Strange Stories from History for Young People — John Shaqi
Strange Stories from History for Young PeopleEggleston, George Cary
History
Strange Stories from History for Young People
Eggleston, George Cary
World history -- Juvenile literature
When he found the order referred to, he resolved to pretend that he was
Count Broglio's nephew, the dead commander of the detachment which he
had just destroyed. Dressing himself in that officer's clothes, he
ordered his men to put on the clothing of the other dead royalists. Then
he took six of his best men, with their own Camisard uniforms on, and
bound them with ropes, to represent prisoners. One of them had been
wounded in the arm, and his bloody sleeve helped the stratagem. Putting
these six men at the head of his troop, with a guard of their disguised
comrades over them, he marched towards the Castle of Servas. There he
declared himself to be Count Broglio's nephew, and said that he had met
a company of the Barbets, or Camisards, and had defeated them, taking
six prisoners; that he was afraid to keep these prisoners in the village
overnight lest their friends should rescue them; and that he wished to
lodge them in the castle for safety. When the governor of the castle
heard this story, and saw the order of Count Broglio, he was completely
imposed upon. He ordered the prisoners to be brought into the castle,
and invited Cavalier to be his guest there for the night. Taking two of
his officers with him, Cavalier went into the castle to sup with the
governor. During supper several of his soldiers, who were encamped just
outside, went into the castle upon pretence of getting wine or bread,
and when five or six of them were in, at a signal from Cavalier, they
overpowered the sentinels and threw the gates open. The rest of the
troop rushed in at once, and before the garrison could seize their
arms the boy commander was master of the fortress. He put the garrison
to the sword, and, hastily collecting all the arms, ammunition, and
provisions he could find, set fire to the castle and marched away. When
the fire reached the powder magazine the whole fortress was blown to
fragments, and a post which had long annoyed and endangered the
Camisards was no more.
[Illustration: CAVALIER PERSONATING THE LIEUTENANT OF THE COUNT
BROGLIO.]
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