CHAPTER XVII. THE RUE DES CAPUCINES
Before I parted with Bubbleton that evening be promised to breakfastwith me on the following morning; and true to his word, entered myquarters soon after ten o'clock. I longed to have an opportunity oftalking to him alone, and learning some intelligence of that country,which, young as I had left it, was still hallowed in memory as my own.
"Eh, by Jupiter! this is something like a quarter,--gilded mouldings,frescos, silk hangings, and Persian rugs. I say, Tom, are you sure youhaven't made a mistake, my boy, and just imagined that you were somebodyelse,--Murat or Bernadotte, for example? The thing is far easier thanyou may think; it happened to me before now."
"Be tranquil on that score," said I, "we are both at home; thoughthese quarters are, as you remark, far beyond the mark of a captain ofhussars."
"A captain! Why, hang it, you're not captain already?"
"Yes, to be sure. What signifies it? Only think of your own rapid risesince we parted; you were but a captain then, and to be now alieutenant-general!"
"Ah, true, very true," said he, hurriedly, while he bustled about theroom, examining the furniture, and inspecting the decorations mostnarrowly. "Capital service this must be," muttered he, between histeeth; "not much pay, I fancy, but a deal of plunder and privaterobbery."
"I cannot say much on that head," said I, laughing outright at whathe intended for a soliloquy; "but I must confess I have no reason tocomplain of my lot."
"Egad! I should think not," rejoined he; "better than Old George'sStreet. Well, well, I wish I were but back there,--that's all."
"Come, sit down to your breakfast; and perhaps when we talk it over someplan may present itself for your exchange."
How thoroughly had I forgotten my friend when I uttered the sentiment;for scarcely was he seated at table, when he launched out, as of old,into one of his visionary harangues,--throwing forth dark hints of hisown political importance, and the keen watch the Emperor had set uponhis movements.
"No, my friend, the thing is impossible," said he, ominously. "Nap.knows me; he knows my influence with the Tories. To let me escape wouldbe to blow all his schemes to the winds. I am destined for the 'Temple,'if not for the guillotine."
The solemnity of his voice and manner at this moment was too much forme, and I laughed outright.
"Ay, you may laugh; so does Anna Maria."
"And is Miss Bubbleton here, too?"
"Yes; we are both here," ejaculated he, with a deep sigh. "Rue Neuvedes Capucines, No. 46, four flights above the entresol! Ay, and inthat entresol they have two spies of Fouche's police; I know them well,though they pretend to be hairdressers. I'm too much for old Fouche yet;depend upon it, Tom."
It was in vain I endeavored to ascertain what circumstances led himto believe himself suspected by the Government; neither was I morefortunate in discovering how he first became a _detenu_. The mist ofimaginary events, places, and people which he had conjured up aroundhim, prevented his ever being able to see his way, or know clearly anyone fact connected with his present position. Dark hints about spies,suspicious innuendoes of concealed enemies, plotting prefets and openedletters, had actually filled his brain to the exclusion of everythingrational and reasonable, and I began seriously to fear for my poorfriend's intellect.
Hoping by a change of topic to induce a more equable tone of thinking, Iasked about Ireland.
"All right there! they've hanged 'em all," said he. Then, as if suddenlyremembering himself, he added, with a slight confusion, "You were wellout of that scrape, Tom. Your old friend Barton had a warrant for youthe morning you left, and there was a reward of five hundred pounds foryour apprehension; and something, too, for a confounded old piper,--oldBlast-the-Bellows, I think they called him."
"Darby! What of him, Bubbleton? they did not take him, I trust?"
"No, by Jove! They hanged two fellows, each of whom they believed tobe him, and he was in the crowd looking on, they say. But he's at largestill; and the report goes, Barton does not stir out at night for fearof meeting him, as the fellow has an old score to settle with him."
"And so, all hopes of liberty would seem extinguished now," said I,gloomily.
"That is as you may take it, Tom. I'm a bad judge of these things; but Ifancy that a man who can live here might contrive to eke out life undera British Government; though he might yearn now and then for a secretpolice, a cabinet noir, or perhaps a tight cravat in the Temple."
"Hush! my friend."
