CHAPTER IX: Fontenoy.
A fortnight after the Scottish Dragoons joined the army the king waspresent at an inspection of their regiment. As the brilliant cortegepassed along the line Ronald saw among the gaily dressed throng ofofficers riding behind the king and Marshal Saxe the Marquis deRecambours and the Duke de Chateaurouge side by side. Ronald with twoother gentlemen volunteers were in their places in the rear of theregiment. It was drawn up in double line, and as the royal party rodealong for the second time, Ronald saw that the two noblemen were lookingscrutinizingly through the line of troopers at himself and his twocompanions.
That evening Colonel Hume on his return from a visit to Marshal Saxe toldRonald that the general had inquired after him, and had sent him wordthat if he won the battle he would not forget the promise he had madehim. He had requested Colonel Hume to place Ronald at his disposal on theday of the battle.
"'I shall want active officers to carry my messages,' he said, 'and youryoung friend may have a greater opportunity of distinguishing himselfthan he would with the regiment. I should in that case find it all theeasier to bring his business before the king.'
"The marshal is terribly ill," Colonel Hume said as he reported theconversation to Ronald, "so ill that he can only occasionally sit on hishorse. Nothing but his indomitable courage sustains him. He is drawnabout in a light carriage made of basketwork, and this serves him alsofor his bed."
On the 7th of May the enemy were known to be close at hand, and theFrench selected the position on which they would fight. The village ofFontenoy had already been occupied by a strong body of troops underMarshal Noailles, and the rest of the army now moved forward to the postsallotted to them. The English army were close at hand, and it was certainthat the battle would be fought on the morrow. In the evening the kingheld a grand reception at which all the officers of rank were present.When Colonel Hume returned to his camp his officers were still sittinground the fire.
"Have you any news for us, sir?"
"No; I believe everything stands as was arranged. The king is in thehighest spirits, though I must say his majesty did not choosereminiscences of a nature to encourage those who heard him. He remarked,for instance, that since the days of St. Louis the French had nevergained a decisive success over the English, and a few minutes later heobserved that the last time a king of France with his son had fought atthe head of the French army was at the battle of Poictiers."
There was a general laugh.
"Certainly the king was not happy with his reminiscences," Major Munroremarked; "but I think this time the tables are going to be turned. Inthe first place we considerably outnumbered the enemy, even after leaving15,000 men to continue the siege. In the second place, the position wehave chosen is almost impregnable. The Scheldt covers our right, with thefortified bridge securing our communication, and the village of Antoinresting on the river. Along our front from Antoin to Fontenoy is a narrowand difficult valley. Our left is covered by the wood of Barre, where astrong redoubt has been constructed; and the whole of the position isfortified with breastworks and abattis as far as Fontenoy. Between thatvillage and Barre the natural difficulties are so great that field worksare unnecessary. I cannot believe myself that they will attack us in sucha position, especially as nearly half their army are Dutch, who willcount for little. The English are the only troops which we shall findformidable."
Before daybreak the camp was astir, and the troops took the positionsassigned to them. Even now it was hardly believed that an attack would bemade by the enemy so long as the French remained in their all butimpregnable position; but presently the columns of the enemy were seenadvancing. Ronald had ridden up to the litter on which Marshal Saxe wasplaced, and after saluting, had taken up his position with a number ofother officers, in readiness to carry orders to different parts of thefield.
At a short distance from the marshal the King of France with the dauphinand the brilliant cortege of nobles had taken up his post. From theposition in which the marshal had caused himself to be placed a completeview of the enemy's approaching ranks was obtained. It could soon be seenthat the Dutch troops, who on the English right were advancing to theattack, were moving against the villages of Antoin and Fontenoy. A strongforce, headed, as was known afterwards, by General Ingoldsby, movedtowards the wood of Barre; while a solid column of English andHanoverians, 10,000 strong, marched forward to the attack across thebroken ground between Fontenoy and the wood of Barre.
It was as yet but five o'clock in the morning when the cannon broke outinto a roar on both sides. The Dutch, who were commanded by the Prince ofWaldeck, soon hesitated, and in a short time fell back out of range offire. On the English right General Ingoldsby penetrated some distanceinto the wood of Barre, and then fell back again as the Dutch had done.In an hour after the fighting had commenced the right and left of theallied army had ceased their attack. There remained only the centre, butthis was advancing.
