All General Masséna’s wise counsels, and my own steady resolves to
profit by them, were so far thrown away, that, on our arrival at
Abensberg, we found that the Emperor had left it four hours before, and
pushed on to Ebersfield, a village about five leagues to the eastward.
A despatch, however, awaited Masséna, telling him to push forward with
Oudinot’s corps to Neustadt, and, with his own division, which comprised
the whole French right, to manoeuvre so as to menace the archduke’s base
upon the Iser.
Let my reader not fear that I am about to inflict on him a story of the
great campaign itself, nor compel him to seek refuge in a map from
the terrible array of hard names of towns and villages for which that
district is famous. It is enough for my purpose that I recall to his
memory the striking fact, that when the French sought victory by turning
and defeating the Austrian left, the Austrians were exactly in march to
execute a similar movement on the French left wing. Napoleon, however,
gave the first ‘check,’ and ‘mated’ his adversary ere he could open his
game. By the almost lightning speed of his manouvres, he moved forward
from Ratisbon with the great bulk of his army; and at the very time that
the archduke believed him to be awaiting battle around that city, he was
far on his march to Landshut.
General Masséna was taking a hurried cup of coffee, and dictating a few
lines to his secretary, when a dragoon officer galloped into the town
with a second despatch, which, whatever its contents, must needs have
been momentous, for in a few minutes the drums were beating and trumpets
sounding, and all the stirring signs of an immediate movement visible.
It was yet an hour before daybreak, and dark as midnight; torches,
however, blazed everywhere, and by their flaring light the artillery
trains and waggons drove through the narrow street of the village,
shaking the frail old houses with their rude trot. Even in a retreating
army, I have scarcely witnessed such a spectacle of uproar, confusion,
and chaos; but still, in less than an hour the troops had all defiled
from the town, the advanced guard was already some miles on its way,
and, except a small escort of lancers before the little inn where the
general still remained, there was not a soldier to be seen. It may seem
absurd to say it, but I must confess that my eagerness to know what was
‘going on’ in front was divided by a feeling of painful uneasiness at my
ridiculous dress, and the shame I experienced at the glances bestowed on
me by the soldiers of the escort. It was no time, however, to speak of
myself or attend to my own fortunes, and I loitered about the court of
the inn wondering if, in the midst of such stirring events, the general
would chance to remember me. If I had but a frock and a shako, thought
I, I could make my way. It is this confounded velvet jacket and this
absurd and tapering hat will be my ruin. If I were to charge a battery,
I’d only look like a merry-andrew after all; men will not respect what
is only laughable. Perhaps after all, thought I, it matters little;
doubtless Masséna has forgotten me, and I shall be left behind like a
broken limber. At one time I blamed myself for not pushing on with some
detachment--at another I half resolved to put a bold face on it, and
present myself before the general; and between regrets for the past and
doubts for the future, I at last worked myself up to a state of anxiety
little short of fever.
While I walked to and fro in this distracted mood, I perceived, by the
bustle within-doors, that the general was about to depart; at the
same time several dismounted dragoons appeared leading saddle-horses,
tightening girths, and adjusting curb-chains--all tokens of a start.
While I looked on these preparations, I heard the clatter of a horse’s
hoofs close behind, and the spluttering noise of a struggle. I turned
and saw it was the general himself, who had just mounted his charger,
but before catching his right stirrup the horse had plunged, and was
dragging the orderly across the court by the bridle. Seeing, in an
instant, that the soldier’s effort to hold on was only depriving General
Masséna of all command of the horse, who must probably have fallen on
his flank, I jumped forward, caught the stirrup, and slipped it over
the general’s foot, and then, with a sharp blow on the soldier’s wrist,
compelled him to relax his grasp. So suddenly were the two movements
effected, that in less time than I take to relate it, all was over, and
the general, who, for a heavy man, was a good rider, was fast seated
in his saddle. I had now no time, however, to bestow on him, for the
dragoon, stung by the insult of a blow, and from a peasant, as he deemed
it, rushed at me with his sabre.
