I am a heritage because I brlnÇi yov yeg^rs of tboupbt and the lore of time -=^ I Impart yet I can not speaks I bave trciveled amon^ tbe peoples of tbe eartb -^=- I aw a rover-==^ Oft-tlrpeo 1 strc^y jron? tbe /I reside^ o/ tbe ot9e u;bo loves and cberlsbes roe, -who n9lDDes n?e a; her? I an? ^ope-^Sbould you /Ipd me va^rai7t please send me borne -amorça rpy brothers- on tbe bool^ shelves of ALr2LP3ANTrLL L' ^ NINETY-THREE BY VICTOR HUGO IVITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DLSIGNS BY VICTOR HUGO, BAYARD, BRION, yiERGE, AND OTHER EMINENT FRENCH ARTISTS IN TWO VOLUMES Vol. 1 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS LONDON AND NEW-YORK 1S89 'Br //)(' SiVnr riiitboi III Unifonn Stjie. 5 Vols. Les Misérables, .... Toilers of the Se.a, . . . 2 Vols. Nôtre-Dame, 2 Vols. The Man Who Laughs. . 2 Vols. Ninety-Three 2 Vols. George Routledge & Sons. LONDON AND NfW-YORK Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by Harper & Brothers, III tlie Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Copyright, 1888, by Joseph L. Blamire. biacK Annex Cr<7^ TABLE OF CONTENTS Y O L U M E I PART I AT SEA PAGE BOOK I — THE WOOD OF LA 8AUDRAIE 1 BOOK 11 — THE CORVETTE "CLAYMORE" Chap. I. Englaj^d and France in Concekt 19 II. Night on the Yessel and avith the Passengek ... 2,3 III. Noble and Plebeian in Concekt 25 lY. Toementum Belli > 33 Y. Yis ET YiK 36 YI. The Two Sc-^les of the Balance 41 YII. He who sets Sail puts into a Lotteky 45 YIII. 9 = 380 49 IX. Some one Esc.\pes 54 X. Does he Escape ! 56 BOOK III— HALMALO Chap. I. Speech is the "\Yoed" 65 II. The Peasant's Meiioey is as good as the Cvptain's Science 72 TOI TABLE OF COXTFXTS. BOOK IV — TELLMARCH Chap. I. The Top uf the Dune . . II. AUKES HaIIET, EÏ NON AUDIET III. Usefulness of Bk; Letteks IV. The Caimand V. Signed Gauvain . . . . VI. The Whikligigs of Civil War VII. " No Mekcy ! " (Watchword of . 85 . 89 91 . 96 . 192 . 107 the Commune) — "No QuAKTEi; ! " (Watc'h\v(_ikd of the Princes) . ir. PAKT II IX I'ARIS B O O K I — ( ; I M O U K I) A I N Chap. I. The Streets of Paris at that Time 123 II. CiMOURDAIN 132 HI. A (!orner not dipped in Styx 139 BOOK II — THE PURLIC-HOUSE OF THE RUE DU PAON Chap. I. Minos, JiIaous, and Rhadamanthus 145 II. Magna Testantur Voce per Umbras 149 III. A Stirring of the Inmost Nerves ....... 1(17 BOOK III — THE CONVENTION Chap. T 179 II 181 III 183 IV 188 TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix PAGE Chap. V 195 VI 197 VU lîOl VIII -im IX 2U X 216 XI 223 XII 225 XIII ..... 226 PART III I isr VENDEE BOOK I— LA VENDÉE Chap. I. The Forests 233 II. The Peasants 236 III. Connivance of Men and Forests 238 IV. Theik Life Undeegeound 242 '\^. Theie Life in Warfaee 244 VI. The Spieit of the Place passes into the Man . . . 252 "^T^I. La Vendée ended Beittany 255 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOÎTS VOLUME I PAGE V 0-1 oo At Sea H. Scott . . . The Wood of La Saude.ue G. Brian ... xv Radoub " ... 3 The Scouts I). Vicn/c ... 5 " Halt !" E. Morin ... 9 The Corvette " Claymore " D. Vioyje ... 17 The Repkesentatives of the Princes .... Valiiai/ .... '_'l On the Deck Gilbert ... Homage to the Chief E. Morin . . A Royalist Brutus Lix .... The Cakron.\.de D. Vierge . . The Battery Gilbert ... Vis et Vir " .... 37 "Shoot this Man!" Férat .... 43 Burial at Sea Gilbert .... 44 Les Minquiers H. Scott ... 47 The Pilot E. Morin ... 51 A Man of Good Will GiUmt .... 55 " Long Live the King !" E. Morin ... 57 The Struggle Began " ... 58 The Corvette Founders Gilhert .... 59 Halmalo D. Maillarf . . 03 The Old Man Draws Himself Up Gilbert .... (59 The Watchword Ferai .... 71 " I HELD my own against THE Salt Tax Men " Gilbert .... 75 Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The Sun had just Set .... Tellmaech Bay of Mount Saint Michael. . The Journey The Stone Cboss The Carnichot "I Ail THE MaEQUIS DE LaNTENAC " "GlA'E YOUE OeDEES, MY LoRD " . The Massacee of Heebe-en-Paille "Is there no one Here I" . . . In Paeis The Steeets of P.