CHAPTER VIII. THE COMPAGNIE D'ELITE
With whatever triumphant feelings the Emperor Napoleon may havewitnessed the glorious termination of this brief campaign, to the youngofficers of the army it brought anything rather than satisfaction,and the news of the armistice was received in the camp with gloom anddiscontent. The brilliant action at Elchingen, and the great victory atAusterlitz, were hailed as a glorious presage of future successes, forwhich the high-sounding phrases of a bulletin were deemed but a poorrequital. A great proportion of the army were new levies, who had notseen service, and felt proportionably desirous for opportunities ofdistinction; and to them the promise of a triumphant return to Francewas a miserable exchange for those battlefields on which they dreamedthey should win honor and fame, and from whence they hoped to date theirrise of fortune. Little did we guess, that while words of peace andavowals of moderation were on his lips, Napoleon was at that very momentmeditating on the opening of that great campaign, which, beginning atJena, was to end in the most bloody and long sustained of all his wars.
Nothing, however, was now talked of but the fetes which awaited us onour return to Paris,--while liberal grants of money were made to all thewounded, and no effort was spared which should mark that feeling of theEmperor's, which so conspicuously opened his bulletin, in the emphaticwords, "Soldiers, I am content with you!"
Napoleon well understood, and indeed appeared to have anticipated, thedisappointment the army would experience at this sudden cessationof hostilities; and endeavored now to divert the torrent of theirenthusiasm into another and a safer channel. The bulk of the army werecantoned around Brunn and Olmutz; some picked regiments were recalledto Vienna, where the Emperor was soon expected to establish hisheadquarters; while many of those who had suffered most severelyfrom forced marches and fatigues were formed into corps of escort toaccompany the Russian prisoners--sixteen thousand in number--on theirway to France; and lastly, a _compagnie d'elite_, as it was called,was selected to carry to the Senate the glorious spoils ofvictory,--forty-five standards taken on the field of Austerlitz, and nowdestined to grace the Palace of the Luxembourg.
I had scarcely seated myself to the humble supper of my bivouac, when anorderly came to command me to General d'Auvergne's quarters. The littlesitting-room he occupied, in a peasant hut, was so filled with officersthat it was some time before I could approach him; and my impatiencewas not lessened by more than once hearing my name mentioned aloud,--acircumstance not a little trying to a young man in the presence of hissuperiors in station.
"But here he is," said the general, beckoning to me to come forward."Burke, his Majesty has most graciously permitted me to include yourname in the _compagnie d'elite_,--a testimony of his satisfaction you'veevery reason to be proud of. And just at the moment I was about tocommunicate the fact to you, I have received a message from MarshalMurat, requesting that I may permit you to serve on his own staff."
"Yes, Captain," said an officer in the uniform of a colonel,--it was thefirst time I had been addressed by my new title, and I cannot expresswhat a thrill of pleasure the word gave me,--"Marshal Murat witnessedwith pleasure the alacrity and steadiness of your conduct on the 2d, andhas sent me with an offer which I fancy few officers would not deem aflattering one."
"Unquestionably it is, Colonel," said General d'Auvergne; "nay, more, Iwill say I regard it as the making of a young man's fortune, thus earlyin his career to have attracted such high notice. But I must be passivehere; Captain Burke shall decide for himself."
"In that case, sir, I shall cause you but little delay, if you willstill permit me to serve on your own staff."
"But stay, my boy, do not be rash in this affair. I will not insult yourbetter feeling by dwelling on the little power I possess, and the verygreat enjoyed by Marshal Murat, of serving your interests; but Imust say, that with him, and on his personal staff, opportunities ofdistinction--"
"And here I must interpose," said the colonel, smiling courteously:"with no officer in this army can a man expect to see service, in itsboldest and most heroic colors, rather than with General d'Auvergne."
"I know it,--I feel it, too; and with him, if he will allow me--"
"Enough, my dear boy," said the old man, grasping my hand in his."Colonel, you must explain to the marshal how stands this matter; and heis too kind of heart and too noble of soul to think the worse of any ofus for our obstinacy. And now, my young friend, make your arrangementsto join the _compagnie d'elite_; they march to-morrow afternoon,--andthis is a service you cannot decline. Leave me to make youracknowledgments to the marshal, and lose no more time here."
Short as had been my absence from my quarters, when I re-entered, Idescried Tascher seated at the table, and busily employed in discussingthe last fragments of my supper.
