Tongres, in the market-place of which Favart had constructed a theatre.
The allied army, under Prince Charles of Lorraine, was close at hand,
and a decisive engagement was daily expected; but this did not prevent
the improvised playhouse from being crowded every evening. Early in the
afternoon of October 9, the Marshal sent for Favart to come to his
quarters, and, on his arrival, dismissed the officers who were with him,
and, turning to the poet, said: "To-morrow I shall give battle. As yet I
have issued no orders to that effect. Announce it this evening at the
conclusion of the performance, in couplets suitable to the occasion.
Until that moment let nothing transpire."
Favart obeyed, and composed the following verses, which were sung by a
young and pretty actress between the two pieces of which the performance
consisted:--
"Nous avons rempli notre tâche,
Demain nous donnerons relâche;
Guerriers, Mars va guider vos pas;
Que votre ardeur se renouvelle:
A des intrépides soldats
La Victoire est toujours fidèle.
"Demain bataille, jour de gloire;
Que dans les fastes de l'histoire
Triomphe encore le nom français
Digne d'eternelle mémoire!
Revenez après vos succès,
Jouir des fruits de la victoire."
These verses caused the most unbounded astonishment. It was at first
supposed that the poet had lost his head; a battle announced between two
comic operas, the order of the day to the air of a popular song, seemed
too absurd! Officers hastened to the Marshal's box to inquire if Favart
had had any authority for his announcement; but Maurice smilingly
replied that he had acted under his orders. Thereupon the astonishment
changed to enthusiasm, and the theatre resounded with applause. "On all
sides," writes Favart, "but two words were heard: '_Demain, bataille!
demain, bataille!_' The intoxication passed rapidly from officers to
men, and was so intense that one could not fail to see therein a presage
of victory."[123]
The battle so eagerly anticipated did not take place next day, but on
October 11, when Maurice attacked the allies at Roucoux, a little to the
north of Liège, and completely defeated them, though the English, who,
as usual, bore the brunt of the engagement, fought right valiantly, and
the victory was in consequence very dearly purchased.
In celebration of his compatriots' triumph, Favart, on the morrow of the
battle, hurriedly composed two or three scenes full of happy allusions
to the events of the preceding day. These were performed the same night,
and were, of course, received with enthusiasm. He did not confine
himself, he tells us, to chanting the praises of the victors, but paid a
generous tribute to the courage of the vanquished, one of his couplets
concluding thus:--
"Anglais chéris de la victoire
Vous ne cédez qu'aux seuls Français;
Vous n'en avez pas moins de gloire."
The victory of Roucoux concluded the campaign of that year, and Favart
and his company returned to Brussels, heartily thankful to be quit, for
a time, of war's alarms. "I prefer," he wrote to his mother, "moderate
profits with safety to a large fortune purchased by continual fear and
danger." However, he had no reason to be dissatisfied with his winter
season in the Belgian capital, which was indeed successful beyond his
most sanguine anticipations, the profits at each performance averaging
as much as six hundred livres. To add to his good fortune, he was able
to rid himself of his rival Parmentier, who, finding that the Marshal
had taken Favart definitely under his protection, and that all attempts
to oust him were likely to prove abortive, retired in disgust, leaving
the poet master of the field. The future now presented itself to Favart
in the most smiling colours; but alas! the poor man was living all the
while in a fool's paradise, from which he was soon destined to be very
rudely ejected.
