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diff --git a/2755.txt b/2755.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 821387e..0000000 --- a/2755.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2190 +0,0 @@ - MURAT - - -This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at -http://www.gutenberg.org/license. If you are not located in the United -States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are -located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Murat -Author: Alexandre Dumas, Pere -Release Date: August 15, 2006 [EBook #2755] -Reposted: November 28, 2016 [corrections made] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MURAT *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger. - - - - - - *MURAT* - - _By_ - - *Alexandre Dumas, Pere* - - _From the set of Eight Volumes of "Celebrated Crimes"_ - - - 1910 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - *MURAT--1815* - I--TOULON - II--CORSICA - III--PIZZO - - - - -*MURAT--1815* - - - - -I--TOULON - - -On the 18th June, 1815, at the very moment when the destiny of Europe -was being decided at Waterloo, a man dressed like a beggar was silently -following the road from Toulon to Marseilles. - -Arrived at the entrance of the Gorge of Ollioulles, he halted on a -little eminence from which he could see all the surrounding country; -then either because he had reached the end of his journey, or because, -before attempting that forbidding, sombre pass which is called the -Thermopylae of Provence, he wished to enjoy the magnificent view which -spread to the southern horizon a little longer, he went and sat down on -the edge of the ditch which bordered the road, turning his back on the -mountains which rise like an amphitheatre to the north of the town, and -having at his feet a rich plain covered with tropical vegetation, -exotics of a conservatory, trees and flowers quite unknown in any other -part of France. - -Beyond this plain, glittering in the last rays of the sun, pale and -motionless as a mirror lay the sea, and on the surface of the water -glided one brig-of-war, which, taking advantage of a fresh land breeze, -had all sails spread, and was bowling along rapidly, making for Italian -seas. The beggar followed it eagerly with his eyes until it disappeared -between the Cape of Gien and the first of the islands of Hyeres, then as -the white apparition vanished he sighed deeply, let his head fall into -his hands, and remained motionless and absorbed in his reflections until -the tramplings of a cavalcade made him start; he looked up, shook back -his long black hair, as if he wished to get rid of the gloomy thoughts -which were overwhelming him, and, looking at the entrance to the gorge -from whence the noise came, he soon saw two riders appear, who were no -doubt well known to him, for, drawing himself up to his full height, he -let fall the stick he was carrying, and folding his arms he turned -towards them. On their side the new-comers had hardly seen him before -they halted, and the foremost dismounted, threw his bridle to his -companion, and uncovering, though fifty paces from the man in rags, -advanced respectfully towards him. The beggar allowed him to approach -with an air of sombre dignity and without a single movement; then, when -he was quite near-- - -"Well, marshal, have, you news for me?" said the beggar. - -"Yes, sire," said the other sadly. - -"And what are they?" - -"Such that I could wish it were anyone but myself to announce them to -your Majesty----" - -"So the Emperor refuses my services! He forgets the victories of -Aboukir, Eylau, and Moscow?" - -"No, sire; but he remembers the treaty of Naples, the taking of Reggio, -and the declaration of war of the viceroy of Italy." - -The beggar struck his forehead. - -"Yes, yes! I daresay he thinks I deserve his reproaches, and yet it -seems to me that he ought to remember that there are two men in me--the -soldier whom he made his brother, and the brother whom he made a -king.... Yes, as brother I have treated him ill--very ill, but as king, -upon my soul, I could not have acted differently.... I had to choose -between my sword and my crown, and between a regiment and a people. -Listen, Brune: you do not know how it all happened. There was an English -fleet, the guns of which were growling in the port, there was a -Neapolitan population howling in the streets. If I had been alone, I -would have passed through the fleet with one boat, through the crowd -with my sword alone, but I had a wife and children. Yet I hesitated; the -idea of being called traitor and deserter caused me to shed more tears -than the loss of my throne, or perhaps the death of those I love best, -will ever wring from me.... And so he will have nothing more to do with -me? He refuses me as general, captain, private? Then what is left for me -to do?" - -"Sire, your Majesty must leave France immediately." - -"And if I don't obey?" - -"My orders are to arrest you and deliver you up to a court-martial!" - -"Old comrade, you will not do that?" - -"I shall do it, praying God to strike me dead in the moment I lay hands -on you!" - -"That's you all over, Brune. You have been able to remain a good, loyal -fellow. He did not give you a kingdom, he did not encircle your brow -with a band of iron which men call a crown and which drives one mad; he -did not place you between your conscience and your family. So I must -leave France, begin my vagabond life again, and say farewell to Toulon, -which recalls so many memories to me! See, Brune," continued Murat, -leaning on the arm of the marshal, "are not the pines yonder as fine as -any at the Villa Pamfili, the palms as imposing as any at Cairo, the -mountains as grand as any range in the Tyrol? Look to your left, is not -Cape Gien something like Castellamare and Sorrento--leaving out -Vesuvius? And see, Saint-Mandrier at the farthest point of the gulf, is -it not like my rock of Capri, which Lamarque juggled away so cleverly -from that idiot of a Sir Hudson Lowe? My God! and I must leave all this! -Is there no way of remaining on this little corner of French -ground--tell me, Brune!" - -"You'll break my heart, sire!" answered the marshal. - -"Well, we'll say no more about it. What news?" - -"The Emperor has left Paris to join the army. They must be fighting -now." - -"Fighting now and I not there! Oh, I feel I could have been of use to -him on this battlefield. How I would have gloried in charging those -miserable Prussians and dastardly English! Brune, give me a passport, -I'll go at full speed, I'll reach the army, I will make myself known to -some colonel, I shall say, 'Give me your regiment.' I'll charge at its -head, and if the Emperor does not clasp my hand to-night, I'll blow my -brains out, I swear I will. Do what I ask, Brune, and however it may -end, my eternal gratitude will be yours!" - -"I cannot, sire." - -"Well, well, say no more about it." - -"And your Majesty is going to leave France?" - -"I don't know. Obey your orders, marshal, and if you come across me -again, have me arrested. That's another way of doing something for me. -Life is a heavy burden nowadays. He who will relieve me of it will be -welcome.... Good-bye, Brune." - -He held out his hand to the marshal, who tried to kiss it; but Murat -opened his arms, the two old comrades held each other fast for a moment, -with swelling hearts and eyes full of tears; then at last they parted. -Brune remounted his horse, Murat picked up his stick again, and the two -men went away in opposite directions, one to meet his death by -assassination at Avignon, the other to be shot at Pizzo. Meanwhile, like -Richard III, Napoleon was bartering his crown against a horse at -Waterloo. - -After the interview that has just been related, Murat took refuge with -his nephew, who was called Bonafoux, and who was captain of a frigate; -but this retreat could only be temporary, for the relationship would -inevitably awake the suspicions of the authorities. In consequence, -Bonafoux set about finding a more secret place of refuge for his uncle. -He hit on one of his friends, an avocat, a man famed for his integrity, -and that very evening Bonafoux went to see him. - -After chatting on general subjects, he asked his friend if he had not a -house at the seaside, and receiving an affirmative answer, he invited -himself to breakfast there the next day; the proposal naturally enough -was agreed to with pleasure. The next day at the appointed hour Bonafoux -arrived at Bonette, which was the name of the country house where M. -Marouin's wife and daughter were staying. M. Marouin himself was kept by -his work at Toulon. After the ordinary greetings, Bonafoux stepped to -the window, beckoning to Marouin to rejoin him. - -"I thought," he said uneasily, "that your house was by the sea." - -"We are hardly ten minutes' walk from it." - -"But it is not in sight." - -"That