Chapter 14: Le Mans.
The victory won by the Vendeans was one of the most important ofthe war. Never had they fought with greater bravery. Never did theycarry out more accurately and promptly the orders of theirgenerals. Napoleon afterwards pronounced that the tactics pursuedby la Rochejaquelein showed that he possessed the highest militarygenius.
It was night, alone, that saved the routed army of the Republicfrom absolute destruction. It is probable that, at the time, theVendean general had no idea of the completeness of the victory thathe had won, or of the disorganization of the enemy. Had he knownit, he would doubtless have attacked them again on the followingday; when he would have experienced no resistance, could havecaptured Angers without firing a shot, and could, had he chosen,have recrossed the Loire. The Vendeans, however, well content withtheir success, returned to Laval, and there enjoyed a week's quietand repose.
The crushing defeat that the Republicans had experienced caused animmense sensation at Paris, and in the towns through which theVendeans would pass on their way to the capital, which was at thetime actually open to them.
Patsey was delighted, when Jean and Leigh returned unwounded.
"You both seem to bear a charmed life," she said. "Leigh has indeedonce been hit, but it was not serious; you have escaped altogether.What is going to be done next?"
"We are going to rest here for ten days or so. There is plenty offood to be had, and the rest will do wonders for the men. Ofcourse, we rode back with la Rochejaquelein. His opinion was, as italways has been, that a march on Paris will alone bring thisterrible business to a close; but he knows that even his authoritywill not suffice to carry out such a plan. As long as they are inBrittany they are among friends, and are still near their homes;but to turn their backs on these, and march on Paris, would appearso terrible an undertaking that, reckless as they are of theirlives in battle, nothing would induce them to attempt it."
After ten days' delay, the Vendeans commenced their march towardsthe coast. The battle at Vihiers was fought on the twenty-seventh.By the sixth of November they had captured the towns of Ernee andde Fougeres, defeating at the latter place three battalions. Dolwas next captured. Mayenne opened its gates without resistance.
The greatest efforts were made, by the Republicans, to place theseaports in a state of defence. Cherbourg would have been the bestpoint for the fugitives to attack, as here they would have found anabundance of powder, of which they were in great need, and cannon;and here they might have defended themselves until the promisedhelp arrived from England. Granville, however, had been fixed uponby the British government; and the march thither was shorter,therefore it was against Granville that the attack was directed.
A considerable portion of the force, with the artillery, were leftat Avranches. Although assured that the march to the sea was madein order to obtain succour there from England, there was much fearamong the peasants that the intention of the chiefs was to embark,and to leave the army to its fate. Consequently they advancedagainst Granville with less energy and enthusiasm than usual.
However, half a league out of the town they came upon a portion ofthe garrison, and repulsed them so successfully that they enteredone of the suburbs with them. The garrison had, for the most part,shut themselves up in a fort which commanded the town; havingerected a strong palisade across the streets leading to it. Fourhundred men occupied this post.
The Vendeans had no axes to cut down the palisades, nor powder toblow then in. They were therefore obliged to content themselveswith a musketry fire against it. As the garrison were well suppliedwith ammunition, and kept up a constant fire, they sufferedheavily.
When night came, the Vendeans scattered among the houses to findfood, fire, and shelter; and all night the batteries on the heightsplayed upon them.
In the morning the Republicans redoubled their fire. It becameevident that the town itself could not be taken, and the mass ofthe Vendeans, without orders from their chiefs, began to retire,and in a short time the whole were in rapid retreat to Avranches.
There the cry was raised, "Back to La Vendee!"
La Rochejaquelein, after halting his force on the main road a fewhours, called upon the men to follow him to Caen; but only onethousand did so. On arriving at a village he learned that the bulkof the army, instead of being behind him, had marched towardsPontorson. He was therefore forced to retrace his steps and tofollow them and, on overtaking them, found that they had alreadycarried the bridge, driven away the enemy, and occupied the town.
The enemy were closing round them, but the capture of Pontorsonderanged the plans of the Republicans. The place had been held byfour thousand men and ten pieces of cannon and, as it could beapproached only by a narrow defile, it was believed that it wouldbe impossible for the Vendeans to force their way into it. However,after three hours' fighting, their desperate valour won the day,and the Republicans were routed, with the loss of most of theircannon.
