CHAPTER XIV.
THE GAME OF LOVE AND WAR.
As she was evidently backward in falling into his arms, Fougas imitatedMahomet, and ran to the mountain.
"Oh, Clementine!" said he, covering her with kisses, "the friendly Fatesgive you back to my devotion. I clasp once more the partner of my lifeand the mother of my child!"
The young lady was so astounded, that she did not even dream ofdefending herself. Happily, Leon Renault extricated her from the handsof the Colonel, and placed himself between them, determined to defendhis own.
"Monsieur," cried he, clenching his fists, "you deceive yourselfentirely, if you think you know _Mademoiselle_. She is not a person ofyour time, but of ours; she is not your _fiancee_, but mine; she hasnever been the mother of your child, and I trust that she will be themother of mine!"
Fougas was iron. He seized his rival by the arm, sent him off spinninglike a top, and put himself face to face with the young girl.
"Are you Clementine?" he demanded of her.
"Yes, Monsieur."
"I call you all to witness that she is my Clementine!"
Leon returned to the charge, and seized the Colonel by the collar, atthe risk of getting himself dashed against the walls.
"We've had joking enough!" said he. "Possibly you don't pretend tomonopolize all the Clementines in the world? Mademoiselle's name isClementine Sambucco; she was born at Martinique, where you never setyour foot, if I am to believe what you have said within an hour. She iseighteen years old----"
"So was the other!"
"Eh! The other is sixty-four to-day, since she was eighteen in 1813.Mlle. Sambucco is of an honorable and well-known family. Her father, M.Sambucco, was a magistrate; her grandfather was a functionary of the wardepartment. You see, she is in no way connected with you, nearly orremotely; and good sense and politeness, to say nothing of gratitude,make it your duty to leave her in peace."
He gave the Colonel a shove, in his turn, and made him tumble betweenthe arms of a sofa.
Fougas bounded up as if he had been thrown on a million springs. ButClementine stopped him, with a gesture and a smile.
"Monsieur," said she in her most caressing voice, "do not get angry withhim; he loves me."
"So much the more reason why I should! Damnation!"
He cooled down, nevertheless, made the young lady sit down beside him,and regarded her from head to foot with the most absorbed attention.
"This is surely she," said he. "My memory, my eyes, my heart, everythingin me, recognizes her, and tells me that it is she. And nevertheless thetestimony of mankind, the calculation of times and distances, in a word,the very soul of evidence, seems to have made it a special point toconvict me of error.
"Is it possible, then, that two women should so resemble each other?Am I the victim of an illusion of the senses? Have I recovered lifeonly to lose reason? No; I know myself, I find myself the same; myjudgment is firm and accurate, and can make its way in this worldso new and topsy-turvy. It is on but one point that my reasonwavers--Clementine!--I seem to see you again, and you are not you! Well,what's the difference, after all? If the Destiny which snatched me fromthe tomb has taken care to present to my awaking sense the image of herI loved, it must be because it had resolved to give me back, one afteranother, all the blessings which I had lost. In a few days, myepaulettes; to-morrow, the flag of the 23d of the line; to-day thisadorable presence which made my heart beat for the first time! Livingimage of all that is sweetest and clearest in the past, I throw myselfat your feet! Be my wife!"
The devil of a fellow joined the deed to the word, and the witnesses ofthe unexpected scene opened their eyes to the widest. But Clementine'saunt, the austere Mlle. Sambucco, thought that it was time to show herauthority. She stretched out her big, wrinkled hands, seized Fougas,jerked him sharply to his feet, and cried in her shrillest voice:
"Enough, sir; it is time to put an end to this scandalous farce! Myniece is not for you; I have promised her and given her away. Know that,day after to-morrow, the 19th of this month, at ten o'clock in themorning, she will marry M. Leon Renault, your benefactor!"
"And I forbid it--do you hear, Madame Aunt? And if she pretends to marrythis boy----"
"What will you do?"
"I'll curse her!"
Leon could not help laughing. The malediction of thistwenty-five-year-old Colonel appeared rather more comic than terrible.But Clementine grew pale, burst into tears, and fell, in her turn, atthe feet of Fougas.
