For some days nothing happened. The insurrection spread like
wildfire, in Poitou and Anjou; and everywhere the peasants were
successful, the authorities, soldiers, and gendarmes for the most
part flying without waiting for an attack.
The news that all La Vendee was in insurrection astonished and
infuriated the Convention, which at once took steps to suppress it.
On the second of April a military commission was appointed, with
power to execute all peasants taken with arms in their hands, and
all who should be denounced as suspicious persons. General Berruyer
was sent down to take the command. The large army that had been
raised, principally from the mob of Paris for the defence of that
city, marched down; and Berruyer, at the head of this force,
entered the Bocage on the tenth of April.
The time had passed quietly at the chateau. The peasants had
dispersed at once and, except that the principal leaders and a
small body of men remained together, watching the course of events,
all was as quiet as if profound peace reigned.
Jean Martin had returned home. Two days after arriving, he had
called all the tenants on the estate together, and had endeavoured
to rouse them to the necessity of acquiring a certain amount of
discipline. He had brought with him a waggon load of muskets and
ammunition, which had been discovered at Chollet after the main
bulk of the peasants had departed; and Cathelineau had allowed him
to carry them off, in order that the peasantry in the neighbourhood
of the chateau should be provided with a proportion of guns, when
the day of action arrived. The peasants gladly received the
firearms, but could not be persuaded to endeavour to fight in any
sort of order.
"They did not do it at Chollet, or elsewhere," they exclaimed, "and
yet they beat the Blues easily. What good did discipline do to the
enemy? None. Why, then, should we bother ourselves about it? When
the enemy comes, we will rush upon them when they are tangled in
our thickets."
Leigh was somewhat more successful. The fact that he had fought at
Chollet, and was their seigneur's brother-in-law, had established a
position for him in the eyes of peasants of his own age; and as he
went from house to house, talking with them, he succeeded in
getting some twenty boys to agree to follow him. He had been
nominated an officer by the three generals, who had picked out,
without reference to rank or age, those who they thought would,
either from position, energy, or determination, fill the posts
well. Thus one company was commanded by a noble, the next by a
peasant; and each would, on the day of battle, fight equally well.
Leigh's arguments were such as were suited to the lads he
addressed.
"You see, if you go with the bands of men, you will be lost in the
crowd. The men will rush forward in front, you will all be in the
rear. You want to serve your country. Well, you can serve it much
better by watching the movements of the enemy, and carrying word of
it to the commander. Then, sometimes, we can have a little
enterprise of our own--cut off a post of the enemy, or manage to
decoy them into lanes where we know their guns will stick fast.
"It is not size and strength that are most necessary in war; but
quickness, alertness, and watchfulness. You know that, already, the
leaders have found that nothing can persuade the men to keep guard,
or to carry out outpost duty. If we do this, even if we do nothing
else, we shall be serving the cause much better than if we were to
join in a general rush upon the enemy."
"But we shall have no muskets with us," one of the boys objected.
"Nor would you want them. You would have to move about quickly, and
guns would be terribly inconvenient, if you had to push your way
through a hedge or a close thicket. And besides, if you had guns
they would not be of much use to you, for none of you are
accustomed to their use, and it needs a great deal of training to
learn to shoot straight.
"I am quite sure that if I were to march with twenty of you to
Cathelineau's headquarters, and were to say to him, 'We have come
here, sir, to act as scouts for you, to bring you in news of the
movements of the enemy, and to do anything in our power to prevent
you from being surprised,' he would be more pleased than if I had
brought him a hundred men armed with muskets."
When twenty had expressed their willingness to go, Leigh asked
Jean, who had warmly entered into the plan, to speak to the fathers
of the lads and get them to consent to their going with him. He
accordingly called them together for that purpose.
"But do you mean that they will be away altogether, master?"
"Yes, while this goes on."
"But we shall lose their labour in the fields?"
"There will not be much labour in the fields, till this is over;
and by having scouts watching the enemy you will get early news of
their coming, and have time to drive off your beasts before they
arrive."
"But how will they live?"
"When they are in this neighbourhood, one or two can come back and
fetch bread. If they are too far off for that, my brother will buy
bread for them. In cases where they cannot well be spared, I will
remit a portion of your dues, as long as they are away; but this
will not be for long, for I can see that, ere many weeks are past,
the Blues will be swarming round in such numbers that there will be
little time for work on your land, and you will all have to make
great sacrifices.
