The Countess De Charny - Volume II (23 page)

Santerre was the representative of the faubourgs, and theirs was the irresistible power of the ocean. The faubourgs had forced open the doors of the Tuileries; they would break down the doors of the Assembly as well.

THE EVE OF SEPTEMBER SECOND. 189

The deputies feared if they took up arms against the Commune that they would not only be abandoned by the Extremists, but that they might also be abandoned by the Moderate Royalists, which would be even worse.

About six o’clock it was rumoured that an immense crowd had gathered around the Abbaye prison.

A certain Monsieur de Montmorin had just been acquitted, and it was generally supposed that he was the same man who, as a Cabinet Minister, had signed the passport with which Louis XVI. had attempted to escape from France; so the peoj)le went en masse to the prison, and savagely demanded the death of the traitor.

Every possible effort was made to undeceive the people, but all night the utmost excitement prevailed throughout the city, and it was very evident that any trifling incident might increase this excitement to gigantic proportions.

This incident occurred at the Chatelet, and we will describe it in all its details, as it is connected with one of the personages of our story whom we have not seen for a long time.

190 LA COMTESSE DE CHARNY.

CHAPTER XXV.

IN WHICH WK AGAIN MEET OUR FRIEND MONSIEUR DE BEAUSIRE.

Soon after the tenth of August, a special committee was appointed to investigate the thefts committed at the Tuileries. The populace had done themselves credit by-shooting two or three hundred robbers caught in the act, but there were as many others who succeeded in concealing their plunder for a while.

Among these last was our old acquaintance, Monsieur de Beausire. Knowing his antecedents, our readers will not be surprised to find him among those who had an account to settle with the courts for the part they had taken in the sacking of the Tuileries.

Beausire went to the palace like everybody else, but he was too clever to be the first, or even one of the first visitors.

Kor was it Monsieur de Beausire’s political sentiments that took him to the Tuileries. He went neither to mourn the downfall of royalty, nor to rejoice at the triumph of the people.

But for appearance’s sake, Beausire donned a red cap and armed himself with a huge sabre. He also stained his shirt slightly, and wet his hands in the blood of the first dead man he came to, so a superficial observer might mistake him for one of the victors. In fact, he was very generally mistaken for a conqueror by those who heard him shouting; “Death to the aristocrats!” and saw him searching under beds, in cupboards, and even in bureau drawers in order to satisfy himself that no Koyalist was concealed therein.

BEAUSIRE AGAIX. 191

But, unfortunately for Beausire, tliere was another man present, — a man who did not shout, or grope under beds or open cupboards, but who walked about in his neat black suit with his hands behind his back, as calm and collected as if he were taking a stroll in a public park on a pleasant afternoon, merely exclaiming, now and then: “Don’t forget, citizens, that you are not to kill the women or touch the valuables ! “

It was very evident that he did not consider he had any right to speak to those whom he saw slaughtering men and throwing furniture out of the window; but the very first glance convinced him that Beausire did not belong to this category.

About half-past nine the officer in command of the detachment of ]SΓational Guards, to whom the guardian-ship of the Clock Tower had been intrusted, saw this man approaching.

“Captain,” he said, politely, but firmly, “you will see a man come downstairs presently with a red cap on his head and a sabre in his hand. You will stop him and have him carefully searched by your men. He has stolen a casket of diamonds.”

“Very well. Monsieur Maillard,” responded Pitou, touching his hat.

” So you know me, do you? “

“I should say I did. Don’t you remember how we took the Bastille together ? Besides, we were at Versailles together at the time of the riot.”

“Then you ‘11 do what I told you, will you not?”

“Yes, and anything else you bid me. Monsieur Maillard. You are a true patriot, you are ! “

“Yes, and I ‘m proud of it, and that is why we must not allow the name to be disgraced. Look, there ‘s our man coming now ! “

For, sure enough, Beausire was descending the stairs, flourishing his big sabre, and shouting: “Long live the nation ! “

192 LA COMTESSE DE CHARNY.

Pitou made a sign to Tellier and Maniquet who quietly placed themselves in front of the door, while Pitou waited for Beausire on the bottom step.