‘_Halte-là!_, cried Masséna in a voice of thunder; ‘it was that country
fellow saved me from a broken bone, which your infernal awkwardness
might have given me. Throw him a couple of florins for me,’ cried he to
his aide-de-camp, who just rode in; ‘and do you, sir, join your ranks; I
must look for another orderly.’
‘I am right glad to have been in the way, general,’ said I, springing
forward, and touching my hat.
‘What, Tiernay--this you?’ cried he. ‘How is this? have I forgotten you
all this time? What’s to be done now? You ought to have gone on with the
rest, monsieur. You should have volunteered with some corps, eh?’
‘I hoped to have been attached to yourself, general. I thought I could
perhaps have made myself useful.’
‘Yes, yes, very true; so you might, I’ve no doubt; but my staff is
full--I ‘ve no vacancy. What’s to be done now? Lestocque, have we any
spare cattle?’
‘Yes, general; we’ve your own eight horses, and two of Gambronne’s.’
‘Ah, poor fellow, he ‘ll not want them more. I suppose Tiernay may as
well take one of them, at least.’
‘There’s an undress uniform, too, of Cambronne’s would fit Monsieur
de Tiernay,’ said the officer, who, I saw, had no fancy for my motley
costume alongside of him.
‘Oh, Tiernay doesn’t care for that; he’s too old a soldier to bestow a
thought upon the colour of his jacket,’ said Masséna.
‘Pardon me, general, but it is exactly one of my weaknesses; and I feel
that until I get rid of these trappings I shall never feel myself a
soldier.’
‘I thought you had been made of other stuff,’ muttered the general, ‘and
particularly since there’s like to be little love-making in the present
campaign.’ And with that he rode forward, leaving me to follow when I
could.
‘These are Cambronne’s keys,’ said Lestocque, ‘and you’ll find enough
for your present wants in the saddlebags. Take the grey, he’s the better
horse, and come up with us as fast as you can.’
I saw that I had forfeited something of General Masséna’s good opinion
by my dandyism; but I was consoled in a measure for the loss, as I saw
the price at which I bought the forfeiture. The young officer, who had
fallen three days before, and was a nephew of the General Gambronne, was
a lieutenant in Murat’s celebrated corps, the Lancers of ‘Berg,’ whose
uniform was the handsomest in the French army. Even the undress scarlet
frock and small silver helmet were more splendid than many full parade
uniforms; and as I attired myself in these brilliant trappings, I
secretly vowed that the Austrians should see them in some conspicuous
position ere a month was over. If I had but one sigh for the poor fellow
to whose _galanterie_ I succeeded, I had many a smile for myself as I
passed and repassed before the glass, adjusting a belt, or training an
aigrette to fall more gracefully. While thus occupied, I felt something
heavy clink against my leg, and opening the sabretache, discovered a
purse containing upwards of forty golden Napoleons and some silver. It
was a singular way to succeed to a ‘heritage’ I thought, but, with the
firm resolve to make honest restitution, I replaced the money where
I found it, and descended the stairs, my sabre jingling and my spurs
clanking, to the infinite admiration of the hostess and her handmaiden,
who looked on my transformation as a veritable piece of magic.
I’m sure Napoleon himself had not framed one-half as many plans for that
campaign as I did while I rode along. By a close study of the map,
and the aid of all the oral information in my power, I had at length
obtained a tolerably accurate notion of the country; and I saw, or I
thought I saw, at least, half-a-dozen distinct ways of annihilating
the Austrians. I have often since felt shame, even to myself, at the
effrontery with which I discussed the great manoeuvres going forward,
and the unblushing coolness with which I proffered my opinions and
my criticisms; and I really believe that General Masséna tolerated my
boldness rather for the amusement it afforded him than from any other
cause.
‘Well, Tiernay,’ said he, as a fresh order reached him, with the
most pressing injunction to hurry forward, ‘we are to move at once on
Moosburg--what does that portend?’
