What a contrast to the scene without the walls did the city of Vittoria
present! Scarcely had we left behind us the measured tread of moving
battalions, the dark columns of winding cavalry, when we entered streets
brilliantly lighted. Gorgeous and showy equipages turned everywhere;
music resounded on all sides; servants in splendid liveries made way
for ladies in all the elegance of evening dress, enjoying the delicious
coolness of a southern climate at sunset; groups of officers in full
uniform chatted with their fair friends from the balconies of the large
majestic houses; the sounds of gaiety and mirth were heard from every
open lattice, and the chink of the castanet and the proud step of the
fandango echoed around us.
Women, dressed in all the perfection of Parisian coquetry, loitered
along the streets, wondering at the strange sights the Spanish city
afforded--themselves scarcely less objects of wonder to the dark-eyed
senoras, who, with close-drawn mantillas, peered cautiously around them
to see the strangers. Young French officers swaggered boastfully about
with the air of conquerors, while now and then some tall and swarthy
Spaniard might be seen lowering with gloomy frown from under the broad
shadow of his sombrero, as if doubting the evidence of his own senses at
seeing his native city in the occupation of the usurper.
In the open plazas, too, the soldiers were picketed, and stood in
parties around their fires, or lay stretched on the rich tapestries they
had carried away as spoils from the southern provinces. Cups and goblets
of the rarest handiwork and of the most costly materials were strewn
about them. The vessels of the churches; the rich cloths of gold
embroidery that had decorated the altars; pictures, the _chefs-d'oeuvre_
of the first masters--all were there, in one confused heap, among
baskets of fruit, wine-skins, ancient armour, and modern weapons. From
time to time some brilliant staff would pass, usually accompanied by
ladies, who seemed strangely mixed up with all the military display of
the scene.
My guide, after conversing for a few moments with a _sous-officier_
of his regiment, turned from the Plaza into a narrow street, the
termination to which was formed by a large building now brilliantly lit
up. As we approached, I perceived that two sentries were on guard at the
narrow gate, and a large banner, with the imperial 'N' in the centre,
waved heavily over the entrance. 'This is _le quartier général,_ said
the corporal, dropping his voice respectfully, as we drew near. At
the same instant a young officer, whose long plume bespoke him as an
aide-de-camp, pushed past us; but, turning hastily round, said something
I could not catch to the corporal. 'Bien, mon lieutenant,' said the
latter, carrying his hand to his shako. 'Follow me, monsieur,' said the
officer, addressing me, and the next moment I found myself in a large
and richly furnished room, when having motioned me to be seated, he left
me.
My meditations, such as they were, were not suffered to be long, for in
a few seconds the aide-de-camp made his appearance, and with a low bow
requested me to accompany him.
'The general will receive you at once,' said he.
I eagerly asked his name.
'Le Général Oudinot.'
'Ah, the Marshal?'
'No; his brother. I perceive you are a young soldier; so let me give
you a hint. Don't mind his manner; “c'est un brave homme” at bottom,
but'--the loud burst of laughter from a room at the end of the corridor
drowned the conclusion of his speech, and before I had time for another
question the door opened, and I was introduced.
In a small but richly furnished chamber sat four officers round a table
covered with a magnificent display of silver cups and plate, and upon
which a dessert was spread, with flasks of French and Spanish wine, and
a salver holding cigars; a book, apparently an orderly book, was before
them, from which one of the party was reading as I came in. As the
aide-de-camp announced me they all looked up, and the general, for
I knew him at once, fixing his eyes steadily on me, desired me to
approach.
As I obeyed his not very courteous order, I had time to perceive that
the figure before me was that of a stout, square-built man of about
fifty-five or sixty. His head was bald; his eyebrows, of a bushy grey,
were large and meeting. A moustache of the same grizzly appearance
shaded his lip, and served to conceal two projecting teeth, which, when
he spoke, displayed themselves like boar's tusks, giving a peculiarly
savage expression to his dark and swarthy countenance. The loose sleeve
of his coat denoted that he had lost his left arm high up; but whenever
excited, I could see that the short stump of the amputated limb jerked
convulsively in a manner it was painful to look at.
'What, a deserter! a spy! Eh, what is it, Alphonse?'
The aide-de-camp, blushing, whispered some few words rapidly, and the
general resumed--
'Ha! Be seated, monsieur.' The officers of the imperial army know how to
treat their prisoners; though, _pardieu_, they can't teach their enemies
the lesson! You have floating prisons, they tell me, in England, where
my poor countrymen die of disease and starvation. _Sacré Dieu!_ what
cruelty!'
'You have been misinformed, General. The nation I belong to is uniformly
humane to all whom chance of war has made its prisoners, and never
forgets that the officers of an army are gentlemen.'
'Ha! what do you mean?' said he, becoming dark with passion, as he half
rose from his seat; then, stopping suddenly short, he continued in a
voice of suppressed anger, 'Where are your troops? What number of men
has your Villainton got with him?'
'Of course,' said I, smiling, 'you do not expect me to answer such
questions.'
'Do you refuse it?' said he, with a grim smile.
