by G. A. Henty
Chapter 3: The First Successes.
The next morning, at twelve o'clock, Jean Martin reached home.
"The war has begun," he said, as he leaped from his horse. "Henride la Rochejaquelein has accepted the leadership of the peasants,at Clisson. Lescure would have joined also, but Henri pointed outto him that it would be better not to compromise his family, untilit was certain that the insurrection would become general. Theyoung count was starting, just as I got to the chateau. He is asplendid young fellow, full of enthusiasm, and burning to avengethe misfortunes that have fallen upon his family. A peasant hadarrived the evening before, with a message from his aunt, who livesfarther to the south. He brought news that the chevalier deCharette--formerly a lieutenant in the navy and a strong Royalist,who had escaped the massacres at Paris, and was living quietly onhis estate near Machecoul--had been asked several times, by thepeasants in his neighbourhood, to take the command, and hadaccepted it; and that the rising was so formidable, there, that itwas certain the authorities in that part of Poitou would notsucceed in enforcing the conscription.
"I have told Lescure that I shall be prepared to join, as soon asthere is a general movement here; but that I should attach myselfto whoever took the direction of affairs in this part, for that inthe first place I knew nothing of war, and in the second place Ihave resided here so small a portion of my time that I am scarcelyknown, save to my own tenants.
"After our meal, we will ride round and see how they are off forarms and powder. That is our great weakness. I am afraid, takingthe whole country round, that not one man in twenty possesses agun."
This indeed was found to be the case, as far as those on the estatewere concerned. The men themselves, however, seemed to think littleof this.
"We will take them from the Blues," several of them saidconfidently. "It does not matter a bit. They will only have time tofire one volley, in these lanes of ours, and then we shall be amongthem; and a pike or pitchfork are just as good, at close quarters,as a bayonet."
That the whole country was astir was evident, from the fact thatthe sound of the church bells rose from the woods, in alldirections. All work was suspended, and the peasants flocked intothe little villages to hear the news that was brought in, fromseveral directions.
Cathelineau had, in the course of the night, gathered a party oftwenty-seven men who, at daybreak, had started out from Pin,setting the church bells ringing in the villages through which theypassed; until a hundred men, armed for the most part withpitchforks and stakes, had gathered round him. Then he boldlyattacked the chateau of Tallais, garrisoned by a hundred and fiftysoldiers, having with them a cannon. This was fired, but the shotpassed over the peasants' heads, and with a shout they dashedforward, and the soldiers of the republic threw away their arms andfled. Thus Cathelineau's followers became possessed of firearms,some horses and, to their great delight, a cannon.
Their leader did not waste a moment, but marched at once againstChemille, his force increasing at every moment, as the men flockedin from the villages. There were, at Chemille, two hundred soldierswith three guns; but some of the fugitives from Tallais had alreadyarrived there, bringing news of the desperate fury with which thepeasants had attacked them and, at the sight of the throngapproaching, with their captured cannon, the garrison lost heartaltogether and bolted, leaving their three cannon, theirammunition, and the greater portion of their muskets behind them.
The news spread with incredible rapidity. From each village theypassed through, boys were despatched as messengers, and theirtidings were taken on by fresh relays. By the afternoon all thecountry, for thirty miles round, knew that Cathelineau had capturedTallais and Chemille, and was in possession of a quantity of arms,and four cannon.
From Saint Florent came the news that, early in the morning, aparty of Republican soldiers had endeavoured to arrest Foret, wholed the rising on the previous day; but that he had obtained wordof their approach and, setting the church bells ringing, hadcollected a force and had beaten back those who came in search ofhim.
Close by, a detachment of National Guards from Chollett had visitedthe chateau of Maulevrier. The proprietor was absent, but theycarried off twelve cannon, which had been kept as family relics.The gamekeeper, Nicholas Stofflet, who was in charge of the estate,had served sixteen years in the army. He was a man of greatstrength, courage, and sagacity and, furious at the theft of hismaster's cannon, had gathered the peasantry round, and was alreadyat the head of two hundred men.