Under the command of the Duke of Cumberland the column crossed the ravinein front of Fontenoy. The ground was so broken that the troops wereunable to deploy, but moved forward in a solid mass with a front of onlyforty men.
The French batteries from the right and left mowed them down in lines,but as steadily as if on parade the places were filled up, and unshakenand calm the great column moved forward. The cannon which they draggedalong by hand opened against Fontenoy and the redoubts, and as, in spiteof the hail of fire, they pressed steadily on, the French gunners wereobliged to abandon their cannon and fly.
The regiment of French guards, officered almost entirely by the highestnobles, met the English guards, who composed the front lines of thecolumn. A tremendous volley flashed along the English line, shatteringthe ranks of the French guard. There was a moment's fierce fighting, andthen the English column swept from before it the remains of the Frenchguard, and cleared the ravine which defended Fontenoy.
Ronald felt his heart beat with excitement and a feeling of pride andadmiration as he saw the English advancing unmoved through the storm offire. They advanced in the most perfect order. The sergeants calmlyraised or depressed the soldiers' muskets to direct the fire; each vacantplace was filled quietly and regularly without hesitation or hurry; andexclamations of surprise and admiration broke even from the Frenchofficers.
Regiment after regiment was brought up and hurled against the head of thecolumn, but with no more effect than waves against a rock, each beingdashed aside shattered and broken by the steady volleys and regular linesof bayonets. Ronald and other officers were sent off to bring up thecavalry, but in vain did these strive to break the serried column. Oneregiment after another charged down upon it, but the English, retainingtheir fire until they were within a few yards of their muzzles, receivedthem with such tremendous volleys that they recoiled in disorder.
The French regiment of Vaisseaux next advanced to the attack, and foughtwith greater gallantry than any which had preceded it; but at last, whenalmost annihilated, its survivors fell back. And now it seemed as if this10,000 men were to be victorious over the whole French army. Marshal Saxebegged the king to retire with the dauphin across the bridge of Calonnewhile he did what he could to retrieve the battle, but the king refusedto leave the field. There was a hurried council held round Louis, and itwas agreed to make a great effort by calling up the whole of the troopsbetween Fontenoy and Antoin, as the positions they held were no longerthreatened by the Dutch.
Had the latter now advanced nothing could have saved the French army fromutter defeat; but they remained immovable at a distance from the field ofbattle. The English now won the crown of the position, had cut throughthe French centre, and were moving forward towards the bridge of Calonne,when the whole of the French artillery, which had, by the advice of theDuke of Richelieu, been brought up, opened fire on the English column. Atthe same moment the French regiments from Antoin fell upon it; whileMarshal Saxe, who had, when the danger became imminent, mounted hishorse, himself brought up the Irish Brigade, who, with a wild yell ofhatred, fl
ung itself furiously upon the flank of the English.
Attacked thus on all sides, mown down by a heavy fire of artillery,unsupported amid an army of foes, the column could do no more. Tenthousand men could not withstand fifty thousand. Their ranks were twicebroken by the Irish, but twice their officers rallied them; until atlast, when it became evident that no more could be done, the column fellslowly back in an order as perfect and regular as that in which it hadadvanced.
French historians have done ample justice to the extraordinary valourshown by the English troops on this occasion, a valour never surpassed inthe long annals of the British army. Had they received the slightestassistance from their cowardly allies the victory must have been theirs.As it was, although unsuccessful, the glory and honour of the day restedwith them, rather than with the victorious army of France. More than halfthe column had fallen in the desperate engagement, but the loss of thevictors was even greater, and comprised many belonging to the noblestfamilies of France.
Ronald had won the warm approval of Marshal Saxe for the manner in whichhe carried his orders across ground swept by a heavy fire, and brought upthe regiments to within close quarters of the English; and after thebattle was over Marshal Saxe presented to the king several of his staffwho had most distinguished themselves, and calling up Ronald, who wasstanding near, for his horse had been shot under him as he rode by theside of the marshal with the Irish Brigade to the attack, the marshalsaid:
"Allow me to present to your majesty Ronald Leslie, a young Scottishgentleman of good family, who is a volunteer in the Scottish Dragoons,and has rendered great service today by the manner in which he has bornemy orders through the thickest of the fire."
