The Sword of Honor; or, The Foundation of the French Republic

by Eugène Sue

  CHAPTER XIII.

  THE HOWL RINGS FALSE.

  At the same instant Madam Desmarais was saying to herself:

  "Let me hasten to write to my brother that he may even to-night quitParis, by the St. Victor barrier." And, rushing to her husband as thedouble doors of the parlor swung to, she exclaimed joyfully:

  "Ah, my friend, what a fine fellow that commissioner is! He does likeyou--he _roars with the tigers and howls with the wolves_!"

  "What!" exploded the lawyer, taken aback. "Do you mean to say--?"

  "I mean this worthy man understood that in demanding my arrest, poorfriend, you were only playing a role. Not so, Charlotte?"

  "Oh, yes! For he said to mother, 'In these times of revolution, honestmen are obliged to wear a mask.'"

  "And I made answer," continued Madam Desmarais, "that, in fact, you wereobliged to _howl with the wolves_, as you have so often repeated to meto-day."

  "Wretched woman!" screamed the lawyer, as he sprang at his wife, hisfist raised in a paroxysm of rage.

  "Father, recollect yourself, for pity!"

  A moment later Desmarais's fury gave way to prostration. His featureswere overspread with an ashen pallor, he reeled, and had barely time tothrow himself into an arm-chair, mumbling as if his senses had forsakenhim--"I am lost!--The guillotine!"

  Madam Desmarais and her daughter flew to the advocate's side, raised hisinert head, and made him breathe their salts. Hardly had he come tohimself when Gertrude entered and announced:

  "Monsieur Billaud-Varenne asks to speak with monsieur, on a very urgentmatter."

  The announcement of the visit of his colleague seemed to reanimate thelawyer. A glow of hope shone in his almost deathly countenance. He roseabruptly, saying:

  "Billaud must have seen St. Just. If he accepts my proposition, I amsaved!" Then, in a curt, hard voice he addressed his wife: "Retire toyour apartment, madam; I have to talk business, grave politicalbusiness, with Citizen Billaud-Varenne."

  Followed by her daughter, Madam Desmarais went out, and her husbandordered Gertrude to show Citizen Billaud-Varenne into the parlor. As themaid left, the two police agents placed on watch were seated near theparlor door.

  "Come now, let's compose ourselves," muttered the advocate, mopping theperspiration which beaded his brow. "Billaud-Varenne is another sort ofmonster, and perhaps more dangerous than Marat. What answer will hebring me? If St. Just consents to be my son-in-law, I have nothing moreto fear! If not--ah! What a hell!"

  Billaud-Varenne entered. The Representative of the people was not amonster, as the advocate had christened him; but a man of inflexibleconvictions and rigid probity, besides being the possessor of somefortune. He did not touch, any more than Lepelletier St. Fargeau,Herault of Sechelles, and other wealthy citizens, the compensationallowed to a Representative. Gifted with natural eloquence, alwayssanguine, there was no patriot more devoted to the Revolution thanBillaud-Varenne. He wore a short-haired black wig, and a maroon suitwith steel buttons; like Robespierre, St. Just, Camille Desmoulins andother Jacobins, he carried dignity even into the care of his person andhis clothes.

  "Eh, well, colleague," quoth Billaud-Varenne on entering, "what am I tosurmise by this visit of the Section commissioner, whom I just metleaving your rooms?"

  "Confess that it is a spicy incident to find, in the house one of usMountainists a deposit of royalist poniards!"

  "That is very easily explained: You receive a case from the depot, youdon't know what is in it--nothing simpler."

  "Do you think, my dear colleague, that it seemed so simple to thecommissioner?"

  "He could know nothing to the contrary. But, between ourselves, youexhibited extreme rigor towards your wife."

  "You know that also--?"

  "I know that you applied for her arrest, and that you demanded twowatchmen, whom I found out there, in the ante-room. The precaution seemsto me excessive."

  "You disapprove of this measure, you, Billaud-Varenne, you, man ofiron?"

  "I disapprove of your whole procedure. My dear colleague, there arepainful duties to which one resigns himself; but there are uselessharshnesses which one does not call down upon his dear ones. That is myway of looking at it." Without noticing, or without seeming to notice,the uneasiness which his last words produced in Desmarais,Billaud-Varenne proceeded:

  "But, let us speak of the object of my visit. I am just from theJacobins, where I saw St. Just. He was highly sensible of the honor ofthe advances I made him on your part, on the subject of his marryingyour daughter; but he refused to contract any union whatsoever."

  "He refuses!" gasped Desmarais, pale with consternation. "Is not therefusal perhaps revokable?"

