No Surrender! A Tale of the Rising in La Vendee

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 11: The Attack On Nantes.

  When three or four miles down the river the boat was anchored, andthe two men were called into the cabin, and Leigh's schemeexplained to them.

  "It is a big affair, sir," Medart said thoughtfully, when Jean hadconcluded. "Now, there is no love lost between us and the ruffianswho carry out the committee's orders. They call us river rats, wecall them sewer rats, and there has been many fights between thefishermen and these fellows, as far back as I can remember, andlately these have been much more frequent. If the plan was only toburn down their quarters, there are a good many who would lend ahand; because it could be done quietly, and they would have noparticular reason for suspecting that it was the work of thefishermen. But as for going into the jail, that would be different.We should not have time, by what you say, to hunt up and kill allthe warders; and it would therefore be known, at once, that we wereconcerned. Five or six of our fellows have already had their headschopped off, on suspicion of having aided Royalists to escape. Theydon't mind whom they lay hands on, and they don't troublethemselves to search, but just seize the first they come to who,perhaps in a cabaret, has said a word against their doings.

  "As to the trials, they are no trials at all. One of their fellowscomes in and says, 'I heard this man abusing the authorities, and Iaccuse him also of being concerned in the escape of so and so.' Itis no odds what the prisoner says. The fellow who acts as judgelooks at the jury, who are all their creatures; they say 'Guilty'and he says' Death!' and the accused are marched off again to theprison, to wait until their turn comes for the guillotine. Well yousee, if this prison was broken into as you propose, and it wasknown that the sailors had a hand in it, the chances are that theywould march a couple of hundred of us into the great square, whichwould be choke full of the National Guard and volunteers, and justshoot us down."

  Jean was silent. The probability that things would go as the mansaid was so evident that he had no answer.

  "I think the way to get over that difficulty," Leigh said, when hesaw that Jean was puzzled, "would be for you all quietly to buyother clothes or, better still, for them to be bought for you byyour wives. They should be such clothes as the peasants buy, whenthey come into the town. It would then be supposed that the attackwas made by a party of Breton peasantry. As a good many otherprisoners would escape, in addition to Monsieur Martin and yourcaptain's wife, there would be no reason to suppose that the plotwas specially arranged to aid their escape, or that any of thepeople of this town were concerned in the matter."

  "That is so, Master Leigh," Rouget said. "It might be managed inthat way. But I think that most of our chaps had better be told offfor firing the town. I think that a good many might be willing toundertake that job, for I have heard it said, many and many a time,that they would like to burn the sewer rats out. There are othermen who would, I am sure, rather join in the attack on the jail, ifthey could do so without putting the lives of all of us in danger.

  "As to getting hold of an artilleryman, I don't know that thatwould be difficult. The men employed on that sort of work are allold soldiers, and many of these, though they dare not say so, hatewhat is going on just as much as we do. I have met one of them withEmile Moufflet, who served with you, captain, for two or threeyears. When we have been chatting together, he has said thingsabout the committee that would have cost him his head, if he hadbeen overheard. I know that his chum is in charge of some stores,but whether they are powder or not, I cannot say. But at any rate,Emile will be able to find out for me the name of several of themwho have charge of powder; and he would be likely to know which ofthem had sentiments like his own, and how far they could betrusted.

  "That would not take long, but to get hold of forty hands for theother work would take some time. One dare go only to men one isvery intimate with, and get them to approach men whom they knowwell; for even among us, there are fellows who take the committee'smoney to spy over the others, and to find out whether any troubleis likely to come, or Royalists to be shipped off. One generallyknows who they are, because they overdo their parts, and rail atthe Convention more roundly and openly than an honest man woulddare to do. Some of them one finds out that way; others, again, onespots by their always having money to spend. If they are too shrewdto betray themselves in that way, our wives find them out for us,by telling us that their women and children have new clothes, andwe know well enough that there is no buying new clothes out offish, at their present price. Besides, most of these fellows giveup fishing altogether, and lounge about the wharves talking andsmoking, and one knows that a man and his family cannot live onair. Still, there may be others who are too sly to let out theirsecret in either way, and therefore one must be very careful whomone speaks to. One would not think of telling anyone about what isintended until, just as it comes off, one could simply say that onehas heard that there is something in the air, and that report saysthat every man who will lend a hand will earn--how much, captain?"

  "Two hundred francs."

  "When one sees how a man takes that, one can go a step or twofurther.

