Those present at this scene had listened and looked on from a distance without interruption, realizing that they had before them two powerful personalities1. The principal of the royalist agency was the first to break the silence.
"Gentlemen," said he, "it is always a gain when two leaders, even when they are about to separate—the one to do battle in the east, the other on the west of France, and though they may never meet again—it is always something gained when they exchange fraternal pledges as the knights2 of the Middle Ages were wont3 to do. You are all witnesses of the oath which these two leaders, in a cause which is also our own, have taken. They are men who do more than they promise. One, however, must return to the Morbihan, to unite the movement there with our own. Let us, therefore, take leave of the general who has completed his work in Paris, and turn to our own which has begun well."
"Gentlemen," said the Chouan, "I would gladly offer to remain here and fight with you to-morrow or to-day, but I confess that I know little about street warfare4. The war I am used to carrying on is in ditches, ravines, bushes, and thick forests. Here I should be but one more soldier—there a chieftain would be wanting; and, since Quiberon of mournful memory, there are but two of us, Mercier and I."
"Go, my dear general," said Morgan; "you are fortunate to be able to fight in the open with no fear lest a chimney fall upon your head. God bring me to you, or you to me again!"
[Pg 262]
The Chouan took leave of every one, and more tenderly of his new friend, perhaps, than of his old acquaintances. Then noiselessly and on foot, as if he were the least of the royalist officers, he gained the Barrière d'Orléans, while Danican, Lemaistre, and the young president of the Section Le Peletier laid their plans for the following day. As he departed, they all remarked: "He is a formidable fellow, that Cadoudal!"
About the same time that he whose incognito5 we have just betrayed was taking leave of Morgan and his companions, and was making his way to the Barrière d'Orléans, a group of those young men of whom we have already spoken crossed from the Rue6 de la Loi to the Rue Feydeau, shouting: "Down with the Convention! Down with the Two-thirds Men! Long live the Sections!"
At the corner they found themselves face to face with a patrol of patriot7 soldiers, on whom the last orders of the Convention enjoined8 the greatest severity against all nocturnal brawlers.
The group equalled the patrol in number, and they received the three summonses required by law with hoots10 and jeers11; their only reply to the third was a pistol-shot which wounded one of the soldiers.
The latter retaliated12 by a volley which killed one of the young men and wounded several others. The guns being discharged, the two bands were now on an equal footing as regards weapons. Thanks to their enormous canes14, which in hands accustomed to wield15 them became veritable clubs, the men of the Sections could turn aside the bayonets as easily as they could parry the point of a sword in a duel16. They could moreover strike blows which, when received on the chest, though they could not pierce like a sword-thrust, were equally dangerous, and when aimed at the head would fell a man as readily as a butcher fells an ox.
As usual, the brawl9, which, owing to the number of persons engaged in it, assumed frightful17 proportions, set the whole neighborhood in a tumult18. The uproar19 and tur[Pg 263]moil were increased from the fact that it was the first night of a popular representation at the Théatre Feydeau, then the fashionable theatre of Paris. They were playing "Toberne, or the Swedish Fisherman," the words by Patras, the music by Bruni; and "The Good Son," the words by Louis Henequin, and the music by Lebrun. Consequently, the Place Feydeau was thronged20 with carriages and the Passage Feydeau with playgoers on foot.
At the sound of the cries "Down with the Convention! Down with the Two-thirds Men!" and the firing, the carriages started off like so many arrows, some colliding with their neighbors; while the spectators on foot, fearing to be shot, arrested, or stifled21 in the narrow passage, broke through all barriers. Finally the windows opened, and men's voices could be heard raining imprecations upon the soldiers, while the softer tones of women encouraged the men of the Sections, who, as we have said, were among the handsomest, best-dressed, and wealthiest young men of Paris. The scene was lighted by the lanterns that swung from the arcades22.
The citizen in the green coat, who was face to face with two soldiers, at once realized that he was threatened from behind. He leaped aside with a haphazard24 blow of his cane13, but to such good effect that it broke the arm of the soldier who was attacking him with his bayonet; then he thrust the iron-tipped stick in the face of a man who was just raising the stock of his gun to bring it down on his head. Afterward25 he looked up at the window whence the warning had come, and threw a kiss at a graceful26 form that was leaning over the rail of the balcony, and turned just in time to parry a bayonet-thrust before it had time to more than graze his chest.
At that moment help arrived for the soldiers from the Convention. A dozen men from the guard-house rushed up, crying: "Death to the Muscadins!"
[Pg 264]
The young man in the green coat was at once surrounded, but whirling his stick vigorously around his head, he managed to keep the soldiers at a distance while he beat a retreat toward the arcades. This retreat, not less skilful27 because less successful than that of Xenophon, was directed toward a massive door with iron panels artistically28 wrought29, which the porter had just darkened by extinguishing the lantern hanging over it. But before this had happened, the young man, with the swift glance of a military leader, had glanced at the door, and discovered that it was not latched30. If he could once reach that door, he could spring through it, close it behind him, and be in safety, unless, indeed, the doorkeeper was sufficiently31 patriotic32 to refuse a gold louis, which at that time was worth more than twelve hundred francs in paper money—a patriotism33 which was somewhat problematic.
But as though his enemies had divined his object, the attack redoubled in intensity34 as he approached the door, and, while the young man was extraordinarily35 skilful and strong, the fight had already lasted a quarter of an hour and had greatly impaired36 both his skill and his strength. Still, as the door was now only some two feet distant, he made a last effort, felled one of his adversaries37 with his stick, sent another reeling with a blow from his fist that landed on the man's chest, and reached the door, only to receive a blow from a gun-stock (fortunately the flat side) just as he pushed it open.
The blow was a violent one. Sparks danced before the young man's eyes, and his blood coursed wildly through his veins38. But blinded as he was, his presence of mind did not desert him. He sprang back, propped39 himself against the door, which he closed with a bang behind him, and tossed a louis, as he had intended, to the porter, who had rushed out of his lodge40 on hearing the noise. Then, seeing a lighted staircase, he darted41 toward it, and, clinging to the balustrade, tottered42 up a dozen steps. Then it seemed to him that the walls of the house were falling and that the[Pg 265] stairs were swaying beneath his feet, the staircase gave way, and he seemed to be rolling down a precipice43.
Fortunately he had only fainted, but in doing so he had slipped gently down the stairs.
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1
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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2
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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3
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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4
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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5
incognito
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| adv.匿名地；n.隐姓埋名；adj.化装的，用假名的，隐匿姓名身份的 | |
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6
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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7
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
brawl
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| n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂 | |
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hoots
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| 咄，啐 | |
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jeers
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| n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 ) | |
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12
retaliated
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| v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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14
canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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15
wield
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| vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等) | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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17
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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20
thronged
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| v.成群，挤满( throng的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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22
arcades
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| n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物 | |
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23
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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haphazard
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| adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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artistically
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| adv.艺术性地 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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30
latched
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| v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上） | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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34
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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extraordinarily
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| adv.格外地；极端地 | |
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36
impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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38
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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39
propped
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| 支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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41
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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42
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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43
precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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