"Monsieur," cried she, kissing his hands, "do not overwhelm a poor girlwho venerates you, who loves you, who will sacrifice her happiness ifyou demand it! By all the marks of tenderness which I have lavished uponyou for a month, by the tears I have poured upon your coffin, by therespectful zeal with which I have urged on your resuscitation, I conjureyou to pardon our offences. I will not marry Leon if you forbid me; Iwill do anything to please you; I will obey you in everything; but, forGod's sake, do not pour upon me your maledictions!"
"Embrace me," said Fougas. "You yield; I pardon."
Clementine raised herself, all radiant with joy, and held up herbeautiful forehead. The stupefaction of the spectators, especially ofthose most interested, can be better imagined than described. An oldmummy dictating laws, breaking off marriages, and imposing his desireson the whole house! Pretty little Clementine, so reasonable, soobedient, so happy in the prospect of marrying Leon Renault,sacrificing, all at once, her affections, her happiness, and almost herduty, to the caprice of an interloper. M. Nibor declared that it wasmadness. As for Leon, he would have butted his head into all the walls,if his mother had not held him back.
"Ah, my poor child!" said she, "why did you bring that thing fromBerlin?"
"It's my fault!" cried old Monsieur Renault.
"No," interrupted Dr. Martout, "it's mine."
The members of the Parisian committee discussed with M. Rollon the newaspect of the case. "Had they resuscitated a madman? Had therevivification produced some disorder of the nervous system? Had theabuse of wine and other drinkables during the first repast caused adelirium? What an interesting autopsy it would be, if they could dissectM. Fougas at the next regular meeting!"
"You would do very well as far as you would go, gentlemen," said theColonel of the 23d. "The autopsy might explain the delirium of ourunfortunate friend, but it would not account for the impression producedupon the young lady. Is it fascination, magnetism, or what?"
While the friends and relations were weeping, counselling, and buzzingaround him, Fougas, serene and smiling, gazed at himself in Clementine'seyes, while they, too, regarded him tenderly.
"This must be brought to an end!" cried Mlle. Sambucco the severe."Come, Clementine!"
Fougas seemed surprised.
"She doesn't live here, then?"
"No, sir; she lives with me."
"Then I will escort her home. Angel! will you take my arm?"
"Oh, yes, Monsieur, with great pleasure!"
Leon gnashed his teeth.
"This is admirable! He presumes on such familiarity, and she takes itall as a matter of course!"
He went to get his hat, for the purpose of, at least, going home withthe aunt, but his hat was not in its place; Fougas, who had not yet oneof his own, had helped himself to it without ceremony. The poor lovercrowded his head into a cap, and followed Fougas and Clementine, withthe respectable Virginie, whose arm cut like a scythe.
By an accident which happened almost daily, the Colonel of cuirassiersmet Clementine on the way home. The young lady directed Fougas'attention to him.
"That's M. du Marnet," said she. "His restaurant is at the end of ourstreet, and his room at the side of the park. I think he is very muchtaken with my little self, but he has never even bowed to me. The onlyman for whom my heart has ever beaten is Leon Renault."
"Ah, indeed! And me?" said Fougas.
"Oh! as for you, that's another matter. I respect you, and stand in aweof you. It seems to me as if you were a good and respect
able parent."
"Thank you!"
"I'm telling you the truth, as far as I can read it in my heart. Allthis is not very clear, I confess, but I do not understand myself."
"Azure flower of innocence, I adore your sweet perplexity! Let love takecare of itself; it will speak to you in master tones."
"I don't know anything about that; it's possible! Here we are at home.Good evening, Monsieur; embrace me.--Good night, Leon; don't quarrelwith M. Fougas. I love him with all my heart, but I love you in adifferent way!"
The aunt Virginie made no response to the "Good evening" of Fougas. Whenthe two men were alone in the street, Leon marched along without sayinga word, till they reached the next lamp-post. There, planting himselfresolutely opposite the Colonel, he said,
"Well, sir, now that we are alone, we had better have an explanation. Idon't know by what philter or incantation you have obtained suchprodigious influence over my betrothed; but I know that I love her, thatI have been loved by her more than four years, and that I will not stopat any means of retaining and protecting her."
