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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42967 ***
+
+                                       MOSCOW
+
+                       A STORY OF THE FRENCH INVASION OF 1812
+
+                                   BY FRED WHISHAW
+
+     AUTHOR OF "LOVERS AT FAULT," "THE TIGER OF MUSCOVY," "A GRAND
+     DUKE OF RUSSIA," ETC.
+
+     LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
+     39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
+     NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
+     1905
+
+
+
+
+MOSCOW.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+With a great jangling of sleigh-bells and much shouting from his
+driver, who addressed the three horses by every epithet both endearing
+and abusive that his vocabulary could provide, Count Maximof drove
+into the yard of his nearest neighbour, the Boyar Demidof. The visit
+was expected, for Maximof had sent a messenger to give warning of his
+approach and to notify the boyar of the object of his coming. The Count
+was accompanied by his wife, Avdotia, and his son, a child of ten
+years, as well as by the priest of the district who had been picked up
+_en route_ at his own village. The child Alexander, commonly called
+Sasha, sat by the driver, a young serf of surly appearance and manners,
+while the three elders occupied--as best they could--the cushioned seat
+behind. This was designed to hold two with moderate comfort, so that
+the two outside passengers now fared indifferently, but the middle one,
+who was the Count, was comfortable enough.
+
+Demidof, with his wife, met the party at the threshold of his house,
+greeting them with voluble and exaggerated expressions of welcome, after
+the manner of Russian hosts of his day, which was about one hundred
+years ago.
+
+"You see I have brought him," said Maximof; "make your bow, Sasha, and
+ask after the health of your _nevyesta_ (bride)."
+
+Sasha advanced shyly. "I hope Mademoiselle Vera Danilovna is well?" he
+said, glibly enough.
+
+"She is well and waiting anxiously to embrace her fiancé," said Demidof,
+laughing. "Go into the salon on the right and you will find her--what?
+You have a present for her--a doll--that is delightful; she will love
+you from the very beginning. That is the door."
+
+Sasha disappeared in the direction indicated.
+
+"The notary is here," continued Demidof. "We can complete the legal
+part of the matter immediately; after which you, Father Nicholas, shall
+perform your share of the ceremony."
+
+Parents, priest and notary now proceeded to the business of the
+occasion, which was the betrothal of Alexander Maximof, aged ten,
+to Vera Demidof, who numbered seven summers, and the signing of the
+contract of betrothal. When this latter document had been read over and
+approved and signed by all present, the two persons chiefly concerned in
+the matter were summoned for the religious ceremony; little Vera came
+hugging her doll, while Sasha was arrayed in a tiny Lancer uniform, the
+gift of his bride-to-be.
+
+The priest recited certain prayers and injunctions to which the
+principals paid scant attention; and, the ceremony ended, all sat down
+to dinner. At this function there were many servants, serfs of the
+estate, to wait upon the feasters; the food was good and plentiful,
+but badly cooked, the wine plentiful also, but indifferent, and the
+plates and dishes were filthy. Civilisation had not as yet reached a
+high standard in the Russia of that day, when, even in the best houses,
+though the furniture might be gorgeously gilt, it stood in dust and
+dirt; where men- and women-servants slept in the passages which were
+not aired during the day; where there were no arrangements for personal
+ablutions, and ventilation and sanitation were arts as yet undiscovered
+and undreamed of.
+
+The two mothers gushed over their children, who chattered and
+played together quite unconcerned to think of the serious nature of
+the function in which they had this day taken a chief part. It was
+a beautiful thing, Countess Maximof observed, to see innocent love
+actually in the birth, as at this moment. The fathers drank heavily and
+made boisterous jokes at which all present laughed aloud, including the
+servants and his reverence the priest, who drank as hard as any and gave
+no sign of displeasure when the humour of the two manor-lords surpassed
+in its vulgarity even the wide margin which, in those days of much
+breadth in such matters, was considered permissible.
+
+More than once Demidof rose to chastise some unfortunate serf who had in
+some manner displeased him. Neither of the gentlemen hesitated to use
+language towards the servants, whether male or female, too outrageous to
+be imagined, far less quoted, applying names and epithets of the most
+unsavoury and insulting nature.
+
+"You are too kind and gentle with your fellows," said Maximof, who was,
+even in those dark days of tyrannous and brutal manor-lords, a noted
+bully towards his serfs, and was hated by them in consequence even more
+bitterly than he himself was aware. "You should send that clumsy devil
+to me for a week, I'd train him for you."
+
+The clumsy devil referred to had spilt wine over his master's arm and
+had received a clout over his head for his carelessness. He now stood
+lamenting audibly by the sideboard.
+
+"You may have the fool," laughed Demidof, "for five roubles, and train
+him or bury him as you please."
+
+"Oh no, no, Barin, God forbid," cried the wretched man sinking upon his
+knees, "it is unlawful to sell me away from the land."
+
+"Good--I take him--send him over to-morrow!" Maximof hiccoughed, totally
+unconcerned by the fellow's blubbering and entreaties, to which his own
+master paid no more attention than the Count did.
+
+When dinner was over the afternoon was well spent and it was time to
+set out upon the twenty-mile drive which separated the houses of the
+two boyars. The children were made to kiss one another at parting,
+a demonstration to which the lady strongly objected though without
+assigning a reason until after her future lord's departure, when she
+explained to her mother's superstitious horror, but to her father's
+boisterous amusement, that she hated him.
+
+"He kicked me and hit me," she said, showing certain marks upon her
+limbs, "because I was tired of playing at soldiers with him and wanted
+to hug my doll. Don't invite him here again, mother!"
+
+"But he belongs to you, my dove, you must love him, he is yours and you
+are his," cried the horrified parent.
+
+"Then I'll spill wine over him and he shall sell me for five roubles,
+as father sold Gregory just now!" said the child. Whereat the mother
+crossed herself and muttered a prayer and the boyar laughed boisterously.
+
+Meanwhile the Maximof family sped homewards through the gloom of the
+early winter evening. The cold had a sobering influence both upon the
+boyar himself and upon the priest, who was with difficulty aroused from
+torpor, however, when his village was reached and the time came to drop
+him at his own house.
+
+The driver, Kiril, had found friends at Demidof's house anxious to
+entertain him in return for his dismal accounts of the cruelties and
+abominations practised by his boyar upon the serfs of his estate.
+
+"We are dogs, no better," he had told them; "you may thank God,
+brothers, that you are not in our place."
+
+"Go on and tell us all about it," said one, plying Kiril with more
+drink. Kiril had many a tale to tell at the price of a drink for each
+recital, and when true stories failed him he employed his inventive
+powers.
+
+"You, Gregory, had better hang yourself rather than come our way,"
+said he, addressing the man sold in a fit of rage by Demidof at the
+dinner-table.
+
+"There is no need," said Gregory. "My master is not a fool when he is
+sober; he knows two things, one that he cannot sell me away from the
+land and the other that I am worth more than five roubles to him. He
+will remember these two things when he has slept, and I shall not go."
+
+"Good; so be it; remain and be happy! What in the devil's name does your
+master think of to mate his child with the whelp of a wolf? Like father
+like son; one day he will eat her."
+
+"In twelve years much may happen. Drink, friend, and tell us more of
+the doings of your master, who must indeed be a very child of Satan, if
+all you say is true."
+
+"It is true. Listen now how he knouted Masha, the herdsman's daughter;
+some lords have respect for the weakness of a woman, but he has none."
+
+Kiril was still narrating and still drinking when summoned to put in the
+horses and start homewards. By this time he was far from sober.
+
+On the way home he slept peacefully, the clever little horses knowing
+the road homewards and keeping faultlessly to the track.
+
+The priest had been left at his house and there remained but four or
+five miles to drive when the astute little animals suddenly shied with
+one accord, sending the sledge skidding across the road and bringing it
+up violently enough against a pine-tree.
+
+Maximof was rudely awakened from his sleep. His wife uttered a cry of
+alarm, the boyar swore loudly and thumped Kiril on the back. Young Sasha
+cried out incoherently and pointed among the trees on the right.
+
+Kiril's head was sunk upon his breast; he snored in a drunken stupor and
+took no notice of the Barin's blows, which did not want for energy.
+
+"See, father, wolves!" cried Sasha excitedly. "I have seen six, there is
+a seventh--oh--eight--nine!"
+
+Maximof looked about. "It is true," he said, "they follow us."
+
+"Husband, is there danger? Whip up the horses, Kiril!"
+
+"Kiril is drunk and useless, he will not wake," replied the Count; "I
+will try other means." He took the whip and stood up to belabour the
+wretched sleeper about the neck, face and shoulders.
+
+Kiril awoke with a roar of pain and drunken rage; he turned in his seat
+and struck savagely at his master, swearing horrible oaths.
+
+"Sit down and hold the reins, you fool," shouted Maximof. "There is a
+pack of wolves at our heels."
+
+There was something in the Barin's aspect at this moment that gave the
+drunken man pause. It was not the thought of the wolves, for he never
+glanced at them. He ceased to swear and rave and sat down obediently
+to drive. Five minutes later the fellow was asleep again, the reins
+dangling. By this time the wolves had grown more daring; several
+had left the cover of the forest and followed the sledge in the open
+moonlight, going at a hand-gallop, grey and lank and weird enough to
+see. There were still two miles to go. A gaunt beast suddenly sprang out
+at the off horse, causing both animals to shy violently across the road.
+
+Sasha uttered a cry of terror; the Countess caught her husbands arm;
+Kiril half awoke and joggled the reins.
+
+"The wolves will attack us before we reach home. We are lost, husband,"
+said the Countess.
+
+"Take the reins from Kiril, Sasha," said Maximof, standing up. The
+boy obeyed, taking the reins from the sleeper's nerveless hands. Then
+Maximof suddenly caught Kiril by the waist and pulled him backwards. The
+Count was a large and powerful man, the other was a wisp in his arms.
+Kiril awoke and struggled. He caught the box-board with his heels, but
+Maximof kicked them free. Kiril struck at him and cursed, but feeling
+himself being forced over the side of the sledge he clutched with his
+hands and held on.
+
+"Husband, what are you doing?--the wolves--the wolves!" shrieked the
+Countess. But her husband replied laughing that there were many trees,
+the fool could climb one if he was not too drunk. "Take the butt of the
+whip and strike his hands," he added, but his wife only shrieked and
+clung feebly to his arm.
+
+Maximof forced one of the hands away and contrived by a united effort of
+arms, legs and body to expel the wretched Kiril from the sledge. But the
+other hand clung desperately for a moment as the man was dragged along.
+Maximof kicked it free.
+
+There was a shriek, and in the moonlight each wolf seemed to make for
+one point in the road. Then came a scrimmage and a tumult of snarling
+and fighting, and now the sledge was out of sight and hearing. It went
+on its way without further pursuit, save for one or two stragglers who
+soon found that their comrades had chosen the wiser course, and went
+back in hopes of being in time for a share of such good things as the
+gods had provided.
+
+That night an old hag from the village came to the mansion to inquire
+for her son Kiril. From the servants she learned no certain thing,
+but each had suggestions to make as to Kiril's non-arrival. The story
+of Sasha's nurse was grimly suggestive. When going to bed Sasha had
+shown off his new Lancer uniform, and, being in a boastful mood, had
+volunteered the information that he had held the reins while father and
+Kiril were fighting.
+
+"Why did they fight?" asked the nurse, but Sasha had suddenly remembered
+that his mother had bidden him remain silent as to this episode, and he
+replied that he did not know. "Kiril was drunk," he said, "I know that."
+
+Presently the hag found her way into the presence of her manor-lord and
+accused him, shrieking, of the murder of her son.
+
+"To the wolves you threw him," she cried, "deny it if you can!"
+
+Maximof laughed; he rang the bell and bade his servants take her to the
+flog room and see that she had her full twenty strokes.
+
+"They that throw to the wolves shall to the wolves be thrown!" shrieked
+the woman as she was removed; but Maximof laughed and bade the servants
+add five strokes. Presently he rang again in order to ask whether his
+orders had been obeyed.
+
+"To the letter, Barin," said the trembling serf; "twenty-five strokes;
+after her punishment, being unable to walk, she was carried away to the
+village."
+
+"Good," said Maximof; "if any serf repeats the words she has spoken this
+night, he shall receive a double punishment."
+
+As a matter of fact the hag had been allowed to go unknouted. "It is
+enough to have lost your son," her pitying fellow serfs had told her;
+"go quickly and remain lying and groaning to-morrow, in case the steward
+calls to make sure."
+
+"Those that throw to the wolves shall themselves feel the teeth of
+the wolves," murmured the old hag as she took her departure, and the
+saying was repeated broadcast among the villagers next day, in spite
+of the manor-lord's threats, for this old hag had some reputation as a
+_znaharka_, or wise woman, and her curses and blessings were matters of
+considerable interest to the peasantry around.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Maximof employed an agent to do the dirty work of the estate; he rarely
+came personally in contact with his people and scarcely knew the names
+of any of them. Kakin, the agent, was no better liked by the peasants;
+he was a bully, and rarely failed to improve when he could upon the
+severity of his master's measures towards them. A week after the events
+above recorded Barin and agent sat together in the estate office over
+the weekly consultation, when the question of the intended marriage of a
+serf came up for discussion, a man of the name of Ivan Patkin.
+
+"He may marry whom he pleases in his own village," said the Count. "Who
+is the woman?"
+
+"Timothy Drugof's daughter Olga, in this village," said Kakin; "Ivan of
+course lives at Drevno." This was a village within the boundaries of
+Maximof's estate, but seven miles at least from the manor-village of
+Toxova, in which Olga lived with her father.
+
+"Tell the fool to marry a woman in Drevno or remain a bachelor," said
+the Count; "you know very well and so do the peasants that I will have
+no intermarrying amongst the villages."
+
+"I will stop the proceedings then. I told the fellow of your objection,
+but he was impertinent--I will not tell you what he said."
+
+"You should have given him the knout; do I pay you wages to sit and
+listen while my peasants use improper language towards their Barin?"
+
+"I gave him the knout; but he is, as you may know, a sulky devil, and,
+instead of doing him good, the flogging caused him to abuse and threaten
+me to my face; I was somewhat afraid of the man; he is not one to meet
+alone in the forest on a dark night."
+
+"Afraid of a serf? You forget, my friend, that by the admission you may
+endanger your position; for if you show yourself useless to me we must
+part. My authority must be absolute and you are my representative. As
+for this marriage," the Count ended, "I do not desire that Olga should
+leave this village--she is useful at the manor-house."
+
+"I will do my best," said the agent. He did not mention that Ivan Patkin
+and his friends at Toxova had practically turned him out of the village
+with contemptuous words and threats directed not only against himself
+but also against the Count; nor that the peasants had interfered at the
+very beginning of Ivan's flogging and had rescued him by force.
+
+"Tell the Barin to interfere with Ivan's marriage if he dares!" one of
+the peasants had said. "We would deprive him of no rights; we both are
+and remain his serfs and live upon his land; he loses nothing if one of
+us goes from one village to another!"
+
+The agent's way of "doing his best" in this matter was discreet. Knowing
+that the day fixed for Ivan's wedding was the following Saturday at
+Drevno, this being Thursday, he contrived to be absent for two days in a
+distant part of the estate; so that when a deputation of peasants from
+Drevno came over to fetch the bride early on Saturday morning, he was
+not in the village to prevent them.
+
+Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the Barin would have been unaware
+in such a case of the disobedience of his people; but it so happened
+that the girl Olga was required that day at the manor-house in order to
+act as substitute for one of the servants, who fell ill. Thus Olga's
+absence was remarked and commented upon and Maximof himself happened to
+be at hand and heard the fact mentioned.
+
+"Where is the wench then?" he asked.
+
+The woman who had been into the village to fetch Olga replied that the
+peasants had told her it was Olga's wedding-day and she had gone to
+Drevno to be married.
+
+"What?" roared the outraged Barin; "married?--to whom?"
+
+"To a peasant in that village," replied the trembling messenger, "one
+Ivan Patkin."
+
+"Where is Kakin--why has he allowed the wench to go?" asked the Count,
+almost speechless with rage. Then he remembered that the agent was away
+collecting fines and duties in other villages.
+
+"Let Kiril put the horses to," he roared; "I will go myself."
+
+Some one tremblingly reminded the lord that Kiril was dead.
+
+"Some other fellow then," he roared.
+
+Maximof took his knout, an ugly leathern whip of many tails, and paid
+a visit--while waiting for his sledge--to the parents of Olga, who
+protested with tears that the agent had never told them of the Barin's
+desire that Olga should not be married out of her own village.
+
+"As if we should dare to disobey the Barin's will," they cried. "It is
+not even as though we had wished the wench married there; naturally we
+would rather keep her in Toxova, near ourselves--but go she would!"
+
+Maximof laid about him freely with his knout; he spared neither age nor
+sex, and the cries which arose from the household included those of
+Olga's grandparents as well as her parents, and of the children small
+and large. All wept and scolded in a body when the Barin had departed,
+blaming one another and the agent and the Barin himself, but principally
+Olga, for bringing this trouble upon them.
+
+"There is Peter Kuzmin in this village," they cried, "who would have had
+her; but no, nothing would do but to marry Ivan Patkin, who is a devil,
+not a man! If the Barin fetches her back, she shall marry Peter without
+delay. Are we all to suffer again for her sins?"
+
+Meanwhile the village of Drevno was _en fête_. The bride and bridegroom
+drove hither and thither, from house to house, receiving congratulations
+and presents, and drink flowed freely. The wedding ceremony would take
+place early in the afternoon, if the priest condescended to turn up in
+time. He was not one to put himself out, however, for a mere marriage
+of serfs. Maidens walked about the village singing the dirges and
+melancholy songs which are or used to be a recognised prelude to the
+marriage of one of their companions. In these songs all the possible
+sorrows and troubles of matrimony are reviewed, and the poor bride is
+reminded again and again that she is plunging into a bottomless sea of
+woe and would have done far better to keep out of the married state.
+
+In some cases the bride accompanies this cheerful band, taking part
+with the maidens in foretelling her own troubles by singing the solo
+verses, which consist of a repetition of the dismal prophecies with her
+own acquiescence thrown in. But Olga preferred to drive around with
+Ivan of whom she was extremely fond; for this--strange to say--was a
+love-match, a rare thing indeed in those days and among the serfs, whose
+marriages were usually arranged for them by their manor-lord with a view
+to the particular needs of any portion of his estate in the matter of
+population.
+
+Olga was merry this day and happy. She knew very well that there might
+be trouble; that the Barin would be displeased and would cause old
+Kakin to threaten all manner of pains and penalties. But in Drevno the
+peasants were not afraid of Kakin; they knew well enough that he dared
+not fulfil his threats, and that he would prefer to report to his master
+that certain floggings had been inflicted than actually inflict them.
+As for the Barin himself, he rarely came to the village. The people of
+Toxova lived, as it were, under his eye; but at Drevno it was different,
+and the peasants consequently enjoyed a certain measure of independence,
+won for themselves and by themselves out of Kakin, the agent, whom they
+had successfully intimidated.
+
+Even the Barin, Olga knew, could not unmarry her, once the church had
+performed the rite; neither could he separate husband and wife, though
+he might compel Ivan to transfer himself to Toxova.
+
+It was a quarter to two when the Barin came swinging into the village
+at a hand-gallop, his three-horsed sledge--or _troika_--travelling at
+a splendid pace over the hard snow road. The wedding was to take place
+at two and Olga was now being dressed by her maidens at the house of
+Ivan's parents. The melancholy songs were in full chant; the bride and
+chorus were all, as the occasion demanded, in tears; every girl wailing
+and sobbing and singing as they decked their companion for the solemn
+rite.
+
+Count Maximof drove straight to the Starost's house; this was the
+elected chief-peasant of the village, and the Barin put up his trap
+here, leaving with Gavril, the driver, a message for the Starost that if
+he were too late and the marriage should have taken place against his
+wishes and commands, the entire population should be not only fined but
+flogged also.
+
+The Starost sent over for Ivan Patkin, the bridegroom, and communicated
+to him the disturbing news: the Barin had arrived to stop the wedding.
+The Starost was a sturdy independent man, like the rest of the Drevno
+villagers; he was entirely on Ivan's side in the matter.
+
+"But the Barin is the Barin," he observed, "and the priest will obey
+him. He has gone straight to Father Michael's. What is to be done?"
+
+Ivan Patkin stood and cursed and fingered the axe which hung at his
+belt. He was anxious to marry Olga, to whom he was sincerely attached.
+This fatal-looking hitch at the last moment was maddening. His eyes
+seemed to grow red in a sudden access of rage and of hatred for the
+Barin.
+
+"I will kill the devil," he said. "The old men tell us that the peasants
+of the next estate rose against their Barin, who oppressed them, and
+slew him, and that the Tsaritsa Catherine closed her eyes. Let us do the
+same."
+
+"No," said the Starost; "that is going too far, Ivan. The Tsar Paul is
+not like his mother and the laws are different also. Disappear in the
+forest with Olga, if you will, and be married to-morrow, or to-night
+after the Barin has gone. You will be knouted, no doubt, and fined, but
+you will have Olga."
+
+Ivan was too wild with rage to argue quietly. "I see there is no help
+to be got from you," he said, and he withdrew hastily to take counsel
+with others. On his way through the village he met the Barin himself
+returning from his visit to the priest whom he had abused and threatened
+and browbeaten until the unfortunate cleric began to fear that the
+furious man would end by knouting him, but Maximof dared not raise his
+hand to beat the priest, though his fingers itched to flog some one. It
+was at this moment that he met Ivan.
+
+Ivan, though furious, nevertheless removed his cap upon encountering
+his master. The peasant in him was too strong. Away from the Barin he
+would have told himself that he would not only not salute the Count if
+he should meet him, but that he would fall upon him and strangle the
+tyrant. In the Barin's presence he was cowed and his independence and
+courage vanished, though not his hatred.
+
+"Who are you?" said the angry Count.
+
+"Ivan Patkin," replied the man.
+
+Then the Barin fell upon him, raining abuses and curses and knout-blows;
+and in a moment the wretched peasant was upon his knees blubbering
+and beseeching, rage in his heart, but in his veins the craven blood
+distilled by generations of oppression.
+
+"Come to Toxova for a flogging once a month for a year," said the Barin,
+panting with his exertions; "and when you come Olga shall come also. I
+will show you both, and the rest of the village too, that I am to be
+obeyed. As for marrying, you shall marry the oldest hag in your own
+village, since you will have a wife."
+
+Count Maximof felt somewhat relieved, but he continued his walk to the
+house wherein the bride had been dressed for her marriage. He found her
+alone, deserted by her maidens--who had fled from the wrath to come--and
+he flogged her without pity and without regard for her shrieks and her
+appeals for mercy.
+
+Then, his anger somewhat appeased, he repaired to his estate office and
+bade them bring him tea, sending a message to Gavril, the driver, that
+he would return as soon as the horses should be sufficiently rested.
+Olga might return in his sledge, he added, with fine generosity; she
+deserved to be made to walk through the forest night or no night, but he
+would let her drive in mercy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+The horses had brought their master to Drevno at a hand-gallop, and
+required some little time for resting. It was half-past four before
+the _troika_ drove up to the door, and quite dark. Olga sat huddled up
+on the box-seat beside the driver and she was still crying, her body
+heaving at regular intervals with deep-drawn sobs.
+
+The Barin, having been obliged to wait for more than two hours in the
+close, hot room which served as his agent's office, was sleepy; he
+settled himself comfortably in the sledge, well wrapped in furs, and
+presently dozed off. Soon he was snoring loudly.
+
+"Olga," the driver whispered, "don't be startled and make a noise--I am
+Ivan."
+
+Olga did start, and that violently; she would have cried out, too, but
+Ivan placed a great gloved hand upon her mouth and prevented her.
+
+"Ivan, he will awake and recognise thee, and we shall be knouted as we
+sit," she whispered presently, when he had removed his hand. "Why did
+you come, and where is Gavril?"
+
+"Gavril lies drunk in the Starost's stable; he has had more than his
+share of the wedding _vodka_; I made him drunk in order to take his
+place. And I have come because--do not be a fool and cry out--because
+the devil behind us has lived long enough; as it has not been our
+wedding-day it shall be his death-day."
+
+"Ivan, you dare not--you must not. He is a devil, as you say, but to
+murder him would do us no good. The Tsar's officers would come and take
+you from me and carry you away to Siberia, and what should I do then?"
+
+"Bah! they must catch us first. We have these horses. We will drive all
+night by the roads, so as to leave no track, and we will come to the
+village of Ostrof, where I have relatives; they will take us in."
+
+"And then?" said Olga, trembling so that she could scarcely speak.
+
+"Their Barin will not ask questions; he will have us registered as his
+own and there is an end."
+
+"But he must know why we have fled from our own Barin; he will ask and
+require to be satisfied."
+
+"We will say that he was a devil and beat us, and that we would bear
+with him no longer."
+
+"Do not shed blood, Ivan," said Olga. "I should fear you all my life
+long."
+
+"Bah! to slay such vermin is to do God's service; do not be a timid
+fool, Olga; we cannot live without one another; is not that a certain
+thing?"
+
+"That is certain; but I would rather love you without fearing you----"
+Olga's speech was interrupted at this moment by the sudden shying of the
+shaft horse, a movement which caused her to grab the narrow board on
+which she sat and Ivan to collide violently against her, so that both
+nearly toppled out of the sledge. It caused the Barin to awake suddenly,
+also, and to launch at Ivan's head a string of curses and abuse.
+
+Ivan remained silent, rather than apologise in the cringing phraseology
+of Gavril, for he did not wish to be recognised at present.
+
+But the Barin's drowsiness was not yet slept off, and in a minute or two
+he was fast asleep again, and snoring.
+
+"Olga, do you know what the horse shied at?" whispered Ivan.
+
+"No," said the girl; "unless it was a shadow in the moonlight."
+
+"Keep a guard upon your lips and I will tell you; it was a wolf. At this
+moment I can count five, taking both sides of the road; watch between
+the trees a hundred paces from the road; you will see them creep from
+shadow to shadow, keeping pace with us."
+
+"Holy Mother of God!" exclaimed Olga, piously crossing herself; "yes--I
+see them--Lord have mercy upon us. I cannot forget Kiril who died but a
+week ago!"
+
+"Do not fear," said Ivan; "these wolves may yet prove to be our best
+friends."
+
+Olga pondered in silence over this enigmatical utterance of Ivan's.
+She concluded at length that he must have meant it would be dangerous
+to stop in order to murder the Barin, as he had threatened to do, and
+that therefore the wolves must be regarded as good friends having thus
+prevented the intended crime. The discovery gave Olga much comfort.
+
+"The wolves are more and more," said Ivan presently, "and they come in
+closer and closer to the road. There are at least a score, or it may be
+thirty; doubtless it is Kiril's pack."
+
+"Lord save us!" ejaculated Olga.
+
+"Bah! if there were three hundred there would be no danger behind these
+good horses--I would race the brutes from now until daylight!" said
+Ivan. "There is nothing to fear, Olga, only hold tightly to your seat."
+
+Olga shuddered, but did as she was bidden. The wolves, as Ivan said,
+increased every moment in numbers and in audacity. They made no sound,
+but they cantered nearer on each side of the road, but twenty paces from
+the sledge, while others followed behind. The three horses, harnessed
+abreast, snorted with terror; they laid back their ears and dragged the
+light sledge at a hand-gallop. Ivan was a practised whip--every Russian
+peasant is--and controlled the pace at his desire. The Barin slept
+heavily on.
+
+"How many there are, and how bold they grow!" whispered Olga. "Are you
+sure we are safe, Ivan?"
+
+"Only hold on tightly," said Ivan hoarsely. A moment later he added:--
+
+"Now, especially, hold on very tightly, Olga, with both hands; there is
+a bit of rough road here, and we may jolt."
+
+Almost at the instant the off runner of the sledge struck the stem of a
+pine-tree which stood at the very edge of the road. The vehicle lurched
+heavily, glided perilously for a moment on one runner, then righted
+itself. The frightened horses started away at full gallop.
+
+Olga, in spite of having clutched her seat with both hands, was thrown
+sidelong against Ivan, who grabbed her with his left arm, while with
+his right leg he touched and shoved off from the ground; this it was
+that righted the sledge. As the horses dashed forward both Ivan and Olga
+jolted back into their places, Olga shrieking with terror, but gripping
+the board upon which she sat so tightly as to be perfectly secure. Ivan
+sat still, looking neither to right nor left. He seemed to employ all
+his energies in getting the horses once more under control. They had
+travelled thus, at lightning speed, for two hundred yards, a distance
+which was covered in a quarter of a minute, before a shriek from behind
+caused Olga to cease, suddenly, her own screaming and look round.
+
+"The Barin--the Barin!" she cried. "He has fallen out, Ivan!--stop the
+horses--we must save him!"
+
+"Stop them who can--do not speak foolishness, Olga; you see that I am
+pulling with all my strength!"
+
+Olga kept silence. There followed a second scream from behind; then a
+cry that seemed to be broken off in the middle.
+
+Ivan took off his boots and threw them in the road. "Do the same, Olga,"
+he said.
+
+Olga obeyed, but half understanding. A few wolves were still following
+the sledge, but most had remained behind.
+
+"Throw your coat also," said Ivan, "and your head kerchief!"
+
+All these garments were afterwards found by the horrified persons who
+went out to look for the Barin, together with the heels of the Count's
+boots, and a few shreds of his clothes. Olga's boots and Ivan's were in
+pieces and partly eaten, and her coat and red cotton headkerchief were
+in shreds.
+
+"This is where the Barin fell out," said the searchers; "the two others
+clung to the sledge a little longer, it appears, before being thrown out
+and pulled to pieces. It is horrible!"
+
+But many of the peasants in Maximof's villages were of opinion that
+the Barin's fate was well deserved. He had been a tyrant and oppressor
+of the poor. "It is the finger of God!" they said. Why two innocent
+peasants should have been sacrificed at the same time was a puzzling
+factor in the matter. As for the sledge it was duly brought back by the
+three hungry horses next day.
+
+"Dear Lord, look at them!" said the peasants at Toxova; "they have run
+half a hundred miles--chased by wolves throughout the night, only think
+of it! And the sledge empty behind them--bah! it is horrible!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The new master at Ostrof asked no questions. He registered Ivan and Olga
+by the names they chose to give him. Two new serfs were a godsend not to
+be despised. It was as though some one had paid in an unexpected sum to
+his credit at the banker's!
+
+And the reputation of the old hag at Maximof's manor-village increased
+wonderfully from this day. Her blessing upon crops, marriages and so
+forth doubled at once in value; while as for her curses, why, from this
+time onward until she died, if she but launched a malediction, the
+victim might as well go and hang himself for all the pleasure life would
+afford him until the wise woman was pleased to withdraw it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+For many a year after the tragic death of his father the new manor-lord,
+little Sasha Maximof, would not be induced to live at the estate. He
+was afraid of the woods, wherein for ever lurked, according to his
+morbid fancy, hoardes of ravening wolves intent upon his destruction;
+he was afraid of his serfs, a feeling originated and fostered by his
+mother, who was herself afraid of them, well knowing the hatred they
+had borne towards her husband and fearing lest their malice should be
+extended towards his child. She desired no more than Sasha to live in
+the country. The property was placed in the hands of a steward--somewhat
+more merciful than deposed Kakin--who contrived to extract a fat living
+for the widow and her son by exploiting their unfortunate serfs to the
+utmost limit permitted by the law. The Countess lived with Sasha in St.
+Petersburg where he saw little or nothing of his "betrothed" for two or
+three years, after which little Vera Demidof was sent to Paris to be
+educated in a French school. Vera's aunt, Demidof's sister, had been
+married to the French Minister at the Court of the Emperor Paul, after
+whose tragic end he had left the country and returned to Paris, taking
+with him his Russian wife. Demidof was proud of his French relations and
+was glad enough to allow his child to receive her education under such
+promising auspices.
+
+At the age of sixteen Vera returned to St. Petersburg quite prepared to
+find her countrymen and women little better than barbarians as she had
+been taught by the elegant Parisian folk to believe them.
+
+"Bears, _chérie_, you will find them, every one," her French relations
+assured her; "they have no manners and no education, how should they?
+and your fiancé, he will be a bear like the rest, you will run from him,
+run back to France; we shall find you a fiancé who is not a bear!"
+
+"Bear or no bear, we are pledged to one another and there will be
+no running away from him!" said Vera. Whereat her French relatives
+shrugged their shoulders and said, "This betrothal of babes, what does
+it signify? It was a very pretty game for children, but a thing to be
+forgotten when the doll is put away and the skirts are lengthened."
+
+"In Russia they think differently," Vera replied. "My mother looks upon
+the betrothal as binding, I know. The law and the Church both would have
+something to say before the contract could be broken."
+
+"Well, let us see first what he is like; if he should be an impossible,
+without doubt both the Church and the law will listen to reason. What,
+are two people to be bound to one another for life if they desire it
+not? God forbid!"
+
+"Maybe we shall both desire it when we meet, who knows?" Vera laughed.
+"We are talking in the dark, since Sasha and I have not met for many
+years. But if each is repulsive to the other the contract may perhaps be
+set aside, by mutual agreement."
+
+"That is sensible," said Vera's aunt; "the danger is lest he shall be
+attracted by you, while you feel no counter-attraction for him, or _vice
+versâ_."
+
+"I will keep a guard upon my heart, aunt," laughed Vera.
+
+The first meeting, after many years, between the young people took place
+soon after this conversation at the annual reception of the corps
+of cadets in St. Petersburg. This corps consisted of members of the
+_petite noblesse_--the boyarin families of Russia, destined for military
+service in the more aristocratic regiments. The Emperor Paul, shocked
+by the methods of his mother, Catherine the Great, in the matter of
+distribution of commissions to the sons of her boyars, had instituted
+this corps of cadets as a much-needed measure of reform, and indeed the
+step was taken not a moment too soon for the good of the country.
+
+As the great Catherine's system of distributing commissions to the
+members of that class of her subjects which seems to have been her
+_enfant gâté_, the _petite noblesse_, is somewhat unique, I will ask
+permission to digress for a moment in order to give the reader some idea
+of her method and of the abuses to which it gradually led.
+
+The thing developed gradually and attained the height of absurdity only
+when the Empress was an old woman.
+
+Commissions in the Guards were at this time regarded as gifts from
+the sovereign to her faithful boyars and claimable by every boyar, if
+he so desired, for the benefit of his children. They were issued on
+demand, and were not, at first, applied for until the youth destined
+to enjoy the privilege had reached a time of life when a commission
+in the army might fairly be given to him; but since the officers of
+the Guards received liberal pay and were treated with marked kindness
+and indulgence by the sovereign, it occurred to certain boyars that it
+would be a pity to waste several years of the best part of the lives of
+their sons, years which might be spent so profitably in drawing pay and
+accumulating seniority in the Guards. Therefore certain aspiring parents
+applied for commissions for their sons at the age of fifteen; and--no
+objection being made--it soon became the custom to issue commissions to
+lads of this age.
