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diff --git a/old/17620-h.htm.2021-01-25 b/old/17620-h.htm.2021-01-25 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d572c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/17620-h.htm.2021-01-25 @@ -0,0 +1,4454 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Point of Honor, by Joseph Conrad + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Point Of Honor, by Joseph Conrad + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Point Of Honor + A Military Tale + +Author: Joseph Conrad + +Illustrator: Dan Sayre Groesbeck + +Release Date: January 29, 2006 [EBook #17620] +Last Updated: March 2, 2018 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE POINT OF HONOR *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover.jpg " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/frontispiece166.jpg" alt="Frontispiece166.jpg " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="titlepage (93K)" src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE POINT OF HONOR + </h2> + <h3> + A MILITARY TALE + </h3> + <h4> + BY + </h4> + <h2> + JOSEPH CONRAD + </h2> + <h3> + ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAN SAYRE GROESBECK + </h3> + <h4> + <br />NEW YORK <br /> <br />THE MCCLURE COMPANY <br /> <br />MCMVIII <br /> + <br />Copyright, 1908, by The McClure Company <br /> <br />Copyright, 1907, + 1908, by Joseph Conrad + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + List of Illustrations + </h2> + <table summary=""> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0001"> Cover.jpg </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0002"> Frontispiece </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkbowing"> 014.jpg “bowing low before a sylph-like form” + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0003"> 028.jpg “the Angry Clash of Arms Filled + That Prim Garden” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0004"> 088.jpg “you Take the Nearest Brute, + Colonel D'hubert” </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0005"> 166.jpg “you Will Fight No More Duels + Now.” </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + I + </h2> + <p> + Napoleon the First, whose career had the quality of a duel against the + whole of Europe, disliked duelling between the officers of his army. The + great military emperor was not a swashbuckler, and had little respect for + tradition. + </p> + <p> + Nevertheless, a story of duelling which became a legend in the army runs + through the epic of imperial wars. To the surprise and admiration of their + fellows, two officers, like insane artists trying to gild refined gold or + paint the lily, pursued their private contest through the years of + universal carnage. They were officers of cavalry, and their connection + with the high-spirited but fanciful animal which carries men into battle + seems particularly appropriate. It would be difficult to imagine for + heroes of this legend two officers of infantry of the line, for example, + whose fantasy is tamed by much walking exercise and whose valour + necessarily must be of a more plodding kind. As to artillery, or engineers + whose heads are kept cool on a diet of mathematics, it is simply + unthinkable. + </p> + <p> + The names of the two officers were Feraud and D'Hubert, and they were both + lieutenants in a regiment of hussars, but not in the same regiment. + </p> + <p> + Feraud was doing regimental work, but Lieutenant D'Hubert had the good + fortune to be attached to the person of the general commanding the + division, as <i>officier d'ordonnance</i>. It was in Strasbourg, and in + this agreeable and important garrison, they were enjoying greatly a short + interval of peace. They were enjoying it, though both intensely warlike, + because it was a sword-sharpening, firelock-cleaning peace dear to a + military heart and undamaging to military prestige inasmuch that no one + believed in its sincerity or duration. + </p> + <p> + Under those historical circumstances so favourable to the proper + appreciation of military leisure Lieutenant D'Hubert could have been seen + one fine afternoon making his way along the street of a cheerful suburb + towards Lieutenant Feraud's quarters, which were in a private house with a + garden at the back, belonging to an old maiden lady. + </p> + <p> + His knock at the door was answered instantly by a young maid in Alsatian + costume. Her fresh complexion and her long eyelashes, which she lowered + modestly at the sight of the tall officer, caused Lieutenant D'Hubert, who + was accessible to esthetic impressions, to relax the cold, on-duty + expression of his face. At the same time he observed that the girl had + over her arm a pair of hussar's breeches, red with a blue stripe. + </p> + <p> + “Lieutenant Feraud at home?” he inquired benevolently. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no, sir. He went out at six this morning.” + </p> + <p> + And the little maid tried to close the door, but Lieutenant D'Hubert, + opposing this move with gentle firmness, stepped into the anteroom + jingling his spurs. + </p> + <p> + “Come, my dear. You don't mean to say he has not been home since six + o'clock this morning?” + </p> + <p> + Saying these words, Lieutenant D'Hubert opened without ceremony the door + of a room so comfortable and neatly ordered that only from internal + evidence in the shape of boots, uniforms and military accoutrements, did + he acquire the conviction that it was Lieutenant Feraud's room. And he saw + also that Lieutenant Feraud was not at home. The truthful maid had + followed him and looked up inquisitively. + </p> + <p> + “H'm,” said Lieutenant D'Hubert, greatly disappointed, for he had already + visited all the haunts where a lieutenant of hussars could be found of a + fine afternoon. “And do you happen to know, my dear, why he went out at + six this morning?” + </p> + <p> + “No,” she answered readily. “He came home late at night and snored. I + heard him when I got up at five. Then he dressed himself in his oldest + uniform and went out. Service, I suppose.” + </p> + <p> + “Service? Not a bit of it!” cried Lieutenant D'Hubert. “Learn, my child, + that he went out so early to fight a duel with a civilian.” + </p> + <p> + She heard the news without a quiver of her dark eyelashes. It was very + obvious that the actions of Lieutenant Feraud were generally above + criticism. She only looked up for a moment in mute surprise, and + Lieutenant D'Hubert concluded from this absence of emotion that she must + have seen Lieutenant Feraud since the morning. He looked around the room. + </p> + <p> + “Come,” he insisted, with confidential familiarity. “He's perhaps + somewhere in the house now?” + </p> + <p> + She shook her head. + </p> + <p> + “So much the worse for him,” continued Lieutenant D'Hubert, in a tone of + anxious conviction. “But he has been home this morning?” + </p> + <p> + This time the pretty maid nodded slightly. + </p> + <p> + “He has!” cried Lieutenant D'Hubert. “And went out again? What for? + Couldn't he keep quietly indoors? What a lunatic! My dear child....” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert's natural kindness of disposition and strong sense of + comradeship helped his powers of observation, which generally were not + remarkable. He changed his tone to a most insinuating softness; and gazing + at the hussar's breeches hanging over the arm of the girl, he appealed to + the interest she took in Lieutenant Feraud's comfort and happiness. He was + pressing and persuasive. He used his eyes, which were large and fine, with + excellent effect. His anxiety to get hold at once of Lieutenant Feraud, + for Lieutenant Feraud's own good, seemed so genuine that at last it + overcame the girl's discretion. Unluckily she had not much to tell. + Lieutenant Feraud had returned home shortly before ten; had walked + straight into his room and had thrown himself on his bed to resume his + slumbers. She had heard him snore rather louder than before far into the + afternoon. Then he got up, put on his best uniform and went out. That was + all she knew. + </p> + <p> + She raised her candid eyes up to Lieutenant D'Hubert, who stared at her + incredulously. + </p> + <p> + “It's incredible. Gone parading the town in his best uniform! My dear + child, don't you know that he ran that civilian through this morning? + Clean through as you spit a hare.” + </p> + <p> + She accepted this gruesome intelligence without any signs of distress. But + she pressed her lips together thoughtfully. + </p> + <p> + “He isn't parading the town,” she remarked, in a low tone. “Far from it.” + </p> + <p> + “The civilian's family is making an awful row,” continued Lieutenant + D'Hubert, pursuing his train of thought. “And the general is very angry. + It's one of the best families in the town. Feraud ought to have kept close + at least....” + </p> + <p> + “What will the general do to him?” inquired the girl anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “He won't have his head cut off, to be sure,” answered Lieutenant + D'Hubert. “But his conduct is positively indecent. He's making no end of + trouble for himself by this sort of bravado.” + </p> + <p> + “But he isn't parading the town,” the maid murmured again. + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes! Now I think of it. I haven't seen him anywhere. What on earth + has he done with himself?” + </p> + <p> + “He's gone to pay a call,” suggested the maid, after a moment of silence. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert was surprised. “A call! Do you mean a call on a lady? + The cheek of the man. But how do you know this?” + </p> + <p> + Without concealing her woman's scorn for the denseness of the masculine + mind, the pretty maid reminded him that Lieutenant Feraud had arrayed + himself in his best uniform before going out. He had also put on his + newest dolman, she added in a tone as if this conversation were getting on + her nerves and turned away brusquely. Lieutenant D'Hubert, without + questioning the accuracy of the implied deduction, did not see that it + advanced him much on his official quest. For his quest after Lieutenant + Feraud had an official character. He did not know any of the women this + fellow who had run a man through in the morning was likely to call on in + the afternoon. The two officers knew each other but slightly. He bit his + gloved finger in perplexity. + </p> + <p> + “Call!” he exclaimed. “Call on the devil.” The girl, with her back to him + and folding the hussar's breeches on a chair, said with a vexed little + laugh: + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no! On Madame de Lionne.” Lieutenant D'Hubert whistled softly. Madame + de Lionne, the wife of a high official, had a well-known salon and some + pretensions to sensibility and elegance. The husband was a civilian and + old, but the society of the salon was young and military for the greater + part. Lieutenant D'Hubert had whistled, not because the idea of pursuing + Lieutenant Feraud into that very salon was in the least distasteful to + him, but because having but lately arrived in Strasbourg he had not the + time as yet to get an introduction to Madame de Lionne. And what was that + swashbuckler Feraud doing there? He did not seem the sort of man who... + </p> + <p> + “Are you certain of what you say?” asked Lieutenant D'Hubert. + </p> + <p> + The girl was perfectly certain. Without turning round to look at him she + explained that the coachman of their next-door neighbours knew the <i>maitre-d'hôtel</i> + of Madame de Lionne. In this way she got her information. And she was + perfectly certain. In giving this assurance she sighed. Lieutenant Feraud + called there nearly every afternoon. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, bah!” exclaimed D'Hubert ironically. His opinion of Madame de Lionne + went down several degrees. Lieutenant Feraud did not seem to him specially + worthy of attention on the part of a woman with a reputation for + sensibility and elegance. But there was no saying. At bottom they were all + alike—very practical rather than idealistic. Lieutenant D'Hubert, + however, did not allow his mind to dwell on these considerations. “By + thunder!” he reflected aloud. “The general goes there sometimes. If he + happens to find the fellow making eyes at the lady there will be the devil + to pay. Our general is not a very accommodating person, I can tell you.” + </p> + <p> + “Go quickly then. Don't stand here now I've told you where he is,” cried + the girl, colouring to the eyes. + </p> + <p> + “Thanks, my dear. I don't know what I would have done without you.” + </p> + <p> + After manifesting his gratitude in an aggressive way which at first was + repulsed violently and then submitted to with a sudden and still more + repellent indifference, Lieutenant D'Hubert took his departure. + </p> + <p> + He clanked and jingled along the streets with a martial swagger. To run a + comrade to earth in a drawing-room where he was not known did not trouble + him in the least. A uniform is a social passport. His position as <i>officier + d'ordonnance</i> of the general added to his assurance. Moreover, now he + knew where to find Lieutenant Feraud, he had no option. It was a service + matter. + </p> + <p> + Madame de Lionne's house had an excellent appearance. A man in livery + opening the door of a large drawing-room with a waxed floor, shouted his + name and stood aside to let him pass. It was a reception day. The ladies + wearing hats surcharged with a profusion of feathers, sheathed in clinging + white gowns from their armpits to the tips of their low satin shoes, + looked sylphlike and cool in a great display of bare necks and arms. The + men who talked with them, on the contrary, were arrayed heavily in ample, + coloured garments with stiff collars up to their ears and thick sashes + round their waists. Lieutenant D'Hubert made his unabashed way across the + room, and bowing low before a sylphlike form reclining on a couch, offered + his apologies for this intrusion, which nothing could excuse but the + extreme urgency of the service order he had to communicate to his comrade + Feraud. He proposed to himself to come presently in a more regular manner + and beg forgiveness for interrupting this interesting conversation.... + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkbowing" id="linkbowing"></a><br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="014 (89K)" src="images/014.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + A bare arm was extended to him with gracious condescension even before he + had finished speaking. He pressed the hand respectfully to his lips and + made the mental remark that it was bony. Madame de Lionne was a blonde + with too fine a skin and a long face. + </p> + <p> + “<i>C'est ça!</i>” she said, with an ethereal smile, disclosing a set of + large teeth. “Come this evening to plead for your forgiveness.” + </p> + <p> + “I will not fail, madame.” + </p> + <p> + Meantime Lieutenant Feraud, splendid in his new dolman and the extremely + polished boots of his calling, sat on a chair within a foot of the couch + and, one hand propped on his thigh, with the other twirled his moustache + to a point without uttering a sound. At a significant glance from D'Hubert + he rose without alacrity and followed him into the recess of a window. + </p> + <p> + “What is it you want with me?” he asked in a tone of annoyance, which + astonished not a little the other. Lieutenant D'Hubert could not imagine + that in the innocence of his heart and simplicity of his conscience + Lieutenant Feraud took a view of his duel in which neither remorse nor yet + a rational apprehension of consequences had any place. Though Lieutenant + Feraud had no clear recollection how the quarrel had originated (it was + begun in an establishment where beer and wine are drunk late at night), he + had not the slightest doubt of being himself the outraged party. He had + secured two experienced friends or his seconds. Everything had been done + according to the rules governing that sort of adventure. And a duel is + obviously fought for the purpose of someone being at least hurt if not + killed outright. The civilian got hurt. That also was in order. Lieutenant + Feraud was perfectly tranquil. But Lieutenant D'Hubert mistook this simple + attitude for affectation and spoke with some heat. + </p> + <p> + “I am directed by the general to give you the order to go at once to your + quarters and remain there under close arrest.” + </p> + <p> + It was now the turn of Lieutenant Feraud to be astonished. + </p> + <p> + “What the devil are you telling me there?” he murmured faintly, and fell + into such profound wonder that he could only follow mechanically the + motions of Lieutenant D'Hubert. The two officers—one tall, with an + interesting face and a moustache the colour of ripe corn, the other short + and sturdy, with a hooked nose and a thick crop of black, curly hair—approached + the mistress of the house to take their leave. Madame de Lionne, a woman + of eclectic taste, smiled upon these armed young men with impartial + sensibility and an equal share of interest. Madame de Lionne took her + delight in the infinite variety of the human species. All the eyes in the + drawing-room followed the departing officers, one strutting, the other + striding, with curiosity. When the door had closed after them one or two + men who had already heard of the duel imparted the information to the + sylphlike ladies, who received it with little shrieks of humane concern. + </p> + <p> + Meantime the two hussars walked side by side, Lieutenant Feraud trying to + fathom the hidden reason of things which in this instance eluded the grasp + of his intellect; Lieutenant D'Hubert feeling bored by the part he had to + play; because the general's instructions were that he should see + personally that Lieutenant Feraud carried out his orders to the letter and + at once. + </p> + <p> + “The chief seems to know this animal,” he thought, eyeing his companion, + whose round face, the round eyes and even the twisted-up jet black little + moustache seemed animated by his mental exasperation before the + incomprehensible. And aloud he observed rather reproachfully, “The general + is in a devilish fury with you.” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Feraud stopped short on the edge of the pavement and cried in + the accents of unmistakable sincerity: “What on earth for?” The innocence + of the fiery Gascon soul was depicted in the manner in which he seized his + head in both his hands as if to prevent it bursting with perplexity. + </p> + <p> + “For the duel,” said Lieutenant D'Hubert curtly. He was annoyed greatly by + this sort of perverse fooling. + </p> + <p> + “The duel! The...” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Feraud passed from one paroxysm of astonishment into another. + He dropped his hands and walked on slowly trying to reconcile this + information with the state of his own feelings. It was impossible. He + burst out indignantly: + </p> + <p> + “Was I to let that sauerkraut-eating civilian wipe his boots on the + uniform of the Seventh Hussars?” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert could not be altogether unsympathetic toward that + sentiment. This little fellow is a lunatic, he thought to himself, but + there is something in what he says. + </p> + <p> + “Of course, I don't know how far you were justified,” he said soothingly. + “And the general himself may not be exactly informed. A lot of people have + been deafening him with their lamentations.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, he is not exactly informed,” mumbled Lieutenant Feraud, walking + faster and faster as his choler at the injustice of his fate began to + rise. “He is not exactly.... And he orders me under close arrest with God + knows what afterward.” + </p> + <p> + “Don't excite yourself like this,” remonstrated the other. “That young + man's people are very influential, you know, and it looks bad enough on + the face of it. The general had to take notice of their complaint at once. + I don't think he means to be over-severe with you. It is best for you to + be kept out of sight for a while.” + </p> + <p> + “I am very much obliged to the general,” muttered Lieutenant Feraud + through his teeth. + </p> + <p> + “And perhaps you would say I ought to be grateful to you too for the + trouble you have taken to hunt me up in the drawing-room of a lady who...” + </p> + <p> + “Frankly,” interrupted Lieutenant D'Hubert, with an innocent laugh, “I + think you ought to be. I had no end of trouble to find out where you were. + It wasn't exactly the place for you to disport yourself in under the + circumstances. If the general had caught you there making eyes at the + goddess of the temple.... Oh, my word!... He hates to be bothered with + complaints against his officers, you know. And it looked uncommonly like + sheer bravado.” + </p> + <p> + The two officers had arrived now at the street door of Lieutenant Feraud's + lodgings. The latter turned toward his companion. “Lieutenant D'Hubert,” + he said, “I have something to say to you which can't be said very well in + the street. You can't refuse to come in.” + </p> + <p> + The pretty maid had opened the door. Lieutenant Feraud brushed past her + brusquely and she raised her scared, questioning eyes to Lieutenant + D'Hubert, who could do nothing but shrug his shoulders slightly as he + followed with marked reluctance. + </p> + <p> + In his room Lieutenant Feraud unhooked the clasp, flung his new dolman on + the bed, and folding his arms across his chest, turned to the other + hussar. + </p> + <p> + “Do you imagine I am a man to submit tamely to injustice?” he inquired in + a boisterous voice. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, do be reasonable,” remonstrated Lieutenant D'Hubert. + </p> + <p> + “I am reasonable. I am perfectly reasonable,” retorted the other, + ominously lowering his voice. “I can't call the general to account for his + behaviour, but you are going to answer to me for yours.” + </p> + <p> + “I can't listen to this nonsense,” murmured Lieutenant D'Hubert, making a + slightly contemptuous grimace. + </p> + <p> + “You call that nonsense. It seems to me perfectly clear. Unless you don't + understand French.” + </p> + <p> + “What on earth do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “I mean,” screamed suddenly Lieutenant Feraud, “to cut off your ears to + teach you not to disturb me, orders or no orders, when I am talking to a + lady.” + </p> + <p> + A profound silence followed this mad declaration—and through the + open window Lieutenant D'Hubert heard the little birds singing sanely in + the garden. He said coldly: + </p> + <p> + “Why! If you take that tone, of course I will hold myself at your disposal + whenever you are at liberty to attend to this affair. But I don't think + you will cut off my ears.” + </p> + <p> + “I am going to attend to it at once,” declared Lieutenant Feraud, with + extreme truculence. “If you are thinking of displaying your airs and + graces to-night in Madame de Lionne's salon you are very much mistaken.” + </p> + <p> + “Really,” said Lieutenant D'Hubert, who was beginning to feel irritated, + “you are an impracticable sort of fellow. The general's orders to me were + to put you under arrest, not to carve you into small pieces. + Good-morning.” Turning his back on the little Gascon who, always sober in + his potations, was as though born intoxicated, with the sunshine of his + wine-ripening country, the northman, who could drink hard on occasion, but + was born sober under the watery skies of Picardy, made calmly for the + door. Hearing, however, the unmistakable sound, behind his back, of a + sword drawn from the scabbard, he had no option but to stop. + </p> + <p> + “Devil take this mad Southerner,” he thought, spinning round and surveying + with composure the warlike posture of Lieutenant Feraud with the + unsheathed sword in his hand. + </p> + <p> + “At once. At once,” stuttered Feraud, beside himself. + </p> + <p> + “You had my answer,” said the other, keeping his temper very well. + </p> + <p> + At first he had been only vexed and somewhat amused. But now his face got + clouded. He was asking himself seriously how he could manage to get away. + Obviously it was impossible to run from a man with a sword, and as to + fighting him, it seemed completely out of the question. + </p> + <p> + He waited awhile, then said exactly what was in his heart: + </p> + <p> + “Drop this; I won't fight you now. I won't be made ridiculous.