"Friend," answered Fougas, "you can brave me with impunity; my arm ischained by gratitude. It shall never be written in history that PierreFougas was an ingrate!"
"Would it have been more ungrateful in you to cut my throat, than to robme of my wife?"
"Oh, my benefactor! Learn to understand and pardon! God forbid that Ishould marry Clementine in spite of you, in spite of herself. It isthrough her consent and your own that I hope to win her. Realize thatshe has been dear to me, not for four years, as to you, but for nearlyhalf a century. Reflect that I am alone on earth, and that her sweetface is my only consolation. Will you, who have given me life, preventmy spending it happily? Have you called me back to the world only todeliver me over to despair?--Tiger! Take back, then, the life you gaveme, if you will not permit me to consecrate it to the adorableClementine!"
"Upon my soul, my dear fellow, you are superb! The habit of victory musthave totally twisted your wits. My hat is on your head:--keep it; so farso good. But because my betrothed happens to remind you vaguely of agirl in Nancy, must I give her up to you? I can't see it!"
"Friend, I will give you back your hat just as soon as you've bought meanother one; but do not ask me to give up Clementine. In the firstplace, do you know that she will reject me?"
"I'm sure of it."
"She loves me."
"You're crazy!"
"You've seen her at my feet."
"What of that? It was from fear, from respect, from superstition, fromanything in the devil's name you choose to call it; but it was not fromlove."
"We'll see about that pretty clearly, after six months of married life."
"But," cried Leon Renault, "have you the right to dispose of yourself?There is another Clementine, the true one; she has sacrificed everythingfor you; you are engaged, in honor, to her. Is Colonel Fougas deaf tothe voice of honor?"
"Are you mocking me? What! I marry a woman sixty-four years old?"
"You ought to; if not for her sake, at least for your child's."
"My child is a pretty big boy. He's forty-six years old; he has nofurther need of my care."
"He does need your name, though."
"I'll adopt him."
"The law is opposed to it. You're not fifty years old, and he's notfifteen years younger than you are; quite the reverse!"
"Very well; I'll legitimize him by marrying the young Clementine."
"How can you expect her to acknowledge a child twice as old as she isherself?"
"But then I can't acknowledge him any better; so there's no need of mymarrying the old woman. Moreover, I'd be excessively accommodating tobreak my head for a child who is very likely dead. What do I say? It ispossible that he never saw the light. I love and am loved--that much issubstantial and certain; and you shall be my groomsman."
"Not yet awhile. Mlle. Sambucco is a minor, and her guardian is myfather."
"Your father is an honorable man; and he will not have the baseness torefuse her to me."
"At least he will ask you if you have any position, any rank, anyfortune to offer to his ward."
"My position? colonel; my rank? colonel; my fortune? the pay of acolonel. And the millions at Dantzic--I mustn't forget them!--Here weare at home; let me have the will of that good old gentleman who worethe lilac wig. Give me some books on history, too--a big pile ofthem--all that have anything to say about Napoleon."
Young Renault sadly obeyed the master he had given himself. He conductedFougas to a fine chamber, brought him Herr Meiser's will and a wholeshelf of books, and bid his mortal enemy "Good night." The Colonelembraced him impetuously, and said to him,
"I will never forget that to you I owe life and Clementine. Farewelltill to-morrow, noble and generous child of my native land! farewell!"
Leon went back to the ground floor, passed the dining-room, where Gothonwas wiping the glasses and putting the silver in order, and rejoined hisfather and mother, who were waiting for him in the parlor. The guestswere gone, the candles extinguished. A single lamp lit up the solitude.The two mandarins on the etagere were motionless in their obscurecorner, and seemed to meditate gravely on the caprices of fortune.
"Well?" demanded Mme. Renault.
"I left him in his room, crazier and more obstinate than ever. However,I've got an idea."
"So much the better," said the father, "for we have none left. Sadnesshas made us stupid. But, above all things, no quarrelling. Thesesoldiers of the empire used to be terrible swordsmen."
"Oh, I'm not afraid of him! It's Clementine that makes me anxious. Withwhat sweetness and submission she listened to the confounded babbler!"
"The heart of woman is an unfathomable abyss. Well, what do you think ofdoing?"
Leon developed in detail the project he had conceived in the street,during his conversation with Fougas.