"Things go on apace, Patsey," Jean Martin said, as they sat by thefire that evening. "We only know what is happening within sometwenty or thirty miles of us, but if the spirit shown here existsthroughout Poitou and Anjou, there can be no doubt that, in a veryshort time, the insurrection will be general. This Cathelineau, bytheir description, must be a man of no ordinary ability; and he haslost no time in showing his energy. For myself, I care not in theleast what is the rank of my leader. Here in La Vendee there is nobroad line between the seigneurs, the tenants, and the peasantry;at all rustic fetes they mix on equal terms. The seigneurs set theexample, by dancing with the peasant girls; and their wives anddaughters do not disdain to do the same with tenants, or peasantry.They attend the marriages, and all holiday festivities, areforemost in giving aid, and in showing kindness in cases ofdistress or illness; and I feel sure that, if they found in a manlike Cathelineau a genius for command, they would follow him asreadily as one of their own rank."
On the fourteenth the news came that the bands of Stofflet andForet had, with others, joined that of Cathelineau. Jean Martinhesitated no longer.
"The war has fairly begun," he said. "I shall be off tomorrowmorning. If Cathelineau is defeated, we shall have the Republicansdevastating the whole country, and massacring women and children;as they did, last August, after a rising for the protection of thepriests. Therefore I shall be fighting, now, in defence of ourlives and home, wife."
"I would not keep you at home, Jean. I think it is the duty ofevery man to join in the defence against these wretches. I knowthat no mercy will be shown by them, if they conquer us. But youwill not take Leigh with you, surely?"
Leigh uttered an exclamation.
"Leigh must choose for himself," Jean said quietly. "He is notFrench, and would have no concern in the matter, beyond that ofhumanity, were it not that you are here; but at present our home ishis. Your life and his, also, are involved, if we are beaten. He isyoung to fight, but there will doubtless be many others no older,and probably much less strong than he is. Moreover, if I should bekilled, it is he who must bear you the news, and must arrange withyou your plans, and act as your protector.
"I do not say that I should advise your leaving the chateaudirectly, but if the Republicans come this way, it will be no placefor you; and I should say that it would be vastly better that youshould, at once, endeavour to cross to England. There are fivethousand francs in gold in my bureau, which are worth three or fourtimes their value in assignats; and should, if you can gain thecoast, be amply sufficient to procure a passage for you to England.
"Do not weep, dear. It is necessary to leave you, on an undertakingof this kind, prepared for whatever may happen. At present the riskis very small. As we have heard, the fury of the peasants hasstruck such consternation into the National Guards, andnewly-raised soldiers, that they will not await their onslaught;and it will not be until the Convention becomes aware of the reallyserious nature of the storm they have raised, that there will beany hard fighting. Still, even in a petty skirmish men fall; and itis right that, before I go, we should arrange as to what course youhad best pursue, in case of my death.
"From the first, when we came here we did so with our eyes open. Ifwe had merely sought safety, we should have gone to England. Wecame here partly because it is my home, and therefore my properplace; and partly because, in case La Vendee rose against theseexecutioners of Paris, every man of honour and loyalty should aidin the good cause."
"I know, Jean, and I would not keep you back."
> "The struggle has begun and, if the Republicans conquer La Vendee,we know how awful will be the persecutions, what thousands ofvictims will be slaughtered. Our only hope is in victory and, atany rate, those who die on the battlefield will be happy, incomparison with those who fall into the hands of the Blues."
"You wish to go, Leigh?"
"Certainly I do," the lad said. "I think that everyone strongenough to carry arms, in La Vendee, ought to join and do his best.I can shoot better than most of the peasantry, not one in twenty ofwhom has ever had a gun in his hands; and I am sure that I am asstrong as most of them. Besides, if I had been at home I should,now the war has begun, have tried to get a commission and to fightthe French--I mean the people who govern France at present--and infighting them, here, I am only doing what thousands of Englishmenwill be doing elsewhere."