'I do distinctly refuse,' was my answer.
'What rank do you hold in your service?'
'I am but a subaltern.'
'_Tenez!_' said another of the party, who for some time past had been
leisurely conning over the despatches which had been taken from me, 'You
are called “capitaine” here, monsieur.'
'Ha! ha! What say you to that?' cried the general exultingly. 'Read it,
Chamont.'
'“The despatches which Captain Airey will deliver----”
Is it not so?' said he, handing me the paper.
'Yes,' said I coolly; 'he is the senior aide-de-camp; but being employed
on General Graham's staff, now occupied in the pursuit of your army----'
'_Mille tonnerres!_ Young man, you have chosen an unsuitable place to
cut your jokes!'
'Sa Majesté le Roi,' said an aide-de-camp, entering hastily, and
throwing the door open to its full extent; and scarcely had the party
time to rise when the Emperor's brother appeared.
Of the middle size, pale, and with a thoughtful, expressive countenance,
Joseph Bonaparte's appearance was much in his favour. His forehead was
lofty and expansive, his eye large and full, and the sweet smile
which seemed the gift of every member of the family he possessed in
perfection. After a few words with General Oudinot, whose rough manner
and coarse bearing suffered no change by his presence, he turned towards
me, and with much mildness of voice and courtesy of demeanour inquired
if I were wounded. On hearing that I was not, he expressed a hope that
my captivity would be of brief duration, as exchanges were already in
progress. 'Meanwhile,' said he, 'you shall have as little to complain of
as possible.'
As he concluded these few but to me most comforting words, I received a
hint from the aide-de-camp to withdraw, which I did, into an adjoining
room. The same aide-de-camp by whom I had hitherto been accompanied now
joined me, and, slapping me familiarly on the shoulder, cried out--
'_Eh, bien!_ I hope now you are satisfied. Joseph is a fine, generous
fellow, and will take care not to forget his promise to you. Meanwhile,
come and take a share of my supper.'
He opened a door in the wainscot as he spoke, and introduced me into a
perfectly-fitted-up little boudoir, where a supper had been laid out
for him. Another cover was soon provided for me, and in a few minutes
we were seated at table, chatting away about the war and the opposing
armies, as though instead of partisans we had merely been lookers-on at
the great game before us. My companion, though but a year or two older
than myself, held the grade of colonel, every step to which he won at
the point of his sword; he was strikingly handsome, and his figure,
though slight, powerfully knit. As the champagne passed back and forward
between us, confidences became interchanged, and before midnight sounded
I found my companion quite familiar with the name of Louisa Bellew,
while to my equal astonishment I was on terms of perfect intimacy with
a certain lovely marquise of the Chaussée d'Antin. The tinkle of a sharp
bell suddenly called the aide-de-camp to his legs; so drinking off a
large goblet of cold water, and taking up his chapeau, he left the room.
I now threw myself back into my chair, and, tossing off a bumper of
champagne, began to reason myself into the belief that there were worse
things even than imprisonment among the French. Flitting thoughts of the
past, vague dreams of the future, confused images of the present, were
all dancing through my brain, when the door again opened, and I heard my
companion's footsteps behind me.
'Do you know, Alphonse,' said I, without turning in my chair, 'I have
been seriously thinking of making my escape? It is quite clear that a
battle is not far off; and, by Jove! if I only have the good fortune to
meet with your _chef d état major_, that savage old Oudinot, I'll pledge
myself to clear off scores with him.'
A half chuckle of laughter behind induced me to continue:--
'That old fellow certainly must have risen from the ranks--not a touch
of breeding about him. I'm certain his Majesty rated him soundly for his
treatment of me, when I came away. I saw his old moustaches bristling
up; he knew he was in for it.'
A louder laugh than at first, but in somewhat of a different cadence,
induced me to torn my head, when what was my horror to see before me,
not my new friend the aide-de-camp, but General Oudinot himself, who
all this time had been listening to my polite observations regarding his
future welfare! There was a savage exultation in his look as his eye met
mine, and for a second or two he seemed to enjoy my confusion too much
to permit him to break silence. At last he said--
'Are you on parole, sir?'
'No,' I briefly replied, 'nor shall I be.'
'What, have I heard you aright? Do you refuse your parole?'
'Yes; I shall not pledge myself against attempting my escape the very
first opportunity that offers.'
'Indeed,' said he slowly, 'indeed! What is to become of poor General
Oudinot if such a casualty take place? But come, sir, I have his
Majesty's orders to accept your parole; if you refuse it, you are then
at _my_ disposal. I have received no other instructions about you. Yes
or no--I ask you for the last time.'
'No! distinctly no!'
'C'est bien; holla, garde! numéro dix et onze.'
Two soldiers of the grenadiers, with fixed bayonets, appeared at the
door; a few hurried words were spoken, the only part of which I could
catch was the word _cachot_ I was at once ordered to rise; a soldier
walked on either side of me, and I was in this way conducted through
the city to the prison of the gendarmerie, where for the night I was
to remain, with orders to forward me the next morning at daybreak, with
some Spanish prisoners, on the road to Bayonne.