"I will bear you in mind, young gentleman," the king said graciously,"and I charge the marshal to bring your name before me on a future day."
His duty as aide de camp over, Ronald rejoined his regiment. They hadlost nearly a third of their number in their charges upon the Englishcolumn. Major Munro had been killed, the colonel severely wounded, and anumber of officers had fallen. Ronald went about among the men assistingto bind up wounds, and supplying those who needed it with wine and otherrefreshments. Presently he was joined by Malcolm.
"Thank God you are safe, Ronald. I tell you, you have given me many afright today as I watched you galloping along through the line of theEnglish fire."
"Where were you, Malcolm? I did not see you."
"I had nothing to do," Malcolm said, "and I climbed a tree not fiftyyards from the marshal's litter, and keeping the trunk in front of me toprotect me from a stray bullet I had a good view of the wholeproceedings. At one time I was on the point of slipping down and making abolt for it, for I thought it was all over with us. How that column didfight! I have been in many a battle, but I never saw anything like it, itwas grand; and if it hadn't been for the Irish Brigade, I think that theywould have beaten the whole French army. But if you go into a battleagain I sha'n't come to see you. I have done my share of fighting, andcan take hard knocks as well as another; but I would not go through theanxiety I have suffered today about you on any condition. However, thishas been a great day for you."
"You mean about the marshal presenting me to the king? Yes, that ought tohelp us."
"No, I didn't mean that, for I had not heard of it. I mean about that oldrascal your grandfather, the Marquis de Recambours."
"What about him? I have not heard."
"No!" Malcolm exclaimed; "then I have good news for you. A ball from oneof the English field pieces struck him full in the chest, and of courseslew him instantly. He was not thirty yards from the tree when I saw himknocked over. He is quite dead, I can assure you, for when the othersmoved off I took the trouble to clamber down to assure myself. So now thegreatest obstacle to the release of your father and mother is out of theway."
"Thank God for that!" Ronald said. "I have no reason for feeling onespark of regret at what has befallen him. He was the cruel persecutor ofmy parents, and did his best to get me removed. There is but one obstaclenow to obtaining my father's release, and as he is neither a relation noran old man I shall be able to deal with him myself."
"Yes, but you must be careful, Ronald; remember the decree againstduelling. We must not make a false step now, when fortune is at lastfavouring us. There will be no more fighting, I fancy. The English willcertainly not attack us again, and Tournay must fall, and I don't thinkthat on our part there will be any desire whatever to go out of our wayto seek another engagement with them. The king is sure to go back toParis at once, where he will be received with enthusiasm. Marshal Saxewill probably follow as soon as Tournay has fallen. I should advise you,therefore, to get leave from the colonel to be absent from the regimentfor a time, and we will make our way down to Tours and let your motherknow the marquis is dead, and get her to write a memorial to the kingrequesting permission to leave the convent, and then when the marshallarrives in Paris we will get him to present it."
Ronald agreed to Malcolm's proposal, and the next morning, havingobtained leave of absence from the colonel, he and Malcolm mounted androde for Tours.
The message was duly conveyed to the countess by Jeanne, together withRonald's earnest request that his mother would again meet him. She sentback by Jeanne the memorial he had asked her to write to the king,begging that she might be allowed to leave the convent; but she refusedto agree to his wishes to meet her, bidding Jeanne say that now it seemedthere was really a hope of her release shortly, she would less than everrisk any step which if discovered might prejudice their plans.
Although disappointed, Ronald could not deny that her decision was a wiseone, and therefore contented himself by sending word that he had obtainedone very powerful friend, and that he hoped that she would ere longreceive good tidings. After a short stay at Tours, Ronald and Malcolmreturned to Paris, where a series of brilliant fetes in honour of thevictory of Fontenoy were in preparation. Tournay had surrendered a fewdays after the battle, the governor of that town having accepted a heavybribe to open the gates, for the place could have resisted for months,and the allied army were ready to recommence hostilities in order torelieve it.
