, so that he could not swallow. His horse shot from under | ||
| + | him, but I held him fast and Violette came to a stand. Sergeant Oudin of | ||
| + | the Hussars was the first to join us. He was an old soldier, and he saw at | ||
| + | a glance what I was after. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He slipped out his knife, thrust the blade between the clenched teeth of | ||
| + | the Russian, and turned it so as to force his mouth open. There, on his | ||
| + | tongue, was the little wad of wet paper which he had been so anxious to | ||
| + | swallow. Oudin picked it out and I let go of the man's throat. From the | ||
| + | way in which, half strangled as he was, he glanced at the paper I was sure | ||
| + | that it was a message of extreme importance. His hands twitched as if he | ||
| + | longed to snatch it from me. He shrugged his shoulders, however, and | ||
| + | smiled good-humouredly when I apologised for my roughness. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | come, sir, this is an important military document, which you are carrying | ||
| + | from one general to another. Tell me this instant what it is.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the educated Russians. But he knew well that there is not one French | ||
| + | officer in a thousand who knows a word of Russian. The inside of the note | ||
| + | contained one single line, which ran like this:& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I stared at it, and I had to shake my head. Then I showed it to my | ||
| + | Hussars, but they could make nothing of it. The Poles were all rough | ||
| + | fellows who could not read or write, save only the sergeant, who came from | ||
| + | Memel, in East Prussia, and knew no Russian. It was maddening, for I felt | ||
| + | that I had possession of some important secret upon which the safety of | ||
| + | the army might depend, and yet I could make no sense of it. Again I | ||
| + | entreated our prisoner to translate it, and offered him his freedom if he | ||
| + | would do so. He only smiled at my request. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I could not but admire him, for it was the very smile which I should have | ||
| + | myself smiled had I been in his position. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | will translate this despatch.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So we rode onward together, a trooper with his carbine unslung on either | ||
| + | side of our prisoner. The village was but a little place, and I set a | ||
| + | guard at the ends of the single street, so that no one could escape from | ||
| + | it. It was necessary to call a halt and to find some food for the men and | ||
| + | horses, since they had travelled all night and had a long journey still | ||
| + | before them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was one large stone house in the centre of the village, and to this | ||
| + | I rode. It was the house of the priest& | ||
| + | man who had not a civil answer to any of our questions. An uglier fellow I | ||
| + | never met, but, my faith, it was very different with his only daughter, | ||
| + | who kept house for him. She was a brunette, a rare thing in Russia, with | ||
| + | creamy skin, raven hair, and a pair of the most glorious dark eyes that | ||
| + | ever kindled at the sight of a Hussar. From the first glance I saw that | ||
| + | she was mine. It was no time for love-making when a soldier' | ||
| + | be done, but still, as I took the simple meal which they laid before me, I | ||
| + | chatted lightly with the lady, and we were the best of friends before an | ||
| + | hour had passed. Sophie was her first name, her second I never knew. I | ||
| + | taught her to call me Etienne, and I tried to cheer her up, for her sweet | ||
| + | face was sad and there were tears in her beautiful dark eyes. I pressed | ||
| + | her to tell me what it was which was grieving her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | lisp, & | ||
| + | him between two of your Hussars as you rode into the village.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | to-morrow.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Etienne, that this young officer will be taken back to your army and will | ||
| + | be starved or frozen, for if, as I hear, your own soldiers have a hard | ||
| + | march, what will be the lot of a prisoner?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I shrugged my shoulders. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | poor man to certain death. I entreat you to let him go.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Her delicate hand rested upon my sleeve, her dark eyes looked imploringly | ||
| + | into mine. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A sudden thought passed through my mind. I would grant her request, but I | ||
| + | would demand a favour in return. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At my order the prisoner was brought up into the room. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | and I am inclined to do so. I would ask you to give your parole that you | ||
| + | will remain in this dwelling for twenty-four hours, and take no steps to | ||
| + | inform anyone of our movements.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | in a struggle between great armies, and to take you back as a prisoner | ||
| + | would be to condemn you to death. Depart, sir, and show your gratitude not | ||
| + | to me, but to the first French officer who falls into your hands.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When he was gone I drew my paper from my pocket. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | in return is that you will give me a lesson in Russian.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | us take it word for word and see what it means.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She looked at the writing with some surprise. & | ||
| + | the French come to Minsk all is lost.& | ||
| + | passed over her beautiful face. & | ||
| + | that I have done? I have betrayed my country! Oh, Etienne, your eyes are | ||
| + | the last for whom this message is meant. How could you be so cunning as to | ||
| + | make a poor, simple-minded, | ||
| + | country?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I consoled my poor Sophie as best I might, and I assured her that it was | ||
| + | no reproach to her that she should be outwitted by so old a campaigner and | ||
| + | so shrewd a man as myself. But it was no time now for talk. This message | ||
| + | made it clear that the corn was indeed at Minsk, and that there were no | ||
| + | troops there to defend it. I gave a hurried order from the window, the | ||
| + | trumpeter blew the assembly, and in ten minutes we had left the village | ||
| + | behind us and were riding hard for the city, the gilded domes and minarets | ||
| + | of which glimmered above the snow of the horizon. Higher they rose and | ||
| + | higher, until at last, as the sun sank toward the west, we were in the | ||
| + | broad main street, and galloped up it amid the shouts of the moujiks and | ||
| + | the cries of frightened women until we found ourselves in front of the | ||
| + | great town-hall. My cavalry I drew up in the square, and I, with my two | ||
| + | sergeants, Oudin and Papilette, rushed into the building. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Heavens! shall I ever forget the sight which greeted us? Right in front of | ||
| + | us was drawn up a triple line of Russian Grenadiers. Their muskets rose as | ||
| + | we entered, and a crashing volley burst into our very faces. Oudin and | ||
| + | Papilette dropped upon the floor, riddled with bullets. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For myself, my busby was shot away and I had two holes through my dolman. | ||
| + | The Grenadiers ran at me with their bayonets. & | ||
| + | betrayed! Stand to your horses!& | ||
| + | square was swarming with troops. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | From every side street Dragoons and Cossacks were riding down upon us, and | ||
| + | such a rolling fire had burst from the surrounding houses that half my men | ||
| + | and horses were on the ground. & | ||
| + | Violette, but a giant of a Russian Dragoon officer threw his arms round me | ||
| + | and we rolled on the ground together. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He shortened his sword to kill me, but, changing his mind, he seized me by | ||
| + | the throat and banged my head against the stones until I was unconscious. | ||
| + | So it was that I became the prisoner of the Russians. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | When I came to myself my only regret was that my captor had not beaten out | ||
| + | my brains. There in the grand square of Minsk lay half my troopers dead or | ||
| + | wounded, with exultant crowds of Russians gathered round them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The rest in a melancholy group were herded into the porch of the | ||
| + | town-hall, a sotnia of Cossacks keeping guard over them. Alas! what could | ||
| + | I say, what could I do? It was evident that I had led my men into a | ||
| + | carefully-baited trap. They had heard of our mission and they had prepared | ||
| + | for us. And yet there was that despatch which had caused me to neglect all | ||
| + | precautions and to ride straight into the town. How was I to account for | ||
| + | that? The tears ran down my cheeks as I surveyed the ruin of my squadron, | ||
| + | and as I thought of the plight of my comrades of the Grand Army who | ||
| + | awaited the food which I was to have brought them. Ney had trusted me and | ||
| + | I had failed him. How often he would strain his eyes over the snow-fields | ||
| + | for that convoy of grain which should never gladden his sight! My own fate | ||
| + | was hard enough. An exile in Siberia was the best which the future could | ||
| + | bring me. But you will believe me, my friends, that it was not for his own | ||
| + | sake, but for that of his starving comrades, that Etienne Gerard' | ||
| + | were lined by his tears, frozen even as they were shed. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | huge, black-bearded Dragoon who had dragged me from my saddle. & | ||
| + | the Frenchman crying! I thought that the Corsican was followed by brave | ||
| + | men and not by children.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the better man,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For answer the brute struck me across the face with his open hand. I | ||
| + | seized him by the throat, but a dozen of his soldiers tore me away from | ||
| + | him, and he struck me again while they held my hands. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | gentleman?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | such treatment as you can get. I would shoot you off-hand if I had my | ||
| + | way.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | moustache. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | time to-morrow,& | ||
| + | in Russian to his troops, and instantly they all sprang to their saddles. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Poor Violette, looking as miserable as her master, was led round and I was | ||
| + | told to mount her. My left arm was tied with a thong which was fastened to | ||
| + | the stirrup-iron of a sergeant of Dragoons. So in most sorry plight I and | ||
| + | the remnant of my men set forth from Minsk. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Never have I met such a brute as this man Sergine, who commanded the | ||
| + | escort. The Russian army contains the best and the worst in the world, but | ||
| + | a worse than Major Sergine of the Dragoons of Kieff I have never seen in | ||
| + | any force outside of the guerillas of the Peninsula. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was a man of great stature, with a fierce, hard face and a bristling | ||
| + | black beard, which fell over his cuirass. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have been told since that he was noted for his strength and his bravery, | ||
| + | and I could answer for it that he had the grip of a bear, for I had felt | ||
| + | it when he tore me from my saddle. He was a wit, too, in his way, and made | ||
| + | continual remarks in Russian at our expense which set all his Dragoons and | ||
| + | Cossacks laughing. Twice he beat my comrades with his riding-whip, | ||
| + | once he approached me with the lash swung over his shoulder, but there was | ||
| + | something in my eyes which prevented it from falling. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So in misery and humiliation, | ||
| + | column across the vast snow-plain. The sun had sunk, but still in the long | ||
| + | northern twilight we pursued our weary journey. Numbed and frozen, with my | ||
| + | head aching from the blows it had received, I was borne onward by | ||
| + | Violette, hardly conscious of where I was or whither I was going. The | ||
| + | little mare walked with a sunken head, only raising it to snort her | ||
| + | contempt for the mangy Cossack ponies who were round her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But suddenly the escort stopped, and I found that we had halted in the | ||
| + | single street of a small Russian village. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was a church on one side, and on the other was a large stone house, | ||
| + | the outline of which seemed to me to be familiar. I looked around me in | ||
| + | the twilight, and then I saw that we had been led back to Dobrova, and | ||
| + | that this house at the door of which we were waiting was the same house of | ||
| + | the priest at which we had stopped in the morning. Here it was that my | ||
| + | charming Sophie in her innocence had translated the unlucky message which | ||
| + | had in some strange way led us to our ruin. To think that only a few hours | ||
| + | before we had left this very spot with such high hopes and all fair | ||
| + | prospects for our mission, and now the remnants of us waited as beaten and | ||
| + | humiliated men for whatever lot a brutal enemy might ordain! But such is | ||
| + | the fate of the soldier, my friends& | ||
| + | Tokay in a palace, ditch-water in a hovel, furs or rags, a full purse or | ||
| + | an empty pocket, ever swaying from the best to the worst, with only his | ||
| + | courage and his honour unchanging. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Russian horsemen dismounted, and my poor fellows were ordered to do | ||
| + | the same. It was already late, and it was clearly their intention to spend | ||
| + | the night in this village. There were great cheering and joy amongst the | ||
| + | peasants when they understood that we had all been taken, and they flocked | ||
| + | out of their houses with flaming torches, the women carrying out tea and | ||
| + | brandy for the Cossacks. Amongst others the old priest came forth& | ||
| + | same whom we had seen in the morning. He was all smiles now, and he bore | ||
| + | with him some hot punch on a salver, the reek of which I can remember | ||
| + | still. Behind her father was Sophie. With horror I saw her clasp Major | ||
| + | Sergine' | ||
| + | the prisoners he had made. The old priest, her father, looked at me with | ||
| + | an insolent face and made insulting remarks at my expense, pointing at me | ||
| + | with his lean and grimy hand. His fair daughter Sophie looked at me also, | ||
| + | but she said nothing, and I could read her tender pity in her dark eyes. | ||
| + | At last she turned to Major Sergine and said something to him in Russian, | ||
| + | on which he frowned and shook his head impatiently. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She appeared to plead with him, standing there in the flood of light which | ||
| + | shone from the open door of her father' | ||
| + | the two faces, that of the beautiful girl and of the dark, fierce man, for | ||
| + | my instinct told me that it was my own fate which was under debate. For a | ||
| + | long time the soldier shook his head, and then, at last softening before | ||
| + | her pleadings, he appeared to give way. He turned to where I stood with my | ||
| + | guardian sergeant beside me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | said he to me, looking me up and down with vindictive eyes. & | ||
| + | hard to refuse them, but I tell you straight that for my part I had rather | ||
| + | see you on the snow. It would cool your hot blood, you rascal of a | ||
| + | Frenchman!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I looked at him with the contempt that I felt. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My words stung him, for he broke into an oath, raising his whip as if he | ||
| + | would strike me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | insolence would be frozen out of you before morning.& | ||
| + | passion, he turned upon Sophie with what he meant to be a gallant manner. | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | it for the night, since you have done him the honour to take an interest | ||
| + | in his comfort. I must have his parole that he will not attempt to play us | ||
| + | any tricks, as I am answerable for him until I hand him over to the Hetman | ||
| + | Platoff to-morrow.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His supercilious manner was more than I could endure. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He had evidently spoken French to the lady in order that I might | ||
| + | understand the humiliating way in which he referred to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | will never give you my parole.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Russian shrugged his great shoulders, and turned away as if the matter | ||
| + | were ended. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | We shall see how you are in the morning after a night in the snow.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | this prisoner. There are some special reasons why he has a claim upon our | ||
| + | kindness and mercy.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Russian looked with suspicion upon his face from her to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | interest in this Frenchman,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | released Captain Alexis Barakoff, of the Dragoons of Grodno.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | me this morning, and he released me upon parole rather than take me back | ||
| + | to the French army, where I should have been starved.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | fortune has changed, allow us to offer him the poor shelter of our cellar | ||
| + | upon this bitter night,& | ||