* * * * *
Though now in his fiftieth year, Maurice de Saxe was still as
susceptible to feminine charms as in the days when he had wrought such
havoc among the ladies of Lithuania and Courland. If the record of his
gallantries did not equal those of his royal father, it was probably
because his military occupations absorbed so large a portion of his
time. His tastes, particularly where the theatre was concerned, were
catholic. "Whom did he not love? To what actress or opera-girl's skirts
was he not attached? All the actresses of his campaigns in Flanders
succeeded one another in that inflammable heart and disputed there an
ephemeral reign: Mlles. Darimattes, Fleury, Amand, Verrières,[124]
Bline, Auguste, and Beaumenard. For the Saxon hero, the troupe which he
caused to follow him was a seraglio, in which the last comers were the
most honoured."[125]
Upon the susceptible Marshal it was only to be expected that the fresh
beauty and grace of Justine should make a favourable impression, nor was
his admiration for the young lady by any means diminished by the fact
that--to borrow his own curious expression--she was "possessed by the
demon of conjugal love,"[126] and, therefore, unlikely to afford him an
easy conquest. M. Léon Gozlan asserts that Justine had attracted
Maurice's notice in Paris, and that his invitation to Favart to
accompany him to Flanders was nothing but a pretext for getting the
poet's wife into his power. Of this there is some doubt; but, on the
other hand, there can be no question that, before the end of the year
1746, Maurice had fallen desperately in love with the young actress, and
had determined to make her, _bon gré, mal gré_, his mistress.
"Mlle. de Chantilly," he writes, "I take leave of you; you are an
enchantress more dangerous than the late Madame Armide. Whether as
Pierrot, whether under the guise of Love, or even as a simple
shepherdess, you are so excellent that you enchant us all. I have seen
myself on the point of succumbing--I, whose fatal art affrights the
world. What a triumph for you, had you been able to make me submit to
your laws! I thank you for not having used all your powers; you might
well pass for a young sorceress, with your shepherd's crook, which is
nothing else than the magic wand with which that poor prince of the
French, whom, I fancy, they called Renaud, was struck. Already I have
seen myself surrounded with flowers and _fleurettes_, fatal equipment
for all the favourites of Mars. I shudder at it; and what would the King
of France and Navarre have said if, in place of the torch of his
vengeance, he had found me with a garland in my hand? In spite of the
danger to which you have exposed me, I have not the heart to blame you
for my weakness; it is a charming one! But it is only by flying from it
that one is able to escape a peril so great.
[Illustration: JUSTINE FAVART
From an engraving by J. J. FLIPART, after the drawing by CHARLES NICOLAS
COCHIN _fils_]
"Adieu, divinité du parterre adorée;
Faites le bien d'un seul et les désirs de tous;
Et puissent vos amours égaler la durée
De la tendre amitié que mon coeur a pour vous!
"Pardon, Mademoiselle, to the remains of intoxication this _rhymed
prose_ to which your talents inspire me;[127] the effects of the liquor
of which I have drunk endures, they say, often longer than one thinks."
* * * * *
From this letter, which is undated, but was no doubt written in the
late autumn of 1746, as Maurice was on the point of setting out for
Paris, where he spent the following winter, it would appear that the
Marshal had already commenced the siege of the lady's heart. Whether his
operations were crowned with success at this period is a point upon
which there is a considerable difference of opinion. Dumolard, the
editor of Favart's _Mémoires et Correspondance_, published in 1808,
makes of Justine a perfect paragon of virtue, whose resistance the
Marshal did not succeed in overcoming for some years, and then only
under pressure of the most cruel persecution. M. Saint-Réne Taillandier,
one of the most conscientious of Maurice's biographers, adopts the same
view, and is very severe upon his hero's conduct in this matter; while
he shows us Justine "despising alike threats and promises, the victim of
disgraceful intrigues, persecuted, thrown into the depths of a dungeon,
guarding pure and intact the dignity of her art, her honour, and her
name: a rare lesson for an actress to give to a corrupt society."
Sainte-Beuve[128] and Desnoiresterres, however, take a different view,
and, much as we should wish to believe in the lady's innocence, we are
compelled to admit that the evidence which they adduce leaves no room
for doubt upon the matter. The former points to the report of the
police-inspector, Meusnier, who declares that at Brussels Justine had
ousted all the other enchantresses of the Marshal, and obtained so great
an influence over her lover that no one could obtain any favour from
him, except through her good offices,[129] and to Maurice's letter to
the Princess of Holstein; while the latter cites a letter of Justine to
the Marshal, written during her confinement in the Ursuline convent at
Les Grands Andelys, in 1749, and which, in his opinion, amounts to a
confession of her fault.[130]
But if Justine succumbed, as so many had succumbed before her, to this
impetuous wooer, her fall would appear to have been due to a very
different cause from that of any of her predecessors in the Marshal's
affections. It is certain that her heart was not concerned in the
matter, while it is very improbable that she was influenced by a desire
to participate in the favours which Maurice was in the habit of heaping
upon his enchantresses, though she subsequently admitted to having
"availed herself of his benefits and assistance," doubtless being of
opinion that, since the mischief was done, she was justified in making
the best of the situation. The poor young woman, indeed, appears to have
regarded the Marshal with feelings of positive aversion, and there can
be little doubt, in view of what follows, that she was intimidated into
surrender through fear of the consequences to herself and her husband of
thwarting the man in whose power they had placed themselves; a fear
which, as we shall presently see, was but too well justified.
