Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 193 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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The Man in Red. 29 at his command. I believe more than half his idea in thus haunting me was to ge Sip my nerves, but if so, I disappointed him. e came to me again last night, and this is the :etter he left on my table.” He took from his pocket a letter, which he | ' at Beaumont, and found a hu dred and twenty thousand men eager to be led against the showed Gabriel. It ran thus: “Thou art tried and found wanting; another shall possess thy kingdom, and the lion shall devour thee, ‘Tie MAN Iw Rep,” “It ts like all bis prophecies, disastrous. He means that the English will beat me in the approaching campaign. They may, or may not. Tell mé, count, did you ever know him to have prominence among the allied : eneral ? ‘* He was a member of the council held in this room last year, sire, and he looked over the pred shoulder to read your majesty’s abdica- ion. ‘Indeed? Then for all we know, he may be with Weilington and Blucher when we meet them.” ‘‘ Very likely, sire. One thing I know, that if [ever get a chance at him again, one of us goes down forever.” The emperor looked thoughtful. “Yes, that is how the matter ‘stands now. One of us must fall. Apropos, count, the army will move on Brussels in three weeks. Your regiment isin good order?” ** Never better, sire.” ** That is well. We must beat these British. If I can only drive Wellington to his ships, I may yet manage the restof them. France will always rally toa victory. I shall send you to- morrow on a tour of inspection to the posts, By the by, do you know such a woman as ths arquise de St. Jean? I forgot—of course you do, She was Mistress of the Robes to poor Josephine. Well, I found a little scandal about her am the papers of the king.” ** Indeed, sire? He did not ask what it was. He had cause to suspect it already, and the emperor’s remark showed that he connected it with The Mun in ‘* Yes, and what is stranger, too, is this, that it would account for much that was strange about this same envious man. It comes in the form of a receipt. k here, and tell me what you think of it.” Gabriel looked at a faded paper handed him by the emperor. It co the words: ‘Paid the notary, Antoine Pichegru, and his wife Marie, both of Metz, the sum of fifteen thousand li to be expended in thé education of the boy confided to them by Madame la Marquise de St. Jean, on the first February, 1763, as godmother. LOUIS D'ARTOIS.,”’ Gabriel! looked puzzled. ‘*'You do not understand it. Well, I will ex- lain, you know who was this Louis »” , you were a baby at the time of the Revolution. Well, he was the Duke of Artois, brother to the king. They called him monsieur, simply, in those days. Well, do you not see?” ‘‘ Hardly, sire.” ‘Why, it is simple enough. What reason had Monsieur to pay fifteen thousand livres to a notary of Metz and his wife, on account of a marquise, who officiates as godmother? It was acommon enough transaction in those days, Do you know that the marquise and the kin fled together in the same carriage when we go as far as Fontainebleau. It is the old story of Louis XIV. and Maintenon. The kings of France, when they get old, have always fallen under the dominion of their mistresses.” * Then your majesty thinks that this man as— “No, “¥F fo ‘* The son of Monsieur, who is now the Louis XVIIL. of the Re a sina It is just possible the general did not know it till the time of his defection, and that the fact added new fuel to his hatred of me for dethroning his father. It would account for many things, including his strange influence at so many courts. The children of the kings of France, legitimate or the reverse, have always done well. You re- member Dunois, the Bastard of Orleans, Mar- shal Vendome and others. Y#, I am satisfied —_ _ jt, and I do not wonder at his ani- mosity. Gabriel went ‘away very thoughtful. The mystery was cleared ur. The identity of The in Red was sett] But that he was the son of the exiled king of pha bale a's 3 aad revelation, and he could n a sort of wonder as he t: o pe « all end?” pong” 8 not long to wait to determine. Early in June the emperor left Paris to con- duct his last campaign in person, and, concen- trating his armies secretly, moved straight on Charleroi, so as to interpose between the British at Brussels