Page images
PDF
EPUB

light, we gave all our sympathies to the French in their hopeless struggle across the Channel; and it was chiefly for the Marseillaise that we sometimes parted with our hardly earned half-crowns at the door of the Alhambra, where the war-songs were sung nightly to stormy factions, hissing and applauding the airs and emblems of the contending armies with tremendous vigor, then amiably merging their differences in a burst of approval at the sight of the stars and stripes or the British lion. "Ah, Tim, my boy, how I envy you your first day in Paris!" Sam would whisper when the tricolor took possession of the field. He had known the city at what he conceived to be its best, in the bright days of 1867, - and he was never tired of dwelling upon those bygone glories for my benefit.

One night, coming in late, we found the huge theatre very crowded, but, forcing our way to the front, finally secured two chairs at a table where a little elderly man a Frenchman, evidently sat alone. He made room for us with a courteous gesture, and in his restless black eyes there seemed to be a light of recognition; yet, though his features were strongly marked, I could not at first remember where I had seen him before. "It must have been in our place, of course," I thought, thereupon assuring myself that this was the fact, and by degrees recalling the circumstances. He had brought in a small sum of French money for exchange, and, as it happened, had applied to me. I had noticed at the time the trim cut of his iron-gray mustache and imperial, as well as the scrupulous neatness of his shabby coat, the same which he now wore. I perceived that to keep his chair throughout the evening, unchallenged, he had ordered the glass of beer which he did not want. He was drinking sugar-and-water, and as I watched him stir this gravely with the ivory blade of his pocket paper-knife, I recollected that

he had described himself to me as a
maker of toys; in support of the state-
ment giving me his business card, which
must still be in one of my pockets. At
the next pause in the music he accepted
a cigarette from Sam, and the two fell
into conversation. Then I found the
card, and read, under the table, furtively:
ANTOINE BRIZARD,
FABRICANT DE JOUETS,

30 RUE DES FRANCS-BOURGEOIS,
AU MARAIS.

So, joining in the talk, which had turned straight to the all-absorbing topic of the war, I took occasion presently to address him by name; whereupon he smiled, and complimented me in very good English upon the excellence of my memory.

A rap of the leader's baton sent a responsive thrill through the great audience, and the band struck the first notes of the Marseillaise amid a general uproar. Groans and hisses from the German sympathizers only made the applause grow fiercer, and the enthusiasts asserted themselves triumphantly at the appearance of the singer, a tall, handsome woman, wearing the Phrygian cap and flowing garments of Liberty. Coming forward upon the narrow platform built out into the theatre, she sang her song with dramatic effect and much waving of her tricolored banner at the refrain, which the house, including Sam and myself in the front rank of it, took up. With a gracious smile she yielded to our demand for a repetition, rewarding us by a look when we pounded our table clamorously at her final recall.

Monsieur Brizard had applauded, too, but with less emotional fury than our own, which amused and interested him.

"You have heroic sentiments," he said, when all the noise was over.

"And you?" returned Sam, raising his eyebrows.

"I also, though I think but lightly of the lady there. Pauvre pays! Who shall say what or where the end will be? Look!" and producing a wad of tis

sue paper, which he unrolled carefully, Monsieur Brizard took from it a small, dark object; then, with a twirl of his finger and thumb, he sent this spinning out upon the table.

[ocr errors]

It was a teetotum of about an inch in diameter, bearing upon each of its four sides a design intended to symbolize one of the powerful French parties, the golden lily, the cock of the Orleans house, the imperial eagle, the liberty cap. "Voilà la France, messieurs!" said Monsieur Brizard, as the eagle fell uppermost; “a plaything in the hand of fortune!" We examined the toy, which was highly finished, with the facet lines picked out in gold. I gave it a twirl, and our companion smiled, but shook his head doubtfully, when the eagle came again. "Perhaps," he muttered.

"Where did you get the thing?" Sam asked.