"Very well, Leigh, then you shall go with Jean. I shall certainlybe glad to know you are together, so that if one is wounded or ill,the other can look after him and bring him here. I shall do thebest I can, while you are away."
"I think that we shall soon be back again, and that we shall beconstantly seeing you," Jean said. "You may be sure that thepeasants will not keep the field. They will gather and fight and,win or lose, they will then scatter to their homes again, until thechurch bells call them out to repel a fresh attack of the enemy.That is our real weakness. There will never be any discipline,never any common aim.
"If all the peasants in the west would join in a great effort, andmarch on Paris, I believe that the peasantry of the departmentsthrough which they pass would join us. It would only be theNational Guards of the towns, and the new levies, that we shouldhave to meet; and I believe that we might take Paris, crush thescum of the faubourgs, and hang every member of the Convention. Butthey will never do it. It will be a war of defence, only; and a warso carried out must, in the long run, be an unsuccessful one.
"However, the result will be that we shall never be very far awayfrom home, and shall often return for a few days. You must alwayskeep a change of clothes, and your trinkets and so on, packed up;so that at an hour's notice you and Marthe can start with thechild, either on receiving a note from me telling you where to joinus, or if you get news that a force from Nantes is marching rapidlyin this direction. Two horses will always remain in the stables, inreadiness to put into the light cart. Henri will be your driver.Francois you must send off to find us, and tell us the road thatyou have taken. However, of course we shall make all thesearrangements later on, when affairs become more serious. I don'tthink there is any chance, whatever, of the enemy making their wayinto the country for weeks, perhaps for months, to come."
The next morning, Jean Martin and Leigh started early. Each carrieda rifle slung behind him, a brace of pistols in his holsters, and asword in his belt. Patsey had recovered from her depression of theprevious evening, and her natural good spirits enabled her tomaintain a cheerful face at parting; especially as her husband'sassurances, that there would be no serious fighting for some time,had somewhat calmed her fears for their safety.
"The horses are useful to us, for carrying us about, Leigh," JeanMartin said, as they rode along; "but unless there are enoughmounted men to act as cavalry, we shall have to do any fightingthat has to be done on foot. The peasants would not follow amounted officer as they would one who placed himself in front ofthem, and fought as they fought.
"I hope that, later on, we may manage to get them to adopt somesort of discipline; but I have great doubts about it. The peasantryof La Vendee are an independent race. They are respectful to theirseigneurs, and are always ready to listen to their advice; but itis respect, and not obedience. I fancy, from what I have read ofyour Scottish Highlanders, that the feeling here closely resemblesthat among the clans. They regard their seigneurs as their naturalheads, and would probably die for them in the field; but in othermatters each goes his own way, and the chiefs know better than tostrain their power beyond a certain point.
"As you see, they have already their own leaders--Stofflet thegamekeeper, Foret the woodcutter, and Cathelineau, a small peddlingwool merchant. Doubtless many men of rank and family will jointhem, and will naturally, from their superior knowledge, take theirplace as officers; but I doubt whether they will displace the menwho have, from the beginning, taken the matter in hand. I am gladthat it should be so. The peasants understand men of their ownclass, and will, I believe, follow them better than they would menabove them in rank. They will, at least, have no suspicion of them;and the strength of the insurrection lies in the fact that it is apeasant rising, and not an insurrection stirred up by men offamily."
At ten o'clock they arrived at Cathelineau's camp. Just as theyreached the spot, they encountered Monsieur Sapinaud de la Verrie.He was riding at the head of about a hundred peasants, all of whomwere armed with muskets. They had, early that morning, attacked thelittle town of Herbiers. It was defended by two companies ofsoldiers, with four or five cannon; and the Republicans of the townhad ranged themselves with the Blues. Nevertheless the peasants,led by their commander and his nephew, had fearlessly attacked themand, with a loss of only two or three wounded, defeated the enemyand captured the place, obtaining a sufficient supply of muskets toarm themselves.
