CHAPTER VII.
HOW HE ANNOYED MONSIEUR DE LA CHATRE
I had never seen Henri of Navarre, before, but had often heard him described,
and no other man exactly fitted his description. His favorite oath confirmed my
recognition.
He took the letter, saying, "It looks as if it had been through fire and flood"
"I had to swim the Seine with it," I said.
He read it, sitting on his horse in the middle of the road, I standing beside
the horse, the other six riders eyeing me curiously.
Having finished it, he looked at me with some interest and approval. "And what
made you run from us?" he asked.
"Sire, there were seven horsemen left in the party that has been chasing me for
some days past. Counting seven in your group, I too quickly assumed that it was
the same."
The King of Navarre laughed, and ordered one of the lackeys to give me his horse
and proceed afoot to the nearest town. When I was mounted, he asked me to ride
beside him.
"The speed at which you rode excited our curiosity," he explained, "and that is
why we gave chase."
I learned, later, that Henri and three of his gentlemen, with three valets, had
been inspecting the defences of one of his Gascon towns, and were now returning
to Nerac. He sometimes traversed those parts of his French provinces where his
authority as governor was recognized, without any state, and often without a
guard.
In reply to his questions, I said that I preferred a military position to a
civil one, but confessed my inexperience. He told me that I might serve as
ensign in one of his regiments, at Nerac, until I should acquire some knowledge
of military affairs, when he would give me a captain's commission, and I might
enlist a company.
I told him of the destruction of my château, and the loss of my money. He
thereupon required me to accept the horse on which I rode, and a purse which one
of the valets handed over to me. As he then beckoned one of his gentlemen to his
side, I fell back. We entered Nerac in the evening. As soon as the gate was
passed, the King and his followers turned towards the château, and I took the
main street to an inn.
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The King of Navarre kept his promises. I had been ensign for only a few months,
stationed at Nerac, when he sent for me, and informed me that he intended to
augment his army, and that he would maintain a company of my raising. He caused
a captain's commission to be given to me before I left the château. I walked
thence, down the avenue of fine trees, which were now in full leaf, before the
château, debating with myself the possibility of easily raising a company. When
I reached the square before the inn, I heard from within a human roar which had
a familiar sound. Entering, I found that it proceeded from the stentorian lungs
of Blaise Tripault, the young soldier who had aided my flight to Gascony by
killing two Guisards in my defence. He was sitting at a table, very drunk.
"Ah, Blaise Tripault," I cried, "I see that your father prevails in you now!"
He recognized me, threw his bottle of wine out of the open window, and made an
attempt at sobriety.
"You have been long on the way to Nerac," I went on, "but you come just in time
to keep your promise. I enroll you first in the company which the King has
commissioned me to raise."
"I thank you, monsieur," he replied. "I will now go to bed, and will come to you
as soon as I am sober."
He was of great use to me in enlisting the company. He scoured the country
daily, and brought me recruits. When the roll was complete, I was ordered to
remain at Nerac for a time. Subsequently, I was sent to garrison different
towns, one after another, not only in Gascony and parts of Guienne but also in
Henri's principality of Béarn and his little kingdom of Navarre.
I am proud to have had a share in the constant efforts made by Henri of Navarre,
while the world thought him given over entirely to gallantry at his small but
agreeable court, to increase his territory and his resources against the time
when he was to strike the great blows that no one yet dreamed he was meditating.
Thanks to the unwillingness, or inability, of the King of France to put him in
actual possession of his governorship of Guienne, we had the pleasant task, now
and then, of wresting some town from the troops of the League or of Henri III.
Our Henri had to take by force the places ceded to him by the King of France as
Marguerite's dower, but still withheld from him. One of these was Cahors, in the
taking of which I fought for days in the streets, always near our Henri, where
the heart of the fighting was. It was there that Blaise Tripault covered himself
with glory and the blood of the enemy, and was openly praised by the King.
But my life in the south had other pleasures besides those of fighting. As
Henri's was a miniature kingdom, so was his court, at cheerful Nerac or sombre
Pau, a miniature court; yet it had its pretty women and gallant gentlemen.
