The Countess De Charny - Volume II (34 page)

These things were done in the presence of the National Guards, who, instead of preventing them, often brought out their chairs and sat down to watch the fun, like spectators at a play.

This encouraged Rocher, who went about bragging: “That Marie Antoinette ‘s a proud minx, but I know how to take her down. She and Elizabeth have to bow down to me in spite of themselves. The last wicket is so low they have to stoop whenever they pass through it, and every day I give one or the other of them a puff from my pipe.”

One day the sister asked: “Why is Eocher always smoking?”

“Because he wants to, I suppose,” was the officer’s answer.

In such cases of retribution or expiation, there is always some scoundrel who makes the victims drink the cup of humiliation to the very dregs. The chief tormentors of Loviis XVI. were Simon and Rocher; in Napoleon’s case it was Hudson Lowe. It is the cruel behaviour of these men that sanctities the victim. Would Saint Helena be Saint Helena without its red-coated jailor? Would the Temple be the Temple without Rocher and Simon?

Unhappy as the prisoners were, they still had one consolation, — that of being together.

But soon the Commune decided to separate the king from his family.

On September 26th, five days after the establishment of the Republic, one of the guards told Clery that rooms were being prepared for the king in the main tower. Much distressed, Clery repeated this sad news to his master,

THE STOKY OF THE MARTYR KING. 279

who received it with his usual fortitude, merely remarking : ” Try to find out when this painful separation is to take place, and let me know.”

But Clery was unable to secure any further information.

About ten o’clock on the morning of the 29th of September, six municipal guards entered the queen’s room, where the royal family was assembled. They brought an order from the Commune depriving the prisoners of all writing materials, and not only the room, but the persons of the prisoners were to be searched.

“When you want anything,” said the spokesman, whose name was Charbonnier, “your man can come down and make an entry in a register which will be kept in the Council Chamber.”

Neither the king nor the queen made any answer. They surrendered all the writing materials in their possession; the other members of the family did the same, even the servants following their master’s example.

Then and then only did Clery learn through some re-mark he overheard, that the king was to be transferred to the main tower that very evening, and he told Madame Elizabeth, who at once informed the king.

Nothing unusual happened until evening, though every sound made the hearts of the prisoners throb more quickly; but the hour of parting came at last. The same officials who had visited them that morning reappeared with another order from the Commune, which was read aloud to tlie king. It was an order for the king’s removal to the main tower.

This time the king’s self-control failed him. Where would it lead, this dark and gloomy path upon which he was about entering with fear and trembling?

The farewell was long and agonising, but at last the king was obliged to follow the officials.

The authorities were so eager to inflict this fresh torture upon their captives that they could not even wait for the king’s apartments to be prepared. The furniture con-

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sisted of only two chairs and a bed; the paint and paper were not dry, and this made the odour intoleralde.

The king went to bed without uttering a word of com-plaint. Clery slept in a chair near him.

In the morning Clery assisted the king to dress as usual; then he started to return to the small tower to dress the dauphin, but he was stopped by an official named Viron, who said to him, ”You are to hold no further communication with the other prisoners. The king will not see his children again ! “

This time Clery had not the courage to tell his master.

At nine o’clock, Louis asked to be conducted to his family as usual.

” We have no such orders,” responded the commissioners.

The king insisted; but they gave him no other answer.

Half an hour afterwards, two officials came in, followed by a waiter from a neighbouring restaurant bringing some bread and a glass of lemonade.

“Am I not to eat with my family, gentlemen?” asked the king.

“We shall have to await further orders from the Commune,” answered one of the men.

“But if I cannot go down, won’t you allow my valet to go? He waits on my son, and I hope nothing will prevent him from still caring for the lad.”

The king asked this favour so simply and with such an entire absence of animosity, that the officials were amazed, and did not know what to say in reply ; so they went away again, declaring that the decision did not rest with them.

Clery stood near the door, watching his master with profound sorrow. He saw the king break the bread which had been brought him into two pieces. One of these pieces he offered to Clery.

“They seem to have forgotten your breakfast,” he remarked. “Take this, the other half will suffice for me.”

Clery refused, but as the king insisted, the valet finally took the bread; but he could not help bursting into tears, and the king also wept.

THE STORY OF THE MARTYK KING, 281

About ten o’clock an ofi&cial came in with some workmen who were making some much needed repairs in tlie rooms. Approaching tlie king with an expression of compassion on his face, this official said : ” I was present when your family breakfasted, monsieur, and I take it upon myself to assure you that they are all in good health.”

The king experienced a feeling of relief. The man’s sympathy, too, did him good.

“I thank you,” he said gratefully; “and I beg you will say to my family that I, also, am well. I wish to ask, too, if I cannot have some books I left in the queen’s room? If I can, you would confer a great favour by bringing them to me.”

The official was perfectly willing to comply with this request; but not knowing how to read, he was in a rather unpleasant predicament. He finally acknowledged this fact to Clery, however, and asked him to go down with him and select the books.

Clery was only too glad, as he would thus be able to give the queen some information concerning her husband.

Clery found the queen in her chamber with Madame Elizabeth and the children. The ladies were weeping. The little prince, too, had been crying; but the tears of children are soon dried.

Seeing Cle’ry enter, the child ran up to him, exclaiming: “Here ‘s my good Clery at last.”

Unfortunately Clery could say very little, the guards who had accompanied him being in the room; but tlie queen could not control herself, and addressing herself directly to the officials, she exclaimed: —

“Oh, gentlemen, even if we are not allowed to remain with the king, can’t you grant us the favour of seeing liim for a few minutes every day, say at meal time?”

The others did not speak, but clasped their hands beseechingly.

“Gentlemen, let my father come back to us, and T will pray the good God to bless you, “sobbed the dauphin.

