There was still one of these bottles to empty when the general returned to his place at table. Citizen Fenouillot opened it, or rather tried to do so, but in so unskilful a manner that Pichegru smiled and took the bottle from his hand; then cutting the cords, he opened the wires with the thumb of his left hand, which had retained all its strength.
"Come, citizen," said he, "a last glass to the prosperity of the arms of the Republic."
The commercial traveller raised his glass higher than any of the others.
"And," he added, "may the general finish gloriously what he has already gloriously begun."
All the officers joined noisily in the proposed toast.
"And now," said Pichegru, "as I agree with the toast which the citizen has just proposed, we have not an instant to lose. To-day's fight is but the prelude3 to two more serious battles; for we must win two more in order to regain4 the lines of Weissembourg, which were lost by my predecessor5. The day after to-morrow we will attack Froeschwiller; in four days the line, in five we shall be at Weissembourg, and in six we shall have relieved Landau." Then, addressing Macdonald, he said: "My dear colonel, you are, as you know, my right hand. I intrust to you the duty of visiting all the posts, and of telling each corps6 which one it is to occupy. You are to command the left wing, and Abatucci the right; I will be in the centre. See[Pg 168] that the soldiers want for nothing. No superfluities, but they must have a little more than the necessaries." Then he said to the other officers: "You all know the regiments7 under your command, citizens; you know those on whom you can depend. Call their officers together and tell them that I am writing to-day to the Committee of Public Safety that we shall sleep at Froeschwiller the day after to-morrow. Also that in eight days at the latest we shall be at Landau; and let them remember one thing, that if that promise is broken, my head will pay the forfeit8."
The officers rose, and, buckling9 on their swords, they prepared to leave the room to execute the orders they had received.
"As for you, Charles," continued Pichegru, "go into the room which has been made ready for us, and see if the mattresses10 are in their proper places. You will find on a chair a little package addressed to you; open it, and, if the contents pleases you, use it at once, for it belongs to you. If you feel any pain from the concussion11 you have received, tell me of it, and not the surgeon."
"Thanks, general," answered Charles; "but I do not need any other compresses there than the one which stopped the bullet. As for the bullet itself," continued the boy, taking it from his pocket, "I shall keep it to give to my father."
"And you can roll it in the certificate that I shall write for you. And now, my boy, go."
Charles went out. Pichegru glanced at citizen Fenouillot, who was still sitting in his place, went to the doors that gave access to the dining-room, bolted them, and then returned to his place opposite his guest, who had watched his movements with the utmost astonishment12.
"There," said he, "now we are alone, citizen."
"Alone, general?" asked the commercial traveller.
"Let us play above-board."
"I ask nothing better."
"Your name is not Fenouillot, you are not related to[Pg 169] the lawyer at Besan?on, you were not the Prince de Condé's prisoner, you are his agent."
"That is true, general."
"And you remained by his order to make me some proposals from the royalists at the risk of being shot."
"That is also true."
"But you said to yourself, 'General Pichegru is brave and he will understand that it requires a certain degree of courage to do what I am doing; perhaps he will not shoot me, though he may refuse; and then he will send me back to the prince with his refusal.'"
"That is also true; but I hope that after having heard me—"
"After having heard you there is just one case in which I shall have you shot; of that I warn you."
"What is that?"
"If you should put a price on my treason."
"Or your devotion."
"We will not discuss the words, but the thing. Are you disposed to answer all my questions?"
"I am, general."
"I am going to cross-examine you, I warn you."
"Go on."
Pichegru drew his pistols from his belt and laid one on either side of his plate.
"General," said the pretended clerk, laughing, "I hope those are not your cards that you are laying on the table."
"Have the goodness to put my pistols on the mantel-shelf, since you are nearer to it than I am," replied Pichegru, "they are not comfortable in my belt." And he pushed his pistols within the other's reach, who carried them to the mantel-shelf and returned to his seat.
Pichegru bowed slightly and the other did the same.
"Now," said Pichegru, "let us begin."
"I am waiting."
"What is your name?"
"Fauche-Borel."
[Pg 170]
"Where do you come from?"
"Neuchatel. Only my name might have been Fenouillot, and I might have come from Besan?on, since I belong to a Franche-Comté family which did not leave until after the revocation13 of the Edict of Nantes."
"In that case I should have recognized you for a fellow-countryman by the accent."
"Excuse me, general, but how did you know that I was not a commercial traveller for champagne."
"By the way you opened the bottles. Citizen, another time choose another character."
"What one, for instance?"
"A bookseller."
"You know me, then?"
"I have heard of you."