+
+Gradually the limit of age decreased. First commissions were demanded
+for boys of twelve, and obtained; then the age dropped to ten, then to
+eight, to six, to three. No duties were required of all these young
+officers, who were not even obliged to draw their own pay; their fathers
+were permitted to do this for them. But promotion proceeded in each case
+with regularity, and soon it was a common thing to see a promising young
+officer of seven years toddling at his mothers side in the epaulettes
+of a captain of the Guards.
+
+But the matter did not end here. It now became the fashion to apply
+for commissions for male children as soon as born. Lieutenants were
+to be seen carried about in their nurses' arms and captains rode in
+perambulators, while majors and colonels of ten and twelve strutted
+about the streets, to the pride and no small profit of their happy
+parents. One would suppose that the comedy had at this point reached the
+very limit of absurdity; but this was not so.
+
+It occurred to some ingenious boyar about to enter into the delights and
+responsibilities of wedlock to apply for commissions for a son or two
+in advance. If his marriage should be blessed with offspring--well; if
+not, well also; for no one would be likely to inquire into the matter as
+long as the old Empress lived, and the pay of two or three officers of
+the Guards--non-existent, certainly, but steadily rising in rank for all
+that--would be a comfortable addition to the income of his parents that
+might have been.
+
+This was the millennium of Catherine's _enfants gâtés_, the boyars, and
+it came to an end with her death and the accession of Paul, who had long
+watched the scandal from his retreat at Gatchina and watched it with
+helpless displeasure and anger. Paul was a strict disciplinarian and the
+sight of the degradation of the Guards maddened him. One of his first
+acts after his accession was to hold a review of the corps, a review
+at which every officer was compelled to be present or to hand in his
+resignation.
+
+That must indeed have been the weirdest parade upon record. Officers in
+arms, officers in perambulators, officers clinging to their mothers'
+skirts; shy and self-conscious majors of ten wandering helplessly about
+the Champs de Mars, colonels of twelve and fourteen asking one another
+to which regiment they belonged, and the stern, angry Emperor surveying
+the motley scene as the executioner eyes his victim before dealing the
+fatal stroke which is to end him once and for all.
+
+In spite of his anger, the Tsar Paul displayed some humour upon this
+occasion, perhaps with the intention of impressing upon all witnesses
+the absurdity of the prevailing state of affairs. Every officer was
+called upon to take his proper place with his own battalion, and to obey
+the words of command presently issued by the few remaining veterans of
+the various regiments.
+
+Naturally the parade began and ended in confusion; a wild medley of
+nursemaids and perambulators, of crying children and bewildered boys;
+all officers who were unable to perform the duties expected of them were
+called upon to resign their commissions, and with this historic review
+the millennium of Catherine's baby-guards came to a timely end.
+
+Young Sasha Maximof, Vera's betrothed, had been duly enrolled, like
+most of his fellows of boyar rank, among Catherine's officers of the
+sinecure regiments, but his mother, unlike many of the parents of those
+young warriors, had taken neither fright nor offence at the action
+of the Emperor Paul, but like a sensible woman had entered her son's
+name as a cadet in the newly organised institution for the education
+of youths desirous of entering the army as _bona-fide_ officers. Sasha
+had been but six years old at the time of the catastrophe, and had then
+enjoyed the rank and pay of a captain. He had, of course, resigned his
+commission, but had rejoined as a cadet of the Imperial Corps upon
+reaching the age of fourteen. He was now nineteen and one of the seniors
+of the establishment--a nice-looking youth of medium height and good
+appearance. If one may use a modern expression to describe Sasha's
+attitude towards life at this time, he may be said to have "fancied
+himself" to a very considerable extent; he was, indeed, a fair example
+of the Russian youth of his day, when over the uncouth and bearlike
+manners of the old Muscovite type was gradually stealing the veneer of
+Western civilisation.
+
+Sasha Maximof was a lady's man; he was generally liked and admired by
+the women, and knew it. He had already been through several _affaires du
+coeur_, and if he ever recollected the fact that he was a betrothed
+man, it is probable that he thought lightly of the matter, regarding
+the whole question as one of expediency. The dower to be had with his
+fiancée was a handsome one, he knew; but there were plenty of good
+dowers available for a man like himself; he might eventually decide to
+regard his engagement as binding--it depended upon the girl; mediocrity
+would not suit him.
+
+"It will be a wonder, or rather _she_ will have to be one," he remarked
+one day when his mother, observing his attitude towards some damsel
+whom he was accustomed to meet in society, casually reminded him of the
+existing contract to which he was a party. "She will have to be a wonder
+if that silly betrothal is to come to anything!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+Little sixteen-year-old Vera Demidof looked very well in her stylish
+Parisian clothes. She was a pretty girl of true Russian type, and,
+Russian like, was an adept in the art of keeping up a constant flow of
+light talk, half in her native language and half in French, a fashion
+in polite society then as now. Vera was with her mother, and with them
+stood or moved about among the crowd of visitors at the annual function
+of the corps of cadets a young cousin, one Constantine Demidof, a
+youthful member of the corps.
+
+"Tell me the notables," said Vera, "especially the military ones,
+but don't expect me to admire any of our poor Russians after the
+smart-looking French officers! As for your cadets--bah!--you are bigger
+than the French, perhaps, but clumsier; and your manners compared with
+theirs--the cadets here, I mean--oh! you are bears, my friend, and they
+are angels. Imagine, Constantine, _mon ami_, I have spoken to Ney--the
+bravest of the brave--only think of it; and one day the Emperor
+himself, beautiful man, smiled upon me."
+
+"Oh, come," said Constantine, "if you speak of emperors and beautiful
+men, your Napoleon is a mere tub-man, and not to be named in comparison
+with our Emperor. You have not yet seen Alexander? A very different
+person from his unbeautiful father Paul, wait and see, he will be here
+in five minutes. Your Sasha Maximof is to receive a prize at his hands,
+lucky Sasha!"
+
+"Sasha a prize--oh, I am glad!" exclaimed Vera--"and for what?"
+
+"For fencing; he is the best fencer of all here; see, he is still busy
+with that girl, his latest craze; in charity we will hope that he has
+not yet seen you."
+
+"If he did, I think he would not recognise me; he does not know I am
+here and it is five years since we met. Presently you shall go and bring
+him to me, but not yet. Tell me, Constantine, is Sasha liked here?"
+
+Constantine glanced at his cousin; he caught her eye and smiled.
+
+"Some people like him, I suppose," he said.
+
+"Of whom Constantine Demidof is evidently not one," said Vera, laughing
+merrily. "Why not, my friend?"
+
+"How should I? I scarcely know him, he is two years senior to me here,
+and that means much."
+
+"I see. I should say, to look at him, that he has a good opinion of
+himself."
+
+"Oh, he certainly has that," Constantine laughed. "He is thought
+good-looking, you know, and the girls flatter him, I suppose."
+
+"Nevertheless his clothes fit very badly. In Parisian clothes he might
+look well, yes, he is not bad; you shall bring him to me, presently, but
+do not say who I am; you shall say that there is a lady who desires to
+have him presented to her."
+
+At this moment the Emperor Alexander entered the room, preceded by an
+aide-de-camp, who first cleared the space about the doorway in order
+that his Majesty might enter with effect, which he certainly did.
+
+The Emperor was a splendid-looking man, tall and straight as a pine
+stem, and handsome withal; there was perhaps but a single man in all
+Russia who was his superior in manly bearing and in stately presence,
+and that was his younger brother and successor, Nicholas, who had not
+his equal in Europe.
+
+"Oh, he is splendid!" murmured Vera Demidof, gazing in wonder and
+admiration--"what a man! Oh, the sight of him makes me proud to be
+Russian after all!"
+
+"Ha! it is good to hear you praise something which is not French. Your
+'little Corporal' would look but a poor creature beside him, come, admit
+it!"
+
+"Bah! one thinks of something else than inches when one sees Napoleon;
+nevertheless in the Tsar Alexander God has made a very fine man; they
+speak well of him in Paris as a wise ruler."
+
+The Emperor now made a short speech to the cadets, after which he
+distributed the prizes, saying a word or two of praise or encouragement
+to each successful candidate. Sasha Maximof returned to his place,
+flushed and self-conscious, holding the sword of honour which the Tsar
+had presented to him with a word of approbation.
+
+"How proud he looks!" said Vera; "I am glad he has won it and that he
+has been a success here."
+
+Afterwards, when the Tsar and his suite had departed, she sent young
+Constantine to fetch Sasha to her side, in order that she might renew
+her acquaintance with him.
+
+"Don't say who it is," she called after him as he moved away, somewhat
+unwillingly, to obey her behest. Constantine adored his cousin and would
+far rather have had her to himself.
+
+"A lady wishes to have me presented?" said Sasha, frowning slightly.
+"Well, I'll come presently; I am busy entertaining another lady, as you
+perceive;--stop, which is she?"
+
+Constantine pointed Vera out.
+
+"What, that child?" exclaimed Maximof. "Tell her I have no time to talk
+to children."
+
+"She isn't a child, and it's not likely I will give such a message,"
+said Constantine angrily. "If you knew----" he paused.
+
+"Well--what?"
+
+"If you knew who she is," stammered Constantine, "you'd go to her."
+
+"Why, is she anybody very particular?" asked the other, devoting a
+second and more interested glance in Vera's direction.
+
+"You can only learn all about her by becoming personally acquainted with
+her," said the younger lad. "She _is_ somebody rather particular."
+
+"Well, I'll come, if I can, later; there are so many who want to speak
+to one on an occasion like this."
+
+Sasha Maximof's companion had listened with amusement to this
+conversation; she, too, had glanced at Vera and had recognised her
+instantly, for the circumstances of the betrothal of these two were a
+matter of common knowledge.
+
+"I see you are looking at the young lady who desires my acquaintance,"
+said Sasha, when Constantine had departed; "do you happen to know who
+she is?"
+
+"Do you seriously mean to say that you do not?" asked the girl, laughing.
+
+"I'm afraid I cannot recall her name, though I believe I have seen the
+face somewhere; one does not take special notice of children; I cannot
+imagine why she should be any one in particular, as that little fool
+declared. Of course one knows every one who _is_ any body! Well, who is
+she?"
+
+"First tell me, do you consider her pretty?"
+
+"Passable--but of course a mere child; she may improve and may go the
+other way. She's Russian, of course?"
+
+"Certainly, but has been absent from Russia for five years. Her clothes
+are of the last French mode--she has French relations--have I shed light
+liberally enough to illuminate your intelligence?"
+
+"She is Vera Demidof, you mean; I did not know she had returned. Well,
+she has come too soon, she is a child, I will say neither yes nor no to
+her until I can judge of her when full grown." Sasha flushed and looked
+aggrieved. His companion laughed.
+
+"You are not a very ardent fiancé," she said. "Remember, it is your duty
+to love her; she will expect to be greeted radiantly, to hear words of
+endearment, delight at her unexpected return, and so forth; compose your
+features, my friend, you are frowning; look pleased, ardent, full of
+affection, and so go and do your duty."
+
+"You speak foolishly; it is not for _you_ to bid me perform this
+foolery, you who know that my heart contains but one image. You must be
+aware that my betrothal is a mere farce, a thing to be shaken off as
+easily as assumed. I shall speak to the girl--courtesy demands it, but I
+shall pretend no affection."
+
+"Poor child, she will be heart-broken; see how lovingly she gazes at you
+even now!"
+
+Sasha looked, but Vera's gaze did not strike him as being aptly
+described by the word "loving"; on the contrary, though she turned her
+head when she observed that she was watched, he was in time to surprise
+what appeared to him to be an indignant rather than a languishing
+expression.
+
+As a matter of fact Vera was very angry indeed. Constantine had returned
+to her shy and shamefaced.
+
+"Well--is he coming? What did he say?" she had asked.
+
+"His vanity is terrible," said Constantine, "and his manners are even
+worse."
+
+"How--what do you mean--does he recognise me and refuse to renew our
+acquaintance?"
+
+"Oh no, he did not suspect who you were. He said you were a mere child
+and hinted that he had no time to waste upon children."
+
+"Children!" repeated Vera indignantly; "and I in my seventeenth year!
+Bah--he has, as you say, no manners. So he has refused to be presented."
+
+"Not quite that! 'I will come, if I can, later,' he said; I think he is
+much absorbed, at present, by the lady at his side; it is a different
+one, with him, every month."
+
+"I will wait for half an hour, and then, if he comes not, you shall
+take me away, Constantine," said Vera; and though the lad at her side
+protested against her doing Maximof so much honour, she insisted upon
+staying.
+
+Presently, however, seeing that Sasha showed signs of crossing the room
+in order to approach her, she said quickly:--
+
+"See, Constantine, now he comes; when it is quite clear that his
+intention is to speak to me, I will rise and you shall give me your hand
+to escort me away!"
+
+"Good," exclaimed her cousin delightedly. "Yes, that's the way he should
+be treated--see, he is approaching--come!"
+
+The two young cousins rose and passed down the room, almost meeting
+Sasha Maximof, who stopped, obviously expecting them to do the same.
+"Demidof," he said, "be so kind as to present me to your friend."
+
+Vera passed on, taking no notice whatever. Constantine looked round,
+over his shoulder.
+
+"You will have to wait now, my friend, until she is a little older," he
+said, and Vera pinched his arm with delight.
+
+"Bravo, cousin," she said, "that was splendid."
+
+"It was rather daring," said Constantine, somewhat ruefully, "to a
+senior cadet; I don't know what will happen to me."
+
+Sasha returned to his charmer, who, unfortunately, had witnessed his
+discomfiture.
+
+"You've met your match, my friend!" she laughed; "she's decidedly
+pretty, too, when one sees her closely."
+
+"She's an impudent little minx at any rate," said Sasha, laughing also,
+though somewhat artificially, and at the same time flushing hotly; he
+was not used to rebuffs from the fair sex. "By such conduct--revealing
+a tendency to bad manners--she commits _felo de se_ as regards--well--a
+certain object she has in view."
+
+On the way home Vera, following up some train of thought, remarked to
+her cousin that it was a pity Sasha Maximof was so good-looking; to
+which Constantine replied that he did not see much to admire in the
+fellow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+The Boyar Demidof, though not by profession a diplomat, had procured
+for himself an appointment as Attaché to the Embassy in Paris, in order
+to be near his daughter as well as his married sister. Vera's presence
+in St. Petersburg was in the nature of a flying visit. She would return
+with her mother to Paris in a month or two.
+
+During that period she saw little of Sasha Maximof. He called upon the
+Demidofs once or twice, but was obviously but little attracted by Vera,
+whom he treated as a child, and from whom he did not attempt to conceal
+the fact that he had on hand more than one _affaire de coeur_ and
+that he thought but little, if anything, of the contract entered into
+by their respective fathers when both of the principal parties were too
+young to understand the nature of the proceedings.
+
+Vera began by treating Sasha with much hauteur, desiring to punish him
+for his indifference; but when it became clear to her that he cared
+nothing whether she bore herself haughtily or kindly, and was, indeed,
+very little interested in her, she began, with the inconsistency of
+human nature, to realise that whether she would have it so or no her
+interest in him grew, and with it the recognition that the young man was
+undoubtedly very good-looking and had a certain attractiveness about
+him. Before Vera returned to Paris Sasha Maximof had quite made up his
+mind that he was far too good to waste himself upon the commonplace
+little person his father had seen fit, without consulting his wishes,
+to select for his partner in life. He intended to do much better. The
+Countess, his mother, was inclined to agree with him. He consulted her
+upon the question as to whether a contract of marriage so made was
+binding or not.
+
+"If both parties desire to annul it," the Countess thought, "surely no
+one would compel them to hold to it."
+
+"The question is," said Sasha, "_will_ the girl agree to annul it? The
+match is a good one, from her point of view; I don't suppose there's
+much harm done yet, in a personal way, I mean, for we have scarcely met
+and I certainly have not gone out of my way to be in any way attractive
+to her."
+
+"Go and see the girl and talk it over with her," suggested the Countess,
+and this advice Sasha presently followed.
+
+He called upon Vera and plunged quickly into the business on hand,
+though he began somewhat diffidently, for, though in speaking with
+his mother he had taken for granted that the girl could scarcely have
+fallen in love with him yet, Sasha, in the secret realms of his inner
+consciousness, was by no means so assured of the matter; indeed, he
+was strongly of opinion that no girl could see him and pass entirely
+unscathed through the ordeal.
+
+Somewhat to his disgust he could detect no sign of regret or
+disappointment in Vera's attitude; on the contrary, he was not at all
+sure that she was not as anxious as himself to be relieved from the
+foolish obligation imposed upon both of them as children.
+
+"I never could understand what was the object of our honoured fathers in
+making so foolish an arrangement," said Sasha; "my idea is that living
+down in the wilds as they did, they were so put to it for amusement that
+they invented this as a pastime; it would be interesting, they thought,
+to watch our affection bud and blossom and so on; but of course, as
+you know, my father died and neither my mother nor I ever lived in
+the country again, while you went to Paris. Of course if we had met
+constantly, living close to one another, and never seeing any one else,
+it might have been different."
+
+Vera suddenly burst out laughing at this point.
+
+"You mean that if neither of us had ever met any other young people
+besides our two selves we might one day have come to like one another?
+Believe me, Alexander Petrovitch, I am far from being so conceited as to
+suppose you could ever have learned to admire me. Is this, then, your
+theory: that if, for instance, a man and a woman were thrown together
+upon a desert island, they would be bound eventually to fall in love
+with one another? On the contrary, I should think they would soon be
+wearied to death by one another's society."
+
+"I did not mean that at all," said Sasha, flushing rather angrily,
+for it occurred to him that his _amour propre_ was in some way being
+attacked. "I meant that if we had seen more of one another than we have,
+it might have been quite a different matter. You might have liked me,
+which I see is not now the case, and of course I might have fallen in
+love with you."
+
+"Which also is certainly not the case as any one might perceive,"
+laughed Vera.
+
+"I am not pretending that it is; I could not very well."
+
+"For after all I am a mere child," she said.
+
+"I see you cannot forgive me that expression. Why should it offend you?
+You are not fully grown up. However, I apologise for using it if you
+dislike it. Well now, I think I have made my meaning clear; I do not
+love you--indeed, I may tell you that I have fallen in love elsewhere,
+for which you can scarcely blame me, since you have never given me the
+opportunity to lose my heart where our revered parents desired that it
+should be lost; and of course the same may be said of you; you have had
+no opportunity of learning to like me."
+
+"For which I certainly ought to be most grateful," said Vera, "under
+the circumstances. How terrible if one of us had fallen in love and
+the other not! If it had been I, I must have sacrificed my heart's
+happiness, for of course I could not well have admitted the pathetic
+truth. You would have gone away and never known!"
+
+"Well, at any rate, we are fortunately quite agreed upon the subject,"
+replied Sasha, who was not enjoying the conversation and wished it
+over. "And since we _are_ agreed that the betrothal was a mistake and
+that we shall both be happier if we annul the agreement and go upon
+our respective ways in life in pursuit of our respective ideals of
+happiness, I now suggest to you that the foolish document be torn up."
+
+"By all means," said Vera; "tear it up, if you have it."
+
+"Yes, I have it. I am sorry, Vera, that things should have turned out as
+they have; neither of us is to blame. As I said before, if we had seen
+more of one another----"
+
+"It would have been an exceedingly dangerous thing for _me_, is that
+what you would imply?" asked Vera, laughing.
+
+The girl looked so handsome as she said the words, her eyes aflame and
+a heightened colour lending a wonderful charm to her somewhat pallid
+Russian complexion, that Sasha stared for a moment in surprise before he
+answered.
+
+"It might have been dangerous for either of us," he said; "for though
+you _are_ only a child, you are a very pretty one."
+
+Vera curtsied pertly and laughed. "In every way the document is a
+horribly dangerous thing then," she said; "destroy it by all means,
+Alexander Petrovitch. You will now have a free hand with the lady whose
+name you have not mentioned. How relieved she will be to hear that I
+have given you a certificate of discharge."
+
+"As to that," replied Sasha, flushing, "every one who knows of our
+betrothal laughs at it. Two persons thus bound, they say, would be sure
+to loathe one another long before the time came to marry, simply because
+they _are_ bound."
+
+"But we agreed just now that if we had seen more of one another, each
+would probably have found the other irresistible," Vera laughed; "let
+us hold to this pleasant conclusion, it is more flattering to both of
+us than the other. We will leave it at this, that I might have stood
+well in your regard, one day, but for the fact that another lady stands
+better, having supplanted me in time. As for yourself, except for my
+good fortune in being a mere child, I must, of course, have lost my
+heart at first sight, this, I understand, being the usual fate of my
+sex."
+
+"You are pleased to jest, Mademoiselle Vera," said Sasha, uncertain
+whether to feel elated or angry. "It is time I departed; until the
+contract is destroyed we are still betrothed; may I kiss your hand?"
+
+"The betrothal ended at the moment of mutual agreement. Farewell,
+Alexander Petrovitch, and a happy ending to your courtship."
+
+"That girl will grow up into a lovely woman," thought Sasha as he strode
+away; "but what a little tigress she looked more than once. She is angry
+with me for wishing to annul the contract."
+
+"I don't see why it should be actually destroyed," he reflected later,
+fingering the document. "Why not keep it in case of accidents? A year
+or two hence I may be heart free, and she may be uncommonly handsome--I
+think the paper may remain for the present."
+
+He put it back in his desk and sat thinking.
+
+"The little devil was laughing at me all along," he said presently; "it
+was pique, simply pique. She'll be a pretty woman, that's certain!"
+
+As for Vera, she felt forlorn and unhappy. She was not in the least in
+love, but for better or worse she had been accustomed lifelong to look
+upon this man as her husband-to-be, and now the air-castle had fallen in
+ruins. There was a sudden gap, an empty space in her life, and she felt
+lonely and deserted.
+
+She actually cried over the matter and this did her a world of good.
+"He's certainly good-looking," was the conclusion she now arrived at;
+"but, as Constantine said, his vanity is terrible. I don't think I could
+have borne it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+A well-known establishment in a suburb of Paris, in the early part
+of last century, was the fencing-school of old Pierre Dupré, _maître
+d'armes_ and retired Major in the French army. Old Pierre was growing
+somewhat old for the personal exercise of his art, but he could still
+superintend the practice of his pupils, who fenced with his assistants,
+and give such advice as they could receive from no other swordsman in
+all Paris.
+
+Of assistants he had four, one a fine young fellow named Karl Havet, the
+second an equally excellent exponent of the beautiful art he taught,
+one Georges Maux. The other two helpers were, strange to say, females,
+strapping fine girls, both, and splendid swordswomen, old Pierre's
+daughters.
+
+How it befel that his girls had become such adepts in their father's
+profession, and why, are matters easily explained.
+
+It had been the greatest grief to the old man and a bitter grievance
+against destiny when, at the birth of his first child, he learned that
+he was the father of a girl. When the second and last child made its
+appearance and proved, like its sister, to be of the wrong sex, he was
+in despair. He had longed for a son to train in the use of arms which he
+should wield in his country's honour.
+
+"Bring them up as boys," some one suggested, "they are fine girls both
+of them, and would make splendid boys."
+
+From the moment that this idea took root in his mind, old Pierre found
+consolation. He adopted the suggestion _in toto_. The girls, while still
+young children, were dressed as boys, taught as boys, treated as boys,
+and perhaps almost, though not quite, loved as boys. From the earliest
+day upon which their little hands could hold and manipulate a rapier, he
+taught them to fence, and now--at the age of nineteen and twenty--the
+girls--Louise and Marie--could hold their own with almost any swordsman
+in Paris.
+
+Though no longer dressed in male attire, old Pierre's daughters still
+wore garments as nearly allied to the fashion of those worn by men
+as was consistent with propriety. The girls looked as like men as
+handsome girls could look; they associated entirely with men, talked
+and thought like men, were men to all practical purposes, excepting in
+one particular: their women's hearts remained to them. One, Marie, was
+engaged to marry young Karl Havet, to whom she was devotedly attached,
+much to the chagrin of her father, who regretted Marie's "weakness" as
+a sad falling away from the state of grace to which his daughter had
+attained. To have been brought up as a man and to have reached the point
+of perfection, or near it, in the most manly of all exercises, and then
+to exhibit the weakness of a silly woman by falling in love--"Bah!"
+said old Pierre, in speaking of it to his friends, "it is sad--it is
+cruel--it is incredible!"
+
+Nevertheless, the evil existed and must be recognised and put up with.
+The pair were engaged and within a month they would marry.
+
+As for the second daughter, Louise, her father's favourite, his pride
+and joy--for not only was she a little taller, a little stronger, a
+little more skilful with the rapier than her sister, but also possessed
+the crowning glory, in his eyes, of a deep contralto speaking-voice,
+which added a point to her score of manly virtues--Louise, too, though
+Pierre guessed it not, had fallen a victim to the universal weakness of
+womankind; she, too, had lost her heart to a man. Louise did not tell
+her father this; she did not even tell Marie, her sister; it is probable
+that she did not whisper it even to her own heart of hearts, and yet she
+knew well that it was so: she was in love.
+
+After all, it was no wonder that she should have become attracted by
+one or other of the many handsome and manly youths who came either to
+learn to fence or to practise the art, already learned, by engaging
+in a set-to with one of Pierre's accomplished daughters. Louise was
+acquainted with half a hundred of the most attractive young officers
+in Paris. Nearly every one of Napoleon's marshals had visited Pierre's
+establishment, nay, even the Emperor himself had been there and had
+laughed and applauded the skill of the two _demoiselles d'armes_. He had
+spoken to Louise and praised her to her face which was nearer the sky
+than his own by four inches at least.
+
+Yet never, until a certain afternoon in this very year of 1812, had
+Louise been conscious of the quickening of her pulses in response to
+the instincts of womanhood; for though assuredly there were many of
+the gilded youths of her acquaintance who had wasted upon her the
+eloquence of the eye, of the whispering lips, of the tightened hand--all
+these things had left Louise as they found her, calm and unmoved, and
+wondering, maybe, at the foolishness of men who could waste time upon
+such silly matters as love-making and love-talking.
+
+The fatal afternoon was that upon which young Baron Henri d'Estreville
+first visited the fencing establishment in order to see for himself the
+skill of the two girls with whose fame as swordswomen all Paris was
+ringing.
+
+The Baron was himself a first-class swordsman, but in fencing a bout
+with Louise he distinctly had the worst of it, a fact which he was
+himself the first to admit.
+
+This was a good-looking youth, merry and debonair, an officer in a
+Lancer regiment and the first cousin of one with whom we are already
+acquainted, Vera Demidof. He spoke with Louise both before and after the
+fencing match, and for some reason or another he took her fancy as no
+other man had done. D'Estreville was no exception to the rule of young
+men of his age. Louise was a woman, young and handsome, and of course
+the Baron employed against her all the artillery he possessed. Louise
+had thought this sort of thing only silly in others; but the whispered
+words, the meaning looks, the pressure of the hand appeared very
+charming when these measures were employed by her new friend.
+
+The Baron said he would come again.
+
+"You beat me handsomely to-day," he laughed, "but next time I intend to
+turn the tables; ah, Mademoiselle, it was not the rapier that overthrew
+me to-day, but the light of your eye, the beauty of your face----"
+
+To his bosom friend and constant companion, Paul de Tourelle, the Baron
+said, "You must come down to Pierre Dupré's fencing establishment and
+see those girls of his fence. Also you should see Louise's eyes and
+complexion--by all that's bewitching, they are splendid! You shall admit
+it! As for her fencing----"
+
+Young Paul de Tourelle laughed. "Yes, you shall take me to see them," he
+said; "I am anxious to know whether their skill is really so great as
+it is said to be by their admirers. As for her eyes and the rest of it,
+that sort of thing is not likely to have much effect upon me just now,
+for reasons well known to you."
+
+"Poor Paul! nevertheless come and see; when a man is so hard hit as you
+seem to be this time, to gaze upon something equally attractive may do
+him good, just as a change of air is beneficial to a sick man."
+
+"Equally attractive! beware what you say, my friend; such words savour
+of disrespect towards--some one; there is no one equally attractive, and
+cannot be; you speak of impossibilities."
+
+"I retract the words," said the Baron, laughing; "we will say that here
+is a personality displaying remarkable attractions, falling short,
+however, of the highest. Joking apart, she is a splendid woman, strong
+as a man, handsome as one of the Graces, and she fences--well--even the
+great exponent Paul de Tourelle must look to his laurels if he measures
+swords with her."
+
+"_Âme de mon Épée!_ is it so?" exclaimed Paul, flushing; Paul was
+acknowledged to be one of the finest, if not the very first swordsman in
+France. "That is a thing which I cannot afford to have said of any man,
+still less of any woman. I will come and see, my friend, and if she is
+willing we will try a bout."
+
+"She will be willing; fencing is the breath of life to her; but
+seriously, if you fear that your reputation might suffer by defeat, you
+must do your best, Paul; she is a supreme mistress of the art."
+
+"Fear not; I will remember to be careful!" laughed the other.
+
+When the Baron visited the establishment of old Pierre on the following
+day he found the fair Louise somewhat inclined to avoid him, or at any
+rate less disposed to play the _bon camarade_ than on the previous
+occasion. This attitude was the direct result of a conversation between
+old Pierre and his daughter Marie.
+
+"I am no longer the black sheep, _mon père_," said Marie, laughing.
+"This day Louise has also shown that she is a woman."
+
+"What mean you?" asked the old man, looking up startled from his
+occupation.
+
+"Hitherto Louise has been with our visitors as a man among men; this
+day, in the presence of Monsieur le Baron, she has behaved as a woman in
+the presence of the man who is her soul's affinity."
+
+"I'll not believe it of her," said old Pierre angrily; "because _you_
+have been a fool, Marie, and proved yourself no wiser than other silly
+women, you would have me believe that Louise can be equally foolish. I
+will speak to Louise; she shall belie your accusation."
+
+Louise did belie it, but with blushing and much confusion. Possibly her
+father's words were the first intimation to her heart that it was no
+longer fancy-free.
+
+The conversation left her very thoughtful, however, and very silent;
+and when the Baron arrived with De Tourelle and other friends on the
+following day, he found her--as has been said--somewhat inclined to give
+him the cold shoulder.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+At D'Estreville's second visit to old Pierre Dupré's he was accompanied
+by Paul de Tourelle and by Vera Demidof, now a beautiful girl of
+nineteen. The Baron was proud of his pretty cousin, between whom and his
+friend Paul a considerable friendship had lately sprung up.
+
+In so far as De Tourelle was concerned, his sentiments towards Vera
+differed, as he had found to his surprise, from those he had ever
+experienced before this time towards any member of the fair sex. Up to
+the day upon which he had first made acquaintance with Vera Demidof,
+Paul had looked upon women as toys created for the delectation and
+amusement of mankind; he was always glad to play with them, to have
+his pleasure in their society, but not to take them seriously. He had
+always found young women in his own class charmed to meet him upon his
+own ground; to excurse with him as far as he was pleased to go into the
+pleasant glades of love-making, but to take him no more seriously than
+he chose to be taken.
+
+With Vera it was otherwise. From the first he was aware that here was a
+creature of a different make, a more attractive toy than any he had yet
+set himself to play with, and, withal, one which, somehow, was extremely
+difficult to handle. Paul found that he was unable to have his way with
+this little Russian; she was unlike the French girls he was accustomed
+to; she took life more seriously, moved more cautiously, maintained an
+attitude of "stand-offishness" which at first puzzled him very much and
+perhaps exasperated him, but which he presently began to admire and
+respect.
+
+"You'll have to be careful, my friend," Henri d'Estreville had told
+Paul, early in his acquaintance with Vera, before De Tourelle realised
+that his heart was in danger; "Vera is not like our French girls; not
+only is she far more serious-minded, but also she is a fiancée, after a
+fashion."
+
+"A fiancée?" exclaimed Paul, laughing boisterously--"Mademoiselle
+Demidof fiancée? To whom? You rave, man!"
+
+"No, it is true; she is betrothed; observe that I added 'after a
+fashion'. She was betrothed to some Russian bear as a child."
+
+"Bah! as a child! and the bear a child also? She has never mentioned to
+me this young bear of hers. You speak foolishly, Henri, _mon cher_; such
+things are not done."
+
+"Ask her for yourself," Henri laughed. "For the matter of that, fall in
+love with my cousin, if you like. I would rather she mated with a good
+Frenchman than with a--what do you call them--a Moujik of Russia."
+
+Paul did not, however, ask Vera as to her betrothal. He treated the
+matter with sufficient contempt to forget all about it. As to the second
+half of Henri's advice, however, he followed it to the letter, and fell
+so completely in love with Vera Demidof that he was himself astonished,
+for he had always boasted that to fall in love was not in his line, and
+was, indeed, a mistake he would never commit, since it was his pride to
+be a soldier of the French Army, and he possessed ambitions which he
+could not afford to thwart by indulgence in such foolishness as love.
+
+Moreover, Paul not only fell in love but confessed the fact to Vera at
+the earliest opportunity.
+
+Vera Demidof had listened during the last year or two to some half a
+dozen similar confessions from the gilded youth of Paris. She was,
+indeed, the object of much admiration in the gay city. But whereas
+Vera had listened and simply thanked each aspirant for his flattering
+declaration, regretting that she was unable to respond in the manner he
+would prefer, she gave Paul de Tourelle a piece of information which she
+had withheld from the rest.
+
+"I must not listen to such things," she said, "for I am already a
+fiancée."
+
+Paul suddenly remembered that he had been informed a month or two before
+that this was so.
+
+"Betrothed as a child to a Russian child whom you may never see again,"
+said Paul; "I have heard the story. For God's sake, Mademoiselle, do not
+allow so foolish a matter to stand between us."
+
+"Monsieur takes too much for granted," said Vera coldly. "There is much
+that stands between Monsieur and myself besides my betrothal."
+
+"You cannot pretend that you desire to regard that betrothal as binding,
+Mademoiselle; the idea is preposterous."
+
+"I pretend nothing, Monsieur. I say that, being betrothed, I must not
+permit myself to listen to protestations such as you have just made."
+
+Beyond this point Paul was unable, at his first attack, to push his
+advance. On subsequent occasions he showed more discretion, and took
+nothing for granted. He did not retire from his position as suitor, but
+betook himself to graduate for her love, a matter which he had at first
+supposed was to be had for the asking.
+
+By this time the two were great friends. Vera made no secret of her
+partiality for De Tourelle, whom she liked very much better than any
+other youth of his standing; but on the rare occasions when Paul hinted
+that friendship was pleasant but lacked finality, Vera would shake her
+head and remind him that she was a fiancée.
+
+"There are dark clouds on the horizon," said Paul on one occasion; "our
+little Corporal threatens to fasten his fingers about the throat of
+your big Emperor; we shall soon be _en route_ for Moscow. Be sure that
+I shall seek out your fiancé; it shall be my first act upon reaching
+Moscow. Is your fiancé soldier or bourgeois?"
