The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard

, I was a colonel at twenty-eight, and the chief of a brigade at thirty-one, so that I have no reason to be dissatisfied with my career. Had the wars lasted another two or three years I might have

h I was not able to write my name upon history, it is sufficiently w

ich first started me upon my rapid upward course, and which had the

try to confute me by quoting the opinions of some student or man of the pen, who has written a book of history or memoirs. There is much which is unknown by such people, and much which never will be known by the world. For my own part, I could tell you some very surprising things w

gallantry were in my favour, and that I had already won a reputation as being one of the best swordsmen in the army; but amongst the host of brave men who surrounded the E

e right side of the Niemen. The old Bulldog over the Channel was still growling, but he could not get very far from his kennel. If we could have made a perpetual peace at that moment, France would have taken a higher place than any nation since the days of the Romans. So I have heard the wise folk say, though for my part I had other t

his time to see it crowded with Grand Dukes and Electors and Princes, who thronged round Napoleon like puppies round their master, each hoping that some bone might be thrown to him. There was mo

hundred square miles to that man, or tear as much off the other, round off one kingdom by a river, or cut off another by a chain of mountains. That was how he used to do business, this little artilleryman, whom we had raised so high with our sabres and our bayonets. He

layed the deuce whether we liked it or no, just that we might resemble our Colonel! We forgot that it was not because he drank or gambled that the Emperor was going to make him the head of the light cavalry, but because he had the surest eye for the nature of a position or for the strength of a column, and the best judgment as to when infantry could be broken

on the shoulder, ‘the Emperor w

words, and I had to lean my hands

cried. ‘Th

d he, smiling at

my existence, Colonel,’ I protes

t have found all that he needed at the head of the regiment? However,’ he added, clapping me on the shoulder again in his hearty fashion, ‘every man has his chance. I have had

icipation. Sometimes I thought that perhaps he had heard of the guns which we had taken at Austerlitz; but, then, there were so many who had taken guns at Austerlitz, and two years had passed since the battle. Or it might be that he wished to reward me for my affair wit

s of Lasalle. ‘If he had need

glowed with joy as this conviction grew upon me, and I sat down to write to my mother and to tell her that the Emperor was waiting, at that very moment, to have my opinion upon a ma

h dapper ruffles and cuffs. We did not know many civilians, we of the army, but, my word, this was one whom we could not afford to ignore! I had only to glance at those tw

e Gerard, Monsieur de Ta

top of my panache to the rowel of my spur, with

tances under which he is summoned to the Emperor’

politician, and the big, sky-blue hussar with one fist on his hip and the other on the hilt of his sabre. They both t

ed it up to him again, but he was staring at the wall in front of him as if he had seen a ghost. “Fratelli dell’ Ajaccio,” he muttered; and then again, “Fratelli dell’ Ajaccio.” I don’t pretend to know more Italian than a man can pick up in two campaigns

’ asked T

hat I ought to do. Presently he s

e, “that you have some gallan

l that, sire,

or action, but who would not think too much — you unde

ent who would not penetrate

spurs and moustaches, with never

d Napoleon. “Bring him to my p

ay to you at once, and mind that y

Colonel’s choice, and I must have shown as much in my face, for

ilot than myself. We have none of us any idea as to what this little affair means, and, between ourselves, it is very important for us, w

as driving at, but I bowed and tri

lves in public with you, but we will await you here, and we will give you our advice when you have told us what has pa

ssing about among the crowd of people who were waiting. I heard him whisper to Monsieur de Caulaincourt that half of them were German Dukes who expected to be made Ki

. His tight white cashmere breeches and white stockings showed off his legs to advantage. But even a stranger must have been struck by the singular look of his eyes, which could harden into an expression which would frighten a grenadier. It is said that even Auguereau, who was a man who had neve

me up and down without a word. Though he was a small man himself, he was very fond of having fine-looking fellows about him, and so I think that my appearance ga

randebourgs of gold braid upon the front of my pelisse, ‘I am informed that you are

urs and moustaches, so it ended in my saying nothing at all. The Emperor watched the struggle which must

side. But a brave man who ——’ He did not finish his sentence, and for my own part I could not understan