"Ay, there it is! Now, if we were in Dame Street, we might abuse theministers and the army and the Lord-Lieutenant to our heart's content;and if Jemmy O'Brien was n't one of the company, I 'd not mind a hit atBarton himself."
"But does England still maintain her proud tone of ascendency towardsIreland? Is the Saxon the hereditary lord, and the Celt the slave,still?"
"There again you puzzle me; for I never saw much of this sameascendency, or slavery either. Loyal people, some way or other, wereusually in favor with the Government, and had what many thought a mostunjust proportion of the good things to their share. But even theothers got off in most cases easily too; a devilish deal better than youtreated those luckless Austrians the other day. You killed some thirtythousand, and made bankrupts of the rest of the nation. But then, to besure, it was the cause of liberty you were fighting for. And as for theItalians--"
"Yes! but you forget these were wars not of our seeking; the treacheryof false-hearted allies led to these sad results."
"I suppose so. But certain it is, nations, like individuals, that have ataste for fighting, usually have the good luck to find an adversary; andas your Emperor here seems to have learned the Donnybrook Fair trick oftrailing his coat after him, it would be strange enough if nobody wouldgratify him by standing on it."
Without being able to say why, I felt piqued and annoyed at the tone ofBubbleton's remarks, which, coming from one of his narrow intelligenceon ordinary topics, worried me only the more. I had long since seen thatthe liberty with which in boyhood I was infatuated had no existence savein the dreams of ardent patriotism; that the great and the mighty feltambition a goal, and power a birthright; that the watchwords of freedomwere inscribed on banners when the sentiments had died out of men'shearts, while as a passion the more dazzling one of glory made everyother pale before it; and that the calm head and moderate judgment couldscarce survive contact with the intoxicating triumphs of a nation'ssuccesses.
Such was, indeed, the real change Napoleon had wrought in France. Theirenthusiasm could not rest content with national liberty; glory alonecould satisfy a nation drunk with victory. Against the stern followersof the Republican era--the soldiers of the Sambre and Meuse, the menof Jemmappes--he had arrayed the ardent, high-spirited youth of theConsulate and the Empire, the heroes of Areola, of Rivoli, of Cairo, andAusterlitz. How vain to discuss questions of social order or nationalfreedom with the cordoned and glittering bands who saw monarchy andkingdoms among the prizes of their ambition! And even I, who had fewambitious hopes, how the ardor that once stimulated me and led me to thesoldier's life,--how had it given way to the mere conventional aspiringsof a class! The grade of colonel was far oftener in my thoughts than thecause of freedom; the cross of the Legion would have reconciled me tomuch that in my calmer judgment I might deem harsh and tyrannical.
"Believe me, Tom," said Bubbleton, who saw in my silence that hisobservations had their weight with me, "believe me, my philosophy is thetrue one,--never to meddle where you cannot serve yourself or someof your friends. The world will always consist of two parties,--onegoverning, the other governed. We belong to the latter category, andshall only get into a scrape by poking our heads where they have nobusiness to be."
"Why, a few moments since you were full of state secrets, and plots, andsecret treaties, and Heaven knows what besides!"
"To be sure I was. And for whose interest, man,--for whose sake? GeorgeFrederick Augustus Bubbleton's. Ay, no doubt of it. Here am I, a_detenu_,--and have been these two years and a h
alf--wasting awayexistence at Verdun, while my property is going to the devil from sheerneglect. My West India estates, who can say how I shall find them? myCalcutta property, the same; then there's that fee-simple thing inNorfolk. But I can't even think of it. Well, I verily believe no singlestep has been taken for my release or exchange. The Whigs, you know,will do nothing for me. I may tell you in confidence,"--here he droppedhis voice to a low whisper,--"I may tell you, Charles Fox hates me. Butmore of this another time. What was I to do in all this mess of troubleand misfortune? Stand still and bear it? No, faith; that's not Bubbletonpolicy. You 'd never guess what I did."
"I fear not."
