Won By the Sword : a tale of the Thirty Years' War, Page 2

  CHAPTER II: CHOOSING A LACKEY

  The policy of the great cardinal had for its objects the aggrandizementof France, as well as the weakening of the power of Austria. So long asthe struggle between the Protestant princes and the Swedes against theImperialists had been maintained with equal successes on both sides, hehad been well content to see Germany watering its soil with the blood ofits people. Nearly a third of the population had been swept away duringthe terrible war. Many hundreds of towns and villages had alreadydisappeared, while large tracts of country lay uncultivated, andwhichever party won a victory France gained by it. Her interest,however, lay with the Protestant confederation. So long as Germany wascut up into a number of small principalities, divided by religion andpolitical animosity, she could count for little against a foreign enemy.

  France had for centuries suffered from the same cause. The familiesof Lorraine, Bouillon, Enghien, Burgundy, the Guises, Longueville, theCounts of Armagnac, and other powerful vassals of France, paid but anominal allegiance to the crown, and were really independent princes.Louis XI had done much to break their power. Richelieu continued thework, and under him France for the first time became consolidated intoa whole. Had he lived, the work would doubtless have been completed, buthis death and that of the king postponed the work for years. The longregency, controlled by a minister possessing none of the courage andfirmness of Richelieu, and personally obnoxious alike to the nobles andto the population of Paris, again threw the power into the hands ofthe great nobles, plunged France into civil strife, and the wars of theFronde, like those of the Roses in England, so weakened the nobles thatthe crown under Louis XIV became absolutely dominant.

  Had Austria succeeded in crushing the Protestant princes, that empire,with all Germany under her control, would have become a power greatlysuperior in strength and population to France. It was principally toprevent this result that Richelieu after the battle of Nordlingen threwhimself into the struggle, but his aim was also to carry the frontier ofFrance up to the Rhine. Here the territories of the Dukes of Lorraine,and Bouillon Prince of Sedan, not only cut France off from the Rhine andthe Moselle, but opened a door by which she could at any time be invadedfrom Germany. The Dukes of Lorraine had always borne themselves asindependent princes, giving, indeed, a nominal allegiance to France, butas often allying themselves with German princes as with her. The Duc deBouillon, on the north of Lorraine, and the Duke of Savoy, fartherto the south, also regarded themselves as independent. The former, asHuguenots, had a strong leaning towards the Protestant Hollanders, andboth were ready to furnish asylums to French nobles who had incurred thewrath of their kings or ministers.

  The Duc de Bouillon, father of Turenne, had fought bravely on the sideof Henry of Navarre through the wars of the League. He died when theviscount was but ten years of age, and, his elder brother being but sixyears older, his mother became regent of the little state. After havinggreatly weakened the strength of the Huguenot nobles by the siege andcapture of La Rochelle, which had long been the stronghold and bulwarkof that religion, Richelieu obtained from the duchess a treaty by whichshe engaged to remain always attached to the interests of France, whilethe king undertook to protect the house of Bouillon. The Duke of Savoywas next compelled to hand over to France the town and province ofPignerol, and Richelieu then turned his attention to Lorraine. Thereigning duke had entered into an alliance with Austria, and theinvasion of his territory was therefore the first step by which Franceentered into the terrible struggle known as the Thirty Years' War.

  The duke had given Richelieu an excuse for hostilities. He had marriedhis cousin, the nearest heir to the dukedom, but he treated her so badlythat she fled to France and begged the protection of Louis XIII. This hegave her, a French army was at once set in motion against Lorraine, andit was in this struggle that Turenne had first fought under the Frenchflag. He had always evinced the strongest predilection for the life of asoldier, and when he reached the age of fourteen, Richelieu being at thetime engaged in breaking the power of the Huguenots and in the siege ofLa Rochelle, the boy's mother sent him to his uncle Maurice of Nassau,who at the death of his father had become the leader of the Dutchpeople. He was treated by his uncle in exactly the same way as othergentlemen volunteers, carried a musket, and performed all the duties ofa private soldier.