| + | generosity.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But the Dragoon was still in the sulks. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | said he. & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | will give me your parole, will you not?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | with pleasure.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | sufficient. You have heard him say that he gives me his parole. I will be | ||
| + | answerable for his safety.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In an ungracious fashion my Russian bear grunted his consent, and so I was | ||
| + | led into the house, followed by the scowling father and by the big, | ||
| + | black-bearded Dragoon. In the basement there was a large and roomy | ||
| + | chamber, where the winter logs were stored. Thither it was that I was led, | ||
| + | and I was given to understand that this was to be my lodging for the | ||
| + | night. One side of this bleak apartment was heaped up to the ceiling with | ||
| + | fagots of firewood. The rest of the room was stone-flagged and | ||
| + | bare-walled, | ||
| + | safely guarded with iron bars. For light I had a large stable lantern, | ||
| + | which swung from a beam of the low ceiling. Major Sergine smiled as he | ||
| + | took this down, and swung it round so as to throw its light into every | ||
| + | corner of that dreary chamber. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | sneer. & | ||
| + | you. Perhaps the next time that you Frenchmen take a fancy to travel you | ||
| + | will choose some other country where they will make you more comfortable.& | ||
| + | He stood laughing at me, his white teeth gleaming through his beard. Then | ||
| + | he left me, and I heard the great key creak in the lock. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For an hour of utter misery, chilled in body and soul, I sat upon a pile | ||
| + | of fagots, my face sunk upon my hands and my mind full of the saddest | ||
| + | thoughts. It was cold enough within those four walls, but I thought of the | ||
| + | sufferings of my poor troopers outside, and I sorrowed with their sorrow. | ||
| + | Then I paced up and down, and I clapped my hands together and kicked my | ||
| + | feet against the walls to keep them from being frozen. The lamp gave out | ||
| + | some warmth, but still it was bitterly cold, and I had had no food since | ||
| + | morning. It seemed to me that everyone had forgotten me, but at last I | ||
| + | heard the key turn in the lock, and who should enter but my prisoner of | ||
| + | the morning, Captain Alexis Barakoff. A bottle of wine projected from | ||
| + | under his arm, and he carried a great plate of hot stew in front of him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | explain, for Sergine is still with us. Keep awake and ready!& | ||
| + | hurried words he laid down the welcome food and ran out of the room. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | drank my wine, but it was neither food nor wine which had warmed the heart | ||
| + | within me. What could those words of Barakoff mean? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Why was I to remain awake? For what was I to be ready? Was it possible | ||
| + | that there was a chance yet of escape? I have never respected the man who | ||
| + | neglects his prayers at all other times and yet prays when he is in peril. | ||
| + | It is like a bad soldier who pays no respect to the colonel save when he | ||
| + | would demand a favour of him. And yet when I thought of the salt-mines of | ||
| + | Siberia on the one side and of my mother in France upon the other, I could | ||
| + | not help a prayer rising, not from my lips, but from my heart, that the | ||
| + | words of Barakoff might mean all that I hoped. But hour after hour struck | ||
| + | upon the village clock, and still I heard nothing save the call of the | ||
| + | Russian sentries in the street outside. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Then at last my heart leaped within me, for I heard a light step in the | ||
| + | passage. An instant later the key turned, the door opened, and Sophie was | ||
| + | in the room. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | hate me? Have you forgiven me the trick which I played you?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | You have asked me to translate the despatch. I have told you that it | ||
| + | meant, 'If the French come to Minsk all is lost.'& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I sprang back from her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | that I owe the death and capture of my men. Fool that I was to trust a | ||
| + | woman!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | is to my country. Would you not wish a French girl to have acted as I have | ||
| + | done? Had I translated the message correctly you would not have gone to | ||
| + | Minsk and your squadron would have escaped. Tell me that you forgive me!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She looked bewitching as she stood pleading her cause in front of me. And | ||
| + | yet, as I thought of my dead men, I could not take the hand which she held | ||
| + | out to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | But you have said one wise and kindly thing within these walls, Colonel | ||
| + | Gerard. You have said, 'One man more or less can make no difference in a | ||
| + | struggle between two great armies.' | ||
| + | Behind those fagots is an unguarded door. Here is the key to it. Go forth, | ||
| + | Colonel Gerard, and I trust that we may never look upon each other' | ||
| + | again.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I stood for an instant with the key in my hand and my head in a whirl. | ||
| + | Then I handed it back to her. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My heart bounded with joy. Of course, it was true what she said. I had | ||
| + | refused to give my parole to Sergine. I owed him no duty. If she relieved | ||
| + | me from my promise my honour was clear. I took the key from her hand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | she. & | ||
| + | your mare and your sword waiting for you. Do not delay an instant, for in | ||
| + | two hours it will be dawn.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So I passed out into the star-lit Russian night, and had that last glimpse | ||
| + | of Sophie as she peered after me through the open door. She looked | ||
| + | wistfully at me as if she expected something more than the cold thanks | ||
| + | which I gave her, but even the humblest man has his pride, and I will not | ||
| + | deny that mine was hurt by the deception which she had played upon me. I | ||
| + | could not have brought myself to kiss her hand, far less her lips. The | ||
| + | door led into a narrow alley, and at the end of it stood a muffled figure, | ||
| + | who held Violette by the bridle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | distress,& | ||
| + | into the saddle. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was well that he had given it to me, for twice I had to pass Cossack | ||
| + | pickets before I was clear of the lines. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had just ridden past the last vedettes and hoped that I was a free man | ||
| + | again, when there was a soft thudding in the snow behind me, and a heavy | ||
| + | man upon a great black horse came swiftly after me. My first impulse was | ||
| + | to put spurs to Violette. My second, as I saw a long black beard against a | ||
| + | steel cuirass, was to halt and await him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | drawn sword at me. & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I looked around and no one was coming. The vedettes were motionless and | ||
| + | distant. We were all alone, with the moon above and the snow beneath. | ||
| + | Fortune has ever been my friend. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | to answer for it to me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | has helped you. She shall see Siberia for this night' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The words were his death-warrant. For Sophie' | ||
| + | back alive. Our blades crossed, and an instant later mine was through his | ||
| + | black beard and deep in his throat. I was on the ground almost as soon as | ||
| + | he, but the one thrust was enough. He died, snapping his teeth at my | ||
| + | ankles like a savage wolf. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Two days later I had rejoined the army at Smolensk, and was a part once | ||
| + | more of that dreary procession which tramped onward through the snow, | ||
| + | leaving a long weal of blood to show the path which it had taken. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Enough, my friends; I would not re-awaken the memory of those days of | ||
| + | misery and death. They still come to haunt me in my dreams. When we halted | ||
| + | at last in Warsaw we had left behind us our guns, our transport, and | ||
| + | three-fourths of our comrades. But we did not leave behind us the honour | ||
| + | of Etienne Gerard. They have said that I broke my parole. Let them beware | ||
| + | how they say it to my face, for the story is as I tell it, and old as I am | ||
| + | my forefinger is not too weak to press a trigger when my honour is in | ||
| + | question. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | VII. How the Brigadier Bore Himself at Waterloo | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I. THE STORY OF THE FOREST INN | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Of all the great battles in which I had the honour of drawing my sword for | ||
| + | the Emperor and for France there was not one which was lost. At Waterloo, | ||
| + | although, in a sense, I was present, I was unable to fight, and the enemy | ||
| + | was victorious. It is not for me to say that there is a connection between | ||
| + | these two things. You know me too well, my friends, to imagine that I | ||
| + | would make such a claim. But it gives matter for thought, and some have | ||
| + | drawn flattering conclusions from it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | After all, it was only a matter of breaking a few English squares and the | ||
| + | day would have been our own. If the Hussars of Conflans, with Etienne | ||
| + | Gerard to lead them, could not do this, then the best judges are mistaken. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But let that pass. The Fates had ordained that I should hold my hand and | ||
| + | that the Empire should fall. But they had also ordained that this day of | ||
| + | gloom and sorrow should bring such honour to me as had never come when I | ||
| + | swept on the wings of victory from Boulogne to Vienna. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Never had I burned so brilliantly as at that supreme moment when the | ||
| + | darkness fell upon all around me. You are aware that I was faithful to the | ||
| + | Emperor in his adversity, and that I refused to sell my sword and my | ||
| + | honour to the Bourbons. Never again was I to feel my war horse between my | ||
| + | knees, never again to hear the kettledrums and silver trumpets behind me | ||
| + | as I rode in front of my little rascals. But it comforts my heart, my | ||
| + | friends, and it brings the tears to my eyes, to think how great I was upon | ||
| + | that last day of my soldier life, and to remember that of all the | ||
| + | remarkable exploits which have won me the love of so many beautiful women, | ||
| + | and the respect of so many noble men, there was none which, in splendour, | ||
| + | in audacity, and in the great end which was attained, could compare with | ||
| + | my famous ride upon the night of June 18th, 1815. I am aware that the | ||
| + | story is often told at mess-tables and in barrack-rooms, | ||
| + | few in the army who have not heard it, but modesty has sealed my lips, | ||
| + | until now, my friends, in the privacy of these intimate gatherings, I am | ||
| + | inclined to lay the true facts before you. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In the first place, there is one thing which I can assure you. In all his | ||
| + | career Napoleon never had so splendid an army as that with which he took | ||
| + | the field for that campaign. In 1813 France was exhausted. For every | ||
| + | veteran there were five children& | ||
| + | for the Empress had busied herself in raising levies while the Emperor | ||
| + | took the field. But it was very different in 1815. The prisoners had all | ||
| + | come back& | ||
| + | dungeons of Spain, the men from the hulks in England. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | These were the dangerous men, veterans of twenty battles, longing for | ||
| + | their old trade, and with hearts filled with hatred and revenge. The ranks | ||
| + | were full of soldiers who wore two and three chevrons, every chevron | ||
| + | meaning five years' service. And the spirit of these men was terrible. | ||
| + | They were raging, furious, fanatical, adoring the Emperor as a Mameluke | ||
| + | does his prophet, ready to fall upon their own bayonets if their blood | ||
| + | could serve him. If you had seen these fierce old veterans going into | ||
| + | battle, with their flushed faces, their savage eyes, their furious yells, | ||
| + | you would wonder that anything could stand against them. So high was the | ||
| + | spirit of France at that time that every other spirit would have quailed | ||
| + | before it; but these people, these English, had neither spirit nor soul, | ||
| + | but only solid, immovable beef, against which we broke ourselves in vain. | ||
| + | That was it, my friends! On the one side, poetry, gallantry, | ||
| + | self-sacrifice& | ||
| + | beef. Our hopes, our ideals, our dreams& | ||
| + | terrible beef of Old England. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You have read how the Emperor gathered his forces, and then how he and I, | ||
| + | with a hundred and thirty thousand veterans, hurried to the northern | ||
| + | frontier and fell upon the Prussians and the English. On the 16th of June, | ||
| + | Ney held the English in play at Quatre-Bras while we beat the Prussians at | ||
| + | Ligny. It is not for me to say how far I contributed to that victory, but | ||
| + | it is well known that the Hussars of Conflans covered themselves with | ||
| + | glory. They fought well, these Prussians, and eight thousand of them were | ||
| + | left upon the field. The Emperor thought that he had done with them, as he | ||
| + | sent Marshal Grouchy with thirty-two thousand men to follow them up and to | ||
| + | prevent their interfering with his plans. Then with nearly eighty thousand | ||
| + | men, he turned upon these & | ||
| + | upon them, we Frenchmen& | ||
| + | Portsmouth, the invasion of Wellington, the perfidious victories of | ||
| + | Nelson! At last the day of punishment seemed to have arisen. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Wellington had with him sixty-seven thousand men, but many of them were | ||
| + | known to be Dutch and Belgian, who had no great desire to fight against | ||
| + | us. Of good troops he had not fifty thousand. Finding himself in the | ||
| + | presence of the Emperor in person with eighty thousand men, this | ||
| + | Englishman was so paralysed with fear that he could neither move himself | ||
| + | nor his army. You have seen the rabbit when the snake approaches. So stood | ||
| + | the English upon the ridge of Waterloo. The night before, the Emperor, who | ||
| + | had lost an aide-de-camp at Ligny, ordered me to join his staff, and I had | ||
| + | left my Hussars to the charge of Major Victor. I know not which of us was | ||
| + | the most grieved, they or I, that I should be called away upon the eve of | ||
| + | battle, but an order is an order, and a good soldier can but shrug his | ||
| + | shoulders and obey. With the Emperor I rode across the front of the | ||
| + | enemy' | ||
| + | his glass and planning which was the shortest way to destroy them. Soult | ||
| + | was at his elbow, and Ney and Foy and others who had fought the English in | ||
| + | Portugal and Spain. & | ||
| + | is very solid.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Emperor, and we younger men turned away our faces and smiled. But Ney and | ||
| + | Foy were grave and serious. All the time the English line, chequered with | ||
| + | red and blue and dotted with batteries, was drawn up silent and watchful | ||
| + | within a long musket-shot of us. On the other side of the shallow valley | ||
| + | our own people, having finished their soup, were assembling for the | ||
| + | battle. It had rained very heavily, but at this moment the sun shone out | ||
| + | and beat upon the French army, turning our brigades of cavalry into so | ||
| + | many dazzling rivers of steel, and twinkling and sparkling on the | ||
| + | innumerable bayonets of the infantry. At the sight of that splendid army, | ||
| + | and the beauty and majesty of its appearance, I could contain myself no | ||
| + | longer, but, rising in my stirrups, I waved my busby and cried, & | ||
| + | l' | ||
| + | of the line to the other, while the horsemen waved their swords and the | ||
| + | footmen held up their shakos upon their bayonets. The English remained | ||
| + | petrified upon their ridge. They knew that their hour had come. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And so it would have come if at that moment the word had been given and | ||
| + | the whole army had been permitted to advance. We had but to fall upon them | ||
| + | and to sweep them from the face of the earth. To put aside all question of | ||
| + | courage, we were the more numerous, the older soldiers, and the better | ||
| + | led. But the Emperor desired to do all things in order, and he waited | ||
| + | until the ground should be drier and harder, so that his artillery could | ||
| + | manoeuvre. So three hours were wasted, and it was eleven o' | ||
| + | saw Jerome Buonaparte' | ||
| + | of the guns which told that the battle had begun. The loss of those three | ||
| + | hours was our destruction. The attack upon the left was directed upon a | ||
| + | farm-house which was held by the English Guards, and we heard the three | ||
| + | loud shouts of apprehension which the defenders were compelled to utter. | ||
| + | They were still holding out, and D' | ||
| + | right to engage another portion of the English line, when our attention | ||
| + | was called away from the battle beneath our noses to a distant portion of | ||
| + | the field of action. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Emperor had been looking through his glass to the extreme left of the | ||
| + | English line, and now he turned suddenly to the Duke of Dalmatia, or | ||
| + | Soult, as we soldiers preferred to call him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | We all followed the direction of his gaze, some raising our glasses, some | ||
