THE TOAST
They obeyed with the joyful eagerness which is born of hope, taking with
them the sentinels who had been stationed along the walls. Just as they
reached the third they heard rapid firing from the gate where Stephan
had left his men.
"Hurry, general," said he, "our men are attacked!"
The column advanced at a quick-step. The gate opened and the portcullis
was raised as they came in sight. Though attacked by a force thrice as
great as their own, the Republicans had held their ground; the gate was
still theirs. The column dashed through the gate and down the street
like a wild-boar which sweeps everything before him, while Stephan's
men--who were a target, with their Prussian uniforms, for the men of
Pichegru's command, who did not know of his little ruse--kept close to
the wall.
They marched on with levelled bayonets, the small force of Prussians who
had attacked the gate fleeing before them. Hoping to be relieved, they
sent orderlies before them to give the alarm that the French were
masters of the Haguenau gate. Shots echoed throughout the town, thanks
to Bauer and his men, who were firing from the windows.
Pichegru was able to appreciate the panic better when he reached the
principal square. The Prussians were running hither and thither, not
knowing which way to turn. He ranged his men in order of battle, while a
thousand men were sent to the upper town, where most of the Prussians
had hurried. The fight raged in twenty different directions. The
Prussians did not attempt to rally to a centre; the attack had been so
sudden, and they were confused by the conflagration, the firing, and the
ringing of the tocsin. Although the force commanded by Pichegru and
Macdonald was no greater than that of their adversaries, the struggle
was not as prolonged as if the advantages had not all been with the
French.
At midnight the Prussians had retired from the town, but Pichegru was
not assured of their final retreat until two in the morning. He
stationed soldiers everywhere, ordered the gates guarded with the utmost
vigilance, and bade the soldiers bivouac in the streets. All the
townsfolk kept open house, contributing in some way to the welfare of
the soldiers, to celebrate the event. Fires were lighted in the streets,
and meat was cooked upon the immense spits in vogue during the latter
century. Then a procession was arranged like the ones that hail the
approach of carnival times in the northern cities. The streets were
illuminated, the Prussian uniforms worn by Stephan's men were given to
the people to be burned in effigy, and every citizen took a soldier by
the arm and invited him to the fraternal banquet.
Pichegru took care not to oppose this patriotic outburst. He knew well,
for his intelligence was exceptionally acute, that the real strength of
France lay in consolidating the people and the army until they became
one body animated by one soul. Only, fearing that the enemy might
attempt some surprise, he gave orders to redouble the sentinels, and, to
permit each to share in the celebration, he reduced the time of duty
from two hours to one.
There were some twenty aristocrats in Woerth who illuminated their
houses even more gayly than the others, fearing, doubtless, that they
would be accused of coldness toward the government and that the day of
reprisals would follow closely. Their fears were groundless, for all
that they had to endure was the _auto-da-fé_ of the Prussian uniforms,
and they were invited to participate in the celebrations at the
_auto-da-fé_ tables which were spread in front of their houses. This
they did gladly, only too willing to escape thus easily.
Pichegru had remained in the public square with a thousand men ready to
give assistance if it were needed, and later to receive orders. Seeing
that the order to bivouac in the streets had served as a pretext for
general merry-making, he had encouraged it, and, leaving Macdonald to
command in his place, he went with Stephan toward the upper part of the
town.
About three o'clock in the morning Pichegru went back to the inn, for
Bauer had asked as a favor that he be allowed to lodge the general. The
finest apartments in the inn had been prepared, and while Pichegru was
walking about the town the staircase had been decorated with flags,
wreaths, and ornamental pieces. In the dining-room a table with
twenty-five covers had been laid, and the windows and doors decorated
with greens and flowers, for the general and his staff.
Pichegru, as we have seen at Arbois, was perfectly indifferent to
triumphal demonstrations, but this time he looked upon it as a
Republican love-feast.