  "St. Just never turns back on a determination once taken."

  "But, at least, I may know the cause of his declination? Answer myquestion, my dear colleague."

  "St. Just would have been happy to enter your family, he told me, ifMademoiselle Desmarais had looked favorably upon his court; but hethinks that under the grave circumstances in which we now findourselves, a man of politics should remain free from all bonds, eventhose of the family, in order to consecrate himself wholly to publicaffairs. He wishes to hold himself ready for all sacrifices, even thatof his life."

  "Perhaps St. Just deems my daughter has not been brought up inprinciples of civic duty sufficiently pure. Had he regarded me as abetter patriot, his answer would have no doubt been different?"

  "Of a truth, my dear colleague, you are a singular fellow. In theConstituent Assembly, you voted with the extreme Left; at the Jacobins,I have heard you propose and support the most revolutionary motions; youvote with us of the Mountain; and yet you seem to fear lest we suspectthe sincerity of your convictions!"

  "And why, then, should I fear that anyone doubted my sincerity?"

  "My faith, you must answer that question yourself!"

  "Oh, then the answer is easy, my dear Billaud: The Revolution is, andshould be, a jealous, distrustful, exacting mistress to those devoted toher; and I continually fear not having done enough, and being accused oflukewarmness." Then, anxious to escape from a subject that embarrassedhim, and to hide the cruel disappointment occasioned by St. Just'srefusal, Desmarais added, "What is new to-night at the Jacobins?"

  "A speech of hardly a quarter of an hour in length, but which created anincalculable impression upon its hearers."

  "On what subject?"

  "Louis XVI's penalty."

  "And the speaker was--?"

  "A young man whom I am proud to number among my friends, for his modestyequals his patriotism and merit. He is a simple iron-worker. We wishedto nominate him for the Convention; he refused our offer, but consentedto accept municipal office."

  "John Lebrenn!"

  "Precisely. He was the orator in question."

  "He is my pupil, my dear pupil!" returned Desmarais. "It is I who puthim through his revolutionary education."

  "This young man, ardent, generous, yet tender and delicate as he is bynature, has but one rule of conduct--eternal justice and morality. He isa lofty soul. Marat and Robespierre both congratulated him upon hisspeech, which concluded with these words:

  "'Louis XVI was born kind, humane, and graced with parts, and beholdwhat corrupting, subversive, detestable influences lurk in the veryessence of kingship. It has turned this man, so happily made up, into atraitor, a perjurer, a murderer, a parricide who has unchained againsthis mother country the arms of foreigners and emigrants. Ah, citizens,in judging, in condemning this guilty one of high rank, it is less theman than the King and still less the King than royalty itself that yousmite. The ax that will strike off the head of Louis XVI will decapitatethe monarchy, that dynasty of a foreign race imposed on Gaul for so manycenturies by violence and conquest.'"

  "That's superb!" exclaimed the lawyer. "That's fine! Lo, the fruit of mylessons!"

  "Your pupil closed by ably contrasting with the days of September thejudicial condemnation of Louis Capet: 'Before August 10 the crimes ofLouis XVI
were notorious; they merited death,' quoth Lebrenn. 'Supposethe people in its fury had taken summary justice on the guilty one.Suppose he had been stricken down during the insurrection. Compare thatdeath, almost furtive, half veiled by the murk of battle, with theaugust spectacle which the Convention is now about to offer to theworld, before God and man! A people calm in its sovereignty, judging andcondemning, in the name of the law, the criminal who was its King. Tothe dagger of Brutus we shall oppose the sword of Justice! The tyrantshall be smitten in the name of all, in the public place. He shall passfrom the throne to the scaffold. May in like manner the heads of alltyrants fall!'"

  "That is immense!" again exclaimed Desmarais. "I am proud of my pupil."

  "And what enhances your pupil's worth, my dear colleague, is that hismodesty is equal to his patriotism. Robespierre, mounting the tribunalafter Lebrenn, commended his discourse with the words: 'This young manhas just spoken to us in the language of the philosopher, the historian,the statesman. He is a simple workman, who toils ten hours a day at hisrough trade of iron-worker to supply his wants.' These words ofRobespierre's signalized the ovation received by Lebrenn at theJacobins. And now I take my leave of you, my dear Desmarais, reiteratingmy regret at having failed in the mission you entrusted me with to St.Just. Moreover, he will probably tell you himself to-morrow at theConvention how sensible he was of your tenders, and for what reasons hefeels constrained to decline them."

  "I should have been happy to have for son-in-law a man as eminent intalent as for patriotism. I have firmly made up my mind not to give mydaughter to anyone but a republican of our stripe, dear colleague."