| + | shading our eyes. There was a thick wood over yonder, then a long, bare | ||
| + | slope, and another wood beyond. Over this bare strip between the two woods | ||
| + | there lay something dark, like the shadow of a moving cloud. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At that instant there came a quick twinkle from amid the dark shadow. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | doubly lost, these English. I hold them in the hollow of my hand. They | ||
| + | cannot escape me.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He looked round, and his eyes fell upon me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Colonel Gerard?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was riding my little Violette, the pride of the brigade. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I said so. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | him that he is to fall upon the left flank and rear of the English while I | ||
| + | attack them in front. Together we should crush them and not a man escape.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I saluted and rode off without a word, my heart dancing with joy that such | ||
| + | a mission should be mine. I looked at that long, solid line of red and | ||
| + | blue looming through the smoke of the guns, and I shook my fist at it as I | ||
| + | went. & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They were the Emperor' | ||
| + | turn them into deeds. I burned to reach the Marshal, and for an instant I | ||
| + | thought of riding through the English left wing, as being the shortest | ||
| + | cut. I have done bolder deeds and come out safely, but I reflected that if | ||
| + | things went badly with me and I was taken or shot the message would be | ||
| + | lost and the plans of the Emperor miscarry. I passed in front of the | ||
| + | cavalry, therefore, past the Chasseurs, the Lancers of the Guard, the | ||
| + | Carabineers, | ||
| + | followed me wistfully with their eyes. Beyond the cavalry the Old Guard | ||
| + | was standing, twelve regiments of them, all veterans of many battles, | ||
| + | sombre and severe, in long blue overcoats and high bearskins from which | ||
| + | the plumes had been removed. Each bore within the goatskin knapsack upon | ||
| + | his back the blue and white parade uniform which they would use for their | ||
| + | entry into Brussels next day. As I rode past them I reflected that these | ||
| + | men had never been beaten, and as I looked at their weather-beaten faces | ||
| + | and their stern and silent bearing, I said to myself that they never would | ||
| + | be beaten. Great heavens, how little could I foresee what a few more hours | ||
| + | would bring! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | On the right of the Old Guard were the Young Guard and the 6th Corps of | ||
| + | Lobau, and then I passed Jacquinot' | ||
| + | held the extreme flank of the line. All these troops knew nothing of the | ||
| + | corps which was coming toward them through the wood, and their attention | ||
| + | was taken up in watching the battle which raged upon their left. More than | ||
| + | a hundred guns were thundering from each side, and the din was so great | ||
| + | that of all the battles which I have fought I cannot recall more than | ||
| + | half-a-dozen which were as noisy. I looked back over my shoulder, and | ||
| + | there were two brigades of Cuirassiers, | ||
| + | the hill together, with the sword-blades playing over them like summer | ||
| + | lightning. How I longed to turn Violette, and to lead my Hussars into the | ||
| + | thick of it! What a picture! Etienne Gerard with his back to the battle, | ||
| + | and a fine cavalry action raging behind him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But duty is duty, so I rode past Marbot' | ||
| + | of the wood, passing the village of Frishermont upon my left. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In front of me lay the great wood, called the Wood of Paris, consisting | ||
| + | mostly of oak trees, with a few narrow paths leading through it. I halted | ||
| + | and listened when I reached it, but out of its gloomy depths there came no | ||
| + | blare of trumpet, no murmur of wheels, no tramp of horses to mark the | ||
| + | advance of that great column which, with my own eyes, I had seen streaming | ||
| + | toward it. The battle roared behind me, but in front all was as silent as | ||
| + | that grave in which so many brave men would shortly sleep. The sunlight | ||
| + | was cut off by the arches of leaves above my head, and a heavy damp smell | ||
| + | rose from the sodden ground. For several miles I galloped at such a pace | ||
| + | as few riders would care to go with roots below and branches above. Then, | ||
| + | at last, for the first time I caught a glimpse of Grouchy' | ||
| + | Scattered parties of Hussars passed me on either side, but some distance | ||
| + | off, among the trees. I heard the beating of a drum far away, and the low, | ||
| + | dull murmur which an army makes upon the march. Any moment I might come | ||
| + | upon the staff and deliver my message to Grouchy in person, for I knew | ||
| + | well that on such a march a Marshal of France would certainly ride with | ||
| + | the van of his army. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Suddenly the trees thinned in front of me, and I understood with delight | ||
| + | that I was coming to the end of the wood, whence I could see the army and | ||
| + | find the Marshal. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Where the track comes out from amid the trees there is a small cabaret, | ||
| + | where wood-cutters and waggoners drink their wine. Outside the door of | ||
| + | this I reined up my horse for an instant while I took in the scene which | ||
| + | was before me. Some few miles away I saw a second great forest, that of | ||
| + | St. Lambert, out of which the Emperor had seen the troops advancing. It | ||
| + | was easy to see, however, why there had been so long a delay in their | ||
| + | leaving one wood and reaching the other, because between the two ran the | ||
| + | deep defile of the Lasnes, which had to be crossed. Sure enough, a long | ||
| + | column of troops& | ||
| + | side of it and swarming up the other, while the advance guard was already | ||
| + | among the trees on either side of me. A battery of Horse Artillery was | ||
| + | coming along the road, and I was about to gallop up to it and ask the | ||
| + | officer in command if he could tell me where I should find the Marshal, | ||
| + | when suddenly I observed that, though the gunners were dressed in blue, | ||
| + | they had not the dolman trimmed with red brandenburgs as our own | ||
| + | horse-gunners wear it. Amazed at the sight, I was looking at these | ||
| + | soldiers to left and right when a hand touched my thigh, and there was the | ||
| + | landlord, who had rushed from his inn. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Silesian Hussars has this instant left me. Did you not see them in the | ||
| + | wood?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | orders and find him whereever he is.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The man reflected for an instant. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | yet escape. They have not observed you yet. Come with me and I will hide | ||
| + | you until they pass.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Behind his house there was a low stable, and into this he thrust Violette. | ||
| + | Then he half led and half dragged me into the kitchen of the inn. It was a | ||
| + | bare, brick-floored room. A stout, red-faced woman was cooking cutlets at | ||
| + | the fire. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | innkeeper. & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Did I not win a musket of honour among the Velites of the Guard? Shall I | ||
| + | see a comrade taken before my eyes? Marie, we must save him.& | ||
| + | looked at me with most unfriendly eyes. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | burned over your head. Do you not understand, you blockhead, that if you | ||
| + | fought for Napoleon it was because Napoleon ruled Belgium? He does so no | ||
| + | longer. The Prussians are our allies and this is our enemy. I will have no | ||
| + | Frenchman in this house. Give him up!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The innkeeper scratched his head and looked at me in despair, but it was | ||
| + | very evident to me that it was neither for France nor for Belgium that | ||
| + | this woman cared, but that it was the safety of her own house that was | ||
| + | nearest her heart. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Emperor is defeating the English, and the French army will be here before | ||
| + | evening. If you have used me well you will be rewarded, and if you have | ||
| + | denounced me you will be punished and your house will certainly be burned | ||
| + | by the provost-martial.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She was shaken by this, and I hastened to complete my victory by other | ||
| + | methods. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | hard-hearted? | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | She looked at my whiskers and I saw that she was softened. I took her | ||
| + | hand, and in two minutes we were on such terms that her husband swore | ||
| + | roundly that he would give me up himself if I pressed the matter farther. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | me toward a ladder which led to a trap-door in the ceiling. There was loud | ||
| + | knocking at the door, so you can think that it was not long before my | ||
| + | spurs went twinkling through the hole and the board was dropped behind me. | ||
| + | An instant later I heard the voices of the Germans in the rooms below me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The place in which I found myself was a single long attic, the ceiling of | ||
| + | which was formed by the roof of the house. It ran over the whole of one | ||
| + | side of the inn, and through the cracks in the flooring I could look down | ||
| + | either upon the kitchen, the sitting-room, | ||
| + | There were no windows, but the place was in the last stage of disrepair, | ||
| + | and several missing slates upon the roof gave me light and the means of | ||
| + | observation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The place was heaped with lumber-fodder at one end and a huge pile of | ||
| + | empty bottles at the other. There was no door or window save the hole | ||
| + | through which I had come up. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I sat upon the heap of hay for a few minutes to steady myself and to think | ||
| + | out my plans. It was very serious that the Prussians should arrive upon | ||
| + | the field of battle earlier than our reserves, but there appeared to be | ||
| + | only one corps of them, and a corps more or less makes little difference | ||
| + | to such a man as the Emperor. He could afford to give the English all this | ||
| + | and beat them still. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The best way in which I could serve him, since Grouchy was behind, was to | ||
| + | wait here until they were past, and then to resume my journey, to see the | ||
| + | Marshal, and to give him his orders. If he advanced upon the rear of the | ||
| + | English instead of following the Prussians all would be well. The fate of | ||
| + | France depended upon my judgment and my nerve. It was not the first time, | ||
| + | my friends, as you are well aware, and you know the reasons that I had to | ||
| + | trust that neither nerve nor judgment would ever fail me. Certainly, the | ||
| + | Emperor had chosen the right man for his mission. & | ||
| + | messengers& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was clear that I could do nothing until the Prussians had passed, so I | ||
| + | spent my time in observing them. I have no love for these people, but I am | ||
| + | compelled to say that they kept excellent discipline, for not a man of | ||
| + | them entered the inn, though their lips were caked with dust and they were | ||
| + | ready to drop with fatigue. Those who had knocked at the door were bearing | ||
| + | an insensible comrade, and having left him they returned at once to the | ||
| + | ranks. Several others were carried in in the same fashion and laid in the | ||
| + | kitchen, while a young surgeon, little more than a boy, remained behind in | ||
| + | charge of them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Having observed them through the cracks in the floor, I next turned my | ||
| + | attention to the holes in the roof, from which I had an excellent view of | ||
| + | all that was passing outside. The Prussian corps was still streaming past. | ||
| + | It was easy to see that they had made a terrible march and had little | ||
| + | food, for the faces of the men were ghastly, and they were plastered from | ||
| + | head to foot with mud from their falls upon the foul and slippery roads. | ||
| + | Yet, spent as they were, their spirit was excellent, and they pushed and | ||
| + | hauled at the gun-carriages when the wheels sank up to the axles in the | ||
| + | mire, and the weary horses were floundering knee-deep unable to draw them | ||
| + | through. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The officers rode up and down the column encouraging the more active with | ||
| + | words of praise, and the laggards with blows from the flat of their | ||
| + | swords. All the time from over the wood in front of them there came the | ||
| + | tremendous roar of the battle, as if all the rivers on earth had united in | ||
| + | one gigantic cataract, booming and crashing in a mighty fall. Like the | ||
| + | spray of the cataract was the long veil of smoke which rose high over the | ||
| + | trees. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The officers pointed to it with their swords, and with hoarse cries from | ||
| + | their parched lips the mud-stained men pushed onward to the battle. For an | ||
| + | hour I watched them pass, and I reflected that their vanguard must have | ||
| + | come into touch with Marbot' | ||
| + | of their coming. & | ||
| + | will come down it a great deal faster,& | ||
| + | myself with the thought. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But an adventure came to break the monotony of this long wait. I was | ||
| + | seated beside my loophole and congratulating myself that the corps was | ||
| + | nearly past, and that the road would soon be clear for my journey, when | ||
| + | suddenly I heard a loud altercation break out in French in the kitchen. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | scuffling. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In an instant I had my eye to the crack in the floor. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was my stout lady, like a faithful watch-dog, at the bottom of the | ||
| + | ladder, while the young German surgeon, white with anger, was endeavouring | ||
| + | to come up it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Several of the German soldiers who had recovered from their prostration | ||
| + | were sitting about on the kitchen floor and watching the quarrel with | ||
| + | stolid, but attentive, faces. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The landlord was nowhere to be seen. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | should they lie on the bricks when there is straw overhead?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For a moment it looked as if the surgeon would abandon his intention, but | ||
| + | one of the soldiers pointed up to the ceiling. I gathered from what I | ||
| + | could understand of his words that he could see the straw sticking out | ||
| + | between the planks. In vain the woman protested. Two of the soldiers were | ||
| + | able to get upon their feet and to drag her aside, while the young surgeon | ||
| + | ran up the ladder, pushed open the trap-door, and climbed into the loft. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | As he swung the door back I slipped behind it, but as luck would have it | ||
| + | he shut it again behind him, and there we were left standing face to face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Never have I seen a more astonished young man. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had drawn my sword. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | with your sword? I am not armed.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | here.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | staff of an army. I rode by mistake into the heart of this Prussian corps, | ||
| + | and I concealed myself here in the hope of escaping when they are past. I | ||
| + | will not hurt you if you do not hurt me, but if you do not swear that you | ||
| + | will be silent as to my presence you will never go down alive from this | ||
| + | attic.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | twinkle in his eyes. & | ||
| + | you or your people. I will do my best for my patients, but I will do no | ||
| + | more. Capturing Hussars is not one of the duties of a surgeon. With your | ||
| + | permission I will now descend with this truss of hay to make a couch for | ||
| + | these poor fellows below.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had intended to exact an oath from him, but it is my experience that if | ||
| + | a man will not speak the truth he will not swear the truth, so I said no | ||
| + | more. The surgeon opened the trap-door, threw out enough hay for his | ||
| + | purpose, and then descended the ladder, letting down the door behind him. | ||
| + | I watched him anxiously when he rejoined his patients, and so did my good | ||
| + | friend the landlady, but he said nothing and busied himself with the needs | ||
| + | of his soldiers. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | By this time I was sure that the last of the army corps was past, and I | ||
| + | went to my loophole confident that I should find the coast clear, save, | ||
| + | perhaps, for a few stragglers, whom I could disregard. The first corps was | ||
| + | indeed past, and I could see the last files of the infantry disappearing | ||
| + | into the wood; but you can imagine my disappointment when out of the | ||
| + | Forest of St. Lambert I saw a second corps emerging, as numerous as the | ||
| + | first. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There could be no doubt that the whole Prussian army, which we thought we | ||
| + | had destroyed at Ligny, was about to throw itself upon our right wing | ||
| + | while Marshal Grouchy had been coaxed away upon some fool's errand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The roar of guns, much nearer than before, told me that the Prussian | ||
