 | CHAPTER XVII. The brothers : |  |
17. CHAPTER XVII.
Now, by my father's soul! you deadly plotter
Will give his scheming brains no holyday,
Nor halt—nor swerve—in his unholy purpose,
Till the one arbiter—the mortal sword—
Shall end his mischiefs and his life together.
The Ulysses.
On the morning which succeeded the revolt of
the Switzers, and the consequent flight of Turenne,
I despatched, according to promise, old Martin
to the minister and prince, with advices of the
happy result of my mission, accompanied by most
pressing requisitions for cavalry, an arm of which
we were entirely destitute, while, for the species
of warfare in which we were about to engage, it
was as entirely indispensable. I doubted not that the
mutiny of the army would already be widely spread
throughout the country, and that, in consequence,
there would be but little fear of interruption or
peril to my messenger; I therefore took a bold step,
and furnished him, on my own responsibility, with
for his rapid progress into service as a royal
courier. In acting thus, however, I was instigated
mainly by my knowledge of the extreme discretion
of my agent, and by my anxiety to receive the
succour which was so highly important to all my
future views.
After preparing the papers, and seeing my messenger
depart on his journey, I passed to the quarters
of the Comte d'Harcourt; who had, by virtue
of the commissions brought by myself, assumed
the chief command after the flight of Turenne and
his staff. On entering the pavilion, in which, on
the preceding night, I had found myself in so different
a presence, I heard a loud and earnest conversation
between the commander-in-chief and D'Erlach,
who was, besides myself, the only general
officer with the army, and of consequence third in
command.
The latter immediately addressed me—
“I am right glad to see you, General Mornington—right
glad to see you! We were debating,
even now, on the propriety of our first movements;
and, I regret to say, there is a difference of opinion
already between the commander and myself. I
flatter myself, however, that we shall be able to
to Cambrai!”
“Of laying siege to Cambrai!” I exclaimed, in
unfeigned consternation; “surely, Monsieur le
Comte, surely such cannot be your intention!”
“Such is my determination, notwithstanding!”
he replied, with a strong emphasis, and somewhat
of a sneer; “may I inquire in what respect it
seems not good to your wisdom?”
“For fifty reasons!—Good!” I exclaimed; “it
will be ruin, utter, irretrievable ruin! Here we are
—here at Landernât—with some twelve thousand
infantry, but not three troops of cavalry to cover
our retreat, if such be needful!”
“Retreat!” he replied, quickly—“who speaks of
retreat?”
“It will be well if we have not to do it, much more
speak of it,” I replied, coolly; “but I pray you let
not my words offend you. Look here, monsiegneur,”
I continued, pointing to a map which lay
before me on the table; “here, at Rheims, scarce
thirty leagues distant from Cambrai, lies the archduke,
twenty thousand strong—all Spanish veterans;
and here, at Valenciennes, the Duke of
Lorraine, with a force not much inferior to our
own. The archduke, when he shall hear of our success,
dare not advance on Paris unsupported, leaving
a junction with Lorraine, believe me, we are lost;
if we sit down before Cambrai, he must effect a
junction! Now, on the other hand, if we advance
at once on him of Lorraine, I pledge my life, we
can—if not defeat—at least drive him across the
frontier. The country hates the Spaniard; Lorraine
disposed of, the peasantry will rise en masse;
we may recruit ten thousand men; and then, if we
be fortunate, the archduke may find his march to
Rheims far easier than his retreat shall be! Thus
shall you gain yourself great glory, and deliver the
king and country from a most fatal scourge!”
“All this is vastly good, sir,” he answered, stubbornly—“vastly
good; but I am advised that we
can hardly cope with Lorraine in the field—once
within the walls of Cambrai, we can hold it till we
receive such reinforcements—”
“Reinforcements!” I interrupted him; “whence
look you, in the name of Heaven, for reinforcements?
Condé and Orleans are hard set, even
now, to cope with Elbœuf and the generals; they
cannot send a man, barring, perchance, a corps of
cavalry, which will be here before we can open
our trenches, much less take such a town as Cambrai!”
“Nevertheless, such is my pleasure! we shall
twice six thousand men to learn the art of war of
any Englishman.”