Monsieur Brizard tapped his forehead. "Here," he said; "that I might divert myself a little. C'est une idée, ça, — le toton politique." So, with an air of pride in his invention, he tried it once more, watching its fall eagerly, and shrugging his shoulders in comic distress when the

lily turned up. "Zut!" he cried, as the

house was stirred into fresh excitement by the Wacht am Rhein. "Je m'en vais. Au plaisir, messieurs." Sweeping the fickle instrument of prophecy into his pocket, he made off hastily, and I saw no more of him for many a day.

Time went on, bringing the capitulation of Paris, the long armistice, the melancholy treaty of peace, the entry of the Germans to the Place de la Concorde. Then followed the fierce ascendency of the Commune, whereof no man could foresee the issue. During these troubled months, communication with Paris, although nominally resumed, proved uncertain and hazardous. But Markham & Wade, whose watchword was enterprise, desired to make the most of this advantage, and, having little confidence in the mails, sent messengers back and forth VOL. LXXVII. NO. 464.

51

across the Channel repeatedly. I begged hard for permission to serve in this capacity of courier, and one day in early spring, soon after the insurgents had gained control of central Paris, the privilege was granted-only to be revoked; for at the last moment my youth and inexperience, as I saw, were cast into the scale against me, the outlook being stormy, the mission being a delicate one, and Sam Ryeder filled my place. The balm of mild flattery softened this blow,

the messenger, once in, would probably be unable to get out again, and I could not be spared from my post in London; but it remained a blow, nevertheless, though, in view of Sam's evident glee, I counterfeited a good grace and uttered no remonstrance. Sam made his way into Paris not without difficulty, and there he was forced for a time to stay, precisely as had been predicted; then, owing to circumstances which he regarded as favorable, his stay was prolonged through all the wantonness and ferocity of the second Reign of Terror, until, with a few hours of desperate street-fighting, the Commune, yielding inch by inch before the resolute Versaillais, had become a mere historic memory. Sam lost none of these rare opportunities, which led him into many scrapes. More than once, through his insatiable curiosity, he was arrested as a spy and dragged to headquarters, where a look at his passport sufficed for his release. Armed only with this document, he watched the Vendôme Column fall, and, rushing into the crowd, pocketed that fragment of bronze which now serves as a paper-weight upon my table. On the terrible 23d of May, while the Tuileries burned, he prowled the streets all night, hovering near the path of death and destruction like a carrion bird; and if he was not actually in at the Commune's downfall, during the final struggle of the Place de l'Opéra, five days later, he must have been close upon it. I need not say that I still envy him these dreadful experiences.

It was on the following morning, May 29, 1871, that I was summoned by the partners into their private room and asked how I should like to serve as special messenger to Paris by the night express. I replied that I should like nothing better.

"You have never been in Paris, Garner, I think?" continued Mr. Markham, smiling at my eagerness, as I plainly perceived.

"No," said I gloomily, fearing that the admission might once more turn against me, "but "

"Then it will be a good plan to improve your opportunity," broke in Mr. Wade. "Send your passport up to the legation for a visé at once, and go prepared to stay on for a day or two. See all you can and learn the ropes. When things are settled, we shall need you there."

"Thank you,' my instructions?"

"May be summed up in one word, -'caution,' Mr. Markham answered. "You will wear a belt containing French money, twenty thousand francs, more or less,

which Mr. Flack will hand you at the close of to-day's business. You will deliver this at the Rue Saint-Arnaud the moment you arrive. That's all."

est of the crowded counters I frequented. Coming back, I found that the tide had turned the partners were already gone, the staff hilariously bent upon following their example; the whole place was in a whirl, through which I put the finishing touches upon my own task, while one by one my fellow-clerks noisily took leave. During the next half-hour Mr. Flack kept up a dispute with Wilmot, the cashier, whose accounts had obstinately refused to balance. They counted and recounted their rolls of money, until at last the error was brought to light. Then, after their exchange of congratulations, Mr. Flack turned to me.

[ocr errors]

Come, Garner, man, look alive! It's time you were ready. Off with your coat, and let me buckle on the harness for you."

