under_sentence_of_death
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| — | under_sentence_of_death [2020/10/26 02:29] (current) – created briancarnell | ||
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| + | thought, always alone with it, always frozen by its | ||
| + | ghastly presence, always crushed beneath its overwhelming | ||
| + | weight.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | as it really was, I was a man like any other. Every | ||
| + | day, every hour, every minute was ruled by its own | ||
| + | idea. My intellect, young and fresh, lost itself in a | ||
| + | world of fantasy. I amused myself in mapping out | ||
| + | a life without order, and without end, weaving into a | ||
| + | thousand fantastic patterns the coarse and slender | ||
| + | tissue of my existence. There were lovely girls, | ||
| + | cardinals’ copes, victories won, theatres full of life | ||
| + | and light, and then again the young girls, and walks | ||
| + | in the twilight under the spreading boughs of the | ||
| + | chestnut trees. My imagination always pictured | ||
| + | scenes of pleasure. My thoughts were free, and | ||
| + | therefore I was free also.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | But now I am a prisoner. My body is in irons in | ||
| + | a dungeon, and my soul is fettered by an idea—one | ||
| + | horrible, murderous, and implacable idea. I have | ||
| + | but one thought, one certainty, one deep-rooted | ||
| + | conviction, and that is that I am under sentence of | ||
| + | death!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with me, like a spectre by my side, lonely and jealous, | ||
| + | driving away every effort that I may make to liberate | ||
| + | myself from its presence, face to face with me, and | ||
| + | clutching me with its icy hand when I endeavour to | ||
| + | turn aside my head, or to close my eyes upon its | ||
| + | horrifying existence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | vainly strive to forget it; I hear it like a horrible | ||
| + | chorus in every word that is addressed to me; it | ||
| + | places its face against mine as I glance through the | ||
| + | barred windows of my dungeon; it attacks me whilst | ||
| + | waking, it haunts my spasmodic efforts at sleep, and | ||
| + | appears in my dreams under the form of the axe of | ||
| + | the guillotine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | say, “It is but a dream.” Well, even before my | ||
| + | eyes have had time to open, and to see the whole | ||
| + | terrible reality which surrounds me, written on the | ||
| + | damp stone of my prison walls, in the pale rays of | ||
| + | my lamp, in the coarse fabric of my clothes, in the | ||
| + | dark figure of the sentinel whose bayonet gleams | ||
| + | through the loophole of my dungeon, it seems as if a | ||
| + | sonorous voice murmurs in my ears:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
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| + | |||
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| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | commenced; three days since my crime had collected | ||
| + | every morning a crowd of curious spectators, who | ||
| + | lounged on the benches of the court like carrion | ||
| + | crows around a carcase; three days since that | ||
| + | strange, half visionary procession of judges, of | ||
| + | lawyers, of witnesses, and public prosecutors, | ||
| + | passed and repassed before me, sometimes ludicrous, | ||
| + | but always murderous, always gloomy and fatal.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nervousness had prevented me from sleeping; on the | ||
| + | third, weariness and lassitude had conduced to | ||
| + | slumber. At midnight I had left the jury still deliberating. | ||
| + | Re-conducted to my cell, I had thrown myself | ||
| + | on my pallet, and had fallen at once into a deep | ||
| + | sleep—the sleep of forgetfulness. It was my first | ||
| + | repose for many days. I was still wrapped in this | ||
| + | profound slumber when they came and woke me. | ||
| + | This time the tramp of the gaoler’s heavy shoes, the | ||
| + | clink of his bunch of keys, and the harsh grating of | ||
| + | the bolts, were not sufficient to arouse me from my | ||
| + | stupor; he had to shake me, and to shout in my ear—“Get | ||
| + | up!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | couch. At that instant, through the narrow window | ||
| + | pierced in the higher portion of the walls of my cell, | ||
| + | I saw reflected upon the ceiling of the adjoining | ||
| + | passage (the only means by which I could catch a | ||
| + | glimpse of the sky), the sun. I love the sunlight.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “It is a fine day,” remarked I to the gaoler.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whether it were worth while to reply to | ||
| + | me; then, as though making an effort, he answered | ||
| + | sullenly—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | almost dormant, and my eyes fixed upon that soft | ||
| + | golden reflection that gilded the ceiling.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | intercepts the flight of the fly, threw me roughly | ||
| + | back into every-day life. On a sudden I again saw, | ||
| + | as in a flash of lightning, the court of justice, the | ||
| + | table before the judges, strewn with blood-stained | ||
| + | rags, the three ranks of witnesses with their expressionless | ||
| + | faces, the two gendarmes at each side of | ||
| + | the dock, the black gowns of the bar constantly | ||
| + | moving to and fro, the heads of the crowd thronged | ||
| + | together in the body of the court, and the fixed gaze | ||
| + | of the twelve jurymen, who had watched whilst I | ||
| + | had slept.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | so that I could hardly gather together my clothes, | ||
| + | my legs bent under me. At the first step that I | ||
| + | attempted to take I staggered like a porter whose | ||
| + | load is too heavy for him. However, I nerved | ||
| + | myself, and followed my gaoler.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | threshold of my cell. They handcuffed me again. | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | It was rather a complicated lock, which they had | ||
| + | some trouble in closing. I submitted passively—it | ||
| + | was a machine put into a machine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the fresh air of the morning gave me strength. I | ||
| + | raised my head. The sky was of a bright blue, and | ||
| + | the warm sunbeams, broken by the lofty chimneys, | ||
| + | traced great angular lines of light on the tall and | ||
| + | gloomy walls of the prison. In truth it was very | ||
| + | beautiful.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | one corridor, then another, and again through a | ||
| + | third; then a low door was opened. A warm breath | ||
| + | of air, and the sound of voices met me; it was the | ||
| + | murmuring of the crowd in the court. I entered.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a confused sound of voices, seats were noisily pushed | ||
| + | aside, and as I passed through the long room between | ||
| + | the lines of spectators, kept in position by soldiers, | ||
| + | it seemed as if I were the centre point upon which | ||
| + | every eye was fixed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | removed, but when and how I knew not.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | appointed place. As the disturbance ceased in the | ||
| + | crowd, so my ideas grew clearer. I understood what | ||
| + | I had before only vaguely surmised—that the decisive | ||
| + | moment had arrived, and that I had been brought | ||
| + | into court to hear my sentence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | head I felt no fear. The windows of the court were | ||
| + | wide open, the fresh air and the busy hum of the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | city poured in freely; the court was as neatly | ||
| + | arranged as if it was to be the place in which a | ||
| + | marriage was to be celebrated; the bright rays of the | ||
| + | sun traced here and there the luminous shadows of | ||
| + | the casements, sometimes spread upon the floor, | ||
| + | sometimes portrayed on the tables, now and then | ||
| + | broken by the angles of the walls; whilst the beams | ||
| + | themselves, shining through the panes of glass, looked | ||
| + | like great bars of golden dust. The judges at the | ||
| + | end of the room wore a self-satisfied air—no doubt | ||
| + | pleased that their task was so nearly concluded. | ||
| + | The face of the President, upon which the reflection | ||
| + | of one of the panes of glass shone, was calm and | ||
| + | benevolent, whilst one of his younger colleagues | ||
| + | played with his cap as he conversed gaily with a | ||
| + | young lady in a pink bonnet, for whom he had | ||
| + | procured a seat just behind himself. The jury alone | ||
| + | looked pale and worn out, evidently from having | ||
| + | remained awake during the long watches of the | ||
| + | night; some of them were yawning. The expression | ||
| + | of their faces gave no indication that they felt the | ||
| + | responsibility of the sentence that they were about | ||
| + | to pronounce, the only noticeable point amongst | ||
| + | these worthy shopkeepers being an evident desire | ||
| + | for sleep.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | open. Through it I could hear the laughter of the | ||
| + | stall-keepers on the quays, and in a crevice in the | ||
| + | window-sill was a pretty little yellow floweret waving | ||
| + | to and fro in the wind.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | could any unpleasant idea intrude itself? With the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | balmy air, and the bright sun playing around me, it | ||
| + | was impossible to think of anything else except | ||
| + | liberty. Hope shone round me like the sunbeams; | ||
| + | and in full confidence I awaited my sentence with | ||
| + | the feelings of a man looking forward to life and | ||
| + | freedom. And now my counsel arrived; he had | ||
| + | evidently been breakfasting luxuriously. We were | ||
| + | waiting for him. As he moved into his place, he | ||
| + | bent towards me, and whispered—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with a smile on my lips.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the prosecution will take, but if they cannot prove | ||
| + | premeditation, | ||
| + | life.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | death a thousand times.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | repeating to me that I risked nothing by saying this. | ||
| + | Who ever heard of sentence of death being pronounced | ||
| + | except at midnight, with burning torches, | ||
| + | in a damp and gloomy hall, and on a cold and rainy | ||
| + | winter’s night! But in the month of August, on so | ||
| + | beautiful a day, at eight o’clock in the morning, | ||
| + | those benevolent-looking jurymen could not have the | ||
| + | heart to find me guilty! And my eyes again fixed | ||
| + | themselves on the little yellow floweret in the sun | ||
| + | light.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | waiting for my counsel, ordered me to stand up. | ||
| + | The guard carried arms. As if by a shock of | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | electricity, | ||
| + | animated with life. A mean-looking man, seated | ||
| + | at a table beneath the judge’s chair, evidently the | ||
| + | clerk of the court, broke the silence by reading the | ||
| + | verdict of the jury, which they had given in my | ||
| + | absence. A cold sweat bedewed all my limbs, and I | ||
| + | leaned against the wall to save myself from falling.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sentence of death being pronounced? | ||
| + | President.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | frame a consecutive sentence; my tongue clove to | ||
| + | the roof of my mouth.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that he was endeavouring to soften the verdict of the | ||
| + | jury, and striving to induce the judge to inflict the | ||
| + | lighter penalty, the penalty which I had been so | ||
| + | wounded at his suggesting. My indignation must | ||
| + | have been very strong to pierce through the | ||
| + | numerous complications of my faculties.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I had already said, “Sooner death a thousand | ||
| + | times!” but all that I could do was to clutch him | ||
| + | convulsively by the arm, and cry out in convulsive | ||
| + | accents, “No, no!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | plea, and I listened to him with an air of stupid | ||
| + | satisfaction. Then the judges left the court to | ||
| + | consult together, and on their return the President | ||
| + | read the sentence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and as they hurried me away the crowd pressed | ||
| + | around me with a noise like that of a falling house. | ||
| + | I walked along passively, stupefied and confused.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Until the sentence of death had been actually | ||
| + | passed, I felt that I was living and breathing like | ||
| + | other men; now I felt that a barrier had been erected | ||
| + | between myself and my fellow-creatures. Nothing | ||
| + | now wore the same aspect as it had done previously. | ||
| + | Those tall, luminous windows, the bright sunlight, | ||
| + | the clear sky, the beautiful flowers, all became white | ||
| + | and pallid like the colour of a shroud. Those men | ||
| + | and women and children who pressed around me | ||
| + | had something of the air of spectres.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | windows, was waiting for me. As I was about to | ||
| + | enter it, I paused, and looked around me. “A | ||
| + | condemned criminal!” cried the passers-by, as they | ||
| + | hurried towards the vehicle. Through the mist that | ||
| + | seemed to interpose between the world and myself I | ||
| + | could perceive the young girls who followed my | ||
| + | every movement with greedy eyes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hands. “It will be in six weeks’ time!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | which is not fixed</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Since the day that my sentence was pronounced, | ||
| + | how many are dead who had arranged for a long and | ||
| + | happy life; how many of those, young, free, and in | ||
| + | good health, who expected to see my head fall in | ||
| + | the Place de Grêve, have gone before me; and how | ||
| + | many more are there, who breathe the free air, and | ||
| + | go where they please, who will also precede me to | ||
| + | the next world? And why should I long for life? | ||
| + | In fact, the prison with its gloomy light, and the | ||
| + | black bread which constitutes the prison fare; the | ||
| + | thin soup drank from a galley-slave’s cup; to be | ||
| + | constantly insulted—I, | ||
| + | to be abused by gaolers and by the convict guards; | ||
| + | never to see a human being who considers me | ||
| + | worthy of a kind word—these are the sole pleasures | ||
| + | of life which the executioner will take from me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hideous prison of the Bicêtre.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | air about it. It is situated at the foot of a hill, and | ||
| + | covers a large extent of ground. Looked at from a | ||
| + | distance, it retains some of its ancient splendour as | ||
| + | a king’s palace, but as you come nearer to it the | ||
| + | building changes into a mere commonplace edifice. | ||
| + | The broken turrets wound the eye. There is an air | ||
| + | of shame and degradation about it; it seems as if the | ||
| + | walls were struck with the leprosy of crime.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | No windows, no glass in the frames, but massive | ||
| + | crossed bars of iron, through which can occasionally | ||
| + | be seen the pallid countenance of a convict or of a | ||
| + | madman. Such is the appearance of the prison | ||
| + | when seen closely.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | iron embraces. Every precaution was multiplied; | ||
| + | no knife, no fork was permitted for my meals; the | ||
| + | strait-waistcoat, | ||
| + | imprisoned my arms. They were responsible for my | ||
| + | life.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it was their duty to deliver me safe and sound to the | ||
| + | executioner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that had something revolting in it. The | ||
| + | kindnesses of a turnkey remind you of the scaffold. | ||
| + | But to my delight, after a few days had passed away, | ||
| + | custom resumed its sway, and they treated me with | ||
| + | the same brutality that they did the other prisoners, | ||
| + | and ceased those unusual demonstrations of courtesy | ||
| + | which reminded me every moment of the executioner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the gaol chaplain, and especially a word or two of | ||
| + | Latin which I addressed to the porter, who did not | ||
| + | understand them, by the way, gave me the privilege | ||
| + | of outdoor exercise every week with the other prisoners, | ||
| + | and released me from the terrible strait-waistcoat | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | which paralyzed my every movement. | ||
| + | After a great deal of hesitation I was permitted the | ||
| + | use of pen, ink, and paper, as well as a lamp in the | ||
| + | evenings. Every Sunday, after hearing mass, I was | ||
| + | permitted to go into the courtyard during the hour | ||
| + | devoted to exercise. There I had long conversations | ||
| + | with the prisoners. Why not? They are good | ||
| + | enough fellows, these poor wretches. They told me | ||
| + | what crimes they had committed. At first I was | ||
| + | horrified, but after a time I found out that they were | ||
| + | given to boasting. They taught me to talk slang, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | perfect language grafted on to our expressions of | ||
| + | every-day life, a species of hideous excrescence like | ||
| + | some loathsome worm. When you first hear this | ||
| + | language spoken you instinctively experience a feeling | ||
| + | of repulsion as when you see a bundle of foul and | ||
| + | dirty rags shaken before you.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ones who did so. As for the warders, the turnkeys, | ||
| + | and the gaolers, I scorned their pity, for they would | ||
| + | talk and laugh about me to my very face as though | ||
| + | I were some inanimate object.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the means of writing, why should I not use them? | ||
| + | But what shall I write?” Shut up between four cold | ||
| + | and naked stone walls, with no liberty for my feet, | ||
| + | no vista for my eyes to range, my sole occupation | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to follow the slow movement of the white square of | ||
| + | light, which, falling through the wicket in my cell | ||
| + | door, seemed chiselled in the dark wall of my prison, | ||
| + | and, as I said before, alone with one remembrance, | ||
| + | the remembrance of a crime and its punishment, of | ||
| + | murder, and of death—what have I to say, I who | ||
| + | have no longer part and parcel in this world? And | ||
| + | how will this shattered brain enable me to write | ||
| + | anything worth reading?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sombre and out of gear, is there not in me a tempest, | ||
| + | a struggle, a tragedy? This fixed idea that holds | ||
| + | me in its power, does it not present itself to me each | ||
| + | hour in a different shape, in a novel form, and each | ||
| + | one more hideous and blood-stained than the one | ||
| + | that preceded it? Why should I not endeavour to | ||
| + | speak to myself of all the terrible and hitherto unknown | ||
| + | sensation that I experience in the desolate | ||
| + | position in which I am. Assuredly there is ample | ||
| + | material, and though my days are numbered, yet | ||
| + | there is enough of anguish, terror, and torture in | ||
| + | these last hours of mine to wear out the pen and to | ||
| + | empty the inkstand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | torments is to observe them closely. The mere fact | ||
| + | of describing them will give me repose.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | This record of my sufferings hour by hour, and | ||
| + | minute by minute, punishment heaped on punishment, | ||
| + | if I have the strength to carry it up to that | ||
| + | point where it will be <span class=' | ||
| + | continue it further—this history, unfinished as it | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | necessarily must be, but as complete as I can make | ||
| + | it, will it not be well worthy of perusal? Will not | ||
| + | this vivid reproduction of agonizing thoughts in that | ||
| + | ever-increasing torrent of grief, in that intellectual | ||
| + | dissection of the last hours of a man sentenced to | ||
| + | death—will it not, I say, contain a striking lesson | ||
| + | for those who have condemned him? Perhaps it | ||
| + | will make them think twice ere they again consign | ||
| + | the living, breathing head of a man to the hands of | ||
| + | the executioner. Perhaps, unhappy wretches, they | ||
| + | have never considered the slow torture which follows | ||
| + | a condemnation to death.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whom they are going to suppress there is a reasoning | ||
| + | intelligence, | ||
| + | prolonged life, a soul which was not prepared for | ||
| + | death? No; they only see in all this the vertical | ||
| + | fall of the triangular blade, and doubtless consider | ||
| + | that for the condemned man there is neither past | ||
| + | nor future.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | perhaps, they will be printed, and those who read | ||
| + | them will pause for a few moments in this record | ||
| + | of a soul’s sufferings which they had up to that time | ||
| + | never even suspected. They were proud to be able | ||
| + | to kill the body with the smallest amount of physical | ||
| + | pain. But what good is that? What is physical, | ||
| + | when compared with mental pain? A day will come | ||
| + | when, perhaps, these memoirs, the last impressions | ||
| + | of an unhappy man, may have contributed——Unless, | ||
| + | indeed, after my death the wind may toss | ||
| + | about the courtyard a few pieces of paper stained | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | with mud, or else, pasted in a broken pane of glass | ||
| + | in the porter’s lodge, they may serve to exclude the | ||
| + | rain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | use to others, and may cause the judge to hesitate to | ||
| + | doom a fellow-creature to death, that it may save | ||
| + | other unfortunates, | ||
| + | agonies to which I am condemned—what good will | ||
| + | all this do to me? When my head has been cut off, | ||
| + | what does it matter whether they cut off those of | ||
| + | others or not? Can I really have been troubling | ||
| + | myself about such follies? What good will it do me | ||
| + | to abolish the scaffold after I have suffered upon it? | ||
| + | What! am I to lose the sun, the spring, the fields | ||
| + | full of flowers, the birds which wake up and chirp in | ||
| + | the early morning, the clouds, nature, liberty, and | ||
| + | life?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | true that this cannot be done? that I may be taken | ||
| + | out and killed to-morrow, to-day, even, for all that | ||
| + | I know? The thought is enough to make me dash | ||
| + | out my brains against the wall of my cell.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to enable me to appeal in.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Eight days of forgetfulness in the office of the | ||
| + | court, after which the statement of the case will be | ||
| + | sent to the Minister.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not even know that the affair is before him, and yet | ||
| + | he is supposed to send it up to the Court of Appeal | ||
| + | after examining it. Then it has to be classed, | ||
| + | numbered, and registered; for there is plenty of work | ||
| + | for the guillotine, and each one must await his turn.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon a Thursday—and rejects twenty appeals in a | ||
| + | lump, and sends all the papers to the Minister, who | ||
| + | sends them to the Public Prosecutor, who communicates | ||
| + | with the executioner. Three days.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the Public Prosecutor says to himself, as he ties his | ||
| + | neckcloth, “It is time that this affair was finished.” | ||
| + | Then, if the assistant to the clerk of the court has | ||
| + | not a few friends to breakfast who prevent him from | ||
| + | attending to his duties, the order for the execution is | ||
| + | noted, dated, registered, and sent out, and the next | ||
| + | morning, at the break of day, a scaffold is erected in | ||
| + | the Place de Grêve, and all through the city are | ||
| + | heard the hoarse voices of the newsvendors calling | ||
| + | out a full, true, and particular account of the execution. | ||
| + | And all this in six weeks! That young girl | ||
| + | was right.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dare not rely upon this, and I am in a cell in the | ||
| + | Bicêtre, and it seems to me that Thursday has | ||
| + | passed three days ago.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I am condemned to pay the costs of the trial, and all | ||
| + | that I possess will hardly be sufficient to meet the | ||
| + | expenses.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | delicate, with large black eyes and long chestnut | ||
| + | hair.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | last saw her.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | without son, husband, or father; three orphans of | ||
| + | different kinds, three widows made by the hand of | ||
| + | the law.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and ruined for no fault of their own: and | ||
| + | this is justice!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | disquiets me; she is sixty-four; the blow will kill | ||
| + | her at once, or even if she lingers on for a little | ||
| + | while, as long as she has a little fire to warm her | ||
| + | feet at she will not complain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | invalid, and her mind is not very strong; she will | ||
| + | die too.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | people live a long while; but if her intellect goes she | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | will not suffer: she will sleep, she is as good as | ||
| + | dead.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | who laughs and plays, who even now, perhaps, is | ||
| + | singing and thinking of nothing—that is what cuts | ||
| + | me to the heart.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | standing at right angles upon a flooring of flagstones | ||
| + | raised a few inches above the exterior corridor.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a kind of recess, a sort of burlesque alcove. A heap | ||
| + | of straw has been thrown into it, on which the | ||
| + | prisoner is expected to repose and sleep, clad in his | ||
| + | canvas trousers and linen frock, winter and summer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | an arched roof, from which hang huge spiders’ webs | ||
| + | like masses of rags.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | woodwork of which is hidden by its massive iron | ||
| + | plates. No window? I am in error. Towards the | ||
| + | top of the door is an opening nine inches square, | ||
| + | with a grating over it which the gaoler can close at | ||
| + | night.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | by narrow loopholes high up in the wall, and divided | ||
| + | into stone compartments which communicate with | ||
| + | each other by a series of low doors. Each of these | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | compartments serves as a kind of ante-chamber to a | ||
| + | cell similar to mine. It is in these dungeons that | ||
| + | convicts who have infringed the gaol regulations are | ||
| + | confined. The three first cells are reserved for | ||
| + | criminals condemned to death, as they are nearer | ||
| + | to the prison, and therefore more convenient for the | ||
| + | officials.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | castle of Bicêtre, built by the Cardinal of Winchester, | ||
| + | the same priest who ordered Jeanne d’Arc to | ||
| + | be burnt alive. I heard the gaoler telling this to | ||
| + | some anxious sightseers who came and stared at me | ||
| + | in my dungeon as if I was a beast in a menagerie. | ||
| + | I should add that a sentinel is always on guard at | ||
| + | the door of the cell, and that whenever my gaze falls | ||
| + | upon the opening in the door it meets two widely | ||
| + | opened eyes fixed intently upon mine. I believe | ||
| + | that it is supposed that there is both air and light in | ||
| + | the stone box in which I am confined.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the hours of the night? An idea has struck me: | ||
| + | I have risen, and moved my lamp along the four | ||
| + | walls of my cell. They are covered with writing, | ||
| + | drawings, designs, and strange figures of all kinds. | ||
| + | It seems as if each condemned prisoner had resolved | ||
| + | here at least to leave some remembrance of himself, | ||
| + | either in chalk or charcoal, in white or black letters, | ||
| + | sometimes deeply graven in the stone, at other times | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | rusty-looking, | ||
| + | mind was more at ease I should take great interest | ||
| + | in this strange book which opens its leaves before | ||
| + | my eyes on every stone of my dungeon. I should | ||
| + | have liked to have collected together all these fragments | ||
| + | of thought scattered about on the walls, to | ||
| + | have picked out the inscriptions of each man, and to | ||
| + | have given sense and life to all these mutilated sentences, | ||
| + | to these dismembered phrases, to these half-finished | ||
| + | words, heads without bodies, like those who | ||
| + | had carved them on the walls.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pierced with an arrow, and above it was <span class=' | ||
| + | Life</ | ||
| + | By the side of this was a sort of three-cornered | ||
| + | hat, and underneath this a small figure clumsily | ||
| + | executed, with these words, <span class=' | ||
| + | 1824</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | was the word <span class=' | ||
| + | arabesques and flourishes; next to it were a few | ||
| + | verses of an obscene song. A cap of Liberty deeply | ||
| + | cut into the stone, with the name, <span class=' | ||
| + | Republic</ | ||
| + | officers of La Rochelle. Poor young fellow! | ||
| + | How hideous are the pretended necessities of political | ||
| + | intrigue, to risk for an idea, for a dream, that terrible | ||
| + | reality, the guillotine, and I, who pity myself, miserable | ||
| + | wretch, I have committed a real crime, and have | ||
| + | spilt blood!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | white, in a dark corner of the room, I saw an appalling | ||
| + | design; it was a representation of that scaffold | ||
| + | which may even now be in course of erection for me. | ||
| + | My lamp almost fell from my hands.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | buried in my hands, and my elbows resting on my | ||
| + | knees; my childish fright had passed away, and a | ||
| + | strange desire had taken possession of me to continue | ||
| + | my researches.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a large spider’s web covered with dust, and stretched | ||
| + | across the angle of the wall; under it were four | ||
| + | names, easy to decipher: Dantun, 1815; Poulain, | ||
| + | 1818; Jean Martin, 1821; Castaing, 1823. As I | ||
| + | read these names a flood of horrible recollections | ||
| + | pounced upon me: Dantun had cut up his brother, | ||
| + | and, going about Paris by night, had thrown his head | ||
| + | into a well, and the limbs and trunk into different | ||
| + | portions of the sewers. Poulain had murdered his | ||
| + | wife. Jean Martin had fired a pistol at his father as | ||
| + | the old man was looking out of a window. Castaing | ||
| + | was a doctor, who had poisoned his friend, and | ||
| + | whilst attending to him professionally gave him | ||
| + | fresh doses of poison. Whilst Papavoine was a | ||
| + | horrible maniac, who slew little children with knife-thrusts | ||
| + | in the head. “These, | ||
| + | feverish shiver shook me—“these have been the denizens | ||
| + | of this cell before me; it is here, on this very | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | floor, that they, men of blood and slaughter, have | ||
| + | thought out their last thoughts; it is in this narrow | ||
| + | space that they have paced up and down like savage | ||
| + | beasts.” They succeeded each other with great | ||
| + | rapidity; this cell does not remain empty long. They | ||
| + | have left the nest warm, and it is to me that they | ||
| + | have left it. I, in my turn, shall join them in the | ||
| + | cemetery of Clamont, where the grass grows so | ||
| + | luxuriantly and well. I am not a visionary, nor am | ||
| + | I superstitious; | ||
| + | thoughts produced a slight attack of fever, for whilst | ||
| + | I was thus musing it seemed to me as if these fatal | ||
| + | names were written in fire on the black wall; I heard | ||
| + | a buzzing in my ears, which grew quicker and quicker; | ||
| + | a red light shone in my eyes, and then it seemed as if | ||
| + | the cell was filled with men, strange men, who carried | ||
| + | their heads in their left hands, and carried them by | ||
| + | the mouth, because the hair was cut off. All shook | ||
| + | their fists at me except the parricide.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | distinctly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | if something had not aroused me from my paroxysm; | ||
| + | I was in the act of falling backwards, when I felt a | ||
| + | cold body with hairy feet walk over my foot. It was | ||
| + | the spider whose web I had destroyed, and who was | ||
| + | escaping. This brought me to my senses, but oh, | ||
| + | what terrible apparitions!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | working of my brain. The dead are dead, these | ||
| + | especially, and fastened down securely in their | ||
| + | tombs. That is a prison from which there is no | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | escape. How could I be so frightened? The gates | ||
| + | of the tomb do not open on this side.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | unaccustomed noise. I could hear the opening and | ||
| + | shutting of heavy doors, the creaking of bolts and | ||
| + | padlocks, the jingling of the keys that the warders | ||
| + | carried at their waists, the shaking of the stairs under | ||
| + | the tread of heavy feet, and voices calling to and | ||
| + | answering each other, down the long corridors. My | ||
| + | neighbours in the cells, the refractory convicts, were | ||
| + | gayer than usual. All through Bicêtre rang the | ||
| + | sound of mirth, and dance, and song.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Not understanding the cause, I listened attentively.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prison.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “To-day they are putting irons on the convicts, who | ||
| + | will start for Toulon to-morrow. Would you like to | ||
| + | see it done? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was too good to be refused, odious as the spectacle | ||
| + | might be, and I accepted his offer gratefully.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my safety, and then he conducted me to an empty | ||
| + | cell, without an atom of furniture in it, but with a | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | window, a real window, from which, though strongly | ||
| + | barred, a glimpse of the sky could be caught.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | see and hear; you have your private box just like a | ||
| + | king!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with bolts, bars, and padlocks.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | round the four sides of which was a tall stone building | ||
| + | six storeys in height. Nothing could look more | ||
| + | miserable and naked than these buildings, pierced | ||
| + | with an immense number of windows, all of them | ||
| + | heavily barred. Every window was filled with a | ||
| + | crowd of heads, piled one upon another like the | ||
| + | stones that composed the walls, and framed as it | ||
| + | were by the interlacing of the iron bars. These were | ||
| + | the prisoners, spectators of a ceremony in which one | ||
| + | day they would play the principal part. You could | ||
| + | compare them to nothing but the souls in purgatory | ||
| + | gazing through the windows that looked on to the | ||
| + | infernal regions.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | totally unoccupied.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was an opening closed by a gate of iron bars; | ||
| + | this opened into a smaller courtyard, surrounded, | ||
| + | like the other, by a series of gloomy-looking buildings. | ||
| + | All round the larger court were stone benches, built | ||
| + | against the wall, and in the centre was a tall iron | ||
| + | lamp-post.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thrown open. A waggon, escorted by men somewhat | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | resembling soldiers, but dirty and untidy-looking, | ||
| + | lumbered heavily into the yard with a loud clanking | ||
| + | of iron. The men were the guardians of the galleys, | ||
| + | and the waggon contained the chain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prison into life, the spectators at the windows, who | ||
| + | had up to this time preserved a strict silence, burst | ||
| + | into cries of joy, into songs, oaths, and insults, | ||
| + | mingled with peals of strident laughter heart-rending | ||
| + | to hear. You would have imagined that it was an | ||
| + | assembly of demons—on each face appeared a | ||
| + | fiendish grin, fists were shaken through the window | ||
| + | bars, every throat gave utterance to a yell, every eye | ||
| + | flashed fire.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Amongst them I noticed several persons whom | ||
| + | curiosity had led to the spot, and who now appeared | ||
| + | to half repent of their temerity. One of the guards | ||
| + | clambered on to the waggon and threw down to his | ||
| + | comrades the chains, the travelling collars, and huge | ||
| + | bundles of canvas trousers. Then each man proceeded | ||
| + | to perform his allotted task; some laid out | ||
| + | the chains against the walls, others arranged the | ||
| + | shirts and trousers in heaps, whilst the more sagacious | ||
| + | amongst them, under the guidance of their | ||
| + | chief, a short, square-built man, carefully tested the | ||
| + | iron collars to see that there were no flaws in them. | ||
| + | All this was done in the midst of a flood of ribaldry | ||
| + | from the prisoners, whose voices were occasionally | ||
| + | drowned by the loud laughter of the convicts for | ||
| + | whom these preparations were being made.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | gentleman in a laced uniform, who was termed the | ||
| + | inspector, gave an order to the governor of the prison; | ||
| + | and a moment afterwards, through two or three low | ||
| + | doors, rushed a yelling crowd of hideous and disgusting-looking | ||
| + | men—these were the convicts.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | highest pitch. Those amongst the convicts who had | ||
| + | earned a high criminal reputation were received with | ||
| + | loud applause, which they acknowledged with a kind | ||
| + | of haughty modesty. Many of the convicts carried | ||
| + | in their hands hats which they had made from the | ||
| + | straw supplied to them for bedding. One young | ||
| + | man, or rather a boy, for he could not have been | ||
| + | more than seventeen years of age, was much | ||
| + | applauded. He had made himself an entire garment | ||
| + | of straw, and came bounding into the yard, turning | ||
| + | a succession of somersaults. He was as lithe and | ||
| + | active as a serpent, and had been condemned to the | ||
| + | galleys for theft. On his appearance there was a | ||
| + | frenzied clapping of hands, and loud shouts of | ||
| + | admiration. It was a frightful thing to witness this | ||
| + | interchange of compliments between the veritable | ||
| + | convicts and the aspirants to that distinction. As | ||
| + | they came into the yard they were pushed and | ||
| + | hustled between a double rank of the guards of the | ||
| + | galleys in anticipation of the medical inspection. | ||
| + | Then were the last efforts made to avoid the dreaded | ||
| + | galleys, some pretending that they were lame, others | ||
| + | that their eyesight was defective, and a hundred | ||
| + | other excuses. But in most cases they were found | ||
| + | to be in quite good enough health for the galleys, | ||
| + | and they resigned themselves at once to their fate | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | with utter carelessness, | ||
| + | the pretended ailments of a lifetime. The iron | ||
| + | barred gate of the little court was now opened, and | ||
| + | one of the guards commenced calling the roll, which | ||
| + | was arranged alphabetically; | ||
| + | answering his name, took up a position by the side | ||
| + | of the comrade whom the chance of the initial letter | ||
| + | had designated as his companion. Thus, if a convict | ||
| + | had a friend, the odds were that he would be separated | ||
| + | from him and linked to an unknown—another | ||
| + | addition to their punishment.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was again closed. One of the guards, forming them | ||
| + | into line with blows of his stick, threw before each | ||
| + | one a coarse shirt and a pair of trousers, and at the | ||
| + | word of command they began to undress. And now | ||
| + | a fresh and unexpected torture began. Up to this | ||
| + | time the weather had been very fine; and if the | ||
| + | October breeze was a little cold, still the rays of the | ||
| + | sun were very grateful. But scarcely had the convicts | ||
| + | removed their prison rags, and whilst the | ||
| + | suspicious guards were examining them as they | ||
| + | stood bare and naked before them, than the sky | ||
| + | clouded over, and a heavy shower descended, flooding | ||
| + | the courtyard with torrents of rain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | guards and the galley-slaves had left the courtyard, | ||
| + | and had sought shelter under the gateways.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to be seen but the naked bodies of the convicts | ||
| + | glistening in the wet. A gloomy silence had succeeded | ||
| + | their boastful fanfaronades. They shivered, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and their teeth chattered; their emaciated legs and | ||
| + | knotty knees trembled beneath the weight of their | ||
| + | bodies, and it was pitiable to see them wrap the | ||
| + | sodden shirts around their limbs, which were blue | ||
| + | with the cold. Shirts and trousers were alike dripping | ||
| + | with the rain; nudity would have been preferable | ||
| + | to such a covering. One convict only, an elderly | ||
| + | man, preserved his gaiety, complaining that “this | ||
| + | was not in the programme.” He endeavoured to | ||
| + | dry his soaking shirt, and shook his fist at the clouds.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | were collected in parties of twenty or thirty into the | ||
| + | corners of the yard where the chains had been | ||
| + | deposited. The chains were long and massive, and | ||
| + | at every two feet were two shorter transverse ones | ||
| + | terminating in a collar, which was rivetted on the | ||
| + | neck of the galley-slave during his journey to his | ||
| + | destination. When these chains were spread along | ||
| + | the ground they resembled the backbone of some | ||
| + | huge fish.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | muddy pavement; the collars were fitted to their | ||
| + | necks; then the blacksmiths, | ||
| + | anvil, fixed the rivets with heavy blows of a sledge-hammer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | amongst the convicts changed colour.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | made the chin of the patient quiver; the slightest | ||
| + | movement either forwards or backwards would have | ||
| + | crushed the skull like a nutshell.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | appearance of gloom came over them; nothing could | ||
| + | now be heard except the clanking of the chain, and | ||
| + | at intervals a cry, and the sound of a blow, as the | ||
| + | canes of the guards fell heavily upon the refractory | ||
| + | convicts. Some of them wept, some trembled and | ||
| + | bit their lips. I gazed with terror upon all these | ||
| + | sinister faces in their iron frames.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | visit of the doctors, the visit of the gaolers, | ||
| + | and the fixing of the chain. Suddenly a ray of | ||
| + | sunlight appeared. From the conduct of the convicts | ||
| + | it would have seemed that this gleam of light | ||
| + | had set every brain on fire. They sprang to their | ||
| + | feet with an unanimous effort. The five chains of | ||
| + | criminals joined hands, and whirled in a mad dance | ||
| + | round the lamp-post in the centre of the court, until | ||
| + | the brain grew dizzy with watching their evolutions. | ||
| + | They shouted out a song of the galleys, a slang | ||
| + | romance set sometimes to a plaintive air, and at | ||
| + | others to a gay and rollicking tune. Loud cries | ||
| + | were heard, the panting of overtasked chests, and | ||
| + | every now and then mysterious words were interchanged. | ||
| + | The clanking of the chains served as the | ||
| + | orchestra for the song, in itself more discordant than | ||
| + | its accompaniment. Should I have desired to see a | ||
| + | representation of the revels of demons, I could not | ||
| + | have selected a better or a worse example.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The guards broke up the convicts’ dance with | ||
| + | blows and curses, and forced them to the buckets, in | ||
| + | which I could see a few herbs swimming in some | ||
| + | dirty smoking liquid.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Then they sat down and ate.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | remained upon the pavement, and recommenced | ||
| + | their songs and dances. It is the custom to relax | ||
| + | discipline a little during the day and the night upon | ||
| + | which the chain is fastened on.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | greedy a curiosity, and was watching its every phase | ||
| + | with such attention, that I absolutely forgot myself. | ||
| + | A deep feeling of pity crept over me, and their | ||
| + | hollow laughter made me feel inclined to weep.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | into which I had fallen, I saw the ring of dancers | ||
| + | stop short, become perfectly silent, and then I | ||
| + | noticed that every eye was fixed upon the window | ||
| + | at which I was standing.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | exclaimed they. Every finger was pointed at me, and | ||
| + | the shouts of diabolical laughter were redoubled.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | could know me, how they could have recognized me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | accents.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | galleys for life, gazed upon me with an envious look, | ||
| + | and shouted, “Ah, you are in luck, for you will be | ||
| + | sliced! Farewell, comrade.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | their comrade, for the Place de Grêve is the sister of | ||
| + | the Galleys of Toulon; I even occupied a higher | ||
| + | position than they did, and they paid me homage. | ||
| + | I shuddered at the idea.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Their comrade—yes, | ||
| + | in my turn furnish a spectacle for men of their | ||
| + | stamp.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | motionless, and unable to collect myself; but when | ||
| + | I saw the five chains rushing towards me with expressions | ||
| + | of fiendish cordiality, when I heard the | ||
| + | clash of their chains and the tramp of their footsteps | ||
| + | close to the wall, it seemed to me as if a crowd of | ||
| + | demons were about to storm my wretched cell. I | ||
| + | uttered a loud cry, and cast myself with violence | ||
| + | against the door; but there was no means of escape, | ||
| + | for it was securely bolted without. I pressed against | ||
| + | it, I cried out in mingled terror and rage. I seemed | ||
| + | to hear the hated voices of the convicts drawing | ||
| + | nearer and nearer; I fancied that I could perceive | ||
| + | their hideous heads appear above the window-sill. | ||
| + | I uttered another cry of terror, and I fainted.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on a truckle-bed. By the light of a lamp which | ||
| + | hung from the ceiling I could see other beds placed | ||
| + | in lines. Then I understood that I had been brought | ||
| + | to the hospital.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but without consciousness or recollection. At any | ||
| + | other time this hospital bed in the midst of a prison | ||
| + | would have made me recoil with disgust, but I was | ||
| + | no longer the same man. The sheets were coarse | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to the touch, and of a grey hue; the counterpane was | ||
| + | thin and ragged; you could feel the palliasse through | ||
| + | the mattress. But what did that matter? My | ||
| + | limbs could stretch themselves freely between the | ||
| + | coarse sheets, and the bed-clothes, | ||
| + | drove away that terrible cold which seemed to freeze | ||
| + | my very marrow. After a short interval I went to | ||
| + | sleep again.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | daylight. The noise came from the outside. My bed | ||
| + | was next to a window; I raised myself up to see | ||
| + | what was the cause of the noise.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the Bicêtre. It was crowded; a body of pensioners | ||
| + | had great difficulty in keeping open a narrow path | ||
| + | through the centre of the populace. Between a | ||
| + | double rank of soldiers five long waggons, filled with | ||
| + | men, jolted heavily along. The convicts were | ||
| + | starting for their destination.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | occupied one; the convicts were seated on a bench | ||
| + | running down the centre, back to back, with the | ||
| + | chains between them, and at the end stood a soldier | ||
| + | with a loaded musket. You could hear their chains | ||
| + | clank with every jolt, and their legs shake as they | ||
| + | dangled over the side of the cart.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and making their thin clothes cling to their limbs; | ||
| + | their long beards and short hair were saturated | ||
| + | with moisture, their faces were violet with the cold; | ||
| + | I could see them shiver, and hear their teeth chatter | ||
| + | with cold, and impotent rage.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Once riveted to the chain, a man ceased to | ||
| + | exist as a separate individual. He must relinquish | ||
| + | his intelligence, | ||
| + | him to a living death, and, like a mere animal, | ||
| + | he can only partially satisfy his appetite at given | ||
| + | hours. Motionless, the majority of them half-naked, | ||
| + | with bare heads and dangling feet, they commenced | ||
| + | their journey of twenty-five days’ duration. Crowded | ||
| + | together in the carts, garments of the same texture | ||
| + | serving them as a defence against the scorching sun | ||
| + | of July and the cold rains of November, it almost | ||
| + | seemed as if man were endeavouring to press the | ||
| + | elements into the post of executioner. The five | ||
| + | waggons, escorted by cavalry and infantry, passed in | ||
| + | turn through the main gateway of the Bicêtre; a sixth | ||
| + | followed, in which were heaped together small | ||
| + | boilers, copper vessels, and spare chains. A few of | ||
| + | the guards who had lingered in the canteens hurried | ||
| + | to gain their posts; the crowd melted away, and all | ||
| + | the ghastly sight vanished like a dream of the night.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | horses grew fainter and fainter on the paved road | ||
| + | that leads to Fontainebleau; | ||
| + | the clink of chains, and the shouts of the populace | ||
| + | as they wished the galley-slaves a prosperous | ||
| + | journey, all died away. And for them this was only | ||
| + | the beginning.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that. Annihilation rather than hell. Sooner give | ||
| + | my head to the knife of Guillotine, than my neck to | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the galley-slave’s collar. The galleys, just Heaven, | ||
| + | never!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to leave the hospital, and once more I was relegated | ||
| + | to my cell. Not ill! In point of fact, I am young, | ||
| + | vigorous, and healthy. The blood flows freely in my | ||
| + | veins, my limbs are under perfect control, I am | ||
| + | strong in body and in intellect, made for a long life, | ||
| + | and yet I am suffering from a mental disease, a | ||
| + | disease the work of men’s hands.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | brain—an idea which, when I think of it, almost | ||
| + | drives me mad. It is, that if they had left me there | ||
| + | I might have managed to escape. The doctors and | ||
| + | the Sisters of Mercy seemed to take a great interest | ||
| + | in me; I was so young for such a terrible death. | ||
| + | One would have said that they pitied me, so | ||
| + | eager were they to crowd round my bed. Bah! it | ||
| + | was mere curiosity; and though these people would | ||
| + | cure you of a fever, yet they would not cure a judicial | ||
| + | sentence of death. And yet how easy it would be!—just | ||
| + | an open door; and what harm would it do | ||
| + | them? No more chance for me now; my appeal | ||
| + | will be rejected, for everything has been done according | ||
| + | to rule: the witnesses have testified correctly, | ||
| + | the counsel have pleaded well, and the judges have | ||
| + | done their part as they should. I cannot calculate | ||
| + | on anything, unless——No! it is madness, there is | ||
| + | no more ground for hope. An appeal is a cord by | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | which you are suspended over an abyss; you can | ||
| + | hear it cracking a long time before it breaks and | ||
| + | lets you fall. It is as though the knife of the | ||
| + | guillotine took six weeks in which to fall.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but how, and for what reason? It is impossible for | ||
| + | them to pardon me. All say that an example must | ||
| + | be made.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and the Grêve.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the fields! Ah, but I must not run—that would | ||
| + | draw attention and make people suspicious. On the | ||
| + | contrary, I must walk slowly, with my head up, | ||
| + | humming a tune. I ought to have an old handkerchief | ||
| + | round the lower part of my face, a blue one | ||
| + | with a pattern in red on it. It is a capital disguise, | ||
| + | all the market-gardeners in the suburbs wear them. | ||
| + | I know of a little clump of trees near Arcueil, by | ||
| + | the side of a marsh. Once when I was at school I | ||
| + | came there with my playmates to fish for frogs; I | ||
| + | would hide myself there until night.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | journey. I would go to Vincennes; no, the river is | ||
| + | in the way, I will go to Arpajon. Perhaps it would | ||
| + | be better to go by St. Germain, and get to Hâvre, | ||
| + | thence I could embark for England. Well, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | I come to Longjumeau; a policeman passes me, he | ||
| + | asks for my passport——I am lost!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wall that surrounds you. Death! Death!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me to Bicêtre to see the great wall, and the mad | ||
| + | people.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the day is breaking, and the chapel clock has just | ||
| + | struck six.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my cell, he has taken off his cap, and, softening his | ||
| + | rough voice as best he can, has asked me what I | ||
| + | should like for my breakfast?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | has been here, and has expressed his desire to serve | ||
| + | me; has asked if I have any complaints to make | ||
| + | about him or his subordinates; | ||
| + | much interest after my health, and how I have | ||
| + | passed the night, and on leaving me called me <span class=' | ||
| + | It <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to find with him or with his subordinates. He is | ||
| + | right; it would be ungracious of me to complain—they | ||
| + | have but done their duty. They have guarded | ||
| + | me well, and they have been courteous on my | ||
| + | arrival, and on my departure. Ought I not to be | ||
| + | satisfied? This good gaoler, with his calm smile and | ||
| + | soothing words, with an eye that flatters whilst it | ||
| + | watches, with his large and powerful hands, he is the | ||
| + | incarnation of a prison—a Bicêtre transformed into | ||
| + | a man. Everything around me reminds me of a | ||
| + | prison; I recognize it in everything, in the human | ||
| + | figure, as in the iron bars and bolts: this wall is a | ||
| + | prison in stone, this door a prison in wood, these | ||
| + | turnkeys are prisoners in flesh and bone. The | ||
| + | prison is a kind of horrible being complete and indivisible, | ||
| + | half building and half man. I am its | ||
| + | victim; it grasps me, it wraps me in its folds, it shuts | ||
| + | me up in its granite walls, it padlocks me with its | ||
| + | iron bolts, and it watches me through the eyes of its | ||
| + | gaolers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of me, <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it is so. I am relieved from the terrible weight of | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | suspense by the visit of the governor. For I confess | ||
| + | it freely, I had hoped—now I hope no longer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seven—the door of my cell opened, and an old white-haired | ||
| + | man appeared on the threshold; he threw | ||
| + | open his great-coat, and I saw from his gown that | ||
| + | he was a priest.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | this looked bad for me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | raised his eyes to heaven—that is, towards the roof of | ||
| + | my cell. I understood what he meant.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but I am ready.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon me. I felt my temples swell, and there was a | ||
| + | loud murmuring sound in my ears.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | chair like a man asleep, the good old man was | ||
| + | talking—at least I suppose that he was, for I could | ||
| + | see his lips move, his hands wave, and his eyes | ||
| + | shine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the withdrawal of the bolts roused me from my | ||
| + | stupor. This time it was the governor accompanied | ||
| + | by a gentleman in a black coat, who bowed to me on | ||
| + | entering; he held a roll of papers in his hands, and | ||
| + | had about him that false air of sorrow which we see | ||
| + | amongst undertakers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Courts of Justice: I have the honour to be the bearer | ||
| + | of a message from the Public Prosecutor.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | came back to me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it not so?” asked I. “What an honour for me | ||
| + | that he should write to me! I trust that my death | ||
| + | will give him great pleasure, for he worked with too | ||
| + | much ardour for it to have been a matter of indifference | ||
| + | to him.” Then in a calmer tone I added, | ||
| + | “Read, sir.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | word in each sentence. This was the rejection of | ||
| + | my appeal.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Grêve,” added he, as he finished, without raising his | ||
| + | eyes to mine. “We leave at half-past seven precisely | ||
| + | for the Conciergerie, | ||
| + | the extreme kindness to follow me? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to him; the governor was talking to the priest, the | ||
| + | usher’s eyes were on his papers, whilst mine were | ||
| + | fixed upon the door which had remained half opened. | ||
| + | Ah! wretch that I am, there were four soldiers in | ||
| + | the passage.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | full at me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | own convenience.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | half an hour! Then they went out, and left me alone.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | no hope? I must escape, I must on the spot—by the | ||
