CHAPTER XVIII: NORDLINGEN
It was five o'clock in the afternoon when all the arrangements for theattack were completed. But as on the 3rd of August the evening is long,it was judged that there would be sufficient daylight to carry out thebattle. The French began with a cannonade against the village, and thiswas replied to by the guns on the two hills. Not only did the positionof the latter give them great superiority, but much time was lost by theFrench in being obliged to move forward their guns as the army advanced,a slow and tedious process in days when cannon were very heavy andcumbrous. Seeing that they were losing time and suffering more loss thanthey inflicted, Enghien gave the order to the infantry of the centre toadvance.
They went forward with great speed and eagerness, for they were burningto retrieve their cowardly conduct at Marienthal. They carried theintrenchments Merci had thrown up at the mouth of the pass, and,heedless of the firing of the guns, rushed at the village. Here,however, they were received by so heavy a fire of musketry from theinfantry posted there, who had loopholed all the walls and houses, thatthey came to a stop, and, being shot down in great numbers, turnedand fled. The Count de Marsin was himself dangerously wounded. The Ducd'Enghien sent the Marquis de la Moussaie forward with a reinforcementof several regiments, but these, too, fell back before the Imperialists'fire. The Duc d'Enghien then rallied the infantry, added to them allthose not yet engaged, and himself led them to the charge. Merci on hispart brought forward his main body to the village.
The battle was now a desperate one. Enghien seemed to lead a charmedlife. He was ever where the fight was hottest, encouraging the soldiersand setting them an example. His clothes were shot through in manyplaces. Two horses were killed under him, and he received a contusion inthe thigh. Merci on his part showed equal valour and intrepidity; buthe was less fortunate, for he was struck by a musketball and killed. Thenews of his fall excited his soldiers to fury, and, hurling themselveson their assailants they cut the greater part of the infantry to pieces.
The French on the right had done no better, for the Bavarian cavalrycharged them with such impetuosity that although they fought sturdilythey were broken and routed. De Gramont did all that a leader could doto check their flight and lead them back to the battle; and when hesaw that he was powerless to do this he put himself at the head of tworegiments that had not yet been engaged, received the Bavarian horsewith a heavy volley, and leading his troopers to the charge, broke intothem, but advancing too far was surrounded and taken prisoner. Johnde Werth then fell on the reserve, broke them, penetrated the baggage,which was plundered, and then pursued the fugitives far away from thefield of battle. Had he, instead of allowing his troops and himself tobe carried away by their ardour, brought them round and attackedthe French left in the rear, the Imperialist victory would have beencomplete.
Here for a time the conflict was doubtful. Turenne, in spite of the fireof the Imperialist artillery, led his troops in good order up the hillof Weinberg. His horse was shot under him and his cuirass was struck,but not pierced, by a musketball. On gaining the top of the hill aterrible fight took place between the Weimar and Hessian troops on oneside, and the Austrians and Bavarians on the other. The former showedvalour in strong contrast with the conduct of their French allies; andafter repeated volleys had been exchanged infantry and cavalry rushedupon each other and fought with bayonet and sword. At last the firstline of Imperialists gave way, but General Gleen brought up the secondline and threw Turenne's first line into disorder, although they stillmaintained their ground. At this moment Conde, seeing that his centrewas destroyed and his right utterly dispersed, came up and joinedTurenne, and placing himself at the head of the Hessians, who formed thesecond line, brought them forward. The enemy's squadrons werebroken, and the infantry defeated. The guns were then turned upon theImperialists on the slope of the hill leading down to the village, andwhen they were shaken by the fire Turenne's squadron charged down uponthem and completed their defeat. General Gleen was taken prisoner, andTurenne's troops, descending the hill, took the village in flank.
