La Vendée

  CHAPTER IV.

  CATHELINEAU.

  The revolt of St. Florent took place on the day after that on which thepriest had breakfasted at Durbelliere, and the rumours of it wentquickly through the country. As Cathelineau had said, the news was soonknown in Nantes and Angers, and the commander of the republican troopsdetermined most thoroughly to avenge the insolence and rebellion of thevain people of St. Florent. He was not, however, able to accomplish histhreat on the instant, for he also was collecting conscripts in theneighbourhood of Nantes, and the peasantry had heard of the doings ofSt. Florent as well as the soldiers, and the men of Brittany seemedinclined to follow the example of the men of Anjou.

  He had, therefore, for a time enough to occupy his own troops, withoutdestroying the rebels of St. Florent--and it was well for St. Florentthat it was so. Had he at once marched five hundred men, with fourpieces of cannon against the town, he might have reduced the place toashes, and taken a bloody revenge for their victory The men of StFlorent would have had no means of opposing such a force, and thepeasantry generally were not armed, the tactics of the royalists werenot settled, and the revolt through the province was not general. Thedestruction of St Florent was postponed for a month, and at theexpiration of that time, the troops of the republic had too much to do,to return to the little town where the war had commenced.

  The rumour of what had been done at St. Florent, was also soon known inCoron, in Torfou, and in Clisson. The battle was fought on Thursday, andearly on Saturday morning, M. de Lescure had heard some indistinctrumour of the occurrence; indistinct at least it seemed to him, for hecould not believe that the success of the townspeople was so complete,as it was represented to him to be; he heard at the same time that therevolt had been headed by Cathelineau and Foret, and that as soon as thebattle was over, they had started for Durbelliere to engage theassistance of Henri Larochejaquelin. De Lescure, therefore, determinedto go at once to Durbelliere; and Adolphe Denot, who was with him,accompanied him.

  They found Henri in the midst of his preparations, weighing outgunpowder with the assistance of the priest and the two girls. There wasa large quarry on the Marquis' estate, and a considerable supply ofgunpowder for blasting had been lately brought to Durbelliere fromNantes, as it could not be purchased in the neighbouring towns. As thepriest remarked, blasting powder was not the best, but it was goodenough to treat republicans with--at any rate they could get no better,and it was lucky that they chanced to have that.

  Charles de Lescure shuddered as he saw the dangerous employment onwhich his sister was engaged; but Henri's sister was doing the samething, and he knew that dangerous times for all of them were coming.Adolphe was disgusted that Agatha's white hands should be employed inso vile a service, but he thought little of the danger to which she wasexposed.

  "You are well employed, ladies," said de Lescure, "but not an hour toosoon. I am rejoiced to see you so well supplied, Henri; this is indeeda Godsend. Father Jerome, is this strictly canonical; gunpowder I fearis altogether a temporal affair."

  "But rebellion and hell-fire are synonymous," said the priest, "andloyalty is the road to Paradise. I am strictly within my calling, M. deLescure. Mademoiselle, these packets are too large. You are giving toogood measure. Remember how many are the claimants for our bounty."

  "You have, of course, all heard what occurred at St. Florent the daybefore yesterday," said de Lescure.

  "Not a word," said Henri. "What happened there? we hear nothing heretill a week after it is known in the towns."

  They all left off what they were doing, and listened anxiously for M.de Lescure's tidings. "Good news, I trust," said the Cure, whose faceshowed a fearful degree of anxiety. "Good news, I trust in God; the menof St. Florent, I am sure, have not disgraced themselves."

  "Indeed, they have not, Father Jerome. If the half of what I hear betrue, they have already played a grand part. What I hear is this--nota conscript was to be seen at the barracks when they were summoned.Three or four soldiers were sent to commence the collection in the town,and they were at once taken prisoners by a party headed by Cathelineau,the postillion. The Colonel then turned out, and fired on the crowd; buthe could not stand his ground before the people, who drove him back tothe barracks; half his men were killed in retreating. The people thenattacked the barracks, and regularly carried them by storm; took thecannon which was with the detachment, and made prisoners of everysoldier that was not killed in the fray. If the half of it be true, St.Florent has made a fine beginning for us."