  Six months later Prince Maurice died, and his brother, Henry Frederick,succeeded him in the government of the United Provinces. He at oncepromoted his nephew, and the latter speedily rose to the rank of captainof infantry. Here he was indefatigable in his duties, and unlike mostyoung men of good family, who left the internal economy and disciplineof their companies to subordinate officers, Turenne saw to everythinghimself. He drilled and instructed his soldiers, insisted not only uponstrict military discipline, but on good manners and conduct in everyparticular. He won their respect and affection by his personal kindness,and denied himself almost the necessities of life in order to be ableto add to their comforts. In the wars in the Netherlands there were fewpitched battles, and the operations consisted almost entirely of thesieges of fortified towns or of measures for their relief.

  In all these Turenne took much more than his full share, payingattention not only to his own duties but to all that was being done,spending his whole time in the batteries and the trenches, and inlearning all that was possible of war carried on under such conditions.In the winter, operations were always suspended, and Turenne spent histime in Paris, where his manner and conduct won for him the favour ofall with who he came in contact. He had been severely brought up undera Calvinist tutor; his habits were simple, his tastes quiet and almostascetic, and he cared little for the amusements of the brilliant andcorrupt court. When the war with Lorraine broke out, Turenne at oncesought for employment with the French army.

  He recognized that there was comparatively little to be done in the warof sieges in Holland, and longed to enter a wider field. His request wasgladly granted, for the presence of the Duc de Bouillon's brother in theFrench army was in itself some guarantee of the duke's fidelity tohis engagements with France, and Turenne was at once appointed to thecolonelcy of a regiment. He devoted himself as assiduously to his workas he had done in Holland, and it was not long before his regimentgained the reputation of being the best disciplined in the king'sservice. He took part in a short expedition in 1630, but there was onthat occasion no fighting, and he first saw real service under Marshalde la Force in 1634. After the siege of La Motte, the success of whichwas due to the storming of the breach by Turenne and his regiment, andfor which exploit he was promoted to the rank of Marechal de Camp,a rank equivalent to that of major general, he took part in severalsieges, until Lorraine was completely conquered and its duke driven toabdicate and retire to Austria.

  The battle of Nordlingen showed Richelieu that if France did notresolutely enter into the conflict the Austrians would become absolutemasters of all Germany. He at once signed a treaty with the Swedes,agreeing to grant them large subsidies to carry on the war. By a similartreaty he promised subsidies and the province of Alsace to the Duke ofSaxe-Weimar. He entered into an arrangement with the Dutch, who were toaid France to conquer Flanders, which was to be divided between the twopowers; while the Dukes of Savoy, Parma, and Mantua agreed to undertake,in alliance with France, the invasion of Milan, and to receive in returna portion of the territory won from Spain. At the same time Francedeclared war against Spain. It was to the army commanded by Cardinalde la Valette, which was to act with that of Saxe-Weimar against theImperialists, that Turenne was attached.

  The campaign began unfavourably. The impetuosity of Saxe-Weimar, whohoped to recover his own principality, induced Valette to cross theRhine; but he was forced to retire in all haste, and the army sufferedterribly in the retreat. Turenne was in command of the advancedguard, and his courage and activity alone saved the army from completedestruction--seizing upon defiles, overthrowing the enemy who barredthe passages, and enabling the army to recross the Rhine with numbersdiminished only by sickness,
fatigue, and hunger. At the siege ofSaverne, Turenne led the French troops to the attack after threerepulses, and succeeded in gaining a footing in the town, but receivedhimself a very severe wound in the arm with a musket ball. During thefollowing year several towns were captured but no decisive operationstook place.

  In 1638, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar gained some great successes, defeatedthe Imperialists with heavy loss at Rheinfelden, and besieged Breisach,the key of southern Germany. The Imperialist army marched to relievethe place, but reinforcements were sent from France under the commandof Turenne and Longueville. Three battles were fought and the Austriansdriven off. After an assault by Turenne, Breisach capitulated, andall Alsace had now fallen into the hands of Saxe-Weimar. Having beenpromised Alsace he refused, as Richelieu desired, to hand over Breisachto France; but on the death of the duke in the following year, Richelieubought over his lieutenants, the French flag waved over the towns ofAlsace, and the Upper Rhine became the French frontier. Turenne returnedto court, where he was received with enthusiasm, and was a short timeafterwards ordered to Italy to assist De la Valette, who had been faringbut badly there.

