Tom Burke Of "Ours" Volume I Part 31

"My young friend here must tell you that," replied the skipper, laughingly, as he laid his hand on my shoulder. "Let me present him to you: Mr. Burke,--Lieutenant Brevix."

The lieutenant saluted me politely; and then, springing up, he jumped gayly on board of us, and shook our hands with great appearance of cordiality.

"They 'll want to see you ash.o.r.e, Antoine, as soon as may be; there are despatches going off to-night for Paris, and they 'll be glad to send the last accounts of the state of the Channel."

"Light winds and no cruisers are all I have to tell them, then," said the skipper.

The lieutenant now took him aside, and they conversed for some time in a low tone, during which I occupied myself by watching the sentinels who paraded incessantly to and fro along a low wooden pier that stretched out into the sea, and formed, with a promontory at some distance, a small harbor. Their watch seemed of the most vigilant, if I might judge from the low but continued cry which pa.s.sed from mouth to mouth of "Sentinelle, prenez garde a vous;" while from each boat across the harbor a sing-song note chanted in response the monotonous sounds, "Bon quart!" as each quarter of an hour stole past.

These precautions against the approach of any strange craft extended, as I afterwards learned, along the entire coast from Dieppe to Ostend; yet were they not sufficient to prevent frequent visits from the English spies, who penetrated into every quarter of the camp, and even had the hardihood to visit the theatre of the town, and express loudly their disapprobation of the performance.

"You 'd better come ash.o.r.e with me, sir," said the lieutenant; "Colonel Dorsenne will be glad to ask you some questions. What papers have you got?"

"None, save a few private letters," said I, somewhat confused at the question.

"No matter," said he, gayly. "I hear from Antoine you wish to join the service here. That wish is your best recommendation to the colonel; he 'll not trouble you for reasons, I warrant you. Conduct monsieur to the quartier-gnral," said the lieutenant to a corporal, who, with his party of four men, stood awaiting at the landing-place the arrival of any one from the boats; and in an instant, the men falling to each side of me, took their way along the pier.

I could mark as we went that more than once their looks were bent on me with an expression of compa.s.sion and pity, which at the time I was at a loss to explain. I knew not then that the road we were taking was that which so often led to death; and that it was only on the very day before, two Englishmen were shot for having ventured on sh.o.r.e without authority.

The consigne of the corporal pa.s.sed us through one post after another, until we reached the open plain, over which now the night was falling fast. A lantern at some distance off marked the quarters of the officer on duty; and thither we directed our steps, and at last reached a small wooden hut, from within which the sounds of mirth and revelry proceeded.

The voice of the sentinel who challenged us brought an officer to the door, who the moment his eyes fell on me stepped back, and pa.s.sing his hand hurriedly across his forehead muttered, half inaudibly, "Another already!"

While he retired into an inner apartment, I had time to look at the singular decorations which adorned the walls of the antechamber. Around on every side, and arranged like trophies, were grouped the weapons of different arms of the service, surmounted with some device emblematic of their peculiar character; or sometimes the mere record of some famous battle in which they had pre-eminently distinguished themselves. Here were the long, straight swords of the cuira.s.sier crossed above the steel breastplate, and surmounted by the heavy helmet half hid in leopard skin, and bearing the almost effaced word "Arcole" in front; there was the short carbine of the voltigeur, over which hung the red cap and its gay gold ta.s.sel, with the embroidered motto "En avant" in gold letters.

The long and graceful weapon of the lancer, the curved sabre of the _cha.s.seur cheval_, even the axe of the pioneer was not wanting,--displaying at a glance some trait of every branch of the mighty force that bore the proud designation of "La Grande Arme."

I was busily engaged inspecting these when the door opened, and an officer in full uniform appeared. His figure was above the middle size, strongly and squarely built; and his bronzed features, and high, bold forehead, gave him a soldier-like air.

"Your name, sir," said he, quickly, as he drew himself up before me, and looked sternly in my face.

"Burke,--Thomas Burke."

"Write it down, Auguste," said he, turning to a young officer, who stood, pen in hand, behind him.

"Your rank or profession?"

"Gentilhomme," said I, not knowing that the word expressed n.o.bility.

"Ah, _pardieu_," cried he, as he showed his white teeth in a grin; "produce your papers, if you have any."