Had the defenders here fought with the same courage that they hadpreviously evinced, they would have given time to John de Werth toreturn, and the fate of the battle would have been doubtful, but theywere seized with unreasoning panic, and at once surrendered. The nighthad long since closed in, and so far as the fighting had gone thebattle might be considered a drawn one. The French right and centrewere utterly routed, but their left had captured one of the keys of theposition and the village behind it. Had John de Werth, when hereturned from the pursuit, shown himself an able general, ralliedthe Imperialists and sent them to recapture the village, and withhis victorious cavalry made a circuit of the Weinberg and fallen uponTurenne's rear, the Imperialist success would have been as complete andstriking as that which they had won on nearly the same ground over theSwedes; but although an impetuous leader of cavalry, he had no militarygenius, and on returning after dark, and hearing that the Weinberg waslost and the village captured, he drew off from the field.
He was joined by the Imperialist infantry, and when the morning brokeTurenne's division stood victors on the field. A number of officers,many standards, and all the cannon of the enemy fell into their hands.Of the French infantry not more than fifteen hundred were rallied afterthe battle, and of the allied army Turenne's German troops, althoughthey had suffered severely, alone remained intact. John de Werthretreated with the remains of the Imperialist force to Donauworth, andcrossed to the other side of the Danube, although his force was stillsuperior to that of Turenne, for the loss suffered by the Frenchand Turenne's German troops was very much greater than that ofthe Imperialists. Enghien, in his despatch announcing the victory,acknowledged in his letter to the queen that it was due to the valourand honour of Turenne.
Nordlingen and Dinkelsbuhl opened their gates to the victors. Enghienfell ill and was forced to return to France, leaving Turenne in command.De Gramont was exchanged for Gleen, and he and Turenne took counselas to the course that had best be pursued. John de Werth had alreadyrecrossed the Danube, and the French generals fell back to Hall, wherethey remained for twelve days to refresh the troops, provisions beingplentiful in the neighbourhood.
But their position was daily becoming more untenable. The Duke ofBavaria, greatly alarmed by the result of the battle of Nordlingen,wrote to the emperor that unless Austria largely increased her force inthe field he should retire from the contest, of which he had hithertoborne the brunt, and make terms with the French. The emperor, who hadjust brought a war with Hungary to a close, despatched the ArchdukeLeopold, his son, with a great body of horse, and he soon effected ajunction with Gleen and John de Werth, and together they pushed forwardat the utmost speed to surprise the French. As soon as Turenne receivednews of the movement he and de Gramont agreed that an instant retreatmust be made, seeing that their force was less than half that which wasadvancing to attack them. The baggage was abandoned, and as there wasno bridge available the army crossed the Neckar by swimming, eachcavalryman taking one of the infantry behind him. They continued theirretreat until they arrived at Philippsburg. Here Turenne with the wholeof his army took up his position, covered by the guns of the fortress,while Gramont passed the river with the remains of Enghien's army andall the cavalry.
The Imperialists, after examining Turenne's position, came to theconclusion that it could not be attacked, and, marching away, besiegedand captured all the towns taken by the French in their advance. Thusbeyond the empty honour of a nominal victory at Nordlingen, the campaignunder Enghien and Turenne ended, without any solid advantage whateverbeing gained by the French.
The Poitou regiment, which was the only French battalion in the army ofTurenne, had been placed with the Hessians in the second line. It hadfought with distinguished bravery on the crest of the Weinberg, andhad publicly been thanked by Enghien, who had on the day of the battleridden by the side of Hector at their head when they fell upon theImperialists. They had suffered but a small number of casualtie
s,for the enemy were already shaken before they charged, and had, afterreceiving a shattering volley, broken and fled as the regiment chargedwith fixed bayonets. Turenne was always anxious to impress upon Hectorthe lessons that were to be learned from each action, and while theywere encamped round Hall he went over the events of the campaign withhim on a map.