"You must remember that the less there is in your barns, the more
difficult it will be for an enemy to invade you; for if they can
find nothing here, they will have to bring everything with them,
and every waggon will add to their difficulties. My brother tells
me that one of the things he means to do is to break up the roads,
when he finds out by which line the Blues are advancing; and for
that purpose I shall serve out, from my store, either a pick or an
axe to each of the band."
At last all difficulties were got over, and twenty lads were
enrolled. Another three weeks passed. The peasants of Poitou and
Anjou thought but little of the storm that was gathering round
them.
General Berruyer had arrived from Paris, with his army. A portion
of the army from Brest moved down to Nantes; and were in concert,
with the army of La Rochelle, to sweep that part of La Vendee
bordering on the coast. General Canclaus was at Nantes, with two
thousand troops. General Dayat was sent to Niort, with six thousand
men; and was to defend the line between Sables and Saint Gilles.
Bressuire was occupied by General Quetineau, with three thousand
men. Leigonyer, with from four to five thousand men, occupied
Vihiers; while Saint Lambert was held by Ladouce, with two thousand
five hundred. The right bank of the Loire, between Nantes and
Angers, was held by fifteen hundred men of the National Guard.
Thus that part of upper Poitou where the rising had been most
successful was surrounded by a cordon of troops; which the
Convention hoped, and believed, would easily stamp out the
insurrection, and take a terrible vengeance for what had passed.
When the storm would burst, none knew; but Jean one day said to
Leigh that it was certain that it must come soon; and that, if he
was still resolved to carry out his plan, it was time that he set
out.
"I am quite ready to carry out my plans, Jean, as you know; but
dangers seem to threaten from so many quarters that I don't like
going away from home. While my company are scattered near Chollet,
for instance, the Blues may be burning down your chateau."
"I don't think there is much danger of that, Leigh. It is quite
certain that, as soon as these divisions begin to move, they will
have their hands full. We may hope that in some cases they will be
defeated. In others they may drive off the peasants, and march to
the town that they intend to occupy, but they will only hold the
ground they stand upon. They will not be able to send out detached
parties to attack chateaux or destroy villages.
"For the present, I have no fear whatever of their coming here. We
are well away from any of the roads that they are likely to march
by. I don't say that any of the roads are good, but they will
assuredly keep on the principal lines, and not venture to entangle
themselves in our country lanes. There are no villages of any size
within miles of us, and this is one of the most thickly wooded parts
of the Bocage--which, as you know, means the thicket--therefore I
shall, when the time comes, leave your sister without uneasiness.
We may be quite sure that if, contrary to my anticipation, any
column should try to make its way through this neighbourhood, it
would be hotly opposed, and she will have ample time to take to the
woods, where she and the child will find shelter in any of the
foresters' cottages.
"She is going to have peasant dresses made for her and Marthe. She
will of course drive, as we intended; and the two men will take the
horse and vehicle to some place in the woods, at a considerable
distance from here, and keep it there until we join her and carry
out our original plan of making for the coast. Directly you are
gone, I shall make it my business to find out the most out of the
way spot among the woods; and ride over and make an arrangement,
with some woodman with a wife and family living there, to receive
her, if necessary; and I will let you know the spot fixed on, and
give you directions how to find it."
In order to add to Leigh's influence and authority, Martin
persuaded the village cure--who was a man of much intelligence, and
perceived that real good might be done by this party of lads--to
have a farewell service in the church. Accordingly, on the morning
on which they were to start, all attended the church, which was
filled by their friends; and here he addressed the boys, telling
them that the service in which they were about to engage was one
that would be of great importance to their country, and that it
would demand all their energy and strength. He then asked them to
take an oath to carry out all orders they might receive from their
leader, the seigneur's brother; who would himself share in their
work, and the many hardships they might have to undergo.
"Here," he said, "is a gentleman who is by birth a foreigner, but
who has come to love the land that his sister adopted as her own;
and to hate its enemies--these godless murderers of women and
children, these executioners of their king, these enemies of the
church--so much that he is ready to leave his home, and all his
comforts, and to risk his life in its cause. Remember that you have
voluntarily joined him, and accepted him as your leader. The work
once begun, there must be no drawing back. There is not a man in La
Vendee who is not prepared to give his life, if need be, to the
cause; and you, in your way, can do as much or more."
He then administered an oath to each lad and, as had been arranged,
Leigh also took an oath to care for them in every respect, and to
share their risks and dangers. Then the cure pronounced his
blessing upon them, and the service ended.