"In what way?"
"As an uncompromising enemy of the Republic, and the author of royalist pamphlets. Excuse me if I continue to question you."
"Continue, general; I am at your service."
"How did you become an agent for the Prince de Condé."
"My name first attracted the attention of the Regent[3] in a royalist pamphlet of M. d'Antragues, entitled 'Memoirs14 of the Regency of Louis Stanislas Xavier, son of France, uncle of the King, and Regent of France.' He noticed it a second time when I induced the inhabitants of Neuchatel to sign the Act of union."
[3] A title which Louis XVIII. bore while Louis XVII. lived.
"And I know that from that time your house became the resort of the emigrants15 and the hotbed of the anti-revolutionists."
"The Prince de Condé knew it also and sent a certain Montgaillard to know if I would join him."
"I fear so," replied Fauche-Borel.
[Pg 171]
"He serves the king under two names—Roques and Pinard."
"You are well informed, general; but M. de Montgaillard and I have nothing in common except that we both serve the same prince."
"Let us return to him then. You were just saying that he sent M. de Montgaillard to know if you would join him."
"Yes; he told me that the prince had his headquarters at Dawendorff, and would receive me with pleasure. I started at once. I went first to Weissembourg, to throw your spies off the scent17 by making them think that I was going to Bavaria. I then went down toward Haguenau, and from there I reached Dawendorff."
"How many days have you been here?"
"Two."
"In the simplest manner possible, the Chevalier de Contyre presented me to him. 'M. de Fauche-Borel,' he said. The prince rose and came toward me.—You wish me to repeat his exact words, do you not, general?"
"Yes."
"'My dear Monsieur Fauche,' he said to me, 'I know you through all my companions in arms, who have told me over and over of your hospitality to them. I have therefore wished for some time to see you, and to offer you a mission that would be as advantageous19 as it is honorable. I have recognized for a long time that I cannot depend on foreigners. The reinstatement of our family upon the throne is not an end but a pretext20; foreigners are foreigners, and will do everything for their own interests and nothing for the interests of France. No, it is from within that we must bring about the restoration; and,' he continued, laying his hand upon my arm, 'I have chosen you to carry the king's message to General Pichegru. The Convention, in ordering the union of the armies of the Rhine and the Moselle, have placed him under Hoche. He will be furious at this. Profit by this moment to persuade him to serve the cause[Pg 172] of the monarchy22, by making him understand that the Republic is nothing but a chimera23.'"
Pichegru listened to all this with the greatest calmness, and when it was finished, he smiled. Fauche-Borel had expected some kind of answer, and had purposely introduced this mention of Hoche at the end; but as we have seen, Pichegru only replied to this part of the speech by his most benevolent24 smile.
"Go on," he said.
Fauche-Borel continued:
"It was in vain that I told the prince how unworthy I felt myself of this honor; and that I had no other ambition than to serve him as an active and zealous25 man. He only shook his head and said: 'M. Fauche, you or no one.' And putting his hand upon my heart, he added: 'You have there what will make the best sort of diplomat26 for this mission.' If I had not been a royalist I would have resisted, and would in all probability have found excellent reasons for my refusal. But being a royalist, I was desirous of serving the royal cause in any way whatsoever27, and so I yielded. I have told you how I went to Weissembourg, from there to Haguenau, and from there to Dawendorff; I had only to go from there to Auenheim, your headquarters; but this morning your advance-guard was signalled. 'Pichegru spares us the trouble of going to him,' said the prince. 'It is a good omen21.' Then it was agreed that if you were defeated I was to go to you, and you know the destiny which the Convention reserves for its defeated generals. If you were victorious28, I was to wait for you, and with the help of the little scheme of which you already know, I was to gain access to you. You have conquered, and have discovered the ruse29; I am at your mercy, general, and shall only offer one excuse for my conduct—my profound conviction that I acted for the best interests of France, and my intense desire to spare the shedding of blood. I await with confidence the decision of your justice."
Fauche-Borel rose, bowed, and seated himself again, as[Pg 173] calm, at least to all appearances, as if he had just proposed a toast at a patriotic30 banquet.
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1
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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2
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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7
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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8
forfeit
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| vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物 | |
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9
buckling
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| 扣住 | |
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10
mattresses
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| 褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 ) | |
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concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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revocation
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| n.废止，撤回 | |
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memoirs
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| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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emigrants
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| n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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16
intriguer
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| 密谋者 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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18
broach
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| v.开瓶，提出(题目) | |
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advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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22
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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chimera
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| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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26
diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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28
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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ruse
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| n.诡计，计策；诡计 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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