CHAPTER XI. 'THE PASSAGE OP THE RHINE'
I parted from my friend Eugene at Treves, where he remained in garrison,while I was sent forward to Coblentz to join my regiment, at that timeforming part of Ney's division.
Were I to adhere in my narrative to the broad current of great events,I should here have to speak of that grand scheme of tactics by whichKleber, advancing from the Lower Rhine, engaged the attention of theAustrian Grand-Duke, in order to give time and opportunity for Hoche'spassage of the river at Strasbourg, and the commencement of thatcampaign which had for its object the subjugation of Germany. I havenot, however, the pretension to chronicle those passages which historyhas for ever made memorable, even were my own share in them of amore distinguished character. The insignificance of my station must,therefore, be my apology if I turn from the description of great andeventful incidents to the humble narrative of my own career.
Whatever the contents of Colonel Mahon's letter, they did not pleadvery favourably for me with Colonel Hacque, my new commanding officer;neither, to all seeming, did my own appearance weigh anything in myfavour. Raising his eyes at intervals from the letter to stare at me,he uttered some broken phrases of discontent and displeasure; at lasthe said--'What's the object of this letter, sir; to what end have youpresented it to me?'
'As I am ignorant of its contents, mon colonel,' said I calmly, 'I canscarcely answer the question.'
'Well, sir, it informs me that you are the son of a certain CountTiernay, who has long since paid the price of his nobility; and that,being an especial protege of the writer, he takes occasion to presentyou to me; now I ask again, with what object?'
'I presume, sir, to obtain for me the honour which I now enjoy--tobecome personally known to you.'
'I know every soldier under my command, sir,' said he rebukingly, 'asyou will soon learn if you remain in my regiment. I have no need ofrecommendatory letters on that score. As to your grade of corporal, itis not confirmed; time enough when your services shall have shown thatyou deserve promotion. _Parbleu!_ sir, you'll have to show other claimsthan your ci-devant countship.'
Colonel Mahon gave me a horse, sir; may I be permitted to retain him asa regimental mount?' asked I timidly.
'We want horses--what is he like?'
'Three-quarters Arab, and splendid in action, sir.'
'Then, of course, unfit for service and field manoeuvres.
Send him to the etat-major. The Republic will find a fitting mount foryou; you may retire.'
And I did retire, with a heart almost bursting between anger anddisappointment. What a future did this opening present to me! What arealisation this of all my flattering hopes!
This sudden reverse of fortune, for it was nothing less, did not renderme more disposed to make the best of my new condition, nor see in themost pleasing light the rough and rude fraternity among which I wasthrown. The Ninth Hussars were reputed to be an excellent service-corps,but, off duty, contained some of the worst ingredients of the army.Play, and its consequence, duelling, filled up every hour not devoted toregimental duty; and low as the tone of manners and morals stood in theservice generally, 'Hacque's Tapageurs,' as they were called, enjoyedthe unflattering distinction of being the leaders. Self-respect was aquality utterly unknown amongst them--none felt ashamed at the disgraceof punishment; and as all knew that, at the approach of the enemy,prison-doors would open, and handcuffs fall off, they affected to thinkthe 'Salle de Police' was a pleasant alternative to the fatigue andworry of duty. These habits not only stripped soldiering of all itschivalry, but robbed freedom itself of all its nobility. These men sawnothing but licentiousness in their newly won liberty. Their 'Equality'was the permission to bring everything down to a base and unworthystandard; their 'Fraternity,' the appropriation of what belonged to onericher than themselves.
It would give me little pleasure to recount, and the reader, in alllikelihood, as little to hear, the details of my life among suchassociates. They are the passages of my history most painful to recall,and least worthy of being remembered; nor can I even yet write withoutshame the confession, how rapidly their habits became my own. Eugene'steachings had prepared me, in a manner, for their lessons. Hisscepticism, extending to everything and every one, had made medistrustful of all friendship, and suspicious of whatever appeared akindness. Vulgar association, and daily intimacy with coarsely mindedmen, soon finished what he had begun; and in less time than it took meto break my troop-horse to regimental drill, I had been myself 'brokein' to every vice and abandoned habit of my companions. It was not in mynature to do things by halves; and thus I became, and in a brief space,too, the most inveterate Tapageur of the whole regiment. There was nota wild prank or plot in which I was not foremost, not a breach ofdiscipline unaccompanied by my name or presence, and more than half thetime of our march to meet the enemy, I passed in double irons under theguard of the provost-marshal.
It was at this pleasant stage of my education that our brigade arrivedat Strasbourg, as part of the _corps d'armee_, under the command ofGeneral Moreau.