Very greatly impressed with what had taken place, the little band
marched out from the church, surrounded by their friends. Jean
Martin then presented hatchets or light picks to each, and a waist
belt in which the tools should be carried. As a rule, the peasants
carried leathern belts over the shoulders, in which a sword,
hatchet, or other weapon was slung; but Jean thought the waist belt
would be much more convenient for getting rapidly through hedges or
thickets, and it had also the advantage that a long knife,
constituting in itself a formidable weapon, could also be carried
in it.
Patsey presented them each with a hat, of which a supply had been
obtained from Saint Florent. These were of the kind ordinarily worn
by the peasants, in shape like the modern broad-brimmed wide-awake,
but made of much stiffer material. She had bought these to give a
certain uniformity to the band, of whom some already wore hats of
this kind, others long knitted stocking caps, while others again
were bare headed.
She added a piece of green ribbon round each hat. Leigh objected to
this, on the ground that they might sometimes have to enter towns,
and that any badge of this sort would be speedily noticed; but as
she said, they would only have to take them off, when engaged in
such service.
A quarter of an hour after leaving the church they marched away,
amid the acclamations of their friends; each boy feeling a
sensation of pride in the work that he had undertaken, and in the
ceremony of which he had been the centre.
"Now, lads," Leigh said, as soon as they were fairly away from the
village, "instead of walking along as a loose body, you had better
form four abreast, and endeavour to keep step. It is no more
difficult to walk that way than in a clump; and indeed, by keeping
step it makes the walking easy, and it has the advantage that you
can act much more quickly. If we heard an enemy approaching, and I
gave the order, 'Ten go to the right and ten go to the left!' you
would not know which were to go.
"Now each four of you will form a section, and the order into which
you fall now, you will always observe. Then if I say, 'First two
sections to the right, the other three sections to the left!' every
one of you knows what to do, instead of having to wait until I
mention all your names.
"This is nearly all the drill you will have to learn. You can
choose your places now, but afterwards you will have to keep to
them, so those of you who are brothers and special friends will,
naturally, fall in next to each other."
In a minute or two the arrangements were made, and the party
proceeded four abreast, with Leigh marching at their head. For the
first hour or so, he had some difficulty in getting them to keep
step; but they presently fell into it, time being kept by breaking
into one of the canticles of the church.
After a long day's march, they arrived at the village which
Cathelineau now occupied as his headquarters; as it had been
necessary, in view of the threatening circle of the various columns
of the enemy, to remove the headquarters from Chollet to a central
point, from which he could advance, at once, against whichever of
these columns might first move forward into the heart of the
country. The lads all straightened themselves up as they marched
through the streets, the unwonted spectacle of twenty peasant lads,
marching in order, exciting considerable surprise. Cathelineau was
standing at the door of the house he occupied, conversing with
Messieurs Bonchamp and d'Elbee.
"Ah, Monsieur Stansfield," he said, "is it you?" as Leigh halted
his party, and raised his hat. "You are the most military-looking
party I have yet seen. They are young, but none the worse for
that."
"There is nothing military about them, except that they march four
abreast," he said, with a smile, "but for the work we have come to
do, drill will not be necessary. I have raised this band on Jean
Martin's estate, sir, and with your permission I propose to call
them 'Cathelineau's scouts.' It seemed, to my brother and myself,
that you sorely need scouts to inform you of the movements of the
enemy, the roads by which they are approaching, their force and
order. I have therefore raised this little body of lads of my own
age. They will remain with me permanently, as long as the occasion
needs. They will go on any special mission with which you may
charge them; and will, at other times, watch all the roads by which
an enemy would be likely to advance."
"If they will do that, Monsieur Stansfield, they will be valuable,
indeed; that is just what I cannot get the peasants to do. When it
comes to fighting, they will obey orders; but at all other times
they regard themselves as their own masters, and neither entreaties
nor the offer of pay suffices to persuade them to undertake such
work as you are proposing to carry out. Consequently, it is only by
chance that we obtain any news of the enemy's movements. I wish we
had fifty such parties."
"They would be valuable, indeed," Monsieur d'Elbee said. "The
obstinacy of the peasantry is maddening.
"How do you propose to feed your men?"
"When we are within reach of their homes, two will go back to fetch
bread for the whole; when we are too far away, I shall buy it in
one of the villages."
"When you are within reach of my headquarters, wherever that may
be, you have only to send in; and they shall have the loaves served
out to them, the same as the band who remain here. We are not short
of money, thanks to the captures we have made.
"I see that none of your band have firearms."