As Jean Martin was known to Monsieur Sapinaud, they saluted eachother cordially.
"So you are coming willingly, Monsieur Martin. There you have theadvantage of me, for these good fellows made me and my nephew comewith them, as their leaders, and would take no refusal. However,they but drew us into the matter a few days earlier than we hadintended; for we had already made up our minds to join themovement."
"I come willingly enough, Monsieur Sapinaud. If I had remained inNantes, I should have been guillotined by this time; and I made upmy mind when I left there that I would, on the first opportunity,do a little fighting before I was put an end to.
"This is my brother-in-law. He has been out here now nearly twoyears, and has seen enough of the doings of the murderers at Nantesto hate them as much as I do."
The streets of the little village, which Cathelineau had made hisheadquarters, were thronged with men. Through these the fourmounted gentlemen made their way slowly until, when they came tothe church, they saw three men standing apart from the others.
"That is Cathelineau, the one standing in the middle," Leigh said.
"We have come to place ourselves under your orders," MonsieurSapinaud said, as they rode up to him; and he named himself and hiscompanions.
"I am glad indeed to see you, sirs," Cathelineau said. "You are thefirst gentlemen who have joined us here; though I hear that,farther south, some have already declared themselves. We want youbadly.
"One of you I have seen already," and he smiled at Leigh. "I toldyou that you would hear of me, young sir; and you see I have keptmy word.
"These with me are Stofflet who, as you may have heard, recapturedthe cannon the Blues took at Clisson; and Foret, who had the honourof striking the first blow, at Saint Florent."
"Your names are all widely known in this part," Monsieur Sapinaudsaid, courteously. "Well, sirs, we have come to fight under yourorders. I have brought a hundred men with me, and we have alreadydone something on our own account; for we last night capturedHerbiers, which was defended by two companies, with four cannon. Wehave gained a sufficient number of muskets to arm all our party."
"If I do not offer to give up the leadership to you, Monsieur de laVerrie," Cathelineau said gravely, "it is from no desire on my partto be a commander; but I am widely known to the peasantry of manyparishes round Pin and, perhaps because I understand them betterthan most, they have confidence in me; and would, I think, followme rather than a gentleman like yourself, of whom they know butlittle."
"They are quite right," Monsieur Sapinaud said. "The peasantrycommenced this war. It is right that they should choose their ownleaders. You and your two companions have already their confidence,and it is far better that you should be their leaders. I believeall other gentlemen who join you will be a
s ready as we are tofollow you, and I am sure that the only rivalry will be as to whoshall most bravely expose himself, when he faces the enemy."
"I thank you, sir," Cathelineau said. "I believe earnestly that, inmany respects, it is best that the peasants should have their ownleaders. We can associate ourselves with their feelings, betterthan the gentry could do. We shall have more patience with theirfailings.
"You would want to make an army of them. We know that this cannotbe done. They will fight and die as bravely as men could do, but Iknow that they will never submit to discipline. After a battle,they will want to hurry off to their homes. They will obey theorder to fight, but that is the only order one can rely upon theirobeying.
"We are on the point of starting for Chollet. It is a town wherethe people are devoted to the cause of the Convention. At the lastdrawing for the militia they killed, without any pretext, a numberof young men who had come, unarmed, into the town. Many inhabitantsof adjoining parishes have been seized and thrown in prison,charged only with being hostile to the Convention, and expressinghorror at the murder of the king.
"The capture will produce an impression throughout the country.They have three or four hundred dragoons there, and yesterday, wehear, they called in the National Guard from the villages round,though scarce believing that we should venture to attack them. Yourreinforcement of a hundred men, all armed with muskets, will be avery welcome one; for they will hardly suspect that many of us havefirearms. However we had, before your arrival, three hundred whohave so armed themselves, through captures at Saint Florent andChemille."