+
+"A soldier and a splendid fencer!" said Vera, looking out of the window
+and far away.
+
+"Good," said Paul; "I would rather fight a man than kill a sheep."
+
+"I think you will never come to Moscow, and I pray God you may not,"
+said Vera; "that would be a disaster indeed."
+
+"I promise you it should be a disaster for your fiancé," said Paul;
+but it is probable that she heard nothing of what he said; her mind
+was entirely absorbed by this new and overwhelming idea: that Napoleon
+threatened Moscow--the holy city of her own race. "It is not a real
+danger?" she asked.
+
+"What, this that your fiancé must run? Indeed, it is a very real danger."
+
+"No, no--this war you speak of--this horrible quarrel of the two
+nations."
+
+"They say that Napoleon has almost made up his mind; already the
+conscription is in full swing; Russia may yield, of course; if she does
+not, Moscow will be a French city by this time next year."
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_" exclaimed Vera, hiding her eyes in her two hands. "The
+French must wade through a sea of Russian blood before Moscow is
+reached--it is horrible, Monsieur, this thought of yours."
+
+"I did not invent it, Mademoiselle Vera; all the world will tell you
+that politics are to-day looking very darkly."
+
+This was true enough. Vera questioned her father presently upon the
+subject, and learned many things which caused her the greatest anxiety,
+for Vera was a patriotic Russian, and was well aware that war with
+France must end disastrously for her beloved country. She was French
+enough to feel that to be arrayed against the terrible Napoleon was to
+court certain defeat, so tremendous was the Emperor's reputation among
+his own people.
+
+With regard to private affairs, when Vera had explained to Paul that
+she was already a fiancée and must therefore refuse to listen to
+protestations of love, she had spoken the truth.
+
+Only lately Alexander Maximof had written to her. Maximof had heard
+wonderful reports from Paris of Vera's beauty and charm, and had
+congratulated himself that he had had the good sense to keep the
+contract of betrothal intact. It had only now occurred to him, however,
+that he had either neglected or forgotten to inform Vera that he had not
+destroyed the document, as agreed upon at their last interview, three
+years ago. Hence his letter to Paris at this time.
+
+"I forgot to inform you," Maximof wrote, "that upon inquiry at the
+notary's office, I learned to my surprise that our contract of betrothal
+could not be destroyed excepting in presence of and by sworn consent
+of both parties. This may of course merely amount to a formality to be
+gone through at your next visit to Russia, which visit is likely to take
+place sooner than you had intended, if political prophets speak truly;
+for the horizon is dark indeed, and in case of a rupture between the
+Tsar and the Emperor, your father would doubtless leave Paris together
+with the Ambassador Kurakin. May I add, that I look forward with
+particular interest to our next meeting. We have never met as adults,
+and if all we hear with regard to the beautiful Vera Demidof be true,
+I may yet have cause to rejoice that our parents were longer-sighted
+than I at least had supposed. I may say, further, that my heart is
+disengaged. I have eschewed the follies of cadetdom...."
+
+Vera laughed when she received this letter. The fact that her betrothal
+was still uncancelled did not at that time weigh upon her in the least.
+As, however, her friendship with Paul de Tourelle increased, it began
+to occur to her that circumstances might possibly arise which would
+cause her to regret that Alexander Maximof had not torn up their silly
+contract, as he had agreed to do. Paul de Tourelle had not greatly
+appealed to Vera's fancy at first acquaintance; she had disapproved
+of his self-assurance, his confident manner; but Paul had improved of
+late in these respects, and she had come to see beneath the veneer of
+mannerism a manliness and strength which she admired.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+Vera went to old Pierre Dupré's fencing establishment with her cousin,
+Henri d'Estreville. She was anxious to see these two young women of whom
+Paris talked, though she felt that the exhibition of their skill would
+probably displease her. In this respect she soon found that she was
+mistaken. Old Dupré's pride in his daughters amused her, and the girls
+themselves, especially Louise, greatly attracted her.
+
+Paul de Tourelle undertook to fence a bout with Marie, the eldest girl,
+an undertaking which he found considerably less of a walk over than he
+had expected. He held his own, certainly, but was obliged to put forth
+more effort into his work than he had expected to be called upon to
+display. At the call of time he was a point or two to the good, but
+he ended, surprised and a little mortified that he should have been
+compelled to extend himself in order to obtain this result.
+
+During the bout with her sister Louise sat beside Vera and conversed
+with her, while the Baron, who glanced constantly in her direction,
+stood with Dupré and his assistants at the edge of the arena. Louise
+displayed no shyness; indeed she plied Vera with questions some of which
+Vera found rather embarrassing. Many of them referred to the Baron,
+whose name Louise mentioned with a certain hesitation. He was a soldier?
+and had fought in the wars with the Emperor? He must be a favourite with
+men--and, oh yes, this undoubtedly, with the ladies!
+
+And Mademoiselle herself, she moved in the great world--ah, it must be
+pleasant to have the entrée there! Mademoiselle was doubtless fiancée?
+Vera admitted, laughing, that this was so and yet not so, a reply which
+puzzled her companion not a little.
+
+Louise reflected. "Ah, Mademoiselle," she said, "perhaps I have solved
+the conundrum--Mademoiselle is betrothed to her cousin, Monsieur le
+Baron; but betrothals to cousins, as all the world knows, are not to be
+accounted as serious contracts; they are made for the convenience of
+both, but are not intended to be regarded seriously?" Louise gazed so
+intently in Vera's eyes as she put forward this suggestion that Vera
+was too surprised to laugh as she had at first felt inclined to do.
+
+"My cousin?" she said; "_Mon Dieu_, no; the Baron is not of the kind to
+take the trouble to be fiancé for considerations of convenience."
+
+"The Baron is not then betrothed to Mademoiselle?" murmured Louise, and
+presently she began to speak of the fencing, no longer interested--as
+it appeared to Vera--in the conundrum with regard to Mademoiselle's
+betrothal.
+
+Which very naïve conversation went to convince Vera that howsoever
+gifted the fair Louise might be in the manly attribute of fencing, there
+was still much of the woman remaining in her composition. She watched
+Louise somewhat carefully after this, anxious to learn more as to her
+interest in Henri's affairs, when it was easy to perceive that though
+obviously avoiding the Baron, doubtless for reasons of her own, the
+girl's eyes constantly turned in the direction of her cousin.
+
+"Poor little Louise!" thought Vera. "Henri of all people!"
+
+Afterwards she sought an opportunity to add a word of warning.
+
+"My cousin D'Estreville, to whom you suspected me of being engaged," she
+said, laughing, "is not one I would trust with my heart. He is the same
+to all women, implying much but meaning nothing. He is _par excellence_
+a soldier. Women are--for him--toys to be played with in time of peace.
+Henri is not one to bind himself; he takes his amusement where he finds
+it."
+
+"All men that I have seen are like that," said Louise unexpectedly; "yet
+I believe that it comes to each man once in his life to take a woman
+seriously."
+
+"Come, Louise," old Pierre called out at this point, "Monsieur has
+kindly consented to exhibit to us a second time his wonderful skill with
+the foils; you will find Louise a fair exponent, Monsieur, though she
+has never yet measured swords with one of your exceptional gifts."
+
+"If she is as clever as her sister," said Paul gallantly, "she must be
+skilful indeed. I offer you my compliments upon your daughters, Monsieur
+Dupré, they are indeed a credit to their teacher."
+
+"Ah, Monsieur, if they were but of the sex!" cried old Pierre; "but
+there--it is not their fault--I have bewailed it all their lives, but it
+is not their fault."
+
+Paul, in his bout with Louise, was at first amused to find that he
+was getting the worst of it. Presently, as she added point to point,
+his amusement turned to disgust and presently he grew a little angry.
+When Paul reached this stage, in a fencing bout, he generally became
+invincible; and during the latter portion of the set-to his score
+rapidly improved. Nevertheless, when time was called it was found that
+Louise had won upon a point. Old Dupré clapped his hands in unfeigned
+delight, apologising immediately after for his rudeness.
+
+"I also crave permission to applaud," said Paul; "Mademoiselle is
+magnificent. Several times she took me unawares in a manner that I
+thought impossible of any swordsman in Paris. If Mademoiselle is not
+tired, I should be grateful to try conclusions once more when she is
+rested; while she rests there are one or two points in our bout which I
+should like to think over."
+
+"Oh--ah!" cried old Pierre delighted. "Monsieur refers I think to the
+_feint flanconnade_--the _feint flanconnade Dupré_ we call it; it is a
+trick of my invention, Monsieur; twice I observed she scored by it! yes,
+it is subtle, Monsieur, and found by my daughters and by our pupils to
+be most exceptionally successful. It is a compliment that Monsieur takes
+notice of these little things."
+
+"It is owing to these 'little things' that I find myself vanquished
+by Mademoiselle," Paul laughed good-naturedly. "I will consider these
+points for five minutes with Mademoiselle's permission."
+
+During the interval old Dupré conversed with Vera Demidof, explaining to
+her how hard it had been for a parent longing for boys to find himself
+saddled with girls; how his daughters had, however, done their very best
+to atone for the "mischance" by growing up--as he had thought--superior
+to the weaknesses of their sex; and how he had been rudely brought up by
+the horrible discovery that Marie had fallen in love with his assistant
+and desired to marry him forthwith.
+
+"Imagine my grief, Mademoiselle," old Pierre mourned; "so promising
+a swordswoman, so great a help and comfort to me, and pouff! she is
+married and her usefulness is gone! All that is man in her is gone also!"
+
+Vera could not help laughing.
+
+"You still have Louise!" she said, doing her best to say something
+comforting.
+
+"Bah! she has seen her sister's deterioration and she will follow her
+example; it is infectious, like measles! already I perceive----"
+
+What old Pierre was about to say remained uncertain, for at this moment
+Henri d'Estreville joined the group.
+
+"There is war in the air, Dupré, have you heard?" he said. "The
+conscription papers are out. Young Havet had better be quick and get his
+wedding over or he may find himself in Moscow before he realises that he
+is a soldier."
+
+"Ah--would to Heaven they had taken him before this foolery began!"
+said old Pierre. "Now I know not what is best; the evil is done; I do
+not approve of Marie's foolishness, yet I would not have her heart
+broken--for imagine, Monsieur le Baron, so false has become her estimate
+of the proportions that she would rather marry this young man than see
+him enrolled among the heroes of his country. Surely the object of love
+is the happiness and the well-being of the beloved? Compare then: to be
+a soldier of the Grande Armée, or to sit at home to lose manhood in the
+endearments of a foolish woman! Yet, knowing of the conscription, she
+would marry him to-morrow."
+
+Old Pierre was almost in tears, so deeply did he feel the bitterness
+of the blow. That his daughters were women, was bad enough. That they
+should at length show a desire to behave as women was a grievance indeed!
+
+"Be comforted, Monsieur," said Henri, smiling, "Havet is not yet chosen;
+if he should be so presently, allow me to suggest the very simplest
+solution of the difficulty. Let Mademoiselle Marie enlist also, thus no
+hearts shall be broken, and the Emperor gains a soldier better, I'll be
+bound, worth the having than half the six hundred thousand he intends to
+raise, if report speaks truly."
+
+"Monsieur le Baron is pleased to jest," said Pierre; "yet it is true
+that Marie would make a good soldier; it is but three years, Monsieur,
+since my daughters exchanged the convenient garb of our sex for the
+foolish habiliments of that to which unfortunately they belong."
+
+"So I have heard," said the Baron, "otherwise I should not have
+presumed, Monsieur, to make the suggestion which was not, be assured,
+altogether a jest."
+
+"Was it not, Monsieur?" exclaimed Pierre, looking thoughtful. "Why then
+I will mention it to Marie; there is no knowing how the suggestion
+may strike her; assuredly she would pass as well for a man as the
+majority of the silly, half-grown youths that the conscription will
+catch. _Splendeur des Cieux_, Monsieur, it is a good idea. The glory of
+having, after all, a child of my own to serve with the colours! It is an
+ambition which I resigned with tears at the birth of my little Louise!"
+
+"See, your little Louise, who is quite as big as our friend Paul," the
+Baron laughed, "is about to play her second bout with my redoubtable
+De Tourelle. Try again your _feint flanconnade Dupré_, Mademoiselle
+Louise; only be prepared this time for a subtle riposte! When Monsieur
+de Tourelle has devoted five minutes to the consideration of his play,
+be sure the time has not been wasted!"
+
+Louise blushed and lowered her eyes when spoken to by the Baron, a
+circumstance which more than one pair of eyes observed.
+
+"Louise has several subtle tricks with which Monsieur may not yet be
+acquainted," said old Pierre, flushed now and excited with the prospect
+of a second exhibition of his daughter's splendid skill. "Though I am
+the first to admit that she has found more than her match, for once, in
+Monsieur de Tourelle."
+
+Paul's five minutes had not been wasted, as he quickly showed. For
+though Louise made a great bid for victory and was, indeed, never more
+than a point or two behind, De Tourelle was a trifle the better, and
+ending with a beautifully executed "time in octave" finished the leader
+by two points.
+
+"I shall consider seriously your suggestion, Monsieur," said old Pierre
+at parting with Henri d'Estreville; "the more I think of it the more I
+perceive that if only Marie would think well of the matter there is much
+to commend it."
+
+"But you would lose two capable assistants, Monsieur le Major, as well
+as the comfort of a daughter's presence," said Henri, somewhat ashamed
+of having set the old man yelping upon so foolish a scent.
+
+"Bah! all the world will be at the war, there will be few to take
+fencing lessons for the while. Louise and the other younker will suffice
+for all the pupils we shall get in war-time! Monsieur le Baron will
+himself be absent among the rest, I doubt not?"
+
+"_Mon Dieu_, let us hope so!" Henri laughed. "Where else? _Eh bien, au
+revoir_, Monsieur, and _au revoir_, maybe, to Mademoiselle Marie in
+Moscow." Henri departed, laughing merrily. Louise had turned away with
+her flushed face a shade or two the paler for Henri's last speech,
+therefore she did not catch the amorous look which the Baron thought fit
+to send in her direction as he quitted the arena.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+During the next few weeks Paris and all France pursued but one topic
+of conversation. The Emperor's anger with Russia: would it end in war?
+Napoleon's threat--he had made it several times--that he would march
+into Moscow, was it spoken in seriousness or in bombast? For this was an
+undertaking before which even the heart of Napoleon might quail.
+
+Apparently the Emperor Alexander of Russia felt little fear that the
+menacing attitude of his great rival must be regarded seriously, for
+he budged not an inch from the position he had taken up in the several
+matters at issue between them.
+
+Alexander had several legitimate grievances against the French Dictator.
+In the matter of his sister, the Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, he
+considered that he had been slighted; for Napoleon had displayed too
+obvious a readiness to end the negotiations for his marriage with the
+Russian Princess, and this savoured of a lack of respect towards her
+Imperial brother's Throne and person.
+
+In the matter of Oldenburg, too, Napoleon had grievously offended. The
+Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, though not precisely a portion of the Russian
+Empire, dwelt under the protection of the Tsar; his own sister Catherine
+was married to the reigning Duke, yet France had lately annexed the
+little State, whose sovereign, with his Imperial wife, had been forced
+to take shelter in St. Petersburg. In addition to these semi-personal
+matters, there was an open sore in Poland; and again, the arbitrary
+demands of the Dictator that trade with England should be boycotted by
+the Continent generally, stuck obstinately in the gullet of the sturdy
+Russian Tsar, whose merchants knew where lay the best market for their
+hemp, their hides, their tallow and wheat.
+
+There was stir and excitement at the Embassies. Kurakin, the Ambassador
+in Paris, and Demidof, Vera's father, his principal secretary, were busy
+from morning to night, interviewing, explaining, bargaining, smoothing
+and glossing the sturdy obstinacy of their own sovereign, which, while
+they pretended professionally to deplore it, they secretly admired and
+applauded.
+
+Tchernishef, the Ambassador Extraordinary of the Tsar, arrived and
+was received in private audience by Napoleon. He brought with him the
+offer of certain concessions with regard to Oldenburg in exchange for
+counter-concessions in Poland. But the Dictator was obdurate; he would
+have surrender, not traffic.
+
+"Not a mill, not a village of Poland will I give your master," said he;
+"tell him so; it is my last word."
+
+It was Alexander's last word also, and seeing that his great opponent
+intended war, the Tsar began to make his preparations for defence.
+
+The ambassadors in Paris and their secretaries and attachés packed up
+their traps and held themselves ready for departure.
+
+To Vera the whole matter was a source of unmitigated grief. In common
+with every patriotic Russian of the day, her soul revolted against the
+wanton injustice of Napoleon, and swelled in a suddenly awakened passion
+of patriotic love and enthusiasm for her own country. Napoleon and his
+Grand Army were of course invincible; Russia must suffer defeat, ruin
+maybe; the lives of her sons must go out in rivers of innocent blood.
+
+"It is cruel and horrible," Vera cried, speaking of all this with her
+cousins the D'Estrevilles; "horrible because utterly useless and unjust.
+Does your Emperor think he will reach Moscow?"
+
+"Our Emperor goes just as far as his word, Vera," said Henri. "Do not
+deceive yourself. If Napoleon has said that he will march to Moscow, to
+Moscow he will march, and neither man nor devil shall prevent him."
+
+"You leave God out of the question," Vera raved; "but He, too, must be
+reckoned with, even by a Napoleon. Be sure, Henri, that this wicked
+campaign will not be permitted to prosper. You shall see."
+
+"_Au revoir, ma belle_," laughed Henri. "We shall meet in Moscow."
+
+"I would rather never see you again, cousin, than meet you there," cried
+Vera; "and that is truth!"
+
+"What, and the same of Paul de Tourelle?" said Henri, still laughing;
+"fie, Vera, you show yourself in new colours to-day!"
+
+Vera flushed crimson and turned away. She took no notice of the allusion
+to Paul, but a moment later she answered the latter part of Henri's
+banter.
+
+"If I show myself in new colours it is the more shame for me. These
+are the colours I should always have worn; to-day, at least, if never
+before, I am all a Russian; I am none the less so because I happen to
+have French cousins. Henceforth, I shall be ashamed to own that there
+are folks of my flesh and blood who are content to serve this tyrant."
+
+"I think none the worse of you for your patriotism," said Henri
+good-naturedly, seeing that the girl was much distressed. "But neither
+should you think ill of us who are also patriots from the other side
+of the hedge. Political aspects depend upon the point of view. You are
+excited. You will see all this differently when you think matters over
+in cold blood."
+
+If Vera had been less miserable she would scarcely have spoken to
+Henri as she did, but Henri was a good-natured person and made
+allowances. He guessed the mingled emotions stirring in Vera's heart
+at this moment, for Vera had always been a good Russian, taking the
+part of her countrymen in the many bantering arguments in which the
+family frequently indulged at the expense of Russian bears, autocrats,
+barbarous moujiks, knouts, serfs and kindred matters. In such arguments
+Vera had often, to the delight of Henri and her other cousins, almost
+lost herself in indignant defence of her countrymen. Now, he knew, great
+fires of patriotic fervour must be ablaze within her, since the picture
+before her mind's eye was not that of an equal war in which either side
+might gain the advantage, but of a helpless, or semi-helpless, State,
+over which stood the gigantic figure of conquering Napoleon, a drawn
+sword in his hand, ready to shed the life-blood of her beloved nation.
+And in addition to this trouble, and aggravating it twofold, Henri fully
+believed, there was Paul.
+
+Henri had quite made up his mind, much to his own gratification, for he
+was fond of his cousin and Paul was his chief friend, that these two
+were in love with one another. He had endeavoured, though vainly, to
+assure Paul that this was so.
+
+"Any fool can see it," he had said; "cheer up, man; Vera is a ripe
+fruit, ready to fall into your mouth when you open it to ask her."
+
+"I have asked her several times," said Paul; "you know that. She used to
+say she is engaged to some Russian."
+
+"Oh, that old fable!" Henri laughed. "Well, has she dropped it lately?"
+
+"She has not mentioned it, certainly, of late, but----"
+
+"Very well then. It was a very good excuse while she wanted one. My
+argument is that she requires an excuse no longer. Ask her again before
+the Ambassadors leave Paris."
+
+Paul accepted this advice. He generally resented advice, and hated to be
+preached at and interfered with, but he was always ready to take more
+from his friend than from any one else.
+
+"I have come to say farewell, Mademoiselle," he said, calling at the
+half-dismantled embassy. "It is time you allowed me to know how I stand
+with you. That I love you with all my heart you are well aware."
+
+"Monsieur--alas! It is not the moment to discuss such things. Let us try
+to part in friendship. If matters had been otherwise, I know not but
+that in time I might possibly have answered differently; as it is----"
+Vera paused.
+
+"You are referring, doubtless, to your contract of affiance.
+Mademoiselle Vera, let me assure you that such a contract----"
+
+"Bah! This is not a moment for deceptions, Monsieur; be sure that
+contract or no contract, I shall marry no one against my will."
+
+"So far good, Mademoiselle Vera. To what, then, do you refer? With one
+hand you seem to give me hope; with the other you take it away again.
+What is between us, Mademoiselle? I am rich, I love you as I have never
+loved woman. Is not this enough for you? What stands between us?"
+
+"Perhaps everything and perhaps nothing," said Vera with a great sigh.
+"You say you love me; God forgive me, for I know well that I ought to
+reject your love, yet I hesitate to reject it."
+
+"Why then," exclaimed Paul joyously--he was about to take her to his
+arms, but Vera waved him away. "Why, what do you mean, Vera?" he
+continued impatiently. "Why must God forgive you because I love you? I
+am not a leper; you will easily be forgiven! Explain--you madden me."
+
+"Can you not understand, Monsieur? See, I allow you to say 'I love
+you'--yet you are the enemy of my country; what will be said of me if it
+is known that I have done this shameful thing? To have submitted to be
+loved by one who is about to invade the land of my fathers----"
+
+"Well--but--Mademoiselle, for God's sake let us understand one another,"
+cried Paul, "Here stand I, professing to love you. Am I not to be loved
+again because I am a soldier of Napoleon? As soon I might say that I
+must not love a subject of Alexander. Your patriotism is delightful; I
+love you the better for it, but your conclusion is ridiculous."
+
+"What would you have, Paul? I do not know my own mind. I like you; it is
+possible that one day I may be able to say that I love you. I am young;
+I am not yet sure what is love and what is 'like'. Is it not enough?"
+
+"No, a thousand times no! I must possess you--hold you--caress
+you--release you only when the last moment arrives, under promise that
+when we meet in Moscow----"
+
+This was an unfortunate remark on Paul's part. Vera fired up instantly,
+receding a step or two from him, for Paul had approached and held her
+tenderly by the elbows, ready to take her to his arms if permitted to do
+so.
+
+"When we meet in Moscow?" she cried. "God send that may never be, never,
+never! Sooner I would never see you again than meet you, as you suggest,
+in Moscow. Do you think I do not realise what you mean by meeting in
+Moscow? I tell you, Paul, God forbid that I meet you there!"
+
+Paul recoiled a little, abashed. "I apologise, Mademoiselle," he said;
+"of course I should not have permitted myself to use so foolish an
+expression. When the war is over, I should have said."
+
+"When the war is over, love may begin or may not," Vera replied. "This
+is not the time to speak of love. I will not shame myself a second time.
+Go, Paul--I am a traitor to have said what I said--forget it--farewell!"
+
+"I swear I will never forget it," said Paul. "You are cruel, Vera; I do
+not understand your attitude; you are not like a woman!"
+
+"I am a Russian; my heart bleeds for my country which lies under the
+shadow of Napoleon and his Grand Army, of which you are a member. It is
+hateful of me to have spoken of love with a French soldier. Go, Paul, I
+entreat you." She held out her hand, Paul bent over and kissed it. Then
+he left the room without a word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+At the Palais d'armes of old Pierre Dupré there was excitement. Both
+Karl Havet, Marie's fiancé, and young Maux, the second assistant,
+had received their conscription notices; both had been drawn; unless
+physically unfit or unsound, both men must serve in Napoleon's new and
+greatest army.
+
+Maux was in excellent spirits. Being a splendidly built young fellow,
+lithe and strong as a leopard, there was no doubt whatever as to his
+fitness.
+
+"I shall come back a sergeant, Monsieur," he said; "you shall see; it
+may even be that I shall gain a commission in the field--such things
+have happened before now!"
+
+Old Pierre nodded approvingly. "You are going forth in the proper
+spirit, my son," he said; then he glanced sadly at Karl Havet, who sat
+with Marie conversing dejectedly over his conscription notice, and
+sighed. "Would it were the same there!" he added.
+
+Louise fired up and spoke.
+
+"You are not fair to them, father," she said. "You have no sympathy for
+the natural feelings. They were to be married in a month; they love one
+another; it is hard for them. If you were generous you would furnish a
+substitute for Karl."
+
+"_Mon Dieu_, Louise, is it you that talk thus, _you_?" exclaimed the old
+man; "then indeed I do not recognise my own child. A substitute, when
+the Emperor has called him to arms? Shame!"
+
+"It will break Marie's heart, be sure of that; she has been a good
+daughter to you, father; it is due to her that you should assist her
+in this emergency. Karl has no money to pay for a substitute--you have
+plenty. Let him stay a while at least with his wife. Be sure this will
+not be the last war; so long as the Emperor lives and Europe is not yet
+a province of France, there will be wars and wars. It is not right that
+they should be separated."
+
+"Bah--you speak foolishly, like a woman; you disappoint me, Louise, you
+that have ever shown a spirit above that of a woman. As for separation,
+if Marie is so foolish as to depend upon the presence of a lover for
+her happiness, why should they be separated? Let her go also!"
+
+"Father, what do you mean?" said Louise, gazing blankly at the old man;
+"do you rave?"
+
+"On the contrary, never was I more serious. Marie is as good a man as
+the best; she lacks but the pantaloons--_eh bien_! There are many fools
+under conscription orders who will be glad of a substitute. Let her go
+to the war with her Karl, since they dread separation; she will be the
+happier and the richer too, for she will touch the money of some coward
+or fool who is ready to pay for his own dishonour--_voilà tout_!"
+
+"And you, father, could your mind rest in peace if your child were
+exposed thus to the risks of war?"
+
+Old Pierre started from his seat with an exclamation of impatience.
+
+"_Sapristi_, Louise my child, you grow more foolish each minute! Do
+you not know that it is the one grievance of my life that I have no
+sons to fight for France? If I had a son and he went forth to battle,
+think you I should sit at home to weep in anguish of anxiety until he
+returned safely to the fireside? God forbid; I should thank Him daily,
+each minute, that I, too, had been found worthy to provide one soldier
+for France. Why then should I feel differently if I possessed a daughter
+who, thanks to her own fine spirit and to the training I have given her,
+had risen superior to the weakness of her sex and gone forth as a man to
+do a man's work in the world? I should thank God all the more--yes, and
+I should love my child the more, more by a hundred times."
+
+Louise was silent. Now that her father explained his view of the matter
+she recognised that it was, after all, perfectly consistent with his
+character that he should think thus. That any one else should think the
+same way, however, was quite a different matter. Marie, for instance,
+would probably consider the idea a ridiculous one; her fiancé, Karl,
+was certain to laugh the suggestion to scorn, and yet Louise, to her
+surprise, found that she herself had listened to her father's words
+without the impatient amazement which so wild a proposal might have
+aroused in her. To her mind, trained as she had been, the idea of a
+woman assuming the dress of a man and enlisting as a man in the army of
+her country was neither absolutely new nor absolutely impossible. Louise
+knew, almost by heart, the story of Mademoiselle de Maupin, who had
+done this very thing a century ago; her career was a favourite theme of
+old Pierre's, who had drummed it into the ears of his daughters since
+they were children. Certainly if any woman could imitate Mademoiselle de
+Maupin with success, it was Marie. But Marie was in love and about to
+be married; she possessed no longer the manly spirit which would render
+such a thing possible, and Karl would certainly reject the idea.
+
+"Suggest to them your scheme, father," she said; "but I warn you that
+they will not receive it seriously."
+
+Marie flushed a little when the strange idea was mentioned to her; then
+she laughed and asked Karl what he thought of it.
+
+"It is madness," said Karl, glancing indignantly at old Pierre. "That
+a man who loves a woman, whether as father or lover, should be willing
+to submit her to the shame and the thousand risks involved in such a
+scheme, is madness and worse. Thank God, I am not so selfish, Marie.
+Rather a million times, I will go alone."
+
+Old Pierre shrugged his shoulders. "As you like," he said. "It is my
+misfortune. What other reply should I expect from a man who goes out
+unwillingly to serve his country?"
+
+"As for that," said Karl boldly, "if I possessed money I should
+certainly procure a substitute; having none, I must go; it is hard,
+Marie, but--_que faire_? it is necessity that drives us apart."
+
+Marie burst into tears and the unfortunate lovers left the room together.
+
+"Bah!" said old Pierre, not untouched by his daughter's sorrow. "It is
+a misfortune--it is a disaster; see, Louise, how this foolish weakness
+called 'love' spoils not only a splendid woman, but a good man also.
+Karl is not a coward, and yet----"
+
+"No--Karl is no coward, and Marie still less," said Louise, perfectly
+miserable. "Father, let a substitute be found--it is hard for them! You
+do not grudge the money, that I know!"
+
+"My daughter, I would spend the money ten times to have Karl go
+willingly; to keep him at home, I will not spend it once; what, pay for
+the dishonour of one who would marry my child? God forbid!" Old Pierre
+left the room.
+
+"It is an _impasse_" he exclaimed at the door. "I am sorry this has
+happened; but in honour there is only one course."
+
+An hour later Louise still sat where the rest had left her. Soon after
+her father's departure an idea had occurred to her--an idea which
+evidently interested and absorbed her so fully that for a whole hour
+she sat motionless, thinking deeply, with set mouth and flushed face.
+The opening of the door startled her, and she looked up to see Henri
+d'Estreville entering the room, a sight which added a still deeper wave
+of colour to the flush of excitement which already darkened her cheek.
+
+"Mademoiselle Louise," said Henri, "I have come to bid you farewell."
+
+"Yes, farewell," murmured Louise, "I knew you would be going."
+
+"I am happy to know that Mademoiselle has devoted a thought to me;
+it is right that it should be so, for indeed I have many for you,
+Mademoiselle."
+
+"You go to the war," Louise murmured, speaking as though in a dream; "so
+should all brave men go; oh, Monsieur, it is grand to be a man, to take
+a great part in the affairs of life; to move and live and fight, while
+others remain at home to weep and think with folded hands. To which army
+corps is Monsieur attached?"
+
+"To that of Ney," said Henri, puzzled by the mood of Louise. Evidently
+he had surprised her in a moment of unusual softness. Henri had thought,
+more than once, that the attitude of Louise towards himself indicated a
+certain partiality. To-day he was almost certain of it.
+
+"Ah, Ney! glorious, splendid Ney, Bravest of the brave! Then I may
+picture you, Monsieur, as for ever in the thick of the fighting; I shall
+think of you, Monsieur, be sure; will you also think of me?"
+
+"Assuredly, Louise."
+
+"And how?"
+
+"As of one who, perhaps, sits and waits until a--a certain young soldier
+returns to repeat to her, as now from his very heart he tells her, that
+in absence it was her image----"
+
+"Oh, Monsieur," Louise laughed, "not so! sits and waits! Yes, perhaps;
+but not in spirit! In spirit, Monsieur, I, too, shall be with Ney,
+fighting with him and with you the battles of my country; suffering
+hardships, wounds, death maybe, God knows; think of me thus!"
+
+"Yes, I will think thus of you, Mademoiselle; and when I return----"
+
+"Oh, Monsieur, 'sufficient for the day is the evil'. How know you that
+you will return, or if you return that you will find me?"
+
+"I shall return, Louise; I have no presentiment that evil lies before
+me; certainly I shall return, and as for finding you, that is a matter
+of course."
+
+"What if you do not seek me, Monsieur? or if, when you seek me, you do
+not find me?"
+
+"To the first I reply that I shall desire you, Louise, as the miner
+longs for light and air; why should I not find you? I will ask you to
+wait for my return, Mademoiselle!"
+
+"Yes, I will wait for you, Monsieur, if I am alive."
+
+"Then farewell, Mademoiselle; in that hope I shall live." Henri drew her
+to him. "Upon your lips," he said, "I seal my promise to return." Louise
+did not resist.
+
+"It is true that I love you, Monsieur," she said; "I that never thought
+to love a man!"
+
+"By the Saints," Henri murmured, as he hastened away, "that is an easier
+conquest than I expected. Moreover, she is splendid. It is certain," he
+reflected five minutes later, "that I have never been nearer to falling
+in love than at this moment--be careful, Henri."
+
+"When I return," his thoughts ran presently, "there will be some
+pleasant hours to spend in tilling this virgin soil--_tiens_! I wish I
+was not going so soon!"
+
+Then Henri d'Estreville proceeded with his farewell visits, which
+included affecting leave-takings with several ladies of his acquaintance.
+
+Louise sat dreaming for half an hour. Then she rose with flushed face.
+
+"Of course," she muttered, "it is the only way, and what better could
+there be? I will do it at once."
+
+When the household of Pierre Dupré sat down to dinner, Louise was
+absent. The rest, with the exception of young Maux, were silent and
+depressed. When Louise came in her eyes shone brightly, her cheeks
+were flushed, and she smiled with some embarrassment as she laid by
+her sister's plate a folded paper. Marie took it up and glanced at it.
+Suddenly she uttered an exclamation.
+
+"What is it--what have you done, Louise?" she cried. "It is a demission,
+Karl, in your name, in respect of a substitute 'Michel Prevost'. Louise,
+did my father--oh, where did you raise the money, sister?--Oh, Karl,
+see, she has saved us--she has saved us!"
+
+"What mean you?" exclaimed old Pierre. "What have you done, Louise? You
+have paid for a substitute for Karl? By all the gods, child, I will not
+have it; it is an outrage; I will----"
+
+"Father, let me speak," said Louise; "it is very simple. I have no
+money; I have paid no one. The conscript room is crowded with busy
+people--one has but to go up in turn to the sergeant, answer a question
+or two and pass on. 'Who are you?' 'Michel Prevost.' 'Conscript or
+substitute?' 'Substitute for Karl Havet.' 'Height?' 'Five feet seven.'
+'Health?' 'Perfect'--scribble, scribble; a paper is handed you--'Drill
+yard at seven to-morrow--pass on!' and it is done."
+
+"What do you mean, Louise?" exclaimed Havet, starting from his seat.
+"You have not----"
+
+"Do you not understand," cried Marie, laughing hysterically, "it is
+Louise herself who has----"
+
+"Yes," said Louise, "that is it, Marie; I am Michel Prevost."
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_" exclaimed old Pierre; "is it so indeed, Louise?"
