general roundhead and the chief of the companions of jehu
lemaistre introduced them. "general roundhead," said he, designating the chouan; "citizen morgan, leader of the companions of jehu," bowing to the president of the section le peletier.
the two young men shook hands.
[pg 257]
"although fate determined that our birthplaces should be at the two extremities of france," said morgan, "one conviction unites us. although we are of the same age, you, general, have already won renown, while i am unknown, or known only through the misfortunes of my house. it is to those misfortunes and my desire to avenge them that i owe the recommendation of the committee of the jura, and the position which the section le peletier has given me in making me its president on monsieur lemaistre's introduction."
"m. le comte," said the royalist, bowing, "i have not the honor like you to belong to the nobility of france. i am simply a child of the stubble and the plow. when men are called, as we are, to risk their heads on the scaffold, it is well that they should know each other. one does not care to die in the company of those with whom they would not associate in life."
"do all the children of the stubble and the plow express themselves as well as you do, general, in your country? if so, you do not need to regret that you have been born without the pale of that nobility to which i by accident belong."
"i may say, count," replied the young general, "that my education has not been precisely that of the breton peasant. i was the eldest of ten children, and was sent to the college at vannes, where i received a good education."
"and i have heard," added the man whom the chouan called count, "that it was early predicted that you were destined to great things."
"i do not know that i ought to boast of that prediction, although it has already been fulfilled in part. my mother was sitting in front of our house, holding me in her arms, when a beggar passed, and stopping, leaned upon his stick to look at us. my mother, as was her custom, cut a piece of bread for him and gave him a penny. the beggar shook his head. then touching my forehead with the tip of his bony finger, he said: 'there is a child who will bring about great changes in his family, and who will cause much trouble[pg 258] to the state.' then, looking at me sadly, he added: 'he will die young, but he will have accomplished more than most old men,' and he continued on his way. last year the prophecy was fulfilled as far as my family was concerned. i took part as you know in the insurrection of the vendée of '93 and '94."
"and gloriously," interrupted morgan.
"i did my best. last year, while i was organizing the morbihan, the soldiers and gendarmes surrounded our house. father, mother, uncle and children were all carried off to prison at brest. it was then that the prediction which had been made concerning me when i was a child recurred to my mother's mind. the poor woman reproached me with tears for being the cause of the misfortunes of the family. i tried to console her and to strengthen her by telling her that she was suffering for god and her king. but women do not appreciate the value of those two words. my mother continued to weep and died in prison in giving birth to another child. a month later my uncle died in the same prison. on his deathbed he gave me the name of one of his friends to whom he had loaned nine thousand francs; this friend had promised to return the sum whenever he should ask for it. when my uncle died my only thought was to escape from prison, obtain the money, and apply it to the cause of the insurrection. i succeeded. my uncle's friend lived at rennes. i went to his house, only to learn that he had gone to paris. i followed him here and obtained his address. i have just seen him, and faithful and loyal breton that he is, he has returned me the money in gold, just as he borrowed it. i have it here in my belt," continued the young man, putting his hand to his hip. "nine thousand francs in gold are worth two hundred thousand to-day. do you throw paris in confusion, and in a fortnight all the morbihan will be in flames!"
the two young men had unconsciously drawn aside from the group and now found themselves in a recess of the window. the president of the section le peletier looked about[pg 259] him, and seeing that no one was within hearing distance, he placed his hand on the young general's arm, and said:
"you have told me of yourself and your family, general; in return i owe you information concerning myself and mine. morgan is an assumed name. my real name is edouard de sainte-hermine. my father, comte prosper de sainte-hermine, was guillotined; my mother died of grief, my brother léon de sainte-hermine was shot. in the same way that my father bequeathed his vengeance to my elder brother, so did he bequeath to me both my father's and his own. a boy belonging to his district, who was present at his execution, brought me his foraging-cap—the last fraternal gift that he could send me. it meant, 'it is now your turn!' i began my work at once. not being able to arouse the jura and alsace, which are strongly patriotic, i have with my friends, young noblemen from the vicinity of lyons, organized bands for the purpose of seizing government money to send to you and your friends in the morbihan and the vendée. that is why i wanted to see you. we are destined to clasp hands across the whole of france."
"only," said the general, laughing, "i hold out mine empty, while you give me yours full."
"that is a slight compensation for the glory which you gain every day, and in which we ourselves shall be wanting. but what will you? every one must do god's work in the state in which god has placed him. that is why i have hastened here to do something worth doing, while the opportunity serves. what will result from our projected action? none can guess. if we have only menou to oppose us, the convention is lost, and on the day following its dissolution, the monarchy will be proclaimed and louis xviii. will ascend the throne."
"what, louis xviii.?" asked the chouan.
"yes, louis xvii. died in prison; but from the royalist point of view he nevertheless reigned. you know the cry of the french monarchy, 'the king is dead; long live the king!' king louis xvi. is dead; long live king louis[pg 260] xvii.! king louis xvii. dies; long live king louis xviii.! the regent succeeds his nephew, not his brother."
"a queer sort of reign, that of the young boy," said the chouan, shrugging his shoulders. "a reign during which they guillotined his father, mother, brother and aunt; while he was kept a prisoner in the bastille with a cobbler for a tutor! i must admit, my dear count, that the party to which i have given myself heart and soul is subject to peculiar aberrations which terrify me. thus, suppose, which god forbid! that his majesty, louis xviii., should not ascend the throne for ten or fifteen years, would he still be supposed to have reigned over france during that time, no matter in what corner of the earth he had been hidden?"
"yes."
"how absurd! but pardon me; i am a peasant, and therefore am not expected to understand everything. but royalty is my second religion, and for that, as for my first, i have faith."
"you are a brave man, general," said morgan, "and whether or no we meet again i should like to have your friendship. if we do not meet again, it will be because i am dead—either shot or guillotined. in that case, just as my elder brother inherited vengeance from my father, and i in turn from him, so will my younger brother inherit from me. if royalty, thanks to the sacrifices we have made for it, is saved, we will be heroes. if, in spite of those sacrifices, it is lost, then we shall be martyrs. you see that in either case we have nothing to regret."
the chouan was silent for a moment, then, looking earnestly at the young nobleman, he said: "m. le comte, when men like you and i meet, and are fortunate enough to serve the same cause, they should swear each other—i will not say eternal friendship, for perhaps the nobleman would not condescend so far to the poor peasant—but an unalterable esteem. m. le comte, i beg you to accept mine."
"general," said morgan, with tears in his eyes, "i ac[pg 261]cept the esteem you offer me, and i offer you more than friendship, i offer fraternity."
whereupon they threw themselves into each other's arms and embraced as though they were old in friendship.