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah, you won't!” hissed the Gascon. “I suppose you prefer to be made + infamous. Do you hear what I say?... Infamous! Infamous! Infamous!” he + shrieked, raising and falling on his toes and getting very red in the + face. Lieutenant D'Hubert, on the contrary, became very pale at the sound + of the unsavoury word, then flushed pink to the roots of his fair hair. + </p> + <p> + “But you can't go out to fight; you are under arrest, you lunatic,” he + objected, with angry scorn. + </p> + <p> + “There's the garden. It's big enough to lay out your long carcass in,” + spluttered out Lieutenant Feraud with such ardour that somehow the anger + of the cooler man subsided. + </p> + <p> + “This is perfectly absurd,” he said, glad enough to think he had found a + way out of it for the moment. “We will never get any of our comrades to + serve as seconds. It's preposterous.” + </p> + <p> + “Seconds! Damn the seconds! We don't want any seconds. Don't you worry + about any seconds. I will send word to your friends to come and bury you + when I am done. This is no time for ceremonies. And if you want any + witnesses, I'll send word to the old girl to put her head out of a window + at the back. Stay! There's the gardener. He'll do. He's as deaf as a post, + but he has two eyes in his head. Come along. I will teach you, my staff + officer, that the carrying about of a general's orders is not always + child's play.” + </p> + <p> + While thus discoursing he had unbuckled his empty scabbard. He sent it + flying under the bed, and, lowering the point of the sword, brushed past + the perplexed Lieutenant D'Hubert, crying: “Follow me.” Directly he had + flung open the door a faint shriek was heard, and the pretty maid, who had + been listening at the keyhole, staggered backward, putting the backs of + her hands over her eyes. He didn't seem to see her, but as he was crossing + the anteroom she ran after him and seized his left arm. He shook her off + and then she rushed upon Lieutenant D'Hubert and clawed at the sleeve of + his uniform. + </p> + <p> + “Wretched man,” she sobbed despairingly. “Is this what you wanted to find + him for?” + </p> + <p> + “Let me go,” entreated Lieutenant D'Hubert, trying to disengage himself + gently. “It's like being in a madhouse,” he protested with exasperation. + “Do let me go, I won't do him any harm.” + </p> + <p> + A fiendish laugh from Lieutenant Feraud commented that assurance. “Come + along,” he cried impatiently, with a stamp of his foot. + </p> + <p> + And Lieutenant D'Hubert did follow. He could do nothing else. But in + vindication of his sanity it must be recorded that as he passed out of the + anteroom the notion of opening the street door and bolting out presented + itself to this brave youth, only, of course, to be instantly dismissed: + for he felt sure that the other would pursue him without shame or + compunction. And the prospect of an officer of hussars being chased along + the street by another officer of hussars with a naked sword could not be + for a moment entertained. Therefore he followed into the garden. Behind + them the girl tottered out too. With ashy lips and wild, scared eyes, she + surrendered to a dreadful curiosity. She had also a vague notion of + rushing, if need be, between Lieutenant Feraud and death. + </p> + <p> + The deaf gardener, utterly unconscious of approaching footsteps, went on + watering his flowers till Lieutenant Feraud thumped him on the back. + Beholding suddenly an infuriated man, flourishing a big sabre, the old + chap, trembling in all his limbs, dropped the watering pot. At once + Lieutenant Feraud kicked it away with great animosity; then seizing the + gardener by the throat, backed him against a tree and held him there + shouting in his ear: + </p> + <p> + “Stay here and look on. You understand you've got to look on. Don't dare + budge from the spot.” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert, coming slowly down the walk, unclasped his dolman + with undisguised reluctance. Even then, with his hand already on his + sword, he hesitated to draw, till a roar “<i>En garde, fichtre!</i> What + do you think you came here for?” and the rush of his adversary forced him + to put himself as quickly as possible in a posture of defence. + </p> + <p> + The angry clash of arms filled that prim garden, which hitherto had known + no more warlike sound than the click of clipping shears; and presently the + upper part of an old lady's body was projected out of a window upstairs. + She flung her arms above her white cap, and began scolding in a thin, + cracked voice. The gardener remained glued to the tree looking on, his + toothless mouth open in idiotic astonishment, and a little farther up the + walk the pretty girl, as if held by a spell, ran to and fro on a small + grass plot, wringing her hands and muttering crazily. She did not rush + between the combatants. The onslaughts of Lieutenant Feraud were so fierce + that her heart failed her. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert, his faculties concentrated upon defence, needed all + his skill and science of the sword to stop the rushes of his adversary. + Twice already he had had to break ground. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/028.jpg" + alt="028.jpg 'the Angry Clash of Arms Filled That Prim Garden' " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + It bothered him to feel his foothold made insecure by the round dry gravel + of the path rolling under the hard soles of his boots. This was most + unsuitable ground, he thought, keeping a watchful, narrowed gaze shaded by + long eyelashes upon the fiery staring eyeballs of his thick-set adversary. + This absurd affair would ruin his reputation of a sensible, steady, + promising young officer. It would damage, at any rate, his immediate + prospects and lose him the good will of his general. These worldly + preoccupations were no doubt misplaced in view of the solemnity of the + moment. For a duel whether regarded as a ceremony in the cult of honour or + even when regrettably casual and reduced in its moral essence to a + distinguished form of manly sport, demands perfect singleness of + intention, a homicidal austerity of mood. On the other hand, this vivid + concern for the future in a man occupied in keeping sudden death at + sword's length from his breast, had not a bad effect, inasmuch as it began + to rouse the slow anger of Lieutenant D'Hubert. Some seventy seconds had + elapsed since they had crossed steel and Lieutenant D'Hubert had to break + ground again in order to avoid impaling his reckless adversary like a + beetle for a cabinet of specimens. The result was that, misapprehending + the motive, Lieutenant Feraud, giving vent to triumphant snarls, pressed + his attack with renewed vigour. + </p> + <p> + This enraged animal, thought D'Hubert, will have me against the wall + directly. He imagined himself much closer to the house than he was; and he + dared not turn his head, such an act under the circumstances being + equivalent to deliberate suicide. It seemed to him that he was keeping his + adversary off with his eyes much more than with his point. Lieutenant + Feraud crouched and bounded with a tigerish, ferocious agility—enough + to trouble the stoutest heart. But what was more appalling than the fury + of a wild beast accomplishing in all innocence of heart a natural + function, was the fixity of savage purpose man alone is capable of + displaying. Lieutenant D'Hubert in the midst of his worldly preoccupations + perceived it at last. It was an absurd and damaging affair to be drawn + into. But whatever silly intention the fellow had started with, it was + clear that by this time he meant to kill—nothing else. He meant it + with an intensity of will utterly beyond the inferior faculties of a + tiger. + </p> + <p> + As is the case with constitutionally brave men, the full view of the + danger interested Lieutenant D'Hubert. And directly he got properly + interested, the length of his arm and the coolness of his head told in his + favour. It was the turn of Lieutenant Feraud to recoil. He did this with a + blood-curdling grunt of baffled rage. He made a swift feint and then + rushed straight forward. + </p> + <p> + “Ah! you would, would you?” Lieutenant D'Hubert exclaimed mentally to + himself. The combat had lasted nearly two minutes, time enough for any man + to get embittered, apart from the merits of the quarrel. And all at once + it was over. Trying to close breast to breast under his adversary's guard, + Lieutenant Feraud received a slash on his shortened arm. He did not feel + it in the least, but it checked his rush, and his feet slipping on the + gravel, he fell backward with great violence. The shock jarred his boiling + brain into the perfect quietude of insensibility. Simultaneously with his + fall the pretty servant girl shrieked piercingly; but the old maiden lady + at the window ceased her scolding and with great presence of mind began to + cross herself. + </p> + <p> + In the first moment, seeing his adversary lying perfectly still, his face + to the sky and his toes turned up, Lieutenant D'Hubert thought he had + killed him outright. The impression of having slashed hard enough to cut + his man clean in two abode with him for awhile in an exaggerated + impression of the right good will he had put into the blow. He went down + on his knees by the side of the prostrate body. Discovering that not even + the arm was severed, a slight sense of disappointment mingled with the + feeling of relief. But, indeed, he did not want the death of that sinner. + The affair was ugly enough as it stood. Lieutenant D'Hubert addressed + himself at once to the task of stopping the bleeding. In this task it was + his fate to be ridiculously impeded by the pretty maid. The girl, filling + the garden with cries for help, flung herself upon his defenceless back + and, twining her fingers in his hair, tugged at his head. Why she should + choose to hinder him at this precise moment he could not in the least + understand. He did not try. It was all like a very wicked and harassing + dream. Twice, to save himself from being pulled over, he had to rise and + throw her off. He did this stoically, without a word, kneeling down again + at once to go on with his work. But when the work was done he seized both + her arms and held them down. Her cap was half off, her face was red, her + eyes glared with crazy boldness. He looked mildly into them while she + called him a wretch, a traitor and a murderer many times in succession. + This did not annoy him so much as the conviction that in her scurries she + had managed to scratch his face abundantly. Ridicule would be added to the + scandal of the story. He imagined it making its way through the garrison, + through the whole army, with every possible distortion of motive and + sentiment and circumstance, spreading a doubt upon the sanity of his + conduct and the distinction of his taste even into the very bosom of his + honourable family. It was all very well for that fellow Feraud, who had no + connections, no family to speak of, and no quality but courage which, + anyhow, was a matter of course, and possessed by every single trooper in + the whole mass of French cavalry. Still holding the wrists of the girl in + a strong grip, Lieutenant D'Hubert looked over his shoulder. Lieutenant + Feraud had opened his eyes. He did not move. Like a man just waking from a + deep sleep he stared with a drowsy expression at the evening sky. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert's urgent shouts to the old gardener produced no effect—not + so much as to make him shut his toothless mouth. Then he remembered that + the man was stone deaf. All that time the girl, attempting to free her + wrists, struggled, not with maidenly coyness but like a sort of pretty + dumb fury, not even refraining from kicking his shins now and then. He + continued to hold her as if in a vice, his instinct telling him that were + he to let her go she would fly at his eyes. But he was greatly humiliated + by his position. At last she gave up, more exhausted than appeased, he + feared. Nevertheless he attempted to get out of this wicked dream by way + of negotiation. + </p> + <p> + “Listen to me,” he said as calmly as he could. “Will you promise to run + for a surgeon if I let you go?” + </p> + <p> + He was profoundly afflicted when, panting, sobbing, and choking, she made + it clear that she would do nothing of the kind. On the contrary, her + incoherent intentions were to remain in the garden and fight with her + nails and her teeth for the protection of the prostrate man. This was + horrible. + </p> + <p> + “My dear child,” he cried in despair, “is it possible that you think me + capable of murdering a wounded adversary? Is it.... Be quiet, you little + wildcat, you,” he added. + </p> + <p> + She struggled. A thick sleepy voice said behind him: + </p> + <p> + “What are you up to with that girl?” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Feraud had raised himself on his good arm. He was looking + sleepily at his other arm, at the mess of blood on his uniform, at a small + red pool on the ground, at his sabre lying a foot away on the path. Then + he laid himself down gently again to think it all out as far as a + thundering headache would permit of mental operations. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert released the girl's wrists. She flew away down the + path and crouched wildly by the side of the vanquished warrior. The shades + of night were falling on the little trim garden with this touching group + whence proceeded low murmurs of sorrow and compassion with other feeble + sounds of a different character as if an imperfectly awake invalid were + trying to swear. Lieutenant D'Hubert went away, too exasperated to care + what would happen. + </p> + <p> + He passed through the silent house and congratulated himself upon the dusk + concealing his gory hands and scratched face from the passers-by. But this + story could by no means be concealed. He dreaded the discredit and + ridicule above everything, and was painfully aware of sneaking through the + back streets to his quarters. In one of these quiet side streets the + sounds of a flute coming out of the open window of a lighted upstairs room + in a modest house interrupted his dismal reflections. It was being played + with a deliberate, persevering virtuosity, and through the <i>fioritures</i> + of the tune one could even hear the thump of the foot beating time on the + floor. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert shouted a name which was that of an army surgeon whom + he knew fairly well. The sounds of the flute ceased and the musician + appeared at the window, his instrument still in his hand, peering into the + street. + </p> + <p> + “Who calls? You, D'Hubert! What brings you this way?” + </p> + <p> + He did not like to be disturbed when he was playing the flute. He was a + man whose hair had turned gray already in the thankless task of tying up + wounds on battlefields where others reaped advancement and glory. + </p> + <p> + “I want you to go at once and see Feraud. You know Lieutenant Feraud? He + lives down the second street. It's but a step from here.” + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter with him?” + </p> + <p> + “Wounded.” + </p> + <p> + “Are you sure?” + </p> + <p> + “Sure!” cried D'Hubert. “I come from there.” + </p> + <p> + “That's amusing,” said the elderly surgeon. Amusing was his favourite + word; but the expression of his face when he pronounced it never + corresponded. He was a stolid man. “Come in,” he added. “I'll get ready in + a moment.” + </p> + <p> + “Thanks. I will. I want to wash my hands in your room.” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert found the surgeon occupied in unscrewing his flute and + packing the pieces methodically in a velvet-lined case. He turned his + head. + </p> + <p> + “Water there—in the corner. Your hands do want washing.” + </p> + <p> + “I've stopped the bleeding,” said Lieutenant D'Hubert. “But you had better + make haste. It's rather more than ten minutes ago, you know.” + </p> + <p> + The surgeon did not hurry his movements. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter? Dressing came off? That's amusing. I've been busy in + the hospital all day, but somebody has told me that he hadn't a scratch.” + </p> + <p> + “Not the same duel probably,” growled moodily Lieutenant D'Hubert, wiping + his hands on a coarse towel. + </p> + <p> + “Not the same.... What? Another? It would take the very devil to make me + go out twice in one day.” He looked narrowly at Lieutenant D'Hubert. “How + did you come by that scratched face? Both sides too—and symmetrical. + It's amusing.” + </p> + <p> + “Very,” snarled Lieutenant D'Hubert. “And you will find his slashed arm + amusing too. It will keep both of you amused for quite a long time.” + </p> + <p> + The doctor was mystified and impressed by the brusque bitterness of + Lieutenant D'Hubert's tone. They left the house together, and in the + street he was still more mystified by his conduct. + </p> + <p> + “Aren't you coming with me?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said Lieutenant D'Hubert. “You can find the house by yourself. The + front door will be open very likely.” + </p> + <p> + “All right. Where's his room?” + </p> + <p> + “Ground floor. But you had better go right through and look in the garden + first.” + </p> + <p> + This astonishing piece of information made the surgeon go off without + further parley. Lieutenant D'Hubert regained his quarters nursing a hot + and uneasy indignation. He dreaded the chaff of his comrades almost as + much as the anger of his superiors. He felt as though he had been + entrapped into a damaging exposure. The truth was confoundedly grotesque + and embarrassing to justify; putting aside the irregularity of the combat + itself which made it come dangerously near a criminal offence. Like all + men without much imagination, which is such a help in the processes of + reflective thought, Lieutenant D'Hubert became frightfully harassed by the + obvious aspects of his predicament. He was certainly glad that he had not + killed Lieutenant Feraud outside all rules and without the regular + witnesses proper to such a transaction. Uncommonly glad. At the same time + he felt as though he would have liked to wring his neck for him without + ceremony. + </p> + <p> + He was still under the sway of these contradictory sentiments when the + surgeon amateur of the flute came to see him. More than three days had + elapsed. Lieutenant D'Hubert was no longer <i>officier d'ordonnance</i> to + the general commanding the division. He had been sent back to his + regiment. And he was resuming his connection with the soldiers' military + family, by being shut up in close confinement not at his own quarters in + town, but in a room in the barracks. Owing to the gravity of the incident, + he was allowed to see no one. He did not know what had happened, what was + being said or what was being thought. The arrival of the surgeon was a + most unexpected event to the worried captive. The amateur of the flute + began by explaining that he was there only by a special favour of the + colonel who had thought fit to relax the general isolation order for this + one occasion. + </p> + <p> + “I represented to him that it would be only fair to give you authentic + news of your adversary,” he continued. “You'll be glad to hear he's + getting better fast.” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert's face exhibited no conventional signs of gladness. He + continued to walk the floor of the dusty bare room. + </p> + <p> + “Take this chair, doctor,” he mumbled. + </p> + <p> + The doctor sat down. + </p> + <p> + “This affair is variously appreciated in town and in the army. In fact the + diversity of opinions is amusing.” + </p> + <p> + “Is it?” mumbled Lieutenant D'Hubert, tramping steadily from wall to wall. + But within himself he marvelled that there could be two opinions on the + matter. The surgeon continued: + </p> + <p> + “Of course as the real facts are not known—” + </p> + <p> + “I should have thought,” interrupted D'Hubert, “that the fellow would have + put you in possession of the facts.” + </p> + <p> + “He did say something,” admitted the other, “the first time I saw him. + And, by-the-bye, I did find him in the garden. The thump on the back of + his head had made him a little incoherent then. Afterwards he was rather + reticent than otherwise.” + </p> + <p> + “Didn't think he would have the grace to be ashamed,” grunted D'Hubert, + who had stood still for a moment. He resumed his pacing while the doctor + murmured. + </p> + <p> + “It's very amusing. Ashamed? Shame was not exactly his frame of mind. + However, you may look at the matter otherwise——” + </p> + <p> + “What are you talking about? What matter?” asked D'Hubert with a sidelong + look at the heavy-faced, gray-haired figure seated on a wooden chair. + </p> + <p> + “Whatever it is,” said the surgeon, “I wouldn't pronounce an opinion on + your conduct....” + </p> + <p> + “By heavens, you had better not,” burst out D'Hubert. + </p> + <p> + “There! There! Don't be so quick in flourishing the sword. It doesn't pay + in the long run. Understand once for all that I would not carve any of you + youngsters except with the tools of my trade. But my advice is good. + Moderate your temper. If you go on like this you will make for yourself an + ugly reputation.” + </p> + <p> + “Go on like what?” demanded Lieutenant D'Hubert, stopping short, quite + startled. “I! I! make for myself a reputation.... What do you imagine——” + </p> + <p> + “I told you I don't wish to judge of the rights and wrongs of this + incident. It's not my business. Nevertheless....” + </p> + <p> + “What on earth has he been telling you?” interrupted Lieutenant D'Hubert + in a sort of awed scare. + </p> + <p> + “I told, you already that at first when I picked him up in the garden he + was incoherent. Afterwards he was naturally reticent. But I gather at + least that he could not help himself....” + </p> + <p> + “He couldn't?” shouted Lieutenant D'Hubert. Then lowering his voice, “And + what about me? Could I help myself?” + </p> + <p> + The surgeon rose. His thoughts were running upon the flute, his constant + companion, with a consoling voice. In the vicinity of field ambulances, + after twenty-four hours' hard work, he had been known to trouble with its + sweet sounds the horrible stillness of battlefields given over to silence + and the dead. The solacing hour of his daily life was approaching and in + peace time he held on to the minutes as a miser to his hoard. + </p> + <p> + “Of course! Of course!” he said perfunctorily. “You would think so. It's + amusing. However, being perfectly neutral and friendly to you both, I have + consented to deliver his message. Say that I am humouring an invalid if + you like. He says that this affair is by no means at an end. He intends to + send you his seconds directly he has regained his strength—providing, + of course, the army is not in the field at that time.” + </p> + <p> + “He intends—does he? Why certainly,” spluttered Lieutenant D'Hubert + passionately. The secret of this exasperation was not apparent to the + visitor; but this passion confirmed him in the belief which was gaining + ground outside that some very serious difference had arisen between these + two young men. Something serious enough to wear an air of mystery. Some + fact of the utmost gravity. To settle their urgent difference those two + young men had risked being broken and disgraced at the outset, almost, of + their career. And he feared that the forthcoming inquiry would fail to + satisfy the public curiosity. They would not take the public into their + confidence as to that something which had passed between them of a nature + so outrageous as to make them face a charge of murder—neither more + nor less. But what could it be? + </p> + <p> + The surgeon was not very curious by temperament; but that question, + haunting his mind, caused him twice that evening to hold the instrument + off his lips and sit silent for a whole minute—right in the middle + of a tune—trying to form a plausible conjecture. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II + </h2> + <p> + He succeeded in this object no better than the rest of the garrison and + the whole of society. The two young officers, of no especial consequence + till then, became distinguished by the universal curiosity as to the + origin of their quarrel. Madame de Lionne's salon was the centre of + ingenious surmises; that lady herself was for a time assailed with + inquiries as the last person known to have spoken to these unhappy and + reckless young men before they went out together from her house to a + savage encounter with swords, at dusk, in a private garden. She protested + she had noticed nothing unusual in their demeanour. Lieutenant Feraud had + been visibly annoyed at being called away. That was natural enough; no man + likes to be disturbed in a conversation with a lady famed for her elegance + and sensibility» But, in truth, the subject bored Madame de Lionne since + her personality could by no stretch of imagination be connected with this + affair. And it irritated her to hear it advanced that there might have + been some woman in the case. This irritation arose, not from her elegance + or sensibility, but from a more instinctive side of her nature. It became + so great at last that she peremptorily forbade the subject to be mentioned + under her roof. Near her couch the prohibition was obeyed, but farther off + in the salon the pall of the imposed silence continued to be lifted more + or less. A diplomatic personage with a long pale face resembling the + countenance of a sheep, opined, shaking his head, that it was a quarrel of + long standing envenomed by time. It was objected to him that the men + themselves were too young for such a theory to fit their proceedings. They + belonged also to different and distant parts of France. A subcommissary of + the Intendence, an agreeable and cultivated bachelor in keysermere + breeches, Hessian boots and a blue coat embroidered with silver lace, who + affected to believe in the transmigration of souls, suggested that the two + had met perhaps in some previous existence. The feud was in the forgotten + past. It might have been something quite inconceivable in the present + state of their being; but their souls remembered the animosity and + manifested an instinctive antagonism. He developed his theme jocularly. + Yet the affair was so absurd from the worldly, the military, the + honourable, or the prudential point of view, that this weird explanation + seemed rather more reasonable than any other. + </p> + <p> + The two officers had confided nothing definite to any one. Resentment, + humiliation at having been worsted arms in hand, and an uneasy feeling of + having been involved into a scrape by the injustice of fate, kept + Lieutenant Feraud savagely dumb. He mistrusted the sympathy of mankind. + That would of course go to that dandified staff officer. Lying in bed he + raved to himself in his mind or aloud to the pretty maid who ministered to + his needs with devotion and listened to his horrible imprecations with + alarm. That Lieutenant D'Hubert should be made to “pay for it,” whatever + it was, seemed to her just and natural. Her principal concern was that + Lieutenant Feraud should not excite himself. He appeared so wholly + admirable and fascinating to the humility of her heart that her only + concern was to see him get well quickly even if it were only to resume his + visits to Madame de Lionne's salon. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert kept silent for the immediate reason that there was no + one except a stupid young soldier servant to speak to. But he was not + anxious for the opportunities of which his severe arrest deprived him. He + would have been uncommunicative from dread of ridicule. He was aware that + the episode, so grave professionally, had its comic side. When reflecting + upon it he still felt that he would like to wring Lieutenant Feraud's neck + for him. But this formula was figurative rather than precise, and + expressed more a state of mind than an actual physical impulse. At the + same time there was in that young man a feeling of comradeship and + kindness which made him unwilling to make the position of Lieutenant + Feraud worse than it was. + </p> + <p> + He did not want to talk at large about this wretched affair. At the + inquiry he would have, of course, to speak the truth in self-defence. This + prospect vexed him. + </p> + <p> + But no inquiry took place. The army took the field instead. Lieutenant + D'Hubert, liberated without remark, returned to his regimental duties, and + Lieutenant Feraud, his arm still in a sling, rode unquestioned with his + squadron to complete his convalescence in the smoke of battlefields and + the fresh air of night bivouacs. This bracing treatment suited his case so + well that at the first rumour of an armistice being signed he could turn + without misgivings to the prosecution of his private warfare. + </p> + <p> + This time it was to be regular warfare. He dispatched two friends to + Lieutenant D'Hubert, whose regiment was stationed only a few miles away. + Those friends had asked no questions of their principal. “I must pay him + off, that pretty staff officer,” he had said grimly, and they went away + quite contentedly on their mission. Lieutenant D'Hubert had no difficulty + in finding two friends equally discreet and devoted to their principal. + “There's a sort of crazy fellow to whom I must give another lesson,” he + had curtly declared, and they asked for no better reasons. + </p> + <p> + On these grounds an encounter with duelling swords was arranged one early + morning in a convenient field. At the third set-to, Lieutenant D'Hubert + found himself lying on his back on the dewy grass, with a hole in his + side. A serene sun, rising over a German landscape of meadows and wooded + hills, hung on his left. A surgeon—not the flute-player but another—was + bending over him, feeling around the wound. + </p> + <p> + “Narrow squeak. But it will be nothing,” he pronounced. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert heard these words with pleasure. One of his seconds—the + one who, sitting on the wet grass, was sustaining his head on his + lap-said: + </p> + <p> + “The fortune of war, <i>mon pauvre vieux</i>. What will you have? You had + better make it up, like two good fellows. Do!” + </p> + <p> + “You don't know what you ask,” murmured Lieutenant D'Hubert in a feeble + voice. “However, if he...” + </p> + <p> + In another part of the meadow the seconds of Lieutenant Feraud were urging + him to go over and shake hands with his adversary. + </p> + <p> + “You have paid him off now—<i>que diable</i>. It's the proper thing + to do. This D'Hubert is a decent fellow.” + </p> + <p> + “I know the decency of these generals' pets,” muttered Lieutenant Feraud + through his teeth for all answer. The sombre expression of his face + discouraged further efforts at reconciliation. The seconds, bowing from a + distance, took their men off the field. In the afternoon, Lieutenant + D'Hubert, very popular as a good comrade uniting great bravery with a + frank and equable temper, had many visitors. It was remarked that + Lieutenant Feraud did not, as customary, show himself much abroad to + receive the felicitations of his friends. They would not have failed him, + because he, too, was liked for the exuberance of his southern nature and + the simplicity of his character. In all the places where officers were in + the habit of assembling at the end of the day the duel of the morning was + talked over from every point of view. Though Lieutenant D'Hubert had got + worsted this time, his sword-play was commended. No one could deny that it + was very close, very scientific. If he got touched, some said, it was + because he wished to spare his adversary. But by many the vigour and dash + of Lieutenant Feraud's attack were pronounced irresistible. + </p> + <p> + The merits of the two officers as combatants were frankly discussed; but + their attitude to each other after the duel was criticised lightly and + with caution. It was irreconcilable, and that was to be regretted. After + all, they knew best what the care of their honour dictated. It was not a + matter for their comrades to pry into overmuch. As to the origin of the + quarrel, the general impression was that it dated from the time they were + holding garrison in Strasburg. Only the musical surgeon shook his head at + that. It went much farther back, he hinted discreetly. + </p> + <p> + “Why! You must know the whole story,” cried several voices, eager with + curiosity. “You were there! What was it?” + </p> + <p> + He raised his eyes from his glass deliberately and said: + </p> + <p> + “Even if I knew ever so well, you can't expect me to tell you, since both + the principals choose to say nothing.” + </p> + <p> + He got up and went out, leaving the sense of mystery behind him. He could + not stay longer because the witching hour of flute-playing was drawing + near. After he had gone a very young officer observed solemnly: + </p> + <p> + “Obviously! His lips are sealed.” + </p> + <p> + Nobody questioned the high propriety of that remark. Somehow it added to + the impressiveness of the affair. Several older officers of both + regiments, prompted by nothing but sheer kindness and love of harmony, + proposed to form a Court of Honour to which the two officers would leave + the task of their reconciliation. Unfortunately, they began by approaching + Lieutenant Feraud. The assumption was, that having just scored heavily, he + would be found placable and disposed to moderation. + </p> + <p> + The reasoning was sound enough; nevertheless, the move turned out + unfortunate. In that relaxation of moral fibre which is brought about by + the ease of soothed vanity, Lieutenant Feraud had condescended in the + secret of his heart to review the case, and even to doubt not the justice + of his cause, but the absolute sagacity of his conduct. This being so, he + was disinclined to talk about it. The suggestion of the regimental wise + men put him in a difficult position. He was disgusted, and this disgust by + a sort of paradoxical logic reawakened his animosity against Lieutenant + D'Hubert. Was he to be pestered with this fellow for ever—the fellow + who had an infernal knack of getting round people somehow? On the other + hand, it was difficult to refuse point-blank that sort of mediation + sanctioned by the code of honour. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Feraud met the difficulty by an attitude of fierce reserve. He + twisted his moustache and used vague words. His case was perfectly clear. + He was not ashamed to present it, neither was he afraid to defend it + personally. He did not see any reason to jump at the suggestion before + ascertaining how his adversary was likely to take it. + </p> + <p> + Later in the day, his exasperation growing upon him, he was heard in a + public place saying sardonically “that it would be the very luckiest thing + for Lieutenant D'Hubert, since next time of meeting he need not hope to + get off with a mere trifle of three weeks in bed.” + </p> + <p> + This boastful phrase might have been prompted by the most profound + Machiavelism. Southern natures often hide under the outward impulsiveness + of action and speech a certain amount of astuteness. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Feraud, mistrusting the justice of men, by no means desired a + Court of Honour. And these words, according so well with his temperament, + had also the merit of serving his turn. Whether meant for that purpose or + not, they found their way in less than four-and-twenty hours into + Lieutenant D'Hubert's bedroom. In consequence, Lieutenant D'Hubert, + sitting propped up with pillows, received the overtures made to him next + day by the statement that the affair was of a nature which could not bear + discussion. + </p> + <p> + The pale face of the wounded officer, his weak voice which he had yet to + use cautiously, and the courteous dignity of his tone, had a great effect + on his hearers. Reported outside, all this did more for deepening the + mystery than the vapourings of Lieutenant Feraud. This last was greatly + relieved at the issue. He began to enjoy the state of general wonder, and + was pleased to add to it by assuming an attitude of moody reserve. + </p> + <p> + The colonel of Lieutenant D'Hubert's regiment was a gray-haired, + weather-beaten warrior who took a simple view of his responsibilities. “I + can't”—he thought to himself—“let the best of my subalterns + get damaged like this for nothing. I must get to the bottom of this affair + privately. He must speak out, if the devil were in it. The colonel should + be more than a father to these youngsters.” And, indeed, he loved all his + men with as much affection as a father of a large family can feel for + every individual member of it. If human beings by an oversight of + Providence came into the world in the state of civilians, they were born + again into a regiment as infants are born into a family, and it was that + military birth alone which really counted. + </p> + <p> + At the sight of Lieutenant D'Hubert standing before him bleached and + hollow-eyed, the heart of the old warrior was touched with genuine + compassion. All his affection for the regiment—that body of men + which he held in his hand to launch forward and draw back, who had given + him his rank, ministered to his pride and commanded his thoughts—seemed + centred for a moment on the person of the most promising subaltern. He + cleared his throat in a threatening manner and frowned terribly. + </p> + <p> + “You must understand,” he began, “that I don't care a rap for the life of + a single man in the regiment. You know that I would send the 748 of you + men and horses galloping into the pit of perdition with no more + compunction than I would kill a fly.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, colonel. You would be riding at our head,” said Lieutenant D'Hubert + with a wan smile. + </p> + <p> + The colonel, who felt the need of being very diplomatic, fairly roared at + this. + </p> + <p> + “I want you to know, Lieutenant D'Hubert, that I could stand aside and see + you all riding to Hades, if need be. I am a man to do even that, if the + good of the service and my duty to my country required it from me. But + that's unthinkable, so don't you even hint at such a thing.” + </p> + <p> + He glared awfully, but his voice became gentle. “There's some milk yet + about that moustache of yours, my boy. You don't know what a man like me + is capable of. I would hide behind a haystack if... Don't grin at me, sir. + How dare you? If this were not a private conversation, I would... Look + here. I am responsible for the proper expenditure of lives under my + command for the glory of our country and the honour of the regiment. Do + you understand that? Well, then, what the devil do you mean by letting + yourself be spitted like this by that fellow of the Seventh Hussars? It's + simply disgraceful!” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert, who expected another sort of conclusion, felt vexed + beyond measure. His shoulders moved slightly. He made no other answer. He + could not ignore his responsibility. The colonel softened his glance and + lowered his voice. + </p> + <p> + “It's deplorable,” he murmured. And again he changed his tone. “Come,” he + went on persuasively, but with that note of authority which dwells in the + throat of a good leader of men, “this affair must be settled. I desire to + be told plainly what it is all about. I demand, as your best friend, to + know.” + </p> + <p> + The compelling power of authority, the softening influence of the kindness + affected deeply a man just risen from a bed of sickness. Lieutenant + D'Hubert's hand, which grasped the knob of a stick, trembled slightly. But + his northern temperament, sentimental but cautious and clear-sighted, too, + in its idealistic way, predominated over his impulse to make a clean + breast of the whole deadly absurdity. According to the precept of + transcendental wisdom, he turned his tongue seven times in his mouth + before he spoke. He made then only a speech of thanks, nothing more. The + colonel listened interested at first, then looked mystified. At last he + frowned. + </p> + <p> + “You hesitate—<i>mille tonerres!</i> Haven't I told you that I will + condescend to argue with you—as a friend?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, colonel,” answered Lieutenant D'Hubert softly, “but I am afraid that + after you have heard me out as a friend, you will take action as my + superior officer.” + </p> + <p> + The attentive colonel snapped his jaws. + </p> + <p> + “Well, what of that?” he said frankly. “Is it so damnably disgraceful?” + </p> + <p> + “It is not,” negatived Lieutenant D'Hubert in a faint but resolute voice. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I shall act for the good of the service—nothing can + prevent me doing that. What do you think I want to be told for?” + </p> + <p> + “I know it is not from idle curiosity,” tested Lieutenant D'Hubert. “I + know you will act wisely. But what about the good fame of the regiment?” + </p> + <p> + “It cannot be affected by any youthful folly of a lieutenant,” the colonel + said severely. + </p> + <p> + “No, it cannot be; but it can be by evil tongues. It will be said that a + lieutenant of the Fourth Hussars, afraid of meeting his adversary, is + hiding behind his colonel. And that would be worse than hiding behind a + haystack—for the good of the service. I cannot afford to do that, + colonel.” + </p> + <p> + “Nobody would dare to say anything of the kind,” the colonel, beginning + very fiercely, ended on an uncertain note. The bravery of Lieutenant + D'Hubert was well known; but the colonel was well aware that the duelling + courage, the single combat courage, is, rightly or wrongly, supposed to be + courage of a special sort; and it was eminently necessary that an officer + of his regiment should possess every kind of courage—and prove it, + too. The colonel stuck out his lower lip and looked far away with a + peculiar glazed stare. This was the expression of his perplexity, an + expression practically unknown to his regiment, for perplexity is a + sentiment which is incompatible with the rank of colonel of cavalry. The + colonel himself was overcome by the unpleasant novelty of the sensation. + As he was not accustomed to think except on professional matters connected + with the welfare of men and horses and the proper use thereof on the field + of glory, his intellectual efforts degenerated into mere mental + repetitions of profane language. “<i>Mille tonerres!... Sacré nom de + nom...</i>” he thought. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert coughed painfully and went on, in a weary voice: + </p> + <p> + “There will be plenty of evil tongues to say that I've been cowed. And I + am sure you will not expect me to pass that sort of thing over. I may find + myself suddenly with a dozen duels on my hands instead of this one + affair.” + </p> + <p> + The direct simplicity of this argument came home to the colonel's + understanding. He looked at his subordinate fixedly. + </p> + <p> + “Sit down, lieutenant,” he said gruffly. “This is the very devil of a... + sit down.” + </p> + <p> + “<i>Mon colonel</i>” D'Hubert began again. “I am not afraid of evil + tongues. There's a way of silencing them. But there's my peace of mind + too. I wouldn't be able to shake off the notion that I've ruined a brother + officer. Whatever action you take it is bound to go further. The inquiry + has been dropped—let it rest now. It would have been the end of + Feraud.” + </p> + <p> + “Hey? What? Did he behave so badly?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, it was pretty bad,” muttered Lieutenant D'Hubert. Being still very + weak, he felt a disposition to cry. + </p> + <p> + As the other man did not belong to his own regiment the colonel had no + difficulty in believing this. He began to pace up and down the room. He + was a good chief and a man capable of discreet sympathy. But he was human + in other ways, too, and they were apparent because he was not capable of + artifice. + </p> + <p> + “The very devil, lieutenant!” he blurted out in the innocence of his + heart, “is that I have declared my intention to get to the bottom of this + affair. And when a colonel says something... you see...” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert broke in earnestly. + </p> + <p> + “Let me entreat you, colonel, to be satisfied with taking my word of + honour that I was put into a damnable position where I had no option. I + had no choice whatever consistent with my dignity as a man and an + officer.... After all, colonel, this fact is the very bottom of this + affair. Here you've got it. The rest is a mere detail....” + </p> + <p> + The colonel stopped short. The reputation of Lieutenant D'Hubert for good + sense and good temper weighed in the balance. A cool head, a warm heart, + open as the day. Always correct in his behaviour. One had to trust him. + The colonel repressed manfully an immense curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “H'm! You affirm that as a man and an officer.... No option? Eh?” + </p> + <p> + “As an officer, an officer of the Fourth Hussars, too,” repeated + Lieutenant D'Hubert, “I had not. And that is the bottom of the affair, + colonel.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. But still I don't see why to one's colonel... A colonel is a father—<i>que + diable</i>.” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert ought not to have been allowed out as yet. He was + becoming aware of his physical insufficiency with humiliation and despair—but + the morbid obstinacy of an invalid possessed him—and at the same + time he felt, with dismay, his eyes filling with water. This trouble + seemed too big to handle. A tear fell down the thin, pale cheek of + Lieutenant D'Hubert. The colonel turned his back on him hastily. You could + have heard a pin drop. + </p> + <p> + “This is some silly woman story—is it not?” + </p> + <p> + The chief spun round to seize the truth, which is not a beautiful shape + living in a well but a shy bird best caught by stratagem. This was the + last move of the colonel's diplomacy, and he saw the truth shining + unmistakably in the gesture of Lieutenant D'Hubert, raising his weak arms + and his eyes to heaven in supreme protest. + </p> + <p> + “Not a woman affair—eh?” growled the colonel, staring hard. “I don't + ask you who or where. All I want to know is whether there is a woman in + it?” + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant D'Hubert's arms dropped and his weak voice was pathetically + broken. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing of the kind, mon colonel.” + </p> + <p> + “On your honour?” insisted the old warrior. + </p> + <p> + “On my honour.