The Countess De Charny - Volume II (31 page)

And these men not only bowed their heads submissively and became excellent soldiers, and expelled the unworthy from their ranks, but, what is more, they hacked in pieces that same miserable Chariot who had struck the Princesse de Lamballe with a club, and afterwards carried her head away on the end of a pike.

Such was the condition of things while they were waiting for Kellermann, without whom nothing could be done.

On the 19th of September Dumouriez received notice that Kellermann was about five miles to the left of him, and the former at once sent him instructions to encamp the

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next clay on the other side of the Auve, between Dampierre and Élize. The exact location was carefully indicated.

Just as he was sending these instructions to Kellermann, Dumouriez saw the Prussian army appear on the mountains in front of him, thus proving that the Prussians were between him and Paris, — and, consequently, nearer Paris; so Dumouriez immediately sent word to Kellermann to take the heights of Valmy and Gizaucourt as his battlefield. Kellermann confounded his camping place with his battlefield, and paused on the heights of Valmy. This was either a great mistake or a daring venture on his part.

Situated as he was, Kellermann could retreat only by taking his army across a narrow bridge. He could fall back on Dumouriez’s right only by crossing a marsh, in which he was almost certain to be swallowed up. He could fall back on Dumouriez’s left only by passing through a deej) valley or ravine where he was likely to be crushed. There was, consequently, little or no chance of escape in case of defeat.

Was that what the brave Alsatian wanted? In that case, he succeeded most admirably; for no better spot could have been found for an army that was resolved to conquer or die.

Brunswick gazed at the French with amazement, and remarked to the King of Prussia: “Those fellows have evidently made up their minds never to retreat.” Still, the Prussians believed that this army of tailors, ragamuffins, and cobblers, as the refugees called it, would take flight as soon as the German cannon opened fire upon them.

The French had neglected to order General Chazot to occupy the heights of Gizaucourt, where he could have attacked the enemy on the flank; and the Prussians, taking advantage of this oversight, at once proceeded to occupy the position themselves, and made an attack on Kellermann’s corps from that point.

The morning was cloudy, and rendered even more dark

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by a licavy fog; but the Prussians did not care, as they knew the position of the French army. The French, at least so the Prussians supposed, were all on the heights of Valmy.

Sixty iron mouths belched forth smoke and flame simultaneously. The Prussian gunners fired haphazard, but as they were firing into a large body of troops, it did not seem necessary to aim carefully.

This was hard upon the French army, which could have made an attack with éclat, but had not learned how to wait.

Besides, at first, luck seemed to be against the French, for the Prussian shells set fii-e to two caissons. The drivers jumped from their horses to escape the explosion, and were arrested as deserters.

Kellermann was hastening towards the scene of the commotion, when suddenly both horse and rider went down as if struck by a thunderbolt. The horse had been shot through by a bullet ; but, fortunately, the rider was unhurt. He jumped on another horse, and soon succeeded in rallying his men. It was now about eleven o’clock in the morning, and the fog was beginning to lift.

Kellermann saw that the Prussians had formed into three attacking columns, and were advancing towards the Valmy heights; so he, in turn, formed his troops into three columns, after which, riding along down the line, he shouted: “Don’t fire. Wait till you can meet the enemy, man to man, then charge with the bayonet ! “

Then, placing his hat with its tricoloured plume on the end of his sabre, and waving it enthusiastically in the air, he cried : —

“Long live the Nation! Forward! “

Brunswick shook his head. Had he been alone, his army would not have advanced another step; but the Prussian king was there, and was resolved upon a battle. He must be obeyed.

The Prussians advanced, silent and gloomy, crossing the

On the Heights of Falniy. Photo-Etching. — From Painting by H. Vernet.

f^Mr^ltl

VALMY. 257

space whicli separated them from their enemies with all the solidarity of one of the Great Frederick’s corps of veterans. Every man seemed to be bound by an iron ring to the man in front of him.

