Emile Erckmann was born at Phalsbourg, in Alsace, on May 20,
1822, and Alexandre Chatrian, at Soldatenthal, on December 18,
1826. Erckmann, the son of a bookseller, became a law student,
and was admitted to the Bar in 1858. But the law studies were
always uncongenial, and Erckmann meeting Chatrian as a fellow
student in the gymnasium at Phalsbourg, the two young men
decided to join forces in authorship. The Erckmann-Chatrian
partnership lasted from 1860 to 1885, and resulted in a
remarkable series of novels, short stories, plays, and operas.
"Waterloo" was published in 1865, and has enjoyed a wide
popularity in many languages. Like "The Conscript," its
predecessor, the charm of "Waterloo" consists largely in the
character of Joseph Bertha, the young clockmaker of
Phalsbourg, who tells the story. Bertha is a peaceful citizen
who hates war and has no taste for glory. Yet he is nothing of
a coward, and behaves like a man when he is forced to fight.
To the student of history, the light thrown on the rise and
fall of the Bourbon popularity in France, 1813-14, in this
novel, will always be of interest. Chatrian died in Paris on
September 4, 1890, and Erckmann at Luneville, on March 14,
1899.
_I.--Napoleon Returns_
Never was anything so joyous as the spring of 1814 Louis XVIII. was
king, and the war was over. All except the old soldiers were content;
and only when the nobles, who had fled at the Revolution, returned, and
it was said that they were going to bring back all their old ideas, did
M. Goulden express any dissatisfaction. There were great religious
processions everywhere and expiatory services, and talk of rebuilding
all the convents, and setting up the nobles again in their castles. But
these things did not trouble me, because I was married to Catherine, and
knew nothing about politics.
The treatment of the old soldiers enraged me. On the day of the
religious procession at Phalsbourg, half a dozen old veterans, restored
prisoners, were set upon in our town by that rascal Pinacle and the
people of Baraques, and knocked about. Pinacle did this to curry favour
with Louis XVIII., and M. Goulden warned us that if ruffians like
Pinacle got the upper hand it would open people's eyes.
Sure enough, Pinacle received the cross of honour in the autumn when the
Duc de Berry came to review the troops at Phalsbourg, and even Aunt
Grédel, who was fond of abusing Napoleon and the Jacobins, and
applauding the king and the clergy, thought this a shameful thing.
It really was scandalous the way titles and honours were given to
worthless people who shouted for the king. Worse than this was the way
Napoleon's old officers were treated. Men who had fought and bled for
France for twenty years were now well-nigh starving, driven out of the
army to make room for the king's favourites.
We read all this in the "Gazette," and Zébédé, who had come back alive
and in time for my wedding, and was still in the army, would often come
in and tell us of the growing indignation of the soldiers. The whole of
that winter the indignation was spreading in the town at the sight of so
many brave officers, the heroes of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Wagram,
wandering forlornly about, starving on half-pay, and deprived of their
posts.
How well I remember one day in January, 1815, two of these officers,
pale and gaunt, coming into the workshop to sell a watch.
M. Goulden examined the watch with great care and said, "Do not be
offended, gentlemen; I, too, served France under the Republic, and I
know it must cut to the heart to be forced to sell something which
recalls sacred memories."
"It was given me by Prince Eugène," said one of the officers, Commandant
Margarot, a hussar.
"It is worth more than 1,000 francs," said M. Goulden, "and I cannot
afford to buy it. But I will advance you 200 francs, and the watch shall
remain here if you like, and shall be yours whenever you come to reclaim
it."
The old hussar broke down at this, and though his comrade, Colonel
Falconette, tried to restrain him, he poured forth thanks and bitter
words against the government.
From that time it always seemed to me that things would end badly, and
that the nobles had gone too far. The old commandant had said that the
government behaved like Cossacks to the army, and this was horrible.
M. Goulden read the "Gazette" aloud to us every day, and both Catherine
and I were pleased to find there were men in Paris maintaining the very
things we thought ourselves.
All this time the clergy were going on with their processions, and
sermons were being preached about the rebellion of 1790, the restitution
of property to the landowners, and the re-establishment of convents, and
the need for missionaries for the conversion of France. From such ideas
what good could come?
