CHAPTER IX.
LE MOUCHOIR ROUGE.
Nothing interfered to oppose the advance of the royalist troops towardsSaumur. At Coron, as had been proposed, Larochejaquelin and Denot joinedFather Jerome; and Cathelineau also, and M. d'Elbee joined them there.Every house in the town was open to them, and the provisions, which bythe care of M. de Larochejaquelin had been sent there, were almostunneeded. If there was any remnant of republican feeling in Coron, atany rate it did not dare to shew itself. The road which the royalistsintended to take ran from Cholet, through Coron, Vihiers, and Doue, toSaumur. The republicans, who were now in great force at Saumur, underGenerals Coustard and Quetineau, had sent small parties of soldiers intothe town of Vihiers and Doue, the inhabitants of which were mostlyrepublican. Before the arrival of M. de Larochejaquelin, the blues, asthe republican troops were called by the Vendeans, had been driven outof Vihiers by a party of royalists under the direction of Stofflet, whohad raised himself to distinction soon after the commencement of therevolt. This man was a gamekeeper in the employment of an emigrantnobleman, and though he was a rough, harsh, uneducated, quarrelsome man,nevertheless, by his zeal and courage, he had acquired great influenceamong the people, and was now at the head of a numerous, and, for LaVendee, well-armed body of men.
Our friends accordingly found the road open for them as far as Doue.After their junction with Stofflet, their army amounted to about 7,500men; and at Done they were to meet M. Bonchamps and M. de Lescure, who,it was supposed, would bring with them as many more. They marched outof Vihiers early on the Tuesday morning, having remained there onlyabout a couple of hours, and before nightfall they saw the spire of Douechurch. They then rested, intending to force their way into the townearly on the following morning; but they had barely commenced theirpreparations for the evening, when a party of royalists came out to themfrom the town, inviting them in. M. de Lescure and M. Bonchamps werealready there. The republican soldiers had been attacked and utterlyrouted; most of them were now prisoners in the town; those who hadescaped had retreated to Saumur, and even they had left their armsbehind them.
All this good fortune greatly inspirited the Vendeans. The men talkedwith the utmost certainty of what they would do when they were mastersof Saumur. Cathelineau had brought with him the celebrated cannon of St.Florent, 'Marie Jeanne,' and she now stood in the market place of Done,covered with ribbons and flowers. Many of the men had never hithertoseen this wonderful piece of artillery, and they hastened to look at it.'Marie Jeanne' that night was patted, kissed, and caressed by thousands.Cathelineau was equally the object of their admiration; every peasantwho had not yet seen him, hurried to gaze on him; and after his arrivalin Doue, he was two hours employed in a military operation, hithertoundertaken, I believe, by no other general: he was endeavouring to shakehands with every man in the army. Chapeau here was again of great use,for he stood at Cathelineau's elbow, and hurried the men away as soonas they touched his hand. But for this precaution, the work could neverhave been done; and as it was, some of the men were discontented, anddeclared their intention of returning home, for Cathelineau was calledaway before he had completed his task: he was obliged to go the TownHall to attend a council that was held there of the different Vendeanchiefs.
The arms which they had taken in Vihiers and Doue, were of the greatestuse to them; in both places they had found a cannon; they had taken nineor ten from Fontenay, and others from Thouars. Most of the men amongthem now had muskets, and they were able to take to Saumur with themtwenty-four pieces of heavy artillery. What could the infamous bluesexpect to do against a force so numerous, so well armed, and so wellofficered!
That evening a council of war was held by the different chiefs of theVendeans in the Town Hall of Doue. Lescure, Larochejaquelin,Cathelineau, d'Elbee, and Stofflet were there. M. Bonchamps, who hadbeen very severely wounded at Fontenay, but who had insisted on beingcarried along with his own men, was brought in on a litter. FatherJerome was there, and another priest who had come with M. Bonchamps.There were a couple of old royalist noblemen, not sufficiently active totake a part in the actual fighting, but sufficiently zealous in thecause to leave their homes for the purpose of giving the youngcommanders the benefit of their experience. Foret also, Cathelineau'sfriend, was present, and Adolphe Denot: indeed many others, from time totime, crowded into the room, for the door was not well kept, nor werethe councils of the generals in any way a secret. Jacques Chapeau, as amatter of course, managed to make his way into the room, and took uponhimself the duties of doorkeeper.