After its surrender they fell back and resumed a defensive attitude. Theking therefore returned at once to Paris, and Marshal Saxe, handing overthe command of the army to Marshal de Noailles, followed him by easystages. Delighted above all things at a success gained over the English,who had for centuries been victorious in every battle in which Englandand France had met as enemies, the citizens of Paris organized asuccession of brilliant fetes, which were responded to by entertainmentsof all kinds at Versailles. The Scottish Dragoons were still at thefront; but Colonel Hume had been brought to Paris, as it would be sometime ere he would be able again to take the command of the regiment.Ronald called at the house where the colonel lodged, upon the day afterhis return from Tours, and found that he had arrived upon the previousday. Ronald was at once shown up on sending in his name. The colonel waslying on the couch when he entered.
"How are you, colonel?"
"I am going on as well as possible, Ronald; they found the ball and gotit out the day before I left the regiment, and I shall do well now. Ihave been carried on a litter all the way by eight of our troopers, andthe good fellows were as gentle with me as if I had been a child, and Iscarce felt a jar the whole distance. What I have got to do now is to liequiet, and the doctor promises me that in six weeks' time I shall be fitto mount a horse again. Marshal Saxe sent yesterday evening to inquireafter me, and I will send you to him to thank him for so sending, and toinquire on my part how he himself is going on. My message will be a goodexcuse for your presenting yourself."
Ronald found the antechamber of the marshal crowded with nobles andofficers who had come to pay their respects to the victorious general,who was, next to the king himself, at that moment the most popular man inFrance. Hitherto, as a Protestant and a foreigner, Maurice of Saxony hadbeen regarded by many with jealousy and dislike; but the victory which hehad won for the French arms had f
or the first time obliterated everyfeeling save admiration and gratitude.
Presently the marshal came out from the inner room with the dauphin, whohad called on the part of the king to inquire after his health. He wasnow able to walk, the excitement of the battle and the satisfaction ofthe victory having enabled him partially to shake off the disease whichafflicted him. After the dauphin had left, the marshal made the tour ofthe apartment, exchanging a few words with all present.
"Ah! you are there, my young Leslie," he said familiarly when he came toRonald. "Where have you been? I have not seen you since the day when yougalloped about with my messages through the English fire as if you had acharmed life."
"Colonel Hume gave me leave, sir, to travel on private business. I am nowthe bearer of a message from him, thanking you for the kind inquiries asto his wound; he bids me say that he trusts that your own health israpidly recovering."
"As you see, Leslie, Fontenoy has done wonders for me as well as forFrance; but wait here, I will speak with you again."
In half an hour most of the callers took their departure, then themarshal called Ronald into an inner room.
"Tomorrow," he said, "I am going to pay my respects to the king atVersailles. I will take you with me. Have you your mother's memorial?That is right. As her father was killed at Fontenoy there will, I hope,be the less difficulty over the matter; but we must not be too sanguine,for there will be a host of hungry competitors for the estates of themarquis, and all these will unite against you. However, I do not thinkthe king will be able to refuse my first request, and when your mother isout we must put our heads together and see about getting your father'srelease."
Ronald expressed his deep gratitude at the marshal's kindness.
"Say nothing about it, my lad. Fortunately I want nothing for myself, andit is no use being a victorious general if one cannot utilize it in someway; so I am quite glad to have something to ask the king."
The next day Ronald presented himself at the hotel of Marshal Saxe androde by the side of his carriage out to Versailles. The king, surroundedby a brilliant train of courtiers, received the marshal with the greatestwarmth, and after talking to him for some time retired with him into hisprivate closet. A few minutes later one of the royal pages came out intothe audience chamber and said in a loud voice that the king desired thepresence of Monsieur Ronald Leslie.
Greatly embarrassed at finding himself the centre of observation notunmingled with envy at the summons, Ronald followed the page into thepresence of the king, who was alone with Marshal Saxe. Louis, who was inhigh good humour, gave Ronald his hand to kiss, saying:
"I told the marshal to recall your name to me, and he has done so now. Hesays that you have a boon to ask of me."
"Yes, sire," the marshal said; "and please consider graciously that it isI who ask it as well as he. Your majesty has always been gracious to me,and if you think me deserving of any mark of your favour after thissuccess which your majesty and I have gained together, I would now cravethat you grant it."