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The officiais glanced at each other but made no reply, and this silence made the women weep and sob still more bitterly.

“Oh, well, it certainly can’t do any great harm for them to dine together to-day ! ” exclaimed the man who had spoken so kindly to the king.

“But how about to-morrow? ” asked the queen.

“Of course we must be governed by the orders of the Commune, madame. To-morrow, we will see what the Commune says on the subject. Isn’t this your opinion, too, citizen?” he asked, turning to a colleague.

The other nodded his assent.

The queen and the princesses uttered a cry of joy. Marie Antoinette took her children in her arms and pressed them to her heart. Madame Elizabeth lifted her clasped hands to Heaven in devout thankfulness. This unexpected happiness which found expression in sobs and tears seemed almost like grief.

One of the officials could not restrain his tears, and even Simon exclaimed: —

“I do believe these good-for-nothing women are going to make me cry ! “

Then turning to the queen, he added, —

“You didn’t cry like that when you had the people slaughtered on the 10th of August.”

” Ah, monsieur, the people are mistaken in regard to our feelings,” said the queen. “If they knew us better they would weep over us, like this gentleman here.”

Clery took the books the king had asked for, and hastened off to report this good news, but the municipal officers were in almost as great a hurry as Clery. It is so delightful to do good.

Dinner was served in the king’s room. The other members of the family were conducted there, and one would have supposed it was a fête day, and that these poor prisoners had gained everything by gaining a single day.

THE STOKY OF THE MAKTYE KING. 283

They had gained a good deal as it proved, for after that nothing more was said about any order from the Commune, and the king continued to take his meals with his family and spend the greater part of the day with them.

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CHAPTER XXXV.

MASTER GAMAIN REAPPEARS.

On-the morning of the same day that these events occurred at the Temple, a man wearing a red cap and carmagnole jacket, and leaning on a crutch , presented himself at the State Department.

Roland was the most accessible of ofiBcials. Nevertheless, he was obliged to have ushers in his antechamber, just as if he were the minister of a king instead of being the secretary of a republic.

The man with the crutch was, consequently, stopped in the antechamber by an usher, who inquired his business, and whom he desired to see.

“I want to see the citizen minister,” said the man.

It was now about a fortnight since the titles of “citizen ” and ” citizeness ” had been substituted for those of “monsieur” and “madame.”

Ushers will always be ushers, — that is to say , rather impertinent fellows, — so this one replied in a rather patron-ising tone, —

” My friend, you will have to learn one thing, and that is, the citizen minister is not to be interviewed in this way.”

” But how, then, is a man to get a word with him ? “

” One can see him when one has a letter of introduction or a written appointment,” responded the usher.

“I know it was as you say during the reign of that tyrant, but under Republican rule, and when all men are equal, things ought to be very different, it seems to me.”

This remark set the rather officious usher to thinking.

MASTER GAMAIN EEAPPEAES. 285

“You see,” continued the man with the crutch, “it’s not very pleasant to come from Versailles to do a minister a service, and then not be allowed to see him.”

“You say you came to do Minister Eoland a service?”

“I should say so.”

“And what is the nature of the service? “

“I have come to inform him of a conspiracy.”

“Good heavens! we’ve more conspiracies on hand now than we can attend to. Did you come from Versailles just for that?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can go back to Versailles.”

“Very well, I will; but I tell you the minister will repent of it, if he don’t see me.”

” But the rules have to be observed, you see. Write to him, and then, when you get his letter granting you an interview, come back.”

“That’s your final decision, is it?”

“That ‘s my final decision.”

“It seems to be more difficult to get a word with Citizen Koland than it used to be to obtain an interview with his Majesty Louis XVI.”

“What is that?”

” Oh, I know what I ‘m talking about. There was a time when I could visit the Tuileries whenever I chose.”

“You?”

“Yes; I had only to give my name at the door.”

“Who are you, may I ask? King Frederick William or the Emperor Francis?”

“No, I’m no tyrant, or slave-driver, or aristocrat. I am plain Nicholas Claude Gamain, master of masters, though I do say it as oughtn’t to say it.”

“Master of what?”

“Of the art of lock-making. Is it possible you never heard of Nicholas Claude Gamain, — Citizen Capet’s old teacher at the locksmith’s trade?”

” What, citizen, you are the man — “

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“Yes, the very man.”

“Then it’s an entirely different matter.”

“What do you mean by that?”

” I mean, if you will write your name on a slip of paper I ‘11 take it in to the minister.”

“Write my name! Well, writing wasn’t my forte even before those wretches poisoned me; but now it’s even worse. See what their arsenic did to me.”

And Gamain called attention to his twisted limbs, his distorted spine, and his fingers, crooked and stiff as claws, from rheumatism.

“What! did they serve you in that way, my poor fellow?”

“Yes, they did. And that is what I want to tell the citizen secretary; that, and several other things. As they say the rascal is to be brought to trial, perhaps what I ‘ve got to tell will help the nation a little. It certainly can’t do any harm under the present circumstances.”

“Very well, be seated, and I’ll send your name in to the citizen minister.”

So the usher wrote as follows : —

Claude Nicholas Gamain, formerly master locksmith to the king, desires an immediate audience with the citizen secretary, as he has several important disclosures to make.

He handed this paper to one of his colleagues whose business it was to announce visitors, and in five minutes Gamain was ushered into the office, — not of the nominal minister. Citizen Eoland, but of the real minister. Citizeness Roland. It was a small room, hung with green paper, and lighted by a single window, in the embrasure of which stood a small desk at which Madame Roland was hard at work.

Roland himself was standing by the fireplace. The mas-ter locksmith had never been very prepossessing in appearance, even in his days of health and prosperity; and now, when the usher closed the door behind him, never did an