“Pray God you may not have to look to an
Englishman to save you from destruction!” I answered,
coolly, and turning on my heel left the
tent.
It was, in truth, too much to be endured. There
was a field of glory open to us, such as we could
hardly have failed to reap gloriously; there was
wellnigh a certainty of my discovering the prison-house,
and compelling the release of my lost bride;
yet all was marred by the invincible obstinacy of
the old dotard who commanded us. Still was
there nothing to be done; I had but fifty men at
my own bidding; and although D'Erlach and his
Switzers—a stout and veteran band of some four
thousand musketeers and pikemen—would have
joined me had it come to an open rupture, I dared
not venture to supersede my commanding officer,
without more evident proofs of cowardice or incapacity.
Nor, indeed, had I been disposed to do so,
could I by any means have succeeded, as the
troops of Weimar were more numerous, and entirely
devoted to D'Harcourt—who, though slow
in judgment, and not capable of extended views,
was a soldier in the field, and a popular leader with
with the army, though assuming no command, save
of my own immediate followers, until the arrival
of the regiments from St. Germains. The three
following days were consumed in moving the
army from its position at Landrecy to the neighbourhood
of Cambrai; and it was in the course of
these that I discovered, greatly to my annoyance,
that De Chateaufort was not, as I had imagined,
slain by my hand, but had actually effected his
escape while I was rescuing Turenne, and fled
alone in the direction of Maubeuge or Valenciennes.
On the fourth day the men were set to
work at opening trenches; on the sixth, the first
parallel was completed, and on the morning of the
seventh our batteries began to play upon the town,
but at a distance which rendered it evident to me
that weeks must elapse before the works of the
enemy could be carried, even if the town should
not in the mean time be relieved by the archduke.
As I had fully resolved that I would take no steps
whatever in measures so desperately foolish as
those in which we were now engaged, I absented
myself almost entirely from head-quarters, merely
reporting myself at stated periods, and occupying
my time in patrolling, and in reconnoitring the country
in the direction of Rheims, from which I was
Nor was I disappointed; for on the evening
of the tenth day from the seduction of Turenne's
forces—during which little or no progress
had been made in breaching the walls of Cambrai
—being myself scouting with twenty men as far
as the village of Le Cateau, an intelligent soldier,
whom I had sent out several days before to ride
in the direction of Lâon, and strive to gain some
information of the archduke's movements, came up
with the intelligence that he had seen the vanguard
of the Spaniards in full march on the preceding
day, within six miles of Vervins; and that they
could not be farther from us at that present time
than nine or ten leagues distance.
With all the speed of man and horse I hurried
to the lines before Cambrai, conveying the intelligence
of an event which, if foreseen, might easily
have been averted, but which I now feared would
be wellnigh fatal. It was, however, with a feeling
almost of rapture that I perceived, on approaching
our encampment, that the three regiments of cavalry
which Condé promised me had already arrived!
With such celerity had Lydford executed
his commission—having performed the distance of
nearly sixty leagues, by means of relays, in two
days and a single night. On opening the letters
previous to my interview with D'Harcourt—I
found yet further cause for gratification, inasmuch
as I was thereby appointed to an independent command
of a division, to be constituted of my own
cavalry, D'Erlach's Swiss infantry, and a brigade
of field artillery. I at once rode to the quarters
of the general-in-chief, displayed my commissions,
and required him to give directions to the troops
designated to place themselves at my disposal.
He did so, although reluctantly—and I readily perceived
that I had gained a deadly enemy; but for
this I cared little.
“May I inquire, sir,” he said, as he surrendered
the documents to my charge—“may I inquire
how you propose to employ these troops at present?”
“It is my intention, my lord, to withdraw them,
as speedily as may be, from the trenches.”
“By Heaven,” he cried, “you dare not!—to
what end?—you dare not do it!”
“You little know the man to whom you speak,”
I answered, still with perfect courtesy, “that you
should suppose there to exist the thing he dares
not!—but pass for that! I shall withdraw them
from the trenches to cover you, if possible, from
the archduke, who is advancing at this moment,
Vervins!”
“It is impossible!” he replied, stubbornly, and
stamping his foot violently on the ground.
