by Eugène Sue
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE HEROINE IN ARMS.
The headquarters of General Hoche were established in the Commune Hallof the burg of Ingelsheim; soldiers and under-officers of various corpsof the army, detailed as orderlies, awaited the commands of the Generalin a sort of vestibule leading to the room in which Hoche himself,together with his fellow-General Pichegru and their aides-de-camp, werein conference with St. Just, Lebas, Randon and Lacost, theRepresentatives of the people sent on special mission from theConvention to the Armies of the Rhine and Moselle. Among the varioustroopers seated about on the benches, and for the most part sleeping,overcome by the fatigues of the day, were two, a cavalryman and aquartermaster of the Third Hussars, who sat to one side of the foldingdoor in earnest conversation. The manly beauty of one of them, his lightbrown complexion, the soft black down which shaded his upper lip, histhick eyelashes, his height, the squareness of his shoulders, and thefire and boldness of his glance, left no doubt but that it was Victoria,the missing sister of John Lebrenn. Her companion, who could be noneother than the apprentice Oliver, seemed transfigured. His radiantyouthful features now shone with hope and martial ardor. His largebrilliant blue eyes seemed to mirror dazzling visions. One would havesaid it was Mars himself in the uniform of a hussar.
"With what impatience I await the morrow," he was saying to Victoria."Here in my heart I feel that I shall either be killed or namedsub-lieutenant on the field of battle. Hoche, our General-in-chief, wassub-lieutenant at twenty-two; I shall be an officer at eighteen! What afuture opens before me!"
Dreaming of his martial career, the young soldier gazed long andsilently into the golden picture it held up before him. Victoriaobserved him closely. An inscrutable smile overspread her lips, whensuddenly, recalled from his revery by the recollections of love, Oliverblushed and added: "If I am made an officer, perhaps you will at lastthink me worthy of you, Victoria! Oh! what happiness! To merit thesupreme gifts of your tenderness, or to die before your eyes!"
"You yield yourself too readily to the intoxication of glory," saidVictoria, gravely reproaching him.
"Is not the glory of arms the most sublime of all?"
"Oliver, woe to those who, loving arms merely as arms, glory as glory,give way to such enticements. Their reason becomes clouded, their spiritbecomes unsteeled, their patriotism falters. They grow ready tosacrifice right, liberty, dignity for that glory whose brilliancy oftconceals so much of mere low ambition, of abject servility, of shamefulappetites, and vain and childish selfishness. Military chiefs are nearlyall contemptible men, even under the republican regime."
"Victoria, how severe you are!" replied Oliver, sorrowfully. "Have Ireally merited this reproach?"
"When St. Just and Lebas came here to hold council with the Generalsover to-morrow's battle, I noticed your hesitancy in giving, ascustomary, the military salute."
"Yes, I felt extreme repugnance toward saluting a commissioner of theConvention to the armies, because these people are in no way military.If some day I become a general, I shall never consent to submit my plansof campaign to a Representative of the people. No authority shouldprecede that of a general in his army. That authority should be single,absolute, obeyed without discussion; he should be responsible to nonefor his acts. His soldiers should hear but one voice: his; know but onepower: his."
"That is the language held by Dumouriez the eve of the day on which hebetrayed the Republic," answered Victoria bitterly. Just then JohnLebrenn and Duchemin entered, bringing in their prisoners.
John did not see his sister sitting with Oliver beside the door. But theyoung woman, doubly surprised by meeting at once both her brother andthe Jesuit Morlet, whom she immediately recognized through his rusticdisguise, made at first a move to rush after John. But fearing lest he,unable to master his surprise, might compromise the secret of atransformation which she desired to guard, she checked herself, andwhispered to Oliver, who was no less stupefied than she at the sight ofhis former master: "My brother has gone with that country fellow and thelittle boy into the room of the aides-de-camp. Go tell the cannonierDuchemin to meet me in the courtyard." Tossing her sword under her leftarm with military ease, the young woman started for the door; anddesignating by a glance the other soldiers, she added, "I do not wish myfirst interview with my brother to take place before our comrades; hisemotion would betray me."
"I obey, Victoria," sadly replied Oliver. "My surprise at meeting yourbrother in the army prevents me from asking you in what I deserve thecruel words you have but just addressed to me."
"My attachment for you, Oliver, compels me never to conceal the truth,harsh as it may be. That is the only means of forestalling results ofwhich you perhaps have no premonition. We shall resume the conversationlater," she added, as she left the vestibule, the pavement of which rangunder her spurred boots.