Gaiety visited us, too, from the greater world. When the King of France and the
Queen-mother thought it to their interest to seem friendly to our Henri, they
ordered Marguerite to Nerac. Catherine herself came with her, bringing the
Flying Squadron, that Henri and his Huguenots might be seduced into the onesided
treaties desired by her. Catherine was one of the few, I think, who foresaw
Henri's possible future. Her astrologer, Cosmo Ruggieri, had predicted that he
would succeed her three sons to the throne of France, and I suppose she could
not endure the thought of this. Better a Guise than a Bourbon, the son of Jeanne
d'Albret. But our Henri might be useful to her as an instrument to check the
Duke of Guise in any attempted usurpation during the life of her son. Therefore,
Henri was to be cajoled while he was being restrained. But he was not fooled
into disadvantageous compacts or concessions. All that he lost was a single
town, which Catherine caused to be attacked while he was at a fête; but he
learned of this at the fête, and retaliated by taking a town of the French
King's on the same night.
I was presented to Catherine while she was at Nerac. No allusion was made to the
circumstances which had caused my flight from Paris, or, indeed, to my having
ever been in Paris. Yet, from her scrutiny of my features, I knew that she
recalled those circumstances with my name. But Nerac was not the place where it
would serve her to concern herself about me. I learned from one of Catherine's
gentlemen that Mlle. d'Arency, who had not come with her to Nerac, had wedded
the Marquis de Pirillaume, who was jealous and kept her on his estate in
Dauphiny, away from the court. I wished him joy of her.
When Catherine and her troop went back to the French court, leaving Marguerite
at Nerac, they could boast of a few Huguenot gentlemen won over to their
designs, but I was not one of the few. I do not say that I did not amuse myself
where charming women abounded, but I kept my heart to myself. I had not resolved
to become invulnerable to woman, but I had determined that she by whom I would
let myself be wounded should be one vastly unlike any in Catherine's train. When
I should find the woman pure as beautiful, incapable of guile, I would love.
"Somewhere in France," I often said to myself, "that woman exists. I shall know
her when I see her." As in the former affair, I had my ideal already formed, and
was already in love, watching for the embodiment of that ideal to appear. But
this second ideal was different from the first. And it is time to tell how at
last I met her,--and how, for a while, the reality seemed worse even than the
first The death of the Duke of Anjou, after his reconciliation with the King,
his brother, and his failure to win the crown he sought in the Netherlands, was
a great event for us in Gascony. It left our Henri of Navarre next in succession
to the throne of France. And our Henri was a sturdy man, while Henri III. seemed
marked by destiny to follow the three other sons of Catherine to an early grave.
It appeared that Marguerite monopolized all the longevity granted to the family.
But we knew that the Guises and their League would not let our Huguenot Henri
peacefully ascend his throne. Therefore, Henri's policy was to strengthen
himself against the time when the death of Henri III. should leave the throne
vacant for him. It was his interest also to prevent a usurpation of that throne
during the life of Henri III., for such a usurpation would eventually exclude
himself also. Thus circumstance made him the natural ally of Henri III. It was,
conversely, the interest of the Guises to sow enmity between the two kings. The
power of the League in France, and particularly in Paris, was now so great that
Henri III. dared not oppose the wishes of the Duke of Guise. He was reduced to
devices for gaining time. And so, against his own interest, he sanctioned the
war which the League presently demanded against the Huguenots,--a war which
might do two things for the Duke of Guise: destroy the next heir to the throne,
and deprive the present King of his chief resource against a usurpation. For the
present, the Duke of Guise cloaked his design by having the Pope proclaim the
old Cardinal de Bourbon heir to the throne, our Henri being declared ineligible
on account of heresy.
In the summer of 1585, the King of France issued anti-Huguenot edicts required
by the League. Governors of provinces were ordered to make it uncomfortable for
the "heretics." Several of them promptly obeyed, arresting some Huguenots for
remaining in their provinces, and arresting others for trying to escape
therefrom. By this time, Henri of Navarre had gathered a sufficient army and
acquired a sufficient number of towns to hold his own in Guienne, and, indeed,
throughout southwestern France. The Prince de Condé also put a Huguenot army in
the field. Pending the actual opening of war, which the edicts of Henri III.
foreshadowed, our Henri maintained a flying camp in Guienne. Every day recruits
came, some of them with stories of persecution to which they had been subjected,
some with accounts of difficulty in escaping from their provinces. One day I was
summoned to the presence of Henri of Navarre.