"Well, it chanced that some little literary labors of mine--you know Idally sometimes with the muse--became known to the prefet at Verdun.I saw that they watched me; and consequently I made great efforts atsecrecy, concealing my papers in the chimney, under the floor, sewingthem in the linings of my coat, and so on. The bait took: they madea regular search, seizing my manuscripts, put great seals on allthe packages, and sent them up to Paris. The day after, I madesubmission,--offered to reveal all to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.And accordingly they sent me up here with an escort. What would havecome next I cannot tell you, if Anna Maria had not found out LordLauderdale, and trumped up some story to him, so that he interfered. Andwe are now living at the Rue Neuve des Capucines; but how long we shallbe there, and where they may send us next, I wish I could only guess."
A few minutes' consideration satisfied me that the police were concernedin Bubbleton's movements, and, knowing at once that no danger was tobe apprehended from such a source, were merely holding him up for someoccasion when they could make use of him to found some charge againstthe British Government,--a manoeuvre constantly employed, and alwayssuccessful with the Parisians, wherever an explanation became necessaryin the public papers.
It would have served no purpose to impart these suspicions of mine toBubbleton himself; on the contrary, he would inevitably have destroyedall clew to their confirmation by some false move, had I done so. Withthis impression, then, I resolved to wait patiently, watch events, andwhen the time came, see what best could be done towards effecting hisliberation.
As I was disposed to place more reliance on Miss Bubbleton's statementsthan those of her imaginative brother, I agreed to his proposal to payher a visit; and accordingly we set out together for the Rue Neuve desCapucines.
Lieutenant-General Bubbleton's quarters were by no means of thatimposing character which befitted his rank in the British army.Traversing a dirty courtyard strewed with firewood, we entered a littlegloomy passage, from which a still gloomier stair ascended to thetopmost regions of the house, where, unlocking a door, he pushed mebefore him into a small, meanly-furnished apartment, the centre of whichwas occupied by a little iron stove, whose funnel pierced the ceilingabove, and gave the chamber somewhat the air of a ship's cabin.Bubbleton, however, either did not or would not perceive any want ofcomfort or propriety in the whole; on the contrary, he strode the floorwith the step of an emperor, and placed the chair for me to sit on asthough he were about to seat me on a throne. While exchanging his coatfor a most ragged dressing-gown, he threw himself on an old sofa withsuch energy of ease that the venerable article of furniture creaked andgroaned in every joint.
"She's out," said he, with a toss of his thumb to a half-open door;"gone to take a stroll in the Tuileries for half an hour, so that weshall have a little chat before she comes. And now, what will ye take? Alittle sherry and water? a glass of maraschino, eh? or what say you to anip of real Nantz?"
"Nothing, my dear friend; you forget the hour, not to speak of my Frencheducation."
"Oh, very true," said he. "When I was in the Forty-fifth--" When he haduttered these words, he stopped suddenly, hesitated, and stammered,and at last, fairly overcome with confusion, he unfolded a hugepocket-handkerchief, and blew his nose with the sound of a cavalrytrumpet, while he resumed: "We had a habit in the old Forty-fifth--adeuced bad one, I confess--of a mess breakfast, that began after paradeand always ran into luncheon--But hush! here she comes," cried he,in evident delight at the interruption so opportunely arriving. Then,springing up, he threw open the door, and called out, "I say, AnnaMaria, you 'll not guess who's here?"
Either the ascent of the steep stair called for all the lady's sparelungs, or the question had little interest for her, as she certainlymade no reply whatever, but continued to mount, step by step, withthat plodding, monosyllabic pace one falls into at the highest of sixflights.
"No," cried he aloud, "no, you're wrong; it is not Lauderdale." Then,turning towards me, with a finger to his nose, he added, with pantomimicaction, "She thinks you are Yarmouth. Wrong again, by Jove! What do yousay to Tom Burke,--Burke of 'Ours.' as I used to call him long ago?"
By this time Miss Bubbleton had reached the door, and was holding thehandle to recover her breath after the fatigue of the ascent. Even inthat momentary glance, however, I recognized her. Nothing alteredby time, she was the same crabbed, crossgrained-looking personage Iremembered years before. She carried a little basket on her arm, ofwhich her brother hastened to relieve her, and showed no little concernto remove out of sight. Being divested of this, she held out her hand,and saluted me with more cordiality than I looked for.