"No, sir. Jean Martin would have let me have some of the muskets he
brought from here, but it seemed to me that they would be an
encumbrance. We may have to trust to our swiftness of foot to
escape and, at any rate, we shall want to carry messages to you as
quickly as possible. The weight of a gun and ammunition would make
a good deal of difference; and would, moreover, be in our way in
getting through the woods and hedges."
"But for all that, you ought to have some defence," Cathelineau
said; "and if you came upon a patrol of cavalry, though only three
or four in number, you would be in a bad case with only those
knives to defend yourselves.
"Do you know whether there are any pistols in the storehouse,
Monsieur Bonchamp?"
"Yes, there are some that were picked up from the cavalrymen we
killed. They have not been given out yet."
"Then I think we had better serve out a pistol, with a score of
cartridges, to each of these lads.
"If you let them fire three or four rounds at the trunk of a tree,
or some mark of that sort, Monsieur Stansfield, they will get to
know something about the use of the weapons."
"Thank you, sir. That would be excellent, and would certainly
enable us to face a small party of the enemy, if we happen to
encounter them."
"Please form the boys up two deep," Cathelineau said. "I will say a
word or two to them."
The manoeuvre was not executed in military style, but the boys were
presently arranged in order.
"I congratulate you, lads," Cathelineau went on, "in having devoted
yourselves to your country, and that in a direction that will be
most useful. I trust that you will strictly obey the orders of your
commander; and will remember that you will be of far more use, in
carrying them out, than in merely helping to swell the number in a
pitched battle. I have every confidence in Monsieur Stansfield. He
has set a noble example to the youths of this country, in thus
undertaking arduous and fatiguing work, which is not without its
dangers.
"I was glad to see that you marched in here, in order. I hope that
you will go a little further, and learn to form line quickly, and
to gather at his call. These things may seem to you to make very
little difference, but in fact will make a great deal. You saw that
you were at least a couple of minutes forming in line just now.
Supposing the enemy's cavalry had been charging down upon you, that
two minutes lost would have made all the difference between your
receiving them in order, or being in helpless confusion when they
came up.
"I have no doubt that one of my generals here has, among his
followers, someone who served in the army, and who will teach you
within the course of an hour, if you pay attention to his
instructions, how to form into line, and back again into fours."
"I will give them an hour myself," Monsieur Bonchamp said. "I have
nothing particular to do, and should be glad to instruct young
fellows who are so willing, and well disposed.
"Are you too tired to drill now? You have had a long march."
A general negative was the reply.
"Well, then, march to the open space, just outside the town, and we
will begin at once."
Feeling very proud of the honour of being drilled by a general, the
boys fell into their formation, and followed Monsieur Bonchamp and
Leigh. They were at a loss, at first, to comprehend the
instructions given them; but by the end of an hour, they had fairly
mastered the very simple movement.
"That will do," Monsieur Bonchamp said. "Of course you are not
perfect, yet; but with a quarter of an hour's drill by your
commander, every day, at the end of a week you will be able to do
it quickly and neatly; and you will certainly find it a great
advantage, if you come upon the enemy."
A large empty room was allotted to them and, as they sat down on
the floor and munched the bread that they had brought with them,
they felt quite enthusiastic over their work. It was a high honour,
indeed, to have been praised by Monsieur Cathelineau, and been
taught by one of his generals. They even felt the advantage that
the drill had given them, contrasting the quickness with which they
had finally formed into line, with their trouble in arranging
themselves before Monsieur Cathelineau. The fact, too, that they
were next morning to be furnished with pistols was a great
gratification to them and, over and over again, they said to each
other:
"What will the people at home say, when they hear that Monsieur
Cathelineau has praised us, that Monsieur Bonchamp himself has
drilled us, and that we are to be provided with pistols?"
In the morning, the pistols and ammunition were served out. Leigh
had, during the previous evening, seen Cathelineau and asked for
orders.
"I cannot say exactly the line the Blues are likely to take. I
should say that you had better make Chemille your headquarters.
Berruyer, who is their new commander, has arrived at Saint Lambert.
There is a strong force at Thouars, being a portion of the army
from Saint Lambert. The enemy are also in force at Vihiers, and at
Parthenay.
"It is from the forces at Thouars and Vihiers that danger is most
likely to come. Doubtless other columns will come from the north,
but we shall hear of their having crossed the Loire in time to
oppose them; and with so small a band as yours, you will be amply
employed in watching Thouars. There are many roads, all more or
less bad, by which they may march; as soon as you ascertain that
they are moving, and by which route, you will send a messenger to
me.