"I have nothing save those letters," said I, handing him those of De Meudon.

Scarce had his eye glanced over them, when I saw his color heighten and his cheek tremble.

"What!" cried he, "are you the same young Irishman who is mentioned here, the constant companion and friend of poor Charles? He was my schoolfellow; we were at Brienne together. What a mistake I was about to fall into! How did you come, and when?"

Before I could reply to any of his many questions, the naval officer I had met at the harbor entered, and delivered his report.

"Yes, yes; I know it all," said Dorsenne, hurriedly throwing his eye over it. "It 's all right, perfectly right, Brevix. Let Capitaine Antoine be examined at the quartier-gnral. I 'll take care of monsieur here. And, to begin; come and join us at supper."

Pa.s.sing his arm familiarly over my shoulder, he led me into the adjoining room, where two other officers were seated at a table covered with silver dishes and numerous flasks of wine. A few words sufficed for my introduction; and a few gla.s.ses of champagne placed me as thoroughly at my ease as though I had pa.s.sed my life amongst them, and never heard any other conversation than the last movement of the French army, and their projects for future campaigns.

"And so," said the colonel, after hearing from me a short account of the events which had induced me to turn my eyes to France,--"and so you'd be a soldier? _Eh bien!_ see nothing better going myself. There 's Davernac will tell you the same, though he has lost his arm in the service."

"Oui, pardieu," said the officer on my right; "I am not the man to dissuade him from a career I 've ever loved."

" vous, mon ami," said the young officer who first addressed me on my arrival, as he held out his gla.s.s and clinked it against mine. "I hope we shall have you one of these days as our guide through the dark streets of London. The time may not be so distant as you think; never shake your head at it."

"It is not that I would mean," said I, eagerly.

"What then?" said the colonel. "You don't suppose such an expedition as ours could fail of success?"

"Nor that either," replied I; "I am not so presumptuous as to form an opinion on the subject."

"Diantre, then! what is it?"

"Simply this: that whatever fortune awaits me, I shall never be found fighting against the country under whose rule I was born. England may not be--alas! she has not been--just to us. But whatever resistance I might have offered in the ranks of my countrymen, I shall never descend to in an invading army. No, no; if France have no other war than with England,--if she have not the cause of Continental liberty at heart,--she 'll have no blood of mine shed in her Service."

"Sacristi!" said the colonel, sipping his wine coolly, "you had better keep these same opinions of yours to your self. There 's a certain little General we have at Paris who rarely permits people to reason about the cause of the campaign. However, it is growing late now, and we 'll not discuss the matter at present. Auguste, will you take Burke to your quarters? And to-morrow I 'll call on the general about his brevet for the Polytechnique."

I felt now that I had spoken more warmly than was pleasing to the party; but the sentiments I had announced were only such as in my heart I had resolved to abide by, and I was pleased that an opportunity so soon offered to display them. I was glad to find myself at rest at last; and although events pressed on me fast and thick enough to have occupied my mind, no sooner had I laid my head on my pillow than I fell into a sound sleep.

CHAPTER XXI. THE COLE MILITAIRE

Let me now skip over at a bound some twelve months of my life,--not that they were to me without their chances and their changes, but they were such as are incidental to all boyhood,--and present myself to my reader as the scholar at the Polytechnique. What a change had the time, short as it was, worked in all my opinions! how completely had I unlearned all the teaching of my early instructor, poor Darby! how had I been taught to think that glory was the real element of war, and that its cause was of far less moment than its conduct!

The enthusiasm which animated every corps of the French army, and was felt through every fibre of the nation, had full sway in the little world of the military school. There, every battle was known and conned over; we called every spot of our playground by some name great in the history of glory; and among ourselves we a.s.sumed the t.i.tles of the heroes who shed such l.u.s.tre on their country; and thus in all our boyish sports our talk was of the Bridge of Lodi, Arcole, Rivoli, Castiglione, the Pyramids, Mount Tabor. While the names of Kleber, Kellerman, Ma.s.sena, Desaix, Murat, were adopted amongst us, but one name only remained unappropriated; and no one was bold enough to a.s.sume the t.i.tle of him whose victories were the boast of every tongue. If this enthusiasm was general amongst us, I felt it in all its fullest force, for it came untinged with any other thought. To me there was neither home nor family; my days pa.s.sed over in one unbroken calm,--no thought of pleasure, no hope of happiness, when the fte day came round. My every sense was wrapped up in the one great desire,--to be a soldier; to have my name known among those great men whose fame was over Europe; to be remembered by him whose slightest word of praise was honor itself.