"M. de la Tournoire," said he, speaking with his usual briskness and directness,
"there are, in most of the provinces of France, many Huguenots who have publicly
recanted, to save their lives and estates. Many of these are secretly for us.
They would join me, but they fear to do so lest their estates be confiscated.
These are to be assured that what they may lose now by aiding me shall some day
be restored to them. Here is a list of a number of such gentlemen in the
province of Berry, and you are to give them the assurances necessary to enlist
them in our cause. Use what persuasions you can. Take your company, and find
some place of concealment among the hills of the southern border of Berry. You
can thus provide escort in crossing the border for those who may need it. Where
you can in any way aid a Huguenot to escape from the province, where you can
rescue one from death or prison, do so, always on condition of promised service
in our cause. As for the gentlemen whose names are on this list, have them
bring, as contributions, what money and arms they can. We are in even greater
need of these than of men. Impress upon these gentlemen that their only hope of
ultimate security lies in our triumph. It is a task of danger with which I
charge you, monsieur, and I know that you will, therefore, the more gladly
undertake it. The governor of Berry, M. de la Chatre, is one of the bulwarks of
the League. I learn that he is enforcing the edicts of Henri III. against the
Protestants with the greatest zeal. He is devoted to the Duke of Guise, and is
one of our most formidable enemies. It will not, therefore, be well for you to
fall into his hands. Go, monsieur, and God be with you!"
I bowed my thanks for the favor of this dangerous mission, and went away with
the list in my doublet, proud of having been made the confidant of Henri's
resolution to fight for his rights to the end. I was elated, too, at the
opportunity to work against the King of France and the Duke of Guise.
To annoy and hamper M. de la Chatre in his work of carrying out the public
edicts of the King and the secret designs of the Duke, would give me the keenest
joy. For once, both my great enemies, usually so opposed to each other in
interest, could be injured at the same time by the same deeds; and such deeds
would help my beloved captain, by whom I had been chosen to perform them. I
could hardly contain my happiness when I returned to my company, and ordered
immediate preparations for a night's march northward.
We set out, myself and Tripault mounted, the others afoot, with several horses
bearing provisions and supplies. Marching at night, and concealing ourselves in
the forests by day, we at last reached the mountains that form part of the
southern boundary of Berry. They were thickly wooded, and though the month of
August made them a series of masses of deep green, they presented a sombre
aspect.
"It is somewhere up there," I said, pointing toward the still and frowning hills
before us, "that we are to find a burrow, from which to issue forth, now and
then, to the plains on the other side."
"The only man in the company who knows this country," replied my devoted squire,
Blaise Tripault, "is Frojac, but he makes up for the ignorance of the others by
knowing it very well. He can lead us to the most deserted spot among these
mountains, where there is an abandoned château, which is said to be under a
curse."
"If part of it is under a roof as well, so much the better," I answered. "Bring
Frojac to me."
Blaise rode back along the irregular line formed by my rude soldiers, picked out
an intelligent looking young arquebusier, and led him forward to me. I made this
man, Frojac, our guide.
After toilsome marches, forcing our way up wooded ascents devoid of human
habitation, and through almost impenetrable thickets of brushwood, we crossed
the highest ridge of the mountain chain, and from a bare spot, a natural
clearing, gazed down on the Creuse, which wound along the line formed by the
northern base of the mountains. Beyond that lay the province of Berry, which was
to be the scene of our operations. Some leagues to the northeast, crowning a
rocky eminence that rose from the left bank of the Creuse, stood a mass of
grim-looking towers and high gray walls. From the southern side of this edifice,
a small town ran down the declivity to the plain.
"What is that place yonder?" I asked.
"It is the town and château of Clochonne," said Frojac.
"Who occupies the château?"
