Tired of delay, I at length resolved to apply once more to the Prince
in person, though Gourville shook his head, laughing, and told me that
he could see very plainly that his Highness was determined to keep me
some time longer. About noon, I went out to the camp, but, on arriving
at the door of the house in which the Prince de Condé had taken up his
quarters, and which was the tapestry manufactory, called les Gobelins,
then belonging to a private individual, I was agreeably surprised to
find half a dozen of the grooms and attendants of Monsieur de
Villardin. From them I learned that the Duke had obtained a
safe-conduct the preceding day, and had arrived on a visit to the Prince
about an hour before. In the ante-chamber I found the officer who had
brought me to Paris, and who, informing me that messengers had already
been sent to seek me, directed one of the attendants to let the Prince
know that I had arrived. The next moment I was admitted to his
Highness's presence, and found him seated with Monsieur de Villardin,
while Gaspard de Belleville stood before them with a sullen and
downcast countenance, on which I plainly read the workings of reproof
and correction upon a stubborn and an evil heart. The sound of my step
instantly called upon me a glance from my adversary as quick as
lightning, and full of rage and hatred. Condé, however, took no notice
of my approach, and continued the interrogation of his officer, which
had previously commenced.
"Pray, sir," he said, "how came you to fire the château at all, when
the general order was given to keep silence, and conduct the advance
with as much secrecy as possible?"
"I caused the house to be burned, your Highness, by order of the Duke
of Nemours," replied Gaspard.
"But the Duke tells me," rejoined the Prince, "that the order was
given at your suggestion. How was that, sir? speak!"
"My reason for proposing it, my lord," replied the officer, "was, that
I thought the regiment of Latour might miss its way without some
signal from us; and by that time the Englishman there had discovered
our march and lighted a beacon on the hill."
"For which your Highness owes him no great thanks," said Monsieur de
Villardin, with a smile: "for the tidings we received from him enabled
us to keep you in check the next day."
"He did his duty, and he did it well, my good friend," answered the
Prince; "I would to God that my officers would do the same. As for
you, sir," he continued, addressing Gaspard de Belleville, "it is
quite sufficiently evident that your motives were not the best in
burning the château of Virmont, and still more evident, that your
conduct towards your prisoner afterwards was unworthy and ungenerous.
In regard to the first, you have certainly taken care to shelter
yourself under an order from the Duke of Nemours; but as you suggested
that order, I shall dismiss you from every post about my person,
though you keep your company. In regard to the treatment of your
prisoner, of which Monsieur de Villardin has explained to me the
cause, I can, of course, only reprove you for conduct unbecoming a
French gentleman. There is no military law which enables me to punish
such behaviour, except, indeed, by reducing the ransom which may be
demanded for him, and which I fix at 400 crowns."
Of course Gaspard de Belleville dared not reply to the severe terms of
the Prince; but I saw his eye glare from my face to that of Monsieur
de Villardin, with an expression which would have boded neither of us
any good had his means of injuring us been equal to his desire of
doing so. Monsieur de Villardin declared that he would pay my ransom
himself, and immediately gave an order for the sum, which Condé
delivered into the hands of my adversary, and bade him retire.
"I am obliged," said the Prince, in a sort of apologetic tone, as soon
as we were left without other witnesses--"I am obliged to suffer these
fellows to make as much of their trade as they can, or a great number
of them would leave me. In other respects, the system of taking
ransoms, which, thank God, is becoming less common, is by no means one
I like. But, however, I have suffered you to escape at a cheap rate,
Monsieur de Juvigny," he added, turning towards me, "and as I find you
are determined not to stay with me, I suppose I must even let you go."
As these words might be considered as a hint that our audience was at
an end, Monsieur de Villardin rose, and we took our leave, the Prince
laying his hand familiarly upon my arm as we were departing, and
saying, in a kind tone, "I shall not forget Vincennes."
Without suffering me to return to Paris, Monsieur de Villardin made
one of his servants give me up a horse, and we rode together at once
to St. Denis, where the Court was then assembled. I now found that
some interest had been excited concerning my fate amongst persons whom
I had scarcely imagined to be acquainted with my existence. To
Monsieur de Turenne, to the Queen, to the young King, and to the
Cardinal, I was presented once more by Monsieur de Villardin, on the
occasion of my liberation, and I found that--each had something to say
to me upon my late adventures. Turenne told me, in his simple manner,
that he was very much obliged to me for thinking of the beacons, as
the speedy information communicated to him of the march of the Prince
de Condé had most likely saved the royal army at Briare. The Queen
said that she remembered seeing me at Poitiers, and added, that a long
imprisonment must be a more beneficial thing than was generally
supposed, as my appearance was very much improved.