Under these circumstances, it is scarcely surprising that the _liaison_
should have been a brief one. Tortured by remorse, loving her
unsuspecting husband the more now that she knew herself unworthy of his
affection and confidence, still possessed, in fact, by "the demon of
conjugal love," in spite of all Maurice's efforts to exorcise him,
Justine only waited for a favourable opportunity to break her chains.
Maurice's absence in Paris during the winter of 1746-1747 apparently
gave her the necessary courage, and, on his return to Flanders, she
refused, to his intense indignation, to resume her relations with him,
and persisted in her resolution, notwithstanding all his threats and
entreaties. Such was the position of affairs when hostilities were
renewed in the spring, and the Favarts and their troupe quitted Brussels
to join the army.
Favart's letters to his mother contain some interesting details of that
campaign. He was present at the taking of the Fort Saint-Philippe, and
speaks with righteous indignation of the barbarous execution of the
garrison, which he stigmatises as "a disgrace to humanity." He also
sends her a lively account of the battle of Lawfeld (July 2):--
* * * * *
"MY DEAR MOTHER,--I am in good health. The battle is won; the prediction
I made to you has been verified. The action took place between
Maestricht, Tongres, and Saint-Tron. The left of the enemy's army,
composed of English, Hanoverians, and Hessians, was attacked in the
morning; they defended themselves all day and fought desperately; but
the issue is no longer in doubt. The enemy's right did not await our
fire, but sought safety in flight; the Dutch and Austrians were routed
without having fired a shot. The rest of the English, to the number of
ten thousand, after defending themselves for three hours in a village
into which they had been driven, endeavoured to escape across the
marshes; but, meeting Clermont's army, which they had not expected, were
annihilated.
"A simple carabinier took the English general, Ligonier, prisoner; he is
to them what Maréchal de Saxe is to us, if such a comparison were
possible. The soldier conducted him to the King, together with a
standard; a moment later, the Duke of Cumberland was himself taken.[131]
I have related all this very badly, because I am writing to you in
haste; it is the warmth of my French blood which guides my pen. Victory!
great victory! everything is summed up in these last words. I am one of
the first to write. The action still continues to our advantage, we have
finished conquering, I say more, we have finished destroying. Pardon me
if I say _we_; through frequenting the society of heroes, I adopt their
language. Show my letter to all our friends; they have French hearts,
and this success will interest them."[132]
* * * * *
Up to the time of the battle of Lawfeld, the repentant Justine would
appear to have been left in comparative peace by her persecutor,
military occupations presumably allowing Maurice but scant leisure for
love-making. But, the allies disposed of, for the time being, the
Marshal turned his attention to other matters, and showed himself so
determined to recover his prey, that Justine saw that her only way of
escape was to confess all to her still unsuspecting husband, implore his
forgiveness, and demand his protection. The worthy Favart, though much
shocked at such a revelation, had the good sense to perceive that his
young wife had been the victim of circumstances, and that he himself was
greatly to blame for not having foreseen the danger which threatened
her, and interfered to prevent it. He comforted her by an assurance of
his full forgiveness, but pointed out that it would be impossible for
her to escape the Marshal's unwelcome attentions so long as she remained
with the army, and that her best course was to fly to Brussels and throw
herself upon the protection of the Duchesse de Chevreuse, who had shown
them much kindness during the preceding winter. Justine readily agreed
to his proposal, and, that same night, without allowing any of their
colleagues to suspect their intention, they set out for Brussels, where
Favart placed his wife in safety with some of his friends, and then
returned to the army to face the spiteful comments of his companions and