He held in both hands a wide belt of chamois leather lined with pockets, the

," said I, overjoyed. "And flaps of which were buttoned down over the money he had packed away in them. As he strapped this around my waist, he explained that the contents included nearly equal proportions of notes and gold, and that he had distributed the latter along the belt, to "even up" the weight, as he expressed it. Nevertheless, the weight so adjusted was considerable, and at first I felt as if every step must betray my unwieldiness. But I soon grew accustomed to this new sensation, and when I had put on my coat again no one would have observed the slight halt in my gait, or suspected any unusual feature in my attire.

"Except to bring back whatever may be handed you in one, two, or three days, according to the turn of affairs," added Mr. Wade. "Be guided by that, but make the most of And so visit." your they dismissed me.

The day was unusually busy, even for a mail-day, and we were all up to our eyes in work, of which I would have undertaken a double share cheerfully, in view of my approaching journey. At luncheon-time I stole an extra quarter of an hour to pack my light luggage, and, carrying this down to the office, I stowed it away under my desk there, since I was to take the train at Charing Cross, close by. Toward seven o'clock I bolted what passed for my dinner at the near

"Here's your demnition total!" said Mr. Flack, handing me a memorandum of the sum I was to carry. "Francs, twenty-one thousand, five hundred; or pounds sterling, eight hundred and sixty, roughly speaking. You're worth more than ever before in your life, my precious. Come on! Give me those traps of yours. You must get aboard, youngster, get aboard!

As we stepped out into the rush of the Strand, a fierce gust of wind lifted my

companion's hat, but he threw up his left hand just in time to save it.

"Tim, my boy, are you a good sailor?" he inquired, jamming the hat down over his eyes.

"Oh yes. Why do you ask?" I answered.

"Why? Bless your little heart, do you forget you're on an island?" Mr. Flack rejoined. "And it's going to be a naughty night to swim in. Lear's fool, act third. I played him twice: once in Derby, once in Manchester."

"How did it go?" I asked absently, with a glance toward the stars, few of which were visible.

you;

"Go? I was great in it, great, I tell and it's the best part in the piece, too, bar the king. Heigh-ho!" Then, sighing at the remembrance of his former greatness, he led the way into the station, tossed my luggage to a porter, and demanded a "first-class return" for Paris, with an accent of pride upon the ordinal number. "The house always travels 'first,'" he explained, lest I should fail to be duly impressed.

We hurried on to the barrier, through which he seemed to have the right of way. "Going across?" asked its guardian, with a nod.

"Not I; it's only the lad. Old England's quite large enough for me, this season, thank you."

In this patronizing manner I was deposited in the corner of a first-class carriage, otherwise vacant; Mr. Flack waved a last farewell from the platform; and the train rumbled out over the murky Thames to the Surrey shore and back again into the Cannon Street station, on the Middlesex side, close under St. Paul's. Here we found other passengers, one of whom, entering my compartment, seated himself opposite to me, somewhat to my annoyance, though he seemed inoffensive enough. He was a fussy, self-important little man of middle age, disposed to talk freely, with an accent that would have betrayed his foreign origin, even if, in a

few moments, he had not proclaimed his nationality. When the guard examined our tickets, the foreigner observed that mine was for Paris, and commented upon the fact. "I go only to Calais," said he, "to conclude certain trifling affairs, and then to Belgium. Moi, je suis Belge. And you are English, are you not?" Inclined to caution, I yet saw no reason for being ungracious, and so answered that I was American. The information appeared to interest my fellow-traveler, and it led him into a flow of compliment upon the nobility of our race, which, despite its extravagance, caused my blood to tingle pleasantly. But though he asked no other questions, the familiar, personal tone of the conversation made me uneasy. easy. This he probably perceived, and as we went gliding on through Kent his talk trailed off to the weather, which certainly gave him a good excuse for the change of subject. The night was dark as a pocket; rain had set in, and the big drops were driven sharply against the window-pane by the rising wind. I remembered Turner's picture of the train in a storm, and shivering, though it was not cold, drew the overcoat which I had thrown off around my knees. My new acquaintance stopped talking, and settled himself snugly into his corner. I grew drowsy, nodded, slept for one half-minute, again for another, until, aroused by a draught of air, I started up, to find that the coat had slipped from my knees, that the train stood still, and that the Belgian was peering out of the open window into the night. My mind reverted to my belt, whither one hand instantly followed it. Convincing myself by the sense of touch that all was safe, I asked why we had stopped and where we were.