The Cardinal said something, with a strong Italian accent; I saw that
it was intended to be witty and pointed, and though I did not very
well understand it, I smiled, which did quite as well. The young King
thanked me gracefully for my services and attachment to his cause, and
added, "I trust that means will occur, ere long, of rewarding your
exertions and compensating your sufferings in our cause."
All this promised well for my future success in life; and though at
that time my ambition was cooped within very narrow limits, I must own
that I felt a good deal of joy at the prospect of rising to some
station where I might distinguish myself in the profession of arms.
The pleasure, however, of being free, and of meeting applause where I
most desired it, was, indeed, a little alloyed by the necessity of
communicating to Monsieur de Villardin the confession--for such, in
fact, it was--of Suzette. I knew not what effect it might ultimately
have upon his mind, whether good or bad--whether the knowledge of
having injured an innocent and virtuous woman who had loved him
dearly, and was passionately loved by him, might not send the sting of
remorse still deeper into his heart--especially if the fearful
suspicions which I entertained were just; or, whether, on the other
hand, the discovery that he had been worked upon and deceived by
designing people and an artful scheme, that he had been cheated into
all the acts he had committed, and almost driven mad himself by a plot
which he could hardly have divined, might not take away some portion
of the responsibility which now weighed so heavy upon him, and cast a
part of the load of culpability upon other shoulders. At all events, I
knew that the very renewal of a subject which had never been mentioned
for several years, would reawaken a world of painful memories, some of
which I trusted now slept; and I shrunk from the task I had
undertaken, hoping from day to day that something would occur to
render its execution less difficult. Monsieur de Villardin, however,
seemed also to avoid the topic altogether; and although he knew that I
had seen Suzette several times, and must in his own mind have
connected her name with the memory of his unhappy wife, yet he never
mentioned the circumstance after our arrival at St. Denis, and seemed
purposely to turn from any reference to Gaspard de Belleville and his
wife. The matter was thus rendered more difficult to me; and, as I
could not but remark that the gloom which I have before noticed, had
taken a deeper hold of Monsieur de Villardin than ever--as, the moment
that any active exertion was over, all energy seemed to abandon his
mind, and as it pained me to think of increasing the deep and bitter
melancholy in which he passed all his solitary hours, I still, as I
have said, put off the task from day to day, till at length the army
was ordered to march, and I had scarcely time to attend to anything
else than the military duties in which I was now employed.
On my return to the regiment, I found that the troop which I commanded
before my imprisonment had been nearly annihilated by the cross fire
into which I had so rashly led them at Virmont. Not above twenty men,
indeed, had escaped of those of whom it was originally composed.
Monsieur de Villardin, however, had recruited it by the addition of
about forty more; and, while we stayed at St. Denis, I did all that I
could to gain volunteers. Thus, when we marched for Compiegne, the
troop amounted to about eighty men; but, I must confess, that it was
altogether in a much better state than when I had left it, for the
number of marches, skirmishes, and man[oe]uvres, which it had since
taken part in under the command of Turenne, had done far more to
render the men expert, veteran, and well-disciplined, than all the
drilling we could give them before.
It was very necessary, indeed, that our troops should be of the best
quality, for, at this time, with less than ten thousand men, we had to
make head against the Spanish army and the Duke of Loraine on the
frontiers of Flanders, while the force of the Princes was in our
rear--not sufficiently powerful, indeed, to meet us in the open field,
but quite sufficiently so to render any check that we might receive
from the superior numbers of the Spaniards utterly fatal to the royal
cause.
It is unnecessary to relate the events that immediately succeeded, for
there are few people in the present day who are not well acquainted
with the skilful man[oe]uvres by which Turenne, without striking a
stroke, compelled the Spanish army to evacuate the French territory;
and it would be only wearisome in this place to detail the means which
he employed to arrive at such a fortunate result. This having been
effected, however, we returned to Gonesse, in order to watch the
movements of the Prince de Condé, who remained in the neighbourhood of
Paris for the purpose of keeping his party in the capital from the
ruin with which it was continually threatened by the dissensions of
the leaders.
We were soon again in activity; for the Duke of Loraine, having once
more entered France with a force of sixteen thousand men, marched
forward, on the side of Champagne, to effect his junction with the
Prince dc Condé. At the same time, that Prince decamped from under the
walls of Paris to meet him, while Turenne hastened to pass the Marne
at Lagni, and advanced with extraordinary rapidity upon Brie Comte
Robert, where we first encountered the troops of the Duke of Loraine.