It is no wonder that when a report came early in March that Napoleon had
landed at Cannes and was marching on Paris we were all very agitated at
Phalsbourg.
"It is plain," said M. Goulden, "that the emperor will reach Paris. The
soldiers are for him; so are the peasantry, whose property is
threatened; and so are the middle classes, provided he will make
treaties of peace."
_II.--"Vive l'Empereur!"_
For some days, though all knew Napoleon had set foot in France, no one
dared talk of it aloud. Only the looks of the half-pay officers betrayed
their anxiety. If they had possessed horses and arms I am sure they
would have set out to meet their emperor.
On March 8, Zébédé entered our house and said abruptly, "The two first
batallions are starting."
"They are going to stop him?" said M. Goulden.
"Yes, they'll stop him, that is very likely," Zébédé answered, winking.
At the foot of the stairs he drew me aside and whispered, "Look inside
my cap, Joseph; all the soldiers have got it, too."
Sure enough it was the old tricolour cockade, which had been removed on
the return of Louis XVIII.
At last the papers had to admit that Buonaparte had escaped from Elba.
What a scene it was in the café the night the papers arrived! M. Goulden
and I were hardly seated before the place was filled with people, and it
was so close the windows had to be opened.
Commandant Margarot mounted on a table with other officers all around
him, and began to read the "Gazette" aloud. It took a long time, the
reading, and the people laughed and jeered at the passages that said the
troops were faithful to the king, that Buonaparte was surrounded and
would soon be taken, and that the illustrious Ney and the other marshals
had hastened to place their swords at the service of the king. The
commandant read on firmly in that distinct voice of his until he came to
the order calling upon the French to seize Buonaparte and give him up
dead or alive.
Then his whole face changed and his eyes glittered. He took the
"Gazette" up and tore it into little pieces, and, drawing himself up,
his long arms stretched out, cried, "Vive l'Empereur!" with all his
might. Immediately all the half-pay officers took up the cry, and "Vive
l'Empereur!" was repeated again by the very soldiers posted outside the
town hall when they heard the shout.
The commandant was carried shoulder high round the café, and everyone
was now calling out, "Vive l'Empereur!" I saw the tears in the eyes of
the commandant, tears at hearing the name he loved best acclaimed once
more.
As for me, I felt as if cold water was being forced down my back. "It's
all over," I said to myself. "It's no good talking about peace."
But M. Goulden was more hopeful, and after we got home spoke cheerfully
of the blessings of liberty and a good constitution.
Aunt Grédel did not take this view. She came to see us the morning after
the scene in the café, when all the town was discussing the great news,
and began at once, "So it seems the villain has run away from his
island?"
Both M. Goulden and I were anxious to avoid a dispute, for Aunt Grédel
was really angry, and she couldn't leave the subject.
M. Goulden admitted that he preferred Napoleon to the Bourbons, with
their nobles and missionary priests, because the emperor was bound to
respect the national property, whereas the later would have destroyed
all that the Revolution had accomplished. "Still, I am now, and always
shall be till death, for the Republic and the rights of man," M. Goulden
concluded.
The old gentleman took his hat and went out to escape further argument,
and Aunt Grédel turned to me and told me that M. Goulden was an old fool
and always had been, and that I should have to go to Switzerland now,
unless Buonaparte was taken before he reached Paris.
In the evening, however, when Aunt Grédel had gone, and we three were
together, Catherine said quietly, "M. Goulden is right; he knows more
about these things than my mother does, and we will always listen to his
advice."
I thought to myself, "Yes, that's all very well; but it will be a
horrible thing to have to put on one's knapsack again and be off. I
would rather be in Switzerland than in Leipzig."
Each day now brought news of Napoleon's advance, from Grenoble to Lyons,
from Lyons to Macon and Auxerre. There was no opposition anywhere to his
progress, and the only question that troubled M. Goulden's mind was the
attitude of Ney to the emperor. Could Ney, an old soldier of the
Revolution, though he had kissed the hand of Louis XVIII., betray the
country to please the king? The uneasiness disappeared when we learnt
that Ney had followed the example of the army, the citizens, and of all
who did not wish to go back to the customs and laws of twenty-five years
earlier.