| + | doors, by the windows, by the roof, even if I leave | ||
| + | remnants of my flesh on the rafters and the joists.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | take me a month to pierce these walls, and I have | ||
| + | not even a nail to work with or an hour to spare.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the journey is worth the trouble of relating. Half-past | ||
| + | seven had just struck, as the usher again presented | ||
| + | himself at the door of my cell.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | as if I could not take a second, so heavy was my | ||
| + | head, and so weak my legs. However, I made an | ||
| + | effort, and advanced tolerably firmly. Before leaving | ||
| + | I gave a farewell glance at the cell. I had grown to | ||
| + | love it; besides, I left it empty, and open, which gave | ||
| + | it a novel aspect. It will not long be so; another | ||
| + | tenant is expected this evening—so the turnkey says, | ||
| + | for the Court is now sitting, and conviction is certain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | take leave of me; he had been to breakfast. At the | ||
| + | exit from the gaol the governor shook me affectionately | ||
| + | by the hand, and reinforced my escort with | ||
| + | four soldiers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | From the door of the hospital a dying man called | ||
| + | out “<span class=' | ||
| + | a long breath, it did me good.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was waiting for us—it was the same which had | ||
| + | brought me here; it was oblong in shape, and divided | ||
| + | into two compartments by iron bars standing so closely | ||
| + | together that they appeared to be interlaced. Each | ||
| + | section had a door, one in front, and one behind. | ||
| + | The vehicle was so dirty and dusty, that the hearse | ||
| + | which conveys paupers to their last resting-place is | ||
| + | a state carriage in comparison to this one. Before | ||
| + | burying myself in this tomb, I cast one glance round | ||
| + | the courtyard, one of those despairing looks before | ||
| + | which walls should crumble. There were many | ||
| + | spectators waiting for my departure, more than there | ||
| + | had been to look at the galley-slaves. As on that | ||
| + | day a light rain was falling, and would no doubt fall | ||
| + | all day—the shower would last longer than I should. | ||
| + | The roads were much cut up, and the courtyard full | ||
| + | of dirt and water. It was pleasant to see the crowd | ||
| + | tramping about in the mud.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | soldiers in front; the priest, a policeman, and myself | ||
| + | in the hindmost compartment.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thus, without counting the driver, there were eight | ||
| + | men to guard one poor wretch. As I got in I heard | ||
| + | an old woman say, “Well, for my part I prefer <span class=' | ||
| + | to the galley-slaves’ chain.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | easy to be taken in at a glance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The carriage started; I heard the echoing sound as | ||
| + | it rolled under the main portal of the Bicêtre, whose | ||
| + | heavy gates closed behind us. I felt stupefied, like a | ||
| + | man who has fallen into a trance, who can neither | ||
| + | stir nor cry out, though he knows that they are | ||
| + | burying him alive.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | horses’ collars, the rolling of the wheels, and the | ||
| + | cadenced trot of the escort’s horses, and the crack of | ||
| + | the driver’s whip. It seemed as if I was being | ||
| + | carried away in a whirlwind.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | eyes caught an inscription in large letters over the | ||
| + | Bicêtre—< | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | people do grow old there.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | changed the scene. Now I saw the towers of Notre | ||
| + | Dame rising through the mist of Paris.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | flagstaff is will have a good view,” thought I.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | began talking again. I let him go on without interruption; | ||
| + | my ears were filled with the noise of the | ||
| + | wheels, the horses’ hoofs, and the coachman’s whip—what | ||
| + | mattered a little more noise?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | soothed my feelings, like the murmur of falling | ||
| + | water, when the sharp voice of the usher broke the | ||
| + | silence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you to-day? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The chaplain, who had never ceased talking to me, | ||
| + | made no reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | drown the sound of the wheels, “what an infernal | ||
| + | carriage this is!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | no doubt, that prevents your hearing me—what was | ||
| + | I saying? Ah! your reverence, have you heard to-day’s | ||
| + | news that is exciting all Paris? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him, “I have not had time to read the morning | ||
| + | papers; but I suppose I shall see it all in the | ||
| + | evening. When I am much engaged, I tell our | ||
| + | porter to keep them for me, and I read them on my | ||
| + | return.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that you have not heard the news of this morning—the | ||
| + | news that is convulsing Paris? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | one has his own opinion regarding politics, and I | ||
| + | respect you too much not to presume that you have | ||
| + | yours. For my part I am entirely in favour of the | ||
| + | reconstruction of the National Guard; I was the | ||
| + | sergeant of my company, and faith, it was most | ||
| + | pleasant——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I interrupted him again.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the excitement, but something else.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thinking of to-day.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | manage to pick them up? Can you guess what it | ||
| + | can be, your reverence? Come, pray let me know. | ||
| + | You cannot imagine how fond I am of a piece of | ||
| + | news. I will repeat it to the President, it will | ||
| + | amuse him.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to the priest and to myself. I shrugged my | ||
| + | shoulders.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | no more this evening!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | down. Come, cheer up; Mr. Castaing talked all the | ||
| + | way.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Mr. Papavoine; he wore his otter-skin cap, and | ||
| + | smoked all the way. As to those young people from | ||
| + | Rochelle, they talked to each other the whole time.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to despise all the world; but really, my young | ||
| + | friend, you are too sad.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | than you. Each quarter of an hour as it passes | ||
| + | adds a year to my age.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | He turned round and looked at me for a few | ||
| + | seconds with unfeigned surprise.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | be your grandfather.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | bear me a grudge.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | against the barred division, was shaken from his | ||
| + | hand by a violent jolt of the vehicle, and fell at his | ||
| + | feet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I have lost all my snuff!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | smile.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | himself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a grain of snuff until I get to Paris; it is awful!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whether it was that I was preoccupied or not, I do | ||
| + | not know, but it seemed to me as if this consolation | ||
| + | fitted very well with the exhortation that he had | ||
| + | commenced to me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and the usher increased, whilst I buried myself in | ||
| + | my own thoughts.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | city seemed louder than usual.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Customs whilst the officers examined it. If it had | ||
| + | been an ox or a sheep that was being taken to the | ||
| + | slaughter-house a fee would have to have been paid, | ||
| + | but man goes free.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | old winding streets of the Cité and the Faubourg | ||
| + | St. Marceau, which intersect each other like the | ||
| + | paths of an ant-hill. On the stone-paved roadway | ||
| + | of their streets the noise of the vehicle was so | ||
| + | deafening that it drowned all exterior sounds. | ||
| + | When I glanced through the little window it seemed | ||
| + | to me as if the passers-by stopped to gaze after the | ||
| + | carriage, whilst crowds of children followed at a run. | ||
| + | At the crossings I could see ragged men and women | ||
| + | holding in their hands bundles of newspapers which | ||
| + | were eagerly purchased by the crowd.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | we arrived in the courtyard of the <span class=' | ||
| + | sight of the wide staircase, the gloomy chapel, and | ||
| + | the sinister-looking wickets froze my blood. When | ||
| + | the carriage stopped, I thought that my heart too | ||
| + | would stop beating.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thrown open like a flash of lightning; I leapt from | ||
| + | my rolling dungeon, and found myself under an archway | ||
| + | between two ranks of soldiers. A curious crowd | ||
| + | had already collected to watch my arrival.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the Courts of Justice, I felt almost free and at my | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | ease, but my courage almost failed me when a low | ||
| + | door opened, and I was led through gloomy corridors | ||
| + | and down secret staircases—places where only | ||
| + | the condemned and their judges are permitted to | ||
| + | enter.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me promising to return in two hours, as he had | ||
| + | some business to do.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the usher handed me over. After all it was a mere | ||
| + | exchange, for the governor begged him to wait for a | ||
| + | few moments, as he had some <span class=' | ||
| + | which was to be taken back to the Bicêtre at once. | ||
| + | No doubt this was the newly-condemned criminal; | ||
| + | he who was to sleep in my cell upon the truss of | ||
| + | straw which I had hardly used.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | moment, and we can draw up the documents for | ||
| + | both of them at the same time.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | small room adjoining the director’s office, the door of | ||
| + | which was securely fastened.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | indeed, of what I was thinking, when a violent burst | ||
| + | of laughter close to my ear aroused me from my | ||
| + | reverie. I started and looked up; I was not alone, | ||
| + | there was a man with me—a man of about fifty-five | ||
| + | years of age, of middle height, wrinkled, bent, and | ||
| + | grey-haired, | ||
| + | in his eyes, and a mocking smile upon his lips, dirty, | ||
| + | ragged, and disgusting to the sight.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | in without my having perceived it. Would death | ||
| + | come thus to me?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | some moments, he continuing his sinister chuckle, | ||
| + | which had something convulsive in it, and I half | ||
| + | alarmed and wholly surprised.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “that in six weeks the knife will chop my nut | ||
| + | into the sack, as it will yours in about six hours. | ||
| + | Ha, ha! you understand me now, it seems.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on end, for here was the other condemned man of | ||
| + | to-day, my heir at the Bicêtre.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | good old prig, and it was a pity that Charlot< | ||
| + | him up by the neck: that was when the gallows | ||
| + | was an institution. At six years of age I was an | ||
| + | orphan, and used to pick up a few coppers in the | ||
| + | spring by turning head over heels by the sides of | ||
| + | the carriages. In winter I used to run about with | ||
| + | my naked feet in the mud, blowing my fingers, all | ||
| + | red with the cold, and showing my bare skin through | ||
| + | the holes in my trousers. At nine I began to use | ||
| + | my fingers, and from time to time I would empty | ||
| + | a fob, or prig a cloak; and at ten I was a thoroughbred | ||
| + | prig. Then I began to get pals round me. At | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | seventeen I was a cracksman and cracked a crib, but | ||
| + | they caught me, and I was lagged. The galleys did | ||
| + | not suit my complaint: black bread and cold water, | ||
| + | a plank bed, and a cannon-ball to drag after me, not | ||
| + | to mention blows of a stick, and a scorching sun; | ||
| + | besides that they shaved me, and I used to have fine | ||
| + | chestnut hair. But I did my time—fifteen years. | ||
| + | I was thirty-two when they gave me the yellow passport | ||
| + | and sixty-six francs, which I had earned during | ||
| + | my fifteen years, working hard sixteen hours daily, | ||
| + | thirty days in the month, and twelve months in the | ||
| + | year. Well, there it was. I wanted to be an honest | ||
| + | man with my sixty-six francs, and I had finer sentiments | ||
| + | under my rags than you would find under | ||
| + | many a priest’s frock. But may the devil fly away | ||
| + | with the passport, for it was yellow, and in it was | ||
| + | written, ‘Released Convict.’... I had to show that | ||
| + | wherever I went, and to report myself every eighth | ||
| + | day to the mayor of the village where they had | ||
| + | assigned me a residence. An ex-galley-slave, | ||
| + | nice kind of recommendation! Every one shunned | ||
| + | me; the little kids bolted when they saw me coming, | ||
| + | and every door was shut in my nose. I could not | ||
| + | get a day’s work, and my sixty-six francs were soon | ||
| + | eaten, and I wanted to live. I showed my strong | ||
| + | arms, and offered a day’s work for fifteen sous, for | ||
| + | ten sous, for five sous, and could get nothing. What | ||
| + | was I to do? One day, when I was hungry, I | ||
| + | smashed a baker’s window with my elbow and stole | ||
| + | a loaf of bread. I was not allowed to eat the bread, | ||
| + | but I was sent to the galleys for life, with a brand on | ||
| + | my shoulders which I will show you if you like. And | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | they call that justice. There I was, a returned lag. | ||
| + | They sent me to Toulon, this time with a green cap.<a id=' | ||
| + | I made up my mind to escape. I had three walls to | ||
| + | break through, the chains to cut; but I had a nail | ||
| + | to do it with. I escaped. They fired the gun, and | ||
| + | all were on the alert. We are dressed in red like | ||
| + | the cardinals, and they fire a salute when we go out. | ||
| + | The powder went to kill the sparrows as far as | ||
| + | I know. This time there was no yellow passport, | ||
| + | and no money. I made my way back to some old | ||
| + | pals who had done time themselves, and filled their | ||
| + | pockets often enough. Their boss proposed a bit of | ||
| + | high Toby. I was on like a shot, and I began to | ||
| + | murder for a living. Sometimes it was a stage-coach, | ||
| + | at others a post-chaise; | ||
| + | We took their money, and we left the | ||
| + | carriage and horses alone, and buried the man under | ||
| + | a tree, taking care that his toes should not show; | ||
| + | and then we jumped on the grave so that the newly-turned | ||
| + | earth should attract no notice. I grew old | ||
| + | at this game, hiding in the thickets—sleeping under | ||
| + | the stars—tracked from wood to wood, but at least | ||
| + | I was free. Everything comes to an end, however, | ||
| + | and one day the slops put their fingers on my collar; | ||
| + | my pals hooked it, and I remained with the chaps | ||
| + | with the gold-laced hats. Well, they brought me | ||
| + | here. I had climbed every rung of the ladder except | ||
| + | one. I had got from prigging a wipe to cutting a | ||
| + | throat, and there was no medium for me except the | ||
| + | three-cornered knife. Well, well! my father had | ||
| + | his cravat tied in public, and I shall make a first | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and last appearance in the Place de Grêve. That is | ||
| + | all, my lad!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | louder than ever, and tried to take my hand. I | ||
| + | shrunk away from him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | much pluck. Try and die game. You have a few | ||
| + | unpleasant moments on the scaffold, but that is soon | ||
| + | over. I wish that I could show you how to make | ||
| + | the last jump properly. I should be glad if they | ||
| + | would shave me as well as you to-day. The same | ||
| + | priest would serve us both, and you might have him | ||
| + | first if you like. You see that I am a good-natured | ||
| + | devil.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | must be a marquis at the least.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | myself.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | instant. He shook his grey head, which was almost | ||
| + | bald, and thrust his hand into his open shirt-front.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the parson.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that is all right; but you have a fine great-coat there, | ||
| + | and it will not be of any use to you soon. Give it to | ||
| + | me, and I will sell it for tobacco.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I took off my coat and gave it to him; he clapped | ||
| + | his hands like a pleased child. Then, noticing that | ||
| + | I was shivering in my shirt-sleeves, | ||
| + | cried he; “it rains, and you will get wet. Put this | ||
| + | on; besides, you ought to look respectable; | ||
| + | whilst speaking, he took off his coarse woollen vest | ||
| + | and thrust it into my hands.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the wall. I cannot tell you the effect that this man | ||
| + | had on me. He had put on my great-coat, and was | ||
| + | examining it with all attention, uttering every now | ||
| + | and then cries of delight.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | collar is hardly soiled. I shall get at least fifteen | ||
| + | francs for it. What happiness! tobacco for the next | ||
| + | six weeks!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of us away; to lead me to the chamber where the | ||
| + | condemned await their last hour, and to remove him | ||
| + | to the Bicêtre. He was placed in the midst of the | ||
| + | escort, and went off laughing and saying—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I have changed our skins, but I am not going to | ||
| + | change places with him, now that I have tobacco | ||
| + | for the next six weeks.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <table summary=' | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <col span=' | ||
| + | <col span=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <div id=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <table summary=' | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <col span=' | ||
| + | <col span=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <div id=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I did not give it to him, and he has left me this rag, | ||
| + | this disgusting garment. What will people think | ||
| + | of me?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Did I let him have my great-coat from carelessness, | ||
| + | or from charity? Not a bit; but because he | ||
| + | was stronger than I was, and had I not given it | ||
| + | he would have beaten me with those sledge-hammer | ||
| + | fists of his.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | evil thoughts. I could have strangled the old thief; | ||
| + | I could have trampled him under foot. I feel that | ||
| + | my heart is full of rage and bitterness, as if my very | ||
| + | gall-bladder had burst. Approaching death brings up | ||
| + | many evil thoughts and feelings.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | any amount of bars in the windows and bolts on the | ||
| + | door. I have asked for a table and a chair, and the | ||
| + | means of writing. They have brought them. Then | ||
| + | I asked for a bed. The gaoler cast a look of surprise | ||
| + | upon me, which seemed to say, “What is the good | ||
| + | of it to you?” However, they have arranged a | ||
| + | trestle-bed in the corner; but at the same time | ||
| + | a policeman has taken up his position in my room. | ||
| + | Are they afraid that I shall strangle myself with the | ||
| + | mattress?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | be dead. I shall be a foul thing that they will lay | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | upon the table at the College of Surgeons; upon one | ||
| + | side they will take a mould of my head, upon the | ||
| + | other they will dissect my body; then what remains | ||
| + | of me they will put into a coffin, and expedite it to | ||
| + | the cemetery of Clamont. That is what these men | ||
| + | will do to your father. None of them hate me; all | ||
| + | pity me, and all could save me; and yet they are | ||
| + | going to kill me. Do you understand that, Marie? | ||
| + | They will kill me in cold blood, in all due form, for | ||
| + | the good that it will do. Oh, great heaven!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | much, who kisses your little white and perfumed | ||
| + | neck, who passes his fingers through the silky curls | ||
| + | of your hair, who takes your sweet little face in his | ||
| + | hand, who dances you on his knee, and at bedtime | ||
| + | joins your little hands together, and teaches you to | ||
| + | pray to God. Who will do this for you now? Who | ||
| + | will love you? All children of your age will have | ||
| + | fathers except you. How you will miss, my dear child, | ||
| + | the New Year’s gifts, the presents, the pretty play-things, | ||
| + | the sugar-plums, | ||
| + | orphan, you may have to give up eating and | ||
| + | drinking!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Marie, they would have thought twice before killing | ||
| + | the father of a child of three years old. And when | ||
| + | she grows up, if she lives long enough, what will | ||
| + | become of her? Her father will be one of the recollections | ||
| + | of Paris. She will blush for me and my | ||
| + | name. She will be despised and repulsed on all sides. | ||
| + | Disgraced on my account who love her with all the | ||
| + | tenderness of which my heart is capable. Oh, my | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | well-beloved little Marie, can it be true that you will | ||
| + | ever hold me in shame and horror?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | crime have I made society commit?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of to-day? Is this really me? That dull sound that | ||
| + | I hear outside, the crowds of people that are flocking | ||
| + | along the quay, the gendarmes paraded in their | ||
| + | barracks, the priest in his black robe, the man with | ||
| + | the red-stained hands! Is all this for me? Is it | ||
| + | I that am going to die—I, who am sitting here at | ||
| + | this table, who lives, who feels, who breathes? Yes, | ||
| + | it is I. I know it by the sense of touch, and by the | ||
| + | creases I can make on my clothes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | eleven o’clock in the morning. All of a sudden the | ||
| + | carriage stopped.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | out of the door. Many women and children were | ||
| + | standing in the parapets of the quay. Above their | ||
| + | heads I could see a species of red scaffold which some | ||
| + | workmen were putting together.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | erecting the machine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | heard a woman near me saying, “Look! the knife | ||
| + | does not slide well, they are greasing the groove with | ||
| + | a bit of candle!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Probably they are doing that now. Eleven o’clock | ||
| + | is just striking. No doubt they are greasing the | ||
| + | groove.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | away my head!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The king may interfere. Let them run and | ||
| + | fetch my counsel to me; quick, my counsel! I choose | ||
| + | the galleys; five years should settle it; or twenty | ||
| + | years; or a brand with the red-hot iron: but let me | ||
| + | have my life! A convict lives, moves, goes and | ||
| + | comes, and sees the bright sun in the heavens.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | face. Indeed, I have heard that he is a really | ||
| + | good and charitable man. This morning I saw him | ||
| + | distribute the contents of his purse amongst the | ||
| + | prisoners. But his exhortations have no effect on | ||
| + | me. I was callous to all that he could say, his words | ||
| + | slided from my mind as cold rain from a frozen | ||
| + | window-pane.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Amongst all those who surround me, he is the only | ||
| + | one who still looks upon me as a man, and I am | ||
| + | thirsting for kind and cheering words.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | We sat down, he on my chair, I on the bed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | once straight to my heart. He continued, “Do you | ||
| + | believe in God? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and Apostolic Church? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | waverer.” Then he began to speak again. He talked | ||
| + | for a long time; then when he fancied that he had | ||
| + | said enough, he for the first time raised his eyes to | ||
| + | mine as if to question me mutely.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | then with attention, and lastly with reverence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his head, as though he were saying to himself:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | God is my witness that I believe in Him. But what | ||
| + | has this old man been able to say to me? Nothing | ||
| + | that I have felt, nothing that has touched me, | ||
| + | nothing that has drawn tears from my eyes, nothing | ||
| + | which goes from his soul direct to mine. On the | ||
| + | contrary, what he has said to me he might say to | ||
| + | any one else, emphasizing his words when his argument | ||
| + | had need of depth, full of platitudes when it | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | should have been most simple, a kind of sentimental | ||
| + | sermon and theological elegy. Here and there he | ||
| + | put in a Latin quotation from Saint Gregory, Saint | ||
| + | Austin, or some one else. He had the air of a man | ||
| + | who repeats a lesson that he has said many times | ||
| + | before, and which, though half forgotten and obliterated | ||
| + | from his memory, returns again to him from the | ||
| + | fact of his having known it long years before. There | ||
| + | is no expression in his eye, no emphasis in his | ||
| + | voice; nor do his features add to the power of his | ||
| + | oratory.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prison chaplain. His duty is to console and to exhort; | ||
| + | he lives by that. He has grown old in preparing | ||
| + | men for the scaffold. For many years he has made | ||
| + | others tremble, whilst his white hairs never bristle at | ||
| + | the horrors that he is a witness of. For him the | ||
| + | scaffold and the galley are matters of every-day life. | ||
| + | They bore him. Probably he keeps a book of sermons—such | ||
| + | and such a page for those sentenced to | ||
| + | death, and another for those in penal servitude. To-day | ||
| + | he was warned that some one would require the | ||
| + | consolations of religion. He asked whether it was | ||
| + | a condemned criminal or a galley-slave, | ||
| + | receiving the reply, turned to the necessary page, | ||
| + | refreshed his memory, and came here.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | out some young vicar, some old priest from a remote | ||
| + | parish sitting in his chimney corner reading his book, | ||
| + | and not expecting the summons; and saying to him: | ||
| + | “There is a man about to die, come and console | ||
| + | him. You will have to be with him when they bind | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | his hands and cut his hair; you must ride in the | ||
| + | cart with him, and with the crucifix hide the headsman | ||
| + | from his sight; you will be jolting against him | ||
| + | on the road to La Grêve; you will pass with him | ||
| + | through the terrible crowd thirsting for his blood; you | ||
| + | will take leave of him at the foot of the scaffold, and | ||
| + | will remain in waiting until his head is in one place | ||
| + | and his body in another.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | trembling from head to foot, when I embrace him | ||
| + | and clasp his knees, he will weep; we shall mingle | ||
| + | our tears together; he will wax eloquent, and I shall | ||
| + | be consoled; my heart will soften to his words, he will | ||
| + | take charge of my soul, and I shall rely on his God.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I to him? A man of the lowest class, a shadow | ||
| + | many of which he has seen, a mere unit added to | ||
| + | the figures in the list of executions.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it was he who behaved well, whilst I acted wrongly. | ||
| + | It is my breath, that destroys and blasts everything | ||
| + | around me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I must be in need of it; a nice enough luncheon—a | ||
| + | fowl, and something else, but after the first mouthful | ||
| + | I have been unable to eat—everything tasted full of | ||
| + | bitterness and corruption.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a foot-rule from his pocket, and commenced | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | measuring the stonework of the wall, murmuring to | ||
| + | himself, “It is so;” and again, “No, that will not do.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that he is a sort of assistant architect employed in | ||
| + | the prison.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whispered a few inquiries to the turnkey who accompanied | ||
| + | him; then he fixed his eyes upon me, and, | ||
| + | shaking his head in a careless manner, began to talk | ||
| + | in a loud voice, and continued his measurements.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | said in a strident voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | greatly improved.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | will be unable to enjoy it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was going to rally me, as you might a young bride | ||
| + | on her nuptial morning.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | several good-conduct stripes, took upon himself to | ||
| + | reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Chamber of Death.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | as dumb as one of the stones that he had been | ||
| + | measuring.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gendarme was relieved, and I, selfish wretch, had not | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | even shaken hands with him. The new sentinel was | ||
| + | a man of vulgar features, bull-eyed, with a foolish | ||
| + | expression in his face.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | back to the door, and, seated at the table, was | ||
| + | pressing my hand to my forehead. A light tap upon | ||
| + | my shoulder caused me to turn my head. The fresh | ||
| + | guard and I were alone.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | conversation, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him, but he began again after a moment’s hesitation—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | so!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | better to say than that, leave me in peace. What | ||
| + | are you aiming at? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that you could ensure the happiness of a poor fellow | ||
| + | without its costing you anything, would you not do | ||
| + | so? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a strange moment to ask a favour. Why should I | ||
| + | consult any one’s happiness? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which accorded ill with his idiotic expression.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and all coming from you. Look here, I am a poor | ||
| + | gendarme. The work is hard, and the pay light. | ||
| + | The keep of my horse ruins me; so I put into the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | lottery to try and square myself. One must have | ||
| + | an object in life. Up to this time I have failed to | ||
| + | gain a prize because I have never chosen a lucky | ||
| + | number. I seek for them in sure places, but am | ||
| + | always a little wrong. If I stake on 76, 77 is sure to | ||
| + | come up. I do all that I can, but the right one will | ||
| + | never come up. A moment’s patience, please; I am | ||
| + | nearly at the end. Here is a lucky chance for me. | ||
| + | It appears, criminal—forgive me—that it is all up | ||
| + | with you to-day. It is a well-known fact that those | ||
| + | who die as you do, see the lucky number in advance. | ||
| + | Promise me that you will come to me to-morrow | ||
| + | evening—it will be no trouble for you to do so—and | ||
| + | to give me three numbers, three good ones. Will | ||
| + | you, eh? I am not afraid of ghosts, so be easy. | ||
| + | Here is my address: Cassine Popincourt, Staircase | ||
| + | A, No. 26, at the bottom of the passage. You will | ||
| + | remember that, will you not? Come this evening if | ||
| + | that is more convenient.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | mad hope had not sprung up in my heart. In the | ||
| + | desperate position in which I was placed, it seemed | ||
| + | as if I might be able to break my chain with a slender | ||
| + | reed like this.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | could, “I can render you richer than a king; I can | ||
| + | give you millions, on one condition.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wish.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Change clothes with me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Is that all?” exclaimed he, hurriedly unbuttoning | ||
| + | his uniform.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | heart beat; already I saw all doors | ||
| + | opening before the uniform of a gendarme, and the | ||
| + | Conciergerie left far behind me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Ah! you want to get out of this? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | made.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | be worth anything if you were not dead? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I was plunged in despair.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | striving to forget the present in the past. As I pondered, | ||
| + | the recollections of my childhood came back to | ||
| + | me, soft, calm, and smiling like islands of flowers, in | ||
| + | the black gulf of confused thoughts which turned | ||
| + | and twisted in my brain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | playing, running, and shouting to my brothers, | ||
| + | in the green avenues of the neglected garden of the | ||
| + | home where my earlier years were spent. And then, | ||
| + | four years later, I was there—still a child, but full of | ||
| + | dreams and sentiments. But there was a girl with | ||
| + | me in the lonely garden.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | A little Spaniard, with large eyes and long hair, | ||
| + | olive-tinted skin, red lips and cheeks, an Andalusian, | ||
| + | fourteen years of age, called Pepa. Our mothers | ||
| + | had told us to run about together in the garden; we | ||
| + | came out and walked about. They had told us to | ||
| + | play, but we preferred to talk, children of the same | ||
| + | age but different sex.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | playing and quarrelling together. I disputed with | ||
| + | Pepita for the ripest apple on the tree, and I once | ||
| + | struck her for the possession of a bird’s nest. She | ||
| + | wept, and I said, “Serves you right,” and we both | ||
| + | ran to complain to our mothers, who openly blamed | ||
| + | me, but in their inmost heart each thought that her | ||
| + | own child was right.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | happy. We are walking slowly, and conversing in | ||
| + | low tones. She lets her handkerchief drop, I pick it | ||
| + | up for her; our hands tremble as they meet. She is | ||
| + | talking to me of the little birds, of the sun that we | ||
| + | see over there setting in crimson behind the trees, of | ||
| + | her schoolmates, | ||
| + | talk of the most innocent things, and yet we blush; | ||
| + | the child has become a young girl.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | chestnut-trees at the bottom of the garden.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | occurred so often in our walks, she suddenly let go of | ||
| + | my arm, and cried, “Let us run.” And she started | ||
| + | off in front of me, her figure slender as a wasp’s, her | ||
| + | little feet raising her dress half-way up the leg. I | ||
| + | pursued her; she fled. As she dashed along the wind | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | raised her tippet, and showed the olive-tinted hue of | ||
| + | her neck.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ruined well. As the winner I seized her by the waist, | ||
| + | and drew her down upon a bank of turf. She was | ||
| + | out of breath, and laughing. I was quite serious, | ||
| + | and gazed into her dark eyes, half-veiled by her | ||
| + | black lashes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | daylight, let us read. Have you a book? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Spalanzani.” I opened it at hazard, and moved close | ||
| + | to her; she rested her shoulder against mine, and we | ||
| + | began to read upon the same page. Before turning | ||
| + | the page she had always to wait for me. Her intellect | ||
| + | ran quicker than mine did.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hardly begun.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | our respirations crossed each other, and then our lips | ||
| + | met.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was studded with stars.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | entered the house, “how we have been running!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “You look sad.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of my life.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hardly hear the sound; there is a buzzing in my ears, | ||
| + | it is my last thoughts that are working in my brain.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I look upon my crime with horror, but I wish | ||
| + | for a longer time for repentance. I had more feelings | ||
| + | of remorse before my condemnation; | ||
| + | seems that there is room for nothing except the | ||
| + | thoughts of death. When my thoughts turn for a | ||
| + | moment to my past life, they veer round to the axe | ||
| + | which will shortly terminate all, and I shiver as if | ||
| + | the idea was a new one. My happy childhood, my | ||
| + | glorious youth, the end of which is to be stained | ||
| + | with my blood. Between that and the present there | ||
| + | is a river of blood, another’s and mine. If any one | ||
| + | ever reads my life, they will not believe in this fatal | ||
| + | year, which opens with a crime, and closes with a | ||
| + | shameful punishment. It would be impossible to | ||
| + | credit it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not naturally wicked.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a time when I was free and pure, when I wandered | ||
| + | under the trees, when I walked upon the leaf-strewn | ||
| + | paths.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | place in which I am, men who come and go, who | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | laugh and talk, who read the paper and talk over | ||
| + | their affairs, tradesmen who sell, young girls who are | ||
| + | working at their ball-dresses, | ||
| + | playing with their children.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | see the peal of bells of Notre Dame. I was already | ||
| + | dizzy with having mounted the dark winding staircase, | ||
| + | and having crossed the narrow gallery which | ||
| + | connects the two towers of the cathedral, and saw | ||
| + | Paris stretching beneath my feet; then I entered the | ||
| + | belfry where hangs the bell, and its clapper which | ||
| + | weighs I know not how many pounds.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gazing at the bell so celebrated amongst the children | ||
| + | and the people of Paris, and remarked, not without a | ||
| + | feeling of terror, that the sloping tile roofs were on a | ||
| + | level with my feet; and I took a bird’s-eye view of the | ||
| + | place of Paris—Notre Dame, and the passers-by looking | ||
| + | like a swarm of ants. All of a sudden the heavy | ||
| + | bell rang, a vibration shook the air and made the | ||
| + | lofty tower quiver. The planking trembled on the | ||
| + | beams. Affrighted, I threw myself upon the flooring, | ||
| + | and clasped it with my two hands, speechless and | ||
| + | breathless, with that tremendous pealing in my ears, | ||
| + | whilst under my very eyes was that tremendous | ||
| + | precipice where so many people were passing in | ||
| + | calm and quiet. Well, it seems that I am still in | ||
| + | the belfry tower. Everything seems to be buzzing | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and humming around me, there is a sound of bells | ||
| + | beating on my brain; and around me, as across an | ||
| + | abyss, I can see that calm and peaceful life that I | ||
| + | have quitted where men walk peacefully to and fro.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | its pointed roof, and its strange-looking clock with a | ||
| + | white face, its staircases worn by the feet of many | ||
| + | passers-by. There are two arches on the left and | ||
| + | right. There it stands facing the Place de Grêve, | ||
| + | sombre and melancholy, its front worn away by age, | ||
| + | and so dark that even in the sunshine it looks black.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | crowds from all the doors, and its hundreds of windows | ||
| + | gaze sternly upon the condemned man. In the | ||
| + | evening the face of the illuminated clock shows | ||
| + | brilliant against its gloomy walls.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in the extremities, | ||
| + | time that I rise or bend it seems to me as if some | ||
| + | liquid which floats in my skull drives my brain | ||
| + | against the top of my head.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | then the pen falls from my hands as though I had | ||
| + | sustained a galvanic shock.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | My eyes water as if I were in a smoky room.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | cured.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that I shall hardly suffer at all, that science has | ||
| + | made death very easy.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | suffered, and this death agony for a whole day? | ||
| + | What will be said of this day that goes so slowly, | ||
| + | and yet too quickly? What is this ladder of torture | ||
| + | that leads to the scaffold?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | oozes out drop by drop, and the intellect weakens as | ||
| + | each thought grows less coherent?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Who has told them so? Has there ever been an | ||
| + | instance of a severed head which has risen bleeding | ||
| + | to the edge of the basket, and has cried to the populace, | ||
| + | “It has not hurt me a bit!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to say, “It is a splendid invention, the mechanism | ||
| + | is good. Stick to it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the thing is done. Have they ever, even in thought, | ||
| + | put themselves in the place of the criminal, when the | ||
| + | heavy knife falls, bites into the flesh, grinds through | ||
| + | the nerves and shivers the vertebræ? But all pain is | ||
| + | over in half a second. Horror!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | It is no use trying to drive it away; a voice in my | ||
| + | ears keeps on crying: “At this very moment he is | ||
| + | in this city, not far from here, in another palace—a | ||
| + | man who, too, has guards at all his doors, a man in | ||
| + | a similar position to yourself, except that he is in the | ||
| + | highest whilst you are in the lowest. Every instant | ||
| + | of his life is nothing but glory, grandeur, delight, and | ||
| + | revelry. Around him congregate love, respect, and | ||
| + | veneration. The loudest voice softens as it speaks | ||
| + | to him, and the haughtiest heads incline. Gold and | ||
| + | silk are ever before his eyes. Now he may be holding | ||
| + | a council of his ministers, all of whom are of his | ||
| + | opinion; or he may be going out hunting, and to a | ||
| + | ball this evening, leaving to others the work of preparing | ||
| + | his pleasures.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | stroke of his pen would make this horrible scaffold | ||
| + | disappear, and restore me to life, liberty, family, | ||
| + | and wealth. And he is kind, they say, and would | ||
| + | gladly do so; but yet nothing will be done.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the horrible idea and consider it face to face. Let | ||
| + | us ask it what it really is, let it tell us what its | ||
| + | wishes are; let us turn it over in every way and spell | ||
| + | out the puzzle, gazing forwards into the tomb.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I imagine that when my eyes are closed, I shall | ||
| + | see a bottomless abyss of light into which my soul | ||
| + | will fall. I believe that the sky itself will be resplendent | ||
| + | with light, and that the stars will be mere | ||
| + | dark spots instead of being, as they are now, sparks | ||
| + | of diamonds upon a canopy of black velvet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fall without cessation into the depths of a hideous | ||
| + | black gulf, seeing hideous forms threatening me on | ||
| + | all sides.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | find myself upon a soft flat surface, wandering about | ||
| + | in semi-darkness, | ||
| + | head that rolls? I can fancy that there will be a | ||
| + | strong wind, and that my head will be jolted with | ||
| + | other rolling heads. In places there will be brooks | ||
| + | and ponds of an unknown liquid, but all will be | ||
| + | black.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | will be turned upwards, they will look upon a sky of | ||
| + | shadows, and far away in the background huge | ||
| + | arches of smoke darker than the darkness itself. I | ||
| + | shall see millions of red sparks flitting about, which | ||
| + | upon coming near to me will turn into birds of fire;—and | ||
| + | this will go on for ever and ever.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | winter, those who have died upon the Place de Grêve | ||
| + | may meet together, for is it not their domain? It | ||
| + | will be a pale and bleeding crowd, and assuredly I | ||
| + | shall not be absent from it. There will be no moon, | ||
| + | and we shall all speak in a low voice. The Hotel | ||
| + | de Ville will be there, with its mouldering walls, its | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | dilapidated roof, and the clock that had no pity for | ||
| + | us.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | demon will execute a headsman. The hour will be | ||
| + | four, and we shall form the crowd round the scaffold.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | do return, in what shapes will they appear? What | ||
| + | part of their incomplete and mutilated body will they | ||
| + | keep? Which will they choose? Shall the head | ||
| + | or the trunk appear as a spectre?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | feelings does it leave to it? What has it taken | ||
| + | away, and what has it given? Where does he put | ||
| + | it? and does he ever lend it the eyes of the flesh to | ||
| + | look upon this earth and weep?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thrown myself upon the bed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rest necessary to me. This is my last sleep in this | ||
| + | life. I have had a dream.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with two or three of my friends, whose names I do | ||
| + | not recollect.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | child was with her.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | My friends and I spoke in a low voice, so that we | ||
| + | might not alarm them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | other portion of the house; it was like a key being | ||
| + | turned quietly, like the creaking of a bolt.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | us. We imagined that it might be thieves who had | ||
| + | got into the house.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a candle in my hand; my friends followed me one by | ||
| + | one. We passed through the bedroom where my | ||
| + | wife was sleeping with our child by her side. Then | ||
| + | we came to the drawing-room. There was no one | ||
| + | there. The family portraits hung upon the wall, | ||
| + | which was covered with red paper, motionless in | ||
| + | their gilded homes. It seemed to me as if the | ||
| + | dining-room door was not in its usual place.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | going first. The door that led into the staircase was | ||
| + | closed, and so were the windows. Near the stove I | ||
| + | noticed that the linen-closet was open, and the door | ||
| + | drawn back forming an angle with the wall, as though | ||
| + | to conceal something.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | some one hiding behind the door.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | In astonishment I pulled harder, when it yielded | ||
| + | suddenly, and behind it we saw a little old woman | ||
| + | standing motionless against the wall, her eyes closed, | ||
| + | and her arms hanging down in front of her.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | She made no answer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | eyes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | those who have broken into the house with some | ||
| + | evil design. Upon hearing us coming they fled, | ||
| + | but she having been unable to escape hid herself | ||
| + | here.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | motionless, and sightless.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ground like a log, like some inanimate object.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | again, and stood her up against the wall; but she | ||
| + | showed no sign of life, and remained dumb to our | ||
| + | questions, as though she were deaf.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with our fright.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dull eye with no expression in it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | her the candle again—she shall answer us.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon us all round; then, bending her head abruptly, | ||
| + | she blew out the candle with a breath that froze like | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | ice; and at the same instant I felt, in the darkness, | ||
| + | three sharp teeth pierce my hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The good old priest was seated by my side reading | ||
| + | his prayer-book.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | an hour. They have brought your child to take | ||
| + | leave of you, she is in the adjoining room. She is | ||
| + | waiting for you, but I would not let them wake you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my child!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pretty child.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | well.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon my knees, and kissed her hair.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | her grandmother is ill too.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | she permitted me to caress her, embrace her, and | ||
| + | devour her with kisses, but from time to time she | ||
| + | cast an uneasy look at her nurse, who was weeping | ||
| + | in a corner of the room.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | away with a low cry.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Oh, sir,” said she, “you hurt me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | She had forgotten me. Words, face, speech, all | ||
| + | were faded from her memory; and who would | ||
| + | recognize me in this dress, with my beard and my | ||
| + | livid complexion? Was I lost to the only one that | ||
| + | I should have cared to remember me?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hear that word again from the lips of a child, that | ||
| + | word which is so sweet, but which a man’s tongue | ||
| + | cannot frame, “Papa.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | once again, I would gladly have given the forty years | ||
| + | of life that they were going to take away from me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hands in mine. “Do you not know me? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answered—“No.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | love her with all your passionate love, to have | ||
| + | her with you to look into her eyes, and to hear her | ||
| + | answer that she does not know you.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it is to be dead? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Yes, sir,” answered she; “it is to be in the | ||
| + | churchyard, and in heaven.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him night and morning at mamma’s knees.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | middle of the day; come this evening and I will say | ||
| + | them to you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to disengage herself from my embrace, crying—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | looking into her eyes, asked her—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me my letters.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that she had crumpled up in her hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pointing to each letter with her finger.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of death that she was reading to me, and her nurse | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | had bought the paper for a penny. It would cost | ||
| + | me more than that.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | frightened the child. She almost wept. Suddenly | ||
| + | she exclaimed, “Give me back my piece of paper; I | ||
| + | want it for a plaything.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Then I fell back in my chair, gloomy, worn-out, and | ||
| + | desperate. Let them come now, I care for nothing; | ||
| + | the last link that binds me to life is broken, they can | ||
| + | do what they like with me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | side. I believe that they both shed a tear, as I told | ||
| + | the nurse to take away my child.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and to think boldly of the executioner, | ||
| + | of the gendarmes, of the crowd on the bridge, of the | ||
| + | crowd on the quay, of the crowd at the windows, | ||
| + | and of that crowd which has assembled expressly for | ||
| + | me on the Place de Grêve, which might be paved with | ||
| + | the heads that have fallen there. I think that I have | ||
| + | a whole hour to accustom myself to these thoughts.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | applaud; and amongst all those free and unknown | ||
| + | men, who hasten, full of pleasure, to an execution, in | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | that crowd of heads that will cover the open space, | ||
| + | there will be more than one predestined to follow | ||
| + | mine sooner or later into the blood-stained basket. | ||
| + | More than one who has come for me will one day | ||
| + | come on his own account.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | play; she will look at the crowd through the windows | ||
| + | of the cab, and will think no more of <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for her, that one day she will read; and fifteen | ||
| + | years hence she may perhaps weep for to-day.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | why my name has a stain of blood upon it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the manuscript to which this refers. Perhaps, as is | ||
| + | indicated by those that follow, the idea came to him | ||
| + | without his having had time to execute it. The time | ||
| + | was short when he thought of it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | terrible journey has been made. <span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | below my window. And the vile populace are there, | ||
| + | hooting and laughing as they wait for me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | strengthen my nerves, for my heart failed me when | ||
| + | I saw those two red posts, with the black triangle | ||
| + | at their summit, erect themselves between the two | ||
| + | lamp-posts on the quay. I demanded to be permitted | ||
| + | to make a last declaration, | ||
| + | here, and have gone to find the Public Prosecutor. I | ||
| + | am waiting for him; at any rate it is so much time | ||
| + | gained.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | arrived. I trembled, as though I had thought of | ||
| + | nothing else for the last six hours, for the last six | ||
| + | weeks, for the last six months. It came upon me as | ||
| + | if it were something totally unexpected.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | made me ascend and descend their staircases. They | ||
| + | have pushed me through a folding-door into a room | ||
| + | on the ground floor, dark and narrow, with a vaulted | ||
| + | roof; the foggy, rainy day hardly allows any light to | ||
| + | penetrate into it. A chair was standing in the centre; | ||
| + | they told me to sit down, and I did so.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the priest and the gendarmes; <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he wore a great-coat and a broken three-cornered | ||
| + | hat. <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the others were his assistants.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me from behind, stealthily as cats; then in a moment | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | I felt cold steel in my hair, and heard the snipping | ||
| + | noise of the scissors close to my ears.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | shoulders, whilst the man in the three-cornered hat | ||
| + | brushed them gently away with his large hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | at first I thought that it was the river, but from the | ||
| + | laughter that arose from intervals, I knew it was the | ||
| + | crowd. A young man seated near the window, who | ||
| + | was writing with a pencil in a note-book, asked the | ||
| + | men what they were doing.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in the papers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | waistcoat, whilst the other seized my two hands and | ||
| + | brought them behind my back, whilst I could feel a | ||
| + | cord being knotted round my wrists. At the same | ||
| + | moment the other took off my necktie. My linen | ||
| + | shirt, a last relic of bygone days, seemed to make | ||
| + | him hesitate for a moment; then he cut off the collar.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | touched my neck, my elbow quivered, and I uttered a | ||
| + | low moan of stilled rage. The executioner’s hand | ||
| + | shook.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | strongly impregnated with aromatic vinegar.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Thank you,” said I, in as firm a voice as I could; | ||
| + | “it is useless. I feel better.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | This was done with a slender simple cord, which | ||
| + | enabled me to take very short steps, and it was | ||
| + | attached to the one that secured my wrists.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tying the sleeves together under my chin. There | ||
| + | was nothing more to be done.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I was lifted up. My steps were slow and tottering.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | open, and an irruption of noise, cold air, and blinding | ||