"You see," he said, "that what I said to you on the evening beforewe marched from Dinkelsbuhl has been completely justified. Instead ofmanoeuvring so as to fight in the open, we dashed ourselves against thisstrong position, with the inevitable consequences, two-thirds of ourarmy were routed, and the infantry of the centre and right all butannihilated; and although by hard fighting we on the left gained anadvantage, it was only the impetuous folly of John de Werth that savedus from destruction. Now, you see, we are in no position to fightanother battle. A victory won in one's own country is decisive fora considerable time, but a victory in an enemy's country, unless itinvolves his disastrous defeat and the utter breakup of his army, ispractically without value. We can receive no reinforcements, for nonecan reach us from France in less than a couple of months; the enemy, onthe other hand, have rapidly filled up their ranks, and have received,or are about to receive, large reinforcements, and as soon as theyadvance we must retreat in all haste, sacrifice all the advantages wehave gained, and shall be lucky if we can maintain a footing on thisside of the Rhine.
"Five or six thousand lives have been thrown away and nothing whatevergained. Now, you see, had we instead of knocking our heads against theenemy's position, manoeuvred to place ourselves between him and theDanube, he must have retreated without fighting a battle, for he wasinferior to us in numbers, and we should have been able to go intowinter quarters in Nordlingen and possibly lay siege to Eichstadt.A genius may win a battle, Campbell, but genius, if accompanied byimpetuosity and a thirst for great victories, will very seldom wina campaign. I love as well as admire Enghien; he is chivalrousand generous, he has great military genius; possibly with age hisimpetuosity may be tempered with discretion, but at present, althougha brilliant leader, he is not the general that I would choose to serveunder in a long campaign."
When Weimar's cavalry crossed the Rhine with de Gramont they broke intomutiny, declaring that they were raised to fight in Germany and wouldnot fight in France. Turenne crossed and endeavoured to get them toreturn to their duty, recalling to them how nobly they had fought underhim, and appealing to them in the strongest way not to desert him now.A portion of them gave in to his entreaties, but the rest rode away toeffect a junction with the Swedish army, and he was therefore deprivedof a considerable portion of the force that had been the mainstay of hislittle army. Upon the other hand, the Archduke Leopold marched away toBohemia to oppose the Swedes, who had gained several successes in thatdirection. Turenne, however, determined to carry out one more enterprisebefore the winter set in, and to reinstate the Elector of Treves, whohad been deprived of his dominions for twelve years, in consequence ofhis having entered into an alliance with France. In order to effect thishe marched in the first week in November with a small force of infantryand his cavalry to the Moselle, a distance of forty leagues.
He was joined by some of Enghien's troops from Metz, and on the 14th ofNovember he invested Treves. The Imperialists were unable to gather aforce of sufficient strength to relieve the town, which was, therefore,after a short resistance, forced to capitulate. The small garrisons fromother towns in the elector's dominions were speedily driven out and theelector restored to his possessions, a result doubly gratifying, sincehis restoration produced a widespread effect among the German princeswho had thrown in their lot with France, while the material advantagewas no less, as it closed a door through which the Imperialists, when insufficient force, could at any time pour their troops into France. Thisbrought the campaign of 1645 to a close. Turenne was called to Paris,where he received the honours that were due to him for the skill andbravery by which, with altogether insufficient forces--raised, equippedand paid to a large extent from his private purse--he had for two yearsguarded the Rhine frontier from invasion by the united forces of Bavariaand Austria. Hector's regiment had been left at Philippsburg whenTurenne marched away; but the marshal told him that there was nooccasion whatever for him to remain with it during the winter. Hethought indeed that it would be advantageous that he should pay a shortvisit to Paris, present himself to Mazarin, and then go down and see howmatters fared with the estate, to which he had paid but a flying visit.He therefore set out without delay, Turenne entrusting him with somedespatches to the cardinal.