Scarcely had our greetings been exchanged, when Bubbleton broke in, "I've told him everything, Anna Maria. He knows the whole affair; no usein boring him with any more. I say, isn't he grown prodigiously? And acaptain already,--just think of that."
"And so, sir, you've heard of the sad predicament his folly has broughtus into?"
"Hush, hush, Anna Maria!" cried Bubbleton; "no nonsense, old girl. Burkewill put all to rights; he's aide-de-camp to Murat, and dines with himevery day,--eh, Tom?"
"What if he be?" interrupted the lady, without permitting me time todisclaim the honor. "How can he ever--"
"I tell you, it's all arranged between us; and don't make a fuss aboutnothing. You 'll only make bad worse, as you always do. Come, Tom; thesecret is, I shall be ruined if I don't get back to England soon. Heavenknows who receives my dividends all this time. Then that confoundedtin mine! they 've mismanaged the thing so much I haven't received fivehundred pounds from Cornwall since this time twelve months."
"That you haven't," said the lady, as with clasped hands and eyes fixedshe sat staring at the little stove with the stern stoicism of a martyr.
"She knows that," said Bubbleton, with a nod, as if grateful for even somuch testimony in his favor. "And as for that scoundrel, Thistlethwait,the West India agent, I've a notion he's broke; not a shilling from himeither."
"Not sixpence," echoed the lady.
"You hear that," cried he, overjoyed at the concurrence. "And the factis,--you will smile when I tell you, but upon my honor it's true,--I amactually hard up for cash."
The idea tickled him so much, and seemed so ludicrous withal, that hefell back on the sofa, and laughed till the tears ran down his face. Notso Miss Bubbleton: her grim face grew more fixed, every feature hardenedas if becoming stone, while gradually a sneer curled her thin lip; butshe never spoke a word.
"I'll not speak of the annoyance of being out of England, nor the lossof influence a man sustains after a long absence," said Bubbleton, as hepaced the room with his hands deep thrust in his dressing-gown pockets."These are things one can feel; and as for me, they weigh more on mymind than mere money considerations."
"But, General," said I--
"General!" echoed the lady with a start round, and holding up both herhands,--"General! You have n't been such a fool,--it's not possible youcould be such a fool--"
"Will you please to be quiet, old damsel?" said Bubbleton, with more ofharshness than he had yet used in his manner. "Can you persuade yourselfto mind your own household concerns, and leave George Frederick AugustusBubbleton to manage his own matters as he deems best?"
Here he turned short round towards me, and throwing up his eyebrows totheir full height, he touched his forehead
knowingly with the tip of hisforefinger, and uttered the words,--
"You understand! Poor thing!" concluding the pantomime with a deep sighfrom the bottom of his chest, while he added something in a low whisperabout "a fall from an elephant when she was a child!"
"Mr. Burke, will you listen to me?" said the lady, with an energyof voice and manner there was no gainsaying--"listen to me for fiveminutes; and probably, short as the time is, I may be able to put you inpossession of a few plain facts concerning our position, and if you havethe inclination and the power to serve us, you may then know how best itcan be done."
Bubbleton made me a sign to gratify her desire of loquaciousness, whilewith a most expressive shrug he intimated that I should probably hear avery incoherent statement. This done, he lighted his meerschaum, wrappedhis ragged _robe de chambre_ around him, and lay down full length onthe sofa, with the air of a man who had fortified himself to undergo anysacrifices that might be demanded at his hands; taking care the while toassume his position in such a manner that he could exchange glances withme without his being observed by his sister.
"We came over, Mr. Burke, only a few months before the war broke out,and like the rest of our countrymen and women were made _detenus_. Thiswas bad enough; but my wise brother made it far worse, for instead ofgiving his name, with his real rank and position, he would call himselfa lieutenant-general, affect to have immense wealth and great politicalinfluence. The consequence was, when others were exchanged and senthome, his name not being discoverable in any English list, was passedover; while his assumed fortune involved us in every expense andextravagance, and his mock importance made us the object of the secretpolice, who never ceased to watch and spy after us."
"Capital! excellent! by Jove!" cried Bubbleton, as he rolled forth along curl of blue smoke from the angle of his mouth; "she 's admirable!"