He now ordered the bell to be rung and, as soon as its notes pealedout, started; followed at once by the crowd in the village, withoutany sort of order or regularity. Jean and Leigh continued to ridewith Monsieur de la Verrie and his nephew.
After some hours' marching, at two o'clock in the afternoon theyapproached Chollet. On the way they received considerablereinforcements, from the villages they passed through. As soon asthey approached the town they saw the dragoons pouring out,followed by three or four hundred National Guards.
The Vendeans now fell into some sort of order. A short council ofwar was held. It was arranged that Monsieur de la Verrie with hishundred musketeers, and Foret with as many more, should advanceagainst the dragoons; while Cathelineau and Stofflet, with ahundred musketeers and the main body of peasants with theirpitchforks, should attack the National Guards.
At the first volley, the colonel of the dragoons andmany of his men fell.]
The dragoons had expected that the mere sight of them would besufficient to send the peasants flying, and they were amazed thatthey should continue to advance. As soon as they were within easyrange, the peasants opened fire. At the first volley the colonel ofthe dragoons and many of his men fell. Reloading, the peasantsadvanced at a run, poured in a volley at close quarters; and then,with loud cheers, charged the dragoons.
These, being but newly raised troops, were seized with a panic,turned, and galloped off at full speed. Astounded at the defeat ofthe cavalry, in whom they had confidently trusted, the NationalGuard at once lost heart and as, with loud shouts, Cathelineau withhis peasants flung themselves upon them, they, too, broke, and fledin all directions.
The peasants pursued them for a league, and then returned,exultant, to Chollet. Here the leading revolutionists were thrownin prison but, with the exception of the National Guards whoattempted resistance after reaching the town, no lives were taken.A large quantity of arms, money, and ammunition fell into the handsof the victors.
Scarcely had the peasants gathered in Chollet, than the newsarrived that the National Guard of Saumur were marching againstthem; and Cathelineau requested Monsieur de la Verrie and Foret,with their following, to go out to meet them. They marched away atonce, and met the enemy at Vihiers.
Unprepared for an attack, the National Guard at once broke andfled, throwing away their arms and abandoning their cannon. Amongthese was one taken from the Chateau de Richelieu. It had beengiven by Louis the Thirteenth to the cardinal. On the engraving,with which it was nearly covered, the peasants thought that theycould make out an image of the Virgin, and so called it by hername. With these trophies the party returned to Chollet.
The next day being Saturday the little army dispersed, the peasantsmaking their way to their homes, in order to spend Easter there;while Cathelineau, with only a small body, remained at Chollet.From here messengers were sent to Messieurs Bonchamp, d'Elbee, andDommaigne--all officers who had served in the army, but had retiredwhen the revolution broke out. Cathelineau offered to share thecommand with them, and entreated them to give their militaryknowledge and experience to the cause.
All assented. Thus the force had the advantage, from this timeforward, of being commanded by men who knew the business of war.
Leigh had started for home as soon as the National Guards of Saumurwere defeated; Jean Martin, at Cathelineau's request, remainingwith him in order to join some other gentlemen, who had that dayarrived, in calling upon the three officers, and inviting them tojoin Cathelineau in the command.
Leigh's sister ran out, as he rode up to the house. The news of thecapture of Chollet, almost without loss, had already spread and,although surprised, she felt no alarm at seeing Leigh alone.
"I hear that you have taken Chollet, and defeated the dragoons andNational Guards."
"Yes; and this morning we put to flight the guards of Saumur,without the loss of a single man. I don't know what it may come to,presently; but just now it can hardly be called fighting. The sightof peasants rushing on seems to strike these heroes with a panic,at once; and they are off helter skelter, throwing away their gunsand ammunition."
"Have you come home only to tell me the news, Leigh?"
