Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 10 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-——- ~~ — ——— rg ee eee OC SS SO Oe ~<—__— + <= OT i TT ee a ———— - and the second battalion of the Pas-de-Calais ee eee ——. = . . SC a 2d es interest which she had so kindly testified to a poor atone This lady, who was the most amorous of runettes, but whose large black eyes did not com- nsate for their ugliness, thought that I was in love ause I was poli ite; she construed literally some compliments which I paid her, and from the first inter- view she so greatly misinterpreted my sentiments as to cast her regards upon me, Our union was talked of, and my answered that.cighteen was too young for marriage, and so the matter went on. Meanwhile battalions were formed at Arras, and being known as_an excellent driller, I was summoned, with seven other subaltern officers, to instruct the 2d battalion of Pas-de-Calais, to which belonged a corporal of grenadiers of the regi- ment of Languedoc, named Csasar, now garde cham- petre at Colombre or Pateux,. near Paris. Afterward I was promoted to the rank of sub-lieutenant on arriving at. St. Sylvestre-Capelle, near Bailleul, where we quartered. Ceresar had been fencing-master in his own regiment, and my prowess with the advanced guard of Kinski’s cuirassiers was well known. We resolved to teach the practice as well as the theory of fencing to the officers of the battalion, who were much pleased at such an arrangement. Our lessons. produced us some money, but not enough for our wants, or, if you please, the desire of men of our abilities. It was PARHOUISEAY in good liying that we were found wanting. What increased our regrets and appetites was, that, the mayor with whom we lodged kept an excellent table. We sought in vain the means of increasing our sup- wes an old domineering servant, named Sixca, always efeated our intentions, and disturbed our gastronomic plans. We were disheartened and starving. At length Cesar found out the secret of breaking the charm which kept us from the table of the municipal functionary. At his suggestion the drum- 2 pd came one morning to beat the morning call under the mayor's window. Judge of the disturbance. fail to request an intervention in _pubting a stop to this uproar, Ceesar promised, with a mild air, to use all his influence to put a stop to the noise, and then ran to beg the drum-major to renew the cause of complaint; and the next morning there was a row suificient to awaken the dead from the a- cent churchyard; and at length, not to do thin 4 halves, he sent the drum-major to practice with his boys at the back of the house; a pupil of the abbe Sicard could not have endured it. The old woman came to us, and invited the cunning Casar and me very graciously; but that was not enough, Th2 drummers continued their concert, which only concluded when their respect- able chief was admitted, as well as eurselves, to the municipal banquet. From that time no more drums were heard at St. Sylvestre-Capelle, except when de- tachments were passing by, and everybody was at peace except myself, whom the old woman an to hreaten with her obliging favors. This unfortunate gee brought on a scene which must still be remem- red in that part of the country, where it made much i alt lag feast, dan ing, drinki | was the e feast, cing, singing, ing, went on; and I bore my al so ably that they were compelled to lead me to bed. The next day I awoke before daybreak: as after all similar orgies, I had a giddy head, my mouth parched, and my stomach dis- ordered; I wanted something to drink; and on rising I felt a hand as cold as a well-rope encircling my neck; my head was still wandering and weak from the over- night's debauch, and I shrieked out lustily. The mayor, who slept in an adjoining chamber, ran with his brother and an old servant, both armed with cudgels. Csesar had not returned, and reflection had convinced me that the nocturnal visitor could only be Sixca, and pretend- to be b groadly alarmed, I told them that some hob- go lin had come to my side, and had glided out at the oot of the bed. They then laid on several blows with their sticks; and Sixca, perceiving that she would soon be killed, cried out, ‘‘ Gentlemen, do not strike, it is I— it.isSixca. I walked in my sleep to the officer’s bed.” At the same time she showed her head, and did well; for although they recognized her voice, yet the super- stitious Flemings were about to renew the application of the bastinado. This affair made much noise through- out the place. We had been quartered for three months when the division was ordered to Stinward. The Austrians had given tokens of an intention to proceed to Poperingue, placed in the first rank. The night after our arrival the enemy surprised our out , and penetrated to the e of Belle, which we occupied, and we formed in battlejarray in the greatest haste. In this nocturnal maneuver our young recruits evinced that intelligence and alacrity which are only to be found in Frenchmen. About six o’clock in the morning, a squadron of Wurm- ser hussars debouched on our left, and charged us with- out being able to break through our ranks. A column of infantry which followed them, attacked us at the same time with the bayonet; and it was only after a brisk encounter that our inferiority of numbers compelled us to fall back upon Stinward, our head-quarters, On arriving there I received the co tulations of General Vandomme, and a billet for the hospital of St. | Omer, for 1 had had two saber cuts in figh with an Austrian hussar, who was killed while crying, ‘‘ Hrgid dich! ergib dich! (surrender, surrender).”’ My wounds were not very severe, since at the end of two months I was enabled to rejoin the battalion which was at Hazebrouek. I then saw the strange corps call- ed the Revolutionary Army. The men, with pikes and) red caps, who com d it, took with them everywhere the otine. eé con- vention had not, they said, found any better way of securing the fidelity of the officers of the fo n armies which it had on foot, than by placing before their eyes the instrument of punishment. reserved for traitors. All that I can say is, that this mournful cm, almost killed with fear the itants of the coun through which it passed. It did not much flatter the military, and we had many quarrels with the Sans Cu- lottes, who were called the body-guard of the guillotine. I beat one of the party, who took upon himself to cen- sure my gold epaulettes, when the regulation or- dered those of worsted. My fine array would have brought misfortune on me, and I should have paid dearly for my disregard of the sumptuary law, if L hac not been allowed to start for Cassel, where I was joined by my battalion, which was then arrayed like the other nts: these officers became ae n soldiers, and it was in that capacity. that I was directed to enter the ttalion of volunteers, which formed and was. arents were questioned on the point, who | / amon by a musket-ball. Delphine loaded me wit It may be surmised that the old Megara did not He The Ne aw ee te ee Shortly afterward the battalion was quartered at Fresnes. In the farm-house in which I was billeted, there arrived one day the whole family of a pilot, | consisting of the husband, wife, and two children, one of whom was a girl of eighteen, who was re- markably handsome. The Austrians had taken the boat, laden with grain; which was their whole fortune; and these poor people, reduced to the garments which covered them, had no resource left but to take refuge with my host, their relation. itiable condition, and the beauty of the young girl elphine, touched my heart. During a foraging party, I discovered their boat which the enemy were only gradually unlading and measuring out. I proposed to a dozen of my comrades to carry off the spoils from the Austrians. They ac- ceded to the proposition; our colonel gave his consent, and on a stormy night we approached the vessel with- out being observed by the officer in charge, whom we | | dispatched to feed the fish of the Escaut gyith five strokes of the bayonet. The wife of the pilot, who would follow us, instantly ran for a bag of florins which she had concealed in the grain, and gave them to my charge. point where we had an intrenched post; but at_ the mo- ment it got into the stream, we were surprised by the | challenge of a. guard,.whom we had not observed rt of his gun, which accompanied his second call to us, he next picket flew to arms, and in a momentthe bank was covered with soldiers who fired a shower of balls at the boat, which we were compelled to quit. M comrades and I cast ourselves ona sort of raft whic we had, and the women did the same; but the pilot, forgotten in the confusion, or stopping with a hope of escape, was taken by the Austrians, who were not sparing of their blows and kicks. This experiment had besides lost us three men, and I had two fingers broken caresses, r mother having set out for Ghent, where she knew her husband had been sent as prisoner of war, we be- took ourselves to Lille, Ithere passed my time of con- return. with the license and my parents’ eonsent. valescence, As Delphine had a portion of the mone found in the grain, we led a very pleasant life. e talked of marriage, and the affair was so far arranged that I started one morning for Arras, whence I wae ? e - phine,had already procured that of her parents, who were still at Ghent. Al e from Lille, Tremembered that I had forgotten my hospital billet, which it was in- dis t bly necessary to produce before the munici- pa of Arras, and IL returned for it. Arrived at the otel, I went to the room we occupied and knocked; no one answered, It was impossible that Delphine could _be out soearly, it being scarcely six o’clock. I knocked again, and Delphine opened the door, stretchi arms and rubbing her eyes like some one who h her been _suddenly awakened. ‘To prove her, I proposed that she my parents, and she very gee gee agreed, { should go with me to Arras, that I might