| + | light burst in upon the gloom of the chamber. From | ||
| + | the darkness I could see through the rain the thousands | ||
| + | of heads, all shouting and yelling, piled one | ||
| + | upon the other; on the right a line of mounted | ||
| + | gendarmes; in front a detachment of infantry; on the left | ||
| + | the back of a cart in which was a ladder—a terrible | ||
| + | picture framed by the door of the prison. This was | ||
| + | the dreaded moment for which I had nerved myself. | ||
| + | I made two steps forward, and appeared on the | ||
| + | threshold of the door.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | is coming at last!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | king himself is not received with greater honours.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in it, driven by a man in a blouse. The big man | ||
| + | with the three-cornered hat mounted first.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Good day, Monsieur Sanson,” cried the children.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Now it was my turn, and I mounted with a calm | ||
| + | demeanour.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gendarmes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | took his place by me. I was placed in the back seat, | ||
| + | my face turned away from the horse. I shivered at | ||
| + | this last act of attention. There was an air of | ||
| + | humanity in it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the palace.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | escort and the cart started with a roar of applause | ||
| + | from the crowd.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was as if the king was passing.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the priest, “Their hats, my head!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Market; the stall-keepers had left their bouquets to | ||
| + | come and see me. A little farther on there were | ||
| + | many public-houses, | ||
| + | full of spectators, rejoicing in the excellent places | ||
| + | which they had secured. The women especially seemed | ||
| + | delighted. They had hired tables, chairs, scaffolds, | ||
| + | and carts to stand upon. Every coign of vantage | ||
| + | bent beneath the weight of the spectators. The | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | men who made their living by these spillings of | ||
| + | human gore, cried at the top of their voices—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and I felt inclined to cry out, “<span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | disappeared from behind it, and I saw them re-form | ||
| + | again farther on in front.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | cast my eyes backwards on the right-hand side—I saw | ||
| + | a tall black tower standing by itself, covered with | ||
| + | carvings, upon the top of which sat two stone | ||
| + | monsters. I had no reason for putting the question | ||
| + | to the priest, but I asked, “What is that? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | replied.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I feared to show cowardice. Last remnant of vanity! | ||
| + | Then I pulled myself together, and endeavoured to | ||
| + | be blind and deaf to everything except the priest, | ||
| + | whose words I could scarcely catch.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | endeavoured to busy myself in that thought. But | ||
| + | each jolt of the clumsy vehicle scattered my thoughts. | ||
| + | Suddenly I felt very cold; the rain had soaked | ||
| + | through my clothes, and my head, deprived of the | ||
| + | protecting hair, was quite wet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | remarked the priest.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I was shivering with.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | At the end of the bridge some women pitied me | ||
| + | because I was so young.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | grew dim once more; those voices, the heads at the | ||
| + | windows, at the doors, in the shops, on the cross-bar | ||
| + | of the lamp-posts, those eager and cruel spectators, | ||
| + | those crowds who knew me, and amongst whom I | ||
| + | knew no one, those lines of human faces——I | ||
| + | was intoxicated, | ||
| + | fixed upon me became an unbearable torture.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to crucifix or priest.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | no longer distinguish expressions of sympathy from | ||
| + | jeers and insults; everything roared and resounded | ||
| + | in my ears like the echo from a copper vessel.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | shops. Once a feeling of morbid curiosity urged | ||
| + | me to turn my head, and to look at what we were | ||
| + | approaching.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | body would not obey it, for my neck remained stiff | ||
| + | and obstinate.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | one tower of Notre Dame, the other was hidden by | ||
| + | it. It was the one upon which the flagstaff is. | ||
| + | There was a great crowd upon it; they must have | ||
| + | had a good view.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to shop, and the people laughed and stamped about | ||
| + | in the mud; and I gazed calmly upon everything | ||
| + | as people do in their dreams.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | All of a sudden the row of shops upon which my | ||
| + | eyes were fixed were cut by the corner of a square. | ||
| + | The noise of the crowd became more sonorous, | ||
| + | tumultuous, and merry. Suddenly the cart stopped, | ||
| + | and I almost fell forwards.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | cart; an arm was stretched out to aid me in my | ||
| + | descent. I took the first step, and attempted to | ||
| + | take another—but it was useless, for on the quay, | ||
| + | between two lamp-posts, I had caught sight of a terrible | ||
| + | object.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | blow.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | feebly. They brought me here.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hands; but the cord is here, ready for me, and the | ||
| + | other horror is below, waiting for me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | know not which—came to me. I asked for a pardon, | ||
| + | clasping my hands, and kneeling to them. With | ||
| + | a calm smile, they asked me if that was all I had to | ||
| + | say.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | minutes’ more life, for pity’s sake! You do not | ||
| + | know—it may be on its way, it may arrive at the | ||
| + | last moment—such things have often been heard of | ||
| + | before. And of what use will pardon be, sir, if I am | ||
| + | no longer in a condition to benefit by it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | That accursed executioner is whispering to the | ||
| + | judge that it must be performed by a certain time, | ||
| + | that the hour is at hand, and that he is responsible | ||
| + | for its due performance; | ||
| + | there is a chance of <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the coming of my pardon! If you will not grant it, | ||
| + | I will defend myself tooth and nail!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | alone—alone with two gendarmes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | How do I know that I shall not escape them—if I | ||
| + | shall not be saved? My pardon may arrive——Ah, | ||
| + | the wretches, they are carrying me on to the | ||
| + | scaffold....</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | d’Auverney, | ||
| + | hurriedly assured his comrades that he did not | ||
| + | remember any incident in his life that was worthy of | ||
| + | repetition.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Henri, “you have—at least report says so—travelled | ||
| + | much, and seen a good deal of the world; have you | ||
| + | not been to the Antilles, to Africa, and to Italy? and | ||
| + | above all, you have been in Spain——But see, here | ||
| + | is your lame dog come back again!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | smoking, and turned quickly to the tent door, at | ||
| + | which an enormous dog appeared, limping towards | ||
| + | him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wagging his tail, whining, and gamboling as well as | ||
| + | he was able; and by every means testifying his | ||
| + | delight at finding his master. And at last, as if he | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | felt that he had done all that could be required of a | ||
| + | dog, he curled himself up peaceably before his master’s | ||
| + | seat.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | strove to conceal his feelings, and mechanically | ||
| + | caressed the dog with one hand, whilst with the | ||
| + | other he played with the chin-strap of his shako, | ||
| + | murmuring from time to time, “So here you are once | ||
| + | again, Rask, here you are.” Then, as if suddenly | ||
| + | recollecting himself, he exclaimed aloud, “But who | ||
| + | has brought him back? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | been standing at the door of the tent, the curtain of | ||
| + | which he was holding back with his left hand, whilst | ||
| + | his right was thrust into the bosom of his great-coat. | ||
| + | Tears were in his eyes as he contemplated the | ||
| + | meeting of the dog and his master, and at last, unable | ||
| + | to keep silence any longer, he risked the words—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have you been able—eh? Poor dog, poor Rask, I | ||
| + | thought that you were in the English camp. Where | ||
| + | did you find him, sergeant? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | happy as your little nephew used to be when you let | ||
| + | him off his Latin lesson.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the sergeant, but the latter still kept his in the bosom | ||
| + | of his coat.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | poor Rask was lost, I noticed that you were like a | ||
| + | man beside himself; so when I saw that he did not | ||
| + | come to me in the evening, according to his custom, | ||
| + | for his share of my ration bread—which made old | ||
| + | Thaddeus weep like a child, I, who before that had | ||
| + | only wept twice in my life, the first time when—yes, | ||
| + | the day when——” and the sergeant cast a sad look | ||
| + | upon his captain. “Well, the second was when that | ||
| + | scamp Balthazar, the corporal of the 7th half brigade, | ||
| + | persuaded me to peel a bunch of onions.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | laugh, “that you avoid telling us what was the first | ||
| + | occasion upon which you shed tears.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | kindly, as he patted Rask’s head, “when you | ||
| + | answered the roll-call as Tour d’Auvergne, | ||
| + | grenadier of France.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was when he gave the order to fire on Bug-Jargal, | ||
| + | otherwise called Pierrot.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | then he again endeavoured to clasp the sergeant’s | ||
| + | hand; but in spite of the honour that was attempted | ||
| + | to be conferred on him, the old man still kept his | ||
| + | hand hidden under his coat.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | back a step or two, whilst D’Auverney fixed his eyes | ||
| + | upon him with a strange and sorrowful expression. | ||
| + | “Yes, I wept for him that day, and he well deserved | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | it. He was black, it is true, but gunpowder is black | ||
| + | also, and—and——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his strange comparison, for there was evidently | ||
| + | something in the idea that pleased him; but he | ||
| + | utterly failed to put his thoughts into words, and after | ||
| + | having attacked his idea on every side, as a general | ||
| + | would a fortified place, and failed, he raised the | ||
| + | siege, and without noticing the smiles of his officers, | ||
| + | he continued:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | negro arrived all out of breath, at the moment that | ||
| + | his ten comrades were waiting on the spot?—we had | ||
| + | had to tie them though. It was I who commanded | ||
| + | the party; and when with his own hands he | ||
| + | untied them, and took their place, although they did | ||
| + | all that they could to dissuade him; but he was | ||
| + | inflexible. Ah, what a man he was; you might as | ||
| + | well have tried to move Gibraltar! And then, captain, | ||
| + | he drew himself up as if he were going to enter a ballroom, | ||
| + | and this dog, who knew well enough what was | ||
| + | coming, flew at my throat——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you pat Rask,” interrupted the captain; “see how | ||
| + | he looks at you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | air of embarrassment; | ||
| + | fellow—but the old woman Malajuda told me it was | ||
| + | unlucky to pat a dog with the left hand, and——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | D’Auverney, | ||
| + | pallor, and the hand reposing in his bosom.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The sergeant’s discomfort appeared to increase.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have got a lame dog, and now there is a chance of | ||
| + | your having a one-handed sergeant.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Let me see your arm. One hand! Great heavens!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his hand from his bosom, and showed it | ||
| + | enveloped in a blood-stained handkerchief.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | undoing the bandage. “But tell me, old comrade, | ||
| + | how this happened.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you how I had noticed your grief since those confounded | ||
| + | English had taken away your dog, poor | ||
| + | Rask, Bug’s dog. I made up my mind to-day to | ||
| + | bring him back, even if it cost me my life, so that | ||
| + | you might eat a good supper. After having told | ||
| + | Mathelet, your <span class=' | ||
| + | full-dress uniform, as we are to go into action to-morrow, | ||
| + | I crept quietly out of camp, armed only | ||
| + | with my sabre, and crouched under the hedges until | ||
| + | I neared the English camp. I had not passed the | ||
| + | first trench, when I saw a whole crowd of red soldiers. | ||
| + | I crept on quietly to see what they were doing, and | ||
| + | in the midst of them I perceived Rask tied to a tree; | ||
| + | whilst two of the <span class=' | ||
| + | knocking each other about with their fists, until their | ||
| + | bones sounded like the big drum of the regiment. | ||
| + | They were fighting for your dog. But when Rask | ||
| + | caught sight of me, he gave such a bound, that the | ||
| + | rope broke, and in the twinkling of an eye the rogue | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | was after me. I did not stop to explain, but off I | ||
| + | ran, with all the English at my heels. A regular | ||
| + | hail of balls whistled past my ears. Rask barked, but | ||
| + | they could not hear him for their shouts of ‘French | ||
| + | dog! French dog!’ just as if Rask was not of the | ||
| + | pure St. Domingo breed. In spite of all I crushed | ||
| + | through the thicket, and had almost got clean away, | ||
| + | when two red coats confronted me. My sabre accounted | ||
| + | for one, and would have rid me of the other, | ||
| + | had his pistol not unluckily had a bullet in it. My | ||
| + | right arm suffered; but ‘French dog’ leapt at his | ||
| + | throat, as if he were an old acquaintance. Down fell | ||
| + | the Englishman, for the embrace was so tight that | ||
| + | he was strangled in a moment—and here we both are. | ||
| + | My only regret is that I did not get my wound in | ||
| + | to-morrow’s battle.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tones of reproach; “were you mad enough to expose | ||
| + | your life thus for a dog? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Rask, for Bug’s dog.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | captain, dashing his hand across his eyes; “come, | ||
| + | lean on me, and I will lead you to the hospital.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | vain; and as they left the tent the dog got up and | ||
| + | followed them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | spectators to the highest degree. Captain Leopold | ||
| + | d’Auverney was one of those men who, in whatever | ||
| + | position the chances of nature and society may place | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | them, always inspire a mingled feeling of interest | ||
| + | and respect. At the first glimpse there was nothing | ||
| + | striking in him—his manner was reserved, and his | ||
| + | look cold. The tropical sun, though it had browned | ||
| + | his cheek, had not imparted to him that vivacity of | ||
| + | speech and gesture which amongst the Creoles is | ||
| + | united to an easy carelessness of demeanour, in itself | ||
| + | full of charm.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | himself ready to act at any moment. Always the | ||
| + | first in the saddle, and the last to return to camp, he | ||
| + | seemed to seek a refuge from his thoughts in bodily | ||
| + | fatigue. These thoughts, which had marked his | ||
| + | brow with many a premature wrinkle, were not of | ||
| + | the kind that you can get rid of by confiding them to | ||
| + | a friend; nor could they be discussed in idle conversation. | ||
| + | Leopold d’Auverney, | ||
| + | of war could not subdue, seemed to experience | ||
| + | a sense of insurmountable fatigue in what is termed | ||
| + | the conflict of the feelings. He avoided argument as | ||
| + | much as he sought warfare. If at any time he | ||
| + | allowed himself to be drawn into a discussion, he | ||
| + | would utter a few words full of common sense and | ||
| + | reason, and then at the moment of triumph over | ||
| + | his antagonist he would stop short, and muttering | ||
| + | “What good is it?” would saunter off to the commanding | ||
| + | officer to glean what information he could | ||
| + | regarding the enemy’s movements.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | habits, because upon every occasion they had found | ||
| + | him kind, gentle, and benevolent. He had saved | ||
| + | many a life at the risk of his own, and they well | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | knew that though his mouth was rarely opened, yet | ||
| + | his purse was never closed when a comrade had need | ||
| + | of his assistance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thirty years of age, but they would have been wrong, | ||
| + | for he was some years under it. Although he had | ||
| + | for a long period fought in the ranks of the Republican | ||
| + | army, yet all were in ignorance of his former life. | ||
| + | The only one to whom he seemed ever to open his | ||
| + | heart was Sergeant Thaddeus, who had joined the | ||
| + | regiment with him, and would at times speak vaguely | ||
| + | of sad events in his early life. It was known that | ||
| + | D’Auverney had undergone great misfortunes in | ||
| + | America, that he had been married in St. Domingo, | ||
| + | and that his wife and all his family had perished in | ||
| + | those terrible massacres which had marked the | ||
| + | Republican invasion of that magnificent colony. At | ||
| + | the time of which we write, misfortunes of this kind | ||
| + | were so general, that any one could sympathize with, | ||
| + | and feel pity for, such sufferers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | than for the manner in which they had been | ||
| + | brought about.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the incurably wounded spirit could be at times | ||
| + | perceived.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and in the fight he behaved as if he sought for the | ||
| + | rank of general; whilst after victory he was as gentle | ||
| + | and unassuming as if the position of a private soldier | ||
| + | would have satisfied his ambition. His comrades, | ||
| + | seeing him thus despise honour and promotion, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | could not understand what it was that lighted up his | ||
| + | countenance with a ray of hope when the action | ||
| + | commenced, and they did not for a moment divine | ||
| + | that the prize D’Auverney was striving to gain was | ||
| + | simply—< | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | missions to the army, had appointed him a Chief of | ||
| + | Brigade on the field of battle; but he had declined | ||
| + | the honour upon learning that it would remove him | ||
| + | from his old comrade Sergeant Thaddeus.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dangerous expedition safe and sound, contrary to the | ||
| + | general expectation and his own hopes, he was heard | ||
| + | to regret the rank that he had refused.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | spare me, perhaps the guillotine, which ever strikes | ||
| + | down those it has raised, would in time have claimed | ||
| + | me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the conversation turned as soon as he had left the | ||
| + | tent.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a splash of mud off his boot which the dog had left | ||
| + | as he passed him, “I would wager that the captain | ||
| + | would not exchange the broken paw of his dog for | ||
| + | the ten baskets of Madeira that we caught a glimpse | ||
| + | of in the general’s waggon.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | would be a bad bargain: the baskets are empty by | ||
| + | now, and thirty empty bottles would be a poor price | ||
| + | for a dog’s paw—why, you might make a good bell-handle | ||
| + | out of it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | They all laughed at the grave manner in which | ||
| + | Paschal pronounced these words, with the exception | ||
| + | of a young officer of Hussars named Alfred, who | ||
| + | remarked—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gentlemen. This sergeant and dog, who are always | ||
| + | at D’Auverney’s heels ever since I have known him, | ||
| + | seem to me more the objects of sympathy than | ||
| + | raillery, and interest me greatly.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | interrupted him. “It certainly is a most sentimental | ||
| + | scene—a lost dog found, and a broken arm——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | bottle outside the tent, “you are wrong; this Bug, | ||
| + | otherwise called Pierrot, excites my curiosity greatly.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | down without uttering a word. His manner was | ||
| + | still sad, but his face was more calm; he seemed | ||
| + | not to have heard what was said. Rask, who had | ||
| + | followed him, lay down at his feet, but kept a watchful | ||
| + | eye on his master’s comrades.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | this.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | imagining that he was answering a question, “the | ||
| + | wound is not dangerous—there is no bone broken.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a burst of laughter at this reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wound,” said Henri, “and, as you may remember, | ||
| + | we entered into an agreement to pass away the hours | ||
| + | of bivouac by relating to each other our adventures, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | will you carry out your promise by telling us the | ||
| + | history of your lame dog, and of Bug—otherwise | ||
| + | called Pierrot, that regular Gibraltar of a man? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tone, D’Auverney at last yielded.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “but you must only expect a very simple tale, in | ||
| + | which I play an extremely second rate part. If the | ||
| + | affection that exists between Thaddeus, Rask, and | ||
| + | myself leads you to expect anything very wonderful, | ||
| + | I fear that you will be greatly disappointed. However, | ||
| + | I will begin.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | though he wished to recall past events which had | ||
| + | long since been replaced in his memory by the acts | ||
| + | of his later years; but at last, in a low voice and with | ||
| + | frequent pauses, he began his tale.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to St. Domingo, to the care of an uncle to whose | ||
| + | daughter it had been arranged between our parents | ||
| + | that I was to be married. My uncle was one of the | ||
| + | wealthiest colonists, and possessed a magnificent | ||
| + | house and extensive plantations in the Plains of Acul, | ||
| + | near Fort Galifet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wonder at my describing so minutely, was one of the | ||
| + | causes of all our disasters, and the eventual total | ||
| + | ruin of our whole family.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Eight hundred negro slaves cultivated the enormous | ||
| + | domains of my uncle. Sad as the position of a slave | ||
| + | is, my uncle’s hardness of heart added much to the | ||
| + | unhappiness of those who had the misfortune to be | ||
| + | his property.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of planters from whom despotic power had taken | ||
| + | away the gentler feelings of humanity. He was | ||
| + | accustomed to see his most trifling command unhesitatingly | ||
| + | obeyed, and the slightest delay on the | ||
| + | part of his slaves in carrying it out was punished | ||
| + | with the harshest severity; whilst the intercession | ||
| + | either of my cousin or of myself too often merely led | ||
| + | to an increase of the punishment, and we were only | ||
| + | too often obliged to rest satisfied by secretly assuaging | ||
| + | the injuries which we were powerless to | ||
| + | prevent.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | found favour in my uncle’s sight; this was a half-caste | ||
| + | Spanish dwarf, who had been given him by | ||
| + | Lord Effingham, the Governor of Jamaica.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Brazil, and had adopted the luxurious habits of the | ||
| + | Portuguese, loved to surround himself with an establishment | ||
| + | that was in keeping with his wealth. In | ||
| + | order that nothing should be wanting, he had made | ||
| + | the slave presented to him by Lord Effingham his | ||
| + | fool, in imitation of the feudal lords who had jesters | ||
| + | attached to their households. I must say that the | ||
| + | slave amply fulfilled all the required conditions. Habibrah, | ||
| + | for that was the half-caste’s name, was one of | ||
| + | those strangely-formed, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | who would be looked upon as monsters if their very | ||
| + | hideousness did not cause a laugh. This ill-featured | ||
| + | dwarf was short and fat, and moved with wondrous | ||
| + | activity upon a pair of slender limbs, which, when | ||
| + | he sat down, bent under him like the legs of a | ||
| + | spider. His enormous head, covered with a mass | ||
| + | of red curly wool, was stuck between his shoulders, | ||
| + | whilst his ears were so large that Habibrah’s comrades | ||
| + | were in the habit of saying that he used them | ||
| + | to wipe his eyes when he wept. On his face there | ||
| + | was always a grin, which was continually changing | ||
| + | its character, and which caused his ugliness to be | ||
| + | of an ever-varying description. My uncle was fond | ||
| + | of him, because of his extreme hideousness and his | ||
| + | inextinguishable gaiety. Habibrah was his only | ||
| + | favourite, and led a life of ease, whilst the other | ||
| + | slaves were overwhelmed with work. The sole duties | ||
| + | of the jester were to carry a large fan, made of the | ||
| + | feathers of the bird of paradise, to keep away the | ||
| + | sandflies and the mosquitoes from his master. At | ||
| + | meal-times he sat upon a reed mat at his master’s | ||
| + | feet, who fed him with tit-bits from his own plate. | ||
| + | Habibrah appeared to appreciate all these acts of | ||
| + | kindness, and at the slightest sign from my uncle he | ||
| + | would run to him with the agility of a monkey and | ||
| + | the docility of a dog.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | favourite slave. There was something crawling in | ||
| + | his servility, and though outdoor slavery does not | ||
| + | dishonour, domestic service too often debases. I | ||
| + | felt a sentiment of pity for those slaves who toiled in | ||
| + | the scorching sun, with scarcely a vestige of clothing | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to hide their chains; but I despised this idle serf, | ||
| + | with his garments ornamented with gold lace and | ||
| + | adorned with bells. Besides, the dwarf never made | ||
| + | use of his influence with his master to ameliorate the | ||
| + | condition of his fellow-sufferers; | ||
| + | heard him once, when he thought that he and his | ||
| + | master were alone, urge him to increase his severity | ||
| + | towards his ill-fated comrades.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon him with any feelings of anger or rancour, but | ||
| + | treated him with a timid kind of respect; and when, | ||
| + | dressed in all the splendour of laced garments, and a | ||
| + | tall pointed cap ornamented with bells and quaint | ||
| + | symbols traced upon it in red ink, he walked past | ||
| + | their huts, I have heard them murmur in accents of | ||
| + | awe, “He is an <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | occupied my mind but little then. I had given myself | ||
| + | up entirely to the emotion of a pure love in | ||
| + | which nothing else could mingle; a love which was | ||
| + | returned me with passion by the girl to whom I was | ||
| + | betrothed, and I gave little heed to anything that | ||
| + | was not Marie!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | future companion of my life, there was a curious | ||
| + | mixture of the love of a brother for a sister, mingled | ||
| + | with the passionate adoration of a betrothed lover.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | happily than I have done, or have felt their souls | ||
| + | expand into life in the midst of a delicious climate | ||
| + | and all the luxuries which wealth could procure, | ||
| + | with perfect happiness in the present and the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | brightest hopes for the future. No man, as I said | ||
| + | before, could have spent their earlier years more | ||
| + | happily——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thoughts of bygone happiness had stilled his voice, | ||
| + | and then added—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | more profound misery and affliction.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | twentieth birthday approached. It was now the | ||
| + | month of August, 1791, and my uncle had decided | ||
| + | that this should be the date of my marriage with | ||
| + | Marie. You can well understand that the thoughts | ||
| + | of happiness, now so near, absorbed all my faculties, | ||
| + | and how little notice I took of the political crisis | ||
| + | which was then felt throughout the colony. I will | ||
| + | not, therefore, speak of the Count de Pernier, or of | ||
| + | M. de Blanchelande, | ||
| + | unfortunate Colonel de Marchiste; nor will I attempt | ||
| + | to describe the jealousies of the Provincial House of | ||
| + | Assembly of the North, and the Colonial Assembly, | ||
| + | which afterwards called itself the General Assembly, | ||
| + | declaring that the word “Colonial” had a ring of | ||
| + | slavery in it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | did espouse any cause, it was in favour of Cap, near | ||
| + | which town my home was situate, in opposition to | ||
| + | Port au Prince.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Only once did I mix myself up in the question of | ||
| + | the day. It was on the occasion of the disastrous | ||
| + | decree of the 15th of May, 1791, by which the | ||
| + | National Assembly of France admitted free men of | ||
| + | colour to enjoy the same political privileges as the | ||
| + | whites.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the younger colonists spoke in impassioned terms of | ||
| + | this law, which levelled so cruel a blow at the | ||
| + | instincts of supremacy assumed by the whites, with | ||
| + | perhaps too little foundation. I had, as yet, taken | ||
| + | no part in the conversation, | ||
| + | the group a wealthy planter, whose doubtful descent | ||
| + | caused him to be received merely upon sufferance by | ||
| + | the white society. I stepped in front of him, and in | ||
| + | a haughty voice I exclaimed, “Pass on, sir! pass on! | ||
| + | or you may hear words which would certainly be | ||
| + | disagreeable to those with <span class=' | ||
| + | veins.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | challenged me. We fought, and each was slightly | ||
| + | wounded. I confess that I was in the wrong to | ||
| + | have thus provoked him, and it is probable that I | ||
| + | should not have done so on a mere <span class=' | ||
| + | but I had for some time past noticed that he had had | ||
| + | the audacity to pay certain attentions to my cousin, | ||
| + | and had danced with her the very night upon which | ||
| + | I had insulted him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ardently desired approached, I was a perfect stranger | ||
| + | to the state of political ferment in which those | ||
| + | around me lived; and I never perceived the frightful | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | cloud which already almost obscured the horizon, | ||
| + | and which promised a storm that would sweep all | ||
| + | before it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | amongst the slaves—a class too much despised to | ||
| + | be feared; but between the whites and the free | ||
| + | mulattos there was sufficient hatred to cause an outbreak | ||
| + | at any moment, which might entail the most | ||
| + | disastrous consequences.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | occurred, which threw a slight shade of uneasiness | ||
| + | over the sunshine of my happiness.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my uncle’s estate, was a small rustic pavilion in | ||
| + | the midst of a clump of trees.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to enjoy the sea breeze, which blows regularly in St. | ||
| + | Domingo, even during the hottest months of the | ||
| + | year, from sunrise until evening.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | this charming retreat with the sweetest flowers that | ||
| + | I could gather.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | great state of alarm: upon entering her leafy retreat | ||
| + | she had perceived, with surprise and terror, all the | ||
| + | flowers which I had arranged in the morning thrown | ||
| + | upon the ground and trampled underfoot, and a | ||
| + | bunch of wild marigolds, freshly gathered, placed | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | upon her accustomed seat. She had hardly recovered | ||
| + | from her terror when, in the adjoining | ||
| + | coppice, she heard the sound of a guitar, and a voice, | ||
| + | which was not mine, commenced singing a Spanish | ||
| + | song; but in her excitement she had been unable to | ||
| + | catch the meaning of the words, though she could | ||
| + | hear her own name frequently repeated. Then she | ||
| + | had taken to flight, and had come to me full of this | ||
| + | strange and surprising event.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | My first suspicions pointed to the mulatto | ||
| + | with whom I had fought; but, even in the midst of | ||
| + | my perplexity, I resolved to do nothing rashly. I | ||
| + | soothed Marie’s fears as best I could, and promised | ||
| + | to watch over her without ceasing until the marriage | ||
| + | tie would give me the right of never leaving | ||
| + | her.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | so alarmed Marie would not content himself with | ||
| + | what he had already done, I concealed myself that | ||
| + | very evening near the portion of the house in which | ||
| + | my betrothed’s chamber was situated.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and armed with a dagger, I waited; and I did not | ||
| + | wait in vain. Towards the middle of the night my | ||
| + | attention was suddenly attracted by the notes of a | ||
| + | guitar under the very window of the room in which | ||
| + | Marie reposed. Furious with rage, with my dagger | ||
| + | clutched firmly in my hand, I rushed in the direction | ||
| + | of the sound, crushing beneath my feet the brittle | ||
| + | stalks of the sugar-canes. All of a sudden I felt | ||
| + | myself seized and thrown upon my back with what | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | appeared to be superhuman force, my dagger was | ||
| + | wrenched from my grasp, and I saw its point shining | ||
| + | above me; at the same moment I could perceive a | ||
| + | pair of eyes and a double row of white teeth gleaming | ||
| + | through the darkness, whilst a voice, in accents | ||
| + | of concentrated rage, muttered, “<span class=' | ||
| + | (I have you, I have you).</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | vainly with my formidable antagonist, and already | ||
| + | the point of the dagger had pierced my clothes, when | ||
| + | Marie, whom the sound of the guitar and the noise | ||
| + | of the struggle had aroused, appeared suddenly at | ||
| + | her window. She recognized my voice, saw the | ||
| + | gleam of the knife, and uttered a cry of terror and | ||
| + | affright. This cry seemed to paralyze the hand of | ||
| + | my opponent. He stopped as if petrified; but still, | ||
| + | as though undecided, he kept the point of the dagger | ||
| + | pressed upon my chest; then he suddenly exclaimed | ||
| + | in French, “No, I cannot; she would weep too | ||
| + | much,” and, casting away the weapon, rose to his | ||
| + | feet, and in an instant disappeared in the canes; | ||
| + | and before I could rise, bruised and shaken from the | ||
| + | struggle, no sound and no sign remained of the presence | ||
| + | or the flight of my adversary.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | faculties. I was more furious than ever with | ||
| + | my unknown rival, and was overcome with a feeling | ||
| + | of shame at being indebted to him for my life.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that I owe it; for it was the sound of <span class=' | ||
| + | caused him to drop his dagger.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | was something noble in the sentiment which had | ||
| + | caused my unknown rival to spare me. But who | ||
| + | could he be? One supposition after another rose in | ||
| + | my mind, all to be discarded in turn. It could not | ||
| + | be the mulatto planter to whom my suspicions had | ||
| + | first been directed. He was not endowed with such | ||
| + | muscular power; nor was it his voice. The man | ||
| + | with whom I had struggled was naked to the waist. | ||
| + | Slaves alone went about half-clothed in this manner. | ||
| + | But this could not be a slave. The feeling which | ||
| + | had caused him to throw away the dagger would not | ||
| + | have been found in the bosom of a slave; and besides, | ||
| + | my whole soul revolted at the idea of having a slave | ||
| + | for a rival. What was to be done? I determined | ||
| + | to wait and watch.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon almost in the light of the mother who had died | ||
| + | in giving her birth, and with them I remained for | ||
| + | the rest of the night, and in the morning I informed | ||
| + | my uncle of the mysterious occurrence. His surprise | ||
| + | was extreme, but, like me, his pride would not | ||
| + | permit him to believe that a slave would venture to | ||
| + | raise his eyes to his daughter. The nurse received the | ||
| + | strictest orders from my uncle never to leave Marie | ||
| + | alone for a moment, but as the sittings of the Provincial | ||
| + | Assembly, the threatening aspect of the affairs | ||
| + | of the colony, and the superintendence of the plantation | ||
| + | allowed him but little leisure, he authorized me | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to accompany his daughter whenever she left the | ||
| + | house, until the celebration of our nuptials, and at | ||
| + | the same time, presuming that the daring lover must | ||
| + | be lurking in the neighbourhood, | ||
| + | boundaries of the plantation to be more strictly | ||
| + | guarded than ever.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | determined to put the matter to further proof. I | ||
| + | returned to the summer-house by the river, and | ||
| + | repairing the destruction of the evening before, I | ||
| + | placed a quantity of fresh flowers in their accustomed | ||
| + | place. When the time arrived at which | ||
| + | Marie usually sought the sweet shades of this sequestered | ||
| + | spot, I loaded my rifle and proposed to | ||
| + | escort her thither. The old nurse followed a few | ||
| + | steps behind.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | having set the place to rights, entered the summer-house | ||
| + | the first. “See, Leopold,” said she, “my | ||
| + | nest is in the same condition in which I left it | ||
| + | yesterday; here are your flowers thrown about in | ||
| + | disorder and trampled to pieces, and there is that | ||
| + | odious bouquet which does not appear at all faded | ||
| + | since yesterday; indeed, it looks as if it had been | ||
| + | freshly gathered.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was my morning’s work utterly ruined, and the wild | ||
| + | flowers, at whose freshness Marie was so much | ||
| + | astonished, had insolently usurped the place of the | ||
| + | roses that I had strewn all over the place.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | agitation; “this insolent intruder will come here no | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | more; let us put all thoughts of him on one side, | ||
| + | as I do this nasty bunch of flowers.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | indignation with which she crushed the flowers under | ||
| + | her foot, but hoping that the day would again come | ||
| + | when I should meet my mysterious rival face to face, | ||
| + | I made her sit down between her nurse and myself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on my lips; a sound, deadened by the breeze and the | ||
| + | rippling of the stream, had struck upon her ear. I | ||
| + | listened; it was the notes of a guitar, the same | ||
| + | melody that had filled me with fury on the preceding | ||
| + | evening. I made a movement to start from | ||
| + | my seat, but a gesture of Marie’s detained me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | going to sing, and we shall learn who he is.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the guitar, and then from the depths of the wood | ||
| + | came the plaintive melody of a Spanish song, every | ||
| + | word of which has remained deeply engraved on my | ||
| + | memory.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a sob, concluded the song. I was beside myself | ||
| + | with rage. King—black—slave! A thousand | ||
| + | incoherent ideas were awakened by this extraordinary | ||
| + | and mysterious song. A maddening desire | ||
| + | to finish for once and all with this unknown being, | ||
| + | who dared to mingle the name of Marie with | ||
| + | songs of love and menace, took possession of me. | ||
| + | I grasped my rifle convulsively and rushed from the | ||
| + | summer-house. Marie stretched out her arms to | ||
| + | detain me, but I was already in the thicket from | ||
| + | which the voice appeared to have come. I searched | ||
| + | the little wood thoroughly, I beat the bushes with | ||
| + | the barrel of my rifle, I crept behind the trunks of | ||
| + | the large trees, and walked through the high grass.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | search added fuel to the fire of my anger. Was | ||
| + | this insolent rival always to escape from me like a | ||
| + | supernatural being? Was I never to be able to find | ||
| + | out who he was, or to meet him? At this moment | ||
| + | the tinkling of bells roused me from my reverie. I | ||
| + | turned sharply round, the dwarf Habibrah was at my | ||
| + | side.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | glance full of triumphant malice at the anxiety | ||
| + | which was imprinted on my face.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | any one about here? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | calmly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Did you hear no voice?” continued I.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | an evasive reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Answer me quickly, wretch! did you hear | ||
| + | a voice? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | small and round, and gleamed like those of a wild cat.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | are voices everywhere—the voice of the birds, the | ||
| + | voice of the stream, the voice of the wind in the | ||
| + | trees——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | cried, “cease your quibbling, or you shall hear | ||
| + | another voice from the barrel of my rifle. Answer at | ||
| + | once; did you hear a man singing a Spanish song? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I will tell you all about it. I was walking on the | ||
| + | outskirts of the wood listening to what the silver | ||
| + | bells of my <span class=' | ||
| + | wind brought to my ears some Spanish words, the first | ||
| + | language that I heard when my age could have been | ||
| + | counted by months, and my mother carried me slung | ||
| + | at her back in a hammock of red and yellow wool. | ||
| + | I love the language, it recalls to me the time when I | ||
| + | was little without being a dwarf, a little child, and | ||
| + | not a buffoon; and so I listened to the song.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you what the man was who sang.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Oh, speak!” I exclaimed; “speak! here is my | ||
| + | purse, and ten others fuller than that shall be yours | ||
| + | if you will tell me his name.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “that will make a fine heap of good gold coins; but | ||
| + | do not be impatient, young master, I am going to | ||
| + | tell you all. Do you remember the last verse of his | ||
| + | song, something about ‘I am black, and you are | ||
| + | white, and the union of the two produces the | ||
| + | beautiful light’? Well, if this song is true, Habibrah, | ||
| + | your humble slave, was born of a negress and a | ||
| + | white, and must be more beautiful than you, master; | ||
| + | I am the offspring of day and night, therefore I am | ||
| + | more beautiful than a white man, and——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | laughter.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was singing in the wood.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | buffooneries, | ||
| + | have been—a fool like me! Have I not gained my | ||
| + | ten purses? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a wild shriek rang through the wood from the direction | ||
| + | of the summer-house.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | what fresh misfortune could be in store for us, and | ||
| + | in a few moments arrived, out of breath, at the door | ||
| + | of the pavilion. A terrible spectacle presented itself | ||
| + | to my eyes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | An enormous alligator, whose body was half | ||
| + | concealed by the reeds and water plants, had thrust | ||
| + | his monstrous head through one of the leafy sides of | ||
| + | the summer-house; | ||
| + | threatened a young negro of colossal height, who | ||
| + | with one arm sustained Marie’s fainting form, whilst | ||
| + | with the other he had plunged the iron portion of a | ||
| + | hoe between the sharp and pointed teeth of the | ||
| + | monster. The reptile struggled fiercely against the | ||
| + | bold and courageous hand that held him at bay.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | joy, and extricating herself from the support of the | ||
| + | negro, threw herself into my arms with “I am | ||
| + | saved, I am saved!” cried she.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | negro turned abruptly round, crossed his arms on his | ||
| + | breast, and casting a look of infinite sorrow upon my | ||
| + | betrothed, remained immovable, taking no heed of | ||
| + | the alligator, which, having freed itself from the | ||
| + | hoe, was advancing on him in a threatening manner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | courageous negro, had I not rapidly placed Marie on | ||
| + | the knees of her nurse, who, more dead than alive, | ||
| + | was gazing upon the scene, and, coming close to the | ||
| + | monster, discharged my carbine into its yawning | ||
| + | mouth. The huge reptile staggered back, its | ||
| + | bleeding jaws opened and shut convulsively, | ||
| + | closed, and after one or two unavailing efforts it | ||
| + | rolled over upon its back, with its scaly feet stiffening | ||
| + | in the air. It was dead. The negro whose life I | ||
| + | had so happily preserved turned his head and saw | ||
| + | the last convulsive struggles of the monster, then he | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | fixed his eyes upon Marie, who had again cast | ||
| + | herself into my arms, and in accents of the deepest | ||
| + | despair, he exclaimed in Spanish, “Why did you | ||
| + | kill him?” and, without waiting for a reply, leaped | ||
| + | into the thicket and disappeared.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | extraordinary mental emotions of every kind which | ||
| + | had accompanied and followed my vain researches | ||
| + | in the wood, had made my brain whirl. Marie was | ||
| + | still stupefied with the danger that she had so | ||
| + | narrowly escaped, and some time elapsed before we | ||
| + | could frame coherent words, or express ourselves | ||
| + | otherwise than by looks and clasping of the hands.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seems attached to the place.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for my permission to do so, and, leaning upon | ||
| + | my arm, we quitted the pavilion. I asked her how | ||
| + | it had happened that succour had so opportunely | ||
| + | arrived when the danger was so imminent, and if | ||
| + | she knew who the slave was who had come to her | ||
| + | assistance; for that it <span class=' | ||
| + | coarse linen trousers—a dress only worn by that | ||
| + | unhappy class.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my father’s negroes who was at work in the | ||
| + | vicinity when the appearance of the alligator made | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | me scream, and my cry must have warned him of | ||
| + | my danger. All I know is, that he rushed out of | ||
| + | the wood and came to my help.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | came, and into which you had just gone.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | been drawing from the Spanish words that the negro | ||
| + | had addressed to me, and from the song in the same | ||
| + | language by my unknown rival. But yet there was | ||
| + | a crowd of other similarities. This negro of great | ||
| + | height, and powerful muscular development, | ||
| + | well have been the adversary with whom I had | ||
| + | struggled on the preceding night. In that case his | ||
| + | half-clothed person would furnish a striking proof. | ||
| + | The singer in the wood had said, “I am black”—a | ||
| + | further proof.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was only a slave, but I recollected that in my brief | ||
| + | examination I had been surprised at the noble | ||
| + | appearance of his features, though of course accompanied | ||
| + | by the characteristic signs of the African | ||
| + | race.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nobleness of his deportment, and his magnificent | ||
| + | proportions, | ||
| + | his statement that he had been a king. But then | ||
| + | came the crushing blow to my pride: if he had dared | ||
| + | to gaze with an eye of affection upon Marie, if he | ||
| + | had made her the object of his serenades, <span class=' | ||
| + | and a <span class=' | ||
| + | severe for his presumption? | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | all my indecision returned again, and again my anger | ||
| + | increased against the mysterious unknown. But | ||
| + | at the moment that these ideas filled my brain, | ||
| + | Marie dissipated them entirely by exclaiming, in her | ||
| + | gentle voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and pay him the debt of gratitude that we owe him, | ||
| + | for without him I should have been lost, for you | ||
| + | would have arrived too late.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | alter my determination to seek out the slave, but it | ||
| + | entirely altered the design with which I sought him, | ||
| + | for it was to recompense and not to punish him that | ||
| + | I was now eager.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | daughter’s life to the courage of one of his slaves, and | ||
| + | he promised me his liberty as soon as I could find | ||
| + | him out.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | going into those portions of the plantation where the | ||
| + | slaves were at work. It had been too painful for me | ||
| + | to see so much suffering which I was powerless to | ||
| + | alleviate. But on the day after the events had taken | ||
| + | place which I have just narrated, upon my uncle | ||
| + | asking me to accompany him on his tour of inspection, | ||
| + | I accepted his proposal with eagerness, hoping | ||
| + | to meet amongst the labourers the preserver of my | ||
| + | much beloved Marie.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | great a power the master exercises over his slaves, | ||
| + | but at the same time I could perceive at what a cost | ||
| + | this power was bought, for though at the presence | ||
| + | of my uncle all redoubled their efforts, I could perceive | ||
| + | that there was as much hatred as terror in the | ||
| + | looks that they furtively cast upon him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | at being unable to discover any object upon which to | ||
| + | vent his wrath, until Habibrah the buffoon, who | ||
| + | was ever at his heels, pointed out to him a young | ||
| + | negro, who, overcome by heat and fatigue, had fallen | ||
| + | asleep under a clump of date-trees.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | violently, and in angry tones ordered him to resume | ||
| + | his work.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | disclosed a Bengal rose-tree upon which he had | ||
| + | accidentally laid, and which my uncle prized highly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | called the idleness of his slave, became furious. | ||
| + | Foaming with rage, he unhooked from his belt the | ||
| + | whip with wire plaited thongs, which he always | ||
| + | carried with him on his rounds, and raised his arm | ||
| + | to strike the negro who had fallen at his feet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | A powerful grasp arrested the hand of the angry | ||
| + | planter, and a negro (it was the very one that I was | ||
| + | in search of) exclaimed, “Punish me, for I <span class=' | ||
| + | offended you, but do not hurt my brother who has | ||
| + | but broken your rose-tree.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | This unexpected interposition from the man to | ||
| + | whom I owed Marie’s safety, his manner, his look, | ||
| + | and the haughty tone of his voice, struck me with | ||
| + | surprise. But his generous intervention, | ||
| + | causing my uncle to blush for his causeless anger, | ||
| + | only increased the rage of the incensed master, and | ||
| + | turned his anger upon the new-comer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his arm from the grasp of the tall negro, and | ||
| + | pouring out a volley of threats, again raised the whip | ||
| + | to strike him. This time, however, it was torn from | ||
| + | his hand, and the negro, breaking the handle studded | ||
| + | with iron nails as you would break a straw, cast it | ||
| + | upon the ground and trampled upon the instrument | ||
| + | of degrading punishment.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for it was an unheard-of thing for him to find his | ||
| + | authority thus contemned. His eyes appeared ready | ||
| + | to start from their sockets, and his lips quivered | ||
| + | with passion.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a dignified air, he offered him an axe that he held in | ||
| + | his hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | at least take this axe.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have complied with his request, for he stretched out | ||
| + | his hand to grasp the dangerous weapon; but I in | ||
| + | my turn interfered, and seizing the axe, threw it | ||
| + | into the well of a sugar-mill which was close at hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | of striking the preserver of your daughter; | ||
| + | it is to this slave that you owe Marie; it is the negro | ||
| + | to whom you have promised liberty.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him of his promise. My words could not soothe the | ||
| + | wounded dignity of the planter.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | has deserved that an end should be put to his slavery; | ||
| + | his liberty indeed! we shall see what sort of liberty | ||
| + | the members of a court-martial will accord him.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | did Marie join her entreaties to mine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of this scene was punished with a severe flogging, | ||
| + | whilst his defender was thrown into the dungeons of | ||
| + | Fort Galifet, under the terrible accusation of having | ||
| + | assaulted a white man; for a slave who did this, the | ||
| + | punishment was invariably death.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | excited my curiosity and interest. I | ||
| + | made every inquiry regarding the prisoner, and some | ||
| + | strange particulars came to my knowledge. I | ||
| + | learned that all his comrades displayed the greatest | ||
| + | respect for the young negro. Slave as he was, he | ||
| + | had but to make a sign to be implicitly obeyed. He | ||
| + | was not born upon the estate, nor did any one know | ||
| + | his father or mother: all that was known of him was | ||
| + | that some years ago, a slave ship had brought him | ||
| + | to St. Domingo. This circumstance rendered the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | influence which he exercised over the slaves the more | ||
| + | extraordinary, | ||
| + | the island profess the greatest contempt for the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | direct from Africa.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | enormous strength, combined with his great skill, rendered | ||
| + | him very valuable in the plantation. He could | ||
| + | turn more quickly, and for a longer period than a | ||
| + | horse, the wheels of the sugar-mills, | ||
| + | single day performed the work of ten of his companions | ||
| + | to save them from the punishment which | ||
| + | their negligence or incapacity had rendered them | ||
| + | liable. For this reason he was adored by the slaves, | ||
| + | but the respect that they paid him was of an entirely | ||
| + | different character from the superstitious dread with | ||
| + | which they looked upon Habibrah the Jester.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gentleness with which he treated his equals, in contrast | ||
| + | to the pride and haughtiness which he displayed | ||
| + | to the negroes who acted as overseers. These | ||
| + | privileged slaves, the intermediary links in the chain | ||
| + | of servitude, too often exceed the little brief authority | ||
| + | that is delegated to them, and find a cruel pleasure | ||
| + | in overwhelming those beneath them with work. | ||
| + | Not one of them, however, had ever dared to inflict | ||
| + | any species of punishment on him, for had they done | ||
| + | so, twenty negroes would have stepped forward to | ||
| + | take his place, whilst he would have looked gravely | ||
| + | on, as thought he considered that they were merely | ||
| + | performing a duty. The strange being was known | ||
| + | throughout the negro quarter as <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon my youthful imagination. Marie, inspired by | ||
| + | compassion and gratitude, applauded my enthusiasm, | ||
| + | and Pierrot excited our interest so much, that I determined | ||
| + | to visit him and offer him my services in | ||
| + | extricating him from his perilous position. As the | ||
| + | nephew of one of the richest colonists in the Cap, | ||
| + | I was, in spite of my youth, a captain in the Acul | ||
| + | Militia. This regiment, and a detachment of the | ||
| + | Yellow Dragoons, had charge of Fort Galifet; the | ||
| + | detachment was commanded by a non-commissioned | ||
| + | officer, to whose brother I had once had the good | ||
| + | fortune to render an important service, and who | ||
| + | therefore was entirely devoted to me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Thaddeus.)</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and as you may well believe, I had not much trouble | ||