"It belongs to M. de la Chatre, the governor of the province, who sometimes
comes there. A part of it is occupied by a garrison."
We resumed our progress through the forest, now descending the northern slope of
the ridge. After some hours, when night was already beginning to fall in the
woods, Frojac pointed ahead to a knoll covered with huge trees between whose
trunks the space was choked with lesser vegetation.
"There it is," he said. "The Château de Maury."
We made our way through the thicket, and came suddenly upon ruined walls, rising
in the midst of trees. Wild growths of various kinds filled up what had been the
courtyard, and invaded the very doors. The broken walls and cracked towers
themselves seemed as much a part of nature as the trees and bushes were.
Branches thrust themselves through apertures in the crumbling stone. Southward
from the foot of the knoll rose the mountains, eastward and westward extended an
undulating natural platform that interrupted the descent of the mountain side.
Northward the ground fell in a steep precipice to the left bank of the Creuse,
along which ran a little-used road from Clochonne, which was northeast, to
Narjec, which was southwest.
"Is there a path down the slope, by which we could reach that road, should we
wish to go north by way of Clochonne?" I asked.
"I do not think so," replied Frojac. "But there used to be a road from here to
Clochonne, through the forest. It has not been used since the Sieur de Maury
left, twenty years ago, to hunt for gold in the new world. They said that,
before going, he made a compact with the devil, here, by which Satan was to lead
him to a land of gold across the sea. The devil is believed to be taking care of
his estate until he returns. Perhaps this road has not been entirely wiped out
by the forest."
A part of the château was yet under roof. This portion included the hall and
three or four chambers above it. On the day after our arrival, we found the road
through the forest still sufficiently open to serve us for expeditious egress.
This abandoned way did not itself go to Clochonne, but it ran into a road that
went from that town southward across the mountain. At the point of junction was
the abode of an old woodman and his wife, where the couple maintained a kind of
inn for the entertainment of people crossing the mountain. This man, Godeau, was
rheumatic, bent, thin, timid, shrill-voiced, and under the domination of his
large, robust, strong-lunged spouse, Marianne. By means of a little flattery, a
gold piece, promises of patronage, and hints of dire vengeance upon any who
might betray me, I secured this woman's complete devotion. These two were the
only human dwellers within two leagues of our chosen hiding-place.
In Guienne, my master considered as enemies those who did not acknowledge his
authority, and he provisioned his army at their expense. Inasmuch as the
province of Berry was making war on our party, I treated it as hostile country,
subject to pillage, according to the customs of war. It is true, some of its
people were friendly to our cause, but it was as much their duty to contribute
to our maintenance, since we were fighting in their behalf, as it was our right
to take from those to whom our relation was one of warfare. So I gave my men
permission to forage, putting but one condition upon them,--that of losing their
lives rather than allow our hiding-place to be disclosed. Thus, by virtue of
many nightly visits to farms in the vicinity of Clochonne and Narjec, we
contrived to avoid the pangs of an empty stomach.
Having established my company on a living basis at Maury, I began with relish
the work of annoying M. de la Chatre. I sent out certain of my men, severally,
to different parts of southern Berry as seekers of information. In the guise of
peasants, or of soldiers going to serve in the army which the Governor, La
Chatre, was then augmenting, they learned much that was valuable to me. It is
written, under the title of "How the Lord Protected His Own and Chastised His
Enemies in Berry," in the book called "The Manifold Mercies of God to His
Children," by the pastor Laudrec, who has reported rightly what I related to
him: how we made recruits for Henri of Navarre by finding out Huguenots in towns
and villages and convincing them that they were sure to be arrested should they
remain in Berry; how we guided these out of the province by various ways of our
own discovery, across the mountain; how we interrupted the hanging of several
men at Issoudun, who had been condemned for heresy and treason, and sent them in
safety to Guienne; how certain of my men, without my authority, despoiled
Catholic churches of their instruments of idolatry, and thus helped to replenish
the treasury of our master; how I once marched my company by night to a wood
near Bourges, lay in wait there until a guard came, conducting captured
Huguenots for trial, attacked the guard, rescued the prisoners, and protected
them in a hurried flight to the border, whence they proceeded to swell the army
of our Henri; and how we served our cause in numerous other exploits, which I
need not relate here, as you may read them in Laudrec's book, printed in Geneva.