hill prevents you from seeing it." - -"May we go for a stroll on the beach before breakfast is served?" - -"By all means. Well, your horse is still saddled. I will order mine--I -will come back for you." - -Marouin went out. Bonafoux remained at the window, absorbed in his -thoughts. The ladies of the house, occupied in preparations for the -meal, did not observe, or did not appear to observe, his preoccupation. -In five minutes Marouin came back. He was ready to start. The avocat and -his friend mounted their horses and rode quickly down to the sea. On the -beach the captain slackened his pace, and riding along the shore for -about half an hour, he seemed to be examining the bearings of the coast -with great attention. Marouin followed without inquiring into his -investigations, which seemed natural enough for a naval officer. - -After about an hour the two men went back to the house. - -Marouin wished to have the horses unsaddled, but Bonafoux objected, -saying that he must go back to Toulon immediately after lunch. Indeed, -the coffee was hardly finished before he rose and took leave of his -hosts. Marouin, called back to town by his work, mounted his horse too, -and the two friends rode back to Toulon together. After riding along for -ten minutes, Bonafoux went close to his companion and touched him on the -thigh-- - -"Marouin," he said, "I have an important secret to confide to you." - -"Speak, captain. After a father confessor, you know there is no one so -discreet as a notary, and after a notary an avocat." - -"You can quite understand that I did not come to your country house just -for the pleasure of the ride. A more important object, a serious -responsibility, preoccupied me; I have chosen you out of all my friends, -believing that you were devoted enough to me to render me a great -service." - -"You did well, captain." - -"Let us go straight to the point, as men who respect and trust each -other should do. My uncle, King Joachim, is proscribed, he has taken -refuge with me; but he cannot remain there, for I am the first person -they will suspect. Your house is in an isolated position, and -consequently we could not find a better retreat for him. You must put it -at our disposal until events enable the king to come to some decision." - -"It is at your service," said Marouin. - -"Right. My uncle shall sleep there to-night." - -"But at least give me time to make some preparations worthy of my royal -guest." - -"My poor Marouin, you are giving yourself unnecessary trouble, and -making a vexatious delay for us: King Joachim is no longer accustomed to -palaces and courtiers; he is only too happy nowadays to find a cottage -with a friend in it; besides, I have let him know about it, so sure was -I of your answer. He is counting on sleeping at your house to-night, and -if I try to change his determination now he will see a refusal in what -is only a postponement, and you will lose all the credit for your -generous and noble action. There--it is agreed: to-night at ten at the -Champs de Mars." - -With these words the captain put his horse to a gallop and disappeared. -Marouin turned his horse and went back to his country house to give the -necessary orders for the reception of a stranger whose name he did not -mention. - -At ten o'clock at night, as had been agreed, Marouin was on the Champs -de Mars, then covered with Marshal Brune's field-artillery. No one had -arrived yet. He walked up and down between the gun-carriages until a -functionary came to ask what he was doing. He was hard put to it to find -an answer: a man is hardly likely to be wandering about in an artillery -park at ten o'clock at night for the mere pleasure of the thing. He -asked to see the commanding officer. The officer came up: M. Marouin -informed him that he was an avocat, attached to the law courts of -Toulon, and told him that he had arranged to meet someone on the Champs -de Mars, not knowing that it was prohibited, and that he was still -waiting for that person. After this explanation, the officer authorised -him to remain, and went back to his quarters. The sentinel, a faithful -adherent to discipline, continued to pace up and down with his measured -step, without troubling any more about the stranger's presence. - -A few moments later a group of several persons appeared from the -direction of Les Lices. The night was magnificent, and the moon -brilliant. Marouin recognised Bonafoux, and went up to him. The captain -at once took him by the hand and led him to the king, and speaking in -turn to each of them-- - -"Sire," he said, "here is the friend. I told you of." - -Then turning to Marouin-- - -"Here," he said, "is the King of Naples, exile and fugitive, whom I -confide to your care. I do not speak of the possibility that some day he -may get back his crown, that would deprive you of the credit of your -fine action.... Now, be his guide--we will follow at a distance. March!" - -The king and the lawyer set out at once together. Murat was dressed in a -blue coat-semi-military, semi-civil, buttoned to the throat; he wore -white trousers and top boots with spurs; he had long hair, moustache, -and thick whiskers, which would reach round his neck. - -As they rode along he questioned his host about the situation of his -country house and the facility for reaching the sea in case of a -surprise. Towards midnight the king and Marouin arrived at Bonette; the -royal suite came up in about ten minutes; it consisted of about thirty -individuals. After partaking of some light refreshment, this little -troop, the last of the court of the deposed king, retired to disperse in -the town and its environs, and Murat remained alone with the women, only -keeping one valet named Leblanc. - -Murat stayed nearly a month in this retirement, spending all his time in -answering the newspapers which accused him of treason to the Emperor. -This accusation was his absorbing idea, a phantom, a spectre to him; day -and night he tried to shake it off, seeking in the difficult position in -which he had found himself all the reasons which it might offer him for -acting as he had acted. Meanwhile the terrible news of the defeat at -Waterloo had spread abroad. The Emperor who had exiled him was an exile -himself, and he was waiting at Rochefort, like Murat at Toulon, to hear -what his enemies would decide against him. No one knows to this day what -inward prompting Napoleon obeyed when, rejecting the counsels of General -Lallemande and the devotion of Captain Bodin, he preferred England to -America, and went like a modern Prometheus to be chained to the rock of -St. Helena. - -We are going to relate the fortuitous circumstance which led Murat to -the moat of Pizzo, then we will leave it to fatalists to draw from this -strange story whatever philosophical deduction may please them. We, as -humble annalists, can only vouch for the truth of the facts we have -already related and of those which will follow. - -King Louis XVIII remounted his throne, consequently Murat lost all hope -of remaining in France; he felt he was bound to go. His nephew Bonafoux -fitted out a frigate for the United States under the name of Prince -Rocca Romana. The whole suite went on board, and they began to carry on -to the boat all the valuables which the exile had been able to save from -the shipwreck of his kingdom. First a bag of gold weighing nearly a -hundred pounds, a sword-sheath on which were the portraits of the king, -the queen, and their children, the deed of the civil estates of his -family bound in velvet and adorned with his arms. Murat carried on his -person a belt where some precious papers were concealed, with about a -score of unmounted diamonds, which he estimated himself to be worth four -millions. - -When all these preparations for departing were accomplished, it was -agreed that the next day, the 1st of August, at five o'clock, a boat -should fetch the king to the brig from a little bay, ten minutes' walk -from the house where he was staying. The king spent the night making out -a route for M. Marouin by which he could reach the queen, who was then -in Austria, I think. - -It was finished just as it was time to leave, and on crossing the -threshold of the hospitable house where he had found refuge he gave it -to his host, slipped into a volume of a pocket edition of Voltaire. -Below the story of 'Micromegas' the king had written: [The volume is -still in the hands of M. Marouin, at Toulon.] - -Reassure yourself, dear Caroline; although unhappy, I am free. I am -departing, but I do not know whither I am bound. Wherever I may be my -heart will be with you and my children. "J. M." - -Ten minutes later Murat and his host were waiting on the beach at -Bonette for the boat which was to take them out to the ship. - -They waited until midday, and nothing appeared; and yet on the horizon -they could see the brig which was to be his