The day for the departure of the corps was near at hand. The party
at the Barclays were all filled with sadness, at the thoughts of
separation; but all strove to hide their feelings, for the sake of
the others. Captain and Mrs. Barclay were anxious that the boys
should leave in good spirits, and high hope; while the boys wished
to keep up an appearance of merely going upon an ordinary
excursion, in order to cheer their parents.
The day before starting, the whole corps marched to the cathedral;
where mass was celebrated, a sermon preached, and a blessing
solemnly prayed for for them. The boys had asked their father if he
had any objections to their taking part in this ceremonial, in a
Roman Catholic Church; but Captain Barclay had at once said that,
upon the contrary, he should wish them to do so. Protestants might
not approve of many things in the Catholic Church; but that could
be no reason, whatever, against a Protestant taking part in a
solemn prayer to God, wherever that prayer might be offered up.
The young Duburgs were unaffectedly glad that the time for their
departure had come, for the month that had passed had been a most
unpleasant one to them. Their mother had in vain tried to persuade
them to stay; first by entreaty, and then by anger and, finding
these means fail, she had passed her time either in sullen silence,
or in remaining in bed; declaring that her nerves were utterly
shattered, and that she should never survive it. She had refused to
see Mrs. Barclay when the latter called, a day or two after their
visit to the cottage, and she had not been near her since. Julie
and Justine were forbidden to go in to see Milly and, altogether,
there was quite an estrangement between the two families.
The boys however were, of course, constantly together; and Monsieur
Duburg came in as usual, every day or two, for a chat with Captain
Barclay.
September the fifteenth--the day of separation--arrived. They were
to march at eight in the morning; and left home, therefore, at
seven. This was so far fortunate that it left less time for the
painful adieus. Captain Barclay had a long talk with the boys the
night before, repeating all the hints and instructions which he had
before given them.
It is not necessary to describe the parting. Every one of my
readers can imagine for themselves how sad was the scene. How Milly
sobbed aloud, in spite of her efforts; how Mrs. Barclay kissed her
boys, and then ran up to her own room to cry alone; how their
father wrung their hands and, after giving them his blessing,
turned hastily away, that they might not see the tears which he
could not keep back; and how the boys, in spite of their uniform
and their dignity as soldiers, cried, too. Tim Doyle had gone on an
hour before, taking their blankets; so they had nothing to do but
to snatch up their guns and hasten away, half blinded with tears,
towards the town. They reached it just as the bugle sounded the
assembly. By this time they had steadied themselves and, in the
work of preparing for the start, soon lost all feeling of
despondency.
It would be difficult to find a more workmanlike little corps than
the franc tireurs of Dijon as, with the band of the national guard
at their head, playing the Marseillaise, they marched through the
old city. Their uniform was a brownish gray Their blankets--rolled
up tight and carried, like a scarf, over one shoulder and under the
other arm--were brown, also. Their belts and gaiters were of buff
leather. Their caps had flat peaks, to shade their eyes; but round
the cap was rolled a flap lined with fur, which let down over the
ears and back of the neck, tying under the chin. On the outer side
of the fur was thin India-rubber, to throw the rain off down over
the light waterproof cloaks; which each man carried in a small
case, slung to his belt. The waterproof on the caps, when rolled
up, did not show; the caps then looking like fur caps, with a peak.
Slung over the shoulder, on the opposite side to the blanket, was a
haversack--or stout canvas bag--brown like the rest of the
equipments. Each bag was divided into two compartments; the larger
one holding a spare shirt, a few pairs of socks and handkerchiefs,
a comb, and other small necessaries. In the other, bread, biscuits
or other provisions could be carried. Each man had also a water
bottle, slung over his shoulder.
On either side of the ammunition pouch, behind, was strapped a new
boot; so placed that it in no way interfered with the bearer
getting at the pouch. Next was fastened the tin box; the lid of
which forms a plate, the bottom a saucepan or frying pan. On one
side hung the bayonet; upon the other a hatchet, a pick, or a
short-handled shovel--each company having ten of each implement.
It will be judged that this was a heavy load, but the articles were
all necessaries; and the weight over and above the rifle and
ammunition was not--even including the pick or shovel--more than
half that ordinarily carried by a French soldier.
At the head of the corps marched its commandant. The French term
commandant answers to an English major, and he will therefore in
future be termed Major Tempe. Each of the four companies was also
headed by its officer. Major Tempe had chosen for these posts four
men who, like himself, had served--three in the army, and one in
the navy. He had written to them as soon as the corps was
organized, and they had arrived ten days before the start. One or
two only of the franc tireurs--who had entertained a hope of being
made officers--were at first a little discontented but, as it was
evidently vastly to the advantage of the corps to have experienced
officers, the appointments gave great satisfaction to the rest of
the men. Fortunately, there were in the ranks several men who had
served as privates or non-commissioned officers; and from these
Major Tempe selected a sergeant, and a corporal, for each company.