| + | batteries which had passed me were already in action. Imagine my terrible | ||
| + | position! Hour after hour was passing; the sun was sinking toward the | ||
| + | west. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And yet this cursed inn, in which I lay hid, was like a little island amid | ||
| + | a rushing stream of furious Prussians. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was all important that I should reach Marshal Grouchy, and yet I could | ||
| + | not show my nose without being made prisoner. You can think how I cursed | ||
| + | and tore my hair. How little do we know what is in store for us! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Even while I raged against my ill-fortune, | ||
| + | me for a far higher task than to carry a message to Grouchy& | ||
| + | which could not have been mine had I not been held tight in that little | ||
| + | inn on the edge of the Forest of Paris. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Two Prussian corps had passed and a third was coming up, when I heard a | ||
| + | great fuss and the sound of several voices in the sitting-room. By | ||
| + | altering my position I was able to look down and see what was going on. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Two Prussian generals were beneath me, their heads bent over a map which | ||
| + | lay upon the table. Several aides-de-camp and staff officers stood round | ||
| + | in silence. Of the two generals, one was a fierce old man, white-haired | ||
| + | and wrinkled, with a ragged, grizzled moustache and a voice like the bark | ||
| + | of a hound. The other was younger, but long-faced and solemn. He measured | ||
| + | distances upon the map with the air of a student, while his companion | ||
| + | stamped and fumed and cursed like a corporal of Hussars. It was strange to | ||
| + | see the old man so fiery and the young one so reserved. I could not | ||
| + | understand all that they said, but I was very sure about their general | ||
| + | meaning. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | furious German oath. & | ||
| + | whole army even if I had to be strapped to my horse. Bulow' | ||
| + | action, and Ziethen' | ||
| + | Gneisenau, forward!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The other shook his head. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | will make for the coast. What will your position be then, with Grouchy | ||
| + | between you and the Rhine?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | between us. Push on, I say! The whole war will be ended in one blow. Bring | ||
| + | Pirsch up, and we can throw sixty thousand men into the scale while | ||
| + | Thielmann holds Grouchy beyond Wavre.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Gneisenau shrugged his shoulders, but at that instant an orderly appeared | ||
| + | at the door. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | An English officer, with mud and blood all over his scarlet jacket, | ||
| + | staggered into the room. A crimson-stained handkerchief was knotted round | ||
| + | his arm, and he held the table to keep himself from falling. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | and that he has no fears for the result. The French cavalry has been | ||
| + | destroyed, two of their divisions of infantry have ceased to exist, and | ||
| + | only the Guard is in reserve. If you give us a vigorous support the defeat | ||
| + | will be changed to absolute rout and& | ||
| + | and he fell in a heap upon the floor. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Wellington and tell him to rely upon me to the full. Come on, gentlemen, | ||
| + | we have our work to do!& | ||
| + | staff clanking behind him, while two orderlies carried the English | ||
| + | messenger to the care of the surgeon. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Gneisenau, the Chief of the Staff, had lingered behind for an instant, and | ||
| + | he laid his hand upon one of the aides-de-camp. The fellow had attracted | ||
| + | my attention, for I have always a quick eye for a fine man. He was tall | ||
| + | and slender, the very model of a horseman; indeed, there was something in | ||
| + | his appearance which made it not unlike my own. His face was dark and as | ||
| + | keen as that of a hawk, with fierce black eyes under thick, shaggy brows, | ||
| + | and a moustache which would have put him in the crack squadron of my | ||
| + | Hussars. He wore a green coat with white facings, and a horse-hair helmet& | ||
| + | Dragoon, as I conjectured, | ||
| + | have at the end of one's sword-point. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | but if the Emperor escapes, he will rally another army, and all will have | ||
| + | to be done again. But if we can get the Emperor, then the war is indeed | ||
| + | ended. It is worth a great effort and a great risk for such an object as | ||
| + | that.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The young Dragoon said nothing, but he listened attentively. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the French army should be driven in utter rout from the field, the Emperor | ||
| + | will certainly take the road back through Genappe and Charleroi as being | ||
| + | the shortest to the frontier. We can imagine that his horses will be | ||
| + | fleet, and that the fugitives will make way for him. Our cavalry will | ||
| + | follow the rear of the beaten army, but the Emperor will be far away at | ||
| + | the front of the throng.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The young Dragoon inclined his head. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | live in history. You have the reputation of being the hardest rider in our | ||
| + | army. Do you choose such comrades as you may select& | ||
| + | should be enough. You are not to engage in the battle, nor are you to | ||
| + | follow the general pursuit, but you are to ride clear of the crowd, | ||
| + | reserving your energies for a nobler end. Do you understand me?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Again the Dragoon inclined his head. This silence impressed me. I felt | ||
| + | that he was indeed a dangerous man. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | highest. You cannot mistake the Imperial carriage, nor can you fail to | ||
| + | recognise the figure of the Emperor. Now I must follow the Marshal. Adieu! | ||
| + | If ever I see you again I trust that it will be to congratulate you upon a | ||
| + | deed which will ring through Europe.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Dragoon saluted and Gneisenau hurried from the room. The young officer | ||
| + | stood in deep thought for a few moments. Then he followed the Chief of the | ||
| + | Staff. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I looked with curiosity from my loophole to see what his next proceeding | ||
| + | would be. His horse, a fine, strong chestnut with two white stockings, was | ||
| + | fastened to the rail of the inn. He sprang into the saddle, and, riding to | ||
| + | intercept a column of cavalry which was passing, he spoke to an officer at | ||
| + | the head of the leading regiment. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Presently after some talk I saw two Hussars& | ||
| + | out of the ranks and take up their position beside Count Stein. The next | ||
| + | regiment was also stopped, and two Lancers were added to his escort. The | ||
| + | next furnished him with two Dragoons and the next with two Cuirassiers. | ||
| + | Then he drew his little group of horsemen aside and he gathered them round | ||
| + | him, explaining to them what they had to do. Finally the nine soldiers | ||
| + | rode off together and disappeared into the Wood of Paris. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I need not tell you, my friends, what all this portended. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Indeed, he had acted exactly as I should have done in his place. From each | ||
| + | colonel he had demanded the two best horsemen in the regiment, and so he | ||
| + | had assembled a band who might expect to catch whatever they should | ||
| + | follow. Heaven help the Emperor if, without an escort, he should find them | ||
| + | on his track! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And I, dear friends& | ||
| + | my mind! All thought of Grouchy had passed away. No guns were to be heard | ||
| + | to the east. He could not be near. If he should come up he would not now | ||
| + | be in time to alter the event of the day. The sun was already low in the | ||
| + | sky and there could not be more than two or three hours of daylight. My | ||
| + | mission might be dismissed as useless. But here was another mission, more | ||
| + | pressing, more immediate, a mission which meant the safety, and perhaps | ||
| + | the life, of the Emperor. At all costs, through every danger, I must get | ||
| + | back to his side. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But how was I to do it? The whole Prussian army was now between me and the | ||
| + | French lines. They blocked every road, but they could not block the path | ||
| + | of duty when Etienne Gerard sees it lie before him. I could not wait | ||
| + | longer. I must be gone. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was but the one opening to the loft, and so it was only down the | ||
| + | ladder that I could descend. I looked into the kitchen and I found that | ||
| + | the young surgeon was still there. In a chair sat the wounded English | ||
| + | aide-de-camp, | ||
| + | of exhaustion. The others had all recovered and been sent on. These were | ||
| + | my enemies, and I must pass through them in order to gain my horse. From | ||
| + | the surgeon I had nothing to fear; the Englishman was wounded, and his | ||
| + | sword stood with his cloak in a corner; the two Germans were half | ||
| + | insensible, and their muskets were not beside them. What could be simpler? | ||
| + | I opened the trap-door, slipped down the ladder, and appeared in the midst | ||
| + | of them, my sword drawn in my hand. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | What a picture of surprise! The surgeon, of course, knew all, but to the | ||
| + | Englishman and the two Germans it must have seemed that the god of war in | ||
| + | person had descended from the skies. With my appearance, with my figure, | ||
| + | with my silver and grey uniform, and with that gleaming sword in my hand, | ||
| + | I must indeed have been a sight worth seeing. The two Germans lay | ||
| + | petrified with staring eyes. The English officer half rose, but sat down | ||
| + | again from weakness, his mouth open and his hand on the back of his chair. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | lays hands upon me to stop me. You have nothing to fear if you leave me | ||
| + | alone, and nothing to hope if you try to hinder me. I am Colonel Etienne | ||
| + | Gerard, of the Hussars of Conflans.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | terrible scowl had darkened his face. The jealousy of sportsmen is a base | ||
| + | passion. He hated me, this Englishman, because I had been before him in | ||
| + | transfixing the animal. How different are our natures! Had I seen him do | ||
| + | such a deed I would have embraced him with cries of joy. But there was no | ||
| + | time for argument. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | it.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He tried to rise from his chair and reach his sword, but I got between him | ||
| + | and the corner where it lay. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | pockets a silver flask, a square wooden case and a field-glass. All these | ||
| + | I handed to him. The wretch opened the case, took out a pistol, and | ||
| + | pointed it straight at my head. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | up.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was so astounded at this infamous action that I stood petrified before | ||
| + | him. I tried to speak to him of honour and gratitude, but I saw his eyes | ||
| + | fix and harden over the pistol. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Could I endure such a humiliation? | ||
| + | in such a fashion. The word | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | before my face, and in his place was a great pile of hay, with a | ||
| + | red-coated arm and two Hessian boots waving and kicking in the heart of | ||
| + | it. Oh, the gallant landlady! It was my whiskers that had saved me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | the floor on to the struggling Englishman. In an instant I was out in the | ||
| + | courtyard, had led Violette from her stable, and was on her back. A pistol | ||
| + | bullet whizzed past my shoulder from the window, and I saw a furious face | ||
| + | looking out at me. I smiled my contempt and spurred out into the road. The | ||
| + | last of the Prussians had passed, and both my road and my duty lay clear | ||
| + | before me. If France won, all well. If France lost, then on me and my | ||
| + | little mare depended that which was more than victory or defeat& | ||
| + | safety and the life of the Emperor. & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | now before you!& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | II. THE STORY OF THE NINE PRUSSIAN HORSEMEN | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I told you when last we met, my friends, of the important mission from the | ||
| + | Emperor to Marshal Grouchy, which failed through no fault of my own, and I | ||
| + | described to you how during a long afternoon I was shut up in the attic of | ||
| + | a country inn, and was prevented from coming out because the Prussians | ||
| + | were all around me. You will remember also how I overheard the Chief of | ||
| + | the Prussian Staff give his instructions to Count Stein, and so learned | ||
| + | the dangerous plan which was on foot to kill or capture the Emperor in the | ||
| + | event of a French defeat. At first I could not have believed in such a | ||
| + | thing, but since the guns had thundered all day, and since the sound had | ||
| + | made no advance in my direction, it was evident that the English had at | ||
| + | least held their own and beaten off all our attacks. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I have said that it was a fight that day between the soul of France and | ||
| + | the beef of England, but it must be confessed that we found the beef was | ||
| + | very tough. It was clear that if the Emperor could not defeat the English | ||
| + | when alone, then it might, indeed, go hard with him now that sixty | ||
| + | thousand of these cursed Prussians were swarming on his flank. In any | ||
| + | case, with this secret in my possession, my place was by his side. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I had made my way out of the inn in the dashing manner which I have | ||
| + | described to you when last we met, and I left the English aide-de-camp | ||
| + | shaking his foolish fist out of the window. I could not but laugh as I | ||
| + | looked back at him, for his angry red face was framed and frilled with | ||
| + | hay. Once out on the road I stood erect in my stirrups, and I put on the | ||
| + | handsome black riding-coat, | ||
| + | fell to the top of my high boots, and covered my tell-tale uniform | ||
| + | completely. As to my busby, there are many such in the German service, and | ||
| + | there was no reason why it should attract attention. So long as no one | ||
| + | spoke to me there was no reason why I should not ride through the whole of | ||
| + | the Prussian army; but though I understood German, for I had many friends | ||
| + | among the German ladies during the pleasant years that I fought all over | ||
| + | that country, still I spoke it with a pretty Parisian accent which could | ||
| + | not be confounded with their rough, unmusical speech. I knew that this | ||
| + | quality of my accent would attract attention, but I could only hope and | ||
| + | pray that I would be permitted to go my way in silence. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Forest of Paris was so large that it was useless to think of going | ||
| + | round it, and so I took my courage in both hands and galloped on down the | ||
| + | road in the track of the Prussian army. It was not hard to trace it, for | ||
| + | it was rutted two feet deep by the gun-wheels and the caissons. Soon I | ||
| + | found a fringe of wounded men, Prussians and French, on each side of it, | ||
| + | where Bulow' | ||
| + | man with a long white beard, a surgeon, I suppose, shouted at me, and ran | ||
| + | after me still shouting, but I never turned my head and took no notice of | ||
| + | him save to spur on faster. I heard his shouts long after I had lost sight | ||
| + | of him among the trees. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Presently I came up with the Prussian reserves. The infantry were leaning | ||
| + | on their muskets or lying exhausted on the wet ground, and the officers | ||
| + | stood in groups listening to the mighty roar of the battle and discussing | ||
| + | the reports which came from the front. I hurried past at the top of my | ||
| + | speed, but one of them rushed out and stood in my path with his hand up as | ||
| + | a signal to me to stop. Five thousand Prussian eyes were turned upon me. | ||
| + | There was a moment! You turn pale, my friends, at the thought of it. Think | ||
| + | how every hair upon me stood on end. But never for one instant did my wits | ||
| + | or my courage desert me. & | ||
| + | guardian angel who whispered the words in my ear? The Prussian sprang from | ||
| + | my path, saluted, and pointed forward. They are well disciplined, | ||
| + | Prussians, and who was he that he should dare to stop the officer who bore | ||
| + | a message to the general? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was a talisman that would pass me out of every danger, and my heart | ||
| + | sang within me at the thought. So elated was I that I no longer waited to | ||
| + | be asked, but as I rode through the army I shouted to right and left, | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | cleared a path to let me pass. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There are times when the most supreme impudence is the highest wisdom. But | ||
| + | discretion must also be used, and I must admit that I became indiscreet. | ||
| + | For as I rode upon my way, ever nearer to the fighting line, a Prussian | ||
| + | officer of Uhlans gripped my bridle and pointed to a group of men who | ||
| + | stood near a burning farm. & | ||
| + | message!& | ||
| + | was there within a pistol-shot, | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But the good guardian angel did not desert me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Quick as a flash there came into my memory the name of the general who | ||