‘Sharp work, general,’ replied I, not noticing the sly malice of the
question; the Austrians are there in force.’
‘So your grenadiers say so?’ asked he sarcastically.
‘Nor general; but as the base of the operations is the Iser, they must
needs guard all the bridges over the river, as well as protect the
highroad to Vienna by Landshut.’
‘But you forget that Landshut is a good eight leagues from that!’ said
he, with a laugh.
‘They’ll have to fall back there, nevertheless,’ said I coolly, ‘or they
suffer themselves to be cut off from their own centre.’
‘Would you believe it,’ whispered Masséna to a colonel at his side, ‘the
fellow has just guessed our intended movement?’
Low as he spoke, my quick ears caught the words, and my heart thumped
with delight as I heard them. This was the Emperor’s strategy--Masséna
was to fall impetuously on the enemy’s left at Moosburg, and drive them
to a retreat on Landshut; when, at the moment of the confusion and
disorder, they were to be attacked by Napoleon himself, with a vastly
superior force. The game opened even sooner than expected, and a few
minutes after the conversation I have reported, our tirailleurs were
exchanging shots with the enemy. These sounds, however, were soon
drowned in the louder din of artillery, which thundered away at both
sides till nightfall. It was a strange species of engagement, for we
continued to march on the entire time, the enemy as steadily retiring
before us, while the incessant cannonade never ceased.
Although frequently sent to the front with orders, I saw nothing of the
Austrians; a low line of bluish smoke towards the horizon, now and then
flashing into flame, denoted their position, and as we were about as
invisible to them, a less exciting kind of warfare would be difficult
to conceive. Neither was the destruction important; many of the Austrian
shot were buried in the deep clay in our front; and considering the
time, and the number of pieces in action, our loss was insignificant.
Soldiers, if they be not the trained veterans of a hundred battles, grow
very impatient in this kind of operation; they cannot conceive why they
are not led forward, and wonder at the over caution of the general. Ours
were mostly young levies, and were consequently very profuse of their
comments and complaints.
‘Have patience, my brave boys,’ said an old sergeant to some of the
grumblers; ‘I’ve seen some service, and I never saw a battle open this
way that there wasn’t plenty of fighting ere it was over.’
A long, low range of hills bounds the plain to the west of Moosburg, and
on these, as night closed, our bivouac fires were lighted, some of them
extending to nearly half a mile to the left of our real position, and
giving the Austrians the impression that our force was stationed in that
direction. A thin drizzly rain, cold enough to be sleet, was falling;
and as the ground had been greatly cut up by the passage of artillery
and cavalry, a less comfortable spot to bivouac in could not be
imagined. It was difficult, too, to obtain wood for our fires, and
our prospects for the dark hours were scarcely brilliant. The soldiers
grumbled loudly at being obliged to sit and cook their messes at the
murky flame of damp straw, while the fires at our left blazed away
gaily without one to profit by them. Frenchmen, however, are rarely
ill-humoured in face of the enemy, and their complaints assumed all the
sarcastic drollery which they so well understand; and even over
their half-dressed supper they were beginning to grow merry, when
staff-officers were seen traversing the lines at full speed in all
directions.
‘We are attacked--the Austrians are upon us!’ cried two or three
soldiers, snatching up their muskets.
‘No, no, friend,’ replied a veteran, ‘it’s the other way--we are going
at them.’
This was the true reading of the problem. Orders were sent to every
brigade to form in close column of attack--artillery and cavalry to
advance under their cover, and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.
Moosburg lay something short of two miles from us, having the Iser in
front, over which was a wooden bridge, protected by a strong
flanking battery. The river was not passable, nor had we any means of
transporting artillery across it; so that to this spot our main attack
was at once directed. Had the Austrian general, Heller, who was second
in command to the Archduke Louis, either cut off the bridge, or taken
effectual measures to oppose its passage, the great events of the
campaign might have assumed a very different feature. It is said,
however, that an entire Austrian brigade was encamped near Freising, and
that the communication was left open to save them.