The general was accompanied by all the high dignitaries of the town who
had been the first to yield to him. At the door, as Stephan was
preparing to slip away unnoticed, he caught him by the arm.
"Stephan," said he, "I have always believed in the proverb that short
reckonings make long friends. Now I have a double reckoning to settle
with you."
"Oh! that can be done easily, general. Will you grant me two requests?"
said Stephan.
"With pleasure."
"First I ask for an invitation to supper."
"For yourself?"
"Oh! general, you know that I am only a spy."
"In the eyes of the world; but in mine--"
"I am myself in your eyes, and that satisfies me; let me be what I seem
to the world. I care nothing for what it thinks of me, but only for my
revenge."
"All right; and the second request?"
"Is that you will give a toast."
"To whom?"
"You will see when you give it."
"But in order to make it--"
"Here it is all written out."
Pichegru was about to read it, but Stephan stopped him.
"Read it when you give the toast," he said.
Pichegru put the paper in his pocket. "And whom shall I invite?"
"A great citizen--Prosper Bauer."
"The landlord of the inn?"
"Yes."
"What has he done that is so fine?"
"You will see when you read the toast."
"Will you always be so mysterious?"
"My power lies in mystery."
"You know that we attack to-morrow."
"Do you need any information about their position?"
"You must be tired."
"I am never tired."
"Do what you please; anything you do will be well done, unless you are
caught."
"When can I bring you my report?"
"Any time. If you are never tired, I at least never sleep."
"Au revoir, general."
"Au revoir."
Then turning to the group that had stood aside while he was talking with
Stephan, he looked vainly around for the landlord of the Golden Lion.
"Charles," he said, "have the goodness to find our host, citizen Bauer,
and ask him for me to sup with us. Take no refusal, and accept no
excuse."
Charles bowed and went in search of Prosper Bauer.
Pichegru went upstairs and the rest of the staff followed him. He placed
the mayor on his right, the deputy-mayor at his left, and left the seat
opposite him for the landlord of the Golden Lion. At length Charles
appeared, almost dragging the embarrassed innkeeper after him.
"General," he said, "I come, not at your invitation, of which I am not
worthy, but at your command."
"Very well, citizen," said Pichegru, pointing to the empty chair, "sit
down there, and after supper we will settle that."
The supper was a merry one, and they drank to victory and deliverance
together. There is a strong hatred between the Alsatians and the
Prussians, and during the two months that the Prussians had occupied the
lines of Weissembourg the Alsatians had had cause to hate them still
more. This time they hoped to be rid of them altogether. But they were
to see them twenty-five years later, when the insatiable Prussian eagle,
having devoured a third of the white eagle of Poland, was to tear away
one of the heads of the Austrian eagle.
Toward the end of the supper the general remembered his promise to
Stephan. He rose, took his glass in one hand and the paper in the other.
Everybody followed his example, and, in the midst of profound silence,
he read:
"To the great patriot and citizen, Prosper Bauer, who conceived the plan
which restored the town of Woerth to France; who risked his life by
receiving and sheltering the sixty men in Prussian uniform who carried
the Haguenau gate; who was the first to give the signal to five hundred
patriots to fire from the windows upon the enemy; and who, finally, in
order to keep the Prussians in the higher part of the town and to create
a diversion from the attack upon the gate, set fire to his house with
his own hand. To the man who in one day risked his life and sacrificed
his fortune."
Here the applause forced Pichegru to stop. But as he made a sign that he
wished to continue, silence fell again.
"It was by this light, kindled by the purest patriotism and the most
filial devotion, that the foreigners read upon our victorious flags,
'Hatred to tyrants! Nationality for the people! Liberty of the world!'
All honor to the great patriot and citizen, Bauer!"
And then, amid cheers and applause, Pichegru embraced him in the name of
France. Three days later the capture of Woerth was announced in the
"Moniteur," and Pichegru's toast was repeated in full. It was the sole
reward that the brave Bauer would consent to receive.