The Mayor's arm-chair stood at the head of the table, as the leadersdropped into the room one after another, but no one appeared willing tooccupy it. Hitherto there had been no chief among the Vendeans; this wasthe first meeting which had been held with anything approaching to thesolemnity of a general assembly, and it occurred to each of them thatwhoever should then seat himself in the Mayor's chair, would be assumingthat he was the chief leader of the revolt.
"Come, M. de Lescure," said Stofflet, "we have much to do, and butlittle time; let us make the most of it: do you take the President'sseat. Gentlemen, I am sure we could have no better President than M. deLescure?"
They all agreed, with the exception of the chosen leader. "By no means,"said he. "I was the last here who joined the cause, and I certainly willnot place myself first among those who have led the way in the work wehave taken up. No; here is the man who shall be our President." And ashe spoke he caught hold of Cathelineau, who was immediately behind him,and absolutely forced him into the chair.
"Indeed, indeed, M. de Lescure--" said Cathelineau, endeavouring toextricate himself from the seat; but both his voice and his exertionswere stopped, for three or four of them united to hold him where he was,and declared that he should be the President for the evening.
"Indeed, and indeed you will not stir," said Henri, who stood behind hischair, and placed his hands heavily on the postillion's shoulders.
"It was you that brought us here," said de Lescure, "and you must notnow avoid the responsibility."
"Ah! M. de Lescure," said he, "there are so many more fitting than me."
"Not one in all La Vendee," said M. Bonchamps: "sit where you are,Cathelineau."
"You must do it, Cathelineau;" whispered his friend Foret; "the peasantswould not endure to see any man put above you."
"Cathelineau will not shrink from the burden which the Lord has calledupon him to bear," said Father Jerome.
"Providence," said d'Elbee, "has summoned the good Cathelineau to thishigh duty; he will not, I am sure, oppose its decrees."
And thus Cathelineau found himself seated in the Mayor's chair at thehead of the table, whilst the highest noblemen and gentry of the countrytook their places around it, and from that moment Cathelineau became theGeneral-in-Chief of the Vendeans.
Each leader then gave in the numbers of the men who had come with him,and it was found that the army consisted of above fifteen thousand men.Lists were then made out of the arms and accoutrements which theypossessed, and the men in a rude way were drafted into regiments underthe command of the leaders who had brought them. There was a small bodyof cavalry equipped in most various manners, and mounted on horses,which resembled anything rather than a regular squadron of troopers:these were under the immediate command of Henri Larochejaquelin.
"Gentlemen," said Cathelineau, "we have, you know, three differentattacks to make, three positions to carry, before we can be masters ofSaumur."
"Yes," said Bonchamps, "there in the camp at Varin on the right, and theredoubts of Bournan on the left; the fortifications of the town itselflie between them, and a little to the rear of both."
"Exactly, M. Bonchamps; the town itself, I take, is the easiest task ofthe three; but as we are situated it must be the last."
"I think you will find that Varin is their strongest point," said deLescure.
"M. de Lescure is right," said Cathelineau. "We shall find them verystrong in their camp. I had with me, yesterday, two men f
rom Saumur;they knew nothing of General Quetineau's intentions, but they had seendetachments of men constantly going to and fro between Saumur and thecamp; they calculate that we shall think that the weaker side."
"Bournan is right on our way," said Bonchamps; "but the ground lies soadvantageously for them, that they will cut us to pieces if we attemptto push our way up the hill against the heavy artillery they will havethere."
"M. Bonchamps is quite right there," said Cathelineau. "I think weshould not attack Bournan, till we can do so from the side of the town.I think Bournan should not be our first object; but nevertheless, wemust be prepared to meet at Varin the great body of the army; we mustdrive them from thence back into the town."
"Yes," said Henri, "and follow them in, as we are driving them. Thesight of their comrades in disorder will itself conquer the men in thecitadel; it is always so with the blues."