The affair, indeed, appeared to the peasants to be a miraclegranted in their favour; and with renewed heart they marched thenext night to Dol. Kleber was with a large force in thisneighbourhood, but the impetuosity of Westermann again upset hisplans. As soon as the latter heard that Pontorson had been carriedby the Vendeans, and that they had marched to Dol, he pursued themwith three thousand infantry, two hundred cavalry, and four cannon.He arrived within a short distance of Dol at six in the eveningand, without waiting for the infantry to come up, charged into thetown, and for a moment spread confusion among the Vendeans.
Westermann's cavalry charged into the streets of Dol.]
They, however, soon recovered from their surprise, and drove theenemy out with loss. Westermann's infantry took no part in theaction. Kleber was occupied in closing every route by which theVendeans could leave Dol; but Westermann, who had held nocommunication with him, and knew nothing of his plans, marched withMarigny's division, with six thousand men, to attack the town.
This he did at two o'clock in the morning. The Vendeans at oncerushed to meet them, and first tried to turn the right; but theyfailed here, and also in an attack on the left. They fought,however, so fiercely that Westermann withdrew his troops to theposition that they had occupied before attacking. The Vendeans,however, gave them no time to form in order of battle but,heralding their charge with a heavy musketry fire, rushed down uponthem. The enemy at once broke and, leaving their cannon behindthem, continued their flight till they reached Pontorson.
In the meantime Marceau was advancing with his division by anotherroad; and the Vendeans, hearing this, ceased their pursuit ofWestermann's routed division and moved against him and, at fouro'clock in the morning, attacked him when within a league of Dol. Acombat ensued that lasted for three hours. The Vendeans then drewoff, on learning that the division of Muller was on the point ofjoining that of Marceau.
Together these divisions could have forced their way into Dol, butMuller was hopelessly drunk and, being the senior officer, thegreatest confusion arose and, had the Vendeans known what wastaking place, they could have gained a decisive victory.
Marceau, seeing that he could do nothing to restore order, rode atfull speed to Kleber's headquarters; and at daybreak the twogenerals arrived at the spot, and found the two divisions mingledin supreme disorder, the brigades and battalions being mixed uptogether. Finding that nothing could be done with them, there,Kleber drew them off; their confusion being almost converted into arout, by the fire of about a hundred Vendeans. A council of war washeld, and eighteen hundred men, with two guns, were sent toPontorson to join Westermann's defeated division.
That general was ordered to advance again, at once, upon Dol.Kleber opposed this, and the rest of the council coming at last tohis opinion, orders were sent to Westermann to remain on thedefensive, and await fresh orders. Westermann, however, as usual,disregarded these and, marching through the night, approached thetown and arrived, early in the morning, at a village close to it.
The sounding of the church bells told that the Vendeans haddi
scovered the enemy, and in a few minutes these were seen rushing,as usual, to the attack. In spite of the reinforcements that hadreached them, Westermann's troops fought worse than they had donetwo nights before. The reinforcements were the first to give way.The advanced guard speedily turned and fled. Westermann andMarigny, with a small party of cavalry, fought desperately to coverthe retreat. Marigny however fell, and the whole force became amass of fugitives.
Kleber, on his way the next day to reconnoitre the town, met theVendeans advancing. Scattering rapidly, these occupied the ridges,and attacked the brigade that formed his advanced guard so fiercelythat it broke and fled. Kleber sent to fetch some battalions of thetroops of Mayence and, as soon as they arrived, with somebattalions of grenadiers, formed them in order of battle. Othertroops came up, and they prepared for a serious engagement.
At this moment the Vendean column that had defeated Westermannshowed itself, on the right flank of the Republicans, andthreatened their rear. Kleber ordered some of the battalions totake post further back, to cover the line of retreat. Otherbattalions, seeing the movement, and believing this to be a signalfor retreat, followed.
The grenadiers alone stood firm, and defended themselves for threehours. In the meantime the greater portion of the Republican armywas already in full flight, and a retreat was ordered. The troopsremaining on the field retired at first in good order but, as thevictorious Vendeans pressed on, this speedily became a rout.
Marceau, gathering together such soldiers as still retained theirpresence of mind, endeavoured to defend the bridge of Antrain; butthe Vendeans, pressing forward, swept them away; and the fugitivesfled, in a confused mob, as far as Rennes.
The Vendeans, on entering Antrain, at once scattered in search offood; disregarding the orders and entreaties of la Rochejaqueleinand Stofflet, who urged them to press hotly upon the routed enemy,and so to complete the victory they had won. At Antrain theylearned that the wounded, who had been left in hospital atFougeres, had been murdered in their beds by the Blues; and theyaccordingly shot all the prisoners they had taken in the battle.
