Chapter XLII: Vaudemont

As we proceeded, we hourly heard of the terrors and ravages committed by the Count de Bitche, colonel of the petardiers of Lorraine, a man steeped to the lips in crime and sin; and by Wolfgang and his imperial corps, a Croatian regiment, upon those Lorrainers who had made terms with Cardinal de Lavalette, with Hepburn, or La Force; and more especially upon those who had supplied the troops of those leaders with forage, food, or money. Some were broken alive on the wheel, others shot or hung, according to the whim of their captors; and rumour affirmed that the young Prince of Vaudemont went hand in hand with his future brother-in-law in the committal of these atrocities, especially in Alsace, the duke of which was a mere child of nine or ten years old. From her recent residence in Paris, Nicola believed that she had everything to fear from the terrible Croats, and grew paler than a lily, when, near Commercy, a town on the left bank of the Meuse, we passed a row of men hanging by the neck upon trees by the wayside, with their visages black, swollen, and frightful, exposed to our gaze, and to the ravages of a flight of bloated ravens that were wheeling round them.

At Commercy, which is celebrated only for the manufacture of those little cakes called Madeleines, we saw the noble château of the Princes of Vaudemont, an open, black, and roofless ruin, just as it had been left by Lieutenant Frank Ruthven, of Ramsay's musketeers, who had crossed the Meuse one dark night at the head of eighty Scots, stormed the gates, and burned the seat of the heirs-apparent of Lorraine.*

* It is now a French cavalry barrack.

A night in the forest, exposed to the inclemency of such a storm, had not improved the condition of our horses, worn as they were by so long a journey; and Dagobert, whose old military hardihood a winter passed in the snug stables of the Château d'Amboise had considerably impaired, was especially cut up: thus, after a slow and tedious ride of some miles, I found it necessary that we should halt at a little wayside auberge, about a league beyond Commercy. The host, though reluctant at first to admit any stranger, so great was the terror inspired by Pappenheim's Croats, and the Duke's Imperialists, was ready enough to afford us quarters on perceiving our ecclesiastical garb, in his simplicity believing that, in case of foragers or plunderers coming that way, we might give a little protection to his household--a vain hope indeed.

Nicola was so sad, weary, and reflective, that I did not again renew the ever-present subject of my thoughts and of the past day's conversation, but I kissed her tenderly at the door of her apartment, and bade her adieu for the night, adding that I would summon her betimes on the morrow, which would be the last day of our journey together.

Alas! I knew not that it was the last time I should ever see her again--as my beloved Nicola at least.

Over a stoup of wine, I sat moodily in the recess of a window of the little auberge, recharging my pistols to keep them in service order; and then I watched the setting sun, as he sank in all his summer splendour, and cast long golden gleams across the wooded dell, through which flowed the waters of the Meuse, when the report of shots close by gave me an _alerte_, and inspired me with an irresistible and unwise desire to discover the reason thereof. I ordered out my horse, thrust the pistols into my girdle, and mounting, rode leisurely along the highway for half a-mile or so, until I saw the cause of the alarm. A few troopers were galloping over an eminence, bearing each a couple of sheep across his saddle, while a cloud of smoke, streaked with flame, arose from the crumbling walls of a farmhouse, which in mere wantonness they had set on fire.

'If 'tis thus Duke Charles celebrates his temporary return to Lorraine,' thought I, 'his people had better bend their necks to Richelieu and King Louis.'

Turning my horse's head, I rode leisurely back at the same pace towards the auberge, till at a turn of the road, which was bordered by high green hedges, I came abruptly upon two cavaliers, mounted, and armed with sword and pistol. As the path was narrow, we simultaneously saluted each other, and drew up to reconnoitre; for the time, place, and politics, made us alike wary and suspicious.

'Sabre de Bois!' exclaimed a familiar voice, using that exclamation which in France is old as the Crusades, and means a cross or sword of wood; 'I think I should know that face and figure. Oho, M. Blane! we have changed guises since we met last year at Sezanne. 'Tis thou art now the abbé and I the layman. By St. Nicolas of Lorraine, but this is very droll!'

The speaker was the Prince of Vaudemout, and I heard him with mingled anger and irresolution.

'Shall I recal the advice, the threat you made me, on that day at the hotel in Sezanne?'

'You may, M. le Prince; but what was it?'

'Simply this: Retire; leave our vicinity; this espionage is not honourable, and you test me too far. Those words were well calculated to rankle in a heart so proud as mine. Do you remember them?'

'I do.'

'And then you threatened to denounce me and poor Raoul d'Ische, whose soul, I hope, has long since gone to glory. Why should I not denounce you, and deliver you to the nearest provost-marshal?'