| + | commanded the advance of the Prussians. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | {illust. caption = & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | General Bulow!& | ||
| + | nearer my own people. Through the burning village of Planchenoit I | ||
| + | galloped, spurred my way between two columns of Prussian infantry, sprang | ||
| + | over a hedge, cut down a Silesian Hussar who flung himself before me, and | ||
| + | an instant afterward, with my coat flying open to show the uniform below, | ||
| + | I passed through the open files of the tenth of the line, and was back in | ||
| + | the heart of Lobau' | ||
| + | were being slowly driven in by the pressure of the Prussian advance. I | ||
| + | galloped onward, anxious only to find myself by the Emperor' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But a sight lay before me which held me fast as though I had been turned | ||
| + | into some noble equestrian statue. I could not move, I could scarce | ||
| + | breathe, as I gazed upon it. There was a mound over which my path lay, and | ||
| + | as I came out on the top of it I looked down the long, shallow valley of | ||
| + | Waterloo. I had left it with two great armies on either side and a clear | ||
| + | field between them. Now there were but long, ragged fringes of broken and | ||
| + | exhausted regiments upon the two ridges, but a real army of dead and | ||
| + | wounded lay between. For two miles in length and half a mile across the | ||
| + | ground was strewed and heaped with them. But slaughter was no new sight to | ||
| + | me, and it was not that which held me spellbound. It was that up the long | ||
| + | slope of the British position was moving a walking forest& | ||
| + | waving, unbroken. Did I not know the bearskins of the Guard? And did I not | ||
| + | also know, did not my soldier' | ||
| + | reserve of France; that the Emperor, like a desperate gamester, was | ||
| + | staking all upon his last card? Up they went and up& | ||
| + | unbreakable, | ||
| + | a black, heavy tide, which lapped over the British batteries. With my | ||
| + | glass I could see the English gunners throw themselves under their pieces | ||
| + | or run to the rear. On rolled the crest of the bearskins, and then, with a | ||
| + | crash which was swept across to my ears, they met the British infantry. A | ||
| + | minute passed, and another, and another. My heart was in my mouth. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They swayed back and forward; they no longer advanced; they were held. | ||
| + | Great Heaven! was it possible that they were breaking? One black dot ran | ||
| + | down the hill, then two, then four, then ten, then a great, scattered, | ||
| + | struggling mass, halting, breaking, halting, and at last shredding out and | ||
| + | rushing madly downward. & | ||
| + | all around me I heard the cry. Along the whole line the infantry turned | ||
| + | their faces and the gunners flinched from their guns. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | face passed me yelling out these words of woe. & | ||
| + | yourselves! You are betrayed!& | ||
| + | yourselves!& | ||
| + | like frightened sheep. Cries and screams rose from all around me. And at | ||
| + | that moment, as I looked at the British position, I saw what I can never | ||
| + | forget. A single horseman stood out black and clear upon the ridge against | ||
| + | the last red angry glow of the setting sun. So dark, so motionless, | ||
| + | against that grim light, he might have been the very spirit of Battle | ||
| + | brooding over that terrible valley. As I gazed, he raised his hat high in | ||
| + | the air, and at the signal, with a low, deep roar like a breaking wave, | ||
| + | the whole British army flooded over their ridge and came rolling down into | ||
| + | the valley. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Long steel-fringed lines of red and blue, sweeping waves of cavalry, horse | ||
| + | batteries rattling and bounding& | ||
| + | ranks. It was over. A yell of agony, the agony of brave men who see no | ||
| + | hope, rose from one flank to the other, and in an instant the whole of | ||
| + | that noble army was swept in a wild, terror-stricken crowd from the field. | ||
| + | Even now, dear friends, I cannot, as you see, speak of that dreadful | ||
| + | moment with a dry eye or with a steady voice. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At first I was carried away in that wild rush, whirled off like a straw in | ||
| + | a flooded gutter. But, suddenly, what should I see amongst the mixed | ||
| + | regiments in front of me but a group of stern horsemen, in silver and | ||
| + | grey, with a broken and tattered standard held aloft in the heart of them! | ||
| + | Not all the might of England and of Prussia could break the Hussars of | ||
| + | Conflans. But when I joined them it made my heart bleed to see them. The | ||
| + | major, seven captains, and five hundred men were left upon the field. | ||
| + | Young Captain Sabbatier was in command, and when I asked him where were | ||
| + | the five missing squadrons he pointed back and answered: & | ||
| + | them round one of those British squares.& | ||
| + | last gasp, caked with sweat and dirt, their black tongues hanging out from | ||
| + | their lips; but it made me thrill with pride to see how that shattered | ||
| + | remnant still rode knee to knee, with every man, from the boy trumpeter to | ||
| + | the farrier-sergeant, | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Would that I could have brought them on with me as an escort for the | ||
| + | Emperor! In the heart of the Hussars of Conflans he would be safe indeed. | ||
| + | But the horses were too spent to trot. I left them behind me with orders | ||
| + | to rally upon the farm-house of St. Aunay, where we had camped two nights | ||
| + | before. For my own part, I forced my horse through the throng in search of | ||
| + | the Emperor. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were things which I saw then, as I pressed through that dreadful | ||
| + | crowd, which can never be banished from my mind. In evil dreams there | ||
| + | comes back to me the memory of that flowing stream of livid, staring, | ||
| + | screaming faces upon which I looked down. It was a nightmare. In victory | ||
| + | one does not understand the horror of war. It is only in the cold chill of | ||
| + | defeat that it is brought home to you. I remember an old Grenadier of the | ||
| + | Guard lying at the side of the road with his broken leg doubled at a right | ||
| + | angle. & | ||
| + | and stumbled over him all the same. In front of me rode a Lancer officer | ||
| + | without his coat. His arm had just been taken off in the ambulance. The | ||
| + | bandages had fallen. It was horrible. Two gunners tried to drive through | ||
| + | with their gun. A Chasseur raised his musket and shot one of them through | ||
| + | the head. I saw a major of Cuirassiers draw his two holster pistols and | ||
| + | shoot first his horse and then himself. Beside the road a man in a blue | ||
| + | coat was raging and raving like a madman. His face was black with powder, | ||
| + | his clothes were torn, one epaulette was gone, the other hung dangling | ||
| + | over his breast. Only when I came close to him did I recognise that it was | ||
| + | Marshal Ney. He howled at the flying troops and his voice was hardly | ||
| + | human. Then he raised the stump of his sword& | ||
| + | inches from the hilt. & | ||
| + | cried. Gladly would I have gone with him, but my duty lay elsewhere. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He did not, as you know, find the death he sought, but he met it a few | ||
| + | weeks later in cold blood at the hands of his enemies. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There is an old proverb that in attack the French are more than men, in | ||
| + | defeat they are less than women. I knew that it was true that day. But | ||
| + | even in that rout I saw things which I can tell with pride. Through the | ||
| + | fields which skirt the road moved Cambronne' | ||
| + | the Guard, the cream of our army. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They walked slowly in square, their colours waving over the sombre line of | ||
| + | the bearskins. All round them raged the English cavalry and the black | ||
| + | Lancers of Brunswick, wave after wave thundering up, breaking with a | ||
| + | crash, and recoiling in ruin. When last I saw them, the English guns, six | ||
| + | at a time, were smashing grape-shot through their ranks and the English | ||
| + | infantry were closing in upon three sides and pouring volleys into them; | ||
| + | but still, like a noble lion with fierce hounds clinging to its flanks, | ||
| + | the glorious remnant of the Guard, marching slowly, halting, closing up, | ||
| + | dressing, moved majestically from their last battle. Behind them the | ||
| + | Guard' | ||
| + | gunner was in his place, but no gun fired. & | ||
| + | the colonel as I passed. & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | time to escape.& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Behind this screen of brave men the others took their breath, and then | ||
| + | went on in less desperate fashion. They had broken away from the road, and | ||
| + | all over the countryside in the twilight I could see the timid, scattered, | ||
| + | frightened crowd who ten hours before had formed the finest army that ever | ||
| + | went down to battle. I with my splendid mare was soon able to get clear of | ||
| + | the throng, and just after I passed Genappe I overtook the Emperor with | ||
| + | the remains of his Staff. Soult was with him still, and so were Drouot, | ||
| + | Lobau, and Bertrand, with five Chasseurs of the Guard, their horses hardly | ||
| + | able to move. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The night was falling, and the Emperor' | ||
| + | through the gloom as he turned it toward me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He tried to turn his horse, but Bertrand seized his bridle. & | ||
| + | said Soult, & | ||
| + | him on among them. He rode in silence with his chin upon his breast, the | ||
| + | greatest and the saddest of men. Far away behind us those remorseless guns | ||
| + | were still roaring. Sometimes out of the darkness would come shrieks and | ||
| + | screams and the low thunder of galloping hoofs. At the sound we would spur | ||
| + | our horses and hasten onward through the scattered troops. At last, after | ||
| + | riding all night in the clear moonlight, we found that we had left both | ||
| + | pursued and pursuers behind. By the time we passed over the bridge at | ||
| + | Charleroi the dawn was breaking. What a company of spectres we looked in | ||
| + | that cold, clear, searching light, the Emperor with his face of wax, Soult | ||
| + | blotched with powder, Lobau dabbled with blood! But we rode more easily | ||
| + | now, and had ceased to glance over our shoulders, for Waterloo was more | ||
| + | than thirty miles behind us. One of the Emperor' | ||
| + | picked up at Charleroi, and we halted now on the other side of the Sambre, | ||
| + | and dismounted from our horses. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You will ask me why it was that during all this time I had said nothing of | ||
| + | that which was nearest my heart, the need for guarding the Emperor. As a | ||
| + | fact, I had tried to speak of it both to Soult and to Lobau, but their | ||
| + | minds were so overwhelmed with the disaster and so distracted by the | ||
| + | pressing needs of the moment that it was impossible to make them | ||
| + | understand how urgent was my message. Besides, during this long flight we | ||
| + | had always had numbers of French fugitives beside us on the road, and, | ||
| + | however demoralised they might be, we had nothing to fear from the attack | ||
| + | of nine men. But now, as we stood round the Emperor' | ||
| + | early morning, I observed with anxiety that not a single French soldier | ||
| + | was to be seen upon the long, white road behind us. We had outstripped the | ||
| + | army. I looked round to see what means of defence were left to us. The | ||
| + | horses of the Chasseurs of the Guard had broken down, and only one of | ||
| + | them, a grey-whiskered sergeant, remained. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There were Soult, Lobau, and Bertrand; but, for all their talents, I had | ||
| + | rather, when it came to hard knocks, have a single quartermaster-sergeant | ||
| + | of Hussars at my side than the three of them put together. There remained | ||
| + | the Emperor himself, the coachman, and a valet of the household who had | ||
| + | joined us at Charleroi& | ||
| + | the Chasseur and I, were fighting soldiers who could be depended upon at a | ||
| + | pinch. A chill came over me as I reflected how utterly helpless we were. | ||
| + | At that moment I raised my eyes, and there were the nine Prussian horsemen | ||
| + | coming over the hill. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | On either side of the road at this point are long stretches of rolling | ||
| + | plain, part of it yellow with corn and part of it rich grass land watered | ||
| + | by the Sambre. To the south of us was a low ridge, over which was the road | ||
| + | to France. Along this road the little group of cavalry was riding. So well | ||
| + | had Count Stein obeyed his instructions that he had struck far to the | ||
| + | south of us in his determination to get ahead of the Emperor. Now he was | ||
| + | riding from the direction in which we were going& | ||
| + | we could expect an enemy. When I caught that first glimpse of them they | ||
| + | were still half a mile away. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They all started and stared. It was the Emperor who broke the silence. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Unpleasant news always made the Emperor furious against the man who broke | ||
| + | it. He railed at me now in the rasping, croaking, Corsican voice which | ||
| + | only made itself heard when he had lost his self-control. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | saying that they are Prussians? How could Prussians be coming from the | ||
| + | direction of France? You have lost any wits that you ever possessed.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His words cut me like a whip, and yet we all felt toward the Emperor as an | ||
| + | old dog does to its master. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | His kick is soon forgotten and forgiven. I would not argue or justify | ||
| + | myself. At the first glance I had seen the two white stockings on the | ||
| + | forelegs of the leading horse, and I knew well that Count Stein was on its | ||
| + | back. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For an instant the nine horsemen had halted and surveyed us. Now they put | ||
| + | spurs to their horses, and with a yell of triumph they galloped down the | ||
| + | road. They had recognised that their prey was in their power. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At that swift advance all doubt had vanished. & | ||
| + | indeed the Prussians!& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Lobau and Bertrand ran about the road like two frightened hens. The | ||
| + | sergeant of Chasseurs drew his sabre with a volley of curses. The coachman | ||
| + | and the valet cried and wrung their hands. Napoleon stood with a frozen | ||
| + | face, one foot on the step of the carriage. And I& | ||
| + | was magnificent! What words can I use to do justice to my own bearing at | ||
| + | that supreme instant of my life? So coldly alert, so deadly cool, so clear | ||
| + | in brain and ready in hand. He had called me a numskull and a buffoon. How | ||
| + | quick and how noble was my revenge! When his own wits failed him, it was | ||
| + | Etienne Gerard who supplied the want. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | To fight was absurd; to fly was ridiculous. The Emperor was stout, and | ||
| + | weary to death. At the best he was never a good rider. How could he fly | ||
| + | from these, the picked men of an army? The best horseman in Prussia was | ||
| + | among them. But I was the best horseman in France. I, and only I, could | ||
| + | hold my own with them. If they were on my track instead of the Emperor' | ||
| + | all might still be well. These were the thoughts which flashed so swiftly | ||
| + | through my mind that in an instant I had sprung from the first idea to the | ||
| + | final conclusion. Another instant carried me from the final conclusion to | ||
| + | prompt and vigorous action. I rushed to the side of the Emperor, who stood | ||
| + | petrified, with the carriage between him and our enemies. & | ||
| + | Sire! your hat!& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Never had he been so hustled in his life. In an instant I had them on and | ||
| + | had thrust him into the carriage. The next I had sprung on to his famous | ||
| + | white Arab and had ridden clear of the group upon the road. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You have already divined my plan; but you may well ask how could I hope to | ||
| + | pass myself off as the Emperor. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My figure is as you still see it, and his was never beautiful, for he was | ||
| + | both short and stout. But a man's height is not remarked when he is in the | ||
| + | saddle, and for the rest one had but to sit forward on the horse and round | ||
| + | one's back and carry oneself like a sack of flour. I wore the little | ||
| + | cocked hat and the loose grey coat with the silver star which was known to | ||
| + | every child from one end of Europe to the other. Beneath me was the | ||
| + | Emperor' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Already as I rode clear the Prussians were within two hundred yards of us. | ||
| + | I made a gesture of terror and despair with my hands, and I sprang my | ||
| + | horse over the bank which lined the road. It was enough. A yell of | ||
| + | exultation and of furious hatred broke from the Prussians. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was the howl of starving wolves who scent their prey. I spurred my | ||
| + | horse over the meadow-land and looked back under my arm as I rode. Oh, the | ||
| + | glorious moment when one after the other I saw eight horsemen come over | ||
| + | the bank at my heels! Only one had stayed behind, and I heard shouting and | ||
| + | the sounds of a struggle. I remembered my old sergeant of Chasseurs, and I | ||
| + | was sure that number nine would trouble us no more. The road was clear and | ||
| + | the Emperor free to continue his journey. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But now I had to think of myself. If I were overtaken the Prussians would | ||