erstand, a good sw

, sire,’ I

nt to fight the champion of the

ind that he knew so

re, did me that

ou insulted six fencing masters

eing out seven times in a

ed without

23rd Light Infantry touched

g. ‘Do you imagine that I place veteran soldiers in these positions that you may practise quarte and tierce upon them? How am I to

to him, and I would gladly have changed my position for that of the first man in the steepest and narrowest breach that ever swallowed up a storming party. He turned to the table,

side, and there are reasons why yours should be the one which I select. But first of all I must bi

yrand and of Lasal

r opinions or conjectures, and I wish

bo

nd not your brains. I will do th

, si

ancellor’s Grove

bo

ouble fir-tree where the h

three times a week, he would not have as

l meet me there at

t happen. If he had asked me to take his place upon t

e armed with a sword, but not with pistols. You must address no remark to me,

rstand,

o defend me, you will have your sword ready. If, on the other hand, I speak to these men, you will wait and see what happens. If you ar

for my sword; but would it not be better that I should bring a co

lerymen have not swords as well as the hussars? But I ordered you not to argue with me. You wil

l not, sir

o more instructions

and then an idea occ

thinking, s

ity of a wild beast. I really

e you could think? Let me hear of your doing such a thing again! You,

is no one who can teach me very much. But when I meet a Chamberlain and a Marshal of the Palace, and have to pick my words with an Emperor, and find that everybody hints instead of talking straight out, I feel like a troop-horse who has been put in a lady’s calèche. It is

a long pair of sky-blue legs with hussar boots, and a short pair of black o

s?’ they cried,

’ I an

r refused t

have se

at did

say that it is quite impossible for me to tell yo

t to rub itself against you. ‘This is all among friends, you understand, and goes no fart

oubling you too much to ask you to step up to it and bring back the Emperor’s written statement that

at me then like the

things in their just proportion. As he grows older he may understand that it is not

this, but Lasalle came to my

t if he had answered you, you would have laughed in your sleeve and thought as much about him as I think of the bottle when the burgundy is gone. As for me,

he more bitter when he saw that

l be very happy to apply to you. At present, however, the matter concerns diplomacy, and you will permit me to form my own views upon that question. As long as the welfare of France and the safety of the Emperor’s perso

n, and, turning upon his heel, he walked with

hing up his sabre and his cap, he clattered away down the stairs. As I looked out of the window I saw the two of them, the big blue man and the limping black on

ten o’clock I was to meet the Emperor in the forest. Of all extraordinary combinations of events in the whole world, surely this was the last which would have occurred to me when I rose from my couch that morning. But the responsibility —— the dreadful responsibility! It was all upon my shoulders. There was no one to halve it with me. It made me cold all over. Often as I have faced death upon the battle-field, I h

led off my hussar boots also, and wore a pair of shoes and gaiters, that I might be lighter upon my feet. Then I stole out of my quarters and made f

infantry coats and the light green of the Guides. There they sat, sipping their wine and smoking their cigars, little dreaming what their comrade had on hand. One of them, the chief of my squadron, ca

of the woods, and then I pushed rapidly forward towards the old fir-tree. It was a place which, as I have hinted, I had my own reasons for knowing well, and I could only thank the Fates that it was not one o

h a capote over his head. I had seen him in such a dress in our winter campaign in Poland, and it was said that he used it because the hood was such an excellent disguise. He was always fond, whether in the camp or in Paris, of walking round at night,

of him, clicking my spurs together, grounding my sabre, and saluting. He glanced at me, and then without a word he turned and walked slowly through the forest, I keeping always about the same distance behind him. Once or twice he seemed to me to look apprehensively to right and to left, as if he feared that someone was observing us. I looked also, but although I

me have been a most gigantic tree. It is called the Abbot’s Beech, and there are so many ghostly stories about it, that I know many a brave soldier who would not care about mounting sentinel over it

ged from its shadow and walked forward to meet us. The Emperor glanced back at me, and slackened his pace a little so that I came within arm’s

e mantles of Murat’s dragoons. They had flat black caps, like those I have since seen in Spain, which threw their faces into darkness, though I could see the gleam of their eyes from beneath them. With the moon behind them and their long black shadows walking in

because he was slightly the nearer to me, and I became certain as I watched him that he was in the last state of nervousness. His lean figure was quivering all over, and I heard a quick, thin panting like that of a tired dog. Suddenly one of them gave a short,