"You see, my dear friend," said he, speaking with his mouth full,--"yousee what it is to have a _salmi_ for supper. I sat eating a confoundedmess of black bread, and blacker veal, for fifteen minutes, when thebreeze brought me the odor of your delicious _plat_. It was in vain Isummoned all my virtue to resist it; if there ever was a dish made toseduce a subaltern on service, it is this. But, I say, won't you eatsomething?"
"I fear not," said I, half angrily.
"And why?" replied he. "See what a capital wing that is,--a little bare,to be sure; and there's the back of a pigeon. _Ma foi!_ you have noreason to complain. I say, is it true you are named among the _compagnied'elite_?"
I nodded, and ate on.
"_Diable!_ there never was such fortune. What a glorious exchangefor this confounded swamp, with its everlasting drill from morning tonight,--shivering under arms for four hours, and shaking with the aguethe rest of the day after,--marching, mid-leg in water, half frozen, andtrying quick movements, when the very blood is in icicles! And thenyou 'll be enjoying Paris,--delightful Paris!--dining at the 'Rocher,'supping at the 'Cadran,' lounging into the _salons_, at the very time weshall be hiding ourselves amidst the straw of our bivouacs. I go mad tothink of it. And, what's worse than all, there you sit, as littleelated as if the whole thing were only the most natural in the world. Ibelieve, on my word, you 'd not condescend to be surprised if you weregazetted Marechal de France in to-morrow's gazette."
"When I can bear, without testifying too much astonishment, to see mysupper eaten by the man who does nothing but rate me into the bargain,perhaps I may plume myself on some equanimity of temper."
"Confound your equanimity! It's very easy to be satisfied when one haseverything his own way."
"And so, Tascher, you deem me such a fortunate fellow?"
"That I do," replied he, quickly. "You have had more good luck, and madeless of it, than any one I ever knew. What a career you had before youwhen we met first! There was that pretty girl at the Tuileries quiteready to fall in love with you; I know it, because she rather took anair of coldness with me. Well, you let her be carried off by an oldgeneral, with a white head and a queue,--unquestionably a bit of piqueon her part. Then, somehow or other, you contrived to pink the bestswordsman of the army, little Francois there; and I never heard that thecircumstance gained you a single conquest."
"Quite true, my friend," said I, laughing; "I confess it all. And, whatis far worse, I acknowledge that until this moment I did not even knowthe advantages I was wilfully wasting."
"And even now," continued he, not minding my interruption,--"even now,you are about to return to Paris as one of the _elite_. Well, I 'llwager twenty Naps that the only civil speeches you 'll hear will be fromsome musty old senators at the Luxembourg. Oh dear! if my amiable aunt,the Empress, would only induce my most benevolent uncle, the Emperor,to put me on that same list, depend upon it you 'd hear of LieutenantTascher in the 'Faubourg St. Honore.'"
"But you seem to forget," said I, half piqued at last by theimpertinence of his tone, "that I have neither friends noracquaintances; that, although a Frenchman by service, I am not so bybirth."
"And I,--what am I?" interrupted he. "A Creole, come from Heaven knowswhat far-aw
ay place beyond seas; that there never was a man withmore expensive tastes, and smaller means to supply them,--with worseprospects, and better connections; in short, a kind of live antithesis.And yet, with all that, exchange places with me now, and see if, beforea fortnight elapse, I have not more dinner invitations than any officerof the same grade within the Boulevards; watch if the prettiest girlat Paris is not at my side in the Opera. But here comes your officialappointment, I take it."
As he said this, an orderly of the "Garde" delivered a sealed packetinto my hands, which, on opening, I discovered was a letter from GeneralDuroc, wherein I read, that "it was the wish of his Majesty, Emperor andKing, that I, his well-beloved Thomas Burke, in conformity with certaininstructions to be afterwards made known to me, should proceed with the_compagnie d'elite_ to Paris, then and there--"
As I read thus far aloud, Tascher interrupted me, snatching the paperfrom my hands, and continued thus:--
"Then and there to mope, muse, and be _ennuye_ until such time as activeservice may again recall him to the army. My dear Burke, I am reallysorry for you. Wars and campaigning may be--indeed they are--very finethings; but as the means, not the end. His Majesty, my uncle,--whom mayHeaven preserve and soften his heart to his relations!--loves them fortheir own sake; but we,--you and I, for instance,--what possible reasoncan we have for risking our bones, and getting our flesh mangled, savethe hope of promotion? And to what end that same promotion, if not fora wider sphere of pleasure and enjoyment? Think what a career a colonel,at our age, would have in Paris!"
