CHAPTER XXIX.
It was with great difficulty that I made my way back to the army, forby this time Cond? had effected his junction with the Duke of Loraine,and Turenne had encamped between Limei and the Yeres river, resting onthe Seine on one side and on a thick wood on the other. The enemy'sforce, amounting to three times his own, straitened the marshal's campin every direction; and, shut in the angle formed by the confluence ofthe Seine and the Yeres, there seemed no possibility of escape forTurenne and his army. I know not to the present day if this positionwas or was not taken up through an oversight on the part of Turenne;and I am rather inclined to think it was, as at the time there werenot provisions in the camp for four days, and the horses were almostentirely without forage; but if it was a fault, it was one of thoseglorious ones which sometimes to a man of genius prove moreadvantageous than the best laid plan. The result is well known.Turenne planted himself there between the enemy and Paris, threwbridges across the Seine, opened a communication with the neighbouringcountry, obtained provisions and forage notwithstanding all theefforts of his adversaries to prevent him, and kept a force of treblethe number of his own army at bay during six weeks.
It was about the fourth day after the camp was formed that I returnedfrom the Court; but as the whole open country was at that time in thehands of the enemy, I had very nearly been taken by a strong party onthe return from foraging. Strange to say, also, I had well nigh againfallen into the hands of Gaspard de Belleville, who commanded theescort, having been at one time within two hundred yards of him.Nothing but my horse's speed saved me; for being close pursued by somecravates attached to the foragers, I was obliged to swim the river,which, however, was done with ease, and I found myself in security onthe other bank.
Monsieur de Villardin welcomed me with every sign of joy, andimmediately asked what Monsieur le Tellier had done for me. He smiledwhen I told him, saying that he had hoped the Court would have shownme some more substantial mark of favour.
"However," he added, "the King no doubt gave you the barony, whichcosts nothing but parchment and wax, because he had nothing else togive. As to the pension of three thousand crowns, as I know there hasnot been such a sum in the royal treasury for many months, you mustnot calculate upon that."
On examining our camp, I found that Monsieur de Villardin, who keptthe open field, though some of the officers had been fortunate enoughto obtain quarters in the little hamlets, had caused his tent to bedivided into four small apartments, of which he assigned me one; andas our time passed very dully without any event of importance tooccupy our attention, I had no excuse even to myself for delayinglonger the communication which I had promised Suzette to make. TheDuke behaved to me not only as a father, but as a kind andaffectionate one; and whenever we were not engaged in some militaryduty, we were either sitting together in the division of the tentwhich he called his saloon, or walking along the banks of the rivers,mingling various subjects of conversation with observations upon theenemy's movements, of which we caught a sight from time to time. Ithus had plenty of opportunities for telling my tale, had I been ableto make up my mind to do so; but the more my affection for Monsieur deVillardin increased, the more proofs, of tenderness and regard he gaveme, the less willing I became to wring his heart by all the longdetails of so painful a theme.
Thus again I let day after day slip by, till one morning, as we werewalking slowly along towards Ch?teau Ablon, which Turenne had takensome time before by a coup de main, the Duke afforded me himself anopportunity of introducing the subject, which I felt must not belonger neglected, if I ever intended to perform my task.
"Do you know, De Juvigny," he said, addressing me by the name which healways now gave me, "I have taken a sort of thirst lately to see mylittle Laura. She will be a good deal changed by this time since Ilast saw her. Did you not think," he added, in a sort of under tone,"did you not think that she was growing very like her mother?"
"I think she was, my lord," I replied; "and God grant that she mayhave both her mother's virtues and her mother's beauty!"
"Without her sorrows," said Monsieur de Villardin, in the same lowtone, raising his eyes towards the sky, and adding, what from themoving of his lips I thought a prayer. "Without her sorrows," he againrepeated, louder, "and, oh! without any of her father's faults."
"Forgive me, my lord," I said, feeling that now was the moment, ifever, "forgive me if I do a bold thing, and attempt to offer youconsolation upon your private sorrows."