"The most urgent thing," said he, "is to relieve Clementine from thisinfluence. If we could get him out of the way to-morrow, reason wouldresume its empire, and we would be married the day after to-morrow. Thatbeing done, I'll answer for the rest."
"But how is such a madman to be gotten rid of?"
"I see but one way, but it is almost infallible--to excite his dominantpassion. These fellows sometimes imagine that they are in love, but, atthe bottom, they love nothing but powder. The thing is, to fling Fougasback into the current of military ideas. His breakfast to-morrow withthe colonel of the 23d will be a good preparation. I made him understandto-day that he ought, before all, to reclaim his rank and epaulettes,and he has become inoculated with the idea. He'll go to Paris, then.Possibly he'll find there some leather-breeches of his acquaintance. Atall events, he'll reenter the service. The occupations incident to hisposition will be a powerful diversion; he'll no longer dream ofClementine, whom I will have fixed securely. We will have to furnish himthe wherewithal to knock about the world; but all sacrifices of moneyare nothing in comparison with the happiness I wish to save."
Madame Renault, who was a woman of thrift, blamed her son's generosity alittle.
"The Colonel is an ungrateful soul," said she. "We've already done toomuch in giving him back his life. Let him take care of himself now!"
"No," said the father; "we've not the right to send him forth entirelyempty-handed. Decency forbids."
This deliberation, which had lasted a good hour and a quarter, wasinterrupted by a tremendous racket. One would have declared that thehouse was falling down.
"There he is again!" cried Leon. "Undoubtedly a fresh paroxysm of ravingmadness!"
He ran, followed by his parents, and mounted the steps four at a time. Acandle was burning at the sill of the chamber door. Leon took it, andpushed the door half open.
Must it be confessed? Hope and joy spoke louder to him than fear. Hefancied himself already relieved of the Colonel. But the spectaclepresented to his eyes suddenly diverted the course of his ideas, and theinconsolable lover began laughing like a fool. A noise of kicks, bl
ows,and slaps; an undefined group rolling on the floor in the convulsions ofa desperate struggle--so much was all he could see and understand at thefirst glance. Soon Fougas, lit up by the ruddy glow of the candle,discovered that he was struggling with Gothon, like Jacob with theangel, and went back, confused and pitiable, to bed.
The Colonel had gone to sleep over the history of Napoleon, withoutputting out the candle. Gothon, after finishing her work, saw the lightunder the door. Her thoughts recurred to that poor Baptiste, who,perhaps, was groaning in purgatory for having let himself tumble from aroof. Hoping that Fougas could give her some news of her lover, sherapped several times, at first softly, then much louder. The Colonel'ssilence and the lighted candle made it seem to the servant that therewas something wrong. The fire might catch the curtains, and from thencethe whole building. She accordingly set down the candle, opened thedoor, and went, with cat-like steps, to put out the light. Possibly theeyes of the sleeper vaguely perceived the passage of a shadow; possiblyGothon, with her big, awkward figure, made a board in the floor creak.Fougas partially awoke, heard the rustling of a dress, dreamed it one ofthose adventures which were wont to spice garrison life under the firstempire, and held out his arms blindly, calling Clementine. Gothon, onfinding herself seized by the hair and shoulders, responded by such amasculine blow that the enemy supposed himself attacked by a man. Theblow was returned with interest; further exchanges followed, and theyfinished by clinching and rolling on the floor.
If anybody ever did feel shamefaced, Fougas was certainly the man.Gothon went to bed, considerably bruised; the Renault family talkedsense into the Colonel, and got out of him pretty much what they wanted.He promised to set out next day, accepted as a loan the money offeredhim, and swore not to return until he should have recovered hisepaulettes and secured the Dantzic bequest.
"And then," said he, "I'll marry Clementine."
On that point it was useless to argue with him; the idea was fixed.
Everybody slept soundly in the mansion of the Renaults; the heads of thehouse, because they had had three sleepless nights; Fougas and Gothon,because each had been unmercifully pummelled; and the young Celestin,because he had drunk the heeltaps from all the glasses.
