Tom Burke Of "Ours" Volume Ii Part 8

"'Mayhap,' said he, sorrowfully, for he could not get over my Turks.

Well, in order to cheer him up a little, I proposed that we should go and sup together at the 'Grenadier Rouge;' and away we went accordingly.

"It would amuse you, perhaps," said Maitre Francois, "were I to tell some of the stories we related to each other at night. We both had had our share of adventure since we met, and some droll ones among the number. However, that is not the question at present. We sat late; so late that they came to close the cafe at last, and we were obliged to depart. You know the 'Grenadier Rouge,' don't you?"

"Yes, I know it well," replied the major; "it's over the glacis, about a mile outside the barrier."

"Just so; and there's a pleasant walk across the glacis to the gate. As Piccotin and I set out together on our way to the town, the night was calm and mild; a soft moonlight shed a silvery tint over every object, and left the stately poplars to throw a still longer shadow on the smooth gra.s.s. For some time we walked along without speaking; the silence of the night, the fragrant air, the mellow light, were all soft and tranquillizing influences, and we sank each into his own reflections.

"When we reached the middle of the plain,--you know the spot, I'm sure; there's a little bronze fountain, with four cedars round it," (the major nodded, and he resumed),--"Piccotin came to a sudden halt, and seizing my hand in both of his, said, 'Francois, canst thou guess what I 'm thinking of?'

"I looked at him, and I looked around me, and after a few seconds' pause I answered, 'Yes, Piccotin, I know it; it is a lovely spot.'

"'Never was anything like it!' cried he, in a rapture; 'look at the turf, smooth as velvet, and yet soft to the foot; see the trees, how they fall back to give the light admittance; and there, that little fountain, if one felt thirsty, eh! What say you?'

"'Agreed,' said I, grasping him by both hands; 'for this once; once only, Piccotin.'

"'Only once, Francois; a few pa.s.ses, and no more.'

"'Just so; the first touch.'

"'Exactly; the first touch,' said he, as, taking off his cloak, and folding it neatly, he laid it on the gra.s.s.

"It was a strange thing, but in all our lives, from earliest boyhood up, we never had measured swords together; and though we were both maitres d'armes, we never crossed blades, even in jest. Often and often had our comrades pitted us against each other, and laid wagers on the result, but we never would consent to meet; I cannot say why. It was not fear; I know not how to account for it, but such was the fact.

"'What blade do you wear, Francois?' said he, approaching me, as I arranged my jacket and vest, with my cap, on the ground.

"'A Rouen steel,' said I; 'too limber for most men, but I am so accustomed to it, I prefer it.'

"'Ah! a pretty weapon indeed,' said he, drawing it from the scabbard, and making one or two pa.s.ses with it against an elder trunk. 'Was this the blade you had with you in Egypt?'

"'Yes; I have worn none other for eight years.'

"'Ah, _ma foi!_ those Mamelukes. How I envy you those Mamelukes!' he muttered to himself, as he walked back to his place.

"'Move a little, a very little, to the left; there's a shadow from that tree. Can you see me well?' said I.

"'Perfectly; are you ready? Well; _en garde!_'

"Piccotin's forte, I soon saw, lay in the long meditated attack, where each movement was part of an artfully devised series; and I perceived that he suffered his adversary to gain several trifling advantages, by way of giving him a false confidence, biding his own time to play off the scores. In this description of fence he was more than my equal.

_My_ strength was in the skirmis.h.i.+ng pa.s.sages, where most men lunge at random; then, no matter how confused the rally, I was as cool as in the salute.

"For some time I permitted him to play his game out; and certainly nothing could be more beautiful than his pa.s.ses over the hilt. Twice he planted his point within an inch of my bosom; and nothing but a spring backwards would have saved me.

"At length, after a long-contested struggle, he made a feint within, and then without, the guard, and succeeded in touching my sword-arm, above the wrist.

"'A touch, I believe,' said he.

"'A mere nothing,' said I; for although I felt the blood running down my sleeve, and oozing between my fingers, I was annoyed to think he had made the first hit.

"'Ah, Francois, these Mamelukes were not of the premiere force, after all. I have only been jesting all this time; see here.'

With that he closed on me, in a very different style from his former attack. Pus.h.i.+ng and parrying with the rapidity of lightning, he evinced a skill in 'skirmish' I did not believe him possessed of. In this, however, I was his master; and in a few seconds gave him my point sharply, but not deeply, in the shoulder. Instead of dropping his weapon when he received mine, he returned the thrust. I parried it, and touched him again, a little lower down. He winced this time, and muttered something I could not catch. 'You shall have it now,' said he, aloud; 'I owe you this,--and this.' True to his word, he twice pierced me in the back, outside the guard. Encouraged by success, he again closed on me; while I, piqued by his last a.s.sault, advanced to meet him.

"Our tempers were both excited; but his far more than mine. The struggle was a severe one. Three several times his blade pa.s.sed between my arm and my body; and at last after a desperate rally, he dropped on one knee, and gave me the point here, beneath the chest. Before he could extricate his blade, I plunged mine into his chest, and pushed till I heard the hilt come clink against his ribs. The blood spurted upwards, over my face and breast, as he fell backwards. I wiped it hurriedly from my eyes, and bent over him. He gave a shudder and a little faint moan, and all was still."

