The Countess De Charny - Volume II (5 page)

She was right. The speaker was the man she had seen at the Chateau de Taverney , at the Sevres Bridge, and upon her return from Varennes. In short, it was Cagliostro; and, uttering a sharp cry, the queen fell back, fainting, in Madame Elizabeth’s arms.

42 LA COMTESSE DE CHARNY.

CHAPTER V.

THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER

At six o’clock on the morning of July 22, just one week after the festival on the Champ de Mars, all Paris was startled by the sullen roar of a huge cannon fired from the Pont Neuf. It was answered by another cannon from the Arsenal.

And this tiring was continued at regular intervals during the entire day.

The six battalions of National Guards, under their several commanders, assembled at daybreak in front of the Hôtel de Ville, and two processions were formed, to carry through the streets of Paris and out into the faubourgs the announcement that the country was in danger.

It was Danton who had originated this scheme; and he had secured Sergent’s assistance in arranging the programme.

Both processions left the citj’-hall at six in the morning, and took up their line of march in opposite directions.

First came a detachment of cavalry, headed by a band of music playing a gloomy melody, strongly resembling a funeral march, composed for the occasion.

Behind the cavalry came six pieces of artillery, moving abreast when the quays and avenues were wide enough, but advancing two by two in the narrow streets.

Then came four officers on horseback, each bearing an ensign, upon which one of the following words was inscribed : —

Liberty — Equality — Constitution — Country.

THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER! 43

Then came twelve municipal officers, each with his sash and sword.

Then, solitary and alone, like France herself, came a National Guardsman on horseback, bearing aloft a large tricoloured banner, with the words: —

Citizens, the Countky is in Danger!

Then came six more pieces of artillery, rumbling and jolting heavily over the stones.

Then another detachment of the National Guards, with another squad of cavalry bringing up the rear.

At each public square and bridge and cross-roads the procession halted. The roll of drums gave the signal for silence, the banners were slowly waved, and when every sound was hushed, and ten thousand spectators listened with bated breath, one of the city officers read the legislative decree in a loud voice, concluding in every instance with the words : —

The Country is in Danger!

This startling cry thrilled every heart to its inmost core. It was the appeal of the Nation, of Fatherland, of France 1 It was the cry of an agonised mother, calling, “Help, help, my children ! “

And all the while the big cannon at the Arsenal thundered out its solemn answer to the cannon on the Pont Neuf.

Platforms for the enrolment of volunteers had been erected in all the principal squares of the city. Every one rushed up to have his name inscribed upon the roll. The sentinels could not keep back the eager applicants, who were continually breaking through the line. The two flights of steps — one for ascending to, the other for descending from, the platform — were totally inadequate, broad as they were.

Every man climbed up as best he could, assisted by those

4-4 LA COMTESSE DE CHARNY.

wbû were already on tlie platform; and as soon as his name was registered, and his certificate tilled out, he jumped to the ground, waving his parchment proudly in the air, and running to kiss the cannon’s mouth, chanting the (Ja ira the while.

Among the would-be volunteers were many entirely too old for military service, who did their best to disguise their age, and many more who were too young, but who, in their wild longing to be soldiers, stood on tiptoe and answered “Sixteen! ” when they were only fourteen years of age.

Those who were held by indissoluble ties wept that they too could not go, and buried their faces in their hands to conceal their shame.

And as the cannon thundered hour after hour, the cheers for the nation rose louder and louder.

The excitement was so intense, and the people were fast relapsing into such a condition of frenzy, that the Assembly became frightened at its own work, and deputies were sent out in every direction to say : ” Brothers, in the name of our country, no rioting ! The Court would like to have a riot, in order to furnish an excuse for getting the king out of the way. But we must provide them with no such pretext. The king must remain here with us.”

Then they added, in a whisper, “But he certainly ought to be punished.”

. And everywhere these men went, the throng applauded; and after they passed, a low murmur of ” Yes , he ought to be punished,” could be heard circulating through the crowd, like the sighing of the wind through the branches when a storm is gathering. No name was mentioned, but everybody knew perfectly well whom he desired to punish.