+
+"It is so, father; I am Private Michel Prevost; you shall have your
+desire at last; by my own will I am going forth. I shall be in good
+company, my father, for my regiment is attached to the _corps d'armée_
+of Marshal Ney himself; hear you that? I shall fight under his colours,
+the Bravest of the brave. Are you satisfied, father, have I done well?
+And you, Marie, are you satisfied?"
+
+"Sister, you cannot, you shall not; it is ridiculous--you jest!" cried
+Marie.
+
+"God forbid. I do not jest! Let no one dare thwart me by revealing my
+secret"--Louise looked round with smiling face but blazing eye--"You,
+Karl, or you, Georges, for I swear I will split with my rapier him who
+so does! I am a soldier of Ney's army, remember that, _mes amis_!"
+Louise ended with a loud laugh; she saluted the company military fashion
+and left the room.
+
+For a moment a silence fell upon all present, then old Pierre's voice
+was heard repeating the "Nunc Dimittis" in Latin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+Neither argument nor entreaty availed to shake the determination of
+Louise. Her father was entirely on her side, enthusiastically backing
+and applauding her resolve. Marie and her fiancé, though at first
+shocked that Louise should thus sacrifice herself for their sake, soon
+realised that the sacrifice only played a part in the comedy.
+
+"Do you not see a second reason?" Marie asked Karl one day. "It has
+occurred to me that she has another motive besides that of serving us.
+Louise, too, is in love. I suspected it, now I know it. I accidentally
+saw her parting with the Baron d'Estreville; they kissed, _mon ami_;
+imagine Louise kissed by a man; that reveals an extraordinary state of
+affairs. Well, the Baron has already gone to the war. Louise, poor soul,
+cannot bear to be parted; _eh bien_! she will go also; perhaps, she
+tells herself, she will see him from time to time, at any rate she will
+be near him."
+
+"_Sapristi_, it may be as you say," said Karl; "If so I am glad of it.
+Then we can allow her to go with minds more at rest."
+
+However this may have been, Louise attended the conscript drill for
+a month with the rest, and assuredly Michel Prevost there acquitted
+himself as well as any recruit upon the ground. Accustomed to male
+attire, which she had worn for some seventeen out of the full tally
+of the years of her life, she betrayed no awkwardness, whether in
+plain clothes or in uniform. Accustomed no less to every athletic
+exercise which went towards the training of the young men of her day,
+she satisfied the drill sergeant as easily as the most active of her
+companions, not one of whom ever showed the slightest suspicion as to
+her sex.
+
+At the end of the month the somewhat raw company of young soldiers,
+of whom Louise was one, marched through Paris and away; a month later
+on and they had joined the ranks of Napoleon's ill-fated army. This
+army consisted of 356,000 Frenchmen, and a heterogeneous collection of
+322,000 foreign troops, consisting of Belgians, Dutch, Hanoverians,
+Italians, Spaniards, Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, Hessians, men of
+Frankfort, of Wurtemberg and of Mecklenburg, Poles and others. It was
+called by the Russians "The Army of Twenty Nations".
+
+Napoleon himself was at Kovno, with about 200,000 troops commanded by
+Marshals Davoust, Oudinot, Ney, Bessières and Murat. But the detachment
+of which the conscript Michel Prevost was a member did not join the
+mighty host until the river Niemen had been crossed, and the dogs of war
+set at the heels of Alexander and his men.
+
+To oppose his great rival the Tsar had, at this moment, but 150,000
+troops, under Generals Bagration and Barclay de Tolly, though 200,000
+men were elsewhere disposed, to be called up when required. Besides
+these troops, the Tsar could count upon some 80,000 Cossacks already
+enrolled and equipped. Beyond and above all these, too, he could rely
+upon the nation to provide, in the moment of need, an almost unlimited
+supply of raw material, ready to fight and die with the best in defence
+of their beloved country.
+
+Meanwhile Vera had returned, with the rest of the Embassy, to St.
+Petersburg, and here, within a very few days, she received a visit from
+Countess Maximof, Sasha's mother, a middle-aged dame of typical Russian
+appearance and manners: kindly, gushing, voluble in a mixture of Russian
+and French, used indiscriminately as the words happened to occur to her.
+
+"But, my dear, you are charming, exquisite!" she exclaimed, standing
+before the girl in an attitude of rapt admiration. "We had heard that
+you had grown up very beautiful, but this! who would have believed it?
+And my Sasha absent and unable to see you!"
+
+"Is Alexander Petrovitch away then?" asked Vera, embarrassed by the good
+lady's compliments and wishing the visit over almost before it was begun.
+
+"Alas--he is gone to this cruel war, _chérie_, where else? All that
+is best and most precious of our manhood has gone, and Sasha with the
+rest. Oh, this Napoleon of yours--though indeed he is no more yours than
+ours--there is no good thing to be said of him; he is Beelzebub, the
+prince of the devils!"
+
+"I do not defend him," said Vera. "Why should I? I am as good a Russian
+as the best."
+
+"See how ill-natured people are! It is said that you so love the French
+people that you no longer have a thought for your own folks; some even
+said that you would remain in Paris throughout the war!"
+
+"It is false and very stupid also. Of course I love the French people.
+We have no quarrel with them, Madame, but with one man only; him whom we
+must all hold accursed for bringing this wicked war upon us!"
+
+"It is true, it is true, _dooshá moyá_! It is the ogre of Europe who
+would eat up our children, not the people of France. Kiss me, _chérie_,
+you are beautiful like a morning in summer! Alas! how proud Sasha would
+have been of you, of his sweet fiancée, could he but have seen you!"
+
+"Oh, Madame, Alexander Petrovitch is better employed!" said Vera weakly.
+
+"You will scarcely believe how he looked forward to seeing you,
+_chérie_; assuredly he has not forgotten his precious claims to your
+heart's preference!"
+
+Vera laughed quite unaffectedly.
+
+"Oh, Madame, be sure that, no more than I, would he desire to remember
+those claims, if we had met! You speak of ancient history which is
+recalled only with a smile!"
+
+"_Dooshá tui moyá_," exclaimed the Countess, throwing up her hands, "do
+you realise what you say? The dear Tsar himself would be disappointed
+to hear your words."
+
+Vera laughed outright.
+
+"The Tsar! What in the world has the Tsar to do with the matter, Madame?"
+
+"_Chérie_, you do not understand. I am a _Dame de la Cour_; I am
+privileged to enjoy many opportunities of conversing with his Majesty.
+His Majesty is well acquainted with all the circumstances of this
+romantic betrothal of Sasha and yourself. My dear son is personally
+known to the Tsar, who has deigned to express himself as much interested
+in his career. His Majesty was, I may say, charmed to hear of the
+betrothal; for listen, _ma mie_; it has reached even those august ears
+that Mademoiselle Vera Demidof is well known to be one of the beauties
+of Paris. Ah, Mademoiselle, I can see by your blushes that you are
+surprised and charmed by this news! Shall I tell you more? The dear
+Tsar, it is but a month ago, was pleased to pat my Sasha upon the
+shoulder--'Hold your own, good boy!' said he, and the Tsar laughed most
+graciously; 'I hear we have a Russian outwork in Paris; see that the
+Frenchmen are kept out of it!'"
+
+"Madame, I am stupid at guessing conundrums," said Vera, blushing.
+
+"_Dooshá moyá_, the riddle is a very easy one. The Tsar is well pleased
+that so sweet a flower as our Russian Rose of Paris should be plucked
+by none but a Russian. 'Let no French lover come between you!' said his
+Majesty, in effect. Truly, as I have said, he would be disappointed
+indeed if you and Sasha should not come together as Destiny intended
+that you should."
+
+"Oh, Madame, who can tell what are the intentions of Destiny? If the
+Tsar be pleased to jest in a matter which does not concern him, let him
+jest. It is quite likely that Alexander Petrovitch, when he sees me,
+will think the Tsar's jest but a poor one."
+
+"A thousand times no, _chérie_! He will love you at sight. Already he
+is prepared to lose his heart; it is a heart worth winning! There are
+many who would give the world in exchange for it! Yet I whisper to you,
+_dooshinka_, this secret--he waits but to learn that you have escaped
+scatheless from Paris!"
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_" exclaimed Vera, laughing. "Did he think the Frenchmen
+would begin the war by murdering poor little me?"
+
+"Fie, fie, little hypocrite!" said the Countess, tapping Vera
+affectionately with her fan. "Well, well, Sasha shall tell you all these
+things for himself! I am only a poor old woman, but Sasha will return
+from the war, one day, and such matters will sound differently from his
+lips. We shall see what Destiny has to say then!"
+
+"Yes, let us leave it so, Madame," said Vera; "for after all, we have
+not yet seen one another!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+The beginning of the war dragged. There was little fighting, for the
+Russian generals adopted the policy of retiring constantly before the
+enemy's advance, apparently afraid to stand their ground, but actually
+luring him intentionally onward, deeper and deeper, into the immense
+spaces of the interior. By these tactics a constantly diminishing French
+force opposed a Russian army whose numbers augmented daily in spite of
+the leakage resulting from illness and small engagements.
+
+In one of the earlier battles young Sasha Maximof received a bullet in
+the left arm, and being incapacitated for a while from active service
+was employed by the general to carry to Moscow the latest manifesto of
+the Tsar, and to superintend the raising of reinforcements demanded in
+that document by his Majesty.
+
+The manifesto was as follows:--
+
+     "TO OUR ANCIENT CITY AND METROPOLIS OF MOSCOW:
+
+     "The Enemy, with unparalleled perfidy and a force equal to
+     his boundless ambition, has entered the frontiers of Russia. His
+     design is the ruin of our country. The Russian armies burn to throw
+     themselves upon his battalions....
+
+     "Necessity commands that we should assemble a new force in the
+     interior to support that which is now face to face with the enemy.
+     To collect this new army we now address ourself to the Ancient
+     Capital of our Ancestors: to Moscow, the sovereign city of all the
+     Russians....
+
+     "The security of our Holy Church, the safety of the Throne of
+     the Tsars, the independence of the Ancient Muscovite Empire all
+     demand that the object of this appeal be regarded by our subjects
+     as a Sacred Decree....
+
+     "The ills which this treacherous invader has prepared for us
+     shall fall upon his own head. Europe, delivered from vassalage,
+     shall celebrate the name of Russia!
+
+     "ALEXANDER.
+
+     "GIVEN AT OUR CAMP AT POLOTSK, 6, 7, 1812."
+
+The Countess Maximof presently received a letter from a relative in
+Moscow. "Come quickly," her cousin wrote; "you are the favoured of
+fortune; Sasha has arrived, slightly wounded--do not be afraid, it
+is a mere bagatelle, a bullet scratch in the left arm; he is busy
+recruiting--a very important billet, my dear, and the appointment is the
+highest compliment to so young a man! Sasha is too busy to write, but he
+begs me to say that he hopes to see you here, and also--if she is with
+you--Vera Demidof, who has of course returned from Paris." The Countess
+went straight to Vera with her letter.
+
+"You will come, _chérie_--do not refuse--give him this pleasure; only
+think, he is wounded; one of the first to bleed for our dear Russia; he
+is wounded and will soon go back to the front--you will not refuse his
+request."
+
+"Oh, I will come," Vera laughed, "if only to prove to you, Madame, that
+Alexander Petrovitch and myself shall need but one interview to assure
+ourselves that neither is anxious to be bound by the foolish betrothal
+of a dozen years ago!"
+
+"Well, we shall see, we shall see; meanwhile you will come, and that
+is good. We shall travel in my own Dormese; in three days we shall be
+in Moscow. We shall not journey by night, for I would have you look
+your sweetest when Sasha sees you; poor lad, he will not be at his
+best--wounded and perhaps ill with fever; you will remember that when
+you see him!"
+
+"I will remember that he has already bled for Russia, that will mean
+more for me than the colour of his cheeks," said Vera.
+
+"That is a wise saying, _chérie_; good, I like it; yes, remember that he
+is a good Russian."
+
+Vera was not long in Moscow before Sasha Maximof presented himself. He
+came with his arm in a sling, pale and looking many years older than
+when Vera last saw him. His face was certainly a handsome one, and
+much of its present pallor was lost in the blush which spread over his
+features as he took Vera's hand and bent over it.
+
+"My mother did not exaggerate," he said, gazing at the girl with
+undisguised admiration. "I thought--three years ago, is it?--that you
+would grow into a handsome girl, but by the Saints, Vera, I did not
+anticipate--this!"
+
+"So you have 'eschewed the follies of cadetdom,'" laughed Vera, quoting
+Sasha's late letter to her in Paris. "What does that mean, pray?"
+
+"You quote imperfectly," Sasha blushed again. "I wrote, 'my heart is
+disengaged, and I have eschewed the follies of cadetdom'. You must know
+what I mean by the follies of my cadet-period, for assuredly there could
+scarcely have existed upon this earth a more objectionable person than I
+was in those days."
+
+"You had, if I remember rightly," said Vera, "a very fair opinion of
+yourself; you refused to know me because I was too young."
+
+"I am prepared to make amends," Sasha laughed. "Please do all your
+fault-finding at once, in order that my repentance may be complete. I
+know I was a conceited young cub and treated you abominably. What is
+your next grievance?"
+
+"A very much more serious one. Your memory is so good that you will not
+have forgotten a certain conversation when we parted three years ago."
+
+"I think I remember every word of it; I have often thought of it."
+
+"Is that so?" asked Vera in surprise. "Why?"
+
+"Honestly, because you looked so pretty that day and showed so much
+spirit that I was surprised into liking you better than I thought. I
+realised this afterwards. I suppose I am a person of strong imagination,
+because from time to time, recalling that interview, I have felt that
+sense of 'like' almost deepen into 'love'."
+
+"Oh!" Vera laughed; "but that could only have been after your heart
+became disengaged; do not forget, _mon ami_, that when we parted your
+heart was far from being disengaged."
+
+"I thought so; but one makes mistakes about such things. At any rate I
+got over that--that foolish business. Am I forgiven all these juvenile
+sins?"
+
+"But there is nothing in the last confession which concerns me. What
+have I to forgive in the circumstance that you were once in love with
+some one unknown, and 'got over it'?"
+
+Sasha winced.
+
+"Of course that was nothing to you," he said.
+
+"Absolutely. But with regard to that same conversation, I have a
+grievance and a serious one, as I hinted before. We came to an
+agreement, I remember, with regard to a certain foolish contract entered
+into by our parents on our behalf. You were to destroy it, by mutual
+consent. You did not do so, as I learned for the first time but a few
+months ago."
+
+"Honestly, Vera, the notary said it could not be destroyed but in the
+presence of, and by sworn consent of, both. The priests, too, declare
+that the sanction of the metropolitan is necessary."
+
+"You should not have asked them. You had undertaken to tear up the
+foolish thing. That would have sufficed for us. Why did you ask advice?"
+
+"I see that you will have the whole truth. I stupidly thought that by
+retaining the contract I retained also a kind of hold upon you. Of
+course, on reconsideration----"
+
+"Yes, of course that is nonsense. I will tell you, my friend, that
+contract or no contract, I should never dream of marrying any man
+against my own will and desire. Your action makes no difference, but it
+was foolish and not quite honest. It is better that we should understand
+one another from the beginning."
+
+"Yes, that is true. Will you do me a kindness, Vera? You say that it is
+better that we should understand one another. It might save me much pain
+if you were to tell me now, before it is quite too late, whether you
+have left Paris as heart free as you entered it?"
+
+Vera flushed crimson.
+
+"By what right am I thus catechised?" she asked angrily. "Is it by
+virtue of the contract you so dishonestly retained? or do you consider
+that I am bound to give you my confidence because you have been so good
+as to lay bare your heart for my entertainment? Neither is a sufficient
+reason, sir."
+
+"You are very hard on me, Vera," Maximof sighed. "What you have implied
+might have been conveyed to me less harshly. Well, thank you for
+letting me know what I wished to know." He paused. "With regard to our
+intercourse here in Moscow, I shall be very busy and--well, I may as
+well speak to you frankly while I am about it, I fancy it would be too
+dangerous for me to see much of you. Good-bye--oh, as to this thing----"
+
+Sasha produced a pocket-book and took from it an oldish paper. "At any
+rate you shall be worried no longer by the whim of our parents!" He
+opened the door of the stove and threw the betrothal contract within;
+then he lit a match and applied it to an edge of the document which was
+soon in flames.
+
+"So ends a foolish comedy that might have developed into a pretty
+romance!" said Maximof, laughing bitterly. "Farewell, Vera Danilovna. I
+wish to God you had not lived these three years in Paris!" At the door
+he turned and spoke again.
+
+"Of course I don't blame you, but it's hard on me that you should have
+grown so--so maddeningly pretty." Maximof repeated his loud laugh and
+departed.
+
+Vera sighed. "I ought to have known you before, my friend," she thought;
+"before--before Paul! But after all, the gulf between Paul and me is
+wide enough!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+The war was in full swing, victory favouring the French troops, for the
+most part, though occasionally she would hearten the defending Russians
+with a smile or two of encouragement. Louise, with her fellow recruits,
+had joined Ney's army corps. Already she had been present in several
+minor engagements and had even received a slight flesh wound in the left
+hand. The army surgeon attending her had remarked upon the smallness
+of her hand. "It might be a woman's!" he said with a laugh. "There's
+nothing here to keep you out of the fun," he added; "get back to the
+colours as soon as you please."
+
+The Russian General, Barclay de Tolly, was throughout unwilling to
+expose his troops to the risk of battle. He was no coward. In the face
+of much patriotic opposition from his fellow generals and the nation
+at large, he adhered to his own tactics, which were to lure the enemy
+constantly forward, striking only when a blow could be dealt with
+effect. The peasantry, patriots to a man, beseeched their general
+to bid them set fire to their standing crops, to their very homes
+and granaries, that the enemy might find but a desolate waste in his
+advance. Thousands of villages were so destroyed, their inhabitants
+preferring to wander homeless and hungry into the woods rather than
+allow the enemy to profit, even for a night, by the use of their
+property.
+
+Michel Prevost, as Louise was called among her fellows, was soon a
+favourite in her regiment. No one had the slightest suspicion that
+she was anything but what she pretended to be, a young conscript like
+thousands of others who went to swell the Grande Armée. Occasionally
+remarks would be made--jokes as to her complexion, which was fair for
+a man's; her slight though well-knit figure, her modesty, her obvious
+dislike for coarse topics of conversation, but though occasionally a man
+might declare with a laugh that Michel was as much woman as man, barring
+his fencing, which was second to none, no one dreamed that in saying
+such a thing he was nearer the truth than he knew.
+
+Never a day passed but Louise looked anxiously for the Baron
+d'Estreville. He belonged, she knew, to a fashionable light cavalry
+regiment, and this regiment she saw more than once, in the distance;
+but during the first month of her campaigning she never succeeded in
+catching a glimpse of her friend, an unkind arrangement of destiny which
+caused Louise to sigh daily.
+
+Then came a day of stress and battle.
+
+Barclay de Tolly had decided to vary, for once, his tactics by staying
+for a day his retrograde movement. If attacked and beaten, he could
+immediately recommence his slow retreat upon Moscow. Should he prove
+victorious--which he scarcely expected--it might be possible to
+inflict a blow upon Napoleon which, at this crisis, would be fatal to
+his further advance. Barclay decided upon this stand in deference to
+the complaints of his army. The result was disastrous, and involved,
+besides the loss of thousands of men, the burning and destruction of the
+splendid old city of Smolensk, on the Dnieper, into which stronghold he
+had thrown himself in his desperate attempt to stay the advance of the
+French.
+
+Napoleon made the remark that the blazing town "reminded him of Naples
+during an eruption of Vesuvius".
+
+During this day of fighting Louise suffered a shock, for she not only
+saw Henri close at hand for the first time during the campaign, but
+almost at the moment of recognising him, as he rode by at the head
+of his troop of Hussars, saw him also struck by a shot and knocked
+senseless from his saddle.
+
+Her own regiment was at the moment rushing forward with cheers to
+assault a house held by marksmen of the enemy, whose shots from the
+windows had been a serious annoyance for an hour or more, and acting
+upon the inspiration of the moment Louise fell forward upon her face,
+as though struck by a bullet. She saw her comrades go forward shouting,
+laughing, cursing, leaving a man here and half a dozen there; she saw
+Henri's Hussars ride on also; then she rose and ran to the spot where
+she had seen the Baron fall.
+
+Henri was unconscious but alive. She bathed his temples with tepid fluid
+from her own water-bottle. A bullet, she now saw, had passed through his
+left shoulder. She ripped the tunic and tore away the shirt and washed
+the wound. It bled fiercely, but she was able to stop the bleeding by
+means of a tight bandage.
+
+Henri opened his eyes presently and half sat up, using his right arm
+and hand to prop himself. He looked around, listened to the cannonading,
+the shouting and turmoil a mile away, and glanced, eventually, at
+Louise, who was still busy over her bandage.
+
+Henri stared at her face, saying nothing; Louise employed herself
+busily, collecting composure for the trying ordeal through which she now
+expected to have to pass.
+
+"You are very kind to attend to my wound, _mon ami_," said Henri, at
+last. "Who are you?"
+
+"Michel Prevost, Monsieur le Capitaine," Louise replied, saluting; "I
+saw you struck down, and fearing that you might bleed to death if left
+alone, I stopped to bind your shoulder. You will recover, please God;
+the bullet has missed the vital parts."
+
+"It is curious. I seem to know your face, yet I think I have not seen
+you before. Are you a Parisian?"
+
+"Certainly, Monsieur, but only a conscript; it is not likely that you
+should have seen me before."
+
+"Perhaps not--yet your face seems familiar. Are you wounded?"
+
+"No, mon Capitaine. I have no excuse to stay, now that your wants are
+for the moment attended to. With your permission, I will follow my
+companions, or I shall get myself shot for a skulker."
+
+"I will speak for you. Stay a while here, my friend; or, still better,
+help me, if you will, to the small house yonder, which our cannonballs
+have half demolished. This wound of mine may be more serious than you
+suppose--I feel very faint. It is cold here and very damp. Is it dark or
+do my eyes----"
+
+The Baron suddenly fainted, falling back into his companion's arms with
+a groan. Within one hundred yards stood the half-demolished house to
+which Henri had made reference. Louise laid the wounded man carefully
+upon the grass and hastened to see whether any assistance was to be had.
+The house was of stone, the only habitation left standing within half a
+mile, for the wooden cottages which had surrounded it were burned to the
+ground, every one. This had been a village, she concluded, standing a
+mile or two from the town of Smolensk, now blazing in the distance. The
+house was empty. It had been, to judge from its appearance, the village
+shop or store. The upper portion had been destroyed by a cannon-ball,
+but the ground floor still stood. Searching hastily among the débris
+left by the owners on the approach of the French troops, Louise found a
+bottle of vodka, three parts empty. With this treasure-trove she flew
+back to her patient.
+
+Henri opened his eyes when she had poured a quantity of the stuff down
+his throat.
+
+"You again?" he said. "What is it--did I faint?"
+
+"There is a wheel-barrow in the yard of the house yonder," said Louise;
+"can I leave you for a moment while I fetch it? If you are strong enough
+to bear moving, it would be better to take you under shelter. It is
+raining and miserable here. The night will be wet and cold."
+
+"By the Saints, you are a good soul--what did you say your name
+was--Michel? Yes, fetch the wheel-barrow, my friend. Strong enough or
+not, I will make the journey, with your assistance."
+
+Louise fetched the wheel-barrow. With many groans Henri contrived to
+seat himself in the conveyance, and Louise wheeled him very carefully
+into port. She improvised a bed out of a pile of hay which she found in
+the stable behind and soon Henri lay in comparative comfort.
+
+His wound seemed to be serious, though not dangerous, unless
+complications should set in; but being young and very healthy there
+was little danger that anything in the nature of mortification would
+supervene. The wounded man and his companion were not long left in
+undisturbed possession of their sanctuary, however, for before long
+a surgeon and his assistants, following in the steps of the fighting
+contingent, and finding a score of wounded men in the vicinity of
+Henri's house, brought in as many as could be accommodated in the place,
+which now became a pandemonium of groaning, swearing, raving and dying
+men. Two other sufferers were brought into Henri's room, a circumstance
+which did not please his nurse; but there was no help for it and the men
+remained.
+
+Henri d'Estreville was seen and treated by the doctor.
+
+"You'll be all right," he said; "though you'd have bled to death but for
+this young fellow--your servant, doubtless. I shall leave an assistant
+in charge of the household; I must be off; by the Saints, his Majesty
+gives us poor fellows work enough. Up at Smolensk, they say, it is like
+the shambles."
+
+One poor fellow died during the night and was removed by Louise. The
+other lay groaning and raving in delirium, too far gone to take notice
+of any one or anything.
+
+All night Henri, too, raved in delirium, suffering from high fever.
+Louise sat on the ground beside him, her back to the wall, weary to
+death but sleeping never a wink. Towards morning Henri was quieter,
+but could not sleep. He was inclined to talk, and treated Louise to a
+long account of his adventures in love, some of which caused the poor
+girl--who knew little of such things--to blush from neck to temples,
+though Henri was unaware of the fact, owing to the darkness.
+
+"Every one of these affairs," said Henri, "has left me without a mark. I
+had begun to think that Nature, in her wisdom, had omitted to provide me
+with a heart, well knowing that such a possession is as much a trouble
+as a comfort to its owner; yet now, in my old age--imagine, Michel, I
+am twenty-five, no less!--I have begun to fear that after all she has
+treated me no better than my fellows. Not only have I found, of late,
+that I possess a heart, but no sooner was it found than I have lost
+it--so, at least, I fear!"
+
+"It is possible, I suppose, that I shall die of this wound," Henri
+continued presently.
+
+"God forbid!" muttered his companion.
+
+"Oh, agreed! I am not anxious to die," Henri laughed; "still, it is
+possible, for, be assured, Michel, I have felt very ill this night;
+certainly I have been nearer death than has been my lot before to-day.
+Who can tell how the malady will go--which turn it will take. This girl,
+I spoke of; if I should die, Michel, you shall take a message to her.
+_Sapristi_--it is an odd thing, that I who have exchanged vows with a
+hundred women should now remember with affection but one, and she the
+most artless of them all and doubtless the most virtuous. You will carry
+a message for this one, Michel, promise me--it is only in case of my
+death--come!"
+
+"I promise," murmured Louise.
+
+"Good--perhaps I shall live, in which case keep my secret, lest by that
+time I should think differently. But supposing that I should die, go
+to the Palais d'armes of old Pierre Dupré, there ask for his daughter
+Louise--remember their names--you shall take a note of them presently,
+and tell her that in dying Baron Henri d'Estreville remembered her with
+tenderness; of all his vows of love he remembered those only that he
+made to her, which vows, say, he would certainly have kept if he should
+have remained in the same mind when he returned."
+
+Louise suddenly broke in upon Henri's message with a merry laugh.
+
+"I will leave out the last sentence, it will not sound so well as the
+rest," she said. "If you had lived, I will say, you might have been
+faithful to her. That you died loving her fairly well."
+
+"Ah, you mock me!" said Henri. "No, I am serious. It is wonderful, but I
+remember that little simple one with true affection. To her lips I send
+a loving kiss, the pledge of my love."
+
+"Shall I carry your very kiss to her?" said Louise; "if--if it would be
+a comfort to you, I will do so."
+
+"Ah, rascal! I think I have roused your interest in my pretty one--well,
+if I die I care very little what happens; yes, take her my very
+kiss--bend over and receive it from me. It is a strange thing, Michel,
+but there is something in your face which reminds me of my Louise; in
+kissing you thus I can almost fancy it is she--I would to God it were!"
+
+"Ah, you rave again!" murmured Louise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+On the following morning Louise, busy over some service on Henri's
+behalf, heard herself hailed by a wounded man, lying in the larger room
+of the house now in use as a temporary hospital. This was a sergeant
+in her own regiment, a rough-tongued veteran, keen in war, strict for
+discipline, a terror to the young conscripts of the regiment.
+
+"Hi, you, Prevost, what the devil do you here?" he cried. "You don't
+seem to be wounded? May the devil claim all shirkers; why are you not
+with the colours?"
+
+"I was engaged last night in tending an officer who was sorely wounded,"
+said Louise; "I am no shirker."
+
+"To Hell with your tending; I know what that means: the desire to be out
+of the line of fire combined with the hope of a _pourboire_; away with
+you and report yourself to Sergeant Villeboeuf by midday."
+
+"But the officer----" Louise hesitated.
+
+"Bah--he is no excuse; Monsieur the under bone-sawer," continued the
+fellow, addressing the doctor's assistant busy operating at his elbow,
+"see to this officer this shirker speaks of."
+
+"I have seen him," said the man; "he may come through or he may not, but
+in any case we desire no loafers in hospital, the space is too confined
+already."
+
+"I am ordered to leave you, mon Capitaine," said Louise, entering
+Henri's room; "I pray God you may recover; farewell, Monsieur; I will
+remember your message."
+
+"Yes--if I die, only!" said Henri; "not if I come through this and the
+rest of the war. I feel sick enough to-day--I wish they would leave you,
+_mon ami_, to look after me."
+
+"They will not, they call me shirker for remaining only one night! Do
+not----" Louise was about to say "do not forget me," but she thought
+better of it and altered the sentence to "do not fail to get well".
+
+"Not I--if it depends upon me--_au revoir, mon ami_, let us say, at
+Moscow!"
+
+Louise left the little house with a heavy heart. "For God's sake keep
+an eye upon Monsieur le Capitaine," she said at parting to the little
+_feldscher_, or under-surgeon, who replied with a laugh:--
+
+"_Tiens_, my friend, you are wonderfully anxious about the young man;
+one would think you were a woman!"
+
+There was no _arrière pensée_ about the remark, but poor Louise went
+away blushing terribly and very angry with herself for allowing herself
+to yield to so feminine a weakness.
+
+Would the Baron survive? That was the question which throbbed for an
+answer with every beat of her heart. If he survived and remembered the
+love which he professed to have felt for the daughter of the old _maître
+d'armes_, oh! thought Louise, how heavenly a place the dull earth would
+become.
+
+If he should not survive--well, let the first Russian bullet find its
+home in her heart, for all she would care to live on! And yet, Louise
+felt, even without Henri life was a thousand times more beautiful
+now that she had certain sweet memories to draw upon. "The most Holy
+Spirit," she reflected, "must have inspired him with that message--oh!
+to think that I, of all others, should have been chosen for its
+recipient: a message to myself, delivered into my keeping for my
+comfort--an inspiration in truth and indeed!"
+
+Meanwhile the army of Napoleon, constantly dwindling, advanced daily
+farther and farther into the interior of Russia. Napoleon felt that he
+was being enticed forward, but there was no thought of retreating. On
+the contrary, successes were achieved daily, though great events were
+rare. The policy of the Russian commanders was still that of retreat,
+laying waste the country as they went. The faithful peasants aided and
+abetted them. Every man proved himself a patriot. "Only let us know the
+right moment," they declared, "and every hut in the village shall burn
+to the ground, every acre of corn shall be destroyed before the detested
+foreigner arrives to eat the fruit of our labours."
+
+From the beginning of the campaign to the present time--two months and
+a half--Napoleon had lost by illness and battle 150,000 men; the Grand
+Army was melting away before his eyes. He now did all that was possible,
+by ordering up large reinforcements, to fill the voids.
+
+But meanwhile the Russian troops, unaware that the continuous retreating
+movement was a part of the deliberate policy of their leaders, grew
+more and more discontented both with Bagration and Barclay de Tolly,
+generals who had, nevertheless, done passing well with the troops
+entrusted to them.
+
+And seeing that the feeling of discontent was daily spreading, and
+the more quickly since the fall and destruction of Smolensk, the Tsar
+Alexander now united both his armies under the supreme command of
+Kootoozof.
+
+This new appointment aroused enthusiasm. Kootoozof had no intention of
+altering the policy of his lieutenants. He knew, none better, that every
+step gained with much pain and difficulty, by the French armies, must
+presently be retraced with tenfold and hundredfold more difficulty, and
+pains unimaginable. The Don Cossacks were already being recruited in
+preparation for the French retreat; the militia, raised in response to
+the manifesto of the Tsar, would be ready for work in a month or two;
+great things were preparing for the discomfiture of the little Corporal
+and his men--the rod was in pickle--let them advance by all means toward
+Moscow!
+
+But when old Kootoozof passed his troops in review, he repeated a
+hundred times for their edification words of encouragement and patriotic
+appreciation.
+
+"Holy Mother!" he would ejaculate; "what soldiers! With troops such as
+these success is sure! We shall beat the French, my children--only wait
+and see!" And again, "With such soldiers we shall not retreat for long!"
+
+Kootoozof halted his army at Borodino: 120,000 men, all told; and here,
+early in the morning of the 7th of September, the great Russian army
+confessed and communicated and were blessed by the priests with Holy
+Water. During the morning an eagle hovered for a few moments over the
+head of old Kootoozof, until frightened away by the shouts of enthusiasm
+by which the soldiers saluted the happy omen. The battle raged all day
+with varying success, the French capturing the redoubts, losing them
+again, and again recapturing these and other outworks. The Russians
+slowly retreated and were not pursued. Both sides claimed the victory,
+and both lost enormously; but whereas the losses of the French were at
+this stage irreparable, those of the Russian army were comparatively of
+small consequence.
+
+Then Kootoozof held a great council of his generals, whereat some voted
+for a final battle in defence of Moscow, some argued that there were
+greater issues at stake than the safety of the ancient capital which,
+after all, was "only a city like another". Kootoozof, however, reserved
+the final decision for himself, having, probably, long since made up
+his mind as to what should be done. He marched his army through the
+suburbs of Moscow, and presently spent the month during which Napoleon's
+soldiers occupied the Holy City in so disposing his forces that not
+only was the road to St. Petersburg blocked by a constantly growing
+army, but access to the richer provinces of the Empire was also barred;
+while hordes of Cossacks lay in wait along the line of retreat which,
+so soon as Moscow should be found no longer tenable, would, Kootoozof
+calculated, inevitably present itself as the last resource for the
+invading forces. In a word, Napoleon should be practically blockaded in
+Moscow.
+
+But meanwhile, on the 14th September, the advance guard of the French
+army entered the city. Through the streets of the White Town and of
+China Town (known, respectively, as Biélui Gorod and Kitai Gorod) they
+marched, singing joyful songs. Then pillage began and continued until
+Napoleon himself arrived within the city walls.
+
+But the personal entry of Napoleon into Moscow had been delayed.
+The Emperor had remained at the barrier leading to the Smolensky
+Road, awaiting the usual ceremonies which, he was determined, should
+precede his triumphal entry into the city. His Majesty expected humble
+deputations, servile invitations, sham rejoicings. He was accustomed to
+see the authorities of the place arrive to lay at his feet the keys of
+the conquered city, but here no one came, nothing of the sort happened.
+All seemed commotion in Moscow, but the afternoon arrived and still no
+deputation was to be seen leaving the city. Napoleon grew angry and sent
+a Polish General of his staff to hurry the movements of the authorities.