Behind the corps followed the cart; loaded with the stores of the
corps, a considerable amount of ammunition, two or three cases of
gun cotton for blowing up bridges, several small barrels of powder,
a large quantity of fine iron wire, three or four crowbars, bags of
coffee and rice, and a keg of brandy, four kettles and as many
large saucepans, together with all sorts of odds and ends. By the
side of the horse walked Tim Doyle; dressed in the uniform of the
corps, but without the equipments, and with a long blouse worn over
his tunic. He was, in fact, already enrolled as an active member of
the corps. This was done, in the first place, at his own earnest
request; and upon the plea that thus only could he escape the
chance of being seized as a spy, whenever he might for a moment be
separated from the corps; and also that, unless he had a uniform
like the rest, how could he take any vacancy in the ranks, even
when it should occur?
Major Tempe, in exceeding the hundred and twenty determined upon,
was influenced partly by these arguments; but more by the fact that
difficulties would arise about food, cooking, and various other
points, if the driver were not upon the same footing as the rest of
the corps.
The march was not a long one--only to the railway station. A few
carriages, with a truck for the cart, and a horse box, were drawn
up alongside the platform in readiness; and in ten minutes more all
were in their places, the carriages attached to the ordinary train
and--amidst great cheering and waving of handkerchiefs and hats,
from hundreds of people collected in the station to see them
off--they started for the Vosges.
Railway traveling, at no time rapid, was extremely slow at this
period; and it was evening before they arrived at Epinal, where
they were to pass the night. The journey, shortened by innumerable
songs and choruses, had scarcely seemed long. The railway ran
throughout its whole distance through pretty, undulating country;
indeed, towards the end of their journey, when they were fairly
among the Vosges, the scenery became wild and savage. At Vesoul,
which was about halfway, the train had stopped for two hours; and
here wine, bread and cheese, cold sausages, and fruits were
distributed to the men by the inhabitants--who were assembled in
large numbers at the station, and gave the corps an enthusiastic
reception. They were the first band of franc tireurs who had passed
through, and the inhabitants regarded them as protectors against
the wandering Uhlans; whose fame, although as yet far off, had
caused them to be regarded with an almost superstitious fear.
At Epinal, a similar and even warmer greeting awaited them; Epinal
being so much nearer to the enemy that the fear of Uhlans was more
acute. The station was decorated with green boughs; and the Maire,
with many of the leading inhabitants, was at the station to receive
them. The corps formed upon the platform; and then marched through
the little town to the Hotel de Ville, loudly cheered by the people
as they passed along. Here they were dismissed, with the order to
parade again at half-past four in the morning.
There was no trouble as to billets for the night, as the Maire had
already made out a list of the inhabitants who had offered
accommodation--the number being greatly in excess of the strength
of the corps. These persons now came forward, and each took off the
number of franc tireurs who had been allotted to them.
The sergeant of the first company, knowing the relationship and
friendship of the young Barclays and Duburgs, had promised them
that--when practicable--he would always quarter them together. Upon
the present occasion, the four were handed over to a gentleman
whose house was a short distance outside the town. Upon the way, he
chatted to them on the proposed course of the corps, upon its
organization and discipline; and they asked for the first time the
question which was so often, in future, to be upon their lips:
"Had he any news of the enemy?"
The answer was that none, as yet, had come south of Luneville; and
that indeed, at present they were too much occupied at Metz, and
Strasburg, to be able to detach any formidable parties. Small
bodies of Uhlans occasionally had made raids, and driven in sheep
and cattle; but they had not ventured to trust themselves very far
into the mountains.
Upon arriving at the residence of their host, they were most kindly
received by his wife and daughter; who, however, could not refrain
from expressing their surprise at the youthfulness of their guests.
"But these are mere boys!" the lady said to her husband, in German;
"are all the franc tireurs like these?"
"Oh no," her husband said, in the same language, "the greater part
are sturdy fellows but, as they marched by, I observed some twelve
or fourteen who were scarcely out of their boyhood.
"It is cruelty to send such youngsters out as these. What can they
do against these Prussians, who have beaten our best soldiers?"
"Fortunately," Ralph said in German--which he spoke fluently, as
has already been stated--and with a merry laugh--which showed that
he was not offended at the remark--"fortunately, fighting now is
not an affair of spears and battle axes Age has nothing to do with
shooting; and as for fatigue, we shall not be the first in the
corps to give up."
"I must really apologize very much, but I had no idea that you
understood German, or I should not have made any remarks," the lady
said, smiling; "but so few French boys, out of Alsace, do
understand it that it never struck me that you spoke the language.