"I have come home because, at present, our army has evaporated intothin air. Tomorrow being Easter Sunday, the peasants have allscattered to their homes; so that it was of no use my staying atChollet. Cathelineau is there, and the other leaders; among themMonsieur de la Verrie, a nephew of his, Jean, and several othergentlemen, who have just arrived there. They are going as a sort ofdeputation, tomorrow, to Bonchamp, d'Elbee, and another officerwhose name I forget, to ask them to join Cathelineau in thecommand. I think that he will still remain as leader, and that theywill act as his councillors, and in command of columns."
"Then your impression of this man is confirmed?"
"More than confirmed. Jean said, this morning, that he was a bornleader of men. While all round him there is excitement andconfusion, he is as calm and serene as if he were alone. He isevidently a man who has read a good deal, and thought a good deal;and I can quite understand the influence he has gained over thepeasantry in his neighbourhood, and that it has long been theircustom to refer all disputes to him.
"Stofflet is a different sort of man. He is tall and powerful inframe, stern and almost morose in manner. He has been sixteen yearsa soldier; and was, I hear, distinguished for his bravery."
"And Foret?"
"He is an active young woodman, evidently a determined fellow and,as he was the first to lead the peasants against the Blues, he issure to have a following. They are three very different characters,but all of them well fitted to act as peasant leaders."
"And will Jean be a leader?"
"Not a leader, Patsey; that is to say, certainly not a general. Hedoes not want it, himself. But he will no doubt lead the peasantson the estate, and perhaps those in the neighbourhood. You knowthat he would not have the church bell rung, when he started,because he did not wish the tenants to join until he had seen theresult of the first fight; but when he comes home he will summonthose who like to go with him."
"Yes, I have had to explain that, over and over again. Yesterdayand today almost all the men have been up here, to ask why Jean didnot take them. I told them that that was one reason; and anotherwas that, had they started on foot when you did, they would nothave arrived in time to take part in the fight at Chollet."
The conversation, begun as Leigh d
ismounted, had been continued inthe house, the groom having taken the horse round to the stable.
"So the peasants fought well, Leigh?"
"They would have fought well, if the Blues had given them a chance;but these would not stop till they came up to them. If they haddone so, I am convinced that the peasants would have beaten them.There was no mistaking the way they rushed forward and, upon myword, I am not surprised that the enemy gave way; although wellarmed, and not far inferior in numbers, they would have had nochance with them."
"And did you rush forward, Leigh?"
"We were with the party that attacked the cavalry. Jean and I firedour rifles twice, and after that we only saw the backs of thecavalry. If they had been well-drilled troops they ought to havescattered us like sheep; for everything must have gone down beforethem, had they charged. There was no sort of order among us. Themen were not formed into companies. There was no attempt to directthem. Each simply joined the leader he fancied and, when the wordwas given, charged forward at the top of his speed. It is all verywell against the National Guards, and these young troops; but asJean said, it would be a different affair, altogether, if we wereto meet trained soldiers.
"But the peasants seem to be quick, and I expect they will adopttactics better suited to the country, when they come to fighting inthese lanes and woods. You see, so far a very small proportion havebeen armed with guns, and their only chance was to rush at once toclose quarters; but we have captured so many muskets, at Cholletand Vihiers, that in future a considerable proportion of thepeasants will have guns and, when they once learn to use thehedges, they will be just as good as trained troops."
"Then I suppose Jean is more hopeful about the future than he was?"
"I don't say that, Patsey. He thinks that we shall make a hardfight of it, but that the end must depend upon whether the peoplein Paris, rather than keep fifty thousand men engaged in adesperate conflict, here, when they are badly wanted on thefrontier, decide to suspend the conscription in La Vendee, and toleave us to ourselves. There can be no doubt that that would betheir best plan. But as they care nothing for human life, even ifit cost them a hundred thousand men to crush us; they are likely toraise any number of troops, and send them against us, rather thanallow their authority to be set at defiance.
