The next morning, at twelve o'clock, Jean Martin reached home.
"The war has begun," he said, as he leaped from his horse. "Henri
de la Rochejaquelein has accepted the leadership of the peasants,
at Clisson. Lescure would have joined also, but Henri pointed out
to him that it would be better not to compromise his family, until
it was certain that the insurrection would become general. The
young count was starting, just as I got to the chateau. He is a
splendid young fellow, full of enthusiasm, and burning to avenge
the misfortunes that have fallen upon his family. A peasant had
arrived the evening before, with a message from his aunt, who lives
farther to the south. He brought news that the chevalier de
Charette--formerly a lieutenant in the navy and a strong Royalist,
who had escaped the massacres at Paris, and was living quietly on
his estate near Machecoul--had been asked several times, by the
peasants in his neighbourhood, to take the command, and had
accepted it; and that the rising was so formidable, there, that it
was certain the authorities in that part of Poitou would not
succeed in enforcing the conscription.
"I have told Lescure that I shall be prepared to join, as soon as
there is a general movement here; but that I should attach myself
to whoever took the direction of affairs in this part, for that in
the first place I knew nothing of war, and in the second place I
have resided here so small a portion of my time that I am scarcely
known, save to my own tenants.
"After our meal, we will ride round and see how they are off for
arms and powder. That is our great weakness. I am afraid, taking
the whole country round, that not one man in twenty possesses a
gun."
This indeed was found to be the case, as far as those on the estate
were concerned. The men themselves, however, seemed to think little
of this.
"We will take them from the Blues," several of them said
confidently. "It does not matter a bit. They will only have time to
fire one volley, in these lanes of ours, and then we shall be among
them; and a pike or pitchfork are just as good, at close quarters,
as a bayonet."
That the whole country was astir was evident, from the fact that
the sound of the church bells rose from the woods, in all
directions. All work was suspended, and the peasants flocked into
the little villages to hear the news that was brought in, from
several directions.
Cathelineau had, in the course of the night, gathered a party of
twenty-seven men who, at daybreak, had started out from Pin,
setting the church bells ringing in the villages through which they
passed; until a hundred men, armed for the most part with
pitchforks and stakes, had gathered round him. Then he boldly
attacked the chateau of Tallais, garrisoned by a hundred and fifty
soldiers, having with them a cannon. This was fired, but the shot
passed over the peasants' heads, and with a shout they dashed
forward, and the soldiers of the republic threw away their arms and
fled. Thus Cathelineau's followers became possessed of firearms,
some horses and, to their great delight, a cannon.
Their leader did not waste a moment, but marched at once against
Chemille, his force increasing at every moment, as the men flocked
in from the villages. There were, at Chemille, two hundred soldiers
with three guns; but some of the fugitives from Tallais had already
arrived there, bringing news of the desperate fury with which the
peasants had attacked them and, at the sight of the throng
approaching, with their captured cannon, the garrison lost heart
altogether and bolted, leaving their three cannon, their
ammunition, and the greater portion of their muskets behind them.
The news spread with incredible rapidity. From each village they
passed through, boys were despatched as messengers, and their
tidings were taken on by fresh relays. By the afternoon all the
country, for thirty miles round, knew that Cathelineau had captured
Tallais and Chemille, and was in possession of a quantity of arms,
and four cannon.
From Saint Florent came the news that, early in the morning, a
party of Republican soldiers had endeavoured to arrest Foret, who
led the rising on the previous day; but that he had obtained word
of their approach and, setting the church bells ringing, had
collected a force and had beaten back those who came in search of
him.
Close by, a detachment of National Guards from Chollett had visited
the chateau of Maulevrier. The proprietor was absent, but they
carried off twelve cannon, which had been kept as family relics.
The gamekeeper, Nicholas Stofflet, who was in charge of the estate,
had served sixteen years in the army. He was a man of great
strength, courage, and sagacity and, furious at the theft of his
master's cannon, had gathered the peasantry round, and was already
at the head of two hundred men.
