CHAPTER II.
ST. FLORENT.
Nothing occurred in the provinces, subsequently called La Vendee, duringthe autumn or winter of 1792 of sufficient notice to claim a place inhistory, but during that time the feelings which afterwards occasionedthe revolt in that country, were every day becoming more ardent. Thepeople obstinately refused to attend the churches to which theconstitutional clergy had been appointed; indeed, these pastors hadfound it all but impossible to live in the parishes assigned to them;no one would take them as tenants; no servants would live with them; thebakers and grocers would not deal with them; the tailors would not maketheir clothes for them, nor the shoemakers shoes. During the week theywere debarred from all worldly commerce, and on Sundays they performedtheir religious ceremonies between empty walls.
The banished priests, on the other hand, who were strictly forbidden toperform any of the sacerdotal duties, continued among the trees androcks to collect their own congregations undiminished in number, andmuch more than ordinarily zealous, in their religious duties; and withthe licence which such sylvan chapels were found to foster,denunciations against the Republic, and prayers for the speedyrestoration of the monarchy, were mingled with the sacred observances.
The execution of Louis, in January, 1793, greatly increased theattachment which was now felt in this locality to his family. In Nantesand Angers, in Saumur, Thouars, and other towns in which the presenceof Republican forces commanded the adhesion of the inhabitants thisevent was commemorated by illuminations, but this very show of joy atso cruel a murder, more than the murder itself, acerbated the feelingsboth of the gentry and the peasants. They were given to understand thatthose who wished well to their country were now expected to show somesign of gratitude for what the blessed revolution had done forthem--that those who desired to stand well with the Republic shouldrejoice openly at their deliverance from thraldom. In fact, those wholived in large towns, and who would not illuminate, were to be markedmen--marked as secret friends to the monarchy--as inveterate foes to theRepublic--and they were told that they were to be treated accordingly.Men then began to congregate in numbers round the churches, and in thevillage squares, and to ask each other whether they had better not actas enemies, if they were to be considered as enemies; to complain oftheir increasing poverty and diminished comfort; and to long for thecoming time, when the King should enjoy his own again.
The feeling with the country gentry was very generally the same as withthe peasantry, though hitherto they had openly expressed no oppositionto the ruling Government. They had, however, been always elected tothose situations which the leaders of the revolution had wished thepeople to fill exclusively with persons from their own ranks. They werechosen as mayors in the small towns, and were always requested to actas officers in the corps of the National Guards, which were formed inthis, as in every other district of France. On this account the peculiarill-will of the Republican Government was directed against them. InFrance, at that time, political inactivity was an impossibility. Revoltagainst the Republic, or active participation in its measures, was theonly choice left to those who did not choose to fly their country, andmany of the seigneurs of Anjou and Poitou would not adopt the latteralternative.
In March, the Commissaries of the Republic entered these provinces tocollect from that district, its portion towards the levy of threehundred thousand men which had been ordered by the Convention. This wasan intolerable grievance--it was not to be borne, that so many of theiryouths should be forcibly dragged away to fight the battles of theRepublic--battles in which they would rather that the Republic shouldbe worsted. Besides, every one would lose a relative, a friend, or alover; the decree affected every individual in the district. Thepeasants declared that they would not obey the orders of theConvention--that they would not fight the battles of the Republic.
This was the commencement of the revolt. The troops of the Republicwere, of course, put in motion to assist the officers who were entrustedwith the carrying out of the conscription. There were garrisons inNantes, in Anjou, and in Saumur; and detachments from these places weresent into the smaller towns and villages, into every mayoralty, toenforce the collection of the levy, and to take off with them thevictims of the conscription. Among other places, an attempt was made tocarry out the new law at St. Florent, and at this place was made thefirst successful resistance, by an armed force, to the troops of theConvention.
St. Florent is a small town on the south bank of the Loire, in theprovince of Anjou, and at the northern extremity of that district, nowso well known by the name of La Vendee. It boasted of a weekly market,a few granaries for the storing of corn, and four yearly fairs for thesale of cattle. Its population and trade, at the commencement of thewar, was hardly sufficient to entitle it to the name of a town; but ithad early acquired some celebrity as a place in which the Republic wasknown to be very unpopular, and in which the attachment of the peopleto the throne was peculiarly warm.