Beausire noted this new arrangement of things, and it did not seem to please him; for he paused a moment as if he had forgotten something, then started to go back upstairs again.

“This is the way out, citizen,” cried Pitou; “and as orders have been received that the palace is to be cleared immediately, you will step this way, if you please.”

Beausire straightened himself up and resumed his descent. As he reached the last step he paused, touched his red cap, and asked, in a military tone: “Am I to go out, comrade, or am I not? “

“You’re to go out; but every one has to submit to a slight formality first.”

“And what is that, my brave sir?”

“Everyone has to be searched.”

” Searched? “

“Yes.”

“Search a patriot, — a man who came here to exterminate the aristocrats?”

“I have received positive orders to that effect; so, comrade, if you are a comrade, put up that big sword, — you don’t need it now, all the aristocrats are killed, — and submit to be searched quietly, or I shall be obliged to resort to force.”

“Force! Ah! you talk like that because you have twenty men to back you; but if you and I were standing here, man to man — “

” If you and I were standing here man to man, citizen, this is what I would do. I would seize your wrist with my right hand, so — and wrench your sabre from your grasp with my left, and break it under my foot, so, as being unworthy the touch of an honest man after being handled by a thief ! “

And suiting the action to the word, Pitou broke the blade under his foot and threw the hilt away.

BEAUSIEE AGAIN. 193

*’ A thief ! ” cried the man in the red cap ; ” a thief ! You call Monsieur de Beausire a thief! “

“My friends,” said Pitou, pushing the ex-gendarme towards his men, “search this Monsieur de Beausire.”

“Search away,” said the man, folding his arms upon his breast with the air of a martyr.

But to Pitou’s and Maillard’s great surprise, though the ex-gendarme was searched thoroughly, and every pocket turned inside out, nothing was found upon his person but an old playing card and eleven sous.

Pitou looked at Maillard, but the latter only shrugged his shoulders.

“Begin again ‘ said Pitou, who possessed an inexhaust-ible store of patience, as we have reason to know.

The men obeyed, but the second search proved as futile as the first. They only found the same old card and the same eleven sous.

“Well, do you still think a sabre dishonoured by my touch?” demanded Beausire, majestically.

“Xo, monsieur,” replied Pitou, “and as a proof of my sincerity, if you are not content with the apology I now offer, one of my men will give you his sword, and I will grant you any further satisfaction you desire.”

“Thank you, young man,” replied Beausire. “You only acted according to orders, and an old soldier like myself knows that an order is sacred. Now, as Madame de Beausire must be growing anxious on account of my long absence, I should like, with your permission, to retire.”

“Go, monsieur, you are free,” answered Pitou.

Beausire bowed and took himself off with a superbly indifferent air. Pitou glanced around for Maillard, but Maillard had disappeared.

“It seems to me I saw Monsieur Maillard go upstairs again,” remarked one of the men.

“It seems to me I see him coming down again,” said Pitou.

Tor,. IV. — 13

194 LA COMTESSE DE CIIAENY.

And sure enough, iMaillard was coming do’uni again, two steps at a time.

” Well , did you find anything? ” he asked.

“No,” replied Pitou.

“I was more fortunate, for I found the casket.”

“Then we were wrong?”

“No, we were right.”

And opening the casket, Maillard drew out some gold settings, from which all the precious stones had been removed.

“What does this mean?” asked Pitou.

“It means that the rascal anticipated a search, and, thinking the settings might cause him trouble, took out the diamonds and put the settings and the casket back in the drawer where I just found them.”

“And the diamonds?”

“He must have found some way of secreting them. Has he been gone long?”

” He went out of the gate of the central courtyard just as you came downstairs.”

“Which way did he go?”

“He was heading towards the river,”

“Good-bye, captain.”

“Are you going. Monsieur Maillard ?”

” I want to satisfy my mind beyond any possibility of doubt,” responded Maillard, starting off in pursuit of the thief.

THE PURGATIVE. 195

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE PURGATIVE.