He had just succeeded to the command on the dismissal of Pichegru, andfound the army not only dispirited by the defeats of the past campaign,but in a state of rudest indiscipline and disorganisation. If left tohimself, he would have trusted much to time and circumstances for thereform of abuses that had been the growth of many months long. ButRegnier, the second in command, was made of 'different stuff'; he wasa harsh and stern disciplinarian, who rarely forgave a first, nevera second, offence, and who, deeming the 'Salle de Police' as anencumbrance to an army on service, which, besides, required a guard ofpicked men, that might be better employed elsewhere, usually gave thepreference to the shorter sentence of 'four paces and a fusillade.'Nor was he particular in the classification of those crimes he thusexpiated: from the most trivial excess to the wildest scheme ofinsubordination, all came under the one category. More than once, as wedrew near to Strasbourg, I heard the project of a mutiny discussed, dayafter day. Some one or other would denounce the '_scelerat_ Regnier,'and proclaim his readiness to be the executioner; but the closer we drewto headquarters, the more hushed and subdued became these mutterings,till at last they ceased altogether, and a dark and foreboding dreadsucceeded to all our late boastings and denunciations.
This at first surprised and then utterly disgusted me with mycompanions. Brave as they were before the enemy, had they no courage fortheir own countrymen? Was all their valour the offspring of security, orcould they only be rebellious when the penalty had no terrors for them?Alas! I was very young, and did not then know that men are never strongagainst the right, and that a bad cause is always a weak one.
It was about the middle of June when we reached Strasbourg, where nowabout forty thousand troops were assembled. I shall not readily forgetthe mingled astonishment and disappointment our appearance excited asthe regiment entered the town. The Tapageurs, so celebrated for alltheir terrible excesses and insubordination, were seen to be a finecorps of soldierlike fellows, their horses in high condition, theirequipments and arms in the very best order. Neither did our conductat all tally with the reputation that preceded us. All was orderly andregular in the several billets; the parade was particularly observed;not a man late at the night muster. What was the cause of this suddenand remarkable change? Some said that we were marching against theenemy; but the real explanation lay in the few words of a general orderread to us by our colonel the day before we entered the city:--
'The 9th Hussars have obtained the unworthy reputation of being an ill-disciplined and ill-conducted regiment, relying upon their soldierlike qualities in face of the enemy to cover the disgrace of their misconduct in quarters. This is a mistake that must be corrected. All Frenchmen are brave; none can arrogate to themselves any prerogative of valour. If any wish to establish such a belief, a campaign can always attest it. If any profess to think so without such proof, and, acting in conformity with this impression, disobey their orders or infringe reg
imental discipline, I will have them shot.
'Regnier, Adjutant-General.'
This was, at least, a very straightforward and intelligibleannouncement, and as such my comrades generally acknowledged it. I,however, regarded it as a piece of monstrous and intolerable tyranny,and sought to make converts to my opinion by declaiming about the rightsof Frenchmen, the liberty of free discussion, the glorious privilege ofequality, and so on; but these arguments sounded faint in presenceof the drumhead; and while some slunk away from the circle around me,others significantly hinted that they would accept no part of the dangermy doctrines might originate.
However I might have respected my comrades had they been always thewell-disciplined body I now saw them, I confess that this suddenconversion through fear was in nowise to my taste, and rashly confoundedtheir dread of punishment with a base and ignoble fear of death. 'Andthese are the men,' thought I, 'who talk of their charging home throughthe dense squares of Austria--who have hunted the leopard into the sea,and have carried the flag of France over the high Alps?'
A bold rebel, whatever may be the cause against which he revolts, willalways be sure of a certain ascendency. Men are prone to attribute powerto pretension, and he who stands foremost in the breach will at leastwin the suffrages of those whose cause he assumes to defend. In thisway it happened that exactly, as my comrades fell in my esteem, I waselevated in theirs; and while I took a very depreciating estimate oftheir courage, they conceived a very exalted opinion of mine.
It was altogether inexplicable to see these men, many of them thebronzed veterans of a dozen campaigns--the wounded and distinguishedsoldiers in many a hard-fought field, yielding up their opinions andsacrificing their convictions to a raw and untried stripling who hadnever yet seen an enemy.
With a certain fluency of speech I possessed also a readiness at pickingup information, and arraying the scattered fragments of news into acertain consistence, which greatly imposed upon my comrades. A quickeye for manoeuvres, and a shrewd habit of combining in my own mind thevarious facts that came before me, made me appear to them a perfectauthority on military matters, of which I talked, I shame to say, withall the confidence and presumption of an accomplished general. A fewlucky guesses, and a few half hints, accidentally confirmed, completedall that was wanting; and what says 'Le Jeune Maurice,' was theinevitable question that followed each piece of flying gossip, or everyrumour that rose of a projected movement.