“It may be so, but it nevertheless is true! and
I go to repel or check his van, if it be possible! I
have already so contrived that he shall intercept a
letter written to the Duke of Lorraine—to the end
that it should fall into his hands—as though he had
joined our faction, and were on the march to join
us. This, and a demonstration on our part, may
cause the Spaniard to avoid an action, and to hurry
towards Ypres or St. Venant; and if he do so, I
trust your lordship will co-operate with me in
crushing Lorraine at once, before he shall discover
his mistake.”
“I do not believe it, sir; I shall not draw off my
men, nor raise the siege, till I shall see the archduke's
van.”
“Then will you never raise it!” And I left the
tent hastily—well aware, however, that he would
be compelled, ere long, to come fully into my plans.
Taking D'Erlach into my counsel, I immediately
drew off my own division, and occupied a strong
position with my infantry and guns to the north of
the road from Landrecy to Cambrai, by which, I
was well aware, that the archduke must advance.
to preserve a communication with the Weimarian
soldiery under D'Harcourt, as being pretty confident
that I should be able to cover his flank, and
so enable him to take ground in the rear of my
position, as though for the purpose of communicating
with Lorraine, concerning whom, I felt sure
that the Spaniards were in doubt. All the livelong
night I never left my saddle; but, till the gray
dawn was at hand, I heard nothing to justify my
apprehension! Just after the second cock-crow I
heard a distant rumbling sound—it was the groaning
of the artillery-cart; a few moments later the
shrill notes of a distant trumpet reached my ear;
and, ere long, the clash of armour, the trampling of
horses, and all the varied confusion of a march.
On the first alarm, I got my men, who were
sleeping on their arms, into line; drawing them
up on the ground which, as I knew, afforded us
the only hope of safety. In the mean time I sent
out scouts to reconnoitre the enemy, and others to
warn D'Harcourt of the close vicinity of the Spanish
army; and to entreat him to draw off his troops
from the trenches as steadily as might be, and to fall
steadily into my rear, as a reserve. The former
soon returned, with intelligence that the archduke
was advancing in three columns, parallel to the
ignorant of our precise situation, and had
halted, on discovering that my position completely
commanded his line of march.
D'Harcourt had sat down before Cambrai on the
north-eastern side; the road, which was deep and
hollow, though the country was for the most part
level, actually intersecting his lines, so that the
advance of the Spaniards, if unchecked, must
have entirely cut him off on the south-east. The
heavy batteries of the town, which, by-the-way,
had been admirably well served, were on the north-west,
and a deep and unfordable stream on the
south. My little army was drawn out on a succession
of gentle heights—the only elevations of land
for several miles' distance—sloping evenly, though
somewhat steeply, down to the causeway, at every
point save one, where the hills were rugged and
abrupt, covered with a thick growth of thorny
shrubs, and having a branch of the same stream
which I have mentioned above wheeling close beneath
their cliffs. This was the end, or cape, of
the eminences towards the east, and consequently
nearest to the Spaniard, and would have been in
itself a sufficient covering to my left wing; but I had
strengthened it yet further by a slight field-work,
masked by the coppice, and mounting a few light
front, so disposed as to sweep the whole road and
meadows beyond them, quite down to the river-bank.
In about an hour it had become so light that I
could see the archduke's van, chiefly composed of
his celebrated black Walloons. The artillery and
pikemen had not yet come up; and they had halted
to await them, under the protection of the orchards
and enclosures of a nameless hamlet on the line of
the high-road.
I did not, it is true, feel much apprehension on
my own score, for I knew my position to be
such, that it could hardly be carried by any superiority
of force. The country on my left flank
and rear was broken and swampy, and, indeed,
almost impassable for guns; so that it was difficult,
if not impossible, to turn me. My only fear at this
time arose from the obstinacy of D'Harcourt, who
had as yet shown no symptoms of evacuating his
trenches. So strong, however, was my conviction
of the utter madness of fighting a pitched battle
against the archduke, under the walls of a hostile
garrison, and within some ten leagues of another
army, that I believe I should have stood by inactive,
and suffered him to be crushed without
folly.