The many secret departures of Huguenots from southern Berry, despite the
vigilance of the garrisons at Clochonne and other frontier strongholds, must
naturally have attracted the attention of the authorities, and so must the
sudden public appearances that I made with my company on occasions like that at
Issoudun and that near Bourges. My men, who moved, unknown, among the people,
began to hear reports of a mysterious captain who hid in the southern hills and
sallied forth at night to spirit Huguenots away. To this mysterious captain and
his band were attributed not only all the exploits that we did accomplish, but
many that we did not; and some daring robberies, of which we were innocent, were
laid to our charge.
Finally, in September, I had evidence that our deeds had begun to make an
impression on M. de la Chatre, the illustrious governor of the province and of
the Orleannais as well. One of my men, Roquelin, saw in the market-place of
Chateauroux an offer of five hundred crowns for the capture of this unknown
rebel captain, which document was signed by La Chatre. I here saw an opportunity
to make myself known in high places as one capable of harming and defying his
enemies, despite their greatness. I was rejoiced at the hope of acquainting the
Duke of Guise and the King of France with the fact that I had survived to work
defiantly against their cause, under the very nose of one of their most
redoubtable servants. I had not been of sufficient consequence for the Duke to
fear, or for the King to protect, but now I was of sufficient consequence, as
their enemy, for a price to be put on my head. So I sent one of my clever
fellows, Sabray, to fasten by night beside La Chatre's placard in Chateauroux, a
proclamation of my own, in which I offered ten crowns for the head of M. de la
Chatre, and twenty crowns for that of his master, the Duke of Guise. I appended
this signature: "The Sieur de la Tournoire, who does not forget." I knew that
some of La Chatre's enemies would take great pleasure in making this known to
the Duke of Guise, and that the latter would reproach the King with my continued
existence. It irritates the great to be defied by the small, and to irritate
these two great ones was my delight.
I soon learned, with glee, that my return of compliments had reached the
knowledge of the governor. Maugert brought me word of a notice posted in
Clochonne, in which La Chatre doubled his offer and termed me the "heretic,
rebel, traitor, and robber calling himself Sieur de la Tournoire."
While I gave myself the pleasure of annoying M. de la Chatre, I did not neglect
the more important service imposed on me by Henri of Navarre. Accompanied only
by Blaise Tripault, and travelling by night, I visited, one after another, the
gentlemen named on my master's list, and used what eloquence I had, pointing out
the expediency of assuring future security by making present sacrifices for our
cause. Many of them required very little persuasion. On hearing that Henri of
Navarre had given his word to defend his succession with his sword, they nobly
left their estates and went to join his army, carrying with them what money and
arms they could take. Thanks to the guidance of my men, they eluded the
garrisons on the border.
It was in early October, when the forests were turning yellow, brown, and red,
and the fallen leaves began to lie in the roads, that I started out with Blaise
Tripault to visit the gentleman named last on the list.
"Monsieur," said Blaise, as we neared the end of our hidden forest road and were
approaching the inn of Godeau, "I have in me a kind of feeling that this, being
our last excursion, is likely to be the most dangerous. It would doubtless
please Fortune to play us an ugly trick after having served us so well
hitherto."
"Nonsense!" I replied.
"I believe that is what the famous Bussy d'Amboise said when he was warned not
to keep his appointment with Mme. de Monsoreau," returned Blaise; "yet he was,
none the less, killed by the rascals that lay in ambush with her husband."
"Thanks to the most kingly King of France, Henri III., who advised M. de
Monsoreau to force his wife to make the fatal appointment with Bussy. Thanks,
also, to the truly grateful Duke of Anjou, who rewarded Bussy for his faithful
service by concurring in the plot for his assassination."
"The Duke was worse than the King, for the King has been loyal to his chosen
favorites. Think of the monument he erected in honor of De Quelus, and the
others who got their deaths in that great duel in the horse-market. _Par dieu!_
I should like to have seen those girl-men of the King and those Guisards killing
one another!"