\eis at that Time Cijiourdain The Priest Pulling down the Statue of Louis XIV The Cabaret of the Eue dit Paon The Eue du Paon Maeat The Cafés — La Eotunde . . . " Théàtee-Feançais " FOY " The Danger is in Paris " . . The Club of the Jacobins . . The Hornets of Finance . . The Eoyal Family in the Temple At Duplay dumouriez Mirabeau Signed: Eobespierre, Danton, M The Convention Tailpiece Valazé Shooting Himself in the Brissot — Baebaeoux .... Vergniaud — Saint Just . . . Joseph Chéniee — David . . . Tallien Sieves — Camille Desmoulins CaENOT — CONDOECET .... Louis XYl The Trial of Louis XVI. . Marie iVntoinette .... \R AT. onvention H. Scott Ferai . H. Scott 3Mss Pattc G. Bi'ioii D. Ticiyc E. Moth/ Gilbert . I). Vierf/c Gilhni . D. Mailla) G. Brian G-ilhcrt . n. Ma it la I TaijJor . * * * Gilbert . f Emile J la I Gilbert . * * # * * * PcUssii'r D. Vien/c PriuVhoH * * * Gilbert . u * * * Gilbert . u * * * E. Morin 'SO]l fianl 80 83 85 87 93 99 105 109 113 117 121 125 129 133 135 143 14G 147 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 161 163 169 175 177 180 188 189 191 192 193 1!)5 197 199 202 203 LI, ST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xiii ARTIST PAGE The Scaffold of Janu-vky 21 E. Morin . . . 20.") Charlotte Coeday Killing Marat ***.... 207 The Carmagnole Gilbert .... 210 Death of Eobespierre ..***.... 211 C.\Nxoxs Pointed • . . . Œlhert .... 213 BoissY D'Anglas ***.... 21 7 Elizabeth Duplay ***,... 219 Danton and Desmoulins before the Scaffold. ***.... 220 Medals of the Convention ***.... 225 In Vendée Karl Bodmer . . 231 Twilight Fief or Uiif/o . . 235 La Vendée A. LdKroii . . 237 In the Woods K((rl Budmcr. . 241 On the Steps of St. Eoche ***.... 2-43 Cathelineau Rion .... 245 "They Rode froji .\ll Sides" " .... 248 Ch.\rette and the Representatives of the People F. Lix . . . 1AQ Chakette ***.... 253 They were Barred Also - Bion ... 254 De.\th of Roche-jacquelein ,.***... 257 Thickets , = . ■ . , . , Victor Hul2, civil war commenced its crimes. ]\Ious(|ueton, the ferocious cripple, came out of its fatal shades. The list of the nuu-ders that had been conunitted there was enough to make one's hair stand on end. Tliere was no place more to be dreaded. The soldiers moved cautiously forward. The depths were full of flowers ; on each side was a tremljling wall of branches and dew-wet leaves. Here and there rays of sunlight pierced the green shadows. The gla- diola, that flame of the marshes, the meadow narcissus, the little wood daisy, har))inger of spring, and the vernal crocus, emin'oidered the thick carpet of vegetation, crowdecl with every form of moss, from that resem- bling velvet (cheiiiUe) to that which looks like a star. The soldiers advanced in silence, step by step, pushing the brushwood softly aside. The birds twittered above the bayonets. In former peaceal)le times La Saudraie was a favorite place for the Ifoniehr-ha, the hunting of birds by night; now they hunted men there. The thicket was one of birch-trees, beeches, and oaks; the groimd Hat ; the tliick moss and grass dtnidened the sound of the men's steps; tliere were no [laths, or only l)lin(l ones, which cjtiickly disappeared among the holly, wild sloes, ferns, hedges of rest-harrow, and high l)ranibles. It would liave been impossible to distinguish a man ten steps off. Now and llicn a licron (U' a moor-hen flew tlii-ough tin' br;niches, indicating th(^ neigliliorhood of marshes. They i.ushiMl forward. They went at I'andom, with uneasiness, fearing to find tliat wliich they sotight. RADOUB. :S^INE T Y - TER EE. 5 From time to time tliey came upon traces of eucampmeutf? ; burned spots, trampled grass, sticks arranged crosswise, bi-auclies stained with blood. Here soup had been made — there, mass had Ijeeu said — yonder, they had dressed wounds. But all human Ijeings had disappeared. Where were they ? Very far off, i_)erhaps ; perhaps quite near, hidden, blunderbuss in hand. The wood seemed deserted. The regiment redoubled its prudence. Solitude — hence distrust. They saw no one: so much inore reason for fearing some one. The}' luid to do wi1li a forest with a bad name An ambush was probable. Thirty grenadiers, detached as scouts, and commanded by a ser- geant, marched at a considerable distance in front of tht? main body ; the vivandière of the Ijattalion aecomjianied them. The vi\'andières willingly join the vanguard ; they run risks, biit they have the chance of seeing whatever happens, ('uriosity is one of tlie forms of feminine braverj'. Suddenly the soldiers of this littlt» advance party started like lumters who have neared the hiding-place of tlieir prey. They had lieard some- 6 NIXJ'J TY-T HK E E. thing- like a 1 a-eathiiig from the centre of a thicket, and seemed to per- ceive a movement among the branches. The