Here the work of the conscription was commenced in silence. The listswere filled, and the names were drawn. No opposition was shown to theemployes in this portion of their unpopular work. Indeed, it appearsthat no organized system of opposition had been planned; but the firstattempt that was made to collect the unfortunate recruits upon whom thelots had fallen, was the signal for a general revolt. The first name onthe list was that of Peter Berrier; and had Peter Berrier intended toprove himself a good citizen and a willing soldier, he should, withoutfurther call, have attended that day at the temporary barracks which hadbeen established in St. Florent. But he had not done so, and there wasnothing wonderful or unusual in this; for on all occasions of the kindmany of the conscripts had to be sought out, and brought forth from thebosoms of their families, to which they retired, with a bashfuldiffidence as to their own peculiar fitness for martial glory. But inthis instance not one of the chosen warriors obeyed the summons of theConvention, by attending at the barracks of St. Florent. Not one of thethree hundred thousand men was there; and it was soon apparent to thecolonel in command of the detachment, that he had before him theunpleasant duty of collecting one by one, from their differenthiding-places, the whole contingent which the town of St. Florent wasbound to supply.
Peter Berrier was the first on the list, and as it was well known thathe was an ostler at a little auberge in the middle of the square, acorporal and a couple of soldiers was despatched to the house ofentertainment to capture him; and the trio soon found that they wouldnot have far to search, for Peter was standing at the gate of the innyard, and with him three or four of his acquaintance--men equallywell-known in St. Florent.
There was a sturdy farmer there of the better sort--a man who not onlyheld a farm near the town, but had a small shop within it, for the saleof seeds and tools for planting--his name was Foret--and it was saidthat no man in St. Florent was more anxious for the restoration of theKing. There was the keeper of the auberge himself, who seemed but littleinclined to find fault with his servant, for the contumacious manner inwhich he treated the commands of the Convention; and there was thewell-known postillion of St. Florent, the crack of whose whip was sowelcome from Angers to Nantes, the sound of whose cheery voice was sowarmly greeted at every hostelrie between those towns. The name ofCathelineau was not then so well known as it was some six monthsafterwards, but even then Cathelineau, the postillion, was the mostpopular man in St. Florent. He was the merriest among the mirthful, thefriend of every child, the playmate of every lass in the town; but hewas the comforter of those poorer than himself, and the solace of theaged and afflicted. He was the friend of the banished priest, and thetrusted messenger of the royalist seigneur; all classes adored him, savethose who sided with the Republic, and by them he had long been lookedon as an open and declared enemy. St. Florent was justly proud of itspostillion; and now that evil days were come upon the little town, thattheir priests were banished, and these young men called for to swell thearmies of the hated Convention, many flocked to Cathelineau to ask fromwhence he expected deliverance f
rom all their troubles.
It was well known that Peter Berrier was the first whom the Colonel'smyrmidons would be sent to seize, and many eyes were resting on thegroup collected at the gateway of the auberge, as the corporal and thetwo soldiers, without their muskets, but with pistols at their belts,marched across from the little barracks to the spot where they werestanding. At any rate, Cathelineau had not advised a retreat, for therestood Peter Berrier--prominent in the front of the group--a little paleto be sure, and perhaps rather uneasy in his attitude; but stillevidently prepared to bear the brunt of that day's proceeding. He wasnot going to run away, or he would long since have started. He was notgoing to obey the orders of the Convention, or he would not have stoodthere so openly and firmly, waiting the approach of the corporal and thetwo soldiers. It was very evident that there was to be a row in St.Florent that day, and that the postillion approved of it.
As the military party drew near to the gate of the inn yard, thecorporal opened a small roll of paper, which he held in his hand, andstanding still about six paces distant from the spot where Peter wasmaintaining his ground, read or pretended to read, the following wordsfrom the piece of paper which he held in his hands:
"In the name of the French Republic, and by command of the Convention,you, Peter Berrier, having been duly, legally, and specially drawn,chosen, and selected by lot, to serve in the armies of the Republic forone year, from the date of your first bearing arms, or for so long asyour services may be necessary to the security of the Republic, arehereby required and desired to join the detachment of the Republicanarmy at present serving in St. Florent, without let, delay, orhindrance, and thereby show yourself a friend to your country, and agood citizen of the Republic."