The victory seemed to open the way to the Loire, and the Vendeanssteadily marched south through Mayenne and Laval, and arrived infront of Angers. But the city was no longer in the defencelessstate in which it was when they first crossed the Loire. As soon asit was perceived to be the point for which the Vendeans weremarching, four thousand troops were thrown into it, and allpreparations made for a stout defence.
"If they defend themselves as they ought to do," la Rochejaqueleinsaid to two or three of his officers, among whom was Jean Martin,"there is no hope of taking the town. We have neither cannon toblow down the walls, nor means of scaling them. Thirty-six hours isthe utmost we can hope for our operations. Kleber and the rest ofthem will be up by that time. However--it is our sole hope--possiblya panic may seize them when we attack; but even cowards will fightbehind walls and, after our failure at Granville, I have little hopeof our taking Angers, especially as they must know how soon theirarmy will be up."
The affair was a repetition of that at Granville. The Vendeans atonce obtained possession of one of the suburbs. Twenty pieces ofcannon opened fire upon it from the walls, while from the housesthe Vendeans replied with a musketry fire. During the night anumber of men laboured to undermine the wall by one of the gates,and partially succeeded. But day broke before the work wascompleted, and the defenders planted several cannon to bear uponthem.
The Vendeans were too much discouraged to make any further effort;and when, a few hours later, news came that the Republican army wasfast approaching, and would reach the ground in an hour's time,they again got into motion, and pursued their hopeless journey insearch of some point where they could cross the river, if only todie in their beloved land.
On the following day Kleber was reinforced by a column, eightthousand strong, from Cherbourg; and a reconnaissance was madealong the road by which the Vendeans had retreated. They foundeverywhere the bodies of men, women, and children who had succumbedto cold, fatigue, and misery. Westermann's cavalry set out inpursuit, Muller following with his division to support him.
Marceau was now appointed commander-in-chief, pending the arrivalof Turreau and Rossignol. The latter had, almost from thecommencement of the war, intrigued against every general concernedin the operations, especially against Kleber. He was himselfutterly without military talent, and owed his position simply tohis devotion to the Convention, and his readiness to denounce themen who failed to satisfy its anticipations of an easy victory, orwho showed the slightest repugnance to execute its barbarousdecrees.
With the exception of some three thousand men, who marched at thehead of the Vendean column, the fugitives were now utterlydisheartened. Many hid their muskets and, cutting sticks, thoughtthat, being no longer armed, they would not be molested by theenemy. Each night numbers stole away, in groups of twos and threes,in the hope of finding a boat on the bank of the river. Othersscattered among the villages, their appearance exciting compassion;but fear of the troops was more powerful, and the men for the mostpart were seized and held prisoners.
Of the hundred thousand men, women, and children who had crossedthe Loire, more than half were dead. Of those who remained, fullyfifteen thousand were women and children.
On the march, Leigh always rode by the side of his sister,generally carrying the child before him. Jean, as one of theleading officers, now rode with Rochejaquelein at the head of thecolumn. Patsey suffered less, on her own account, than on that ofthe poor people who had to journey on foot. The cold was intenseand, except when they entered a town, it was impossible to obtainprovisions. The horses were worn out and half famished, a greatproportion of the fugitives were without shoes, and the clothing ofall was in rags.
In order to spare her the sight of the misery prevailing amongthose who marched in the rear of the column, Leigh always rode withhis sister in the rear of the leading division. He himself, for themost part, walked on foot; lending his horse to some wounded man,or exhausted woman.
When the column left Angers it had been intended to march to Saumurand cross there, but the news arrived that a strong Republicanforce had gathered there; and it was determined to change thecourse, and to march through La Fleche to Le Mans. By this suddenand unexpected movement, Rochejaquelein hoped to gain time to givehis followers two days' rest.
The immediate result, however, was to excite a feeling of despairamong a great portion of them. Their backs were now turned to LaVendee, and it seemed to them that their last hope of reachingtheir homes had vanished. Rochejaquelein's idea, however, was thatin their present state of exhaustion it was impossible to hope tocross the Loire--guarded as it was at every point, and with overone hundred thousand men between him and La Vendee--and heintended, after giving them the much needed rest, to march roundthrough Chateaudun, to come down on the Loire above Orleans, and soto make his way back into Poitou.