and tbe Prussians under Blucher, between Charleroi aud Liege, he campaign was opened. CHAPTER XLI. WATERLOO, Ir was not to last long, that funereal cam- aign. 4 On the 14th June, 1815, the emperor arrived enemy. The English, in and around Brussels, had a hunéered thousand, and Blucher another hun- dred tbousand, but their extreme corps were nearly sixty miles apart. The emperor’s decision was mede like light- ning, to strike, first at one, then the other, in the bope of defeating both and ending the war in | the style of Jena. ten thousand On the 15th the French struck the Prussians, and beat them; on the 16th the pushed on still fighting; on the 17th Ney struck the English at Quatre Bras, while the Prussians fled in con- fusion from Ligny; on the 18th, the emperor, with eighty thousand men, faced Wellington at Waterloo, and staked empire on one last battle of desperation. And Gabriel Lenoir, as aspecial favor on that day, returned to his own old regiment, re- tained near the person of the emperor, as the last cavalry reserve. Fair and lovely was the face of nature on that fateful 18th of June, 1815. It was Sunday, and they could hear the church bells in the neighboring villages ring to prayers; fur the Belgians are a religious people, even in war time. It had rained hard all the night before, and the country wore a vivid green, crossed by the brown mud of the roads, At eight o’clock both armies were in full view of each other, and the emperor rode along the line, in the familiar gray coat and little black bat, mounted on his favorite white Arab. The men roared to see him, and eagerly called out to be led to the attack, but he only shook his head and answered: “Have patience, my children,” The English could see him through their Covet and the sturdy grenadiers said to each other: ‘* That’s Boney, him on the white ’oss,” The men on both sides ate breakfast and sat waiting for the battle to begin; but only the slow movements of columns g up ons could be seen. It wanted half an hour to noon when the first gun was fired. Then the French opened all along the line, and three hundred pieces poured a tempest of shot on the British troops, who lay down flat to escape the worst of it. At noon the French assaulted and took the Chateau of Hougoumont in the British center, and were in turn driven out again. At half-past one troops were seen some miles off coming toward the field, and a Prussian hussar was captured with a letter from Blucher to Wellington, to say he would be with him at sunset. ‘ Gabriel was near the emperor when he read the note, and saw him close his lips with an ex- pression of anxiety. Then he said to Ney: ‘* Marshal, we've no time to lose. Crush their center. If wecan beat them before sunset, it will be Wagram over again,” At Wagram, Prince John, of Austria, had brought up a fresh army just as his father was defeated, but had not dared to use it, Ney bowed to the emperor, and went off, A few minutes later the French assaulted the vil- lage of La Haye Sainte. But at the same time ench troops had to be sent off to the right to head off the epprcechip Prussians. At half-past three La Haye Sainte was in French hands. Ten minutes later the emperor said to Gabriel, in his old, abrupt way: ‘The cay have done nothing. The En. wee are not routed yet. Charge their center, he rest will support you.” | Gabriel looked at the red lines of the British, still unbroken, and would have remonstrated; but the emperor cut him short. ‘It is a choice. Will you charge to win a battle, or cover a retreat? The enemy are coming closer on the right.” Gabriel drew bis sword and saluted. ‘Farewell, sire,” he said. ‘Something tells me we shall never meet again. If I fall, re- member my child,” Then he rode down the slope of Mont St. Jean, and, at four o’clock, twelve thousand cavalry, wave on wave, were charging the British squares, . The old Death’s Heads outdid themselves that day. For hours they charged and charged again, followed by the others. They met the terrible Scotch Grays that had swept the field elsewhere, and the Grays went down. The proud British Life Guards fell before them, and a broke squares of Belgian infantry like smoke. The rest of the cuirassiers followed them and raged up and down the British tine for three mortal hours, but all in vain. ‘1‘e British squares could not be broken, and cw. ceaseless rolling volleys covered the ground