| + | in penetrating to the cell in which the negro was | ||
| + | confined. As a captain in the militia, I had of course | ||
| + | the right to visit the fort; but to evade the suspicions | ||
| + | of my uncle, whose rage was still unabated, I took | ||
| + | care to go there at the time of his noonday <span class=' | ||
| + | All the soldiers too, except those on guard, were | ||
| + | asleep, and guided by Thaddeus I came to the door | ||
| + | of the cell. He opened it for me, and then discreetly | ||
| + | retired.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | account of his height, he could not stand upright. | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | He was not alone, an enormous dog was crouched at | ||
| + | his feet, which rose with a growl, and moved toward | ||
| + | me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his master’s feet, and began eating some coarse food.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | through the loophole in the wall of the cell was so | ||
| + | feeble that Pierrot could not recognize my features.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with which he moved, “that you were in irons.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | uttered these words, that seemed to say, “I was not | ||
| + | born to wear fetters.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you to have a dog with you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | closed the door on the outside, the loophole was | ||
| + | scarcely six inches in width, and had two iron bars | ||
| + | across it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nearly erect as the low roof would permit, he pulled | ||
| + | out with ease a large stone placed under the loophole, | ||
| + | removed the iron bars, and displayed an opening | ||
| + | sufficiently large to permit two men to pass through. | ||
| + | This opening looked upon a grove of bananas and | ||
| + | cocoa-nut trees which covered the hill upon which | ||
| + | the fort was built.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Surprise rendered me dumb; at that moment a | ||
| + | ray of light fell on my face. The prisoner started as | ||
| + | if he had accidentally trodden upon a snake, and his | ||
| + | head struck against the ceiling of the cell. A strange | ||
| + | mixture of opposing feelings passed over his face—hatred, | ||
| + | kindness, and astonishment were all mingled | ||
| + | together; but recovering himself with an effort, his | ||
| + | face once more became cold and calm, and he gazed | ||
| + | upon me as if I was entirely unknown to him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of horror.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hand, and had I not enlarged the loophole, poor | ||
| + | Rask would have died of hunger. It is better that | ||
| + | he should live, for I know that I am condemned to | ||
| + | death.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | could have lived two days yet without food, but I am | ||
| + | ready: to-day is as good as to-morrow. Do not hurt | ||
| + | Rask.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I am ready.” Accused of a crime the punishment | ||
| + | of which was death, he believed that I had come to | ||
| + | announce his immediate execution; and yet this | ||
| + | man endowed with herculean strength, with all the | ||
| + | avenues of escape open to him, had in a calm and | ||
| + | childlike manner repeated “I am ready!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “What!” I exclaimed, “not only do you take me | ||
| + | for your executioner, | ||
| + | humanity, that you believe I would injure this poor | ||
| + | dog, who has never done me any harm!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tremor in his voice as he offered me his hand, saying,</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your race have cruelly injured me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | best to undeceive him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nothing in the eyes of men of your colour; besides | ||
| + | you have injured me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it, and smiled bitterly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | from an alligator, and once from a planter, and what | ||
| + | is worse I am denied the right to hate you, I am | ||
| + | very unhappy.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | surprised me no longer; it was in harmony with | ||
| + | himself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | owe you the life of Marie, of my betrothed.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | shock. “Marie!” repeated he in stilled tones, and | ||
| + | his face fell in his hands which trembled violently, | ||
| + | whilst his bosom rose and fell with heavy sighs.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | aroused, but this time there were no feelings of anger | ||
| + | or jealousy. I was too near my happiness, and he | ||
| + | was trembling upon the brink of death, so that I | ||
| + | could not for a moment look upon him as a rival, and | ||
| + | even had I done so, his forlorn condition would have | ||
| + | excited my compassion and sympathy.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | lofty as your own.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to tell me of his position, and his sufferings, but he | ||
| + | maintained an obstinate silence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and my entreaties appeared to have vanquished his | ||
| + | distaste for life. He left his cell, and in a short time | ||
| + | returned with some bananas and a large cocoa-nut. | ||
| + | Then he reclosed the opening and began to eat. As | ||
| + | we conversed, I remarked that he spoke French and | ||
| + | Spanish with equal facility, and that his education | ||
| + | had not been entirely neglected. He knew many | ||
| + | Spanish songs, which he sang with great feeling. | ||
| + | Altogether he was a mystery that I endeavoured in | ||
| + | vain to solve, for he would give me no key to the | ||
| + | riddle. At last, with regret, I was compelled to leave | ||
| + | him, after having urged on my faithful Thaddeus to | ||
| + | permit him every possible indulgence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | position rendered me very uneasy, for in spite of all | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | our prayers, my uncle obstinately refused to withdraw | ||
| + | his complaint. I did not conceal my fears from | ||
| + | Pierrot, who however listened to them with indifference.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tied round his neck. His master would take it off, | ||
| + | read some lines traced upon it in an unknown | ||
| + | language, and then tear it up. I had ceased to | ||
| + | question him in any matters connected with himself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was seated with his back to the door of the cell, and | ||
| + | was whistling in melancholy mood the Spanish air, | ||
| + | “Yo que soy contrabandista” (“A smuggler am I”). | ||
| + | When he had completed it, he turned sharply round | ||
| + | to me, and exclaimed—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | will cast aside all suspicion on hearing me sing this | ||
| + | air.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | asked, without noticing the words upon which he laid | ||
| + | so much stress, “<span class=' | ||
| + | the empty half of a cocoa-nut which he had brought | ||
| + | in on the day of my first visit, and had preserved | ||
| + | ever since, filled it which palm wine, begged me to | ||
| + | put my lips to it, and then drank it off at a draught. | ||
| + | From that day he always called me <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Pierrot’s life. My uncle’s anger had cooled down a | ||
| + | little. The preparations for the festivities, | ||
| + | with his daughter’s wedding had caused his feelings | ||
| + | to flow in gentle channels. Marie joined her entreaties | ||
| + | to mine. Each day I pointed out to him | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | that Pierrot had had no desire to insult him, but had | ||
| + | merely interposed to prevent him from committing | ||
| + | an act of perhaps too great severity; that the negro | ||
| + | had at the risk of his life saved Marie from the | ||
| + | alligator; and besides, Pierrot was the strongest of all | ||
| + | his slaves (for now I sought to save his life not to | ||
| + | obtain his liberty), that he was able to do the work of | ||
| + | ten men, and that his single arm was sufficient to | ||
| + | put the rollers of a sugar-mill in motion. My uncle | ||
| + | listened to me calmly, and once or twice hinted that | ||
| + | he might not follow up his complaint.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that had taken place, hoping that I should soon be | ||
| + | the messenger to announce to him his restoration to | ||
| + | liberty.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | believed that he was under sentence of death, yet he | ||
| + | made no effort to avail himself of the means of | ||
| + | escape that lay in his power. I spoke to him of this.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | would think that I was afraid.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with happiness, and upon her gentle face was a | ||
| + | sweeter expression than even the joys of pure love | ||
| + | could produce, for written upon it was the knowledge | ||
| + | of a good deed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | married. We shall soon——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Do not say <span class=' | ||
| + | interval of three days.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | idea has struck me which has made me very happy. | ||
| + | You know that yesterday I went to town with my | ||
| + | father to buy all sort’s of things for our wedding. I | ||
| + | only care for jewels because you say that they become | ||
| + | me. I would give all my pearls for a single | ||
| + | flower from the bouquet which that odious man with | ||
| + | the marigolds destroyed. But that is not what I | ||
| + | meant to say. My father wished to buy me everything | ||
| + | that I admired, and amongst other things there | ||
| + | was a <span class=' | ||
| + | flowers, which I admired. It was very expensive. | ||
| + | My father noticed that the dress had attracted my | ||
| + | attention. As we were returning home, I begged | ||
| + | him to promise me a boon after the manner of the | ||
| + | knights of old—you know how he delights to be | ||
| + | compared to them. He vowed on his honour that | ||
| + | he would grant me whatever I asked, thinking of | ||
| + | course that it was the <span class=' | ||
| + | no, it is Pierrot’s pardon that I will ask for as my | ||
| + | nuptial present.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | My uncle’s word was sacred, and whilst Marie ran | ||
| + | to him to claim its fulfilment, I hastened to Fort | ||
| + | Galifet to convey the glad news to Pierrot.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your life is safe; Marie has obtained it as a wedding | ||
| + | present from her father.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Marie—wedding—my life! What reference have | ||
| + | these things to each other? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | life you saved, is to be married——.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | change coming over his face.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to take place? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with terror painted in his countenance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | After a short pause he clasped my hand—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | must give you a warning. Trust to me, take up your | ||
| + | residence in Cap, and get married before the 22nd.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wards.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | perhaps said too much, but I hate ingratitude even | ||
| + | more than perjury.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but all these were soon effaced by the thoughts | ||
| + | of my approaching happiness.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and I returned to the Fort to release Pierrot. Thaddeus, | ||
| + | on hearing the noise, accompanied me to the | ||
| + | prisoner’s cell, but he was gone! Rask alone remained, | ||
| + | and came up to me wagging his tail. To | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | his neck was fastened a palm-leaf, upon which were | ||
| + | written these words: “Thanks; for the third time | ||
| + | you have saved my life. Do not forget your promise, | ||
| + | friend;” whilst underneath, in lieu of signature, | ||
| + | were the words: “Yo que soy contrabandista.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for he was ignorant of the enlargement of the loophole, | ||
| + | and firmly believed that the negro had changed | ||
| + | himself into a dog. I allowed him to remain in this | ||
| + | belief, contenting myself with making him promise | ||
| + | to say nothing of what he had seen. I wished to | ||
| + | take Rask home with me, but on leaving the Fort | ||
| + | he plunged into a thicket and disappeared.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | negro. He ordered a diligent search to be made for | ||
| + | him, and wrote to the Governor placing Pierrot entirely | ||
| + | at his disposal should he be re-taken.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Maria was celebrated with every species of rejoicing | ||
| + | at the parish church of Acul. How happily did that | ||
| + | day commence from which all our misfortunes were | ||
| + | to date!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and his mysterious warning were entirely banished | ||
| + | from my thoughts. At last the day came to a close, | ||
| + | and my wife had retired to her apartments; but for | ||
| + | a time duty forbade me joining her there. My position | ||
| + | as a captain of militia required me that evening | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to make the round of the guards posted about Acul. | ||
| + | This nightly precaution was absolutely necessary | ||
| + | owing to the disturbed state of the colony, caused by | ||
| + | occasional outbreaks amongst the negroes, which, | ||
| + | however, had been promptly repressed. My uncle was | ||
| + | the first to recall me to the recollection of my duty. | ||
| + | I had no option but to yield, and, putting on my | ||
| + | uniform, I went out. I visited the first few guards | ||
| + | without discovering any cause of alarm; but towards | ||
| + | midnight, as half buried in my own thoughts I was | ||
| + | patrolling the shores of the bay, I perceived upon the | ||
| + | horizon a ruddy light in the direction of Limonade | ||
| + | and Saint Louis du Morin. At first my escort attributed | ||
| + | it to some accidental conflagration; | ||
| + | few moments the flames became so vivid, and the | ||
| + | smoke rising before the wind grew so thick, that I | ||
| + | ordered an immediate return to the Fort to give the | ||
| + | alarm, and to request that help might be sent in the | ||
| + | direction of the fire.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | who belonged to our estate, I was surprised at the | ||
| + | extreme disorder that reigned there. The majority | ||
| + | of the slaves were afoot, and were talking together | ||
| + | with great earnestness. One strange word was | ||
| + | pronounced with the greatest respect—it was <span class=' | ||
| + | occurred continually in the almost unintelligible | ||
| + | dialect that they used.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | there, I learned that the negroes of the northern districts | ||
| + | were in open revolt, and had set fire to the | ||
| + | dwelling-houses and the plantations on the other | ||
| + | side of Cap.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Passing through a marshy spot, I discovered a | ||
| + | quantity of axes and other tools, which would serve | ||
| + | as weapons, hidden amongst the reeds. My suspicions | ||
| + | were now thoroughly aroused, and I ordered | ||
| + | the whole of the Acul militia to get under arms, and | ||
| + | gave the command to my lieutenant, and, whilst my | ||
| + | poor Marie was expecting me, I, obeying my uncle’s | ||
| + | orders, who, as I have mentioned, was a member of | ||
| + | the Provincial Assembly, took the road to Cap, with | ||
| + | such soldiers as I had been able to muster. I shall | ||
| + | never forget the appearance of the town as we approached. | ||
| + | The flames from the plantations which | ||
| + | were burning all around it, threw a lurid light upon | ||
| + | the scene, which was only partially obscured by the | ||
| + | clouds of smoke which the wind drove into the | ||
| + | narrow streets. Immense masses of sparks rose | ||
| + | from the burning heaps of sugar-cane, and fell like | ||
| + | fiery snow on the roofs of the houses, and on the | ||
| + | rigging of the vessels at anchor in the roadsteads, at | ||
| + | every moment threatening the town of Cap with as | ||
| + | serious a conflagration as was already raging in its | ||
| + | immediate neighbourhood. It was a terrible sight | ||
| + | to witness the terror-stricken inhabitants exposing | ||
| + | their lives to preserve from so destructive a visitant | ||
| + | their habitations, | ||
| + | of property left to them; whilst, on the other hand, | ||
| + | the vessels, taking advantage of a fair wind, and | ||
| + | fearing the same fate, had already set sail, and were | ||
| + | gliding over an ocean reddened by the flames of the | ||
| + | conflagration.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Fort, by the cries of the fugitives, and the distant | ||
| + | crash of falling buildings, I did not know in what | ||
| + | direction to lead my men; but, meeting in the main | ||
| + | square the captain of the Yellow Dragoons, he advised | ||
| + | me to proceed direct to the Governor.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I must pass quickly over my recollections of them, | ||
| + | written as they are in fire and blood. I will content | ||
| + | myself with saying that the insurgent slaves were | ||
| + | already masters of Dondon, of Terrier-Rouge, | ||
| + | the town of Ouanaminte, and of the plantation of | ||
| + | Limbé. This last news filled me with uneasiness, | ||
| + | owing to the proximity of Limbé to Acul. I made | ||
| + | all speed to the Government House. All was in | ||
| + | confusion there. I asked for orders, and begged that | ||
| + | instant measures might be taken for the security of | ||
| + | Acul, which I feared the insurgents were already | ||
| + | threatening. With the Governor, Monsieur de | ||
| + | Blanchelande, | ||
| + | and one of the largest landholders in Cap; M. de | ||
| + | Touzard, the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of | ||
| + | Cap; a great many members of the Colonial and | ||
| + | the Provincial Assemblies, and numbers of the leading | ||
| + | colonists. As I entered, all were engaged in a | ||
| + | confused argument.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Assembly, “it is only too true, it is the | ||
| + | negroes, and not the free mulattoes; it has often | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | been pointed out that there was danger in that | ||
| + | direction.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | its truth,” answered a member of the Colonial Assembly, | ||
| + | bitterly, “and you only say it to gain credit | ||
| + | at our expense. So far from expecting a rising of | ||
| + | the slaves, you got up a sham one in 1789. A | ||
| + | ridiculous farce in which with a supposed insurgent | ||
| + | force of three thousand slaves, <span class=' | ||
| + | only was killed, and that most likely by his own | ||
| + | comrades.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | see farther than you. It is only natural. We | ||
| + | remain upon the spot and study the minutest details | ||
| + | of the colony, whilst you and your Assembly hurry | ||
| + | off to France to make some absurd proposals; which | ||
| + | are often met with a national reprimand <span class=' | ||
| + | mus</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with a sneer—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “that caused the execution of that poor devil who | ||
| + | neglected to wear a tricolored cockade in a <span class=' | ||
| + | who commenced a petition for capital punishment | ||
| + | to be inflicted on the mulatto Lacombe with that | ||
| + | worn-out phrase, ‘In the name of the Father, of the | ||
| + | Son, and the Holy Ghost.’ ”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | always been a struggle of principles against privileges | ||
| + | between our assemblies.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Ha, Monsieur, I see now you are an <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | favour of the <span class=' | ||
| + | of that confession as best you may.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the present state of affairs, and the pressing danger | ||
| + | that threatens us? Listen to the reports that I | ||
| + | have received. The revolt began this night at ten | ||
| + | o’clock amongst the slaves in the Turpin Plantation. | ||
| + | The negroes, headed by an English slave named | ||
| + | Bouckmann, were joined by the blacks from Clement, | ||
| + | Trémés, Flaville, and Nöe. They set fire to all | ||
| + | the plantations, | ||
| + | the most unheard-of barbarities. By one single detail | ||
| + | I can make you comprehend all the horrors accompanying | ||
| + | this insurrection. The standard of the | ||
| + | insurgents is the body of a white child on the point | ||
| + | of a pike.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | statement.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | outside the town. Within its limits all is confusion. | ||
| + | Fear has rendered many of the inhabitants forgetful | ||
| + | of the duties of humanity, and they have murdered | ||
| + | their slaves. Nearly every one have confined their | ||
| + | negroes behind bolts and bars. The white artisans | ||
| + | accuse the free mulattoes of being participators in | ||
| + | the revolt, and many have had great difficulty in | ||
| + | escaping from the fury of the populace. I have had | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to grant them a place of refuge in a church, guarded | ||
| + | by a regiment of soldiers; and now, to prove that | ||
| + | they have nothing in common with the insurgents, | ||
| + | they asked that they may be armed and led against | ||
| + | the rebels.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a voice which I recognized as that of the planter | ||
| + | with whom I had had a duel. “Do nothing of the | ||
| + | kind; give no arms to the mulattoes.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | planter, with a sneer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “These men of mixed blood are our worst | ||
| + | enemies, and we must take every precaution against | ||
| + | them. It is from that quarter that the insurgents | ||
| + | are recruited; the negroes have but little to do with | ||
| + | the rising.” The poor wretch hoped by his abuse | ||
| + | of the mulattoes to prove that he had nothing in | ||
| + | common with them, and to clear himself from the | ||
| + | imputation of having black blood in his veins; but | ||
| + | the attempt was too barefaced, and a murmur of | ||
| + | disgust rose up on all sides.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | something to do with it, for they are forty to one; | ||
| + | and we should be in a serious plight if we could only | ||
| + | oppose the negroes and the mulattoes with whites | ||
| + | like you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | be given to the petition: shall the mulattoes have the | ||
| + | arms? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | make use of every willing hand. And you, sir,” he | ||
| + | added, turning to the colonist of doubtful colour. | ||
| + | “Go arm yourself, and join your comrades.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | concentrated rage.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | town reached even to the chamber in which the | ||
| + | council was being held. M. de Blanchelande hastily | ||
| + | pencilled a few words upon a slip of paper, and | ||
| + | handed it to one of his aides-de-camp, | ||
| + | left the room.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | there are many more questions to be settled.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | convoked, | ||
| + | when first I entered.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “what is the Provincial Assembly? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the Colonial Assembly, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | more of the Colonial than the Provincial—I only | ||
| + | recognize the General Assembly.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | are losing time with this nonsense, tell me what is | ||
| + | to become of my cotton and my cochineal? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a-head all round?” said the captain of a slave ship.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | colonist, “costs me ten quintals of sugar, which at | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | seventeen piastres the quintal makes one hundred | ||
| + | and thirty livres, ten sous, in French money, by | ||
| + | the——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | again sought to renew their argument.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thunder, striking the table violently, “what eternal | ||
| + | talkers you are! What do we care about your two | ||
| + | assemblies. Summon both of them, your Excellency, | ||
| + | and I will form them into two regiments, and when | ||
| + | they march against the negroes we shall see whether | ||
| + | their tongues or their muskets make the most noise.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nothing can be done. These fine talkers spoil all, as | ||
| + | they do in Paris. If I was seated in his Excellency’s | ||
| + | chair, I would throw all these fellows out of the | ||
| + | window, and with my soldiers and a dozen crosses of | ||
| + | St. Louis to promise, I would sweep away all the | ||
| + | rebels in the island. These fictitious ideas of liberty, | ||
| + | which they have all run mad after in France, do not | ||
| + | do out here. Negroes should be treated so as not to | ||
| + | upset them entirely by sudden liberation; all the | ||
| + | terrible events of to-day are merely the result of this | ||
| + | utterly mistaken policy, and this rising of the slaves | ||
| + | is the natural result of the taking of the Bastille.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | views—a little narrow-minded perhaps, but full of | ||
| + | the frankness of conviction—the stormy argument | ||
| + | was at its height. A certain planter, one amongst | ||
| + | the few who were bitten with the rabid mania of the | ||
| + | revolution, and who called himself Citizen General | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | C——, because he had assisted at a few sanguinary | ||
| + | executions, exclaimed—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Every nation must exist by terrible examples; let us | ||
| + | terrify the negroes. It was I who quieted the slaves | ||
| + | during the risings of June and July by lining the | ||
| + | approach to my house with a double row of negro | ||
| + | heads. Let each one join me in this, and let us | ||
| + | defend the entrances to Cap with the slaves who are | ||
| + | still in our hands.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “The height of imprudence, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | make a ring of negro heads, from Fort Picolet to | ||
| + | Point Caracole. The rebels, their comrades, will | ||
| + | not then dare to approach us. I have five hundred | ||
| + | slaves who have remained faithful—I offer them at | ||
| + | once.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of horror.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | by at least a dozen voices.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the verge of destruction, | ||
| + | execution of the insurgents of June and July had not | ||
| + | been so hurried on, we should have held in our hands | ||
| + | the clue to the conspiracy, which the axe of the | ||
| + | executioner divided for ever.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | outburst; then in an injured tone he muttered—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have been suspected of cruelty. Why, all my life | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | I have been mixed up with the lovers of the negro | ||
| + | race. I am in correspondence with Briscot and | ||
| + | Pruneau de Pomme-Gouge, | ||
| + | Sloane, in England; with Magaw, in America; with | ||
| + | Pezll, in Germany; with Olivarius, in Denmark; | ||
| + | with Wadstiörn, in Sweden; with Peter Paulus, in | ||
| + | Holland; with Avendaño, in Spain; and with the | ||
| + | Abbé Pierre Tamburini, in Italy!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | correspondents amongst the lovers of the African | ||
| + | race, and he terminated his speech with the contemptuous | ||
| + | remark—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | here.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | any one had anything further to propose.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | board the <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | exclaimed another.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Governor of Jamaica,” suggested a third.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ironical help of five hundred muskets!” sneered a | ||
| + | member of the Provincial Assembly. “Your Excellency, | ||
| + | let us send the news to France, and wait | ||
| + | for a reply.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Rouvray; “and do you think that the blacks will | ||
| + | wait, eh? And the flames that encircle our town, | ||
| + | do you think that they will wait? Your Excellency, | ||
| + | let the tocsin be sounded, and send dragoons and | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | grenadiers in search of the main body of the rebels. | ||
| + | Form a camp in the eastern division of the island; | ||
| + | plant military posts at Trou and at Vallieres. I will | ||
| + | take charge of the plain of Dauphin; but let us lose | ||
| + | no more time, for the moment for action has arrived.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | soldier hushed all differences of opinion. The | ||
| + | general had acted wisely. That secret knowledge | ||
| + | which every one possesses most conducive to his | ||
| + | own interests, caused all to support the proposal of | ||
| + | General de Rouvray; and whilst the Governor with | ||
| + | a warm clasp of the hand showed his old friend that | ||
| + | his counsels had been appreciated, | ||
| + | been given in rather a dictatorial manner, the | ||
| + | colonists urged for the immediate carrying out of the | ||
| + | proposals.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Blanchelande the permission that I so ardently | ||
| + | desired, and, leaving the room, mustered my company | ||
| + | in order to return to Acul—though, | ||
| + | of myself, all were worn out with the fatigue of their | ||
| + | late march.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the town, and began to rouse up the soldiers, who | ||
| + | were lying about in all directions wrapped in their | ||
| + | cloaks, and mingled pell-mell with the Red and Yellow | ||
| + | Dragoons, fugitives from the country, cattle bellowing, | ||
| + | and property of every description sent in for security | ||
| + | by the planters. In the midst of all this confusion | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | I began to pick out my men, when I saw a private | ||
| + | in the Yellow Dragoons, covered with dust and perspiration, | ||
| + | ride up at full speed. I hastened to meet | ||
| + | him, and in a few broken words he informed me that | ||
| + | my fears were realized—that the insurrection had | ||
| + | spread to Acul, and that the negroes were besieging | ||
| + | Fort Galifet, in which the planters and the militia | ||
| + | had taken refuge. I must tell you that this fort was | ||
| + | by no means a strong one, for in St. Domingo they | ||
| + | dignify the slightest earthwork with the name of | ||
| + | fort.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | many of my soldiers as I could procure horses for, | ||
| + | and taking the dragoon as a guide, I reached my | ||
| + | uncle’s plantation about ten o’clock. I scarcely cast | ||
| + | a glance at the enormous estate, which was nothing | ||
| + | but a sea of flame, over which hovered huge clouds | ||
| + | of smoke, through which every now and then the | ||
| + | wind bore trunks of trees covered with sparks. A | ||
| + | terrible rustling and crackling sound seemed to | ||
| + | reply to the distant yells of the negroes which we | ||
| + | now began to hear, though we could not as yet see | ||
| + | them. The destruction of all this wealth, which | ||
| + | would eventually have become mine, did not cause | ||
| + | me a moment’s regret. All I thought of was the | ||
| + | safety of Marie—what mattered anything else in the | ||
| + | world to me? I knew that she had taken refuge in | ||
| + | the fort, and I prayed to God that I might arrive in | ||
| + | time to rescue her. This hope sustained me through | ||
| + | all the anxiety I felt, and gave me the strength and | ||
| + | courage of a lion. At length a turn in the road | ||
| + | permitted us to see the fort. The tricolour yet | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | floated on its walls, and a well-sustained fire was | ||
| + | kept up by the garrison. I uttered a shout of joy. | ||
| + | “Gallop, spur on!” said I to my men, and redoubling | ||
| + | our pace we dashed across the fields in the direction | ||
| + | of the scene of action.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | doors and windows were dashed in, but the walls | ||
| + | still stood, and shone red with the reflected glare of | ||
| + | the flames, which, owing to the wind being in a contrary | ||
| + | direction, had not yet reached the building.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the house, and showed themselves at the windows | ||
| + | and on the roof. I could see the glare of torches and | ||
| + | the gleam of pikes and axes, whilst a brisk fire of | ||
| + | musketry was kept up on the fort.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | against the walls of the fort and strove to take it by | ||
| + | assault, though many fell under the well-directed | ||
| + | fire of the defenders.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | after each repulse, looked like a swarm of ants endeavouring | ||
| + | to scale the shell of a tortoise, and shaken | ||
| + | off by each movement of the sluggish reptile.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fixed upon the banner which still floated above it. I | ||
| + | called upon my men to remember that their wives | ||
| + | and children were shut up within those walls, and I | ||
| + | urged them to fly to their rescue. A general cheer | ||
| + | was the reply, and, forming column, I was on the | ||
| + | point of giving the order to charge, when a loud | ||
| + | yell was heard, a cloud of smoke enveloped the fort, | ||
| + | and for a time concealed it from our sight; a roar | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | was heard like that of a furnace in full blast, and as | ||
| + | it cleared away we saw a red flag floating proudly | ||
| + | above the dismantled walls. All was over. Fort | ||
| + | Galifet was in the hands of the insurgents.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | terrible spectacle. The fort was taken, its defenders | ||
| + | slain, and twenty families massacred; but I confess, | ||
| + | to my shame, that I thought not of this. Marie was | ||
| + | lost to me—lost, after having been made mine but a | ||
| + | few brief hours before. Lost, perhaps, through my | ||
| + | fault, for had I not obeyed the orders of my uncle in | ||
| + | going to Cap I should have been by her side to defend | ||
| + | her, or at least to die with her. These thoughts | ||
| + | raised my grief to madness, for my despair was born | ||
| + | of remorse.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | With a shout of “Revenge, | ||
| + | teeth and pistols in either hand, they burst into the | ||
| + | ranks of the victorious insurgents. Although far | ||
| + | superior in numbers the negroes fled at their approach; | ||
| + | but we could see them on our right and left, before | ||
| + | and behind us, slaughtering the colonists, and casting | ||
| + | fuel on the flames. Our rage was increased by | ||
| + | their cowardly conduct.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | through a postern gate. “Captain, | ||
| + | Pierrot is a sorcerer, an <span class=' | ||
| + | call him—a devil, I say. We were holding our position, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | you were coming up fast; all seemed saved—when | ||
| + | by some means, which I do not know, he penetrated | ||
| + | into the fort, and there was an end of us. As | ||
| + | for your uncle and Madam——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fence, carrying in his arms a young woman who | ||
| + | shrieked and struggled: it was Marie, and the negro | ||
| + | was Pierrot!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | himself in the way, and fell dead. Pierrot turned, and | ||
| + | addressed a few words to me which I did not catch; | ||
| + | and then grasping his prey tighter, dashed into a | ||
| + | mass of burning sugar-canes. A moment afterwards | ||
| + | a huge dog passed me, carrying in his mouth a cradle | ||
| + | in which lay my uncle’s youngest child. Transported | ||
| + | with rage, I fired my second pistol at him; but it | ||
| + | missed fire. Like a madman I followed on their | ||
| + | tracks; but my night march, the hours that I had | ||
| + | spent without taking rest or food, my fears for Marie, | ||
| + | and the sudden fall from the height of happiness to | ||
| + | the depth of misery, had worn me out. After a few | ||
| + | steps I staggered, a cloud seemed to come over me, | ||
| + | and I fell senseless.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | uncle’s ruined house, supported in the arms of my | ||
| + | faithful Thaddeus, who gazed upon me with an expression | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | of the deepest anxiety. “Victory!” exclaimed | ||
| + | he, as he felt my pulse begin to beat. | ||
| + | “Victory! the negroes are in full retreat and my | ||
| + | captain has come to life again.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the only question in which I had any interest.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | misfortune, without the recollection of it. At my | ||
| + | question Thaddeus hung his head.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hideous dream, I recalled once more the terrible | ||
| + | nuptial day, and the tall negro bearing away Marie | ||
| + | through the flames.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | colony caused the whites to look on the blacks as | ||
| + | their mortal enemies, and made me see in Pierrot, | ||
| + | the good, the generous, and the devoted, who owed | ||
| + | his life three times to me, a monster of ingratitude | ||
| + | and a rival.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | our nuptials proved too plainly to me, what I had | ||
| + | at first only suspected, and I now knew that the | ||
| + | singer of the wood was the wretch who had torn my | ||
| + | wife from me. In a few hours how great a change | ||
| + | had taken place.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Pierrot and his dog when the negroes, in spite of their | ||
| + | numbers, retired, and that the destruction of my | ||
| + | uncle’s property still continued, without the possibility | ||
| + | of its being arrested.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | hand in silence and led me to a bed, the curtains of | ||
| + | which he drew.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | blood-stained couch, with a dagger driven deeply into | ||
| + | his heart. By the tranquil expression of his face it | ||
| + | was easy to see that the blow had been struck during | ||
| + | his sleep.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the foot of his master’s couch, was also profusely | ||
| + | stained with gore, and the same crimson traces could | ||
| + | be seen upon the laced coat of the poor fool, cast | ||
| + | upon the floor a few paces from the bed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the dwarf had died a victim to his affection for my | ||
| + | uncle, and that he had been murdered by his comrades, | ||
| + | perhaps in the effort to defend his master. I | ||
| + | reproached myself bitterly for the prejudice which | ||
| + | had caused me to form so erroneous an estimate of | ||
| + | the characters of Pierrot and Habibrah; and of the | ||
| + | tears I shed at the tragic fate of my uncle, some were | ||
| + | dedicated to the end of the faithful fool.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but all in vain, and I imagined that the negroes had | ||
| + | cast the body into the flames; and I gave instructions | ||
| + | that, in the funeral service over my uncle’s remains, | ||
| + | prayers should be said for the repose of the soul of | ||
| + | the devoted Habibrah.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in ruins; it was useless to linger there any longer, so | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | that evening I returned to Cap. On my arrival there | ||
| + | I was seized with a severe fever. The effort that I | ||
| + | had made to overcome my despair had been too | ||
| + | violent; the spring had been bent too far and had | ||
| + | snapped. Delirium came on. My broken hopes, | ||
| + | my profound love, my lost future, and, above all, the | ||
| + | torments of jealousy, made my brain reel.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seemed ready to burst, and my bosom was filled with | ||
| + | rage. I pictured to myself Marie in the arms of | ||
| + | another lover, subject to the power of a master, of a | ||
| + | slave, of Pierrot! They told me afterwards that I | ||
| + | sprang from my bed, and that it took six men to | ||
| + | prevent me from dashing out my brains against the | ||
| + | wall. Why did I not die then?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | care and attention of Thaddeus, and the latent | ||
| + | powers of youth, conquered the malady; would that | ||
| + | it had not done so. At the end of ten days I was | ||
| + | sufficiently recovered to lay aside grief, and to live | ||
| + | for vengeance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to M. de Blanchelande, | ||
| + | At first he wished to give me the command of some | ||
| + | fortified post, but I begged him to attach me to one | ||
| + | of the flying columns, which from time to time were | ||
| + | sent out to sweep those districts in which the insurgents | ||
| + | had congregated. Cap had been hastily | ||
| + | put in a position of defence, for the revolt had made | ||
| + | terrible progress, and the negroes of Port au Prince | ||
| + | had begun to show symptoms of disaffection. Biassou | ||
| + | was in command of the insurgents at Lumbé, Dondon, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and Acul; Jean François had proclaimed himself | ||
| + | generalissimo of the rebels of Maribarou, and | ||
| + | Bouckmann, whose tragic fate afterwards gave him | ||
| + | a certain celebrity, with his brigands ravaged the | ||
| + | plains of Limonade; and lastly, the bands of Morne-Rouge | ||
| + | had elected for their chief a negro called | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | man contrasted very favourably with the ferocity of | ||
| + | the other chiefs. Whilst Bouckmann and Biassou | ||
| + | invented a thousand different methods of death for | ||
| + | such prisoners as fell into their hands, Bug-Jargal | ||
| + | was always ready to supply them with the means of | ||
| + | quitting the island. M. Colas de Marjue, and eight | ||
| + | other distinguished colonists, were by his orders | ||
| + | released from the terrible death of the wheel to | ||
| + | which Bouckmann had condemned them, and many | ||
| + | other instances of his humanity were cited, which I | ||
| + | have not time to repeat.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to be far removed. I could hear nothing of Pierrot. | ||
| + | The insurgents commanded by Biassou continued to | ||
| + | give us trouble at Cap; they had once even endeavoured | ||
| + | to take position on a hill that commanded | ||
| + | the town, and had only been dislodged by the battery | ||
| + | from the citadel being directed upon them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | them into the interior of the island. The militia of | ||
| + | Acul, of Lumbé, of Ouanaminte, and of Maribarou, | ||
| + | joined with the regiment of Cap, and the Red and | ||
| + | Yellow Dragoons, formed one army of attack; whilst | ||
| + | the corps of volunteers under the command of the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | merchant Poncignon, with the militia of Dondon | ||
| + | and Quartier-Dauphin, | ||
| + | town.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal, whose incursions kept the garrison constantly | ||
| + | on the alert, and he sent against him the | ||
| + | militia of Ouanaminte, and a battalion of the regiment | ||
| + | of Cap. Two days afterwards the expedition returned, | ||
| + | having sustained a severe defeat at the hands of | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal. The Governor, however, determined to | ||
| + | persevere, and a fresh column was sent out with | ||
| + | fifty of the Yellow Dragoons and four hundred of | ||
| + | the militia of Maribarou. This second expedition | ||
| + | met with even less success than the first. Thaddeus, | ||
| + | who had taken part in it, was in a violent fury, and | ||
| + | upon his return vowed vengeance against the rebel | ||
| + | chief Bug-Jargal.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | crossed his arms on his breast, and appeared to be | ||
| + | for a few moments plunged in a melancholy reverie. | ||
| + | At length he continued.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Morne-Rouge, | ||
| + | to effect a junction with the troops of Biassou. The | ||
| + | Governor could not conceal his delight. “We have | ||
| + | them,” cried he, rubbing his hands. “They are in | ||
| + | our power.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | By the next morning the colonial forces had | ||
| + | marched some four miles to the front of Cap. At | ||
| + | our approach the insurgents hastily retired from the | ||
| + | positions which they had occupied at Port-Mayat | ||
| + | and Fort Galifet, and in which they had planted | ||
| + | siege guns which they had captured in one of the | ||
| + | batteries on the coast. The Governor was triumphant, | ||
| + | and by his orders we continued our advance. As we | ||
| + | passed through the arid plains and the ruined plantations, | ||
| + | many a one cast an eager glance in search | ||
| + | of the spot which was once his home, but in too | ||
| + | many cases the foot of the destroyer had left no traces | ||
| + | behind. Sometimes our march was interrupted by | ||
| + | the conflagration having spread from the lands under | ||
| + | cultivation, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the vegetation abundant, the burning of a forest is | ||
| + | accompanied with many strange phenomena. Far | ||
| + | off, long before the eye can catch the cause, a sound | ||
| + | is heard like the rush of a cataract over opposing | ||
| + | rocks, the trunks of the trees flame out with a sudden | ||
| + | crash, the branches crackle, and the roots beneath | ||
| + | the soil all contribute to the extraordinary uproar. | ||
| + | The lakes and the marshes in the interior of the | ||
| + | forests boil with the heat. The hoarse roar of the | ||
| + | coming flame stills the air, causing a dull sound, | ||
| + | sometimes increasing and sometimes diminishing in | ||
| + | intensity as the conflagration sweeps on or recedes. | ||
| + | Occasionally a glimpse can be caught of a clump of | ||
| + | trees surrounded by a belt of fire, but as yet untouched | ||
| + | by the flames; then a narrow streak of fire curls | ||
| + | round the stems, and in another instant the whole | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | becomes one mass of gold-coloured fire; then up rises | ||
| + | the column of smoke driven here and there by the | ||
| + | breeze. It takes a thousand fantastic forms, spreads | ||
| + | itself out, diminishes in an instant; at one moment | ||
| + | it is gone, in another it returns with greater density; | ||
| + | then all becomes a thick black cloud, with a fringe of | ||
| + | sparks, a terrible sound is heard, the sparks disappear, | ||
| + | and the smoke ascends, disappearing at last | ||
| + | in a mass of red ashes, which sink down slowly upon | ||
| + | the blackened ground.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | entered the ravines of Grande-Riviere; | ||
| + | that the negro army was some twenty leagues off in | ||
| + | the mountains.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to have been used for the same purpose before, as the | ||
| + | grass had been trodden down and the brushwood cut | ||
| + | away. It was not a judicious position in a strategical | ||
| + | point of view, but we deemed ourselves perfectly | ||
| + | secure from attack. The hill was commanded on all | ||
| + | sides by steep mountains clothed with thick forests—the | ||
| + | precipitous sides of these hills had given the | ||
| + | mountains the name of the <span class=' | ||
| + | Grande-Riviere flowed behind our camp; confined | ||
| + | within steep banks, it was just about here very deep | ||
| + | and rapid. The sides were hidden with thickets, | ||
| + | through which nothing could be seen. The waters | ||
| + | of the stream itself were frequently concealed by | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | masses of creeping plants, hanging from the branches | ||
| + | of the flowering maples, which had sprung up at intervals | ||
| + | in the jungle, crossing and recrossing the | ||
| + | stream, and forming a tangled net-work of living | ||
| + | verdure. From the heights of the adjacent hills they | ||
| + | appeared like meadows still fresh with dew, whilst | ||
| + | every now and then a dull splash could be heard as | ||
| + | a teal plunged through the flower-decked curtain, | ||
| + | and showed in which direction the river lay. By | ||
| + | degrees the sun ceased to gild the crested peaks of | ||
| + | the distant mountains of Dondon; little by little | ||
| + | darkness spread its mantle over the camp, and the | ||
| + | silence was only broken by the cry of the night-bird, | ||
| + | or by the measured tread of the sentinels.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and of “The Camp of the Great Meadow” were heard | ||
| + | above our heads; the palms, the acomas, and the | ||
| + | cedars, which crowned the summits of the rocks, | ||
| + | burst into flames, and the lurid light of the conflagration | ||
| + | showed us numerous bands of negroes and | ||
| + | mulattoes, whose copper-hued skins glowed red in | ||
| + | the firelight upon the neighbouring hills. It was the | ||
| + | army of Biassou.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | from their sleep, endeavoured to rally their men. | ||
| + | The drum beat the “Assembly, | ||
| + | sounded the “Alarm.” Our men fell in hurriedly | ||
| + | and in confusion; but the insurgents, instead of | ||
| + | taking advantage of our disorder, remained motionless, | ||
| + | gazing upon us, and continuing their song of | ||
| + | “<span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | peaks that overhung the Grande-Riviere, | ||
| + | plume floated on his head; he held an axe | ||
| + | in his right hand and a blood-red banner in his left.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fired at him, cowardly although the act might have | ||
| + | been.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | planted his standard on the highest portion of the | ||
| + | rock, hurled his axe into the midst of our ranks, and | ||
| + | plunged into the stream. A feeling of regret seized | ||
| + | me; I had hoped to have slain him with my own hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rocks upon us, whilst showers of bullets and flights | ||
| + | of arrows were poured upon our camp. Our soldiers, | ||
| + | maddened at being unable to reach their adversaries, | ||
| + | fell on all sides, crushed by the rocks, riddled with | ||
| + | bullets, and transfixed by arrows.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the stream.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the shower of rocks, had conceived the idea of taking | ||
| + | refuge under the thick roof of creepers which grew | ||
| + | over the river. It was Thaddeus who had at first | ||
| + | discovered this——</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Thaddeus, his arm in a sling, had glided into the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | tent without any of the listeners noticing his arrival, | ||
| + | and, taking up his position in a remote corner, he | ||
| + | had by occasional gestures expressed the interest | ||
| + | that he took in his captain’s narrative; but at last, | ||
| + | considering that this direct allusion to himself ought | ||
| + | not to be permitted to pass without some acknowledgement | ||
| + | on his part, he stammered out—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and D’Auverney, | ||
| + | severely—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | features of the old soldier grew dark; he quivered, | ||
| + | and threw back his head, as though to restrain the | ||
| + | tears which seemed to struggle to his eyes.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you, captain, could have omitted to say <span class=' | ||
| + | speaking to your old sergeant.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | quickly; “I hardly knew what I said. Thou wilt | ||
| + | pardon me, wilt thou not? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his efforts to repress them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | are tears of joy.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hospital to come here?” asked D’Auverney, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I should put the laced saddle-cloth on the charger | ||
| + | for to-morrow.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Henri laughed. “You would have been wiser, Thaddeus, | ||
| + | to have asked the surgeon-major if you should | ||
| + | put two more pieces of lint on your arm,” said he.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | take a glass of wine to refresh yourself. At any | ||
| + | rate, here is some brandy; taste it—it will do you | ||
| + | good, my brave sergeant.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | taking the glass with his left hand, emptied it to the | ||
| + | health of the assembled company.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I remember, it was I who proposed to take | ||
| + | shelter under the creepers, to prevent our men being | ||
| + | smashed by the rocks. Our officer, who did not | ||
| + | know how to swim, was afraid of being drowned, | ||
| + | and, as was natural, was dead against it until he | ||
| + | saw—with your permission, gentlemen—a great rock | ||
| + | fall on the creepers without being able to get through | ||
| + | them. ‘It is better to die like Pharaoh than like | ||
| + | St. Stephen,’ said he: ‘for we are not saints, and | ||
| + | Pharaoh was a soldier like ourselves.’ The officer | ||
| + | was a learned man, you see. And so he agreed to my | ||
| + | proposal, on the condition that I should first try the | ||
| + | experiment myself. Off I went; I slid down the | ||
| + | bank and caught hold of the roof of creepers, when | ||
| + | all of a sudden some one took a pull at my legs. I | ||
| + | struggled, I shouted for help, and in a minute I | ||
| + | received half a dozen sabre cuts. Down came the | ||
| + | dragoons to help me, and there was a nice little | ||
| + | skirmish under the creepers. The blacks of Morne-Rouge | ||
| + | had hidden themselves there, never for a | ||
| + | moment thinking that we should fall right on the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | top of them. This was not the right time for | ||
| + | fishing, I can tell you. We fought, we swore, we | ||
| + | shouted. They had nothing particular on, and were | ||
| + | able to move about in the water more easily than we | ||
| + | were; but, on the other hand, our sabres had less to | ||
| + | cut through. We swam with one hand and fought | ||
| + | with the other. Those who could not swim, like my | ||
| + | captain, hung on to the creepers, whilst the negroes | ||
| + | pulled them by the legs. In the midst of the hullabaloo | ||
| + | I saw a big negro fighting like Beelzebub | ||
| + | against five or six of ours. I swam up to him, and | ||
| + | I recognized Pierrot, otherwise called Bug——But I | ||
| + | musn’t tell that yet, must I, captain? Since the | ||
| + | capture of the fort I owed him a grudge, so I took | ||
| + | him hard and fast by the throat; he was going to | ||
| + | rid himself of me by a thrust of his dagger, when he | ||
| + | recognized me, and gave himself up at once. That | ||
| + | was very unfortunate, | ||
| + | had not surrendered, | ||
| + | know that later on, eh? When the blacks saw that | ||
| + | he was taken they made a rush at me to get him off; | ||
| + | when Pierrot, seeing no doubt that they would all | ||
| + | lose their lives, said some gibberish or other, and in | ||
| + | the twinkling of an eye they plunged into the water, | ||
| + | and were out of sight in a moment. This fight in | ||
| + | the water would have been pleasant enough if I had | ||
| + | not lost a finger, and wetted ten cartridges, and if | ||
| + | the poor man——but it was to be, was it not, captain? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his hand to his forage cap, and then raised it to | ||
| + | heaven with the air of an inspired prophet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | D’Auverney was violently agitated.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that night was a fatal night for me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | had they not urgently pressed him to conclude his | ||
| + | story.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was passing behind the camp, I had succeeded with | ||
| + | some of my men in climbing the opposite hills, by | ||
| + | aid of the brushwood, until we had reached a point | ||
| + | called Peacock Peak, from the brilliant tints of the | ||
| + | mica which coated the surface of the rock.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | covered with negroes, we opened a withering fire. The | ||
| + | insurgents, who were not so well armed as we were, | ||
| + | could not reply warmly to our volleys, and in a short | ||
| + | time began to grow discouraged. We redoubled our | ||
| + | efforts, and our enemies soon evacuated the neighbouring | ||
| + | rocks, first hurling the dead bodies of their | ||
| + | comrades upon our army, the greater proportion of | ||
| + | which was still drawn up on the hill. Then we cut | ||
| + | down several trees, and binding the trunks together | ||
| + | with fibres of the palm, we improvised a bridge, and | ||
| + | by it crossed over to the deserted positions of the | ||
| + | enemy, and thus managed to secure a good post of | ||
| + | vantage. This operation completely quenched the | ||
| + | courage of the rebels. Our fire continued. Shouts | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | of grief arose from them, in which the name of Bug-Jargal | ||
| + | was frequently repeated. Many negroes of the | ||
| + | army of Morne-Rouge appeared on the rock upon | ||
| + | which the blood-red banner still floated; they prostrated | ||
| + | themselves before it, tore it from its resting-place, | ||
| + | and then precipitated it and themselves into | ||
| + | the depths of the Grande-Riviere. This seemed | ||
| + | to signify that their chief was either killed or a | ||
| + | prisoner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I resolved to drive them from their last position at | ||
| + | the point of the bayonet, and at the head of my men | ||
| + | I dashed into the midst of the negroes. The soldiers | ||
| + | were about to follow me across the temporary bridge | ||
| + | that I had caused to be thrown from peak to peak, | ||
| + | when one of the rebels with a blow of his axe broke | ||
| + | the bridge to atoms, and the ruins fell into the abyss | ||
| + | with a terrible noise.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and seized by six or seven negroes, who disarmed me | ||
| + | in a moment. I struggled like a lion, but they bound | ||
| + | me with cords made of bark, heedless of the hail of | ||
| + | bullets that my soldiers poured upon them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | victory which I heard from our men, and I soon saw | ||
| + | the negroes and mulattoes ascending the steep sides | ||
| + | of the rocks with all the precipitation of fear, uttering | ||
| + | cries of terror.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | amongst them placed me on their shoulders, and | ||
| + | carried me in the direction of the forest, leaping from | ||
| + | rock to rock with the agility of wild goats. The flames | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | soon ceased to light the scene, and it was by the pale | ||
| + | rays of the moon that we pursued our course.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | torrent, we arrived in a valley situated in the higher | ||