| + | certainly make short work of me in their disappointment. If it were so& | ||
| + | I lost my life& | ||
| + | I had hopes that I might shake them off. With ordinary horsemen upon | ||
| + | ordinary horses I should have had no difficulty in doing so, but here both | ||
| + | steeds and riders were of the best. It was a grand creature that I rode, | ||
| + | but it was weary with its long night' | ||
| + | those riders who do not know how to manage a horse. He had little thought | ||
| + | for them and a heavy hand upon their mouths. On the other hand, Stein and | ||
| + | his men had come both far and fast. The race was a fair one. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So quick had been my impulse, and so rapidly had I acted upon it, that I | ||
| + | had not thought enough of my own safety. Had I done so in the first | ||
| + | instance I should, of course, have ridden straight back the way we had | ||
| + | come, for so I should have met our own people. But I was off the road and | ||
| + | had galloped a mile over the plain before this occurred to me. Then when I | ||
| + | looked back I saw that the Prussians had spread out into a long line, so | ||
| + | as to head me off from the Charleroi road. I could not turn back, but at | ||
| + | least I could edge toward the north. I knew that the whole face of the | ||
| + | country was covered with our flying troops, and that sooner or later I | ||
| + | must come upon some of them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But one thing I had forgotten& | ||
| + | gave it a thought until I saw it, deep and broad, gleaming in the morning | ||
| + | sunlight. It barred my path, and the Prussians howled behind me. I | ||
| + | galloped to the brink, but the horse refused the plunge. I spurred him, | ||
| + | but the bank was high and the stream deep. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He shrank back trembling and snorting. The yells of triumph were louder | ||
| + | every instant. I turned and rode for my life down the river bank. It | ||
| + | formed a loop at this part, and I must get across somehow, for my retreat | ||
| + | was blocked. Suddenly a thrill of hope ran through me, for I saw a house | ||
| + | on my side of the stream and another on the farther bank. Where there are | ||
| + | two such houses it usually means that there is a ford between them. A | ||
| + | sloping path led to the brink and I urged my horse down it. On he went, | ||
| + | the water up to the saddle, the foam flying right and left. He blundered | ||
| + | once and I thought we were lost, but he recovered and an instant later was | ||
| + | clattering up the farther slope. As we came out I heard the splash behind | ||
| + | me as the first Prussian took the water. There was just the breadth of the | ||
| + | Sambre between us. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I rode with my head sunk between my shoulders in Napoleon' | ||
| + | did not dare to look back for fear they should see my moustache. I had | ||
| + | turned up the collar of the grey coat so as partly to hide it. Even now if | ||
| + | they found out their mistake they might turn and overtake the carriage. | ||
| + | But when once we were on the road I could tell by the drumming of their | ||
| + | hoofs how far distant they were, and it seemed to me that the sound grew | ||
| + | perceptibly louder, as if they were slowly gaining upon me. We were riding | ||
| + | now up the stony and rutted lane which led from the ford. I peeped back | ||
| + | very cautiously from under my arm and I perceived that my danger came from | ||
| + | a single rider, who was far ahead of his comrades. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was a Hussar, a very tiny fellow, upon a big black horse, and it was | ||
| + | his light weight which had brought him into the foremost place. It is a | ||
| + | place of honour; but it is also a place of danger, as he was soon to | ||
| + | learn. I felt the holsters, but, to my horror, there were no pistols. | ||
| + | There was a field-glass in one and the other was stuffed with papers. My | ||
| + | sword had been left behind with Violette. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Had I only my own weapons and my own little mare I could have played with | ||
| + | these rascals. But I was not entirely unarmed. The Emperor' | ||
| + | hung to the saddle. It was curved and short, the hilt all crusted with | ||
| + | gold& | ||
| + | soldier in his deadly need. I drew it, such as it was, and I waited my | ||
| + | chance. Every instant the clink and clatter of the hoofs grew nearer. I | ||
| + | heard the panting of the horse, and the fellow shouted some threat at me. | ||
| + | There was a turn in the lane, and as I rounded it I drew up my white Arab | ||
| + | on his haunches. As we spun round I met the Prussian Hussar face to face. | ||
| + | He was going too fast to stop, and his only chance was to ride me down. | ||
| + | Had he done so he might have met his own death, but he would have injured | ||
| + | me or my horse past all hope of escape. But the fool flinched as he saw me | ||
| + | waiting and flew past me on my right. I lunged over my Arab's neck and | ||
| + | buried my toy sword in his side. It must have been the finest steel and as | ||
| + | sharp as a razor, for I hardly felt it enter, and yet his blood was within | ||
| + | three inches of the hilt. His horse galloped on and he kept his saddle for | ||
| + | a hundred yards before he sank down with his face on the mane and then | ||
| + | dived over the side of the neck on to the road. For my own part I was | ||
| + | already at his horse' | ||
| + | have told. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I heard the cry of rage and vengeance which rose from the Prussians as | ||
| + | they passed their dead comrade, and I could not but smile as I wondered | ||
| + | what they could think of the Emperor as a horseman and a swordsman. I | ||
| + | glanced back cautiously as before, and I saw that none of the seven men | ||
| + | stopped. The fate of their comrade was nothing compared to the carrying | ||
| + | out of their mission. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | They were as untiring and as remorseless as bloodhounds. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But I had a good lead and the brave Arab was still going well. I thought | ||
| + | that I was safe. And yet it was at that very instant that the most | ||
| + | terrible danger befell me. The lane divided, and I took the smaller of the | ||
| + | two divisions because it was the more grassy and the easier for the | ||
| + | horse' | ||
| + | myself in a square of stables and farm-buildings, | ||
| + | that by which I had come! Ah, my friends, if my hair is snowy white, have | ||
| + | I not had enough to make it so? | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | To retreat was impossible. I could hear the thunder of the Prussians' | ||
| + | hoofs in the lane. I looked round me, and Nature has blessed me with that | ||
| + | quick eye which is the first of gifts to any soldier, but most of all to a | ||
| + | leader of cavalry. Between a long, low line of stables and the farm-house | ||
| + | there was a pig-sty. Its front was made of bars of wood four feet high; | ||
| + | the back was of stone, higher than the front. What was beyond I could not | ||
| + | tell. The space between the front and the back was not more than a few | ||
| + | yards. It was a desperate venture, and yet I must take it. Every instant | ||
| + | the beating of those hurrying hoofs was louder and louder. I put my Arab | ||
| + | at the pig-sty. She cleared the front beautifully and came down with her | ||
| + | forefeet upon the sleeping pig within, slipping forward upon her knees. I | ||
| + | was thrown over the wall beyond, and fell upon my hands and face in a soft | ||
| + | flower-bed. My horse was upon one side of the wall, I upon the other, and | ||
| + | the Prussians were pouring into the yard. But I was up in an instant and | ||
| + | had seized the bridle of the plunging horse over the top of the wall. It | ||
| + | was built of loose stones, and I dragged down a few of them to make a gap. | ||
| + | As I tugged at the bridle and shouted the gallant creature rose to the | ||
| + | leap, and an instant afterward she was by my side and I with my foot on | ||
| + | the stirrup. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | An heroic idea had entered my mind as I mounted into the saddle. These | ||
| + | Prussians, if they came over the pig-sty, could only come one at once, and | ||
| + | their attack would not be formidable when they had not had time to recover | ||
| + | from such a leap. Why should I not wait and kill them one by one as they | ||
| + | came over? It was a glorious thought. They would learn that Etienne Gerard | ||
| + | was not a safe man to hunt. My hand felt for my sword, but you can imagine | ||
| + | my feelings, my friends, when I came upon an empty scabbard. It had been | ||
| + | shaken out when the horse had tripped over that infernal pig. On what | ||
| + | absurd trifles do our destinies hang& | ||
| + | Gerard on the other! Could I spring over the wall and get the sword? | ||
| + | Impossible! The Prussians were already in the yard. I turned my Arab and | ||
| + | resumed my flight. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But for a moment it seemed to me that I was in a far worse trap than | ||
| + | before. I found myself in the garden of the farm-house, an orchard in the | ||
| + | centre and flower-beds all round. A high wall surrounded the whole place. | ||
| + | I reflected, however, that there must be some point of entrance, since | ||
| + | every visitor could not be expected to spring over the pig-sty. I rode | ||
| + | round the wall. As I expected, I came upon a door with a key upon the | ||
| + | inner side. I dismounted, unlocked it, opened it, and there was a Prussian | ||
| + | Lancer sitting his horse within six feet of me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | For a moment we each stared at the other. Then I shut the door and locked | ||
| + | it again. A crash and a cry came from the other end of the garden. I | ||
| + | understood that one of my enemies had come to grief in trying to get over | ||
| + | the pig-sty. How could I ever get out of this cul-de-sac? It was evident | ||
| + | that some of the party had galloped round, while some had followed | ||
| + | straight upon my tracks. Had I my sword I might have beaten off the Lancer | ||
| + | at the door, but to come out now was to be butchered. And yet if I waited | ||
| + | some of them would certainly follow me on foot over the pig-sty, and what | ||
| + | could I do then? I must act at once or I was lost. But it is at such | ||
| + | moments that my wits are most active and my actions most prompt. Still | ||
| + | leading my horse, I ran for a hundred yards by the side of the wall away | ||
| + | from the spot where the Lancer was watching. There I stopped, and with an | ||
| + | effort I tumbled down several of the loose stones from the top of the | ||
| + | wall. The instant I had done so I hurried back to the door. As I had | ||
| + | expected, he thought I was making a gap for my escape at that point, and I | ||
| + | heard the thud of his horse' | ||
| + | reached the gate I looked back, and I saw a green-coated horseman, whom I | ||
| + | knew to be Count Stein, clear the pig-sty and gallop furiously with a | ||
| + | shout of triumph across the garden. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | quarter!& | ||
| + | other side. Stein was at my very heels, and the Lancer had already turned | ||
| + | his horse. Springing upon my Arab's back, I was off once more with a clear | ||
| + | stretch of grass land before me. Stein had to dismount to open the gate, | ||
| + | to lead his horse through, and to mount again before he could follow. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It was he that I feared rather than the Lancer, whose horse was | ||
| + | coarse-bred and weary. I galloped hard for a mile before I ventured to | ||
| + | look back, and then Stein was a musket-shot from me, and the Lancer as | ||
| + | much again, while only three of the others were in sight. My nine | ||
| + | Prussians were coming down to more manageable numbers, and yet one was too | ||
| + | much for an unarmed man. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It had surprised me that during this long chase I had seen no fugitives | ||
| + | from the army, but I reflected that I was considerably to the west of | ||
| + | their line of flight, and that I must edge more toward the east if I | ||
| + | wished to join them. Unless I did so it was probable that my pursuers, | ||
| + | even if they could not overtake me themselves, would keep me in view until | ||
| + | I was headed off by some of their comrades coming from the north. As I | ||
| + | looked to the eastward I saw afar off a line of dust which stretched for | ||
| + | miles across the country. This was certainly the main road along which our | ||
| + | unhappy army was flying. But I soon had proof that some of our stragglers | ||
| + | had wandered into these side tracks, for I came suddenly upon a horse | ||
| + | grazing at the corner of a field, and beside him, with his back against | ||
| + | the bank, his master, a French Cuirassier, terribly wounded and evidently | ||
| + | on the point of death. I sprang down, seized his long, heavy sword, and | ||
| + | rode on with it. Never shall I forget the poor man's face as he looked at | ||
| + | me with his failing sight. He was an old, grey-moustached soldier, one of | ||
| + | the real fanatics, and to him this last vision of his Emperor was like a | ||
| + | revelation from on high. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Astonishment, | ||
| + | something& | ||
| + | listen, and I galloped on my way. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | All this time I had been on the meadow-land, | ||
| + | part by broad ditches. Some of them could not have been less than from | ||
| + | fourteen to fifteen feet, and my heart was in my mouth as I went at each | ||
| + | of them, for a slip would have been my ruin. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But whoever selected the Emperor' | ||
| + | creature, save when it balked on the bank of the Sambre, never failed me | ||
| + | for an instant. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | We cleared everything in one stride. And yet we could not shake off! those | ||
| + | infernal Prussians. As I left each water-course behind me I looked back | ||
| + | with renewed hope; but it was only to see Stein on his white-legged | ||
| + | chestnut flying over it as lightly as I had done myself. He was my enemy, | ||
| + | but I honoured him for the way in which he carried himself that day. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Again and again I measured the distance which separated him from the next | ||
| + | horseman. I had the idea that I might turn and cut him down, as I had the | ||
| + | Hussar, before his comrade could come to his help. But the others had | ||
| + | closed up and were not far behind. I reflected that this Stein was | ||
| + | probably as fine a swordsman as he was a rider, and that it might take me | ||
| + | some little time to get the better of him. In that case the others would | ||
| + | come to his aid and I should be lost. On the whole, it was wiser to | ||
| + | continue my flight. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A road with poplars on either side ran across the plain from east to west. | ||
| + | It would lead me toward that long line of dust which marked the French | ||
| + | retreat. I wheeled my horse, therefore, and galloped down it. As I rode I | ||
| + | saw a single house in front of me upon the right, with a great bush hung | ||
| + | over the door to mark it as an inn. Outside there were several peasants, | ||
| + | but for them I cared nothing. What frightened me was to see the gleam of a | ||
| + | red coat, which showed that there were British in the place. However, I | ||
| + | could not turn and I could not stop, so there was nothing for it but to | ||
| + | gallop on and to take my chance. There were no troops in sight, so these | ||
| + | men must be stragglers or marauders, from whom I had little to fear. As I | ||
| + | approached I saw that there were two of them sitting drinking on a bench | ||
| + | outside the inn door. I saw them stagger to their feet, and it was evident | ||
| + | that they were both very drunk. One stood swaying in the middle of the | ||
| + | road. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | to catch me, but luckily for himself his drunken feet stumbled and he fell | ||
| + | on his face on the road. The other was more dangerous. He had rushed into | ||
| + | the inn, and just as I passed I saw him run out with his musket in his | ||
| + | hand. He dropped upon one knee, and I stooped forward over my horse' | ||
| + | neck. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A single shot from a Prussian or an Austrian is a small matter, but the | ||
| + | British were at that time the best shots in Europe, and my drunkard seemed | ||
| + | steady enough when he had a gun at his shoulder. I heard the crack, and my | ||
| + | horse gave a convulsive spring which would have unseated many a rider. For | ||
| + | an instant I thought he was killed, but when I turned in my saddle I saw a | ||
| + | stream of blood running down the off hind-quarter. I looked back at the | ||
| + | Englishman, and the brute had bitten the end off another cartridge and was | ||
| + | ramming it into his musket, but before he had it primed we were beyond his | ||
| + | range. These men were foot-soldiers and could not join in the chase, but I | ||
| + | heard them whooping and tally-hoing behind me as if I had been a fox. The | ||
| + | peasants also shouted and ran through the fields flourishing their sticks. | ||
| + | From all sides I heard cries, and everywhere were the rushing, waving | ||
| + | figures of my pursuers. To think of the great Emperor being chivvied over | ||
| + | the country-side in this fashion! It made me long to have these rascals | ||
| + | within the sweep of my sword. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But now I felt that I was nearing the end of my course. I had done all | ||
| + | that a man could be expected to do& | ||
| + | last I had come to a point from which I could see no escape. The horses of | ||
| + | my pursuers were exhausted, but mine was exhausted and wounded also. It | ||
| + | was losing blood fast, and we left a red trail upon the white, dusty road. | ||
| + | Already his pace was slackening, and sooner or later he must drop under | ||
| + | me. I looked back, and there were the five inevitable Prussians& | ||
| + | a hundred yards in front, then a Lancer, and then three others riding | ||