The corporal pronounced this form of invitation in that tone of voice,which proved that it was very familiar to him, and that he was much inthe habit of requesting good citizens to join the armies of the Republicfor such time as their services might be necessary; and, having finishedit, he rolled up the piece of paper, stuck it into his belt, as he mightsoon require the use of his hands, and, walking quite close up to thegroup, said--
"Come, Peter Berrier, you are not such a fool, I hope, as to intendgiving us any trouble. Come along."
Peter looked first into the farmer's face; then to his master's; and,lastly, to the postillion's; and, seeing that they were all evidentlyfirm in their resolve, he plucked up spirit, and replied.--"Why, MrCorporal, I have no inclination just at present to go to fight for theRepublic. You see I have no quarrel yet with my master here, M. Debedin,and he cannot well spare me. I am afraid, Mr Corporal, I must decline."
"That's nonsense, you know," growled the corporal; "you must come, youknow; and as well first as last. I don't want to be uncivil to acomrade, and I'd be sorry to have to lay a hand on you."
"Then you'd better keep your hands off," said Cathelineau, "we quietpeople in St. Florent don't bear handling well."
The corporal looked up at the postillion, but he soon saw that he wasn'tjoking.
"Take my word for it, my friend," continued Cathelineau, "Peter Berrierdoes not wish to be a soldier, and, if you force him to become one, itis not on the side of the Republic that he will be found fighting."
"We'll take chances for that," replied the corporal, not exactlyunderstanding what the other meant; "at any rate, back without him wewon't go; and if you're determined for a riot, Messieurs, why I'm sorry;but I can't help it," and, appealing to Peter as a last hope, he said,"Come, Berrier, will you come with us quietly, or must we three drag youacross the square to the barracks."
"At any rate, Mr Corporal," said Peter, "I will not go with you quietly;as to the being dragged, I can say nothing about that yet."
The corporal looked round towards the barracks, as he felt that it waspossible that he might want more assistance, and he saw that a body ofmen under arms was standing immediately in front of the building, andthat a couple of the officers were with them. The corporal saw at aglance that they were ready for immediate action, if their servicesshould be requisite. In fact, the colonel of the detachment well knewthe feeling in the place with reference to the levies of theconscription. He was sure, from the fact of not a single man havingattended at the barracks, as directed, that there existed some generaldetermination to resist the demands of the Convention, and he hadconsequently closely watched the proceedings of the corporal.
"Take your answer, Mr Corporal," said Cathelineau: "had Peter Berrierintended to have joined you he would not have troubled you to comeacross the square to fetch him. In one word, he will not go with you;if as you say, you intend to drag him across the market-place, you willfind that you have enough to do. Peter Berrier has many friends in St.Florent."
The corporal again looked round, and he saw that the men under arms nowstretched from the front of the barracks, nearly into the square; buthe also saw that the inhabitants of the town were standing clusteringat all the doors, and that men were crowding towards the square from thedifferent inlets. Four or five of the more respectable inhabitants hadalso joined the group in the gateway, from the hands of one of whom thepostillion quietly took a stout ash stick. The corporal, however, wasnot a coward, and he saw that, if he intended to return with PeterBerrier, he should not delay his work with any further parley, so hetook his pistol from his belt and cocked it, and, stepping quite closeto Berrier, said,
"Come men--forward, and bring him off; one man to each shoulder," andhe himself seized hold of the breast of Peter's coat with his left handand pulled him forward a step or two.
Peter was a little afraid of the pistol, but still he resisted manfully:from the corporal's position, Cathelineau was unable to reach with hisstick the arm which had laid hold of Berrier, but it descended heavilyon the first soldier, who came to the corporal's assistance. The blowfell directly across the man's wrist, and his arm dropt powerless to hisside. The corporal immediately released his hold of Peter's coat, andturning on Cathelineau raised his pistol and fired; the shot missed thepostillion, but it struck M. Debedin, the keeper of the auberge, andwounded him severely in the jaw. He was taken at once into the house,and the report was instantaneously spread through the town, that M.Debedin had been shot dead by the soldiery.