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well,” said the colonel thoughtfully, and bit his lip. The arguments + of Lieutenant D'Hubert, helped by his liking for the person, had convinced + him. Yet it was highly improper that his intervention, of which he had + made no secret, should produce no visible effect. He kept Lieutenant + D'Hubert a little longer and dismissed him kindly. + </p> + <p> + “Take a few days more in bed, lieutenant. What the devil does the surgeon + mean by reporting you fit for duty?” + </p> + <p> + On coming out of the colonel's quarters, Lieutenant D'Hubert said nothing + to the friend who was waiting outside to take him home. He said nothing to + anybody. Lieutenant D'Hubert made no confidences. But in the evening of + that day the colonel, strolling under the elms growing near his quarters + in the company of his second in command opened his lips. + </p> + <p> + “I've got to the bottom of this affair,” he remarked. + </p> + <p> + The lieutenant-colonel, a dry brown chip of a man with short + side-whiskers, pricked up his ears without letting a sound of curiosity + escape him. + </p> + <p> + “It's no trifle,” added the colonel oracularly. The other waited for a + long while before he murmured: + </p> + <p> + “Indeed, sir!” + </p> + <p> + “No trifle,” repeated the colonel, looking straight before him. “I've, + however, forbidden D'Hubert either to send to or receive a challenge from + Feraud for the next twelve months.” + </p> + <p> + He had imagined this prohibition to save the prestige a colonel should + have. The result of it was to give an official seal to the mystery + surrounding this deadly quarrel. Lieutenant D'Hubert repelled by an + impassive silence all attempts to worm the truth out of him. Lieutenant + Feraud, secretly uneasy at first, regained his assurance as time went on. + He disguised his ignorance of the meaning of the imposed truce by little + sardonic laughs as though he were amused by what he intended to keep to + himself. “But what will you do?” his chums used to ask him. He contented + himself by replying, “<i>Qui vivra verra</i>,” with a truculent air. And + everybody admired his discretion. + </p> + <p> + Before the end of the truce, Lieutenant D'Hubert got his promotion. It was + well earned, but somehow no one seemed to expect the event. When + Lieutenant Feraud heard of it at a gathering of officers, he muttered + through his teeth, “Is that so?” Unhooking his sword from a peg near the + door, he buckled it on carefully and left the company without another + word. He walked home with measured steps, struck a light with his flint + and steel, and lit his tallow candle. Then, snatching an unlucky glass + tumbler off the mantelpiece, he dashed it violently on the floor. + </p> + <p> + Now that D'Hubert was an officer of a rank superior to his own, there + could be no question of a duel. Neither could send nor receive a challenge + without rendering himself amenable to a court-martial. It was not to be + thought of. Lieutenant Feraud, who for many days now had experienced no + real desire to meet Lieutenant D'Hubert arms in hand, chafed at the + systematic injustice of fate. “Does he think he will escape me in that + way?” he thought indignantly. He saw in it an intrigue, a conspiracy, a + cowardly manoeuvre. That colonel knew what he was doing. He had hastened + to recommend his pet for promotion. It was outrageous that a man should be + able to avoid the consequences of his acts in such a dark and tortuous + manner. + </p> + <p> + Of a happy-go-lucky disposition, of a temperament more pugnacious than + military, Lieutenant Feraud had been content to give and receive blows for + sheer love of armed strife and without much thought of advancement. But + after this disgusting experience an urgent desire of promotion sprang up + in his breast. This fighter by vocation resolved in his mind to seize + showy occasions and to court the favourable opinion of his chiefs like a + mere worldling. He knew he was as brave as any one and never doubted his + personal charm. It would be easy, he thought. Nevertheless, neither the + bravery nor the charm seemed to work very swiftly. Lieutenant Feraud's + engaging, careless truculence of a “<i>beau sabreur</i>” underwent a + change. He began to make bitter allusions to “clever fellows who stick at + nothing to get on.” The army was full of them, he would say, you had only + to look round. And all the time he had in view one person only, his + adversary D'Hubert. Once he confided to an appreciative friend: “You see I + don't know how to fawn on the right sort of people. It isn't in me.” + </p> + <p> + He did not get his step till a week after Austerlitz. The light cavalry of + the <i>Grande Armée</i> had its hands very full of interesting work for a + little while. But directly the pressure of professional occupation had + been eased by the armistice, Captain Feraud took measures to arrange a + meeting without loss of time. “I know his tricks,” he observed grimly. “If + I don't look sharp he will take care to get himself promoted over the + heads of a dozen better men than himself. He's got the knack of that sort + of thing.” This duel was fought in Silesia. If not fought out to a finish, + it was at any rate fought to a standstill. The weapon was the cavalry + sabre, and the skill, the science, the vigour, and the determination + displayed by the adversaries compelled the outspoken admiration of the + beholders. It became the subject of talk on both shores of the Danube, and + as far south as the garrisons of Gratz and Laybach. They crossed blades + seven times. Both had many slight cuts—mere scratches which bled + profusely. Both refused to have the combat stopped, time after time, with + what appeared the most deadly animosity. This appearance was caused on the + part of Captain D'Hubert by a rational desire to be done once for all with + this worry; on the part of Feraud by a tremendous exaltation of his + pugnacious instincts and the rage of wounded vanity. At last, dishevelled, + their shirts in rags, covered with gore and hardly able to stand, they + were carried forcibly off the field by their marvelling and horrified + seconds. Later on, besieged by comrades avid of details, these gentlemen + declared that they could not have allowed that sort of hacking to go on. + Asked whether the quarrel was settled this time, they gave it out as their + conviction that it was a difference which could only be settled by one of + the parties remaining lifeless on the ground. The sensation spread from + army to army corps, and penetrated at last to the smallest detachments of + the troops cantoned between the Rhine and the Save. In the cafés in Vienna + where the masters of Europe took their ease it was generally estimated + from details to hand that the adversaries would be able to meet again in + three weeks' time, on the outside. Something really transcendental in the + way of duelling was expected. + </p> + <p> + These expectations were brought to naught by the necessities of the + service which separated the two officers. No official notice had been + taken of their quarrel. It was now the property of the army, and not to be + meddled with lightly. But the story of the duel, or rather their duelling + propensities, must have stood somewhat in the way of their advancement, + because they were still captains when they came together again during the + war with Prussia. Detached north after Jena with the army commanded by + Marshal Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte-Corvo, they entered Lubeck together. + It was only after the occupation of that town that Captain Feraud had + leisure to consider his future conduct in view of the fact that Captain + D'Hubert had been given the position of third aide-de-camp to the marshal. + He considered it a great part of a night, and in the morning summoned two + sympathetic friends. + </p> + <p> + “I've been thinking it over calmly,” he said, gazing at them with + bloodshot, tired eyes. “I see that I must get rid of that intriguing + personage. Here he's managed to sneak onto the personal staff of the + marshal. It's a direct provocation to me. I can't tolerate a situation in + which I am exposed any day to receive an order through him, and God knows + what order, too! That sort of thing has happened once before—and + that's once too often. He understands this perfectly, never fear. I can't + tell you more than this. Now go. You know what it is you have to do.” + </p> + <p> + This encounter took place outside the town of Lubeck, on very open ground + selected with special care in deference to the general sense of the + cavalry division belonging to the army corps, that this time the two + officers should meet on horseback. After all, this duel was a cavalry + affair, and to persist in fighting on foot would look like a slight on + one's own arm of the service. The seconds, startled by the unusual nature + of the suggestion, hastened to refer to their principals. Captain Feraud + jumped at it with savage alacrity. For some obscure reason, depending, no + doubt, on his psychology, he imagined himself invincible on horseback. All + alone within the four walls of his room he rubbed his hands exultingly. + “Aha! my staff officer, I've got you now!” + </p> + <p> + Captain D'Hubert, on his side, after staring hard for a considerable time + at his bothered seconds, shrugged his shoulders slightly. This affair had + hopelessly and unreasonably complicated his existence for him. One + absurdity more or less in the development did not matter. All absurdity + was distasteful to him; but, urbane as ever, he produced a faintly ironic + smile and said in his calm voice: + </p> + <p> + “It certainly will do away to some extent with the monotony of the thing.” + </p> + <p> + But, left to himself, he sat down at a table and took his head into his + hands. He had not spared himself of late, and the marshal had been working + his aides-de-camp particularly hard. The last three weeks of campaigning + in horrible weather had affected his health. When overtired he suffered + from a stitch in his wounded side, and that uncomfortable sensation always + depressed him. “It's that brute's doing,” he thought bitterly. + </p> + <p> + The day before he had received a letter from home, announcing that his + only sister was going to be married. He reflected that from the time she + was sixteen, when he went away to garrison life in Strasburg, he had had + but two short glimpses of her. They had been great friends and confidants; + and now they were going to give her away to a man whom he did not know—a + very worthy fellow, no doubt, but not half good enough for her. He would + never see his old Léonie again. She had a capable little head and plenty + of tact; she would know how to manage the fellow, to be sure. He was easy + about her happiness, but he felt ousted from the first place in her + affection which had been his ever since the girl could speak. And a + melancholy regret of the days of his childhood settled upon Captain + D'Hubert, third aide-de-camp to the Prince of Ponte-Corvo. + </p> + <p> + He pushed aside the letter of congratulation he had begun to write, as in + duty bound but without pleasure. He took a fresh sheet of paper and wrote: + “This is my last will and testament.” And, looking at these words, he gave + himself up to unpleasant reflection; a presentiment that he would never + see the scenes of his childhood overcame Captain D'Hubert. He jumped up, + pushing his chair back, yawned leisurely, which demonstrated to himself + that he didn't care anything for presentiments, and, throwing himself on + the bed, went to sleep. During the night he shivered from time to time + without waking up. In the morning he rode out of town between his two + seconds, talking of indifferent things and looking right and left with + apparent detachment into the heavy morning mists, shrouding the flat green + fields bordered by hedges. He leaped a ditch, and saw the forms of many + mounted men moving in the low fog. “We are to fight before a gallery,” he + muttered bitterly. + </p> + <p> + His seconds were rather concerned at the state of the atmosphere, but + presently a pale and sympathetic sun struggled above the vapours. Captain + D'Hubert made out in the distance three horsemen riding a little apart; it + was his adversary and his seconds. He drew his sabre and assured himself + that it was properly fastened to his wrist. And now the seconds, who had + been standing in a close group with the heads of their horses together, + separated at an easy canter, leaving a large, clear field between him and + his adversary. Captain D'Hubert looked at the pale sun, at the dismal + landscape, and the imbecility of the impending fight filled him with + desolation. From a distant part of the field a stentorian voice shouted + commands at proper intervals: <i>Au pas—Au trot—Chargez!</i> + Presentiments of death don't come to a man for nothing he thought at the + moment he put spurs to his horse. + </p> + <p> + And therefore nobody was more surprised than himself when, at the very + first set-to, Captain Feraud laid himself open to a cut extending over the + forehead, blinding him with blood, and ending the combat almost before it + had fairly begun. The surprise of Captain Feraud might have been even + greater. Captain D'Hubert, leaving him swearing horribly and reeling in + the saddle between his two appalled friends, leaped the ditch again and + trotted home with his two seconds, who seemed rather awestruck at the + speedy issue of that encounter. In the evening, Captain D'Hubert finished + the congratulatory letter on his sister's marriage. + </p> + <p> + He finished it late. It was a long letter. Captain D'Hubert gave reins to + his fancy. He told his sister he would feel rather lonely after this great + change in her life. But, he continued, “the day will come for me, too, to + get married. In fact, I am thinking already of the time when there will be + no one left to fight in Europe, and the epoch of wars will be over. I + shall expect then to be within measurable distance of a marshal's baton + and you will be an experienced married woman. You shall look out a nice + wife for me. I will be moderately bald by then, and a little blasé; I will + require a young girl—pretty, of course, and with a large fortune, + you know, to help me close my glorious career with the splendour befitting + my exalted rank.” He ended with the information that he had just given a + lesson to a worrying, quarrelsome fellow, who imagined he had a grievance + against him. “But if you, in the depth of your province,” he continued, + “ever hear it said that your brother is of a quarrelsome disposition, + don't you believe it on any account. There is no saying what gossip from + the army may reach your innocent ears; whatever you hear, you may assure + our father that your ever loving brother is not a duellist.” Then Captain + D'Hubert crumpled up the sheet of paper with the words, “This is my last + will and testament,” and threw it in the fire with a great laugh at + himself. He didn't care a snap for what that lunatic fellow could do. He + had suddenly acquired the conviction that this man was utterly powerless + to affect his life in any sort of way, except, perhaps, in the way of + putting a certain special excitement into the delightful gay intervals + between the campaigns. + </p> + <p> + From this on there were, however, to be no peaceful intervals in the + career of Captain D'Hubert. He saw the fields of Eylau and Friedland, + marched and countermarched in the snow, the mud, and the dust of Polish + plains, picking up distinction and advancement on all the roads of + northeastern Europe. Meantime, Captain Feraud, despatched southward with + his regiment, made unsatisfactory war in Spain. It was only when the + preparations for the Russian campaign began that he was ordered north + again. He left the country of mantillas and oranges without regret. + </p> + <p> + The first signs of a not unbecoming baldness added to the lofty aspect of + Colonel D'Hubert's forehead. This feature was no longer white and smooth + as in the days of his youth, and the kindly open glance of his blue eyes + had grown a little hard, as if from much peering through the smoke of + battles. The ebony crop on Colonel Feraud's head, coarse and crinkly like + a cap of horsehair, showed many silver threads about the temples. A + detestable warfare of ambushes and inglorious surprises had not improved + his temper. The beaklike curve of his nose was unpleasantly set off by + deep folds on each side of his mouth. The round orbits of his eyes + radiated fine wrinkles. More than ever he recalled an irritable and + staring fowl—something like a cross between a parrot and an owl. He + still manifested an outspoken dislike for “intriguing fellows.” He seized + every opportunity to state that he did not pick up his rank in the + anterooms of marshals. + </p> + <p> + The unlucky persons, civil or military, who, with an intention of being + pleasant, begged Colonel Feraud to tell them how he came by that very + apparent scar on the forehead, were astonished to find themselves snubbed + in various ways, some of which were simply rude and others mysteriously + sardonic. Young officers were warned kindly by their more experienced + comrades not to stare openly at the colonel's scar. But, indeed, an + officer need have been very young in his profession not to have heard the + legendary tale of that duel originating in some mysterious, unforgivable + offence. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III + </h2> + <p> + The retreat from Moscow submerged all private feelings in a sea of + disaster and misery. Colonels without regiments, D'Hubert and Feraud + carried the musket in the ranks of the sacred battalion—a battalion + recruited from officers of all arms who had no longer any troops to lead. + </p> + <p> + In that battalion promoted colonels did duty as sergeants; the generals + captained the companies; a marshal of France, Prince of the Empire, + commanded the whole. All had provided themselves with muskets picked up on + the road, and cartridges taken from the dead. In the general destruction + of the bonds of discipline and duty holding together the companies, the + battalions, the regiments, the brigades and divisions of an armed host, + this body of men put their pride in preserving some semblance of order and + formation. The only stragglers were those who fell out to give up to the + frost their exhausted souls. They plodded on doggedly, stumbling over the + corpses of men, the carcasses of horses, the fragments of gun-carriages, + covered by the white winding-sheet of the great disaster. Their passage + did not disturb the mortal silence of the plains, shining with a livid + light under a sky the colour of ashes. Whirlwinds of snow ran along the + fields, broke against the dark column, rose in a turmoil of flying + icicles, and subsided, disclosing it creeping on without the swing and + rhythm of the military pace. They struggled onward, exchanging neither + words nor looks—whole ranks marched, touching elbows, day after day, + and never raising their eyes, as if lost in despairing reflections. On + calm days, in the dumb black forests of pines the cracking of overloaded + branches was the only sound. Often from daybreak to dusk no one spoke in + the whole column. It was like a <i>macabre</i> march of struggling corpses + towards a distant grave. Only an alarm of Cossacks could restore to their + lack-lustre eyes a semblance of martial resolution. The battalion + deployed, facing about, or formed square under the endless fluttering of + snowflakes. A cloud of horsemen with fur caps on their heads, levelled + long lances and yelled “Hurrah! Hurrah!” around their menacing immobility, + whence, with muffled detonations, hundreds of dark-red flames darted + through the air thick with falling snow. In a very few moments the + horsemen would disappear, as if carried off yelling in the gale, and the + battalion, standing still, alone in the blizzard, heard only the wind + searching their very hearts. Then, with a cry or two of “<i>Vive + l'Empereur!</i>” it would resume its march, leaving behind a few lifeless + bodies lying huddled up, tiny dark specks on the white ground. + </p> + <p> + Though often marching in the ranks or skirmishing in the woods side by + side, the two officers ignored each other; this not so much from inimical + intention as from a very real indifference. All their store of moral + energy was expended in resisting the terrific enmity of Nature and the + crushing sense of irretrievable disaster. + </p> + <p> + Neither of them allowed himself to be crushed. To the last they counted + among the most active, the least demoralised of the battalion; their + vigorous vitality invested them both with the appearance of an heroic pair + in the eyes of their comrades. And they never exchanged more than a casual + word or two, except one day when, skirmishing in front of the battalion + against a worrying attack of cavalry, they found themselves cut off by a + small party of Cossacks. A score of wild-looking, hairy horsemen rode to + and fro, brandishing their lances in ominous silence. The two officers had + no mind to lay down their arms, and Colonel Feraud suddenly spoke up in a + hoarse, growling voice, bringing his firelock to the shoulder: + </p> + <p> + “You take the nearest brute, Colonel D'Hubert; I'll settle the next one. I + am a better shot than you are.” + </p> + <p> + Colonel D'Hubert only nodded over his levelled musket. Their shoulders + were pressed against the trunk of a large tree; in front, deep snowdrifts + protected them from a direct charge. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/088.jpg" + alt="088.jpg 'you Take the Nearest Brute, Colonel D'hubert' " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + Two carefully aimed shots rang out in the frosty air, two Cossacks reeled + in their saddles. The rest, not thinking the game good enough, closed + round their wounded comrades and galloped away out of range. The two + officers managed to rejoin their battalion, halted for the night. During + that afternoon they had leaned upon each other more than once, and towards + the last Colonel D'Hubert, whose long legs gave him an advantage in + walking through soft snow, peremptorily took the musket from Colonel + Feraud and carried it on his shoulder, using his own as a staff. + </p> + <p> + On the outskirts of a village, half-buried in the snow, an old wooden barn + burned with a clear and immense flame. The sacred battalion of skeletons + muffled in rags crowded greedily the windward side, stretching hundreds of + numbed, bony hands to the blaze. Nobody had noted their approach. Before + entering the circle of light playing on the multitude of sunken, + glassy-eyed, starved faces, Colonel D'Hubert spoke in his turn: + </p> + <p> + “Here's your firelock, Colonel Feraud. I can walk better than you.” + </p> + <p> + Colonel Feraud nodded, and pushed on towards the warmth of the fierce + flames. Colonel D'Hubert was more deliberate, but not the less bent on + getting a place in the front rank. Those they pushed aside tried to greet + with a faint cheer the reappearance of the two indomitable companions in + activity and endurance. Those manly qualities had never, perhaps, received + a higher tribute than this feeble acclamation. + </p> + <p> + This is the faithful record of speeches exchanged during the retreat from + Moscow by Colonels Feraud and D'Hubert. Colonel Feraud's taciturnity was + the outcome of concentrated rage. Short, hairy, black-faced with layers of + grime, and a thick sprouting of a wiry beard, a frost-bitten hand, wrapped + in filthy rags, carried in a sling, he accused fate bitterly of + unparalleled perfidy towards the sublime Man of Destiny. Colonel D'Hubert, + his long moustache pendent in icicles on each side of his cracked blue + lips, his eyelids inflamed with the glare of snows, the principal part of + his costume consisting of a sheepskin coat looted with difficulty from the + frozen corpse of a camp follower found in an abandoned cart, took a more + thoughtful view of events. His regularly handsome features now reduced to + mere bony fines and fleshless hollows, looked out of a woman's black + velvet hood, over which was rammed forcibly a cocked hat picked up under + the wheels of an empty army fourgon which must have contained at one time + some general officer's luggage. The sheepskin coat being short for a man + of his inches, ended very high up his elegant person, and the skin of his + legs, blue with the cold, showed through the tatters of his nether + garments. This, under the circumstances, provoked neither jeers nor pity. + No one cared how the next man felt or looked. Colonel D'Hubert himself + hardened to exposure, suffered mainly in his self-respect from the + lamentable indecency of his costume. A thoughtless person may think that + with a whole host of inanimate bodies bestrewing the path of retreat there + could not have been much difficulty in supplying the deficiency. But the + great majority of these bodies lay buried under the falls of snow, others + had been already despoiled; and besides, to loot a pair of breeches from a + frozen corpse is not so easy as it may appear to a mere theorist. It + requires time. You must remain behind while your companions march on. And + Colonel D'Hubert had his scruples as to falling out. They arose from a + point of honour, and also a little from dread. Once he stepped aside he + could not be sure of ever rejoining his battalion. And the enterprise + demanded a physical effort from which his starved body shrank. The ghastly + intimacy of a wrestling match with the frozen dead opposing the unyielding + rigidity of iron to your violence was repugnant to the inborn delicacy of + his feelings. + </p> + <p> + Luckily, one day grubbing in a mound of snow between the huts of a village + in the hope of finding there a frozen potato or some vegetable garbage he + could put between his long and shaky teeth, Colonel D'Hubert uncovered a + couple of mats of the sort Russian peasants use to line the sides of their + carts. These, shaken free of frozen snow, bent about his person and + fastened solidly round his waist, made a bell-shaped nether garment, a + sort of stiff petticoat, rendering Colonel D'Hubert a perfectly decent but + a much more noticeable figure than before. + </p> + <p> + Thus accoutred he continued to retreat, never doubting of his personal + escape but full of other misgivings. The early buoyancy of his belief in + the future was destroyed. If the road of glory led through such unforeseen + passages—he asked himself, for he was reflective, whether the guide + was altogether trustworthy. And a patriotic sadness not unmingled with + some personal concern, altogether unlike the unreasoning indignation + against men and things nursed by Colonel Feraud, oppressed the equable + spirits of Colonel D'Hubert. Recruiting his strength in a little German + town for three weeks, he was surprised to discover within himself a love + of repose. His returning vigour was strangely pacific in its aspirations. + He meditated silently upon that bizarre change of mood. No doubt many of + his brother officers of field rank had the same personal experience. But + these were not the times to talk of it. In one of his letters home Colonel + D'Hubert wrote: “All your plans, my dear Leonie, of marrying me to the + charming girl you have discovered in your neighbourhood, seem farther off + than ever. Peace is not yet. Europe wants another lesson. It will be a + hard task for us, but it will be done well, because the emperor is + invincible.” + </p> + <p> + Thus wrote Colonel D'Hubert from Pomerania to his married sister Léonie, + settled in the south of France. And so far the sentiments expressed would + not have been disowned by Colonel Feraud who wrote no letters to anybody; + whose father had been in life an illiterate blacksmith; who had no sister + or brother, and whom no one desired ardently to pair off for a life of + peace with a charming young girl. But Colonel D'Hubert's letter contained + also some philosophical generalities upon the uncertainty of all personal + hopes if bound up entirely with the prestigious fortune of one + incomparably great, it is true, yet still remaining but a man in his + greatness. This sentiment would have appeared rank heresy to Colonel + Feraud. Some melancholy forebodings of a military kind expressed + cautiously would have been pronounced as nothing short of high treason by + Colonel Feraud. But Léonie, the sister of Colonel D'Hubert, read them with + positive satisfaction, and folding the letter thoughtfully remarked to + herself that “Armand was likely to prove eventually a sensible fellow.” + Since her marriage into a Southern family she had become a convinced + believer in the return of the legitimate king. Hopeful and anxious she + offered prayers night and morning, and burned candles in churches for the + safety and prosperity of her brother. + </p> + <p> + She had every reason to suppose that her prayers were heard. Colonel + D'Hubert passed through Lutzen, Bautzen, and Leipsic, losing no limbs and + acquiring additional reputation. Adapting his conduct to the needs of that + desperate time, he had never voiced his misgivings. He concealed them + under a cheerful courtesy of such pleasant character that people were + inclined to ask themselves with wonder whether Colonel D'Hubert was aware + of any disasters. Not only his manners but even his glances remained + untroubled. The steady amenity of his blue eyes disconcerted all + grumblers, silenced doleful remarks, and made even despair pause. + </p> + <p> + This bearing was remarked at last by the emperor himself, for Colonel + D'Hubert, attached now to the Major-General's staff, came on several + occasions under the imperial eye. But it exasperated the higher strung + nature of Colonel Feraud. Passing through Magdeburg on service this last + allowed himself, while seated gloomily at dinner with the <i>Commandant de + Place</i>, to say of his lifelong adversary: “This man does not love the + emperor,”—and as his words were received in profound silence Colonel + Feraud, troubled in his conscience at the atrocity of the aspersion, felt + the need to back it up by a good argument. “I ought to know him,” he said, + adding some oaths. “One studies one's adversary. I have met him on the + ground half a dozen times, as all the army knows. What more do you want? + If that isn't opportunity enough for any fool to size up his man, may the + devil take me if I can tell what is.” And he looked around the table with + sombre obstinacy. + </p> + <p> + Later on, in Paris, while feverishly busy reorganising his regiment, + Colonel Feraud learned that Colonel D'Hubert had been made a general. He + glared at his informant incredulously, then folded his arms and turned + away muttering: + </p> + <p> + “Nothing surprises me on the part of that man.” + </p> + <p> + And aloud he added, speaking over his shoulder: “You would greatly oblige + me by telling General D'Hubert at the first opportunity that his + advancement saves him for a time from a pretty hot encounter. I was only + waiting for him to turn up here.” + </p> + <p> + The other officer remonstrated. + </p> + <p> + “Could you think of it, Colonel Feraud! At this time when every life + should be consecrated to the glory and safety of France!” + </p> + <p> + But the strain of unhappiness caused by military reverses had spoiled + Colonel Feraud's character. Like many other men he was rendered wicked by + misfortune. + </p> + <p> + “I cannot consider General D'Hubert's person of any account either for the + glory or safety of France,” he snapped viciously. “You don't pretend, + perhaps, to know him better than I do—who have been with him half a + dozen times on the ground—do you?” + </p> + <p> + His interlocutor, a young man, was silenced. Colonel Feraud walked up and + down the room. + </p> + <p> + “This is not a time to mince matters,” he said. “I can't believe that that + man ever loved the emperor. He picked up his general's stars under the + boots of Marshal Berthier. Very well. I'll get mine in another fashion, + and then we shall settle this business which has been dragging on too + long.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert, informed indirectly of Colonel Feraud's attitude, made a + gesture as if to put aside an importunate person. His thoughts were + solicited by graver cares. He had had no time to go and see his family. + His sister, whose royalist hopes were rising higher every day, though + proud of her brother, regretted his recent advancement in a measure, + because it put on him a prominent mark of the usurper's favour which later + on could have an adverse influence upon his career. He wrote to her that + no one but an inveterate enemy could say he had got his promotion by + favour. As to his career he assured her that he looked no farther forward + into the future than the next battlefield. + </p> + <p> + Beginning the campaign of France in that state of mind, General D'Hubert + was wounded on the second day of the battle under Laon. While being + carried off the field he heard that Colonel Feraud, promoted that moment + to general, had been sent to replace him in the command of his brigade. He + cursed his luck impulsively, not being able, at the first glance, to + discern all the advantages of a nasty wound. And yet it was by this heroic + method that Providence was shaping his future. Travelling slowly south to + his sister's country house, under the care of a trusty old servant, + General D'Hubert was spared the humiliating contacts and the perplexities + of conduct which assailed the men of the Napoleonic empire at the moment + of its downfall. Lying in his bed with the windows of his room open wide + to the sunshine of Provence, he perceived at last the undisguised aspect + of the blessing conveyed by that jagged fragment of a Prussian shell + which, killing his horse and ripping open his thigh, saved him from an + active conflict with his conscience. After fourteen years spent sword in + hand in the saddle and strong in the sense of his duty done to the end, + General D'Hubert found resignation an easy virtue. His sister was + delighted with his reasonableness. “I leave myself altogether in your + hands, my dear Léonie,” he had said. + </p> + <p> + He was still laid up when, the credit of his brother-in-law's family being + exerted on his behalf, he received from the Royal Government not only the + confirmation of his rank but the assurance of being retained on the active + list. To this was added an unlimited convalescent leave. The unfavourable + opinion entertained of him in the more irreconcilable Bonapartist circles, + though it rested on nothing more solid than the unsupported pronouncement + of General Feraud, was directly responsible for General D'Hubert's + retention on the active list. As to General Feraud, his rank was + confirmed, too. It was more than he dared to expect, but Marshal Soult, + then Minister of War to the restored king, was partial to officers who had + served in Spain. Only not even the marshal's protection could secure for + him active employment. He remained irreconcilable, idle and sinister, + seeking in obscure restaurants the company of other half-pay officers, who + cherished dingy but glorious old tricolour cockades in their breast + pockets, and buttoned with the forbidden eagle buttons their shabby + uniform, declaring themselves too poor to afford the expense of the + prescribed change. + </p> + <p> + The triumphant return of the emperor, a historical fact as marvellous and + incredible as the exploits of some mythological demi-god, found General + D'Hubert still quite unable to sit a horse. Neither could he walk very + well. These disabilities, which his sister thought most lucky, helped her + immensely to keep her brother out of all possible mischief. His frame of + mind at that time, she noted with dismay, became very far from reasonable. + That general officer, still menaced by the loss of a limb, was discovered + one night in the stables of the château by a groom who, seeing a light, + raised an alarm of thieves. His crutch was lying half buried in the straw + of the litter, and he himself was hopping on one leg in a loose box around + a snorting horse he was trying to saddle. Such were the effects of + imperial magic upon an unenthusiastic temperament and a pondered mind. + Beset, in the light of stable lanterns, by the tears, entreaties, + indignation, remonstrances and reproaches of his family, he got out of the + difficult situation by fainting away there and then in the arms of his + nearest relatives, and was carried off to bed. Before he got out of it + again the second reign of Napoleon, the Hundred Days of feverish agitation + and supreme effort passed away like a terrifying dream. The tragic year + 1815, begun in the trouble and unrest of consciences, was ending in + vengeful proscriptions. + </p> + <p> + How General Feraud escaped the clutches of the Special Commission and the + last offices of a firing squad, he never knew himself. It was partly due + to the subordinate position he was assigned during the Hundred Days. He + was not given active command but was kept busy at the cavalry depot in + Paris, mounting and despatching hastily drilled troopers into the field. + Considering this task as unworthy of his abilities, he discharged it with + no offensively noticeable zeal. But for the greater part he was saved from + the excesses of royalist reaction by the interference of General D'Hubert. + </p> + <p> + This last, still on convalescent leave but able now to travel, had been + despatched by his sister to Paris to present himself to his legitimate + sovereign. As no one in the capital could possibly know anything of the + episode in the stable, he was received there with distinction. Military to + the very bottom of his soul, the prospect of rising in his profession + consoled him from finding himself the butt of Bonapartist malevolence + which pursued him with a persistence he could not account for. All the + rancour of that embittered and persecuted party pointed to him as the man + who had <i>never</i> loved the emperor—a sort of monster essentially + worse than a mere betrayer. + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert shrugged his shoulders without anger at this ferocious + prejudice. Rejected by his old friends and mistrusting profoundly the + advances of royalist society, the young and handsome general (he was + barely forty) adopted a manner of punctilious and cold courtesy which at + the merest shadow of an intended slight passed easily into harsh + haughtiness. Thus prepared, General D'Hubert went about his affairs in + Paris feeling inwardly very happy with the peculiar uplifting happiness of + a man very much in love. The charming girl looked out by his sister had + come upon the scene and had conquered him in the thorough manner in which + a young girl, by merely existing in his sight, can make a man of forty her + own. They were going to be married as soon as General D'Hubert had + obtained his official nomination to a promised command. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon, sitting on the <i>terrasse</i> of the Café Tortoni, General + D'Hubert learned from the conversation of two strangers occupying a table + near his own that General Feraud, included in the batch of superior + officers arrested after the second return of the king, was in danger of + passing before the Special Commission. Living all his spare moments, as is + frequently the case with expectant lovers a day in advance of reality, as + it were, and in a state of bestarred hallucination, it required nothing + less than the name of his perpetual antagonist pronounced in a loud voice + to call the youngest of Napoleon's generals away from the mental + contemplation of his betrothed. He looked round. The strangers wore + civilian clothes. Lean and weather-beaten, lolling back in their chairs, + they looked at people with moody and defiant abstraction from under their + hats pulled low over their eyes. It was not difficult to recognise them + for two of the compulsorily retired officers of the Old Guard. As from + bravado or carelessness they chose to speak in loud tones, General + D'Hubert, who saw no reason why he should change his seat, heard every + word. They did not seem to be the personal friends of General Feraud. His + name came up with some others; and hearing it repeated General D'Hubert's + tender anticipations of a domestic future adorned by a woman's grace were + traversed by the harsh regret of that warlike past, of that one long, + intoxicating clash of arms, unique in the magnitude of its glory and + disaster—the marvellous work and the special possession of his own + generation. He felt an irrational tenderness toward his old adversary, and + appreciated emotionally the murderous absurdity their encounter had + introduced into his life. It was like an additional pinch of spice in a + hot dish. He remembered the flavour with sudden melancholy. He would never + taste it again. It was all over.... “I fancy it was being left lying in + the garden that had exasperated him so against me,” he thought + indulgently. + </p> + <p> + The two strangers at the next table had fallen silent upon the third + mention of General Feraud's name. Presently, the oldest of the two, + speaking in a bitter tone, affirmed that General Feraud's account was + settled. And why? Simply because he was not like some big-wigs who loved + only themselves. The royalists knew that they could never make anything of + him. He loved the Other too well. + </p> + <p> + The Other was the man of St. Helena. The two officers nodded and touched + glasses before they drank to an impossible return. Then the same who had + spoken before remarked with a sardonic little laugh: + </p> + <p> + “His adversary showed more cleverness.” + </p> + <p> + “What adversary?” asked the younger as if puzzled. + </p> + <p> + “Don't you know? They were two Hussars. At each promotion they fought a + duel. Haven't you heard of the duel that is going on since 1801?” + </p> + <p> + His friend had heard of the duel, of course. Now he understood the + allusion. General Baron D'Hubert would be able now to enjoy his fat king's + favour in peace. + </p> + <p> + “Much good may it do to him,” mumbled the elder. “They were both brave + men. I never saw this D'Hubert—a sort of intriguing dandy, I + understand. But I can well believe what I've heard Feraud say once of him—that + he never loved the emperor.” + </p> + <p> + They rose and went away. + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert experienced the horror of a somnambulist who wakes up + from a complacent dream of activity to find himself walking on a quagmire. + A profound disgust of the ground on which he was making his way overcame + him. Even the image of the charming girl was swept from his view in the + flood of moral distress. Everything he had ever been or hoped to be would + be lost in ignominy unless he could manage to save General Feraud from the + fate which threatened so many braves. Under the impulse of this almost + morbid need to attend to the safety of his adversary General D'Hubert + worked so well with hands and feet (as the French saying is) that in less + than twenty-four hours he found means of obtaining an extraordinary + private audience from the Minister of Police. + </p> + <p> + General Baron D'Hubert was shown in suddenly without preliminaries. In the + dusk of the minister's cabinet, behind the shadowy forms of writing desk, + chairs, and tables, between two bunches of wax candles blazing in sconces, + he beheld a figure in a splendid coat posturing before a tall mirror. The + old <i>Conventional</i> Fouché, ex-senator of the empire, traitor to every + man, every principle and motive of human conduct, Duke of Otranto, and the + wily artisan of the Second Restoration, was trying the fit of a court + suit, in which his young and accomplished <i>fiancée</i> had declared her + wish to have his portrait painted on porcelain. It was a caprice, a + charming fancy which the Minister of Police of the Second Restoration was + anxious to gratify. For that man, often compared in wiliness of intellect + to a fox but whose ethical side could be worthily symbolised by nothing + less emphatic than a skunk, was as much possessed by his love as General + D'Hubert himself. + </p> + <p> + Startled to be discovered thus by the blunder of a servant, he met this + little vexation with the characteristic effrontery which had served his + turn so well in the endless intrigues of his self-seeking career. Without + altering his attitude a hair's breadth, one leg in a silk stocking + advanced, his head twisted over his left shoulder, he called out calmly: + </p> + <p> + “This way, general. Pray approach. Well? I am all attention.” + </p> + <p> + While General D'Hubert, as ill at ease as if one of his own little + weaknesses had been exposed, presented his request as shortly as possible, + the minister went on feeling the fit of his collar, settling the lappels + before the glass or buckling his back in his efforts to behold the set of + the gold-embroidered coat skirts behind. His still face, his attentive + eyes, could not have expressed a more complete interest in those matters + if he had been alone. + </p> + <p> + “Exclude from the operations of the Special Commission a certain Feraud, + Gabriel Florian, General of Brigade of the promotion of 1814?” he repeated + in a slightly wondering tone and then turned away from the glass. “Why + exclude him precisely?” + </p> + <p> + “I am surprised that your Excellency, so competent in the valuation of men + of his time, should have thought it worth while to have that name put down + on the list.” + </p> + <p> + “A rabid Bonapartist.” + </p> + <p> + “So is every grenadier and every trooper of the army, as your Excellency + well knows. And the individuality of General Feraud can have no more + weight than that of any casual grenadier. He is a man of no mental grasp, + of no capacity whatever. It is inconceivable that he should ever have any + influence.” + </p> + <p> + “He has a well-hung tongue though,” interjected Fouché. + </p> + <p> + “Noisy, I admit, but not dangerous.” + </p> + <p> + “I will not dispute with you. I know next to nothing of him. Hardly his + name in fact.” + </p> + <p> + “And yet your Excellency had the presidency of the commission charged by + the king to point out those who were to be tried,” said General D'Hubert + with an emphasis which did not miss the minister's ear. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, general,” he said, walking away into the dark part of the vast room + and throwing himself into a high-backed armchair whose overshadowed depth + swallowed him up, all but the gleam of gold embroideries on the coat and + the pallid patch of the face. “Yes, general. Take that chair there.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert sat down. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, general,” continued the arch-master in the arts of intrigue and + betrayal, whose duplicity as if at times intolerable to his self-knowledge + worked itself off in bursts of cynical openness. “I did hurry on the + formation of the proscribing commission and took its presidency. And do + you know why? Simply from fear that if I did not take it quickly into my + hands my own name would head the list of the proscribed. Such are the + times in which we live. But I am minister of the king as yet, and I ask + you plainly why I should take the name of this obscure Feraud off the + list? You wonder how his name got there. Is it possible that you know men + so little? My dear general, at the very first sitting of the commission + names poured on us like rain off the tiles of the Tuileries. Names! We had + our choice of thousands. How do you know that the name of this Feraud, + whose life or death don't matter to France, does not keep out some other + name?...” + </p> + <p> + The voice out of the armchair stopped. General D'Hubert sat still, + shadowy, and silent. Only his sabre clinked slightly. The voice in the + armchair began again. “And we must try to satisfy the exigencies of the + allied sovereigns. The Prince de Talleyrand told me only yesterday that + Nesselrode had informed him officially that his Majesty, the Emperor + Alexander, was very disappointed at the small number of examples the + government of the king intends to make—especially amongst military + men. I tell you this confidentially.” + </p> + <p> + “Upon my word,” broke out General D'Hubert, speaking through his teeth, + “if your Excellency deigns to favour me with any more confidential + information I don't know what I will do. It's enough to make one break + one's sword over one's knee and fling the pieces...” + </p> + <p> + “What government do you imagine yourself to be serving?” interrupted the + minister sharply. After a short pause the crestfallen voice of General + D'Hubert answered: + </p> + <p> + “The government of France.” + </p> + <p> + “That's paying your conscience off with mere words, general. The truth is + that you are serving a government of returned exiles, of men who have been + without country for twenty years. Of men also who have just got over a + very bad and humiliating fright.... Have no illusions on that score.” + </p> + <p> + The Duke of Otranto ceased. He had relieved himself, and had attained his + object of stripping some self-respect off that man who had inconveniently + discovered him posturing in a gold-embroidered court costume before a + mirror. But they were a hot-headed lot in the army, and it occurred to him + that it would be inconvenient if a well-disposed general officer, received + by him on the recommendation of one of the princes, were to go and do + something rashly scandalous directly after a private interview with the + minister. In a changed voice he put a question to the point: + </p> + <p> + “Your relation—this Feraud?” + </p> + <p> + “No. No relation at all.” + </p> + <p> + “Intimate friend?” + </p> + <p> + “Intimate... yes. There is between us an intimate connection of a nature + which makes it a point of honour with me to try...” + </p> + <p> + The minister rang a bell without waiting for the end of the phrase. When + the servant had gone, after bringing in a pair of heavy silver candelabra + for the writing desk, the Duke of Otranto stood up, his breast glistening + all over with gold in the strong light, and taking a piece of paper out of + a drawer held it in his hand ostentatiously while he said with persuasive + gentleness: + </p> + <p> + “You must not talk of breaking your sword across your knee, general. + Perhaps you would never get another. The emperor shall not return this + time.... <i>Diable d'homme!