  "Well, I should not think of letting out to a soul what the natureof the work would be, simply saying that every precaution will betaken to prevent its being known that any fishermen are engaged init. All that will take time. I should say that it might be nigh acouple of weeks before one could get the whole thing arranged."

  "What do you think, Desailles?" Jean said. "Shall we have afortnight?"

  Desailles shook his head.

  "I could not say; you might have more than that, if the prisonerswere taken in the regular order in which they were condemned. Thejails are crowded and, as fresh captures are effected, room must bemade for them. Of course the committee have a list, and they make amark against the names of those who are to be executed, each day.It might be three weeks before your friends' turn comes, it mightbe only a few days."

  "I tell you what, Rouget; you and your comrade had better landtomorrow morning, and set to work. You might say that threefishermen from Saint Florent, finding their boat too small, hiredyours for a week to try their luck. If they succeed they will giveyou a fair price for her, if not they will simply pay the hire. Youcan say that the price is not much, but as it is as much as you canmake at fishing, you thought that you might as well have an idleweek on shore.

  "Leigh and I can work her. As soon as day breaks you shall shootyour nets, so that we can see exactly how you work, and be able tocatch an average amount of fish each day. I am sure that no onewill know us in these disguises and, at any rate, we sha'n't beclumsy either with the sails or oars. You can say that, as we arestrangers, you have agreed to sell our fish for us; which will bean excuse for your coming down to us, with the news of how you aregetting on, each time that we come in."

  "That will do very well, captain; but in that case, as a good dealof the fishing must be done at night, we had better get out thenets at once, and show you how they are managed."

  For the next three days the work was carried on. Desailles hadundertaken to obtain, from a friend of his on the committee ofpublic safety, news of what was going on, and an early copy of thenames of the prisoners told off for execution on the following day.

  On the third day after their arrival, Martin and Leigh rowed up tothe wood where they had directed the band to assemble and foundthat, with two or three exceptions, all had arrived. Four or fiveof them were at once told to return, to the estate and to the army,with a message from Jean begging all his tenants to leave, and jointhe party in hiding. Many of them would, no doubt, have returned totheir homes within a day or two of the capture of Saumur. Lettershad already been written to Bonchamp and Rochejaquelein to say thatthey were intending to attack the jail, and deliver a number ofcaptives besides Jean's father and wife; and to beg that they wouldpick out some fifty or a hundred determined men, and send them on.On the morning of the sixth day, when the two sailors joined them,they were in a state of high excitement.

  "There is great news, captain," Rouget said; "t
he whole city is ina state of tumult. It is reported that Cathelineau, with his army,is marching upon Nantes; and it is also reported--but this is notso certain--that Charette is marching to join them, with all hisforce."

  "That is grand news, if true!" Jean exclaimed. "That would indeedfavour our scheme! I doubt whether they will capture Nantes, forthere is a big force here, and enough of them are seasoned troopsto encourage the volunteers and National Guard to make a good fightof it. However we can, at any rate, take advantage of the attack tocarry out our own plans. When the fighting is at the hottest, youmay be sure that every armed man will be wanted at the work, andthat there will not be many guards left behind at the prison. Ourband here can dispose of them; and half a dozen men each, withfireballs, can add to the confusion by setting fire to warehousesand factories. The great thing now will be the powder."

  "That we have managed already, captain," Medart replied. "As I toldyou, I spoke to Emile Moufflet the first morning I went ashore, andhe said that it was at the magazines that his chum was employed.Yesterday evening he came to us, and said that if I gave him thetwo thousand francs that you had given me for the purpose, he wouldhand us over two barrels of powder, at eleven o'clock last night.We got them; and carried them, as you told us, to Brenon's; andhelped him to bury them in his shed. We also got, as you ordered, acouple of yards of fuse."

  "Bravo, Medart! everything seems going well for us."

  The news of Cathelineau's advance was confirmed, on the followingday, by the return of the lads who had been sent to fetchassistance. They brought with them eight or ten men from theestate; and reported that la Rochejaquelein had remained at Saumur,with a portion of his army, to defend that town against a largeforce that Biron was assembling at Tours; while Cathelineau, havingwith him Bonchamp and Stofflet, was marching with the main forcealong the north bank of the river. They said, however, that hisforce was greatly diminished, for that large numbers of his men,objecting to fight outside their own country, had scattered totheir villages. They, however, confirmed the news that Charette wasreported to be marching north to join Cathelineau.