On March 21, just as it was getting dark, we knew that something
decisive must have happened at Paris. The drums were calling to arms in
the market-place, and a great crowd soon assembled.
The soldiers fell into their ranks, Commandant Gémeau, who had only just
recovered from his wounds, drew his sword, and gave the order to form
square.
M. Goulden and I got on a bench to listen; we knew that the fate of
France depended on the message we were to hear.
"Present arms!" called out the commandant in the same clear voice which
had bidden us at Lützen and Leipzig, "Close up your ranks!"
Then came the news we had been waiting for.
"Soldiers, his Majesty Louis XVIII. left Paris on March 20, and the
Emperor Napoleon entered the capital the same day."
For a second there was a dead silence, and then the commandant spoke of
the banner of France, the banner of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Jena,
stained with our blood; and the old sergeant drew out the tattered
tricolour flag from its case.
"I know no other flag!" cried the commandant, raising his sword. "Vive
la France! Vive l'Empereur!"
What a shout there was of "Vive l'Empereur! Vive la France!" at this.
The people and the soldiers embraced one another, and that night and for
the next five or six days there was, if anything, even more rejoicing
than there had been on the return of Louis XVIII. We still hoped for the
continuance of peace, but who could say how long the peace would last?
Phalsbourg was ordered to put itself into a state of defence, a large
workshop was set up at the arsenal for the repairing of arms, and
engineers and artillerymen came over from Metz to make earthworks in the
fortifications. It seemed to me that a large number of men would be
required for all the guns and forts, and that my watchmaking days would
soon be exchanged for active service. I began to think that, after all,
religious processions were better than being sent to fight against
people one knew nothing about.
_III.--On the Road to Waterloo_
Aunt Grédel had not been to see us for a month, and it was a great
comfort to Catherine and me when one Sunday M. Goulden proposed that we
should all three pay her a visit at Quatre Vents. As soon as she saw us,
Aunt Grédel rushed to kiss her daughter, and called out, "You are a good
man, M. Goulden, better a thousand times than I am. How glad I am to see
you! It doesn't matter about being a Jacobin or anything else; the main
thing is to have a good heart."
It was not until the afternoon that M. Goulden explained that he had
known for some days that I should be called up to rejoin my old
regiment, and that he had arranged with the commandant of artillery that
I should be received at the arsenal as a workman. What relief this was
to us, for I could not bear the thought of separation from Catherine. So
from that day I went to work at the arsenal, and Aunt Grédel came to see
us again as she had been accustomed to do.
It can be guessed with what spirit I worked at the arsenal, and how
pleased I was when the commandant expressed satisfaction at my work. But
I was not allowed to stop at Phalsbourg.
On May 23 the commandant told me that I must go to Metz with the 3rd
battalion, to which I belonged. He assured me, however, that I should be
kept at Metz in the workshops, and we all did our best to believe that I
was fortunate in my destination. M. Goulden, however, warned me before I
left that France was threatened by her enemies, that the allies would
make no peace with the emperor, but were determined to set Louis XVIII.
once more on the throne, and that now the question was not of invading
other countries, but of defending our own.
Catherine was asleep when the morning came for my departure, and I was
glad to escape the pain of saying "good-bye." At the barracks, Zébédé,
who was now a sergeant, led me into the soldiers' room, and I put on my
uniform. Then the battalion defiled through the gates, the soldiers at
the outworks presented arms, and we were on the way to Waterloo.
It was useless to think of stopping in Metz. We arrived in that city of
Jews and soldiers after five days' march, and were at once, after our
night's rest, supplied with ammunition. I saw that my only chance of
staying at the workshops of Metz would be after the campaign was over,
for we were on the march the very next morning. Zébédé was not always
with me now, and my closest comrade was Jean Buche, the son of a
sledge-maker at Harberg, who had never eaten anything better than
potatoes before he became a conscript. Buche turned in his feet in
walking, but he never seemed to know the meaning of being tired, and in
his own fashion was a wonderful pedestrian.