+This gentleman returned at night with the astonishing information that
+no authorities were to be found. Moscow was practically deserted; there
+were a few private residents scattered here and there, but palaces,
+public offices, the house of the Governor-General were all empty; not a
+functionary remained in Moscow.
+
+The Emperor was furious and perhaps a little dismayed. He slept that
+night without the walls, and on the following day entered the city in
+sullen silence--no beating of drums, no music, no church bells greeted
+his arrival. As a writer of the times expresses it: "His feelings when
+viewing the accomplishment of this long anticipated enterprise must have
+resembled those of Satan at the destruction of Paradise. The fiend was
+received with hisses by his damned crew."
+
+It is said that as he rode up to the Borovitsky Gate one Russian, an
+old soldier, decrepit and tottering, barred the Emperor's passage, and
+was struck down by the Guards surrounding his Majesty. Then Napoleon
+proceeded to the Kremlin and took up his abode in the ancient habitation
+of the Tsars, a home which he was not destined to occupy for many days.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+Meanwhile Count Rostopchin, ex-Governor of Moscow, had had a difficult
+task to perform. General Kootoozof, making no secret of his intention
+of abandoning Moscow, unless the stand at Borodino should meet with
+unexpected success, had promised the Count three days notice before
+the French should be free to enter the city; but Rostopchin received
+warning only twenty-four hours before the arrival of the first batch
+of foreign soldiers. During those four and twenty hours much was
+done. The archives, with many treasures from churches and palaces
+were removed to a neighbouring city. The arsenals were thrown open in
+order that whosoever desired might arm himself. The prisons were also
+opened, the fire-engines were removed or destroyed; the greater part
+of the population crowded out of the city, taking with them--as far as
+possible--their possessions. Only a few enthusiasts remained, patriotic
+souls or religious fanatics who would not leave the Holy City of Russia
+to the licence of the invaders.
+
+Thus Napoleon found a deserted Moscow, deserted by all but a grim
+remnant of resolute, desperate, Russia-loving, foreigner-hating patriots.
+
+Among them was Vera Demidof, whose motives for remaining were, however,
+decidedly mixed.
+
+During the months of anxiety preceding the arrival, first of the Russian
+army and afterwards of the French, Vera had shown herself one of the
+most patriotic of Russian women. She had been surprised by her own
+fierce patriotic passion. She had gone daily among the people, inflaming
+their minds against the foreigners, helping--like many of the ladies
+in Moscow--to enrol every man of fighting age and capacity among the
+_drujina_ or militia, which had started into being in response to the
+manifesto of the Tsar. She remained behind when the great majority of
+the population left in the hope that she might even yet find work to do
+for Russia's sake. She was a member of a patriotic guild, formed at this
+time to watch and to protect the beloved city, given over into the hands
+of her enemies.
+
+If any one had told Vera that she had remained in Moscow partly at
+least in the hope of seeing a Frenchman, one Paul de Tourelle; of
+assuring herself that he was alive and well and that he still loved her,
+perhaps she would have admitted the first portion of the indictment,
+but certainly not the last. Vera was, as a matter of fact, anxious to
+see Paul, if possible, but for a different reason. Whether he loved her
+or not was, at this moment of patriotic fervour, a matter of supreme
+indifference to her, for, indeed, she more than suspected that she had
+altogether lost that partiality for the young Frenchman which she had
+believed to be a preliminary to love; perhaps her patriotic hatred
+of the invaders of her country had scotched all private feelings for
+individual French persons; perhaps there were other reasons. At any rate
+Vera was anxious to see the man in order to make sure of herself; it
+was just as well, she thought, to know one's own heart. In any case she
+would be a patriot first. If she found that she still preserved some
+affection for this man, it might be a comfort to her wounded patriotic
+spirit to offer her private feelings a living sacrifice. At least she
+could do that much for Russia, if there was little else a woman could
+do.
+
+On the day of the evacuation of Moscow Vera, sitting at her window and
+watching the turmoil and movement of the people in the streets below,
+heard the footsteps of someone running rapidly down the road. She
+recognised Sasha Maximof, who entered the house panting and excited.
+
+"Vera, what is the meaning of this?" he said; Sasha was greatly
+agitated--"I hear you are determined to remain in Moscow--have you
+thought of the dangers from lawless French soldiers, the uselessness,
+the----"
+
+Vera laughed. "Dear Sasha," she said, "give me time to say 'thank God
+you are alive and safe'; remember that I have not seen you since July
+and now it is September, and we have heard nothing of you!" Vera was,
+as a matter of fact, more relieved and grateful on this account than
+she quite realised; she had worried much on Sasha's behalf, chiefly--as
+she had assured herself--because of the anxiety of his mother, who had
+received no news of her son, but largely also on her own account, for
+at his last visit to Moscow she had learned, and made no secret of the
+fact, that young Maximof was an immensely improved person, and that she
+really quite liked and admired him.
+
+"As for remaining in Moscow, I think I can take care of myself; I speak
+French so easily, you see, that I shall pass as a Frenchwoman in case of
+need; for the rest, I am not at all afraid, and I belong, moreover, to
+the patriotic guild and am bound to watch for opportunities to serve our
+beloved Russia."
+
+"There can be none, Vera, believe me, that a woman can safely employ.
+For God's sake be persuaded to leave the city."
+
+Vera shook her head.
+
+"No, Sasha, I am not to be persuaded. I shall be safe. I am well armed,
+and these two faithful old servants who have chosen to stay with me are
+armed also; we shall have soft answers for any who may come to pillage,
+but--as you know--this street is too far from the centre of the city to
+be in much danger of pillaging parties. However this is foolish talk.
+Even if there were danger, ten times more than you suppose, I should
+still remain in Moscow."
+
+"I do not like to think, and yet it has been suggested to me," said
+Sasha, flushing, "that though you are known to be both patriotic and
+fearless, there may be other reasons for your desire to remain in town.
+You have many friends among the French; possibly you are anxious to see
+or hear of them, to know that all is well with them."
+
+"Yes, that may be true," said Vera, looking Sasha full in the eyes. "One
+may feel an interest in personal friends even though they fight in the
+ranks of the enemy."
+
+"Of course," Sasha hesitated, "you will understand, Vera, that in saying
+this I had no _arrière pensée_; I mean, I was not hinting that you
+should tell me anything that is--is not my business."
+
+"Yes, I understand," said Vera. "There is nothing to tell. I am
+interested to know whether--certain people--are alive; but that is not
+my only reason for remaining in Moscow. Where are you quartered?"
+
+"With Barclay de Tolly's command. I shall not be far away--send for me,
+Vera, if you should need advice or assistance; I wish to God I could
+stay, but of course I cannot leave the colours."
+
+"We have horses in the stables and arms in the house and--and God will
+protect His people, Sasha; the taking of Moscow is not the end of the
+campaign; we shall see what we shall see. Yes, I wish also that you were
+with us; but you are doing your duty as I believe I am doing mine. No
+one can do more than that!"
+
+"No; well, I must go, Vera. I wonder whether we shall ever meet again;
+there are many dangers still in store for both of us; our fate lies in
+God's keeping. Before I go I will say that whether we live or whether we
+die, I know now that you are the only woman in the world for me. I shall
+pray daily for your welfare, and that your love, wherever it may be
+given, may in the end make for your lasting happiness. May I kiss your
+hand?"
+
+Vera gave her hand and Sasha bowed over it; she kissed his forehead,
+Russian fashion, and he her hand.
+
+"We will--we will think only of Russia now, Sasha," she said; "there
+will be time to talk of other things when her trouble is over."
+
+Afterwards Vera went into the city to watch, from a safe corner,
+the entrance of the French soldiers. She saw Paul de Tourelle march
+in with his regiment, and she recognised also Henri d'Estreville,
+her own cousin, who rode in with his troop of lancers, looking very
+pale and ill. Paul seemed well and sound and rode with all that air
+of aristocratic _hauteur_ which was natural to this undoubtedly
+splendid-looking youth. Vera made a close examination of her feelings
+as she watched him and found that the dominating sentiment seemed to
+be one of anger that he, too, should be among these detested ranks of
+the successful enemies of her country and of indignation that he should
+assume so swaggering an air. Still, she was glad that he was alive and
+well, and admitted to herself that he looked handsome enough.
+
+When she safely reached her house, late in the afternoon, a great
+surprise was in store for her.
+
+Sasha Maximof met her in the entrance hall, having opened the door for
+her. He was in plain clothes; the first time since her childhood that
+she had ever seen him out of uniform. Sasha smiled radiantly.
+
+"Thank God you are safe!" he exclaimed. "Vera, what a risk you have run
+in going out into the streets!"
+
+Vera flushed with joy to see him and even laughed aloud in pure relief
+and contentment, though she made a show of attributing her mirth to his
+appearance.
+
+"Sasha!" she cried--"you in plain clothes--oh, how funny!--explain, what
+is the meaning of this metamorphosis?"
+
+"I have got leave of absence," he replied, "on the plea of protecting
+ladies of my family; I can stay a while; I shall be in the house if you
+will permit me, Vera, and I will join your patriotic league. Look--is
+that some of your work?" He led Vera to a window and pointed towards
+the commercial portion of the city; a thick smoke rose from the quarter
+indicated. "Our friends have begun early!" Sasha laughed exultingly. "Is
+it Rostopchin's agents, think you, or the patriots?"
+
+"The patriots," Vera replied. "We shall burn all Moscow, Sasha, it is
+the principal part of our programme. I told you the campaign is not yet
+over. How long will the troops occupy a burning city? A week? Two weeks?
+And then comes Kootoozof's opportunity; Platof and his Cossacks; the
+Drujina of Moscow, and all you good regulars; you shall fall upon them
+like terriers upon the rats. Now do you understand why we of the league
+must remain in Moscow?"
+
+"I see--I see!" said Sasha, trembling with excitement. "Yes! there is
+work to be done in the city, you are right, Vera; but it is not woman's
+work; it is work for desperate men, Vera, not for fair girls."
+
+"My friend, the men are occupied in sharpening their swords, in
+drilling, in preparing for the running of the rats when the haystack is
+burned. We have no men in Moscow, excepting the old and the infirm."
+
+"Oh, I am glad I came, I am glad I came!" said Sasha, his teeth
+chattering with the agitation of the moment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+
+Late that same evening Vera had cause to reiterate Sasha's exclamation
+that it was well he had come to Moscow.
+
+At ten o'clock there came a loud knocking at the door, and Sasha,
+peeping out of an upper window, descried a group of three or four
+persons, French officers as he judged from their talk.
+
+Maximof armed himself with pistol and dagger and placed the two old
+servants in the entrance hall with orders to keep the visitors covered
+with their muskets, but not to fire unless specially told to do so. Vera
+awaited developments in a room adjoining the hall, armed and perfectly
+composed.
+
+Then Maximof opened the barred door. Three young French officers entered
+and closed the door behind them. They laughed to see the two old men
+standing with musket to shoulder.
+
+"Tell them to lower their weapons," said the spokesman in French,
+addressing Sasha; "I do not speak your infernal language; we mean no
+harm but only seek information."
+
+"Let me first understand your errand," said Sasha in his best French.
+"The men will not hurt you except at a word from me."
+
+"Well, then, is this the quarter of Moscow known as the Sloboda?" said
+the officer. "We are in search of the ladies of the French Theatrical
+Company, old friends of ours in Paris, who, we are told, dwell in this
+quarter of the city. Maybe you can direct us. You are, I conclude, a
+foreigner, or you would be with the army--what we have left of it."
+
+"This is the Sloboda, but I know nothing about your actresses," began
+Sasha, but to his horror Vera suddenly made her appearance in the hall,
+coming to the door of the room in which she had stationed herself. The
+hall was lighted with but a single oil lamp hung over the front door, so
+that faces were seen but indistinctly.
+
+"It may be that I can enlighten Monsieur," said Vera; "I overheard his
+request for information. The Governor-General caused the removal of the
+entire French company three days ago, considering this advisable with a
+view to their safety. They are not in Moscow."
+
+"_Sapristi!_" exclaimed the young French officer, who had acted as
+spokesman; "that is a voice that I know, though it is too dark to
+distinguish faces. Is it possible that I address Mademoiselle Vera
+Demidof?" He took a step forward. Sasha instantly barred the way.
+
+"Back, Monsieur," he said. "There is no admittance excepting at
+Mademoiselle's orders."
+
+Vera had started at the sound of the officer's voice. "Sasha, it is Paul
+de Tourelle," she said; "there is nothing to fear, let him enter."
+
+"What, and these others also?" asked Sasha.
+
+"I will answer for their good behaviour, Monsieur," said Paul. "Perhaps
+Mademoiselle will accord me the honour of a few moments conversation
+while these gentlemen rest themselves in the hall."
+
+"Yes, I will speak with you--come in here!" Vera indicated the room
+which she had quitted a moment before. Maximof took his stand at the
+door. He waved his hand to the two old servants. "_Rebyáta_," he said,
+"you can lower your muskets but remain here." The two young Frenchmen
+stood at the stove to warm themselves. Sasha heard their conversation,
+which they took no pains to conceal from his ears.
+
+"Our little Paul has found a friend it seems," said one, laughing; "he
+is indeed a wonderful man for the ladies. This will console him for
+Clotilde's absence."
+
+"Curses upon the Governor-General, he might at least have left us the
+ladies of the Comédie Française!" said the other. "I had looked forward
+to seeing my little Jeanne. Maybe the Russian wench was lying, for
+reasons of her own."
+
+"Beware what you say here, Monsieur," said Sasha angrily, "or your
+friend may find you no longer waiting when he comes forth."
+
+"Pardon, a thousand pardons, Monsieur; I forgot that you spoke our
+language," said the officer politely; "do me the favour to regard my
+foolish words as unsaid."
+
+The conversation was conducted in whispers from this point and Sasha
+heard no more of it.
+
+Meanwhile Paul de Tourelle, so soon as the door was closed behind him,
+had made as though he would take Vera's hand and draw her to him, but
+she waved him away.
+
+"Do not touch me, Monsieur," she said. "I have admitted you only for
+the purpose of making it clear to you that there can at present be no
+communication between us. I must regard you as an enemy."
+
+"But, Mademoiselle!" exclaimed Paul, "what is this you say? In Paris we
+spoke of love; I hasten to Moscow, whither you have gone before me; I
+find you unexpectedly, and you tell me that I have come in vain. Did I
+not say that I would meet you in Moscow?"
+
+"And did not I reply that I would rather never see you again than meet
+you in Moscow? No, Monsieur. I have no heart for love, no thought to
+spare for such matters, for my whole being is at present absorbed in the
+sorrows of my dear country. I am glad that I have seen you, since I am
+now assured of your safety but----
+
+"Come, let me be thankful for the smallest of mercies!" Paul laughed
+bitterly. "At any rate Mademoiselle is relieved to hear that I am not
+yet buried beneath the soil of her dear country. We are very far from
+the point, however, which we discussed, Mademoiselle, in Paris. At
+that time we spoke of love; now it is sufficient for you that I am
+alive--_parbleu!_ you are liberal with your favours."
+
+"Monsieur, I will wish you good-night. This conversation can serve no
+good end. It is true that in Paris you spoke of love; as for me, I spoke
+of a liking which one day might ripen into love; that day has not yet
+arrived, Monsieur; at this moment I am inclined to think that it can
+never dawn; I unsay all that I said in Paris, which you will remember
+was not much."
+
+Paul burst into loud laughter which had, however, no merriment in it.
+"I think I understand, Mademoiselle," he said; "the young gentleman
+who prefers to act as your doorkeeper rather than take his share in
+withstanding the enemies of your country: he is perhaps the fiancé of
+whom we once spoke, or maybe a nearer friend----"
+
+"Monsieur, I have wished you good-night."
+
+"Oh, but pardon, Mademoiselle, I have not yet finished that which I have
+to say; perhaps Mademoiselle would prefer if I continued and finished
+with Monsieur her friend. The matter may be settled without many words."
+
+Vera's face paled a little, but she spoke resolutely. "If Monsieur is
+wise," she said, "he will not quarrel with Monsieur le Comte Maximof,
+who is at present acting as my protector in this city of many perils;
+the servants would not wait to fire their muskets if voices were raised
+or threats used. Be wise, Monsieur de Tourelle, and take your departure
+in peace. You have no quarrel with my friend, and none, I trust, with
+myself."
+
+"Oh, as to yourself, Mademoiselle, I am not deceived; I shall hope to
+find compensation elsewhere for Mademoiselle's unkindness. But for the
+other matter, that, with your kind permission, shall be as I choose to
+decide." Paul bowed and made his exit.
+
+Apparently the decision was for peace. He called to his companions to
+come away.
+
+"_Au revoir_, Monsieur," he said to Maximof, at whom he now gazed very
+fixedly, as though he would make a note of his features; "I have no
+doubt we shall meet again shortly."
+
+"With all my heart," said Sasha, bowing; "for I shall then request
+Monsieur to repeat certain words he thought proper to address to me, but
+now----"
+
+"Monsieur shall have the words repeated," replied Paul, laughing; "come,
+my friends."
+
+"You did not tell us, Paul, that Moscow contained other objects of
+familiar interest to you besides Clotilde," his companions observed as
+the door closed behind the trio and was fastened by Maximof. "She seemed
+_gentile_; may we be introduced perhaps?"
+
+"Bah--you would not thank me. They are sour, these Russian women. This
+one has been in Paris, and is, at least, civilised; but she would visit
+upon each of you the sin of his Majesty who has declared war upon her
+country."
+
+"Patriotism is a virtue, I do not dislike that in her; when the war is
+over you shall make us known to this lady of spirit, Paul," said the
+other.
+
+"When the war is over," replied Paul, shrugging his shoulders and
+laughing, "I may want her myself. Remember, both of you, the face
+of that Russian in plain clothes, and if you should see him about
+the streets, inform me of it; I have a little bill to settle with my
+gentleman."
+
+"What, a case of poaching upon preserved ground?" One of Paul's friends
+laughed, and the other remarked: "Poor little Russian if it comes to
+accounts with our little Paul de Tourelle! He had better have remained
+with the army!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+
+Early in the morning two days after Paul's visit to the Demidof mansion
+in the Sloboda quarter, a man came and knocked the house up. He asked to
+see Vera and explained his mission thus:--
+
+"The French Emperor," he said, "is established in the Kremlin, in the
+dwelling of our Tsars; there is a meeting at ten in the house in the
+Tverskoy to decide what is best to be done".
+
+Both Vera and Sasha Maximof attended that meeting, when it was decided
+that terrible as such a thing must appear to every good and patriotic
+Russian, the Kremlin Palace itself must be ignited or blown up. Better
+destroy than allow it to be defiled by the presence of these foreigners,
+with the antichrist himself at their head!
+
+Volunteers were called for to attempt the dangerous enterprise. To
+Vera's joy and pride Sasha was one of the first to give in his name,
+and was chosen with a dozen others to evolve a scheme and put it into
+practice without delay.
+
+"I am proud of you," she whispered; "it is a dangerous venture; if I
+were a man I should be with you."
+
+"Yes, I am sure of that," Sasha laughed.
+
+He was grave enough, however, when the time came to go forth upon his
+mission. The Kremlin was full of French guards and the attempt to be
+made by himself and his companions was perilous in the extreme.
+
+"Promise me you will leave Moscow if anything should happen to me," he
+said at parting from Vera. "You must see that it is not safe for you
+here; the town already burns on all sides, I do not see that you can do
+any further good by remaining; the French rats will soon be obliged to
+bolt."
+
+"Yes, I think that is so; I promise to be very discreet; the work has
+certainly gone well forward these two days. But do not speak as though
+you would not return, dear Sasha, for you, too, will be discreet and
+careful. Run no needless risks; your enterprise may be performed in
+safety, promise me you will be careful."
+
+"If I thought," Sasha faltered, "that it was of consequence to you
+whether I lived or died, I would be careful indeed."
+
+"But, _mon ami_, it is of the greatest consequence to me; are you not
+my protector here in Moscow? Are you not, too, one of our patriots and
+engaged even now upon a scheme which all Russia shall one day speak of
+and applaud?"
+
+"Yes--but apart from that--_personally_, I mean, Vera; if only I might
+take with me the knowledge that you cared even a little for me, I would
+go to the gates of hell and return safely."
+
+"Dear Sasha, I like you very much--far better than I used to like you. I
+suppose one would always be interested in a person who had once been her
+fiancé."
+
+"Yes, yes, but----"
+
+"But you have been so specially kind and attentive to me that--that you
+must really return, Sasha; I--I insist."
+
+"Say that it matters to you personally, Vera, and by all the blessed
+Saints not all the soldiers of Napoleon shall prevent my returning."
+
+"Oh, boaster," said Vera, attempting to withdraw her hand, which he had
+captured and was now covering with kisses; "I will say no more than
+this, 'please return safely'!"
+
+Sasha Maximof went out, presently, upon his dangerous errand, and Vera
+was surprised to find how anxiously she awaited his return. She waited
+two hours, three, four, and then could bear the strain no longer. She
+had watched the sky in the direction of the Kremlin, but had not been
+able to discern that smoke rose from that particular quarter, though in
+almost every other direction the heavens were obscured by lurid clouds
+of black vapour, increasing evidence of the activity of the patriotic
+league.
+
+When four hours had passed and there was still no news of Sasha, Vera
+could bear her anxiety no longer, and sallied forth to see whether she
+could hear from others any news of the Kremlin enterprise. She visited
+one or two of her friends in the Sloboda, but no one had yet received
+any news.
+
+Then she ventured into the portion of the city which was actually
+occupied by French troops, and even penetrated close to the outer wall
+of the Kremlin enclosure itself.
+
+A dozen times she was accosted by soldiers, none too politely, but in
+each case Vera successfully eluded her impudent admirers and proceeded
+upon her way, pursued by remarks which, if she had attended to or even
+heard them, would have caused her cheeks to flush; but her mind was
+fully occupied and she heard nothing.
+
+Close to the Great Arch of the Kremlin she was startled to hear the
+sound of shots many times repeated. She hesitated before entering the
+Kremlin enclosure; dared she penetrate thus into the very heart of the
+occupied quarters?
+
+A group of Russians, old men mostly, hawkers of lemon drinks and of
+_prianniki_, or biscuits, presently came hurrying out into the street,
+chattering and crossing themselves, a few French soldiers chasing them
+through the archway out of the Kremlin.
+
+"_Bóje moy_, it is horrible!" she heard an old man exclaim; "I shall
+dream of it!"
+
+Vera accosted him. "What is it, father? What has happened?" she asked.
+
+"What has happened?" said the old fellow crossing himself and looking
+round to see whether the French soldiers listened, "Why, murder has
+happened; the shedding of good Russian blood; butchery I call it! Did
+you not hear the shots? A dozen of them, all shot down one after
+another by these most damnable foreigners! As if they have not shed
+blood enough already, Russian blood too, which is the holiest of all and
+the best!"
+
+"Yes, but whose blood is this you speak of? who has been shot?" asked
+Vera, her heart feeling like lead.
+
+"Why, Russians; good patriotic fellows who had done nothing worse than
+attempt to burn down the great palace with the French Tsar inside
+it--would to God they had succeeded! Well, they were caught and shot, a
+dozen or more of them."
+
+"All shot--every one of them?" Vera asked faintly. "Are you sure that
+all were shot?"
+
+"Every single one--I saw it done; that's what I say, that I shall dream
+of it; I called the French soldiers shameful names, but they do not
+understand Russian, though they turned us all out for booing at them; it
+is a mercy we too were not shot; yet who could stand and see the murder
+done without protesting? Why, what ails you, _dooshá tui moyá_? One
+would think your sweetheart had been among these butchered men."
+
+Vera said nothing but turned away with dry eyes and a steady lip. Within
+her breast, however, her heart lay dead-cold and heavy as lead.
+
+"I wish I had been among them," the thought came a hundred times into
+her brain. "Why was I not among them, at his side?"
+
+"Yes, that would have been far better--to have died at his side!"
+
+Vera heard the sound of horses' hoofs behind her, but took no notice.
+Some one shouted, and she stepped automatically out of the roadway upon
+the raised wooden pavement at the side.
+
+"That is a French dress," she heard a man say, and seemed to recognise
+the voice, but her thoughts were far away. "How came she here?--ask
+her, General." Vera half awoke from her dream of misery and looked up;
+Napoleon was at her elbow on horseback, with his suite in attendance.
+She was about to make the reverence which her familiarity with the Court
+in Paris prompted her to offer automatically at sight of the sovereign;
+but she bethought herself and left the curtsy half made.
+
+"Who is it--I know the face," said Napoleon; "who are you, _mon enfant_,
+and what do you here? Have I not seen you in Paris?"
+
+"Sire, it is the daughter of the Secretary of the Russian Embassy,"
+explained an aide-de-camp; "Mademoiselle Demidof."
+
+"Of course," said Napoleon, smiling benignly; "pardon me, Mademoiselle,
+I took you for a French lady and wondered at your presence here; may I
+add that so fair a face courts danger in Moscow at the present moment?"
+
+Vera had stood still, gazing with set face from one man to the other as
+each spoke. Her heart swelled with indignation and hatred. This was the
+very arch-enemy himself; the fiend in man's likeness who had brought
+ruin upon her country and upon this holy city.
+
+"Shall I then be shot down in cold blood as your Majesty has just
+slaughtered a body of my poor countrymen?" she said suddenly.
+
+"_Morbleu!_" exclaimed Napoleon, glancing angrily at the girl. He paused
+a moment, then laughed, shrugged his shoulders and rode on.
+
+"She is mad, Sire, patriot-mad!" Vera heard some one say, and the
+Emperor's reply reached her ears: "She has nevertheless a fine spirit".
+
+Vera hastened homewards. She forgot the incident of her encounter with
+Napoleon; she took no notice of the hundreds of compliments, impudent
+observations and rude jests thrown at her by scores of French soldiers
+as she passed; Sasha Maximof was dead: this was her only thought;
+it absorbed her entire being; was it--she asked herself--really so
+all-important to her that this man was dead? She had not yet learned
+to love him; it must surely be a mere sentimental regret, this black
+heavy weight upon her heart; a sentimental regret that one who had once
+been nominally her fiancé had suddenly met his death; her heart had
+not received its death-wound--oh no! this was but a passing feeling
+of sympathy and sorrow; it would disappear; the shock of the sudden
+catastrophe had unnerved her.
+
+Nevertheless when Vera had lain for an hour upon her bed, assuring
+herself that after all this calamity was not really a disaster, for her,
+of the first magnitude, she suddenly realised that nothing in the world
+could have mattered more to her than the death of this man; and turning
+her face to the wall she wept as though her heart were indeed broken.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+
+Vera heard a banging at the front door--a sound which might have
+startled and even frightened her at another moment, but she was so
+full of her new grief that she scarcely noticed it; she felt as though
+nothing mattered; that she did not care what happened.
+
+Then old Michael, one of the two servants who had remained in the house
+when the rest left Moscow, knocked at her door and put his head into the
+room.
+
+"_Golôobushka moyá_," he said, "do not be frightened, a disaster
+has happened; the young Graf Maximof----" he paused; Vera laughed
+hysterically.
+
+"Yes, yes, go on; he has been shot--he is dead--they have brought his
+body; you may tell me all, Michael."
+
+"Oh, _liubeemaya_, not so bad as that; but he is hurt."
+
+"What do you say--he is not dead?" cried Vera; she sprang from the bed
+upon which she lay. "Is he dying, is he mortally wounded, tell me
+quickly, has Stepan gone for a doctor?"
+
+"But I did not say matters were so bad as that!" exclaimed old Michael,
+startled by her agitation. "The Count has, I think, been fighting--there
+is a rag bound round his wrist which is covered with blood and he is
+pale and faint, but----"
+
+"But is he not shot--I thought--stop, Michael--go down and say that
+I will come immediately--I am not quite ready--I think I have been
+dreaming--do not tell the Count what I have said."
+
+Old Michael went downstairs muttering and crossing himself. His beloved
+mistress could not be well if she dreamed in this fashion by daylight;
+what did it mean?
+
+Vera dashed water upon her eyes and smoothed her ruffled hair; she stood
+a moment before her ikon and prayed; her eyes were bright and her cheeks
+flushed; the expression of utter misery had left her face.
+
+She found Sasha sitting dejected and pale, his arm bound up with a cloth
+which, as Michael said, was soaked in blood.
+
+"What has happened--what is the matter? Are you hurt, Sasha?" she asked,
+assuming her usual air of composure, though her heart beat wildly with
+a variety of emotions.
+
+"Vera, I am disgraced--doubly disgraced. We failed in our attempt--all
+my poor companions are dead--shot--I almost wish I had died with them--I
+feel dishonoured--shamed; see, I cannot look you in the face."
+
+Vera leaned over and kissed his forehead; he looked up gratefully but
+said nothing.
+
+"I am sure you are not dishonoured," she murmured softly; "let me first
+attend to your arm, and then you shall tell me all."
+
+"I will tell you as you bind me," he said, and began at once.
+
+"We carried out the first part of our scheme successfully; we got into
+the stables and set fire to straw and rubbish, but the smoke frightened
+the horses and there was a great commotion. We were found and dragged
+out by soldiers. Several young officers, quartered in the Kremlin,
+ran up and we were all pulled about and insulted. Among the officers
+were two of those who came to this house. 'Look here,' said one, on
+recognising me, 'look, Paul, here is your acquaintance of the other
+evening;' whereupon the impertinent one whom you interviewed alone
+that day saw me also. He called up half a dozen fellows and bade them
+take me to his quarters. Of course I struggled, but I soon saw it was
+useless and went with them. Afterwards I heard that the Emperor suddenly
+appeared upon the scene and asked what had happened and who were these
+men, meaning my late companions. When he was told he frowned and twisted
+his nose and called them canaille and bade the soldiers shoot them down,
+then and there, for which butchery I trust he may be tortured in eternal
+fires.
+
+"As for me, I was taken to a house in the Kremlin in which your friend
+is quartered, and thither he came, presently, and found me awaiting his
+pleasure, which, it seemed, was to answer to him at the sword's point
+for my presumption in posing as your protector in Moscow; at any rate,
+I could learn no other reason for his particular animosity against me.
+You may believe that I was charmed to meet his wishes even though he had
+not assured me, which he did many times, that I might thank my stars
+I had not been left by him with my fellow conspirators; for it seems
+Napoleon had himself condemned them to instant death, giving the order,
+so your French friend said, carelessly over his left shoulder as though
+the talk were of drowning so many rats. Well, we fought, and there is
+my disgrace, for though I thought I could fence, the fellow had me at
+his mercy with many French tricks which I had never seen. Doubtless he
+could have ended me several times over, but he forbore. I am ashamed and
+disgraced, Vera, I have come home beaten like a dog that slinks into his
+kennel after a thrashing. There is excuse for me, but I do not claim
+it--strange, foreign swords to fight with, the shock of my companions'
+deaths, the uncertainty whether, if I fell savagely upon the man and
+bore him down by sheer stress, I should not injure a dear heart at home
+which perhaps held his life as a precious thing."
+
+Vera laughed hysterically.
+
+"Who knows," she cried, "perhaps the same generous consideration held
+his hand also!"
+
+"Ah, you mock me; well, beaten and disgraced I am, and it is useless to
+conceal the truth. Yes, he withheld his hand, he could have given me the
+point a dozen times while I never touched him, not once. There is worse
+behind. He made me promise, under threat to send me back to his master
+to share the fate of my fellows, that I would give you a detestable
+message. Please do not blame me, Vera, I cannot help it, for the
+promise was given. Before giving it I fell upon him furiously, and it
+was thus I received this wound in my sword-arm, which incapacitated me.
+I was to say that he returned to you a spoilt lover, but perhaps good
+enough for one who could not tell a man from a moujik."
+
+Vera's eyes flashed and her bosom heaved. "Is that all?" she asked.
+
+"Not quite. I must say all he bade me tell you. Tell her, he said, that
+next time man meets moujik matters will end less happily for the moujik;
+she had better send him out of Moscow, there is less danger for him
+without than within the walls."
+
+"If you had killed him for that speech, I could not have blamed you, my
+friend," answered Vera. "When I see him I will tell him something."
+
+"I could then no longer even attempt to kill him," said Sasha, blushing
+hotly, "for I was helpless; we had finished fighting, and I was worsted.
+I thought it better to bear the disgrace of telling you this than to go
+back to the Red Plain in order to be shot in cold blood by Napoleon's
+men. I have not done with him. With God's help I will one day give
+him _quid_ for his _quo_. Until I shall have done this I can enjoy no
+self-respect. With my own sword I may do better, though he has the
+devil's own skill." Vera considered a while, then she spoke.
+
+"I think we will go out of Moscow; there is no longer any reason to stay
+here. The smoke hangs over the city in every direction; already there is
+more fire than all Napoleon's men can extinguish; within a fortnight the
+rats must make their bolt."
+
+"We have done something, certainly, but it is not yet time to go--not
+for me; for you it is different; go, in God's name, Vera; I will do your
+work and mine. In the face of this man's insult I cannot leave Moscow."
+
+"Yes--that is true; you cannot; we will stay, then, Sasha; I do not
+doubt that we shall find work to our hands. Do not search out this man,
+however; leave your quarrel in God's hands. Promise me you will not be
+rash, Sasha."
+
+"Ah, I see you think that I have no chance against him; yet I am not a
+fool with the rapier, Vera, my own weapon, mind you, not his. I shall
+have a chance, though I admit he is very clever. If he were as clever as
+the prince of all the devils I must meet him."
+
+"He is the best fencer in Paris, _mon ami_. What matters is your safety;
+oh, do not mistake me--do you think I shall esteem you less and him
+more because he is a little cleverer than you with tricks of the sword?"
+Vera laughed quite merrily. "Oh, what children men are to think so much
+of so small a matter," she continued; "you are not disgraced in my eyes,
+Sasha; I thank God for two things, the first that it occurred to Paul to
+vent his spite upon both of us by pricking you with his sword instead
+of allowing you to be shot down by the guard, and the second that his
+conceit was so great that he preferred sending you back with a bombastic
+message to giving you a fatal wound."
+
+"Tell me truly, Vera, is this Paul he to whom you gave your heart in
+Paris; for Gods sake, tell me truly?"
+
+"I do not think I gave my heart in Paris. Perhaps I fancied that my
+heart was in danger where no danger existed. He is the man who caused me
+thus to search my feelings--well, I have searched them."
+
+"And the result?" Sasha murmured.
+
+"The result is that I can thank God I do not love a Frenchman, one of
+Russia's enemies."
+
+"Then I thank God also humbly and sincerely. You know well what I would
+have of you, if I could. You treat me now as a brother, you are kindness
+itself, but I hunger for more; I will wait more patiently now that I am
+assured that at any rate your heart is free."
+
+"When I love I promise that I will love a Russian," Vera smiled.
+"Promise me in return that you will not run foolish risks in order to
+prove to me how cleverly your hand and eye work together in sword play.