Had he had with him only men, the project, difficult as it seemed,might possibly have been accomplished. Unembarrassed by baggagetrains or cannon, the peasants could have out marched theirpursuers; but hampered by the crowd of wounded, sick, women, andchildren, the movement must be regarded as the inspiration ofdespair.
Indeed, even the fighting men were no longer in a state to bear thefatigue. Bad and insufficient food had played havoc with them.Dysentery was raging in their ranks, and many could scarce dragthemselves along.
"We cannot conceal from ourselves that it is nearly over," Jeansaid, when he told his wife and Leigh that the route was changed."We shall get to Le Mans, but the Republicans will be on our heels,and one cannot doubt what the issue will be. Doubtless a small bodywill hang together, and still try to regain La Vendee; but we shallhave done our duty. After our next defeat I will leave the army.
"I shall not go without telling la Rochejaquelein of my intentions.He has more than once spoken to me of you both, and it was but twodays ago that he said to me:
"'Martin, you are not like the rest of us. You have
an Englishwife, and your brave young brother-in-law is English, also. Youhave to think of them, as well as of La Vendee. You can make yourhome in England, and live there until better times come.
"'It is no longer a question of defending our country. It is lost.Charette is there now, and still fighting; but as soon as we aredisposed of, all these troops that have been hunting us down willbe free to act against him, and he too must be crushed. Thepeasants have nowhere else to go; and it is not with a desire todefend their homes--which no longer exist--but to die in theirnative land that they seek to return. You have from the first doneyour utmost for La Vendee, but there can be no occasion that youshould throw away your life, and those of your wife and brother,now that the cause is utterly lost, and all hope is at an end.
"'Think this over. I do not say that it is possible for you toescape; but the longer you stay with us, the more difficult will itbecome.'
"So you see, I am sure that when I tell him that, feeling that wecan no longer be of use, I am determined to make at least anendeavour to reach England with you, he will approve."
"I think he is right, Jean. No one can say that you have not doneyour duty to your country to the utmost, or can blame you for nowdoing what you can for your family."
Just as they neared La Fleche, a squadron of the enemy's cavalryfell upon the rear of the column. They killed many of thefugitives, but were too small in number to threaten the safety ofthe column, which kept on until it reached the bridge across theLoir. This had been broken down, but fire was opened against thecannon planted on the other side. The gunboats that were guardingthe river were driven away; and a party, moving up the bank, foundtwo little boats, and began to cross.
A detachment of Republicans hurried to attack them; but the Loir,an affluent of the Loire, was narrow, and the musketry fire of themain body drove them away, until two or three hundred men hadcrossed. La Rochejaquelein went over and took the command, and ontheir advance the Republicans took to their heels. Rochejaqueleinthen recrossed, and drove off the cavalry that were harrassing therear.
Working desperately, a strong party threw beams across the brokenbridge, and the Vendeans occupied the town at daybreak. The wearyfugitives slept till midday, when the enemy's cavalry reappeared;but Rochejaquelein with some mounted gentlemen attacked anddefeated them, and pursued them for some distance.
In the evening a force under Chalbos approached the town, but theVendeans sallied out and speedily scattered them. They then brokedown the bridge that they had repaired, and started for Le Mans;which they captured after three-quarters of an hour's fighting.
Two days later, Kleber was in front of the town. Westermann andMuller's divisions first approached. The two days' rest hadreanimated the Vendeans, and Muller's infantry were driven backthree miles; but large reinforcements came up, and the peasantswere forced to fall back again. Then Westermann's cavalry chargedinto the town, carrying dismay among its defenders; but laRochejaquelein and his officers soon reanimated them, and thecavalry were driven out of the town, itself. They and the infantrythat had come up were able, however, to maintain themselves in thesuburbs.
By this time la Rochejaquelein was aware that the armies of Brest,Cherbourg, and the west were all upon him. All through the nightthe battle went on, without interruption. The Republican columnscould gain no ground, and were frequently obliged to give way; butbehind the Vendean line of defence, panic was gaining ground amongthe fugitives. Three or four thousand escaped by the road to Laval,but the retreat of the rest was cut off by the cavalry.
In the morning, Kleber's division came up. They at once relievedMarceau's division, which had been fighting all night, and renewedthe attack. The resistance was feeble. A few hundred men disputedevery foot of the way, and died with a consciousness that they hadat least covered the retreat of the rest.
A hot pursuit was at once organised and, while all taken in thetown were massacred at once, Westermann's cavalry pursued thefugitives in all directions, covering the plain with corpses, andpressing hard on the rear of the force that still held together.