| + | part of the hills, of a singular wild and savage appearance. | ||
| + | The spot was absolutely unknown to me. The | ||
| + | valley was situated in the heart of the hills, in what | ||
| + | is called the <span class=' | ||
| + | plain, imprisoned by walls of bare rock, and dotted | ||
| + | with clumps of pines and palm-trees. The cold, | ||
| + | which at this height is very severe, was increased by | ||
| + | the morning air, the day having just commenced to | ||
| + | break, but the valley was still plunged in darkness, | ||
| + | and was only lighted by flashes from the negroes’ | ||
| + | fires; evidently this spot was their headquarters. | ||
| + | The shattered remains of their army had begun to | ||
| + | reassemble, and every now and then bands of negroes | ||
| + | and mulattoes arrived, uttering groans of distress and | ||
| + | cries of rage. New fires were speedily lighted, and | ||
| + | the camp began to increase in size. The negro whose | ||
| + | prisoner I was had placed me at the foot of an oak, | ||
| + | whence I surveyed this strange spectacle with entire | ||
| + | carelessness. The black had bound me with his belt | ||
| + | to the trunk of the tree, against which I was leaning, | ||
| + | and carefully tightening the knots in the cords which | ||
| + | impeded my movements, he placed on my head his | ||
| + | own red woollen cap, as if to indicate that I was his | ||
| + | property, and after making sure that I could not | ||
| + | escape or be carried off by others, was preparing to | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | leave me, when I determined to address him, and | ||
| + | speaking in the Creole dialect I asked him if he | ||
| + | belonged to the band of Dondon, or of Morne-Rouge. | ||
| + | He stopped at once, and in a tone of pride replied | ||
| + | “<span class=' | ||
| + | had often heard of the generosity of the chief Bug-Jargal, | ||
| + | and though I had made up my mind that death | ||
| + | would soon end all my troubles, yet the thought of | ||
| + | the tortures that would inevitably precede it should I | ||
| + | fall into the hands of Biassou, filled me with horror. | ||
| + | All I wanted was to be put to death without torment. | ||
| + | It was perhaps a weakness, but I believe that the | ||
| + | mind of man ever revolts at such a death. I thought | ||
| + | then, that if I could be taken from Biassou, Bug-Jargal | ||
| + | might give me what I desired—a soldier’s death. | ||
| + | I therefore asked the negro of Morne-Rouge to lead | ||
| + | me to Bug-Jargal. He started. “Bug-Jargal, | ||
| + | repeated, striking on his forehead in anguish; then, as | ||
| + | if rage had suddenly overtaken him, he shook his fist, | ||
| + | and shouting “Biassou, Biassou,” he left me hastily.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to my mind the events of the day, and the certainty | ||
| + | we had acquired of either the death or capture of the | ||
| + | chief of the band of Morne-Rouge. I felt that all | ||
| + | hope was over, and resigned myself to the threatened | ||
| + | vengeance of Biassou.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I was fastened, and lit a fire. By the numerous | ||
| + | bracelets of blue, red, and violet glass which | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | ornamented their arms and ankles, by the rings which | ||
| + | weighed down their ears and adorned their toes and | ||
| + | fingers, by the amulets on their bosoms and the | ||
| + | collar of charms suspended round their necks, and by | ||
| + | the aprons of variegated feathers which were their | ||
| + | sole coverings, I at once recognized them as <span class=' | ||
| + | You are perhaps ignorant that amongst the African | ||
| + | blacks there exists a certain class with a rude talent | ||
| + | for poetry and improvisation, | ||
| + | closely to madness. These unhappy creatures, wandering | ||
| + | from one African kingdom to another, are in | ||
| + | these barbarian countries looked upon in the same | ||
| + | light as the <span class=' | ||
| + | Germany, and the <span class=' | ||
| + | called <span class=' | ||
| + | accompany the barbaric songs of their husbands with | ||
| + | lascivious dances, and form a grotesque parody on the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | a group of these women who came and sat down | ||
| + | near me, with their legs crossed under them according | ||
| + | to their custom, and their hideous faces lighted up by | ||
| + | the red light of a fire of withered branches. When | ||
| + | they had formed a complete circle they all took hands, | ||
| + | and the eldest, who had a heron’s plume stuck in her | ||
| + | hair, began to exclaim “<span class=' | ||
| + | that they were going through one of their performances | ||
| + | of pretended witchcraft. Then the leader of | ||
| + | the band, after a moment’s silence, plucked a lock of | ||
| + | hair from her head and threw it into the fire, crying | ||
| + | out these words, “Malé o guiab,” which in the | ||
| + | jargon of the Creoles means, “I shall go to the | ||
| + | devil.” All the <span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | throwing locks of their hair in the fire, repeated | ||
| + | gravely, “Malé o guiab.” This strange invocation, | ||
| + | and the extraordinary grimaces that accompanied it, | ||
| + | caused me to burst into one of those hysterical fits | ||
| + | of laughter which so often seize on one even at the | ||
| + | most serious moments. It was in vain that I endeavoured | ||
| + | to restrain it—it would have vent; and this | ||
| + | laugh which escaped from so sad a heart brought | ||
| + | about a gloomy and terrifying scene.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sprang to their feet. Until then they had not noticed | ||
| + | me, but now they rushed close up to me, screaming | ||
| + | “Blanco, Blanco.” I have never seen so hideous a | ||
| + | collection of faces, contorted as they were with | ||
| + | passion, their white teeth gleaming, and their eyes | ||
| + | almost starting from their heads. They were, I | ||
| + | believe, about to tear me to pieces, when the old | ||
| + | woman with the beaver’s plume on her head stopped | ||
| + | them with a sign of her hand, and exclaimed seven | ||
| + | times, “Zoté cordé!” (“Do you agree?”) The wretched | ||
| + | creatures stopped at once, and, to my surprise, tore | ||
| + | off their feather aprons, which they flung upon the | ||
| + | ground, and commenced the lascivious dance which | ||
| + | the negroes call “<span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and movements expressive of gaiety and pleasure, | ||
| + | assumed a very different complexion when performed | ||
| + | by these naked sorceresses. In turn, each of them | ||
| + | would place her face close to mine, and, with a | ||
| + | frightful expression of countenance, | ||
| + | horrible punishment that awaited the white man | ||
| + | who had profaned the mysteries of their <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I recollected that savage nations had a custom of | ||
| + | dancing round the victims that they were about to | ||
| + | sacrifice, and I patiently awaited the conclusion of | ||
| + | the performance which I knew would be sealed with | ||
| + | my blood; and yet I could not repress a shudder as | ||
| + | I perceived each <span class=' | ||
| + | time, thrust into the fire the point of a sabre, the | ||
| + | blade of an axe, a long sail-maker’s needle, a pair of | ||
| + | pincers, and the teeth of a saw.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | instruments of torture were glowing red with heat.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | turn withdrew an implement from the fire, whilst | ||
| + | those who had none furnished themselves with a | ||
| + | blazing stick. Then I understood clearly what my | ||
| + | punishment was to be, and that in each of the dancers | ||
| + | I should find an executioner. Again the word of | ||
| + | command was given, and the last figure of the dance | ||
| + | was commenced. I closed my eyes that I might not | ||
| + | see the frantic evolutions of these female demons, | ||
| + | who, in measured cadence, clashed the red-hot | ||
| + | weapons over their heads. A dull, clinking sound | ||
| + | followed, whilst the sparks flew out in myriads. I | ||
| + | waited, nerving myself for the moment when I should | ||
| + | feel my flesh quiver in agony, my bones calcine, and | ||
| + | my muscles writhe under the burning tortures of | ||
| + | the nippers and the saws. It was an awful moment. | ||
| + | Fortunately it did not last long.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whose prisoner I was, shouting, “<span class=' | ||
| + | ne demonio, que haceis alli, devais mi prisonero?</ | ||
| + | I opened my eyes again; it was already broad daylight. | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | The negro hurried towards me, gesticulating | ||
| + | angrily. The <span class=' | ||
| + | influenced by the threats of my captor than by the | ||
| + | presence of a strange-looking person by whom the | ||
| + | negro was accompanied.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of dwarf—whose face was entirely concealed by a | ||
| + | white veil, pierced with three holes for the eyes and | ||
| + | mouth. The veil hung down to his shoulders, and | ||
| + | displayed a hairy, copper-hued breast, upon which | ||
| + | was hung by a golden chain the mutilated sun of a | ||
| + | monstrance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | scarlet belt, which also supported a kind of petticoat | ||
| + | striped with green, yellow, and black, the | ||
| + | hem of which hung down to his large and ill-shaped | ||
| + | feet.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | white staff, and a rosary of amber beads was suspended | ||
| + | from his belt, in close proximity to the handle | ||
| + | of his dagger. His head was surmounted by a | ||
| + | pointed cap adorned with bells, and when he came | ||
| + | close I was not surprised in recognizing in it the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | with which it was covered, I could see many spots | ||
| + | of gore: without doubt, it was the blood of the | ||
| + | faithful fool. These bloodstains gave me fresh proofs | ||
| + | of his death, and awakened in me once again a fresh | ||
| + | feeling of regret for his loss.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Habibrah’s cap, they cried out all at once, “The Obi,” | ||
| + | and prostrated themselves before him. I guessed at | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | once that this was a sorcerer attached to Biassou’s | ||
| + | force.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | solemn voice, as he came close up to them. “Devais | ||
| + | el prisonero de Biassou” (“Let the prisoner be taken | ||
| + | to Biassou”).</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | implements of torture on one side, put on their | ||
| + | aprons, and, at a gesture of the Obi, fled like a cloud | ||
| + | of grasshoppers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | He started back a pace, and half waved his white | ||
| + | staff in the direction of the retiring <span class=' | ||
| + | wished to recall them; then, muttering between his | ||
| + | teeth the word “<span class=' | ||
| + | a few words in the ear of the negro, and, crossing | ||
| + | his arms, retired slowly, apparently buried in deep | ||
| + | thought.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | see me, and that in an hour I should be brought | ||
| + | before him. This, I calculated, gave me another | ||
| + | hour in which to live. Until that time had elapsed, | ||
| + | I allowed my glances to wander over the rebel camp, | ||
| + | the singular appearance of which the daylight permitted | ||
| + | me to observe. Had I been in any other | ||
| + | position, I should have laughed heartily at the ostentatious | ||
| + | vanity of the negroes, who were nearly all | ||
| + | decked out in fragments of clerical and military | ||
| + | dress, the spoils of their victims. The greater portion | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | of these ornaments were not new, consisting of | ||
| + | torn and blood-stained rags. A gorget could often be | ||
| + | seen shining over a stole, whilst an epaulet looked | ||
| + | strange when contrasted with a chasuble.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | negroes remained in a state of utter inaction: some | ||
| + | of them slept exposed to the rays of the sun, their | ||
| + | heads close to a burning fire; others, with eyes that | ||
| + | were sometimes full of listlessness, | ||
| + | blazed with fury, sat chanting a monotonous air at | ||
| + | the doors of their <span class=' | ||
| + | conical roofs somewhat resembling our artillery tents, | ||
| + | but thatched with palm or banana leaves.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | negro-children, | ||
| + | I could see them stirring up with long forks, | ||
| + | ignames, bananas, yams, peas, cocus and maize, and | ||
| + | other vegetables indigenous to the country, which | ||
| + | boiled with joints of pork, turtle, and dog in the | ||
| + | great boilers stolen from the dwellings of the planters. | ||
| + | In the distance, on the outskirts of the camp, the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | fires, and the wind every now and then brought to | ||
| + | my ears strange fragments of their barbaric songs, | ||
| + | mingled with notes from their tambourines and | ||
| + | guitars. A few videttes posted on the high ground | ||
| + | watched over the headquarters of the General | ||
| + | Biassou: the only defence of which in case of attack | ||
| + | was a circle of waggons filled with plunder and | ||
| + | ammunition. These black sentries posted on the | ||
| + | summits of the granite pyramids, with which the | ||
| + | valley bristled, turned about like the weathercocks | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | in Gothic spires, and with all the strength of their | ||
| + | lungs shouted one to the other the cry of “<span class=' | ||
| + | nada</ | ||
| + | camp was in full security. Every now and then | ||
| + | groups of negroes, inspired by curiosity, collected | ||
| + | round me, but all looked upon me with a threatening | ||
| + | expression of countenance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | equipped arrived. The negro whose property I appeared | ||
| + | to be, unfastened me from the oak to which | ||
| + | I was bound, and handed me over to the escort, | ||
| + | receiving in exchange a bag full of piastres. As he lay | ||
| + | upon the grass counting them with every appearance | ||
| + | of delight, I was led away by the soldiers. My escort | ||
| + | wore a uniform of coarse cloth, of a reddish-brown | ||
| + | colour, with yellow facings; their head-dress was a | ||
| + | Spanish cap called a <span class=' | ||
| + | large red cockade. Instead of a cartouche case, they | ||
| + | had a species of game-bag slung at their sides. Their | ||
| + | arms were a heavy musket, a sabre, and a dagger. | ||
| + | I afterwards learned that these men formed the | ||
| + | body-guard of Biassou.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | came to a cave which nature had hollowed out in | ||
| + | one of those masses of rock with which the meadow | ||
| + | was full. A large curtain of some material from the | ||
| + | looms of Thibet, which the negroes called <span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and which is remarkable less for the brilliancy of its | ||
| + | colouring than for the softness of its material, concealed | ||
| + | the interior of the cavern from the vulgar | ||
| + | gaze. The entrance was guarded by a double line | ||
| + | of negroes, dressed like those who had escorted me | ||
| + | thither.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sentries who marched backwards and forwards before | ||
| + | the cave, the commander of the escort raised the | ||
| + | curtain sufficiently for me to enter, and then let it | ||
| + | drop behind me. A copper lamp with six lights | ||
| + | hung by a chain from the roof of the grotto, casting | ||
| + | a flickering light upon the damp walls. Between | ||
| + | the ranks of mulatto soldiers I perceived a coloured | ||
| + | man sitting upon a large block of mahogany, which | ||
| + | was partially covered with a carpet made of parrots’ | ||
| + | feathers. His dress was of the most absurd kind. | ||
| + | A splendid silk girdle, from which hung a cross of | ||
| + | Saint Louis, held up a pair of common blue trousers, | ||
| + | whilst a waistcoat of white linen which did not meet | ||
| + | the waistband of the trousers completed the strange | ||
| + | costume. He wore high boots, and a round hat with | ||
| + | a red cockade, and epaulets, one of gold with silver | ||
| + | stars like those worn by brigadiers, whilst the other | ||
| + | was of red worsted with two copper stars, which | ||
| + | seemed to have been taken from a pair of spurs, | ||
| + | fixed upon it, evidently to render it more worthy of | ||
| + | its resplendent neighbour. A sabre and a pair of | ||
| + | richly chased pistols lay by his side.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in the costume of slaves, bearing large fans of peacock | ||
| + | feathers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Two squares of crimson velvet, which seemed to | ||
| + | have been stolen from some church, were placed on | ||
| + | either side of the mahogany block. One of these was | ||
| + | occupied by the Obi who had rescued me from the | ||
| + | frenzy of the <span class=' | ||
| + | under him, holding in his hand his white wand; and | ||
| + | not moving a muscle, he looked like a porcelain idol | ||
| + | in a Chinese pagoda, but through the holes in his | ||
| + | veil I could see his flashing eyes fixed steadfastly | ||
| + | upon mine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | flags, banners, and pennons of all kinds; among them | ||
| + | I noticed the white flag with the lilies, the tricolour, | ||
| + | and the banner of Spain. The others were covered | ||
| + | with fancy devices. I also perceived a large standard | ||
| + | entirely black.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | mulatto Ogé who, together with his lieutenant Jean | ||
| + | Charanne, had been broken on the wheel the year | ||
| + | previous, for the crime of rebellion. Twenty of his | ||
| + | accomplices, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was represented in the uniform of a lieutenant-colonel, | ||
| + | and decorated with the star of St. Louis, | ||
| + | and the Order of Merit of the Lion, which last he | ||
| + | had purchased from the Prince of Limburg.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | introduced was short and of vulgar aspect, whilst | ||
| + | his face showed a strange mixture of cunning and | ||
| + | cruelty. After looking at me for some time in silence, | ||
| + | with a bitter omen on his face, he said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I expected this, but I could not hear it from his | ||
| + | mouth, distorted as it was by a cruel smile, without | ||
| + | an inward trembling; but my face remained unchanged, | ||
| + | and I made no reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | they already impaled you, that you are unable to | ||
| + | bend before Biassou, generalissimo of this conquered | ||
| + | land, and brigadier of His Most Catholic Majesty?” | ||
| + | (The rebel chiefs sometimes affected to be acting for | ||
| + | the King of France, sometimes for the Republic, and | ||
| + | at others for the King of Spain.)</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | firmly in the face.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hombre de buen corazon</ | ||
| + | man”); well, listen to my questions. Were you born | ||
| + | in the island? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | are an officer. How old are you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | recollection of my misery, I could not at first find | ||
| + | words to reply. He repeated it imperiously.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answered,</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Frenchman, when you meet him this | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | evening you may tell him from me that you lived | ||
| + | twenty-four days longer than he did. I will spare | ||
| + | you for to-day, I wish you to tell him of the liberty | ||
| + | that his brethren have gained, and what you have | ||
| + | seen at the headquarters of General Jean Biassou.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | between two of his guards, and with a motion of his | ||
| + | hand to some of his men, who wore the uniform of | ||
| + | aide-de-camps, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the whole of our troops; and you, your Reverence, | ||
| + | he added, turning to the Obi, “put on your | ||
| + | priestly vestments, and perform for our army the holy | ||
| + | sacrament of the Mass.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | word or two in the general’s ear.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | mind, the good Giu has no need of a magnificent | ||
| + | temple for His worship. Gideon and Joshua adored | ||
| + | Him before masses of rock, let us do as they did; all | ||
| + | that is required is that the hearts should be true. | ||
| + | No altar, you say—why not make one of that great | ||
| + | chest of sugar which we took yesterday from Dubussion’s | ||
| + | house? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | into execution. In an instant the interior of the | ||
| + | cave was arranged for a burlesque of the divine | ||
| + | ceremony. A pyx and a monstrance stolen from the | ||
| + | parish church of Acul were promptly produced (the | ||
| + | very church in which my nuptials with Marie had | ||
| + | been celebrated, and where we had received heaven’s | ||
| + | blessing which had so soon changed to a curse).</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The stolen chest of sugar was speedily made into | ||
| + | an altar and covered with a white cloth, through | ||
| + | which, however, the words Dubussion and Company | ||
| + | for Nantes could be plainly perceived.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | altar, the Obi perceived that the crucifix was wanting. | ||
| + | He drew his dagger which had a cross handle, and | ||
| + | stuck it into the wood of the case in front of the pyx. | ||
| + | Then without removing his cap or veil, he threw the | ||
| + | cope which had been stolen from the priest of Acul | ||
| + | over his shoulders and bare chest, opened the missal | ||
| + | with its silver clasps from which the prayers had | ||
| + | been read on my ill-fated marriage day; and turning | ||
| + | towards Biassou, whose seat was a few paces from | ||
| + | the altar, announced to him that all was ready.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | were drawn aside, and the insurgent army was seen | ||
| + | drawn up in close column before the entrance to | ||
| + | the grotto.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | altar.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the battalions.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon their knees.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | about to be enacted under my very eyes; | ||
| + | but the two powerful mulattoes who guarded me | ||
| + | pulled my seat from under me, and pressed heavily | ||
| + | upon my shoulders so that I fell on my knees, compelled | ||
| + | to pay a semblance of respect to this parody | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | of a religious ceremony. The Obi performed his | ||
| + | duties with affected solemnity, whilst the two white | ||
| + | pages of Biassou officiated as deacon and sub-deacon. | ||
| + | The insurgents, prostrated before the altar, assisted | ||
| + | at the ceremony with the greatest enthusiasm, the | ||
| + | general setting the example.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Obi, raising in his hands the consecrated vessel, exclaimed | ||
| + | in his Creole jargon,</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | touyé li, touyé blan yo toute!” (“You see your | ||
| + | good God; I am showing Him to you. The white | ||
| + | men killed Him; kill all the whites!”)</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tones of which had something in them familiar to | ||
| + | my ear, all the rebels uttered a loud shout, and | ||
| + | clashed their weapons together. Had it not been for | ||
| + | Biassou’s influence that hour would have been my | ||
| + | last. To such atrocities may men be driven who | ||
| + | use the dagger for a cross, and upon whose mind the | ||
| + | most trivial event makes a deep and profound impression.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | respectfully to Biassou; then the general rose and, | ||
| + | addressing me in French, said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | it is a falsehood, and that we are good Catholics.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | good faith. A few moments he called for a glass | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | bowl filled with grains of black maize; on the top | ||
| + | he threw some white maize, then he raised it high | ||
| + | in his hand so that all the army might see it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your enemies are the white maize.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | instant the white grains had disappeared beneath the | ||
| + | black; and, as though inspired, he cried out, “Where | ||
| + | are the white now? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which the illustration of the general was received; | ||
| + | and Biassou continued his harangue, mixing up | ||
| + | French, Creole dialect, and Spanish alternately.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | time we have been as patient as the sheep to whose | ||
| + | wool the whites compare our hair; let us now be | ||
| + | as implacable as the panthers or the tigers of the | ||
| + | countries from which they have torn us. Force alone | ||
| + | can obtain for us our rights, and everything can be | ||
| + | obtained by those who use their force without pity. | ||
| + | Saint Loup (Wolf) has two days in the year consecrated | ||
| + | to him in the Gregorian calendar whilst the | ||
| + | Paschal Lamb has but one. Am not I correct, your | ||
| + | reverence? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | enemies of ours have come as enemies of the regeneration | ||
| + | of humanity; these whites, these planters, | ||
| + | these men of business, veritable devils vomited from | ||
| + | the mouth of hell. They came in the insolence of | ||
| + | their pride, in their fine dresses, their uniforms, their | ||
| + | feathers, their magnificent arms; they despised us | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | because we were black and naked in their overbearing | ||
| + | haughtiness; | ||
| + | before them as easily as these peacock’s feathers | ||
| + | disperse the swarms of sandflies and mosquitoes.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | from the hands of his white slaves one of the large | ||
| + | fans, and waved it over his head with a thousand | ||
| + | eccentric gesticulations. Then he continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon a carcase; they have fallen in their fine uniforms | ||
| + | beneath the strokes of our naked arms, which they | ||
| + | believed to be without power, ignorant that good | ||
| + | wood is the stronger when the bark is stripped off; | ||
| + | and now these accursed tyrants tremble, and are | ||
| + | filled with fear.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | speech, and all the army repeated, “They are filled | ||
| + | with fear.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “vengeance and liberty! Mulattoes, do not be led | ||
| + | away by the temptations of the white men. Your | ||
| + | fathers serve in their ranks, but your mothers are | ||
| + | with us; besides, ‘O bermanos de mi alma’ (‘O brethren | ||
| + | of my soul’), have they ever acted as fathers to you? | ||
| + | Have they not rather been cruel masters, and | ||
| + | treated you as slaves, because you had the blood of | ||
| + | your mothers in your veins? Whilst a miserable | ||
| + | cotton garment covered your bodies scorched by the | ||
| + | sun, your cruel fathers went about in straw hats and | ||
| + | nankeen clothes on work days, and in cloth and | ||
| + | velvet on holidays and feasts. Curses be on their | ||
| + | unnatural hearts. But as the holy commandments | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | forbid you to strike your father, abstain from doing | ||
| + | so; but in the day of battle what hinders you from | ||
| + | turning to your comrade and saying, ‘Touyé papa | ||
| + | moé, ma touyé quena toué?’ (‘Kill my father, and I | ||
| + | will kill yours?’) Vengeance then, my brethren, and | ||
| + | liberty for all men. This cry has found an echo in | ||
| + | every part of the island; it has roused Tobago and | ||
| + | Cuba. It was Bouckmann, a negro from Jamaica, | ||
| + | the leader of the twenty-five fugitive slaves of the | ||
| + | Blue Mountain, who raised the standard of revolt | ||
| + | amongst us. A glorious victory was the first proof | ||
| + | that he gave of his brotherhood with the negroes of | ||
| + | Saint Domingo. Let us follow his noble example, | ||
| + | with an axe in one hand and a torch in the other. | ||
| + | No mercy for the whites, no mercy for the planters; | ||
| + | let us massacre their families, and destroy their | ||
| + | plantations! Do not allow a tree to remain standing | ||
| + | on their estates; let us upturn the very earth itself | ||
| + | that it may swallow up our white oppressors! | ||
| + | Courage then, friends and brethren; we shall fight | ||
| + | them and sweep them from the face of the earth. | ||
| + | We will conquer or die. As victors, we shall enjoy | ||
| + | all the pleasures of life; and if we fall, the saints are | ||
| + | ready to receive us in heaven, where each warrior | ||
| + | will receive a double ration of brandy, and a silver | ||
| + | piastre each day!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ridiculous, had a tremendous effect on the insurgents. | ||
| + | It is true that Biassou’s wild gesticulations, | ||
| + | the manner in which his voice rose and fell, and the | ||
| + | strange sneer which every now and then appeared on | ||
| + | his lips, imparted to his speech a strange amount of | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | power and fascination. The skill with which he | ||
| + | alluded to those points which would have the | ||
| + | greatest weight with the negroes, added a degree of | ||
| + | force which told well with his audience.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of determined enthusiasm which the harangue of | ||
| + | Biassou roused amongst the rebels.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | yells, and shouts. Some beat their naked breasts, | ||
| + | others dashed their clubs and sabres together. | ||
| + | Many threw themselves on their knees, and remained | ||
| + | in that position as though in rapt ecstasy. | ||
| + | The negresses tore their breasts and arms with their | ||
| + | fish-bone combs. The sounds of drums, tom-toms, | ||
| + | guitars, and tambourines were mingled with the discharge | ||
| + | of firearms. It was a veritable witches’ | ||
| + | Sabbath.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the tumult was stilled, and each negro returned | ||
| + | to his place in the ranks in silence. The | ||
| + | discipline which Biassou had imposed upon his | ||
| + | equals by the exercise of his power of will struck | ||
| + | me, I may say, with admiration. All the soldiers | ||
| + | of the force seemed to exist only to obey the wishes | ||
| + | of their chief, as the notes of the harpsichord under | ||
| + | the fingers of the musician.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fascination and deception now attracted my attention, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | this was the healing of the wounded. The Obi, | ||
| + | who in the army performed the double functions of | ||
| + | healer of souls and bodies, began his inspection of | ||
| + | his patients.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seated before a large box in which he kept his drugs | ||
| + | and instruments. He used the latter very rarely, | ||
| + | but occasionally drew blood skilfully enough with a | ||
| + | lancet made of fish-bone, but he appeared to me | ||
| + | to use the knife which in his hands replaced the | ||
| + | scalpel rather clumsily. In most cases he contented | ||
| + | himself with prescribing orange flower water, or sarsaparilla, | ||
| + | and a mouthful of old rum. His favourite | ||
| + | remedy, however, and one which he said was an | ||
| + | infallible panacea for all ills, was composed of three | ||
| + | glasses of red wine in which was some grated nutmeg | ||
| + | and the yolk of an egg boiled hard. He employed | ||
| + | this specific for almost every malady. You | ||
| + | will understand that his knowledge of medicine was | ||
| + | as great a farce as his pretended religion, and it is | ||
| + | probable that the small number of cures that he | ||
| + | effected would not have secured the confidence of | ||
| + | the negroes had he not had recourse to all sorts of | ||
| + | mummeries and incantations, | ||
| + | upon their imaginations as upon their bodies. Thus, | ||
| + | he never examined their wounds without performing | ||
| + | some mysterious signs, whilst at other times he skilfully | ||
| + | mingled together religion and negro superstition, | ||
| + | and would put into their wounds a little <span class=' | ||
| + | wrapped in a morsel of lint, and the patient would | ||
| + | credit the stone with the healing effects of the lint. | ||
| + | If any one came to announce to him the death of a | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | patient he would answer solemnly, “I foresaw it; | ||
| + | he was a traitor; in the burning of such and such a | ||
| + | house he spared a white man’s life; his death was | ||
| + | a judgment.” And the wondering crowd of rebels | ||
| + | applauded him as he thus increased their deadly | ||
| + | hatred for their adversaries. This impostor, amongst | ||
| + | other methods, employed one which amused me by | ||
| + | its singularity. One of the negro chiefs had been | ||
| + | badly wounded in the last action. The Obi examined | ||
| + | the wound attentively, | ||
| + | able, then, mounting the altar, exclaimed, “All this | ||
| + | is nothing.” He then tore two or three leaves from | ||
| + | the missal, burnt them to ashes, and mingling them | ||
| + | with some wine in the sacramental cup, cried to the | ||
| + | wounded man, “Drink; this is the true remedy.” | ||
| + | The patient, stupidly fixing his eyes on the impostor, | ||
| + | drank, whilst the Obi with raised hands seemed to | ||
| + | call down blessings on his head, and it may be the | ||
| + | conviction that he was healed brought about his cure.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | principal part succeeded to this. The physician had | ||
| + | taken the place of the priest, and the sorcerer now | ||
| + | replaced the physician.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | agility upon the improvised altar, and sinking | ||
| + | down with his legs crossed under his striped petticoat. | ||
| + | “Listen; who will dive into the book of fate? | ||
| + | I can foretell the future. ‘<span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Gitanos</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | crowded up to him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | called to my mind some remembrances that I could | ||
| + | not quite collect. “If you come all together, altogether | ||
| + | you will enter the tomb.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in a white jacket and trousers, with a bandana handkerchief | ||
| + | tied round his head, entered the cave. | ||
| + | Consternation was depicted on his countenance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the head of the mulatto insurgents at Lagu. A man | ||
| + | who concealed much cunning under an appearance | ||
| + | of candour, and cruelty beneath the mask of | ||
| + | humanity. I looked upon him with much attention.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to them I could catch every word, “on the outskirts | ||
| + | of the camp there is a messenger from Jean François | ||
| + | who has brought the news that Bouckmann has been | ||
| + | killed in a battle with the whites under M. de | ||
| + | Touzard, and that his head has been set upon the | ||
| + | gates of the town as a trophy.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with delight at learning the diminution of the number | ||
| + | of chiefs and the consequent increase of his own | ||
| + | importance.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a message for you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rid of this air of alarm, my good Rigaud.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “But,” said Rigaud, “do you not fear the effect | ||
| + | that the death of Bouckmann will have on the | ||
| + | army? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but you shall see what Biassou will do. Keep the | ||
| + | messenger back for a quarter of an hour and all will | ||
| + | go well.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | had been exercising his functions as | ||
| + | fortune-teller, | ||
| + | examining the lines on their hands and foreheads, | ||
| + | and distributing more or less good luck according | ||
| + | to the size and colour of the piece of money thrown | ||
| + | by each negro into a silver-gilt basin which stood on | ||
| + | one side. Biassou whispered a few words in his ear, | ||
| + | and without making any reply the Obi continued his | ||
| + | prophetic observations.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of his forehead a little square or triangular figure | ||
| + | will make a large fortune without work or toil. The | ||
| + | figure of three interlaced S’s on the forehead is a | ||
| + | fatal sign; he who has it will certainly be drowned | ||
| + | if he does not carefully avoid water. Four lines | ||
| + | from the top of the nose, and turning round two | ||
| + | by two towards the eyes, announces that you will | ||
| + | be taken prisoner, and for a long time languish in | ||
| + | a foreign prison.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sign in the forehead of Bug-Jargal, the brave chief of | ||
| + | Morne-Rouge.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | had been made prisoner, were followed by a cry of | ||
| + | grief from a band of negroes who wore short scarlet | ||
| + | breeches. They belonged to the band of Morne-Rouge.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the line of the moon a mark resembling a fork, do | ||
| + | not remain idle, and avoid dissipation of all kinds. | ||
| + | A small mark like the Arabic cypher 3 in the line of | ||
| + | the sun betokens blows with a stick.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dragging himself to his feet begged him to dress his | ||
| + | wound. He had been wounded in the face, and one | ||
| + | of his eyes almost torn from the socket hung upon | ||
| + | his cheek. The Obi had forgotten him when going | ||
| + | through his patients. Directly, however, he saw him | ||
| + | he cried out—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in the line of the moon foretell misfortunes to the | ||
| + | sight. My man, let me see your hand.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my eye that I want you to look at.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | necessary to see your eye, give me your hand, I say.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my eye.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | life a spot surrounded by a circle you will lose an | ||
| + | eye. There is the mark. You will become blind of | ||
| + | an eye.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and thrusting him roughly on one side continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | forehead are slight, twisted, and lightly marked, they | ||
| + | announce a short life. He who has between his | ||
| + | eyebrows on the line of the moon the figure of two | ||
| + | crossed arrows will be killed in battle. If the line | ||
| + | of life which intersects the hand has a cross at its | ||
| + | junction it foretells death on the scaffold, and here | ||
| + | I must tell you, my brethren, | ||
| + | himself, “that one of the bravest defenders of | ||
| + | our liberties, Bouckmann, has all these fatal marks.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and gazed on the impostor with glances of stupid | ||
| + | admiration.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the two opposing signs, death on the battle-field and | ||
| + | also on the scaffold, and yet my science is infallible.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | who whispered something to an officer, who at once | ||
| + | quitted the cavern.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his audience a malicious glance, “a slouching | ||
| + | carriage, and arms hanging down by the side, announces | ||
| + | natural stupidity, emptiness, and want of | ||
| + | reasoning powers.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the aide-de-camp returned, bringing with him a | ||
| + | negro covered with mud and dust, whose feet, | ||
| + | wounded by the roots and flints, showed that he had | ||
| + | just come off a long journey.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | announced. He held in one hand a letter, and in the | ||
| + | other a document sealed with the design of a flaming | ||
| + | heart. Round it was a monogram, composed of the | ||
| + | letters M and N interlaced, no doubt intended as an | ||
| + | emblem of the union of the free mulattos and the | ||
| + | negro slaves. Underneath I could read this motto, | ||
| + | “Prejudice conquered, the rod of iron broken, long | ||
| + | live the king!” This document was a safe conduct | ||
| + | given by Jean François.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hastily tore it open and perused the contents, then | ||
| + | with an appearance of deep grief he exclaimed, “My | ||
| + | brothers!” All bowed respectfully.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | generalissimo of the conquered states, Brigadier-General | ||
| + | of His Catholic Majesty, from Jean | ||
| + | François, Grand Admiral of France, Lieutenant-General | ||
| + | of the army of the King of Spain and the | ||
| + | Indies.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | negroes of the Blue Mountain, whose liberty was | ||
| + | recognized by the Governor-General of Belle Combe, | ||
| + | has fallen in the glorious struggle of liberty and | ||
| + | humanity against tyranny and barbarism. This | ||
| + | gallant chief has been slain in an action with the | ||
| + | white brigands of the infamous Touzard. The | ||
| + | monsters have cut off his head, and have announced | ||
| + | their intention of exposing it on a scaffold in the | ||
| + | main square of the town of Cap. Vengeance!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | despatch; but the Obi leapt on his altar, and waving | ||
| + | his white wand, exclaimed in accents of triumph—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Solomon, Zerobabel, Eleazar Thaleb, Cardau, | ||
| + | Judas Bowtharicht, | ||
| + | Bohabdil, Jean de Hagul, Anna Baratio, Daniel | ||
| + | Ogromof, Rachel Flintz, Allornino, I give you | ||
| + | thanks. The science of the spirits has not deceived | ||
| + | me; sons, friends, brothers, boys, children, | ||
| + | mothers, all of you listen to me. What was it that | ||
| + | I predicted? the marks on the forehead of Bouckmann | ||
| + | announced that his life would be a short one, | ||
| + | that he would die in battle, and that he would appear | ||
| + | on the scaffold. The revelations of my art have | ||
| + | turned out true to the letter, and those points which | ||
| + | seemed the most obscure are now the most plain. | ||
| + | Brethren, wonder and admire!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | discourse to a sort of admiring terror. They listened | ||
| + | to the Obi with a species of confidence mingled with | ||
| + | fear, whilst the latter, carried away by his own | ||
| + | enthusiasm, walked up and down the sugar case, | ||
| + | which presented plenty of space for his short steps.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the Obi.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | come, will you be good enough to tell me the future | ||
| + | of Jean Biassou, Brigadier-General? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which the credulity of the negroes looked upon as | ||
| + | something divine, and answered, “<span class=' | ||
| + | merced</ | ||
| + | the Obi was the most important man in the army; | ||
| + | the military power bowed to the spiritual.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | grasp it. “<span class=' | ||
| + | equally marked in its full length promises you riches | ||
| + | and happiness; the line of life strongly developed | ||
| + | announces a life exempt from ills, and a happy old | ||
| + | age. Its narrowness shows your wisdom and your | ||
| + | superior talents, as well as the generosity of your | ||
| + | heart; and, lastly, I see what chiromancers call the | ||
| + | luckiest of all signs, a number of little wrinkles in | ||
| + | the shape of a tree with its branches extending | ||
| + | upwards, this promises health and wealth, it also | ||
| + | prognosticates courage. General, it curves in the | ||
| + | direction of the little finger, this is the sign of wholesome | ||
| + | severity.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | through the apertures of his veil, and I fancied that | ||
| + | I could catch a well-known voice under the habitual | ||
| + | gravity of his intonation, as he continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | small circles, announces that you will have, for the | ||
| + | sake of the cause, to order a number of executions; | ||
| + | divided here by a half-moon, shows that you will be | ||
| + | exposed to great danger from ferocious beasts, that | ||
| + | is to say, from the whites, if you do not exterminate | ||
| + | them. The line of fortune surrounded, like the line | ||
| + | of life, by little branches rising towards the upper | ||
| + | part of the hand, confirms the position of power and | ||
| + | supremacy to which you have been called; turning | ||
| + | to the right, it is a symbol of your administrative | ||
| + | capacity. The fifth line, that of the triangle prolonged | ||
| + | to the root of the middle finger, promises you | ||
| + | success in all your undertakings. Let me see your | ||
| + | fingers: the thumb marked with little lines from | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the point to the nail shows that you will receive a | ||
| + | noble heritage, that of the glory of the unfortunate | ||
| + | Bouckmann, no doubt,” added the Obi, in a loud | ||
| + | voice. “The slight swelling at the root of the forefinger, | ||
| + | lightly marked with lines, promises honours | ||
| + | and dignities. The middle finger shows nothing. | ||
| + | Your little finger is covered with lines crossing each | ||
| + | other, you will vanquish all your enemies, and rise | ||
| + | high above your rivals. These lines form the cross | ||
| + | of Saint Andrew, a mark of genius and foresight. I | ||
| + | also notice the figure of a circle, another token of | ||
| + | your arrival at the highest power and dignity. | ||
| + | ‘Happy the man,’ says Eleazar Thaleb, ‘who possesses | ||
| + | all these signs. Destiny has its choicest gifts | ||
| + | in store for him, and his fortunate star announces | ||
| + | the talent which will bring him glory.’ And now, | ||
| + | general, let me look at your forehead? ‘He,’ says | ||
| + | Rachel Flintz, of Bohemia, ‘who bears on his | ||
| + | forehead, on the line of the sun, a square or a triangular | ||
| + | mark, will make a great fortune.’ Here is | ||
| + | another prediction, ‘If the mark is on the right, it | ||
| + | refers to an important succession; | ||
| + | is, of course, again referred to. The mark in | ||
| + | the shape of a horseshoe between the eyebrows, on | ||
| + | the line of the moon, means that prompt vengeance | ||
| + | will be taken for insult and tyranny. I have this | ||
| + | mark as well as you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | these words, “I have this mark,” attracted my | ||
| + | attention.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your left eyelid is only noticeable amongst men of | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | undoubted courage; but to close this, General Jean | ||
| + | Biassou, your forehead shows every sign of the most | ||
| + | unexampled success, and on it is a combination of | ||
| + | lines which form the letter M, the commencement of | ||
| + | the name of the Blessed Virgin. In whatever part | ||
| + | of the forehead, and in whatever line of the face, | ||
| + | such a sign appears, the signification is the same—genius, | ||
| + | glory, and power. He who bears it will | ||
| + | always bring success to whatever cause he embraces, | ||
| + | and those under his command will never have to | ||
| + | regret any loss. He alone is worth all the soldiers | ||
| + | of his army. You, general, are the elect of Fate.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to return to his mahogany throne.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | forgot one last sign: the line of the sun, which is so | ||
| + | strongly marked on your forehead, proves that you | ||
| + | understand the way of the world, that you possess | ||
| + | the wish to make others happy, that you have much | ||
| + | liberality, and like to do things in a magnificent | ||
| + | manner.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | drawing from his pocket a heavy purse, he threw it | ||
| + | into the plate, so as to prove that the line of the sun | ||
| + | never lies.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | produced its effect upon the army. All the insurgents | ||
| + | who, since the news of the death of Bouckmann | ||
| + | attached greater weight than ever to the words of | ||
| + | the Obi, lost their feelings of uneasiness and became | ||
| + | violently enthusiastic, | ||
| + | their infallible sorcerer and their predestined chief, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | began to shout, “Long live our Obi! long live our | ||
| + | general!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | almost thought I could hear the stifled laugh of the | ||
| + | one replied to by the sardonic chuckle of the other. | ||
| + | I do not know how it was, but this Obi tormented me | ||
| + | dreadfully; I had a feeling that I had seen or heard | ||
| + | him before, and I made up my mind to speak to him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | yet cast—it is mine.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | covered his hairy breast, but he made no reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prophesy with regard to my future, but your worthy | ||
| + | comrades have taken my watch and my purse, and I | ||
| + | suppose you will not give me a specimen of your | ||
| + | skill for nothing? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in my ear—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | as he bent over my hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | transverse lines, it is the sign of immediate death, | ||
| + | your life will be a short one. If the line of health is | ||
| + | not in the centre of the hand, and if there is only | ||
| + | the line of life, and the line of fortune united so as to | ||
| + | form an angle, a natural death cannot be looked | ||
| + | for. Do not, therefore, look for a natural death! | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | If the bottom of the forefinger has a long line cutting | ||
| + | it, a violent death will be the result. Prepare | ||
| + | yourself for a violent death!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | voice as he thus announced my death, but I listened | ||
| + | to him with contempt and indifference.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | are skilful, for you are speaking of a certainty.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | once more. The severance of the line of the sun on | ||
| + | your forehead shows me that you take an enemy for | ||
| + | a friend, and a friend for an enemy.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Pierrot, whom I loved, but who had betrayed me, | ||
| + | and to the faithful Habibrah, who I had hated, and | ||
| + | whose blood-stained garments attested his fidelity | ||
| + | and his devotion.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | spoke of the future, listen to the past. The line of | ||
| + | the moon on your forehead is slightly curved—that | ||
| + | signifies that your wife has been carried off.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seat, but my guards held me back.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sorcerer; “listen to the end. The little cross that | ||
| + | cuts the extremity of that curve shows me all; your | ||
| + | wife was carried off on the very night of your | ||
| + | nuptials.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Who are you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I strove again to free myself, and to tear away his | ||
| + | veil, but I had to yield to numbers and to force, and | ||
| + | I had the mortification of seeing the mysterious Obi | ||
| + | move away repeating, “Do you believe me now? | ||
| + | Prepare for immediate death.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which I had been thrown by the strange scene that | ||
| + | had just passed, a new and more terrible drama | ||
| + | succeeded to the farce that had been played between | ||
| + | Biassou and the Obi. Biassou had again taken his | ||
| + | place upon his mahogany throne, whilst Rigaud and | ||
| + | the Obi were seated on his right and left; the latter, | ||
| + | with his arms crossed on his breast, seemed to have | ||
| + | given himself up to deep thought. Biassou and | ||
| + | Rigaud were chewing tobacco, and an aide-de-camp | ||
| + | had just asked if he should order a general march | ||
| + | past of the forces, when a tumultuous crowd of | ||
| + | negroes, with hideous shouts, arrived at the entrance | ||
| + | of the grotto. They had brought with them three | ||
| + | white prisoners to be judged by Biassou, but what | ||
| + | they desired was easily shown by the cries of | ||
| + | “Muerte! Muerte!” “Death, death!” the latter, | ||
| + | no doubt, emanating from the English negroes of | ||
| + | Bouckmann’s band, many of whom had by this time | ||
| + | arrived to join the French and Spanish negroes of | ||
| + | Biassou.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | silence, and ordered the three captives to be brought | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to the entrance of the grotto. I recognized two of | ||
| + | them with considerable surprise; one was the Citizen | ||
| + | General C——, that philanthropist who was in | ||
| + | correspondence with all the lovers of the negro race | ||
| + | in different parts of the globe, and who had proposed | ||
| + | so cruel a mode of suppressing the insurrection to | ||
| + | the governor. The other was the planter of doubtful | ||
| + | origin, who manifested so great a dislike to the | ||
| + | mulattoes, amongst whom the whites insisted on | ||
| + | classing him. The third appeared to belong to a | ||
| + | section called “poor whites”—that is to say, white men | ||
| + | who had to work for their living: he wore a leathern | ||
| + | apron, and his sleeves were turned up to his elbows. | ||
| + | All the prisoners had been taken at different times, | ||
| + | endeavouring to hide themselves in the mountains.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | questioned.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the Fathers, at Cap.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the features of the general.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | recognizing <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sturdily.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | first master, you pretend not to recognize me, but | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | remember, Jean Biassou, that I sold you for thirty | ||
| + | piastres in the Saint Domingo slave market.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou’s face.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ashamed of having worked for me; ought not Jean | ||
| + | Biassou to feel proud of having belonged to Jacques | ||
| + | Belin? Your mother, the old idiot, has often swept | ||
| + | out my shop, but at last I sold her to the major-domo | ||
| + | of the Hospital of the Fathers, and she was so | ||
| + | old and decrepit, that he would only give me thirty-two | ||
| + | livres and six sous for her. There is my history | ||
| + | and yours, but it seems as if the negroes and the | ||
| + | mulattoes are growing proud, and that you have | ||
| + | forgotten the time when you served Master Jacques | ||
| + | Belin, the carpenter of Cap, on your knees.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that gave him the appearance of a tiger.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | had captured Belin, “get two trestles, two planks, | ||
| + | and a saw, and take this man away. Jacques Belin, | ||
| + | carpenter of Cap, thank me, for you shall have a true | ||
| + | carpenter’s death.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | punishment that he destined for the pride of his | ||
| + | former master, but Jacques Belin did not blench, and | ||
| + | turning proudly to Biassou, cried—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thirty piastres, and I got work out of you to a | ||
| + | much greater amount.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | witnessed this frightful prologue to their own chance. | ||
| + | Their timid and terrified appearance contrasted | ||
| + | with the courageous audacity of the carpenter; every | ||
| + | limb quivered with affright.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his fox-like glance, and, as if he took a pleasure in | ||
| + | prolonging their agony, began a discussion with | ||
| + | Rigaud upon the different kinds of tobacco, asserting | ||
| + | that that of Havana was only good for | ||
| + | manufacturing cigars, whilst for snuff he knew | ||
| + | nothing better than the Spanish tobacco, two barrels | ||
| + | of which Bouchmaun had sent him, being a portion | ||
| + | of the plunder of M. Lebattre’s stores in the island | ||
| + | of Tortue. Then, turning sharply upon the Citizen | ||
| + | General C——, he asked him—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | citizen, and he stammered out.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | opinion.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | opinion, not mine. Do you know any tobacco that | ||
| + | makes better snuff than that of M. Lebattres? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | terror greatly amused Biassou.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | aristocrat.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | general. “I am a good patriot of ’91, and an ardent | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | what is a negrophile? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | citizen.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you must also be a friend of the men of colour.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | replied the lover of the blacks, humbly. “I am | ||
| + | mixed up with all the most famous partisans of the | ||
| + | negroes and the mulattoes——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | white man, Biassou again interrupted him:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pray? Do you wish to insult me by making use of | ||
| + | those terms of contempt invented by the whites? | ||
| + | There are only men of colour and blacks here—do | ||
| + | you understand that, Mr. Planter? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | childhood, | ||
| + | lord, I had no wish to offend you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | told you that I don’t like these aristocratic ways.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | began to stammer out a fresh explanation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I detest all this Jacobin jargon. Are you by chance | ||
| + | a Jacobin? Remember that you are speaking to the | ||
| + | generalissimo of the king’s troops.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | dumbfounded, | ||
| + | address this man who equally disdained the titles | ||
| + | of “my lord” or “citizen, | ||
| + | republican modes of salutation. Biassou, whose | ||
| + | anger was only assumed, cruelly enjoyed the predicament | ||
| + | in which he had placed him. “Alas,” at | ||
| + | last said the citizen general, “you do not do me | ||
| + | justice, noble defender of the unwritten rights of the | ||
| + | larger portion of the human race.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of address to a man who appeared to disdain all | ||
| + | titles, he had recourse to one of those sonorous | ||
| + | periphrases which the republicans occasionally substituted | ||
| + | for the name and title of the persons with | ||
| + | whom they were in conversation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | love the blacks and the men of colour? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Why, I correspond with Brissot and——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Ha, ha, I am glad to find in you so trusty a friend | ||
| + | to our cause; you must, of course, thoroughly detest | ||
| + | those wretched colonists who punished our insurrection | ||