"They are of no great importance," he said, "but it is always well foran officer returning to Paris to carry despatches with him. It showsthat he has the hearty approval of his commander in leaving his post fora while, and that he has distinguished himself in a special degree tobe thus selected. I have several times in my despatches had occasion tospeak of the excellent service rendered by your regiment, and it willensure you a good reception at court. Besides, Mazarin is evidentlydisposed to regard you with special favour, and an occasional visitkeeps that feeling alive, whereas it naturally cools down after aprolonged absence. Therefore in every respect it is as well that youshould show yourself in Paris for a short time before going down toPoitou, where I hear there have been some troublesome risings of thepeasantry. The province, being broken and hilly for the mostpart, offers considerable advantages to irregular forces, who moveunencumbered with baggage, and against whom cavalry cannot well act.I do not know that any of these troubles have occurred in theneighbourhood of your estate, but you would naturally wish to see foryourself how matters are going on."
"It seems more than two years since we left here, master," Paolo said,as they rode into Paris.
"It does indeed. It is more than six years now since I first rode awaywith Turenne, and a month later you entered my service. We have gonethrough a good deal together since those days, Paolo."
"Yes, indeed, sir. It was a fortunate day for me when my brother took meto your quarters."
"It has been quite as fortunate for me, Paolo. I doubt whether I shouldever have proposed undertaking to carry Turenne's message into thecitadel of Turin had I not felt that I could rely upon you as mycompanion in the business, and it was that which gave me my first step.Since then you have always been by my side, and have more than oncesaved my life."
On reaching Mazarin's hotel Hector found that he was at the Louvre, andimmediately went there, and as bearer of despatches from the army was atonce introduced to the minister's apartment.
"Come with me at once to the queen's closet," the cardinal said as heentered. "She has just sent for me, and her majesty, being at once awoman and a queen, does not like being kept waiting. She always wishesto receive the first news from the army, therefore I can venture to takeyou with me without asking her permission.
"I have brought Monsieur de Villar to your majesty," he said ashe entered the queen's apartment. "He has just reached Paris withdespatches from the Viscount Turenne. He has only this instant arrived,and I thought I might venture to bring him at once to you."
"'Tis a long time since we have seen you, monsieur," the queen saidgraciously, "but we have heard of you from the marshal's despatches, andwere glad to see that your regiment bore itself as well in the field ofbattle as in the park of Versailles. What news do you bring? Nothing ofimportance, I hope, for there can hardly be good news when the marshalhas so scanty a force with which to guard the frontier."
"The Viscount de Turenne is too zealous in your service, madam, toremain idle, however small his force. He started suddenly the day I leftwith his cavalry and a small body of infantry to march to Treves, withtwo or three regiments he has persuaded the Duc d'Enghien to send himfrom Metz with some guns, and he hoped to capture the city and clear theelectorate of the enemy before they can receive strong reinforcements,seeing that they are all scattered in their winter quarters."
"A bold stroke indeed, cardinal," the queen said, much gratified. "Ithas touched our honour that
the elector should so long have suffered forhis fidelity to France; and, moreover, its possession in his hands willrelieve us of much anxiety and give us the Moselle as a barrier againstthe incursions of the enemy in that corner of our dominions. He isindefatigable, this good viscount, cardinal; and he is not one of thosewho look for great rewards for every service. He has indeed carriedon the war largely on his own resources, which has been of no slightadvantage to us, seeing that our exchequer is but too often strained tomeet demands from other quarters. If he succeeds in this enterprise, youmust write in our name and bid him come hither to receive our thanks inperson, and to rest for a while from his labours in our service.
"You have changed somewhat, Monsieur de Villar, since we last saw you.The ladies of the court called you then the little colonel--not becauseof your size, for you already overtopped the greater portion of ourcourtiers, but from your age. Now you look all over a soldier, and aweatherbeaten one."
Hector had indeed aged during the past two years. He was now nearlytwo-and-twenty, his moustache had grown, and, as was the custom of thetime, he wore a small imperial. The habit of command had given to hisface an expression of decision and resolution unusual at his age, anda life spent in the open air, and for the most part sleeping withoutcover, had bronzed his skin, and had counteracted the youthfulappearance caused by his fair complexion.