"Things go on apace, Patsey," Jean Martin said, as they sat by the
fire that evening. "We only know what is happening within some
twenty or thirty miles of us, but if the spirit shown here exists
throughout Poitou and Anjou, there can be no doubt that, in a very
short time, the insurrection will be general. This Cathelineau, by
their description, must be a man of no ordinary ability; and he has
lost no time in showing his energy. For myself, I care not in the
least what is the rank of my leader. Here in La Vendee there is no
broad line between the seigneurs, the tenants, and the peasantry;
at all rustic fetes they mix on equal terms. The seigneurs set the
example, by dancing with the peasant girls; and their wives and
daughters do not disdain to do the same with tenants, or peasantry.
They attend the marriages, and all holiday festivities, are
foremost in giving aid, and in showing kindness in cases of
distress or illness; and I feel sure that, if they found in a man
like Cathelineau a genius for command, they would follow him as
readily as one of their own rank."
On the fourteenth the news came that the bands of Stofflet and
Foret had, with others, joined that of Cathelineau. Jean Martin
hesitated no longer.
"The war has fairly begun," he said. "I shall be off tomorrow
morning. If Cathelineau is defeated, we shall have the Republicans
devastating the whole country, and massacring women and children;
as they did, last August, after a rising for the protection of the
priests. Therefore I shall be fighting, now, in defence of our
lives and home, wife."
"I would not keep you at home, Jean. I think it is the duty of
every man to join in the defence against these wretches. I know
that no mercy will be shown by them, if they conquer us. But you
will not take Leigh with you, surely?"
Leigh uttered an exclamation.
"Leigh must choose for himself," Jean said quietly. "He is not
French, and would have no concern in the matter, beyond that of
humanity, were it not that you are here; but at present our home is
his. Your life and his, also, are involved, if we are beaten. He is
young to fight, but there will doubtless be many others no older,
and probably much less strong than he is. Moreover, if I should be
killed, it is he who must bear you the news, and must arrange with
you your plans, and act as your protector.
"I do not say that I should advise your leaving the chateau
directly, but if the Republicans come this way, it will be no place
for you; and I should say that it would be vastly better that you
should, at once, endeavour to cross to England. There are five
thousand francs in gold in my bureau, which are worth three or four
times their value in assignats; and should, if you can gain the
coast, be amply sufficient to procure a passage for you to England.
"Do not weep, dear. It is necessary to leave you, on an undertaking
of this kind, prepared for whatever may happen. At present the risk
is very small. As we have heard, the fury of the peasants has
struck such consternation into the National Guards, and
newly-raised soldiers, that they will not await their onslaught;
and it will not be until the Convention becomes aware of the really
serious nature of the storm they have raised, that there will be
any hard fighting. Still, even in a petty skirmish men fall; and it
is right that, before I go, we should arrange as to what course you
had best pursue, in case of my death.
"From the first, when we came here we did so with our eyes open. If
we had merely sought safety, we should have gone to England. We
came here partly because it is my home, and therefore my proper
place; and partly because, in case La Vendee rose against these
executioners of Paris, every man of honour and loyalty should aid
in the good cause."
"I know, Jean, and I would not keep you back."
"The struggle has begun and, if the Republicans conquer La Vendee,
we know how awful will be the persecutions, what thousands of
victims will be slaughtered. Our only hope is in victory and, at
any rate, those who die on the battlefield will be happy, in
comparison with those who fall into the hands of the Blues."
"You wish to go, Leigh?"
"Certainly I do," the lad said. "I think that everyone strong
enough to carry arms, in La Vendee, ought to join and do his best.
I can shoot better than most of the peasantry, not one in twenty of
whom has ever had a gun in his hands; and I am sure that I am as
strong as most of them. Besides, if I had been at home I should,
now the war has begun, have tried to get a commission and to fight
the French--I mean the people who govern France at present--and in
fighting them, here, I am only doing what thousands of Englishmen
will be doing elsewhere."