with dead men and horses. At last Gabriel Lenoir, pe round, saw only one squadron left of his wkole proud regi-. ment, and before him lay a regiment of High-- landers, in square. He looked round for the rest of the cavalry, and lo, it had vanished from the field, while a hush had come over the whole line near him. The red-coated Highlanders did not seem to notice him, their eyes bent on the valley between Mont St. Jean and their own bill. Thus isolated, with less than a hundred men, in the midst of the enemy, the young man’s eyes followed theirs naturally, and he never’ afterward forget the sight he caw in that. valley. Coming down, in wave on wave of tall black bearskins, in a column half a mile wide, tramped the Old Guard, assaulting the center of the English position, The sun bung low in the west, and he realized that it must be past seven. The cuirassiers had raged over that field for more than three: hours. Then he heard the Highland colonel call out. to his men, who began to wheel into line, and he was sorely tempted to charge them, but. refrained when he saw it would only be a use- less slaughter of brave men. A bundred cuirassiers, be they ever so cannot annihilate an army; and all round him were British forces. He turned his horse and trotted away to meet the Old Guard, while, as: before, the British were so absorbed in the imposing assault of the ag column, that they never noticed his handfu The Death’s Heads trotted off, as steadily as if on parade, and just as they reached the head of the column, the British guns, at short range, opened with grape on the Old Guard, omer: down rank on rank like wheat in a hail-storm. Then the whole hillside seemed to blaze with fire, and with a great cheer, the red lines of the British infantry came down ata charge, while a terrible cry arose in the dark column, Gabriel looked out through the smoke, and saw the Prussian uniforms coming in swarms over the bills, while the whole French army seemed to be giving way. He saw Marshal Ney trying to rally his men; saw the veteransof a hundred battles standing up to their work like heroes one minute, and the next falling back confusedly, Then he heard a voice close to his ear, shout- ing wildly: | ‘Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu! La Garde recule ! C’est temps de mourir.” [My God, my God, the guard yields! It is te emis old Casse Tete, pale an urning, he saw ete, p wild looking, while the little remnant oe hte cuirassiers were turning their horses to flee. That sight roused him, and he shrieked: | ‘* Death's Heads! Death’s Heads! Tome! to me!’ Even in that flood of disaster they heard his Wiles and obeyed him. asi oe 6 saw ac a moment, while it would entail a mer Tm of his men, would ex- ee the Guard from the ruin that impend over 4 ‘Follow me!” he cried, and away went the last handful of the terrible Death’s Head Cuiras- siers, in a frantic charge, right into the teeth of the British Foot Guards, coming down at a run to meet them, There was a short wild rush, at full gallop; a crashing among the bayonets; the thunder of cannon all round the field; the thud of bullets and grapesbot; the shouts of fury and the groans of dying men; and then, something struck Gabriel full in the breast; . reared up and fell on him, stone dead; and the last thing the young man saw, thro his swimming vg was a British guardman falling to the earth while Casse Tete’s sword tad caught in the Englishman’s body, and the cui- nl horse was going over on its head, shot ead, And not a meunted cuirassier was left on the field. The Death’s Heads were annibilated. Then Gabriel fell back, fainting and for breath. A musket bullet, at six feet dis- tance, had gone clear through his body, and all, aud he knew no more of the battle of Waterloo, CHAPTER XLIL AFTER THE BATTLE. WHEN Gabriel Lenoir came to himself it was night, and he lay on his back, looking at the stars, surrounded by dead men, A borrible pain ran through his breast on the "ight side, and he felt as if a very mountain of lead weighed there, so that he could not draw Teath, For a little, so great was the stillness he for- ot where he was, and then it all came back to im. Was the batt lost? Yes it must have been, and if so, he kr wit was ruin to the cause of the emperor. “he guard, beaten, could never be replaced. ‘here was no longer a French army. Then the physical pain and thirst of his Eom Ebooks i (E(@)