"I ought to have told you before," said the lady, not paying the leastattention to his interruption, "that he was obliged to sell out ofthe Forty-fifth; a certain Mr. Montague Crofts, whom you may remember,having won every shilling he possessed, even to the sale of hiscommission. This was the cause of our coming abroad; so that at the verymoment that he was giving himself these airs of pretended greatness, wewere ruined."
"Upon my life, she believes all that," whispered Bubbleton, with a winkat me. "Poor old thing! I must get Larrey to look at her."
"Happily, or unhappily--who shall say which?--there was a greater fooleven than himself in the village; and he was the _maire_. Thiswise functionary became alarmed at the piles of papers and rolls ofmanuscripts that were seen about our rooms, and equally suspicious aboutthe dark hints and mysterious innuendoes he threw out from time to time.The prefet was informed of it; and the result was, an order for ourremoval to Paris. Here, then, we are; with what destiny before us whoshall tell? For, as he still persists in his atrocious nonsense, andcalls himself major-general--"
"Lieutenant-general, my dear," said Bubbleton, mildly; "I never wasmajor-general."
"Is it not too bad?" said she. "Could any patience endure this?"
"Don't be violent; take care, Anna Maria," said he, rebukingly. "Pottssaid I should use restraint again, if you showed any return of theparoxysm. That's the way she takes it," said he in a low whisper,"with a blinking about the eyes and a pattering of the feet. Bathe yourtemples, dear, and you'll be better presently."
Anna Maria sat still, not uttering a word, and actually fearing by agesture to encourage a commentary on her manner.
"Sometimes she 'll mope for hours," muttered he in my ear; "at others,she's furious,--there's no saying how it will turn. You wouldn't like apipe? I forgot to ask you."
"And worse than all, sir," said the lady, as if no longer able torestrain her temper, "he is supposed to be a spy of the police. I heardit myself this morning."
"Eh, what!" exclaimed Bubbleton, jumping up in an ecstasy of delight. "Aspy! By Jove! I knew it. Lord! what fellows they are, these French! nottwo days here yet, and they discovered I was no common man,--eh,Burke? Maybe I haven't frightened them, my boy. It's not every one wouldcreate such a sensation, let me tell you; I knew I'd do it."
Miss Bubbleton looked at him for an instant with a sneer of the mostwithering contempt, and then rising abruptly, left the room. But thegeneral little cared for such evidences of her censure; he danced aboutthe room, snapping his fingers, and chuckling with self-satisfaction,the thought of being believed to be a police spy giving him the mostintense and heartfelt pleasure.
"She has moments, Tom, when she's downright clear; you 'd not think it,but sometimes she's actually shrewd. You saw how she hit upon that."
"Would that her brother was favored with some of these lucid intervals!"was the thought that ran through my head at the moment; for I knewbetter than he did how needful a clearer brain and sharper facultiesthan his would be to escape the snares his folly and vanity werespreading around him.
"Shall we make a morning call at our friend the countess's,Tom?" said Bubbleton. "She told me she received every day about thishour."
I felt nowise disposed for the visit; and so, having engaged my friendto dine with me at the Luxembourg the next day, we parted.
As I sauntered homewards, I was surprised how difficult I found it todisabuse my mind of the absurd insinuations Bubbleton had thrown outagainst his sister's sanity; for, though well knowing his fondness forromance, and his taste for embellishment on every occasion, I. yet couldnot get rid of the impression that her oddity of manner might only beanother feature of eccentricity, just as extravagant, but differing inits tendencies, as his own.
To assist him whose kindness to myself of old I never ceased to rememberwith gratitude, was my firm resolve; but to ascertain his exact positionwas all-essential for this purpose, and I could not help saying, halfaloud, "If I had but Duchesne here now!"
"Speak of the devil, _mon ami!_" said he, drawing his arm within mine,while I was scarcely able to avoid a cry of astonishment. "Where do youdine to-day, Burke?" said he, in his quiet, easy tone.
"But where did you come from, Duchesne? Are you long here?"
"Answer my question first. Can you dine with me?"
"To be sure; with pleasure."
"Then meet me at the corner of the Rue des Trois Tetes, at six o'clock,and I 'll be your guide afterwards. This is _my_ way now. _Au revoir_."