The next morning M. Rollon came to know if Fougas were in a condition tobreakfast with him; he feared, just the least bit, that he would findhim under a shower bath. Far from it! The madman of yesterday was ascalm as a picture and as fresh as a rosebud. He shaved with Leon'srazors, while humming an air of Nicolo. With his hosts, he was charming,and he promised to settle a pension on Gothon out of Herr Meiser'slegacy.
As soon as he had set off for the breakfast, Leon ran to the dwelling ofhis sweetheart.
"Everything is going better," said he. "The Colonel is much morereasonable. He has promised to leave for Paris this very day; so we canget married to-morrow."
Mlle. Virginie Sambucco praised this plan of proceeding highly, not onlybecause she had made great preparations for the wedding, but because thepostponement of the marriage would be the talk of the town. The cardswere already out, the mayor notified, and the Virgin's chapel, in theparish church, engaged. To revoke all this at the caprice of a ghostand a fool, would be to sin against custom, common sense, and Heavenitself.
Clementine only replied with tears. She could not be happy withoutmarrying Leon, but she would rather die, she said, than give her handwithout the sanction of M. Fougas. She promised to implore him, on herknees if necessary, and wring from him his consent.
"But if he refuses? And it's too likely that he will!"
"I will beseech him again and again, until he says yes."
Everybody conspired to convince her that she was unreasonable--her aunt,Leon, M. and Mme. Renault, M. Martout, M. Bonnivet, and all the friendsof the two families. At length she yielded, but, at almost the sameinstant, the door flew open, and M. Audret rushed into the parlor,crying out,
"Well, well! here _is_ a piece of news! Colonel Fougas is going to fightM. du Marnet to-morrow."
The young girl fell, thunderstruck, into the arms of Leon Renault.
"God punishes me!" cried she; "and the chastisement for my impiety isnot delayed. Will you still force me to obey you? Shall I be dragged tothe altar, in spite of myself, at the very hour he's risking his life?"
No one dared to insist longer, on seeing her in so pitiable a state. ButLeon offered up earnest prayers that victory might side with the colonelof cuirassiers. He was wrong, I confess; but what lover would have beensinless enough to cast the first stone at him?
And here is an account of how the precious Fougas had spent his day.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the youngest two captains of the 23d cameto conduct him in proper style to the residence of the Colonel. M.Rollon occupied a little palace of the imperial epoch. A marble tablet,inserted over the porte-cochere, still bore the words, _Ministere desFinances_--a souvenir of the glorious time when Napoleon's courtfollowed its master to Fontainebleau.
Colonel Rollon, the lieutenant-colonel, the major-in-chief, the threemajors of battalions, the surgeon-major, and ten or a dozen officerswere outside, awaiting the arrival of the illustrious guest from theother world. The flag was placed in the middle of the court, under guardof the ensign and a squad of non-commissioned officers selected for thehonor. The band of the regiment, at the entrance of the garden, filledup the background of the picture. Eight panoplies of arms, which hadbeen improvised the same morning by the armorers of the corps,embellished the walls and railings. A company of grenadiers, with theirarms at rest, were in attendance.
At the entrance of Fougas, the band played the famous "_Partant pour laSyrie;_" the grenadiers presented arms; the drums beat a salute; thenon-commissioned officers and soldiers cried, "_Vive le ColonelFougas!_" the officers, in a body, approached the patriarch of theirregiment. All this was neither regular nor according to discipline, butwe can well allow a little latitude to these brave soldiers on findingtheir ancestor. For them it seemed a little debauch in glory.
The hero of the _fete_ grasped the hands of the colonel and officerswith as much emotion as if he had found his old comrades again. Hecordially saluted the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, approachedthe flag, bent one knee to the earth, raised himself loftily, graspedthe staff, turned toward the attentive crowd, and said,
"My friends, under the shadow of the flag, a soldier of France, afterforty-six years of exile, finds his family again to-day. All honor tothee, symbol of our fatherland, old partner in our victories, and heroicsupport in our misfortunes! Thy radiant eagle has hovered over prostrateand trembling Europe. Thy bruised eagle has again dashed obstinatelyagainst misfortune, and terrified the sons of Power. Honor to thee, thouwho hast led us to glory, and fortified us against the clamor ofdespair! I have seen thee ever foremost in the fiercest dangers, proudflag of my native land! Men have fallen around thee like grain beforethe reaper; while thou alone hast shown to the enemy thy front unbendingand superb. Bullets and cannon-shot have torn thee with wounds, butnever upon thee has the audacious stranger placed his hand. May thefuture deck thy front with new laurels! Mayst thou conquer new andfar-extending realms, which no fatality shall rob thee of! The day ofgreat deeds is being born again; believe a warrior, who has risen fromthe tomb to tell thee so. 'Forward!' Yes, I swear it by the spirit ofhim who led us at Wagram. There shall be great days for France when thoushalt shelter with thy glorious folds the fortunes of the brave 23d!"