+There are greater issues at stake for us Russians than the nursing of
+private petty vanities. The noblest of men may yet be the clumsiest.
+Russia requires all the manhood of all her sons, my friend. Come,
+promise me!"
+
+"Well, I promise then," muttered Sasha, "though your words are not
+flattering to my vanity. I wish you could have added," he sighed, "that
+you wanted me alive for your own sake, as well as for Russia's."
+
+"Oh, I will say that," she laughed. "I certainly want you alive. Sasha,"
+she added suddenly, her eyes softening wonderfully, though her voice was
+full of laughter, "I see that you are still far from having eschewed the
+follies of cadetdom; you are as vain as ever, _mon ami_, and as blind
+to--to the true proportion of things."
+
+Sasha Maximof looked puzzled and shook his head, failing to understand
+the meaning of Vera's last utterance.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+
+During these first few days of the French occupation Moscow became a
+very pandemonium of pillage and violence, of smoke and fire, of orgies
+and of cruelties too horrible to relate. The churches and cathedrals
+were robbed and desecrated without distinction. Marshal Davoust could
+find no more appropriate place for his bedroom than the sanctuary,
+the very "Holy of Holies" of a cathedral, wherein he slept, guarded
+by a sentinel at each of the two royal doors which gave entrance to
+this hallowed spot. Horses were stabled in the churches. Furnaces and
+melting-pots were to be seen outside each of Moscow's most venerable
+cathedrals, where gold and silver vessels, the frames of costly ikons,
+ornaments, even the golden decorations of the vestments of the priests
+were melted down and fought over.
+
+Soldiers on "leave of absence," which meant that they had received, each
+in turn, licence for a season of plundering, spent every hour of their
+leisure in pillage and violence, declaring--if interfered with--that the
+Emperor had promised them the treasures of Moscow.
+
+The fires, meanwhile, raged on almost unnoticed. They broke out first
+close to the Foundling Hospital, then the Gostinnoy Dvor, the great
+market of the city, blazed up, and smoke rose almost simultaneously from
+a dozen different quarters. After two or three days a marshal was told
+off by Napoleon to quell the conflagration, but it was a week before
+Mortier's efforts produced any effect upon the flames. The Kitai Gorod
+was a sea of flames and the Kremlin itself was in danger; the Church of
+the Trinity caught fire and had to be destroyed by Napoleon's guard. The
+Emperor fled to the Palace of Petrofsky, accompanied by his staff, by
+the King of Naples and several marshals.
+
+Napoleon at this time grew nervous and irritable. He sent repeated
+messages to the Tsar Alexander professing the warmest personal regard
+and his willingness to conclude terms of peace, but the Tsar treated his
+overtures with silent contempt.
+
+Many of the inhabitants of Moscow, those who had remained behind at the
+general exodus, preferring to live in the suburban quarters or to hide
+in cellars rather than abandon altogether their beloved city, by this
+time scarcely dared venture into the streets; for Napoleon's soldiers,
+having finished looting the houses and churches, had now turned their
+particular attention to robbery of the person. Men and women were held
+up and robbed in the open streets.
+
+Vera, engaged from time to time upon the work of the patriotic league
+to which she belonged, was obliged to walk hither and thither, even in
+the streets most infested by French soldiers. For the first few days
+she had not been actually interfered with, a circumstance for which she
+was indebted partly to her aristocratic appearance and partly to her
+knowledge of the French language.
+
+But there arrived a day when her immunity came to an end. During the
+morning her cousin D'Estreville called. He had overtaken his regiment
+at the gates of Moscow, following the main army as soon as he was able
+to ride. He was looking pale and worn, a shadow of his former self, and
+having discovered Vera's address he lost no time in paying her a visit,
+though he scarcely expected to find her in Moscow.
+
+Vera was overjoyed to see him alive.
+
+"I thought I saw your regiment march in, and even fancied that I
+made you out among the rest," she said, "though you were scarcely
+recognisable. You have been wounded or ill--which?"
+
+Henri gave an account of his mishap. Then he asked why Vera had remained
+in the deserted city--a question to which she gave an evasive answer.
+Lastly he inquired whether she had seen Paul. Vera blushed.
+
+"Oblige me, dear Henri, by mentioning his name no more," she said; "I
+have seen him, yes. He came to our portion of the town in search of some
+lady friends attached to the French theatrical company which existed
+here before the occupation. I--I think I was mistaken in Monsieur de
+Tourelle, Henri. At any rate I do not wish to see him or to speak to him
+again."
+
+Henri whistled. "If your dislike to him is patriotic," he laughed, "I
+suppose I too am not a welcome visitor."
+
+"Well, to be truthful, now I am assured of your safety, I would rather
+forget we are cousins until after the war," said Vera. Henri laughed.
+
+"You don't know what the occupation of Moscow means for us Russians,"
+she added. "Your people have defiled and robbed our holy places,
+destroyed our homes, ruined and wasted our country at the whim of a vile
+man who will reap no benefit from his wickedness. What does he propose
+to do, think you, _mon ami_? Because Moscow is occupied, do you suppose
+we Russians are done with?"
+
+"It is only the beginning of our advance, _ma cousine_; do not flatter
+yourself with false hopes. If Moscow grows too hot for us, we shall
+march to St. Petersburg and Napoleon shall be crowned Tsar at St.
+Isaac's."
+
+"We shall not agree, my friend. For the rest, do not visit me here--it
+is better not. If we were to argue constantly, I should soon forget that
+the same blood flows in our veins and I should learn to hate you as at
+this moment I hate every Frenchman."
+
+Nevertheless the cousins parted friends, though Henri quite agreed that
+at present it would be better if they did not meet.
+
+Vera walked in the outskirts of the city one afternoon, glad of the
+calls of some duty which justified the risk of venturing into the fresh
+air, when she observed a notable episode. An old Russian priest, one of
+the staff of the Cathedral of the Assumption, driven out of his senses
+by the persecutions and desecrations which he had witnessed in his
+beloved city and church, marched alone through the streets carrying a
+large ikon in his arms and shouting aloud denunciations and menaces
+against the disturbers of the peace of Holy Russia.
+
+"Thy Holy Temple," he raved, "have they defiled and made Jerusalem a
+heap of stones--slay them, oh Lord, and scatter them! Shall Thy enemies
+triumph for ever?" And again:--
+
+"The time shall come when every man who slayeth one of them shall
+believe that he doeth God service!"
+
+Up the road came half a dozen rowdy French soldiers "on leave of
+absence". They stood and listened to the priest's raving for a moment,
+understanding nothing; then one knocked the old man down with a buffet,
+rolling him in the mud, while the ikon fell to the ground. Instantly
+there was a rowdy battle for possession of the image, which was quickly
+pulled in pieces, each piece being carefully scrutinised for precious
+stones or metal.
+
+"Bah! we might have spared ourselves the trouble--it is brass--the whole
+thing is not worth fifty centimes!" exclaimed one man, looking angrily
+at the old priest, sitting dazed and bruised in the mud, mumbling and
+holding his head.
+
+"How dare you carry a brass ikon, deluding honest persons into the
+belief that it is a thing of value?" asked another soldier; he kicked
+the old man viciously; the priest gave a howl of pain. This was more
+than Vera could stand.
+
+"_Miserables!_" she exclaimed, "are you not ashamed of attacking an old
+man, and a priest? A curse will fall upon such as you."
+
+"Let it fall, _ma mie_; see, _mes enfants_," the fellow continued, "what
+I have found--a French woman and a pretty one--are you one of the French
+actresses, _chérie_?" The soldier leered and tried to put his arm about
+her waist. Vera angrily pushed him away.
+
+"Come, come, come!" said the fellow, who was half drunk, "you must not
+look crossly upon your compatriots--you and I are both good French
+people, let us be happy together."
+
+"Thank God I am a Russian," said Vera. "If you touch me again you shall
+find that I can sting!"
+
+"A Russian? Oho! Listen, _mes enfants_, she is a Russian! Then,
+_chérie_, you shall give us each six roubles and six kisses--see, I have
+spoken, it is an edict! Is it not so, my friends?"
+
+The men crowded round Vera, whose heart sank a little. She placed her
+back against the wall of the house, however, close to which she stood,
+and felt within the folds of her mantle for the pistol, without which
+and a sharp dagger she never left the house at this time.
+
+"See," she cried, "I said that I could sting--who will offer to touch me
+now. I swear that I will shoot if----"
+
+One of the men by a sudden movement knocked the pistol from her hand;
+a second later he had his arms about her neck and was in the act of
+drawing the girl close to him. Suddenly he recoiled with an oath, pale,
+scowling, grabbing at the upper part of his left arm. Vera laughed.
+
+"I told you I should sting!" she said.
+
+"The little devil has stabbed me!" exclaimed the man, whose sleeve
+was covered with blood where it had touched his shoulder. "You little
+serpent, for this----" The laughter of his comrades drowned the rest of
+his threat.
+
+Two French sub-officers now suddenly appeared upon the scene, one of
+them knocked the threatener aside.
+
+"Stop it, canaille!" he cried. "Have you not read the placards of the
+Emperor? The inhabitants are no longer to be robbed and ravaged; they
+have suffered enough."
+
+"Placards or no placards, Emperor or no Emperor, and corporals or no
+corporals," shouted the principal offender, "I shall not bear this
+affront, my friend! Brothers, we will have our roubles and our kisses.
+Hold this little fool while I exact my own share; then each shall have
+his turn!"
+
+But the two sergeants placed themselves between Vera and her
+persecutors. One picked up her pistol and handed it to her. The young
+Frenchman who had first spoken drew his sword.
+
+"_Mes enfants_," he said, "I recommend you to disappear. Three of you I
+know by name--let them go first--Rénet, Judic and Meyer; go, my friends,
+if you are wise. These others I shall deal with."
+
+The three men named quickly disappeared. It was true that the Emperor
+had--none too soon--placarded the city with stringent orders that the
+reign of bloodshed and violence should cease, under severe penalties.
+The other three men, after preserving their threatening attitude for a
+few moments, began to look over their shoulders in the direction taken
+by their retreating comrades; presently with a muttered curse or two and
+many scowls they turned and followed them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+
+Vera now had leisure to examine her protectors more closely; one was
+a dapper little corporal who made eyes at her as she looked at him.
+She quickly withdrew her gaze and fixed it upon the other, a handsome,
+dark-eyed and eyelashed sergeant of a line regiment. This man had been
+the spokesman. Vera started slightly as she looked at him.
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_" she exclaimed, "what an extraordinary likeness! I beg a
+thousand pardons, Monsieur; it is very rude of me; my first expression
+should have been one of grateful thanks. You have preserved me,
+Monsieur, from persecution, I am indeed grateful."
+
+The young sergeant bowed.
+
+"Mademoiselle does us too much honour," he replied. "Rochefort, _mon
+cher_, if you will excuse me, I will see this lady to her home, it is
+not right that you should walk alone in the city, Mademoiselle, at
+present." The little corporal made a grimace.
+
+"Rascal!" he whispered, "you always come in for the good things!"
+He took his departure, however, after bestowing upon Vera his most
+fascinating smile together with a low bow and a ferocious wink of the
+left eye.
+
+Vera gazed at her companion, examining him from head to foot as he
+watched his comrade depart. The sergeant turned when he had seen the
+other safely to the end of the street.
+
+"I see," said Vera, "that it is to an old acquaintance that I am
+indebted for this great service. I thank you heartily. But is the French
+Emperor so badly off for men to march against our poor Russia that he
+must needs enrol women as soldiers, Mademoiselle Louise?"
+
+The sergeant blushed scarlet. "For God's sake be careful of your words,
+Mademoiselle," he said. "Of course it is unknown that I am I. You are
+the first who has guessed it. I entreat you to keep my secret."
+
+"That of course. In Heaven's name, why have you done it? May I know
+this?"
+
+"It is easily told, Mademoiselle, to you, who I do not doubt will
+appreciate my motives and forgive me." Louise narrated to her companion
+the story of the conscription, of young Havet's trouble and her sister
+Marie's; "therefore I became his substitute," she ended, "_et voilà
+tout_!"
+
+"Is it really all, Mademoiselle Louise?" said Vera. "I confess that I
+fancied there might be another motive for your conduct." Louise walked
+silently for a little while.
+
+"It is true that I love him," she murmured at length; "yes,
+Mademoiselle, with all my heart of hearts. I could not bear to be so far
+from him."
+
+Vera laughed. "_Mon Dieu_, Louise, you are a wonderful person! It is
+sad, however, that you should have staked your happiness upon my cousin,
+who is----"
+
+"Not dead, Mademoiselle--for God's sake dare not to tell me he is dead?"
+
+"Dead? Oh no, not that, I saw him but yesterday and spoke to him."
+
+"You did, Mademoiselle--here, in Moscow? Oh, thank God--thank God!
+Mademoiselle, I have been in terror and tribulation about him; I left
+him near Smolensk, badly wounded in the shoulder, I was driven from him
+to join the colours and knew not whether he lived or died."
+
+"Yes, he lives and is well, though he looks like a dead man or near it.
+So he knows you are with the army. Beware, Louise, you are playing a
+dangerous game. My cousin will not respect one who thus follows him and
+avows her love. Moreover, your conduct----"
+
+"Mademoiselle--pardon--he does not know it. Thank God, I am more
+modest than you suppose! Also he has avowed his love for me--he did
+so before leaving Paris; still, I have not revealed myself, lest he
+should disapprove of my action. I am not--not the kind that Mademoiselle
+supposes."
+
+"Forgive me, Louise; I meant my warning to be very friendly. I am
+rejoiced to hear what you have said. As to his vows of love, however,
+do not trust him too much. I know my cousin so well. He has loved many
+times."
+
+"Mademoiselle, I also know this, and more besides. At Smolensk, as he
+lay tossing in fever, a wonderful thing happened; not knowing that I was
+I, the Baron narrated to me many of his past love affairs, declaring
+at the last that he remembered only one of those for whom he had felt
+affection, and that one was, said he, the daughter of Pierre Dupré,
+_maître d'armes_; imagine, Mademoiselle, my happiness to hear this from
+him, and to receive a message from his lips to be carried to this Louise
+Dupré in case of his death."
+
+Louise was flushed and her eyes were bright with love-light. Vera looked
+at her companion and laughed merrily.
+
+"I certainly think it the most promising of Henri's love affairs that I
+have yet heard of," she said; "if I see Henri again----"
+
+"Oh, Mademoiselle, for Heaven's sake keep my secret; what would he
+think--he might say angry words--he might----"
+
+"No, no, your secret is safe; I was going to say--I will ask him to tell
+me of his sickness at Smolensk; perhaps he will confide to me the tale
+you have just told me; that would prove that he did not suspect you to
+be yourself."
+
+"Oh, Mademoiselle, I am sure he did not, or he would not have told me
+all that he did of--of other matters," Louise blushed; and Vera laughed
+and said that perhaps that was so.
+
+"At any rate I should keep your secret," she added, "even if I saw
+my cousin again, which is unlikely. I cannot associate, you see,
+with Russia's enemies, even though they be personal friends or near
+relations. There are those who would blame me much for walking with
+yourself in this way, if they were to see us together. We must not meet
+again in Moscow. I see you have had promotion; you wear a sergeant's
+stripes; doubtless for some service done to your Emperor at the expense
+of my poor country."
+
+"At Borodino; the service was small enough and not worth narrating. I
+have learnt, Mademoiselle, that war is detestable, and the taking of
+life a most terrible thing; I shall shed no more blood, if I can help
+it."
+
+"This is the most unjust and infernal of wars," said Vera; "all wars
+are abominable, but this is the worst and wickedest. Farewell, Louise,
+and thank you for your timely service; this is my street and that is
+my house. I hope that some day, if happier times should come, we may
+perhaps be cousins."
+
+"Oh, Mademoiselle, may that day dawn indeed--and soon!" Louise raised
+Vera's hand to her lips and departed with a salute.
+
+Unfortunately Sasha Maximof, looking out from a window for Vera's
+return, saw this little demonstration, and the sight depressed and
+angered him.
+
+"I see," he said, as Vera entered, "that you have discovered another
+acquaintance among the French, and, as it seems, another admirer."
+
+"Ah, in this case the admiration is truly mutual," Vera replied gravely,
+though with a twinkle in her eye. "Do you know, Sasha, _mon ami_, that
+though, speaking generally, I hate all French soldiers, at this time, I
+am so greatly indebted to this one and love him so well----"
+
+"_Love_ him?" Sasha echoed miserably. "Oh! then this _is_ the one."
+
+"Yes, this is the one; our friendship is great, but perhaps one day it
+will be greater; he has this day avowed to me----" Vera paused. Sasha
+continued her sentence--"His passion, I suppose. You have not accepted
+him, Vera--a Frenchman? Did you not tell me you would only marry a
+Russian?"
+
+"Did I? I had forgotten. Well, we shall see. What was I saying?--Oh,
+this dear, adorable soldier. He has avowed to me, _mon ami_, that he
+hopes one day to become a near relation."
+
+"Vera!" gasped Sasha, "are you mocking me?"
+
+"On the contrary, I am confiding to you a great secret which I forbid
+you to disclose to any living soul. This dear Frenchman, who has this
+day done me a great service of which I will tell you presently and for
+which I should like to show my gratitude in a fervent kiss----"
+
+"Vera!" Sasha gasped.
+
+"Do not interrupt me, _mon ami_; this dear Frenchman is, in fact, _not_
+a Frenchman nor a Russian; he is not, indeed, a man of any nationality
+whatever--but a woman masquerading as a man, and all for love of my
+cousin Henri d'Estreville. Think of it!"
+
+Vera exploded in a fit of merry laughter, to which the expression in
+Sasha's face soon added an extra note of mirth. The laughing did her
+good, for indeed there had been little of late to promote mirth in this
+unhappy city of Moscow.
+
+Afterwards there were explanations and apologies, and if Sasha Maximof
+contrived to gather another grain of encouragement for his hopes, this
+was not more, perhaps, than was intended.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+
+Destiny soon made it impossible that Vera Demidof should meet again
+either her cousin D'Estreville or Louise Dupré, for both presently left
+Moscow with their regiments in order to engage the armies of Kootoozof
+without the city walls, for the doings of the Russian Commander-in-Chief
+rendered Napoleon anxious and disquieted.
+
+Moscow was becoming uninhabitable, for food was scarce and the Russian
+forces were so strategically disposed as to cut off the city from
+communication with the grain- and meat-producing provinces. Moreover,
+though the weather was still moderately warm, the frost would begin in
+a month or so, and under wintry conditions life in this latitude would
+become unpleasant if not impossible.
+
+Napoleon's state of mind at this time, as evidenced by his appearance
+and conduct, has been described by a Russian eye-witness as unnerved
+and anxious. He walked with a quick, uneven tread, having abandoned
+his usual calm and regular movements. He looked constantly about him,
+fidgetted continually, frowned, tweaked his nose and stood to think,
+dragged his gloves on and off again, or took one out of his pocket
+and rolled it into a ball and, still in deep thought, put it into the
+other pocket, repeating the process many times. Meanwhile the generals
+standing behind him stood like statues, not daring to move. He grew
+irritable and performed many acts of needless and wanton cruelty. He
+issued numerous "bulletins" to his army, full of elusive promises
+and rose-coloured announcements of his "intentions". He made foolish
+speeches upon the subject of Peter the Great, courted the Tartars, but
+failed to convince them, issued proclamations to the Russian people,
+pointing out the advantages of rebellion, to all of which the sturdy
+Russians remained blind, and up to the last moment concealed his
+intention of abandoning Moscow.
+
+This abandonment of the old city took place, as all the world knows, in
+October, and was preceded by an abortive attempt to blow up the Kremlin.
+The attempt was entrusted to Marshal Mortier, who--whether designedly or
+by miscalculation--entirely failed in his object, though he used nearly
+one hundred tons of explosives in mining the palaces and cathedrals and
+outer walls of the historic fortress.
+
+The French soldiers indulged in a final and universal campaign of
+outrage and robbery just before quitting the city, and this time Vera
+was obliged to abandon her house, which was pillaged like the rest, and
+to fly for her life. Sasha Maximof had before this been recalled to his
+duties with his regiment, and had left Vera with a sore heart, having
+failed to persuade her to leave Moscow and go to St. Petersburg where
+she would find most of her friends and relatives.
+
+"I shall wait to see the end of the drama," Vera said, "unless I am
+menaced with serious danger. So far, I have run but little risk."
+
+The behaviour of the French troops at the end of their month in Moscow
+seems to have been almost more ruffianly than at the beginning. Houses
+and property of all sorts were ruthlessly destroyed, both within the
+city and in the suburbs. Occasionally they would come upon notices
+nailed to the outer gates of some boyar's residence, setting forth
+that rather than abandon his property to be desecrated by French hands
+the owner had himself destroyed every atom that he had been unable
+to remove. Here is an example: a letter affixed to the gate of his
+palace by no less a person than Rostopchin, Governor of Moscow, who
+thus addressed those who approached his home, intent upon looting and
+destruction:--
+
+     "For eight years I found my pleasure in embellishing this
+     country retreat. I lived here in perfect happiness, within the
+     bosom of my family; and those around me largely partook of my
+     felicity. But you approach and lo! the peasantry of this domain,
+     to the number of 1,720 human beings, have fled far away. As for my
+     house, it is burnt to the ground! We abandon all, we consume all,
+     that neither ourselves nor our habitations may be polluted by your
+     presence.
+
+     "Frenchmen, I left at the mercy of your avarice two of my
+     houses in Moscow full of furniture and valuables to the amount of
+     half a million of roubles. Here, you will find nothing but ashes.
+
+     "(Signed) FEDOR, COUNT ROSTOPCHIN."
+
+No sooner did the news reach the Russian Commander-in-Chief, old
+Kootoozof, that Moscow had been abandoned by the invaders, than he
+issued the following address to his army and the Empire generally:--
+
+     "ORDER ISSUED TO THE ARMIES, 31ST OCTOBER.
+
+     "The following Declaration is given for the Instruction of all
+     the Troops under my Command:--
+
+     "At the moment in which the enemy entered Moscow he beheld
+     the destruction of those preposterous hopes by which he had been
+     flattered; he expected to find there Plenty and Peace, and on
+     the contrary he saw himself devoid of every necessary of life.
+     Harassed by the fatigue of continued marches; exhausted for want
+     of provisions; wearied and tormented by ever active soldiers who
+     intercept his slender reinforcements; losing, without the honour
+     of battle, thousands of his troops, cut off by our provincial
+     detachments, he found no prospect before him but the vengeance
+     of an armed nation, threatening annihilation to the whole of his
+     army. In every Russian he beheld a hero, equally disdainful and
+     abhorrent of his deceitful promises; in every state of the empire
+     he met an additional and insurmountable rampart opposed to his
+     strongest efforts. After sustaining incalculable losses by the
+     attacks of our brave troops, he recognised at last the madness
+     of his expectations, that the foundations of the empire would be
+     shaken by his occupation of Moscow. Nothing remained for him but a
+     precipitate flight; the resolution was no sooner taken than it was
+     executed; he has departed, abandoning nearly the whole of his sick
+     to the mercy of an outraged people, and leaving Moscow on the 11th
+     of this month completely evacuated.
+
+     "The horrible excesses which he committed while in that city
+     are already well known, and have left an inexhaustible sentiment
+     of vengeance in the depths of every Russian heart; but I have
+     to add, that his impotent rage exercised itself in the savage
+     attempt to destroy a part of the Kremlin, where, however, by a
+     signal interposition of Divine Providence, the sacred temples and
+     cathedrals have been saved.
+
+     "Let us then hasten to pursue this impious enemy, while other
+     Russian armies, once more occupying Lithuania, act in concert with
+     us for his destruction! Already do we behold him in full flight,
+     abandoning his baggage, burning his war carriages, and reluctantly
+     separating himself from those treasures, which his profane hands
+     had torn from the very altars of God. Already starvation and famine
+     threaten Napoleon with disaster; behind him arise the murmurs
+     of his troops like the roar of threatening waters. While these
+     appalling sounds attend the retreat of the French, in the ears
+     of the Russians resounds the voice of their magnanimous monarch.
+     Listen, soldiers! while he thus addresses you! 'Extinguish the
+     flames of Moscow in the blood of our invaders!' Russians, let us
+     obey this solemn command! Our outraged country, appeased by this
+     just vengeance, will then retire satisfied from the field of war,
+     and behind the line of her extensive frontiers, will take her
+     august station between Peace and Glory!
+
+     "Russian warriors! God is our Leader!
+
+     (Signed) MARSHAL PRINCE GOLENISHCHEFF KOOTOOZOF,
+
+     "_General-in-Chief of all the Armies_."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+
+To give any kind of description of the horrors of the retreat of the
+Grande Armée is very far from the intention of the writer of this
+history; the theme is both unpleasant and threadbare. An incident or two
+will suffice.
+
+Louise, marching with her regiment, which formed a portion of Marshal
+Ney's command, walked with her companions into an ambush of desperate
+Cossacks, who rode tumultuously into the midst of the French ranks from
+the shelter of a belt of pine forest, freely dealing death and wounds
+before they were driven back by their spirited opponents. Louise was
+knocked down by a small Cossack pony and trodden upon by more than
+one of its companions, the great majority of which, however, adroitly
+avoided stepping upon her; for the little Cossack horse hates to plant
+his foot upon a recumbent human form and displays marvellous ingenuity
+in avoiding so sacrilegious an act.
+
+Louise lay a while unconscious. When she recovered her senses and sat up
+her companions had already moved forward and were out of sight, all but
+the grim lines of dead men and a few wounded fellows who sat or lay and
+conversed.
+
+"_Sapristi!_" said Louise, "I don't think I am very badly hurt. Can you
+stand and walk, any of you? I have a mind to move on."
+
+Most of those about her replied that they preferred to remain and
+chance being picked up by the ambulances. "The Marshal himself is still
+behind," one said; "he will make dispositions for us."
+
+One or two attempted to stand and move forward with Louise, but soon
+found that the exertion was too much for them. Louise hastened forward
+alone. Her head ached terribly and she felt pain in her breast,
+doubtless the result of being trodden upon or kicked by a passing horse.
+For the rest she was unwounded.
+
+For a mile she trudged forward, hoping to catch sight of the regiment.
+This she presently did, but hurrying onward, in order to gain ground
+upon them, she suddenly became aware that her head swam; she reeled,
+went on a few paces and sat down.
+
+"I cannot," she muttered; "I am fainting."
+
+There was a deserted village close at hand, and Louise presently
+contrived to struggle onward as far as the nearest hut, which she
+entered. The single room was dirty and smoky, the air foetid and
+horrible, but Louise felt that she had reached paradise; she was cold
+and ill and miserable; she sank upon the floor with her back to the
+stove, which was still warm, and prepared to sleep.
+
+"It is a risk, I know," she told herself, "for the peasants may return
+at any moment, but I must sleep or die. Mercy of Heaven, what a pain is
+in my breast!" She tore open her military tunic and bared her bosom; it
+was badly bruised but not actually wounded. "It is nothing. _Mon Dieu_,
+I must sleep this moment," Louise murmured.
+
+Automatically pulling together the clothes which she had torn apart the
+weary girl fell fast asleep with the task half accomplished.
+
+Half an hour later a dozen peasants and some women crept back to the
+village, having hidden themselves at the approach of the French soldiers
+in the early afternoon. It was now dusk. A man and a woman entered the
+hut in which Louise lay, the man entering first.
+
+He started back upon seeing the French soldier asleep, turning towards
+his wife with finger to lip.
+
+"See," he whispered, "what lies at the stove! God is good to us--here is
+an accursed Frenchman delivered into our hands! He has a rifle, a sword,
+a uniform and possibly money in his pocket!" The fellow fumbled with the
+axe which hung at his girdle.
+
+"He has touched none of our things--the village has not been destroyed
+or pillaged; spare the poor wretch, God will requite us," said the
+woman, who gazed not without admiration at the handsome sleeping face.
+
+"_Vzdor!_ nonsense! God will, on the contrary, punish us if we allow to
+escape one of the invaders of Holy Russia. How do we know this fellow
+has not helped to rob a church or to assault a woman, or to desecrate
+the Holy Place in one of God's own houses? He comes from Moscow, where,
+it is said, many such detestable acts were done!"
+
+"Well, have your will, but let me first go out of sight," said the
+woman, "for I am afraid of bloodshed."
+
+A moment later the moujik rushed out of the hut to his wife, who stood
+and shivered without in the cold rain which was half snow.
+
+"Masha!" he cried, "come and see; it is a woman!"
+
+"_Vzdor_--it cannot be; it is a soldier; you have not struck?"
+
+"Not yet--I was startled and held my hand; there is some mystery here,
+it is certainly a woman."
+
+Masha entered the hut and stole softly towards the stove. Louise lay
+breathing peacefully, her bosom, half bared, rising and falling in the
+measured cadence of quiet slumber.
+
+"Yes, it is a woman. You shall not strike, Mishka; there is certainly
+mystery here; probably it is some poor soul who strives to escape more
+safely by donning the uniform of a French soldier of which she has
+robbed a dead man by the way. She may be a Russian maiden who has sought
+her wounded lover upon the battlefield."
+
+"My God, it may be as you say. We will let her lie. Who knows she may be
+rich and will reward us. Here is her wallet, I will see if it contains
+money."
+
+The wallet contained a few silver pieces, which Mishka quickly
+transferred to his own pocket. Then he added wood to the stove and the
+pair ate their supper. Louise slept peacefully through it. Presently
+both man and woman lay down to sleep.
+
+"The warning bell will soon wake us if we must clear out again," Mishka
+had said; "or shall one of us watch a while and afterwards the other?"
+
+"God forbid!" exclaimed Masha, yawning; "last night there was no sleep
+and the night before but an hour or two; I am tired to death."
+
+Soon after midnight Louise awoke at the sound of running feet without.
+She started up and looked about, but could see nothing in the darkness.
+Some one came to the door and called out "Dmitry Vannkof--Mishka--awake
+and come to the door, I have news for you".
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_" thought Louise. "Perhaps I had better be substitute
+for Dmitry Vannkof, whoever he may be, and attend to this visitor;
+it is dark and I should not be seen." She was about to rise and go
+to the door, when the unseen visitor continued to shout and to knock
+impatiently with some hard object, probably an axe; Louise remembered
+that though she had picked up much Russian during the campaign, she
+was not a sufficiently good scholar to carry on a conversation without
+suspicion and discovery. She therefore lay still.
+
+"Mishka, curse you, are you drunk or dead?" roared the unseen one.
+
+To the horror and surprise of Louise some one shuffled close beside
+her on the floor, and a woman's voice said aloud: "Mishka, we are
+called--awake--_séchasse idyóm, soodar_! (we're just coming, sir!)".
+
+Mishka grunted and awoke with imprecations. "What is it?" he shouted;
+"are we never to be allowed to sleep again? Who's there?"
+
+"It is I, the Starost; the Hetman of the Mojaisk Cossacks is in the
+village; we are to assemble at four in Toozof's field, bringing
+pitchforks and pickaxes. There is to be an _oblava_ (battue). It is said
+that the best general of all these accursed cut-throats is to pass at
+daybreak; he is sleeping at Biéloy; he is to be ambushed with all his
+guard; we shall not have lived in vain if we succeed in this; we shall
+be three thousand Cossacks and the moujiks of twelve villages; be ready
+at four and thank God meanwhile for all His mercies."
+
+The man departed.
+
+"By the Saints!" exclaimed Mishka, yawning; "if one were not so deadly
+sleepy that would be good news. See, Masha, what we will do. I will
+sleep until four, while you wake; when I have departed you shall sleep,
+if you will, for a score of hours!" Masha agreed to this arrangement,
+and within a minute his snoring was sonorous proof that her goodman had
+wasted none of his time.
+
+Louise lay and listened to Masha's yawning and half-uttered exclamations
+of weariness. Why had these people not despatched her at sight? Had
+they entered in the dark and failed to detect her? The thing was a
+mystery. She felt refreshed and her head scarcely ached; Biéloy was,
+she remembered, but a league away, towards Moscow. So far as she had
+understood the Starost's words, it was Marshal Ney and his guards who
+were to be ambushed. "I shall warn them, of course," she reflected; "but
+there is no need to disturb them too soon, for Heaven knows every man of
+us requires all the sleep he can get."
+
+Poor Masha gaped and muttered for an hour; then she snored at intervals
+in concert with her husband; then she fell asleep in earnest and this
+time very soundly.
+
+"Poor soul!" thought Louise; "let her sleep! We shall have one pitchfork
+the less to contend with!"
+
+Long before four o'clock she was afoot and on the way to Biéloy, having
+left the worthy moujik and his wife snoring in peaceful harmony.
+
+She reached Biéloy, a large village or _selo_, which means the principal
+of a group of villages, containing the church and perhaps a shop or two.
+The place was occupied by French soldiers. A picket was placed upon the
+road half a mile from Biéloy and the soldiers sat and talked and laughed
+over their fire. They challenged Louise, who showed herself in the
+firelight and explained her errand.
+
+"That is well," laughed a man. "I thought you must have fallen in love
+with some Russian wench in Moscow and were returning to her embraces.
+This we should have been obliged to prevent. Love is good when time and
+opportunity serve. Think of the women of Paris, _mon brave_, they wait
+for you and for me!" Louise laughed also.
+
+"You will allow me to carry my news to the Marshal?" she said.
+
+"_Sapristi!_ While the Marshal sleeps? My friend, cannot this danger
+wait until we are all refreshed and fit to contend with it?"
+
+"It will wait until marching time," said Louise; "especially if you will
+give me food meanwhile."
+
+"There is food to-day, and you shall share it; also there is a drink
+called _kvass_, which I think the devil invented for the confusion of
+human stomachs; you shall taste it and suffer pain, as I have done; what
+matter! we are brought into the world to suffer and to enjoy. To-morrow
+we may starve; but one day we shall reach Paris!"
+
+At daybreak the village was astir. Marshal Ney himself rode out in the
+midst of his guards and Louise was brought before him, for she had
+refused to tell her tale except to his ears.
+
+"I may as well have the advantage of my luck, if any advantage there
+be!" she had told herself.
+
+Ney listened, frowning.
+
+"You are in luck, _mon brave_," he said. "What is your name?"
+
+"Michel Prevost, Excellence."
+
+"Good; you are a sergeant, I see; call yourself a lieutenant; do you
+know this place the fellow referred to--the place of ambush?"
+
+"I was myself ambushed there yesterday with my regiment, Excellence; it
+is well adapted for a surprise."
+
+"Good; you shall be guide; the surprise this time shall be to the
+Cossacks and your friends with the pitchforks. If you guide us cleverly
+you shall call yourself captain, though, _entre nous_, I think most of
+us are more likely to need our titles for paradise than for Paris!"
+
+On this occasion the Cossacks were caught napping and Louise came out of
+her adventure with the epaulettes of a captain, which Ney bestowed upon
+her with his own hands.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+
+The rear-guard of the Grand Army fared worse and worse as the days
+and weeks passed, its numbers diminished until there remained but a
+straggling remnant which crept into Vilna, only to be chased out again
+within a few hours of their arrival there. Louise, in her captain's
+epaulettes, was still alive and well, though thin and haggard almost
+beyond recognition for want of good food and rest.