soldiers made signals. In the species of watch and search conlided to scouts, the officers hav(^ small need to interfei'e; the right thing seems done by instinct. In less than a minute the spot where the movement had been noticed was STUi'ounded; a line of pointed muskets encircled it; the obscure centre of the thicket was covered on all sides at the same instant; the soldiers, finger on trigger, eye on the suspected spot, only waited for the sergeant's order. Notwithstanding this, the vivandière ventured to peer through the underbrush, and at the moment when the sergeant was ab( .ut to cry " Fire ! " this woman cried, " Halt ! " Turning toward the soldiers, she adch^d — " Do not fire, comrades!" She jilunged into tlie thicket; the men followed. There was, in trutli, some one there. In the thickest of the l)rake, on the edge of cue of those little round clearings left by the fires of the charcoal-burners, iu a sort of recess among tlic l)ranches — a kind of chamber of foliage — half oj^en like an alcove — a woman was seated on the moss, holding to her bi'cast a nurs- ing liabe, while the fair ln'ads of two sleeping children rested on lier knees. This was the amlmsh. " What are you doing here, you ?" cnied the vi^'andière. The woman lifted her head. The vivandière added furiously: "Are yon mad, that you are tlierr .' A little mor(> and you would have been blown to }iieces!" Then she addressed herself to thi' soliUers — " It is a, woman." " AVell, that is plain to be seen," said a grenadier. Tlie vivandière continued: "To come into the wood to get yourself massacred! The idea of such stupidity ! " The woman, stunned, petrified with fear, looked about like one in a dream at these guns, these sabres, these bayonets, these savage faces. The two <'hil(b'en awoke, and cried. " i am hungry," said the first. " I am afraid," said the other. n'lie lialiy was still sui'kliiig; the vivandière addressed it. " You are ill the I'ight of it," said she. The mother was dumli with tei'ror. The sergeant cried out to her: "Do not he afraid : we are the battalion of the Boimef Hoiif/c.'''' The woman trembled troiii head to foot. She stared at the sergeant, NINETY-TEREE. 7 of whose i-oug'h visage there was nothing- visible Ijut th(^ miistaehes, the brows, and two burning coals for eyes. "Formerly the battalion of the Red Cross," added the vixaudière. The sergeant continued : " Who are you, madame l " The woman scanned him, terrified. She was slender, young, pale, and in rags; she wore the large hood and woolen cloak of the Breton peasant, fastened about her neck by a string. She left her bosom exposed with the indifférencié of an animal. Her feet, shoeless and stoekiugless, Avere bleeding. " It is a beggar," said the sergeant. The vivandière began anew, in a voice at once soldierly and fem- inine, but sweet: " "What is your name ? " The woman stammered so that she was scarcely intelligible. " Michelle Fléchard." The vivandière stroked the little head of the sleeping babe with her lai-ge hand. "T\liat is the age of this mite ?" demanded she. The mother did not understand. The vivandière persisted : " I ask you how old is it I " " Ah ! " said the mother ; " eighteen months." " It is old," said the vivandière ; " it ought not to suckle any longer. You must wean it ; we will gi\'e it soup." The mother began to feel a certain confidence; the two childi-en, who had awakened, were rather curious than scared — they admired the plumes of the soldiers. " Ah ! " said the mother, " they are very hungry." Then she added — " I have no more milk." "We will give them something to eat," cried the sergeant; "and you, too. But that's not all. What are your political opinions .' " The woman looked at 1dm, but did not ripply. " Did you hear my question f " She stammered : " I was i^ut into a convent very young — l:»ut I am married — I am not a nun. The sisters taught me to speak French. The village was set on tire. We ran away so quickly that I had not time to piit on my shoes." " I ask you Avhat are y(iur political opinions f " " I don't know what that means." The sergeant continued : " There are such things as female spies. We shoot spies. Come— speak! You are not a gipsy ? "Wliich is your side f " She still looked at him as if she did not understand. 