  "That is the worst part of the whole business," Jean said,bitterly. "Our generals have no control over their men. They willfight when they want to fight, and return home when they choose. IfCathelineau had come along with a big force, he would have beenjoined by numbers of Bretons on the way and, if he had capturedNantes, by the greater part of Southern Brittany. Now that so manyof his men have left him, it is quite possible that his attack mayfail; and in that case the result will be disastrous. His armywould disperse, the Blues would turn their whole force against laRochejaquelein, and the cause that a fortnight since seemed halfwon would be lost.

  "It shows, at any rate, that the idea of marching on Paris couldnot be carried out; for if men refuse to march, when they would beseparated from their own country only by the river, to take Nantes,by which La Vendee is constantly threatened; certainly a greaterportion still would have gone off to their homes, rather than joinin what would seem to them so terrible an affair as a march onParis. The peasants are good enough at fighting but, though theymay win a victory by their bravery, they are certain to lose acampaign by their independent habits."

  Feeling convinced that the approach of the Vendean army wouldenable their enterprise to be carried out by a much smaller bodythan had at first appeared necessary, Jean Martin told the twosailors that they had better abstain from broaching the matter toany more of their acquaintances. They had already obtained theadhesion of those of whose fidelity they felt absolutely assuredand, should one of the others whom they intended to approach turntraitor, it would overthrow all chances of success, and might causesuch alarm to the authorities that the executions would go on morerapidly than before, and the fate of their friends be precipitated.

  Day by day the excitement in the city increased. Generals Beysserand Canclaux had, under their command, some ten thousand men. Therewas no chance of further reinforcements reaching them, but theyfelt confident that they could successfully defend the town withthis force.

  Had Charette marched to Ponts-de-Ce and, crossing there, joinedCathelineau, the danger would have been much more formidable; butinstead of so doing he was advancing directly towards Nantes, onthe south side of the river, the few places remaining in the handsof the Republicans being hastily evacuated on his approach. Here,however, he could give but slight aid to Cathelineau, for thebridge crossing the Loire could be defended by a comparativelysmall force, provided with cannon to sweep the approaches.

  In order to reassure the townspeople and encourage the troops, theFrench generals, as the enemy approached, moved out with a largeproportion of their force and threw up some intrenchments a mileand a half outside the town; feeling confident that they couldwithstand any attack in the open country.

  As many of the peasants fled into Nantes, especially those who, inthe villages, had rendered themselves obnoxious by theirpersecutions of those suspected of Royalist leanings, or who werepersonally obnoxious to them, Leigh was able to gather the whole ofhis party in the town. They were, like other peasants, to sleep inthe open squares or down near the walls. They were always to goabout in pairs, and to meet Pierre or Andre at places and hoursarranged by them. They were supplied with money sufficient to buybread, and were warned on no account to make themselves conspicuousin any way. With them were the men from Martin's estates who hadanswered to his summons.

  Clothes had been bought for the twelve sailors engaged by Medartand Rouget. The fireballs had been prepared in the cabin of thefishing boat. Each of the fourteen fishermen was to carry two ofthese. Their leaders had carefully gone round the quarter, and hadpicked out the stores or warehouses into which the fireballs wereto be flung. Among these were several wood yards No private houseswere to be fired. That the flames would spread to these was likelyenough, but at least there would be time for the women and childrento escape.

  Having decided upon the places to be fired, the sailors were one byone taken round, and the two buildings assigned to each pointedout, so that there would be no confusion or loss of time when thesignal was given. Only two stores near the water had been markeddown for destruction, namely, those belonging to the Martins. Thiswas Leigh's work. As a firm the business was extinct. It was nowthe sole property of Jacques Martin, and there was no probabilitythat Martin senior or Jean would ever recover a share in it. As ineach of the stores a considerable quantity of spirits in additionto the wine was housed, not only would the loss be very heavy, butthe interest excited in the vicinity would increase the confusionand alarm that would prevail.

  Desailles was in daily communication with his friend. He learnedthat the list of prisoners was being taken, now, more in the orderin which they stood. The farce of a trial had been gone through, inthe case of Jean's wife, and she had of course been condemned. Shestood a good deal lower on the list than his father. There was notmuch chance of the day of her execution being settled before thearrival of the Vendean forces. The number of names, however, abovethat of Monsieur Martin was rapidly decreasing, and there wasimminent danger that he might be included in the fatal list beforetheir arrival.