+
+At Vilna she came across several officers of Henri d'Estreville's Lancer
+regiment, and these she questioned--in terror for their reply--in hopes
+of news of her friend, who was not with them.
+
+"D'Estreville?" cried one of them, laughing grimly. "Where is he, you
+ask? I should say that depends, for those who believe in a future
+existence, upon his past life. Henri was the best of _bons camarades_,
+but it may be that good comradeship is a quality which is not highly
+valued by those who will make up our accounts!"
+
+"Do you mean," poor Louise murmured, "that he has actually died; did
+you see him die, or was he merely wounded? If so, where has he remained?"
+
+"My friend," said the other, "I did not see him struck down; I know
+nothing of him. In these days, one thanks God if one is alive at sundown
+and not buried by these accursed Russian snows, with a thrice-damned
+Cossack bullet to keep one company. There is no time for friendship and
+philanthropy and so on."
+
+"He is my dearest friend," Louise murmured; "if only I knew where he had
+fallen, I would return."
+
+"_Mon ami_, hell is behind us, in the shape of Platof and Chechakof and
+their most damnable Cossacks. You would find it even more impossible to
+go backward than forward. Your friend may be alive and well for aught I
+know. Can either of you give this gentleman any information?"
+
+"Who is it he wants--one of ours?" asked a second officer who sat by the
+stove almost too exhausted to eat the mess of stewed horseflesh which
+had been set before him.
+
+Louise mentioned Henri's name.
+
+"I saw him alive in the forest of Gusinof," said the man; "that is where
+Platof ambushed us and we got finally separated. He may be a prisoner,
+or of course Platof's devils may have cut him to pieces; he would not
+be the only one that died in that accursed wood, not by two thousand!
+That was the most detestable night I ever spent. Go and look for him
+in the forest, my friend, if your affection will carry you to so great
+a length. Good Lord! It is a thing David would have refused to do for
+Jonathan!" The weary man laughed and filled his mouth with the savoury
+horseflesh.
+
+"If you are wise," he added, with his mouth still half full, "you will
+get to Paris the best and quickest way you can, and hope that your
+friend will find his way there also! _Sapristi_, it is not likely
+that either he or you or any of us will get much farther than this.
+Listen--is that the Cossacks already? Curse them, I must sleep or go
+mad!"
+
+Fagged, dazed, starved, desperate, the unfortunate rear-guard, led
+by their indomitable chief, straggled forward. Dogged by hordes of
+pitiless Cossacks they contrived eventually to reach the river Niemen,
+and to cross into safety, the last survivors of Napoleon's army; their
+miserable story is well known and need not be recapitulated.
+
+Louise seemed to bear a charmed life. Though, believing that Henri
+d'Estreville was among the large majority of the Grande Armée lying
+beneath the snows of Russia, she would gladly have remained, like her
+lover, among the ten who stayed behind rather than be the one who
+escaped--for of Napoleon's half million of men scarcely a tithe returned
+to their homes--yet Louise saw her companions fall around her and never
+a bullet touched her or a sword or a spear grazed her.
+
+"You and I are wonders, Prevost," said her colonel. "Are we preserved
+for great military careers, think you? _Nom d'un Maréchal_, I think
+I could be another Ney if I had the opportunity! _Sapristi_, he is
+splendid!"
+
+"As for me, I have done with war," Louise sighed. "My days of fighting
+are over."
+
+"Why, you are but a lad--a conscript of 1812; the year is only now
+ending and you wear a captain's epaulettes! Nonsense, my son, go home
+and rest and dream of glory; you will tell a different tale when you
+have recovered."
+
+Then Louise walked one day into her father's salon while the old man,
+with Marie, sat and listened as young Havet read out Napoleon's latest
+bulletin. The Emperor had been in Paris for some little while, having
+deserted his army, and was already busy with his new project of raising
+300,000 men, in order to regain the prestige he had undoubtedly lost in
+the disastrous Moscow campaign.
+
+"Stop, Havet, who is this that enters without knocking?" exclaimed
+old Dupré angrily; his temper had not improved of late, owing to the
+reverses of the French arms and the absence of news of Louise, as
+to whose safety neither his heart nor his conscience was at rest.
+Marie uttered a cry of delight. "Father, it is Louise!" she screamed.
+"Louise--sister. Oh, how thin, how worn, how----"
+
+The sisters embraced one another warmly; old Dupré held his daughter to
+his heart, endeavouring, after his manner, to suppress every sign of
+emotion. His arms came in contact with her epaulettes. "Why," he cried,
+"Marie, Havet, see what is here, the epaulettes of an officer; Louise,
+you have won promotion--glory--is it not so?"
+
+"I received a commission; what glory can any one claim--on our side--and
+such a war! There must be officers, nine in ten were killed; do not talk
+of the war, my father; are you well?"
+
+The old man gazed at his daughter in pride and exultation.
+
+"Listen to her modesty--no glory, says she; a little conscript returns
+a captain, and no glory! Hola, there, Havet, order food and wine. _Mon
+Dieu_, Louise, you have seen adversity, you are thin and in rags,
+to-morrow you shall have new uniform!--the Emperor already assembles a
+new army to chastise these Cossacks. _Mort de ma vie_, my daughter, you
+shall die a marshal, I swear it!"
+
+Louise did not think it necessary to chill the old man's happiness by
+telling him that to-morrow she would return to the ordinary costume
+of her sex; that she was sick of man's attire and of war and all that
+appertained to the profession of arms; that she was, indeed, weary of
+life itself and longed to be where Henri d'Estreville was, at rest among
+the frozen pine-trees in some snow-covered Russian forest.
+
+The evening proved a painful one for Louise, who did her best, however,
+to maintain a cheerful demeanour, while her father--to whom this was,
+perhaps, the happiest hour of his life--held forth upon his favourite
+theme of glory and honour and a marshal's baton in store for Louise,
+and so forth. Young Havet was to take part in the coming war; if
+possible he should enlist in Michel Prevost's regiment (the old man
+laughed heartily as he pronounced the name!), and perhaps Louise would
+do her best to assist him in his military career.
+
+When the trying evening was over and Louise parted with her sister for
+the night, Marie took her aside.
+
+"You are depressed, sister, what ails you?" she said. "Oh, I can see
+plainly that all is not well. Are you ill in body?"
+
+"I am worn and weary, sister; yes, I am depressed; who would not be,
+that has seen the sights that I have seen since Moscow?"
+
+"Ah--ah! You are not so much in love with war as father would have you?"
+
+"In love with war--bah! It is devil's work, Marie, unsuccessful war, at
+any rate."
+
+"Tell me, sister, have you seen Henri d'Estreville, is he well?"
+
+Louise flushed and caught at the chair back. "Yes, I have seen him many
+times. I know not whether I shall see him again. Who can tell who has
+returned and who not? Nine in each ten have remained."
+
+"Oh, sister, and you love him--is it not so?"
+
+"Love--bah! One has other things to think of than love when one is
+running in front of the Cossack sabres. Let us talk no more of the war,
+sister, nor yet of love; let me thank _le bon Dieu_ that I have done
+both with one and the other; I would rest and rest and again rest."
+
+"Poor Louise," said Marie, kissing her; "poor Louise!"
+
+Afterwards she added, speaking of this to her husband, that Louise
+must indeed have supped her fill of horrors since even love had been
+forgotten in the tumults and terrors of war.
+
+Louise submitted to be presented with a new uniform, which her father
+bought for her the very next day. She would rather have donned her
+woman's skirt, but for several reasons she consented to figure a while
+at least as Michel Prevost. One of these was the distaste she felt in
+her present condition of weakness and utter fatigue of mind and body
+for any sort of argument or discussion with her father. Another was
+an irresistible desire to move among those who had returned from the
+war, in order that she might gather any information there might be with
+regard to the fate of Henri.
+
+Louise had not altogether despaired of him. Soldiers and officers still
+dribbled daily into Paris, emaciated, tattered, half-alive; men who had
+somehow lagged, through wounds or illness, and had contrived to escape
+the countless dangers which assailed them in their solitary retreat
+through a hostile country. Why should not Henri have escaped, like
+others? She would allow herself to hope a little; just a very little.
+
+And about a month after her own arrival a wonderful day dawned for her.
+Seated at a restaurant close to a table at which sat four officers of
+Henri's regiment, Louise suddenly caught the sound of his name.
+
+"That makes seven alive," some one was saying; "one better than we
+thought. Certainly no one could have supposed that D'Estreville would
+reappear. His has been, I think, the narrowest escape of all. His
+trials have depressed even his spirit. Have any of you ever seen Henri
+depressed? He will be here, presently, you shall judge for yourselves.
+_Sapristi!_ he has left his gaiety with all Ney's guns in the Niemen.
+Seven officers out of forty----"
+
+Flushed, giddy, almost swooning for joy, Louise stumbled out of the
+restaurant. "I will return immediately," she told the astonished waiter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+
+If any one had informed Henri d'Estreville on the morning when,
+departing for the war, he took a somewhat affectionate farewell of
+Louise Dupré, that his strange sensation of particular tenderness for
+the girl would not only prove an abiding sensation, but would actually
+develop into something remarkably like the tender passion itself, and
+that without any further communication, meanwhile, with the object of
+his affection, he would have laughed the idea to scorn.
+
+It was not in accordance with Henri's temperament that his heart should
+linger over soft recollections of charms which his eyes no longer
+beheld. If Chloe were absent, Phyllis, who was present, would fill her
+place excellently well. No woman had as yet proved herself essential to
+him. He took his pleasure from the society of the other sex where and
+when he found it, and this sufficed.
+
+But somehow the memory of Louise had lingered. Perhaps the combination
+of certain womanly qualities with her splendid skill and courage in
+manly exercises had impressed him. Certainly he had not forgotten her
+magnificent eyes, he often recalled these when his recollection of her
+other features had faded. Louise had made no secret of her preference
+for Henri over every other man of her acquaintance. That alone, however,
+would not have greatly attracted the Baron, for he was a favourite with
+the sex, and Louise was not the first who had been simple enough to lay
+bare to him her heart of hearts.
+
+"I am a fool," thought Henri; "but there is no doubt that I wish to
+see her. Perhaps the best medicine for my sickness will be to do so as
+soon as possible. Probably the first glance will disenchant me. I have
+somehow, and most foolishly, so embellished my recollections of her that
+I am remembering an ideality! The reality will soon set me right again!"
+
+Thus it was that one morning as old Pierre sat with his daughter Marie,
+Louise being absent with Karl Havet, a servant announced the Baron Henri
+d'Estreville.
+
+"Who is he?" said old Pierre, frowning; "I do not remember to have had a
+pupil of that name!"
+
+"Ask the Baron to wait a moment in the salon," said Marie. "Do you
+not remember, father?" she continued, laughing, when the servant had
+disappeared. "This is a very beautiful young man, and in one respect at
+least, unique as well."
+
+"Unique?" repeated Dupré; "and how so?"
+
+"In that he is the only male being who ever succeeded in causing our
+Louise an extra pulse-beat or two. Have you forgotten how she nearly
+lost her heart, and how distressed you were, just before her departure
+for the war?"
+
+"_Sapristi_--I remember the fool. What has he come for, think you?"
+
+"To seek Louise, doubtless. He will find that she is none the softer
+for her warfaring. I am not sorry she is from home, however, the sight
+of him might not be good for her, _mon père_. It would be a pity if her
+career were spoiled for the sake of a Henri d'Estreville, who, they say,
+is not too trustworthy."
+
+"Oho!" said old Pierre; "is it so? He shall know that there is no longer
+a Louise Dupré to listen to his philandering."
+
+This attitude did not bode well for Monsieur le Baron, who awaited
+Louise in the salon, more agitated than he would have believed possible.
+
+"Monsieur will doubtless remember me," he explained; "it was I who
+brought Monsieur Paul de Tourelle, the only fencer--it is said--at whose
+hands Mademoiselle Louise was ever worsted."
+
+"Ah, his was a fine hand with the foils!" said Pierre. "Yes, I remember
+well. Ha ha! in the first bout she scored twice with the _feint
+flanconnade Dupré_--a trick new to him and most successful; but after
+consideration he thought out a counter which was clever; I remember
+well. Does Monsieur le Baron come now as a pupil? Let me see, have we
+already enjoyed the honour of instructing Monsieur le Baron?"
+
+"Monsieur, I have lately returned from the war; I have heard enough of
+the clash of swords to last me handsomely until the Emperor enters upon
+a new enterprise and one, let us hope, of better omen. I have come to
+pay my respects to a friend for whom I entertain feelings of the highest
+respect--it is Mademoiselle your daughter."
+
+"Ah--Marie; she is within; I will tell her." Old Dupré shuffled off as
+though to fetch Marie.
+
+"Pardon, Monsieur," said Henri, blushing; the old man was very dense.
+"You have another daughter; it is Mademoiselle Louise I mean!"
+
+"Louise!" exclaimed Dupré, throwing up his hands; "Monsieur le Baron has
+not then heard that Louise is dead?"
+
+"_Grand Dieu_, Monsieur, what are you saying?" exclaimed Henri; his
+cheek grew suddenly pale; his knees seemed to tremble beneath him; he
+had risen to his feet, but he sat down again hurriedly.
+
+"She is dead, Monsieur; Louise is dead; she has ceased to exist; do I
+not express myself with sufficient clearness?"
+
+"Monsieur will pardon my emotion--I had not heard," murmured Henri
+scarcely audibly. "My God, it is incredible; it is horrible; and I have
+so looked forward--Monsieur, how long since did this most lamentable
+event happen?"
+
+"Nearly a year, Monsieur. I fail to remember that Monsieur's
+acquaintance with my daughter was particularly intimate."
+
+"Monsieur Dupré," said Henri, finding his voice, "I did not mention the
+circumstance when I was here in May last for the reason that I had not
+then myself realised it; but it is nevertheless the truth that, short
+as was my acquaintance with Mademoiselle Louise, it was long enough to
+convince me that my heart had in Mademoiselle found its intimate, its
+complement, that in a word I loved Mademoiselle and must lay at her feet
+my life, my happiness. Monsieur, I was presumptuous enough to think that
+your daughter was not indifferent to me; her young heart had never, I
+believe, been assailed; I had the greatest hopes that she would listen
+favourably to my suit--we should, perhaps, have enjoyed wedded bliss;
+and I return to be informed by you that she is dead."
+
+"Monsieur le Baron will forgive me," said old Dupré, "but those who
+know me are well aware that such matters as Monsieur speaks of meet
+with no sympathetic response from my side. It is my grievance against
+Destiny, Monsieur, that my children should have been females; Monsieur
+had not heard this? It is the truth. Consequently, having brought up my
+daughters as men and taught them the highest skill in manly exercises
+and to value such attainments more highly than the usual avocations of
+women, I have ever observed with repugnance any indications of a falling
+away of either of the girls towards the ordinary womanly foolishness of
+a desire for love and courtship and such things. Which being the case,
+Monsieur, I can only reply to your rhapsodical utterances by saying
+that I thank Heaven Louise ceased to exist in time. I would not have had
+her exposed to such a declaration as you intended, I suppose, to make to
+her this day, for ten times the inducements Monsieur could offer."
+
+Henri was silent. The old man's lack of sympathy mattered very little
+beside the greater fact: the fact of the death of Louise, which Henri
+felt to be a disaster of the first magnitude; too great, indeed, to be
+altogether realised so suddenly. Here was a grievance against Destiny,
+indeed! For once in his life the Baron had come very near to falling
+honestly in love, and this was the result; it was too appalling, too
+unfortunate for belief.
+
+"Mademoiselle must have died soon after I left for the war," he
+murmured. "Was she long ill, Monsieur?"
+
+"Louise died at the beginning of the war, Monsieur; she ceased to exist,
+I remember, on the day of the conscription in this _quartier_; her end
+was sudden; there was no illness."
+
+"She did not, I suppose, leave messages for friends; words of
+remembrance and so forth--there was not time, perhaps?"
+
+"Doubtless there was neither time nor inclination, Monsieur. Louise was
+happily but little disposed towards those follies of womankind to which
+I have made allusion."
+
+"Pardon, Monsieur, I had reason to hope that in my own case Mademoiselle
+Louise had made an exception."
+
+"Not so, Monsieur; believe me, you are mistaken."
+
+"I think not, Monsieur. I may tell you, since Mademoiselle is dead and I
+break no confidence, that she had even confessed her love for me."
+
+"Then, _Sapristi_, Monsieur le Baron, I repeat ten thousand times,"
+cried old Pierre, banging the table with his fist, "that I thank Heaven
+my daughter ceased to exist before your return from the war. Monsieur
+le Baron will now understand my sentiments in this matter and will,
+I trust, for the future retain inviolate the secret he has been good
+enough to share with me."
+
+Henri bowed and prepared to depart. The man was obviously crazy.
+Probably the death of Louise had overbalanced his reason. Henri
+remembered that he had heard long ago of his eccentricity with regard to
+his daughters and their sex.
+
+"Monsieur will pardon my intrusion," he said politely; "he may rest
+assured that the secret made over to him shall henceforward remain
+inviolate in my breast."
+
+When old Pierre returned to his daughter his face betrayed that he was
+in the best of spirits. He entered the room laughing and swearing round
+oaths.
+
+"_Âme de mon Épée!_" he exclaimed; "I think we shall have no more visits
+from this suitor. The devil! He would have carried Louise from under
+our noses if we and she had been fools enough to let him. Thanks be to
+Heaven that Louise--if ever for a moment she wavered, as you seem to
+suppose--quickly recovered her balance. It was your example, Marie, fool
+that you made of yourself!" Marie laughed.
+
+"You will sing a different song, my father," she said, "when you have a
+houseful of little grandsons to educate in the art of the sword. What
+did you tell the Baron?"
+
+"The old tale--the same which we have told others, that Louise died
+long since. She 'ceased to exist,' that was my expression. _Sapristi_,
+it is the truth! Louise ceased to exist when Michel Prevost came into
+existence--is it not so? Ha! so it is!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+
+Henri d'Estreville sat at his midday meal at the restaurant specially
+frequented by the officers of his regiment. He wore the aspect of one
+who is more than ordinarily depressed. He was pale and distrait and
+neglected the food which had been placed before him.
+
+Several acquaintances entered the room and saluted him as they passed,
+but he took no notice of them.
+
+"What ails D'Estreville?" men asked one another. "Is it cards or a
+woman?"
+
+Among others there entered presently Michel Prevost, who was known to
+very few, having but lately qualified for the right to sit at meals with
+the class of men mostly frequenting this eating-house and others of its
+kind.
+
+Michel looked round and saw Henri d'Estreville. His face flushed and
+then paled. He sat down on the nearest seat to gather breath and
+strength. Michel had almost despaired of his friend since the terrible
+day at Vilna, when the remnant of Ney's division, tattered and
+war-worn, had marched into the town like men returning from the grave;
+when he had looked and inquired for Henri among the rest and found him
+not. Even when he had heard it said, this very morning, that the Baron
+had reappeared, he had scarcely dared to believe it. For five minutes he
+sat still, not daring to move or speak. At last he rose from his seat,
+and advancing from behind came up and touched the Baron's shoulder.
+
+"So you, too, have reached home in safety, _mon ami_!" he said. "You
+have returned from the grave indeed! Do you not know that we mourned
+you for dead? Allow me to share your table? I am a little shy of these
+super-aristocratic persons in times of peace; in the field the devil may
+care how many airs they put on; but here it is different. My commission
+feels new and strange to me; I am afraid at every moment that some one
+will say 'What right have you here? go out!'" Michel talked quickly, to
+conceal his agitation. Henri looked up and gave Michel his hand, smiling.
+
+"Yes, I found my way home somehow," he said; "yet for all the joy I feel
+in living I wish to God I had stayed beneath the Russian snows."
+
+Michel gazed at his friend in amazement.
+
+"Why--what mean you--what has happened?" he asked.
+
+"Michel, _mon ami_, you have been a good friend to me; you will
+sympathise; it will do me good to tell you; listen. Have I your
+permission to bore you with my tale of woe?"
+
+"Yes--speak--who knows, I may be able to counsel you, give you
+relief----"
+
+"No, it is impossible. Listen, my friend. You may remember our first
+meeting, when I lay wounded at Smolensk, I spoke confidentially--you
+will call it raving, I daresay--the subject, women; I confessed many
+things foolish and wicked; I spoke of one pure sentiment; of the love,
+strange and unfamiliar, because pure and disinterested, that I cherished
+for a very simple, very charming maiden whose name----"
+
+"Was Mathilde--was it not?--or Louise; one of the daughters of a _maître
+d'armes_."
+
+"Yes; Louise; you professed to know her--to have heard of her, at
+any rate. Well, let that pass then. It is strange, my friend, but my
+affection in that quarter has not vanished after the fashion of the
+wretched sentiment I have hitherto felt for other women, which has
+evaporated when the object is absent. On the contrary, it has increased
+in absence. I returned home to Paris inclined, certainly, to love the
+girl even more than I loved her at parting; a wonderful thing for me,
+Michel, _mon brave_, and very remarkable." Henri smiled ruefully at his
+friend.
+
+"Continue," said Michel, whose face looked pale, perhaps in sympathy
+with that of his companion.
+
+"Well, I return. I go, almost the first available moment, to see
+my charming one. I enter the house, my heart glowing with love and
+sweet anticipation. I am received by her father, who is cold, polite,
+long-winded, unsympathetic. I ask for Louise----" Henri paused; his
+fingers tapped upon the table; his voice had grown suddenly hoarse;
+there was actually moisture in his eyes.
+
+"Continue," murmured Michel, who wondered what was coming, for all this
+was a surprise to him, neither Dupré nor Marie having breathed a word of
+the visit of Baron Henri.
+
+"I ask for Louise," D'Estreville continued. "She is dead."
+
+"Dead?" exclaimed Michel, suddenly rising to his feet and pushing back
+his chair with a clatter. "Who said so? Why dead? What mean you?"
+
+Michel was never so grateful to destiny as at this moment, for he was
+able to ease his feelings by an exhibition of genuine surprise. But for
+that he must soon have burst into tears.
+
+"Simply that she is dead. It is true, my friend. 'She is dead,' said her
+parent, and 'since it appears you come as a lover and would have stolen
+from me my daughter who should be above such feminine foolishness as
+love and marriage, I add my thanks to the Highest that she has ceased
+to exist in time'--these are the very words of her father, whose throat
+I could have pinched with satisfaction. What say you, _mon ami_, have I
+the right to be distressed? By all the Saints, Michel, it is too cruel a
+trick of Destiny. I could have loved this girl. God knows, I might even
+have married her. Never before have I felt so fondly disposed towards a
+woman, never so virtuous. I believe this was true love, my friend, or
+the beginning of it."
+
+"_Nom de la Guerre!_" exclaimed Michel. "And she is dead, say you--the
+father himself declared it?"
+
+"I have said so. 'She ceased to exist'--that was his odd manner of
+expressing it; 'she ceased to exist on the day of conscription'; it is
+odd how the crazy old man dates naturally from that day; he is mad upon
+men; he loves only men, honours men, thinks men; women are nothing to
+him. You would suppose he would be affected in speaking of the death of
+his daughter; but no! It seemed that her loss is nothing to him. Why?
+because she was not a man."
+
+To Henri's surprise and displeasure Michel at this point suddenly burst
+into a roar of laughter. He looked up frowning.
+
+"I beg ten thousand pardons," cried Michel, half choking; "I am not
+wanting in sympathy, _mon ami_; but in truth the attitude and words of
+this old man are very comical. Forgive me, Baron, I was very rude."
+
+"Enough. I would laugh also if I had the heart. Certainly the old man is
+a lunatic. Tell me, Michel; what shall I do? What is going on? I shall
+die of ennui if I sit and nurse my grief, as now. Thanks to Heaven that
+you have arrived; it may be that the Saints sent you for my salvation,
+as before at Smolensk. Come, suggest. I must be made amused; must laugh.
+I must see movement of men and women."
+
+"Ha! you are not so overwhelmed by your grief, I see, that you cannot
+feel the desire for amusement. That is a good sign, Baron; you will soon
+recover, I prophesy."
+
+"A good sign, say you? There is no question of recovery. You are far
+from the truth, my friend. It is distraction that I need. I do not yet
+ask to be cured, that would be impossible."
+
+"That depends! The rapidity of the healing depends upon the severity or
+otherwise of the wound. Yours is, I take it, but a shallow slash."
+
+"Michel, you wound me again by these words. I need distraction; but that
+does not imply that I am not almost heart-broken, which I verily believe
+that I am. You, who have never been in love, are unable to appreciate
+the anguish of having loved and lost."
+
+"Thanks be to Heaven I have never yet loved woman in that foolish
+manner," said Michel. "You are right, my friend. Tell me, is it worth
+while to love when an accident, such as this from which you now suffer,
+may in an instant turn love to misery? Is there any woman in this world
+for whose sake it is worth while to break one's heart?"
+
+"I thought the same but a short while since. You are young, Michel; do
+not boast. One day you too will love."
+
+"_Absit omen!_" laughed the other. "I say that there is no woman worth
+loving; worth, that is, breaking one's heart over, in case she should
+prove unfaithful, or die or what not."
+
+"And I say that one such, at least, there has been. Do not speak so
+positively, Michel, my friend, of matters in which you are altogether
+ignorant."
+
+"Well, have it your own way; but I swear that I, for one, shall never
+love a woman."
+
+"I am sorry that my grief has had so deterrent an effect upon you,"
+Henri sighed, "though I will not say that I am surprised; for indeed,
+now that I have lost her before she was won, I wish with all my heart I
+had never seen her. Like you, I am tempted to swear that I shall never
+give my heart of hearts to another woman."
+
+"Oh, oh!" laughed Michel. "That is not easily believed; for they say
+that once a heart has become susceptible to womankind there is no more
+controlling its vagaries. Be sure, my friend, that we shall find you
+falling in love, and maybe far more seriously than before, with the
+first fair lady you see."
+
+Henri looked reproachfully at his friend.
+
+"Let us talk of other things," he said; "it is too early as yet to make
+of love a jesting matter; my heart is sorer than you think, Michel, or
+perhaps you would speak more sympathetically. Remember that my grief is
+as yet very green."
+
+"Forgive me," said Michel, a softer look stealing into his eyes. "I will
+jest no more. Come, we will walk in the streets of Paris; _Sapristi!_ it
+is better than Moscow, ha?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+
+Napoleon and his Grand Army had been starved out of Moscow; they had
+made their futile attempt to destroy the Kremlin, they had delivered
+their last savage onslaught upon the inhabitants, lighted the last
+fire, desecrated the last church, exploded the last mine, insulted the
+last woman; they had manoeuvred in the direction of St. Petersburg
+and of the rich Volga provinces in order to cover the movements of the
+main force, and finally they had thrown to the winds all subterfuge and
+frankly made off with all speed towards the frontier and France, leaving
+behind them a city of smoke and of fire, of starvation, of desertion and
+of the dead. Within the cathedrals was the stench of stabled horses,
+with all the filth attendant thereon. Dead bodies of men and women,
+of horses and dogs, lay about the streets unremoved. Scarcely a house
+within a twelve-mile radius of the centre of the city but was wholly or
+partially burned, pillaged, and its contents pulled hither and thither
+and destroyed.
+
+Scarcely had the last Frenchman left the place to its silence and
+emptiness when back into this city of death and destruction began to
+creep, cautiously, at first, but presently to crowd into each gate that
+gave access within the walls, a dense mob of her banished inhabitants,
+each anxious to make his way to the quarter of the city in which his
+home had existed a month ago. Would it be found standing now? Of the
+Lares and Penates left behind in the terror and stress of sudden
+departure, would anything be left to him?
+
+The great majority found their houses burned. Those whose four walls
+were still standing found their homes sacked and looted, their
+possessions ruthlessly destroyed and themselves ruined.
+
+From end to end of Moscow a wail of despair arose and continued day
+long, for in the city proper, out of 6,000 wooden houses 4,500 were
+burned down, while of the 2,500 brick dwellings which had existed before
+the fires, only 500 now remained standing.
+
+But meanwhile the last of the retiring French were leaving the city by
+the Borovitsky Gate, and here, at the very first opportunity, began
+the stupendous anguish of their terrible retreat. For from the first
+they marched from ambush to ambush, from disaster to disaster, through
+miseries of frost and hunger and sleeplessness and unceasing attack in
+flank and rear. Truly the avenging of Moscow began from her very gates.
+
+Vera Demidof came with the rest of the returning fugitives into Moscow,
+came--like thousands of others--to find that the house in the Sloboda
+had been looted and wrecked, though the fire had not reached it. Vera
+had hurried back to Moscow, however, not from any anxiety as to the
+family mansion or its contents, she came because she had ascertained
+from Sasha Maximof that his regiment was to be one of those which should
+first engage the retreating French beyond the walls of Moscow.
+
+"Just to hurry them up and see them safely off the premises," Sasha had
+laughingly expressed it but yesterday, paying her a hurried visit at the
+village to which she had retired on leaving Moscow.
+
+Indeed, as the crowds of Muscovites entered the city at one side, the
+roar of cannon from the opposite end of the town, beyond the Borovitsky
+Gate, gave grim evidence that the Frenchmen were not being permitted to
+march away in peace and impunity.
+
+"If you should be wounded outside Moscow, send me word," Vera had
+said at parting. She felt depressed and inclined to expect disaster,
+though she was not one to indulge weakly and without resistance in
+presentiments; Vera's healthy intelligence was accustomed to look upon
+such things as foolishness.
+
+"Why do you expect me to get hurt?" Sasha had laughed. "When my time
+comes I shall die, but I do not think that is yet, Vera. There is
+something I am determined to achieve before I finish with life--can you
+guess what it is?"
+
+Vera did not attempt to guess. "You are always getting hurt," she
+laughed. "Send me word by a soldier if you are clumsy enough to stand in
+the way of a French bullet." Vera laughed though she spoke with a full
+heart.
+
+In consequence of this conversation, Sasha actually wrote Vera's address
+upon a slip of paper which he gave to a trooper in his regiment, bidding
+him keep an eye upon him and ride back to Moscow quickly, if he should
+fall, in order to tell the lady named in the written address of what
+had occurred. When, later in the day, Sasha's regiment received orders
+to charge from their cover a body of French foot-guards, the trooper to
+whose care Sasha had entrusted his slip of paper and who rode close at
+Sasha's stirrup saw a notable sight.
+
+In the mélée he heard a French officer call gaily to the Count Maximof:--
+
+"Hi," he cried, "_mon ami_, Maximof, here am I, let us finish that old
+matter".
+
+Sasha had turned his horse, and with an exclamation made straight for
+the Frenchman, at whom he lunged and struck with his sabre. But the
+Frenchman skilfully dodged his blows, and watching his opportunity
+planted a thrust of his bayonet which entered the Count's body and
+tumbled him off his horse senseless.
+
+"Aha!" the Frenchman cried, "that was more than I meant; what will the
+fair Vera say!" Almost at the same moment a Russian trooper rode this
+French officer down, and the messenger himself dealt him a whack with
+his sword that half severed his left arm at the shoulder.
+
+After this the stress of battle separated the trooper from these two
+fallen men, but when the fight was done and the Frenchmen had gone
+forward, pursued by the Russian mounted men, the trooper, whose name was
+Markof, returned to the spot to see how the Count fared. Here he found
+the Frenchman actually giving Maximof a drink from his flask, talking to
+him the while in French and laughing; Maximof's eyes were open, but he
+breathed with difficulty.
+
+Markof spoke to him, saying he would now ride back to the address given
+upon his paper, which name and address he read aloud in order to make
+sure he had it right.
+
+"Ah, ah!" said the Frenchman, "Vera Demidof--good--go back and tell
+her, my friend, that there are two who wish to see her before they die.
+_Sapristi_, we are in luck, Maximof, both of us!"
+
+At this the Count smiled, but said nothing, being apparently very weak.
+Presently he shut his eyes and swooned.
+
+"Go, my friend, I will keep him alive till she comes," said the
+Frenchman, and away went Markof upon his mission.
+
+Vera received the messenger, pale but dry-eyed and resolute.
+
+"He is alive?" she asked. Markof nodded.
+
+"When I left," he said; "but he is bad, lady; do not expect too much. A
+Frenchman sits by his side, wounded also, who has undertaken to keep him
+alive with brandy until you come. They seem to know one another."
+
+Vera looked puzzled for a minute, then her face brightened.
+
+"I am ready," she said, "and my droshka is ready, we will go at once."
+
+Markof led the way to the spot in which Sasha had fallen. Amid the dead
+and dying around they found Paul de Tourelle dozing, but Sasha had
+disappeared. Paul opened his eyes at the sound of their voices.
+
+"Ah! the fair Vera," he said; "I am glad I have lived long enough to see
+you; I am desolate, Mademoiselle, by reason of your treatment of me, yet
+I forgive you. Your friend Maximof has been taken by Russian peasants to
+the village yonder; me they left, after bestowing a great whack upon my
+head with a bludgeon--Maximof is alive; he----" Paul's head drooped and
+he closed his eyes. He had spoken gaily, but his voice came faintly and
+in gasps.
+
+"Markof, my friend, go to the village and find the Count Maximof,"
+said Vera. "I will come very soon. See that I am shown the right house
+without delay when I arrive."
+
+Vera took the flask which lay at Paul's feet; she administered a drop or
+two of its contents to the swooning man. He opened his eyes and smiled.
+
+"This is the irony of fate, Mademoiselle Vera--two splendid lovers, and
+both to lie dying. I am glad to see you again. _Mon Dieu_, how I loved
+you in Paris! I have never yet loved faithfully, but in you I thought I
+had at length found my destiny."
+
+"Monsieur, can I ease your pain, is there anything I can do for you?"
+said Vera.
+
+"_Ma mie_, I am past praying for; tell me, were you near loving me
+in Paris? _Sapristi_, but for this war I believe we should have come
+together. You are lucky, Mademoiselle, to have escaped me. I am not
+one of the constant ones. Perhaps Maximof is different, he is slow and
+stolid and perhaps faithful, not like us Frenchmen--we are like the
+bubbles in champagne--we come and go--I pray that Maximof may live."
+Paul's head drooped again and his eyes closed. Vera thought he was dead.
+She bent and kissed his forehead, preparing to depart. De Tourelle
+opened his eyes again.
+
+"Was that a kiss?" he murmured. "Ah, I was right--you might have loved
+me, but for my ill-fortune when you overheard me ask for Clotilde--ha
+ha! do you remember? That was accursed bad luck, indeed! To go to the
+house of the beautiful, the chaste Vera Demidof, not knowing it was
+hers, and to ask for Clotilde!"
+
+Paul spoke very faintly; his words came slowly and more slowly.