Suddenly this huge serpent seemed to break in the mid-dle; but the fragments were speedily reunited.

Five minutes later the line was again broken, only to be again brought together.

Dumouriez’s artillery now attacked the flank of the col-umn, which was no longer able to advance, as it was continually drawn back by the writhings of the main body of troops which was being riddled with grape-shot.

Brunswick saw that the day was lost, and ordered a retreat.

The king, on the contrary, ordered a charge to be sounded, placed himself at the head of his troops, and forced his brave and obedient infantry through the double fire of Kellermann’s and Dumouriez’s divisions; but his lines were dashed in pieces against the French lines.

A magnificent aureole seemed to encircle this young army, — the Aureole of Faith.

” I have not seen such fanatics since the religious wars ! ” remarked Brunswick.

They were fanatics, sublime fanatics, fanatics on the subject of liberty.

These heroes of 1792 had just begun the great conquest, — the war that was to end in the conquest of mind.

On September 20th Dumouriez saved France. The next day the National Convention was emancipating Europe by proclaiming France a republic.

VOL. IV. — 17

258 LA COMTESSE DE CIIARNY.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

SEPTEMBER TWENTY-FIRST.

At noon, on the 21st of September, before the news of Dumouriez’s victory reached Paris, the doors of the Rid-ing School were thrown open, and the seven hundred and forty-nine members that composed the new assembly entered, casting questioning looks at one another as they filed slowly and solemnly into the hall.

Two hundred of these men had been members of the former assembly, and this convention was often called the assembly from force of habit.

The National Convention had been elected while the September massacres were still fresh in the public mind; so it was a rather conservative assembly, as might have been expected. In fact, it was even more than that, as there were several noblemen among its members; an ultra democratic impulse having led to a call for even servants to vote, some had nominated their masters.

Among these new deputies there were physicians, lawyers, professors, priests who had taken the oath of allegiance to the Constitution, journalists and merchants. For the most part, they were rather unsettled and wavering in their opinions. At least five hundred of them were neither Girondists nor Mountaineers, as the Republicans were styled on account of the location of the benches they occupied in the Assembly, so subsequent events were likely to determine the stand which the majority would take in this legislative body.

They were all united in one thing, however; that is, their abhorrence of those cruel September massacres, and

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of the Paris deputies chosen, nearly all of them from the Municipal Council, which was responsible for the atrocities then committed.

It almost seemed as if the blood shed at that time was flowing across the legislative hall, separating the one hundred or more Republicans from the rest of the Convention, for even the members of the Centre leaned towards the Conservatives, as if to avoid this bloody stream.

It must be admitted that the personal appearance of most of these so-called Mountaineers harmonised with the very unenviable reputation they had gained; for, as we have already remarked, the members of the Commune had been selected from persons in the very lowest ranks of life.

Next above the Commune in power was the famous Committee of Surveillance, which had organized the massacres.

But dominating all three organizations were three terrible countenances, — or, rather, three intensely characteristic masks, — like the heads of a hydra.

First, the cold and impassive face of Eobespierre, with its parched skin tightly drawn over a narrow forehead, and its blinking eyes shaded by spectacles. His outspread hands generally rested upon his knees, reminding one of the attitude of those Egyptian figures carved from por-phyry, — the hardest of all marbles, — or of a sphinx, who alone knew the watchword of the Eevolution, though no one dared ask him for it.

Next came Danton, with his rugged features, his twisted mouth, his mobile countenance characterized by a sort of sublime ugliness, and his half man-like, half bull-like body. Nevertheless, Danton had the gift of awakening sympathy in the heart of nearly every one, for all felt that it was genuine patriotism that animated him, and that caused his flesh to thrill and that torrent of fiery eloquence to flow; and that his powerful hand was equally quick to strike down an enemy or lift a prostrate foe.