  "Glorious fellows!" said Adolphe. "What would I not give to have beenwith them?"

  "You will have plenty of opportunity, M. Denot," said the priest, whoheld Adolphe in great aversion.

  "But, Charles, the carnage of the people must have been dreadful," saidHenri; "they had nothing but their hands and nails to fight with,against the muskets and bayonets of the soldiers--against artilleryeven."

  "The Lord supplied them with weapons, my son," said the priest,solemnly. "Cannot He, who has given them courage and good hearts tostand against the enemies of their country, also give them weapons tofight his battles?"

  "They say, too, that by some miracle the cannon could not be got to fireon the town. They say it was loaded and ready, but that the powderwould not ignite when the torch was put to it," said de Lescure.

  "They say," added Denot, "that the Colonel himself repeatedly tried tofire it, but could not; and that when he found that Providence,interfered for the people, he laid down his sword, and gave himself up."

  "The man who came to me from the town," continued de Lescure, "had athousand wonderful stories. He says, that twenty times in the dayCathelineau stood, unharmed before the bayonets of the soldiers; thattwenty times he was shot at, but it was impossible to wound him. Theysay that God has interfered for the protection of St. Florent."

  "Most probable," said the priest, "most probable; for who, my children,shall attempt to judge the ways of God? Why should He not put out hisright hand to assist his own?"

  "And were there not many of the townspeople killed?" asked Agatha.

  "We did not hear," replied de Lescure; "but the news of their triumphwould travel faster than the account of their misfortunes; there couldnot but have been much bloodshed."

  "After all," said Henri, "we do not know how much of this is true. Wemust not believe it all; it is too glorious to be true."

  "Do not say so, M. Larochejaquelin," said the priest, "do not say so;we will do greater things than that with the assistance of God and theblessed Virgin; but we will not envy the men of St. Florent the honourthey have won."

  "You believe it all, then, Father Jerome," said Marie. "You believe thatthe republicans have been beaten."

  "Every word, Mademoiselle, every word religiously. I should be a heathenelse, or worse than that, a republican."

  The group who were discussing the probability of the victory said tohave been gained at St. Florent, were standing at the window of one ofthe front rooms of the chateau, which looked immediately on one of thewhitewashed recumbent lions, and from it they could see the woodengates, the lodge, and the paved road which ran from Chatillon to Vihiersin front of the chateau. As the priest finished speaking, three men rodethrough the gates, into the avenue, directly up to the house-door: onewas tolerably well mounted on a large horse, the second was on a shaggypony, and the third, who was rather behind the others, was seated on amule of most unprepossessing appearance, whose sides he did not for amoment cease to lacerate with his heels, to enable himself to keep upwith his companions.

  "That is Foret, from St. Florent himself!" shouted the priest, rushingout towards the door, as soon as he saw the first horseman turn in atthe gate; "a good man, and true as any living, and one who hates askulking republican as he does the devil."

  "And that is the postillion himself, on the pony!" shouted Henri,running after him. "I could swear to him, by his hat, among a thousand."

  "Who is the man on the mule, Adolphe?" said de Lescure, remaining at thewin
dow. "By the bye," he added, turning to the two girls who remainedwith him, and who were trembling in every joint, at they knew not what,"I forgot, in my hurry, or rather I hadn't time as yet to tell Henrithat I had heard that these men were coming here."

  "Are those the very men who gained the victory at St. Florent?" askedMarie.

  "So we heard," replied de Lescure, "and now, and not till now, I believeit; their coming here is strong confirmation; the Cure is right, itseems."

  "And is that man the good postillion of whom the people talk?"

  "He is--at least he is no longer a postillion. He will cease to be apostillion now; from henceforth he will be only a soldier."