Eloquence so martial and patriotic stirred all hearts. Fougas wasapplauded, feted, embraced, and almost carried in triumph into thebanquet hall.
Seated at table opposite M. Rollon, as if he were a second master of thehouse, he breakfasted heartily, talked a great deal, and drank more yet.You may occasionally meet, in the world, people who get drunk withoutdrinking. Fougas was far from being one of them. He never felt hisequanimity seriously disturbed short of three bottles. Often, in fact,he went much further without yielding.
The toasts presented at dessert were di
stinguished for pith andcordiality. I would like to recount them in order, but am forced toadmit that they would take up too much room, and that the last, whichwere the most touching, were not of a lucidity absolutely Voltairian.
They arose from the table at two o'clock, and betook themselves in abody to the _Cafe Militaire_, where the officers of the 23d placed apunch before the two colonels. They had invited, with a feeling ofeminent propriety, the superior officers of the regiment of cuirassiers.
Fougas, who was drunker, in his own proper person, than a wholebattalion of _Suisses_, distributed a great many hand-shakings. Butacross the storm which disturbed his spirit, he recognized the personand name of M. du Marnet, and made a grimace. Between officers, and,above all, between officers of different arms of the service, politenessis a little excessive, etiquette rather severe, _amour-propre_ somewhatsusceptible. M. du Marnet, who was preeminently a man of the world,understood at once, from the attitude of M. Fougas, that he was not inthe presence of a friend.
The punch appeared, blazing, went out with its strength unimpaired, andwas dispensed, with a big ladle, into threescore glasses. Fougas drankwith everybody, except M. du Marnet. The conversation, which was erraticand noisy, imprudently raised a question of comparative merits. Anofficer of cuirassiers asked Fougas if he had seen Bordesoulle'ssplendid charge, which flung the Austrians into the valley of Plauen.Fougas had known General Bordesoulle personally, and had seen with hisown eyes the beautiful heavy cavalry manoeuvre which decided the victoryof Dresden. But he chose to be disagreeable to M. du Marnet, byaffecting an air of ignorance or indifference.
"In our time," said he, "the cavalry was always brought into actionafter the battle; we employed it to bring in the enemy after we hadrouted them."
Here a great outcry arose, and the glorious name of Murat was throwninto the balance.
"Oh, doubtless--doubtless!" said he, shaking his head. "Murat was a goodgeneral in his limited sphere; he answered perfectly for all that waswanted of him. But if the cavalry had Murat, the infantry had Napoleon."
M. du Marnet observed, judiciously, that Napoleon, if he must be seizedupon for the credit of any single arm of the service, would belong tothe artillery.
"With all my heart, monsieur," replied Fougas; "the artillery and theinfantry. Artillery at a distance, infantry at close quarters--cavalryoff at one side."
"Once more I beg your pardon," answered M. du Marnet; "you mean to say,at the sides, which is a very different matter."
"At the sides, or at one side, I don't care! As for me, if I werecommander-in-chief, I would set the cavalry aside."
Several cavalry officers had already flung themselves into thediscussion. M. du Marnet held them back, and made a sign that he wantedto answer Fougas alone.
"And why, then, if you please, would you set the cavalry aside?"
"Because the dragoon is an incomplete soldier."
"Incomplete?"
"Yes, sir; and the proof is, that the Government has to buy four or fivehundred francs' worth of horse in order to complete him. And when thehorse receives a ball or a bayonet thrust, the dragoon is no longer goodfor anything. Have you ever seen a cavalryman on foot? It would be apretty sight!"
"I see myself on foot every day, and I don't see anything particularlyridiculous about it."