"We must remember, Henri," said de Lescure, "these are not conscripts,nor yet merely the Marsellaise, we have to deal with: the men who foughtat Jemappes and at Valmy are here; the old cuirassiers of the Frencharmy."
"They are cowards, Charles," said Henri, "or they would not havedeserted their King."
"They are good soldiers, nevertheless," said Bonchamps. "I have foughtamong them, and know it."
"They are the better worth our fighting then," said Henri.
"Providence can give us the victory over tried veterans as well as overuntried conscripts; it were a sin to doubt it," said M. d'Elbee.
"That would be a good subject for a sermon to the soldiers, but a badargument in a council chamber," said Bonchamps. "We shall find thecuirassiers tough fellows to deal with."
"We must take our enemies as we find them," said Cathelineau; "but ifyou will allow me, gentlemen, and as you have placed me here, I willtell you what I would propose?'
"Do, Cathelineau, do!" said Henri; "let us have one plan, and then makethe best we can of it; we can at any rate do our duty like men."
"I think we should leave this early tomorrow morning, and move acrossthe country as though we were going to Montreuil; we shall so come onthe Montreuil road about a league from Saumur, and not very far, thatis about half a league, from the camp at Varin."
"And then, Cathelineau, will you attack the camp tomorrow evening?" saidde Lescure.
"I think not, M. de Lescure; but I would make a feint to do so, and Iwould thus keep the republicans on the alert all night; a small body ofour men may, I think, in that way fatigue the masses of the republicansin the camp--we might harass them the whole night, which will be darkfrom eleven till near three; and then with the earliest sunrise our realattack should be made."
"Bravo, Cathelineau!" said Henri; "and then fall on them when they arein want of sleep."
"Yes," said de Lescure, "and they will have learnt to think that ourattacks in that quarter are only feints."
"Such may be our good luck, M. de Lescure; at any rate, if you think ofnothing better, we may try it."
It was thus decided, and arranged that Larochejquelin should, on thefollowing evening, leave the main body of the army with all the mountedmen belonging to it, and advance near enough to the camp at Varin toallow of his being seen and heard by the republicans, and that he shouldalmost immediately retreat: that a body of infantry should then move on,and take up a position near to the camp, which should also return aftera while, and that as soon as darkness had come on, a third advanceshould be made by a larger body of men, who should, if possible,approach within musket shot o the trenches, and endeavour to throw therepublicans into disorder. At four o'clock in the morning, the realattack was to be made by the combined Vendean forces, of whichCathelineau was to lead the centre, de Lescure the left, consisting ofthe men brought by himself and Larochejaquelin from the centre of theBocage; and d'Elbee the right, which was formed of men chiefly broughtby M. Bonchamps from the province of Anjou. M. Bonchamps was himself tooill from the effects of his wounds to accompany the army beyond Doue.
Early on the following morning the whole army, with the exception of themen left with Foret, defiled out of Doue, and crossed over to theMontreuil road, dragging with them their cannons, baggage-waggons, andammunition; their movements were not made with very great order, norwith much celerity; but, about six o'clock in the evening, on the 10thof June, Cathelineau took up his position about a league from Saumur.They got possession of one or two farm-houses, and were not long inmaking their arrangements for the night; the men were accustomed tosleep out in the open air since the war commenced, and were well contentto remain in clusters round the cannons and the waggons.
At eight o'clock, Larochejaquelin had his little troop of cavalry readymounted, and started with them for the camp of Varin. As he and hiscompanions dashed along through the waggons and by the cannons thepeasants who were preparing to lay down for the night, and who knewnothing of the plans of their Generals, rose up one after anotherwondering.
"There goes 'le Mouchoir Rouge,'" said one, alluding to Henri's costume;for when in action he always wore a red handkerchief round his waist,and another round his neck.
"Yes; that is 'le Mouchoir Rouge,'" said another, "he is off for Saumur;the horsemen are already starting for Saumur."
"Come, then; they shall not go alone," said another. "We will start forSaumur. We will not lie here while others are in the battle."