"Very well, Leigh, then you shall go with Jean. I shall certainly
be glad to know you are together, so that if one is wounded or ill,
the other can look after him and bring him here. I shall do the
best I can, while you are away."
"I think that we shall soon be back again, and that we shall be
constantly seeing you," Jean said. "You may be sure that the
peasants will not keep the field. They will gather and fight and,
win or lose, they will then scatter to their homes again, until the
church bells call them out to repel a fresh attack of the enemy.
That is our real weakness. There will never be any discipline,
never any common aim.
"If all the peasants in the west would join in a great effort, and
march on Paris, I believe that the peasantry of the departments
through which they pass would join us. It would only be the
National Guards of the towns, and the new levies, that we should
have to meet; and I believe that we might take Paris, crush the
scum of the faubourgs, and hang every member of the Convention. But
they will never do it. It will be a war of defence, only; and a war
so carried out must, in the long run, be an unsuccessful one.
"However, the result will be that we shall never be very far away
from home, and shall often return for a few days. You must always
keep a change of clothes, and your trinkets and so on, packed up;
so that at an hour's notice you and Marthe can start with the
child, either on receiving a note from me telling you where to join
us, or if you get news that a force from Nantes is marching rapidly
in this direction. Two horses will always remain in the stables, in
readiness to put into the light cart. Henri will be your driver.
Francois you must send off to find us, and tell us the road that
you have taken. However, of course we shall make all these
arrangements later on, when affairs become more serious. I don't
think there is any chance, whatever, of the enemy making their way
into the country for weeks, perhaps for months, to come."
The next morning, Jean Martin and Leigh started early. Each carried
a rifle slung behind him, a brace of pistols in his holsters, and a
sword in his belt. Patsey had recovered from her depression of the
previous evening, and her natural good spirits enabled her to
maintain a cheerful face at parting; especially as her husband's
assurances, that there would be no serious fighting for some time,
had somewhat calmed her fears for their safety.
"The horses are useful to us, for carrying us about, Leigh," Jean
Martin said, as they rode along; "but unless there are enough
mounted men to act as cavalry, we shall have to do any fighting
that has to be done on foot. The peasants would not follow a
mounted officer as they would one who placed himself in front of
them, and fought as they fought.
"I hope that, later on, we may manage to get them to adopt some
sort of discipline; but I have great doubts about it. The peasantry
of La Vendee are an independent race. They are respectful to their
seigneurs, and are always ready to listen to their advice; but it
is respect, and not obedience. I fancy, from what I have read of
your Scottish Highlanders, that the feeling here closely resembles
that among the clans. They regard their seigneurs as their natural
heads, and would probably die for them in the field; but in other
matters each goes his own way, and the chiefs know better than to
strain their power beyond a certain point.
"As you see, they have already their own leaders--Stofflet the
gamekeeper, Foret the woodcutter, and Cathelineau, a small peddling
wool merchant. Doubtless many men of rank and family will join
them, and will naturally, from their superior knowledge, take their
place as officers; but I doubt whether they will displace the men
who have, from the beginning, taken the matter in hand. I am glad
that it should be so. The peasants understand men of their own
class, and will, I believe, follow them better than they would men
above them in rank. They will, at least, have no suspicion of them;
and the strength of the insurrection lies in the fact that it is a
peasant rising, and not an insurrection stirred up by men of
family."
At ten o'clock they arrived at Cathelineau's camp. Just as they
reached the spot, they encountered Monsieur Sapinaud de la Verrie.
He was riding at the head of about a hundred peasants, all of whom
were armed with muskets. They had, early that morning, attacked the
little town of Herbiers. It was defended by two companies of
soldiers, with four or five cannon; and the Republicans of the town
had ranged themselves with the Blues. Nevertheless the peasants,
led by their commander and his nephew, had fearlessly attacked them
and, with a loss of only two or three wounded, defeated the enemy
and captured the place, obtaining a sufficient supply of muskets to
arm themselves.