refuge, unable to lie at -anchor on account of the depth of water, sailing along the coast at the -risk of giving the alarm to the sentinels. - -At midday the king, worn out with fatigue and the heat of the sun, was -lying on the beach, when a servant arrived, bringing various -refreshments, which Madame Marouin, being very uneasy, had sent at all -hazards to her husband. The king took a glass of wine and water and ate -an orange, and got up for a moment to see whether the boat he was -expecting was nowhere visible on the vastness of the sea. There was not -a boat in sight, only the brig tossing gracefully on the horizon, -impatient to be off, like a horse awaiting its master. - -The king sighed and lay down again on the sand. - -The servant went back to Bonette with a message summoning M. Marouin's -brother to the beach. He arrived in a few minutes, and almost -immediately afterwards galloped off at full speed to Toulon, in order to -find out from M. Bonafoux why the boat had not been sent to the king. On -reaching the captain's house, he found it occupied by an armed force. -They were making a search for Murat. - -The messenger at last made his way through the tumult to the person he -was in search of, and he heard that the boat had started at the -appointed time, and that it must have gone astray in the creeks of Saint -Louis and Sainte Marguerite. This was, in fact, exactly what had -happened. - -By five o'clock M. Marouin had reported the news to his brother and the -king. It was bad news. The king had no courage left to defend his life -even by flight, he was in a state of prostration which sometimes -overwhelms the strongest of men, incapable of making any plan for his -own safety, and leaving M. Marouin to do the best he could. Just then a -fisherman was coming into harbour singing. Marouin beckoned to him, and -he came up. - -Marouin began by buying all the man's fish; then, when he had paid him -with a few coins, he let some gold glitter before his eyes, and offered -him three louis if he would take a passenger to the brig which was lying -off the Croix-des-Signaux. The fisherman agreed to do it. This chance of -escape gave back Murat all his strength; he got up, embraced Marouin, -and begged him to go to the queen with the volume of Voltaire. Then he -sprang into the boat, which instantly left the shore. - -It was already some distance from the land when the king stopped the man -who was rowing and signed to Marouin that he had forgotten something. On -the beach lay a bag into which Murat had put a magnificent pair of -pistols mounted with silver gilt which the queen had given him, and -which he set great store on. As soon as he was within hearing he shouted -his reason for returning to his host. Marouin seized the valise, and -without waiting for Murat to land he threw it into the boat; the bag -flew open, and one of the pistols fell out. The fisherman only glanced -once at the royal weapon, but it was enough to make him notice its -richness and to arouse his suspicions. Nevertheless, he went on rowing -towards the frigate. M. Marouin seeing him disappear in the distance, -left his brother on the beach, and bowing once more to the king, -returned to the house to calm his wife's anxieties and to take the -repose of which he was in much need. - -Two hours later he was awakened. His house was to be searched in its -turn by soldiers. They searched every nook and corner without finding a -trace of the king. Just as they were getting desperate, the brother came -in; Maroum smiled at him; believing the king to be safe, but by the -new-comer's expression he saw that some fresh misfortune was in the -wind. In the first moment's respite given him by his visitors he went up -to his brother. - -"Well," he said, "I hope the king is on board?" - -"The king is fifty yards away, hidden in the outhouse." - -"Why did he come back?" - -"The fisherman pretended he was afraid of a sudden squall, and refused -to take him off to the brig." - -"The scoundrel!" - -The soldiers came in again. - -They spent the night in fruitless searching about the house and -buildings; several times they passed within a few steps of the king, and -he could hear their threats and imprecations. At last, half an hour -before dawn, they went away. Marouin watched them go, and when they were -out of sight he ran to the king. He found him lying in a corner, a -pistol clutched in each hand. The unhappy man had been overcome by -fatigue and had fallen asleep. Marouin hesitated a moment to bring him -back to his wandering, tormented life, but there was not a minute to -lose. He woke him. - -They went down to the beach at once. A morning mist lay over the sea. -They could not see anything two hundred yards ahead. They were obliged -to wait. At last the first sunbeams began to pierce this nocturnal mist. -It slowly dispersed, gliding over the sea as clouds move in the sky. The -king's hungry eye roved over the tossing waters before him, but he saw -nothing, yet he could not banish the hope that somewhere behind that -moving curtain he would find his refuge. Little by little the horizon -came into view; light wreaths of mist, like smoke, still floated about -the surface of the water, and in each of them the king thought he -recognised the white sails of his vessel. The last gradually vanished, -the sea was revealed in all its immensity, it was deserted. Not daring -to delay any longer, the ship had sailed away in the night. - -"So," said the king, "the die is cast. I will go to Corsica." - -The same day Marshal Brune was assassinated at Avignon. - - - - -II--CORSICA - - -Once more on the same beach at Bonette, in the same bay where he had -awaited the boat in vain, still attended by his band of faithful -followers, we find Murat on the 22nd August in the same year. It was no -longer by Napoleon that he was threatened, it was by Louis XVIII that he -was proscribed; it was no longer the military loyalty of Marshal Brune -who came with tears in his eyes to give notice of the orders he had -received, but the ungrateful hatred of M. de Riviere, who had set a -price [48,000 francs.] on the head of the man who had saved his -own.[Conspiracy of Pichegru.] M. de Riviere had indeed written to the -ex-King of Naples advising him to abandon himself to the good faith and -humanity of the King of France, but his vague invitation had not seemed -sufficient guarantee to the outlaw, especially on the part of one who -had allowed the assassination almost before his eyes of a man who -carried a safe-conduct signed by himself. Murat knew of the massacre of -the Mamelukes at Marseilles, the assassination of Brune at Avignon; he -had been warned the day before by the police of Toulon that a formal -order for his arrest was out; thus it was impossible that he should -remain any longer in France. Corsica, with its hospitable towns, its -friendly mountains, its impenetrable forests, was hardly fifty leagues -distant; he must reach Corsica, and wait in its towns, mountains, and -forests until the crowned heads of Europe should decide the fate of the -man they had called brother for seven years. - -At ten o'clock at, night the king went down to the shore. The boat which -was to take him across had not reached the rendezvous, but this time -there was not the slightest fear that it would fail; the bay had been -reconnoitred during the day by three men devoted to the fallen fortunes -of the king--Messieurs Blancard, Langlade, and Donadieu, all three naval -officers, men of ability and warm heart, who had sworn by their own -lives to convey Murat to Corsica, and who were in fact risking their -lives in order to accomplish their promise. Murat saw the deserted shore -without uneasiness, indeed this delay afforded him a few more moments of -patriotic satisfaction. - -On this little patch of land, this strip of sand, the unhappy exile -clung to his mother France, for once his foot touched the vessel which -was to carry him away, his separation from France would be long, if not -eternal. He started suddenly amidst these thoughts and sighed: he had -just perceived a sail gliding over the waves like a phantom through the -transparent darkness of the southern night. Then a sailor's song was -heard; Murat recognised the appointed signal, and answered it by burning -the priming of a pistol, and the boat immediately ran inshore; but as -she drew three feet of water, she was obliged to stop ten or twelve feet -from the beach; two men dashed into the water and reached the beach, -while a third remained crouching in the stern-sheets wrapped in his -boat-cloak. - -"Well, my good friends," said the king, going towards Blancard and -Langlade until he felt the waves wet his feet "the moment is come, is it -not? The wind is favourable, the sea calm, we must get to sea." - -"Yes," answered Langlade, "yes, we must start; and yet perhaps it would -be wiser to wait