He shook his head with a bitter and melancholy smile, replying,"Consolation, my dear boy, is in vain. I have sought it in everysource--religion--philosophy--time--activity--danger; and I have neverfound it. It is the alchemist's elixir of life, a specious name, whichcan only be believed by those who have never tried it."
"Nevertheless, my lord," I persevered in saying, "I think you may findconsolation in some facts which I have to tell you; especially if, asyour words just now implied, a part of your grief proceeds from thememory of some faults which you imagine to have existed in yourconduct towards your deceased lady."
"All! all!" said the Duke; "all proceeds from those fatal memories;and I am afraid, De Juvigny, that you can in no degree assuage theburning of a heart, whose thoughts you cannot see."
"Still I must entreat you to listen to me," I rejoined; "for a man canscarcely be considered guilty, for having committed actions which hewas urged on to perform by the basest conspiracy to deceive him and tomislead his better judgment; and when such evidence was adduced tomake him think the innocent guilty, as might well create suspicionagainst an angel of heaven."
My words at once showed him that I had something more to communicatethan mere ordinary topics of ineffectual consolation, which fall uponthe dull ear, but never reach the heart; and he soon became more eagerto hear than I was to tell. Turning round quickly, he paused, andgazed at me as if he would have searched my very soul, to gather atonce what I was about to relate; and then exclaimed, "Speak! speak!speak, young man!" in a tone and with a manner that almost made mefear the effect which Suzette's confession might have upon his reason.
I pointed, however, to the sentinels close by, who were gazing withsome sort of wonder at his vehemence; and recovering command overhimself, he walked on with me, with his eyes bent upon the ground,while I proceeded in a low and calm voice, in order that the tidings Ihad to give might be fully understood, without irritating hisimagination by all the adjuncts of emphasis and gesture.
"You remember, my lord," I said, "that I told you, when we weretogether in Paris, on the day of the massacre at the H?tel de Ville,that I had been saved and well treated by Suzette, who is now the wifeof Gaspard de Belleville. I told you, too, that he behaves to her inthe most brutal manner; but I have not found an opportunity of tellingyou, till this moment, that she related to me the whole scheme bywhich she and her base husband contrived to deceive you and render youmiserable. From a feeling, partly of remorse, partly, I believe, ofhatred to her present tyrant, and partly in consequence of a vow whichshe made to her confessor, she charged me to detail the whole to you,word for word, and she gave me this billet, in order to make you yieldfull credit to the whole I have to tell. I have preserved that billetthrough everything," I added, putting it into his hands, "though I donot think you would have doubted my word even had I not possessed it."
Monsieur de Villardin took it eagerly out of my hand, and read it overwith a straining eye; but instantly turning to me, he exclaimed, "Ittells me nothing--speak on! speak on! I would believe you of coursewithout that--speak on!"
He had become deadly pale, however; and I paused, apprehensive of morepainful consequences if I proceeded, saying, "Had I not better wait,my lord, till you are more calm? The subject is too painful to you.Had I not better wait?"
"Perhaps you had," replied Monsieur de Villardin, who felt how much hewas shaken; "perhaps you had. I will soon recover from this, my dearboy; and when I can lend my rational senses to the consideration ofwhat you have to tell m
e, instead of my passions, which are nowengaged, I will tell you--perhaps to-night. Now give me your arm:" andwith a slow step he turned back to his tent, where, shutting himselfup in the inner division, he remained for some time alone.
At night, however, after returning from some other occupation, I foundhim much more calm; for the constant struggles he had long beenobliged to maintain against his own feelings had given him the powerof quelling their most turbulent efforts, after a short space given toreflection.
"Now, De Juvigny," he said, almost as I entered the tent, "now I amcapable of listening to your tidings, whatever they may be; so speakon--I can hear you like a rational being now."