As Jean Martin was known to Monsieur Sapinaud, they saluted each
other cordially.
"So you are coming willingly, Monsieur Martin. There you have the
advantage of me, for these good fellows made me and my nephew come
with them, as their leaders, and would take no refusal. However,
they but drew us into the matter a few days earlier than we had
intended; for we had already made up our minds to join the
movement."
"I come willingly enough, Monsieur Sapinaud. If I had remained in
Nantes, I should have been guillotined by this time; and I made up
my mind when I left there that I would, on the first opportunity,
do a little fighting before I was put an end to.
"This is my brother-in-law. He has been out here now nearly two
years, and has seen enough of the doings of the murderers at Nantes
to hate them as much as I do."
The streets of the little village, which Cathelineau had made his
headquarters, were thronged with men. Through these the four
mounted gentlemen made their way slowly until, when they came to
the church, they saw three men standing apart from the others.
"That is Cathelineau, the one standing in the middle," Leigh said.
"We have come to place ourselves under your orders," Monsieur
Sapinaud said, as they rode up to him; and he named himself and his
companions.
"I am glad indeed to see you, sirs," Cathelineau said. "You are the
first gentlemen who have joined us here; though I hear that,
farther south, some have already declared themselves. We want you
badly.
"One of you I have seen already," and he smiled at Leigh. "I told
you that you would hear of me, young sir; and you see I have kept
my word.
"These with me are Stofflet who, as you may have heard, recaptured
the cannon the Blues took at Clisson; and Foret, who had the honour
of striking the first blow, at Saint Florent."
"Your names are all widely known in this part," Monsieur Sapinaud
said, courteously. "Well, sirs, we have come to fight under your
orders. I have brought a hundred men with me, and we have already
done something on our own account; for we last night captured
Herbiers, which was defended by two companies, with four cannon. We
have gained a sufficient number of muskets to arm all our party."
"If I do not offer to give up the leadership to you, Monsieur de la
Verrie," Cathelineau said gravely, "it is from no desire on my part
to be a commander; but I am widely known to the peasantry of many
parishes round Pin and, perhaps because I understand them better
than most, they have confidence in me; and would, I think, follow
me rather than a gentleman like yourself, of whom they know but
little."
"They are quite right," Monsieur Sapinaud said. "The peasantry
commenced this war. It is right that they should choose their own
leaders. You and your two companions have already their confidence,
and it is far better that you should be their leaders. I believe
all other gentlemen who join you will be as ready as we are to
follow you, and I am sure that the only rivalry will be as to who
shall most bravely expose himself, when he faces the enemy."
"I thank you, sir," Cathelineau said. "I believe earnestly that, in
many respects, it is best that the peasants should have their own
leaders. We can associate ourselves with their feelings, better
than the gentry could do. We shall have more patience with their
failings.
"You would want to make an army of them. We know that this cannot
be done. They will fight and die as bravely as men could do, but I
know that they will never submit to discipline. After a battle,
they will want to hurry off to their homes. They will obey the
order to fight, but that is the only order one can rely upon their
obeying.
"We are on the point of starting for Chollet. It is a town where
the people are devoted to the cause of the Convention. At the last
drawing for the militia they killed, without any pretext, a number
of young men who had come, unarmed, into the town. Many inhabitants
of adjoining parishes have been seized and thrown in prison,
charged only with being hostile to the Convention, and expressing
horror at the murder of the king.
"The capture will produce an impression throughout the country.
They have three or four hundred dragoons there, and yesterday, we
hear, they called in the National Guard from the villages round,
though scarce believing that we should venture to attack them. Your
reinforcement of a hundred men, all armed with muskets, will be a
very welcome one; for they will hardly suspect that many of us have
firearms. However we had, before your arrival, three hundred who
have so armed themselves, through captures at Saint Florent and
Chemille."