8 NINETY-THREE. The sergeant i-epeated : " Whieli is youv side f " " I do uot know," she said. "How? You do not know your own country?" "All, my country ! Oh, yes, 1 know that." "WeU, where is "it?" The woman replied : " The farm of Siscoignard, in the parish of Azé." It was the sergeant's turn to be stupefied. He remained thoughtful for a moment, then resmned : " You say ?" " Siscoignard." " That is not a country." " It is my country," said the woman ; a.nd added, after an instant's reflection, " I understand, sir. Y"ou are from France ; I belong to Brittany." " Well I " " It is not the same neighl xirhood." "But it is the same country," cried the sergeant. The woman only repeated : " I am from Siscoignard." "Siscoignard, be it," returned the sergeant. " Y'our family be- longed there?" " Y'es." " What is their occupation ? " " They are all dead ; I have noliody left." The sergeant, who thought himself a fine talker, continued his interrogatories : ""Wliat"? the devil! One has relations, or one has had ! "Wlio are you ? Speak ! " The woman listened, astounded l)y this — " Or one has h(((l!" which was more like the growl of an animal than any human sound. The vivandière felt the necessity of interfering. She began again to caress the Italic, and to pat the cheeks of the two other children. "How do you call the baby ?" she asked. "It is a little girl — this one I" The niolhcr replied, "Georgette." "And the eldest tVllow ? For he is a man, the small rascal !" " Kené-Jean." "And the younger? He is a man, too, and chu))by-faced into the bargain." (Iros-Alain," said the mother. They are pretty little fellows," said the vivandière ; " they alreadj' look as if they were somebody ! " "(I- u rr X I X E T Y -THEE E. 1 1 .Still tlu' stTiivaiit persisted. "Muw ^;iit'ak, madame ! Have you a house ?" " I had oue." " Where was it ? " " At Azé." "AVTiy are you uot in your house ?" " Because they burned it." "Who?" "I do uot know— a battle." "Where did you come fri;)m?" " From there." "Where are you ,i;-oiu<;- ?" " I don't know." " Get to the faets ! Who arc you ? " " I don't kuow." "You don't know Avho you are?" " We are people who are running- away." " What party do you beloug to ? " " I don't know." "Are you Blues ? Arc you Whites? AVlio arc you witli ?" "I am with my children." There was a pause. The vivaudicre said : "As for me, I have no i-hildren ; I have not had time." The sergeant began again : " But your i)arents ? 8ee here, macUune ! give us the facts aboiit your parents. ]\Iy nanie is Radcnil) ; I am a sergeant, from the street of Cherche Midi; my father an Pikorlul) of Paris — no eloquence ! " He turned toward the woman. "And your husband, madame ! What is he at ! What has liecome of him?" " There hasn't anything Ijecome of him, because they killed him." " Wliere did that happen Î " " In the hedge." " When ! " " Three days ago." "W^hodid'it!" " I don't know." " How ? You do not know who killed your husband f " "No." " Was it a Blue ? Was it a White ? " " It was a bullet." 14 NIXE T Y - TH li E E. " Three days ago ? " " Yes." " lu what (liveetion ] " " Toward Eruée. My hiisLaiid fell. That is all ! " "And what have you been doing since your husl land was killed ? " " I bear away my children." " Where are you taking theui t " " Straight ahead." " Wliere d< > you sleep I " " On the gi'ound." " What do you eat f " " Nothing." The sergeant made that military griman' whi<-h makes the nuistache touch the nose. " Nothing ;' " "That is to say, sloes and dri(^d berries left from last year, myrtle seeds, and fern shoots." "Faith! you might as well say nothing." The eldest of the ehildi'eii, who seemed to understand, said, "I am hungry." The sergeant took a bit of regulation bread from his pO(-ket, and handed it to the mother. >She broke the bread into two fragments, and gave them to the children, who ate with a\idity. " She has kejit uon(i for herself," grumljled the sergeant. "Because she is not hungry," said a soldier. " Because she is a mother," said the sergeant. The children interrupted the dialogue. " I want to drink," cried one. " I want to drink," repeated the other. " Is there no ln"ook in this devil's wood ? " asked the sergeant. The vivandière took the l)rass cup which lamg at her belt beside her hand-bell, turnecl the cock of the can she cariied slung over her shoulder, poured a few drops into 1lie <'uii, and held it to the children's li]is in turn. The first di-ank and made a grimace. The second di-ank and spat it out. " Nevertheless it is good," said the