The ash stick of the postillion was again raised, and this time thecorporal's head was the sufferer; the man's shako protected his skull,which, if uncovered, would have probably been fractured; but he washalf-stunned, at any rate stupified by the blow, and was pulled aboutand pushed from one to another by the crowd who had now collected in thearchway, without making any further attempt to carry off his prisoner.
The other soldier, when he saw his two comrades struck, fired his pistolalso, and wounded some other person in the crowd. He then attempted tomake his escape back towards the barracks, but he was tripped upviolently as he attempted to run, and fell on his face on the pavement.The unfortunate trio were finally made prisoners of; they were disarmed,their hands bound together, and then left under a strong guard in thecow-house attached to the auberge.
This skirmish, in which Berrier was so successfully rescued, occurredwith greater rapidity than it has been recounted; for, as soon as thecolonel heard the first shot fired, he ordered his men to advance in atrot across the square. It took some little time for him to give hisorders to the lieutenants, and for the lieutenants to put the men intomotion; but within five minutes from the time that the first shot wasfired, about forty men had been commanded to halt in front of the hotel;they all had their muskets in their hands and their bayonets fixed, andas soon as they halted a portion of them were wheeled round, so that thewhole body formed a square. By this time, however, the corporal and thetwo soldiers were out of sight, and so was also Peter Berrier, forCathelineau considered that now as the man had withstood the firstshock, and had resolutely and manfully refused to comply with the orderof the Convention, it was better that he should be out of the way, andthat the brunt of the battle should be borne by his friends. Peter wasconsequently placed in the cow-house
with the captives, and had thegratification of acting as guard over the three first prisoners takenin the Vendean war.
Cathelineau and Foret, however, stood out prominently before the men whowere collected before the auberge, and had already taken on themselvesthe dangerous honour of leading the revolt.
"Men of St. Florent," said the colonel addressing the crowd, "I am mostreluctant to order the soldiers to fire upon the inhabitants of thetown; but unless you at once restore the three men who were sent overhere on duty, and give up the man, Peter Berrier, who has been drawn asa conscript, I will do so at once."
"Peter Berrier is a free man," said Foret, "and declines going with you;and as for your three soldiers, they have fired at and killed or woundedtwo inhabitants of the town--they at any rate shall be brought beforethe mayor, before they are given up."
"Sergeant," said the colonel, "take out six men and make prisoner thatman; if a rescue be attempted, the soldiers shall at once fire on thepeople, and on your own heads be your own blood."
The sergeant and the six men instantly stepped out, but Foret wassurrounded by a dense crowd of friends, and the soldiers found itutterly impossible to lay hold of him.
"Your pistols, sergeant; use your pistols," roared the colonel, as hehimself drew one of his own from his holsters, and at the same time gaveorders to the men in the ranks to present their pieces.
The sergeant followed by his six men, made a desperate dash into thecrowd with the object of getting hold of Foret; but in spite of thebutt-end of their pistols, with which the soldiers laid about them, theyfound themselves overpowered, and were barely able to make good theirretreat to the main body of the detachment; at the same time, a volleyof stones, brickbats and rough missiles of all kinds, descended on thesoldiers from every side, for they were now nearly surrounded; a stonestruck the Colonel's horse and made him rear: immediately afterwards,another stone struck himself on the side of the face, and nearlydismounted him.
"Fire," roared the Colonel, and the whole detachment fired at the samemoment; the soldiers fronting the auberge could not fire into the mobdirectly before them, or they would have run the risk of killing theirown comrades, who were still struggling there with the townspeople; andin this way, Cathelineau and Foret were saved, but the carnage allaround them was horrid; the soldiers had fired point blank into thedense crowd, and not a bullet had fallen idle to the ground. A terriblescream followed the discharge of musketry; the dying and the woundedliterally covered the space round the soldiers, but they were quicklydragged into the back ground, and their places filled by men who wereevidently determined that they would not easily be conquered.
Another volley of stones was soon showered on the soldiers, and this waskept up with wonderful activity--the women and children supplied the menwith the materials--the stones in the streets were at once pickedup--old walls were pulled down--every article that would answer for amissile was brought into use; an iron pot, which had been flung withimmense violence by the handle, struck the second officer in command inthe face, and dashed his brains out. Immediately that either part of thesquare battalion was in any confusion, the people dashed in, andattempted to force the muskets from the hands of the soldiers; in somecases they were successful, and before the body had commenced a retreat,Foret and Cathelineau were both armed with a musket and bayonet.