"I'm too polite to contradict you."
"And for me, sir, I am too just to combat one paradox with another. Whatwould you think of my logic, if I were to say to you (the idea is notmine--I found it in a book), if I were to say to you, 'I entertain ahigh regard for infantry, but, after all, the foot soldier is anincomplete soldier, deprived of his birthright, an inefficient bodydeprived of that natural complement of the soldier, called a horse! Iadmire his courage, I perceive that he makes himself useful in battle;but, after all, the poor devil has only two feet at his command, whilewe have four!' You see fit to consider a dragoon on foot ridiculous; butdoes the foot-soldier always make a very brilliant appearance when onesticks a horse between his legs? I have seen excellent infantry captainscruelly embarrassed when the minister of war made them majors. Theysaid, scratching their heads, 'It's not over when we've mounted a grade;we've got to mount a horse in the bargain!'"
This crude pleasantry amused the audience for a moment. They laughed,and the mustard mounted higher and higher in Fougas' nose.
"In my time," said he, "a foot soldier became a dragoon in twenty-fourhours; and if any one would like to make a match with me on horseback,sabre in hand, I'll show him what infantry is!"
"Monsieur," coolly replied M. du Marnet, "I hope that opportunities willnot be lacking to you in the field of battle. It is there that a truesoldier displays his talents and bravery. Infantry and cavalry, we alikebelong to France. I drink to her, Monsieur, and I hope you will notrefuse to touch glasses with me.--To France!"
This was certainly well spoken and well settled. The clicking of glassesapplauded M. du Marnet. Fougas himself approached his adversary anddrank with him without reserve. But he whispered in his ear, speakingvery thickly:
"I hope, for my part, that you will not refuse the sabre-match which Ihad the honor to propose to you?"
"As you please," said the colonel of cuirassiers.
The gentleman from the other world, drunker than ever, went out of thecrowd with two officers whom he had picked up haphazard. He declared tothem that he considered himself insulted by M. du Marnet, that achallenge had been given and accepted, and that the affair was going onswimmingly.
"Especially," added he in confidence, "since there is a lady in the case!These are my conditions--they are all in accordance with the honor ofthe infantry, the army, and France: we will fight on horseback, strippedto the waist, mounted bareback on two stallions. The weapon--the cavalrysabre. First blood. I want to chastise a puppy. I am far from wishing torob France of a soldier."
These conditions were pronounced absurd by M. du Marnet's seconds. Theyaccepted them, nevertheless, for the military code requires one to faceall dangers, however absurd.
Fougas devoted the rest of the day to worrying the poor Renaults. Proudof the control he exercised over Clementine, he declared his wishes;swore he would take her for his wife as soon as he had recovered hisrank, family, and fortune, and prohibited her to dispose of herselfbefore that time. He broke openly with Leon and his parents, refused toaccept their good offices any longer, and quitted their house after aserious passage of high words. Leon concluded by saying that he wouldonly give up his betrothed with life itself. The Colonel shrugged hisshoulders and turned his back, carrying off, without stopping toconsider what he was doing, the father's clothes and the son's hat. Heasked M. Rollon for five hundred francs, engaged a room at the _Hotel duCadron-bleu_, went to bed without any supper, and slept straight throughuntil the arrival of his seconds.
There was no necessity for giving him an account of what had passed theprevious day. The fogs of punch and sleep dissipated themselves in aninstant. He plunged his head and hands into a basin of fresh water, andsaid:
"So much for my toilet! Now, _Vive l'Empereur!_ Let's go and get intoline!"
The field selected by common consent was the parade-ground--a sandyplain enclosed in the forest, at a good distance from the town. All theofficers of the garrison betook themselves there of their own accord;there would have been no need of inviting them. More than one soldierwent secretly and billeted himself in a tree. The _gendarmerie_ itselfornamented the little family _fete_, with its presence. People went tosee an encounter in chivalric tourney, not merely between the infantryand the cavalry, but between the old army and the young. The exhibitionfully satisfied public expectation. No one was tempted to hiss thepiece, and everybody had his money's worth.