vivandière. " Is it some of the old cut-throat ? " asked the sergeant. "Yes, and the best; but these are peasants." And she wiped her cnp. The sergeant resumed : " And so, njadauie, you are trying to escape I " N^iyi] T Y - TJI R EE. 15 " There is uotliiug else left for me to do ! " " Across fields — going wliiehever way chance directs ? " " I run with all my might— then I walk— then 1 fall." " Poor villager ! " said the vivandière. " The i^eople fight," stammered the woman. " They are shooting all around me. I do not know Avhat it is they wish. They killed my husband; that is all I un(h'rstood." The sergeant grounded the butt of his musket till tin,' earth rang, and cried : " What a beast of a war — iu the hangman's name !" The woman continued : " Last night we slept in an r';«o«.s-.sr." "All four f" " All four." "Slept?" " Slept." " Then," said the sei-geant, " you slept standing." He turned toward the soldiers — " Comrades, what these savages call an rinoitsse is an old hollow tree-trunk that a man may fit himself into as if it were a sheath. But what would you t We can not all be Parisians." "Slept iu a hollow tree.*" exL-laimed the vivandière. "And with three children ! " " And," added the sergeant, " when the little ones howled, it must have been o(hl to anybody passing l)y and seeing nothing whatevei', to hear a tree cry, ' Papa ! mamma ! ' " " Luckily it is summer," sighed the woman. She looked down upon the ground in silent resignation, Inn- eyes filled with the bewilderment of wretchedness. The soldiers made a silent circle round this grou[) of misery. A widow, three oi-phans; flight, abandonment, soUtude, war muttering around the horizon, hunger, thirst; no other nourishment than the herbs of the field, no other i-oof than that of heaven. The sergeant apjjroached the woman, and fixed his eye on the sucking baby. The little one left the breast, turned its head gently, gazing with its beautiful Ijlue orbs into the formidable hairy face, bristling and wild, which bent toward it, and began to smile. The sergeant raised himself, and they saw a gTeat tear mil down his cheek and cling like a pearl to thi> end of his mustache. He lifted his voice : "Comrades, from all this I conclude that the regiment is going to become a father. Is it agreed ' We adopt these three children !" 16 KIKE TY-THB E E. " HiuTîili for the Rei:)ublic ! " chorused the grenadiers. " It is decided ! " said the sei'geaut. He stretched his two hands aljove the mother and her babes. "Behold the chiklren of the l)attalion (jf the Jloiii/cf Itoitf/c !''' The vivandière leaped for joy. " Tlnee heads under one bonnet ! " cried she. Then she burst into sobs, embraced the poor widow wildly, and said to her, " What a rogue the little girl looks already ! " " Vive hi liépiiltlique .'" repeated the soldiers. And the sergeant said to the mother : " CouK.', citizeness ! " BOOK II THE COEVETTE ''CLAYMOEE' CHAPTER I ENGLAND AND FKANCE IN CONCERT N the spring of 1793, at the moment Avhen France, simnltanconsly attacked on all its frontiers, suf- fered the pathetic distracticni of the downfall (.)f the Girondists, this was Avhat happened in the Channel Islands. At Jersey, on the evening of the 1st of June, about an hour before sunset, a corvette set sail V~;--5> from the solitarv little Bay of Bonnenuit, in that ^'^^f^V kind of foggy weather which is favorable t(j flight because piu'suit is rendered dangerous. The ves- sel was nuinncd by a French, crew, though it made part of the English fleet stationed on the look-out at the eastern point of the island. The Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne, who was of the house of Bouillon, com- manded the English flotilla, and it was by his orders, and for an urgent and special service, that the corvette had been detached. This vessel, entered at Trinity House under the name of the ('luii- niorc, had the appearance of a ti'ansport or trader, l)ut was in realit\- a war corvette. She bad the hea^-y, pacific look of a merchantman, but it would not have been safe to trust to that. She had been built for a double purpose — cunning and strength : to deceive if possible, to fight r.i 20 NINE T y - THE EE. if neeessary. Fov tlie service liefore lier this night, the lading of the lower deck had Ijeeu replaced by thirty earronades of heavy calibre. Either because a st(.)rm was feared, (_)r Ijecause it was desirable to jire- vent