| + | together. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Stein had drawn his sword, and he waved it at me. For my own part I was | ||
| + | determined not to give myself up. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I would try how many of these Prussians I could take with me into the | ||
| + | other world. At this supreme moment all the great deeds of my life rose in | ||
| + | a vision before me, and I felt that this, my last exploit, was indeed a | ||
| + | worthy close to such a career. My death would be a fatal blow to those who | ||
| + | loved me, to my dear mother, to my Hussars, to others who shall be | ||
| + | nameless. But all of them had my honour and my fame at heart, and I felt | ||
| + | that their grief would be tinged with pride when they learned how I had | ||
| + | ridden and how I had fought upon this last day. Therefore I hardened my | ||
| + | heart and, as my Arab limped more and more upon his wounded leg, I drew | ||
| + | the great sword which I had taken from the Cuirassier, and I set my teeth | ||
| + | for my supreme struggle. My hand was in the very act of tightening the | ||
| + | bridle, for I feared that if I delayed longer I might find myself on foot | ||
| + | fighting against five mounted men. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At that instant my eye fell upon something which brought hope to my heart | ||
| + | and a shout of joy to my lips. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | From a grove of trees in front of me there projected the steeple of a | ||
| + | village church. But there could not be two steeples like that, for the | ||
| + | corner of it had crumbled away or been struck by lightning, so that it was | ||
| + | of a most fantastic shape. I had seen it only two days before, and it was | ||
| + | the church of the village of Gosselies. It was not the hope of reaching | ||
| + | the village which set my heart singing with joy, but it was that I knew my | ||
| + | ground now, and that farm-house not half a mile ahead, with its gable end | ||
| + | sticking out from amid the trees, must be that very farm of St. Aunay | ||
| + | where we had bivouacked, and which I had named to Captain Sabbatier as the | ||
| + | rendezvous of the Hussars of Conflans. There they were, my little rascals, | ||
| + | if I could but reach them. With every bound my horse grew weaker. Each | ||
| + | instant the sound of the pursuit grew louder. I heard a gust of crackling | ||
| + | German oaths at my very heels. A pistol bullet sighed in my ears. Spurring | ||
| + | frantically and beating my poor Arab with the flat of my sword I kept him | ||
| + | at the top of his speed. The open gate of the farm-yard lay before me. I | ||
| + | saw the twinkle of steel within. Stein' | ||
| + | of me as I thundered through. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | swarm from their nest. Then my splendid white Arab fell dead under me and | ||
| + | I was hurled on to the cobble-stones of the yard, where I can remember no | ||
| + | more. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Such was my last and most famous exploit, my dear friends, a story which | ||
| + | rang through Europe and has made the name of Etienne Gerard famous in | ||
| + | history. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Alas! that all my efforts could only give the Emperor a few weeks more | ||
| + | liberty, since he surrendered upon the 15th of July to the English. But it | ||
| + | was not my fault that he was not able to collect the forces still waiting | ||
| + | for him in France, and to fight another Waterloo with a happier ending. | ||
| + | Had others been as loyal as I was the history of the world might have been | ||
| + | changed, the Emperor would have preserved his throne, and such a soldier | ||
| + | as I would not have been left to spend his life in planting cabbages or to | ||
| + | while away his old age telling stories in a cafe. You ask me about the | ||
| + | fate of Stein and the Prussian horsemen! Of the three who dropped upon the | ||
| + | way I know nothing. One you will remember that I killed. There remained | ||
| + | five, three of whom were cut down by my Hussars, who, for the instant, | ||
| + | were under the impression that it was indeed the Emperor whom they were | ||
| + | defending. Stein was taken, slightly wounded, and so was one of the | ||
| + | Uhlans. The truth was not told to them, for we thought it best that no | ||
| + | news, or false news, should get about as to where the Emperor was, so that | ||
| + | Count Stein still believed that he was within a few yards of making that | ||
| + | tremendous capture. & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | understand why the young colonel of Hussars laughed so heartily at his | ||
| + | words& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <a name=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <div style=" | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <h2> | ||
| + | VIII. The Last Adventure of the Brigadier | ||
| + | </h2> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I will tell you no more stories, my dear friends. It is said that man is | ||
| + | like the hare, which runs in a circle and comes back to die at the point | ||
| + | from which it started. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Gascony has been calling to me of late. I see the blue Garonne winding | ||
| + | among the vineyards and the bluer ocean toward which its waters sweep. I | ||
| + | see the old town also, and the bristle of masts from the side of the long | ||
| + | stone quay. My heart hungers for the breath of my native air and the warm | ||
| + | glow of my native sun. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Here in Paris are my friends, my occupations, | ||
| + | have known me are in their grave. And yet the southwest wind as it rattles | ||
| + | on my windows seems always to be the strong voice of the motherland | ||
| + | calling her child back to that bosom into which I am ready to sink. I have | ||
| + | played my part in my time. The time has passed. I must pass also. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Nay, dear friends, do not look sad, for what can be happier than a life | ||
| + | completed in honour and made beautiful with friendship and love? And yet | ||
| + | it is solemn also when a man approaches the end of the long road and sees | ||
| + | the turning which leads him into the unknown. But the Emperor and all his | ||
| + | Marshals have ridden round that dark turning and passed into the beyond. | ||
| + | My Hussars, too& | ||
| + | I must go. But on this the last night I will tell you that which is more | ||
| + | than a tale& | ||
| + | sealed, but I see no reason why I should not leave behind me some account | ||
| + | of this remarkable adventure, which must otherwise be entirely lost, since | ||
| + | I and only I, of all living men, have a knowledge of the facts. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I will ask you to go back with me to the year 1821. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In that year our great Emperor had been absent from us for six years, and | ||
| + | only now and then from over the seas we heard some whisper which showed | ||
| + | that he was still alive. You cannot think what a weight it was upon our | ||
| + | hearts for us who loved him to think of him in captivity eating his giant | ||
| + | soul out upon that lonely island. From the moment we rose until we closed | ||
| + | our eyes in sleep the thought was always with us, and we felt dishonoured | ||
| + | that he, our chief and master, should be so humiliated without our being | ||
| + | able to move a hand to help him. There were many who would most willingly | ||
| + | have laid down the remainder of their lives to bring him a little ease, | ||
| + | and yet all that we could do was to sit and grumble in our cafes and stare | ||
| + | at the map, counting up the leagues of water which lay between us. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It seemed that he might have been in the moon for all that we could do to | ||
| + | help him. But that was only because we were all soldiers and knew nothing | ||
| + | of the sea. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Of course, we had our own little troubles to make us bitter, as well as | ||
| + | the wrongs of our Emperor. There were many of us who had held high rank | ||
| + | and would hold it again if he came back to his own. We had not found it | ||
| + | possible to take service under the white flag of the Bourbons, or to take | ||
| + | an oath which might turn our sabres against the man whom we loved. So we | ||
| + | found ourselves with neither work nor money. What could we do save gather | ||
| + | together and gossip and grumble, while those who had a little paid the | ||
| + | score and those who had nothing shared the bottle? Now and then, if we | ||
| + | were lucky, we managed to pick a quarrel with one of the Garde du Corps, | ||
| + | and if we left him on his hack in the Bois we felt that we had struck a | ||
| + | blow for Napoleon once again. They came to know our haunts in time, and | ||
| + | they avoided them as if they had been hornets' | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was one of these& | ||
| + | Varennes, which was frequented by several of the more distinguished and | ||
| + | younger Napoleonic officers. Nearly all of us had been colonels or | ||
| + | aides-de-camp, | ||
| + | generally made him feel that he had taken a liberty. There were Captain | ||
| + | Lepine, who had won the medal of honour at Leipzig; Colonel Bonnet, | ||
| + | aide-de-camp to Macdonald; Colonel Jourdan, whose fame in the army was | ||
| + | hardly second to my own; Sabbatier of my own Hussars, Meunier of the Red | ||
| + | Lancers, Le Breton of the Guards, and a dozen others. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Every night we met and talked, played dominoes, drank a glass or two, and | ||
| + | wondered how long it would be before the Emperor would be back and we at | ||
| + | the head of our regiments once more. The Bourbons had already lost any | ||
| + | hold they ever had upon the country, as was shown a few years afterward, | ||
| + | when Paris rose against them and they were hunted for the third time out | ||
| + | of France. Napoleon had but to show himself on the coast, and he would | ||
| + | have marched without firing a musket to the capital, exactly as he had | ||
| + | done when he came back from Elba. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Well, when affairs were in this state there arrived one night in February, | ||
| + | in our cafe, a most singular little man. He was short but exceedingly | ||
| + | broad, with huge shoulders, and a head which was a deformity, so large was | ||
| + | it. His heavy brown face was scarred with white streaks in a most | ||
| + | extraordinary manner, and he had grizzled whiskers such as seamen wear. | ||
| + | Two gold earrings in his ears, and plentiful tattooing upon his hands and | ||
| + | arms, told us also that he was of the sea before he introduced himself to | ||
| + | us as Captain Fourneau, of the Emperor' | ||
| + | introduction to two of our number, and there could be no doubt that he was | ||
| + | devoted to the cause. He won our respect, too, for he had seen as much | ||
| + | fighting as any of us, and the burns upon his face were caused by his | ||
| + | standing to his post upon the Orient, at the Battle of the Nile, until the | ||
| + | vessel blew up underneath him. Yet he would say little about himself, but | ||
| + | he sat in the corner of the cafe watching us all with a wonderfully sharp | ||
| + | pair of eyes and listening intently to our talk. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | One night I was leaving the cafe when Captain Fourneau followed me, and | ||
| + | touching me on the arm he led me without saying a word for some distance | ||
| + | until we reached his lodgings. & | ||
| + | and so conducted me up the stair to his room. There he lit a lamp and | ||
| + | handed me a sheet of paper which he took from an envelope in his bureau. | ||
| + | It was dated a few months before from the Palace of Schonbrunn at Vienna. | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Napoleon. Those who love the Emperor should obey him without question.& | ||
| + | Louise.& | ||
| + | Empress, and I could not doubt that this was genuine. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | cafe that you can speak English?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I said in English, & | ||
| + | I am ready night and day to give my life in his service.& | ||
| + | smiled. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | For my own part I speak English like an Englishman. It is all that I have | ||
| + | to show for six years spent in an English prison. Now I will tell you why | ||
| + | I have come to Paris. I have come in order to choose an agent who will | ||
| + | help me in a matter which affects the interests of the Emperor. I was told | ||
| + | that it was at the cafe of the Great Man that I would find the pick of his | ||
| + | old officers, and that I could rely upon every man there being devoted to | ||
| + | his interests. I studied you all, therefore, and I have come to the | ||
| + | conclusion that you are the one who is most suited for my purpose.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I acknowledged the compliment. & | ||
| + | asked. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | after my release in England I settled down there, married an English wife, | ||
| + | and rose to command a small English merchant ship, in which I have made | ||
| + | several voyages from Southampton to the Guinea coast. They look on me | ||
| + | there as an Englishman. You can understand, however, that with my feelings | ||
| + | about the Emperor I am lonely sometimes, and that it would be an advantage | ||
| + | to me to have a companion who would sympathize with my thoughts. One gets | ||
| + | very bored on these long voyages, and I would make it worth your while to | ||
| + | share my cabin.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He looked hard at me with his shrewd grey eyes all the time that he was | ||
| + | uttering this rigmarole, and I gave him a glance in return which showed | ||
| + | him that he was not dealing with a fool. He took out a canvas bag full of | ||
| + | money. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | able to buy some comforts for your voyage. I should recommend you to get | ||
| + | them in Southampton, | ||
| + | vessel is the Black Swan. I return to Southampton to-morrow, and I shall | ||
| + | hope to see you in the course of the next week.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | voyage?& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | of Africa.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | give no indiscreet replies,& | ||
| + | interview to an end, and I found myself back in my lodgings with nothing | ||
| + | save this bag of gold to show that this singular interview had indeed | ||
| + | taken place. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was every reason why I should see the adventure to a conclusion, and | ||
| + | so within a week I was on my way to England. I passed from St. Malo to | ||
| + | Southampton, | ||
| + | the Black Swan, a neat little vessel of a shape which is called, as I | ||
| + | learned afterward, a brig. There was Captain Fourneau himself upon the | ||
| + | deck, and seven or eight rough fellows hard at work grooming her and | ||
| + | making her ready for sea. He greeted me and led me down to his cabin. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | be obliged to you if you would kindly forget your military ways and drop | ||
| + | your cavalry swagger when you walk up and down my deck. A beard, too, | ||
| + | would seem more sailor-like than those moustaches.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I was horrified by his words, but, after all, there are no ladies on the | ||
| + | high seas, and what did it matter? He rang for the steward. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Etienne Gerard, who makes this voyage with us. This is Gustav Kerouan, my | ||
| + | Breton steward,& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This steward, with his harsh face and stern eyes, looked a very warlike | ||
| + | person for so peaceful an employment. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I said nothing, however, though you may guess that I kept my eyes open. A | ||
| + | berth had been prepared for me next the cabin, which would have seemed | ||
| + | comfortable enough had it not contrasted with the extraordinary splendour | ||
| + | of Fourneau' | ||
| + | room was new-fitted with velvet and silver in a way which would have | ||
| + | suited the yacht of a noble better than a little West African trader. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | So thought the mate, Mr. Burns, who could not hide his amusement and | ||
| + | contempt whenever he looked at it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This fellow, a big, solid, red-headed Englishman, had the other berth | ||
| + | connected with the cabin. There was a second mate named Turner, who lodged | ||
| + | in the middle of the ship, and there were nine men and one boy in the | ||
| + | crew, three of whom, as I was informed by Mr. Burns, were Channel | ||
| + | Islanders like myself. This Burns, the first mate, was much interested to | ||
| + | know why I was coming with them. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He stared at me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I said that I had not. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | anyhow.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Some three days after my arrival we untied the ropes by which the ship was | ||
| + | tethered and we set off upon our journey. I was never a good sailor, and I | ||
| + | may confess that we were far out of sight of any land before I was able to | ||
| + | venture upon deck. At last, however, upon the fifth day I drank the soup | ||
| + | which the good Kerouan brought me, and I was able to crawl from my bunk | ||
| + | and up the stair. The fresh air revived me, and from that time onward I | ||
| + | accommodated myself to the motion of the vessel. My beard had begun to | ||
| + | grow also, and I have no doubt that I should have made as fine a sailor as | ||
| + | I have a soldier had I chanced to be born to that branch of the service. I | ||
| + | learned to pull the ropes which hoisted the sails, and also to haul round | ||
| + | the long sticks to which they are attached. For the most part, however, my | ||
| + | duties were to play ecarte with Captain Fourneau, and to act as his | ||
| + | companion. It was not strange that he should need one, for neither of his | ||
