A VICTORIOUS DEFEAT
The first effect of the unexpected check they had received was to
discourage the besiegers; and they seemed to realize that they could
never gain possession of the town except by dealing with the remaining
resources of resistance one by one, and thus making each of them
unavailable. For three days they made no fresh assault; but all their
batteries were kept in play, and all their mines were working without
rest or intermission. The men who defended the place, seemingly endowed
with more than human energy and courage, appeared to be invincible; the
Spaniards assailed the walls, and found them less solid than the breasts
of those who manned them. The towers crumbled; the trenches were filled
with the debris; and the fortifications were levelled, bit by bit.
At last, four days after the abortive night attack, the Spaniards once
more hazarded an assault. It was the eighth and last day of the allotted
time. If the attack of the enemy was unsuccessful once more, Gabriel
would have saved his father as well as the town; if not, all his trouble
and all his labor had been thrown away, and the old man, Diane, and
himself would be all lost.
Therefore it can well be imagined that it would be more than impossible
to describe the superhuman, god-like valor and courage displayed by him
on that day of days. One would hardly have believed that so much
strength and untiring vigor could exist in the soul and body of one man.
He saw not danger or death, but thought only of his father and his
betrothed; and he hurled himself against the pikes, and moved hither and
thither amid the thickly flying cannon-balls and bullets as if he were
invulnerable. A piece of stone struck him in the side, and a lance-head
in the face; but he felt not the wounds. He seemed intoxicated with
daring; he ran to and fro, waving his sword, and encouraging his men not
only with his words, but by his example. He was to be seen wherever the
peril was most imminent. As the soul gives life to the whole body, so
did he to the whole town. He was in himself ten men, twenty,--yes, a
hundred; and yet in his superb exaltation his coolness and
clear-headedness never failed him. With a glance swifter than light he
saw where danger threatened, and was on the spot in the twinkling of an
eye; and when the assailants fell back, and our brave fellows,
electrified by his contagious gallantry, had clearly regained the
advantage, like a flash Gabriel was off to some other threatened point,
and began again his heroic work, an utter stranger to weariness or
weakness.
This lasted six hours, from one o'clock to seven.
At seven it grew dark; and the Spaniards fell back on all sides. Behind
a few crumbling pieces of stone-work, with a few fragments of towers and
a handful of exhausted and wounded soldiers, St. Quentin had again added
one day more, several days, it might be, to the record of her glorious
resistance.
When the last man of the enemy had left the last of the points of
assault, Gabriel fell back into the arms of those who were near him,
utterly worn out with fatigue and with joy.
They bore him in triumph to the town-hall.
His wounds were but slight, and his swoon could not be of long duration.
When he regained his senses, Admiral de Coligny was at his side, his
face radiant with pleasure.
"Monsieur l'Amiral," were Gabriel's first words, "it's not a dream, is
it? There has been a fierce assault to-day, which we succeeded in
repelling?"
"Yes, my friend, and thanks to you in great measure," replied Gaspard.
"And the week that the king allotted me has passed!" cried Gabriel. "Oh,
thank God! thank God!"
"And to complete your satisfaction, my dear fellow," rejoined the
admiral, "I bring you some glorious news. Under cover of our obstinate
defence of St. Quentin, the preparations for the defence of the whole
kingdom have apparently been perfected; one of my spies, who succeeded
in seeing the constable and entering the town again during the confusion
to-day, has given me every reason to hope for the best in that regard.
Monsieur de Guise has arrived at Paris with the Italian army, and in
concert with the Cardinal de Lorraine, is engaged in raising men, and
putting towns in a posture of defence. St. Quentin, in her dismantled
and depopulated condition, could not beat back another assault; but her
work and ours is done, and France is saved, my friend. Yes, behind our
faithful ramparts every one is under arms: the nobility and all the
orders of the State have arisen; recruits abound; the free gifts from
the clergy are pouring in; and two troops of German auxiliaries have
been retained. When the enemy shall have made an end of us, and that
cannot now be long delayed unfortunately, he will at least find others
ready to challenge him. France is saved, Gabriel!"
"Ah, Monsieur l'Amiral, you cannot imagine how much good you have done
me," Gabriel responded. "But allow me to ask one question; it is from no
vain feeling of conceit that I ask it; you know me too well now to
believe that. No, there is beneath my question a very serious and very
deep meaning, believe me. Monsieur l'Amiral, in two words, do you think
that my presence here during the last week has counted for anything in
the fortunate result of the siege of St. Quentin?"
"For everything, my friend, for everything!" the admiral replied with
generous frankness. "The day of your arrival you saw yourself that
except for your unexpected intervention I should have yielded; that my
courage was giving way under the terrible weight of responsibility with
which my conscience was burdened; and that I should then have delivered
to the Spaniard the keys of this city with which the king had intrusted
me. The next day did you not succeed in carrying out your undertaking of
throwing reinforcements into the town,--weak reinforcements, to be sure,
but sufficient nevertheless to rekindle the courage of the besieged? I
say nothing of the sagacious advice which you gave to our miners and
engineers. I say nothing of the superb gallantry which you have
displayed all the time and at all points during every assault. But who
almost miraculously saved the town from being surprised by a night
attack four days since? And this very day, who, with unheard-of temerity
and success, succeeded in prolonging still farther a resistance which I
confess I believed to be impossible? You, always you, my friend, who,
being everywhere present and unfailingly ready at every corner of the
fortifications, seemed in very truth to have acquired the angels' gift
of ubiquity; so that our soldiers know no other name for you than
Captain _Five-Hundred_, Gabriel, I say to you with sincere delight and
profound gratitude that you are the first and sole deliverer of this
town, and consequently of France."