Still it must be owned that the Imperialists took few precautions for
their safety; for, deceived by our line of watch-fires, the pickets
extended but a short distance into the plain; and when attacked by our
light cavalry, many of them were cut off at once; and of those who fell
back, several traversed the bridge, with their pursuers at their heels.
Such was the impetuosity of the French attack, that although the most
positive orders had been given by Masséna that not more than three guns
and their caissons should traverse the bridge together, and even these
at a walk, seven or eight were seen passing at the same instant, and all
at a gallop, making the old framework so to rock and tremble, that it
seemed ready to come to pieces. As often happens, the hardihood proved
our safety. The Austrians counting upon our slow transit, only opened a
heavy fire after several of our pieces had crossed, and were already in
a position to reply to them. Their defence, if somewhat late, was a most
gallant one, and the gunners continued to fire on our advancing columns
till we captured the block-house and sabred the men at their guns.
Meanwhile the Imperial Cuirassiers, twelve hundred strong, made a
succession of furious charges upon us, driving our light cavalry away
before them, and for a brief space making the fortune of the day almost
doubtful. It soon appeared, however, that these brave fellows were
merely covering the retreat of the main body, who in all haste were
falling back on the villages of Furth and Arth. Some squadrons of
Kellermann’s heavy cavalry gave time for our light artillery to open
their fire, and the Austrian ranks were rent open with terrific loss.
Day was now dawning, and showed us the Austrian army in retreat by
the two great roads towards Landshut. Every rising spot of ground was
occupied by artillery, and in some places defended by stockades, showing
plainly enough that all hope of saving the guns was abandoned, and that
they only thought of protecting their flying columns from our attack.
These dispositions cost us heavily, for as we were obliged to carry each
of these places before we could advance, the loss in this hand-to-hand
encounter was very considerable. At length, however, the roads became
so blocked up by artillery, that the infantry were driven to defile into
the swampy fields at the roadside, and here our cavalry cut them down
unmercifully, while grape tore through the dense masses at half-musket
range.
Had discipline or command been possible, our condition might have been
made perilous enough, since, in the impetuosity of attack, large masses
of our cavalry got separated from their support, and were frequently
seen struggling to cut their way out of the closing columns of the
enemy. Twice or thrice it actually happened that officers surrendered
the whole squadron as prisoners, and were rescued by their own
comrades afterwards. The whole was a scene of pell-mell confusion
and disorder-some, abandoning positions when successful defence was
possible; others, obstinately holding their ground when destruction was
inevitable. Few prisoners were taken; indeed, I believe, quarter was
little thought of by either side. The terrible excitement had raised
men’s passions to the pitch of madness, and each fought with all the
animosity of hate.
Masséna was always in the front, and, as was his custom, comporting
himself with a calm steadiness that he rarely displayed in the common
occurrences of everyday life. Like the English Picton, the crash and
thunder of conflict seemed to soothe and assuage the asperities of an
irritable temper, and his mind appeared to find a congenial sphere in
the turmoil and din of battle. The awkward attempt of a French
squadron to gallop in a deep marsh, where men and horses were rolling
indiscriminately together, actually gave him a hearty fit of laughter,
and he issued his orders for their recall, as though the occurrence
were a good joke. It was while observing this incident, that an orderly
delivered into his hands some maps and papers that had just been
captured from the fourgon of a staff-officer. Turning them rapidly over,
Masséna chanced upon the plan of a bridge, with marks indicative of
points of defence at either side of it, and the arrangements for mining
it if necessary. It was too long to represent the bridge of Moosburg,
and must probably mean that of Landshut; and so thinking, and deeming
that its possession might be important to the Emperor, he ordered me to
take a fresh horse, and hasten with it to the headquarters. The orders I
received were vague enough.
‘You ‘ll come up with the advance guard some eight or nine miles to the
northward; you ‘ll chance upon some of the columns near Fleisheim.’