  On the twenty-sixth of June the Vendeans arrived within a few milesof the town, and a formal summons was sent in to the generals. Itwas briefly refused. General Canclaux believed that he had sostrengthened his advanced position, which was occupied by his besttroops, that he would be able to repulse Cathelineau's force there.The Vendeans, however, being informed by the peasantry of theformidable nature of the intrenchments, decided that it would bedangerous to attack them; and consequently moved round so as tothreaten the town from the north. Charette, on his side, moved hisforce up within cannon shot of the bridge.

  At eight o'clock on the evening of the twenty-seventh, the sound ofheavy firing was heard in Nantes. A column of the Vendeans hadattacked Nort, a place lying to the north of the town. It wasdefended by six hundred troops of the line, and a body of theNational Guard. They maintained themselves there during the nightb
ut, at daybreak, fell back upon the town, leaving their cannonbehind them. A considerable body of troops moved out to cover theirretreat.

  Confident that the attack would begin that evening, everypreparation for action was made by Jean and Leigh. The powderbarrels were dug up, and holes bored for the fuses. The boys wereall informed that the hour for action was at hand; and were orderedto lie down, at nightfall, in the open space facing the front ofthe prison, scattering themselves among others who would besleeping there or, in expectation of the attack on the townbeginning, would be standing in groups listening for it. Leighwould be among them.

  As the hour neared twelve they were to gather in a body. Thesailors were not to begin their work until the attack on the towncommenced in earnest. Jean, with his twelve tenants, was to come upat twelve. The exact moment for the attack was to be decided uponby the progress made by the fires. When these had had their effect,Leigh was to fall upon the guard round the prison; and Jean, withhis band, to run forward to the gate, plant the powder barrelsagainst it, light the fuse and run back.

  As soon as they had killed or driven away the guard, Leigh's partywere to return to the front. There Andre, with half the band, wereto station themselves, and to hold the gate against any armed bodythat might arrive; while Leigh, with the others, entered the prisonand aided, if necessary, to overpower the warders and blow open thedoors of the cells. The prisoners were all to be told thatCharette's army was on the other side of the Loire, and that theirbest plan was to make their way down to the river, seize boats, andget across.

  At five o'clock in the afternoon Charette's guns opened against thebarricades that had been thrown up at the bridge. Canclaux, seeingthat the attack upon the north had rendered it useless for him toretain the advanced post, ordered the troops there to fall backinto the town, at ten o'clock in the evening; and at eleven thewhole garrison were concentrated in Nantes.

  Finding that, with the exception of the cannonade on both sidesacross the river, all remained quiet, Leigh passed the word roundamong his followers to remain as they were, until further orders.Jean and his men came up by twos and threes before twelve; andthese, too, lay down as if to sleep, or seated themselves on thesteps of the houses. Few of the inhabitants had retired to rest.They knew that at any moment the storm might break, and someawaited the attack with hope that the time of their release fromthe tyranny under which they had, for months, groaned, had come;while others trembled at the thought of the vengeance that, if thetown were taken, would fall upon those who had been concerned inwhat had passed.

  Martin and Desailles presently joined Leigh. As the time went onthey began to fear that, for some reason or other, the Vendeans haddetermined to delay their attack until the next day. At half pasttwo Charette's cannonade redoubled in vigour, and the rattle ofmusketry showed that his troops were advancing. The batteries ofthe defenders opened with equal violence, and their musketryanswered that of the assailants on the opposite bank.

  "I think that that must be the signal for Cathelineau to begin,"Martin said.

  And, ten minutes later, the attack commenced with fury upon thegates of Vannes, Rennes, and that by the river.

  Every window was opened, and anxious faces looked out. The nightwas dark, and the few oil lamps alone threw a feeble light on thesquare. Suddenly a broad glare rose to the west, and the murmur,"There is a house on fire!" passed from mouth to mouth. In anotherfew minutes flames were seen rising at a dozen points, and a cry ofconsternation arose.

  "The brigands have entered the town! They are going to burn it tothe ground."

  Man after man of the little group of National Guards, who had beengathered talking in front of the door of the prison, was seen todetach himself from it and to move quietly away. Then those at thewindows noticed four or five parties of men move forward, fromamong those who were standing talking; when within a short distanceof the guard there was a sharp command, and these groups all rushedtowards the gates together. There were shouts and cries, and thenthere was silence. Taken wholly by surprise, the guard had fallenunder the knives of the Vendeans without having had time to fire ashot.