the fury of the Marshal. A day or two after his arrival, he writes to
the fugitive at Brussels:--
* * * * *
"I have arrived in good health, my dear little buffoon; your own
occasions me much uneasiness. Send me the surgeon's certificate, that I
may show it to the Marshal. The gossip of the troupe has caused a report
to be circulated that your illness is only an awkwardly devised piece of
trickery to conceal your fears and my jealousy. I replied that there was
no cause for jealousy, and that to suspect you was to insult you. M. de
la Grolet[133] is to be consulted as to whether you are in a fit state
to rejoin the army, and a threat has been conveyed to me that you shall
be brought here forcibly by grenadiers, and that I shall be punished for
having invented the story of your illness. For myself, I care little for
their threats; but I cannot forgive myself for having brought you to a
country where you are exposed to such tyranny. We are very
uncomfortable here; I have not yet succeeded in finding a lodging, and,
since leaving you, have slept on straw under the stars. If any attempt
be made to send you back, implore assistance of the Duchesse de
Chevreuse; she has too keen a sense of justice to refuse you her
protection in a matter of such importance, and the kindness with which
she has honoured us is a sure proof of that. She can tell M. de la
Grolet that your health does not permit of your undertaking so trying a
journey. Against such testimony nothing can prevail. Finally, my
dearest, although your presence is necessary here for the sake of the
performances, and I am burning with impatience to see you once more,
your health, more precious than all our other interests, more dear to me
than life itself, must be preferred to everything. Send news of yourself
as soon as possible to your affectionate husband."
* * * * *
As will be gathered from the aforegoing letter, Justine's flight had
been very badly received by the commander of the army. Grimm relates the
following anecdote, which would seem hardly credible, did we not know
Maurice to be capable of any extravagance when his passions were
thwarted:--
"The night of their escape was apparently very stormy, since the bridges
of communication between the Marshal's army and Löwendal's corps, which
was on the other side of the river, were carried away, and it was feared
that the enemy might take advantage of the circumstance to fall upon
this corps and crush it. M. Dumesnil, who was called at that time 'the
handsome Dumesnil,'[134] came to the Marshal's quarters early in the
morning, and found him seated on his bed, his hair dishevelled, and a
prey to the most bitter grief. Dumesnil attempted to console him. 'The
misfortune is undoubtedly very great,' said he,' but it may be
repaired.' 'Ah, my friend!' replied the Marshal, 'there is no remedy; I
am undone!' Dumesnil continued his efforts to reanimate his courage and
to reassure him in regard to the accident of the previous night. 'It
will not, perhaps, have the results that you fear,' said he. But the
Marshal continued a prey to despair, and to regard himself as a man at
the end of his resources. At length, after about a quarter of an hour
had passed in this way, he perceived that all that Dumesnil had said
referred only to the broken bridges, upon which he exclaimed: 'What! who
could have supposed that you were talking only of those broken bridges?
That is an inconvenience which may be repaired in three hours. But the
Chantilly has been taken from me!'"[135]
Furious though he was at the escape of his prey, Maurice, much to poor
Favart's relief, took no steps to execute the threats which he had
uttered in the heat of passion, and the performances of the troupe went
on as before, save for the absence of Justine, who continued her flight
to Paris, where she gave birth to a son. But Maurice was not the man to
calmly accept defeat, in love any more than in war, and no sooner was
peace signed, in the autumn of the following year, and he found himself
at leisure to attend to his private affairs, than he embarked upon a
determined persecution of the luckless pair who had dared to thwart
him--a persecution which was the more difficult for them to escape,
since, for a long time, they seem to have entertained not the slightest
suspicion as to its real promoter.