the vessel ha-\dng a suspicious appearance, these carronades were housed — that is to say, securely fastened within by triple chains, and the hatches above shut close. Nothing was to be seen from without. The ports were blinded; the slides closed; it was as if the corvette had put on ;i mask. Armed corvettes only carry guns on the upper deck; but this one, Imilt for surprise and curuiing, had the deck free, and was able, as we have just seen, to cai'iy a. battery below. The CldipiKire was after a heavy, si^uat model, l)ut a good sailer nevertheless — the hull of the most solid sort used in tlu^ English navy ; and in battle was almost as valuable as a frigate, though for mizzen she had only a small mast of lirigautine rig. Her iiidder, of a i)eculiar and scientific form, had a ciu'ved frame, of uni(pie shape, which cost fifty pounds sterling in the dock-yards of Southampton. The ci-ew, all P^i-encli, was composed of refugee officers and deserter sailors. They Avere tried men ; not one but was a good sailor, good soldier, and good I'oyalist. They had a threefold fanaticism — for ship, sword, and king. A half -regiment of marines, that coidd be disendiarked in case of need, was added to the ci'(!W. The corvette CJaijniorc had as captain a chevalier' of Saint Louis, Count du Boisberthelot, one of the l)est officers of the old Royal Navy; for second, the Chevalier La Yieuville, Avho had commanded a comi)any of French guards in wdiich Hoche was sergeant ; and for pilot, Philip G-acquoil, the most skillful mariner in Jersey. It was evident that the vessel had unusual business on hand. Indeed, a man who had just come on board had the air of one entering upon an adventure. Hf June, at the hour when the tide serves, the war corvette C/di/iiiun', with a masked battery, will set sail for the purpose of landing upon the shore of France a man of whom this is a description: tall, old, white hair, peasant's dress, hands of an aristocrat. I will send you more details to-morrow. He will land on the morning of tln' 'id. ^Varn the cruisers; capture the corvette; guil- lotine the man." CHAPTER II NIGHT ON THE VESSEL AND AVITH THE PASSENfiER HE corvette, instead of g'oiiig soutli and making for Saint (Catherine's, lieaded north, tlieu veered to the west, and reso- lutely entered the arm of the sea, between Sark and Jersey, called the Passage de la Deronte. At that time there was no light-honse upon any point along either coast. The sun had set clear ; the night was dark — darker than summer nights ordinarily are ; '■^^ iov.'T> "-/■i;(;;:7;'i7*(;i:':,)'i'iMi.:!ii„' there was a moon, but vast clouds, rather of the equinox than the solstice, veiled the sky, and according to all appearance the moon would not be visible till she touched the horizon at the moment of setting. A few clouds hung low niion the water and covered it with mist. All this ol)Scurity was favoi'able. The intention of Pilot Gaccpioil was to leave Jersey on the left and Guernsey on the right, and to gain, by liold sailing between the Hanois and the Dom^ee, some bay of the Saint Malo shore — a route less short tlian that bv the Minquiers, liut safer, as the French cruisers had stand- 53 34 XIX E TY-TH R E E. iug onlei's to keep an especially keen watch between Saint Helier and Gi-anviHe. If the wind were favoral)l(^, and nothing occurred, ( aicquoil hoj)ed by setting all sail to touch the French coast at daybreak. All went well. The corvette had passed Gros-Nez. Toward nine o'clock the weather looked sulky, as sailors say, and there were wind and sea, l)ut the wind was good and the sea strong without being violent. ►Still, now and then the waves swept tlie vessel's bows. The "peasant," whom Lord Balcarras had called " (leneral," and whom the Prince de la. Tour d'Auvergne addressed as "My cousin," had a sailor's f(ioting, and jiaced the deck with tranquil gravity. He did not even seem to notice that the corvette rocked considei-al >ly. From time to tiuK^ he took a cake of chocolate out of his pocket ami munched a morsel: his white hair did not ])revent his liaving all his teeth. He spok(^ to no one, (^xcejit now a,nd then a few low, <[uick words to the captain, who listened Avith deference, and seemed to consider his jja.ssenger, rather than himself, the commander. The Chif/iiKii'c, altly pil(.)ttHl, skirted unperceived in the fog the long escarpment noiHi of Jersey, hugging the shore on