  Then the majority of their assailants ran off, half one way, halfthe other, following the wall of the prison. Two pistol shots werefired, a moment later. The men who had remained at the gate drewback for some distance. There was a short pause, and then atremendous explosion. All the people gathered in the place, savethose who had carried out the affair, fled with cries of terror.Then Jean and his party dashed forward towards the shattered gatesand entered the prison, and shot or cut down the frightened wardersas these came running out, dazed and bewildered at the sound of theexplosion. Jean seized one of them by the throat.

  Jean seized one of them by the throat.]

  "Where are the keys kept? Answer, or I will blow out your brains!"

  The frightened ruffian at once led the way to the chief warder'sroom. He had already fallen, being one of the first to run down.There were two bunches of keys.

  "These are of the doors of the corridors," the man said, takingdown one bunch. "The others are of the cells."

  "Now, go before us and open them all--every one, mind."

  They were soon joined by Leigh with his party, who had made shortwork of the few guards who remained at their post outside theprison.

  "Set your men to blow in the doors," Jean said; "It would take halfan hour to unlock them all, at this rate."

  Pistols were at once applied to the keyholes, and the locksdestroyed. There were a few separate cells, but the prisoners werefor the most part crowded, twenty or thirty together, in the largerrooms. As he entered each room, Leigh shouted the directions agreedon to the prisoners. In a short time he came upon Jean who, as hadbeen arranged, had first gone to the rooms where his father andPatsey were confined. Jean started with these at once, with six ofhis men, leaving Leigh and Desailles to see to the release of therest of the prisoners.

  As soon as all rooms had been burst open or unlocked, he and hisparty, with that at the gate, hurried away. The streets were light,as a sheet of flame rose from the stores of Jacques Martin. Themusketry fire on the wharves showed that there were troopsstationed there. As they hurried along, the shouts of alarm whichrose in the town showed that the news of the attack upon the prisonhad spread rapidly. As soon as the released prisoners knew thatthey were well above the bridge, and the silence on the wharvesshowed that none of the troops were stationed there, shouts ofdelight arose. There were a good many boats moored to the bank, andthe fugitives threw themselves into these.

  "Get out your oars and row straight across," Leigh shouted. "If youdrift down the stream, you will come under the fire of the troopsthere."

  Then, having done their work, he and his band went up a hundredyards farther, where they knew that three large boats were lying.In these they took their places and started to row across the riverand, in five minutes, reached the opposite bank. They sprang out,with a shout of joy at finding themselves again in their owncountry. Most of the fugitives also gained the opposite bank; butsome boats, in which there were but few capable of handling theoars, drifted down the river, and lost most of their number fromthe fire of the troops on the bank, before they could land amongthe men of Charette's army.

  Leigh with his boys soon joined the other party, who had landed ahundred yards higher up. It was a joyful meeting, indeed, betweenhim and Patsey.

  "Jean tells me it is all your doing that we have been got out," shesaid. "I felt sure you would manage it, somehow."

  They had already arranged their plans. Jean, with his wife andfather and his twelve men, was to start at once for Parthenay,where Lescure was in command. Leigh had determined to joinCathelineau, with as many of his band as chose to accompany him.Desailles would go with Jean.

  The boys, on the choice being given them, almost all decided toaccompany Leigh. They were excited at the success that had attendedthem, and the tremendous roll of fire round the town showed howfiercely their countrymen were fighting, and they longed to join in
the conflict.

  Saying goodbye to those who were going, Leigh and his party towedone of the boats a mile up the river, and then crossing, soonjoined the party engaged. The Vendeans had already advanced somedistance, but every house and garden was fiercely contested. Hourafter hour passed, and the troops were beginning to be discouraged.It was broad daylight now, and the Vendeans pressed forward at allpoints, more hotly than ever.

  The troops were falling into disorder, and would soon have become adisorganized mass; when a musket ball, fired from a window, struckCathelineau in the breast as, with his officers, who had beenconsiderably increased in number owing to the many gentlemen whohad joined him at Saumur, he was leading on his troops.

  A cry of dismay rose from those who saw him fall, and the newsspread like wildfire among the peasants, who regarded him with analmost superstitious reverence, and had a firm belief that he wasprotected by Heaven from the balls of his enemies. His loss seemedto them an irretrievable misfortune. The fierceness of their attackdiminished. Their ardour was gone, and the Blues, gaining courageas their assailants ceased to press them, took the offensive.