Jean Martin had, the day before the Republican attack, gone withLeigh to la Rochejaquelein's quarters; and told him that heintended, if the town was captured by the enemy, to endeavour tosave the life of his wife by flight.
"You are quite right," Rochejaquelein said warmly. "I entirelyapprove of your determination. As long as ten of my men holdtogether, it is my duty to remain with them; for I have acceptedthe position of their commander, and I must share their fate to theend. But it is different with you. As the cause of La Vendee, forwhich you have fought, is lost, your first duty now is to yourwife. I trust that you will all three succeed in making your way toEngland, and enjoy there the peace and rest that none can have inunhappy France. I thank you for your gallant services.
"And I thank you in the name of La Vendee, Leigh, for the manner inwhich you have fought for her; and also for the companionship thathas so often cheered me, during our last days.
"As for myself, I have no wish to live. I should feel dishonouredwere the army I led to be exterminated, and I, who accepted theresponsibility of leading it, to survive. We have the consolation,at least, that never in history has a people fought more bravelyagainst overpowering odds than La Vendee has done; and though atpresent we are called brigands, I am sure that the world willacknowledge that we have fought like heroes, for our country andour faith. Unfortunate as we may be, I am proud to be one of thosewho have led them so often to victory.
"When will you go, my friend?"
"I intend to be with you to the last," Jean said. "When the fightbegins, Leigh and my wife will be ready, at a point agreed on inthe rear of the town. When all is lost, I shall join them there. Weshall ride until beyond pursuit, and then put on our disguises."
"Then I will not say goodbye to you now," Rochejaquelein said.
"Goodbye, Leigh. May Heaven keep you, and take you safely homeagain."
Leigh was too much affected to speak and, after a silent grasp ofthe hand of the gallant young soldier, he returned with Jean to thequarters they occupied.
"Now for our plans," Jean said. "They are as vague as ever, but wemust settle now. It is quite evident that the alarm is so widelyspread, here in the west, that it will be well-nigh impossible topass through even a village without being questioned. Alencon onthe north has a strong garrison, at Mayenne on the west is adivision, and the whole country beyond will be alive with troops onthe search for fugitives. It is only to the east that the road isopen to us.
"I should say that the safest way will be to travel so as to crossthe Loir between Chateaudun and Nogent, and then come down on theroad running south from Fontainebleau through Montargis. Travellingsouth through Nevers, we should excite no suspicion. If questioned,we can say that we are going to visit some friends at Macon. Theunfortunate thing is that we have no papers; and I think that ourstory had best be that we belong to Le Mans, and fled in suchhaste, when the town was captured by the Vendeans, that we escapedjust as we stood, and omitted to bring our papers with us.
"Fortunately we all speak French without accent, and there isnothing about us to give rise to suspicion that we belong to LaVendee. If we can think of a more likely story, as we go along, allthe better. When we get as far as Macon, if we ever get there, wecan decide whether to endeavour to cross the frontier intoSwitzerland, or to go down to Toulon.
"Now remember, Patsey, my last injunctions are that, when youperceive from the rush of fugitives that all is over, and that anyfiring that may still be going on is but an attempt to cover theretreat, you must not wait for me but, as soon as the sound ofcombat approaches, you will ride off with Leigh. You need notsuppose, because I do not join you, that I am killed. The enemy mayhave pushed so far through the town that I may find it impossibleto join you. But from whatever cause I tarry, you are not to waitfor me.
"If I am shot, it will be a consolation to me to know that you willbe away under your brother's protection. If I escape, I shall, if Imake my way to En
gland, have the hope of meeting you there; andshall not be haunted with the fear that you have delayed too long,and have sacrificed your lives uselessly. I want you and him togive me your solemn promise that you will act thus, and will, assoon as he considers that further delay will be dangerous, rideoff. Remember that this is my last wish, this is my last order."
"I will do as you wish, Jean," his wife said firmly. "God haspreserved us three thus far, and I trust that He will continue todo so. I shall have the less hesitation because I think that,alone, you will have perhaps a better chance of escaping than withus. At any rate, we will carry out your instructions. But should wemiss each other, is there no place where we can arrange to meet?"
"I do not see that it is possible to make any arrangements, Patsey.You may be turned out of your course, by circumstances which it isimpossible to foresee; and the same may be the case with myself.Suppose we named a seaport, there would in the first place bedifficulty in finding each other. You might see some opportunity ofgetting across the water and, if you lost that, the chance mightnot occur again; and the delay might cost you your lives. I trustthat we shall not be separated, dear, but I see clearly that ifsuch a misfortune should happen, it were best that we should eachmake our own way, in the hope of meeting at Poole.