till to-morrow." - -"Why?" asked Murat. - -Langlade did not answer, but turning towards the west, he raised his -hand, and according to the habit of sailors, he whistled to call the -wind. - -"That's no good," said Donadieu, who had remained in the boat. "Here are -the first gusts; you will have more than you know what to do with in a -minute.... Take care, Langlade, take care! Sometimes in calling the wind -you wake up a storm." - -Murat started, for he thought that this warning which rose from the sea -had been given him by the spirit of the waters; but the impression was a -passing one, and he recovered himself in a moment. - -"All the better," he said; "the more wind we have, the faster we shall -go." - -"Yes," answered Langlade, "but God knows where it will take us if it -goes on shifting like this." - -"Don't start to-night, sire," said Blancard, adding his voice to those -of his two companions. - -"But why not?" - -"You see that bank of black cloud there, don't you? Well, at sunset it -was hardly visible, now it covers a good part of the sky, in an hour -there won't be a star to be seen." - -"Are you afraid?" asked Murat. - -"Afraid!" answered Langlade. "Of what? Of the storm? I might as well ask -if your Majesty is afraid of a cannon-ball. We have demurred solely on -your account, sire; do you think seadogs like ourselves would delay on -account of the storm?" - -"Then let us go!" cried Murat, with a sigh. - -"Good-bye, Marouin.... God alone can reward you for what you have done -for me. I am at your orders, gentlemen." - -At these words the two sailors seized the king end hoisted him on to -their shoulders, and carried him into the sea; in another moment he was -on board. Langlade and Blancard sprang in behind him. Donadieu remained -at the helm, the two other officers undertook the management of the -boat, and began their work by unfurling the sails. Immediately the -pinnace seemed to rouse herself like a horse at touch of the spur; the -sailors cast a careless glance back, and Murat feeling that they were -sailing away, turned towards his host and called for a last time-- - -"You have your route as far as Trieste. Do not forget my wife!... -Good-bye-good-bye----!" - -"God keep you, sire!" murmured Marouin. - -And for some time, thanks to the white sail which gleamed through the -darkness, he could follow with his eyes the boat which was rapidly -disappearing; at last it vanished altogether. Marouin lingered on the -shore, though he could see nothing; then he heard a cry, made faint by -the distance; it was Murat's last adieu to France. - -When M. Marouin was telling me these details one evening on the very -spot where it all happened, though twenty years had passed, he -remembered clearly the slightest incidents of the embarkation that -night. From that moment he assured me that a presentiment of misfortune -seized him; he could not tear himself away from the shore, and several -times he longed to call the king back, but, like a man in a dream, he -opened his mouth without being able to utter a sound. He was afraid of -being thought foolish, and it was not until one o'clock that is, two and -a half hours after the departure of the boat-that he went home with a -sad and heavy heart. - -The adventurous navigators had taken the course from Toulon to Bastia, -and at first it seemed to the king that the sailors' predictions were -belied; the wind, instead of getting up, fell little by little, and two -hours after the departure the boat was rocking without moving forward or -backward on the waves, which were sinking from moment to moment. Murat -sadly watched the phosphorescent furrow trailing behind the little boat: -he had nerved himself to face a storm, but not a dead calm, and without -even interrogating his companions, of whose uneasiness he took no -account, he lay down in the boat, wrapped in his cloak, closing his eyes -as if he were asleep, and following the flow of his thoughts, which were -far more tumultuous than that of the waters. Soon the two sailors, -thinking him asleep, joined the pilot, and sitting down beside the helm, -they began to consult together. - -"You were wrong, Langlade," said Donadieu, "in choosing a craft like -this, which is either too small or else too big; in an open boat we can -never weather a storm, and without oars we can never make any way in a -calm." - -"'Fore God! I had no choice. I was obliged to take what I could get, and -if it had not been the season for tunny-fishing I might not even have -got this wretched pinnace, or rather I should have had to go into the -harbour to find it, and they keep such a sharp lookout that I might well -have gone in without coming out again." - -"At least it is seaworthy," said Blancard. - -"Pardieu, you know what nails and planks are when they have been soaked -in sea-water for ten years. On any ordinary occasion, a man would rather -not go in her from Marseilles to the Chateau d'If, but on an occasion -like this one would willingly go round the world in a nutshell." - -"Hush!" said Donadieu. The sailors listened; a distant growl was heard, -but it was so faint that only the experienced ear of a sailor could have -distinguished it. - -"Yes, yes," said Langlade, "it is a warning for those who have legs or -wings to regain the homes and nests that they ought never to have left." - -"Are we far from the islands?" asked Donadieu quickly. - -"About a mile off." - -"Steer for them." - -"What for?" asked Murat, looking up. - -"To put in there, sire, if we can." - -"No, no," cried Murat; "I will not land except in Corsica. I will not -leave France again. Besides, the sea is calm and the wind is getting up -again--" - -"Down with the sails!" shouted Donadieu. Instantly Langlade and Blancard -jumped forward to carry out the order. The sail slid down the mast and -fell in a heap in the bottom of the boat. - -"What are you doing?" cried Murat. "Do you forget that I am king and -that I command you?" - -"Sire," said Donadieu, "there is a king more powerful than you--God; -there is a voice which drowns yours--the voice of the tempest: let us -save your Majesty if possible, and demand nothing more of us." - -Just then a flash of lightning quivered along the horizon, a clap of -thunder nearer than the first one was heard, a light foam appeared on -the surface of the water, and the boat trembled like a living thing. -Murat began to understand that danger was approaching, then he got up -smiling, threw his hat behind him, shook back his long hair, and -breathed in the storm like the smell of powder--the soldier was ready -for the battle. - -"Sire," said Donadieu, "you have seen many a battle, but perhaps you -have never watched a storm if you are curious about it, cling to the -mast, for you have a fine opportunity now." - -"What ought I to do?" said Murat. "Can I not help you in any way?" - -"No, not just now, sire; later you will be useful at the pumps." - -During this dialogue the storm had drawn near; it rushed on the -travellers like a war-horse, breathing out fire and wind through its -nostrils, neighing like thunder, and scattering the foam of the waves -beneath its feet. - -Donadieu turned the rudder, the boat yielded as if it understood the -necessity for prompt obedience, and presented the poop to the shock of -wind; then the squall passed, leaving the sea quivering, and everything -was calm again. The storm took breath. - -"Will that gust be all?" asked Murat. - -"No, your Majesty, that was the advance-guard only; the body of the army -will be up directly." - -"And are you not going to prepare for it?" asked the king gaily. - -"What could we do?" said Donadieu. "We have not an inch of canvas to -catch the wind, and as long as we do not make too much water, we shall -float like a cork. Look out-sire!" - -Indeed, a second hurricane was on its way, bringing rain and lightning; -it was swifter than the first. Donadieu endeavoured to repeat the same -manoeuvre, but he could not turn before the wind struck the boat, the -mast bent like a reed; the boat shipped a wave. - -"To the pumps!" cried Donadieu. "Sire, now is the moment to help us--" - -Blancard, Langlade, and Murat seized their hats and began to bale out -the boat. The position of the four men was terrible--it lasted three -hours. - -At dawn the wind fell, but the sea was still high. They began to feel -the need of food: all the provisions had been spoiled by sea-water, only -the wine had been preserved from its contact. - -The king took a bottle and swallowed a little wine first, then he passed -it to his companions, who drank in their turn: necessity had overcome -etiquette. By chance Langlade had on him a few chocolates, which he -offered to the king. Murat divided them into four equal parts, and -forced his companions to take their shares; then, when the meal was -over, they steered for Corsica, but the boat had suffered so much that -it