I have seen a good deal of the world since that time, and I am bound toconfess, that not a few of the great reputations I have witnessed havestood upon grounds very similar, and not a whit more stable than myown. A bold face, a ready tongue, a promptness to support, with my righthand, whatever my lips were pledged to, and, above all, good-luck, mademe the king of my company; and although that sovereignty only extendedto half a squadron of hussars, it was a whole universe to me.
So stood matters when, on the 23rd of June, orders came for the whole_corps d'armee_ to hold itself in readiness for a forward movement.Rations for two days were distributed, and ammunition given out as iffor an attack of some duration. Meanwhile, to obviate any suspicionof our intentions, the gates of Strasbourg, on the eastern side,were closed--all egress in that direction forbidden--and couriers and_estafettes_ sent off towards the north, as if to provide for the marchof our force in that direction. The arrival of various orderly dragoonsduring the previous night, and on that morning early, told of a greatattack in force on Mannheim, about sixty miles lower down the Rhine,and the cannonade of which some avowed that they could hear at thatdistance. The rumour, therefore, seemed confirmed, that we were orderedto move to the north, to support this assault.
The secret despatch of a few dismounted dragoons and some riflemen tothe hanks of the Rhine, however, did not strike me as according withthis view, and particularly as I saw that, although all were equipped,and in readiness to move, the order to march was not given, a delay veryunlikely to be incurred if we were destined to act as the reserve of theforce already engaged.
Directly opposite to us, on the right bank of the river, and separatedfrom it by a low flat of about two miles in extent, stood the fortressof Kehl, at that time garrisoned by a strong Austrian force; the banksof the river, and the wooded islands in the stream, which communicatedwith the right by bridges, or fordable passes, being also held by theenemy in force.
These we had often seen, by the aid of telescopes, from the towers andspires of Strasbourg; and now I remarked that the general and his staffseemed more than usually intent on observing their movements. This fact,coupled with the not less significant one that no preparations for adefence of Strasbourg were in progress, convinced me that, instead ofmoving down the Rhine to the attack on Mannheim, the plan of our generalwas to cross the river where we were, and make a dash at the fortressof Kehl. I was soon to receive the confirmation of my suspicion, as theorders came for two squadrons of the 9th to proceed, dismounted, tothe bank of the Rhine, and, under shelter of the willows, to concealthemselves there. Taking possession of the various skiffs andfishing-boats along the bank, we were distributed in small parties, toone of which, consisting of eight men under the orders of a corporal, Ibelonged.
About an hour's march brought us to the river-side, in a little clumpof alder willows, where, moored to a stake, lay a fishing-boat with twoshort oars in her. Lying down beneath the shade, for the afternoon washot and sultry, some of us smoked, some chatted, and a few dozed awaythe hours that somehow seemed unusually slow in passing.
There was a certain dogged sullenness about my companions, whichproceeded from their belief that we and all who remained at Strasbourgwere merely left to occupy the enemy's attention, while greateroperations were to be carried on elsewhere.
'You see what it is to be a condemned corps,' muttered one; 'it's littlematter what befalls the old 9th, even should they be cut to pieces.'
'They didn't think so at Enghien,' said another, 'when we rode down theAustrian cuirassiers.'
'Plain enough,' cried a third, 'we are to have skirmishers' duty here,without skirmishers' fortune in having a force to fall back upon.'
'Eh! Maurice, is not this very like what you predicted for us?' broke ina fourth ironically.
'I'm of the same mind still,' rejoined I coolly: 'the general isnot thinking of a retreat; he has no intention of deserting awell-garrisoned, well-provisioned fortress. Let the attack on Mannheimhave what success it may, Strasbourg will be held still. I overheardColonel Guyon remark that the waters of the Rhine have fallen threefeet since the drought set in, and Regnier replied 'that we must lose notime, for there will come rain and floods ere long.' Now what could thatmean but the intention to cross over yonder?'
'Cross the Rhine in face of the fort of Kehl!' broke in the corporal.
'The French army have done bolder things before now!' was my reply;and, whatever the opinion of my comrades, the flattery ranged them onmy side. Perhaps the corporal felt it beneath his dignity to discusstactics with an inferior, or perhaps he felt unable to refute thespecious pretensions I advanced; in any case he turned away, and eitherslept, or affected sleep, while I strenuously laboured to convince mycompanions that my surmise was correct.