| + | by a series of the most cruel executions, and | ||
| + | you, of course, think with us, that it is not the | ||
| + | blacks, but the whites, who are the true rebels, since | ||
| + | they are in arms against the laws of nature and | ||
| + | humanity? You must execrate such monsters!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of a man who, in his endeavours to crush the last | ||
| + | efforts of the slaves to regain their liberty, placed | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the heads of fifty black men on each side of the | ||
| + | avenue that led to his house? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | propose to surround the town of Cap with a circle | ||
| + | of negro heads? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Let me finish; a circle of heads that would reach | ||
| + | from Fort Picolet to Cape Caracol. What do you | ||
| + | think of that? Answer me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | given a faint ray of hope to C——, for he fancied that | ||
| + | the general might have heard of this terrible proposition | ||
| + | without knowing the author of it; he therefore | ||
| + | replied with all the firmness that he could muster, | ||
| + | in order to remove any impression that the idea was | ||
| + | his own: “I consider such a suggestion an atrocious | ||
| + | crime.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on the man who proposed it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | or are you not, the friend of the blacks? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | least threatening one, and seeing no hostile light in | ||
| + | Biassou’s eyes, he answered in a low voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | aside the tobacco that he had been chewing.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | deceived the unfortunate lover of the negro race, and | ||
| + | he made another effort to dissipate any suspicions | ||
| + | which might have been engendered against him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for your success than I. I correspond with Brissot | ||
| + | and Pruneau de Pomme-Gouge in France, with | ||
| + | Magaw in America, with Peter Paulus in Holland, | ||
| + | with the Abbé Tamburini in Italy.” And he was | ||
| + | continuing to unfold the same string of names which | ||
| + | he had formerly repeated, but with a different motive, | ||
| + | at the council held at M. de Blanchelande’s, | ||
| + | Biassou interrupted him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Tell me rather where are your granaries and store-houses, | ||
| + | for my army has need of supplies; your plantation | ||
| + | is doubtless a rich one, and your business | ||
| + | must be lucrative since you correspond with so many | ||
| + | merchants.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | philosophers, | ||
| + | blacks.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “if you have nothing that can be plundered, what | ||
| + | good are you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | C—— eagerly availed himself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | an economist in your army? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | as his fears would permit him to assume, “a | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | most necessary man, one whom all appreciate, one | ||
| + | who follows out and classes in their proper order the | ||
| + | respective material resources of an empire, and gives | ||
| + | to each its real value, increasing and improving them | ||
| + | by combining their sources and results, and pouring | ||
| + | them like fertilizing streams into the main river of | ||
| + | general utility, which in its turn swells the great sea | ||
| + | of public prosperity.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the Obi. “What the deuce does he mean by | ||
| + | all these words strung together like the beads on | ||
| + | your rosary? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and disdain as citizen C—— continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the regenerators of Saint Domingo, I have carefully | ||
| + | studied the works of the greatest economists of the | ||
| + | world—Turgot, | ||
| + | man. I have put their theories into practice, I | ||
| + | thoroughly understand the science indispensable for | ||
| + | the government of kingdoms and states——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | observed Rigaud, with his bland and cunning smile.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have I any kingdoms or states to govern? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and besides, my knowledge descends to all the useful | ||
| + | details which are comprised in the interior economy | ||
| + | of an army.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nothing to do with the interior economy of the army, | ||
| + | I command it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Good,” replied the citizen; “you shall be the | ||
| + | commander, I will be the commissary; I have much | ||
| + | special knowledge as to the increase of cattle——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou, with his sardonic laugh. “No, my good | ||
| + | fellow, we are content with eating them; when cattle | ||
| + | become scarce in the French colony I shall cross the | ||
| + | line of mountains on the frontier and take the Spanish | ||
| + | sheep and oxen from the plains of Cotury, of La Vega, | ||
| + | of St. Jago, and from the banks of the Yuna; if necessary | ||
| + | I will go as far as the Island of Jamaica, and to | ||
| + | the back of the mountain of Cibos, and from the | ||
| + | mouths of the Neybe to those of Santo Domingo; | ||
| + | besides, I should be glad to punish those infernal | ||
| + | Spanish planters for giving up Ogé to the French. | ||
| + | You see I am not uneasy as regards provisions, and | ||
| + | so have no need of <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | economist; he made, however, one more effort for | ||
| + | safety. “My studies,” said he, “have not been limited | ||
| + | to the reproduction of cattle, I am acquainted with | ||
| + | other special branches of knowledge that may be very | ||
| + | useful to you; I can show you the method of manufacturing | ||
| + | pitch and working coal mines.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “When I want charcoal I burn a few leagues of | ||
| + | forest.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for shipbuilding—the <span class=' | ||
| + | keels, the <span class=' | ||
| + | framework, the <span class=' | ||
| + | acomas——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “<span class=' | ||
| + | infernos!</ | ||
| + | fly away with you!”), cried Biassou, boiling over with | ||
| + | impatience.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | trembling economist, who did not understand Spanish.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | vessels; there is only one vacancy that I can offer you, | ||
| + | and that is not a very important one; I want a man | ||
| + | to wait upon me; and now, Mr. Philosopher, | ||
| + | if that will suit you; you will have to serve me on | ||
| + | your bended knees, you will prepare my pipe, cook | ||
| + | my <span class=' | ||
| + | me with a fan of peacock or parrot feathers like those | ||
| + | two pages; now will the situation suit you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | life, bent to the earth with a thousand expressions of | ||
| + | joy and gratitude.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | do you think that I should hesitate for a moment in | ||
| + | accepting so distinguished a post as that of being in | ||
| + | constant attendance on you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | more pronounced. He rose up with an air of triumph, | ||
| + | crossed his arms on his chest, and thrusting aside | ||
| + | with his foot the white man’s head who was prostrate | ||
| + | on the ground before him, he cried in a loud voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the cowardice of the white man could go, I have | ||
| + | already measured the extent of his cruelty. Citizen | ||
| + | C——, it is to you that I owe this double experience. | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | I knew all; how could you have been sufficiently | ||
| + | besotted to think that I did not? It was you who | ||
| + | presided at the executions of June, July, and August; | ||
| + | it was you who placed fifty negro heads on each side | ||
| + | of your avenue; it was you who proposed to slaughter | ||
| + | the five hundred negroes who were confined in irons | ||
| + | after the revolt, and to encircle the town of Cap with | ||
| + | their heads from Fort Picolet to Cape Caracol. If | ||
| + | you could have done it you would have placed my | ||
| + | head amongst them, and now you think yourself | ||
| + | lucky if I will take you as my body-servant. No, | ||
| + | no! I have more regard for your honour than you | ||
| + | yourself have, and I will not inflict this affront on | ||
| + | you; prepare to die!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | unhappy lover of the blacks to a position near me, | ||
| + | where overwhelmed by the honour of his position, he | ||
| + | fell to the ground without being able to articulate a | ||
| + | word.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the last of the prisoners, the planter who was accused | ||
| + | by the white men of having black blood in his veins, | ||
| + | and who had on that account sent me a challenge.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Muerte! Death! Mort! Touyé!” cried the negroes, | ||
| + | grinding their teeth, and shaking their fists at the | ||
| + | unhappy captive.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | above the uproar, “he is a white man, and he must | ||
| + | die.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | managed to edge in some words. “No, general, no, | ||
| + | my brothers, it is an infamous calumny, I am a | ||
| + | mulatto like yourselves, of mixed blood; my mother | ||
| + | was a negress, like your mothers and sisters.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | white man, he has always detested the coloured | ||
| + | people.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that I detest; I have always said with you, ‘<span class=' | ||
| + | blan, blan cé negre</ | ||
| + | whites are the slaves’).”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | white man, kill him!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | accents, “I am a mulatto, I am one of yourselves.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | proof is that the whites have always despised me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | an insolent hound to tell us so.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the planter in an excited manner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the other hand, you affected to look down upon the | ||
| + | mulattoes amongst whom they classed you. It has | ||
| + | even been reported that you once challenged a white | ||
| + | man who called you a half caste.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the cry of “death” was repeated more loudly than | ||
| + | ever, whilst the planter, casting an appealing glance | ||
| + | at me, continued, with tears in his eyes—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | is in belonging to the blacks, I am a mulatto.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | quietly, “you would not make use of such an expression.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | panic-stricken wretch. “General, the proof that I am | ||
| + | of mixed blood is in the black circle that you see | ||
| + | round the bottom of my nails.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | who can tell what a man is by looking at his hand. | ||
| + | But listen to me: my soldiers accuse you—some, of | ||
| + | being a white man; others, of being a false brother. | ||
| + | If this is the case you ought to die. You, on the | ||
| + | other hand, assert that you belong to our race, and | ||
| + | that you have never denied it. There is one method | ||
| + | by which you can prove your assertions. Take this | ||
| + | dagger and stab these two white prisoners!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the citizen C—— and myself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with a devilish smile on his face, Biassou presented | ||
| + | to him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | is your only chance of proving your assertion to the | ||
| + | army that you are not a white, and are one of ourselves. | ||
| + | Come, decide at once, for we have no time to | ||
| + | lose.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The prisoner’s eyes glared wildly; he stretched out | ||
| + | his hand towards the dagger, then let his arm fall | ||
| + | again, turning away his head, whilst every limb | ||
| + | quivered with emotion.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and anger, “I am in a hurry. Choose—either kill | ||
| + | them, or die with them!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | turned to stone.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “he does not wish to be the executioner, | ||
| + | the victim. I can see that he is nothing but a white | ||
| + | man—away with him!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | impelled him to immediate choice between | ||
| + | giving or receiving death.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | courage.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou still held out to him, and without giving | ||
| + | himself time to reflect upon what he was about to | ||
| + | do, he precipitated himself like a tiger upon citizen | ||
| + | C——, who was lying on the ground near me. | ||
| + | Then a terrible struggle commenced. The lover of | ||
| + | the negro race, who had, at the conclusion of his | ||
| + | interview with Biassou, remained plunged in a state | ||
| + | of despair and stupor, had hardly noticed the scene | ||
| + | between the general and the planter, so absorbed was | ||
| + | he in the thought of his approaching death; but | ||
| + | when he saw the man rush upon him, and the steel | ||
| + | gleam above his head, the imminence of his danger | ||
| + | aroused him at once. He started to his feet, grasped | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the arm of his would-be murderer, and exclaimed in | ||
| + | a voice of terror—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have I done? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | frenzied eyes upon his victim, and endeavouring to | ||
| + | disengage his arm. “Let me do it; I will not hurt | ||
| + | you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | why? Spare me; you wish perhaps to kill me because | ||
| + | I used to say that you were a mulatto. But spare | ||
| + | my life, and I vow that I will always declare that | ||
| + | you are a white man. Yes, you are white, I will say | ||
| + | so everywhere, but spare me!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of sueing for mercy.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the idea of the danger he was incurring, and fearing | ||
| + | that the negroes would hear the assertion.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that he was a white man, and of good family.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on him; then finding his efforts vain, he thrust aside | ||
| + | his arms, and pressed the dagger upon C——’s | ||
| + | breast.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and in his despair bit the arm that was driving the | ||
| + | dagger home.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me.” Then casting a glance of supplication | ||
| + | towards Biassou, he cried, “Defend me, avenger of | ||
| + | humanity.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Then the murderer pressed more heavily on the | ||
| + | dagger; a gush of blood bubbled over his fingers, and | ||
| + | spattered his face. The knees of the unhappy lover | ||
| + | of the negro race bent beneath him, his arms fell by | ||
| + | his side, his eyes closed, he uttered a stifled groan, | ||
| + | and fell dead.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I every moment expected to play an important part. | ||
| + | The <span class=' | ||
| + | without a lineament of his features changing. When | ||
| + | all was over, he turned to his terrified pages. “More | ||
| + | tobacco,” said he, and began to chew calmly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the negroes appeared terrified at the horrible drama | ||
| + | that their general had caused to be enacted before | ||
| + | them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | slaughtered—my turn had come. I cast a glance | ||
| + | upon the murderer who was about to become my | ||
| + | executioner, | ||
| + | His lips were violet, his teeth chattered, a convulsive | ||
| + | tremor caused every limb to quiver. By a mechanical | ||
| + | movement his hand was continually passed over his | ||
| + | forehead, as if to obliterate the traces of the blood | ||
| + | which had so liberally sprinkled it; he looked with | ||
| + | an air of terrified wonder at the bleeding body which | ||
| + | lay at his feet, as though he were unable to detach | ||
| + | his strained eyeballs from the spectacle of his victim.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I waited for the moment when he would resume | ||
| + | his task of blood. The position was a strange one: | ||
| + | he had already tried to kill me and failed, to prove | ||
| + | that he was white, and now he was going to murder | ||
| + | me to show that he was black.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | good; I am pleased with you, my friend.” Then | ||
| + | glancing at me, he added. “You need not finish the | ||
| + | other one; and now I declare you one of us, and | ||
| + | name you executioner to the army.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and bowing three times to the general, cried out in | ||
| + | his jargon—which I will spare you—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | asked the negro. “Here you give an important post | ||
| + | to this dog of a white, who murders to save his own | ||
| + | skin, and to prove that he is one of ourselves. Have | ||
| + | you no post to give to me, who am a true black? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou, and Rigaud whispered to him in French—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the <span class=' | ||
| + | grant it to you. What grade do you wish for? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | epaulet founded on? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “who set fire to the house of Lagoscelte in the first | ||
| + | days of August last. It was I who murdered M. | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Clement the planter, and carried the head of his | ||
| + | sugar refiner on my pike. I killed ten white women | ||
| + | and seven small children, one of whom on the point | ||
| + | of a spear served as a standard for Bouckmann’s | ||
| + | brave blacks. Later on I burnt alive the families of | ||
| + | four colonists, whom I had locked up in the strong | ||
| + | room of Fort Galifet. My father was broken on the | ||
| + | wheel at Cap, my brother was hung at Rocrow, and | ||
| + | I narrowly escaped being shot. I have burnt three | ||
| + | coffee plantations, | ||
| + | acres of sugar-cane; I murdered my master, M. Noé, | ||
| + | and his mother——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Rigaud, whose feigned benevolence was the mask | ||
| + | for real cruelty, but who was ferocious with decency, | ||
| + | and could not listen to this cynical confession of | ||
| + | deeds of violence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | proudly, “but you will no doubt consider that these | ||
| + | are sufficient to insure my promotion, and to entitle | ||
| + | me to wear a gold epaulet like my comrades there,” | ||
| + | pointing to the staff of Biassou.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and then gravely addressed the negro.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pleased to promote you, but you must satisfy me on | ||
| + | one point. Do you understand Latin? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Latin? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Yes, yes, yes, Latin; do you understand Latin?” | ||
| + | said the cunning chief, and unfolding a banner upon | ||
| + | which was embroidered the verse from the Psalms, | ||
| + | “<span class=' | ||
| + | meaning of these words.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | meant, remained silent and motionless, fumbling | ||
| + | with the waistband of his trousers, whilst his astonished | ||
| + | eyes wandered from the banner to the general, | ||
| + | and from the general back again to the banner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | times, scratched his head, and at last said slowly—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to become an officer, and you do not understand | ||
| + | Latin!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to increase; “I do not know what prevents me from | ||
| + | having you shot at once. Did you ever hear such a | ||
| + | thing, Rigaud? he wants to be an officer, and does | ||
| + | not understand Latin. Well then, idiot, as you do | ||
| + | not understand, I will explain what is written on this | ||
| + | banner: <span class=' | ||
| + | understand Latin, <span class=' | ||
| + | officer. Is not that the translation, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I have appointed executioner, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “You know Latin, do you not? prove it to this | ||
| + | blockhead. What is the meaning of <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | reverie by the dreaded voice, raised his head, and | ||
| + | though his brain was still troubled by the cowardly | ||
| + | murder that he had just committed, terror compelled | ||
| + | him to be obedient.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his mind went back to his schooldays, and in the | ||
| + | midst of his terrible feelings and remorse he repeated, | ||
| + | in the tone of a child saying its lesson, “<span class=' | ||
| + | vobiscum</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | solemnly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | angry manner, and mingling with his reproaches | ||
| + | some Latin phrases to impress the negroes with the | ||
| + | superior attainments of their chief, he cried, “Go to | ||
| + | the rear rank, <span class=' | ||
| + | the places of those who know Latin, <span class=' | ||
| + | I will have you hung. <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | greeted by the hoots and hisses of his comrades, | ||
| + | who were indignant at his presumption, | ||
| + | with the deep learning of their general.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with a very high idea of Biassou’s administrative | ||
| + | capabilities. He had made ridicule the means of | ||
| + | repressing ambitious aspirations, | ||
| + | so dangerous to authority in undisciplined bodies; | ||
| + | and his cunning gave me a fuller idea of his mental | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | powers, and the crass ignorance of the negroes under | ||
| + | his command.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | turtle was placed before Biassou, in which smoked a | ||
| + | species of <span class=' | ||
| + | turtle flesh took the place of lamb; an enormous | ||
| + | carib cabbage floated on the surface of the stew, and | ||
| + | in addition, on strips of bark, were dried raisins and | ||
| + | water-melons, | ||
| + | wine, bound round with tarred string, completed the | ||
| + | feast. Biassou took from his pocket a few heads of | ||
| + | garlic and rubbed his bread with them; then, without | ||
| + | even ordering the bleeding form to be carried away, | ||
| + | he began to eat, inviting Rigaud to do the same.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his profession, I could easily understand that he | ||
| + | never took anything in public, to induce a belief | ||
| + | amongst the negroes that he lived entirely without | ||
| + | food.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to order the march past to commence, and | ||
| + | the different corps began to defile past in fairly good | ||
| + | order. The negroes of Morne-Rouge were the first; | ||
| + | there were about four thousand of them, divided into | ||
| + | companies commanded by chiefs, who were distinguished | ||
| + | by their scarlet breeches and sashes. | ||
| + | This force was composed of tall and powerful negroes; | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | some of them carried guns, axes, and sabres, but | ||
| + | many had no other arms than bows and arrows, and | ||
| + | javelins rudely fashioned by themselves. They | ||
| + | carried no standard, and moved past in mournful | ||
| + | silence. As they marched on, Biassou whispered | ||
| + | to Rigaud—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and shell free me from these bandits of Morne-Rouge? | ||
| + | I hate them, they are nearly all of them | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the example of their chief Bug-Jargal, a | ||
| + | young fool, who plays at being generous and magnanimous. | ||
| + | You do not know him, Rigaud, and I | ||
| + | hope you never will, for the whites have taken him | ||
| + | prisoner, and they may perhaps rid me of him, as | ||
| + | they did of Bouckmann.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “there are the negroes of Macaya just passing, and | ||
| + | I see in their ranks the negro whom Jean François | ||
| + | sent to you with the news of Bouckmann’s death. | ||
| + | Do you know that that man might upset all the | ||
| + | prophecies of the Obi, if he were to say that he had | ||
| + | been kept for more than half an hour at the outposts, | ||
| + | and that he had told me the news before you sent | ||
| + | for him? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | right, my friend; this man’s mouth must be shut. | ||
| + | Wait a bit.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The leader of the division left the ranks, and approached | ||
| + | the general with the stock of his firelock | ||
| + | reversed, in token of respect.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Make that man who does not belong to your | ||
| + | division leave his rank and come forward.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | François before the general, who at once assumed | ||
| + | that appearance of anger which he knew so well how | ||
| + | to simulate.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | what is your name? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | deacon and martyr, whose feast is on the twentieth | ||
| + | day before the Nativity of our Lord.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | shining muskets and white cross-belts, | ||
| + | sword without a sheath, your breeches torn, and | ||
| + | your feet muddy? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fault. I was despatched by the Grand Admiral, | ||
| + | Jean François, to bring you the news of the death of | ||
| + | the chief of the English negroes; and if my clothes | ||
| + | are torn and my feet bemired, it is because I have | ||
| + | run, without stopping to take breath, to bring you the | ||
| + | news as soon as possible, but they detained me at——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dared to enter the ranks in so unbecoming a dress. | ||
| + | Commend your soul to Saint Sabas, your patron, | ||
| + | the deacon and martyr, and go and get yourself | ||
| + | shot.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | that Biassou exercised over the insurgents. The | ||
| + | unfortunate man who was ordered to go and get | ||
| + | himself executed did not utter a protest; he bowed | ||
| + | his head, crossed his arms on his breast, saluted his | ||
| + | pitiless judge three times, and after having knelt to | ||
| + | the Obi, who gave him plenary absolution, he left | ||
| + | the cavern.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | us that Biassou’s commands had been obeyed, and | ||
| + | that the negro was no more.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | turned to Rigaud, a gleam of pleasure in his eye, and | ||
| + | gave a triumphant chuckle which seemed to say—“Admire | ||
| + | me!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which had presented so curious a spectacle in camp, | ||
| + | had a no less extraordinary appearance under arms. | ||
| + | Sometimes a horde of almost naked negroes would | ||
| + | come along armed with clubs and tomahawks, | ||
| + | marching to the notes of a goat’s horn like mere | ||
| + | savages; then would come regiments of mulattoes, | ||
| + | dressed in the English or Spanish manner, well | ||
| + | armed and equipped, regulating the pace by the roll | ||
| + | of the drum; then a band of negresses and their | ||
| + | children carrying forks and spits, then some tag-rag | ||
| + | bent under the weight of an old musket without lock | ||
| + | or barrel; <span class=' | ||
| + | dancing with hideous contortions, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | airs to the accompaniment of guitars, tom-toms, | ||
| + | and balafos. Then would be a procession of | ||
| + | priests, or Obi men, half-castes, | ||
| + | mulattoes, or wandering hordes of escaped slaves with | ||
| + | a proud look of liberty on their faces and shining | ||
| + | muskets on their shoulders, dragging in their ranks | ||
| + | well-filled waggons, or some artillery taken from the | ||
| + | whites, which were looked on more as trophies than | ||
| + | as military engines, and yelling out at the top of | ||
| + | their voices the songs of Grand-Pré and Oua-Nassé. | ||
| + | Above their heads floated flags, banners, and | ||
| + | standards of every form, colour, and device—white, | ||
| + | red, tricolour, with the lilies, with the cap of liberty, | ||
| + | bearing inscriptions—< | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the King</ | ||
| + | confusion of sentiments which showed that the insurgents | ||
| + | were a mere crowd collected together, with | ||
| + | ideas as different as were the men who composed it. | ||
| + | On passing in their turn before the cave the companies | ||
| + | drooped their banners, and Biassou returned | ||
| + | the salute. He addressed every band either in praise | ||
| + | or censure, and each word that dropped from his | ||
| + | mouth was received by his men with fanatical respect | ||
| + | or superstitious dread.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I confess that the sight that had at first afforded | ||
| + | some distraction to my feelings, finished by wearying | ||
| + | me. The sun went down as the last ranks filed | ||
| + | away, and his last rays cast a copper-coloured hue | ||
| + | upon the granite portals of the cave.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was concluded, his last orders had been given, and | ||
| + | the insurgents had retired to the huts, he condescended | ||
| + | to address me again.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | means of judging of my power and genius; the | ||
| + | time has now arrived for you to bear the report to | ||
| + | Leogri.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answered I, coldly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | paused, as if to note what the effect would be upon | ||
| + | me of what he was going to say, and then added, | ||
| + | “But it will depend upon yourself whether you ever | ||
| + | carry the message or not.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | yourself, and that you can save it if you will.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | doubt the last, which had ever possessed Biassou—surprised | ||
| + | me much, and astonished the Obi so greatly | ||
| + | that he leapt from the position which he had so long | ||
| + | maintained, and, placing himself face to face with | ||
| + | the general, addressed him in angry tones.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | promise? Neither God nor you can dispose of this | ||
| + | life, for it belongs to me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | voice; but it was but a fleeting recollection, | ||
| + | moment had passed away.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | any anger, spoke for a few moments in whispers to | ||
| + | the Obi, and pointed to the black flag which I had | ||
| + | already remarked, and after a little more conversation | ||
| + | the Obi nodded in sign of assent. Both of them | ||
| + | then reverted to their former positions.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his pocket the dispatch which Jean François had | ||
| + | sent to him. “Things are going ill. Bouckmann has | ||
| + | been killed. The whites have slaughtered more than | ||
| + | two thousand of our men in the district of Cul-de-Sac. | ||
| + | The colonists are continuing to establish and to | ||
| + | fortify military posts. By our own folly we have lost | ||
| + | the chance of taking Cap, and it will be long before | ||
| + | another occasion will present itself. On the eastern | ||
| + | side our line of march has been cut by a river, and | ||
| + | the whites have defended the passage by a pontoon | ||
| + | battery and a fortified camp. On the south side | ||
| + | they have planted artillery on the mountainous road | ||
| + | called the Haut-du-Cap. The position is, in addition, | ||
| + | defended by a strong stockade, at which all the inhabitants | ||
| + | have laboured, and in front of it there is a | ||
| + | strong <span class=' | ||
| + | our reach. Our ambush in the ravines of Dompté-Mulâtre | ||
| + | was a failure; and, to add to all these misfortunes, | ||
| + | the Siamese fever has devastated our camps. | ||
| + | In consequence, | ||
| + | with him) has decided to treat with the Governor | ||
| + | Blanchelande and the Colonial Assembly. Here is | ||
| + | the letter that we have addressed to the assembly on | ||
| + | this matter. Listen!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | this great and important colony we have also been | ||
| + | enveloped, and there remains nothing for us to say | ||
| + | in justification of our conduct. One day you will | ||
| + | render us the justice that our conduct merits.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | king who treats us well, and has <span class=' | ||
| + | rewards</ | ||
| + | and devotion.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that the National Assembly and the King have | ||
| + | agreed to settle definitely the status of slaves, and | ||
| + | the political situation of people of colour. We will | ||
| + | defend the decrees of the National Assembly with | ||
| + | the last drop of our blood.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | declare, by an order sanctioned by your general, as to | ||
| + | your intentions regarding the position of the slaves. | ||
| + | Knowing that they are the objects of your solicitude | ||
| + | through their chiefs, who send you this, they will be | ||
| + | satisfied if the relations now broken are once again | ||
| + | resumed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | consenting to take up arms for the revolutionary | ||
| + | Assemblies. We are the subjects of three kings—the | ||
| + | King of Congo, the born master of all the blacks; | ||
| + | the King of France, who represents our fathers; and | ||
| + | the King of Spain, who is the representative of our | ||
| + | mothers. These three kings are the descendants of | ||
| + | those who, conducted by a star, worshipped the Man | ||
| + | God. If we were to consent to serve the Assemblies, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | we might be forced to take up arms and to make war | ||
| + | against our brothers, the subjects of those three | ||
| + | kings to whom we have sworn fidelity. And, besides, | ||
| + | we do not know what is meant by the will of the | ||
| + | Nation, seeing that since the world has been in existence | ||
| + | we have always executed that of the King. The | ||
| + | Prince of France loves us; the King of Spain never | ||
| + | ceases to help us. We aid them—they aid us; it is | ||
| + | the cause of humanity; and, besides, if these kings | ||
| + | should fail us we could soon <span class=' | ||
| + | own</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to make peace.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Brigadier; <span class=' | ||
| + | Commissaires; | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | piece of negro diplomacy, every word of which has | ||
| + | remained imprinted on my memory, “that our intentions | ||
| + | are peaceable; but this is what we want | ||
| + | you to do: neither Jean François nor I have been | ||
| + | brought up in the schools of the whites, or learned | ||
| + | the niceties of their language. We know how to | ||
| + | fight, but not how to write. Now we do not wish | ||
| + | that there should be anything in our letter at which | ||
| + | our former masters could laugh. You seem to have | ||
| + | learned those frivolous accomplishments in which | ||
| + | we are lacking. Correct any faults you may find in | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | this dispatch, so that it may excite no derision | ||
| + | amongst the whites, and—I will give you your life!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou’s faults of spelling and composition was | ||
| + | too repugnant to my pride for me to hesitate for a | ||
| + | moment; and besides, what did I care for life. I | ||
| + | declined his offer. He appeared surprised.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | scrawling a few marks with a pen on a piece of | ||
| + | paper? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a few moments of thought he again addressed me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | are; I give you until to-morrow evening, up to the | ||
| + | setting of the sun, when you shall again be brought | ||
| + | before me. Think well then, before you refuse to | ||
| + | obey my wishes. Adieu. Let night bring reflection | ||
| + | to you, and remember that with us death is not | ||
| + | simply death—much comes before you reach it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his last speech too plainly brought to my recollection | ||
| + | the awful tortures which it was Biassou’s greatest | ||
| + | pleasure to inflict upon his prisoners.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and give him in charge to the men of Morne-Rouge. | ||
| + | I wish him to live for another day, and perhaps my | ||
| + | other soldiers would not have the patience to let him | ||
| + | do so.” The mulatto Candi, who commanded the | ||
| + | guard, caused my arms to be bound behind my back, | ||
| + | a soldier took hold of the end of the cord, and we left | ||
| + | the grotto.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <table summary=' | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <col span=' | ||
| + | <col span=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | <div id=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sent to the Assembly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | or catastrophes, | ||
| + | life up to that period peaceful and happy, these | ||
| + | unexpected emotions interrupt the repose of the soul | ||
| + | which lay dreaming in the monotony of prosperity. | ||
| + | Misfortune which comes on you in this manner does | ||
| + | not seem like an awakening from bliss, but rather | ||
| + | like a dream of evil. With the man who has been | ||
| + | invariably happy, despair begins with stupor. Unexpected | ||
| + | misery is like cramp—it clasps, and deadens | ||
| + | everything. Men, acts, and things, at that time pass | ||
| + | before us like a fantastic apparition, and move along | ||
| + | as if in a dream. Everything in the horizon of our | ||
| + | life is changed, both the atmosphere and the perspective, | ||
| + | but it still goes on for a long time before | ||
| + | our eyes have lost that sort of luminous image of past | ||
| + | happiness which follows in its train, and interposes | ||
| + | without cessation between it and the sombre present. | ||
| + | Then everything that is, appears to be unreal and | ||
| + | ridiculous, and we can scarcely believe in our own | ||
| + | existence, because we find nothing around us that | ||
| + | formerly used to compose our life, and we cannot | ||
| + | understand how all can have gone away without | ||
| + | taking us with it, and why nothing of our life remains | ||
| + | to us.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | long, it would disturb the equilibrium of the brain and | ||
| + | become madness—a state happier perhaps than that | ||
| + | which remains, for life then is nothing but a vision of | ||
| + | past misfortune, acting like a ghost.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ideas upon such a subject; they are not those which | ||
| + | you understand, or can be made to understand. To | ||
| + | thoroughly comprehend them, you must have gone | ||
| + | through what I have. But such was the state of my | ||
| + | mind when the guards of Biassou handed me over to | ||
| + | the negroes of Morne-Rouge. I was still in a dream: | ||
| + | it appeared as if one body of phantoms passed me | ||
| + | over to another, and without opposing any resistance | ||
| + | I permitted them to bind me by the middle to a tree. | ||
| + | They then gave me some boiled potatoes, which I ate | ||
| + | with the mechanical instinct that God grants to man | ||
| + | even in the midst of overwhelming thought.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | took refuge in their huts, with the exception of half | ||
| + | a dozen who remained with me, lying before a large | ||
| + | fire that they had lighted to preserve themselves from | ||
| + | the cold night-air. In a few moments they were all | ||
| + | buried in profound sleep.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fallen caused my thoughts to wander in a strange | ||
| + | manner. I thought of those calm and peaceful days | ||
| + | which, but a few weeks ago, I had passed with Marie, | ||
| + | without being able to foresee any future but one of | ||
| + | continued happiness. I compared them with the day | ||
| + | that had just expired, a day in which so many strange | ||
| + | events had occurred as almost to make me wonder | ||
| + | whether I was not labouring under some delusion. | ||
| + | I had been three times condemned to death, and still | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | remained under sentence. I thought of my future, | ||
| + | bounded only by the morrow, and which offered | ||
| + | nothing but misfortune, and a death happily near at | ||
| + | hand. I seemed to be the victim of some terrible | ||
| + | nightmare. Again and again I asked myself if all | ||
| + | that had happened was real: was I really in the | ||
| + | power of the sanguinary Biassou, and was my Marie | ||
| + | lost to me for ever? Could this prisoner, guarded by | ||
| + | six savages, bound to a tree, and condemned to | ||
| + | certain death, really be me? In spite of all my | ||
| + | efforts to repel them, the thoughts of Marie would | ||
| + | force themselves upon me. In anguish I thought of | ||
| + | her fate, I strained my bonds in my efforts to break | ||
| + | them, and to fly to her succour, ever hoping that the | ||
| + | terrible dream would pass away; and that Heaven | ||
| + | would not permit all the horrors that I dreaded to | ||
| + | fall upon the head of her, who had been united to me | ||
| + | in a sacred bond. In my sad preoccupation the | ||
| + | thought of Pierrot returned to me, and rage nearly | ||
| + | took away my senses; the pulses of my temples | ||
| + | throbbed nearly to bursting. I hated him, I cursed | ||
| + | him; I despised myself for having ever had friendship | ||
| + | for Pierrot at the same time I had felt love for Marie; | ||
| + | and without caring to seek for the motive which had | ||
| + | urged him to cast himself into the waters of Grande-Riviere, | ||
| + | I wept because he had escaped me. He was | ||
| + | dead, and I was about to die, and all that I regretted | ||
| + | was that I had been unable to wreak my vengeance | ||
| + | upon him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my weakness had plunged me, these thoughts passed | ||
| + | through my brain. I do not know how long it lasted, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | but I was aroused by a man’s voice singing distinctly, | ||
| + | but at some distance, the old Spanish song, “<span class=' | ||
| + | soy contrabandista</ | ||
| + | my eyes; all was dark around me, the negroes slept, | ||
| + | the fire was dying down. I could hear nothing more. | ||
| + | I fancied that the voice must have been a dream, and | ||
| + | my sleep-laden eyelids closed again. In a second I | ||
| + | opened them; again I heard the voice singing sadly | ||
| + | but much nearer, the same song—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | voice. A few moments elapsed, then it rose again | ||
| + | through the silence and the gloom, and once more I | ||
| + | heard the well-known air of “<span class=' | ||
| + | A dog ran eagerly to greet me, and rolled at my feet | ||
| + | in token of welcome; it was Rask! A tall negro | ||
| + | stood facing me, and the glimmer of the fire threw | ||
| + | his shadow, swelled to colossal proportions, | ||
| + | sward; it was Pierrot!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rendered me motionless and dumb. I was not asleep. | ||
| + | Could the dead return? If not a dream, it must be | ||
| + | an apparition. I turned from him with horror.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | breast.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | would never doubt me when you heard me sing that | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | song. My brother, have you forgotten your promise? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Butcher, murderer of my uncle, ravisher of Marie, | ||
| + | dare you call me your brother? Do not venture to | ||
| + | approach me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | slightest movement, and glanced to my left side as | ||
| + | though to seek my sword.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in a sorrowful tone of voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and I pity you; whilst you have no pity for me, though | ||
| + | I am much more wretched than you are.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and in a half dreamy manner continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | lost more than you have.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the negro guard. Perceiving a stranger they leapt to | ||
| + | their feet, and seized their weapons; but as soon as | ||
| + | they recognized the intruder they uttered a cry of | ||
| + | surprise and joy, and cast themselves at his feet, | ||
| + | striking the ground with their foreheads.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Pierrot, and the fondlings of Rask, made no impression | ||
| + | upon me at the moment. I was boiling over | ||
| + | with passion, and maddened at the bonds that | ||
| + | restrained me, and at length my fury found words. | ||
| + | “Oh, how unhappy I am!” I exclaimed, shedding | ||
| + | tears of rage. “I was grieving because I thought | ||
| + | that this wretch had committed suicide, and robbed | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | me of my just revenge; and now he is here to mock | ||
| + | me, living and breathing under my very eyes, and | ||
| + | I am powerless to stab him to the heart. Is there | ||
| + | no one to free me from these accursed cords? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prostrate before him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | eagerness my guards cut asunder the ropes that | ||
| + | confined me. I rose up free, but I remained motionless, | ||
| + | for surprise rooted me to the spot.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dagger from one of the negroes, he handed it to me. | ||
| + | “You can now have your wish; Heaven would not | ||
| + | be pleased should I dispute your right to dispose of | ||
| + | my life. Three times you have preserved it. Strike, | ||
| + | it is yours, I say, and if you wish, strike!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | face; he appeared resigned and mournful.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whom I had so much longed to stand face to face, | ||
| + | prevented my seizing the opportunity. I felt that | ||
| + | all my hatred for Pierrot, all my love for Marie, | ||
| + | could not induce me to commit a cowardly murder; | ||
| + | besides, however damning appearances might be, | ||
| + | yet a voice from the depths of my heart warned me | ||
| + | that no criminal, no guilty man, would thus dare to | ||
| + | stand before me and brave my vengeance. Shall | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | I confess it to you, there was a certain imperious | ||
| + | fascination about this extraordinary being which | ||
| + | conquered me in spite of myself; I pushed aside the | ||
| + | dagger he offered to me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | fight, but I am no assassin. Defend yourself.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “and against whom? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thing in which I cannot obey you. Look at Rask | ||
| + | there—I could easily kill him, for he would let me | ||
| + | do it; but as for making him fight me, the thing | ||
| + | would be impossible, he would not understand me | ||
| + | if I told him to do so. I do not understand you; in | ||
| + | your case I am Rask.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of hate in your eyes, as you once saw it in mine. I | ||
| + | know that you have suffered much, that your uncle | ||
| + | has been murdered, your plantations burned, your | ||
| + | friends slaughtered—yes, | ||
| + | house, and devastated your inheritance; | ||
| + | not I that did these things, it was my people. | ||
| + | Listen to me. I one day told you that your people had | ||
| + | done me much injury, you said that you must not be | ||
| + | blamed for the acts of others. What was my reply? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | evidently expecting that I should embrace him; but | ||
| + | fixing an angry gaze upon him, I answered—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your people, but you say nothing about what you | ||
| + | have yourself done.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “What have I done?” asked he.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thunder I demanded, “Where is Marie? what | ||
| + | have you done with Marie? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seemed momentarily embarrassed. At last he spoke. | ||
| + | “Maria!” said he, “yes; you are right—but too | ||
| + | many ears listen to us here.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | raised the hell of jealousy in my heart, yet still he | ||
| + | gazed upon me with a perfectly open countenance, | ||
| + | and in a voice trembling with emotion said, “Do | ||
| + | not suspect me, I implore you. Besides, I will tell | ||
| + | you everything; love me, as I love you, with perfect | ||
| + | trust.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | then added tenderly, “May I not again call you | ||
| + | brother? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | friendly words seemed to me but the deep machinations | ||
| + | of a hypocrite, and only served to exasperate | ||
| + | me more. “Dare you recall the time when you | ||
| + | did so, you monster of ingratitude? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “It is not I who am ungrateful.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | done with Marie? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | than ours listen to our words; besides, you would not | ||
| + | believe me, and time presses. The day has come, | ||
| + | and you must be removed from this. All is at an | ||
| + | end. Since you doubt me, far better would it have | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | been for you to take the dagger and finish all; but | ||
| + | wait a little before you take what you call your | ||
| + | vengeance—I must first free you. Come with me to | ||
| + | Biassou.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a mystery which I could not understand. In | ||
| + | spite of all my prejudices against the man, his voice | ||
| + | always made my heart vibrate. In listening to him | ||
| + | a certain hidden power that he possessed subjugated | ||
| + | me. I found myself hesitating between vengeance | ||
| + | and pity, between the bitterest distrust and the | ||
| + | blindest confidence. I followed him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I could not help thinking it strange to find myself | ||
| + | at perfect liberty amongst a horde of savages, in a | ||
| + | spot where the evening before each man had seemed | ||
| + | only too ready to shed my blood. Far from seeking | ||
| + | to bar our progress, both the negroes and the | ||
| + | mulattoes prostrated themselves on all sides, with | ||
| + | exclamations of surprise, joy, and respect. I was | ||
| + | ignorant what rank Pierrot held in the army of the | ||
| + | insurgents, but I remembered the influence that he | ||
| + | used to exercise over his companions in slavery, and | ||
| + | this appeared to me to account for the respect with | ||
| + | which he was now treated.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | mulatto Candi advanced before us with threatening | ||
| + | gestures, demanding how we dared approach so | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | near the general’s quarters; but when he came near | ||
| + | enough to recognize my conductor, he hurriedly | ||
| + | removed his gold-laced cap, as though terrified at his | ||
| + | own audacity, bowed to the ground, and at once | ||
| + | introduced us into Biassou’s presence, with a thousand | ||
| + | apologies of which Pierrot took no heed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | had treated Pierrot excited my surprise very little, | ||
| + | but seeing Candi, one of the principal officers of the | ||
| + | army, humiliate himself thus before my uncle’s slave, | ||
| + | made me ask myself who this man could be whose | ||
| + | power was illimitable. How much more astonished | ||
| + | was I, then, upon being introduced into the presence | ||
| + | of Biassou, who was alone when we entered, and was | ||
| + | quietly enjoying his <span class=' | ||
| + | concealing disappointment and surprise under the | ||
| + | appearance of profound respect, bowed humbly to my | ||
| + | companion, and offered him his mahogany throne.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I have not come to take your place, but simply to | ||
| + | ask a favour at your hands.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his obeisances, “you know well that all Jean Biassou | ||
| + | has is yours, and that you can dispose as freely of | ||
| + | all as you can of Jean Biassou himself.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | quickly; “all I ask is the life and liberty of this | ||
| + | prisoner, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but he speedily recovered himself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you ask of him, to his great regret, more than he can | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | grant; he is not Jean Biassou’s prisoner, does not | ||
| + | belong to Jean Biassou, and has nothing to do with | ||
| + | Jean Biassou.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tones, “by saying that he does not belong to you? | ||
| + | Does any one else hold authority here except you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | eluded the frank and haughty questions of Pierrot, | ||
| + | showed, had it depended solely upon himself, he | ||
| + | would gladly have treated his visitor with far less | ||
| + | respect than he felt himself now compelled to do.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not you command it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | replied—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | command men who are in insurrection because they | ||
| + | will not obey? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that I had imposed upon myself, else, having seen | ||
| + | the day before the despotic authority that Biassou | ||
| + | exercised over his men, I could have contradicted | ||
| + | his assertions, and laid bare his duplicity to Pierrot.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and if they are your masters, what reason can they | ||
| + | have for hating your prisoner? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answered Biassou, endeavouring to conceal his | ||
| + | sardonic smile under a mask of sorrow, “and my | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | men are determined to avenge upon this white the | ||
| + | death of the chief of the Jamaica negroes. They | ||
| + | wish to show trophy against trophy, and desire that | ||
| + | the head of this young officer should serve as a | ||
| + | counterpoise to the head of Bouckmann in the scales | ||
| + | in which the good <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | system of reprisals. Listen to me, Jean Biassou: it | ||
| + | is these cruelties that are the ruin of our just cause. | ||
| + | Prisoner as I was in the camp of the whites (from | ||
| + | which I have managed to escape), I had not heard of | ||
| + | the death of Bouckmann until you told me. It is | ||
| + | the just punishment of heaven for his crimes. I will | ||
| + | tell you another piece of news: Jeannot, the negro | ||
| + | chief who served as a guide to draw the white troops | ||
| + | into the ambush of Dompté-Mulâtre, | ||
| + | dead. You know—do not interrupt me, Biassou—that | ||
| + | he rivalled you and Bouckmann in his atrocities; and | ||
| + | pay attention to this, it was not the thunderbolt of | ||
| + | heaven, nor the bullets of the whites, that struck | ||
| + | him—it was Jean François himself who ordered this | ||
| + | act of justice to be performed.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | respect, uttered an exclamation of surprise. At this | ||
| + | moment Rigaud entered, bowed respectfully to | ||
| + | Pierrot, and whispered in Biassou’s ear.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | camp.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | has no fault except a preposterous love of luxury and | ||
| + | show, whose carriage with its six horses takes him | ||
| + | every day to hear mass at the Grande-Riviere, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | François himself has put a stop to the crimes of | ||
| + | Jeannot. In spite of the cowardly entreaties of the | ||
| + | brigand, who clung in despair to the knees of the | ||
| + | Priest of Marmalade, who attended him in his last | ||
| + | moments, he was shot beneath the very tree upon | ||
| + | which he used to hang his living victims upon iron | ||
| + | hooks. Think upon this, Biassou. Why these | ||
| + | massacres which provoke the whites to reprisals? | ||
| + | Why all these juggleries which only tend to excite | ||
| + | the passions of our unhappy comrades, already too | ||
| + | much exasperated? | ||
| + | mulatto impostor, called Romaine the Prophet, who | ||
| + | is in command of a fanatical band of negroes; he | ||
| + | profanes the holy sacrament of the mass, he pretends | ||
| + | that he is in direct communication with the Virgin, | ||
| + | and he urges on his men to murder and pillage in | ||
| + | the name of Marie.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Pierrot as he uttered this name than even religious | ||
| + | respect would have warranted, and I felt annoyed | ||
| + | and irritated at it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | some Obi, I hear—some impostor like this Romaine | ||
| + | the Prophet. I well know that having to lead an | ||
| + | army composed of so many heterogeneous materials, | ||
| + | a common bond is necessary; but can it be found | ||
| + | nowhere save in ferocious fanaticism and ridiculous | ||
| + | superstition? | ||
| + | are not so cruel as we are. I have seen many planters | ||
| + | protect the lives of their slaves. I am not ignorant | ||
| + | that in some cases it was not the life of a man, but a | ||
| + | sum of money that they desired to save, but at any | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | rate their interest gave them the appearance of a | ||
| + | virtue. Do not let us be less merciful than they are, | ||
| + | for it is our interest to be so. Will our cause be | ||
| + | more holy and more just because we exterminate the | ||
| + | women, slaughter the children, and burn the colonists | ||
| + | in their own houses? These, however, are every-day | ||
| + | occurrences. Answer me, Biassou: must the | ||
| + | traces of our progress be always marked by a line of | ||
| + | blood and fire? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | voice, gave to his words a force of conviction and | ||
| + | authority which it is impossible for me to imitate. | ||
| + | Like a fox in the clutches of a lion, Biassou seemed | ||
| + | to seek for some means of escape from the power | ||
| + | that constrained him. Whilst he vainly sought for | ||
| + | a pretext, the chief of the negroes of Cayer, Rigaud, | ||
| + | who the evening before had calmly watched the | ||
| + | horrors that had been perpetrated in his presence, | ||
| + | seemed to be shocked at the picture that Pierrot | ||
| + | had drawn, and exclaimed with a hypocritical affectation | ||
| + | of grief—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | roused to fury.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the great uneasiness of Biassou. I heard afterwards | ||
| + | that it was caused by the negroes of Morne-Rouge, | ||
| + | who hurried from one end of the camp to the other, | ||
| + | announcing the return of my liberator, and declaring | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | their intention of supporting him in whatever object | ||