You will find it an immense advantage for, outside the towns, you
will scarcely meet a person understanding French. But I am sure you
must be all very hungry, and supper is quite ready."
They were soon seated at a well-spread table--waited upon by the
daughter of the family--while their host and hostess sat and
chatted with them, as to their corps, while the meal went on.
"Excuse another remark upon your personal appearance," the lady
said, smiling, "but two of you look more like Alsatians than
French. You have the fair complexion and brown, wavy hair. You do
not look like Frenchmen."
"Nor are we," Ralph laughed. "My brother and myself, although
French born, are actually English. Our father is an English
officer, but our mother is French and, as you see, we take after
him rather than her."
"But I wonder that, as your father is English, he lets you go out
upon this expedition--which is very perilous."
"We wished to go--that is, we thought it was our duty," Ralph said;
"and although they were very sad at our leaving, they both agreed
with us."
"I wish all Frenchmen were animated by the same feeling," their
host said warmly. "Your gallant example should shame hundreds of
thousands of loiterers and skulkers.
"You speak French perfectly. I should have had no idea that you
were anything but French--or rather, from the way you speak German,
that you were Alsatian."
"We have lived in France all our lives, except for two years which
we passed in Germany; and two years at one time, together with one
or two shorter visits, in England."
"And do you speak English as well as French?"
"Oh yes, we always speak English at home. Our father made a rule
that we should always do so; as he said it would be an immense
disadvantage to us, when we returned to England, if we had the
slightest French accent. Our mother now speaks English as purely
and correctly as our father."
"Are your friends any relations of yours?"
"They are our cousins," Ralph said; "their father is our mother's
brother."
For some time longer they chatted, and then their host said:
"It is half-past nine; and we are early people, here. You will have
to be up by five, so I think that it is time you were off to bed. We
shall scarcely be up when you start; but you will find a spirit lamp
on the table, with coffee--which only requires heating--together with
some bread and butter. You will have some miles to march before you
breakfast.
"And now, you must all promise me that, if you come to this place
again, you will come straight up here, and look upon it as your
home. If you get ill or wounded--which I hope will not happen--you
will, of course, go home; but something may occur not sufficiently
important for you to leave the corps, but which could be set
straight by a few days' nursing, and rest. In that case, you will
come to us, will you not?"
The boys all gratefully promised to avail themselves of the
invitation, in case of need; and then said good night and goodbye
to their host, and went off to the room prepared for them. In the
morning they were up in good time, dressed as quietly as they
could--so as not to disturb their host--and went downstairs; lit
the spirit lamp under a glass bowl full of coffee and milk and, in
ten minutes, were on their way towards the town.
"We shall be lucky if we are often as comfortable as that," Percy
said, looking back; and there was a general assent.
"There goes the bugle," Louis Duburg said; "we have a quarter of an
hour, yet.
"What pretty girls those were!"
Louis was nearly seventeen and, at seventeen, a French lad
considers himself a competent judge as to the appearance and
manners of young ladies.
"Were they?" Percy said carelessly, with the indifference of an
English boy of his age as to girls. "I did not notice it. I don't
care for girls; they are always thinking about their dress, and one
is afraid of touching them, in case you should spoil something.
There is nothing jolly about them."
The others laughed.
"I am sure Milly is jolly enough," Philippe Duburg said.
"Yes, Milly is jolly," Percy answered. "You see, she has been with
us boys, and she can play, and doesn't screech if you touch her, or
mind a bit if she tears her frock. So are our cousins in
England--some of them. Yes, there are some jolly girls, of course;
still, after all, what's the good of them, taking them altogether?
They are very nice in their way--quiet and well behaved, and so
on--but they are better indoors than out."
The clock was just striking half-past five, as the boys reached the
place of assembly. Most of the men were already upon the spot, and
the bugler was blowing lustily. In another five minutes all were
assembled; including Tim Doyle, with his horse and cart.
"Good-morning, Tim," the boys said, as they came up to him. "I hope
you had as comfortable quarters as we had, last night."
"Splendid, your honor--downright splendid; a supper fit for a lord,
and a bed big enough for a duchess."
The boys laughed at the idea of a duchess wanting a bed bigger than
anyone else, and Tim went on:
"Ah, your honor, if campaigning was all like this, sure I'd
campaign all my life, and thank you; but it's many a time I shall
look back upon my big supper, and big bed. Not that I should like
it altogether entirely; I should get so fat, and so lazy, that I
shouldn't know my own shadow."
And now the bugle sounded again, and the men fell in. As they
started, they struck up a lively marching song; and several windows
opened, and adieus were waved to them as they passed down the
street into the open country. Everyone was in high spirits. The
weather, which had for some time been unfavorable, had cleared up;
the sun was rising brightly, and they felt that they had fairly
started for work. The road was rough, the country wild and
mountainous, thick forests extended in every direction, as far as
the eye could carry.
