Adventure stories; Short stories, English -- Scottish authors; Soldiers -- Fiction
Eventually, however, his retreat was cut off, the royal troops
occupied every height, every avenue and pass that remained, and
nothing was left for him now but to cut his way out at all hazards,
or die! He was not long in choosing. 'Throwing aside his
magnificent uniform and white plume, he put on a common dress,' we
are told, and ordering his comrades to close their ranks, made a
headlong dash at the enemy.
'Notre Dame de frappe morte!' was the shout of the regiments of
Champagne and Normandy, as they brought their bayonets to the charge;
but Cavalier broke through the first line. In the attack on the
second, he was singled out when discovered, and a soldier seized the
bridle of his horse, but had his hand hewn off by a young Camisard
wearing a scarlet scarf over his white camisa. He was next grasped
by a dragoon, whom he pistolled; but now, beyond appeared another
line and a whole squadron of dragoons barring his way to the Pont de
Rosni--the only issue. Panic-struck, his fugitive horsemen poured
madly down upon it sword in hand, forgetful for a time of their
leader, who was in the rear, and who would probably have been cut off
but for the young Camisard in the red scarf--his brother--his brother
Guillot (of whose escape anon), who suddenly appeared upon the
ground--'his brother, a boy _ten_ (?) years old,' says the French
account, 'who drew his horse across the bridge, and with a pistol
presented to the fugitives, summoned them to defend their chief and
not abandon him.'
Cavalier, with the remainder of his force, escaped into the forest of
Cannes. This battle extended over all the ground from the mill of
Langlode to the town of Noyes. Of one thousand dead who lay on the
field, one half were Camisards. During the whole of the conflict one
of their prophets, named Daniel Gui, stood on the summit of a rock,
amid six female enthusiasts, three of whom were afterwards shot,
invoking the God of Battles to favour their cause.
The miraculous restoration of his brother--for such it was
deemed--alone was a palliation to the heart of Cavalier for the deep
mortification of his defeat; and yet it had come about simply enough.
Recent rains had formed a deep basin of water under the cliff from
which he fell, in a place where jagged rocks alone had been visible
shortly before. Sinking, he rose to the surface, struggled to the
bank, faint and wounded, and had found shelter, till well and whole,
in a shepherd's hut, till he could join his brother in the Valley of
the Noyes, and now tender indeed was their meeting and the mutual
embrace they gave each other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account