account of the for- midable reef Pierr(«s de Leeq, whi<-h is in the middle of the channel between Jersey and Sark. Gaccjuoil, standing at the helm, signaled iu turn th(^ Grève de Leeq, Gros-Nez, and Piémont, and slippely be made out. Ten o'clock was lieard to sound from the belfry of Saint Ouen, a. i)roor that th<' wind was still abaft. All was y(^t going well. The sea grew roughei- on account of the in'ighborhood of La (Corbière. A little after ten. Count di' r>oisl)ertlielot and the ('he\a]ier La Vieuville reconducteil the man in tlie peasant's garb to his cabin, which was in reality the captain's state-i'oom. As he went in, he saiil to them in a low voice : '• ( ientieiiien, you nmlei'stand the inqiortance of secrecy. Silence U]>tothe moment of explosion, ^'on two ai'e the only ones liere wlio know my name." " \V'(! will cai'i'v it will) us to tlie ti>nib," I'epjieil r>oisber1 helot. "As for me," aiMeil ilie olil man, " were J in face of death, 1 would not tell it." lie entered his cabin. CHAPTER III NOBLE AND PLEBEIAN IN CONCERT HE ooniniander and tlie second officer retnvned on deck and walked np and down, side by side, in conversation. They were evidently talking of their passenger, and this was the - licaiis and ourselves, if Ave set hairdressers to command noblemen f " "You see that beast of a Eevolution has infected us also." " An iteh that France has caught." "An iteh of the Third Estate," rephed Boisljerthelot. " It is only England that can cure us of it." "And she will cure us, do not doubt it, captain." " In the meanwhile it is ugly." "Indeed, yes. (.'towns everywhere ! The monarchy which has for commander-in-chief Stoffiet, the gamekeeper of M. De Maulevrier, has nothing to envy in the republic that has for minister Pache, son of the Dulce de Castries' portei'. ^Vhat men tins Yeudean war brings out against each other! On one side Santerre the brewer, on the other (histon the wigmakei' ! " " My dear Vien\-ille, 1 have a certain respect for (.lastou. He did not conduct himself ill in his conumTud of (lueménée. He very neatly shot three hundred Blues, after making them dig their own graves." "Well and good ; but I could have done that as Avell as he." "Zounds! no doubt; and I also." "The great acts of Avar," resumed La YieuAulle, "re(iuire to be undertaken ])y noblemen. They are matters for knights and not hair- dressers." "Still tliere are some estimable men among this ' Third Estate,'" returned Boisbertlielot. "Take, for example, Joi)y the chickmaker. He had been a sergeant in a Flaudei's regiment; he gets himself made a Vendean I'Idef ; he connnands a coast l)and; he has a son Avho is a Re- publican, and Avhile the father serA'es among the Whites, the son serves among the Blues. Encounter. Battle. The father takes the son pris- oner, and bloAvs out his lirains." "He's a "'ood one," said La Vieu\'ille. 'A ROYALIST BRU T U S . NIIirE r Y- THREE. 29 " A voyalist Brutus," replied Boisbertliclot. "All that does uot hinder the tact that it is insupportable to he ooninianded Ijy a Coquereau, a Jean-Jean, a ^Mouline, a Foeart, a Bouju, a Chouppes ! " " My dear chevalier, the other side is et^ually disg'usted. Wo are full of pleljeians — they are full of nobles. Do you suppose the sr»/.s- culottes are content to be commanded by the Count de Canclaux, the Viscount de jMiranda, the Viscount de Beauharnais, the Count de "\'a- leuee, the Mar(|uis do Custine, and the Duke de Biron ! " " What a hash ! " "And the Duke de Chartres !" " Son of Égalité. Ah, then, when will he ever l^e king .' " " Never." " He mounts toward the throne. He is aided by his crimes." " And held back by his vices," said Boisberthelot. Thei'e was silence again; then Boisberthelot continued: " Still he tried to liring al)()ut a reconciliation. He went to see the king. I was at Versailles when sonieliody spat on his back." " From the top of the grand staircase t " " Yes." " It was well done." " We call him B(nuO)on the Bourbeux." " He is l)ald ; he has pimples ; he is a regicide — \nAi ! " Then La Vieuville added: " I was at Ouessant with him." "On the Saint Ksprit r' " If he had obeyed the signal that the Admiral d'Orvilliers made him, to keep to the windward, he would have kept the English from passing." " Certainly." " Is it true that he was hidden at the Ijottom <>f the hold ?" " No ; ])ut it must be said all the same." And La Vieuville burst out laughing. Boisl