"Do you know, Patsey, when I used to read about Guy Fawkes wantingto blow up the Houses of Parliament, I thought that he must be avillain, indeed, to try to destroy so many lives; but I havechanged my opinion now for, if I had a chance, I would certainlyblow up the place where the Convention meets, and destroy everysoul within its walls; including the spectators, who fill thegalleries and howl for blood."
"Well you see, Leigh, as Guy Fawkes and the other conspiratorsfailed in their attempt, I am afraid there is very small chance ofyour being able to carry out the plan more successfully."
"I am afraid there is not," Leigh said regretfully. "I should neverbe able to dig a way into the vaults, and certainly I should not beable to get enough powder to blow a big building up, if I could.No; I was only saying that, if Guy Fawkes hated the Parliament asmuch as I hate the Convention, there is some excuse to be made forhim.
"Now, Patsey, I am as hungry as a hunter."
"I have a good supper ready for you," she said. "I thought it wasquite possible that you and Jean would both come home, thisevening; for I felt sure that most of the peasants would be comingback, if possible, for Easter Sunday; and I had no doubt that, ifyou did come, you would both be hungry."
"Have you any news from other districts?" he asked, after he hadfinished his supper.
"There is a report that Captain Charette has gathered nearly twentythousand peasants, in lower Poitou; and that he has already gaineda success over the Blues. There are reports, too, of risings inBrittany."
"There is no doubt that things are going on well, at present,Patsey. You see, we are fighting on our own ground, and fiftythousand men can be called to arms in the course of a few hours, bythe ringing of the church bells. We have no baggage, no waggons, notrain of provisions; we are ready to fight at once.
"On the other hand, the Blues have been taken completely bysurprise. They have no large force nearer than the frontier, or atany rate nearer than Paris; and it will be weeks before they cangather an army such as even they must see will be required for theconquest of La Vendee. Up to that time it can be only a war ofskirmishes, unless our leaders can persuade the peasants to marchagainst Paris; and that, I fear, they will never be able to do.
"When the enemy are really ready, the fighting will be desperate.'Tis true that the Vendeans have a good cause--they fight for theirreligion and their freedom, while the enemy will fight only becausethey are ordered to do so. There is another thing--every victory wewin will give us more arms, ammunition, and cannon; while a defeatwill mean simply that the peasants will scatter to their homes, andbe ready to answer the next call for their services. On the otherhand, if the Blues are defeated they will lose so heavily, both inarms and stores; and will suffer such loss of life, from theirignorance of our roads and lanes, that it will be a long timebefore they will again be able to advance against us."
The next morning, after the service at the church was over, thepeasants came down in numbers to the chateau, to hear from Leigh afull account of the fighting at Chollet and Vihiers, a report ofthe latter event having arrived that morning. There wereexclamations of lively pleasure at the recital, mingled with regretthat they had not borne their share in the fighting.
"You will have plenty of opportunities," Leigh said. "MonsieurMartin has told me that, when he next leaves home, all who arewilling to do so can go with him. But it may be some little timebefore anything of importance takes place; and as, at present, whatfighting there is is a considerable distance away, he thinks itbest that you should reserve yourselves for some great occasion;unless, indeed, the Blues endeavour to penetrate the Bocage, when,I have no doubt, you will know how to deal with them, when they areentangled in your lanes and woods."
"We will go, every man of us!" one of the peasants shouted, and thecry was re-echoed, with enthusiasm, by the whole of the men.
It was nearly an hour before Leigh and his sister were able towithdraw from the crowd, and make their way homeward.
"It is difficult to believe that men so ready and eager to fightcan be beaten," she said. "Did you notice, too, that their wivesall looked on approvingly? I believe that, even if any of the menwished to stay away, they would be hounded to the front by thewomen. I think that, with them, it would be regarded as a war fortheir religion; while with the men it is the conscription that haschiefly driven them to take up arms."