Such were the hurried directions I obtained, in the midst of the
smoke and din of a battle; but it was no time to ask for more precise
instructions, and away I went.
In less than twenty minutes’ sharp riding I found myself in a little
valley, inclosed by low hills, and watered by a small tributary of the
Danube, along whose banks cottages were studded in the midst of what
seemed one great orchard, since for miles the white and pink blossoms of
fruit-trees were to be seen extending. The peasants were at work in
the fields, and oxen were toiling along with the heavy waggons, or the
scarcely less cumbersome plough, as peacefully as though bloodshed and
carnage were not within a thousand miles of them. No highroad penetrated
this secluded spot, and hence it lay secure, while ruin and devastation
raged at either side of it. As the wind was from the west, nothing could
be heard of the cannonade towards Moosburg, and the low hills completely
shut out all signs of the conflict. I halted at a little wayside forge
to have a loose shoe fastened, and in the crowd of gazers who stood
around me, wondering at my gay trappings and gaudy uniform, not one
had the slightest suspicion that I was other than Austrian. One old man
asked me if it were not true that the ‘French were coming?’ and another
laughed, and said, ‘They had better not’; and there was all they knew
of that terrible struggle--the shock that was to rend in twain a great
empire!
Full of varied thought on this theme I mounted and rode forward. At
first, the narrow roads were so deep and heavy, that I made little
progress; occasionally, too, I came to little streams, traversed by
a bridge of a single plank, and was either compelled to swim my horse
across, or wander long distances in search of a ford. These obstructions
made me impatient, and my impatience but served to delay me more, and
all my efforts to push directly forwards only tended to embarrass me.
I could not ask for guidance, since I knew not the name of a single
village or town, and to have inquired for the direction in which the
troops were stationed might very possibly have brought me into danger.
At last, and after some hours of toilsome wandering, I reached a
small wayside inn, and, resolving to obtain some information of my
whereabouts, I asked whither the road led that passed through a long,
low, swampy plain, and disappeared in a pine wood.
‘To Landshut,’ was the answer.
‘And the distance?’
‘Three German miles,’ said the host; ‘but they are worse than five; for
since the new line has been opened this road has fallen into neglect.
Two of the bridges are broken, and a landslip has completely blocked up
the passage at another place.’
‘Then how am I to gain the new road?’
Alas! there was nothing for it but going back to the forge where I had
stopped three hours and a half before, and whence I could take a narrow
bridle-path to Fleisheim, that would bring me out on the great road. The
very thought of retracing my way was intolerable; many of the places I
had leaped my horse over would have been impossible to cross from the
opposite side; once I narrowly escaped being carried down by a millrace;
and, in fact, no dangers nor inconveniences of the road in front of me
could equal those of the course I had just come. Besides all this,
to return to Fleisheim would probably bring me far in the rear of the
advancing columns, while if I pushed on towards Landshut I might catch
sight of them from some rising spot of ground.
‘You will go, I see,’ cried the host, as he saw me set out. ‘Perhaps
you’re right; the old adage says, “It’s often the roughest road leads to
the smoothest fortune.”’
Even that much encouragement was not without its value. I spurred into
a canter with fresh spirits. The host of the little inn had not
exaggerated--the road was execrable. Heavy rocks and mounds of earth had
slipped down with the rains of winter, and remained in the middle of the
way. The fallen masonry of the bridges had driven the streams into new
channels with deep pools among them; broken waggons and ruined carts
marked the misfortunes of some who had ventured on the track; and except
for a well-mounted and resolute horseman the way was impracticable. I
was well-nigh overcome by fatigue and exhaustion, as, clambering up a
steep hill, with the bridle on my arm, I gained the crest of the ridge,
and suddenly saw Landshut--for it could be no other--before me. I have
looked at many new pictures and scenes, but I own I never beheld one
that gave me half the pleasure. The ancient town, with its gaunt old
belfries, and still more ancient castle, stood on a bend of the Inn,
which was here crossed by a long wooden bridge, supported on boats, a
wide track of shingle and gravel on either side showing the course into
which the melting snows often swelled the stream. From the point where
I stood I could see into the town. The Platz, the old gardens of the
nunnery, the terrace of the castle, all were spread out before me; and
to my utter surprise there seemed little or no movement going forward.