Finding that we were not strong enough to contest that post with him,
we turned, and hastened towards Villeneuve St. George, but here again
the troops of Loraine were before us, the town in their possession,
and the bridge, as well as the heights which command it, already
occupied by two companies of infantry and four pieces of artillery.
For the purpose of proceeding with greater speed, our own infantry and
artillery had both been left to follow; and when he first discovered
that this post also was in possession of the enemy, Turenne had only
with him three regiments of cavalry. We had all halted, while the
Maréchal rode forward to ascertain the facts with his own eyes, but,
in a minute or two after, he cantered back to the head of Monsieur de
Villardin's regiment, and spoke a few words to him in a kindly and
smiling manner; and, as I was not far off, I heard him say, in reply
to something which the Duke had observed, "Oh, no, my friend, one
troop can dislodge them; and then, with our fresh forces, we can keep
possession of the ground till the artillery comes up."
What Monsieur de Villardin replied, I did not hear; but Turenne
immediately answered, "We will give him the opportunity, at all
events;" and I instantly received an order to draw out from the little
wood that covered us, and charge the company that occupied the
heights. An injunction was added not to follow the enemy too far, but
to satisfy myself with dislodging them from their present post.
I found no difficulty in executing these commands. The enemy reserved
their fire till we were within about fifty yards, and then received us
with a general discharge. Half a dozen men and horses went over at
once; but we were by this time in the very heat of the charge, and not
one man who was capable of going forward tightened his rein. The
enemy, who had expected to see us waver, took fright at our approach,
and, after a very faint resistance, were driven down the hill with
considerable slaughter. Their guns and ammunition were left behind;
and when, after some difficulty, I could halt my men and bring them
back to the heights, I found the ground already occupied by Monsieur
de Turenne, and the cannon which we had taken turned against the
bridge.
The Duke of Loraine, however, not being aware that our infantry and
artillery had been left behind, imagined that Turenne occupied the
heights in force, and, knowing the town to be untenable under such
circumstances, instantly decamped, and took post upon the Seine, about
a league farther up. No more skirmishing therefore occurred; and,
without being obliged to fire upon either the bridge or the town, we
remained in tranquil possession of our position till the rest of the
forces came up, and rendered it completely secure.
Monsieur de Turenne made no observation at the moment upon the manner
in which I had executed his commands, nor did I expect him to do so,
for I knew that I had not performed my duty ill, but yet felt quite
conscious that I had done no more than my duty. Towards six o'clock in
the evening, however, I was called to his tent, and found him just
concluding a despatch, giving notice to the Court of the different
man[oe]uvres that had taken place. As soon as I entered, he looked up,
with one of his calm, intelligent smiles, saying merely, "You
performed so well what I commanded you this morning, that I am going
to send you away from me. You must carry this despatch to Pontoise, or
to whatever other town his Majesty may now be in; and I doubt not that
he will appreciate the services of an officer, who does gallantly and
skilfully that which he is commanded, without overstepping the line
that is prescribed to him." A number of superior officers were present
at the moment; and it may be well conceived that such words from such
a man made my cheek glow with unexpected pleasure.
Monsieur de Villardin, who was also in the tent, followed me out, and
told me that, while my horses were preparing, he would write a brief
note to his cousin, Monsieur le Tellier, one of the King's ministers,
who might teach me how to turn to some account the favourable terms in
which Monsieur de Turenne had mentioned me in his despatch. As speed
is in all these cases a great object, and the first bearer of good
tidings is always likely to be better received than those who follow
after, I neither spared myself nor my horses till I reached Pontoise,
which I accomplished, without the slightest interruption, in the
course of the following day.
Great was the joy which my arrival spread; for neither King, nor
Queen, nor ministers, had felt themselves at all easy under the
prospect of a junction between the Prince de Condé and the Duke of
Loraine in the immediate vicinity of Paris; and, as Turenne now gave
them the most positive assurance that he would be able to keep both
those generals in check, for at least a month, while the Court
negotiated with the Parisians, and raised new troops, it may be
conceived that his despatch proved a very agreeable relief to the
minds of all. It luckily so happened, also, that one of the persons
most interested in the tidings which I brought was precisely in the
situation which best enabled him to make my journey as satisfactory to
myself as it had proved to him. Cardinal Mazarin, having by this time
been forced once more to quit France, had left his whole interest in
the hands of his friend, Monsieur le Tellier; and that minister, who
knew that the first reverse on the part of the Court would induce the
Parliament to pronounce the Cardinal's banishment eternal, was perhaps
more overjoyed than any one at the tidings that I brought. I found him
out immediately after my arrival, and communicated the intelligence to
him before he had received it from any other person. At the very first
intelligence, he took me in his arms, and hugged me, as if I had been
his own son; and then, making me sit down to dinner with him, at which
meal he had been engaged when I entered, he asked me a multitude of
questions, seeking evidently a confirmation of the hopes which
Monsieur de Turenne had held out.