"Any others of your band that you may have with you, send off to
all the villages round. Give them warning, set the bells ringing,
promise that aid will soon arrive, and urge them to harass the
enemy, to fell trees across the road, and to impede their advance
in every possible way.
"I will give you half a dozen papers, for the use of yourself and
your messengers, saying that you are acting under my orders, and
are charged with raising the country, directly the enemy advance.
But above all, it is important that I should get the earliest
possible information as to the route by which they are moving; as
it will take us thirty-six hours before we can gather in anything
like our full strength.
"It will be useful that you should spread false news as to our
whereabouts. Your boys can say, in one village, that we are
marching towards Tours; in another, that we are massed in the
neighbourhood of Saint Florent; in a third that they hear that the
order is, that all able-bodied men are to go west to oppose the
force coming from Nantes, which has already taken Clisson, and
carried Monsieur de Lescure and his family, prisoners, to
Bressuire."
"We shall have to tell the villagers, sir, that we wish this news
to be given to the Blues, if they should come there or, if
questioned, they would tell them something else. I am sure that
even the women would suffer themselves to be killed, rather than
give any news that they thought would be useful to the enemy."
"You are right. Yes, you must tell them that this is what we want
the Blues to believe, and that it is my wish that these are the
answers to be given to any of them who may enter the village."
"The only thing, sir, is that they may find the villages empty, as
they come along. The women and children will, no doubt, take to the
woods. The men will, perhaps, offer some resistance; but when they
find how strong the Blues are, will probably hurry to join you."
"There will probably be a few old people remaining in each village.
However, we must trust much to chance. The great thing is for you
to let me know, as soon as their main body is in motion. Whichever
way they come, we must meet and attack them. It is in the woods and
lanes that we must defend ourselves."
"I will endeavour to carry out your orders, sir; and shall start
tomorrow morning, as soon as we get our pistols."
As soon as the little band was well away from the town, the pistols
were loaded; and each of the lads, in turn, fired three shots at
the trunk of a tree, at a distance of ten yards, under Leigh's
directions. The shooting was quite as good as he had expected, and
the boys themselves were well satisfied.
Then, the pistols being reloaded and placed in their belts, they
resumed their march. They halted at a tiny hamlet, consisting of
half a dozen houses, four miles from Thouars. The inhabitants were
greatly surprised at their appearance, and an old man, who was the
head of the little community, came out and asked Leigh who they
were.
"We are Cathelineau's scouts," he replied. "We have orders to watch
the movements of the enemy. We wish to be of no trouble. If there
is an empty shed, we should be glad of it; still more so if there
is a truss or two of straw."
"These you can have," the old man said. "If Cathelineau's orders
had been that we were to turn out of our houses for you, we should
have done so, willingly."
"A shed will do excellently for us. We shall be here but little.
Half our number will always be away. If you can supply us with
bread, I will pay you for it. If you cannot do so, I shall have to
send two of my party away, every day, to fetch bread from
Cathelineau's camp."
"I will see what can be done. It will not be for long?"
"No, it may possibly be only two or three days, and it may be a
week."
"Then I think that we can manage. If we have not flour enough here
to spare, I can take my horse and fetch half a sackful from some
other village."
"Thank you very much. However, I think that we shall only
occasionally want bread; for I shall be sending messengers, every
day, to Monsieur Cathelineau, and these can always bring bread back
with them."
The old man led them to a building which had served as a stable,
but which was then untenanted.
"I will get some straw taken in presently, lads.
"As for you, sir, I shall be glad if you will be my guest."
"I thank you," Leigh said, "but I prefer to be with my followers.
They come by my persuasion, and I wish to share their lot, in all
things; besides, my being with them will keep up their spirits."
There was half an hour's drill, and then Leigh led the party to the
shed, to which four or five bundles of straw had, by this time,
been brought.
"Now," he said, "before we do anything else, we must choose two
sub-officers. At times we may divide into two parties, and
therefore it is necessary that one should be responsible, to me,
for what is done in my absence.
"I will leave it to you to choose them. Remember it is not size and
strength that are of most importance, it is quickness and
intelligence. You know your comrades better than I do, and I shall
be quite content to abide by your choice. I will go outside for a
quarter of an hour, while you talk it over. I don't want to
influence you, at all."
In ten minutes, two of the lads came out.
"We have chosen Andre Favras and Pierre Landrin."
"I think that you have done very wisely," Leigh said. "Those are
the two whom I, myself, should have selected."