  "But now I think of it," interjected Billaud-Varenne, stopping andcoming back a few steps, "you desire for son-in-law a republican eminentalike for his love of country and his talent? Is that your desire?"

  "It is my most ardent wish!"

  "Well, then, my dear Desmarais, you have that son-in-law under yourhand--your pupil, Citizen John Lebrenn! The young man has lived closebeside you, you must be acquainted with his manners and his privatecharacter. Mademoiselle Desmarais, reared by you in austere principles,ought, allowing for her personal inclinations, which should always berespected, to welcome such an aspirant to her hand. John Lebrenn isyoung, and of attractive appearance. So that, if such a marriage werepleasing to your daughter, would it not be an act calculated to drawtoward you everyone's affection, for having begun the merging of theclasses? Everybody would applaud the marriage of the daughter of therich bourgeois, of the advocate of renown, with the simple artisan. Whatthink you of the idea, my dear colleague?"

  "You shall soon know," replied advocate Desmarais after a moment'sreflection, during which he vainly racked his brains for an avenue ofescape from the meshes of his own duplicity, now closed in upon him.Then he ran to the table, seated himself, seized paper and pen, anddashed off a few lines, while he said silently to himself:

  "The danger admits of no hesitation. The sacrifice is consummated. AfterBillaud-Varenne's utterances on the 'merging of the classes,' I can nolonger hang back. He is interested in Lebrenn; he will inform the boy ofthe proposal he just made to me; he will learn that John and my daughterhave loved each other for four years and more. It will then be clear toBillaud-Varenne that my only reason for opposition to the union is myrepugnance to giving my daughter to a workingman. I shudder for theconsequences! Such a revelation, coming on the heels of Hubert's escapeand the discovery of the depot of royalist arms and proclamations in myhouse, is capable of leading me straight to the guillotine!"

  While indulging in these reflections, Desmarais indicted the followingletter to John Lebrenn:

  My dear John:

  I await you at once, at my home. My daughter is yours, on one only condition, which I expect from your loyalty in which I have absolute confidence.

  That condition is:

  _Never to mention to anyone, and particularly not to Billaud-Varenne, that you loved my daughter four years ago._

  I await you.

  Fraternal greetings,

  DESMARAIS.

  The letter written, Desmarais rang. Gertrude appeared and the lawyersaid to her:

  "Carry this letter immediately to Citizen John Lebrenn, and wait for ananswer."

  "Yes, monsieur," answered the maid, and went on her errand.

  "My dear colleague, excuse me for an instant, and I shall see whether mywife and daughter can receive us."

  Thus left alone, Billaud-Varenne gave himself up to reflection. "Thereis a rat here somewhere," he mused. "Why does Desmarais wish to presentme to his wife and daughter? Truly there are strange shifts in thisman's conduct. He continually forces upon me a vague mistrust, and yethis vote, his speech, and his deed have always been in accord with themost advanced revolutionary principles. Whence comes this constant fear,which everything awakens in him, of being taken for a traitor? Just nowhe seemed shocked and startled at the idea which came to me to proposeLebrenn as his son-in-law. Does the bourgeois _sans-culotte_ want to bea bourgeois _gentleman_? Does the rich lawyer fear he will debasehimself in giving his daughter to a workman? And finally, what an absurdaffectation of stoicism for him to call for the arrest of his wifebecause she yielded to the respectable sentiment of sisterly tenderness!Has he not constituted himself her jailer? Do these exaggerations masktreason or only extreme cowardice? Is Desmarais a traitor orlily-livered? or traitor and coward combined? After all, what mattersit? He is an instrument, he is popular, eloquent, subtle, well-listenedto in the Assembly. But, in times of reaction, traitors and cowards whoby their exaggerations on one side have attained a certain popularity,become no less exaggerated the other way, and, in the desire to savetheir heads or 'give pledges,' send in preference their old friends tothe scaffold. Desmarais may someday, if my distrust be well grounded,blossom forth into one of these furious reactionists. Lest that be thecase, the proof of treason once at hand the evil must be cut out at theroot." Punctuating his last words with a gesture of terriblesignificance, Billaud-Varenne added: "At any rate, let us await factsbefore forming a final judgment. Marat's penetration never fails, and hehas his eye on our dear colleague."

  Billaud-Varenne's soliloquy was cut short by the return of Desmarais,flanked by his wife and daughter. The latter seemed sweetly moved by theconfidence her father had just made her, touching his determination inthe matter of her marriage with John Lebrenn. Madam Desmarais, on thecontrary, was under the influence of mournful thoughts, by reason of theevents in which she found her brother involved, the fate of whom causedher no slight anxiety; she was at much pains to restrain her tears.