'For two sufficient reasons, Monseigneur le Prince.'

'Name them.'

'First, you are too accomplished and brave a soldier to do an act of wanton cruelty; and I am, also, I hope, too accomplished and skilful a swordsman to let any two men in the army of the Empire deprive me of this weapon, which is now my sole inheritance.'

'Milles demons! thou art a gallant fellow, and I love this spirit well; but nevertheless I must have you; so we will fight it out fairly on the sward here, and my aide-de-camp, the Count de Bitche, will be our umpire.'

'With pleasure,' growled the Count, through his enormous moustaches.

'Agreed,' said I, bowing to that ruffianly noble, whom I had given such good cause to remember our meeting in the cavalry charge at Bitche; and his sinister eyes, as they gave me a fierce glance of recognition, flashed like a sword-blade when it is suddenly drawn from the scabbard. 'My life has been risked and jeoparded so often, that when night sets in, I feel at times astonished to find myself still in the land of the living. But, prince, lest I should fall in this encounter, give me your word of honour,' said I, sadly and impressively, 'that you will fulfil my last injunctions.'

'My dear fellow, I have not the least desire to kill you. Mordieu! not I; but I must disarm and take you prisoner.'

'Not if I can prevent you; but should aught fatal to me occur, will you, as a gentleman, promise to conduct safely and honourably to the gates of Nanci a young girl of Lorraine, whom I have brought with me from Paris, and who is now----'

'Where?'

'At a little auberge in yonder hollow near the Meuse.'

'Where three willow trees overshadow the water?'

'Yes.'

'On my honour as a gentleman I will do this, faithfully and truly.'

'Prince, I thank and believe in you.'

The Count de Bitche, a fierce-looking fellow, with a dark and sinister expression, uttered a most unpleasant laugh; upon which I gave him a scornful glance of defiance, and bit my glove. We had now reached a smooth piece of sward, a little way aside from the high road; a grove of chestnut trees grew half round it; the evening light was clear; in the distance lay Commercy, with its spires standing in dark outline against the blood red disc of the setting sun. We all dismounted, and gave our bridles to the Count de Bitche, who linked them to his own. We then threw our hats, cloaks, and gloves, on the ground; buttoned up our pourpoints to the throat, drew our rapiers, and stood on guard, De Bitche keeping near the Prince to prompt and give him hints: thus he was doubly armed against me; but my heart was too full of hope and pride to find space for fear.

I prayed for victory only that I might return to Nicola, who knew so little of the danger I encountered, and whose dear, modest face and loving eyes I might never see again.

Our swords met, clashed, and for a moment were engaged to the very shell; then we withdrew, watching each other warily, blade pressed heavily against blade. The Prince, a skilful swordsman, made a feint on one side, and then a lunge on the other, by which he ripped up an inch or two of my sword-arm. Now, as my skin is a ware upon which I set some value, I became filled with sudden fury, and pressed him with such vigour, that he was driven back, fighting hard, almost to the chestnut trees.

'At him with your rapier _a la stoccata_!' said De Bitche, who had drawn his dagger, an unwarrantable proceeding, and his voice grew husky as he spoke, 'Ill betide you, Prince! be wary, or he will nail you to a chestnut tree.'

'Silence, Count!' I exclaimed, 'or, by Heaven, I will nail you first!'

He slunk back to where the horses stood, and in an instant after I heard a snort, almost a cry, from one of them, and casting a glance that way, saw Dagobert plunging fearfully. This unusual circumstance so fully arrested my attention, that I narrowly escaped being run through the lungs; but recovering my guard, before the Count could withdraw his useless thrust, I grasped his rapier by the cross, wrested it away, and for a moment menaced his throat with my point; then I stepped back breathless with excitement and fatigue.

The pale face of Vaudemont flushed crimson with shame and vexation. He uttered a fierce oath.

'Conquered again, and by you too--this is too much! I shall never again be able to hold up my head.'

'Nay, monsieur,' said I, bowing low, and presenting to him his sword-hilt; 'let us be friends from this time forward; and be it understood, that on whatever field we meet again, you and I, at least, engage no more.'

'So be it, M. Blane,' said he, grasping my hand with the sudden cordiality of a generous heart; 'we part friends; and in this half-hour's encounter, you have taught me some tricks in fencing which I shall not soon forget. Adieu--return to your pretty one at the auberge, and conduct her, yourself, to the gate of Nanci; but promise me, that you do not enter; for if taken prisoner there, even I may fail to protect you, as in Nanci, at least, the Duke my father reigns supreme.'

He saluted me; leaped on his horse, and, followed by his amiable aide-de-camp, the Count de Bitche, who gave me a peculiar and malevolent smile, galloped away.