  They met with but little opposition. The Vendean army, lately onthe point of being victorious, was already breaking up and, erelong, was scattered over the country, its retreat being undisturbedby the enemy, who could scarcely believe their own good fortune athaving succeeded, when all had seemed lost.

  Cathelineau was carried off; but died, a fortnight later, from theeffects of the wound. His death was a terrible blow to the cause.The failure to take Nantes had, in itself, been a great misfortune;but the Vendeans had suffered no more heavily than the enemy and,had Cathelineau been but spared, matters might still have gone wellwith them. The effect of his death, however, was for the time todishearten the peasantry utterly; and had at this time terms ofpeace, which would have permitted them to enjoy the exercise oftheir religion, and to be free from conscription, been offered tothem, they would gladly have been accepted.

  Charette, after he saw that the attack upon Nantes from the northside of the river had failed, fell back with his force, as before,into Lower Poitou. The Vendeans, now under Bonchamp, who had alsobeen wounded, retired along the north bank of the Loire, crossingthe river at various points as they could find boats.

  Before joining in the fight, Leigh had told his band that, in theevent of failure, he should recross the river in the boat that hadbrought them over. They had all kept near him during the struggle.Eight of them had fallen, several others were wounded, and hehimself had received a musket ball in the shoulder. As soon as hesaw that the battle was lost, he withdrew from it and made his waywith the boys to the river bank; recrossed the stream, and struckacross the country. After proceeding some six miles they entered awood, and lay down and slept for some hours, and then marched toParthenay.

  Here the band broke up and proceeded to their homes; while Leighmade his way to Lescure's headquarters, learned where his friendswere lodged, and joined them.

  Patsey gave a cry of alarm as he entered. Fugitives had arrivedbefore him, and it was already known that the attack on Nantes hadfailed, and that Cathelineau was mortally wounded.

  "What is it, Leigh?"

  "I am wounded in the shoulder. It is nothing very serious, I think;though I suppose I sha'n't be able to hold a sword for some time."

  A surgeon was soon fetched, the ball extracted, and the woundbandaged; and they then sat down to talk over the events that hadoccurred. Since they had been separated, Monsieur Martin had becomea broken man. The fact that his son, who assuredly had it in hispower to protect him, had given him over to the terrible tribunal,had been a harder blow to him than the prospect of death; and eventhe devotion that had been shown by Jean scarcely sufficed tocomfort him.

  Patsey was pale and thin. Her imprisonment had told upon her and,still more, the thought of what Jean must be suffering on heraccount, and her uncertainty as to the fate of her child. But eventhe twenty-four hours that had elapsed since she had left herprison had done much for her. The news that the child was safe andwell had taken a load off her mind; and she felt proud, indeed,that her release, and that of so many others of her fellowprisoners, had been brought about by the devotion of her husbandand her brother. Before the day was out, she was laughing andchatting as if nothing had happened.

  On the following morning they started early, and reached home inthe afternoon. They were received with delight by their people,although many of these had lost relations in the recent battles. Ahouse in the village was placed at their disposal, Patsey ridingstraight on to see her child; with which, and its faithful nurse,she soon returned.

  "And now, Jean," Patsey said when, with the cure and JulesDesailles, they sat down for a quiet talk that evening, "what is tobe the next thing?"

  "You should ask the Blues that," he replied. "So far as I can see,it will be a repetition of what has taken place. They will invadeus again, and probably we shall beat them back. Each time they willcome with larger forces and, at last, I suppose we shall have toendeavour to make our way to England. I am afraid there can be noquestion that that will be the end of it. Fight as we may, wecannot withstand the whole strength of France."

  "Why can we not fly at once?" Monsieur Martin asked.

  "The difficulty in reaching the coast, and of getting a passage,would be immense. Besides, so long as La Vendee resists, so long isit my duty to fight; and I am sure that Patsey would not wish me todo otherwise. I have been in it from the first, and must stay untilthe end, if I am not killed before that comes. If it were possibleto send you and Patsey and Leigh away to England, I would gladly doso; but I am sure that she would not go, and I think I may say thesame for Leigh."

  "Certainly, Jean; as long as you stay, I stay. My life is far lessimportant than yours, for I have no one dependent upon me. I quiteagree with you that the war can end in only one way; but till thatcomes, all those who have been the leaders of these poor peasantsought to hold by them."

  "I agree entirely with you both," Patsey added, and there was nomore to be said.