"It is granted before you name it, marshal," the king said. "I give youmy royal word that whatever be your boon, provided that it be within thebounds of possibility, it is yours."
"Then, sire, I ask that an old comrade and fellow soldier of mine, whofought bravely for your majesty, but who fell under your majesty'sdispleasure many years ago on account of a marriage which he madecontrary to your pleasure, may be released. He has now been over sixteenyears in prison, and has therefore paid dearly for thwarting your will,and his wife has all this time been confined in a convent. They are thefather and mother of this brave lad--Colonel Leslie, who commanded yourmajesty's regiment of Scotch Dragoons, and his wife, the Countess Amelieof Recambours. I ask your majesty, as my boon, that you will order thisofficer to be released and the lady to be allowed to leave the convent."
"Peste, marshal!" the king said good temperedly; "your request is one ofwhich will get me into hot water with a score of people. From the day themarquis was killed at Fontenoy I have heard nothing but questions abouthis estates, and I believe that no small portion of them have beenalready promised."
"I say nothing about the estates," the marshal replied; "as to that, yourmajesty's sense of justice is too well known for it to be necessary forme to say a single word. The countess has estates of her own, which sheinherited from her mother, but even as to these I say nothing. It is herliberty and that of her husband which I and this brave lad ask of yourmajesty."
"It is granted, marshal, and had your boon been a great one instead of asmall one I would have granted it as freely;" and the king again held outhis hand to Ronald, who bent on one knee to kiss it, tears of joy flowingdown his cheeks and preventing the utterance of any audible thanks forthe boon, which far surpassed his expectations; for the marshal had saidnothing as to his intention of asking his father's freedom, which indeedhe only decided to do upon seeing in how favourable a disposition he hadfound the king.
"You see, marshal," Louis went on, "marriages like this must be sternlydiscouraged, or all order in our kingdom would be done away with. Wilfulgirls and headstrong soldiers cannot be permitted to arrange theiraffairs without reference to the plans of their parents, and in thisinstance it happened that the father's plans had received our approval.The great estates of France cannot be handed over to the first comer, whomay perhaps be utterly unworthy of them. I do not say that in the presentcase Colonel Leslie was in any way personally unworthy; but the disposalof the hands of the great heiresses of France is in the king's gift, andthose who cross him are against his authority."
The king touched a bell and bade the page who entered to order hissecretary to attend at once.
"Search the register of the state prisons," he said, "and tell me whereColonel Leslie, who was arrested by our orders sixteen years ago, isconfined, and then make out an order to the governor of his prison forhis release; also draw up an order upon the lady superior of--," and hepaused.
"The convent of Our Lady at Tours," Ronald ventured to put in.
"Oh! you have discovered that, eh?" the king said with a smile; and thenturned again to the secretary--"bidding her suffer the Countess Ameliede Recambours to leave the convent and to proceed where she will."
The secretary bowed and retired. Ronald, seeing that his own presence wasno longer required, said a few words of deep gratitude to the king andretired to the audience room, where he remained until, ten minutes later,the door of the king's closet opened, and the king and Marshal Saxe againappeared. The audience lasted for another half hour, and then themarshal, accompanied by many of the nobles, made his way down to hiscarriage. Ronald again mounted, and as soon as the carriage had left thegreat courtyard of the palace, rode up alongside and poured out hisgratitude to the marshal.
"It has been another Fontenoy," the marshal said smiling. "Here are thetwo orders, the one for Tours, the other for the governor of the royalcastle at Blois. The king made light of it; but I know his manner so wellthat I could see he would rather that I had asked for a dukedom for you.It is not often that kings are thwarted, and he regards your parents asbeing rebels against his authority. However, he was bound by his promise,and there are the papers. Now, only one word, Leslie. Do not indulge inany hopes that you will see your father more than a shadow of thestalwart soldier that he was sixteen years ago. There are few men,indeed, whose constitution enable them to live through sixteen years'confinement in a state prison. Therefore prepare yourself to find him amere wreck. I trust that freedom and your mother's care may do much forhim, but don't expect too much at first. If you take my advice you willgo first and fetch your mother, in order that she may be at hand toreceive your father when he leaves the fortress. By the way, I thought itjust as well not to produce your mother's memorial, as it seemed that weshould be able to do without it, for it might have struck the king to askhow you obtained it, and he would probably have considered that yourcommunication with your mother was a fresh act of defiance against hisauthority."