I repeated all my former arguments about the decrease in the Rhine,showing that the river was scarcely two-thirds of its habitual breadth,that the nights were now dark, and well suited for a surprise, that thecolumns which issued from the town took their departure with a pomp andparade far more likely to attract the enemy's attention than escape hisnotice, and were, therefore, the more likely to be destined for somesecret expedition, of which all this display was but the blind. These,and similar facts, I grouped together with a certain ingenuity, which,if it failed to convince, at least silenced my opponents. And now thebrief twilight, if so short a struggle between day and darkness deservedthe name, passed off, and night suddenly closed around us--a night blackand starless, for a heavy mass of lowering cloud seemed to unite withthe dense vapour that arose from the river, and the
low-lying groundsalongside of it. The air was hot and sultry, too, like the precursorof a thunderstorm, and the rush of the stream as it washed among thewillows sounded preternaturally loud.
A hazy, indistinct flame, the watch-fire of the enemy, on the island ofEslar, was the only object visible in the murky darkness. After a while,however, we could detect another fire on a smaller island, a shortdistance higher up the stream. This, at first dim and uncertain, blazedup after a while, and at length we descried the dark shadows of men asthey stood around it.
It was but the day before that I had been looking on a map of the Rhine,and remarked to myself that this small island, little more than a mererock in the stream, was so situated as to command the bridge betweenEslar and the German bank, and I could not help wondering that theAustrians had never taken the precaution to strengthen it, or atleast place a gun there, to enfilade the bridge. Now, to my extremeastonishment, I saw it occupied by the soldiery, who, doubtless, wereartillery, as in such a position small arms would prove of slightefficiency. As I reflected over this, wondering within myself if anyintimation of our movements could have reached the enemy, I heard alongthe ground on which I was lying the peculiar tremulous, dull soundcommunicated by a large body of men marching. The measured tramp couldnot be mistaken, and as I listened I could perceive that a force wasmoving towards the river from different quarters. The rumbling rollof heavy guns and the clattering noise of cavalry were also easilydistinguished, and awaking one of my comrades I called his attention tothe sounds.
'_Parbleu!_' said he, 'thou'rt right; they're going to make a dash atthe fortress, and there will be hot work ere morning. What say you now,corporal? has Maurice hit it off this time?'
'That's as it may be,' growled the other sulkily; 'guessing is easy workever for such as thee! but if he be so clever, let him tell us why arewe stationed along the river's bank in small detachments. We have had noorders to observe the enemy, nor to report upon anything that mightgo forward; nor do I see with what object we were to secure thefishing-boats; troops could never be conveyed across the Rhine in skiffslike these!'
'I think that this order was given to prevent any of the fishermengiving information to the enemy in case of a sudden attack,' replied I.
'Mayhap thou wert at the council of war when the plan was decided on,'said he contemptuously. 'For a fellow that never saw the smoke of anenemy's gun, thou hast a rare audacity in talking of war!'
'Yonder is the best answer to your taunt,' said I, as, in a little bendof the stream beside us, two boats were seen to pull under the shelterof the tall alders, from which the clank of arms could be plainly heard;and now another larger launch swept past, the dark shadows of a densecrowd of men showing above the gunwale.
'They are embarking--they are certainly embarking,' now ran from mouthto mouth. As the troops arrived at the river's bank they were speedily'told off' in separate divisions, of which some were to lead the attack,others to follow, and a third portion to remain as a reserve in theevent of a repulse.
The leading boat was manned entirely by volunteers, and I could hearfrom where I lay the names called aloud as the men stepped out from theranks. I could hear that the first point of attack was the island ofEslar. So far there was a confirmation of my own guessing, and I didnot hesitate to assume the full credit of my skill from my comrades. Intruth, they willingly conceded all or even more than I asked for. Not astir was heard, not a sight seen, not a movement made of which I was notexpected to tell the cause and the import; and knowing that tosustain my influence there was nothing for it but to affect a thoroughacquaintance with everything, I answered all their questions boldly andunhesitatingly. I need scarcely observe that the corporal in comparisonsank into downright insignificance. He had already shown himself afalse guide, and none asked his opinion further, and I became the rulinggenius of the hour. The embarkation now went briskly forward; severallight field-guns were placed in the boats, and two or three large rafts,capable of containing two companies each, were prepared to be towedacross by boats.