"I have observed, Blaise, that you take an extraordinary pleasure in the
slaughter of Guisards."
"I was in Coligny's house, monsieur, on the night of the St. Bartholomew. I was
one of those who, at the Admiral's command, fled to the roof, and from the roof
of the next house I saw Coligny's body thrown into his courtyard, and the Duke
of Guise turn it over with his foot and wipe the blood from the face to see if
it were indeed my old captain's. Since then, the sight of the white cross of
Guise stirs in me all the hell that my diabolical father transmitted to me. And
I should not like to see you fall into the hands of this Chatre, who is the
right arm of the Duke of Guise in Berry. That is why I give heed to the
premonition that troubles me regarding this journey."
"Certainly we cannot abandon the journey."
"No, but we can take unusual precautions, monsieur. Reports of our doings are
everywhere. Has it never occurred to you that you are, in appearance, exactly
the sort of man who would be taken for our leader? Ought you not to disguise
yourself?"
"An excellent idea, Blaise! I shall put on your clothes, and you shall put on
mine,--I shall pass as your lackey. It will be quite amusing."
"That is not the disguise I should have suggested," said Blaise, looking not too
well pleased with the idea. "It would require me to pass as a gentleman."
But I saw possibilities of fun in the thing, and welcomed any means of
enlivening our excursion. Therefore, we dismounted at Godeau's inn, and made the
exchange of attire, much against the liking of Blaise, who now repented of
having advised any disguise at all. My clothes were a little too tight for
Blaise, for I was of medium size, and he puffed and turned red in the face, and
presented a curious appearance of fierceness and discomfort. When I looked at
him, I could not help laughing, and he met my glance with a grim and reproachful
countenance. I did not think that his brown doublet and breeches and brown felt
hat and feather were much disguise for me. As we rode along, I diverted myself
by trying to assume a servile mien, which did not easily fit my rather bold
face, prominent nose, keen gray eyes, up-curling brown mustache and pointed
brown beard. With his curly reddish hair and beard, defiant mustache, honest,
big, blue eyes, swelling red cheeks, and robust body, Blaise looked like one who
must have had his dignities thrust upon him very recently.
We reached, without accident, our destination,--the château of the Baron
d'Equinay,--and that gentleman was speedily won by the assurances that I bore
him from Henri of Navarre. He desired, before starting for Guienne, to go to
Paris, where he had resources, and he rode off northward at the same moment when
we departed southward to return to Maury.
"It is well!" I cried to Blaise, as we rode in the bracing air of the October
morning. "We have carried our King's message to every one of his chosen
adherents in Berry. We ride through the province of M. de la Chatre, breathe his
fresh air, absorb his sunshine as freely as he does himself. You see how
reliable were your premonitions when we last set out from Maury."
"It is not too late yet, monsieur," growled Blaise, whose temper was ill while
he wore my clothes; "we are not yet back at Maury."
"You will talk less dismally over a bottle of good wine, Blaise. Therefore, I
intend to stop at the first inn on the way. I hope it is a good one, for I am
very hungry."
"There is an inn at this end of Fleurier," said Blaise, "but I would not stop if
I were you."
But I was not to be moved from my intention. When a man has finished a set task,
it is time to eat and drink. Therefore, we stopped at the little inn at the
northern edge of Fleurier. A gray, bent innkeeper, very desirous of pleasing,
welcomed us and went to look after our horses, while Blaise, acting the part of
master, ordered a black-eyed, pretty inn-maid to serve us dinner in a private
chamber. The room assigned us was at the head of a stairway leading from the
kitchen. We had no sooner seated ourselves than our ears were assailed by the
clatter of many horses on the road outside. They stopped before the inn, and we
heard the voices of two men who entered the kitchen, and of a great number who
remained without. When the inn-maid brought us a bottle of wine, Blaise asked
her whose cavalcade it was that waited before the inn.
"It is that of the governor of the province, M. de la Chatre," said she, "who is
below with his secretary, M. de Montignac."
And she left the room in haste to help serve so distinguished a guest.
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