From Metz we marched through Thionville, Châtelet, Etain, Dannevoux,
Yong, Vivier, and Cul-de-Sard. All our troops were pouring into
Belgium--cavalry, infantry, and artillery--and though there were no
signs of the enemy, it was reported that we were to attack the English.
I thought as well English as Prussians, Austrians, or Russians, since we
were to kill each other.
On the night of June 14 we bivouacked outside the village of Roly, and
General Pécheux read a proclamation by the emperor, reminding us that
this was the anniversary of Marengo, that the powers were in coalition
against France, and that the hour had come for France to conquer or
perish.
It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm at this message from the
emperor; our courage was stronger, and the conscripts were even more
anxious than the veterans for the fighting to begin.
We were up at daybreak next day and on the march, eager to get a sight
of the Prussians, who had been repulsed from Charleroi by the emperor,
we were told. At the village of Châtelet we halted, and heard the noise
of firing away across the River Sambre, in the direction of Gilly. An
old bald peasant told us that evening that the Prussians had men in the
villages of Fleurus and Lambusart, that the English and Belgians were on
the great Brussels road, and that the causeway through Quatre Bras and
Ligny enabled the Prussians and English to communicate freely with each
other. He also told us that the Prussians said insulting things of the
French army, and were generally hated by the people. When I heard of the
way the Prussians boasted, my blood boiled, and I said to myself, "There
shall be no more compassion. Either they or we must be utterly
destroyed."
I can recall with what splendour the sun rose next morning above a
cornfield--it was the morning of the battle of Ligny. Zébédé and one or
two comrades whom I had known in 1813 came and chattered while we lit
our fires. We could see the Prussians before us, posting themselves
behind hedges and walls, and preparing to defend the villages, and all
the time we were kept roasting in the corn, waiting for the signal to
attack. The emperor arrived, and held a short conference with the
superior officers, and I saw him at close quarters before he rode off
again to the village of Fleurus, already vacated by the Prussians.
And still we waited, though we knew the attack on St. Amand had begun.
At last came our turn to advance on Ligny. "Forward! Forward!" cried the
officers. "Vive l'Empereur!" we shouted. The Prussian bullets whizzed
like hail upon us, and then we could see or hear nothing till we were in
the village.
No quarter was given that day; we fought in houses and gardens, in barns
and lanes, with muskets and bayonets. Those who fell were lost. At one
time fifteen of us were in possession of a barn, and the Prussians, for
a time outnumbering us, drove us up a ladder. They fired up at our
floor, and finally, when it seemed we were lost, and were all to be
massacred we heard the shout of "Vive l'Empereur!" and the Prussians
fled. Out of that fifteen only six were left alive, but Zébédé and Buche
were among the survivors.
The battle still raged in the village streets, dead and dying were
everywhere. Towards nightfall it was plain we were the victors; Ligny
and St. Amand were in our hands, and the Prussians had moved away. On
the plateau behind Ligny, where our cavalry had been at work, the
slaughter had been terrible.
The dozen or so remaining of our company rested for a few hours that
night in the ruins of a farmhouse, and next day came the roll-call of
our battalion, and the sending off of the wounded. More than 360 of our
men, including Commandant Gémeau and Captain Vidal, were disabled, and
we were busy all day over the wounded.
It was wet and muddy that evening, and we were hungry and dispirited
when we reached Quatre Bras, about eight o'clock. We were not allowed to
halt here, but marched on to a village called Jemappes, and at midnight
we settled down in a furrow to wait for morning.
The red coats of the English were visible before us when we awoke next
morning; behind their lines was the village of Mont St. Jean, and they
had also the farmhouses of La Haie-Sainte and Hougomont. At six o'clock
I looked at their position, with Zébédé, Captain Florentin, and Buche,
and it seemed to me it was a difficult task before us. It was Sunday,
and I could hear the bells of villages, recalling Phalsbourg. But in a
very little while we heard no more bells, for at half-past eight our
battalion was on its way to the high road in front, and the battle of
Waterloo had begun.
