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diff --git a/42967-8.txt b/42967-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 39caa11..0000000 --- a/42967-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6809 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Moscow, by Fred Whishaw - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Moscow - A Story of the French Invasion of 1812 - -Author: Fred Whishaw - -Release Date: June 17, 2013 [EBook #42967] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOSCOW *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - 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 THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOSCOW *** - -***** This file should be named 42967-8.txt or 42967-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/9/6/42967/ - -Produced by sp1nd, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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