Favart was the first to feel the weight of the Marshal's vengeance. The
rent of the Grand Theatre at Brussels, which he had leased since the
spring of 1745, had been fixed at five hundred ducats per annum, and
this sum had been regularly paid, so long as Brabant remained in
possession of the French troops. When, however, by the terms of the
Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the conquered territory was returned to
Austria, Favart found himself in a most unpleasant situation; for the
proprietors of the theatre, two ladies of the name of Myesses, without
giving him an opportunity to enter a defence, obtained from the
re-established Courts an order for his arrest and the sequestration of
his theatrical stock, on the ground that he owed them a further sum of
26,000 francs. To avoid being thrown into prison, Favart was compelled
to escape across the frontier; but so little did he suspect the share
that the Marshal had in the misfortunes that had come upon him, that he
actually wrote to him imploring his protection.
Maurice promised him all the assistance in his power, having previously
assured himself that his interference was likely to do Favart more harm
than good with the Brussels judges in their present state of feeling
against the recent invaders of their country. The poet's appeal against
the unjust decision failed, and, to make matters worse, the proprietors
of the theatre, secretly instigated by the Marshal, applied to the Paris
Courts for permission to execute the order for Favart's arrest on French
territory.
While these events were taking place in Flanders, Justine was in Paris,
where, if we are to credit the evidence of Meusnier, the Marshal had
succeeded in persuading her to return to him, and had established her
in a house belonging to a Madame de Lesseville, which had been
specially furnished for her benefit by Ossere, a fashionable upholsterer
of the Pont Notre-Dame. Here--we are still following Meusnier--she lived
"in a species of captivity," all communication with her husband being
most strictly interdicted. In defiance of this prohibition, however, she
admitted him into the house at night, when he contrived to so work upon
her feelings that she resolved to defy the Marshal a second time.
"Accordingly, one fine night, when the latter was at Chambord, the
Chantilly packed her belongings, carried off everything that she could,
and retired with her husband to her mother-in-law's house in the Rue de
Verrerie. From there she wrote to the Marshal, informing him that it was
no longer possible for her to live in sin, and that her salvation was
dearer to her than all the fortunes in the world; notwithstanding which,
she would retain for him eternal esteem and gratitude." Meusnier adds
that the Marshal, though naturally much surprised at such conduct on the
lady's part, succeeded in controlling his indignation, and "sought to
avenge himself only by new benefits."[136]
The first of these "benefits" was to make strong representations to the
authorities on behalf of the proprietors of the Brussels theatre, who,
as we have mentioned, were endeavouring to get Favart extradited, and to
succeed in obtaining a promise that the necessary warrant should be duly
granted. He then wrote to Justine as follows:--
* * * * *
"I am informed, Mademoiselle, that the Demoiselles Myesses (the
proprietors of the Brussels theatre) intend to prosecute Favart, in
virtue of the decree which they obtained against him at Brussels. I
think that it will be advisable for you to go away, and, as you are not
happily situated, I offer you an allowance of 500 livres, which will be
paid you every month, until your affairs have taken a favourable turn.
"Have the kindness to inform me of your decision in this matter, and the
place that you or Favart have chosen for your retreat.
"You are aware, Mademoiselle, of my sentiments for you."
* * * * *
Favart took upon himself the task of answering the Marshal's letter. He
tendered him his very humble thanks for his offer, which, however, he
declined, as he had done nothing to merit such generosity, and it would
be disgraceful for him to accept it. At the same time, all unsuspicious
of Maurice's duplicity, he implored his protection against the
Demoiselles Myesses, and went to his house to seek his advice.
Maurice advised him to make his escape while there was yet time; and old
Madame Favart, having succeeded in borrowing fifty louis for her son,
from Mlle. Lamotte of the Comédie-Française, the unfortunate poet fled
to Strasburg the same night, where he remained for four months in
hiding. He had effected his escape none too soon, for the very next day
(June 10, 1749), a _lettre de cachet_ for his arrest was issued.
A day or two after Favart's flight, Maurice left Paris on a visit to
Dresden, whence he wrote to the poet's mother, offering to find her son
"honourable employment," and "a secure asylum, so long as he might
require one," and assuring her of his desire to render him every
service that lay in his power. Favart, however, seems to have grown a
little suspicious of the Marshal's protestations of friendship, for,
when the offer was communicated to him he declined it, and elected to
continue in hiding at Strasburg.