"'Tis but some three months since we heard of you as a prisoner, havingbeen captured while with your regiment covering the retreat after theunfortunate battle of Marienthal. The cardinal told me that he hadwritten to the field marshal to try and arrange an exchange for you ifpossible. We had not heard that he had done so when the Duc d'Enghien'sreport of the battle of Nordlingen spoke of you as doing good servicewith your regiment there. I suppose Turenne, in the press of business,omitted to say that you had been exchanged."
"I was not exchanged, madam. I succeeded in effecting my escape from thefortress of Ingoldstadt."
"You seem born to have adventures, monsieur," the queen said. "We heardbefore of your regiment performing prodigies of valour at Freiburg, andof withstanding Merci's whole army, foot and horse, for three hours.Last winter the governor of Lorraine reported that you and a companyof your regiment from Nancy had defeated a great body of insurgentpeasants, and had rescued Madame de Blenfoix and her daughter frommassacre at their hands. There is no officer under the rank of generalwhose name has been so frequently brought under our notice. You intendto make some stay in Paris, I hope?"
"I shall do myself the honour later on, your majesty; but I hear thatthere are peasant troubles down in Poitou, and as I only paid a visit ofa few days there, when your majesty had the goodness to present the fiefto me, I am anxious to know how matters are going on, and to see that mycastle is secure from attack by the insurgents."
"Your excuse is a good one. It would be well if more possessorsof estates would spend their time in endeavouring to alleviate thecondition of their people, instead of wasting their time and money inParis."
"Monsieur de Villar took steps in that direction, your majesty, beforeleaving for the war; for my agents, who keep me informed of most thingsthat take place, acquainted me with the fact that Monsieur de Villarentirely remitted the usual fines on taking possession, and reduced theannual payment of his tenants by one half until times should mend."
"A noble example!" the queen said warmly. "I would that we could affordto do the same through all the royal domains. It is a pleasure to us toknow that one at least of our fiefs has been so worthily bestowed. Well,sir, I shall see you at the court this evening."
Hector bowed and withdrew. His first step was to go to the clothingestablishment most frequented by men of good family. "I have to attendat the court this evening. I have just returned from the army, and havebut the clothes that I stand up in. Have you any garments that will fitme suitable for such an occasion?"
"Of shoulder cloaks I have great store in silks, satins, and velvets ofall shades and colours. There is no difficulty about doublets, for ofthese I always keep a large stock in hand; and although you are a biggerman than the majority of my customers, I think that I can suit you.Tight pantaloons are chiefly worn by those who affect the latestfashion, but it would be impossible for me to make these at such shortnotice. As you are a military man this matters little, for these chieflyaffect loose breeches trimmed at the bottom with rich lace, stockingsof silk, and shoes with rosettes. Such breeches I could promise you inthree hours, for they require but little making. The stockings of allshades I have in stock, also shoes. These would need but rosettes of thecolour to suit the dress, to be added to them."
"I put myself in your hands," Hector said. "I wish for a handsome dress,and yet one which shall in no way be foppish, but shall be suitable tomy station. I am Baron de la Villar, colonel of the Poitou regiment ofinfantry."
"Do you incline to silk, velvet, or satin? I should say a velvet cloakand satin tunic and breeches would suit you best with your fair hair. Ishould choose for the cloak a crimson or violet, and for the doublet andbreeches a yellow. If you would prefer a blue cloak I should say a whitesatin doublet and breeches would become you."
Hector shook his head. "No, I should prefer the first mixture. I carenot whether the cloak is crimson or violet."
"I think violet, monsieur, and rosettes of the same colour on yourshoes. It were best, I think, that the stockings should match thedoublet. You will, of course, have a pointed lace collar for your cloak,and at the bottom of your breeches and at your wrists to match. I think,sir, that a large collar and gold embroidery would go best with thecostume."
Hector nodded. "I leave it entirely to you, Master Poitrou, sothat everything is ready in time for me to wear them. I also wanta travelling suit of good fashion--I leave the matter of colour toyou--and also a suit for wearing here in Paris."