"Oh, many, many thanks, Monsieur l'Amiral, for your too kind and
flattering words! But pardon me! are you willing to repeat them in his
Majesty's presence?"
"It is not my wish simply, my friend," the admiral replied; "it is my
duty; and you know that Gaspard de Coligny never proves recreant to his
duty."
"What good fortune!" said Gabriel; "and what do I not owe you for it,
Monsieur l'Amiral? But are you willing to make my obligation still
greater? Say nothing to any one, I beseech you, not even to Monsieur le
Connétable, in fact, to any one rather than to him, of what I have been
able to do to assist you in your glorious task. Let the king alone know
it. His Majesty will see from that I was influenced by no thirst
for glory or for reputation, but only by my wish to keep a promise I
made to him; and it lies in his power to give me, if he chooses, a
reward a thousand times more precious in my sight than all the honors
and dignities of his realm. Yes, Monsieur l'Amiral, let this reward but
be bestowed upon me, and Henri's debt to me, if debt there be, will be
paid a hundred times over."
"It should be a magnificent recompense, then," rejoined the admiral.
"God grant that the king's gratitude may not disappoint you! However, I
will do as you wish, Gabriel; and although it costs me a pang to keep
silent as to your deserts, since you ask me, I will say nothing."
"Ah!" cried Gabriel, "what a long and weary time it has been since I
have felt such peace as reigns in my heart at this moment! How pleasant
it is to be able to hope and believe, even though it be but a little, in
the future! Now I will go upon the walls and fight with a light heart,
and it seems as if I should be unconquerable. Can it be that iron or
lead will dare to wound a man in whose heart hope is born?"
"Do not rely too much upon that, my friend, I pray you!" said Coligny,
smiling. "For I can already say to you without hesitation that you are
deceived by your conviction of victory. The town is almost entirely open
on all sides; a few cannon-balls will soon level the last fragments of
her walls and her towers. More than that, we have scarcely one
able-bodied man left; and the troops who have so gallantly supplied the
place of fortifications hitherto are now in their turn lacking. The next
assault will make the enemy masters of the place; and we must cherish no
delusions in that direction."
"But may it not be that Monsieur de Guise will send us reinforcements
from Paris?" asked Gabriel.
"Monsieur de Guise," Gaspard answered, "will not expose his precious
forces for the sake of a town three quarters taken; and he will be quite
right. Let him keep his men in the heart of France, for there they are
most needed. St. Quentin is sacrificed. The expiatory victim has
struggled long enough, thank God! and it only remains for her to fall
nobly; and in that we will try still to help her, will we not, Gabriel?
We must make the triumph of the Spaniard before St. Quentin cost him
more than a defeat. We will fight no longer for our own salvation, but
for the sake of fighting."
"Yes, yes, for pleasure, for sport!" said Gabriel, joyfully,--"a hero's
pleasure, Monsieur l'Amiral, and sport worthy of you! Well, then, so be
it! let us amuse ourselves by holding the town two or three or four days
more, if we can. Let us hold Philip II., Philibert Emmanuel, Spain,
England, and Flanders all in check before a few pieces of crumbling
stone. It will be a little more time gained for Monsieur de Guise, and
an entertaining spectacle for us. What do you say?"
"I say, my friend, that your pleasantry is sublime, and that there is
glory hidden in your jokes."
The event justified the hope of Gabriel and Coligny. In fact, Philip II.
and his general, Philibert Emmanuel, being furiously indignant at being
delayed so long before one town, and at having already made ten
fruitless assaults, determined not to hazard an eleventh without being
assured of success. As they had done before, they allowed three days to
pass without an assault, and made use of their batteries instead of
their soldiers, since it had been abundantly proved that in that heroic
town the walls were not so enduring and steadfast as the hearts of its
defenders. The admiral and Vicomte d'Exmès spent the three days in
having the damage inflicted by the batteries and mines repaired as fast
as possible by their workmen; but unfortunately arms were wanting. On
the 26th of August, at noon, not a single section of the walls remained
standing. The houses were left without protection, as in an open town,
and the soldiers were so few that they could not even form a single line
at the principal posts.
Gabriel himself had to admit this; and before the signal for the assault
was given,--the town was apparently at the besiegers' mercy.
At all events it was not taken at the breach defended by Gabriel. With
him there were Monsieur du Breuil and Jean Peuquoy; and all three fought
so well, and showed such marvellous prowess, that they drove back the
assailants three times. Gabriel, above all, gave himself up to the work
with a joyous heart; and Jean Peuquoy was so astounded at the mighty
blows of the sword which he saw him dealing to right and left that he
came very near being killed himself in his openmouthed admiration, and
Gabriel was compelled on two different occasions to save his admirer's
life.
So the worthy bourgeois swore upon the spot an everlasting worship and
devotion for the viscount. He even exclaimed in his enthusiasm that he
regretted his native town a little less because he should have another
attachment to cherish; and that although it was true that St. Quentin
had given him his life, Vicomte d'Exmès had preserved it for him!
Nevertheless, despite his noble efforts, the town absolutely could hold
out no longer; the ramparts were no more than one unbroken breach; and
Gabriel, Du Breuil, and Jean Peuquoy were still fighting away, while the
streets behind them were filled with the enemy, who had gained
possession of the town.
But the gallant little city had nobly held out for seventeen days, and
had successfully resisted eleven assaults.
Twelve days had passed since Gabriel's arrival; and he had surpassed the
terms of his promise to the king by twice forty-eight hours!