The courtyard in front of the Commune Hall was a spacious one. On eitherside were ranged the horses of the couriers. The fog had lifted; thestars shone overhead. In the clear air of the crisp, cold night,Victoria soon beheld the artilleryman coming towards her. She advancedto meet him, saying: "I desired to speak to you, citizen, for thepurpose of giving you some information upon that man and the young childwhom you and a volunteer have just brought in as prisoners."
"They are two spies of Pitt and Coburg, who fell among our pickets andwere arrested, only an hour ago, by one of our sentries, a Parisian."
"Is that Parisian named John Lebrenn?"
"What, do you know him, my brave hussar!" asked Duchemin.
"That I do. We are old friends. But here is my information: The manunder arrest is a French priest, a Jesuit, an enemy of the Republic."
"A Jesuit! Ah, double brigand and black-cap! The gallows-bird!"
"His name is Abbot Morlet. It it urgent that you go at once and informJohn Lebrenn of this circumstance; he no doubt will be a witness at thereverend's examination, which may even now be under way. The spy shouldbe unmasked."
"The examiner will give the black-cap's tongue to the dogs if he answersin the gibberish he treated us to just now, in order to throw us off thescent."
"When he finds himself recognized, he will not be likely to persist inthat ruse. Go, then, comrade, acquaint John Lebrenn with the fact thathis prisoner is the Jesuit Morlet, whom he already knows by reputation.Then say to him that a trooper of the Third Hussars wishes to speak withhim a moment, and awaits him here in the court."
"'Tis well. The two commissions will be fulfilled, as you request."
While awaiting her brother, Victoria paced thoughtfully up and down thecourtyard. "Dear brother," she thought, "he has kept his promise. Hewould pay his debt of blood to the Republic, and here he is, a soldier.I can now unveil to him my mystery, and the object of my conduct inregard to Oliver."
Informed by Duchemin that a hussar of the Third wished to see him, Johnsoon stepped out of the Commune Hall, and descrying a cavalryman of thedesignated regiment at some paces from the door, walked towards him,saying:
"Is it you, comrade, who sent me word by an under-officer of theartillery that you had something to say to me?"
"It is I," answered Victoria, taking two steps toward her brother. Thelatter, at first taken aback by surprise at hearing a voice which hebelieved he knew, now approached rapidly. Incapable of leaving him anylonger in suspense, Victoria threw herself on the volunteer's neck,saying in a broken voice:
"Brother! Dear and tender brother! Pardon me the pain I have causedyou!"
"All is forgotten now," murmured John, weeping with joy, and straininghis sister to his breast. "At last I recover you, darling sister!"
"And soon, I hope, we shall be separated no more. My task draws to itsclose. And your worthy wife?"
"I heard from her only day before yesterday. She is well, and sustainsmy absence courageously. Ah, Charlotte is doubly dear to me now--for sheis about to be a mother."
"How happy she must be!"
"In the midst of all her happiness, she still thinks of you. The
re isnot one of her letters in which she does not mention you, and wonder atthe mystery which has enveloped you for so many months. Good heaven, tofind you here in the army, in uniform. I know not whether I am awake ordreaming. I can hardly collect my thoughts." And then after a moment'ssilence, John resumed: "Your pardon, sister. I am now calmer. I nowbelieve I can divine the cause which led you to emulate those manyheroines who are enlisted against the enemies of the Republic.Oliver--doubtless--serves in the same regiment with you? You wereanxious to continue directing him, watching over him?"
"Yes, brother mine; and already, by his bravery and aptitude in war hehas scaled the lower rounds of the ladder. A brilliant future isunrolled before him."