"Come, Tascher, I will not believe you in all this. If there werenot something higher to reward one for the fatigues and dangers of acampaign than the mere sensual delights you allude to, I, for one, wouldsoon doff the epaulettes."
"You are impracticable," said he, half angrily; "but it is as much fromthe isolation in which you have lived as any conviction on the subject.You must let me introduce you to some relatives of mine in Paris. Theywill be delighted to know you; for, as one of the _compagnie d'elite_,you might figure as a very respectable 'lion' for two, nay, three entireevenings. And you will have the _entree_ to the pleasantest house inParis; they receive every evening, and all the best people resort there.I only exact one condition."
"And that is--"
"You must not make love to Pauline. That you will fall in love with heryourself is a fact I can't help,--nor you either. But no advance on yourpart; promise me that."
"In such case, Tascher, it were best for all parties I should not knowthe lady. I have no fancy, believe me, for being smitten whether I willor no."
"I see, Master Burke, there is a bit of impertinence in all this. Yousneer at my warnings about _la belle cousine_; now, I am determinedyou shall see her at least. Besides, you must do me a service with thecountess I have had the bad luck to be for some time out of favor withmy aunt Josephine,--some trumpery debts of mine they make a workabout at the Tuileries. Well, perhaps you could persuade Madame deLacostellerie to take up my cause; she has great influence with theEmpress, and can make her do what she pleases. And, if I must confessit, it was this brought me over to your quarters tonight; and I ateyour supper just to pass away time till you came back again. You 'll notrefuse me?"
"Certainly not. But reflect for a moment, Tascher, and you will see thatno man was ever less intended for a diplomate. It is only a few minutessince you laughed at my solitary habits and hermit propensities."
"I've thought of all that, Burke, and am not a whit discouraged. On thecontrary, you are the more likely to think of my affairs because youhave none of your own; and I don't know any one but yourself I shouldfancy to meet Pauline frequently and on terms of intimacy."
"This, at least, is not a compliment," said I, laughing.
He shrugged his shoulders, and threw up his eyebrows with a Frenchexpression, as though to say, it can't be helped; and then continued:--
"And now remember, Burke, I count on you. Get me out of this confoundedplace; I 'd rather be back at Toulon again, if need be. And as I shallnot see you again before you leave, farewell. I 'll send the letter forthe countess early to-morrow."
We shook hands warmly and parted: he to return to his quarters; and Ito sit down beside my fire, and muse over the events that had justoccurred, and think of Tascher himself, whose character had never beenso plainly exposed to me before.
If De Beauvais, with his hot-headed impetuosity, his mad devotion to thecause of the Legitimists, was a type of the followers of the Bourbons;so, in all the easy indifference and quiet selfishness of his nature,was Tascher a specimen of another class of his countrymen,--a classwhich, wrapped up in its own circle of egotistical enjoyments, believedParis the only habitable spot of the whole globe. Without any strikingtraits of character, or any very decided vices, they led a life ofpleasure and amusement, rendering every one and everything around them,so far as they were able, subservient to their own plane and wishes;and perfectly unconscious the while how glaring their selfishnesshad become, and how palpable, even to the least observant, was theself-indulgence they practised on every occasion. Without clevernessor tact enough to conceal their failings, they believed they imposedon others because they imposed on themselves,--just as the child deemshimself unseen when he closes his eyes.
Josephine's followers were, many of them, like this, and formed astriking contrast to the young men of the Napoleonite party, who,infatuated by the glorious successes of their chief, deemed thecareer of arms alone honorable. St. Cyr and the Polytechnique were thenurseries of these,--the principles instilled there were perpetuatedin after life; and however exaggerated their ideas of France and herdestiny, their undoubted heroism and devotion might well have palliatedeven heavier errors.