This state of affairs lasted until midnight; until midnight the cannon thundered, and crowds surrounded the recruiting-officers. Many encamped on the Champ de Mars, making their first bivouac at the foot of the patriot altar.

THE COUNTRY IS IN DANGER.’ 45

The king, Marie Antoinette, the royal children, and the Princesse de Lamballe spent the entire day together. Nor did they separate until after midnight, — that is, until they knew that the last gun had been fired.

Since the outbreak in the faubourgs, the queen’s friends had persuaded her to leave her old apartments, and occupy a room between the king’s chamber and that of the dauphin. Accustomed to wake at daybreak, she would never allow the blinds or shutters to be closed, as her wakeful hours were thus rendered less intolerable. Madame Campan slept in the same room.

The reason the queen had consented to this arrangement was that one night, when the q^ueen was about to retire, and Madame Campan Avas standing “hj the “bed talking with her, hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor, followed by a noise like that made by a struggle between two men. Madame Campan wanted to go and see what •the matter was, but the queen clung to her, exclaiming, “Don’t leave me, Campan, don’t leave me! “

Just then a voice shouted from the corridor : ” Don’t be frightened, madame. It is a rascal who meant to kill you; but I ‘ve got him.”

” Good heavens ! what a life ! ” cried the queen. ” Insults by day, and assassins by night! “

Tlien she called out to the valet: —

“Let the man go, and open the door for him.”

“But, madame,” interposed Madame Campan.

“What is the use, my dear? If he is arrested to-night, the Jacobins will carry him through the streets in triumph to-morrow ! “

So til is man — who proved to be one of the lower servants of the household — was allowed to depart ; but after that, the king insisted that some one should sleep in the queen’s room, and she had chosen Madame Campan.

On the night following tlie proclamation, Madame Cam-pan woke about two o’clock, and, hearing tlie queen sigh, she felt sure that her Majesty was awake.

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** Are you in pain, madame, ” she asked softly, ” or are you oppressed by dismal forebodings?”

“Quite the contrary, Campan,” replied the queen, holding out her white hand, which looked even more like marble than usual in the bright moonlight that flooded the apartment. ” I was thinking that before another moon we shall be free once more.”

” Then you have accepted Lafayette’s offer of assistance, and are going to flee?”

*’ Lafayette’s assistance? No, thank Heaven ! ” exclaimed the queen, with an accent of unmistakable aversion ; ” but in a month my nephew, the Emperor Francis, will be in Paris.”

” Are you sure, madame? ” cried Madame Campan, much alarmed.

“Yes, everything has been arranged. An alliance has been formed between Austria and Prussia, and the two armies are to combine and march upon Paris. We know the route both of the princes and of the allied armies, and can say with certainty, “On such a day our rescuers will be in Valenciennes, on such a day in Verdun, and on such a day in Paris.”

” And you are not afraid of being — “

“Of being assassinated?” said the queen, concluding. ” I am very well aware there is a possibility of that. But what then? One who risks nothing, gains nothing.”

“On what day do the allies expect to reach Paris?”

“Between the 15th and 20th of August.”

” God grant it? ” said Campan.

But fortunately God did not grant the petition; or rather He heard it, and sent France unhoped-for aid in the Marseillaise.

THE MARSEILLAISE. 47

CHAPTER VI.

THE MARSEILLAISE.

Strange to say, the queen was encouraged by the very thing that should have alarmed her, namely, the Duke of Brunswick’s manifesto.

This document, prepared at the Tuileries and sent away early that same month, could hardly be expected to reach Paris on its return before July 26th.

But about the same time that the Court was preparing this absurd document, whose effect we shall note in due time, let us see what was going on at Strasburg.

Strasburg, one of the most French of French towns, by reason of its having but narrowly escaped becoming an Austrian dependency, saw the enemy at its very gates.