The colonel now saw that he could not maintain his position where hewas; he had not brought out with him the whole force of the garrison,though in all he had not above seventy or eighty men; but he had behindthe barrack a gun of very large calibre, properly mounted, with all thenecessary equipments and ready for service. Such a piece of artilleryaccompanied every detachment, and was kept in preparation for immediateuse at every military station; it had already been ascertained that thisafforded the readiest means of putting down revolt. He resolved,therefore, on retreating while he had the power for doing so, and gavethe necessary orders to the men.
With great difficulty, but slowly and steadily, his men executed them:amidst showers of stones, and the now determined attack of the peoplethe soldiers returned to the barracks, leaving one of their officers,and one other man dead in the crowd; many of them were severely wounded;few, if any, had escaped some bruise or cut. The people now conceivedthat they were going to take refuge in the barrack, and determined todrive them utterly out of the town; but, as soon as the soldiers hadfiled into the barrack yard, another murderous fire was discharged bythose who had been left at the station. Then Cathelineau, who was stillin front of the crowd, and who was now armed with the bayonet, which hehad taken from the point of the musket, remembered the cannon, and hebecame for a moment pale as he thought of the dreadful slaughter whichwould take place, if the colonel were able to effect his purpose ofplaying it upon the town.
"The cannon!" whispered he to Foret, who was still at his side; "theywill fall like leaves in autumn, if we don't prevent it."
"Have they it ready?" said Foret.
"Always," said the other, "they have nothing to do but wheel it into thestreet; and they are at it, you hear the noise of the wheels thismoment. We must bear one discharge from it, and the next, if there bea second, shall fall upon the soldiers."
Others, beside Cathelineau, recognised the sound of the movingwheels--and, "the cannon, the cannon, they will fire the cannon on us,"was heard from side to side among the crowd; but none attempted to run,not one of the whole mass attempted to fly, and when the barrack gatesflew open, and the deadly mouth of the huge instrument was close uponthem, they rushed upon it, determined at any rate, to preserve theirhouses, their wives, and their children from the awful destruction ofa prolonged firing.
"They must have one shot at us," said a man in a trembling whisper tohis neighbour. "God send it were over!" replied the other, as the gatesof the barrack-yard were thrown back.
The greater number of the soldiers and the two officers who had returnedwith them, made good their retreat into the barracks, under the fire oftheir comrades, who had been left there. Some three or four had beenpulled and hustled into the crowd, and their arms were quickly takenfrom them and they were sent back to the auberge as prisoners. Thecolonel, as soon as he found himself in his own quarters, gave immediateorders that the gun should be wheeled round to the barrack-yard gate,which had hitherto been kept closed, and that the moment the gates couldbe got open it should be fired on the crowd. These gates faced directlyinto the square, and the destruction caused by one shot would have beentremendous. The colonel, moreover, calculated that in the confusion hewould have been able to reload. The gun, in its original position, waspointed on the town, but it was immediately seen, that without movingit, it could not be brought to bear upon the crowd congregated round thebarracks.
The first attack of the crowd had been at the barrack door, throughwhich the soldiers had retreated; but this was soon changed to the yardgates. The people, however, were unable to knock them down before thewheels of the cannon were heard, as they had been considerably checkedby the fire of the reserved party. Both soldiers and towns-people werenow anxious to face each other, and the gates soon fell inwards towardsthe military. Had the men at the gun had their wits about them theywould have fired through the gates; but they did not, they waited tillthey fell inwards across the cannon's mouth, and in his confusion theartillery-sergeant even then hesitated before he put the light to thetouch-hole.
He had never time to do more than hesitate. Cathelineau had been closeup to the wooden gates, against which he was so closely pressed that hewas hardly able to change his bayonet from his right to his left-hand,and to cock the pistol which he had taken from the corporal, who hadcommenced the day's work. However, he contrived to do so, and when thewood-work fell, he sprang forward, and though he stumbled over thefragments of the timber, he fired as he did so, and the artillerysergeant fell dead beside the cannon; the unextinguished light wasimmediately seized by his comrade, but he had not time to use it; it wasknocked from his hand before it was well raised from the ground, and theharmless
piece of cannon was soon entirely surrounded by crowds of thetownspeople. They were not content with spiking it in such a way as tomake it utterly impossible that it should be discharged; but theysucceeded in turning it entirely round, so that the back of the carriagefaced towards the town.