present her to My sus- picions were disappearing, and yet something whis- | pered to me that she was deceiving me. I at length twenty eighth ;of the army destined to drive the Austrians from | opened turned out very badl Vaisnckeunes sil Conde. | the - perceived that she frequently glanced toward the ward- robe. I pretended a desire to open it, which my chaste betrothed opposed, and gave me one of those excuses which a woman always has ready. But I was deter- mined, and at length opened the closet, where I found me) reflection restrained me, We were in a town of concealed, beneath a heap of linen, the doctor who had attended me during my convalescence. He was old, ugly, and misshapen,. The first feeling was_ to begin by mapering out the brains of the Pak ¢ i Esculapius, but Delphine was not my wife; “had no right over her. I determined on kicking her _ out; after which I threw her from the window her clothes, and money enough to take her to Ghent. I al- lowed myself to retain the remainder of the money, which I thought I had lawfully acquired, since I had di- rected the splendid ex tion which had rescued: it from the clutch of the Austrians, I allowed the doctor to return unmolested. Having got rid of my faithless she, I determined on remaining at Lille until the time of my furlough should expire; butit is as easy to conceal oneself in this city as at Paris, and my residence would have been undis- turbed but for an affair of gallantry, of which I shall spare the details, It will suffice to % that, aeing ar- rested in female attire at the moment I was flying from the rage of a oan husband, I was taken to the police office, where [I at first obstinately refused to give any account of myself; for, in fact, by speaking I should either destroy the female who had been kind to me, or announce myself as a deserter. Some hours’ confine- ment qanges my resolution; a superior officer, to whom I had a ed to receive my declaration, and to whom I candidly stated the facts, seemed to take some interest forme. The commandant-general of the di- vision wished to hear from my own es this. recital, which made him laugh to excess, He then gave orders that I should be set. at liberty, and caused a line forth- with to be given tome to rejoin the Twenty-eighth bat- talion at Brabant; but instead of following this desti- nation, I went to Ax determined only to enter the service again at the last extremity. My first visit was to the patriot Chevalier. His influ- ence with Joseph Lebon made me hope that I should obtain through his interest an extension of leave _ which he procured for me, and I was again introduced _ to the family of my benefactor, His sister, whose kind | intentions toward me are already known, redoubled her kindness; and on the other hand, the habit of seeing her ,daily familiarized me with her ugliness; in short, matters came to. such a point that I was not at all sur- prised to hear one day that she was enceinte. She made no mention of marriage, nob even pronouncing _ the word; but I saw but too clearly, that to this com- _ plexion it must come at last, lest I should incur the _Vvengeance of her brother, who would not have hesi- tated to denounce me as an aristocrat, and moreover a | r, .My parents, struck with all these considera- , tions, and conceiving the hope of keeping me_ near . them, gave their consent to the marriage, which the evalier were very anxious about, It was at last settled, and I beeame a husband at eighteen years of age. I thought myself also almost the father of a family, but scarcely had a few days elapsed, when my wife confessed that her pretended motherhood was the result of a plan to induce me to marry her. The ex- cessive satisfaction which such an avowal pave me _may be conceived; but the same motives which had de- cided me on contracting the alliance compelled me to be silent; and I determined to keep my own counse enraged as I was. A mercer’s shop which my wife . I thought that I found cause of it in the repeated absence of my wife, who ee eee This circumstance, their | We then loosened the boat to let it float toa. he bulrushes which concealed him. At the re- | I forgot to say that | think eee ee ee oe was all day at her brother’s, I made my observations; and received orders to ie og my regiment at Tournay. I might have complained of this expeditious mode of getting rid of a troublesome husband; but I was so much tired of the joke of Chevalier, that I resumed | with joy my uniform, which I had cast off with so | much pleasure. | At Tournay, a veteran officer of the Bourbon regi- ment, then adjutant-general, attached me to his office as a deputy, and particularly in the serving out of clothing. Business soon demanded thata man of trust should 8 dispatched to Arras. I set out post haste, anc arrived in the city at eleven o’clock at night. As I was charged with orders, the gates were opened to me, anc by an impulse, for which I cannot account, I was in. duced to run to my wife’s abode. I knocked for a long time and