Malcolm was wi
ld with joy when Ronald returned with the account of hisinterview with the king and its successful result, and had his not been aseasoned head, the number of bumpers which he drank that night in honourof Marshal Saxe would have rendered him unfit for travel in the morning.Ronald had, after acquainting him with the news, gone to Colonel Hume,whose pleasure at hearing that his former colonel and comrade was toregain his freedom was unbounded. Every preparation was made for an earlystart.
"Be sure you look well to the priming of your pistols before you put themin your holsters tomorrow," Malcolm said.
"Do you think it will be necessary?"
"I am sure of it, Ronald. News travels fast; and you may be sure that bythis time the fact that the king has granted an order for the release ofyour father and mother is known to the Duke of Chateaurouge. If he didnot hear it from the king himself, which he would be most likely to do,as Louis would probably lose no time in explaining to him that he hadonly gone against his wishes because under the circumstances it wasimpossible for him to refuse the marshal's request, the secretary whodrew out the document would, no doubt, let the duke know of it. There areno secrets at court."
"But now that the orders for release have been granted," Ronald said,"the duke can have no motive in preventing them being delivered, forfresh ones could, of course, be obtained."
"In the first place, Ronald, the duke will be so furious at your successthat he will stick at nothing to have his revenge; in the second place,he and the others, for there are many interested in preventing yourmother from coming into her father's possessions, will consider that thegain of time goes for a good deal. You are the mover in the matter. Wereyou out of the way, and the documents destroyed, the matter might rest asit is for a long time. The marshal is busy from morning till night, andwould be long before he missed you, and would naturally suppose that youhad, after obtaining the release of your parents, retired with them tosome country retreat, or even left the kingdom.
"This would give ample time for working upon Louis. Besides, the kingmight never inquire whether the prisoners had been released. Then themarshal might die or be sent away to the frontier. Therefore, as you see,time is everything. I tell you, Ronald, I consider the journey you aregoing to undertake tomorrow an affair of greater danger than going into apitched battle. You will have to doubt everyone you meet on the road, thepeople at the inns you stop at--you may be attacked anywhere andeverywhere. As to our travelling by the direct road, I look upon it asimpossible. Our only chance is to throw them off the scent, and as theyknow our destination that will be no easy matter."
They were astir by daylight, and Malcolm soon brought the horses round tothe door.
"It's a comfort to know," he said, "that the horses have passed the nightin the barracks, and that therefore they have not been tampered with.Look well to the buckles of your girths, Ronald. See that everything isstrong and in good order."
"That is not your own horse, Malcolm, is it?"
"No, it is one of the troopers'. It is one of the best in the regiment,and I persuaded the man to change with me for a week. No one is likely tonotice the difference, as they are as nearly as possible the same colour.Your horse is good enough for anything; but if I could not keep up withyou its speed would be useless. Now, I think, we can keep together if wehave to ride for it.
"What have you got in that valise, Malcolm? One would think that you weregoing upon a campaign."
"I have got four bottles of good wine, and bread and meat enough to lastus for two days. I do not mean, if I can help it, to enter a shop or stopat an inn till we arrive at Tours. We can make a shift to sleep fortonight in a wood. It would be safer a thousand times than an inn, for Iwill bet fifty to one that if we ventured to enter one we should find oneor both of our horses lame on starting again."
"Oh come, Malcolm, that's too much! The Duke of Chateaurouge is notubiquitous. He has not an army to scatter over all France."
"No, he has not," Malcolm agreed; "but from what I know of him I doubtnot that he can lay his hands on a number of men who will stick atnothing to carry out his orders and earn his money. Paris swarms withdischarged soldiers and ruffians of all kinds, and with plenty of gold toset the machine in motion there is no limit to the number of men whomight be hired for any desperate deed."
As they were talking they were making their way towards one of thesouthern gates. They arrived there before it opened, and had to wait afew minutes. Several other passengers on horseback and foot were gatheredthere.
"I could bet a crown piece," Malcolm said, "that some one among thiscrowd is on the watch for us, and that before another half hour the Dukeof Chateaurouge will know that we have started."