There were two guns in position at the bridge; some masons were at
work on the houses, beside the river, piercing the walls for the use of
musketry, and an infantry battalion was under arms in the market-place.
These were all the preparations I could discover against the advance of
a great army. But so it was; the Austrian spies had totally misled them,
and while they believed that the great bulk of the French lay around
Ratisbon, the centre of the army, sixty-five thousand strong, and led by
Napoleon himself, was in march to the southward.
That the attack on Moosburg was still unknown at Landshut seemed
certain; and I now perceived that, notwithstanding all the delays I had
met with, I had really come by the most direct line; whereas, on account
of the bend of the river, no Austrian courier could have brought tidings
of the engagement up to that time. My attention was next turned towards
the direction whence our advance might be expected; but although I could
see nearly four miles of the road, not a man was to be descried along
it.
I slowly descended the ridge, and, passing through a meadow, was
approaching the highroad, when suddenly I heard the clattering of a
horse at full gallop coming along the causeway. I mounted at once, and
pushed forward to an angle of the road, by which I was concealed from
all view. The next instant, a Hungarian hussar turned the corner at top
speed.
‘What news?’ cried I, in German; ‘are they coming?’
‘Ay, in force,’ shouted he, without stopping.
I at once drew my pistol, and levelled at him. The man’s back was
towards me, and my bullet would have pierced his skull. It was my duty,
too, to have shot him, for moments were then worth days, or even weeks.
I couldn’t pull the trigger, however, and I replaced my weapon in the
holster. Another horseman now swept past without perceiving me, and
quickly behind him came a half squadron of hussars, all riding in mad
haste and confusion. The horses, though ‘blown,’ were not sweated, so
that I conjectured they had ridden fast though not far. Such was the
eagerness to press on, and so intent were they on the thought of
their own tidings, that none saw me, and the whole body swept by and
disappeared. I waited a few minutes to listen, and as the clattering
towards Landshut died away, all was silent. Trusting to my knowledge of
German to save me, even if I fell in with the enemy, I now rode forward
at speed in the direction of our advance. The road was straight as an
arrow for miles, and a single object coming towards me was all I could
detect. This proved to be a hussar of the squadron, whose horse, being
dead lame, could not keep up with the rest, and now the poor fellow was
making the best of his way back as well as he was able. Of what use,
thought I, to make him my prisoner--one more or less at such a time can
be of slight avail; so I merely halted him to ask how near the French
were. The man could only speak Hungarian, but made signs that the
lancers were close upon us, and counselled me to make my escape into the
town with all speed. I intimated by a gesture that I could trust to my
horse, and we parted. He was scarcely out of sight when the bright gleam
of brass helmets came into view towards the west, and then I could make
out the shining cuirasses of the Corps de Guides, as, mounted on their
powerful horses, they came galloping along.
‘I thought I was foremost,’ said a young officer to me as he rode up.
‘How came you in advance?’
‘Where’s the état-major?’ cried I, in haste, and not heeding his
question. ‘I have a despatch for the Emperor.’
‘Follow the road,’ said he, ‘and you’ll come up with them in half an
hour.’
And with these hurried words we passed each other. A sharp pistol report
a moment after told me what had befallen the poor Hungarian; but I had
little time to think of his fate. Our squadrons were coming on at a
sharp pace, while in their rear the jingling clash of horse artillery
resounded. From a gentle rise of the road I could see a vast distance
of country, and perceive that the French columns extended for miles
away--the great chaussée being reserved for the heavy artillery, while
every byroad and lane were filled with troops of all arms hurrying
onward. It was one of those precipitous movements by which Napoleon so
often paralysed an enemy at once, and finished a campaign by one daring
exploit.