  The Cure and Larochejaquelin had rushed down the steps, and seized thehands of Foret and Cathelineau, as they got off their horses. It wassoon evident to them that the noise of their deeds had gone before them.Foret at once returned the greeting of Father Jerome, for they had longknown each other, and the difference between their stations was not sovery great; but Cathelineau hardly knew how to accept, or how to refuse,the unwonted mark of friendship shewn him by a wealthy seigneur; it hadnot been his lot to shake hands with gentlemen, and he had no wish tostep beyond his proper sphere, because he had been put prominentlyforward in the affair of St. Florent; but he had no help for it; beforehe knew where he was, Larochejaquelin had got him by the hand, and wasdragging him into the salon of Durbelliere. It appeared to thepostillion that the room was full; there were ladies there too--young,beautiful, and modest--such as he was in the habit of seeing through thewindows of the carriages which he drove; the old Marquis was there toonow; the butler had just wheeled in his chair, and Cathelineau perceivedthat he was expected to join the group at once. A vista was opened forhim up to the old man's chair; his eyes swam, and he hardly recollectedthe faces of the different people round him. He wished that he hadwaited at the gate, and sent in for M. Henri; he could have talked tohim alone. Why had he ridden up so boldly to the chateau gate? He hadnever trembled, for a moment, during the hot work at St. Florent, butnow he felt that circumstances could almost make him a coward.

  On a sudden he remembered that his hat was still on his head, and hesnatched his hand out of Henri's to remove it, and then, when it wasoff, he wanted to go back to the hall to put it down.

  Henri saw his confusion, and, taking it from him, put it on a chair, andthen they all shook hands with him. He first found his hand in that ofthe Marquis, and heard the old man bless him, and then the Priestblessed him, and then he felt the soft, sweet hands of those brightangels within his own horny palm; he heard them speaking to him, thoughhe knew not what they said; and then he could restrain himself nolonger, for tears forced themselves into his eyes, and, in the midst ofthem all, he cried like a child.

  There was infection in his tears, for Agatha and Marie, when they sawthem, cried too, and the eyes of some of the men also were not dry; theyall knew what the feelings of the man were, and they fully sympathisedwith him. It was strange how little they said about St. Florent atfirst; the moment the men had been seen, they were most anxious for thetidings of what had been done; but now they all seemed satisfied as tothe truth of what they had heard--there was no longer any doubt. Theheroes of St. Florent were there, and, though neither of them had yetspoken a word about the battle which had been fought, the presence ofthe victors was sufficient evidence of the victory.

  The Cure, however, and M. de Lescure soon took Foret apart, and learntfrom him the details of what had been done, while the father and son,and the two girls, endeavoured to put the postillion at his ease in hisnew position.

  Cathelineau was a very good-looking man, about thirty-five years of age;his hair was very dark, and curled in short, thick clusters; hiswhiskers were large and bushy, and met beneath his face; his upper lipwas short, his mouth was beautifully formed, and there was a deep dimpleon his chin; but the charm of his face was in the soft benignantexpression of his eyes; he looked as though he loved hisfellow-creatures--he looked as though he could not hear, unmoved, a taleof woe or oppression--of injuries inflicted on the weak, or of unfairadvantages assumed by the strong. It was this which had made him so muchbeloved; and it was not only the expression of his countenance, but ofhis heart also.

  "And were you not wounded, Cathelineau?" asked the old gentleman.

  "No, M. le Marquis, thank God! I was not."

  "Nor Foret?"

  "No, M. le Marquis."

  "But were there many wounded?" said Agatha.

  "Ah! Mademoiselle, there were--many, very many!"

  "I knew there must have been," said Marie, shuddering.

  "We cannot have war without the horrors of war," said Henri. "It isbetter, is it not, Cathelineau, that some of us should fall, than thatall of us should be slaves?"

  "A thousand times, M. Larochejaquelin ten thousand times!" said he, witha return of that determined vigour with which he had addressed hisfellow-townsmen the day before.

  "Yes, you are right, ten thousand times better! and, Marie, you wouldnot be your brother's sister if you did not think so," said Henri; "butyou do think so, and so does Agatha, though she cries so fast."