He now ordered the bell to be rung and, as soon as its notes pealed
out, started; followed at once by the crowd in the village, without
any sort of order or regularity. Jean and Leigh continued to ride
with Monsieur de la Verrie and his nephew.
After some hours' marching, at two o'clock in the afternoon they
approached Chollet. On the way they received considerable
reinforcements, from the villages they passed through. As soon as
they approached the town they saw the dragoons pouring out,
followed by three or four hundred National Guards.
The Vendeans now fell into some sort of order. A short council of
war was held. It was arranged that Monsieur de la Verrie with his
hundred musketeers, and Foret with as many more, should advance
against the dragoons; while Cathelineau and Stofflet, with a
hundred musketeers and the main body of peasants with their
pitchforks, should attack the National Guards.
[Illustration: At the first volley, the colonel of the dragoons and
many of his men fell.]
The dragoons had expected that the mere sight of them would be
sufficient to send the peasants flying, and they were amazed that
they should continue to advance. As soon as they were within easy
range, the peasants opened fire. At the first volley the colonel of
the dragoons and many of his men fell. Reloading, the peasants
advanced at a run, poured in a volley at close quarters; and then,
with loud cheers, charged the dragoons.
These, being but newly raised troops, were seized with a panic,
turned, and galloped off at full speed. Astounded at the defeat of
the cavalry, in whom they had confidently trusted, the National
Guard at once lost heart and as, with loud shouts, Cathelineau with
his peasants flung themselves upon them, they, too, broke, and fled
in all directions.
The peasants pursued them for a league, and then returned,
exultant, to Chollet. Here the leading revolutionists were thrown
in prison but, with the exception of the National Guards who
attempted resistance after reaching the town, no lives were taken.
A large quantity of arms, money, and ammunition fell into the hands
of the victors.
Scarcely had the peasants gathered in Chollet, than the news
arrived that the National Guard of Saumur were marching against
them; and Cathelineau requested Monsieur de la Verrie and Foret,
with their following, to go out to meet them. They marched away at
once, and met the enemy at Vihiers.
Unprepared for an attack, the National Guard at once broke and
fled, throwing away their arms and abandoning their cannon. Among
these was one taken from the Chateau de Richelieu. It had been
given by Louis the Thirteenth to the cardinal. On the engraving,
with which it was nearly covered, the peasants thought that they
could make out an image of the Virgin, and so called it by her
name. With these trophies the party returned to Chollet.
The next day being Saturday the little army dispersed, the peasants
making their way to their homes, in order to spend Easter there;
while Cathelineau, with only a small body, remained at Chollet.
From here messengers were sent to Messieurs Bonchamp, d'Elbee, and
Dommaigne--all officers who had served in the army, but had retired
when the revolution broke out. Cathelineau offered to share the
command with them, and entreated them to give their military
knowledge and experience to the cause.
All assented. Thus the force had the advantage, from this time
forward, of being commanded by men who knew the business of war.
Leigh had started for home as soon as the National Guards of Saumur
were defeated; Jean Martin, at Cathelineau's request, remaining
with him in order to join some other gentlemen, who had that day
arrived, in calling upon the three officers, and inviting them to
join Cathelineau in the command.
Leigh's sister ran out, as he rode up to the house. The news of the
capture of Chollet, almost without loss, had already spread and,
although surprised, she felt no alarm at seeing Leigh alone.
"I hear that you have taken Chollet, and defeated the dragoons and
National Guards."
"Yes; and this morning we put to flight the guards of Saumur,
without the loss of a single man. I don't know what it may come to,
presently; but just now it can hardly be called fighting. The sight
of peasants rushing on seems to strike these heroes with a panic,
at once; and they are off helter skelter, throwing away their guns
and ammunition."
"Have you come home only to tell me the news, Leigh?"