  Matters had not gone there as Richelieu had calculated. The Duke ofSavoy remained true to his engagement with France, but he died inOctober, 1637. The Spaniards had captured Vercelli, and the emperor hadbestowed the regency of the duchy on the Cardinal of Savoy and on PrinceThomas, brother-in-law of the duchess. These, supported by the Duke ofModena and the Governor of Milan, the Marquess of Leganez, declared thatthey were determined to protect the people against the French and todeliver the young duke from French domination. The duchess implored helpfrom France, and la Valette advanced to her aid.

  While in Paris, Turenne had obtained from the cardinal permission toraise a regiment of dragoons and also that a company of dragoons shouldbe attached to each regiment of cavalry. These troops were not intendedto fight on horseback, but were, in fact, mounted infantry, an armwhich, after being in disuse for many years, has lately been recognizedas a very valuable one, possessing as it does the mobility of cavalrywith the fighting power of infantry. It was at the head of this regimentthat the general started for Italy. The position of affairs in Savoy wasdark indeed, for the whole of Piedmont had risen against the duchess.Many considerable towns had been captured by the Spanish, others,including the city of Turin, had opened their gates to them, and withthe exception of Susa, Carignano, Chivasso, Casale, and the citadelof Turin, the whole country was lost to her. The French forces were,however, too weak to take the offensive, and the ill health of LaValette deprived him of his former energy and rendered him unwillingto undertake any offensive movement. Nevertheless, Turenne's counselsinfused a new spirit into the army, and indeed the news that the younggeneral, whose name was already known throughout Europe, had arrived,and the belief that his coming would be followed by that of largereinforcements from France, at once reanimated the remaining supportersof the duchess and dispirited the Piedmontese, who began to fear thatthey had been too hasty in siding with Spain.

  But if, for the time, Turenne was not in a position to act in the field,he began at once to take steps to prepare to meet the coming storm.Early in October La Valette died. The general opinion was that Turennewould have succeeded to the command, but his brother the Duc de Bouillonhad broken with Richelieu and joined the party opposed to him. When inParis, the duke had been on terms of intimate friendship with theCount of Soissons and had invited him to stay with him at Sedan. Theinvitation had been declined, but the count, having been implicated in aplot against Richelieu, had been obliged to fly and had taken refuge atSedan, where he had been most warmly received by the duke. Richelieu hadat first invited, and then in the name of the king commanded, Bouillonto expel his guest. This the duke absolutely refused to do, and becomingdeeply offended at the manner in which he was pressed, joined the partyopposed to Richelieu.

  It was for this reason that the cardinal decided not to appoint Turenneto the command, knowing the warm affection that existed between thebrothers, and fearing that Turenne might be influenced by Bouillon, andmight, beloved as he was by the soldiers, lead many of the troops awayfrom their allegiance were he to join the party opposed to him. Hetherefore appointed the Count d'Harcourt to the command. He had provedhimself a brilliant officer on many occasions, and Turenne did notfeel in any way aggrieved at his being placed over him. He made a rapidjourney to Paris to arrange with the cardinal and d'Harcourt the generalplan of the campaign, and was now setting out again to make preparationsfor it.

  Hector Campbell enjoyed the journey greatly. His duties were nominal;and the party always halted at towns, where the troops were billetedupon the inhabitants, and the viscount and his suite entertained bythe authorities. After crossing the Alps, however, by the pass of MountCenis, and arriving at Susa, his work began in earnest. Turenne himselfwas almost entirely occupied in consultations with the duchess; histhree aides-de-camp, however, were kept hard at work carrying messagesto the governors of towns that still adhered to the duchess, with ordersfor the strengthening of the defences and for the collection of storesand provisions in case of siege. Each was provided with three horses,and almost lived in the saddle.