As I saw that he was really prepared, I proceeded more boldly, andrelated to him, word for word, as far as my memory served me, theaccount which had been given to me by Suzette. This I was permitted todo uninterrupted, for, with his head leaning upon his arm, and hishand shading his eyes, he listened, without question or comment of anykind whatsoever, till I had finished all that I had to say. Even forsome minutes afterwards he remained still buried in deep thought,though the words, "Fiends!--incarnate fiends!" which once or twicebroke from his lips, showed that his mind was busy with the tale ofdeceit and villany which I had just related.
"You have, indeed," he said at length, "given me consolation; or,perhaps, as I had better call it, you have afforded to me the means ofpalliating, to my own mind, the errors that I have committed. I hadbut one palliation before--the consciousness," and he lowered hisvoice as he spoke, "the consciousness of having acted under mentalaberration. It was consolatory to me to know that I had been a madman;and now," he continued, with a bitter smile, "it is still moreconsolatory to me to know that I was a fool--a gross and egregiousfool! What must be the state of a man's heart when such convictionscan be such a relief!"
"I think, my lord," I replied, willing to do all that I could tosoften the sting, "I think that any one might have been deceived bysuch a base and deep-laid scheme as that by which you were betrayed."
"Nay, nay," he added, "I was a fool, a consummate fool, in everything,and in none less than in thinking that my feelings, and my designs,and my weaknesses, were all hidden within my own bosom, when they seemto have been as plain to yourself and to those two false and cruelwretches as they were to the eyes of Heaven. Do not strive to persuademe that I was not blind and foolish. It is, I tell you, it is aconsolation to me to know that I was so. Deep, eternal, everlastingregret will still continue my portion throughout life. Every unkindword, every harsh look, every ungenerous and cruel action, with whichI afflicted the heart of her who is now a saint in heaven, will riseup night after night, and day after day, before my memory, and renderthe sky that overhangs me and the world around dark and gloomy forever. Each action, each look, each word, each smile of her who is nowno more, will be remembered with sad and inconsolable regret; but,nevertheless, that I was myself deceived--that my own wild and madsuspicions were not all--that I was fooled and played upon, and madeto act a part my better nature disavows--this, this, I acknowledge,presses part of the poison out of the wound, and softens the sting ofremorse. I thank you for your tidings, De Juvigny," he added, layinghis hand kindly upon my arm, "I thank you from my very heart. Yourvoice always brings me comfort, and your arm always renders meservice."
He paused for a moment or two again, and then asked me one or twoquestions concerning Suzette, to which I replied as clearly, but asbriefly, as I could, for I thought it better to change the painfulsubject for some other as fast as possible, and, having administeredthe medicine, to let time work out its effect in silence. He seemed,however, to take a pleasure himself in dwelling upon the theme, nowthat it had once been spoken of between us. "Her whole story," headded, alluding to Suzette, "is so minutely consistent with everycircumstance which I remember, that I cannot doubt it in the least. Toconfess one weakness more, I acknowledge that it is no small comfortto my mind to find every circumstance that deceived me, susceptible ofa clear and satisfactory explanation; to see every cloud of doubtwafted away from the remembrance of one who now will live for everenshrined in my heart, not the less loved, not the less adored, thatbitter sorrow for her fate, and deep contrition for my faults, embalmher memory, and wash her tomb with tears."
I was delighted to find that what I told produced such an effect; for,to say the truth, I had been like an unskilful physician, and knew notat the time that I administered it, whether the cup which I hadpresented to Monsieur de Villardin would prove a poison or anantidote. It had evidently become the latter, and I doubted not thatevery hour which passed would increase its power. I saw, too, that, insome degree, Suzette had shrewdly divined the true state of Monsieurde Villardin's feelings; and that, however much he might be convincedbefore that he had deeply wronged his wife, his mind would never haverested satisfied till all the mysterious circumstances, which at firstaroused his suspicions, had been explained as clearly as they were atpresent. From the first effect of the tidings I had given, I was ledto expect more beneficial results than they afterwards produced.Monsieur de Villardin certainly was calmer from that day forward; thesting of remorse was, as he had said, softened; a part of the load wasoff his head, but still the deep and bitter melancholy continued. Icould see a slight difference--a shade less in the darkness of thegloom that oppressed him, but that was all. He was not so often foundsitting alone, immersed in sad and frowning thought. I saw him morefrequently with a book in his hand; and events of less importance thanheretofore would rouse him into activity and exertion. Yet he wasnever what can be called cheerful; despondency remained the generalcharacter of his mind, and he still seemed to find that relief inmoments of danger and excitement, which showed that calm thought waslittle less painful than heretofore.