"Sister--" began John with some hesitancy, "the result is beyond what wehoped--but--"
"At what price have I obtained it? is it not, John? I can read yourthoughts. I have no cause to blush for the means I have employed. Theday of his attempted suicide, Oliver pledged me, as you know, that hewould not make a second attempt within twenty-four hours. Beforedaybreak I rapped at his door. He had not retired. His face was asominous as the evening before. 'Oliver,' I said to him, 'let us go atonce.' 'Where are we going?' 'You shall know. You have promised me torenounce till night-fall your projects of suicide. It matters little toyou where you pass your last day, here or elsewhere. Come.' Oliverfollowed me. We went to Sceaux, where I had once before spent some time,hoping to find relief in solitude from my griefs. Perhaps you haveforgotten that when the chateau of Sceaux became national property, ourgood old patriot porter in St. Honore Street became, by yourrecommendation to Cambon, one of the guardians of the domain. The fineold man occupies with his wife the ground floor of a pavilion situatednear one of the gates of the estate. The second floor is vacant, and itwas there I dwelt during my former sojourn in the place. To this abode Iconducted Oliver. I presented him to the keeper and his wife as one ofour relatives who had been ordered to the country for his health; I wasto stay to take care of him. The good people received us with joy. Theyfitted up, from the relics in the furniture repository of the oldmansion, a room for Oliver, and took upon themselves the task ofpreparing our meals. I had in the neighborhood of six hundred livres,which I had saved. That sum would suffice for all our needs for quite awhile.
"My arrangements with the keeper concluded," continued Victoria, "I ledOliver out into the park. We had left Paris before dawn. By the time wearrived at Sceaux, nature had donned all the fragrant beauty of new-bornday. The May morning sun cast his first radiant beams over thoseenchanted vistas. We walked in silence over the velvety lawns, whoserichness was reflected in the little ponds that dotted them. Here werevases and statues of marble niched in the green of the hedges; yonderspouting fountains surrounded by immense rose-bushes then in full bloom.Their scent filled the air. These details may seem childish, brother,but they were all important."
"I can well see it; you hoped to reattach the poor boy to life bydisplaying to him, in that fine spring morning, nature in her mostsmiling aspect."
"Such indeed was my purpose. I observed Oliver closely. His looks, atfirst lorn and somber, brightened little by little. He breathed in withwide nostrils the morning ambrosia of the woods, the fields and theflowers. He rapturously bent his ear to catch the chirping of the birdsnested in the foliage. His glance lost its heaviness, and again glowedwith youthful buoyancy. He took new hold of life while abandoninghimself to the sweet sensations awakened in him by the contemplation ofnature. I sought to stir the most sensitive and delicate chords of theboy's being. My friendliness tempered what had up till then been sternand parental in my relations with him; I spoke to him now more as sisterthan as mother.
"'It would be paradise upon earth to live here,' he said.
"'Then let us settle in the village, Oliver.'
"'What! You consent to share this solitude with me?'
"'Most assuredly. Indeed, it was even with that hope that I brought youhere.'
"He beamed with happiness. But suddenly, his face clouding again, heasked me sadly 'what I would be to him.' 'Your sister,' I told him. Butseeing him continue to lose the brightness he had just regained, I addedgaily:
"'Yesterday, my friend, I would consent to be nothing more than motherto you. To-day I am willing to rejuvenate myself sufficiently to becomeyour sister. Is not that great progress?'
"'So,' he cried in a transport, 'you give me leave to hope?'
"'I give you permission to hope for what I hope myself, Oliver: that oneday I may feel for you a sentiment more tender than that of fraternity.But it depends upon you still more than on me.'
"'What must I do?'
"'Become a man, Oliver; a man of whom I can be proud.'
"Oliver at first gave himself up with joy to this hope; but soon heagain asked, with a shade of suspicion in his voice, 'You will not makeme any promises--are you thinking, then, of forsaking me?'
"'Not at all, Oliver; and moreover, here is what I propose. We shallremain in this charming retreat until you are completely recovered,then we shall join the army, and enroll in the same regiment.' And inanswer to a gesture of stupefaction from Oliver, I added, 'Shall I, doyou imagine, be the first woman who shares the perils of our soldiers,with her secret locked under her uniform? I wish to see you rise fromrank to rank. Then will come the day, perhaps soon, when some brilliantdeed will raise you to the height I dream of for you, and to our commonhope. Now, Oliver, choose between suicide and the glorious future Ipresent to you.'"
"All is now explained, worthy and great-hearted sister," exclaimed JohnLebrenn.
"I am now happy to note that my influence over Oliver diminishes daily.His warlike ardor, the intoxication of his early successes, the activityof camp life--all, according to my calculation, have combined toovercome his passion. I foresaw that love would be fleeting in thatwarlike soul, I sought above all to snatch him from suicide, fromfailure. I wished by a vague hope to rekindle his dying courage,initiate him into the career of arms, which his nature called him to,and by watching over him like a mother and sharing his soldier's life,to preserve him from the pitfalls that destroy so many young men. Iwished, in fine, to affirm him in the path of justice and virtue, todevelop his civic character, and to render still more fervent his lovefor the fatherland and the Republic. Then, this self-imposed duty oncefulfilled, I reserve the means of casting Oliver upon the destiny whichthe future seems to hold for him. Such was my project. In part it isrealized. The young man's passion for war is now his only amour.Accordingly, I will soon be able to leave him."