  "You seem to be tireless, Campbell," de Lisle said, when it one dayhappened that all three were together at headquarters. "I feel as if Ihad not a whole bone in my body; as I have not had a whole night in bedfor the last six days, I can hardly keep my eyes open, while you, whohave been doing as much as we have, are going about as actively as ifyou had had nothing to do for a week."

  "I have the advantage of riding so much lighter than you do," Hectorsaid; "weight tells both on horse and rider, and when the horse is tiredhis pace soon adds to the weariness of his rider. If we had had to dothis work when we first left Paris, I have no doubt that I should havefelt it, but the journey here has been a fine preparation. Another thingis, that every morning I take a dip in the first mountain stream I cometo, and that does one almost as much good as a night's sleep."

  De Lisle shivered. "It may do good, Campbell, but I would not jump intoone of these icy streams for anything. It makes one shudder to think ofit."

  "I always had a swim in the Seine every morning when it was not closedby ice," Hector said. "I was told that there was nothing braced one upand made one so hardy as that; and I certainly found that even in thecoldest weather I never felt the need of a cloak."

  "Well, I don't deny that it may be a good custom, and if all Scotchmendo it, it may account for their hardiness; but I like comfort when I canget it."

  "But it is not comfort to be always in the saddle, and to feel so sleepythat you fancy that at any moment you may fall off. Even if a dip insnow water is, to those unaccustomed to it, somewhat sharp, it is betterthan having to struggle against sleep for hours."

  "Well, possibly I may try the experiment some day when I feel that Imust either lie down by the roadside and sleep or take a dip, but untilI feel like breaking down altogether I shall postpone the experiment."

  Turenne several times spoke approvingly to Hector. On one occasion,when the lad presented himself on being told that an aide-de-camp wasrequired to carry a message, Turenne said to him: "But it is not yourturn, Campbell; de Lisle and Chavigny both returned some hours ago,while it is not an hour since you came in."

  "They are both asleep, general," Campbell said; "they have beenthirty-six hours in the saddle."

  "But you have been more than that, Campbell?"

  "But I do not feel it, sir," he said. "I am perfectly fresh and ready togo on. I was a little tired when I came in, but I have taken a swim inthe river, and am now at your service."

  Turenne hesitated. "You see, sir," Hector went on, "being of lightweight the horse does not feel it as he does that of a heavier man, hispace continues light and elastic, and his spirit good, and that makesall the difference to the fatigue of his rider. After two days' rest myhorses are perfectly ready for another long day's work, while those ofChavigny and de Lisle start heavily, not having recovered from the
irfatigue."

  "Very well, you can go then, Campbell. I am pleased with your spirit,and also with your thoughtfulness for your companions, who, althoughstrong young men, do not seem to have your power of endurance. I find,too, that you always carry out your instructions with intelligence, andthat your reports on matters touching which I have sent you to inquireare always clear and full. It may be that ere long I may find employmentfor you in which courage as well as intelligence is required. There isbut one drawback, namely, that you do not speak Italian. I know thatthere are few officers in our service who do so; but it would be so muchthe more valuable were you able to master it."

  "I had intended to study the language, general, as soon as I got here,but have had no time to begin it."

  "That you certainly have not," Turenne said with a smile.

  "Do you think that it would be of any use, sir, if I were to take aSavoyard servant? I find that many of them who come from places near thefrontier speak French as well as their own language."

  "That would be useful, certainly; but you would have to be careful inyour choice, and see that you get one whose sympathies are with theduchess; not only for your own safety, but because a chance word heardhere, or an order given and conveyed to the Spaniards, might involve theloss of a battle."

  "I see that, general, and will be very careful."

  Hector had formed the acquaintance of several young officers attached tothe household of the duchess, and on the day following his return fromhis mission he was supping with a party of four of them when he said:

  "Can one of you gentlemen recommend a servant to me? He must be ableto talk French as well as Italian. He must be active and intelligent. Ishould like him to be handy and accustomed to camp service, though thisis not so important, for I want him as an interpreter before anythingelse. I should like him to be a lightweight, so as to be able to ridewith me. He must be accustomed to fatigue, and he must have courage, forsome of the journeys on which I may be sent will not be without danger,and of course he must be of the duchess's party."