was improbable that it would reach Bastia. - -The whole day passed without making ten miles; the boat was kept under -the jib, as they dared not hoist the mainsail, and the wind was so -variable that much time was lost in humouring its caprices. - -By evening the boat had drawn a considerable amount of water, it -penetrated between the boards, the handkerchiefs of the crew served to -plug up the leaks, and night, which was descending in mournful gloom, -wrapped them a second time in darkness. Prostrated with fatigue, Murat -fell asleep, Blancard and Langlade took their places beside Donadieu, -and the three men, who seemed insensible to the calls of sleep and -fatigue, watched over his slumbers. - -The night was calm enough apparently, but low grumblings were heard now -and then. - -The three sailors looked at each other strangely and then at the king, -who was sleeping at the bottom of the boat, his cloak soaked with -sea-water, sleeping as soundly as he had slept on the sands of Egypt or -the snows of Russia. - -Then one of them got up and went to the other end of the boat, whistling -between his teeth a Provencal air; then, after examining the sky, the -waves; and the boat, he went back to his comrades and sat down, -muttering, "Impossible! Except by a miracle, we shall never make the -land." - -The night passed through all its phases. At dawn there was a vessel in -sight. - -"A sail!" cried Donadieu,--"a sail!" - -At this cry the king--awoke; and soon a little trading brig hove in -sight, going from Corsica to Toulon. - -Donadieu steered for the brig, Blancard hoisted enough sail to work the -boat, and Langlade ran to the prow and held up the king's cloak on the -end of a sort of harpoon. Soon the voyagers perceived that they had been -sighted, the brig went about to approach them, and in ten minutes they -found themselves within fifty yards of it. The captain appeared in the -bows. Then the king hailed him and offered him a substantial reward if -he would receive them on board and take them to Corsica. The captain -listened to the proposal; then immediately turning to the crew, he gave -an order in an undertone which Donadieu could not hear, but which he -understood probably by the gesture, for he instantly gave Langlade and -Blancard the order to make away from the schooner. They obeyed with the -unquestioning promptitude of sailors; but the king stamped his foot. - -"What are you doing, Donadieu? What are you about? Don't you see that -she is coming up to us?" - -"Yes--upon my soul--so she is.... Do as I say, Langlade; ready, -Blancard. Yes, she is coming upon us, and perhaps I was too late in -seeing this. That's all right--that's all right: my part now." - -Then he forced over the rudder, giving it so violent a jerk that the -boat, forced to change her course suddenly, seemed to rear and plunge -like a horse struggling against the curb; finally she obeyed. A huge -wave, raised by the giant bearing down on the pinnace, carried it on -like a leaf, and the brig passed within a few feet of the stern. - -"Ah!.... traitor!" cried the king, who had only just begun to realise -the intention of the captain. At the same time, he pulled a pistol from -his belt, crying "Board her! board her!" and tried to fire on the brig, -but the powder was wet and would not catch. The king was furious, and -went on shouting "Board her! board her!" - -"Yes, the wretch, or rather the imbecile," said Donadieu, "he took us -for pirates, and wanted to sink us--as if we needed him to do that!" - -Indeed, a single glance at the boat showed that she was beginning to -make water. - -The effort--to escape which Donadieu had made had strained the boat -terribly, and the water was pouring in by a number of leaks between the -planks; they had to begin again bailing out with their hats, and went on -at it for ten hours. Then for the second time Donadieu heard the -consoling cry, "A sail! a sail!" The king and his companions immediately -left off bailing; they hoisted the sails again, and steered for the -vessel which was coming towards them, and neglected to fight against the -water, which was rising rapidly. - -From that time forth it was a question of time, of minutes, of seconds; -it was a question of reaching the ship before the boat foundered. - -The vessel, however, seemed to understand the desperate position of the -men imploring help; she was coming up at full speed. Langlade was the -first to recognise her; she was a Government felucca plying between -Toulon and Bastia. Langlade was a friend of the captain, and he called -his name with the penetrating voice of desperation, and he was heard. It -was high time: the water kept on rising, and the king and his companions -were already up to their knees; the boat groaned in its death-struggle; -it stood still, and began to go round and round. - -Just then two or three ropes thrown from the felucca fell upon the boat; -the king seized one, sprang forward, and reached the rope-ladder: he was -saved. - -Blancard and Langlade immediately followed. Donadieu waited until the -last, as was his duty, and as he put his foot on the ladder he felt the -other boat begin to go under; he turned round with all a sailor's calm, -and saw the gulf open its jaws beneath him, and then the shattered boat -capsized, and immediately disappeared. Five seconds more, and the four -men who were saved would have been lost beyond recall! [These details -are well known to the people of Toulon, and I have heard them myself a -score of times during the two stays that I made in that town during 1834 -and 1835. Some of the people who related them had them first-hand from -Langlade and Donadieu themselves.] - -Murat had hardly gained the deck before a man came and fell at his feet: -it was a Mameluke whom he had taken to Egypt in former years, and had -since married at Castellamare; business affairs had taken him to -Marseilles, where by a miracle he had escaped the massacre of his -comrades, and in spite of his disguise and fatigue he had recognised his -former master. - -His exclamations of joy prevented the king from keeping up his -incognito. Then Senator Casabianca, Captain Oletta, a nephew of Prince -Baciocchi, a staff-paymaster called Boerco, who were themselves fleeing -from the massacres of the South, were all on board the vessel, and -improvising a little court, they greeted the king with the title of -"your Majesty." It had been a sudden embarkation, it brought about a -swift change: he was no longer Murat the exile; he was Joachim, the King -of Naples. The exile's refuge disappeared with the foundered boat; in -its place Naples and its magnificent gulf appeared on the horizon like a -marvellous mirage, and no doubt the primary idea of the fatal expedition -of Calabria was originated in the first days of exultation which -followed those hours of anguish. The king, however, still uncertain of -the welcome which awaited him in Corsica, took the name of the Count of -Campo Melle, and it was under this name that he landed at Bastia on the -25th August. But this precaution was useless; three days after his -arrival, not a soul but knew of his presence in the town. - -Crowds gathered at once, and cries of "Long live Joachim!" were heard, -and the king, fearing to disturb the public peace, left Bastia the same -evening with his three companions and his Mameluke. Two hours later he -arrived at Viscovato, and knocked at the door of General Franceschetti, -who had been in his service during his whole reign, and who, leaving -Naples at the same time as the king, had gone to Corsica with his wife, -to live with his father-in-law, M. Colonna Cicaldi. - -He was in the middle of supper when a servant told him that a stranger -was asking to speak to him--he went out, and found Murat wrapped in a -military greatcoat, a sailor's cap drawn down on his head, his beard -grown long, and wearing a soldier's trousers, boots, and gaiters. - -The general stood still in amazement; Murat fixed his great dark eyes on -him, and then, folding his arms:-- - -"Franceschetti," said he, "have you room at your table for your general, -who is hungry? Have you a shelter under your roof for your king, who is -an exile?" - -Franceschetti looked astonished as he recognised Joachim, and could only -answer him by falling on his knees and kissing his hand. From that -moment the general's house was at Murat's disposal. - -The news of the king's arrival had hardly been handed about the -neighbourhood before officers of all ranks hastened to Viscovato, -veterans who had fought under him, Corsican hunters who were attracted -by his adventurous character; in a few days the general's house was -turned into a palace, the village into a royal capital, the island into -a kingdom. - -Strange rumours were heard concerning Murat's intentions. An army of -nine hundred men helped to give them some amount of confirmation. It was -then that Blancard, Donadieu, and Langlade took leave of him; Murat -wished to keep them, but they had been vowed to the rescue of the exile, -not to the fortunes of the king. - -We have related how Murat had met one of his former Mamelukes, a man -called Othello, on board the Bastia mailboat. Othello had followed him -to Viscovato, and the ex-King of Naples considered how to make use of -him. Family relations recalled him naturally to Castellamare, and Murat -ordered him to return there, entrusting to him letters for persons on -whose devotion he could depend. Othello started, and reached his -father-in-law's safely, and thought he could confide in him; but the -latter was horror-struck, and alarmed the police, who made a descent on -Othello one night, and seized the letters. - -The next day each man to whom a letter was addressed was arrested and -ordered to answer Murat as if all was well, and to point out Salerno as -the best place for disembarking: five out of seven were dastards enough -to obey; the two remaining, who were two Spanish brothers, absolutely -refused; they were thrown into a dungeon. - -However, on the 17th September, Murat left Viscovato; General -Franceschetti and several Corsican officers served as escort; he took -the road to Ajaccio by Cotone, the mountains of Serra and Bosco, Venaco -and Vivaro, by the gorges of the forest of Vezzanovo and Bogognone; he -was received and feted like a king everywhere, and at the gates of the -towns he was met by deputations who made him speeches and saluted him -with the title of "Majesty"; at last, on the 23rd September, he arrived -at Ajaccio. The whole population awaited him outside the walls, and his -entry into the town was a triumphal procession; he was taken to the inn -which had been fixed upon beforehand by the quartermasters. It was -enough to turn the head of a man less impressionable than Murat; as for -him, he was intoxicated with it. As he went into the inn he held out his -hand to Franceschetti. - -"You see," he said, "what the Neapolitans will do for me by the way the -Corsicans receive me." - -It was the first mention which had escaped him of his plans for the -future, and from that very day he began to give orders for his -departure. - -They collected ten little feluccas: a Maltese, named Barbara, former -captain of a frigate of the Neapolitan navy, was appointed -commander-in-chief of the expedition; two hundred and fifty men were -recruited and ordered to hold themselves in readiness for the first -signal. - -Murat was only waiting for the answers to Othello's letters: they -arrived on the afternoon of the 28th. Murat invited all his officers to -a grand dinner, and ordered double pay and double rations to the men. - -The king was at dessert when the arrival of M. Maceroni was announced to -him: he was the envoy of the foreign powers who brought Murat the answer -which he had been awaiting so long at Toulon. Murat left the table and -went into another room. M. Maceroni introduced himself as charged with -an official mission, and handed the king the Emperor of Austria's -ultimatum. It was couched in the following terms: - - "Monsieur Maceroni is authorised by these presents to announce to - King Joachim that His Majesty the Emperor of Austria will afford him - shelter in his States on the following terms:-- - - "1. The king is to take a private name. The queen having adopted - that of Lipano, it is proposed that the king should do likewise. - - "2. It will be permitted to the king to choose a town in Bohemia, - Moravia, or the Tyrol, as a place of residence. He could even - inhabit a country house in one of these same provinces without - inconvenience. - - "3. The king is to give his word of honour to His Imperial and Royal - Majesty that he will never leave the States of Austria without the - express-permission of the Emperor, and that he is to live like a - private gentleman of distinction, but submitting to the laws in force - in the States of Austria. - - "In attestation whereof, and to guard against abuse, the undersigned - has received the order of the Emperor to sign the present - declaration. - - "(Signed) PRINCE OF METTERNICH - - "PARIS, 1st Sept. 1815." - -Murat smiled as he finished reading, then he signed to M. Maceroni to -follow him: - -He led him on to the terrace of the house, which looked over the whole -town, and over which a banner floated as it might on a royal castle. -From thence they could see Ajaccio all gay and illuminated, the port -with its little fleet, and the streets crowded with people, as if it -were a fete-day. - -Hardly had the crowd set eyes on Murat before a universal cry arose, -"Long live Joachim, brother of Napoleon! Long live the King of Naples!" - -Murat bowed, and the shouts were redoubled, and the garrison band played -the national airs. - - M. Maceroni did not know how to believe his own eyes and ears. - -When the king had enjoyed his astonishment, he invited him to go down to -the drawing-room. His staff were there, all in full uniform: one might -have been at Caserte or at Capo di Monte. At last, after a moment's -hesitation, Maceroni approached Murat. - -"Sir," he said, "what is my answer to be to His Majesty the Emperor of -Austria?" - -"Sir," answered Murat, with the lofty dignity which sat so well on his -fine face, "tell my brother Francis what you have seen and heard, and -add that I am setting out this very night to reconquer my kingdom of -Naples." - - - - -III--PIZZO - - -The letters which had made Murat resolve to leave Corsica had been -brought to him by a Calabrian named Luidgi. He had presented himself to -the king as the envoy of the Arab, Othello, who had been thrown into -prison in Naples, as we have related, as well as the seven recipients of -the letters. - -The answers, written by the head of the Neapolitan police, indicated the -port of Salerno as the best place for Joachim to land; for King -Ferdinand had assembled three thousand Austrian troops at that point, -not daring to trust the Neapolitan soldiers, who cherished a brilliant -and enthusiastic memory of Murat. - -Accordingly the flotilla was directed for the Gulf of Salerno, but -within sight of the island of Capri a violent storm broke over it, and -drove it as far as Paola, a little seaport situated ten miles from -Cosenza. Consequently the vessels were anchored for the night of the 5th -of October in a little indentation of the coast not worthy of the name -of a roadstead. The king, to remove all suspicion from the coastguards -and the Sicilian scorridori, [Small vessels fitted up as ships-of-war.] -ordered that all lights should be extinguished and that the vessels -should tack about during the night; but towards one o'clock such a -violent land-wind sprang up that the expedition was driven out to sea, -so that on the 6th at dawn the king's vessel was alone. - -During the morning they overhauled Captain Cicconi's felucca, and the -two ships dropped anchor at four o'clock in sight of Santo-Lucido. In -the evening the king commanded Ottoviani, a staff officer, to go ashore -and reconnoitre. Luidgi offered to accompany him. Murat accepted his -services. So Ottoviani and his guide went ashore, whilst Cicconi and his -felucca put out to sea in search of the rest of the fleet. - -Towards eleven o'clock at night the lieutenant of the watch descried a -man in the waves swimming to the vessel. As soon as he was within -hearing the lieutenant hailed him. The swimmer immediately made himself -known: it was Luidgi. They put out the boat, and he came on board. Then -he told them that Ottoviani had been arrested, and he had only escaped -himself by jumping into the sea. Murat's first idea was to go to the -rescue of Ottoviani; but Luidgi made the king realise the danger and -uselessness of such an attempt; nevertheless, Joachim remained agitated -and irresolute until two o'clock in the morning. - -At last he gave the order to put to sea again. During the manoeuvre -which effected this a sailor fell overboard and disappeared before they -had time to help him. Decidedly these were ill omens. - -On the morning of the 7th two vessels were in sight. The king gave the -order to prepare for action, but Barbara recognised them as Cicconi's -felucca and Courrand's lugger, which had joined each other and were -keeping each other company. They hoisted the necessary signals, and the -two captains brought up their vessels alongside the admiral's. - -While they were deliberating as to what route to follow, a boat came up -to Murat's vessel. Captain Pernice was on board with a lieutenant. They -came to ask the king's permission to board his ship, not wishing to -remain on Courrand's, for in their opinion he was a traitor. - -Murat sent to fetch him, and in spite of his protestations he was made -to descend into a boat with fifty men, and the boat was moored to the -vessel. The order was carried out