As it became fully daylight, I had, however, the
satisfaction of seeing the old count ride out with
his staff, and with a score or two of light horsemen,
to make a reconnoissance in front; while a
slight battery was in progress of erection, mounted
with six heavy battering cannon, so placed that it
must enfilade the road, and, with the aid of my
cross-fire, render it perfectly defensible. At the
same time, though his batteries were still playing
against the town, I could see by the bustle in the
lines that he was preparing to abandon them. As
he reached the front of my disposition, I galloped
down to join him, and, without adverting in the least
to any disagreement which might have occurred
previously, rode forward with him in person.
“You were right, sir, and I was wrong,” he
growled out sulkily as we met; “we must abandon
the siege; but we can hold these dogs of Spain
at disadvantage till I may extricate my men and
guns.”
“Spike your battering-guns, my lord, if it be
needful. The Spaniard thinks of nothing but securing
his retreat to his own frontiers; and as we
shall offer him no opposition, I hold it certain that
he will avoid us on our show of preparation. The
of the north, we will, if it so please you, fall
upon Lorraine by forced marches, and cut him
off by surprise. He is weakly posted near Valenciennes,
and that, too, with scarcely eight thousand
men. He conquered, and the archduke fled, the
cities must at once surrender; and we shall need
no heavier guns than our field ordnance.”
“Well! sir, well! we shall see. Ha! the archduke
is moving!”
And so indeed he was. A heavy column was
filing down into the meadows, shunning the road
with the evident intention of avoiding our cross-fire,
and forming to assail our front. In doing this,
however, they had overlooked the batteries on my
flank, or widely miscalculated their range. I saw
at a glance that they would be raked by their fire,
if they advanced a single quarter of a mile
farther.
“Now is our time!” I cried; “if you, Monsieur
D'Harcourt, will fall back to the intrenchments, and,
evacuating them with all speed, occupy the ground
on my right flank and rear, I will draw down a
regiment of cavalry by yon ravine, and charge
these Walloon dogs, when disordered by an unexpected
fire!”
He answered not, but rode away hastily, and I
my suggestion. I galloped back to my own lines.
“D'Erlach,” I cried, “send six more field-pieces
to the left flank redoubt, and quickly! These
Spaniards march so slowly they will reach it
time enough an they use diligence!” Before the
words were well uttered the artillerymen were in
motion. “De Charmi, wheel your regiment down
by the deep ravine; mask it, if possible, behind
yon coppice, and when you see an opening,
charge on the flank of those black swine. But
beware, sir, of involving your men, or of losing your
retreat; one brisk charge and no more! Away!
My signal shall be a single trumpet from the redoubt.
Then charge; do them what hurt you
may, but take no prisoners; spike their guns and
fall back at once!”
He nodded intelligence with a bright eye, and
rode away briskly to execute my orders. I galloped
onward to the bastion, and getting a regiment
of arquebusiers under arms, awaited the result.
Before I gave the word to my artillerymen to fire,
I swept the country with my glass, and lingered
for a moment to gaze on D'Harcourt's movements.
He had taken my advice. His troops were filing off
leisurely, and without interruption from the town.
Three regiments had already gained the upland.
I gave the word; and some eighteen guns
belched forth their volumes of white smoke, with
a roar that carried dismay to the hearts of the
Spaniards. They had been heavily loaded with
small bullets, and the havoc they produced was
fearful. So rapid was the service of my men,
that the guns raked them four times in less than
fifteen minutes!
“Let the smoke lift, that we may see them—
hold your next fire!” and with an eager eye I
scanned the enemy. They were cut to atoms;
but still pressing onward, though in much disorder.
They were within a hundred paces of De Charmi,
whom they had not discovered.
“Now, trumpet!” and a single blast rose shrilly
and almost painfully upon the ear; it was answered,
and, with a shout, De Charmi wheeled into
line upon the trot, charged, and cut his way like a
thunderbolt right through the Walloon column!
“Brave, brave De Charmi!” I shouted, as though
he could hear my orders at a mile's distance;
“back! back! wheel to the left, and give it them
again!”
Even as I spoke, the manœuvre was performed.