  "And I suppose," one of the young men said, "that this AdmirableCrichton of whom you are in search must be sober, honest, and truthful.Are you particular whether he is Huguenot or Catholic?"

  "As to the last, not a bit. I should like him to be as sober as soldiersin general are, and if he confined himself to taking his wine when I didnot require him, it would not be very important, provided that he isnot talkative when in liquor. As to his honesty, he would have no greattemptation so far as I am concerned, but I certainly should not wishto lose him by his being strung up by the provost marshal for robbingcitizens. As to his truthfulness, providing he did not lie to me, it isa point on which I should not be particular."

  There was a general laugh.

  "And as to his age?" the officer asked.

  "If I could find all the qualifications that I require, I should not beparticular about that; but I think that for choice I would take a lad offrom sixteen to twenty."

  "In that case I fancy that I know a lad who might suit you," one of theother officers said. "He is a brother of my groom, and I may own that hehas been of no little trouble to him. The boy is an orphan, and havingno other friends so far as I know, he has attached himself to hisbrother, and for the past two years, wherever he has gone Paolo has gonetoo. He earns a little money by doing odd jobs--running messages, and soon, helps his brother to clean the horses; and with an occasional crownfrom me, and what he earns otherwise, it cannot be said that he costshis brother anything in money; but in other respects he is alwaysgetting him into trouble, for he is a very imp of mischief. Two or threetimes his brother has obtained places for him, but he always comes backat the end of a week, and sometimes sooner, with bitter complaints fromhis master that he has set the household in a turmoil with his tricksand ill conduct. Many a thrashing has he had, but they do him no good."

  The others laughed.

  "There is no doubt that Paolo is a perfect young imp," one of them said,"but he is as sharp as a needle. I have no doubt that if he could betamed he would make a most useful lad. As it is, I certainly would notrecommend anyone who cares for his peace of mind to have anything to dowith him."

  "I will see him anyhow," Hector said. "I think that I would rather havea sharp boy than a man. Being but a boy myself, I could appreciate andput up with more in the way of mischief than a man could."

  "I will tell my groom to bring him round to your quarters in themorning," the officer said; "but mind, I in no way recommend your takinghim. You won't keep him a week if you do."

  The next morning Hector's orderly told him that a man desired to speakto him.

  "Has he a boy with him?"

  "Yes, lieutenant."

  "Bring them in here, then."

  In a minute a man entered, followed by a boy. The former was a goodlooking young Savoyard of some four- or five-and-twenty years; thelatter was a lad of about the same height as Hector but somewhat older.He had black hair which fell over his forehead down to his eyebrows. Hisface bore an expression of extreme humility, which, however, was marredby the merry twinkle of his dark eyes.

  "My master has bid me bring my brother with me, Lieutenant Campbell,"the man said, "and I have done so, but I fear greatly that he willhardly suit you as a servant. I have obtained a dozen places for him,but he is always sent back at the end of three or four days, and I toldhim last time that I would never say a word in his recommendation again,for that it only gets me into trouble with the gentlemen."

  "Well, that is honest," Hector said with a smile. "However, I willask him a few questions. Now, Paolo, in the first place, could you befaithful?"

  "I could be faithful to a master I loved," he said.

  "In the second place, are you honest?"

  "He is honest," the man said, "I will say that for him."

  "Are you truthful?"

  "I am as truthful as other people," the boy said.

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "I mean, sir, that if I were asked a straightforward question I wouldgive a straightforward answer, unless it were wiser not to do so. Iwould tell the truth to my master, but I do not consider it necessaryalways to do so to others. For instance, sir, if you were my master, andquestions were asked about you, there might be times when it would notbe convenient for you that I should mention where you had gone, or whatyou were doing."

  "That is so," Hector said with a laugh. "The important thing for me toknow is, would you always tell me the truth?"

  "I think that I could promise to do that, sir, or at least to be verynear the truth."

  "You understand horses?"

  "I do, sir."

  "And you can ride?"

  "Yes, sir, I can ride and run too. In a long day's journey I should getto the end on foot nearly as fast as you would on horseback."