The cloak and doublets were speedily chosen, as M. Poitrou had severalof the colour and material in stock. Hector was then measured for thebreeches, which were of the fashion now known as knickerbockers, butsomewhat looser. He then chose a violet cap with a yellow feather tomatch the court dress, a court sword, high riding boots, and looseturned-over boots used for walking, but left all other matters to thetailor.
"When your man brings the things to me at the auberge Pome d'Or I willpay him at once," he said. He was indeed well supplied with funds, foras he passed through Nancy he had drawn the sums standing to his creditfrom an agent there, to whom he had, as occasion offered, transmittedthe greater portion of his pay, and also the balance of the sum that hadbeen paid him when he first took possession of his estate, after payingfor the various expenses he had incurred in St. Denis and in Paris.Monsieur Poitrou was faithful to his promise, and although free fromvanity, Hector could not but perceive, after he had donned his courtsuit, that he made a good figure. Such, indeed, was the opinion of not afew of the ladies of the court as he entered the great reception room.
He had now adopted the general fashion, and wore his hair in ringletshanging down on to the collar. His fair complexion contrasted stronglywith the much darker one of the majority of the courtiers, and this,as well as his height and erect soldierly bearing, rendered him aconspicuous object among them. The queen and cardinal both honoured himwith marked attention; but what pleased him most during the evening wasthe hearty greeting that he received from Colonel Maclvor, of whom hehad seen but little during the campaign, as the Scottish regimentformed part of Enghien's command, and was not present at the battle ofNordlingen, being left in garrison at Metz when the duke marched tojoin Turenne. Mazarin himself presented him to many of the ladies of thecourt, thereby showing that he wished him to be regarded as a particularfriend of his; and Hector, having gained much in self possession sincehe had last appeared there, was able to make himself more agreeable tothem than before, to bandy compliments, and adapt himself to the generalatmosphere of the court. The cardinal sent for him again the nextmorning.
"The news is bad from Poitou, Colonel Campbell, and I think that itwould be well t
hat you should proceed there at once. So we will releaseyou from further attendance, and you can make up for it by giving us alonger time on your return."
Hector, however, tarried two days longer in Paris, by which time he hadreceived all the clothes that he had ordered. Early on the morningof the third day he mounted and rode away with Paolo and three of histroopers. Hunter had been left behind at Philippsburg for the cure of awound that he had received at Nordlingen. Hector was mounted on one ofthe horses that Enghien had given him; the other was in the hands of theImperialists. They traveled fast, and met with no adventure until theyarrived at Poitou, where Hector learned that in the western part ofthe province the peasants had almost everywhere risen, had defeated theroyal troops who had marched against them from La Rochelle and Nantes,and had captured and burnt any chateaux, slaying all persons of thebetter class who fell into their hands.
As he neared his own estate, learning that the tenants there had so farnot joined the rising, but that several bodies of insurgents were in theneighbourhood, he rode still more rapidly forward. Signs of the troublewere everywhere apparent. In the villages only women were to be seen;there was no sign of life or movement in the fields; and he passed twochateaux which were now but empty shells. As soon as he had crossed intohis own estates he found the houses entirely deserted; no man, woman,nor child was to be seen; no animals grazed in the fields, and thelittle stacks of hay and straw had been carried away.
"It is evident," he said to Paolo, "that MacIntosh has called all thetenantry into the chateau; had they joined the insurgents the women andchildren would still be here."
As they ascended the steep hill on whose brow the chateau stood, hecould make out that there were a number of men posted upon the walls.
"He is evidently determined that he will not be caught napping, Paolo,and all the peasants of Poitou could not take the place unless they werewell provided with cannon."