| + | he had come to Biassou’s camp for. Rigaud had | ||
| + | informed the generalissimo of this, and it was the | ||
| + | fear of a fatal division in the camp that prompted | ||
| + | Biassou to make some sort of concession to the | ||
| + | wishes of Pierrot.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | injured innocence, “if we are hard on the whites, | ||
| + | you are equally severe upon us. You are wrong in | ||
| + | accusing us of being the cause of the torrent, for it | ||
| + | is the torrent that drags us away with it; but <span class=' | ||
| + | podria hacer a hora</ | ||
| + | that will please you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Pierrot; “let me take this prisoner away with me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | though in deep thought; then putting on an expression | ||
| + | of as great frankness as he was able, he | ||
| + | answered—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have every wish to please you. Permit me to have | ||
| + | two words in private with the prisoner, and he shall | ||
| + | be free to follow you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | about in a distrustful manner, glistened with delight, | ||
| + | and he moved away a few paces to leave us to our | ||
| + | conversation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the cavern, and said in a low voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I proposed; are you ready to fulfil it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | He showed me the dispatch of Jean François; to | ||
| + | consent appeared to me too humiliating.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “are you always as firm? You have great confidence, | ||
| + | then, in your protector. Do you know who he is? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you are, only he is a greater hypocrite.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in my glance if I spoke seriously.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | then? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | name is Pierrot.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and liberty, and you say that you only know him for | ||
| + | a monster like myself.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a little liberty, it is not to save my own life, but to | ||
| + | take his.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “And yet you seem to speak as you believe; I cannot | ||
| + | think that you would trifle with your life. There | ||
| + | is something beneath all this that I do not understand. | ||
| + | You are protected by a man that you hate; | ||
| + | he insists upon your life being spared, and you, are | ||
| + | longing to take his. But it matters little to me; | ||
| + | you desire a short spell of freedom—it is all that I | ||
| + | can give you. I will leave you free to follow him, | ||
| + | but swear to me by your honour, that you will return | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | to me and reconstitute yourself my prisoner two | ||
| + | hours before the sun sets. You are a Frenchman, | ||
| + | and I will trust you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me, and I hated the idea of owing it to Pierrot, for | ||
| + | every circumstance pointed him out as a just object | ||
| + | of my hatred. I do not think for a moment that | ||
| + | Biassou (who did not easily permit his prey to escape | ||
| + | him) would allow me to go free except upon his own | ||
| + | conditions. All I desired was a few hours’ liberty | ||
| + | which I could devote to discovering the fate of my | ||
| + | beloved before my death. Biassou, relying upon my | ||
| + | honour as a Frenchman, would grant me these, and | ||
| + | without hesitation I pledged it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tones, “the white prisoner is at your disposal; you | ||
| + | can take him with you, for he is free to accompany | ||
| + | you wherever you wish.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hand. “You have rendered me a service which | ||
| + | places me entirely at your disposal. Remain in | ||
| + | command of our brethren of Morne-Rouge until my | ||
| + | return.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | happiness in his eyes before.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | And with a strange earnestness he drew me away | ||
| + | with him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which was even perceptible through the respectful | ||
| + | leave that he took of my companion.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | when I had questioned him as to the | ||
| + | fate of Marie, the ill-concealed tenderness with which | ||
| + | he had dared to pronounce her name, had made those | ||
| + | feelings of hatred and jealousy which had sprung | ||
| + | up in my heart take far deeper root than at the | ||
| + | time I saw him bearing away through the flames | ||
| + | of Fort Galifet, her whom I could scarcely call my | ||
| + | wife.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which he had reproved the cruelties of Biassou, the | ||
| + | trouble which he had taken to preserve my life, and | ||
| + | the curious manner which marked all his words and | ||
| + | actions. What cared I for the mystery that appeared | ||
| + | to envelop him, which brought him living before my | ||
| + | eyes, when I thought to have witnessed his death. | ||
| + | He proved to be a prisoner of the white troops when | ||
| + | I believed that he lay buried in the depths of Grande-Riviere—the | ||
| + | slave become a king, the prisoner a | ||
| + | liberator. Of all these incomprehensible things | ||
| + | one was clear—Marie had been carried off by him; | ||
| + | and I had this crime to punish, this outrage to | ||
| + | avenge.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | under my eyes, they were not sufficient to shake my | ||
| + | determination, | ||
| + | the moment when I could compel my rival to explain | ||
| + | all. That moment had at last arrived.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | cast themselves on the ground as we pursued our | ||
| + | way, exclaiming in tones of surprise, “<span class=' | ||
| + | no esta prisonero!</ | ||
| + | prisoner!”), | ||
| + | myself I neither knew nor cared. We had gained | ||
| + | the outskirts of the camp, and rocks and trees concealed | ||
| + | from our view the outposts of Biassou; Rask | ||
| + | in high good humour was running in front of us, and | ||
| + | Pierrot was following him with rapid strides, when I | ||
| + | stopped him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | farther—the ears that you dreaded can no longer | ||
| + | listen to us. What have you done with Marie? tell | ||
| + | me!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gazed upon me kindly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | will put that question to you as you draw your last | ||
| + | breath, or as I utter my last sigh. Where is Marie? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | loyalty? But you shall know all soon.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | at this instant, that I want to know all. Where is | ||
| + | Marie? where is Marie? Answer, or stake your life | ||
| + | against mine. Defend yourself.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “that that is impossible; the stream will not struggle | ||
| + | against its source, and my life, which you have three | ||
| + | times saved, cannot contend against yours. Besides, | ||
| + | even if I wished it the thing is impossible; we have | ||
| + | but one dagger between us.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | As he spoke, he drew the weapon from his girdle | ||
| + | and offered it to me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dagger and placed the point on his breast, he never | ||
| + | attempted to move.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you; I will plunge this blade into your heart if you | ||
| + | do not at once tell me where my wife is.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to do as you like, but with clasped hands I implore | ||
| + | you to grant me one hour of life, and to follow me. | ||
| + | Can you doubt him who thrice has owed his life to | ||
| + | you, and whom you once called <span class=' | ||
| + | in one hour from this time you still doubt me, you | ||
| + | shall be at perfect liberty to kill me. That will be | ||
| + | time enough; you see that I do not attempt to resist | ||
| + | you. I conjure you in the name of Maria—of | ||
| + | your wife,” he added slowly, as though the victim of | ||
| + | some painful recollection, | ||
| + | hour, I beg of you, not for my sake, but for yours.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | an inner feeling warned me to grant his request, and | ||
| + | I yielded to that secret ascendency which he exercised | ||
| + | over me, but which at that time I should have | ||
| + | blushed to have confessed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hour, and I am ready to follow you;” and as I spoke | ||
| + | I handed him his dagger.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me, but let us lose no time.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | had shown frequent signs of impatience to | ||
| + | renew his journey, bounded joyously before us. We | ||
| + | plunged into a virgin forest, and after half an hour’s | ||
| + | walking we came out on a grassy opening in the | ||
| + | wood. On one side was a waterfall dashing over | ||
| + | rugged rocks, whilst the primeval trees of the forest | ||
| + | surrounded it on all sides. Amongst the rocks was | ||
| + | a cave, the grey face of which was shrouded by a | ||
| + | mass of climbing plants. Rask ran towards it barking, | ||
| + | but at a sign from Pierrot he became silent, and | ||
| + | the latter taking me by the hand led me without a | ||
| + | word to the entrance of the cave.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | seated on a mat: at the sound of our steps she turned——my | ||
| + | friends——it was Marie! She wore the | ||
| + | same white dress that she had done on the day of | ||
| + | our marriage, and the wreath of orange blossoms | ||
| + | was still on her head. She recognized me in a | ||
| + | moment, and with a cry of joy threw herself into my | ||
| + | arms. I was speechless with surprise and emotion. | ||
| + | At her cry an old woman carrying a child in her | ||
| + | arms hurried from an inner chamber formed in the | ||
| + | depth of the cave, she was Marie’s nurse, and she | ||
| + | carried my uncle’s youngest child.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | neighbouring spring, and threw a few drops in | ||
| + | Marie’s face, who was overcome by emotion; she | ||
| + | speedily recovered, and opening her eyes, exclaimed—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Leopold, my Leopold!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | kiss.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | accents of agony.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sight of our endearments appeared to inflict terrible | ||
| + | torture on him, his bosom heaved, a cold perspiration | ||
| + | bedewed his forehead, and every limb quivered. | ||
| + | Suddenly he hid his face in his hands, and fled from | ||
| + | the grotto repeating in tones of anguish—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his retreating form with her eyes, exclaimed—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | can it be that he loves me? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was my rival, but Marie’s speech proved that he was | ||
| + | my trusty friend.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | mingled with the deepest regret filled my heart, | ||
| + | “Marie, were you ignorant of it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | overspreading her beautiful features. “Does he | ||
| + | really love me, for he never let me know it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | happiness.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | am I, but how guilty, for I doubted him!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | doubts of Pierrot? oh, you have indeed been in fault. | ||
| + | Twice has he saved my life, and perhaps more than | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | life,” she added, casting down her eyes; “without | ||
| + | him the alligator would have devoured me, without | ||
| + | him the negroes: it was Pierrot who rescued me | ||
| + | from their hands, when they were about to send me | ||
| + | to rejoin my unhappy father.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Cap, to your husband? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | impossible, compelled as he was to conceal me both | ||
| + | from the whites and the blacks, his position was a | ||
| + | most difficult one; and then, too, he was ignorant | ||
| + | where you were. Some said that they had seen you | ||
| + | killed, but Pierrot assured me that this was not the | ||
| + | case, and a something convinced me that he spoke | ||
| + | the truth, for I felt that had you been dead, I should | ||
| + | have died at the same time.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | only to him. At the same time that he rescued me, | ||
| + | he saved all that remained alive of our family, my | ||
| + | little brother and my old nurse, and hid us here.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | has destroyed our house, and ruined us, I should | ||
| + | like to live here with you. Pierrot supplied all our | ||
| + | wants. He used to come very often; he wore a plume | ||
| + | of red feathers on his head. He used to console me | ||
| + | by talking of you, and always assured me that we | ||
| + | should meet again, but for the past three days I have | ||
| + | not seen him, and I was beginning to be uneasy, | ||
| + | when to-day he came back with you. He had been | ||
| + | seeking for you, had he not? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Yes,” replied I.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you sure of it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to stab me beneath your window, and spared me lest | ||
| + | it should afflict you; it was he who sang the love | ||
| + | songs at the pavilion by the river.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | naïve surprise, “and the wicked man with the wild | ||
| + | marigolds is Pierrot; I can hardly believe that. He | ||
| + | was so respectful and humble to me, much more so | ||
| + | than when he was our slave. It is true that sometimes | ||
| + | he looked at me in a strange manner, but I | ||
| + | attributed his sadness to our misfortunes. If you | ||
| + | could only know with what tenderness he spoke of | ||
| + | you, my Leopold. His friendship made him speak | ||
| + | of you as much as my love did.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | grieved me. I felt how cruelly I had treated the | ||
| + | noble-hearted Pierrot, and I felt all the force of his | ||
| + | gentle reproach, “<span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dark and gloomy, and he looked like a martyr returning | ||
| + | from the place of torture, but yet retaining an | ||
| + | air of triumph.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in my belt, said—“The hour has passed!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me to have so much time allowed me in which to | ||
| + | bring you here. Then I conjured you to spare my | ||
| + | life, now I supplicate you to take it away.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The most tender feelings of the heart, love, gratitude, | ||
| + | and friendship, united themselves together to | ||
| + | torture me. Unable to say a word, but sobbing | ||
| + | bitterly, I cast myself at the feet of the slave. He | ||
| + | raised me up in haste.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | no longer worthy of friendship such as yours; can | ||
| + | your friendship be pushed so far as to forgive me my | ||
| + | ingratitude? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | appeared to be undergoing a violent mental contest. | ||
| + | He took a step towards me; then drew back, and | ||
| + | seemed on the point of speaking, but no words passed | ||
| + | his lips. The struggle was a short one, he opened | ||
| + | his arms to embrace me, saying—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | After a short pause, he added—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rendered you unjust.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I am unfortunate no longer, but I have been very | ||
| + | guilty.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | more so than you; you are no longer unhappy, but I | ||
| + | shall be so for ever!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | friendship had traced on his features, faded away | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | and an appearance of deep grief once more pervaded | ||
| + | them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | King of Kakongo. Each day he sat at the door of | ||
| + | his hut and dispensed justice amongst his subjects. | ||
| + | After every judgment, according to the custom of the | ||
| + | kings his ancestors, he drank a full goblet of palm | ||
| + | wine. We were happy and powerful. But the | ||
| + | Europeans came to our country; it was from them | ||
| + | that I learnt the accomplishments which you appeared | ||
| + | to be surprised at my possessing. Our | ||
| + | principal acquaintance amongst the Europeans was | ||
| + | a Spanish captain; he promised my father territories | ||
| + | far greater than those he now ruled over, treasure, | ||
| + | and white women; my father believed him, and | ||
| + | gathering his family together, followed him.... | ||
| + | Brother, he sold us as slaves!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to restrain himself; his eyes shot forth sparks of fire; | ||
| + | and without seeming to know what he did, he broke | ||
| + | in his powerful grasp a fancy medlar tree that stood | ||
| + | beside him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and his son toiled as a slave in the furrows of Saint | ||
| + | Domingo. They tore the young lion from his father, | ||
| + | that they might the more easily tame him; they | ||
| + | separated the wife from the husband, and the little | ||
| + | children from the mother who nursed them, and the | ||
| + | father who used to bathe them in the torrents of their | ||
| + | native land. In their place they found cruel masters | ||
| + | and a sleeping place shared with the dogs!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | were still continuing his narrative; after a moment’s | ||
| + | pause he seized me roughly by the arm, and continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | different masters like a beast of burden? Do you | ||
| + | remember the punishment of Ogé? it was on that | ||
| + | day that I saw my father after a long separation—< | ||
| + | was on the wheel</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | died calling for revenge. Must I tell you I was guilty | ||
| + | towards her, for I loved another; but let that pass by. | ||
| + | All my people urged me to deliver and avenge them; | ||
| + | Rask brought me their messages, I could do nothing | ||
| + | for them, I was fast in your uncle’s prison. The day | ||
| + | upon which you obtained my release, I hurried off to | ||
| + | save my children from the power of a cruel master. | ||
| + | Upon the very day that I arrived, the last of the | ||
| + | grandchildren of the King of Kakongo had expired | ||
| + | under the blows of the white man; he had followed | ||
| + | the others!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | by a threatening gesture. He understood me, and | ||
| + | with a bitter smile he continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the murder of my children. They chose me for | ||
| + | their chief. You know the frightful excesses that | ||
| + | were perpetrated by the insurgents. I heard that | ||
| + | your uncle’s slaves were on the point of rising. I | ||
| + | arrived at Acul on the night upon which the insurrection | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | broke out. You were away. Your uncle | ||
| + | had been murdered in his bed, and the negroes had | ||
| + | already set fire to the plantation. Not being able to | ||
| + | restrain them—for in destroying your uncle’s property | ||
| + | they thought that they were avenging my injuries—I | ||
| + | determined to save the survivors of his family. I | ||
| + | entered the fort by the breach that I had made. I | ||
| + | entrusted your wife’s nurse to a faithful negro. I had | ||
| + | more trouble in saving your Marie; she had hurried | ||
| + | to the burning portion of the fort to save the youngest | ||
| + | of her brothers, the sole survivor of the massacre. | ||
| + | The insurgents surrounded her, and were about to | ||
| + | kill her.... I burst upon them, and ordered them | ||
| + | to leave her to my vengeance; they obeyed me, and | ||
| + | retired. I took your wife in my arms, I entrusted | ||
| + | the child to Rask, and I bore them both away to | ||
| + | this cavern, of which I alone knew the existence and | ||
| + | the access. Brother, such was my crime.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | remorse, I would again have thrown myself at his | ||
| + | feet, but he stopped me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | leave this, all of us.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | conduct us.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | retreat is no longer safe. To-morrow at break of | ||
| + | day the camp of Biassou will be attacked, and the | ||
| + | forest will assuredly be set on fire. Besides, I have | ||
| + | no time to lose. Ten lives are in jeopardy until my | ||
| + | return. We <span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | These words increased my surprise, and I pressed | ||
| + | him for an explanation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prisoner? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | grave voice he answered—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | man could have surprised me. I had | ||
| + | experienced some feelings of astonishment in finding | ||
| + | the slave Pierrot transformed into an African King, | ||
| + | but my admiration reached its height, when from his | ||
| + | own confession I learned that he was the courageous, | ||
| + | and magnanimous Bug-Jargal, the chief of the insurgents | ||
| + | of Morne-Rouge; | ||
| + | respectful demeanour shown by all the rebels, even | ||
| + | by Biassou, to Bug-Jargal, the King of Kakongo. He | ||
| + | did not notice the impression that his last words had | ||
| + | made upon me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prisoner in Biassou’s camp, and I hastened to | ||
| + | deliver you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prisoner.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my reason for putting this natural question.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | prisoner in the hands of your friends, but I heard a | ||
| + | report that Biassou had announced his intention of | ||
| + | executing, before sunset to-day, a young prisoner | ||
| + | named Leopold d’Auverney. They doubled my | ||
| + | guards, and I was informed that my execution would | ||
| + | immediately follow yours, and that in the event of | ||
| + | escape, ten of my comrades would suffer in my stead. | ||
| + | So you see that I have no time to lose.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | necessary to save you. Did I not owe you my life? | ||
| + | Come, let us set out, we are an hour’s march from | ||
| + | the camp of the whites, and about the same distance | ||
| + | from that of Biassou. See the shadow of the cocoa-nut | ||
| + | trees are lengthening, | ||
| + | on the pass like the egg of the giant condor. In | ||
| + | three hours the sun will have set. Come, brother, | ||
| + | time waits for no man.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | froze my blood, like an apparition from the tomb. | ||
| + | They recalled to my mind the fatal promise which | ||
| + | bound me to Biassou. Alas! in the rapture of | ||
| + | seeing Marie again, I had not thought of our approaching | ||
| + | eternal separation. I had been overwhelmed | ||
| + | with my happiness, a flood of joyful | ||
| + | emotions had swept away my memory, and in the | ||
| + | midst of my delight I had forgotten that the inexorable | ||
| + | finger of death was beckoning to me. But | ||
| + | the words of my friend recalled everything to my | ||
| + | mind. <span class=' | ||
| + | take an hour to reach Biassou’s camp. There could | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | be no faltering with my duty. The villain had my | ||
| + | word, and it would never do to give him the chance | ||
| + | of despising what he seemed still to put trust in—the | ||
| + | word of a Frenchman; better far to die. The | ||
| + | alternative was a terrible one, and I confess that I | ||
| + | hesitated for a moment before I chose the right | ||
| + | course. Can you blame me, gentlemen?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and the other in that of Marie, who gazed | ||
| + | with anxiety on the sadness that had overspread my | ||
| + | features.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | entrust to you the only being in the world that I love | ||
| + | more than you—my Marie. Return to the camp | ||
| + | without me, for I may not follow you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to breathe from her terror and anxiety, “what new | ||
| + | misfortune is this? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and surprise passed over his face.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | thought of the coming misfortune which her love for | ||
| + | me had almost caused her to divine, made me determined | ||
| + | to spare her the dreadful truth for the moment. | ||
| + | I placed my mouth to Bug-Jargal’s ear, and whispered | ||
| + | in hurried accents: “I am a prisoner. I swore to | ||
| + | Biassou that two hours before sunset I would once | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | more place myself in his hands; in fact, I have | ||
| + | sworn to return to my death!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | secret interview with you—it was to bind you with | ||
| + | this fatal promise. I ought to have distrusted the | ||
| + | wretch. Why did I not foresee that there must be | ||
| + | some treachery lurking in the request, for he is a | ||
| + | mulatto, not a black.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | said Marie, in an agony of terror. “And who is | ||
| + | Biassou? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal; “do not let us alarm Marie.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | such a pledge, how could you consent? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Marie was lost to me for ever. What was life to me | ||
| + | then? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | like that.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | is that? You did not drink out of the same cup; | ||
| + | you have not broken a ring together, or a branch of | ||
| + | the red-blossomed maple? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to Biassou; come with us? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I cannot, my brother, for I am bound by my | ||
| + | promise.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Sister, add your prayers to mine, and entreat your | ||
| + | husband not to leave you. He wishes to return to | ||
| + | the negro camp from which I rescued him, on the | ||
| + | plea that he has promised to place his life in Biassou’s | ||
| + | hands.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | impulse that had prompted him to endeavour to save | ||
| + | the life of his rival by the help of her he loved. | ||
| + | Marie cast herself into my arms with a cry of anguish, | ||
| + | her hands clasped my neck, and she hung upon my | ||
| + | breast, speechless and breathless.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | she, at last. “Is he not deceiving me? It is not | ||
| + | immediately after our reunion that you must quit me | ||
| + | again. Answer me quickly or I shall die. You have | ||
| + | no right to throw away your life, for you have given | ||
| + | it to me. You would not leave me, never to see me | ||
| + | again.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | will be in another place.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | accents.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not lie.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I raised her up, and placed her in the arms of Bug-Jargal, | ||
| + | whose eyes were full of tears.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | will add nothing to my entreaties, this sight ought | ||
| + | to be enough. How can you resist Marie? For one | ||
| + | word like she has spoken I would have sacrificed | ||
| + | the world, and you cannot even give up death for | ||
| + | her.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal, farewell, brother; I leave her to | ||
| + | you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | appeared hardly to understand me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | there are some of your relations, I will give her over | ||
| + | to them; for my part I cannot accept your legacy.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | above the adjacent country.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | signal of your death shall float from it, it will | ||
| + | promptly be answered by the volley that announces | ||
| + | mine.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him, pressed a last kiss upon the pale lips of Marie, | ||
| + | who was slowly recovering under the attentions of | ||
| + | her nurse, and fled precipitately, | ||
| + | look or word would shake my resolution.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | forest, following the tracks that we had left but a | ||
| + | short time before, and not daring to cast a last glance | ||
| + | behind me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | To stifle the grief which oppressed my heart, I | ||
| + | dashed, without a moment’s pause, through the | ||
| + | thickets, past hill and plain, until I reached the | ||
| + | crest of a rock from which I could see the camp | ||
| + | of Biassou, with its lines of waggons and huts | ||
| + | swarming with life, and looking in the distance like | ||
| + | a vast ant-hill.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | end of my journey, and my life at the same time. | ||
| + | Fatigue and emotion had weakened my physical | ||
| + | powers, and I leaned against a tree to save myself | ||
| + | from falling, and allowed my eyes to wander over | ||
| + | the plain, which was to be my place of execution.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | drained the cup of bitterness and gall to the dregs, | ||
| + | but I had not until then tasted the most cruel of all | ||
| + | misfortunes, | ||
| + | moral force to voluntarily renounce life when it appeared | ||
| + | most sweet. Some hours before I cared not | ||
| + | for the world; extreme despair is a simulation of | ||
| + | death which makes the reality more earnestly | ||
| + | desired.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | had been resuscitated, | ||
| + | and all my overshadowed hopes had beamed forth | ||
| + | more gloriously than ever, and again had a new life, | ||
| + | a life of youth, and love, and enchantment, | ||
| + | gloriously upon the horizon. I was ready to enter | ||
| + | upon this life, everything invited me to it; no material | ||
| + | obstacle, no hindrance, was apparent; I was free, I | ||
| + | was happy, and yet—I was about to die. I had made | ||
| + | but one step into paradise and a hidden duty compelled | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | me to retrace it, and to enter upon a path the | ||
| + | goal of which was Death!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | broken spirit, but how heavy and icy is his hand | ||
| + | when it grasps the heart which has just begun to | ||
| + | live and revel in the joys of life. I felt that I had | ||
| + | emerged from the tomb, and had for a moment | ||
| + | enjoyed the greatest delights of life, love, friendship, | ||
| + | and liberty, and now the door of the sepulchre was | ||
| + | again opened, and an unseen force compelled me | ||
| + | once more to enter it for ever.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | kind of fury took possession of me, and I entered | ||
| + | the valley with a rapid step, for I felt the necessity | ||
| + | of shortening the period of suspense. When I presented | ||
| + | myself at the negro outpost the sergeant in | ||
| + | command at first refused to permit me to pass. It | ||
| + | seemed strange that I should have had to have recourse | ||
| + | to entreaties to enable me to effect my object. | ||
| + | At last two of them seized me by the arms and led | ||
| + | me into Biassou’s presence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the springs of various instruments of torture | ||
| + | with which he was surrounded. At the noise my | ||
| + | guard made in introducing me he turned his head, | ||
| + | but my presence did not seem to surprise him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | horrible engines which lay before him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I remained calm and impassive, for I knew the | ||
| + | cruel nature of the <span class=' | ||
| + | determined to endure to the end without blenching.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not?” asked he, with his sardonic sneer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | no reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | has returned, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | silent, but I could see that he watched me narrowly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | whispered a few words to the general.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Biassou, calmly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | chiefs in their strange equipments, were assembled | ||
| + | in the grotto. Biassou rose.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | will attack us here at daybreak, our position is a bad | ||
| + | one, and we must quit it. At sunset we will march | ||
| + | to the Spanish frontier; Macaya, you and your | ||
| + | negroes will form the advanced guards; Padrejan, | ||
| + | see that the guns taken at Pralato are spiked, we | ||
| + | cannot take them into the mountains; the brave men | ||
| + | of Croix-des-Bouquets will follow Macaya; Toussaint | ||
| + | will come next with the blacks from Léogane and | ||
| + | Trose. If the <span class=' | ||
| + | I will hand them over to the executioner of | ||
| + | the army. Lieutenant-Colonel Cloud will distribute | ||
| + | the English muskets that were disembarked at Cape | ||
| + | Cabron, and will lead the half-breeds through the | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | byways of the Vista. Slaughter any prisoners that | ||
| + | may remain, notch the bullets, and poison the | ||
| + | arrows. Let three tons of arsenic be thrown into | ||
| + | the wells; the colonists will take it for sugar, and | ||
| + | drink without distrust. Block up the roads to the | ||
| + | plain with rocks, line the hedges with marksmen, | ||
| + | and set fire to the forest. Rigaud, you will remain | ||
| + | with me; Candi, summon my body-guard. The | ||
| + | negroes of Morne-Rouge will form the rear-guard, | ||
| + | and will not evacuate the camp until sunrise.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hoarsely—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the better. ‘Muerta la tropa, muerte el gefe!’ (‘If the | ||
| + | men die, the chief will die.’) Go, my brethren, | ||
| + | added, rising, “you will receive instructions from | ||
| + | Candi.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that dispatch of Jean François; affairs are going | ||
| + | badly, and it would stop the advance of the whites.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | both in grammar and spelling, that they will laugh | ||
| + | at it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | kindness gives you a last chance. Help me to | ||
| + | correct this letter, and to re-write it in proper official | ||
| + | style.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I do,” I replied.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the instruments of torture.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | replied I. “You are alarmed for the safety of | ||
| + | yourself and your men, and you count upon this | ||
| + | letter to delay the just vengeance of the whites. I | ||
| + | do not desire to retain a life which may perhaps | ||
| + | have saved yours. Let my execution commence.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | instruments of torture with his foot, “you are | ||
| + | growing familiar with these, are you? I am sorry, | ||
| + | but I have not the time to try them on you. Our | ||
| + | position is a dangerous one, and we must get out of | ||
| + | it as soon as we can. And so you refuse to act as | ||
| + | my secretary? Well, you are right, for it would not | ||
| + | after all have saved your miserable life, which, by the | ||
| + | way, I have promised to his reverence my chaplain. | ||
| + | Do you think that I would permit any one to live | ||
| + | who holds the secrets of Biassou? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Morne-Rouge? | ||
| + | occupied in preparations for departure.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which I had before remarked in a corner of the | ||
| + | grotto.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | comes to give your place to your lieutenant. But I | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | have no more time to lose, I must be off. By the | ||
| + | way, you have been for a little excursion; how did you | ||
| + | like the neighbourhood? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which to hang you and all your band.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | is one place that you have not seen, but with which | ||
| + | the good father will make you acquainted. Adieu, | ||
| + | my young captain, and give my compliments to | ||
| + | Leogri.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me of the hiss of the rattlesnake, | ||
| + | as the negroes dragged me away.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | resistance, which would indeed have been hopeless; | ||
| + | we ascended the shoulder of a hill on the western | ||
| + | side of the plain, and then my escort sat down for a | ||
| + | brief period of repose. As we did so I cast a last | ||
| + | lingering look at the setting sun which would never | ||
| + | rise again for me on this earth.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | example, and we descended into a little dell, the | ||
| + | beauty of which under any other circumstances | ||
| + | would have filled me with admiration. A mountain | ||
| + | stream ran through the bottom of the dell, which by | ||
| + | its refreshing coolness produced a thick and luxuriant | ||
| + | growth of vegetation, and fell into one of those dark | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | blue lakes with which the hills of St. Domingo | ||
| + | abound. How often in happier days have I sat and | ||
| + | dreamed on the borders of these beautiful lakes in | ||
| + | the twilight hour, when beneath the influence of the | ||
| + | moon their deep azure changed into a sheet of silver, | ||
| + | or when the reflections of the stars sowed the surface | ||
| + | with a thousand golden spangles! How lovely this | ||
| + | valley appeared to me! There were magnificent | ||
| + | plane-trees of gigantic growth, closely grown thickets | ||
| + | of <span class=' | ||
| + | vegetation to flourish beneath its shade, date-trees, | ||
| + | and magnolias with the goblet-shaped flowers, the | ||
| + | tall catalpa, with its polished and exquisitely chiselled | ||
| + | blossoms, standing out in relief against the golden | ||
| + | buds of the ebony-trees. The Canadian maple | ||
| + | mingled its yellow flowers with the blue aureolas of | ||
| + | that species of the wild honeysuckle which the | ||
| + | negroes call <span class=' | ||
| + | creepers concealed the bare sides of the rocks, whilst | ||
| + | from the virgin soil rose a soft perfume, such as the | ||
| + | first man may have inhaled amidst Eden’s groves.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the brink of the torrent. I was surprised to notice | ||
| + | that this path closed abruptly at the foot of a tall peak, | ||
| + | in which was a natural archway, from which flowed a | ||
| + | rapid torrent.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wind issued from this natural tunnel. The negroes | ||
| + | who escorted me took a path to the left which led into | ||
| + | a cavern and seemed to be the bed of a torrent that | ||
| + | had long been dried up. Overhead I could see the | ||
| + | rugged roof, half hidden by masses of vegetation, and | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | the same sound of falling waters filled the whole of | ||
| + | the vault. As I took the first step into the cavern, | ||
| + | the Obi came to my side, and whispered in a hoarse | ||
| + | voice, “Listen to what I have to predict: one of us | ||
| + | two only shall leave by this path and issue again from | ||
| + | the entrance of the cave.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | further into the gloom.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of our footfalls. I fancied that there must be a | ||
| + | waterfall near, and I was not deceived.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | minutes, we found ourselves on a kind of internal | ||
| + | platform caused by the central formation of the | ||
| + | mountain. The larger portion of this platform, which | ||
| + | was of a semicircular shape, was inundated by a | ||
| + | torrent which burst from the interior of the mountain | ||
| + | with a terrible din. Above this subterranean hall the | ||
| + | roof rose into the shape of a dome, covered with moss | ||
| + | of a yellowish hue. A large opening was formed in | ||
| + | the dome through which the daylight penetrated, and | ||
| + | the sides of the crevice were fringed with green trees, | ||
| + | gilded just now by the last rays of the setting sun. | ||
| + | At the northern extremity of the platform the torrent | ||
| + | fell with a frightful noise into a deep abyss, over which | ||
| + | appeared to float, without being able to illuminate its | ||
| + | depths, a feeble portion of the light which came | ||
| + | through the aperture in the roof. Over this terrible | ||
| + | precipice hung the trunk of an old tree whose top-most | ||
| + | branches were filled with the foam of the | ||
| + | waterfall, and whose knotty roots pierced through the | ||
| + | rock two or three feet below the brink.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | This tree, whose top and roots were both swept by | ||
| + | the torrent, hung over the abyss like a skeleton arm, | ||
| + | and was so destitute of foliage that I could not | ||
| + | distinguish its species. It had a strange and weird | ||
| + | appearance; the humidity which saturated its roots | ||
| + | prevented it from dying, whilst the force of the | ||
| + | cataract tore off its new shoots, and only left it with | ||
| + | the branches that had strength to resist the force of | ||
| + | the water.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I knew that my hour had come.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my hopes in this world. The image of the happiness | ||
| + | which but a few hours before I had voluntarily | ||
| + | renounced, brought to my heart a feeling of regret, | ||
| + | almost one of remorse.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | could not refrain from giving utterance to my regrets.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me, “it is a sad thing to die at twenty years of age, | ||
| + | full of life and strength, when one is loved by one | ||
| + | whom in your turn you adore, and you leave behind | ||
| + | you eyes that will even weep for your untimely end.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of regret. It came from the little Obi. This species | ||
| + | of evil spirit, this living mystery, approaches me | ||
| + | roughly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | My only fear was that death would have no terrors for | ||
| + | you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | often before baffled my conjectures.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | concentrated passion; and thrusting aside the silver | ||
| + | sun that half concealed his brown chest, he exclaimed, | ||
| + | “Look!” I bent forward.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hairy chest of the Obi, showing but too clearly the | ||
| + | hideous and ineffaceable brand of the heated iron. | ||
| + | One of these names was <span class=' | ||
| + | of my uncle and myself, <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not your name tell you mine? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | name me, and seeking to recall to my mind my | ||
| + | thoughts. “These two names were only to be found | ||
| + | thus united upon the chest of my uncle’s fool. But | ||
| + | the poor dwarf is dead, and besides that, he was | ||
| + | devotedly attached to us. You cannot be Habibrah.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | blood-stained cap, he raised his veil and showed me | ||
| + | the hideous features of the household fool; but a threatening | ||
| + | and sinister expression had usurped the half-imbecile | ||
| + | smile which was formerly eternally imprinted | ||
| + | on his features.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | surprise, “do all the dead, then, come back to life! | ||
| + | It is Habibrah, my uncle’s fool.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “His fool—and also his murderer.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | repaid his kindness? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | struck the fatal blow? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | upon his face. “I plunged my knife so deeply into | ||
| + | his heart that he had hardly time to cast aside sleep | ||
| + | before death claimed him. He cried out feebly, | ||
| + | ‘Habibrah, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | murder disgusted me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | all his kindness, that you ate at his table, and slept | ||
| + | at the foot of his bed——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “<span class=' | ||
| + | call his kindness, but which I looked upon as insults. | ||
| + | I took vengeance upon him, and I will do the same | ||
| + | to you. Listen: do you think that because I am a | ||
| + | mulatto and a deformed dwarf that I am not a man? | ||
| + | Ah, I have a soul stronger, deeper, and bolder than | ||
| + | the one that I am about to set free from your girlish | ||
| + | frame. I was given to your uncle as if I had been a | ||
| + | pet monkey. I was his butt, I amused him, whilst he | ||
| + | despised me. He loved me, do you say—yes, forsooth, | ||
| + | I had a place in his heart between his dog and his | ||
| + | parrot, but I found a better place there with my | ||
| + | dagger.” I shuddered.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Yes,” continued the dwarf, “it was I, I that did | ||
| + | it all. Look me well in the face, Leopold d’Auverney; | ||
| + | you have often laughed at me, now you shall tremble | ||
| + | before me. And you dare to speak of your uncle’s | ||
| + | liking for me, a liking that carried degradation with | ||
| + | it. If I entered the room a shout of contemptuous | ||
| + | laughter was my greeting; my appearance, my deformities, | ||
| + | my features, my costume—all furnished | ||
| + | food for laughter to your accursed uncle and his | ||
| + | accursed friends, whilst I was not allowed to remain | ||
| + | silent, it was necessary for me to join in the laughter | ||
| + | that was levelled at me; I foam with rage whilst I | ||
| + | think of it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I could feel anything but the deadliest hatred | ||
| + | for the creature that inflicted them upon me? Do | ||
| + | you not think that they were a thousand times harder | ||
| + | to endure than the toil in the burning sun, the fetters, | ||
| + | and the whip of the driver, which were the lot of the | ||
| + | other slaves? Do you not think that they would | ||
| + | cause ardent, implacable, and eternal hatred to | ||
| + | spring up in the heart of man as lasting as the | ||
| + | accursed brand which degrades my chest? Has not | ||
| + | the vengeance that I have taken for my sufferings | ||
| + | been short and insufficient. Why could I not make | ||
| + | my tyrant suffer but a small portion of what I endured | ||
| + | for so many years? Why could he not before | ||
| + | his death know the bitterness of wounded pride, and | ||
| + | feel what burning traces tears of shame leave upon | ||
| + | a face condemned to wear a perpetual smile? Alas! | ||
| + | it is too hard to have waited so long for the hour of | ||
| + | vengeance, and then only to find it in a dagger thrust! | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Had he but only known the hand that struck him it | ||
| + | would have been something; but I was too eager to | ||
| + | hear his dying groan, and I drove the knife too | ||
| + | quickly home; he died without having recognized | ||
| + | me, and my eagerness baulked my vengeance. This | ||
| + | time at least, however, it shall be more complete. | ||
| + | You see me, do you not? though in point of fact you | ||
| + | may be unable to recognize me in my new character. | ||
| + | You have always been in the habit of seeing me | ||
| + | laughing and joyous, but now nothing prevents me | ||
| + | from letting my true nature appear on my face, and I | ||
| + | do not greatly resemble my former self. You only | ||
| + | knew my mask; look upon my real face!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | there is more of buffoonery than heroism in your face | ||
| + | even now, and nothing in your heart but cruelty.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your uncle——”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | your instigation. You, to pretend to pity the position | ||
| + | of the poor slaves—why, | ||
| + | influence to make their master treat them less | ||
| + | harshly? Why did you never intercede in their | ||
| + | favour? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ever attempt to hinder a white man from blackening | ||
| + | his soul by an act of cruelty? No, no, I urged him | ||
| + | to inflict more and more punishment upon them, so | ||
| + | as to hurry on the revolt, and so draw down a surer | ||
| + | vengeance upon the heads of our oppressors. In | ||
| + | seeming to injure my brethren I was serving them.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I was thunderstruck at such a cunning act of | ||
| + | diplomacy carried out by such a man.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | now that I had the brain to conceive and the hand | ||
| + | to execute? What do you think of Habibrah the | ||
| + | buffoon? what do you think of your uncle’s fool? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Let me die, but let there be no more delay.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | does my heart good to watch you in the agonies of | ||
| + | suspense? You see Biassou owed me my share in | ||
| + | the last plunder. When I saw you in our camp I | ||
| + | asked for your life as my share, and he granted it | ||
| + | willingly, and now you are mine; I am amusing myself | ||
| + | with you. Soon you will follow the stream of | ||
| + | the cataract into the abyss beneath; but before doing | ||
| + | so let me tell you that I have discovered the spot | ||
| + | where your wife is concealed, and it was I that | ||
| + | advised Biassou to set the forest on fire; and the | ||
| + | work, I imagine, is already begun. Thus your | ||
| + | family will be swept from the face of the earth. | ||
| + | Your uncle fell by steel, you will perish by water, | ||
| + | and your Marie by fire!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | effort to seize him by the throat, but a wave of his | ||
| + | hand summoned my guards.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of doom!” In dead silence the negroes commenced | ||
| + | to bind me with the cords that they had carried with | ||
| + | them. Suddenly I fancied that I heard the distant | ||
| + | barking of a dog, but this sound might be only an | ||
| + | illusion caused by the noise of the cascade.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The negroes had finished binding me, and placed | ||
| + | me on the brink of the abyss into which I was so | ||
| + | soon to be hurled.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with a sinister expression of joy.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | avoid the triumphant expression of malice painted on | ||
| + | his countenance, | ||
| + | blue sky. At that instant the barking was more | ||
| + | distinctly heard, and the enormous head of Rask | ||
| + | appeared at the opening.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him!” and the negroes, who had not noticed the dog, | ||
| + | raised me in their arms to hurl me into the hell of | ||
| + | waters which roared and foamed beneath me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal was standing on the edge of the | ||
| + | opening, a crimson plume floating on his head.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in token of submission.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | uttering cries the meaning of which I could not | ||
| + | comprehend.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | stupor into which the sudden appearance of Bug-Jargal | ||
| + | had thrown him, and seized by the arm the | ||
| + | negro who was preparing to cut the cords that bound | ||
| + | me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | doing?” cried he.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Chief of Morne-Rouge, | ||
| + | doing here? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the reply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | passion, “these negroes do certainly belong to | ||
| + | your band; but,” added he, raising his voice again, | ||
| + | “by what right do you interfere with my prisoner? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | again the negroes struck the ground with their | ||
| + | foreheads.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the orders of Biassou; this white man was | ||
| + | given to me by Biassou; I desire his death, and die | ||
| + | he shall. Obey me,” he added, turning to the | ||
| + | negroes, “and hurl him into the abyss.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rose to their feet and took a step towards me. | ||
| + | I thought all was lost.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | by the fury of the Obi. He attempted to throw | ||
| + | himself upon me. The negroes interfered; then he | ||
| + | burst out into imprecations and threats.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | wretches, you refuse to obey me! Do you not recognize | ||
| + | my voice! Why did I lose time in talking | ||
| + | to this accursed one? I ought to have had him hurled | ||
| + | without delay to the fishes of the gulf. By wishing | ||
| + | to make my vengeance more complete I have lost | ||
| + | it all together. <span class=' | ||
| + | if you do not obey me, and hurl him into the abyss, | ||
| + | I will curse you; your hair shall grow white, the | ||
| + | mosquitoes and sandflies shall eat you up alive, | ||
| + | your legs and your arms shall bend like reeds, your | ||
| + | breath shall burn your throat like red hot-sand, you | ||
| + | shall die young, and after your death your spirits | ||
| + | shall be compelled to turn a millstone as big as a | ||
| + | mountain, in the moon where it is always cold.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my colour, in a damp and gloomy cavern surrounded | ||
| + | by negroes with the aspect of demons, balanced as | ||
| + | it were upon the edge of a bottomless gulf, and | ||
| + | every now and then threatened by a deformed dwarf, | ||
| + | by a hideous sorcerer upon whose striped garments | ||
| + | and pointed cap the fading light shone faintly, yet | ||
| + | protected by a tall negro who was standing at the | ||
| + | only point from which daylight could be seen, it | ||
| + | appeared to me that I was at the gates of hell, | ||
| + | awaiting the conflict between my good and evil angels, | ||
| + | to result in the salvation or the destruction of my | ||
| + | soul. The negroes appeared to be terrified at the | ||
| + | threats of the Obi, and he endeavoured to profit by | ||
| + | their indecision.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | die; obey me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | am Bug-Jargal, my father was the King of Kakongo, | ||
| + | who dispensed justice at the gate of his palace.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ground.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | black banner upon the mountain-top which should | ||
| + | announce to the whites the signal of this man’s | ||
| + | death, for he was the saviour of Bug-Jargal’s life, | ||
| + | and Bug-Jargal wills that he should live.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on the ground before them. The chief of the guard | ||
| + | picked it up with every show of respect, and they | ||
| + | left the cavern without a word; whilst the Obi, with | ||
| + | a glance of rage, followed them down the subterranean | ||
| + | avenue.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | moment. I fixed my eyes, wet with tears, upon | ||
| + | Pierrot, who gazed upon me with a singular expression | ||
| + | of love and tenderness. “God be praised,” | ||
| + | said he, “you are saved. Brother, go back by the | ||
| + | road by which you entered, you will meet me again | ||
| + | in the valley.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my sight.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to learn by what fortunate means my saviour had | ||
| + | been enabled to make his appearance at so opportune | ||
| + | a moment, I prepared to leave the cavern in which | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | my nerves had been so severely tried; but as I | ||
| + | prepared to enter the subterranean passage an | ||
| + | unexpected obstacle presented itself in my path.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the negroes as I had believed, but had concealed | ||
| + | himself behind a rocky projection of the cave, waiting | ||
| + | for a propitious moment for his vengeance; and this | ||
| + | moment had come. He laughed bitterly as he | ||
| + | showed himself. A dagger, the same that he was | ||
| + | in the habit of using for a crucifix, shone in his right | ||
| + | hand: at the sight of it I recoiled a step.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | But the fool is not such a fool after all! I have you, | ||
| + | and this time there shall be no delay. Your friend | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal shall not wait for you long, you shall soon | ||
| + | be at the meeting-place, | ||
| + | the cataract that shall bear you there.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “just now you were only an executioner, | ||
| + | are a murderer.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | teeth.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to hurl me over with a blow of his dagger. I avoided | ||
| + | it. His foot slipped on the treacherous moss which | ||
| + | covered the rocks, he rolled into the slope polished | ||
| + | and rounded by the constant flow of water.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | old tree projected through the crevices of the rocks, | ||
| + | a little below the edge of the precipice. In his fall | ||
| + | the dwarf struck against these, his striped petticoat | ||
| + | caught in them, he grasped at them as a last hope | ||
| + | of safety, and clung to them with all the energy of | ||
| + | despair.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his position he had to let go his dagger, and the | ||
| + | two together disappeared in the depths of the abyss.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | vainly to regain the platform, but his short arms | ||
| + | could not reach the rocky edge, and he broke his | ||
| + | nails in useless efforts to obtain a hold on the muddy | ||
| + | surface of the rocks which sloped down into the | ||
| + | terrible abyss.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sufficient to hurl him to destruction, | ||
| + | have been an act of cowardice, and I made no | ||
| + | movement. This moderation on my part seemed to | ||
| + | surprise him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | abandon him to his fate, and was about to leave the | ||
| + | cave when, in a voice broken with fear, and which | ||
| + | appeared to come from the depths of the abyss, he | ||
| + | addressed me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sake! do not, in the name of heaven, leave a guilty | ||
| + | creature to perish, that it is in your power to save. | ||
| + | Alas, my strength is failing me; the roots bend, and | ||
| + | slip through my fingers, the weight of my body drags | ||
| + | me down—I must let go, or my arms will break! | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Alas, master, the fearful gulfs boils and seethes | ||
| + | beneath me! <span class=' | ||
| + | pity for the poor fool? He has been very guilty, | ||
| + | but prove that the white men are better than the | ||
| + | mulattoes, the masters than the slaves, by saving | ||
| + | him.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | feeble light that broke through the aperture in the | ||