</i> There was just a moment here in Paris, + soon after Waterloo, when he frightened me. It looked as though he were + going to begin again. Luckily one never does begin again really. You must + not think of breaking your sword, general.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert, his eyes fixed on the ground, made with his hand a + hopeless gesture of renunciation. The Minister of Police turned his eyes + away from him and began to scan deliberately the paper he had been holding + up all the time. + </p> + <p> + “There are only twenty general officers to be brought before the Special + Commission. Twenty. A round number. And let's see, Feraud. Ah, he's there! + Gabriel Florian. <i>Parfaitement</i>. That's your man. Well, there will be + only nineteen examples made now.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert stood up feeling as though he had gone through an + infectious illness. + </p> + <p> + “I must beg your Excellency to keep my interference a profound secret. I + attach the greatest importance to his never knowing...” + </p> + <p> + “Who is going to inform him I should like to know,” said Fouché, raising + his eyes curiously to General D'Hubert's white face. “Take one of these + pens and run it through the name yourself. This is the only list in + existence. If you are careful to take up enough ink no one will be able to + tell even what was the name thus struck out. But, <i>par example</i>, I am + not responsible for what Clarke will do with him. If he persist in being + rabid he will be ordered by the Minster of War to reside in some + provincial town under the supervision of the police.” + </p> + <p> + A few days later General D'Hubert was saying to his sister after the first + greetings had been got over: + </p> + <p> + “Ah, my dear Léonie! It seemed to me I couldn't get away from Paris quick + enough.” + </p> + <p> + “Effect of love,” she suggested with a malicious smile. + </p> + <p> + “And horror,” added General D'Hubert with profound seriousness. “I have + nearly died there of... of nausea.” + </p> + <p> + His face was contracted with disgust. And as his sister looked at him + attentively he continued: + </p> + <p> + “I have had to see Fouché. I have had an audience. I have been in his + cabinet. There remains with one, after the misfortune of having to breathe + the air of the same room with that man, a sense of diminished dignity, the + uneasy feeling of being not so clean after all as one hoped one was.... + But you can't understand.” + </p> + <p> + She nodded quickly several times. She understood very well on the + contrary. She knew her brother thoroughly and liked him as he was. + Moreover, the scorn and loathing of mankind were the lot of the Jacobin + Fouché, who, exploiting for his own advantage every weakness, every + virtue, every generous illusion of mankind, made dupes of his whole + generation and died obscurely as Duke of Otranto. + </p> + <p> + “My dear Armand,” she said compassionately, “what could you want from that + man?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing less than a life,” answered General D'Hubert. “And I've got it. + It had to be done. But I feel yet as if I could never forgive the + necessity to the man I had to save.” + </p> + <p> + General Feraud, totally unable as is the case with most men to comprehend + what was happening to him, received the Minister of War's order to proceed + at once to a small town of Central France with feelings whose natural + expression consisted in a fierce rolling of the eye and savage grinding of + the teeth. But he went. The bewilderment and awe at the passing away of + the state of war—the only condition of society he had ever known—the + prospect of a world at peace frightened him. He went away to his little + town firmly persuaded that this could not last. There he was informed of + his retirement from the army, and that his pension (calculated on the + scale of a colonel's half-pay) was made dependent on the circumspection of + his conduct and on the good reports of the police. No longer in the army! + He felt suddenly a stranger to the earth like a disembodied spirit. It was + impossible to exist. But at first he reacted from sheer incredulity. This + could not be. It could not last. The heavens would fall presently. He + called upon thunder, earthquakes, natural cataclysms. But nothing + happened. The leaden weight of an irremediable idleness descended upon + General Feraud, who, having no resources within himself, sank into a state + of awe-inspiring hebetude. He haunted the streets of the little town + gazing before him with lack-lustre eyes, disregarding the hats raised on + his passage; and the people, nudging each other as he went by, said: + “That's poor General Feraud. His heart is broken. Behold how he loved the + emperor!” + </p> + <p> + The other living wreckage of Napoleonic tempest to be found in that quiet + nook of France clustered round him infinitely respectful of that sorrow. + He himself imagined his soul to be crushed by grief. He experienced + quickly succeeding impulses to weep, to howl, to bite his fists till blood + came, to lie for days on his bed with his head thrust under the pillow; + but they arose from sheer <i>ennui</i>, from the anguish of an immense, + indescribable, inconceivable boredom. Only his mental inability to grasp + the hopeless nature of his case as a whole saved him from suicide. He + never even thought of it once. He thought of nothing; but his appetite + abandoned him, and the difficulty of expressing the overwhelming horror of + his feelings (the most furious swearing could do no justice to it) induced + gradually a habit of silence:—a sort of death to a Southern + temperament. + </p> + <p> + Great therefore was the emotion amongst the <i>anciens militaires</i> + frequenting a certain little café full of flies when one stuffy afternoon + “that poor General Feraud” let out suddenly a volley of formidable curses. + </p> + <p> + He had been sitting quietly in his own privileged corner looking through + the Paris gazettes with about as much interest as a condemned man on the + eve of execution could be expected to show in the news of the day. A + cluster of martial, bronzed faces, including one lacking an eye and + another lacking the tip of a nose frost-bitten in Russia, surrounded him + anxiously. + </p> + <p> + “What's the matter, general?” + </p> + <p> + General Feraud sat erect, holding the newspaper at arm's length in order + to make out the small print better. He was reading very low to himself + over again fragments of the intelligence which had caused what may be + called his resurrection. + </p> + <p> + “We are informed... till now on sick leave... is to be called to the + command of the 5th Cavalry Brigade in...” + </p> + <p> + He dropped the paper stonily, mumbled once more... “Called to the + command”... and suddenly gave his forehead a mighty slap. + </p> + <p> + “I had almost forgotten him,” he cried in a conscience-stricken tone. + </p> + <p> + A deep-chested veteran shouted across the café: + </p> + <p> + “Some new villainy of the government, general?” + </p> + <p> + “The villainies of these scoundrels,” thundered General Feraud, “are + innumerable. One more, one less!...” He lowered his tone. “But I will set + good order to one of them at least.” + </p> + <p> + He looked all round the faces. “There's a pomaded curled staff officer, + the darling of some of the marshals who sold their father for a handful of + English gold. He will find out presently that I am alive yet,” he declared + in a dogmatic tone.... “However, this is a private affair. An old affair + of honour. Bah! Our honour does not matter. Here we are driven off with a + split ear like a lot of cast troop horses—good only for a knacker's + yard. Who cares for our honour now? But it would be like striking a blow + for the emperor.... <i>Messieurs</i>, I require the assistance of two of + you.” + </p> + <p> + Every man moved forward. General Feraud, deeply touched by this + demonstration, called with visible emotion upon the one-eyed veteran + cuirassier and the officer of the <i>Chasseurs à cheval</i>, who had left + the tip of his nose in Russia. He excused his choice to the others. + </p> + <p> + “A cavalry affair this—you know.” + </p> + <p> + He was answered with a varied chorus of “<i>Parfaitement mon Général... + C'est juste... Parbleu c'est connu...</i>” Everybody was satisfied. The + three left the café together, followed by cries of “<i>Bonne chance</i>.” + </p> + <p> + Outside they linked arms, the general in the middle. The three rusty + cocked hats worn <i>en bataille</i>, with a sinister forward slant, barred + the narrow street nearly right across. The overheated little town of gray + stones and red tiles was drowsing away its provincial afternoon under a + blue sky. Far off the loud blows of some coopers hooping a cask, + reverberated regularly between the houses. The general dragged his left + foot a little in the shade of the walls. + </p> + <p> + “That damned winter of 1813 got into my bones for good. Never mind. We + must take pistols, that's all. A little lumbago. We must have pistols. + He's sure game for my bag. My eyes are as keen as ever. Always were. You + should have seen me picking off the dodging Cossacks with a beastly old + infantry musket. I have a natural gift for firearms.” + </p> + <p> + In this strain General Feraud ran on, holding up his head with owlish eyes + and rapacious beak. A mere fighter all his life, a cavalry man, a <i>sabreur</i>, + he conceived war with the utmost simplicity as in the main a massed lot of + personal contests, a sort of gregarious duelling. And here he had on hand + a war of his own. He revived. The shadow of peace had passed away from him + like the shadow of death. It was a marvellous resurrection of the named + Feraud, Gabriel Florian, <i>engagé volontaire</i> of 1793, general of + 1814, buried without ceremony by means of a service order signed by the + War Minister of the Second Restoration. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV + </h2> + <p> + No man succeeds in everything he undertakes. In that sense we are all + failures. The great point is not to fail in ordering and sustaining the + effort of our life. In this matter vanity is what leads us astray. It is + our vanity which hurries us into situations from which we must come out + damaged. Whereas pride is our safeguard by the reserve it imposes on the + choice of our endeavour, as much as by the virtue of its sustaining power. + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert was proud and reserved. He had not been damaged by casual + love affairs successful or otherwise. In his war-scarred body his heart at + forty remained unscratched. Entering with reserve into his sister's + matrimonial plans, he felt himself falling irremediably in love as one + falls off a roof. He was too proud to be frightened. Indeed, the sensation + was too delightful to be alarming. + </p> + <p> + The inexperience of a man of forty is a much more serious thing than the + inexperience of a youth of twenty, for it is not helped out by the + rashness of hot blood. The girl was mysterious, as all young girls are, by + the mere effect of their guarded ingenuity; and to him the mysteriousness + of that young girl appeared exceptional and fascinating. But there was + nothing mysterious about the arrangements of the match which Madame Léonie + had arranged. There was nothing peculiar, either. It was a very + appropriate match, commending itself extremely to the young lady's mother + (her father was dead) and tolerable to the young lady's uncle—an old + <i>émigré</i>, lately returned from Germany, and pervading cane in hand + like a lean ghost of the <i>ancien régime</i> in a long-skirted brown coat + and powdered hair, the garden walks of the young lady's ancestral home. + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert was not the man to be satisfied merely with the girl and + the fortune—when it came to the point. His pride—and pride + aims always at true success—would be satisfied with nothing short of + love. But as pride excludes vanity, he could not imagine any reason why + this mysterious creature, with deep and candid eyes of a violet colour, + should have any feeling for him warmer than indifference. The young lady + (her name was Adèle) baffled every attempt at a clear understanding on + that point. It is true that the attempts were clumsy and timidly made, + because by then General D'Hubert had become acutely aware of the number of + his years, of his wounds, of his many moral imperfections, of his secret + unworthiness—and had incidentally learned by experience the meaning + of the word funk. As far as he could make it out she seemed to imply that + with a perfect confidence in her mother's affection and sagacity she had + no pronounced antipathy for the person of General D'Hubert; and that this + was quite sufficient for a well-brought-up dutiful young lady to begin + married life upon. This view hurt and tormented the pride of General + D'Hubert. And yet, he asked himself with a sort of sweet despair, What + more could he expect? She had a quiet and luminous forehead; her violet + eyes laughed while the lines of her lips and chin remained composed in an + admirable gravity. All this was set off by such a glorious mass of fair + hair, by a complexion so marvellous, by such a grace of expression, that + General D'Hubert really never found the opportunity to examine, with + sufficient detachment, the lofty exigencies of his pride. In fact, he + became shy of that line of inquiry, since it had led once or twice to a + crisis of solitary passion in which it was borne upon him that he loved + her enough to kill her rather than lose her. From such passages, not + unknown to men of forty, he would come out broken, exhausted, remorseful, + a little dismayed. He derived, however, considerable comfort from the + quietist practice of sitting up now and then half the night by an open + window, and meditating upon the wonder of her existence, like a believer + lost in the mystic contemplation of his faith. + </p> + <p> + It must not be supposed that all these variations of his inward state were + made manifest to the world. General D'Hubert found no difficulty in + appearing wreathed in smiles: because, in fact, he was very happy. He + followed the established rules of his condition, sending over flowers + (from his sister's garden and hothouses) early every morning, and a little + later following himself to have lunch with his intended, her mother, and + her <i>émigré</i> uncle. The middle of the day was spent in strolling or + sitting in the shade. A watchful deferential gallantry trembling on the + verge of tenderness, was the note of their intercourse on his side—with + a playful turn of the phrase concealing the profound trouble of his whole + being caused by her inaccessible nearness. Late in the afternoon General + D'Hubert walked home between the fields of vines, sometimes intensely + miserable, sometimes supremely happy, sometimes pensively sad, but always + feeling a special intensity of existence: that elation common to artists, + poets, and lovers, to men haunted by a great passion, by a noble thought + or a new vision of plastic beauty. + </p> + <p> + The outward world at that time did not exist with any special distinctness + for General D'Hubert. One evening, however, crossing a ridge from which he + could see both houses, General D'Hubert became aware of two figures far + down the road. The day had been divine. The festal decoration of the + inflamed sky cast a gentle glow on the sober tints of the southern land. + The gray rocks, the brown fields, the purple undulating distances + harmonised in luminous accord, exhaled already the scents of the evening. + The two figures down the road presented themselves like two rigid and + wooden silhouettes all black on the ribbon of white dust. General D'Hubert + made out the long, straight-cut military <i>capotes</i>, buttoned closely + right up to the black stocks, the cocked hats, the lean carven brown + countenances—old soldiers—<i>vieilles moustaches!</i> The + taller of the two had a black patch over one eye; the other's hard, dry + countenance presented some bizarre disquieting peculiarity which, on + nearer approach, proved to be the absence of the tip of the nose. Lifting + their hands with one movement to salute the slightly lame civilian walking + with a thick stick, they inquired for the house where the General Baron + D'Hubert lived and what was the best way to get speech with him quietly. + </p> + <p> + “If you think this quiet enough,” said General D'Hubert, looking round at + the ripening vine-fields framed in purple lines and dominated by the nest + of gray and drab walls of a village clustering around the top of a steep, + conical hill, so that the blunt church tower seemed but the shape of a + crowning rock—“if you think this quiet enough you can speak to him + at once. And I beg you, comrades, to speak openly with perfect + confidence.” + </p> + <p> + They stepped back at this and raised again their hands to their hats with + marked ceremoniousness. Then the one with the chipped nose, speaking for + both, remarked that the matter was confidential enough and to be arranged + discreetly. Their general quarters were in that village over there where + the infernal clodhoppers—damn their false royalist hearts—looked + remarkably cross-eyed at three unassuming military men. For the present he + should only ask for the name of General D'Hubert's friends. + </p> + <p> + “What friends?” said the astonished General D'Hubert, completely off the + track. “I am staying with my brother-in-law over there.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, he will do for one,” suggested the chipped veteran. + </p> + <p> + “We're the friends of General Feraud,” interjected the other, who had kept + silent till then, only glowering with his one eye at the man who had never + loved the emperor. That was something to look at. For even the gold-laced + Judases who had sold him to the English, the marshals and princes, had + loved him at some time or other. But this man had <i>never</i> loved the + emperor. General Feraud had said so distinctly. + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert felt a sort of inward blow in his chest. For an + infinitesimal fraction of a second it was as if the spinning of the earth + had become perceptible with an awful, slight rustle in the eternal + stillness of space. But that was the noise of the blood in his ears and + passed off at once. Involuntarily he murmured: + </p> + <p> + “Feraud! I had forgotten his existence.” + </p> + <p> + “He's existing at present, very uncomfortably it is true, in the infamous + inn of that nest of savages up there,” said the one-eyed cuirassier drily. + “We arrived in your parts an hour ago on post horses. He's awaiting our + return with impatience. There is hurry, you know. The general has broken + the ministerial order of sojourn to obtain from you the satisfaction he's + entitled to by the laws of honour, and naturally he's anxious to have it + all over before the <i>gendarmerie</i> gets the scent.” + </p> + <p> + The other elucidated the idea a little further. + </p> + <p> + “Get back on the quiet—you understand? Phitt! No one the wiser. We + have broken out, too. Your friend the king would be glad to cut off our + scurvy pittances at the first chance. It's a risk. But honour before + everything.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert had recovered his power of speech. + </p> + <p> + “So you come like this along the road to invite me to a throat-cutting + match with that—that...” A laughing sort of rage took possession of + him. + </p> + <p> + “Ha! ha! ha! ha!” + </p> + <p> + His fists on his hips, he roared without restraint while they stood before + him lank and straight, as unexpected as though they had been shot up with + a snap through a trapdoor in the ground. Only four-and-twenty months ago + the masters of Europe, they had already the air of antique ghosts, they + seemed less substantial in their faded coats than their own narrow shadows + falling so black across the white road—the military and grotesque + shadows of twenty years of war and conquests. They had the outlandish + appearance of two imperturbable bronzes of the religion of the sword. And + General D'Hubert, also one of the ex-masters of Europe, laughed at these + serious phantoms standing in his way. + </p> + <p> + Said one, indicating the laughing general with a jerk of the head: + </p> + <p> + “A merry companion that.” + </p> + <p> + “There are some of us that haven't smiled from the day the Other went + away,” said his comrade. + </p> + <p> + A violent impulse to set upon and beat these unsubstantial wraiths to the + ground frightened General D'Hubert. He ceased laughing suddenly. His + urgent desire now was to get rid of them, to get them away from his sight + quickly before he lost control of himself. He wondered at this fury he + felt rising in his breast. But he had no time to look into that + peculiarity just then. + </p> + <p> + “I understand your wish to be done with me as quickly as possible. Then + why waste time in empty ceremonies. Do you see that wood there at the foot + of that slope? Yes, the wood of pines. Let us meet there to-morrow at + sunrise. I will bring with me my sword or my pistols or both if you like.” + </p> + <p> + The seconds of General Feraud looked at each other. + </p> + <p> + “Pistols, general,” said the cuirassier. + </p> + <p> + “So be it. <i>Au revoir</i>—to-morrow morning. Till then let me + advise you to keep close if you don't want the <i>gendarmerie</i> making + inquiries about you before dark. Strangers are rare in this part of the + country.” + </p> + <p> + They saluted in silence. General D'Hubert, turning his back on their + retreating figures, stood still in the middle of the road for a long time, + biting his lower lip and looking on the ground. Then he began to walk + straight before him, thus retracing his steps till he found himself before + the park gate of his intended's home. Motionless he stared through the + bars at the front of the house gleaming clear beyond the thickets and + trees. Footsteps were heard on the gravel, and presently a tall stooping + shape emerged from the lateral alley following the inner side of the park + wall. + </p> + <p> + Le Chevalier de Valmassigue, uncle of the adorable Adèle, ex-brigadier in + the army of the princes, bookbinder in Altona, afterwards shoemaker (with + a great reputation for elegance in the fit of ladies' shoes) in another + small German town, wore silk stockings on his lean shanks, low shoes with + silver buckles, a brocaded waistcoat. A long-skirted coat <i>à la + Française</i> covered loosely his bowed back. A small three-cornered hat + rested on a lot of powdered hair tied behind in a queue. + </p> + <p> + “<i>Monsieur le Chevalier</i>,” called General D'Hubert softly. + </p> + <p> + “What? You again here, <i>mon ami</i>? Have you forgotten something?” + </p> + <p> + “By heavens! That's just it. I have forgotten something. I am come to tell + you of it. No—outside. Behind this wall. It's too ghastly a thing to + be let in at all where she lives.” + </p> + <p> + The Chevalier came out at once with that benevolent resignation some old + people display towards the fugue of youth. Older by a quarter of a century + than General D'Hubert, he looked upon him in the secret of his heart as a + rather troublesome youngster in love. He had heard his enigmatical words + very well, but attached no undue importance to what a mere man of forty so + hard hit was likely to do or say. The turn of mind of the generation of + Frenchmen grown up during the years of his exile was almost unintelligible + to him. Their sentiments appeared to him unduly violent, lacking fineness + and measure, their language needlessly exaggerated. He joined the general + on the road, and they made a few steps in silence, the general trying to + master his agitation and get proper control of his voice. + </p> + <p> + “Chevalier, it is perfectly true. I forgot something. I forgot till half + an hour ago that I had an urgent affair of honour on my hands. It's + incredible but so it is!” + </p> + <p> + All was still for a moment. Then in the profound evening silence of the + countryside the thin, aged voice of the Chevalier was heard trembling + slightly. + </p> + <p> + “Monsieur! That's an indignity.” + </p> + <p> + It was his first thought. The girl born during his exile, the posthumous + daughter of his poor brother, murdered by a band of Jacobins, had grown + since his return very dear to his old heart, which had been starving on + mere memories of affection for so many years. + </p> + <p> + “It is an inconceivable thing—I say. A man settles such affairs + before he thinks of asking for a young girl's hand. Why! If you had + forgotten for ten days longer you would have been married before your + memory returned to you. In my time men did not forget such things—nor + yet what's due to the feelings of an innocent young woman. If I did not + respect them myself I would qualify your conduct in a way which you would + not like.