At such a time it was in vain for me to ask in what direction the staff
might be found. All were eager and intent on their own projects; and as
squadron after squadron passed, I saw it was a moment for action rather
than for thought. Still I did not like to abandon all hope of succeeding
after so much of peril and fatigue, and seeing that it was impossible to
advance against the flood of horse and artillery that formed along the
road, I jumped my horse into a field at the side, and pushed forward.
Even here, however, the passage was not quite clear, since many, in
their eagerness to get forward, had taken to the same line, and, with
cheering cries and wild shouts of joy, were galloping on. My showy
uniform drew many an eye towards me, and at last a staff-officer cried
out to me to stop, pointing with his sabre as he spoke to a hill a short
distance off, where a group of officers were standing.
This was General Moulon and his staff, under whose order the advanced
guard was placed.
‘A despatch--whence from?’ cried he hastily, as I rode up.
‘No, sir; a plan of the bridge of Landshut, taken from the enemy this
morning at Moosburg.’
‘Are they still there?’ asked he.
‘By this time they must be close upon Landshut; they were in full
retreat when I left them at daybreak.’
‘We ‘ll be able to speak of the bridge without this,’ said he, laughing,
and turning toward his staff, while he handed the sketch carelessly to
some one beside him; ‘and you’ll serve the Emperor quite as well, sir,
by coming with us as hastening to the rear.’
I professed myself ready and willing to follow his orders, and away I
went with the staff, well pleased to be once more on active service.
Two cannon shots, and a rattling crash of small-arms, told us that the
combat had begun; and as we ascended the hill, the bridge of Landshut
was seen on fire in three places. Either from some mistake of his
orders, or not daring to assume a responsibility for what was beyond the
strict line of duty, the French commander of the artillery placed his
guns in position along the river’s bank, and prepared to reply to the
fire now opening from the town, instead of at once dashing onward within
the gates. Moulon hastened to repair the error; but by the delay in
pushing through the dense masses of horse, foot, and artillery that
crowded the passage, it was full twenty minutes ere he came up. With a
storm of oaths on the stupidity of the artillery colonel, he ordered the
firing to cease, commanding both the cavalry and the train waggons to
move right and left, and give place for a grenadier battalion, who were
coming briskly on with their muskets at the sling.
The scene was now a madly exciting one. The _chevaux défrise_ at one end
of the bridge was blazing; but beyond it, on the bridge, the Austrian
engineer and his men were scattering combustible material, and with
hempen torches touching the new-pitched timbers. An incessant roll of
musketry issued from the houses on the river-side, with now and then the
deeper boom of a large gun, while the roar of voices, and the crashing
noise of artillery passing through the streets, swelled into a fearful
chorus. The French sappers quickly removed the burning _chevaux de
frise_, and hurled the flaming timbers into the stream; and scarcely was
this done, when Moulon, dismounting, advanced, cheering, at the head of
his grenadiers. Charging over the burning bridge, they rushed
forward; but their way was arrested by the strong timbers of a massive
portcullis, which closed the passage. This had been concealed from our
view by the smoke and flame; and now, as the press of men from behind
grew each instant more powerful, a scene of terrible suffering ensued.
The enemy, too, poured down a deadly discharge, and grapeshot tore
through us at pistol-range. The onward rush of the columns to the rear
defied retreat, and in the mad confusion, all orders and command were
unheard or unheeded. Not knowing what delayed our advance, I was busily
engaged in suppressing a fire at one of the middle buttresses, when,
mounting the parapet, I saw the cause of our halt. I happened to have
caught up one of the pitched torches at the instant, and the thought at
once struck me how to employ it. To reach the portcullis, no other road
lay open than the parapet itself--a wooden railing, wide enough for a
footing, but exposed to the whole fire of the houses. There was little
time for the choice of alternatives, even had our fate offered any, so I
dashed on, and, as the balls whizzed and whistled around me, reached the
front.