At this point in their conversation the brother and sister saw JesuitMorlet and little Rodin file out of the Commune Hall, escorted byseveral soldiers. One of these carried a lantern. The artillerymanDuchemin brought up the rear.
"Hey, comrade!" called John Lebrenn to the quartermaster, as heapproached him, while Victoria remained behind, "I have something to askyou."
"Speak, citizen."
"Do you know what they have decided about this doubly-dangerous spy,this minion of the Society of Jesus?"
"According to what I just heard, the black-cap will be shot to-morrowmorning. They are taking him to the quarters of the Grand Provost of thearmy, who has charge of the execution; and as my battery is establishednear the Provost's quarters, I am acting as conduct to the agent of Pittand Coburg."
One of Hoche's aides-de-camp now stepped precipitately out of theCommune Hall, hastened across the court, and ran in the direction of theGeneral's quarters. A company of grenadiers stationed there at oncecaught up their arms and fell in line, drum at the right, officers atthe head, and soon the four Representatives of the people, St. Just andLebas, commissioners in extraordinary from the Convention to Strasburg,and Lacoste and Randon, commissioners to the Army of the Rhine andMoselle, descended the steps of the Commune Hall, preceded by severalofficers furnished with lanterns, and followed by Generals Hoche andPichegru, and the superior officers of the divisions. TheRepresentatives of the people wore hats, one side of which, turned up,was surmoun
ted with a tricolor plume; their uniform coats were blue,with large unbroidered lapels, and crossed with a scarf in the nationalcolors; over their trousers, which were blue like their coats, they hadon heavy spurred boots, and cavalry sabers hung by their sides. St. Justwalked before the others. He was of almost the same age as Hoche, abouttwenty-four. The two conversed in low tones, some steps ahead of theother Generals and Representatives. The features and attitudes of Hocheand St. Just, as revealed by the light of the lanterns, contrastedsharply. The republican General, of robust stature and with a bluffcountenance, intelligent and resolute, which a glorious scar renderedall the more martial, displayed an insistence almost supplicating, as headdressed St. Just. The latter, of only medium height, with a high andproud forehead, accorded to the pleadings of Hoche a silent attention.His pale and firm-set features, set off by his long straight hair, gaveto the man an air of sculptured impassivity. His life, his feeling,seemed concentrated in his burning glances.
"Brother, do you remark Oliver's countenance?" said Victoria. "Pridepossesses it. He seems to regard as acts of servility the marks ofrespect shown by the officers to the Representatives of the people."
"Oliver's expression is indeed significant," replied John.
"Halloa! Courier of the Third Hussars!" one of the under-officers criedat that moment from the doorway, holding up a sealed packet. "To horse!A despatch to carry to Sultz."
"Present!" called back Victoria; then she continued in a voice filledwith emotion, as she held out her hand to John,
"Adieu, brother, till to-morrow. Perchance the order of battle or thefortunes of war will bring us near each other."
"I hope--and fear it, sister," answered John, his eyes moist with tears,lest this should be the last time he was to see Victoria. "You haveshown yourself valiant, devoted and generous in your conduct towardsOliver. Till to-morrow."
"Adieu, brother!" And Victoria hastened to receive the despatch, whileJohn returned to the bivouac of the Paris Volunteers.
The despatch which Victoria carried to Sultz had been written by Hochethat very evening, and addressed to Citizen Bouchotte, Minister of War.It read:
Ingelsheim, 6th Nivose, year II, 1 A. M.
I hasten to inform you, Citizen Minister, that the Representatives of the people have just placed me in command of the two armies of the Rhine and Moselle, to march to the succor of Landau.
No prayer or pleading on my part could change the resolution of the Representatives of the people. Judge me. With nothing but courage, how will I be able to carry such a burden? Nevertheless, I shall do my best in the service of the Republic.
Greetings and brotherhood,
HOCHE.[15]
This letter of Hoche's, in which the great captain reveals the modestythat in him equalled his military genius, illustrates also his anxietieson the score of the responsibility which had just fallen uponhim--anxieties his noble and touching expression of which was unable toshake the will of St. Just.