at once, and the little squadron -advanced, coasting along the shores of Calabria without losing sight of -them; but at ten o'clock in the evening, just as they came abreast of -the Gulf of Santa-Eufemia, Captain Courrand cut the rope which moored -his boat to the vessel, and rowed away from the fleet. - -Murat had thrown himself on to his bed without undressing; they brought -him the news. - -He rushed up to the deck, and arrived in time to see the boat, which was -fleeing in the direction of Corsica, grow small and vanish in the -distance. He remained motionless, not uttering a cry, giving no signs of -rage; he only sighed and let his head fall on his breast: it was one -more leaf falling from the exhausted tree of his hopes. - -General Franceschetti profited by this hour of discouragement to advise -him not to land in Calabria, and to go direct to Trieste, in order to -claim from Austria the refuge which had been offered. - -The king was going through one of those periods of extreme exhaustion, -of mortal depression, when courage quite gives way: he refused flatly at -first, and there at last agreed to do it. - -Just then the general perceived a sailor lying on some coils of ropes, -within hearing of all they said; he interrupted himself, and pointed him -out to Murat. - -The latter got up, went to see the man, and recognised Luidgi; overcome -with exhaustion, he had fallen asleep on deck. The king satisfied -himself that the sleep was genuine, and besides he had full confidence -in the man. The conversation, which had been interrupted for a moment, -was renewed: it was agreed that without saying anything about the new -plans, they would clear Cape Spartivento and enter the Adriatic; then -the king and the general went below again to the lower deck. - -The next day, the 8th October, they found themselves abreast of Pizzo, -when Joachim, questioned by Barbara as to what he proposed to do, gave -the order to steer for Messina. Barbara answered that he was ready to -obey, but that they were in need of food and water; consequently he -offered to go on, board Cicconi's vessel and to land with him to get -stores. The king agreed; Barbara asked for the passports which he had -received from the allied powers, in order, he said, not to be molested -by the local authorities. - -These documents were too important for Murat to consent to part with -them; perhaps the king was beginning to suspect: he refused. Barbara -insisted; Murat ordered him to land without the papers; Barbara flatly -refused. - -The king, accustomed to being obeyed, raised his riding-whip to strike -the Maltese, but, changing his resolution, he ordered the soldiers to -prepare their arms, the officers to put on full uniform; he himself set -the example. The disembarkation was decided upon, and Pizzo was to -become the Golfe Juan of the new Napoleon. - -Consequently the vessels were steered for land. The king got down into a -boat with twenty-eight soldiers and three servants, amongst whom was -Luidgi. As they drew near the shore General Franceschetti made a -movement as if to land, but Murat stopped him. - -"It is for me to land first," he said, and he sprang on shore. - -He was dressed in a general's coat, white breeches and riding-boots, a -belt carrying two pistols, a gold-embroidered hat with a cockade -fastened in with a clasp made of fourteen brilliants, and lastly he -carried under his arm the banner round which he hoped to rally his -partisans. The town clock of Pizzo struck ten. Murat went straight up to -the town, from which he was hardly a hundred yards distant. He followed -the wide stone staircase which led up to it. - -It was Sunday. Mass was about to be celebrated, and the whole population -had assembled in the Great Square when he arrived. No one recognised -him, and everyone gazed with astonishment at the fine officer. Presently -he saw amongst the peasants a former sergeant of his who had served in -his guard at Naples. He walked straight up to him and put his hand on -the man's shoulder. - -"Tavella," he said, "don't you recognise me?" - -But as the man made no answer: - -"I am Joachim Murat, I am your king," he said. "Yours be the honour to -shout 'Long live Joachim!' first." - -Murat's suite instantly made the air ring with acclamations, but the -Calabrians remained silent, and not one of his comrades took up the cry -for which the king himself had given the signal; on the contrary, a low -murmur ran through the crowd. Murat well understood this forerunner of -the storm. - -"Well," he said to Tavella, "if you won't cry 'Long live Joachim!' you -can at least fetch me a horse, and from sergeant I will promote you to -be captain." - -Tavella walked away without answering, but instead of carrying out the -king's behest, went into his house, and did not appear again. - -In the meantime the people were massing together without evincing any of -the sympathy that the king had hoped for. He felt that he was lost if he -did not act instantly. - -"To Monteleone!" he cried, springing forward towards the road which led -to that town. - -"To Monteleone!" shouted his officers and men, as they followed him. - -And the crowd, persistently silent, opened to let them pass. - -But they had hardly left the square before a great disturbance broke -out. A man named Giorgio Pellegrino came out of his house with a gun and -crossed the square, shouting, "To your arms!" - -He knew that Captain Trenta Capelli commanding the Cosenza garrison was -just then in Pizzo, and he was going to warn him. - -The cry "To arms!" had more effect on the crowd than the cry "Long live -Joachim!" - -Every Calabrian possesses a gun, and each one ran to fetch his, and when -Trenta Capelli and Giorgio Pellegrino came back to the square they found -nearly two hundred armed men there. - -They placed themselves at the head of the column, and hastened forward -in pursuit of the king; they came up with him about ten minutes from the -square, where the bridge is nowadays. Seeing them, Murat stopped and -waited for them. - -Trenta Capelli advanced, sword in hand, towards the king. - -"Sir," said the latter, "will you exchange your captain's epaulettes for -a general's? Cry 'Long live Joachim!' and follow me with these brave -fellows to Monteleone." - -"Sire," said Trenta Capelli, "we are the faithful subjects of King -Ferdinand, and we come to fight you, and not to bear you company. Give -yourself up, if you would prevent bloodshed." - -Murat looked at the captain with an expression which it would be -impossible to describe; then without deigning to answer, he signed to -Cagelli to move away, while his other hand went to his pistol. Giotgio -Pellegrino perceived the movement. - -"Down, captain, down!" he cried. The captain obeyed. Immediately a -bullet whistled over his head and brushed Murat's head. - -"Fire!" commanded Franceschetti. - -"Down with your arms!" cried Murat. - -Waving his handkerchief in his right hand, he made a step towards the -peasants, but at the same moment a number of shots were fired, an -officer and two or three men fell. In a case like this, when blood has -begun to flow, there is no stopping it. - -Murat knew this fatal truth, and his course of action was rapidly -decided on. Before him he had five hundred armed men, and behind him a -precipice thirty feet high: he sprang from the jagged rock on which he -was standing, and alighting on the sand, jumped up safe and sound. -General Franceschetti and his aide-de-camp Campana were able to -accomplish the jump in the same way, and all three went rapidly down to -the sea through the little wood which lay within a hundred yards of the -shore, and which hid them for a few moments from their enemies. - -As they came out of the wood a fresh discharge greeted them, bullets -whistled round them, but no one was hit, and the three fugitives went on -down to the beach. - -It was only then that the king perceived that the boat which had brought -them to land had gone off again. The three ships which composed the -fleet, far from remaining to guard his landing, were sailing away at -full speed into the open sea. - -The Maltese, Barbara, was going off not only with Murat's fortune, but -with his hopes likewise, his salvation, his very life. They could not -believe in such treachery, and the king took it for some manoeuvre of -seamanship, and seeing a fishing-boat drawn up on the beach on some -nets, he called to his two companions, "Launch that boat!" - -They all began to push it down to the sea with the energy of despair, -the strength of agony. - -No one had dared to leap from the rock in pursuit of them; their -enemies, forced to make a detour, left them a few moments of liberty. - -But soon shouts were heard: Giorgio Pellegrino, Trenta Capelli, followed -by the whole population of Pizzo, rushed out about a hundred and fifty -paces from where Murat, Franceschetti, and Campana were