I anticipated no immediate reward, however; and as I was very anxious
to see the rest of the campaign, I determined to depart the next day
or the one following, if I could obtain leave to do so; and,
therefore, on the morning after my arrival, I again visited the
minister, in order to request that he would solicit for me the King's
permission to that effect. Without making me any reply, he took me by
the hand, and led me, followed by a secretary with his portfolio, to
the presence of the young monarch and his mother, who were listening
to some news from Paris, not quite so agreeable in their nature as my
tidings had proved.
"This young gentleman, sire," said Monsieur le Tellier, "is all
eagerness to return to the camp, in order to serve your Majesty in the
field, but I think you said that you had some commands for him ere his
departure?"
"You are right," replied the monarch; "are the letters drawn up?"
Le Tellier instantly took a parchment from the portfolio which was
carried by his secretary, and placed it in the hands of the young
King, who ran his eye hastily over it. Louis then addressed me, in a
tone and manner so dignified and kinglike, that I could not but
perceive that a great change had wrought itself in his mind since I
was first presented to him at Saumur; though I little anticipated at
the time that the alteration which I marked would go on progressively
but rapidly, till the careless and somewhat indolent boy became the
greatest monarch of his age.
"Monsieur de Juvigny," he said, "we are informed by the Maréchal de
Turenne, that, when we held our court at Gien, by the prompt and
skilful measures which your own judgment suggested, for conveying
immediate information to our generals of the advance of the Prince de
Condé, you saved us all from very imminent danger. He also informs us,
in his despatch received yesterday, that you have again highly
distinguished yourself in dislodging a superior body of the enemy from
the heights above Villeneuve St. George, and he recommends you
strongly to our notice and favour. We ourselves have not forgotten
that you have once been severely wounded, and have suffered a long and
cruel imprisonment for your attachment to our cause, and your
opposition to the rebels now in arms against us. Monsieur le Tellier,
also, upon the authority of Monsieur de Villardin, informs us that in
your native country your father and mother were both of gentle blood;
but, at all events, it is the prerogative of royalty to ennoble, and
therefore it is, that we have caused these letters to be drawn up, not
only for the purpose of expressing our thanks to you for the services
you have performed, but also as a proof to all others that no one ever
will serve us without meeting due honour and recompence."
He then gave me the parchment that he had received from Le Tellier;
and, though I knew not what it contained, I bent my knee and kissed
his Majesty's hand, with every token of gratitude. I then withdrew, in
company with the minister, who, as soon as we were in another
apartment, bade me open the letters and read the contents. I did so
immediately, and found that the parchment contained letters patent,
conferring on me the rank and title of Baron de Juvigny; and adding
what seemed to me the more solid recompence, of a pension of three
thousand crowns per annum, chargeable upon the receipts of the duchy
of Brittany, "till such time--," so the letters ran, "till such time
as his Majesty thought fit to assign me an estate of equal value."
Monsieur le Tellier laid his left hand upon my shoulder as I read,
and, pointing with his right to the words concerning the pension, he
repeated, "Three thousand crowns!--that is, when you can get them, my
young friend;" and laughing gaily, he added, "which will not be till
the country is quiet, and these rebels put down. So go, and do your
best against them; and God send that we may soon be delivered from
their company altogether!"
"Amen!" replied I; and I doubt not that Monsieur le Tellier devoutly
believed that it was the prospect of my three thousand crowns which
gave such fervency to my aspirations; but it was perhaps that I was
heartily tired of civil wars, having seen little else ever since I was
born; and I certainly did long to be in one good stricken field,
between nations of different tongues and dwelling-places, if it were
but for a change. I said nothing, however, to undeceive the minister;
but taking my leave, with many thanks for honours and rewards, which I
felt very sure had been obtained for me fully as much by interest as
by merit, I withdrew with the letters patent of a barony in my pocket,
but very little else besides.