"We are at Dover, - that is all," said he; "the guard comes for our tickets. Now we move on, - to the pier. Good God! what a night! Oh, this cursed sea, - I have no love for it at best."

I laughed lightly. Here was I, at last, on the point of embarking for France.

What would be a wave more or less to me? The cockle-shell mail-boat chafed and tugged at its mooring restlessly. In spite of the storm there were many passengers; and I had no sooner set foot among them than I encountered my old friend Monsieur Brizard.

He stopped his nervous pacing of the quarter-deck to hail me with a degree of warmth which I cordially returned.

"You are going home?" said I. "Yes," he sighed, "to what is left of it, if that should be permitted. The thing is not so easy yet, they say, for us who are Parisians. We are scrutinized at Calais, it appears."

"Surely you have your passport?" "Oh yes," said Monsieur Brizard, touching his breast-pocket, from which a corner of the document protruded; " with my visé for Paris, all in order. Yet even so, I doubt. The moment is a troubled one; the best of us, I am told, lie under grave suspicion."

The Belgian had come up, and his readiness to talk asserted itself at once. "Bah!" said he; "they magnify these difficulties in London. I can assure monsieur that we honest men need have no anxiety. A Parisian friend of mine passed through yesterday without question; and he was a patriot of the newest sort, a so-called friend of liberty."

[blocks in formation]

neither curtains nor partitions. These couches were already well filled, the only vacant places being at the stern, where, rolling up my overcoat for a pillow, I wedged myself between my two companions, in good time, for five minutes later the cabin floor was crowded with recumbent figures in various stages of seasickness. Our own retreat was very dimly lighted, and we congratulated ourselves upon its comparative seclusion. But the motion soon proved excessive: poor Monsieur Brizard, frankly yielding to it, turned pale and moaned, while the Belgian hid his face, suffering in silence. Before long, the atmosphere, the sights and sounds of these close quarters, began to tell upon me, good sailor that I was. I lay flat on my back, dreading

[ocr errors]

We

even to move; then, indifferent to all but my own pain, I shut my eyes and tried to sleep off the dull headache of which I gradually grew unconscious. At last, the pitching and tossing diminished perceptibly, and our limbo stirred into life with a general sense of relief. were nearing Calais. Vaguely aware of this at first, I found presently that the Belgian, who had occupied the inner place, was already up and engaged in the friendly task of infusing courage into the limp, spiritless soul of Monsieur Brizard. I lent him a hand, and together we raised the sick man to a sitting posture. He looked like a white shadow of himself. His clothes, all awry, hung round him in wrinkles. As we shook them

"Oh, moi, je suis Belge!" rejoined the into shape, a paper fell from his breastother, setting him right.

Then for the next few minutes we chatted pleasantly together upon our short voyage and its prospects, after the manner of fellow-passengers.

But the moment the steamer cast off, conversation became impossible; indeed, there was no remaining on deck with any comfort. The wind, rain, and spray soon swept it clear, and we were forced below into an obscure cabin furnished with a continuous line of berths which had

pocket. The Belgian stuffed it back, remarking severely that he should have an eye to his passport. This speech acted like a spur. Monsieur Brizard sprang to his feet, and proceeded to feel in all his pockets. I immediately thought of my belt, which had slipped out of place a little, but as I quietly adjusted it the weight reassured me; and just then, Monsieur Brizard, declaring that he had lost something, turned back to the berth, where in a moment he found a small roll

« PreviousContinue »