"I have come home because, at present, our army has evaporated into
thin air. Tomorrow being Easter Sunday, the peasants have all
scattered to their homes; so that it was of no use my staying at
Chollet. Cathelineau is there, and the other leaders; among them
Monsieur de la Verrie, a nephew of his, Jean, and several other
gentlemen, who have just arrived there. They are going as a sort of
deputation, tomorrow, to Bonchamp, d'Elbee, and another officer
whose name I forget, to ask them to join Cathelineau in the
command. I think that he will still remain as leader, and that they
will act as his councillors, and in command of columns."
"Then your impression of this man is confirmed?"
"More than confirmed. Jean said, this morning, that he was a born
leader of men. While all round him there is excitement and
confusion, he is as calm and serene as if he were alone. He is
evidently a man who has read a good deal, and thought a good deal;
and I can quite understand the influence he has gained over the
peasantry in his neighbourhood, and that it has long been their
custom to refer all disputes to him.
"Stofflet is a different sort of man. He is tall and powerful in
frame, stern and almost morose in manner. He has been sixteen years
a soldier; and was, I hear, distinguished for his bravery."
"And Foret?"
"He is an active young woodman, evidently a determined fellow and,
as he was the first to lead the peasants against the Blues, he is
sure to have a following. They are three very different characters,
but all of them well fitted to act as peasant leaders."
"And will Jean be a leader?"
"Not a leader, Patsey; that is to say, certainly not a general. He
does not want it, himself. But he will no doubt lead the peasants
on the estate, and perhaps those in the neighbourhood. You know
that he would not have the church bell rung, when he started,
because he did not wish the tenants to join until he had seen the
result of the first fight; but when he comes home he will summon
those who like to go with him."
"Yes, I have had to explain that, over and over again. Yesterday
and today almost all the men have been up here, to ask why Jean did
not take them. I told them that that was one reason; and another
was that, had they started on foot when you did, they would not
have arrived in time to take part in the fight at Chollet."
The conversation, begun as Leigh dismounted, had been continued in
the house, the groom having taken the horse round to the stable.
"So the peasants fought well, Leigh?"
"They would have fought well, if the Blues had given them a chance;
but these would not stop till they came up to them. If they had
done so, I am convinced that the peasants would have beaten them.
There was no mistaking the way they rushed forward and, upon my
word, I am not surprised that the enemy gave way; although well
armed, and not far inferior in numbers, they would have had no
chance with them."
"And did you rush forward, Leigh?"
"We were with the party that attacked the cavalry. Jean and I fired
our rifles twice, and after that we only saw the backs of the
cavalry. If they had been well-drilled troops they ought to have
scattered us like sheep; for everything must have gone down before
them, had they charged. There was no sort of order among us. The
men were not formed into companies. There was no attempt to direct
them. Each simply joined the leader he fancied and, when the word
was given, charged forward at the top of his speed. It is all very
well against the National Guards, and these young troops; but as
Jean said, it would be a different affair, altogether, if we were
to meet trained soldiers.
"But the peasants seem to be quick, and I expect they will adopt
tactics better suited to the country, when they come to fighting in
these lanes and woods. You see, so far a very small proportion have
been armed with guns, and their only chance was to rush at once to
close quarters; but we have captured so many muskets, at Chollet
and Vihiers, that in future a considerable proportion of the
peasants will have guns and, when they once learn to use the
hedges, they will be just as good as trained troops."
"Then I suppose Jean is more hopeful about the future than he was?"
"I don't say that, Patsey. He thinks that we shall make a hard
fight of it, but that the end must depend upon whether the people
in Paris, rather than keep fifty thousand men engaged in a
desperate conflict, here, when they are badly wanted on the
frontier, decide to suspend the conscription in La Vendee, and to
leave us to ourselves. There can be no doubt that that would be
their best plan. But as they care nothing for human life, even if
it cost them a hundred thousand men to crush us; they are likely to
raise any number of troops, and send them against us, rather than
allow their authority to be set at defiance.