When should that day come for me? When should I see the career open before me? These were my earliest waking thoughts, my last at nightfall.

If the intensity of purpose, the strong current of all my hopes, formed for me an ideal and a happy world within me, yet did it lend a trait of seriousness to my manner that seemed like melancholy; and while few knew less what it was to grieve, a certain sadness in me struck my companions, on which they often rallied me, but which I strove in vain to conquer. It was true that at certain times my loneliness and isolation came coldly on my heart; when one by one I saw others claimed by their friends, and hurrying away to some happy home, where some fond sister threw her arm around a brother's neck, or some doting mother clasped her son close to her bosom and kissed his brow, a tear would find its way down my cheek, and I would hasten to my room, and locking the door, sit down alone to think, till my sad heart grew weary, or my sterner nature rose within me, and by an effort over myself, I turned to my studies and forgot all else.

Meanwhile I made rapid progress; the unbroken tenor of my thoughts gave me a decided advantage over the others, and long before the regular period arrived, the day for my final examination was appointed.

What a lasting impression do some pa.s.sages of early life leave behind them! Even yet,--and how many years are past!--how well do I remember all the hopes and fears that stirred my heart as the day drew near!

how each morning at sunrise I rose to pore over some of the books which formed the subjects of examination: how, when the gray dawn was only breaking, have I bent over the pages of Vauban and the calculations of Carnot! and with what a sinking spirit have I often found that a night seemed to have erased all the fruit of a long day's labor, and that the gain of my hard-worked intellect had escaped me,--and then again, like magic, the lost thought would come back, my brain grow clear, and all the indistinct and shadowy conceptions a.s.sume a firm and tangible reality which I felt like power! At such times as these my spirits rose, my heart beat high, a joyous feeling throbbed in every pulse, and an exhilaration almost maddening elevated me, and there was nothing I would not have dared, no danger I would not have confronted. Such were the attractions of my boyish days, and such the temperament they bequeathed to my manhood.

It was on the 16th of June, the anniversary of Marengo, when the drum beat to arms in the court of the Polytechnique; and soon after the scholars were seen a.s.sembling in haste from various quarters, anxious to learn if their prayer had been acceded to,--which asked permission for them to visit the Invalides, the usual indulgence on the anniversary of any great victory.

As we flocked into the court we were struck by seeing an orderly dragoon standing beside the headmaster, who was eagerly perusing a letter in his hands; when he had concluded, he spoke a few words to the soldier, who at once wheeled round his horse and trotted rapidly from the spot.

Again the drums rolled out, and the order was given to form in line. In an instant the command was obeyed, and we stood in silent expectation of the news which we perceived awaited us.

"Messieurs les lves," he began, when stillness was restored, "this day being the anniversary of the glorious battle of Marengo, the General Bonaparte has decreed that a review should be held of the entire school.

Lieutenant-General d'Auvergne will arrive here at noon to inspect you, and on such reports as I shall give of your general conduct, zeal, and proficiency will recommendations be forwarded to the First Consul for your promotion."

A loud cheer followed this speech. The announcement far surpa.s.sed our most ardent hopes, and there was no limit to our enthusiasm; and loud vivas in honor of General Bonaparte, D'Auvergne, and the headmaster himself were heard on all sides.

Scarcely was the breakfast over when our preparations began. What a busy scene it was! Here were some brus.h.i.+ng up their uniforms, polis.h.i.+ng their sword-hilts, and pipeclaying their cross-belts; there might be seen others conning over the directions of field manoeuvres, and refres.h.i.+ng their memory of the words of command; some practised marching in groups along the corridor; others, too much excited by the prospect before them, jumped madly from place to place, shouting and singing s.n.a.t.c.hes of soldier songs; but all were occupied. As for me, it was only two days before I had obtained my grade of corporal; my new uniform had only just come home, and I put it on for the first time with no inconsiderable pride; indeed, I could scarce turn my eyes as I walked from the stripes upon my arm that denoted my rank.