pon buried in his victim, threw up both his hands and shrieked with joy. But I— I drove my sword through his midriff with such frantic force, that the mere blow of the hilt against the end of his breast-bone sent him six paces before he fell, and left my reeking blade ready for the other. I sprang round upon him with such a lust for blood upon

d had done its work. Young as I was, I had seen enough of war to kn

ever-widening dark circle in the moonlight, I knew that all was indeed over. I sprang madly to

bury himself in the darker parts of the woods, but he flew on from glade to glade, until he came to the heath-land which leads up to the great Fontainebleau quarry. There I had him in full sight, and knew that he could not escape me. He ran well, it is true — ran as a coward runs when his life is the stake. But I ran as Destiny runs

over? I had almost made up my mind that he had done so, when a gentle sound rising and falling came out of the dark

, then, that he had darted. Perhaps he had thought, the fool, that, in the darkness, I would not venture to follow him. He little knew Etienne Gerard. W

r, though he struck and struck, his blows had no power in them, and presently his dagger tinkled down upon the floor. When I was sure that he was d

s the glade of the Abbot’s Beech, and saw in the distance that gnarled stump which must ever be associated with the most terrible moment of my life. I sat down

d I? Might I not have been the accomplice of these wretches? Yes, yes, I was eternally dishonoured — the lowest, most despicable creature in all France. This, then, was the end of my fine military ambitions — of the hopes of my mother. I laughed bitterly at the thought. And what was I to do now? Was I to go into Fontainebleau, to wake up the palace, and to inform them that the great Emperor had been murdered within a pa

but the hood was turned back, and the front open, so that I could see the green coat of the Guides, and the white breech

and most abrupt voice, ‘what a

But those sharp military accents were exactly what I needed to bring me to myself. Living or

see,’ said he, jerking h

, si

other e

I killed

led them both?’ He approached me as he spoke with a

I answered. ‘The other is in

a pause, as if speaking to himself: ‘The shadow has passed me fo

oung friend,’ said he. ‘You ha

rested upon me. And yet I could not get over what I had seen with my own eyes, and so

a ghost, and you have not seen me killed. You

and led the way towards

ns that they were Roustem and Mustafa, the two Mameluke servants. The Emperor paused when he came to the grey figure upon

fe for his master,’ said he. ‘Monsieur de Goudin rese

me. He smiled again as he saw the delight which urged me to throw my arms round

unhurt?’

t in another minute I

well. He should himself have been more on

aw it,

the moment that you left your quarters until poor De Goudin fell. The counterfeit Empero

ays carried myself as a hussar should, but Lasalle himself never strutted and swung his dolman as I did that night. Who should clink his spurs and clatter his sabre if it were not I — I, étienne

s that you will make your comrades believe that nothing remarkable has occurred? Have done with this nonsense, mo

He led on to the palace, where we passed through the side door and up into his own cabinet. There were a couple of grenadiers at the staircase, and their eyes started out from under their fur caps, I promise you, when they saw a young lieutenant of hussars going up to

‘you are very curious, no doubt,

if it is your pleasure no

it means. In two days your brother officers would know about it, in three days it would be all over Fontainebleau, and it would be in Paris on th

this Emperor, and yet I co

ese two men. I had known them in my youth. We had belonged to the same society — Brothers of Ajaccio, as we called ourselves. It

man of strong passions and of strange revenges, who stood before me. His memory had gone back to those early days of his, and for five minutes, wrapped

e that I should now submit myself to them. They wanted to hold me to it, and so brought their fate upon their own heads. These were the two chiefs of the order, and they had come from Corsica to summon me to meet them at the spot

rdening of his mouth and

ard,’ said he. ‘How would you have act

d. ‘Patrols could have swept the woods from end to

but he shoo

he affair, and nothing more will be heard about it. I thought of all possible plans, and I am convinced that I selected the best one. Had I sent more than one guard with De Goudin into the woods, then the brothers would not have appeared. They would not change their plans nor miss their chance for the sake of a single man. It was Colonel Lasalle’s accidental pres

ered, ‘you may

he, ‘you never open your

llection as if it had never been. I will promise you to go out of your c

‘You were a lieutenant at that time. You will p