| + | roof showed me, on the repulsive features of the | ||
| + | dwarf, an expression which I had never noticed before, | ||
| + | that of prayer and supplication.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the movement of pity that I showed, “can you see | ||
| + | a fellow-creature in so terrible a position of peril, | ||
| + | without stretching out a hand to save him? Give | ||
| + | me your hand, master; with very slight assistance | ||
| + | from you I can save myself—I only ask for a little | ||
| + | help. Help me then, and my gratitude shall be as | ||
| + | great as my crimes.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | memory.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | be generous to me! O heavens, my hand relaxes its | ||
| + | grasp, and I fall! <span class=' | ||
| + | hand; in the name of the mother who bore you, give | ||
| + | me your hand!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pleaded for help. In this moment of peril I forgot | ||
| + | all; it was no longer an enemy, a traitor, and an | ||
| + | assassin, but an unhappy fellow-creature, | ||
| + | slight exertion upon my part could rescue from a | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | frightful death. He implored me in heart-rending | ||
| + | accents. Reproaches would have been fruitless, and | ||
| + | out of place. The necessity for help was urgent and | ||
| + | immediate. I stooped, knelt down on the brink of | ||
| + | the precipice, and grasping the trunk of the tree with | ||
| + | one hand, I extended the other to Habibrah.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with both his hands, and hung on to it with all his | ||
| + | strength. Far from attempting to aid me in my efforts | ||
| + | to draw him up, I felt that he was exerting all his | ||
| + | powers to draw me down with him into the abyss. | ||
| + | If it had not been for the assistance afforded to me | ||
| + | by the trunk of the tree, I must infallibly have been | ||
| + | dragged over by the violent and unexpected jerk that | ||
| + | the wretched man gave me.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | devilish laughter. “Aha! madman, have I got you | ||
| + | in my clutches once more? You have of your own | ||
| + | free-will placed yourself again in my power, and I | ||
| + | hold you tight. You were saved and I was lost, and | ||
| + | yet you of your own accord place your head between | ||
| + | the jaws of the alligator, because it wept after having | ||
| + | roared. I can bear death, since it will give me | ||
| + | revenge. You are caught in the trap, <span class=' | ||
| + | I shall take a companion with me to feed the fishes | ||
| + | of the lake.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | strength. “Is it thus that you serve me when I was | ||
| + | trying to save you? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | saved ourselves together, but I would rather that we | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | should die at the same moment. I had rather compass | ||
| + | your death, than save my life. Come down!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | mine with unexpected strength, his eyes blazed, his | ||
| + | mouth foamed; the strength, the departure of which | ||
| + | he had before so piteously bewailed, had returned | ||
| + | to him increased a thousandfold by the hope of | ||
| + | revenge. His feet were planted like two perpendicular | ||
| + | levers on a ledge of rock, and he struggled like a | ||
| + | tiger against the root which, entangled in his clothes, | ||
| + | supported him in spite of himself, for he was endeavouring | ||
| + | with all his might to shake himself free, so as | ||
| + | to bring all his weight to bear on me, and to drag | ||
| + | me more quickly into the yawning gulf below.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hideous features were rendered more terrible by their | ||
| + | expression of satanic frenzy.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | drag down his victim to his abode of gloom and | ||
| + | darkness.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a groove of the rock, and my arm was wrapped round | ||
| + | the trunk of the tree, and I strove against the efforts | ||
| + | of the dwarf with all the strength that the feeling of | ||
| + | self-preservation could give me at such a moment.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | shouted “Bug-Jargal” with all the force of my lungs. | ||
| + | But the roar of the cascade, and the distance that he | ||
| + | must be off, gave me but faint hopes of my voice | ||
| + | reaching him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a resistance on my part, redoubled his efforts. I | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | began to grow weak, though in reality the struggle | ||
| + | had not taken so long as the narration of it. A | ||
| + | violent pain paralyzed my arm, my sight grew dim, | ||
| + | bright sparks flashed before my eyes, and a buzzing | ||
| + | sound filled my ears. I heard the creaking of the root | ||
| + | as it bent, mingled with the laugh of the monster, | ||
| + | and the abyss seemed to rise up towards me as though | ||
| + | eager to engulf its prey. But before I gave up all | ||
| + | hope I made a last effort, and collecting together my | ||
| + | exhausted forces, I once again shouted “Bug-Jargal.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answered my appeal for help. I glanced upwards—Bug-Jargal | ||
| + | and his dog were gazing at me from the | ||
| + | orifice in the roof.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with rage, and crying, “Come down there, come | ||
| + | down!” renewed the attack with almost supernatural | ||
| + | vigour.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | my arm lost its hold of the tree. All seemed over | ||
| + | with me, when I felt myself seized from behind. It | ||
| + | was Rask!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the platform, and seized me by the skirts of my | ||
| + | uniform with his powerful teeth.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | exhausted all his strength in a last convulsive effort, | ||
| + | whilst I put forth all mine and succeeded in withdrawing | ||
| + | my hand from his cramped and swollen | ||
| + | fingers. The root, which had been for some time yielding, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | now parted suddenly, Rask gave me a violent | ||
| + | pull backwards, and the wretched dwarf disappeared | ||
| + | in the foam of the cascade, hurling a curse at me | ||
| + | which was swallowed up with him in the whirl of | ||
| + | waters.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | struggle and its awful conclusion, had utterly exhausted | ||
| + | me, and I lay where I had fallen, almost | ||
| + | deprived of sense or power of motion. The voice of | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal restored me to myself.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | In half an hour the sun will have set; I will meet you | ||
| + | in the valley. Follow Rask.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and courage to me. I rose to my feet. The great | ||
| + | dog ran rapidly down the subterranean passage; I | ||
| + | followed him, his bark guiding me through the darkness. | ||
| + | After a time I saw a streak of light, and in | ||
| + | a few minutes I gained the entrance, and breathed | ||
| + | more freely as I passed through the archway. As I | ||
| + | left the damp and gloomy vault behind me, I recalled | ||
| + | to my mind the prediction of the dwarf, and its fatal | ||
| + | fulfilment, “<span class=' | ||
| + | His attempt had failed, but the prophecy had been | ||
| + | carried out.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | threw myself into his arms, but I had so many | ||
| + | questions to put to him that I could not find words | ||
| + | in which to express them.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | is in safety in the camp of the white men; I handed | ||
| + | her over to a relation of yours who was in command | ||
| + | of the outposts, and I wished to again constitute | ||
| + | myself a prisoner, lest they should execute the ten | ||
| + | prisoners whose lives were security for my reappearance. | ||
| + | But your relative told me to return, | ||
| + | and, if possible, to prevent your execution; and that | ||
| + | the ten negroes should not be executed until Biassou | ||
| + | should announce the fact by displaying a black flag on | ||
| + | one of the highest peaks of the mountains. Then I | ||
| + | returned to do my best. Rask led me to where you | ||
| + | were—thanks be to heaven, I arrived in time. You | ||
| + | will live, and so shall I.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him not to leave me again, but to remain with the | ||
| + | white troops, and I promised him to exert all my | ||
| + | influence to procure him a commission in the colonial | ||
| + | army. But he interrupted me with an angry air.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | join my army? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | a folly; then he added in a tone of affected gaiety—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Come, let us hurry to the camp to reassure | ||
| + | your wife.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | we started at once. The negro knew the way, and | ||
| + | took the lead; Rask followed us.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | gloomy look around him; perspiration in large beads | ||
| + | covered his forehead; he concealed his face with his | ||
| + | hands. Rask looked at him with an air of uneasiness.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | state of violent agitation, and, followed by the sergeant | ||
| + | and the dog, rushed hurriedly from the tent.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the end of the drama; and I should really feel sorry | ||
| + | if anything happened to Bug-Jargal, for he was really | ||
| + | a famous fellow.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wicker-covered flask, and said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the cocoa-nut cup that he emptied at a draught.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | interrupted himself by asking Henri to tie his | ||
| + | aguilettes; then he added—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | not dared to ask D’Auverney if he knew the air of | ||
| + | ‘Beautiful Padilla.’ ”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “What a villain that Biassou was,” continued | ||
| + | Paschal; “but for all that he knew the value of a | ||
| + | Frenchman’s word; but there are people more pitiless | ||
| + | than Biassou—my creditors, for instance.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | asked Henri.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | much attention to it; but I certainly had expected | ||
| + | something more interesting from D’Auverney’s lips, | ||
| + | and then I want to know the air to which Bug-Jargal | ||
| + | sang his songs. In fact, I must admit that the story | ||
| + | has bored me a little.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Had I not had my pipe and my bottle, I | ||
| + | should have passed but a dreary evening. Besides, | ||
| + | there were a lot of absurdities in it; how can we | ||
| + | believe, for instance, that that little thief of a sorcerer—I | ||
| + | forget his name—would have drowned himself | ||
| + | for the sake of destroying his enemy? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | can you, Captain Paschal? But what struck me | ||
| + | more than anything was, that every time D’Auverney | ||
| + | mentioned the name of Bug-Jargal his lame dog | ||
| + | lifted up his head.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | them of D’Auverney’s return. All remained silent. | ||
| + | He walked up and down the tent for a few moments | ||
| + | with folded arms, without a word.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him, bent over Rask, and furtively caressed him, | ||
| + | hoping by that means to conceal his countenance, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | which was full of anxiety, from the eyes of his captain. | ||
| + | At length, after making a strong effort, D’Auverney | ||
| + | continued his narrative.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was not yet lighted by the rays of the sun; a glimmer | ||
| + | of light touched it for an instant, and then passed | ||
| + | away.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was heard, and was repeated by the echoes of the | ||
| + | valleys.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | voice. “It was a cannon shot, was it not? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rock; I followed him. He crossed his arms and | ||
| + | smiled sadly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on the lofty peak to which he had drawn my attention | ||
| + | during our last interview with Marie, and which was | ||
| + | now glowing in the rays of the setting sun, I saw a | ||
| + | huge black flag, its folds flapping idly in the breeze.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | paused.)</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | leave his ground, had ordered the flag to be hoisted | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | without waiting for the return of the negroes who | ||
| + | had been despatched to assist at my execution. | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal was still in the same position—his arms | ||
| + | folded, and his eyes eagerly fixed upon the fatal | ||
| + | signal.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | from his post of observation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | cried he. “Did you hear the gun? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | them now to the place of execution.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | guide you to her;” and he whistled an African air, | ||
| + | which Rask appeared to recognize, for he wagged his | ||
| + | tail, and seemed ready to set out.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but his features were contracted, and his look was | ||
| + | ghastly.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the thicket by which we were surrounded.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the position made me fear the worst.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the edge of the rock, and, raising his head, uttered a | ||
| + | plaintive howl. Then he turned to me, his tail was | ||
| + | between his legs and his eyes were moist; he looked | ||
| + | at me with an air of inquietude, and turned to the | ||
| + | spot from which his master had disappeared, | ||
| + | barked several times. I understood him, and shared | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | his fears. Suddenly he dashed off in pursuit of his | ||
| + | master, and I should soon have lost sight of him, | ||
| + | had he not every now and then halted to give me | ||
| + | time to come up to him. In this manner we passed | ||
| + | through many a valley and leafy glade; we climbed | ||
| + | hills and crossed streams. At last——</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | despair covered his face, and he could not find words | ||
| + | to continue his narrative.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | on no further.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | captain, but he made an effort to obey him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | since it is your wish, captain, I must tell you, gentlemen, | ||
| + | that Bug-Jargal—otherwise called Pierrot—was | ||
| + | a tall negro, very strong, very gentle, and the | ||
| + | bravest man in the world—except you, captain, if | ||
| + | you please; but I was terribly prejudiced against | ||
| + | him, for which I will never pardon myself, though | ||
| + | you, captain, have forgiven me; so much so, that, | ||
| + | when we heard that your execution had been fixed | ||
| + | for the evening of the second day, I flew into a | ||
| + | furious rage with the poor fellow, and I felt a fiendish | ||
| + | pleasure in informing him that his death would pay | ||
| + | for yours, or that, if he escaped, ten of his men | ||
| + | would be shot by way of reprisal. He said nothing | ||
| + | upon hearing this, but an hour afterwards he made | ||
| + | his escape through a great hole which he pierced in | ||
| + | the wall of his prison.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Thaddeus continued:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Well, when we saw the great black flag hoisted | ||
| + | on the mountain—and as the negro had not returned, | ||
| + | a fact which surprised none of us—our officers ordered | ||
| + | the signal gun to be fired, and I was ordered to conduct | ||
| + | the ten negroes to the place of execution, a spot | ||
| + | we call the Devil’s Mouth, about—but it does not | ||
| + | matter how far it was from the camp. Well, as you | ||
| + | can imagine, we did not take them there to set them | ||
| + | at liberty, but I had them bound, as is the custom, | ||
| + | and paraded my firing party, when who should burst | ||
| + | upon us but the tall negro. He was out of breath | ||
| + | with the speed that he had made.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | time.’</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but hastened to unbind his comrades. I stood there | ||
| + | in stupefaction. Then—with your permission, captain—there | ||
| + | was a good deal of generous argument | ||
| + | between the other negroes and himself, which might | ||
| + | have lasted longer but—well, it is no good hiding | ||
| + | the fact, it was I that stopped it. At any rate, he | ||
| + | took their place. Then the great dog came, poor | ||
| + | Rask; he leapt at my throat: he ought to have held | ||
| + | me longer, but Pierrot made a sign to him, and the | ||
| + | poor brute released me, but his master could not | ||
| + | prevent his taking his place at my feet. Then, | ||
| + | believing that you were dead, captain—well, | ||
| + | in a fine rage; I gave the word, Bug-Jargal fell, and | ||
| + | a bullet broke the dog’s foot.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sadly, “he has been lame. Then I heard | ||
| + | groans in the adjacent wood; I reached it, and found | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | you—a stray bullet had hit you as you were running | ||
| + | forward to save the tall negro. Yes, captain, you | ||
| + | were wounded, but Bug-Jargal was dead!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | dangerously wounded, and the doctors soon cured | ||
| + | you, but I believe Madame Marie’s nursing had a | ||
| + | good deal to do with it.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in a solemn voice, added—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | him.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | conclusion of a narrative unless it enters into every | ||
| + | detail in winding up the story. For this reason the | ||
| + | minutest researches have been made into the facts | ||
| + | having reference to the concluding details of the | ||
| + | last scenes of Leopold d’Auverney’s life, as well as | ||
| + | those of his sergeant and the dog Rask.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | feelings of melancholy arose partly from the death of | ||
| + | Bug-Jargal, otherwise called Pierrot; but they are | ||
| + | not acquainted with the fact that those feelings | ||
| + | were terribly increased by the loss of his beloved | ||
| + | Marie, who, after having been preserved from the | ||
| + | horrors that attended the taking of Fort Galifet, | ||
| + | perished in the burning of Cap which took place some | ||
| + | weeks later.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The fate of Leopold d’Auverney may be briefly | ||
| + | recapitulated. A great victory had been won by the | ||
| + | Republican forces against one of those united European | ||
| + | armies which so often struggled vainly against | ||
| + | our soldiers; and the General of Division, who was | ||
| + | in command of the entire force, was seated in his | ||
| + | tent drawing up, from the reports of his staff, the | ||
| + | bulletin which was to be sent to the National Convention | ||
| + | concerning the victory of the day before. | ||
| + | As he was thus occupied, an aide-de-camp announced | ||
| + | to him the arrival of a Representative of the People, | ||
| + | who demanded an audience. The general loathed | ||
| + | these ambassadors of the guillotine, who were sent | ||
| + | by the party of the Mountain to humiliate the | ||
| + | military officers, and too often to demand the heads | ||
| + | of the most gallant of the men who had fought | ||
| + | bravely for the Republic; looking upon them as | ||
| + | chartered informers charged with the hateful mission | ||
| + | of spying upon glory. But it would have been | ||
| + | dangerous for him to have refused to admit him, | ||
| + | especially after such a victory as had resulted to the | ||
| + | arms of the Republic.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | almost invariably demanded victims of the highest | ||
| + | lineage, and the executioners of the Place de la | ||
| + | Revolution were delighted if they could at the same | ||
| + | time cause a head and a coronet to fall—were it one | ||
| + | of thorns, like that of Louis XVI.; of flowers, like | ||
| + | those of the girls of Verdun; or of laurels like those | ||
| + | of Custine or of André Chénier. The general, therefore, | ||
| + | gave immediate orders that the Representative | ||
| + | of the People should be introduced to his presence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | After a few clumsy congratulations regarding the | ||
| + | recent victory, the Representative of the People | ||
| + | came up close to the general, and muttered in a suppressed | ||
| + | voice—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | enough to destroy the foreign enemy—those nearer | ||
| + | home must be also crushed.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | asked the astonished general.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of the Convention, in an unpleasant manner, “a | ||
| + | captain named Leopold d’Auverney, | ||
| + | in the 32nd Brigade; do you know him, general? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “only as you came in I was reading the report of | ||
| + | the Adjutant General which refers to him. The | ||
| + | 32nd Brigade had in him an excellent officer, and | ||
| + | I was about to recommend him for promotion.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | harshly, “were you thinking of promoting | ||
| + | him? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | representative, | ||
| + | say or do. If you cherish serpents who are the | ||
| + | enemies of the people, take care that the people do | ||
| + | not crush you and the serpents at the same moment. | ||
| + | This Leopold d’Auverney is an aristocrat, a hater | ||
| + | of the revolution, a royalist, a Girondin! Public | ||
| + | justice demands his head, and he must be given up | ||
| + | to me on the spot.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “<span class=' | ||
| + | whose rage was redoubled at this opposition. | ||
| + | “Are you ignorant, general, of the extent of my | ||
| + | power? I, in the name of the Republic, command | ||
| + | you, and you have no option but to obey. Listen to | ||
| + | me: in consideration of your recent success, I will | ||
| + | read you the report which has been handed in | ||
| + | regarding this D’Auverney, | ||
| + | with him to the Public Prosecutor. ‘Leopold | ||
| + | Auverney (formerly known as D’Auverney), | ||
| + | in the 32nd Brigade, is convicted of having, at a | ||
| + | meeting of conspirators, | ||
| + | tale, conducing to the ridicule of the true | ||
| + | principles of Equality and Liberty, and exalting | ||
| + | the worn-out superstitions known under the names | ||
| + | of <span class=' | ||
| + | having used expressions deservedly forbidden by | ||
| + | all good republicans, | ||
| + | events, notably those referring to the negroes | ||
| + | of Saint Domingo. Convicted thirdly, of having | ||
| + | made use of the expression <span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | said narrative, of having endeavoured to bring into | ||
| + | contempt the Republic one and indivisible, | ||
| + | to propagate the infamous doctrines of the Girondins.’ | ||
| + | Death is the punishment for these crimes, and I | ||
| + | demand his body. Do you hesitate, general, to hand | ||
| + | this traitor over to me, to meet the well-merited | ||
| + | punishment of his crimes? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “this enemy of his country has given his life for her. | ||
| + | As a contrast to your report, listen to an extract from | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | mine. ‘Leopold d’Auverney, | ||
| + | Brigade, has contributed largely to the success that | ||
| + | our arms have obtained. A formidable earthwork | ||
| + | had been erected by the allies; it was the key to their | ||
| + | position, and it was absolutely necessary to carry it | ||
| + | at the point of the bayonet. It was an almost | ||
| + | impregnable position, and the death of the stormers | ||
| + | who led the attack was almost inevitable. Captain | ||
| + | d’Auverney volunteered to lead the forlorn hope; he | ||
| + | carried the earthwork, but was shot down at the | ||
| + | moment of victory. Sergeant Thaddeus of the 32nd, | ||
| + | and a large dog, were found dead within a few paces | ||
| + | of him.’ It was my intention to propose that the | ||
| + | National Convention should pass a vote that the Captain | ||
| + | Leopold d’Auverney had merited the thanks of his | ||
| + | country. You see, Citizen Representative, | ||
| + | the general, calmly, “that our duties differ slightly—we | ||
| + | both send a report to the Convention. The same | ||
| + | name appears in each list: you denounce him as a | ||
| + | traitor, I hold him up to posterity as a hero. You | ||
| + | devote him to ignominy, I to glory; you would erect | ||
| + | a scaffold for him, whilst I propose a statue in his | ||
| + | honour. He is fortunate in having, by death in | ||
| + | action, escaped the infamy you proposed for him. | ||
| + | He whose death you desired is dead—he has not | ||
| + | waited for you.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the conspirator, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | tones exclaimed—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | Representative. Go seek for the body of Captain | ||
| + | d’Auverney amongst the ruins of the redoubt. Who | ||
| + | can tell if the bullets of the enemy may not have | ||
| + | spared his head for his country’s guillotine? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <div class=" | ||
| + | < | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | about eight years ago, with his mistress and child. | ||
| + | Although his education had been neglected, and he | ||
| + | could not even read, the man was naturally clever | ||
| + | and intelligent, | ||
| + | Winter came with its attendant miseries—want of | ||
| + | work, want of food, want of fuel. The man, the | ||
| + | woman, the child, were frozen and famished. The | ||
| + | man turned thief. I know not what he stole. What | ||
| + | signifies, as the result was the same: to the woman | ||
| + | and child it gave three days’ bread and firing; to the | ||
| + | man five years’ imprisonment.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | into a prison, its cells into dungeons, and the | ||
| + | altar itself into a pillory. This is called progress.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | workman, turned thief from force of circumstances, | ||
| + | had a countenance which impressed you: a high | ||
| + | forehead somewhat lined with care, dark hair already | ||
| + | streaked with grey, deep-set eyes beaming with | ||
| + | kindness; whilst the lower part clearly indicated | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | firmness mingled with self-respect. He rarely spoke, | ||
| + | yet there was a certain dignity in the man which | ||
| + | commanded respect and obedience. A fine character, | ||
| + | and we shall see what society made of it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rarely forgot that he was the gaoler also, to his | ||
| + | subordinates, | ||
| + | and casting chains upon them with the other. A | ||
| + | tyrant, never using even self-reasoning, | ||
| + | against which there was no appeal, hard rather than | ||
| + | firm, at times he could even be jocular; doubtless a | ||
| + | good father, a good husband, really not vicious, but | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | a fresh idea, who apparently fail to be moved by any | ||
| + | emotion; yet with hatred and rage in their hearts | ||
| + | they look like blocks of wood, heated on the one | ||
| + | side but frozen on the other. This man’s chief | ||
| + | characteristic was obstinacy; and so proud was he | ||
| + | of this very stubbornness that he compared himself | ||
| + | to Napoleon—an optical delusion, like taking the | ||
| + | mere flicker of a candle for a star. When he had | ||
| + | made up his mind to a thing, however absurd, he | ||
| + | would carry out that absurd idea. How often it | ||
| + | happens, when a catastrophe occurs, if we inquire | ||
| + | into the cause, we find it originated through the | ||
| + | obstinacy of one with little ability, but having full | ||
| + | faith in his own powers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Clairvaux; a man of flint placed by society over | ||
| + | others, who hoped to strike sparks out of such | ||
| + | material—but a spark from a like source is apt to | ||
| + | end in a conflagration.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The inspector soon singled out Claude Gueux, who | ||
| + | had been numbered and placed in the workshop, and, | ||
| + | finding him clever, treated him well. Seeing Claude | ||
| + | looking sad—for he was ever thinking of her he | ||
| + | termed his wife—and being in a good humour, by way | ||
| + | of pastime to console the prisoner, he told him the | ||
| + | woman had become one of the unfortunate sisterhood, | ||
| + | and taken to infamy; of the child nothing was | ||
| + | known.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prison rule, and by his calmness of manner, and a | ||
| + | certain amount of resolution clearly marked in his | ||
| + | face, he had acquired a great ascendency over his | ||
| + | companions, who so much admired him that they | ||
| + | consulted, and tried in all ways to imitate him. The | ||
| + | very expression in his eyes clearly indicated the man’s | ||
| + | character; besides, is not the eye the window to the | ||
| + | soul, and what other result could be anticipated than | ||
| + | that the intelligent spirit should lead men with few | ||
| + | ideas, who yielded to the attraction as the metal | ||
| + | does to the loadstone. In less than three months | ||
| + | Claude was the virtual head of the workshop, and at | ||
| + | times he almost doubted whether he was king or | ||
| + | prisoner, treated something like a captive pope, | ||
| + | surrounded by his cardinals. Such popularity ever | ||
| + | has its attendant hatred, and though beloved by the | ||
| + | prisoners, Claude was detested by the gaolers. To | ||
| + | him two men’s rations would have been scarcely | ||
| + | sufficient. The inspector laughed at this, as his own | ||
| + | appetite was large; but what would be mirth to a | ||
| + | duke, to a prisoner would be a great misfortune. | ||
| + | When a free man Claude Gueux could earn his daily | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | four-pound loaf and enjoy it, but as a prisoner he | ||
| + | daily worked, and for his labour received one pound | ||
| + | and a-half of bread and four ounces of meat; it | ||
| + | naturally followed that he was always hungry.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | about to resume his labours, hoping in work to | ||
| + | forget famine, when a weakly-looking young man | ||
| + | came towards him, holding a knife and his untasted | ||
| + | rations in his hand, but seemingly afraid to address | ||
| + | him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | young man.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | can eat.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | further ceremony he divided the food in two and | ||
| + | at once partook of one half.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | me to share my rations with you every day.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | old before his time—he was only thirty-six—and the | ||
| + | boy of twenty, who looked at the most seventeen. | ||
| + | The feeling was more like that of father and son | ||
| + | than one brother to another; everything created a | ||
| + | bond of union between them—the very toil they | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | endured together, the fact of sleeping in the same | ||
| + | quarters and taking exercise in the same courtyard. | ||
| + | They were happy, for were they not all the world to | ||
| + | each other!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | prisoners that he often had recourse to Claude Gueux | ||
| + | to enforce his authority; and when a tumult was on | ||
| + | the point of breaking out, a few words from Claude | ||
| + | had more effect than the authority of ten warders. | ||
| + | Although the inspector was glad to avail himself of | ||
| + | this influence, he was jealous, and hated the improved | ||
| + | robber with an envious and implacable feeling—an | ||
| + | example of might over right, all the more fearful as | ||
| + | it was secretly nourished. Claude cared so much | ||
| + | for Albin that he thought little about the inspector.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | one of them summoned Albin, who was working with | ||
| + | Claude, to go before the inspector.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | warder.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and at night, finding him still absent, he broke | ||
| + | through his ordinary reserve and addressed the turnkey.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to-day? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | continued—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Who gave the order? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | D——, went his rounds as usual; Claude, who had | ||
| + | perceived him from the distance, rose, and hastened | ||
| + | to raise his woollen cap and button his grey woollen | ||
| + | vest to the throat—considered a mark of respect to | ||
| + | superiors in prison discipline.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pass him, “has Albin really been quartered elsewhere? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | rations are insufficient for me, and Albin divided his | ||
| + | portion with me. Could you not manage to let him | ||
| + | resume his old place near me? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | life depends.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Albin? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | that he passed on.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | lion deprived of his dog; but the grief, though so | ||
| + | deeply felt, in no way changed his appetite—he | ||
| + | was famished. Many offered to share their rations | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | with him, but he steadily refused, and continued his | ||
| + | usual routine in silence, breaking it only to ask the | ||
| + | inspector daily, in tones of anguish mingled with | ||
| + | rage, something between a prayer and a threat, these | ||
| + | two words:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | shoulders, but had he only observed Claude he would | ||
| + | have seen the evident change, noticeable to all present.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | would be wise to do so, I can assure you. Remember | ||
| + | my words.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with his head bowed in his hands, and when a prisoner | ||
| + | called Faillette came up laughing, he said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | his rounds, Claude, to draw his attention, smashed a | ||
| + | watch-glass he had found in the passage. This had | ||
| + | the desired effect.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | to me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | firmly added—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | give you till the 4th of November.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Monsieur D——, and ought at once to be locked up.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | inspector, smiling disdainfully; | ||
| + | with people of this stamp.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | The following day Claude was again accosted by | ||
| + | one of the prisoners named Pernot, as he was brooding | ||
| + | in the courtyard.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | pondering over? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | D——,” answered Claude.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | how much Albin’s absence affected him, but with | ||
| + | no result save four-and-twenty hours’ solitary confinement.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for the little that remained to remind him of his | ||
| + | former life. A pair of scissors, and an old volume | ||
| + | of the “Emile, | ||
| + | loved so well, the mother of his child—how useless | ||
| + | to a man who could neither work nor read!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | by its new inmates and its fresh white-washed | ||
| + | walls, he noticed how earnestly the convict | ||
| + | Ferrari was looking at the heavy iron bars which | ||
| + | crossed the window.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | scissors, | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in the mirth. During the day he worked with more | ||
| + | than ordinary ardour, wishing to finish a straw hat, | ||
| + | which he had been paid for in advance by a tradesman | ||
| + | at Troyes, M. Bressier.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | down into the carpenters’ quarters, a story below | ||
| + | his own, at the time the warders were absent.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Claude received a hearty welcome, as he was | ||
| + | equally popular here as elsewhere.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | once replied—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | smallest, he hid it beneath his waistcoat and left. | ||
| + | Now there were twenty-seven prisoners present, | ||
| + | and not one of those men betrayed him; they even | ||
| + | refrained from talking upon the subject among themselves, | ||
| + | waiting for the terrible event which must | ||
| + | follow.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sixteen yawning idly there, and he strongly advised | ||
| + | him to learn how to read. Just then Faillette asked | ||
| + | what he was hiding. Claude answered unhesitatingly—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | you see it? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | several workshops. It was then the custom for the | ||
| + | warders to leave them, until the inspector had been | ||
| + | his rounds.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | took place, the only one of the kind on record.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in number, in the following words:</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | liked him at first for sharing his rations with me, | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | afterwards because he cared for me. Now I never | ||
| + | have sufficient, though I spend the pittance I earn | ||
| + | in bread. It could make no possible difference to | ||
| + | the inspector, Monsieur D——, that we should be | ||
| + | together; but he chose to separate us simply from a | ||
| + | love of tormenting, for he is a bad man. I asked | ||
| + | again and again for Albin to be sent back, without | ||
| + | success; and when I gave him a stated time, the 4th | ||
| + | of November, I was thrust into a dungeon. During | ||
| + | that time I became his judge, and sentenced him to | ||
| + | death on November the 4th. In two hours he will | ||
| + | be here, and I warn you I intend to kill him. But | ||
| + | have you anything to say? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | telling his comrades, the eighty-one thieves, his ideas | ||
| + | on the subject.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | compelled by that very necessity to take the law into | ||
| + | his own hands. He knew full well he could not take | ||
| + | the inspector’s life without sacrificing his own; but | ||
| + | as the cause was a just one, he would bear the consequences, | ||
| + | having come to this conclusion after two | ||
| + | months’ calm reflection. If they considered resentment | ||
| + | alone hurried him on to such a step, they were | ||
| + | at once to say so, and to state their objections to | ||
| + | the sentence being carried out.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | saying—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | give him a chance of relenting.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have the benefit of the doubt.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Claude then sorted the few things a poor prisoner | ||
| + | is allowed, and gave them to the comrades he mostly | ||
| + | cared for after Albin, keeping only the pair of scissors. | ||
| + | He then embraced them all; some could not withhold | ||
| + | their tears at such a moment. Claude continued | ||
| + | calmly to converse during this last hour, and even | ||
| + | gave way to a trick he had as a boy, of extinguishing | ||
| + | the candle with a breath from his nose. Seeing him | ||
| + | thus, his companions afterwards owned, they hoped | ||
| + | he had abandoned his sinister idea.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | for the coming event.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “it will be but the work of a minute.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | ends, and windows each side overlooking the benches, | ||
| + | thus leaving a pathway up the centre for the inspector | ||
| + | to review the work on both sides of him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Jacques Clement, who did not fail to repeat his | ||
| + | prayers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Claude rose and placed himself near the entrance, | ||
| + | apparently calm.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | nine; the door was thrown open, and the inspector | ||
| + | came in as usual alone, looking quite jovial and self-satisfied, | ||
| + | passing rapidly along, tossing his head at | ||
| + | one, grinding words out to another, little heeding the | ||
| + | eyes fixed so fiercely upon him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | quickly round said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “What are you doing here? why are you not in | ||
| + | your place?” just as he would have spoken to a dog.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “you have not had enough with twenty-four hours in | ||
| + | the blackhole.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | have moved Satan, “I implore you to send Albin | ||
| + | back to me; you will then see how I will work. You | ||
| + | are free, and it would matter but little to you; you do | ||
| + | not know the feeling of having only one friend. To | ||
| + | me it is everything, encircled by the prison walls. | ||
| + | You can come and go at your pleasure; I have but | ||
| + | Albin. Pray let him come back to me! You know | ||
| + | well he shared his food with me. What can it matter | ||
| + | to you that a man named Claude Gueux should be in | ||
| + | this hall, having another by his side called Albin? | ||
| + | You have but to say ‘Yes,’ nothing more. Sir, my | ||
| + | good sir, I implore you, in the name of heaven, to | ||
| + | grant my prayer!”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “I will not recall my words. Now go, you annoyance.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | And with that he hurried on towards the outer door, | ||
| + | amidst the breathless silence maintained by the | ||
| + | eighty-one thieves.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | death. Why did you separate us? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Claude raised the axe, and without one cry the | ||
| + | inspector fell to the ground, with his skull completely | ||
| + | cloven from three heavy blows dealt with the rapidity | ||
| + | of lightning. A fourth completely disfigured his face, | ||
| + | and Claude, in his mad fury, gave another and a useless | ||
| + | blow, for the inspector was dead.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the other.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | wife’s</ | ||
| + | was short, and the chest was deep, and vainly he | ||
| + | strove to give the fatal blow. At last, covered with | ||
| + | blood, he fell fainting across the dead.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | bed, surrounded by every care and covered with | ||
| + | bandages. Near him were sisters of charity, and a | ||
| + | recorder ready to take down his deposition, who | ||
| + | with much interest inquired how he was.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | scissors had done him a bad turn, inflicting wounds | ||
| + | not one the least dangerous: the only mortal blows | ||
| + | he had struck were on the body of Monsieur D——.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Did you kill the inspector of the prison workshops | ||
| + | at Clairvaux? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | aspect, and he was prostrated with fever which | ||
| + | threatened his life. November, December, January, | ||
| + | February passed, in nursing and preparations, | ||
| + | Claude in turn was visited by doctor and judge—the | ||
| + | one to restore him to health, the other to glean the | ||
| + | foundation for his scaffold.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | appeared in court at Troyes, to answer the charge | ||
| + | brought against him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he had been shaved and stood bareheaded, but still | ||
| + | clad in prison garb.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | guard, to keep the witnesses within bounds, as they | ||
| + | were all convicts. But an unexpected difficulty | ||
| + | occurred: not one of these men would give evidence; | ||
| + | neither questions nor threats availed to make them | ||
| + | break their silence, until Claude requested them to | ||
| + | do so. Then they in turn gave a faithful account of | ||
| + | the terrible event, and if one, from forgetfulness or | ||
| + | affection for the accused, failed to relate the whole | ||
| + | facts, Claude supplied the deficiency.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | usher now called the convict Albin. He came in | ||
| + | trembling with emotion and sobbing painfully, and | ||
| + | threw himself into Claude’s arms.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Turning to the Public Prosecutor, Claude said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | hungry,” and stooping, he kissed Albin’s hand.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | counsel for the prosecution then rose to address the | ||
| + | court.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | put to confusion if a public prosecution did not | ||
| + | condemn great culprits like him, who, & | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Then followed the usual pleading for and against, | ||
| + | which ever takes place at the criminal court.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | astonished at his intelligence; | ||
| + | more of the orator about this poor workman than the | ||
| + | assassin. In a clear and straightforward way he | ||
| + | detailed the facts as they were—standing proudly | ||
| + | there, resolved to tell the whole truth. At times | ||
| + | the crowd was carried away by his eloquence. This | ||
| + | man, who could not read, would grasp the most | ||
| + | difficult points of argument, yet treat the judges | ||
| + | with all due deference. Once Claude lost his temper, | ||
| + | when the counsel for the prosecution stated that he | ||
| + | had assassinated the inspector without provocation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Indeed: so a drunkard strikes me, I kill him, then | ||
| + | you would allow there was provocation—the penalty | ||
| + | of death would be changed for that of the galleys; | ||
| + | but a man who wounds me in every way during four | ||
| + | years, humiliates me for four years, taunts me daily, | ||
| + | hourly, for four years, and heaps every insult on | ||
| + | my head—what follows? You consider I have | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | had no provocation. I had a wife for whom I robbed—he | ||
| + | tortured me about her; I had a child for whom | ||
| + | I robbed—he taunted me about this child; I was | ||
| + | hungry, a friend shared his bread with me—he took | ||
| + | away my friend. I begged him to return my friend | ||
| + | to me; he cast me into a dungeon. I told him how | ||
| + | much I suffered; he said it wearied him to listen. | ||
| + | What then would you have me do? I took his life, | ||
| + | and you look upon me as a monster for killing this | ||
| + | man, and you decapitate me—then do so.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | because the blows have no marks to show.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | impartial manner; dwelling on the life Claude had | ||
| + | led, living openly with an improper character; then | ||
| + | he had robbed, and ended by being a murderer. All | ||
| + | this was true.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he had any questions to ask, or anything to say.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | murderer, I am a thief; but I ask you, gentlemen of | ||
| + | the jury, why did I kill? why did I steal? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | according to the judgment of these twelve countrymen—< | ||
| + | of the jury</ | ||
| + | Gueux was condemned to death.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | with the name of Gueux (vagabond), and | ||
| + | that influenced their decision.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | said—</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | gentlemen have not answered. Why did this man | ||
| + | steal? What made him a murderer? | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Thirty-six years have now passed me.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | minute, but at the instance of one of the sisters who | ||
| + | had nursed him he consented to do so.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | piece.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | were devoted to him, and placed all the means at | ||
| + | their disposal to help him to escape: they threw | ||
| + | into his dungeon, through the air-hole, a nail, some | ||
| + | wire, the handle of a pail—any one of these would | ||
| + | have been enough for a man like Claude to free himself | ||
| + | from his chains; he gave them up to the warder.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | days after the murder, the recorder of the court | ||
| + | came, and Claude was told he had but one hour | ||
| + | more to live, for his appeal had been rejected.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | night, and doubtless I shall pass my next even | ||
| + | better.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | was humble to the priest, and listened to him with | ||
| + | great attention, regretting much that he had not had | ||
| + | the benefit of religious training; at the same time | ||
| + | blaming himself for much in the past.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in fact he gave up all—his soul to the priest, | ||
| + | his body to the executioner.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | how the cholera was spreading, and Troyes | ||
| + | at any moment might become a prey to this fearful | ||
| + | scourge. Claude joined in the conversation, | ||
| + | with a smile—“There is one thing to be said, I have | ||
| + | no fear of the cholera.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he asked the gaoler to give to Albin—the other half | ||
| + | lay buried in his chest. He also wished the day’s | ||
| + | rations to be taken to his friend.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | piece that the sister had given him, which he kept | ||
| + | in his right hand after he was bound.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | in such cases left the prison. Pale, but with a firm | ||
| + | tread, Claude Gueux slowly mounted the scaffold, | ||
| + | keeping his eyes fixed on the crucifix the priest | ||
| + | carried—an emblem of the Saviour’s suffering. He | ||
| + | wished to embrace the priest and the executioner, | ||
| + | thanking the one and pardoning the other. The | ||
| + | executioner simply repulsed him.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | he gave the five-franc piece to the priest, saying, | ||
| + | “For the poor.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | when this man, so noble, so intelligent, | ||
| + | fatal blow which severed his head from his body.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | execution, as there would be more people about, for | ||
| + | there are still in France small towns who glory in | ||
| + | having an execution. The guillotine that day remained, | ||
| + | inflaming the imagination of the mob to | ||
| + | that extent that one of the tax-gatherers was nearly | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | murdered: such is the admirable effect of public | ||
| + | executions.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | more to solve a difficult problem than for aught | ||
| + | else. In his life there are two questions to be considered. | ||
| + | Before his fall, and after his fall. What was | ||
| + | his training, and what was the penalty? This must | ||
| + | interest society generally, for this man was well gifted, | ||
| + | his instincts were good: then what was wanting? | ||
| + | On this revolves the grand problem which would | ||
| + | place society on a firm basis.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | society carry out.</ | ||
| + | and most noble-hearted man, placed in the | ||
| + | midst of evil surroundings, | ||
| + | placed him in a prison where the evil was yet greater, | ||
| + | and he ended with becoming a murderer.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | which require deep thought, or the result will be | ||
| + | that we shall be <span class=' | ||
| + | subject. The facts are now before us, and | ||
| + | if the government gives no thought to the matter, | ||
| + | what are the rulers about?</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | important to sift sinecures and to unravel the | ||
| + | budget; to pass an act which compels me, disguised | ||
| + | as a soldier, to mount guard at the Count de Lobau’s, | ||
| + | whom I do not know, and to whom I wish to remain | ||
| + | a stranger; or to go on parade under the command | ||
| + | of my grocer, who has been made an officer. I wish | ||
| + | to cast no reflections on the patrol, who keep order | ||
| + | and protect our homes, but on the absurdity of | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | making such parade and military hubbub about turning | ||
| + | citizens into parodies of soldiers.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | sound every subject, even though it end in nothing, | ||
| + | to question and cross-question what we know but | ||
| + | little about. Rulers and legislators, | ||
| + | time in classical comparisons that would make a | ||
| + | village schoolmaster smile. You assert that it is the | ||
| + | habits of modern civilization that have engendered | ||
| + | adultery, incest, parricide, infanticide, | ||
| + | that you know little of Jocasta Phedra, | ||
| + | Œdipus, Medea, or Rodoguna. The great orators | ||
| + | occupy themselves in lengthy discussions on | ||
| + | Corneille and Racine, and get so heated in literary | ||
| + | argument as to make the grossest mistakes in the | ||
| + | French language.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | there are subjects of far greater consequence.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | answer would the Deputies give if one rose and | ||
| + | gravely addressed them in the following words: | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | I say! You consider yourself acquainted | ||
| + | with the question: you know nothing about it.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | scarcely a year ago, a man at Panners was cut to | ||
| + | pieces; at Dijon a woman’s head was taken off; | ||
| + | in Paris, at Saint Jacques, executions take place | ||
| + | without number.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | consider it, you who argue over the buttons of the | ||
| + | national guard, whether they should be white or | ||
| + | yellow, and if <span class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | “Gentlemen of the Right, gentleman of the Left, | ||
| + | the great mass of the people suffer!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | remains the same—the people suffer!</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Such misery leads them on to crime: the galleys take | ||
| + | the sons, houses of ill-fame the daughters. You | ||
| + | have too many convicts, too many unfortunates.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | You are at fault: now study the matter more deeply.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and palliatives? | ||
| + | from routine.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and what is the end? You stamp the crime for | ||
| + | life on the criminal; you make two friends of them, | ||
| + | two companions—inseparables. The convict prison | ||
| + | is a blister which spreads far worse matter than ever | ||
| + | it extracts; and as for the sentence of death, when | ||
| + | carried out it is a barbarous amputation.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | of death are all of one class; you have done | ||
| + | away with the branding, banish the rest. Why keep | ||
| + | the chain and the chopper now you have put aside | ||
| + | the hot iron? Farinace was atrocious, but he was | ||
| + | not ridiculous.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | and to suffering. Revise your laws; revise your codes; | ||
| + | rebuild your prisons; replace your judges. Make | ||
| + | laws suited to the present time</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | taking off the heads of so many during the year. | ||
| + | Suppress the executioner; | ||
| + | of six hundred schoolmasters with the wages | ||
| + | you give your eighty executioners. Think of the | ||
| + | multitude; then there would be schools for the | ||
| + | children, workshops for the men.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | people who know how to read than in any other | ||
| + | country in Europe? Fancy, Switzerland can read, | ||
| + | Belgium can read, Denmark can read, Greece can | ||
| + | read, Ireland can read—and France cannot read! It | ||
| + | is a crying evil.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | these condemned men, and you will observe by the | ||
| + | profile, the shape of the head, how many could find | ||
| + | their type in the lower animals. Here are the lynx, | ||
| + | the cat, the monkey, the vulture, the hyena. Nature | ||
| + | was first to blame, no doubt; but the want of training | ||
| + | fostered the evil. Then give the people a fair | ||
| + | education, and what there is of good in these ill-conditioned | ||
| + | minds, let that be developed.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | Rome and Greece were educated: then brighten | ||
| + | the people’s intellect.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | encouragement for higher things. Ignorance is | ||
| + | preferable to a little ill-directed knowledge; and | ||
| + | remember, there is a book of far greater importance | ||
| + | than the <span class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | charter of 1830—that is the Bible.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | <span class=' | ||
| + | will always remain poor and unhappy. Theirs the | ||
| + | work, the heavy burden to carry, to endure: all the | ||
| + | miseries for the poor, all the pleasures for the rich.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | weaker and helpless side.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | but throw hope in the balance, let the poor man | ||
| + | learn there is a heaven where joy reigns, a paradise | ||
| + | that he can share, and you raise him; he feels that | ||
| + | he has a part in the rich man’s joys. And this was | ||
| + | the teaching Jesus gave, and He knew more about it | ||
| + | than Voltaire.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | suffer here, the hope of a different world to come, and | ||
| + | they will go on patiently. For patience but follows | ||
| + | in the footsteps of hope.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | every cottage have its Bible; the seed thus sown | ||
| + | will soon circulate. Encourage virtue, and from | ||
| + | that will spring so much that now lies fallow.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | if differently influenced would have served | ||
| + | his country well.</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <p class=' | ||
| + | the masses, enlighten them, guard their | ||
| + | morals, make them useful, and to such heads as those | ||
| + | you will not require to use cold steel.”</ | ||
| + | |||
| + | <hr class=' | ||
| + | </ | ||
under_sentence_of_death.txt · Last modified: 2020/10/26 02:29 by briancarnell