  "I am not crying, Henri," said Agatha, removing her handkerchief fromher eyes, which belied her assertion; "but one cannot but think of allthe misery which is coming on us: were there--were there any womenwounded in the battle?"

  "There were, Mademoiselle; but those who were so, never complained; andthose who were killed will never have need to complain again."

  "Were there women killed?"

  "There were two, Mademoiselle; one a young girl; the other has leftchildren to avenge her death."

  "That is the worst of all," said Henri, shuddering. "Cathelineau, wemust keep the women in the houses; our men will not fight if they seetheir wives and sweethearts bleeding beside them; such a sight wouldmake me throw my sword away myself."

  "It would make you throw away the scabbard, M. Larochejaquelin; but Ifear we shall see enough of such sights," and then he blushed deeply,as he reflected that what he had said would frighten the fair girlssitting near him; "but I beg pardon, ladies--I--"

  "Don't mind us, Cathelineau," said Agatha; "you will not frighten us;our brothers will fight by your side; and you will find that we areworthy of our brothers. Marie and I will take our chance withoutrepining."

  "And what is to come next, Cathelineau?" said Henri; "we have throwndown the gauntlet now, and we must be ready for all the consequences.You see, we were preparing for the same work," and he pointed to theopen packets of gunpowder which were lying scattered on the table. "Whatare we to do now? we shall soon have swarms of republican soldiers uponus, and it will be well to be prepared. We look to you for counsel now,you know."

  "Not so, M. Larochejaquelin; it was to seek council that I and Foretcame hither; it was to throw ourselves at the feet of my Lord theMarquis, and at yours, and at those of M. de Lescure; and to implore youto join us, to fight with us, and to save us; to lead us against therepublicans, and to help us to save our homes."

  "They will, Cathelineau; they will, my excellent friend," said the oldman. "Henri shall fight with you--he would not be my son else; andCharles de Lescure there will fight with you for his King as long as thebreath is in his body. The Cure there--Father Jerome--will pray for you,and bless your arms; and I believe you'll find he'll fight for you too;the whole country are your friends."

  "Yes," said Henri. "The whole province, down to the sea, will be withus. Charette is in the Marais ready to take up arms, the moment thecollection of the conscripts is commenced, or before, if it benecessary. M. Bonchamps, who is now at Angers, will join us at once, andgive us what we so much want--military skill. The Prince de Talmont iswith us, M. Fleuriot, and M. d'Autachamps, every gentleman of standingin the country will help the good cause; my friend here, Adolphe Denot,will fight for us to the last drop of his blood."

  Cathelineau bowed graciously, as he was in this way introduced byLarochejaquelin to his friend. Denot also bowed, but he did it any
thingbut graciously: two things were disagreeable to him, he felt himself atthe present moment to be in the back-ground, and the hero of the day,the feted person, was no better than a postillion. When the rest of theparty had all given their hands to Cathelineau he had remained behind,he did not like to put himself on an equality with such a person; hefancied even then his dignity was hurt by having to remain in hiscompany.

  "And what step shall we first take, M. Larochejaquelin?" saidCathelineau.

  "What do you propose yourself?" said Henri.

  "I think we should not wait for them to punish us for our first success.I think we should follow up our little victory, and attack therepublicans, at Beauprieu, perhaps, or at Cholet; we should so teach ourmen to fight, teach them to garrison and protect their own towns, andthen, perhaps, before very long, we might fly at higher game; we mightendeavour to drive these wolves from their own strong places; fromAngers perhaps, or Nantes, or better still, from Saumur."

  "Why Saumur, especially," said Henri; "surely Nantes would be a bettermark than Saumur; besides Saumur is a perfect fortress, walled on allsides, almost impregnable; whereas Nantes is not fortified at all.Saumur is reckoned the strongest town in the south of France; it is theonly fortified town in Anjou, Poitou, Tourraine or Southern Britanny."