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert relieved himself frankly by a groan. + </p> + <p> + “Don't let that consideration prevent you. You run no risk of offending + her mortally.” + </p> + <p> + But the old man paid no attention to this lover's nonsense. It's doubtful + whether he even heard. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” he asked. “What's the nature of...” + </p> + <p> + “Call it a youthful folly, <i>Monsieur le Chevalier</i>. An inconceivable, + incredible result of...” + </p> + <p> + He stopped short. “He will never believe the story,” he thought. “He will + only think I am taking him for a fool and get offended.” General D'Hubert + spoke up again. “Yes, originating in youthful folly it has become...” + </p> + <p> + The Chevalier interrupted. “Well then it must be arranged.” + </p> + <p> + “Arranged.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. No matter what it may cost your <i>amour propre</i>. You should have + remembered you were engaged. You forgot that, too, I suppose. And then you + go and forget your quarrel. It's the most revolting exhibition of levity I + ever heard of.” + </p> + <p> + “Good heavens, Chevalier! You don't imagine I have been picking up that + quarrel last time I was in Paris or anything of the sort. Do you?” + </p> + <p> + “Eh? What matters the precise date of your insane conduct!” exclaimed the + Chevalier testily. “The principal thing is to arrange it...” + </p> + <p> + Noticing General D'Hubert getting restive and trying to place a word, the + old <i>émigré</i> raised his arm and added with dignity: + </p> + <p> + “I've been a soldier, too. I would never dare to suggest a doubtful step + to the man whose name my niece is to bear. I tell you that <i>entre + gallants hommes</i> an affair can be always arranged.” + </p> + <p> + “But, <i>saperlotte, Monsieur le Chevalier</i>, it's fifteen or sixteen + years ago. I was a lieutenant of Hussars then.” + </p> + <p> + The old Chevalier seemed confounded by the vehemently despairing tone of + this information. + </p> + <p> + “You were a lieutenant of Hussars sixteen years ago?” he mumbled in a + dazed manner. + </p> + <p> + “Why, yes! You did not suppose I was made a general in my cradle like a + royal prince.” + </p> + <p> + In the deepening purple twilight of the fields, spread with vine leaves, + backed by a low band of sombre crimson in the west, the voice of the old + ex-officer in the army of the princes sounded collected, punctiliously + civil. + </p> + <p> + “Do I dream? Is this a pleasantry? Or do you mean me to understand that + you have been hatching an affair of honour for sixteen years?” + </p> + <p> + “It has clung to me for that length of time. That is my precise meaning. + The quarrel itself is not to be explained easily. We have been on the + ground several times during that time of course.” + </p> + <p> + “What manners! What horrible perversion of manliness! Nothing can account + for such inhumanity but the sanguinary madness of the Revolution which has + tainted a whole generation,” mused the returned <i>émigré</i> in a low + tone. “Who is your adversary?” he asked a little louder. + </p> + <p> + “What? My adversary! His name is Feraud.” Shadowy in his<i> tricorne</i> + and old-fashioned clothes like a bowed thin ghost of the <i>ancien régime</i> + the Chevalier voiced a ghostly memory. + </p> + <p> + “I can remember the feud about little Sophie Derval between Monsieur de + Brissac, captain in the Bodyguards and d'Anjorrant. Not the pockmarked + one. The other. The Beau d'Anjorrant as they called him. They met three + times in eighteen months in a most gallant manner. It was the fault of + that little Sophie, too, who <i>would</i> keep on playing...” + </p> + <p> + “This is nothing of the kind,” interrupted General D'Hubert. He laughed a + little sardonically. “Not at all so simple,” he added. “Nor yet half so + reasonable,” he finished inaudibly between his teeth and ground them with + rage. + </p> + <p> + After this sound nothing troubled the silence for a long time till the + Chevalier asked without animation: + </p> + <p> + “What is he—this Feraud?” + </p> + <p> + “Lieutenant of Hussars, too—I mean he's a general. A Gascon. Son of + a blacksmith, I believe.” + </p> + <p> + “There! I thought so. That Bonaparte had a special predilection for the <i>canaille</i>. + I don't mean this for you, D'Hubert. You are one of us, though you have + served this usurper who...” + </p> + <p> + “Let's leave him out of this,” broke in General D'Hubert. + </p> + <p> + The Chevalier shrugged his peaked shoulders. + </p> + <p> + “A Feraud of sorts. Offspring of a blacksmith and some village troll.... + See what comes of mixing yourself up with that sort of people.” + </p> + <p> + “You have made shoes yourself, Chevalier.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. But I am not the son of a shoemaker. Neither are you, Monsieur + D'Hubert. You and I have something that your Bonaparte's, princes, dukes, + and marshals have not because there's no power on earth that could give it + to them,” retorted the <i>émigré</i>, with the rising animation of a man + who has got hold of a hopeful argument. “Those people don't exist—all + these Ferauds. Feraud! What is Feraud? A <i>va-nu-pieds</i> disguised into + a general by a Corsican adventurer masquerading as an emperor. There is no + earthly reason for a D'Hubert to <i>s'encanailler</i> by a duel with a + person of that sort. You can make your excuses to him perfectly well. And + if the <i>manant</i> takes it into his head to decline them you may simply + refuse to meet him.” “You say I may do that?” “Yes. With the clearest + conscience.” “<i>Monsieur le Chevalier!</i> To what do you think you have + returned from your emigration?” + </p> + <p> + This was said in such a startling tone that the old exile raised sharply + his bowed head, glimmering silvery white under the points of the little <i>tricorne</i>. + For a long time he made no sound. + </p> + <p> + “God knows!” he said at last, pointing with a slow and grave gesture at a + tall roadside cross mounted on a block of stone and stretching its arms of + forged stone all black against the darkening red band in the sky. “God + knows! If it were not for this emblem, which I remember seeing in this + spot as a child, I would wonder to what we, who have remained faithful to + our God and our king, have returned. The very voices of the people have + changed.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, it is a changed France,” said General D'Hubert. He had regained his + calm. His tone was slightly ironic. “Therefore, I cannot take your advice. + Besides, how is one to refuse to be bitten by a dog that means to bite? + It's impracticable. Take my word for it. He isn't a man to be stopped by + apologies or refusals. But there are other ways. I could, for instance, + send a mounted messenger with a word to the brigadier of the <i>gendarmerie</i> + in Senlac. These fellows are liable to arrest on my simple order. It would + make some talk in the army, both the organised and the disbanded. + Especially the disbanded. All <i>canaille</i>. All my comrades once—the + companions in arms of Armand D'Hubert. But what need a D'Hubert care what + people who don't exist may think? Or better still, I might get my + brother-in-law to send for the mayor of the village and give him a hint. + No more would be needed to get the three 'brigands' set upon with flails + and pitchforks and hunted into some nice deep wet ditch. And nobody the + wiser! It has been done only ten miles from here to three poor devils of + the disbanded Red Lancers of the Guard going to their homes. What says + your conscience, Chevalier? Can a D'Hubert do that thing to three men who + do not exist?” + </p> + <p> + A few stars had come out on the blue obscurity, clear as crystal, of the + sky. The dry, thin voice of the Chevalier spoke harshly. + </p> + <p> + “Why are you telling me all this?” + </p> + <p> + The general seized a withered, frail old hand with a strong grip. + </p> + <p> + “Because I owe you my fullest confidence. Who could tell Adèle but you? + You understand why I dare not trust my brother-in-law nor yet my own + sister. Chevalier! I have been so near doing these things that I tremble + yet. You don't know how terrible this duel appears to me. And there's no + escape from it.” + </p> + <p> + He murmured after a pause, “It's a fatality,” dropped the Chevalier's + passive hand, and said in his ordinary conversational voice: + </p> + <p> + “I shall have to go without seconds. If it is my lot to remain on the + ground, you at least will know all that can be made known of this affair.” + </p> + <p> + The shadowy ghost of the <i>ancien régime</i> seemed to have become more + bowed during the conversation. + </p> + <p> + “How am I to keep an indifferent face this evening before those two + women?” he groaned. “General! I find it very difficult to forgive you.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert made no answer. + </p> + <p> + “Is your cause good at least?” + </p> + <p> + “I am innocent.” + </p> + <p> + This time he seized the Chevalier's ghostly arm above the elbow, gave it a + mighty squeeze. + </p> + <p> + “I must kill him,” he hissed, and opening his hand strode away down the + road. + </p> + <p> + The delicate attentions of his adoring sister had secured for the general + perfect liberty of movement in the house where he was a guest. He had even + his own entrance through a small door in one corner of the orangery. Thus + he was not exposed that evening to the necessity of dissembling his + agitation before the calm ignorance of the other inmates. He was glad of + it. It seemed to him that if he had to open his lips, he would break out + into horrible imprecation, start breaking furniture, smashing china and + glasses. From the moment he opened the private door, and while ascending + the twenty-eight steps of winding staircase, giving access to the corridor + on which his room opened, he went through a horrible and humiliating scene + in which an infuriated madman, with bloodshot eyes and a foaming mouth, + played inconceivable havoc with everything inanimate that may be found in + a well-appointed dining room. When he opened the door of his apartment the + fit was over, and his bodily fatigue was so great that he had to catch at + the backs of the chairs as he crossed the room to reach a low and broad + divan on which he let himself fall heavily. His moral prostration was + still greater. That brutality of feeling, which he had known only when + charging sabre in hand, amazed this man of forty, who did not recognise in + it the instinctive fury of his menaced passion. It was the revolt of + jeopardised desire. In his mental and bodily exhaustion it got cleared, + fined down, purified into a sentiment of melancholy despair at having, + perhaps, to die before he had taught this beautiful girl to love him. + </p> + <p> + On that night General D'Hubert, either stretched on his back with his + hands over his eyes or lying on his breast, with his face buried in a + cushion, made the full pilgrimage of emotions. Nauseating disgust at the + absurdity of the situation, dread of the fate that could play such a vile + trick on a man, awe at the remote consequences of an apparently + insignificant and ridiculous event in his past, doubt of his own fitness + to conduct his existence and mistrust of his best sentiments—for + what the devil did he want to go to Fouché for?—he knew them all in + turn. “I am an idiot, neither more nor less,” he thought. “A sensitive + idiot. Because I overheard two men talk in a café... I am an idiot afraid + of lies—whereas in life it is only truth that matters.” + </p> + <p> + Several times he got up, and walking about in his socks, so as not to be + heard by anybody downstairs, drank all the water he could find in the + dark. And he tasted the torments of jealousy, too. She would marry + somebody else. His very soul writhed. The tenacity of that Feraud, the + awful persistence of that imbecile brute came to him with the tremendous + force of a relentless fatality. General D'Hubert trembled as he put down + the empty water ewer. “He will have me,” he thought. General D'Hubert was + tasting every emotion that life has to give. He had in his dry mouth the + faint, sickly flavour of fear, not the honourable fear of a young girl's + candid and amused glance, but the fear of death and the honourable man's + fear of cowardice. + </p> + <p> + But if true courage consists in going out to meet an odious danger from + which our body, soul and heart recoil together General D'Hubert had the + opportunity to practise it for the first time in his life. He had charged + exultingly at batteries and infantry squares and ridden with messages + through a hail of bullets without thinking anything about it. His business + now was to sneak out unheard, at break of day, to an obscure and revolting + death. General D'Hubert never hesitated. He carried two pistols in a + leather bag which he slung over his shoulder. Before he had crossed the + garden his mouth was dry again. He picked two oranges. It was only after + shutting the gate after him that he felt a slight faintness. + </p> + <p> + He stepped out disregarding it, and after going a few yards regained the + command of his legs. He sucked an orange as he walked. It was a colourless + and pellucid dawn. The wood of pines detached its columns of brown trunks + and its dark-green canopy very clearly against the rocks of the gray + hillside behind. He kept his eyes fixed on it steadily. That + temperamental, good-humoured coolness in the face of danger, which made + him an officer liked by his men and appreciated by his superiors, was + gradually asserting itself. It was like going into battle. Arriving at the + edge of the wood he sat down on a boulder, holding the other orange in his + hand, and thought that he had come ridiculously early on the ground. + Before very long, however, he heard the swishing of bushes, footsteps on + the hard ground, and the sounds of a disjointed loud conversation. A voice + somewhere behind him said boastfully, “He's game for my bag.” + </p> + <p> + He thought to himself, “Here they are. What's this about game? Are they + talking of me?” And becoming aware of the orange in his hand he thought + further, “These are very good oranges. Leonie's own tree. I may just as + well eat this orange instead of flinging it away.” + </p> + <p> + Emerging from a tangle of rocks and bushes, General Feraud and his seconds + discovered General D'Hubert engaged in peeling the orange. They stood + still waiting till he looked up. Then the seconds raised their hats, and + General Feraud, putting his hands behind his back, walked aside a little + way. + </p> + <p> + “I am compelled to ask one of you, messieurs, to act for me. I have + brought no friends. Will you?” + </p> + <p> + The one-eyed cuirassier said judicially: + </p> + <p> + “That cannot be refused.” + </p> + <p> + The other veteran remarked: + </p> + <p> + “It's awkward all the same.” + </p> + <p> + “Owing to the state of the people's minds in this part of the country + there was no one I could trust with the object of your presence here,” + explained General D'Hubert urbanely. They saluted, looked round, and + remarked both together: + </p> + <p> + “Poor ground.” + </p> + <p> + “It's unfit.” + </p> + <p> + “Why bother about ground, measurements, and so on. Let us simplify + matters. Load the two pairs of pistols. I will take those of General + Feraud and let him take mine. Or, better still, let us take a mixed pair. + One of each pair. Then we will go into the wood while you remain outside. + We did not come here for ceremonies, but for war. War to the death. Any + ground is good enough for that. If I fall you must leave me where I lie + and clear out. It wouldn't be healthy for you to be found hanging about + here after that.” + </p> + <p> + It appeared after a short parley that General Feraud was willing to accept + these conditions. While the seconds were loading the pistols he could be + heard whistling, and was seen to rub his hands with an air of perfect + contentment. He flung off his coat briskly, and General D'Hubert took off + his own and folded it carefully on a stone. + </p> + <p> + “Suppose you take your principal to the other side of the wood and let him + enter exactly in ten minutes from now,” suggested General D'Hubert calmly, + but feeling as if he were giving directions for his own execution. This, + however, was his last moment of weakness. + </p> + <p> + “Wait! Let us compare watches first.” + </p> + <p> + He pulled out his own. The officer with the chipped nose went over to + borrow the watch of General Feraud. They bent their heads over them for a + time. + </p> + <p> + “That's it. At four minutes to five by yours. Seven to, by mine.” + </p> + <p> + It was the cuirassier who remained by the side of General D'Hubert, + keeping his one eye fixed immovably on the white face of the watch he held + in the palm of his hand. He opened his mouth wide, waiting for the beat of + the last second, long before he snapped out the word: + </p> + <p> + “<i>Avancez!</i>” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert moved on, passing from the glaring sunshine of the + Provençal morning into the cool and aromatic shade of the pines. The + ground was clear between the reddish trunks, whose multitude, leaning at + slightly different angles, confused his eye at first. It was like going + into battle. The commanding quality of confidence in himself woke up in + his breast. He was all to his affair. The problem was how to kill his + adversary. Nothing short of that would free him from this imbecile + nightmare. “It's no use wounding that brute,” he thought. He was known as + a resourceful officer. His comrades, years ago, used to call him “the + strategist.” And it was a fact that he could think in the presence of the + enemy, whereas Feraud had been always a mere fighter. But a dead shot, + unluckily. + </p> + <p> + “I must draw his fire at the greatest possible range,” said General + D'Hubert to himself. + </p> + <p> + At that moment he saw something white moving far off between the trees. + The shirt of his adversary. He stepped out at once between the trunks + exposing himself freely, then quick as lightning leaped back. It had been + a risky move, but it succeeded in its object. Almost simultaneously with + the pop of a shot a small piece of bark chipped off by the bullet stung + his ear painfully. + </p> + <p> + And now General Feraud, with one shot expended, was getting cautious. + Peeping round his sheltering tree, General D'Hubert could not see him at + all. This ignorance of his adversary's whereabouts carried with it a sense + of insecurity. General D'Hubert felt himself exposed on his flanks and + rear. Again something white fluttered in his sight. Ha! The enemy was + still on his front then. He had feared a turning movement. But, + apparently, General Feraud was not thinking of it. General D'Hubert saw + him pass without special haste from one tree to another in the straight + line of approach. With great firmness of mind General D'Hubert stayed his + hand. Too far yet. He knew he was no marksman. His must be a waiting game—to + kill. + </p> + <p> + He sank down to the ground wishing to take advantage of the greater + thickness of the trunk. Extended at full length, head on to his enemy, he + kept his person completely protected. Exposing himself would not do now + because the other was too near by this time. A conviction that Feraud + would presently do something rash was like balm to General D'Hubert's + soul. But to keep his chin raised off the ground was irksome, and not much + use either. He peeped round, exposing a fraction of his head, with dread + but really with little risk. His enemy, as a matter of fact, did not + expect to see anything of him so low down as that. General D'Hubert caught + a fleeting view of General Feraud shifting trees again with deliberate + caution. “He despises my shooting,” he thought, with that insight into the + mind of his antagonist which is of such great help in winning battles. It + confirmed him in his tactics of immobility. “Ah! if I only could watch my + rear as well as my front!” he thought, longing for the impossible. + </p> + <p> + It required some fortitude to lay his pistols down. But on a sudden + impulse General D'Hubert did this very gently—one on each side. He + had been always looked upon as a bit of a dandy, because he used to shave + and put on a clean shirt on the days of battle. As a matter of fact he had + been always very careful of his personal appearance. In a man of nearly + forty, in love with a young and charming girl, this praiseworthy + self-respect may run to such little weaknesses as, for instance, being + provided with an elegant leather folding case containing a small ivory + comb and fitted with a piece of looking-glass on the outside. General + D'Hubert, his hands being free, felt in his breeches pockets for that + implement of innocent vanity, excusable in the possessor of long silky + moustaches. He drew it out, and then, with the utmost coolness and + promptitude, turned himself over on his back. In this new attitude, his + head raised a little, holding the looking-glass in one hand just clear of + his tree, he squinted into it with one eye while the other kept a direct + watch on the rear of his position. Thus was proved Napoleon's saying, that + for a French soldier the word impossible does not exist. He had the right + tree nearly filling the field of his little mirror. + </p> + <p> + “If he moves from there,” he said to himself exultingly, “I am bound to + see his legs. And in any case he can't come upon me unawares.” + </p> + <p> + And sure enough he saw the boots of General Feraud flash in and