These were men from the neighbourhood of Durbelliere, who were nowplaced under the orders of M. de Lescure; but who conceived that, astheir lord and master was gone before them, it must be their duty tofollow. The word was passed from one to another, and the whole body ofthem was soon in motion. It must be remembered that they were, in norespect, similar to disciplined troops; they had received no militaryinstruction, and did not therefore, know, that they were doing wrong infollowing their own master; they were in receipt of no pay; amenable tono authority, and consequently afraid of no penalties; their only ideawas to do the best they could for the cause, to fight with courage andperseverance, and to trust to God for the result: it was not, therefore,wondering that, in the present instance, they so completely mistooktheir duty.
Cathelineau's men, who were intended to form the centre of the attackon the next morning, were placed just to the right of the road, buttheir baggage and cannons had not been moved from it; in fact, they werenearly mixed with M. de Lescure's men; whereas M. d'Elbee's portion ofthe army was removed a good deal further to the right, and was placedimmediately on the banks of the river Thoue. The camp at Varin, whichwas to be attacked, was situated between the river and the road toSaumur. In Cathelineau's division there were some few who understood theplan which had been decided on, and some others who knew that theyshould not move without orders, and they did what they could to preventtheir companions from joining the rush made by M. de Lescure's party;but their efforts were nearly in vain. Every man learnt in the confusionthat the attack was to be made on Saumur that night, and no man wishedto be left behind.
"Come friends, let us follow 'le Mouchoir Rouge;' he never meant, I amsure, to leave us here," said the spokesman of one party.
"The Saint of Angers is on before us," said the others; "he would letno man see the enemy before himself. The good Cathelineau is gone toSaumur, let us follow him!"
In this way they soon learnt to believe that both Cathelineau andLarochejaquelin were on before them, and they were not long in hurryingafter them. Within twenty minutes, about six thousand men started offwithout a leader or any defined object, to besiege the walls of Saumur;they did not even know that a vast entrenched encampment of the enemy'stroops lay directly in their way. The men had, most of them, musketswith three or four rounds of powder and ball each; many of them also hadbayonets. They were better armed than they had hitherto ever been, andthey consequently conceived themselves invincible. Cathelineau's men,however, would not stir without 'Marie Jeanne,' and that devoted,hard-worked cannon was seized by scores, and hurried off with themtowards Saumur.
De Lescure and Cathelineau were together in a farm-
house, within fivehundred yards of the place where the baggage had been left, and withinhalf a mile of the most distant of the men who had thus taken uponthemselves to march, or rather to rush, away without orders; and someof those who still had their senses about them, soon let their Generalsknow what was going forward.
They were seated together, planning the attack for the next morning.Denot was with Larochejaquelin, and d'Elbee and Stofflet were togetherwith the detachment on the banks of the river: they were, therefore,alone when Father Jerome rushed into the room.
"The men are off, M. de Lescure," said he: "do you not hear them? ForHeaven's sake go down to them, Cathelineau; some one has told them thatyou and Larochejaquelin were gone to Saumur; and they are all preparingto follow you."
"Heaven and earth!" said de Lescure, "they will be destroyed."
"Unless you stop them they will," said Father Jerome, "they will allfall upon the camp just as the republicans are under arms, and preparedto receive them. Hurry, Cathelineau; you alone can stop them."
Cathelineau without uttering a word, seized his sword, and rushed outof the room without his cap; and followed by M. de Lescure, hurriedthrough the farm-yard, leapt a little gate, and got upon the road a fewyards from the place where the waggons had been left. The whole placewas in the utmost confusion: the men were hurrying to and fro, hardlyknowing what they were doing or going to do: the most ardent of themwere already a quarter of a mile advanced on the road to Saumur; otherswere still following them; those who knew that they should have stayedquiet during the night, were in the utmost distress; they did not knowwhether to support their comrades, or to remain where they were.
"'What ails them, Peter?" said Cathelineau, catching hold of the arm ofa man who had followed him from St. Florent, "if they advance they willbe destroyed at Varin;" and as he spoke, he leapt upon the top of oneof the waggons laden with provisions, which had come from Durbelliere.