  "That is just the reason, my friend," said Cathelineau, now reassuredby his own enthusiasm, and by his intense anxiety on the subject, "thatis the very reason why Saumur should be our aim. The republicans nowfear nothing from us, and will take no more than ordinary precautions;if we should now attack other places, and commence our proceedings withsome success, they would make Saumur utterly impregnable; and what couldwe do with such a place as that opposed to us on the borders of ourcountry, and on the very road to Paris. But think what it would be inour favour; it commands the Loire, it commands the road from Paris,besides, it contains what we so much want, arms, ammunition, andartillery; it is from Saumur that the republican troops are suppliedwith gunpowder; believe me, Saumur should be our mark. I know it isdifficult, there will be danger and difficulties enough, I know; but itis not impossible, and I believe it may be done," and then he lookedround, and saw where he was, and that every one in the room waslistening to him, and he added, "but I am too bold to say so much beforemy Lord the Marquis, and M. Larochejaquelin, and M. de Lescure, and theother gentlemen, whose opinions are so much better than my own."

  "He is right, Henri," said de Lescure; "take my word, he is right. Wewill do it, my friend," and he put his hand on the postillion'sshoulder. "We will be masters of Saumur, and you shall lead us there;we will help you to plant the King's standard on the citadel of thetown."

  Cathelineau was still sitting, and he looked up into de Lescure's facewith thankful admiration. "Ah! M. de Lescure, with such guides as you,with such a heart, such courage as yours, no walls shall hinder us, noenemies prevent us."

  "You shall have many such friends, Cathelineau," said he; "many aseager, and very many more useful."

  "None more useful," said the postillion; "none could be more useful."

  "No; none more useful," said the Marquis; "may you have many friends asgood, and then you will succeed."

  "Saumur let it be, then," said Henri. "I have no doubt you are right;and indeed I do not claim to be great in council; I only hope I may notbe found backward in action."

  "That you never, never will," said Agatha. "That he never will,Mademoiselle: a Larochejaquelin was never backward in the hour of need,"said Cathelineau.

  "They know how to flatter in St. Florent, my friend," said she smiling.

  "If that be flattery, all the country flatters. I only speak as I hearothers speaking; they say that beauty and courage were always to befound at Durbelliere."

  "Nay, Agatha; but is he not Bayard complete?" said Marie laughing. "Iam sure we should be obliged; it is an age since we received acompliment here in the Bocage."

  "The ladies are laughing at me," said Cathelineau, rising, "and it istime that I and my friend should cease to trouble you."

  "But where would you go, Cathelineau?" said Henri.

  "Back to St. Florent; we have gained our object; we can tell ourtownsmen that the gentlemen of Poitou will fight on their side."

  "We will tell them so together, tomorrow by sunset," said Henri; "it isnow late, you and Foret stay here tonight; not a word either of you, foryour life. I command this garrison; do not you, Cathelineau, be thefirst to shew an example of disobedience. Father Jerome, lay hands onForet, lest he fly. Why, my friend, have we so much time to spare, thatwe can afford to lose it in foolish ceremony? Have we not a thousandplans to mature--a thousand things to settle, which we must settle, andnone but we, and which we must discuss together? Are there not herefour, six of us, brothers in arms together? I count you one, FatherJerome; and are we not here with the benefit of our father's advice?When shall we all meet again, or when could we meet that our meetingwould be more desirable? Well, go if you will, Cathelineau," added he,seeing that the postillion hesitated; "but every one here will tell youthat you are wrong to do so."

  "Stay, my friend," said the Marquis, who understood well the differentfeelings which perplexed the mind of the postillion; "stay, my friend,and take your supper with us; you have undertaken a great work, and haveshewn yourself fit for it, do not let little things embarrass you.Agatha, darling, see that beds be got ready for our friends. FatherJerome also will remain here tonight, and Charles, and Adolphe; we maynot have many merry suppers more, we will at any rate enjoy tonight."

  "And Cathelineau," said Henri, "you will not, I trust, be less welcomein St. Florent tomorrow because I accompany you."