The soldiers still continued the fight within the barrack-yard, and fromthe barrack windows; but they were so completely mixed with thetownspeople, that the officers were afraid to order the men to fire fromthe windows, least they should kill their own comrades. At last thecolonel himself was taken prisoner; he was literally dragged out of oneof the windows by the people, and soon afterwards the remainder of thetroops gave up. One of the three officers and six men were killed; therest were nearly all more or less wounded, and were all, withoutexception, made prisoners of war.
Cathelineau and Foret had been in front of the battle all through; butneither of them were wounded. It was to Foret that the colonel had givenup his sword, after he had been dragged headforemost through a window,had had his head cut open with a brick-bat, and his sheath andsword-belt literally torn from his side. He had certainly notcapitulated before he was obliged to do, and the people did not like himthe worse for it.
And now the unarmed soldiery, maimed and lame, with broken heads andbloody faces, were led down in triumph into the square; and after themwas brought the great trophy of the day, the cannon, with its awfulmouth still turned away from the town. Cathelineau and Foret led theprocession, the former still carrying his bayonet, for he had given upboth the musket and pistols to some one else, and Foret armed with theColonel's sword: they were fully recognized as the victorious leadersof the day.
At the bottom of the square they met a whole concourse of women, thewives and sisters of the champions--among whom the sister and sweetheartof Peter Berrier were conspicuous; they had come out to thank thetownspeople for what they had done for them. With the women were two ofthe old cures of that and a neighbouring parish--pastors whom the decreeof the Convention had banished from their own churches, but whom all thepowers of the Convention had been unable to silence. To them this day'sbattle was a most acceptable sign of better days coming; they foresawa succession of future victories on behalf of the people, which wouldsurely end in the restoration of the Bourbons to the throne, and of theclergy to their churches. The cures shook hands warmly with those in thefront ranks of the people, gave their blessing to Cathelineau and Foret,and then invited the people, with one accord, to give thanks to God forthe great success which He had given them.
In one moment the whole crowd were on their knees in the market-place,while the two priests stood among them with their arms raised, utteringthanksgiving to the Lord for his mercy, and praying for the eternalwelfare of those who had fallen in the affray. The soldiers of therepublic found themselves standing alone as prisoners in the midst ofthe kneeling crowd; they looked awkward and confused enough, but theycould not help themselves; they could not have escaped, even if they hadbeen unanimous in attempting to do so; for they were unarmed, and thepeople knelt so closely round them, that they could hardly move. It wasout of the question that they should also kneel, and join in thethanksgiving for having been so utterly beaten; so there they stood,their wounds stiffening and their blood running, till the priests hadfinished, and the people had risen.
And then another ceremony was performed; the priests were besought tocome and bless the cannon, the first great trophy of the Royalistinsurrection; and they did so. The cannon was a lucky cannon, a kindcannon, and a good cannon--a bon enfant, and worthy to be blessed; ithad refused to pour forth its murderous fire against the inhabitants ofa town that was so friendly to the King. It was decidedly a royalistcannon; it had very plainly declared the side it meant to take; nothingbut miraculous interference on its own part could have prevented itshaving been discharged on he people, when it stood ready pointed on thetown, with the torch absolutely glimmering at the touch-hole. It hadbeen brought to St. Florent by republican soldiers, dragged byrepublican horses, and loaded with republican gunpowder; but it shouldnever be used except in the service of the King, and against the enemiesof the throne.
And so the priests blessed the cannon, and the people baptized it, andcalled it Marie-Jeanne, and the women brought out their little children,and sat them straddle-legged across it, whole rows of them at the sametime, till the cannon looked like a huge bunch of grapes on which thefruit clustered thickly. By this time it was dark, and the peoplelighted huge bonfires through the town, and the children remained up,and as many as could cling on it still sat upon the cannon, and ropeswere got and fastened to it, and all the girls of St. Florent draggedMarie-Jeanne round the town, and at last she was dragged into the yardof the auberge, in front of which the fight had commenced, and there shewas left for the night, under a strong guard.