"There is one comfort, Percy," Ralph said, "if we are beaten and
driven back, we might get into this forest, and laugh at the
Prussians."
Percy cast rather a doubtful eye at the dark woods.
"The Prussians might not be able to discover us, Ralph; but I would
as leave be killed by Prussian balls as die of hunger, and our
chances of getting food there, for a hundred men, would be very
slight."
"They don't look hospitable, certainly, Percy. I agree with you. We
had better keep in the open country, as long as possible."
The first village at which they arrived was Deyvilliers. Here a
halt was called for ten minutes, five miles having already been
marched. Many of the men--less fortunate than the Barclays and
Duburgs--had had nothing to eat upon starting and, when the arms
were piled, there was a general dispersal through the village, in
search of provisions. Bread had been bought over night, at Epinal,
and brought on in the cart; which was fortunate, for the village
was a very small one, and there would have been a difficulty in
obtaining more than a loaf or two. Cheese and fruit were in
abundance; and the boys bought some apples, and sat down by the
little feeder of the Moselle which passes through the village, and
watched it tumbling past on its way to join the main stream, a few
miles below Epinal.
In a quarter of an hour, they were again on the march. In another
five miles they reached Fontaine, lying a little off the road to
their right. They had now marched ten miles, and Major Tempe
ordered a halt for three hours. A piece of level ground was chosen,
arms were piled, blankets and haversacks taken off, and then
preparations began for their first meal. Men were sent off with
kettles, for water. Others went up to the village with cans for
wine--or beer for, in Alsace, beer is more common than wine. Tim
took the horse out of the shafts, and gave him some oats. Some of
the men were sent from each company to fetch wood, and the old
soldiers prepared for the important operation of cooking.
Several little fireplaces were made, with stones and turf, open on
the side facing the wind. In these sticks were placed and, when
they were fairly alight, the saucepans--each holding the allowance
of ten men--were placed on them. In these the meat--cut up in
pieces of about half a pound--was placed; with pepper, salt,
onions, rice, and potatoes peeled and cut up, and the whole filled
up with water.
When the preparations were finished, the men threw themselves down
under the shade of some trees; and smoked and chatted until, in
about an hour, the cooking was complete. Each man then brought up
his tin canteen, and received his portion of soup in the deep side,
and his meat and vegetables in the shallow can. The bread had
already been cut up. The tin drinking pots which, with knives,
forks, and spoons, were carried in the canteens, were filled with
beer and, with much laughing and fun, each man sat down on the
grass, or scattered rocks, to eat his breakfast.
Many of the villagers had come down; and these brought, for the
most part, little presents: a few apples, a little fresh cheese, or
a bunch of grapes. It was a merry meal, and the boys agreed that it
was the jolliest picnic that they had ever been at.
At two o'clock the bugle sounded. The cooking things were packed up
and placed in the cart again; the blankets and haversacks slung on,
and the rifles shouldered and, with many a good wish from the
peasants, they marched forward again.
Eight miles further marching brought them to the end of their day's
journey, the village of Destord. It was a tiny place, with scarcely
over a half-dozen houses. Major Tempe in consequence determined, as
the weather was fine, upon bivouacking in the open air. For a time,
all were busy collecting wood. A sheltered place was chosen, for
the village lay very high, close to the source of a little stream
running into the river Mortagne.
The cooking places were again prepared for supper. At seven o'clock
the meal was served, differing but little from that of the morning;
except that after the men had eaten the soup, and the meat from it
(in France called bouilli), they fried some thin slices of meat in
the lids of their canteens, and concluded the meal with a cup of
coffee.
Then four large fires were lit--one for each company--and a smaller
one for the officers. Blankets were spread out on the ground round
these fires, and the men lit their pipes and chatted gaily. All
were more or less tired for, although their month's hard drill had
accustomed them to work, eighteen miles with arms, ammunition, and
accouterments had tired them more than they had anticipated.
As this was their first night out, Major Tempe told them that he
should not place a regular cordon of sentries; but that in future
he should do so, whether they were near the enemy or not. By nine
o'clock the fires began to burn low, the talking gradually ceased,
and the men--rolling themselves up in their blankets, and putting
their haversacks under their heads, for pillows--soon dropped off
to sleep; a solitary sentry keeping guard against pilferers.
A short march of ten miles took them, next day, to Rambervillers,
where they were billeted among the inhabitants; and fourteen miles
on the day after to Baccarat, on the river Meurthe, where they also
obtained quarters. They were now approaching the neighborhood of
the enemy, and Major Tempe advised a halt for the next day; in
order that he might make inquiries, and investigate thoroughly the
best route to be pursued.