It was a beautiful warm evening in June, and the air was heavy with thesweet scent of the flowering hedges; it was now nearly nine o'clock, andthe sun had set; but the whole western horizon was gorgeous with thecrimson streaks which accompanied its setting. Standing in the waggon,Cathelineau could see the crowds of hurrying royalists rushing along theroad, wherever the thick foliage of trees was sufficiently broken toleave any portion of it visible, and he could hear the eager hum oftheir voices both near him and at a distance.
"No power on earth could bring them back," said he. "Now, Peter, run tothe stable for your life; my horse is there and M. de Lescure's--bringthem both. They are both saddled. Run my friend; a moment lost now willcost a hundred lives."
It was Peter Berrier to whom he spoke, and in spite of his eviltreatment at Durbelliere, Peter ran for the horses, as though he wasrunning for the King's crown.
"It is impossible to stop them," said Cathelineau, still standing on thewaggon, and speaking to de Lescure, whom he had outran. "All La Vendeecould not stop them; but we may head them, M. de Lescure, and lead themon; we must attack the camp tonight."
"Our loss will be terrible if we do," said de Lescure.
"It will, it will be terrible, and we shall be repulsed; but that willbe better than letting them rush into positive destruction. In an hour'stime they will be between the camp, the town, and the heights ofBournan, and nothing then could save them."
"Let us go, then," said de Lescure; "but will you not send to d'Elbee?"
"Yes; but do not desire him to follow us. In two hours time he will haveenough to do to cover our retreat."
"We shall, at any rate, have the darkness in our favour," said deLescure.
"We shall; but we have two dreadful hours of light before that timecomes: here are our horses--let us mount; there is nothing for us nowbut a hard ride, a good drubbing--and then, the best face we can putupon it tomorrow."
Orders were then given to Peter Berrier to make the best of his wayacross to M. d'Elbee, and to explain to him what had occurred, and bidhim keep his men in reserve under arms, and as near to the waggons ashe could. "And be sure," said Catheineau, "be sure, Peter, to make himunderstand, that he is at once to leave the river and come across to theroad, to keep his men, you know, immediately close to the waggons."
"I understand," said Peter, "I understand," and he at once started offon his important errand.
"It is a bad messenger, I fear," said Cathelineau; "but we have nobetter; indeed we are lucky even to find him."
"I wonder," said Peter Berrier to himself, as he ran across the fields,"I wonder whether they'll make nothing of this job, too, as they did ofthat day at St. Florent. I suppose they will; some men haven't the luckever to be thought much of."
Notwithstanding his gloomy presentiments, Peter made the best of his wayto M. d'Elbee, and having found him, told him how the men had startedby themselves for Saumur; how de Lescure and Cathelineau had followedthem; how they intended to attack the camp at Varin that night, and heended by saying, "And you, M. d'Elbe--"
"Of course we must follow them," said d'Elbee.
"Not a foot," said Peter; "that is just why they sent me, instead of anycommon messenger; that I might explain it all to you properly. You arenot to stir a foot after them; but are to remain here, just where youare, till they return."
"That is impossible," said d'Elbee. "What good on earth can I do,remaining here?"
"Why, Cathelineau will know where to find you, when he wants you."
"You are mistaken, Peter Berrier," said d'Elbee. "You must be mistaken.Perhaps he meant that I should go over to the road, to cover theirretreat. God knows they will want some one to do so."
"That is just it," said Peter. "They mean to retreat down the river, andyou are to remain just where you are."
As might be expected, M. d'Elbee was completely puzzled, and he sent offthree or four men, to endeavour to get fresh orders, either fromCathelineau or from de Lescure; and while waiting to receive them, hekept his useless position by the river side.
In the mean time, Cathelineau and de Lescure had hurried off, at the topof their horses' speed, to endeavour to head the column of madmen whowere rushing towards almost certain destruction. They will, at any rate,meet Larochejaquelin on his return, and he will stop them. This thoughtoccurred to both of them, but neither of them spoke; indeed, they weremoving too quickly, and with too much trouble to be able to speak. Thereobject now was not to stop the men who thronged the roads; they onlywanted to head them before they came to the portion of the road whichpassed close by the trenches of the camp at Varin.