  It was then decided that they should all remain there that night, thatde Lescure and Adolphe should return with Marie to Clisson on thefollowing morning, and that Henri and the priest should accompany Foretand the postillion to St. Florent, there to make the best arrangementwithin their power for the immediate protection of the place.

  They were not very merry that evening, but they were by no meansunhappy; as Henri had said they had much to talk of, and they spent ananxious evening, but each satisfied the other. Cathelineau felt himselfto be in a new world, sitting down at table to eat with such companionsas those around him. The sweet, kind face of Agatha disturbed him most.It almost unmanned him; he thought that it would be happiness enough fora life to be allowed to remain unseen where he might gaze on her. Hefelt that such beauty, such ineffable loveliness as hers could almostmake him forget his country and his countrymen; and then he shudderedand turned his eyes away from her. But there she sat close to him: andshe would speak to him, and ask him questions; she asked after hisfriends in St. Florent, after the women who were wounded, and she gavehim money for the children who were made orphans; and then her handtouched his again, and he thought that he was asleep and dreaming.

  Much of importance to their future plans was arranged that night, andsuch a council of war was probably never before assembled. The old manjoined in their contemplated designs with as much energy as the youngestamong them; the words rash and imprudent never once crossed his lips;nothing seemed rash to him that was to be undertaken for the restorationof the King. The priest took a very prominent part in it, and his wordwas certainly not for peace; he was the most urgent of the party fordecided measures. De Lescure, Larochejaquelin, and Denot, argued,debated, and considered, as though war had always been their profession;but they all submitted, or were willing to submit, to Cathelineau; hehad already commenced the war, and had been successful; he had alreadyshewn the ready wit to contrive, and the bold hand to execute; hisfitness to lead was acknowledged, and though two days since he was onlya postillion, he was tacitly acknowledged by this little band ofroyalists, to be their leader.

  And there too among these confederates sat Agatha and Marie, if nottalking themselves, yet listening with almost breathless attention tothe plans of the party; sharing their anxiety, promising their women'said, enchanting them with their smiles, or encouraging them with theirtears. Catheli
neau had heard how knights of old, famed in song, hadspent their lives among scenes of battle and danger, and all for thesmiles of the lady of their love; and now he thought he understood it.He could do the same to be greeted with the smiles of AgathaLarochejaquelin, and he would not dream of any richer reward. She wasas an angel to him, who had left her own bright place in heaven toilluminate the holy cause in which he had now engaged himself; undersuch protection he could not be other than successful.

  When Foret and Cathelineau dismounted, and were taken into the house byHenri and the Cure, they left their steeds in the care of Peter Berrier;but Peter has not been left ever since leading them up and down in sightof the white-washed lions. The revolt of St. Florent had been heard ofin the servants' hall as well as in the salon upstairs, and it was soonknown that the heroes of the revolt were in the house, and that theirhorses were before the door. A couple of men and two or three boys soonhurried round, and Peter was relieved from his charge, and courteouslyled into the servants' hall by Momont, the grey-headed old butler andfavourite servant of the Marquis, and Jacques Chapeau, the valet, groom,and confidential factotum of Larochejaquelin. Peter was soon encouragedto tell his tale, and to explain the mission which had brought him andhis two companions to Durbelliere, and under ordinary circumstances thehaving to tell so good a tale would have been a great joy to him; butat the present moment Peter was not quite satisfied with his ownposition; why was the postillion in the salon while he was in thekitchen? Peter usually was a modest man enough, and respectful to hissuperiors; the kitchen table in a nobleman's house would generally bean elysium to him; he had no idea that he was good enough to consortwith Marquises and their daughters; but he did think himself equal toCathelineau, the postillion, and as Cathelineau was in the salon, whyshould he be in the kitchen? He quite understood that Cathelineau wasthus welcomed, thus raised from his ordinary position in consequence ofwhat he had done at St. Florent, but why shouldn't he, Berrier, bewelcomed, and raised also? He couldn't see that Cathelineau had donemore than he had himself. He was the first man to resist; he had beenthe first hero, and yet he was left for half an hour to lead about ahorse, an ass, and an old mule, as though he were still the ostler atan auberge, and then he was merely taken into the servants' hall, andasked to eat cold meat, while Cathelineau was brought into a grand roomupstairs to talk to lords and ladies; this made Peter fidgety anduncomfortable; and when he heard, moreover, that Cathelineau was to supupstairs at the same table with the Marquis and the ladies, all hispleasure in the revolt was destroyed, he had no taste for the winebefore him, and he wished in his heart that he had joined the troops,and become a good republican. He could not bear the aristocratic fopperyof that Cathelineau.