While these rejoicings were going on out of doors, Cathelineau andForte, the two priests, and a few others--the wise men of the town--werecollected together within the auberge, and were consulting as to theirfuture proceedings.
"We have done much," said Cathelineau, "and I rejoice at it. Too much,a great deal, for us now to remain idle. We cannot go back. We are nowthe enemies of the Republic, and we must attack our enemies elsewhere,or they will attack and overwhelm us in our little town."
They then determined that Cathelineau, on the next morning, shouldaddress the people from the window of the market-place, and thatafterwards he and Forte should go through the neighbouring country andimplore the assistance of the people, of the gentry, the priests, thefarmers, and the peasants, in opposing the hated levy of the Republicanforces; but first they would go to the gentry, and the names of manywere mentioned whom it was thought would be sure to join them. The firstwas that of Henri de Larochejaquelin, and the next that of his friendM. de Lescure. Who loved the people so well as they, and whom did thepeople love so truly? Yes, they would call on young Larochejaquelin andhis friend to be their leaders.
Early on the morrow, the postillion addressed the people from themarket-place. He did not seek to himself the honour of doing so, nor,when he was asked to come forward as the leader of the people, did herefuse to do so. He was not covetous of the honour, but he would notrefuse the danger. During the whole of the combat every one had lookedto him as to the leader. He had not constituted himself the people'sgeneral, he had not for a moment thought of assuming the position; buthe as little thought of refusing the danger or the responsibility, whenthe duties of a general seemed, by the will of all, to fall to his lot.
"Friends," said he, addressing them from the market-house, "we havesaved ourselves for a while from the grasp of the Republic. But for thebattle of yesterday, every one here would have a brother, a son, or acousin, now enrolled as a conscript in the army of the Convention. Manyof yourselves would have been conscripts, and would have this morningwaked to the loss of your liberty. We did much yesterday when we boundthe hands of the soldiers; but we have much more to do than we have yetdone. Already in Nantes and in Angers are they talking of what weyesterday performed. We shall doubtless have many friends in Nantes andAngers, but the Republic also has many friends in those towns, and thesoldiers of the Republic are strong there. It will not be long beforethey hurry to St. Florent to avenge the disgrace of their comrades; andbitter will be their revenge if they take you unprepared. You havedeclared war against the Republic, and you must be prepared to fight itout to the end."
"We will, we will," shouted the people. "Down with the Republic--downwith the Convention. Long live the King--our own King once again."
"Very well, my friends," continued Cathelineau, "so be it. We will fightit out then. We will combat with the Republic, sooner than be carriedaway from our wives, our children, and our sweethearts. We will fightfor our own cures and our own churches; but our battle will be noholiday-work, it will be a different affair from that of yesterday. Wemust learn to carry arms, and to stand under them. You showed yesterdaythat you had courage--you must now show that you can join patience andperseverance to your co
urage."
"We will, Cathelineau, we will," shouted they "Tell us what we must do,Cathelineau, and we will do it.
"We must see," continued he, "who will be our friends and our allies.St. Florent cannot fight single-handed against the Republic. There areothers in Anjou, and Poitou also, besides ourselves, who do not wish toleave their homes and their fields. There are noblemen and gentlemen,our friends and masters, who will lead you better than I can."
"No, no, Cathelineau is our general; we will follow no one butCathelineau."
"You will, my friends, you will; but we need not quarrel about that.Forte and I, with Peter Berrier, will visit those who we think will joinus; but you must at once prepare yourselves. You must arm yourselves.We will distribute the muskets of the soldiers as far as they will go.You must prepare yourselves. If we do not at once attack the Republicanselsewhere, they will soon overwhelm us in St. Florent. We will go toCholet--the men of Cholet will surely second us--they are as fond oftheir sons and their brethren as we are. Cholet will join us, andBeaupreau, and Coron, and Torfou. We will go and ask them whether theyprefer the Republic to their homes--whether the leaders of theConvention are dearer to them than their own lords--whether their newpriests love them, as the old ones did? And I know what will be theiranswer."
He ceased speaking, and his audience crowded around him to shake handswith him, and to bless him; and before the sun was in the middle of thesky he had left St. Florent on his mission, in company with Forte andPeter Berrier.