They were so far successful, that they found themselves nearly at thehead of the column by the time they came within sight of the great bankswhich the royalists had thrown up. It was still light enough for themto see the arms of the republican troops, and they were near enough tothe camp to hear the movements of the men within it, in spite of theincreasing noise of their own troops.
"They are ready to receive us," said de Lescure to himself, "and a warmreception they are likely to give us."
He now separated himself from Cathelineau, and galloped before thetrenches to an open space where Larochejaquelin had stationed himselfwith the cavalry. Henri had completely surprised the sentinels on dutyin the camps; he and about twenty others had dismounted, had shot fouror five sentries at their post, and had again retreated to their horsesbefore the republicans were able to return his fire. But what was hissurprise on preparing to remount his horse, to hear the rush of his ownmen coming along the road, and to see the cloud of dust which envelopedthem. Henri tried to speak to them, and to learn what new plan broughtthem there; but the foremost men were too much out of breath to speakto him: however, they shouted and hurraed at seeing him, and slackenedtheir pace a little. They were then almost within musket shot of therepublicans, and the balls from the trenches began to drop very nearthem. Henri was still in an agony of suspense, not knowing what to door to propose, when de Lescure emerged from out of the cloud of dust,and galloped up to him.
"What on earth has brought y
ou here, Charles?" said Henri. "Why have themen come on in this way? Every man within the camp will have a musketin his hand in five minutes time."
"It is too late now to help it," said de Lescure; "if we both live overthis night, I will explain it to you. Cathelineau is behind there; wemust lead the men to the attack; he will be in the trenchesimmediately."
"Lead on," said Henri, jumping off his horse, "or rather I will gofirst; but stop, the men must have five minutes to get their breath;they are all choked with running. Come, my men," said he, turning to thecrowds who were clustering round them, "we will disturb the dreams ofthese republicans; the blues are not fond of fighting by night, but ifthey are asleep I think we will soon wake them," and accompanied by hisfriend, he rushed down into the trenches, and the men followed him byhundreds, covered with dust, choked with thirst, breathless with theirlong run, and utterly ignorant what they were going to do, or how theywere to for an entrance into the camp.
At the same moment, Cathelineau leapt into the trench at the pointnearest to the road by which he had come, and his men followed himenthusiastically, shouting at the top of their voices "Vive le roi!" "Abas la republique." Hitherto they had been successful in every effortthey had made. The republican troops had fled from every point which hadbeen attacked; the Vendeans had, as yet, met no disasters, and theythought themselves, by the special favour of the Almighty, invinciblewhen fighting against the enemies of the King.
The camp at Varin was not a regularly fortified position; but it wassurrounded by a deep trench, with steep earth-works thrown up inside it.These were high enough to afford great protection to those within, andsteep enough to offer a considerable obstacle to any attacking party:but the earth was still soft, and the foremost among the Vendeans werenot long in finding themselves within the entrenchment; but when therethey met a terribly hot reception.
The feigned attack made by Larochejaquelin had just served to warn therepublicans, and by the time the real attack was made, every man wasunder arms. As de Lescure had said, the old soldiers of Valmy and ofJemappes were there. Men accustomed to arms, who well knew the smell ofpowder, and who were prepared to contest every inch of ground beforethey gave it up. These men, too, wore defensive armour, and theVendeans, unaccustomed to meet enemies so well prepared, were dismayed,when they perceived that their enemies did not as usual give way beforethem.
The slaughter in the trenches was tremendous: the first attack had beenmade with great spirit, and about four hundred of the Vendeans were inthe camp before the murderous fire of the republicans commenced, amongthese were de Lescure, Larochejaquelin, and Cathelineau; and they madetheir way even to the centre of the camp; but those who had not made aportion of the first assault, fell back by twenties and thirties underthe fire of the republicans; twice Larochejaquelin returned and nearlycleared the top of the trenches, in order to make way for the men belowto come up; but they were frightened and intimidated; their powder wasall gone, and they perceived that their first attempt had failed; theirfriends and comrades were falling on every side of them; and, after awhile, they retreated from the trenches beyond reach of musket shot.Cathelineau had expected that this would be the case, and though he hadbeen one of the first within the camp, he was prepared to leave it againas soon as he could make the men, who were with him, understand that itwas necessary they should do so. It was now dusk, and the uncertainlight favoured his intention.