  "And were you a conscript yourself, Peter Berrier?" said JacquesChapeau.

  "Of course I was," said Peter. "Why, haven't you heard what the revoltof St. Florent was about?"

  "Well; we have heard something about it," said Momont; "but we didn'texactly hear your name mentioned."

  "You couldn't have heard much of the truth then," said Berrier.

  "We heard," said Chapeau, "how good Cathelineau began by taking threesoldiers prisoners."

  "I had twice more to do with those three prisoners than ever he had,"said Peter.

  "Well; we never heard that," said Momont.

  "But we heard," said Chapeau, "how Cathelineau led a few of the townsmenagainst a whole regiment of soldiers, and scattered them through thetown like chaff."

  "Scattered them like chaff!" said Peter.

  "And we heard," said Momont, "how he stormed the barracks, slaughteredall the soldiers, and dragged the Colonel with his own hand through thebarrack window."

  "Through the barrack window!" repeated Peter, with an air intended tothrow discredit on the whole story.

  "And we heard," said Gather's confidential maid, "how he laid his handupon the cannon and charmed it, so that it would not go off, though thefiery torch was absolutely laid upon the gunpowder."

  "That the cannon wouldn't go off though the torch was laid upon thegunpowder!" said Peter.

  "And we heard," said the cook, "how all the girls in the town came andcrowned him with bay leaves; and how the priest blessed him."

  "And how the young made him their captain and their general," said thehousekeeper.

  "And how they christened him the Saviour of St. Florent," said thelaundress.

  "And gave him all the money in the town, and the biggest sword theycould find," said the page.

  "You heard all this, did you?" said Peter Berrier.

  "Indeed we did," said Jacques Chapeau, "and a great deal more from M. deLescure's own man, who went back to Clisson only an hour since, and whohad it all from one who came direct from St. Florent."

  "And you heard not a word of Peter Berrier?"

  "Not a word, not a word," said they all at once.

  "Then, friends, let me tell you, you have not heard much of the truth,although M. de Lescure's own man did see the man who came direct fromSt. Florent; I think I may say, without boasting, and I believe Monsieurthe postillion upstairs will not be inclined to contradict me, thatwithout me, there would have been no revolt.

  "No revolt without you? No revolt without Peter Berrier? No revoltwithout M. Debedin's ostler?" said they one after another.

  "No--no revolt without M. Debedin's ostler, Madame." The last questionhad been asked by the cook. "M. Debedin's ostler is as good, I suppose,as M. Gaspardieu's postillion."

  "What, as good as Cathelineau?" asked Momont.

  "As good as our good postillion!" shouted Chapeau.

  "As good as the holy man who charmed the cannon!" said the confidentialmaid in a tone of angry amazement.

  "Would all the girls in St. Florent crown you with bay leaves!" jeeredthe cook.

  "Will they ever make you a great captain!" screamed the housekeeper.

  "Or call you the Saviour of St. Florent!" added the laundress.

  "Or trust you with all the money, I'd like to know!" suggested the page.

  Peter Berrier felt that he was ill-used after all that he had gonethrough for his King and his country; he sat apart for the rest of theevening, and meditated whether he would go over to the republicans, andbring an army down upon Durbelliere, or whether he would more noblyrevenge himself by turning out a more enterprising royalist than eventhe postillion himself.