He had, indeed, noticed them as the two most intelligent of the
party. They had been his first recruits, and it was in no small
degree owing to their influence that the others had joined him. He
returned to the shed.
"I approve of your choice, lads," he said. "No doubt Andre and
Pierre will make very good sub-officers. When I am not present, you
must obey their orders as readily as you do mine; and I shall be
able to trust them to carry out my directions, implicitly.
"Now you will divide in two parties: the first two sections, and
two of the third section will form one party, and will be under
Andre's command, when acting in two parties; the other two of the
third section, and the fourth and fifth, will form the second
division, under Pierre. You will take it in turns to be on duty. We
shall not need to watch by night, for there is no chance of the
enemy venturing to enter our lanes, and thickets, after dark. The
party not out on scouting duty will remain here, and will furnish
messengers to carry news to Cathelineau, to fetch bread, or to
perform other duties."
The next morning Leigh set out with the whole band, except two. He
had gathered, from the people of the village, the position of the
various roads and lanes by which troops, going westward from
Thouars, would be likely to travel. When within two miles of the
town, he placed two boys on each of these roads. They were not to
show themselves, but were to lie behind the hedges and, if they saw
any body of troops coming along, were at once to bring news to him,
his own point being on the principal road.
Andre and Pierre were to leave their arms and belts behind them, to
make a long detour, and to enter the town from the other side. They
were to saunter about the place, listen to what was being said, and
gather as much news as possible. Each was provided with two francs
and, if questioned, they were to say that they had come in, from
some village near, to buy an axe.
"I should have gone in myself, Andre; but although I can get on
fairly enough in your patois, I cannot speak it well enough to pass
as a native. However, you are not likely to be questioned. In a
town crowded with troops, two lads can move about without
attracting the smallest attention from the military. It would be
only the civilian authorities that you would have to fear; but
these will be so much occupied, in attending to the wants of the
soldiers, that they will not have any time on their hands for
asking questions.
"Be sure, before you enter the town, that you find out the name of
some village, three or four miles on the other side; so as to have
an answer ready, if you are asked where you come from.
"It is probable that you will find troops quartered in all the
villages beyond the town, which could hardly accommodate so large a
number as are there. Remember, you must try to look absolutely
unconcerned as you go through them, and as you walk about the
streets of the town. The great object is to find out how many men
there are in and around Thouars, whether they are looking for more
troops to join them from Saumur, and when they are expecting to
move forward."
As soon as they had left he repeated, to the six lads who remained
with him, the orders that he had given to those posted on the other
roads.
"You are to remain in hiding," he said, "whatever the force may be.
It is likely enough that patrols of four or five men may come
along, to see that the roads are clear, and that there are no signs
of any bodies being gathered to oppose their advance. It is quite
true that we might shoot down and overpower any such patrols, but
we must not attempt to do so. If one of them escaped, he would
carry the news to Thouars that the roads were beset. This would put
them on their guard--doubtless they imagine that, with such a force
as they have gathered, they will march through La Vendee without
opposition--and they would adopt such precautions at to render it
far more difficult, than it otherwise would be, to check their
advance when it begins in earnest. We are here only to watch. We
shall have opportunities for fighting, later on.
"This is a good spot for watching, for we have a thick wood behind
us; and plenty of undergrowth along its edge, by the road, where we
can hide so closely that there will not be the slightest chance of
our being discovered, if we do but keep absolutely quiet."
Three or four times during the day, indeed, cavalry parties passed
along the road. They did not appear to have any fear of an attack,
but laughed and jested at the work they had come to do, scoffed at
the idea of the peasants venturing to oppose such forces as had
gathered against them, and discussed the chances of booty. One
party, of four men and an old sergeant, pulled up and dismounted,
close to the spot where the lads where hidden.
"It is all very well, comrades," their leader said, "but for my
part, I would rather be on the frontier fighting the Austrians.
That is work for soldiers. Here we are to fight Frenchmen, like
ourselves; poor chaps who have done no harm, except that they stick
to their clergy, and object to be dragged away from their homes. I
am no politician, and I don't care a snap for the doings of the
Assembly in Paris--I am a soldier, and have learned to obey orders,
whatever they are--but I don't like this job we have in hand;
which, mind you, is bound to be a good deal harder than most of you
expect. It is true that they say there are twenty thousand troops
round the province--but what sort of troops? There are not five
thousand soldiers among them. The others are either National
Guards, or newly-raised levies, or those blackguards from the slums
of Paris. Of the National Guards I should say half would desert, if
they only had the chance, and the new levies can't be counted on."