It was in ruminating thus over the different characters of the few Ihad ever known intimately, that I came to think seriously on my owncondition, which, for many a day before, I had rather avoided thansought to reflect on. I felt,--as how many must have done!--that thebond of a common country, the inborn patriotism of the native of thesoil, is the great resource on which men fall back when they devotethemselves to the career of arms; that the alien's position, disguise ithow he will, is that of the mere mercenary. How can he identify himselfwith interests on which he is but half-informed, or feel attachment toa land wherein he has neither hearth nor home? In the very glory he winshe can scarce participate. In a word, his is a false position, which noevents nor accidents of fortune can turn to good account, and he mustrest satisfied with a life of isolation and estrangement.
I felt how readily, if I had been a Frenchman born, I could have excusedand palliated to my conscience many things which now were matters ofreproach. Aggressive war had lost its horrors in the glory of enlargeddominions; the greatness of France and the honor of her arms had mademe readily forget the miseries entailed on other nations by her lust ofconquest. But I--the stranger, the alien--had no part in the inheritanceof glory; and personal ambition,--what means it, save to stand highamongst those we once looked up to as superiors? For me there wereno traditions of a childhood passed amid great names, revered andworshipped; no early teachings of illustrious examples beside thepaternal hearth. And yet there was one, although lost to me forever,before whose eyes I would gladly seem to hold a high place. Yes! couldI but think that she had not forgotten me,--would hear my name withinterest, or feel one throb of pleasure if I were spoken of withhonor,--I asked no more!
"A letter, Monsieur le Capitaine," said my servant, as he depositeda package on my table. Supposing it was the epistle of which Tascherspoke, I paid but slight attention to it, when by chance I remarked itwas in General d'Auvergne's handwriting. I opened it at once, and readas follows:--
Bivouac, 11 o'clock.
My dear Burke,--No one ever set off for Paris without being troubled with commissions for his country friends, and you must not escape the ills of common humanity. Happily for you, however, the debt is easily acquitted; I have neither undiscovered shades of silk to be matched,
nor impossible bargains to be effected. I shall simply beg of you to deliver with your own hand the enclosed letter to its address at the Tuileries; adding, if you think fit, the civil attentions of a visit.
We shall both, in all likelihood, be much hurried when we meet to-morrow,--for I also have received orders to march,-- so that I take the present opportunity to enclose you a check on Paris for a trifle in advance of your pay; remembering too well, in my own aide-de-camp days, the dilatory habits of the War Office with new captains.
Yours ever, dear Burke,
D'Auvergne, Lieut-General.
The letter of which he spoke had fallen on the table, where I now readthe address,--"A Madame la Comtesse d'Auvergne, nee Comtesse de Meudon,dame d'honneur de S. M. l'Imperatrice." As I read these lines, I felt myface grow burning hot, my cheeks flushed up, and I could scarcely havebeen more excited were I actually in her presence to whom the letterwas destined. The poor general's kind note, his check for eight thousandfrancs, lay there: I forgot them both, and sat still, spelling overthe letters of that name so woven in my destiny. I thought of the firstnight I had ever heard it, when, a mere boy, I wept over her sorrows,and grieved for her whose fate was so soon to throw its shadow over myown. But in a moment all gave way before the one thought,--I should seeher again, speak to her and hear her voice. It is true, she was the wifeof another: but as Marie de Meudon, our destinies were as wide apart;under no circumstances could she have been mine, nor did I ever dareto hope it. My love to her--for it was such, ardent and passionate--wasmore the devotion of some worshipper at a shrine than an affection thatsought return. The friendless soldier of fortune, poor, unknown, uncaredfor,--how could he raise his thoughts to one for whose hand the noblestand the bravest were suitors in vain? Yet, with all this, how my heartthrobbed to think that we should meet again! Nor was the thought lessstirring that I felt, that even in the short interval of absence I hadwon praise from him for whom her admiration was equal to my own. Withall the turmoil of my hopes and fears I felt a rush of pleasure at myheart; and when I slept, it was to dream of happy days to come, and afuture far brighter than the past.
My first thought when morning broke was to ride over to Beygern, tolearn the fate of my wounded friends. On my way thither I fell in withseveral officers bound on a similar errand, for already the convent hadbecome the great hospital to which the sufferers were brought from everypart of the camp. As we went along, I was much struck by the depressionof spirit so remarkable everywhere. The battle over, all the martialenthusiasm seemed to have evaporated: many grumbled at the tiresomeprospect of a winter in country quarters, or cantoned in the field; someregretted the briefness of the campaign; while others again complainedthat to return to France after so little of active service would onlyexpose them to ridicule from their companions who had seen Italy andEgypt.