Three weeks of almost perfect inactivity, however, succeeded, and,with the exception of an occasional unimportant skirmish with theenemy, we passed our time in idleness in the camp. In the meanwhile,events were in preparation, which were destined to change the aspectof political affairs. A schism had taken place between the Prince deCond? and the leaders of the Fronde: the Duke of Nemours had beenkilled by his brother-in-law, the Duke of Beaufort, in a duel; theParisians were gradually becoming heartily sick of turbulence andfaction, which they found only served--as turbulence and factionalways do--to promote the views of a few intriguing individuals at thesacrifice of commerce, industry, and the public good; and the Court,negotiating with all parties, had by this time obtained such apreponderance, that it seemed likely to be received with open arms inParis, if the army of Turenne could, by any means, be extricated fromits present position, and brought nearer to the capital.
At length an express order arrived for Turenne to endeavour, on thevery first favourable opportunity, to decamp and join the Court; andthat great general--knowing that his movements were no longer watchedby the keen eye of Cond?, who had gone back in person to Paris, in thebelief that the royal army could not escape--determined to attempt hisretreat at once. On the morning of the fourth of October, orders weresent to the officer who commanded in the town of Corbeil, to raisesome redoubts on the heights near that place, and bridges having beenthrown across the river, we waited till night, and then began ourmarch in silence. We hastened on as fast as possible till we gotbetween the Seine and the forest of Senard, when, both our flanksbeing covered, we could advance in security. From this point weproceeded more slowly, still looking out, however, for our enemy, whonever appeared; and, to tell the truth, we might have marched in anydirection we liked, for we had arrived at Corbeil, and were safe inour new position long before the Duke of Loraine even perceived thatwe had quitted our former camp. A longer and more difficult march,however, was before us, for we had now to join the Court at Mantes,and to cross a great extent of country in presence of an infinitelysuperior force. Whether the Duke of Loraine was deceived in regard toour movements, or whether he did not choose to act in the absence ofthe Prince de Cond?, I cannot tell; but certain it is that we weresuffered to proceed without interrup
tion, and arrived in theneighbourhood of Senlis without having to fire a shot.
The presence of the army and the safety of its troops were not thegreatest advantages which the Court derived from this extraordinaryretreat. The mismanagement of the Duke of Loraine, and the absence ofthe Prince de Cond? from his army, at a moment when his presence wasso much required, ruined entirely the already sinking reputation ofthe faction opposed to the Court. The Parisians, who had long begun tohate it, now added contempt to detestation; and we heard at Mantesthat Cond? himself had been actually hooted in the streets of thecapital, before he quitted it to rejoin his troops. Tremendousautumnal rains had now succeeded: both provisions and forage had bythis time been exhausted in the neighbourhood of the Prince's camp;and, after one of the most inglorious campaigns that he ever made,Cond? found himself obliged to retreat upon Laon, passing within a fewmiles of our forces at Senlis.
All was now joy and satisfaction for the moment; but, as neitherofficers nor men had received any pay for a considerable time, itbecame probable that, should the expectations which they entertainedof receiving their arrears from the Court be disappointed, they wouldspeedily drop away and leave the King without the means of defence.Under these circumstances, it became absolutely necessary that theCourt should venture to return to the capital; but it was not withoutlong discussions and persuasions that Turenne induced the Queen andher ministers to comply. At the time that this was proposed, Monsieurde Villardin and myself had just reached Mantes; and, for a day ortwo, all was uncertainty and confusion, different reports spreadingthrough the town every hour--now that we were to set off directly--nowthat the Queen had positively refused to trust herself in Paris--nowthat we were to wait for messengers from the capital ere any plancould be finally adopted.
