To the land of France went two grenadiers,
From a Russian prison returning;
But they hung down their heads on the German frontiers,
The news from their fatherland learning.
For there they both heard the sorrowful tale,
That France was by fortune forsaken;
That her mighty army was scattered like hail,
And the Emperor, the Emperor taken,
Then there wept together the grenadiers,
The sorrowful story learning;
And one said, "O woe!" as the news he hears,
"How I feel my old wound burning!"
The other said, "The song is sung,
And I wish that we both were dying!
But at home I've a wife and a child,--they're young,
On me, and me only, relying."
"O what is a wife or a child to me!
Deeper wants all my spirit have shaken;
Let them beg, let them beg, should they hungry be!
My Emperor, my Emperor taken!
"But I beg you, brother, if by chance
You soon shall see me dying
Then take my corpse with you back to France
Let it ever in France be lying.
"The cross of honor with crimson band
Shall rest on my heart as it bound me;
Give me my musket in my hand,
And buckle my sabre around me.
"And there I will lie and listen still
In my sentry coffin staying,
Till I feel the thundering cannon's thrill
And horses tramping and neighing.
"Then my Emperor will ride well over my grave
'Mid sabres' bright slashing and fighting
And I'll rise all weaponed out of my grave,
For the Emperor, the Emperor fighting!"
'This simple ballad want straight to the heart of old Jacques; tears
rolled down his cheeks as I read, and he would have it over and over
again. 'Ah! that comrade was happy,' said the old grenadier.
'He died when the Emperor was only taken. I too would
have gone to my grave smiling, could I have thought that my Emperor
would come riding over it with all his army around him again! But he
is dead,--my Emperor is dead! Ah! that comrade was a happy man; he
died! He did not have to stand by, while the English--may they be
forever cursed!--slowly, slowly murdered him,--murdered the great
Napoleon! No; that comrade died. Perhaps he is with the Emperor
now,--that comrade-grenadier.'
'To be with his Emperor was Jacques's idea of heaven.
'From that moment each time I visited the Agency I must repeat the
verses again and again; they became a sort of hymn. Jacques had not
the capacity to learn the ballad, although he so often listened to it,
but the seventh verse he managed to repeat after a fashion of his own,
setting it to a nondescript tune, and crooning it about the house as
he came and went on his little rounds. Gradually he altered the words,
but I could not make out the new phrases as he muttered them over to
himself, as if trying them.
'What is it you are saying, Jacques'? I asked.
'But he would not tell me. After a time I discovered that he had added
the altered verse to his prayers; for always when I was at the Agency
I went with him to the sanctuary, if for no other purpose than to
prevent the uttered imprecation that served as amen for the whole. The
verse, whatever it was, came in before this.
'So the summer passed. The vague intention of going on to the Red
River of the North had faded away, and Jacques lived along on the
island as though he had never lived anywhere else. He grew wonted to
the Agency, like some old family cat, until he seemed to belong to the
house, and all thought of disturbing him was forgotten. 'There is
Jacques out washing his cloths.' 'There is Jacques going to buy his
coffee,' 'There is Jacques sitting on the piazza,' said the islanders;
the old man served them instead of a clock.
'One dark autumn day I came over from the Chenaux to get the mail. The
water was rough, and my boat, tilted far over on one side, skimmed the
crests of the waves in the daring fashion peculiar to the Mackinac
craft: the mail-steamer had not come in, owing to the storm outside,
and I went on to the Agency to see Jacques. He seemed as usual, and we
had dinner over the little fire, for the day was chilly; the meal
over, my host put everything in order again in his methodical way, and
then retired to his sanctuary for prayers. I followed, and stood in
the doorway while he knelt. The room was dusky, and the uniform with
its outstretched sabre looked like a dead soldier leaning against the
wall; the face of Napoleon opposite seemed to gaze down on Jacques as
he knelt, as though listening. Jacques muttered his prayers, and I
responded Amen! then, after a silence, came the altered verse; then
with a quick glance toward me, another silence, which I felt sure
contained the unspoken curse. Gravely he led the way back to the
kitchen--for, owing to the cold, he allowed me to dispense with the
parlor,--and there we spent the afternoon together, talking and
watching for the mail-boat. 'Jacques,' I said, 'what is that verse you
have added to your prayers! Come, my friend, why should you keep it
from me?'
'It is nothing, mon pere,--nothing.' he replied. But again I urged him
to tell me; more to pass away the time than from any real interest.
'Come,' I said, 'it may be your last chance. Who knows but that I may
be drowned on my way back to the Chenaux?'
'True,' replied the old soldier calmly. 'Well, then, here it is, mon
pere: my death-wish. Voila!'
'Something you wish to have done after death?'
'Yes.'
'And who is to do it?'
'My Emperor.'
'But, Jacques, the Emperor is dead.'
'He will have done it all the same, mon pere.'
'In vain I argued; Jacques was calmly obstinate. He had mixed up his
Emperor with the stories of the Saints; why should not Napoleon do
what they had done?
'What is the verse, any way?' I said at last.
'It is my death-wish, as I said before, mon pere.' And he repeated the
following. He said it in French, for I had given him a French
translation, as he knew nothing of German; but I will give you the
English, as he had altered it:--
'The Emperor's face with its green leaf-band
Shall rest on my heart that loved him so.
Give me the sprig in my dead hand,
My uniform and sabre around me.
Amen.'
'So prays Grenadier Jacques.
'The old soldier had sacrificed the smooth metre; but I understood
what he meant.
'The storm increased, and I spent the night at the Agency, lying on
the bed of boughs, covered with a blanket. The house shook in the
gale, the shutters rattled, and all the floors near and far creaked as
though feet were walking over them. I was wakeful and restless, but
Jacques slept quietly, and did not stir until daylight broke over the
stormy water, showing the ships scudding by under bare poles, and the
distant mail-boat laboring up toward the island through the heavy sea.
My host made his toilet, washing and shaving himself carefully, and
putting on his old clothes as though going on parade. Then came
breakfast, with a stew added in honor of my presence; and as by this
time the steamer was not far from Round Island, I started down toward
the little post-office, anxious to receive some expected letters. The
steamer came in slowly, the mail was distributed slowly, and I stopped
to read my letters before returning. I had a picture-paper for
Jacques, and as I looked out across the straits, I saw that the storm
was over, and decided to return to the Chenaux in the afternoon,
leaving word with my half-breeds to have the sail-boat in readiness at
three o'clock. The sun was throwing out a watery gleam as, after the
lapse of an hour or two, I walked up the limestone road and entered
the great gate of the Agency. As I came through the garden along the
cherry-tree avenue I saw Jacques sitting on that bench in the sun, for
this was his hour for sunshine; his staff was in his hand, and he was
leaning back against the side of the house with his eyes closed, as if
in revery. 'Jacques, here is a picture-paper for you,' I said, laying
my hand on his shoulder. He did not answer. He was dead.
'Alone, sitting in the sunshine, apparently without a struggle or a
pang, the soul of the old soldier had departed. Whither? We know not.
But--smile if you will, madame--I trust he is with his Emperor.'