out, + eclipsing for an instant everything else reflected in the little mirror. + He shifted its position accordingly. But having to form his judgment of + the change from that indirect view, he did not realise that his own feet + and a portion of his legs were now in plain and startling view of General + Feraud. + </p> + <p> + General Feraud had been getting gradually impressed by the amazing + closeness with which his enemy had been keeping cover. He had spotted the + right tree with bloodthirsty precision. He was absolutely certain of it. + And yet he had not been able to sight as much as the tip of an ear. As he + had been looking for it at the level of about five feet ten inches it was + no great wonder—but it seemed very wonderful to General Feraud. + </p> + <p> + The first view of these feet and legs determined a rush of blood to his + head. He literally staggered behind his tree, and had to steady himself + with his hand. The other was lying on the ground—on the ground! + Perfectly still, too! Exposed! What did it mean?... The notion that he had + knocked his adversary over at the first shot then entered General Feraud's + head. Once there, it grew with every second of attentive gazing, + overshadowing every other supposition—irresistible—triumphant—ferocious. + </p> + <p> + “What an ass I was to think I could have missed him!” he said to himself. + “He was exposed <i>en plein</i>—the fool—for quite a couple of + seconds.” + </p> + <p> + And the general gazed at the motionless limbs, the last vestiges of + surprise fading before an unbounded admiration of his skill. + </p> + <p> + “Turned up his toes! By the god of war that was a shot!” he continued + mentally. “Got it through the head just where I aimed, staggered behind + that tree, rolled over on his back and died.” + </p> + <p> + And he stared. He stared, forgetting to move, almost awed, almost sorry. + But for nothing in the world would he have had it undone. Such a shot! + Such a shot! Rolled over on his back, and died! + </p> + <p> + For it was this helpless position, lying on the back, that shouted its + sinister evidence at General Feraud. He could not possibly imagine that it + might have been deliberately assumed by a living man. It was + inconceivable. It was beyond the range of sane supposition. There was no + possibility to guess the reason for it. And it must be said that General + D'Hubert's turned-up feet looked thoroughly dead. General Feraud expanded + his lungs for a stentorian shout to his seconds, but from what he felt to + be an excessive scrupulousness, refrained for a while. + </p> + <p> + “I will just go and see first whether he breathes yet,” he mumbled to + himself, stepping out from behind his tree. This was immediately perceived + by the resourceful General D'Hubert. He concluded it to be another shift. + When he lost the boots out of the field of the mirror, he became uneasy. + General Feraud had only stepped a little out of the line, but his + adversary could not possibly have supposed him walking up with perfect + unconcern. General D'Hubert, beginning to wonder where the other had + dodged to, was come upon so suddenly that the first warning he had of his + danger consisted in the long, early-morning shadow of his enemy falling + aslant on his outstretched legs. He had not even heard a footfall on the + soft ground between the trees! + </p> + <p> + It was too much even for his coolness. He jumped up instinctively, leaving + the pistols on the ground. The irresistible instinct of most people + (unless totally paralysed by discomfiture) would have been to stoop—exposing + themselves to the risk of being shot down in that position. Instinct, of + course, is irreflective. It is its very definition. But it may be an + inquiry worth pursuing, whether in reflective mankind the mechanical + promptings of instinct are not affected by the customary mode of thought. + Years ago, in his young days, Armand D'Hubert, the reflective promising + officer, had emitted the opinion that in warfare one should “never cast + back on the lines of a mistake.” This idea afterward restated, defended, + developed in many discussions, had settled into one of the stock notions + of his brain, became a part of his mental individuality. And whether it + had gone so inconceivably deep as to affect the dictates of his instinct, + or simply because, as he himself declared, he was “too scared to remember + the confounded pistols,” the fact is that General D'Hubert never attempted + to stoop for them. Instead of going back on his mistake, he seized the + rough trunk with both hands and swung himself behind it with such + impetuosity that going right round in the very flash and report of a + pistol shot, he reappeared on the other side of the tree face to face with + General Feraud, who, completely unstrung by such a show of agility on the + part of a dead man, was trembling yet. A very faint mist of smoke hung + before his face which had an extraordinary aspect as if the lower jaw had + come unhinged. + </p> + <p> + “Not missed!” he croaked hoarsely from the depths of a dry throat. + </p> + <p> + This sinister sound loosened the spell which had fallen on General + D'Hubert's senses. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, missed—a <i>bout portant</i>” he heard himself saying + exultingly almost before he had recovered the full command of his + faculties. The revulsion of feeling was accompanied by a gust of homicidal + fury resuming in its violence the accumulated resentment of a lifetime. + For years General D'Hubert had been exasperated and humiliated by an + atrocious absurdity imposed upon him by that man's savage caprice. + Besides, General D'Hubert had been in this last instance too unwilling to + confront death for the reaction of his anguish not to take the shape of a + desire to kill. + </p> + <p> + “And I have my two shots to fire yet,” he added pitilessly. + </p> + <p> + General Feraud snapped his teeth, and his face assumed an irate, undaunted + expression. + </p> + <p> + “Go on,” he growled. + </p> + <p> + These would have been his last words on earth if General D'Hubert had been + holding the pistols in his hand. But the pistols were lying on the ground + at the foot of a tall pine. General D'Hubert had the second's leisure + necessary to remember that he had dreaded death not as a man but as a + lover, not as a danger but as a rival—not as a foe to life but as an + obstacle to marriage. And, behold, there was the rival defeated! Miserably + defeated-crushed—done for! + </p> + <p> + He picked up the weapons mechanically, and instead of firing them into + General Feraud's breast, gave expression to the thought uppermost in his + mind. + </p> + <p> + “You will fight no more duels now.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img src="images/frontispiece166.jpg" + alt="166.jpg 'you Will Fight No More Duels Now.' " width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + His tone of leisurely, ineffable satisfaction was too much for General + Feraud's stoicism. + </p> + <p> + “Don't dawdle then, damn you for a coldblooded staff-coxcomb!” he roared + out suddenly out of an impassive face held erect on a rigid body. + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert uncocked the pistols carefully. This proceeding was + observed with a sort of gloomy astonishment by the other general. + </p> + <p> + “You missed me twice,” he began coolly, shifting both pistols to one hand. + “The last time within a foot or so. By every rule of single combat your + life belongs to me. That does not mean that I want to take it now.” + </p> + <p> + “I have no use for your forbearance,” muttered General Feraud savagely. + </p> + <p> + “Allow me to point out that this is no concern of mine,” said General + D'Hubert, whose every word was dictated by a consummate delicacy of + feeling. In anger, he could have killed that man, but in cold blood, he + recoiled from humiliating this unreasonable being—a fellow soldier + of the Grand Armée, his companion in the wonders and terrors of the + military epic. “You don't set up the pretension of dictating to me what I + am to do with what is my own.” + </p> + <p> + General Feraud looked startled. And the other continued: + </p> + <p> + “You've forced me on a point of honour to keep my life at your disposal, + as it were, for fifteen years. Very well. Now that the matter is decided + to my advantage, I am going to do what I like with your life on the same + principle. You shall keep it at my disposal as long as I choose. Neither + more nor less. You are on your honour.” + </p> + <p> + “I am! But <i>sacrebleu!</i> This is an absurd position for a general of + the empire to be placed in,” cried General Feraud, in the accents of + profound and dismayed conviction. “It means for me to be sitting all the + rest of my life with a loaded pistol in a drawer waiting for your word. + It's... it's idiotic. I shall be an object of... of... derision.” + </p> + <p> + “Absurd?... Idiotic? Do you think so?” queried argumentatively General + D'Hubert with sly gravity. “Perhaps. But I don't see how that can be + helped. However, I am not likely to talk at large of this adventure. + Nobody need ever know anything about it. Just as no one to this day, I + believe, knows the origin of our quarrel.... Not a word more,” he added + hastily. “I can't really discuss this question with a man who, as far as I + am concerned, does not exist.” + </p> + <p> + When the duellists came out into the open, General Feraud walking a little + behind and rather with the air of walking in a trance, the two seconds + hurried towards them each from his station at the edge of the wood. + General D'Hubert addressed them, speaking loud and distinctly: + </p> + <p> + “Messieurs! I make it a point of declaring to you solemnly in the presence + of General Feraud that our difference is at last settled for good. You may + inform all the world of that fact.” + </p> + <p> + “A reconciliation after all!” they exclaimed together. + </p> + <p> + “Reconciliation? Not that exactly. It is something much more binding. Is + it not so, general?” + </p> + <p> + General Feraud only lowered his head in sign of assent. The two veterans + looked at each other. Later in the day when they found themselves alone, + out of their moody friend's earshot, the cuirassier remarked suddenly: + </p> + <p> + “Generally speaking, I can see with my one eye as far or even a little + farther than most people. But this beats me. He won't say anything.” + </p> + <p> + “In this affair of honour I understand there has been from first to last + always something that no one in the army could quite make out,” declared + the chasseur with the imperfect nose. “In mystery it began, in mystery it + went on, and in mystery it is to end apparently....” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert walked home with long, hasty strides, by no means + uplifted by a sense of triumph. He had conquered, but it did not seem to + him he had gained very much by his conquest. The night before he had + grudged the risk of his life which appeared to him magnificent, worthy of + preservation as an opportunity to win a girl's love. He had even moments + when by a marvellous illusion this love seemed to him already his and his + threatened life a still more magnificent opportunity of devotion. Now that + his life was safe it had suddenly lost it special magnificence. It wore + instead a specially alarming aspect as a snare for the exposure of + unworthiness. As to the marvellous illusion of conquered love that had + visited him for a moment in the agitated watches of the night which might + have been his last on earth, he comprehended now its true nature. It had + been merely a paroxysm of delirious conceit. Thus to this man sobered by + the victorious issue of a duel, life appeared robbed of much of its charm + simply because it was no longer menaced. + </p> + <p> + Approaching the house from the back through the orchard and the kitchen + gardens, he could not notice the agitation which reigned in front. He + never met a single soul. Only upstairs, while walking softly along the + corridor, he became aware that the house was awake and much more noisy + than usual. Names of servants were being called out down below in a + confused noise of coming and going. He noticed with some concern that the + door of his own room stood ajar, though the shutters had not been opened + yet. He had hoped that his early excursion would have passed unperceived. + He expected to find some servant just gone in; but the sunshine filtering + through the usual cracks enabled him to see lying on the low divan + something bulky which had the appearance of two women clasped in each + other's arms. Tearful and consolatory murmurs issued mysteriously from + that appearance. General D'Hubert pulled open the nearest pair of shutters + violently. One of the women then jumped up. It was his sister. She stood + for a moment with her hair hanging down and her arms raised straight up + above her head, and then flung herself with a stifled cry into his arms. + He returned her embrace, trying at the same time to disengage himself from + it. The other woman had not risen. She seemed, on the contrary, to cling + closer to the divan, hiding her face in the cushions. Her hair was also + loose; it was admirably fair. General D'Hubert recognised it with + staggering emotion. Mlle. de Valmassigue! Adèle! In distress! + </p> + <p> + He became greatly alarmed and got rid of his sister's hug definitely. + Madame Léonie then extended her shapely bare arm out of her peignoir, + pointing dramatically at the divan: + </p> + <p> + “This poor terrified child has rushed here two miles from home on foot—running + all the way.” + </p> + <p> + “What on earth has happened?” asked General D'Hubert in a low, agitated + voice. But Madame Léonie was speaking loudly. + </p> + <p> + “She rang the great bell at the gate and roused all the household—we + were all asleep yet. You may imagine what a terrible shock.... Adèle, my + dear child, sit up.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert's expression was not that of a man who imagines with + facility. He did, however, fish out of chaos the notion that his + prospective mother-in-law had died suddenly, but only to dismiss it at + once. He could not conceive the nature of the event, of the catastrophe + which could induce Mlle, de Valmassigue living in a house full of + servants, to bring the news over the fields herself, two miles, running + all the way. + </p> + <p> + “But why are you in this room?” he whispered, full of awe. + </p> + <p> + “Of course I ran up to see and this child... I did not notice it—she + followed me. It's that absurd Chevalier,” went on Madame Léonie, looking + towards the divan.... “Her hair's come down. You may imagine she did not + stop to call her maid to dress it before she started.... Adèle, my dear, + sit up.... He blurted it all out to her at half-past four in the morning. + She woke up early, and opened her shutters, to breathe the fresh air, and + saw him sitting collapsed on a garden bench at the end of the great alley. + At that hour—you may imagine! And the evening before he had declared + himself indisposed. She just hurried on some clothes and flew down to him. + One would be anxious for less. He loves her, but not very intelligently. + He had been up all night, fully dressed, the poor old man, perfectly + exhausted! He wasn't in a state to invent a plausible story.... What a + confidant you chose there!... My husband was furious! He said: 'We can't + interfere now.' So we sat down to wait. It was awful. And this poor child + running over here publicly with her hair loose. She has been seen by + people in the fields. She has roused the whole household, too. It's + awkward for her. Luckily you are to be married next week.... Adèle, sit + up. He has come home on his own legs, thank God.... We expected you to + come back on a stretcher perhaps—what do I know? Go and see if the + carriage is ready. I must take this child to her mother at once. It isn't + proper for her to stay here a minute longer.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert did not move. It was as though he had heard nothing. + Madame Léonie changed her mind. + </p> + <p> + “I will go and see to it myself,” she said. “I want also to get my + cloak... Adèle...” she began, but did not say “sit up.” She went out + saying in a loud, cheerful tone: “I leave the door open.” + </p> + <p> + General D'Hubert made a movement towards the divan, but then Adèle sat up + and that checked him dead. He thought, “I haven't washed this morning. I + must look like an old tramp. There's earth on the back of my coat, and + pine needles in my hair.” It occurred to him that the situation required a + good deal of circumspection on his part. + </p> + <p> + “I am greatly concerned, mademoiselle,” he began timidly, and abandoned + that line. She was sitting up on the divan with her cheeks unusually pink, + and her hair brilliantly fair, falling all over her shoulders—which + was a very novel sight to the general. He walked away up the room and, + looking out of the window for safety, said: “I fear you must think I + behaved like a madman,” in accents of sincere despair.... Then he spun + round and noticed that she had followed him with her eyes. They were not + cast down on meeting his glance. And the expression of her face was novel + to him also. It was, one might have said, reversed. Her eyes looked at him + with grave thoughtfulness, while the exquisite lines of her mouth seemed + to suggest a restrained smile. This change made her transcendental beauty + much less mysterious, much more accessible to a man's comprehension. An + amazing ease of mind came to the general—and even some ease of + manner. He walked down the room with as much pleasurable excitement as he + would have found in walking up to a battery vomiting death, fire, and + smoke, then stood looking down with smiling eyes at the girl whose + marriage with him (next week) had been so carefully arranged by the wise, + the good, the admirable Léonie. + </p> + <p> + “Ah, mademoiselle,” he said in a tone of courtly deference. “If I could be + certain that you did not come here this morning only from a sense of duty + to your mother!” + </p> + <p> + He waited for an answer, imperturbable but inwardly elated. It came in a + demure murmur, eyelashes lowered with fascinating effect. + </p> + <p> + “You mustn't be <i>méchant</i> as well as mad.” + </p> + <p> + And then General D'Hubert made an aggressive movement towards the divan + which nothing could check. This piece of furniture was not exactly in the + line of the open door. But Madame Léonie, coming back wrapped up in a + light cloak and carrying a lace shawl on her arm for Adèle to hide her + incriminating hair under, had a vague impression of her brother getting-up + from his knees. + </p> + <p> + “Come along, my dear child,” she cried from the doorway. + </p> + <p> + The general, now himself again in the fullest sense, showed the readiness + of a resourceful cavalry officer and the peremptoriness of a leader of + men. + </p> + <p> + “You don't expect her to walk to the carriage,” he protested. “She isn't + fit. I will carry her downstairs.” + </p> + <p> + This he did slowly, followed by his awed and respectful sister. But he + rushed back like a whirlwind to wash away all the signs of the night of + anguish and the morning of war, and to put on the festive garments of a + conqueror before hurrying over to the other house. Had it not been for + that, General D'Hubert felt capable of mounting a horse and pursuing his + late adversary in order simply to embrace him from excess of happiness. “I + owe this piece of luck to that stupid brute,” he thought. “This duel has + made plain in one morning what might have taken me years to find out—for + I am a timid fool. No self-confidence whatever. Perfect coward. And the + Chevalier! Dear old man!” General D'Hubert longed to embrace him, too. + </p> + <p> + The Chevalier was in bed. For several days he was much indisposed. The men + of the empire, and the post-revolution young ladies, were too much for + him. He got up the day before the wedding, and being curious by nature, + took his niece aside for a quiet talk. He advised her to find out from her + husband the true story of the affair of honour, whose claim so imperative + and so persistent had led her to within an ace of tragedy. “It is very + proper that his wife should know. And next month or so will be your time + to learn from him anything you ought to know, my dear child.” + </p> + <p> + Later on when the married couple came on a visit to the mother of the + bride, Madame la Générale D'Hubert made no difficulty in communicating to + her beloved old uncle what she had learned without any difficulty from her + husband. The Chevalier listened with profound attention to the end, then + took a pinch of snuff, shook the grains of tobacco off the frilled front + of his shirt, and said calmly: “And that's all what it was.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, uncle,” said Madame la Générale, opening her pretty eyes very wide. + “Isn't it funny? <i>C'est insensé</i>—to think what men are capable + of.” + </p> + <p> + “H'm,” commented the old <i>émigré</i>. “It depends what sort of men. That + Bonaparte's soldiers were savages. As a wife, my dear, it is proper for + you to believe implicitly what your husband says.” + </p> + <p> + But to Léonie's husband the Chevalier confided his true opinion. “If + that's the tale the fellow made up for his wife, and during the honeymoon, + too, you may depend on it no one will ever know the secret of this + affair.” + </p> + <p> + Considerably later still, General D'Hubert judged the time come, and the + opportunity propitious to write a conciliatory letter to General Feraud. + “I have never,” protested the General Baron D'Hubert, “wished for your + death during all the time of our deplorable quarrel. Allow me to give you + back in all form your forfeited life. We two, who have been partners in so + much military glory, should be friendly to each other publicly.” + </p> + <p> + The same letter contained also an item of domestic information. It was + alluding to this last that General Feraud answered from a little village + on the banks of the Garonne: + </p> + <p> + “If one of your boy's names had been Napoleon, or Joseph, or even Joachim, + I could congratulate you with a better heart. As you have thought proper + to name him Charles Henri Armand I am confirmed in my conviction that you + never loved the emperor. The thought of that sublime hero chained to a + rock in the middle of a savage ocean makes life of so little value that I + would receive with positive joy your instructions to blow my brains out. + From suicide I consider myself in honour debarred. But I keep a loaded + pistol in my drawer.” + </p> + <p> + Madame la Générale D'Hubert lifted up her hands in horror after perusing + that letter. + </p> + <p> + “You see? He won't be reconciled,” said her husband. “We must take care + that he never, by any chance, learns where the money he lives on comes + from. It would be simply appalling.” + </p> + <p> + “You are a <i>brave homme</i>, Armand,” said Madame la Générale + appreciatively. + </p> + <p> + “My dear, I had the right to blow his brains out—strictly speaking. + But as I did not we can't let him starve. He has been deprived of his + pension for 'breach of military discipline' when he broke bounds to fight + his last duel with me. He's crippled with rheumatism. We are bound to take + care of him to the end of his days. And, after all, I am indebted to him + for the radiant discovery that you loved me a little—you sly person. + Ha! Ha! Two miles, running all the way!... It is extraordinary how all + through this affair that man has managed to engage my deeper feelings.” + </p> + <p> + THE END + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Point Of Honor, by Joseph Conrad + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE POINT OF HONOR *** + +***** This file should be named 17620-h.htm or 17620-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/6/2/17620/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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