"You killed him?" cried out three or four of us together.

"_Ma foi!_ yes. The 'coup' was mortal; he never stirred after. As for me," continued Francois, "I surrendered myself a prisoner to the officer on guard at the gate. I was tried ten days after by a military commission, and acquitted. My own evidence was my accusation and my defence."

"_Ventrebleu!_ had I been on the court-martial, you had not been here to tell the story," said the old major, as his face became almost purple with pa.s.sion.

"Nonsense!" said Tascher, jeeringly. "What signifies a maitre d'armes the more or the less?"

"Monsieur will probably explain himself," said Francois, with one of his cold smiles of excessive deference.

"It is exactly what I mean to do, Francois."

"Come, sirs, none of this," broke in the major. "Lieutenant Tascher, you may not fancy being placed under an arrest when the enemy is in the field. Master Francois, do you forget the sentence of a court-martial is hanging over your head for an affair at Elchingen, where you insulted a young officer of the hussars?"

"In that case I must be permitted to say that Maitre Francois conducted himself like a man of honor," said I.

"_Parbleu!_ and got the worst of it besides," cried he, placing his hand on his hip. The tone of his voice as he said this, and the grimace he made, restored the party once more to good-humor, and we chatted away pleasantly till day was breaking.

As Tascher strolled along with me towards my quarters, I was rejoiced to discover that he had never heard of my name as being mixed up in the Chouan conspiracy; nor was he aware with how little reason he believed me to be favored by fortune.

I received, however, all his congratulations without any desire to undeceive him. Already had I learned the worldly lesson, that while friends cling closer in adversity, your mere acquaintance deems your popularity your greatest merit; and I at length perceived that, however ungenial in many respects the companions.h.i.+p, the life of isolation I led had rendered me suspected by others, and in a career, too, where frankness was considered the first of virtues.

I a.s.sented at once with pleasure to the prospect of our meeting frequently while in camp. My own regiment had joined Davoust's corps, and I was glad to have the society of some others of my own age, if only to wean myself from my habits of solitude. While I formed these plans for the future, I little antic.i.p.ated what events were in store for me, nor how soon I should be thrown among scenes and people totally different from those with which I had ever mixed before.

"You mess with us, then, Burke,--that's agreed," said Tascher. "They 're excellent fellows, these cuira.s.siers of ours, and I know you 'll like them."

With this promise we parted, hoping to meet on the morrow.

CHAPTER VI. THE MILL ON THE HOLITSCH ROAD

At an early hour on the morning of the 4th came orders for the "Garde a Cheval" to hold themselves in readiness, with two squadrons of the carabineers, on the road to Holitsch; part of this force being under the command of General d'Auvergne. We found ourselves fully equipped and in waiting soon after eight o'clock. From the "tenue" and appearance of the troops, it was evident that no measure of active service was contemplated; yet, if a review were intended, we could not guess why so small a force had been selected. As usual on such occasions, many conjectures were hazarded, and a hundred explanations pa.s.sed current,--one scarcely a whit better than the other, when at last we perceived a peloton of dragoons advancing towards us at a brisk trot.

The word was pa.s.sed to close up and draw swords; and scarcely was it obeyed when the staff of the Emperor came up. They were all in the full blaze of their gala uniforms, brilliant with crosses and decorations.

Napoleon alone wore the simple costume of the "Cha.s.seurs of the Garde,"

with the decoration of the Legion; but his proud look and his flas.h.i.+ng eye made him conspicuous above them all. He was mounted on his favorite charger "Marengo," and seemed to enjoy the high spirit of the mettled animal, as he tossed his long mane about, and lashed his sides with his great silken tail.

As the cortege pa.s.sed we closed up the rear, and followed at a sharp pace, more than ever puzzled to divine what was going forward. After about two hours' riding, during which we never drew bridle, we saw a party of staff-officers in front, who, saluting the Emperor, joined the cortege. At the same instant General d'Auvergne pa.s.sed close beside me, and whispered in my ear. "Bernadotte has just come up, and been most coldly received." I wished to ask him what was the object of the whole movement, but he was gone before I could do so. In less than a quarter of an hour afterwards we left the highroad, and entered upon a large plain, where the only object I could perceive was an old mill, ruined and dilapidated. Towards this the imperial staff rode forward, while the peloton in front wheeled about, and rode to the rear of our squadrons.

The next moment we were halted, and drawn up in order of battle.

While these movements were going forward, I remarked that the Emperor had dismounted from his horse and dismissed his staff, all save Marshal Berthier, who stood at a little distance from him. Several dismounted dragoons were employed in lighting two immense fires,--a process which Napoleon appeared to watch with great interest for a second or two; and then, taking out his gla.s.s, he remained for several minutes intently surveying the great road to Holitsch.

In this direction at once every eye was turned; but nothing could we see. The road led through a wide open country for some miles, and at last disappeared in the recesses of a dark pine wood, that covered the horizon for miles on either side. Meanwhile Napoleon, with his hands clasped behind his back, walked hurriedly backwards and forwards beside the blazing fires, stopping at intervals to look along the road, and then resuming his walk as before. He was not more than two hundred paces from where we stood, and I could mark well his gesture of impatience, as he closed his gla.s.s each time, after looking in vain towards Holitsch.