"Do you know, Patsey, when I used to read about Guy Fawkes wanting
to blow up the Houses of Parliament, I thought that he must be a
villain, indeed, to try to destroy so many lives; but I have
changed my opinion now for, if I had a chance, I would certainly
blow up the place where the Convention meets, and destroy every
soul within its walls; including the spectators, who fill the
galleries and howl for blood."
"Well you see, Leigh, as Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators
failed in their attempt, I am afraid there is very small chance of
your being able to carry out the plan more successfully."
"I am afraid there is not," Leigh said regretfully. "I should never
be able to dig a way into the vaults, and certainly I should not be
able to get enough powder to blow a big building up, if I could.
No; I was only saying that, if Guy Fawkes hated the Parliament as
much as I hate the Convention, there is some excuse to be made for
him.
"Now, Patsey, I am as hungry as a hunter."
"I have a good supper ready for you," she said. "I thought it was
quite possible that you and Jean would both come home, this
evening; for I felt sure that most of the peasants would be coming
back, if possible, for Easter Sunday; and I had no doubt that, if
you did come, you would both be hungry."
"Have you any news from other districts?" he asked, after he had
finished his supper.
"There is a report that Captain Charette has gathered nearly twenty
thousand peasants, in lower Poitou; and that he has already gained
a success over the Blues. There are reports, too, of risings in
Brittany."
"There is no doubt that things are going on well, at present,
Patsey. You see, we are fighting on our own ground, and fifty
thousand men can be called to arms in the course of a few hours, by
the ringing of the church bells. We have no baggage, no waggons, no
train of provisions; we are ready to fight at once.
"On the other hand, the Blues have been taken completely by
surprise. They have no large force nearer than the frontier, or at
any rate nearer than Paris; and it will be weeks before they can
gather an army such as even they must see will be required for the
conquest of La Vendee. Up to that time it can be only a war of
skirmishes, unless our leaders can persuade the peasants to march
against Paris; and that, I fear, they will never be able to do.
"When the enemy are really ready, the fighting will be desperate.
'Tis true that the Vendeans have a good cause--they fight for their
religion and their freedom, while the enemy will fight only because
they are ordered to do so. There is another thing--every victory we
win will give us more arms, ammunition, and cannon; while a defeat
will mean simply that the peasants will scatter to their homes, and
be ready to answer the next call for their services. On the other
hand, if the Blues are defeated they will lose so heavily, both in
arms and stores; and will suffer such loss of life, from their
ignorance of our roads and lanes, that it will be a long time
before they will again be able to advance against us."
The next morning, after the service at the church was over, the
peasants came down in numbers to the chateau, to hear from Leigh a
full account of the fighting at Chollet and Vihiers, a report of
the latter event having arrived that morning. There were
exclamations of lively pleasure at the recital, mingled with regret
that they had not borne their share in the fighting.
"You will have plenty of opportunities," Leigh said. "Monsieur
Martin has told me that, when he next leaves home, all who are
willing to do so can go with him. But it may be some little time
before anything of importance takes place; and as, at present, what
fighting there is is a considerable distance away, he thinks it
best that you should reserve yourselves for some great occasion;
unless, indeed, the Blues endeavour to penetrate the Bocage, when,
I have no doubt, you will know how to deal with them, when they are
entangled in your lanes and woods."
"We will go, every man of us!" one of the peasants shouted, and the
cry was re-echoed, with enthusiasm, by the whole of the men.
It was nearly an hour before Leigh and his sister were able to
withdraw from the crowd, and make their way homeward.
"It is difficult to believe that men so ready and eager to fight
can be beaten," she said. "Did you notice, too, that their wives
all looked on approvingly? I believe that, even if any of the men
wished to stay away, they would be hounded to the front by the
women. I think that, with them, it would be regarded as a war for
their religion; while with the men it is the conscription that has
chiefly driven them to take up arms."