"You may be sure that I shall join you, if possible; for I seethat, if separated, your difficulties will be far greater thanmine. You, too, would have the burden of the child. But let ussuppose that I was wounded, but got away and managed to obtainshelter in some Breton cottage. You might be waiting for me, forweeks, at an agreed point. Now, while travelling, you might escapemany questions; but were you to stop even for a few days at anytown or village, you may be sure that you would be questioned soclosely, by the authorities, that there would be little chance ofyour getting on. I should know that, and should be fretting myheart out."
"Yes, I see 'tis best that we should do as you say, Jean. Godforbid that we should be separated, but if you do not come to therendezvous, I promise you that we will, as you wish, go on byourselves."
"And now, dear, we will divide our money. We have still threehundred louis left. I will take one hundred, and you shall take therest. You are much more likely to want money, if we are separated,than I.
"You had best sew the greater part up in your saddle, Leigh."
"I think we had better divide it as much as possible, Jean. We canput seventy-five louis in each of our saddles, and the weight wouldnot be so great that anyone who happens to handle one of them wouldnotice it. I can put another five-and-forty in the belt round mywaist, and keep the odd five in my pocket for expenses. Of course,if we decide to abandon our horses, I will make some otherarrangement."
"The best plan, Leigh, will be for us to change the louis forassignats at the first opportunity. Gold is so scarce that eachtime you offered to pay with it, it would excite suspicion. I haveno doubt that I can buy assignats here. We have taken a quantityfrom the enemy, and la Rochejaquelein will, I am sure, be glad toobtain some gold for them. It will be a double advantage: we shallhave less weight to carry, and shall be able to pay our way withoutthe gold exciting suspicion. The assignats now are only a quarterof their face value, so that for two hundred louis I should geteight hundred louis in assignats, of which I would take twohundred, and you could take the rest."
"That would certainly be an excellent plan, Jean, for two hundredlouis in gold would be a serious weight to carry and, if found onus, would in itself be sufficient to condemn us as intendingemigres."
Jean at once took two hundred louis, which had hitherto beencarried in their wallets, and went out. He returned in an hour.
"That is satisfactorily settled," he said. "Blacquard, who is incharge of the treasury, was delighted to obtain some gold, and hasgiven us five times the amount in assignats. Of this I will taketwo hundred and fifty louis' worth. You will have seven hundred andfifty louis in assignats, and we will divide the hundred louis ingold. Of the latter, you had best sew up twenty in each of yoursaddles, and you can carry ten about you. People are so anxious forgold that, in case of need, you can get services rendered for itthat you would fail to obtain for any amount of paper."
The greater portion of the assignats and the gold, as agreed, wassewn up in the saddles; some provisions packed in the valises; andJean and Leigh went out together, and fixed upon a spot where theywere to wait. The preparations were all finished, when firing brokeout. Jean kissed his wife.
"May God's blessing keep you," he said. "I trust that we shall meetagain, when the fighting is over."
Then he kissed his child, wrung Leigh by the hand, and rode off tojoin the general. The women, children, and the men who had thrownaway their arms, the sick and wounded, were already leaving thetown.
"Marthe, you must go now," Patsey said to the faithful nurse.
They had bought a horse for her from a peasant who had captured it,a riderless animal that belonged to one of Westermann troopers.
"Here are fifty louis in assignats. I wish that you could have gonewith us, but that is not possible. Francois is waiting outside, andwill take care of you, as we have agreed. The best possible planwill be to separate yourselves from the others as soon as possible.The Blues are sure to be keeping close to them. Ride straight forthe river by by-lanes and, if you cannot obtain a boat, swim yourhorse across, and then make for home. If we get safely to England,we will write to you, as soon as these troubles are over, and youcan join us there."
"God bless you, madame. It breaks my heart to part with you and thechild, but I see that it is for the best."
Leigh fetched the horse round, and assisted her to mount behindFrancois. The two women, both weeping, were still exchanging adieuswhen Leigh said to Francois:
"Ride on; the sooner this is over, the better for both."
The man nodded.
"God bless you, young master! I will look after Marthe. As soon aswe get away from the rest, I shall get off and run by her side. Thehorse would never carry two of us far."
So saying, he touched the horse with his heel, and they rode off.