+
+"Was it a kiss, or did I dream?" he murmured. "Mademoiselle, I--I did my
+best to protect Maximof as he lay here--it was for your sake--will you
+reward me with a kiss? I shall not live to tell of you."
+
+Vera bent and put her lips to his forehead. Paul smiled.
+
+"It is paradise," he murmured. "I die content."
+
+They were his last words. Vera waited a moment or two, then she knelt
+and prayed, made over the dead man the sign of the cross and departed.
+
+In the village she found a peasant awaiting her. "This is the way,
+lady," he said, in the obsequious manner of the moujik who expects
+largess. "It was I that found and brought in the gentleman. Lord, he is
+handsome--and heavy also!"
+
+Vera gave the man money. "Is he alive--is he alive?" she said--"speak
+quickly!"
+
+"Alive? Lord, yes!" said the moujik, "doing well. We have found a
+doctor for him and we have not ceased to pray--assuredly he will live,
+Barishnya!"
+
+The moujik returned to the battlefield, where he spent the night
+reaping a glorious harvest, with other vultures of his kidney, from the
+unfortunate dead and dying.
+
+Vera entered the hut.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+
+Marie Havet, _née_ Dupré, was much surprised and somewhat concerned
+on the evening of the day upon which Louise had found, to her almost
+uncontrollable joy and relief, that Henri was still alive and in Paris
+when her sister, looking very grave and with signs of tears and past
+agitation upon her face, drew her aside for a conversation, which, said
+Louise, must be held absolutely in private. Marie's conscience instantly
+smote her. She was going to be scolded for saying nothing about the
+Baron's visit.
+
+"Marie," Louise began, "you may have observed that I returned from
+the war depressed, not joyous and elated as one returning home after
+many perils and who has received certain honours and rewards might be
+expected to be. Did it never occur to you and to my father that this was
+so?"
+
+"It occurred to both of us, sister, that you were naturally depressed,
+that your career of success and glory should be already over and that
+you must return to the ordinary dull routine of home and of the sex to
+which you belong."
+
+"You were mistaken in the reason, sister. I am tired to death of my
+uniform, and of masquerading as a man. I shall thank God to be a woman
+once more as the Seigneur created me. But that is another matter. My
+depression was due to reasons very different. You may remember to have
+seen here a certain Baron Henri d'Estreville."
+
+Marie flushed and sat down. Her scolding was coming, then; Louise had
+somehow heard of the Baron's visit. This was a matter Louise would not
+easily forgive.
+
+"Yes, I remember him. He came with Monsieur de Tourelle, the finest
+fencer in Paris, who nevertheless was unable to have the better of our
+little Louise."
+
+"Bah!--let that pass. With this D'Estreville I fell in love, Marie--why,
+there is no reason to look surprised. We are women both, you and I; you
+were not ashamed to love and to marry, why should not I have loved?"
+
+"It is true--it is true," Marie murmured.
+
+"More strange is the fact that the Baron should have returned my love;
+the darling of Paris, he had been called, Marie; every woman adored
+him; yet he condescended to feel for me a different sentiment, a pure
+and deep affection such as no other woman had hitherto inspired in him;
+imagine it, Marie!"
+
+"Dear Louise, it does not surprise me," said Marie, touched.
+
+"Me, it surprises--delights--transforms. By this circumstance I have
+been made to see clearly how poor a thing it is that a woman should
+desire to masquerade as a man; so clearly that now--even though my
+love-dream is over--I must return to my own sex. I shall never see Henri
+again, Marie; he lies buried beneath the snows of Russia; I am widowed
+before I am a wife."
+
+"Louise, what are you saying? Do you imply that D'Estreville is dead,
+that he died in the war? that----"
+
+"Alas, there is little doubt. Why look you so, Marie? You have not heard
+otherwise--alas! that is impossible--can you wonder that I returned
+dejected from the war?"
+
+"Poor Louise!" said Marie, and stopped to think very earnestly. Here was
+a very difficult question set for her decision. Louise knew nothing,
+after all, of Henri's visit; was not even aware that he was alive. Would
+it be better to leave her in ignorance, for her career's sake, or for
+her heart's sake tell her the good news? There was no doubt as to which
+alternative old Dupré would choose were he to be asked for his opinion.
+Marie was proud of her sister's career as a soldier and honestly sorry
+that it should end, thus, at its beginning. The Emperor would see to it
+that a new war should follow quickly upon the disastrous campaign just
+ended; Louise would have plenty of opportunity to rise.
+
+But Louise seemed to have wearied of "masquerading"; she desired to be
+a woman once more; she had become transformed by love. Would this phase
+pass and ambition for a soldier's glory dawn again at the first bugle
+call?
+
+"You will forget your sorrow, maybe," she ventured, "when the trumpet
+sounds for a new war, which will be soon enough; you will desire to
+return where glory awaits you."
+
+"Not so, sister; I have done with glory; it is love that I want. I will
+tell you a secret; when I became substitute for Karl it was indeed in
+part for your sake, that you might be spared the pain of separation;
+but there was another motive besides, for I desired to go where Henri
+went--ah! I deceived you, Marie; forgive me; it is a devilish thing
+when sisters deceive one another!"
+
+Marie felt very uncomfortable.
+
+"Sometimes it is not possible--for the sake of others to tell the whole
+truth," she stammered. "We both have my father to consider, Louise. You
+could not well have confessed to him this other motive."
+
+"No, you are wrong; it is cowardly to deceive thus; it would have been
+better if I had braved my father from the first, as you did, sister; you
+were braver than I and more honest; you made no pretence in the matter
+of your love for Karl; I think it is not in your nature to deceive. If
+Henri had lived I should have married him, Marie, and you should have
+assisted me to persuade my father to forgive me." Louise looked keenly
+at her sister; Marie felt her eyes penetrate to her very soul.
+
+"Louise, you kill me with these words, say not another one, it is
+needless. I am on your side, sister. It is true that we withheld the
+truth from you--oh yes, I perceive that you know all; like my father, I
+was proud of your success and thought only of your career, also--before
+Heaven I thought and hoped you had forgotten Henri; if it is not so and
+you still love him----"
+
+"Yes, I still love him, Marie--what would you have, does one forget love
+so quickly? I would exchange all the military glory in the world for
+one kiss from his lips. My father is mad and you were mad, sister; do
+you think Henri could be alive and in Paris and I not know? You shall
+help me to prepare my father's mind, Marie, for whether he approves or
+disapproves, I must go my own way in this matter!"
+
+"But I deceived you, Louise--am I forgiven?" cried Marie, ashamed and
+distressed to realise how poor a part she had played in this comedy.
+
+Louise took her sister in her arms and kissed her--the first embrace
+these two had exchanged for many a year. "There," she laughed; "you see
+how true it is that I am a woman again; as for forgiving--bah!--there
+is a great deal of my father's madness in you, sister; in your heart
+of hearts you are as anxious as he for my career and as disappointed
+as he will be that I have so fallen away from your high ideals as to
+have fallen in love. Be comforted, Marie--you deceived me with the best
+motives, no harm has come of it, and you have confessed in time to save
+your soul and preserve my respect--_eh bien!_ all is well!"
+
+Nevertheless Marie approached her father with considerable trepidation
+when the moment came to speak of this matter of Louise; for Marie had
+stipulated that, as punishment for her offence, the task should be left
+to her.
+
+"Father," she said, "we have been mistaken, you and I. We had hoped
+and we believed that my sister Louise ceased to exist from the day of
+conscription, but alas! I have discovered that Louise lives, it is
+Michel Prevost who has ceased to exist."
+
+"What mean you?" said the old man, frowning.
+
+"It is this Baron d'Estreville, she has seen him, my father; it has been
+as you feared. She has spoken to me of him. She loves him."
+
+"_Sapristi!_ it is impossible! That any one should love a man more than
+honour and glory and a career--_cent mille diables!_--it is impossible!"
+
+"It is true--she is a woman, what would you have? it is better to
+recognise the fact, father; it is not her fault. I too found that I was
+a woman, and you forgave me."
+
+"That was different. You were always a fool, Marie; but here was one
+after my own heart, a woman, by misfortune of birth, but able to put
+the best of men to shame. And a fine career well begun! We will argue
+with her, Marie, she shall be wise. Stay--yes, that is better--I will
+pick a quarrel with this fool, and call him out. _Sapristi!_ my old arm
+is still strong enough to slice the rogue; let him but show his face
+here once again--he shall be taught that----"
+
+"It is useless, my father; Louise will have her own way; she is man
+enough for that! What matters is that we have deceived the Baron and
+that she will know it."
+
+"_Mon Dieu_, let her know it--what then? Am I ashamed that I would
+defend her from that which strikes at her true advantage? God forbid.
+Let him know also or not know, what care I?"
+
+"They have met and it is certain that she knows we have hidden the truth
+from him."
+
+"Good! let him know it also. If he is an honourable man he will not
+sit still under so vile a deception. _Sapristi_, I have lied to him;
+let him call me out!" Old Dupré laughed aloud, delighted with his own
+astuteness. His eyes were aflame with the light of battle. "Thanks be to
+Heaven!" he said, "I shall fight one more duel before I die!"
+
+From this bellicose attitude Marie found herself quite unable to move
+her father. On the contrary, he seemed so delighted with the situation
+in which he now found himself that he would speak to her of little else
+than this, and Marie found that she had, after all, rendered her sister
+no more signal a service than to place within the category of possible
+things that which assuredly neither of them would until this day have
+contemplated as in any degree likely, a duel between old Dupré and the
+lover of his daughter. Moreover, to the astonishment of his assistants,
+old Pierre forthwith arrayed himself for the arena and practised his
+fencing with each in turn until his limbs were so stiff with the
+unwonted exercise that he could hold his foil no longer.
+
+"_Mais_, Monsieur!" exclaimed Havet, perspiring with the exertion to
+which the old man's unexpected activity had condemned him, "you are as
+skilful and as nimble as a youth of thirty."
+
+"Aha! you find me so? _Sapristi_, that is well, _mon ami_. After a few
+days you will find me invincible, and that is well also, for, _entre
+nous_, there is hope that I shall be called out. _Imaginez, mon enfant!_
+another fight before I die! Truly, Heaven is kind to me!"
+
+Old Pierre did not think Heaven quite so kind on the morrow, however,
+when he discovered that his limbs were so stiff that he was unable to
+get out of his bed. But this circumstance did not in the least affect
+his spirit or quench the enthusiasm with which he looked forward to the
+fight which he had now persuaded himself to regard as inevitable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+
+Michel Prevost met D'Estreville by appointment at a café. "There is no
+one I can talk to about certain matters so readily as yourself," the
+Baron had said, and Michel replied, laughing, "Oh, if you are going to
+sigh and mourn over this little Dupré I think I will leave you to lament
+alone!"
+
+Nevertheless D'Estreville begged him to come, and he went.
+
+The attitude of old Dupré had put Louise into a doubly awkward position.
+"What shall I do, Marie--help me!" Louise had entreated her sister.
+"Henri must be told that I am alive, that is certain; yet when he learns
+that my father deceived him he will be so angry with my father that I do
+not know what may happen."
+
+"Bah!" said Marie, "he will be so happy to learn that you are alive,
+that he will forget everything else. Moreover, he is not so foolish that
+he would take my father seriously."
+
+"But father takes _himself_ so seriously; he is determined to quarrel.
+Moreover, when Henri learns that I am alive he must also learn that I
+have masqueraded as a man, among men, and that is what I dare not tell
+him. It is an _impasse_."
+
+"As you have put it, it is an _impasse_. But why dare you not tell him?"
+
+"I am ashamed. There was a tale told in Moscow of a young Russian woman
+who had taken part in every battle in the campaign, her name was Nadejda
+Doorova. The soldiers in my regiment said horrible things about her. It
+is not likely that Henri would think well of my performance. It is not
+every one who is like my father and yourself, who have his blood in your
+veins."
+
+"Bah! he will, as I say, be so thankful to find you alive that he will
+forget all this. Shall I go to him, sister, and tell him your story?"
+
+"Heaven forbid, do nothing; no one shall tell him my tale but I myself."
+
+"Tell him of this Russian girl and see what he says to the story," Marie
+suggested.
+
+"But what if he disapproved of it and said something so cruel about her
+that I dare not tell him afterwards of my own escapade? I wish now I had
+not done it, Marie, indeed I do, except that your Karl was left to you
+instead of being carried off to the war."
+
+"If he loves you he will forgive ten times more," said Marie. "Go to
+him boldly, sister, go as Michel Prevost; say, 'Here, mourn no more for
+me, my friend, I am Louise and my old father is not to blame for the
+deception, for obviously no person can be two persons at the same time,
+and while I was Michel there could be no Louise. Now Michel has finished
+and Louise steps once more into being.'"
+
+Louise laughed. "It sounds very foolish," she said, "but something of
+the kind must be done."
+
+But when Michel Prevost found Henri d'Estreville at the rendezvous
+appointed she had evolved no clear plan for his enlightenment.
+
+Henri began to speak of his trouble almost immediately. The more he
+thought about the matter, he said, the more amazed he was that a little
+love affair should have so transformed him that he could think of
+nothing else. "It is unlike me, therefore the experience is obviously a
+peculiar one: ergo, I conclude that I was for once seriously in love;
+which being so, what an atrocious trick fortune has played me. It is the
+last time, my friend, that I shall look at a woman!"
+
+Michel contrived to direct the subject of conversation to the career of
+Nadejda Doorova, the Russian girl who had fought throughout the war as
+a Cossack soldier. Henri had not heard of her and displayed but little
+interest in her adventures.
+
+"Bah!" he said, "she is an eccentric. It is the kind of thing old Pierre
+Dupré would have liked his daughters to do; old Pierre is mad. A woman
+must be wanting in modesty to unsex herself thus."
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Michel involuntarily; his heart sank. "Let us be just
+to her," he murmured; "who knows, she may have had some good reason of
+which we know nothing, this Nadejda; her lover, maybe, went to the war
+and she could not bear to be parted."
+
+"That would perhaps excuse her to a certain extent," said Henri wearily.
+He was not in the least interested in the conversation.
+
+In despair, Louise tried another tack. She had determined to come to an
+understanding this day, nothing could be done without risk.
+
+"D'Estreville--will you promise not to be angry if I make a
+communication to you--it is about Louise Dupré?"
+
+Henri was all attention in a moment.
+
+"About Louise?" he repeated. "What can you have to say about her--and
+why should I be angry? I wish you to talk of her."
+
+"It may be different this time. I shall hope that you will not be angry.
+You may have observed, my friend, that when you told me your story a few
+days since I was greatly astounded to hear of her death, Louise Dupré's
+death."
+
+"Naturally, I hope you were shocked, if only for the sake of your
+friend, who loved her."
+
+"Monsieur, prepare yourself for a surprise greater than my own. You have
+been deceived."
+
+"Deceived?" Henri started from his chair. "How deceived, by whom?"
+
+"Be calm, dear friend, and sit down. It is about Louise. I have come
+this day to tell you the truth; Louise did not die as you were told."
+Henri sat down suddenly; his face paled, then flushed.
+
+"Stop--she did not die--is she then still alive? for God's sake speak
+plainly, Michel."
+
+"She is not dead."
+
+"Then to what end was I deceived? For whose sake was I to be kept in
+ignorance? Is it for yours, Michel? I remember that you said there was
+no woman worth breaking one's heart over, if she should prove false or
+die. What have you done, Michel--what have you done?"
+
+"You rave, D'Estreville," said Louise, growing a little frightened.
+
+"No, I am sane; I know what I say; did you not tell me you believed that
+I was dead? Believing this you delivered my message to Louise and that
+was the beginning. Since then the false wench has learned to prefer
+Michel living to Henri dead--is it not so? Come, confess, Michel."
+
+"You are very swift to find fault with the woman you profess to love,
+Monsieur le Baron," said Louise, somewhat alarmed at the turn the
+conversation had taken, yet indignant withal.
+
+"Ah, you prevaricate! I have guessed rightly. So this is your friendship
+for me, Monsieur Michel Prevost--a worthy friend in truth and indeed!"
+
+"Monsieur le Baron jumps to conclusions," said Louise. "Moreover, seeing
+that the message was to be delivered to the lady in case of your death,
+and seeing that you were believed to be dead, should I be to blame even
+though it were so as you have said?"
+
+"Ha! you assured yourself very quickly of my decease; and she, too, by
+all the Saints she has wasted no time!"
+
+"Monsieur le Baron is so angry that he will not listen to reason. It is
+easy for him to see this lady."
+
+"Not I!" cried Henri; "I will see her no more."
+
+"But what if you suspect her unjustly?"
+
+"Then why was I deceived and told that she was dead? She was 'dead to
+me,' that is the explanation. She is not dead to others--to you, for
+instance, her new lover--oh Lord, Michel, a pretty messenger thou hast
+been!"
+
+"A worse than the Baron supposes," Michel laughed nervously, "for his
+message was never delivered."
+
+"What! though you believed me dead? Then indeed, my friend, you have
+been little better than a traitor."
+
+"It seems you are determined to quarrel with me, say what I will; if
+I delivered the message it was in order to found a courtship of my
+own upon it; if I did not I am a traitor. Nevertheless I will not
+quarrel, my friend. It was not I that deceived you, remember, but I that
+undeceived you. Was it not Monsieur Dupré who declared that his daughter
+was dead? Then why am I to be quarrelled with?"
+
+"Because, my friend, I believe you to have been a party to the
+deception, for a certain end of your own which I have indicated."
+
+"Then your wrath is expended upon wind, for I swear to you that though,
+I confess, this lady is more to me than any woman in the world----"
+
+"Aha! listen to him!" Henri raved.
+
+"And though I am well aware that she is not wholly indifferent to my
+virtues----"
+
+"By Heaven, Michel, you are a bold man!" cried Henri, fingering his
+sword hilt; "finish your sentence; I will judge whether our rapiers
+shall settle this matter."
+
+"Yet I would not marry the girl for all the wealth of India, nor she
+me. Moreover, I promise that Louise shall confirm my words. Henri,
+my friend, it is as her messenger I come this day. 'Bid him come to
+me'--that is her message."
+
+"If it be so, Michel," began the Baron, his face instantly relaxing,
+"you shall bid me do penance for my suspicions; but if----"
+
+"Nay, I weary of arguing, my friend; come to her quickly."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+
+Henri d'Estreville lost no time in complying with the request conveyed
+in the message which Michel Prevost had brought him. He hastened to
+present himself at old Dupré's establishment, where he knocked--in his
+eagerness--with unnecessary vigour, rousing old Dupré from a nap as he
+lay in bed, still a victim to the stiffness of his joints, brought about
+by his practice with the foils in preparation for an imaginary duel.
+
+Marie opened the door.
+
+"_Mon Dieu!_ it is Monsieur le Baron!" she exclaimed, flushing.
+
+"Yes, it is I," replied Henri; "I have found that on my last visit,
+Madame, I was disgracefully deceived as to the pretended death of your
+sister; I have come to see Mademoiselle Louise, and also to receive an
+explanation of the deception to which I was made a victim."
+
+"Monsieur, I will fetch Louise, let her explain," Marie murmured; "there
+are circumstances which Louise will explain better than I; Monsieur
+will understand and forgive."
+
+"Good; I will see Louise--fetch her quickly."
+
+Henri waited in the salon. He was strangely agitated. He did not half
+comprehend all that Michel had said; for Michel's connection with Louise
+seemed mysterious and incomprehensible; he professed to love Louise,
+yet, he had declared, he did not desire to marry her. "Either the fellow
+is mad," Henri reflected, "or he has discovered that Louise already
+loves me, in which case she might have chosen another messenger! Soon
+I shall know whether Louise indeed loves me. _Mon Dieu_, if she does
+not, after all this, I know not what shall happen." Henri strode up and
+down the room, scarcely able to contain his excitement, it was most
+inconsiderate of Louise to keep him waiting so long--what did it mean?
+
+"She adorns herself; that is what it means!" Henri reflected; "it is
+only natural that she should desire to look her best; it is only what
+every woman would do."
+
+In this conjecture Henri was not far wrong.
+
+Upstairs in old Dupré's bedroom there had been scarcely less excitement
+than below in the salon.
+
+"Well, who was it that knocked so loudly?" cried old Dupré, as Marie
+presently appeared after opening the front door to admit the visitor.
+
+"_Mon père_, do not be agitated, it is the Baron d'Estreville," said
+Marie, hesitating.
+
+"Ah--ah! I thought it! I knew it! and he has demanded satisfaction of
+me, and awaits me below, is it not so?" The old man struggled to get out
+of bed, but his daughters restrained him.
+
+"Calm yourself, my father," said Marie; "he has not demanded
+satisfaction. He has, however, discovered that Louise is still alive and
+desires explanations of the deceit of which he was a victim."
+
+"There! What said I? Was I not right? Let me rise--I _will_ rise, I
+say, Marie; I am ready; the necessary explanations I shall give; he
+shall have them at the rapier's point. Out of my way--thanks be to the
+Seigneur that I shall yet fight another fight before I die!"
+
+"My father, you cannot--you are stiff--it is impossible," Marie
+protested; but the irate old man shook her off and sprang out of bed.
+But the exertion gave him so agonising a twinge in all his muscles that
+he uttered a cry of pain and collapsed in a sitting position upon his
+bed.
+
+"_Morbleu!_" he groaned, "it is anguish to move my limbs. What is to
+be done? He shall postpone the meeting until I can walk. One week will
+suffice. Go down--tell him so, Marie."
+
+The old man almost wept for chagrin and disappointment.
+
+"Nay, I dare not go," said Marie. "It is Louise that he would see, not
+me; I fear his anger if I should appear and not Louise."
+
+"Alas, Marie, that I should be the parent of a coward," Dupré groaned.
+"Do you not see that it is inadvisable that Louise and this man should
+meet? Have you forgotten the foolishness that he uttered concerning
+your sister? Louise shall live to be a Marshal of France, yet this
+fool would persuade her, if he could, to waste the glory of a career
+in silly dreams of love--drag her down to the level of the sex from
+which, by her splendid achievement, she has emancipated herself! Speak,
+Louise--repudiate this folly--assert yourself!"
+
+"_Mon père_, it may be that Louise, like myself, possesses the instincts
+of a woman," said Marie, fighting on her sister's behalf; "be not hard
+upon her; maybe----"
+
+"Let me speak, Marie," said Louise. "_Mon père_, it is certain that
+this Baron d'Estreville must be very angry with us all, and wishes to
+fight. I have an idea. The Baron knows nothing of Michel Prevost, that
+he and I are one. He is determined, it seems, to see me. Send me with
+a message, that you will have no man but Prevost for a son-in-law, and
+that if the Baron would aspire to claim your daughter, he must fight
+this Michel Prevost for her. Now the Baron is but a poor fencer, and it
+is certain that I, as Michel, would soon better him in a set-to with our
+rapiers."
+
+"_Parbleu!_" exclaimed old Dupré, "it is good--it is excellent!
+_Sapristi_, my daughter, you are a genius in diplomacy as well as in
+arms! Listen to her, Marie, and learn! And you would have set her down
+to become this wretched fellow's drudge. _Mort de ma vie_, Louise, I
+thank the Almighty that you are not as your sister would believe you to
+be! Yes, yes, go down, _chérie_, and arrange this matter--it is good!
+But stay, declare first that Marie has spoken nonsense--that you have
+forgotten your woman's instincts--that glory and the career come first
+in your estimation, that----"
+
+"Father, at any rate I am not yet ready to be a woman; the time may
+come, soon or late, I will make no promises. At present let it be as
+I have said. The Baron is offended and would fight--_volontiers_! I am
+ready; he shall fight Michel for Louise!"
+
+Louise laughed gaily and ran from the room. She hastened to her own
+chamber, where she quickly donned her own dress, the fencing costume
+of old days when she still acted as her father's assistant. All this
+occupied some time, and Henri's patience was almost exhausted when at
+last she opened the door and presented herself before him.
+
+D'Estreville caught the girl in his arms and covered her face with
+kisses. Louise abandoned herself to his embraces, making no effort to
+resist, and conscious of no desire to do so. On the contrary, she felt
+in that precious moment that she wished for nothing better in this
+world, no greater happiness, no more perfect peace than to belong body
+and soul to this man. D'Estreville let her go presently.
+
+"Thanks be to God, you love me then, after all," he murmured.
+
+"Did you then doubt it?" she whispered.
+
+"Louise, there have been doubts and mysteries; tell me, you are
+acquainted with one Michel Prevost?"
+
+Louise flushed. "I know Michel very, very, very well," she replied,
+smiling.
+
+"Come, explain--there is a mystery, but I think I have a clue! Confess,
+you have a brother or a near relation--now that I see you, I am
+impressed the more with the likeness between you and this good fellow!
+If I am wrong, then who--in Heaven's name--is this Prevost whom you know
+so well and who reminds me so strongly of you?"
+
+"Not a brother--a relative, yes; he loves me, Henri--nay, do not
+speak--he loves you also, _mon ami_; he would not have us parted,"
+Louise laughed hysterically. "Do not fear, he shall never be dearer to
+me than now, and that is not so dear as you, not by--oh, oh! so many
+miles!"
+
+"I see--I see! Good; I am content. They told me you were dead, my
+beloved--imagine my despair. Why was I deceived?"
+
+"My father will have no son-in-law but this Michel."
+
+"_Peste!_ So I must be deceived and sent into the fires of the nether
+regions!"
+
+"My Henri, be calm and listen. My father sent me to you with a
+suggestion; you are to fight for me with this Michel----" Henri
+interrupted with a roar of laughter.
+
+"Oh, oh! poor Michel! he is doomed! I shall fight like a fiend from
+hell, if it is for you, _ma mie_; moreover, he is--you say--on our side!
+What a foolish fight will this be!"
+
+"Michel is a good fencer, he has few equals. What if he should slay
+you, my beloved, for--if I remember rightly--you have not more than a
+passable hand with the rapier."
+
+"Bah! in such a cause I would overthrow even Louise herself," Henri
+laughed; "but will Michel fight?"
+
+"It--it shall be arranged; he shall slip and you shall disarm
+him--neither shall be hurt." Louise blushed and became agitated. "Go
+down, _chérie_, to the _salon d'armes_, you know it of old, and there
+Michel shall meet you. Adieu, until--until Michel is overthrown."
+
+Henri laughed and embraced the girl. "Adieu, then," he said, "until
+then--bid Michel be quick!"
+
+The _salon d'armes_ was empty when Henri entered it. He busied himself
+in examining and testing the rapiers upon the walls. A sound presently
+attracted his attention and he looked round.
+
+Louise stood in the arena, rapier in hand; she wore her fencing dress;
+her face was crimson with blushes; she seemed too agitated to speak.
+
+"What is this, _chérie_, where is Michel Prevost?" asked Henri.
+
+Louise replied, murmuring so softly that he could scarcely catch her
+words.
+
+"Michel is here," she whispered. "Oh, my beloved, are you so blind?
+Michel is here, but his uniform he will never wear again; oh, Henri be
+kind to me for the love of Heaven, for I am ashamed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+
+The terrible war of 1812 was over, and Russia had shaken herself free
+of the last Frenchman. Already the Tsar Alexander had taken in hand
+preparations for the terrible vengeance which was to be exacted from
+his arch-enemy. Moscow was being rapidly rebuilt; the Russian workman,
+equipped with axe alone, is able to do wonders in the matter of building
+up a structure of wooden beams. In front of the Senate house was already
+beginning to accumulate that immense collection of cannon captured from
+or abandoned by the Grand Army, which may still be seen by visitors to
+the Kremlin. Of these nearly 370 are French, 190 Austrian, 120 Prussian,
+50 from the German States, over 100 Italian and some 35 to 40 Spanish,
+Dutch and Polish; over 800 items of evidence to the anguish of the great
+retreat.
+
+The prevailing sense throughout Russia was that of profound devotional
+gratitude to the God of Battles, not unmingled with a feeling of
+jubilant pride in the nation's prowess, and of passionate affection
+for the Tsar Alexander himself, whose courage and wisdom had shown
+themselves pre-eminent qualities from first to last, and of respect and
+admiration for those of his Generals, and for Count Rostopchin, Governor
+of Moscow, who had distinguished themselves in the defence of their
+beloved country.
+
+Alexander himself was undoubtedly the hero of the hour. At the annual
+reception of the cadet corps in St. Petersburg, a function to which the
+reader of this history has been introduced on a former occasion, his
+advent was awaited with the greatest excitement. A laurel crown was to
+be laid at his feet by a deputation of beautiful women, of whom Vera
+was one. "Bozhé Tsaryá Chranee," the National Anthem, was to be sung by
+cadets and guests, as it had never been sung before; all the world was
+on the tiptoe of expectation.
+
+Vera moved across the room, supporting upon her arm a limping,
+decrepit-looking figure, one of many who limped among the august company
+present that day. Old Countess Maximof sat and watched them. She nudged
+her nearest neighbour, a motherly old person dressed in gorgeous attire.
+
+"See them--are they not a lovely pair?" she said. "It has taken me some
+time to forgive Vera the impropriety of remaining in Moscow throughout
+the trouble, but she has been so good to my Sasha that who could
+have held out for ever?" The other gazed at Vera through her double
+eyeglasses.
+
+"Hah! remaining in Moscow! Many unkind things were said of her upon that
+account, I remember. She had friends among the French officers--old
+acquaintances in Paris--that was the chief indictment. That will all be
+forgiven and forgotten. Yes, she is beautiful. Your son might have done
+worse!"
+
+Vera and Sasha talked and laughed together, they appeared to be
+radiantly happy.
+
+"It is only four years ago that we met here," Vera whispered, "and at
+that time you were still a victim to the follies of cadetdom--do you
+remember how----"
+
+"Shall I never be forgiven that expression?" Sasha laughed.
+
+"Oh, _droog moy_, let us remember it to our everlasting gaiety; let us
+remember also how you had no leisure to be presented to your little
+fiancée; she was too young and too ugly, and Mademoiselle Kornilof was
+at the same time so fascinating; and oh, _mon Dieu_, the conceit of the
+good-looking cadet whom poor I was obliged to adore from afar!"
+
+"Ah, you did not adore me, that is not true, _dooshá moyá_; come,
+confess that at that moment you detested me!"
+
+"Perhaps I tried to think so; but there was a something deep down in my
+heart that was certainly not hatred. It has lurked there ever since. If
+you had shown a liking for me that day, it might never have existed,
+but when you gave me the cold shoulder it came and with it a kind of
+determination that you should repent in sackcloth and ashes; that you
+should sue----"
+
+"Little tyrant! you exacted a terrible revenge! Oh, the hours of misery
+you have caused me, you and your French admirers."
+
+"Ah! poor Paul!"
+
+"Frankly, Vera, were you ever near to loving him?"
+
+"Never so near as when he befriended you on the battlefield." Sasha's
+fingers closed tightly over his companion's arm. He had never thought it
+necessary to inform Vera that Paul had very nearly killed him before
+befriending him, nor did Vera ever learn that it was he who had dealt
+the blow which went so near to widowing her heart for ever.
+
+Vera was much observed at this time. She was more beautiful than ever.
+Sorrow and suffering had added something to her loveliness. Her story
+was known to most of those present and rendered her an interesting
+personality, for the Russian dearly loves a romantic tale. This
+afternoon there were many lips that told of the baby-betrothal of these
+two, of Vera's Parisian experiences, of her patriotism, of her finding
+and nursing the Russian lover, her childhood's fiancé, and of his
+triumph over all rivals, French and otherwise.
+
+Even the Tsar, when at last he made his triumphal entry into the hall
+and had received the laurel tribute prepared for him and listened to the
+splendid soulful rendering of the National Anthem, presently noticed the
+beautiful girl in constant attendance upon young Count Maximof, whom he
+knew.
+
+"Who is she?" he asked--"she is beautifully dressed--one would say she
+was French--but her face is Russian, of our loveliest type."
+
+"It is the daughter of Demidof, your Majesty's envoy at present at the
+Court of Sweden," the Tsar was informed.
+
+"What, the beautiful Russian maiden who was said to have inflamed the
+hearts of half the youth of Paris?" the Tsar laughed. "Has she then
+decided, at last, in favour of a Russian admirer?"
+
+"Not only so, Sire, but of one who was betrothed to her in
+childhood--perhaps your Majesty remembers the story. It was said that
+they had agreed to annihilate the contract entered into, perhaps, in a
+moment of conviviality by their respective fathers; but the end of the
+story is most romantic; the lady sought and found her lover upon the
+battlefield outside Moscow at the village of Pavlova; there she nursed
+him back to life, and--at his request, for he believed himself to be
+dying--actually married him as he lay gasping in a peasants hut."
+
+"_Chort Vosmee!_" laughed the Tsar, "that is a good story; what, and
+they have not disagreed, since he recovered? That kind of marriage might
+prove a more serious matter than the foolish betrothal contract!"
+
+"They seem good friends, Sire, if one may judge from appearances!" said
+the other.
+
+Afterwards Vera, to her astonishment and delight, though perhaps also
+somewhat to her consternation, was informed by his aide-de-camp that the
+Tsar would dance with her.
+
+She went through the ordeal of that stately quadrille excellently well,
+however, entertaining and delighting the Tsar with an account of how
+Sasha had stolen a march upon her by persuading her to marry him as he
+lay dying--which she did, she explained, to oblige a friend--afterwards
+recovering when he certainly had no right to do so.
+
+"You are caught now, Madame," said the Tsar; "will the caged bird beat
+herself against the bars of her prison?"
+
+"Your Majesty must ask me a year hence," Vera laughed; "at present I am
+a new toy, and my jailer is content to play with me!" The Tsar laughed
+again.
+
+"By the Saints, Madame, if he should show signs of falling short in his
+appreciation of his good fortune, you shall tell me and he shall be sent
+to Siberia. Such a man would deserve his fate."
+
+"It may be, your Majesty, that he married me out of patriotic motives in
+order to prevent my falling into French hands."
+
+"Good--good! it was a worthy act and shall be rewarded," said the Tsar,
+smiling kindly. "Adieu, Madame; we shall meet again I trust."
+
+On the following morning Vera received a beautiful present from his
+Majesty: an order, the collar of St. Anne, commonly known in Russia as
+"Annooshka na shay". The gold cross attached to the collar was inscribed
+"For Patriotism".
+
+Sasha at the same time obtained, what was at the moment the object of
+every young Russian officer's ambition, a captain's commission in the
+new regiment of Imperial Guards lately organised by his Majesty. Not
+long after this Vera received a letter from Paris. It was brought by
+hand by a Russian prisoner returning to his native country. The packet
+contained a gilt-edged card, upon which was printed:--
+
+     Mons. le Baron Henri d'Estreville.
+    Madame la Baronne Henri d'Estreville
+           (_née_ Louise Dupré).
+
+To which was added, written in a woman's hand:--
+
+     "En suite le Capitaine d'infanterie Michel Prevost, qui vous
+     fait part, belle cousine, de sa mort."
+
+
+THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS LIMITED
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Moscow, by Fred Whishaw
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42967 ***