"'Where is your master?" said he to Jacques, whom he chanced to findclose to him; "tell him to lead his men down the trenches again, backto the road, at once, at once; beg him to be the first to leap downhimself; they will not go unless he leads them."
Jacques did as he was bid, and Larochejaquelin led the men back to thetrenches.
"Come, my friends," said he, "we have given them enough for tonight--wehave broken their sleep; come, we will visit them again tomorrow." Andhe dashed through a body of republicans who were now firing from thetrenches, and about one hundred of his own men followed him.
The republicans had stuck huge pine-wood torches into the green sodsa-top of the trenches, which gave a ghastly glaring light immediatelyin their own vicinity, though they did not relieve the darkness at a fewpaces distant. As Henri rushed through them, some of the soldiersobserved his peculiar costume and hallaoed out, "fire upon the redscarf," (tirez sur le mouchoir rouge,) but the confusion was too greatto allow of this friendly piece of advice being followed, or else themusketeers were bad marksmen, for Henri went safely through the trench,though many of his men were wounded in following him.
Cathelineau's men soon followed, as did also Cathelineau himself; thelast man who leapt into the trenches was de Lescure; but he also gotsafely through them--not above twenty-five or thirty of those who hadforced their way into the camp, fell; but above three hundred of thosewho had only attempted it, were left dead or wounded in the trenches.And now the retreat commenced, and Cathelineau found it impossible toaccomplish it with anything like order; the three leaders endeavouredto make the men conceive that they had been entirely successful in allwhich it had been thought desirable to accomplish, but they had seen toomuch bloodshed to be deceived--they were completely dismayed anddisheartened, and returned back towards Montreuil, almost quicker thanthey had come.
The men had brought 'Marie Jeanne' with them; but in the species ofattack which they had made, the cannon was not of the slightest use; ithad not been once discharged. A great effort was now made to take itback with them, but the attempt was unsuccessful: they had not draggedit above five hundred yards, when they heard that the republicans werefollowing them; and then, as every man was obliged to think of himself,poor 'Marie Jeanne' was left to her fate.
It was soon evident to Cathelineau and de Lescure, that they werepursued; but the night was dark, and they calculated that M. d'Elbee'smen would be drawn up at the waggons; it was more than probable thatthey would then be able, not only to stop the pursuit, but to avengethemselves on their pursuers. What then was their surprise on reachingthe waggons, to find them utterly deserted--there was not a single manwith them.
This was a great aggravation to the misery of their predicament. Theyhad no resource but to fly on to Montreuil, which was still above twoleagues distant from them; and should the republican troops perseverein the pursuit, their loss upon the road would be terrific. The darknesswas their only friend, and on they went towards Montreuil.
The republican soldiers were stopped by the waggons and cannons; it wasthen as dark as a night in June ever is; it was well known also that theRepublic had no friends in Montreull; the troops had been driven fromthe place by M. de Lescure, on his road to Doue, and the royalists wouldbe able to make a very strong stand in the streets of the town; thepursuit was, therefore, given up, and the blues returned to the camp atVarin, with all the artillery and the baggage belonging to theroyalists.
M. d'Elbee remained all the while in his position by the river; he heardthe firing--he also heard the confused noise of the retreat, but he feltthat it was impossible for him, at that hour of night, to take any stepswithout knowing what had been done, or what he had better do: at aboutfour in the morning, he learnt exactly what had occurred, and then herejoined Cathelineau at Montreuil.
The Vendeans, during the night, lost every cannon they possessed; alltheir baggage, consisting of provisions, wearing apparel, andammunition; they lost also about five hundred men, in killed, woundedand prisoners; but all this was not of so much injury as the loss of theprestige of victory. The peasants had conceived themselves invincible,and they were struck with consternation to find they were liable torepulse and defeat. Early on the following morning, another council ofwar was held, but the spirits and hopes of the Generals had been greatlydamped.