  The member of the Assembly, bowing with kind and respectful courtesy tothe wife of his colleague, spoke first:

  "I regret, madam, that it is at a moment so sad to you that I have thehonor of being presented; but I hope, indeed I am certain, that my dearcolleague will not prolong much more your captivity, but will deliveryou from your guardians."

  "Citizen Billaud-Varenne, it shall be as you desire. I shall send awaythe agents charged with keeping guard over Citizeness Desmarais. Jailersin our hall go ill with a day of betrothal."

  "What say you, citizen," ejaculated Billaud-Varenne. "A day ofbetrothal?"

  "The letter I wrote just this instant, was destined to my pupil Lebrenn.I announced to him, very simply, that I offered him the hand of mydaughter."

  "Your procedure is indeed worthy of praise."

  "And now, my daughter," continued Desmarais solemnly, "answer metruthfully. Before your departure from Paris for Lyons, you often sawhere our young neighbor Lebrenn. What is your opinion of the youngcitizen?"

  "I think that there is no soul more lofty, no character more generous,no heart better than his. He is a young man of worth."

  "You consent to wed him?"

  "I consent with all the greater willingness, father, because, unknown toyou and mother, I have for a long time loved Monsieur John Lebrenn, thevaliant iron-worker. I even believe that my affection is re
turned."

  "The young girl is charming in her grace and candor," thoughtBillaud-Varenne. "What a strange falling out! These two young peoplelove each other in secret! In very truth, it is a romance, an idyll!"

  "What, my daughter, you love our young friend, and he loves you!" criedthe lawyer, putting on an air of great surprise. "And you hid your lovefrom me? How comes it that you and our friend John made a mystery of thelove you felt for each other?"

  The return of Gertrude interrupted the colloquy.

  "Well! What answer did our young neighbor make to my letter?"

  "Citizen John Lebrenn is absent. The porter told me that on leaving theclub of the Jacobins, he came to change his clothes, putting on hisuniform of municipal officer, in order to go to the Temple Prison, wherehe is to mount guard to-night over Louis Capet. I brought the letterback. Here it is."

  "Ah, I regret this mischance, dear colleague," said the lawyer;"especially now that I am aware of the love of these two children foreach other. I would have been overjoyed to have you witness thehappiness for which you are in part responsible."

  "I share your regrets, dear colleague," replied Billaud-Varenne; then,smiling, after a moment's thought: "It remains with you to grant me acompensation for which I shall be very grateful. Entrust to me thisletter, which I will have delivered, this very evening at the Temple, toour young friend."

  "Ah, sir, how good you are," said Charlotte quickly, blushing withemotion. "Thank you for your gracious offer."

  "Here is the letter, dear colleague. As much as my daughter, I thank youfor your cordial interest," added the lawyer, handing over the missive;while he said to himself: "Billaud-Varenne is incapable of opening aletter confided to him and addressed to John Lebrenn. He will not seehim to-night; I need, then, fear no indiscretion on the boy's part, andit is for me now to inform John, as soon as possible, of my projects andthe conditions I impose upon him for his marriage."

  "Adieu, madam, adieu, mademoiselle," Billaud-Varenne was saying to thetwo women, as he bowed to each; "I shall carry with me at least thecertainty that this evening, begun under such sad auspices, will end indomestic joy."

  Madam Desmarais, overwhelmed with apprehensions of her brother's fate,could only reply sadly as she returned the bow, "I thank you, monsieur,for your good wishes."

  "Till to-morrow, dear colleague," said the lawyer, going withBillaud-Varenne as far as the door of the parlor; and then he added inan undertone, "If, as I have no doubt, John Lebrenn marries my daughter,would it not be timely to mention the marriage in the journal of ourfriend Marat?"

  "I promise you, colleague, to speak of it to Marat; he will consider thematter," responded Billaud-Varenne with a touch of irony; and hemuttered to himself: "Affectation again. This bidding for popularityonce more arouses my suspicions."

  "Citizens," said the lawyer to the two agents of the Sectioncommissioner posted outside the door, "you may withdraw. Fraternalgreetings." And addressing Billaud-Varenne, he repeated: "Tillto-morrow, dear colleague."

  "Till to-morrow!" returned the latter. "I shall go at once to theTemple, and within the hour, John Lebrenn shall have your letter." Afterwhich the member of the National Convention once more added, to himself:

  "Positively, I think Marat must keep his eye on Desmarais; he seems tome a hypocrite who will well bear watching."

  END OF VOLUME I.