Precisely at nine o'clock, the combatants entered the lists, attended bytheir four seconds and the umpire of the field. Fougas, naked to thewaist, was as handsome as a young god. His lithe and agile figure, hisproud and radiant features, the manly grace of his movements, assuredhim a flattering reception. He mad
e his English horse caper, and salutedthe lookers-on with the point of his sword.
M. du Marnet, a man rather of the German type, hardy, quite hairy,moulded like the Indian Bacchus, and not like Achilles, showed in hiscountenance a slight shade of disgust. It was not necessary to be amagician to understand that this duel _in naturalibus_, under the eyesof his own officers, appeared to him useless and even ridiculous. Hishorse was a half-blood from Perche, a vigorous beast and full of fire.
Fougas' seconds rode badly enough. They divided their attention betweenthe combat and their stirrups. M. du Marnet had chosen the best twohorsemen in his regiment, a major and captain. The umpire of the fieldwas Colonel Rollon, an excellent rider.
At a signal given by Colonel Rollon, Fougas rode directly at hisadversary, presenting the point of his sabre in the position of "prime,"like a cavalry soldier charging infantry in a hollow square. But hereined up about three lengths from M. du Marnet, and described aroundhim seven or eight rapid circles, like an Arab in a play. M. du Marnet,being forced to turn in the same spot and defend himself on all sides,clapped both spurs to his horse, broke the circle, took to the field,and threatened to commence the same manoeuvre about Fougas. But thegentleman from the other world did not wait for him. He rushed off at afull gallop, and made a round of the hippodrome, always followed by M.du Marnet. The cuirassier, being heavier, and mounted on a slower horse,was distanced. He revenged himself by calling out to Fougas:
"Oh, Monsieur! I must say that this looks more like a race than abattle. I ought to have brought a riding-whip instead of a sword!"
But Fougas, panting and furious, had already turned upon him.
"Hold on there!" cried he; "I have shown you the horseman; now I willshow you the soldier!"
He lanched a thrust at him, which would have gone through him like ahoop if M. du Marnet had not been as prompt as at parade. He retorted bya fine cut _en quarte_, powerful enough to cut the invincible Fougas intwo. But the other was nimbler than a monkey. He wholly shielded hisbody by letting himself slide to the ground, and then remounted hishorse in the same second.
"My compliments!" said M. du Marnet. "They don't do any better than thatin the circus."
"No more do they in war," rejoined the other. "Ah, scoundrel! so yourevile the old army? Here's at you! A miss! Thanks for the retort, butit's not good enough yet. I'll not die from any such thrust as that! Howdo you like that?--and that?-and that? Ah, you claim that thefoot-soldier is an incomplete man! Now we're going to make _your_assortment of limbs a little incomplete. Look out for your boot! He'sparried it! Perhaps he expects to indulge in a little promenade underClementine's windows this evening. Take care! Here's for Clementine! Andhere's for the infantry! Will you parry that? So, traitor! And that? Sohe does! Perhaps you'll parry them all, then, by Heavens! Victory! Ah,Monsieur! Your blood is flowing! What have I done? Devil take the sword,the horse, and all! Major! major! come quickly! Monsieur, let yourselfrest in my arms. Beast that I am! As if all soldiers were not brothers!Oh, forgive me, my friend! Would that I could redeem each drop of yourblood with all of mine! Miserable Fougas, incapable of mastering hisfierce passions! Ah, you Esculapian Mars, I beg you tell me that thethread of his days is not to be clipped! I will not survive him, for heis a brave!"
M. du Marnet had received a magnificent cut which traversed the left armand breast, and the blood was streaming from it at a rate to make oneshudder. The surgeon, who had provided himself with hemostaticpreparations, hastened to arrest the hemorrhage. The wound was longrather than deep, and could be cured in a few days. Fougas himselfcarried his adversary to the carriage, but that did not satisfy him. Hefirmly insisted on joining the two officers who took M. du Marnet home;he overwhelmed the wounded man with his protestations, and was occupiedduring most of the ride in swearing eternal friendship to him. Onreaching the house, he put him to bed, embraced him, bathed him withtears, and did not leave him for a moment until he heard him snoring.
When six o'clock struck, he went to dine at the hotel, in company withhis seconds and the referee, all of whom he had invited after the fight.He treated them magnificently, and got drunk himself, as usual.