_IV.--The Hour of Disaster_
I have often heard veterans describe the order of battle given by the
emperor. But all I remember of that terrible day is that we marched out
with the bands playing, that we got to close quarters with the English,
were repulsed, and were assisted by regiments of cuirassiers, that we
carried La Haie-Sainte with terrible slaughter at Ney's command.
Hougomont we could not carry. When we thought we were winning, the news
was spread that Blücher, with 60,000 men, was advancing on our flank,
and that unless Grouchy, with his 30,000, arrived in time to reinforce
us the day might be lost.
All the world knows now that Grouchy did not arrive, that we threw
ourselves again and again upon the English squares, and that at last,
when regiment after regiment had tried in vain to break the enemy's
line, the Old Guard were called up by the emperor. It was the last
chance of retrieving the day, the grand stroke--and it failed.
The four battalions of the Guards, reduced from 3,000 to 1,200 men, were
assailed by so fierce a fire that they were compelled to retire. They
retired slowly, defending themselves with muskets and bayonets, but with
their retirement, and the approach of night, the battle ended for us in
the confusion of a rout. It was like a flood. We were surrounded on all
sides when Blücher arrived. The Old Guard formed a square for the
emperor and his officers, and the rest of us simply straggled away, back
to France. The most awful thing of all was the beating of the drum of
the Old Guard in that hour of disaster. It was like a fire-bell, the
last appeal of a burning nation.
Buche was by my side in the retreat. Several times the Prussians
attacked us. We heard that the emperor had departed for Paris, and we
struggled on, only hoping to escape with our lives. At Charleroi the
inhabitants shut the city gates in our face, and Buche shared in the
general rage, and proposed to destroy the town. But I thought we had had
enough massacres, and that it was not right we should be killing our own
countrymen, and I persuaded Buche to come on with me.
In a few days we felt ourselves safe from pursuing Prussians, and at the
village of Bouvigny I wrote a letter to Catherine, telling her I was
safe. In this village some officers of our regiment, the 6th of the
Line, found us, and we had to rejoin. Presently we saw all that was left
of Grouchy's army corps in retreat, and a day or two later we heard of
the emperor's abdication. On July 1, we reached Paris, and outside the
city, near the village of Issy, we once more fell in with the Prussians;
for two days we fought them with fury, and then some generals announced
that peace had been made.
We believed that this truce was to give the enemy time to leave the
country, and that otherwise France would rise, as it rose in '92, and
drive them out.
Unhappily, we soon learnt that the Prussians and English were to occupy
Paris, and that the remains of the French army were to be kept beyond
the Loire. We all felt that we had been betrayed, and the old officers,
pale with anger, wept in their misery. Paris in the hands of the
Prussians! Besides, were we to go to the other side of the Loire at the
command of Blücher?
Desertions began that very day, and I said to Buche, "Let us return to
Phalsbourg and Harberg, and take up our work, and live like honest men."
About fifty of us from Alsace-Lorraine were in the battalion, and we set
off together on the road to Strasbourg.
On July 8 we heard that Louis XVIII. was to come back, and already the
white banner of the Bourbons was being displayed in the villages.
In some places there were rascals who called us Buonapartists, and
gendarmes who took us to the town hall and made us shout "Vive le Roi!"
Buche and some of the old soldiers hated this; but what did it matter
who was king, and what these fools wanted us to shout?
Our little company got smaller and smaller as men halted in their own
villages, and when, on July 16, we reached Phalsbourg, Buche and I were
alone.
Buche went on to break the news of my return, but I could not wait, and
ran after him.
I heard people saying, "There's Joseph, Bertha," and in a moment I was
in the house, and in Catherine's arms. Then I embraced M. Goulden, and
an hour later Aunt Grédel arrived.
Jean Buche would not stay and dine with us, but hurried home to Harberg.
I have often seen him since; and Zébédé, too, who remained in the army.
Many insulting things were said about us by the Pinacles, but I had
happiness in my family circle, especially when Catherine presented me
with a little Joseph.
I am an old man now, but M. Goulden always said the principles of
freedom and liberty would triumph, and I have lived long enough to see
his words come true.
* * * * *