Near these two countenances, so entirely different in

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appearance and expression, was another, — which could liardl}- be called that of a man, for it would be impossible for any human being to attain such a degree of ugliness, hut of a monster, — of Marat, — Marat with his swarthy-face swollen with blood and bile, his wildly distended, glaring eyes, his big, flabby mouth gaping like that of a toad, a mouth that seemed made to belch forth insults and vituperations, and his squalid garments no better than those of his dirtiest admirer. His head was swathed in a piece of soiled linen; his hob-nailed shoes were always without buckles, and often without strings. His shirt, open at the throat, revealed his scrawny breast which was disproportionately large in comparison with the rest of his body. His narrow, greasy, crumpled black cravat disclosed the ugly tendons in his neck, whicli were so drawn as to cause his head to lean very perceptibly to the left side. Most of the time his coarse thick hands were clenched threateningly; in his more peaceful moods they were buried in his tangled hair.

In fact, Marat was so frightful to look upon that the first impulse of the beholder was to turn hurriedly away; but the eye could not move quickly enough to avoid seeing the words ” September Second ” imprinted upon his visage, after which the beholder’s horrified gaze would remain riveted upon his face as upon the fabled head of the Medusa.

Such were the three men the Girondists accused of aspiring to the dictatorship.

Two other old acquaintances of ours were present : Gilbert, seated on the extreme right, between Lanjuinais and Kersaint; Billot, on the extreme left, between Thuriot and Couthon.

The members of the former Assembly escorted the members of the Convention to their seats, thus formally abdicating, and placing their power in the hands of their successors.

François de ISTeufchateau, the last presiding officer of

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the old Assembly, then mounted the rostrum and spoke as follows : —

” Representatives of the Nation :

” The Legislative Assembly has ceased to exercise its functions and entrusts tlie government to your hands.

” The object of your labours should be to give the French nation Liberty, Law, and Peace, — Liberty, without which the French people can no longer exist ; Law, which is the best of foundations for Liberty ; and Peace, which sliould be the sole end and aim of war.

” Liberty, Law, and Peace ! These words were inscribed by the Greeks on the portals of the Temple of Delphi ! You should engrave them upon the entire soil of France.”

Petion was chosen president of the Convention by-acclamation. Condorcet, Brissot, Rabaut Saint Etienne, Vergniaud, Camus, and La Source were made secretaries. Five of the six were Girondists.

The entire Convention, with the exception of thirty or forty members, was in favour of a republic; but the Girondists, at a meeting at Madame Roland’s, decided that the discussion concerning a change of government should not be opened until all the committees had been appointed.

But on the 20th of September, the very day of the battle of Valmy, other combatants were fighting a very different, but no less important battle.

Saint-Just, Lequinio, Panis, Billaud-Varennes, and several other members-elect of the Convention, were dining together at a restaurant, and resolved during the meal that the word ” Republic ” should be hurled at their political opponents the very next day. Collot d’Herbois agreed to introduce the motion. So François de Neufchateau had no sooner formally relinquished the authority to the new legislative body than Collot d’Herbois asked for the floor.

His request being granted, he said, —

“Fellow-citizens, I move that the first business of this Convention be the abolishment of royalty.”

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This motion was greeted with tremendous applause, botli in the hall and the galleries.

Only two persons rose to oppose the motion, and they were two well-known llepublicans. They advised that the Convention wait until the wishes of the people should be formally expressed.

” What for? ” demanded a poor village priest. ” What is the use of discussing a question upon which we know that all parties are agreed? Kings are in the moral order what monsters are in the physical order. Eoyal courts are workshops of crime. The history of kings is the martyrology of nations ! “

The members wondered who this concise but forcible critic of royalty could be. Only a few persons knew his name, which was Grégoire.

The Girondists felt the blow that had been aimed at them. Could it be possible that they were doomed to fol-low in the wake of the Mountaineers henceforth?

Ducos, the friend and disciple of Vergniaud, shouted from his seat: “Let us frame this decree at once. It requires no explanation or introduction. The history of the crimes of Louis XVI. is sufficient explanation.”