"Spare your sorrows on that score, my young friends," said a colonel,who listened patiently to the complaints around him; "we shall notsee the dome of the Invalides for some time yet. Except the _compagnied'elite_, I fancy few of us will figure on the Boulevards."
"There, again," cried another: "I never heard anything so unfair as that_compagnie d'elite_; they have been, with two solitary exceptions, takenfrom the cavalry. Austerlitz was to be the day of honor for the infantryof France, said the bulletin."
"And so it was," interrupted a little dark-eyed major; "and I supposehis Majesty thought we had enough of it on the field, and did not wishto surfeit us with glory. But I ask pardon," said he, turning towardsme; "monsieur is, if I mistake not, named one of the _elite_?"
As I replied in the affirmative, I observed all eyes turned towards me;but not with any kindly expression,--far from it. I saw that there was adeliberate canvass of me, as though to see by my outward man how I couldpossibly deserve such a favor.
"Can you explain to us, Monsieur," said the little major to me, "on whatprinciple the _elite_ were chosen? For we have a thousand contradictoryreports in the camp: some say by ballot; some, that it was only thosewho never soiled their jackets in the affair of the other day, andlooked fresh and smart."
A burst of laughter from the rest interrupted the major's speech, forits impertinence was quite sufficient to secure it many admirers.
"I believe, sir," said I, angrily, "I can show you some reasons againstthe selection of certain persons."
As I got thus far, an officer whispered something into the major's ear,who, with a roar of laughing, exclaimed,--
"A thousand pardons! ten thousand, _parbleu!_ I did n't know you. It wasmonsieur pinked Francois, the maitre d'armes? Yes, yes; don't deny it,"said he, as I made no reply whatever to a question I believed quiteirrelevant to the occasion,--"don't deny it. That lunge over the guardwas a thing to be proud of; and, by Jove! you shall not practise it atmy expense."
This speech excited great amusement among the party, who seemed tocoincide perfectly with the reasoning of the speaker; while I myselfremained silent, unable to decide whether I ought to be annoyed or thereverse.
"Come, Monsieur," resumed the major, addressing me with courtesy, "Iask-pardon for the liberty of my speech. By Saint Denis! if all the_compagnie d'elite_ have the same skill of fence, I 'll not questiontheir appointment."
The candor of the avowal was too much for my gravity, and I now joinedin the mirth of his companions.
If I have mentioned so trivial an incident as this here, it is because Iwish to mark, even thus passingly, a trait of French military life. Thesingular confession of a man who regretted his impertinence because hediscovered his adversary was a better swordsman, would, under any othercode or in any other country, have argued poltroonery. Not so here;no one for a moment suspected his comrade's courage, nor could anycircumstance arise to make it doubtful save an actual instance ofcowardice. The inequality of the combat was reason enough for notengaging in it: the odds were unfair, because duelling was like a gamewhere each party was to have an equal chance; and hence no shame wasfelt at declining a contest where this inequality existed.
Such a system, it is obvious, could not have prevailed in communitieswhere duelling was only resorted to in extreme cases; but here it wasan every-day occurrence, and often formed but a brief interval, scarceinterrupting the current of an old friendship. Any resentful spirit,any long-continued dislike to the party with whom you once fought, wouldhave been denounced as unofficer-like and ungenerous; and every day sawmen walking arm-inarm in closest intimacy, who but the morning beforestood opposed to each other's weapons. I now perceived the truth ofwhat Minette had once said, and which at the time I but imperfectlycomprehended. "Maitre Francois will be less troublesome in future; andyou, Lieutenant, will have an easier life also."
"Halt there!" shouted a sentry, as we approached the narrow causewaythat led up to the convent. We now discovered, that by a general orderno one was permitted to approach the hospital save such as were providedwith a leave from the medical staff. A bulletin of the deaths was dailypublished on the guard-house, except which no other information wasafforded of the condition of the wounded; and to this we turned eagerly,and with anxious hearts, lest we might read the name of some friendlost forever. I ran over with a rapid glance the list, where neither St.Hilaire nor poor Pioche occurred; and then, setting spurs to my horse,hurried back to my quarters at the top of my speed. When I arrived, thepreparations for the departure of the _elite_ were already in progress,and I had but time to make my few arrangements for the road when theorder came to join my comrades.
Tom Burke Of Ours, Volume II Page 8