no one answered. A neighbor at length opened the door, and Iran up-stairs with all speed tu my wife’s chamber. On approaching, I heard the clank of a falling saber, then a window opened, and a mau leaped out into the street. It is needless to say that they recognized my voice. I went down stairs with ere haste, and soon overtook my Lovelace, in whom recognized an adjutant-major of the 17th horse chas seurs, quartered at Arras. I led him back to my con: jugal domicile, when he finished his toilet, and we then | separated, page gsi to fight the next day. is scene roused the whole neighborhood, Tha | py: ape part of the people assembled at their windows, atl seen me seize on the adjutant. I had mo lack of witnesses to prove and obtain the divorce, and that was what I intended to do; but the family of my wife, who were desirous of keeping a protector for her, exerted themselves to check my measures, or / at least to paralyze them. The next day, before I could meet the adjutant-major, I was arrested by the police and by gendarmes, who spoke of placing me in the Baudets. Fortunately for me,I plucked up courage, situation: I demanded to be carried before Jose Lebon, which could not be denied me, I appeared be- fore the representative of the people, whom I found surrounded by an enormous pile of letters and papers. “What, is it you,” said he to me, *“‘who come here without permission—and for maltreating your wife too?” LIsaw what course I should pursue; I produced my orders, I called for the testimony of my neighbors apse my wife, and that of the utant-major him- self, who could not gainsay the facts. Indeed, I so | ery explained the affair, that Joseph Lebon was _foreed to confess that the wrongs were not of my com- mmitting; but out of regard, however, to his friend | Chevalier, he made me Ras not to remain long at _ Arras; and as I feared the wind might veer against me, as I had seen it with many others, I undertook to com- | ply with his request as promptly as possible, Having completed my mission, I e farewell to all my riends, and the next morning found me on the road to Totirnay. CHAPTER IIL I pip not find the adjutant-general at Tournay, he had set out for B , and I set out on the following day, a I recognized among the travelers, those individuals whom I had known at Lille, as passing the whole day at the public houses, and li in a om) weer aa manner. To my great astonishment, I found them clothed in uniforms of different regiments, one having the epaulettes of lieutenant-colonel, the others thosa of captain or lieutenant. How can they have got them thought 1, for they have never seen service? I was los in conjecture. On their side, they appeared at first much confused at the rencontre; but soon recovering, ey testified a mutual surprise at finding me only a p soldier. When I had explained to them how th> regulation of the battalion deprived me of my rank, the lieutenant-colonel pr me his protection, which I accepted, although scarcely knowing what to of my protector. I saw clearly, however, that ho had plenty of money, and paid for all at the table d’hote, where he testified a violent republican feeling, at the same time affecting to have sprung from an an- cient family. I was not more fortunate at Brussels than at Tour- nay; the yy 7 rey emma wy who seemed to fly from me, had gone to Liege, for which place I set out, relying on not a useless journey this time; but on arriv- ing, I learned that my man had taken the road to Paris on the previous evening, having been summoned to ap- pear at the bar of the convention. His absence would not be longer than a fortnight. I waited, but no one arrived. other month passed, and still no adjutant. My cash was we ore and I resolved on sews to Brussels, where I hoped to find some means of extricating myself from my embarrassment, To speak with that candor, on which I pique myself, in ving this history of my life, I must confess that I had gun not to be over scrupulous in my choice of these means; my education not made me a very preci: o | man in such matters, and the injurious neon a = | rison, which I had been used to from my childhood, had corrupted a naturally honorable mind. | It was then, without doing much violence to my deli- cacy, that I saw myself installed, at Brussels, with a way lady: of my acquaintance, who after having been pa nized by General Van-der-Nott, had fallen a little ower into public society. Idle, as are all who have but a precarious mode of existence, I — whole days and nights at the Cafe Turc, or the Cafe de la Monnaie the rendezvous of knights of the post, and professed amblers. These fellows spent liberally, and played he devil’s games; and as they had no ostensible means of living, I could not divine how they m ed to carr on the war. A | ten fellow with whom | had associ- ated myself, and whom I questioned on this sivject, appeared struck at my inexperience, and I had the greatest difficulty in persuading him that Iwas really anovice, “The men whom you see there every