So completely had he cut his way through them,
that his regiment was actually between the pike-men
and the enemy's position. But, wheeling
of his first charge, he rushed upon their left
flank, as he had before fallen on their right, and
again cut his way through them, and without material
loss. As he retreated on a hand-gallop, the
battery gave them a fresh salute, and when the
smoke cleared off, we saw them straggling back,
as best they might, to their main body,—their
colours lost, their cannon spiked, broken, overturned,
and the earth cumbered far and wide with
the dead and dying.
That day the archduke made no farther movement.
At night he lighted his fires and planted his
pickets along the front of the hamlet, before alluded
to; but, ere his fires had burned low, or the moon
had sunk the breadth of her own disk below the
horizon, I caught the sound of a suppressed bustle
—a guarded motion—in his lines. Without the
slightest tumult I got my own men under arms,
and sent an express to D'Harcourt to give him
notice of the alarm; yet, though I listened with
my whole soul, I caught no repetition of the
sounds. The morning broke clearly—and the
lines were deserted; while, from the commanding
height on which I stood, I could see the baffled
army winding away through the causeway of
countermarch during the hours of darkness.
It was with feelings the most agreeable that I
witnessed the rapid departure of the enemy, who,
it was evident, was still in apprehension of our
pressing on his rear, and interfering with his retreat.
All day long we held our position, sending
forth scouts in every direction to ascertain that the
flight of the Spaniard was as complete as real;
and at a late hour of the night they returned to a
man, bearing the glad tidings that not a straggler
was to be seen throughout the country, save those
who yet lay in front of our position, cold, stiff, and
lifeless,—all their wars ended for ever,—all their
hostility cut short by the omnipotent hand of
death.
Fortunate was it for me, and for the prosecution
of the plans which I had devised, that, in the bustle
of his removal from the trenches, the count had
been compelled to spike the greater part of his
battering train, thereby rendering it impracticable
to renew the interrupted siege. Fortunate it was,
I say, inasmuch as I am wellnigh convinced that
the obstinacy of the commander-in-chief would
have prompted him again to sit down before Cambrai,
notwithstanding the danger of a second surprise,
had it been possible to do so. Being satisfied,
means accomplish this, I chose rather to await his
orders, which I was certain must tend to an advance
against the duke, than to suggest any movements
myself; which, I was no less certain, he
would disapprove, however excellent, or likely to
be crowned with success.
Accordingly, on the day following the archduke's
flight, I was summoned to a council of war, the
result of which was a determination to fall upon
the army of Lorraine, by a succession of forced
marches; a determination started in this instance
by the count, and, of course, warmly seconded by
myself and Major-general D'Erlach.
It would be useless, and moreover tedious, to
enter into details of the manner in which this
movement was executed; suffice it, that in somewhat
less than a week we found ourselves in the
presence of eight thousand men, under the command
of Lorraine, encamped along the eastern
side of a rich valley, at about four miles' distance
from the town of Valenciennes.
Resisting my arguments in favour of a sudden
and impetuous onslaught of all our forces, which,
our coming up at this time being wholly unexpected,
could hardly have failed of success, D'Harcourt
proceeded at once to fortify his encampment
the same valley. This he did skilfully enough;
but I saw with pain that it was his intention to
resort to the old-fashioned style of protracting
operations, and moving, as it were, foot by foot—a
style of warfare which was even then becoming
obsolete, as it has since been utterly forgotten, except
in the presence of a superior force.
I fully believe that at this time the dearest wish
of the commander was to see me fall in some of
the skirmishes which were daily taking place on
the outposts, and in which, as leader of the cavalry,
I was necessarily much exposed. In one of
these fierce little struggles I was, indeed, so nearly
entrapped by my old foe De Chateaufort, that
nothing but my good fortune and his folly saved
me. I had charged down upon a small party of
horse, convoying some forage or provisions, had
taken the latter, and, pursuing the former with
rather too much of impetuosity, was driving them
directly into an ambuscade of infantry, which had
been designed to cut me off. Nothing, indeed,
could have rescued me from destruction, but the
inveterate and over-active malice of De Chateaufort,
who, at the full distance of a hundred paces,
and before the body of my men were in point-blank
shot of arquebuse, rose from his cover, and,
of his ambush; thus enabling me to bring off
my troopers without receiving the smallest injury,
beyond a dint in my cuirass from the bullet, which
was nearly spent when it struck me.
| CHAPTER XVII. The brothers : | |