For six months, and indeed ever since war had seemed imminent, patriot battalions, composed of young and enthusiastic volunteers, had been assembling at Strasburg; so that city, whose superb spire is mirrored in the Rhine, which alone separated France from the enemy, was a seething cauldron of war, gaiety, pleasure, balls, and parades.

As fresh volunteers entered by one gate of the city, those who were considered prepared for tlie fray left by the other. In Strasburg friends met, embraced, and bade each other a last farewell; in Strasburg sisters were weeping, mothers were praying, and fathers were saying, “Go and die for France! “

And above all this could be heard tlie roar of cannon and the chiming of church-bells, — those two brazen voices

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•which appeal to God, one imploring His mercy, the other invoking His justice.

On the occasion of one of these departures of troops, — one rather more solemn than the others, because there were more troops departing, — ] Iayor Dietrich of Strasburg invited the brave young fellows, together with the officers of the garrison, to a banquet at his house.

The mayor’s two daughters, with a dozen or more of their girl friends, fair-haired daughters of Alsace, though they were not to preside at the banquet, were to adorn and embellish it, like so many beauteous flowers.

Among the guests was an intimate friend of the Dietrich family, a young man from Franche Comté named Kouget de risle.

He was then about twenty years of age , an officer in the engineer corps attached to the Strasburg garrison. A poet and musician as well, his harpsichord was frequently heard, and his voice resounded among the strongest and most patriotic voices of his time.

Never was there a more enthusiastic and patriotic gathering. No one spoke of himself, every one talked of France.

True, Death was there, as at the banquets in ancient times, — not the hideous spectre armed with scythe and hour-glass, but a beautiful smiling guest, with a sword in one hand and a palm-branch in the other.

They wanted something to sing. The old Ça ira had become an anthem of wrath and of civil war; they needed a patriotic, fraternal chant, breathing menace only upon foreign foes.

Where was the modern Tyrtaeus who could compose this patriotic song amidst the smoke of cannon and the whistling of bullets?

“I can!” answered that ardent and enthusiastic young patriot. Rouget de I’Isle.

He rushed from the banquet-hall, and in less than half an hour — even before his absence was noted — words and music

Portrait of Kouoet de lisle.

Etched by E. H. Garrett. From Painting by Leopard Mar.

THE MARSEILLAISE. 49

were alike ready. All the material was, as it were, melted at once, and cast in the mould, like the statue of a god.

Eouget de I’Isle re-entered the room with forehead covered with great drops of sweat, his hair thrown back from his face, and almost breathless from his fierce struggle with those two sublime sisters, — Music and Poesy.

“Listen! listen all of you!” he cried. He was sure of his muse, this noble youth.

At the sound of his voice every one turned, some with glasses still upraised, while others clasped their neighbours’ trembling hands.

liouget de I’Isle began: —

*’ Ye sons of France, awake to glory !

Hark ! hark ! what myriads bid you rise ! Your children, wives, and grandsires hoary, Beliold their tears, and hear their cries ! Behold their tears, and hear their cries ! Shall hateful tyrants, mischief breeding,

Affright and desolate our land, While peace and liberty lie bleeding ? To arms, to arms, ye brave ! The avenging sword unsheathe ! March on ! March on ! All hearts resolved On victory or death ! “

On hearing the opening lines, an electric thrill ran through the entire assemblage.

Two or three times shouts of applause burst forth; but those thirsting for more, cried, “Silence! silence! Listen ! “

With a gesture of deep indignation, Eouget continued : —

“Now, now the dangerous storm is rolling,

Which treacherous kings confederate raise ; The doffS of war, let loose, are howling,

And lo ! our walls and cities blaze !

And shall we basely view the ruin, While lawless force with guilty stride

Spreads desolation far and wide,

VOL. IV. — 4

50 LA COMTESSE DE CHARNY.

With crimes and blood his hands imbruing? To arms, to arms, ye brave ! The avenging sword unsheathe,”
etc.

This time the singer did not need to ask the company to join in the chorus, for it seemed to burst forth spontaneously from every lip.

With growing enthusiasm, Rouget continued: —

” With luxury and pride surrounded,