| + | mates could read or write, though each of them was an excellent seaman. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | If our captain had died suddenly I cannot imagine how we should have found | ||
| + | our way in that waste of waters, for it was only he who had the knowledge | ||
| + | which enabled him to mark our place upon the chart. He had this fixed upon | ||
| + | the cabin wall, and every day he put our course upon it so that we could | ||
| + | see at a glance how far we were from our destination. It was wonderful how | ||
| + | well he could calculate it, for one morning he said that we should see the | ||
| + | Cape Verd light that very night, and there it was, sure enough, upon our | ||
| + | left front the moment that darkness came. Next day, however, the land was | ||
| + | out of sight, and Burns, the mate, explained to me that we should see no | ||
| + | more until we came to our port in the Gulf of Biafra. Every day we flew | ||
| + | south with a favouring wind, and always at noon the pin upon the chart was | ||
| + | moved nearer and nearer to the African coast. I may explain that palm oil | ||
| + | was the cargo which we were in search of, and that our own lading | ||
| + | consisted of coloured cloths, old muskets, and such other trifles as the | ||
| + | English sell to the savages. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | At last the wind which had followed us so long died away, and for several | ||
| + | days we drifted about on a calm and oily sea, under a sun which brought | ||
| + | the pitch bubbling out between the planks upon the deck. We turned and | ||
| + | turned our sails to catch every wandering puff, until at last we came out | ||
| + | of this belt of calm and ran south again with a brisk breeze, the sea all | ||
| + | round us being alive with flying fishes. For some days Burns appeared to | ||
| + | be uneasy, and I observed him continually shading his eyes with his hand | ||
| + | and staring at the horizon as if he were looking for land. Twice I caught | ||
| + | him with his red head against the chart in the cabin, gazing at that pin, | ||
| + | which was always approaching and yet never reaching the African coast. At | ||
| + | last one evening, as Captain Fourneau and I were playing ecarte in the | ||
| + | cabin, the mate entered with an angry look upon his sunburned face. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The mate gave an angry growl. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | Captain Fourneau, I've sailed these waters since I was a little nipper of | ||
| + | ten, and I know the line when I'm on it, and I know the doldrums, and I | ||
| + | know how to find my way to the oil rivers. We are south of the line now, | ||
| + | and we should be steering due east instead of due south if your port is | ||
| + | the port that the owners sent you to.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | captain, laying down his cards. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | practical navigation. Here is the trade wind from the southwest and here | ||
| + | is the line, and here is the port that we want to make, and here is a man | ||
| + | who will have his own way aboard his own ship.& | ||
| + | unfortunate mate by the throat and squeezed him until he was nearly | ||
| + | senseless. Kerouan, the steward, had rushed in with a rope, and between | ||
| + | them they gagged and trussed the man, so that he was utterly helpless. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | overboard,& | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But that was more than I could stand. Nothing would persuade me to agree | ||
| + | to the death of a helpless man. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | With a bad grace Captain Fourneau consented to spare him, and we carried | ||
| + | him to the after-hold, which lay under the cabin. There he was laid among | ||
| + | the bales of Manchester cloth. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | with him.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The unsuspecting second mate entered the cabin, and was instantly gagged | ||
| + | and secured as Burns had been. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He was carried down and laid beside his comrade. The hatch was then | ||
| + | replaced. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | great harm done, and it will not seriously disarrange my plans. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | that the captain gives it to them to drink his health on the occasion of | ||
| + | crossing the line. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | pantry so that we may be sure that they are ready for business. Now, | ||
| + | Colonel Gerard, with your permission we will resume our game of ecarte.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It is one of those occasions which one does not forget. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | This captain, who was a man of iron, shuffled and cut, dealt and played as | ||
| + | if he were in his cafe. From below we heard the inarticulate murmurings of | ||
| + | the two mates, half smothered by the handkerchiefs which gagged them. | ||
| + | Outside the timbers creaked and the sails hummed under the brisk breeze | ||
| + | which was sweeping us upon our way. Amid the splash of the waves and the | ||
| + | whistle of the wind we heard the wild cheers and shoutings of the English | ||
| + | sailors as they broached the keg of rum. We played half-a-dozen games and | ||
| + | then the captain rose. & | ||
| + | took a brace of pistols from a locker, and he handed one of them to me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | But we had no need to fear resistance, for there was no one to resist. The | ||
| + | Englishman of those days, whether soldier or sailor, was an incorrigible | ||
| + | drunkard. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Without drink he was a brave and good man. But if drink were laid before | ||
| + | him it was a perfect madness& | ||
| + | with moderation. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | In the dim light of the den which they inhabited, five senseless figures | ||
| + | and two shouting, swearing, singing madmen represented the crew of the | ||
| + | Black Swan. Coils of rope were brought forward by the steward, and with | ||
| + | the help of two French seamen (the third was at the wheel) we secured the | ||
| + | drunkards and tied them up, so that it was impossible for them to speak or | ||
| + | move. They were placed under the fore-hatch, as their officers had been | ||
| + | under the after one, and Kerouan was directed twice a day to give them | ||
| + | food and drink. So at last we found that the Black Swan was entirely our | ||
| + | own. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Had there been bad weather I do not know what we should have done, but we | ||
| + | still went gaily upon our way with a wind which was strong enough to drive | ||
| + | us swiftly south, but not strong enough to cause us alarm. On the evening | ||
| + | of the third day I found Captain Fourneau gazing eagerly out from the | ||
| + | platform in the front of the vessel. & | ||
| + | pointed over the pole which stuck out in front. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | A light blue sky rose from a dark blue sea, and far away, at the point | ||
| + | where they met, was a shadowy something like a cloud, but more definite in | ||
| + | shape. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I strained my ears for the answer, and yet I knew already what the answer | ||
| + | would be. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Here, then, was the island of my dreams! Here was the cage where our great | ||
| + | Eagle of France was confined! | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | All those thousands of leagues of water had not sufficed to keep Gerard | ||
| + | from the master whom he loved. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There he was, there on that cloud-bank yonder over the dark blue sea. How | ||
| + | my eyes devoured it! How my soul flew in front of the vessel& | ||
| + | and on to tell him that he was not forgotten, that after many days one | ||
| + | faithful servant was coming to his side. Every instant the dark blur upon | ||
| + | the water grew harder and clearer. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Soon I could see plainly enough that it was indeed a mountainous island. | ||
| + | The night fell, but still I knelt upon the deck, with my eyes fixed upon | ||
| + | the darkness which covered the spot where I knew that the great Emperor | ||
| + | was. An hour passed and another one, and then suddenly a little golden | ||
| + | twinkling light shone out exactly ahead of us. It was the light of the | ||
| + | window of some house& | ||
| + | a mile or two away. Oh, how I held out my hands to it!& | ||
| + | hands of Etienne Gerard, but it was for all France that they were held | ||
| + | out. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Every light had been extinguished aboard our ship, and presently, at the | ||
| + | direction of Captain Fourneau, we all pulled upon one of the ropes, which | ||
| + | had the effect of swinging round one of the sticks above us, and so | ||
| + | stopping the vessel. Then he asked me to step down to the cabin. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | forgive me if I did not take you into my complete confidence before. In a | ||
| + | matter of such importance I make no man my confidant. I have long planned | ||
| + | the rescue of the Emperor, and my remaining in England and joining their | ||
| + | merchant service was entirely with that design. All has worked out exactly | ||
| + | as I expected. I have made several successful voyages to the West Coast of | ||
| + | Africa, so that there was no difficulty in my obtaining the command of | ||
| + | this one. One by one I got these old French man-of-war' | ||
| + | hands. As to you, I was anxious to have one tried fighting man in case of | ||
| + | resistance, and I also desired to have a fitting companion for the Emperor | ||
| + | during his long homeward voyage. My cabin is already fitted up for his | ||
| + | use. I trust that before to-morrow morning he will be inside it, and we | ||
| + | out of sight of this accursed island.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | You can think of my emotion, my friends, as I listened to these words. I | ||
| + | embraced the brave Fourneau, and implored him to tell me how I could | ||
| + | assist him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | been the first to pay him homage, but it would not be wise for me to go. | ||
| + | The glass is falling, there is a storm brewing, and we have the land under | ||
| + | our lee. Besides, there are three English cruisers near the island which | ||
| + | may be upon us at any moment. It is for me, therefore, to guard the ship | ||
| + | and for you to bring off the Emperor.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I thrilled at the words. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | & | ||
| + | yards,& | ||
| + | you ashore and await your return. The light which you see is indeed the | ||
| + | light of Longwood. All who are in the house are your friends, and all may | ||
| + | be depended upon to aid the Emperor' | ||
| + | sentries, but they are not very near to the house. Once you have got as | ||
| + | far as that you will convey our plans to the Emperor, guide him down to | ||
| + | the boat, and bring him on board.& | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | The Emperor himself could not have given his instructions more shortly and | ||
| + | clearly. There was not a moment to be lost. The boat with the seaman was | ||
| + | waiting alongside. I stepped into it, and an instant afterward we had | ||
| + | pushed off. Our little boat danced over the dark waters, but always | ||
| + | shining before my eyes was the light of Longwood, the light of the | ||
| + | Emperor, the star of hope. Presently the bottom of the boat grated upon | ||
| + | the pebbles of the beach. It was a deserted cove, and no challenge from a | ||
| + | sentry came to disturb us. I left the seaman by the boat and I began to | ||
| + | climb the hillside. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | There was a goat track winding in and out among the rocks, so I had no | ||
| + | difficulty in finding my way. It stands to reason that all paths in St. | ||
| + | Helena would lead to the Emperor. I came to a gate. No sentry& | ||
| + | passed through. Another gate& | ||
| + | become of this cordon of which Fourneau had spoken. I had come now to the | ||
| + | top of my climb, for there was the light burning steadily right in front | ||
| + | of me. I concealed myself and took a good look round, but still I could | ||
| + | see no sign of the enemy. As I approached I saw the house, a long, low | ||
| + | building with a veranda. A man was walking up and down upon the path in | ||
| + | front. I crept nearer and had a look at him. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Perhaps it was this cursed Hudson Lowe. What a triumph if I could not only | ||
| + | rescue the Emperor, but also avenge him! But it was more likely that this | ||
| + | man was an English sentry. I crept nearer still, and the man stopped in | ||
| + | front of the lighted window, so that I could see him. No; it was no | ||
| + | soldier, but a priest. I wondered what such a man could be doing there at | ||
| + | two in the morning. Was he French or English? If he were one of the | ||
| + | household I might take him into my confidence. If he were English he might | ||
| + | ruin all my plans. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | I crept a little nearer still, and at that moment he entered the house, a | ||
| + | flood of light pouring out through the open door. All was clear for me now | ||
| + | and I understood that not an instant was to be lost. Bending myself double | ||
| + | I ran swiftly forward to the lighted window. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Raising my head I peeped through, and there was the Emperor lying dead | ||
| + | before me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | My friends, I fell down upon the gravel walk as senseless as if a bullet | ||
| + | had passed through my brain. So great was the shock that I wonder that I | ||
| + | survived it. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And yet in half an hour I had staggered to my feet again, shivering in | ||
| + | every limb, my teeth chattering, and there I stood staring with the eyes | ||
| + | of a maniac into that room of death. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | He lay upon a bier in the centre of the chamber, calm, composed, majestic, | ||
| + | his face full of that reserve power which lightened our hearts upon the | ||
| + | day of battle. A half-smile was fixed upon his pale lips, and his eyes, | ||
| + | half-opened, | ||
| + | seen him at Waterloo, and there was a gentleness of expression which I had | ||
| + | never seen in life. On either side of him burned rows of candles, and this | ||
| + | was the beacon which had welcomed us at sea, which had guided me over the | ||
| + | water, and which I had hailed as my star of hope. Dimly I became conscious | ||
| + | that many people were kneeling in the room; the little Court, men and | ||
| + | women, who had shared his fortunes, Bertrand, his wife, the priest, | ||
| + | Montholon& | ||
| + | too heavy and bitter for prayer. And yet I must leave, and I could not | ||
| + | leave him without a sign. Regardless of whether I was seen or not, I drew | ||
| + | myself erect before my dead leader, brought my heels together, and raised | ||
| + | my hand in a last salute. Then I turned and hurried off through the | ||
| + | darkness, with the picture of the wan, smiling lips and the steady grey | ||
| + | eyes dancing always before me. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | It had seemed to me but a little time that I had been away, and yet the | ||
| + | boatman told me that it was hours. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | Only when he spoke of it did I observe that the wind was blowing half a | ||
| + | gale from the sea and that the waves were roaring in upon the beach. Twice | ||
| + | we tried to push out our little boat, and twice it was thrown back by the | ||
| + | sea. The third time a great wave filled it and stove the bottom. | ||
| + | Helplessly we waited beside it until the dawn broke, to show a raging sea | ||
| + | and a flying scud above it. There was no sign of the Black Swan. Climbing | ||
| + | the hill we looked down, but on all the great torn expanse of the ocean | ||
| + | there was no gleam of a sail. She was gone. Whether she had sunk, or | ||
| + | whether she was recaptured by her English crew, or what strange fate may | ||
| + | have been in store for her, I do not know. Never again in this life did I | ||
| + | see Captain Fourneau to tell him the result of my mission. For my own part | ||
| + | I gave myself up to the English, my boatman and I pretending that we were | ||
| + | the only survivors of a lost vessel& | ||
| + | pretence in the matter. At the hands of their officers I received that | ||
| + | generous hospitality which I have always encountered, | ||
| + | long month before I could get a passage back to the dear land outside of | ||
| + | which there can be no happiness for so true a Frenchman as myself. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | And so I tell you in one evening how I bade good-bye to my master, and I | ||
| + | take my leave also of you, my kind friends, who have listened so patiently | ||
| + | to the long-winded stories of an old broken soldier. Russia, Italy, | ||
| + | Germany, Spain, Portugal, and England, you have gone with me to all these | ||
| + | countries, and you have seen through my dim eyes something of the sparkle | ||
| + | and splendour of those great days, and I have brought back to you some | ||
| + | shadow of those men whose tread shook the earth. Treasure it in your minds | ||
| + | and pass it on to your children, for the memory of a great age is the most | ||
| + | precious treasure that a nation can possess. As the tree is nurtured by | ||
| + | its own cast leaves so it is these dead men and vanished days which may | ||
| + | bring out another blossoming of heroes, of rulers, and of sages. I go to | ||
| + | Gascony, but my words stay here in your memory, and long after Etienne | ||
| + | Gerard is forgotten a heart may be warmed or a spirit braced by some faint | ||
| + | echo of the words that he has spoken. Gentlemen, an old soldier salutes | ||
| + | you and bids you farewell. | ||
| + | </p> | ||
| + | <p> | ||
| + | <br /><br /><br /><br /> | ||
| + | </ | ||
the_adventures_of_gerard.txt · Last modified: 2020/02/08 04:16 by briancarnell