At length, however, the order to prepare for the journey was given;and, shortly after, the King, the Queen, the ministers, with a longtrain of ladies and gentlemen, set out in carriages which had oncebeen splendid, but were so no longer, while guards, officers,attendants, and courtiers on horseback, made up a procession of nearlya mile in length.
In this order we reached St. Germains, when again uncertainty seizedupon all our movements; and for three days I do not think any one hadthe slightest idea whether the next day would see us on our roadforward to Paris or back to Mantes. The bolder counsels of Turenne,however, prevailed; and on the fourth day we once more began ourmarch, with the addition of a great number of the inhabitants of St.Germains on foot, who swelled the cortege without increasing itssplendour; for, to say the truth, such was the poverty of the Courtand all about it, such was the difficulty which every noblemanexperienced in procuring remittances from his estates, however near orhowever distant, and such was the battered and travel-soiled equipageof all the officers and military followers, that it was very difficultto say which was the shabbiest in appearance, the rabble of carriages,of horsemen, or of pedestrians. We wound on, however, towards thecapital, contrary to the opinion of many who were obliged to form partof the cavalcade, till we arrived within a few miles of Paris; but, inthe midst of the _Bois de Boulogne_, we were met by a party ofcavaliers from the city, who came up at full gallop, and calling tothe front horsemen to stop, approached respectfully to the side of theQueen's carriage. They now besought her Majesty and the ministers tothink well what they were doing before they brought the young Kinginto the capital; they represented in strong terms the troubled stateof the city, and they assured their hearers that the Duke of Orleans,who had been declared by the Parliament Lieutenant-General of thekingdom, was actually arranging a plan for seizing upon the monarch'sperson, and causing a general revolt in the metropolis.
Of course such tidings spread terror and dismay amongst the greaterpart of those who formed the royal procession; but upon examination itwas found, that the messengers who bore this threateningintelligence--several of whom were known--might be reasonably suspected,as belonging generally to the party of the Fronde, which had everythingto apprehend from the reception of the Court in Paris. Nevertheless,the risk was certainly great.
An instant order was now given for the procession to halt, and for allpersons, except the ministers and a few of the general officers, towithdraw to a certain distance from the royal carriage. This wasimmediately done, and the Queen held a sort of council in the midst ofthe _Bois de Boulogne_. I heard afterwards that the voices of all,generals and ministers alike, with the exception of Turenne andMonsieur de Villardin, were given in favour of an immediate return toSt. Germains. Those two officers, however, so strongly exposed all theweakness and folly of such a step, that the Queen herself and theyoung King both declared their resolution to proceed, suspecting, whatI believe really was the case, that the augurs of evil, by whom we hadbeen joined, had been sent out on purpose to terrify the Court, ifpossible, and prevent it from taking a step which would be ruinous tothe party of the Fronde.
As soon as this was decided, we once more commenced our march, and erelong were within sight of the gates of Paris. An immense multitude ofall ages, classes, and descriptions, were at that very momentstreaming forth from the city; and I could see, as I rode along, morethan one anxious face protruded from the carriages, to examine thecrowd which we were now rapidly approaching. I dare say that thememory of the massacre at the H?tel de Ville was at that verymoment strong in the minds of all. We advanced with apparent boldness,however, into the very midst of the crowd. Several stragglers, itseems, had found their way forward, and had informed the people thatan attempt had been made to prevent the King from entering Paris, butthat he had determined to trust himself in the hands of his subjects.Nevertheless, for a moment or two, as we came up, there was a deadsilence, which, I confess, appeared to me somewhat ominous, till theroyal carriage was in the heart of a multitude, consisting ofcertainly not less than a hundred thousand persons: but, at thatinstant, a loud and universal shout of "Vive le Roi!" burst fromevery tongue, and doubt and apprehension were all at an end for ever.
The Little Ball O' Fire; or, the Life and Adventures of John Marston Hall Page 29