It was a terrible thing to touch the timbers against which our men were
actually flattened, and to set fire to the bars around which their hands
were clasped; but I saw that the Austrian musketry had already done its
work on the leading files, and that not one man was living amongst them.
By a blunder of one of the sappers, the portcullis had been smeared with
pitch like the bridge; and as I applied the torch, the blaze sprang up,
and, encouraged by the rush of air between the beams, spread in a second
over the whole structure. Expecting my death-wound at every instant,
I never ceased my task, even when it had become no longer necessary,
impelled by a kind of insane persistence to destroy the barrier. The
wind carrying the flame inward, however, had compelled the Austrians to
fall back, and before they could again open a collected fire on us, the
way was open, and the grenadiers, like enraged tigers, rushed wildly in.
[Illustration: frontispiece]
I remember that my coat was twice on fire as, carried on my comrades’
shoulders, I was borne along into the town. I recollect, too, the
fearful scene of suffering that ensued, the mad butchery at each doorway
as we passed, the piercing cries for mercy, and the groan of dying
agony.
War has no such terrible spectacle as a town taken by infuriated
soldiery; and even amongst the best of natures a relentless cruelty
usurps the place of every chivalrous feeling. When or how I was wounded
I never could ascertain; but a round shot had penetrated my thigh,
tearing the muscles into shreds, and giving to the surgeon who saw me
the simple task of saying, ‘_Enlevez le--point despair_.’
I heard thus much, and I have some recollection of a comrade having
kissed my forehead, and there ended my reminiscences of Landshut. Nay, I
am wrong; I cherish another and a more glorious one.
It was about four days after this occurrence that the surgeon in charge
of the military hospital was obliged to secure by ligature a branch
of the femoral artery which had been traversed by the ball through my
thigh. The operation was a tedious and difficult one, for round shot, it
would seem, have little respect for anatomy, and occasionally displace
muscles in a sad fashion. I was very weak after it was over, and orders
were left to give a spoonful of Bordeaux and water from time to time
during the evening--a direction which I listened to attentively, and
never permitted my orderly to neglect. In fact, like a genuine sick
man’s fancy, it caught possession of my mind that this wine and water
was to save me; and in the momentary rally of excitement it gave, I
thought I tasted health once more. In this impression I never awoke from
a short doze without a request for my cordial, and half mechanically
would make signs to wet my lips as I slept.
It was near sunset, and I was lying with unclosed eyes, not asleep, but
in that semi-conscious state that great bodily depression and loss of
blood induce. The ward was unusually quiet, the little buzz of voices
that generally mingled through the accents of suffering were hushed, and
I could hear the surgeon’s well-known voice as he spoke to some persons
at the farther end of the chamber.
By their stopping from time to time, I could remark that they were
inspecting the different beds, but their voices were low and their steps
cautious and noiseless.
‘Tiernay--this is Tiernay,’ said some one, reading my name from the
paper over my head. Some low words which I could not catch followed, and
then the surgeon replied--
‘There is a chance for him yet, though the debility is greatly to be
feared.’
I made a sign at once to my mouth, and after a second’s delay the spoon
touched my lips; but so awkwardly was it applied, that the fluid ran
down my chin. With a sickly impatience I turned away, but a mild, low
voice, soft as a woman’s, said--
‘_Allons!_--Let me try once more’; and now the spoon met my lips with
due dexterity.
‘Thanks,’ said I faintly, and I opened my eyes.
‘You’ll soon be about again, Tiernay,’ said the same voice--as for the
person, I could distinguish nothing, for there were six or seven around
me--‘and if I know anything of a soldier’s heart, this will do just as
much as the doctor.’
As he spoke he detached from his coat a small enamel cross, and placed
it in my hand, with a gentle squeeze of the fingers, and then saying
‘_Au revoir_,’ moved on.
‘Who’s that?’ cried I suddenly, while a strange thrill ran through me.
‘Hush!’ whispered the surgeon cautiously; ‘hush! it is the Emperor.’