In spite of Maillard’s rapid pace, he did not succeed in overtaking Beausire, who had three things in his favour, — several minutes of headway, the gathering twilight, and the large number of people moving about the Carrousel.

Nevertheless, on reaching the Tuileries Quay, Maillard did not turn; for as he lived in the Saint Antoine district, it took him very little out of his way to follow the river-bank as far as the Place de Grève.

Crowds of people were hastening across the Pont Neuf, for there was an exhibition of bodies in the square in front of the court-house, and many were on their way thither in the hope, or rather the fear, of finding a brother or relative or friend among the dead; so Maillard followed the crowd.

On the corner of the Rue de la Barillerie and the square was a drug-store kept by a friend of Maillard’s, and the latter entered it and began to talk over the events of the day with the proprietor.

There was a good deal of bustle in the store, for people were continually coming in for bandages, ointment, lint, — in fact, everything needful for dressing wounds; for every now and then a cry or groan indicated the presence of life among the dead, and the person who made the sound was immediately taken to the hospital.

Maillard had been in the drug-store about fifteen minutes when a woman about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years of age came in, — a woman who had a rather aristo-cratie air, in spite of her evident poverty. But what

196 L.N. COMTESSE DE CIIARNY.

struck braillard especially was the woman’s strong resemblance to tlie queen. In fact, this resemblance was so marked that Maillanl would have uttered a cry of astonishment had he not suddenly checked himself.

She was holding a little boy about nine years of age by the hand, and she approached the counter with some timidity, evidently doing her best to conceal her poverty-stricken attire, which was all the more noticeable by reason of the great care she evidently bestowed upon her complexion and hands.

The customers were so numerous that it was a long time before she received any attention; but at last she found an opportunity to say to the proprietor of the establishment, “I should like to have a purgative for my husband, who is ill.”

” What kind of a purgative do you want, citizeness?”

“Any kind will do, monsieur, provided it does not cost over eleven sous.”

This odd number of eleven sous struck Maillard; for eleven sous, it will be remembered, was the exact amount found in Beausire’s pocket.

“Make up a mixture of tamarinds and senna for this citizeness,” said the apothecary to his head clerk.

“Here is your medicine, madame,” remarked the pre-scription clerk, after a minute or two.

“Toussaint, my child, give me the money,” said the woman, with a drawl that seemed habitual to her.

“Here it is,” responded the youngster, laying some coins on the counter. “Come along, mamma, come along; papa’s waiting!” and as he spoke he tried to drag his mother away.

“Excuse me, citizeness,” said the drug clerk, “but there are only nine sous here.”

“What! only nine sous?” exclaimed the woman.

“You can count them yourself.”

The woman did count them, but there were only nine sous.

THE PUEGATIVE. 197

“What have you done with the other two sous, you naughty boy?” she asked, turning to the child.

“I don’t know. Come along, Mamma Olivia; come along ! ” whined the boy.

“But you ought to know, especially as you begged so hard to carry the money that I had to give it to you.”

“I must have lost them, I suppose. Come, Mamma Olivia; come, I say!”

“You have a bright boy there, citizeness,” said Maillard. “He seems to be full of intelligence; but you had better take care if you don’t want him to grow up a thief.”

*’ A thief? And why do you say that, pray?” demanded the woman.

“Because he hasn’t lost the two sous. He has hidden them in his shoe.”

” That ‘s a lie ! ” yelled the child.

“In the left shoe, citizeness,” said Maillard; “in the left shoe.”

In spite of young Toussaint’s kicks and yells, Mamma Olivia picked up his left foot and found the two sous in his shoe. She gave them to the clerk, and then dragged the child away, threatening him with punishment which would have seemed terrible to the bystanders had the threats not been accompanied with endearments that convinced her auditors, beyond a doubt, that maternal tenderness would gain tlie ascendency.

This little episode, however, would probably have passed unnoticed, amid so many more important events, had not the woman’s strong resemblance to the queen made a deep impression on Maillard.

“Did you notice that strange resemblance?” he remarked to his friend the druggist.