The chateau, indeed, still retained the characteristics of a castle. Thesite had evidently been selected with a sole eye to defence; the hillon which it stood fell abruptly away on three sides, and could hardlybe attacked except in front. Here a plateau extended some three or fourhundred yards long and upwards of a hundred yards across. A wall withflanking turrets had been a sufficient defence on the other three sides,but here there was a strong tower on each flank, and also on each sideof the central gate. The walls inclosed a space of some two acres,in the centre of which stood the castle. This had been to some extentmodernized--windows having taken the place of loopholes in the upperfloors, while those looking into the inner courtyard extended to theground. The point where the road reached the plateau was some threehundred yards from the gateway, and as Hector galloped towards the wallsit was evident that he was recognized, for shouts were raised by the menon guard and the drawbridge over the fosse--cut in the solid rock alongthe foot of the wall--was lowered.
As he rode across it the gate swung open and MacIntosh ran out to meethim.
"Is all well, old friend?" Hector asked as he sprang from his horse andclasped the sergeant's hand.
"All is well so far, colonel; still, I am glad indeed that you havereturned, for at any moment trouble may begin. We hear that the peasantsmean to attack us. I hardly think they will venture to do so, but Ihave no doubt they will play havoc on the estate and burn every house,because the tenants, instead of joining them, have come up here to aidin the defence. It was a good day indeed when madam and her daughtercame here, they have made themselves so loved by the tenants that theywould do anything for them. Ah, if all the ladies of France had beenas good to their people as they have been, we should not have thesetroubles on hand! Here they come to welcome you."
Hector hurried across the outer court, where two lines of palings hadbeen erected, forming a passage from one gate to the other, and keepingback the animals that crowded the enclosure.
"Welcome back, welcome back, Colonel Campbell!" the baroness said asshe came up with both hands extended, and her words were echoed by herdaughter. In the year that had elapsed since they started under thecharge of Paolo both had changed. The look of care and anxiety, whichhad been heightened by the terrible events of the two previous days,had passed from the elder lady's face, and had been succeeded by one ofcontentment and happiness.
Norah showed an even greater change; she had now attained her fullheight, her figure had filled out, and she stood on the threshold ofwomanhood and bid fair to attain a high degree of beauty of the typecharacteristic of her nationality. Her hair was dark, her eyes gray,her expression changing rapidly from grave to gay, the latter movementgenerally predominating.
"I need hardly ask, madam," Hector said as they entered the chateau,"whether you have been comfortable here, for your face shows that youhave at least been contented with your lot as chatelaine."
"I have been more than contented, I have been very happy, MonsieurCampbell. It has been a pleasant task indeed to be your almoner, and tobe able to carry comfort to those in distress, sympathy and aid to thosein suffering. Within the castle, nothing could be more pleasant than ourposition. Captain MacIntosh has been unwearied in his efforts to makeus comfortable, and your steward has in all cases been willing to aidme with money and counsel when I asked for them. The proof that yourgoodness has been appreciated by the tenants is that every one of themwithout exception has refused to join the insurgents, and has forsakenhis home in order to come up and aid in the defence of the castle."
"That is indeed gratifying, madam; but methinks their action is duerather to the kindness of yourself and Mademoiselle Norah, than to thegifts they receive."
"I do not choose to be called Mademoiselle Norah," the girl said,tossing her head. "I am Irish on both sides, and have not a drop ofFrench blood in my veins. To strangers I am Miss Norah O'More; to you,and to any I may love, I am plain Norah."
"I don't think that you can be that to anyone, Norah."
"Now I don't like that, Colonel Campbell. That may do at the court ofLouis XIV, but not at the chateau of la Villar, and if you are going topay compliments I shall be stiff and unpleasant, and shall insist uponbeing addressed as Miss Norah O'More."
"As I did not mean to compliment you, for I spoke but the truth, I shallnot accept the penalty. Now," he went on, "unromantic as it may sound, Iown that I am hungry, and I am sure that my four followers are also,for we have ridden far and fast, and have not stopped, save to bait ourhorses and snatch a mouthful while they ate, since daybreak. In truththe news we received made me sorely anxious, though I felt sure thatMacIntosh could hold the chateau against any attack that was likely tobe made on it."