He described the dress, the air, the general bearing of the emperors, remarking that although Alexander was taller, and handsomer, and even more soldierlike than our own emperor, there was a something of calm dignity and conscious majesty in Napoleon that made him appear immeasurably the superior. Alexander wore the uniform of the Russian guard, one of the most splendid it is possible to conceive. The only thing simple about him was his sword, which was a plain sabre with a tarnished gilt scabbard, and a very dirty sword-knot; and yet every moment he used to look down at it and handle it with great apparent admiration; ‘and well might he,’ added the soldier—‘Napoleon had given it to him but the day before.’
To listen even to such meagre details as these was to light up again in my heart the fire that was only smouldering, and that no life of peasant labour or obscurity could ever extinguish. My companions quickly saw the interest I took in their narratives, and certainly did their utmost to feed the passion—now with some sketch of a Spanish marauding party, as full of adventure as a romance; now with a description of northern warfare, where artillery thundered on the ice, and men fought behind intrenchments of deep snow.
From the North Sea to the Adriatic, all Europe was now in arms. Great armies were marching in every direction—some along the deep valley of the Danube, others from the rich plains of Poland and Silesia; some were passing the Alps into Italy, and some again were pouring down for the Tyrol ‘Jochs,’ to defend the rocky passes of their native land against the invader. Patriotism and glory, the spirit of chivalry and conquest, all were abroad, and his must indeed have been a cold heart which could find within it no response to the stirring sounds around. To the intense feeling of shame which I at first felt at my own life of obscure inactivity, there now succeeded a feverish desire to be somewhere and do something to dispel this worse than lethargy. I had not resolution to tell my comrades that I had served—I felt reluctant to speak of a career so abortive and unsuccessful; and yet I blushed at the half-pitying expressions they bestowed upon my life of inglorious adventure.
‘You risk life and limb here in these pine forests, and hazard existence for a bear or a chamois goat,’ cried one, ‘and half the peril in real war would perhaps make you a chef d escadron or even a general.’
‘Ay,’ said another, ‘we serve in an army where crowns are military distinctions, and the epaulette is only the first step to a kingdom.’
‘True,’ broke in a third, ‘Napoleon has changed the whole world, and made soldiering the only trade worth following. Masséna was a drummer-boy within my own memory, and see him now! Ney was not born to great wealth and honours. Junot never could learn his trade as a cobbler, and for want of better has become a general of division.’
‘Yes; and,’ said I, following out the theme, ‘under that wooden roof yonder, through that little diamond-paned window the vine is trained across, a greater than any of the last three first saw the light. It was there Kléber, the conqueror of Egypt, was born.’
‘Honour to the brave dead!’ said the soldiers from their places around the fire, and carrying their hands to the salute. ‘We’ll fire a salvo to him to-morrow before we set out!’ said the corporal. ‘And so Kléber was born there!’ said he, resuming his place, and staring with admiring interest at the dark outline of the old house, as it stood out against the starry and cloudless sky.
It was somewhat of a delicate task for me to prevent my companions offering their tribute of respect, but which the old peasant would have received with little gratitude, seeing that he had never yet forgiven the country nor the service for the loss of his son. With some management I accomplished this duty, however, promising my services at the same time to be their guide through the Bregenzerwald, and not to part with them till I had seen them safely into Bavaria.
Had it not been for my thorough acquaintance with the Tyroler dialect, and all the usages of Tyrol life, their march would have been one of great peril, for already the old hatred against their Bavarian oppressors was beginning to stir the land, and Austrian agents were traversing the mountain districts in every direction, to call forth that patriotic ardour which, ill-requited as it has been, has more than once come to the rescue of Austria.