lerthelot observed : "There are idiots enough! Hold! that lioulainvilliers you were s] leaking of. La Vieuville. I knew him. I had a chance of studying him. Ill the lieginning, the jieasauts were an 1 with pikes: if he did not get it into his head to make pikemen of t]i<"ni! He wanted to teach them th(> mantial of exercise, ' r/r /cf piquc-cn-liitds ct dc hi piquc-tra'i- jKiiiti'-lc-fcr-drrdiif.'' He dreamed of transforming those savages into Soldi(>rs of the line. He iirojxised to show tliem how to mass battalions 30 N^IXE T Y - THR HE. aud form hollow squares. He jabbered the old-fashioned military dia- lect to them ; for chief of a squad, he said u)i cap s 1 Generals who are no generals!" X I XJ-J T Y - T n R EE. 31 La Vienvillo iiiteiTupted Boishcrthclot. " Commauder, have you the Maiùtrur in your caliin ?" " Yes." "What are they phxying in Paris just now V '■'■Adrhi and FouUii, aud TJie (.'arrr)/." " I should like to see that." " You will be able to. We shall be at Paris in a montli." Boisberthelot reflected a uioment, and added: "At the latest. Mr. Wiudliani said so to Lord Hood." "But then, captain, every thiuii,' is not going so ill." "Zounds ! every thing would go well, on condition that the war in Brittany coi;ld be properly conducted." La Yieuville shook his head. " Commander," he asked, " do we land the marines ? " " Yes ; if the coast is for us — not if it is hostile. Sometimes war must break down doors, sometimes slip in (piietly. Civil war ought always to have a false key in its [jocket. We shall do all in our power. The most imjiortant is the chief." Then Boisberthelot added thoughtfully: " La Yieuville, what do you think of the Chevalier de Dieugie ? " " The younger ! " "Yes." " For a leader ? " " Yes." "That he is another officer for open country and pitched 1 tattles. Only the peasant understands the thickets." "Then resign yourself to General Stofflet aud to General (^*atheli- ncau." La Yieuville mused a while, and then said, " It needs a prince ; a prince of France ; a prince of the Ijlood — a true })rince." " Why I AYhoever says prince " "Says poltroon. I know it, captain. But one is needed for the effect on the big stupid eyes of the country lads." " My dear chevalier, the princes will not come." " AVe will get on without them." T')oisberthelot pressed his hand upon his forehead with the mechan- ical movement of a man endeavoring to bring out some idea. He e.xclaimed : "Well, let ris try the general we have here." " He is a great nobleman." "• Do jon believe he will answer f " " Provided he is strong." 32 XI KE T Y - III REE . " That is to say, ferocious," said Boisbeftlielot. The count aud the chevaHer looked fixedly at one another. "Monsieur du Boisberthelot, you have said the word — ferocious. Yes ; that is what we need. This is a Avar without pity. The hour is to the bloodthirsty. The regi(ndes have cut off Louis XVI.'s head — we will tear oft' the tour limbs of the regicides. Yes, the general necessary is General Inexoral)le. In AnjoTi and Upper Poitou the chiefs do the niagnaninious ; they dabble in generosity — notliing moves on. In the Marais and the country of Eetz, the chiefs are ferocious — every thing goes forward. It is because ('harette is savage that he holds his own against Parrein — it is hyena, against hyena." Boisberthelot had no time to reply; La ^'ieuville's words were sud- denly cut short l)y a desperate cry, and at the same instant they heard a noise as luiaccountalde as it was awful. The cry and this nois(.' came from the interior of the vessel. The captain and lieutenant made a rush for the gun-deck, but coidd not get down. All the gunners were hurrying frantically up. A frightful thing had just hai)pened ! CHAPTER IV TUK.AIEXTUM BELLI XE of the oaiTonades of tlie Ijattei'v, a. twenty-f < )ur-poiinder, liad ii'ot loose. Tliis is x^'^i'liiM'i^ tilt' most formidable of oeeau accideuts. Xothiiii;- more terrible ean happen to a vessel in open sea and under full sail. A gun that breaks its UKJorings lieeomcs suddenly some indeserilj- alile supernatural beast. It is a machine which transforms itself into a monster. This mass turns upon its wheels, has the rapid movements of a lùlliard-ball ; roUs with the rolling, pitches with the pitching ; goes, comes, pauses, seems to meditate; resumes its coiu'se, rushes along the shi}) from end to fiid like an ari'DW, circles about, si>rings aside,