  "He can make himself useful on a campaign," the brother said. "He hasbeen with my master and myself in the field for the last three years,and knows his work well if he chooses to do it."

  "The principal point with me is that which I first asked him about,can he be faithful? I may have to ride on dangerous missions for thegeneral. I may have to enter an enemy's town to obtain information.There is another thing, being of the general's staff, and sometimesquartered in the same house with him and chatting freely with his otheraides-de-camp, secrets might be picked up by a sharp pair of ears thatif repeated would do grievous harm to the cause of the duchess, as youcan well understand. Now, the question, Paolo, is, can you be absolutelytrusted; can you, as to all matters you may hear, be as one who is deafand dumb?"

  "I could, sir," the boy said earnestly. "I am all for the duchess, andI hate the Spaniards. I once was found out in a bit of mischief in thepalace, and should have been whipped for it and turned out of the town,but the duchess herself said that I was only a boy and forgave me, and Iwould do anything for her. I would indeed, sir, and I swear that I wouldbe always honest and truthful with you. I should like you as a master.You don't speak to me as if I wer
e dirt under your feet, and I am sureby your voice that you would be kind. Try me, sir; my brother will tellyou that I have never said as much before to anyone to whom he has takenme, for indeed I never meant to stay with them, preferring my liberty,rough though my fare may sometimes be."

  "I will try you, Paolo. I believe that you are in earnest, and thatI can trust you; but mind, there must be no monkey tricks here. Thegeneral must not be disturbed by the antics of a servant boy. You arelikely, in my service, to have as much excitement and adventure as youcan wish for, and you must behave yourself, for if you do not do soyou will be lucky if you escape with a flogging and being turned out ofcamp. I am younger than you are, and am just as fond of a piece of fun,but I know when it is good to enjoy one's self and when one must putaside boyish pranks. I have my duties to perform, and do them to thebest of my power, and shall expect you to do the same."

  "I will, sir," the boy said respectfully. "I will give you no cause tocomplain of me, at least no wilful cause."

  "Then that is settled. Here," he said to the boy's brother, "are fivepistoles; see that he is decently clad so as to make a fair appearanceby my side. When he is so, let him return here. It were best that heshould come this evening, for it is likely that I shall be away on dutytomorrow."

  "He shall be here, sir," he said, "and I thank you heartily for engaginghim; and I do think that he means this time to behave himself."

  "I do mean it," the boy said. "You shall have no reason to complain ofme, sir."

  Shortly afterwards Hector met the officer who had spoken of the boy.

  "Well, have you thought anything more of young ne'er-do-well?"

  "I have engaged him."

  "You have, after the warning I gave you? Well, I hope you will not havereason to repent it."

  "I do not think that I shall. I can quite believe that he is amischievous young varlet, he shows it in his face; but I am sure that heis shrewd, and I believe that he will be faithful. At any rate I thinkthat we took to each other, and that he has made up his mind to try foronce to stay in a place. He really seemed in earnest about it, and ifhe keeps to his promises I think that he will be just the sort of lad tosuit me."

  "Well, we shall see," the officer said; "but if he turns out badly,please remember that I warned you against him."

  "And if he turns out well," Hector said with a laugh, "I shall not failalso to remind you of your prognostications."

  That evening when Hector returned to his room after he had finished hismeal, he found Paolo waiting outside his door. His appearance had sochanged that he would not have known him. His hair had been cut shortin the front and left long behind, as was the custom of the day, hangingdown on to his collar. He was neat and tidy. He wore a dark blue doubletreaching to the hips, with a buff leather belt, in which was stuck adagger. His leggings, fitting tightly down to the ankles, were of darkmaroon cloth, and he wore short boots of tanned leather. A plain whitecollar, some four inches deep, was worn turned down over the neck of thedoublet, and a yellow cloth cap, with a dark cock's feather, was stuckon one side of his head. In his hand he held a bundle containing aleather jerkin and breeches of the same material, and a pair of buffleather riding boots that would reach to the knee.

  "Your brother has laid out the money well, Paolo," Hector said, as heopened the door and led the way into his room. "I do not think that Ishould have known you."