Exactly as the heavy hammer of the cathedral struck one, the first boatemerged from the willows, and darting rapidly forward, headed for themiddle of the stream; another and another in quick succession followed,and speedily were lost to us in the gloom; and now two four-oaredskiffs stood out together, having a raft, with two guns, in tow; by somemischance, however, they got entangled in a side current, and the raftswerving to one side, swept past the boats, carrying them down thestream along with it. Our attention was not suffered to dwell on thismishap, for at the same moment the flash and rattle of firearms told usthe battle had begun. Two or three isolated shots were first heard, andthen a sharp platoon-fire, accompanied by a wild cheer, that we wellknew came from our own fellows. One deep mellow boom of a large gunresounded amidst the crash, and a slight streak of flame, higher up thestream, showed that the shot came from the small island I have alreadyspoken of.
'Listen, lads,' said I; 'that came from the "Fels Insel." If they arefiring grape yonder, our poor fellows in the boats will suffer sorelyfrom it. By Jove, there is a crash!'
As I was speaking, a rattling noise like the sound of clattering timberwas heard, and with it a sharp, shrill cry of agony, and all was hushed.
'Let's at them, boys: they can't be much above our own number. Theisland is a mere rock,' cried I to my comrades.
'Who commands this party,' said the corporal--'you or I?'
'You, if you lead us against the enemy,' said I; 'but I'll take it if mycomrades will follow me. There goes another shot, lads--yes or no--nowis the time to speak.'
'We're ready,' cried three, springing forward with one impulse.
At the instant I jumped into the skiff, the others took their places,and then come a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh, leaving thecorporal alone on the bank.
'Come along, corporal,' cried I, 'we'll win your epaulettes for you';but he turned away without a word; and, not waiting further, I pushedout the skiff, and sent her skimming down the stream.
'Pull steady, boys, and silently,' said I; 'we must gain the middle ofthe current, and then drop down the river without the least noise.Once beneath the trees, we'll give them a volley, and then the bayonet.Remember, lads, no flinching; it's as well to die here as be shot by oldRegnier to-morrow.'
The conflict on the Eslar island was now, to all seeming, at its height.The roll of musketry was incessant, and sheets of flame, from time totime, streaked the darkness above the river.
'Stronger and together, boys--once more--there it is--we are in thecurrent now; in with you, men, and look to your carbines; see that thepriming is safe; every shot soon will be worth a fusillade. Lie stillnow, and wait for the word to fire.'
The spreading foliage of the nut-trees was rustling over our heads asI spoke, and the sharp skiff, borne on the current, glided smoothly ontill her bow struck the rock. With high-beating hearts we clambered upthe little cliff, and, as we reached the top, beheld immediately beneathus, in a slight dip of the ground, several figures around a gun, whichthey were busy adjusting. I looked right and left to see that mylittle party were all assembled, and without waiting for more, gave theorder--fire!
We were within pistol range, and the discharge was a deadly one. Theterror, however, was not less complete; for all who escaped death fledfrom the spot, and dashing through the brushwood, made for the shallowpart of the stream, between the island and the right bank.
Our prize was a brass eight-pounder, and an ample supply of ammunition.The gun was pointed towards the middle of the stream, where the currentbeing strongest, the boats would necessarily be delayed; and in alllikelihood some of our gallant comrades had already experienced itsfatal fire. To wheel it right about, and point it on the Eslar bridge,was the work of a couple of minutes; and while three of our little partykept up a steady fire on the retreating enemy, the others loaded the gunand prepared to fire.
Our distance from the Eslar island and bridge, as well as I could judgefrom the darkness, might be ab
out two hundred and fifty yards, and, aswe had the advantage of a slight elevation of ground, our position wasadmirable.
'Wait patiently, lads,' said I, restraining, with difficulty, theburning ardour of my men. 'Wait patiently, till the retreat hascommenced over the bridge. The work is too hot to last much longer onthe island; to fire upon them there would be to risk our own men asmuch as the enemy. See what long flashes of flame break forth among thebrushwood; and listen to the cheering now. That was a French cheer!--andthere goes another. Look!--look, the bridge is darkening already! Thatwas a bugle-call, and they are in full retreat. Now, lads--now!'
As I spoke, the gun exploded, and the instant after we heard thecrashing rattle of the timber, as the shot struck the bridge, andsplintered the wood-work in all directions.
'The range is perfect, lads,' cried I. 'Load and fire with all speed.'
Another shot, followed by a terrific scream from the bridge, told howthe work was doing. Oh! the savage exultation, the fiendish joy of myheart, as I drank in that cry of agony, and called upon my men to loadfaster.
Six shots were poured in with tremendous precision and effect, and theseventh tore away one of the main supports of the bridge, and down wentthe densely crowded column into the Rhine. At the same instant the gunsof our launches opened a destructive fire upon the banks, which soonwere swept clean of the enemy.
High up on the stream, and for nearly a mile below also, we could seethe boats of our army pulling in for shore; the crossing of the Rhinehad been effected, and we now prepared to follow.