  "I am quite sure that I should not have known myself, master, if I hadlooked into a horse trough and seen my reflection. It will be a longtime before I shall be able to persuade myself that these clothes aremy own, and that I really am an officer's lackey. Now, master, you mustteach me my duties, of which I know nought when in a house like this,though I know well enough what they are when you are in the field."

  "They are few enough at present, Paolo. Monsieur de Turenne's stablemenlook after the horses of his staff. When I do not dine with him, I andmy two friends, M. de Lisle and M. de Chavigny, dine and sup togetherat an inn. There is my room to keep tidy, my bed to make, my armour andarms to be polished, and my clothes to be brushed. Hitherto, my orderlyhas done these things, but it will now be your duty. As I do not eat inmy rooms, it is clear that there is no food for you, and when we are intowns I shall give you money to pay for your meals at a cabaret."

  "I hope, master, that you will soon find something more useful for meto do, for, in truth, I fear that with so much time on my hands I shallfind it sorely difficult to comport myself as is due to your lackey."

  "Do not fear, I have little doubt that you will soon find work enoughand to spare, and indeed you will often ride with me."

  Some few days later, the other two aides-de-camp being away, theviscount requested Hector to accompany him on a tour of inspection thatmight last two or three days. He was accompanied by his orderly andthree other troopers, behind who rode two of his own lackeys withbaskets of provisions. With them rode Paolo, Hector having asked thegeneral if he should take him with him.

  "You may as well do so, Campbell, it will accustom him to his work. Whatmade you choose so young a servant?" he asked, as he rode off.

  "He is a year older than I am, though perhaps not so tall. He is thebrother of a man in the employment of Monsieur de Vevey. He has beenthrough the last two campaigns. I find him very intelligent. He obeysmy orders promptly, and as he is heart and soul in the cause of theduchess, I feel sure of his fidelity, especially as he has had a hardtime of it up to now, and is, I think, grateful to me for taking him.He speaks French very well, and might certainly be of great use to mein any enterprise that your lordship might be good enough to entrustme with. Being about the same age, I think that we might perhaps gotogether unquestioned where a man would be unable to pass."

  The viscount rode on for some minutes without speaking. "There issomething in what you say, Campbell, and after this journey is over Imay be able to employ you in that way when it is necessary to obtaininformation I can get in no other manner. Has he ridden with youbefore?"

  "Yes, sir, he has ridden behind me each time that I have been away sinceI engaged him. When I say behind me, he starts behind me, but when outof town I call him up beside me, and we talk, or rather try to talk,in Italian--or rather I should say in Piedmontese, for he tells me thateach district of Italy has its own dialect, and that the natives of onecan scarce understand the other. I have bought a book printed here and adictionary, and of an evening when I have no duties to perform he comesinto my room, and translates sentence by sentence as I read it to him. Ilearn it by heart, and hope that ere long I shall be able to make myselfunderstood in it."

  "You do well--very well," the viscount said. "If all my young officerswere to do the same, instead of spending the evening and half the nightin drinking and gambling, things would go on much more smoothly, andthere would not be so many blunders in carrying out my orders. You willgreatly add to your usefulness by acquiring a knowledge of the language,and it would certainly enable you to carry out with far less danger suchcommissions as those you were just speaking of; for you might be asked aquestion, and if it were replied to by your lackey, suspicions would beat once aroused. You have ridden along this road before?"

  "Several times, sir."

  "Have you noted the features of the country--I mean from a militarypoint of view?"

  "I have nothing else to do as I ride along, sir. As I go I notice wherean ambuscade might be laid, either by ourselves or an enemy, where wemight expect to be opposed on our march forward, or where a rear guardmight check an enemy were we retiring before him."

  "Good! the fate of a battle depends in nine cases out of ten upon aknowledge of the ground, and in quickness in utilizing that knowledge.Our journey today is only taken for that purpose. I want to see formyself the country across which we shall at first operate, to inspectthe various routes by which we might advance, or through which, if wefind the enemy in too great a force to be encountered, we should beobliged to retire. As we go you shall point out to me the observationsthat you have made, and I shall be a
ble to judge whether the spots arewell chosen for the purpose."