straining -themselves to make the boat glide down the sand. - -These cries were immediately followed by a volley. Campana fell, with a -bullet through his heart. - -The boat, however, was launched. Franceschetti sprang into it, Murat was -about to follow, but he had not observed that the spurs of his -riding-boots had caught in the meshes of the net. The boat, yielding to -the push he gave it, glided away, and the king fell head foremost, with -his feet on land and his face in the water. Before he had time to pick -himself up, the populace had fallen on him: in one instant they had torn -away his epaulettes, his banner, and his coat, and would have torn him -to bits himself, had not Giorgio Pellegrino and Trenta Capelli taken him -under their protection, and giving him an arm on each side, defended him -in their turn against the people. Thus he crossed the square as a -prisoner where an hour before he had walked as a king. - -His captors took him to the castle: he was pushed into the common -prison, the door was shut upon him, and the king found himself among -thieves and murderers, who, not knowing him, took him for a companion in -crime, and greeted him with foul language and hoots of derision. - -A quarter of an hour later the door of the gaol opened and Commander -Mattei came in: he found Murat standing with head proudly erect and -folded arms. There was an expression of indefinable loftiness in this -half-naked man whose face was stained with blood and bespattered with -mud. Mattei bowed before him. - -"Commander," said Murat, recognising his rank by his epaulettes, "look -round you and tell me whether this is a prison for a king." - -Then a strange thing happened: the criminals, who, believing Murat their -accomplice, had welcomed him with vociferations and laughter, now bent -before his royal majesty, which had not overawed Pellegrino and Trenta -Capelli, and retired silently to the depths of their dungeon. - -Misfortune had invested Murat with a new power. - -Commander Mattei murmured some excuse, and invited Murat to follow him -to a room that he had had prepared for him; but before going out, Murat -put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a handful of gold and let it -fall in a shower in the midst of the gaol. - -"See," he said, turning towards the prisoners, "it shall not be said -that you have received a visit from a king, prisoner and crownless as he -is, without having received largesse." - -"Long live Joachim!" cried the prisoners. - -Murat smiled bitterly. Those same words repeated by the same number of -voices an hour before in the public square, instead of resounding in the -prison, would have made him King of Naples. - -The most important events proceed sometimes from such mere trifles, that -it seems as if God and the devil must throw dice for the life or death -of men, for the rise or fall of empires. - -Murat followed Commander Mattei: he led him to a little room which the -porter had put at his disposal. Mattei was going to retire when Murat -called him back. - -"Commander," he said, "I want a scented bath." - -"Sire, it will be difficult to obtain." - -"Here are fifty ducats; let someone buy all the eau de Cologne that can -be obtained. Ah--and let some tailors be sent to me." - -"It will be impossible to find anyone here capable of making anything -but a peasant's clothes." - -"Send someone to Monteleone to fetch them from there." - -The commander bowed and went out. - -Murat was in his bath when the Lavaliere Alcala was announced, a General -and Governor of the town. He had sent damask coverlets, curtains, and -arm-chairs. Murat was touched by this attention, and it gave him fresh -composure. At two o'clock the same day General Nunziante arrived from -Santa-Tropea with three thousand men. Murat greeted his old acquaintance -with pleasure; but at the first word the king perceived that he was -before his judge, and that he had not come for the purpose of making a -visit, but to make an official inquiry. - -Murat contented himself with stating that he had been on his way from -Corsica to Trieste with a passport from the Emperor of Austria when -stormy weather and lack of provisions had forced him to put into Pizzo. -All other questions Murat met with a stubborn silence; then at least, -wearied by his importunity-- - -"General," he said, "can you lend me some clothes after my bath?" - -The general understood that he could expect no more information, and, -bowing to the king, he went out. Ten minutes later, a complete uniform -was brought to Murat; he put it on immediately, asked for a pen and ink, -wrote to the commander-in-chief of the Austrian troops at Naples, to the -English ambassador, and to his wife, to tell them of his detention at -Pizzo. These letters written, he got up and paced his room for some time -in evident agitation; at last, needing fresh air, he opened the window. -There was a view of the very beach where he had been captured. - -Two men were digging a hole in the sand at the foot of the little -redoubt. Murat watched them mechanically. When the two men had finished, -they went into a neighbouring house and soon came out, bearing a corpse -in their arms. - -The king searched his memory, and indeed it seemed to him that in the -midst of that terrible scene he had seen someone fall, but who it was he -no longer remembered. The corpse was quite without covering, but by the -long black hair and youthful outlines the king recognised Campana, the -aide-decamp he had always loved best. - -This scene, watched from a prison window in the twilight, this solitary -burial on the shore, in the sand, moved Murat more deeply than his own -fate. Great tears filled his eyes and fell silently down the leonine -face. At that moment General Nunziante came in and surprised him with -outstretched arms and face bathed with tears. Murat heard him enter and -turned round, and seeing the old soldier's surprise. - -"Yes, general," he said, "I weep; I weep for that boy, just twenty-four, -entrusted to me by his parents, whose death I have brought about. I weep -for that vast, brilliant future which is buried in an unknown grave, in -an enemy's country, on a hostile shore. Oh, Campana! Campana! if ever I -am king again, I will raise you a royal tomb." - -The general had had dinner served in an adjacent room. Murat followed -him and sat down to table, but he could not eat. The sight which he had -just witnessed had made him heartbroken, and yet without a line on his -brow that man had been through the battles of Aboukir, Eylau, and -Moscow! After dinner, Murat went into his room again, gave his various -letters to General Nunziante, and begged to be left alone. The general -went away. - -Murat paced round his room several times, walking with long steps, and -pausing from time to time before the window, but without opening it. - -At last he overcame a deep reluctance, put his hand on the bolt and drew -the lattice towards him. - -It was a calm, clear night: one could see the whole shore. He looked for -Campana's grave. Two dogs scratching the sand showed him the spot. - -The king shut the window violently, and without undressing threw himself -onto his bed. At last, fearing that his agitation would be attributed to -personal alarm, he undressed and went to bed, to sleep, or seem to sleep -all night. - -On the morning of the 9th the tailors whom Murat had asked for arrived. -He ordered a great many clothes, taking the trouble to explain all the -details suggested by his fastidious taste. He was thus employed when -General Nunziante came in. He listened sadly to the king's commands. He -had just received telegraphic despatches ordering him to try the King of -Naples by court-martial as a public enemy. But he found the king so -confident, so tranquil, almost cheerful indeed, that he had not the -heart to announce his trial to him, and took upon himself to delay the -opening of operation until he received written instructions. These -arrived on the evening of the 12th. They were couched in the following -terms: - - NAPLES, October 9, 1815 - - "Ferdinand, by the grace of God, etc . . . . wills and decrees - the following: - - "Art. 1. General Murat is to be tried by court-martial, the members - whereof are to be nominated by our Minister of War. - - "Art. 2. Only half an hour is to be accorded to the condemned for - the exercises of religion. - - "(Signed) FERDINAND." - -Another despatch from the minister contained the names of the members of -the commission. They were:-- - -Giuseppe Fosculo, adjutant, commander-in-chief of the staff, president. - -Laffaello Scalfaro, chief of the legion of Lower Calabria. - -Latereo Natali, lieutenant-colonel of the Royal Marines. - -Gennaro Lanzetta, lieutenant-colonel of the Engineers. - - W. T. captain of Artillery. - -Francois de Venge, ditto. - -Francesco Martellari, lieutenant of Artillery. - -Francesco Froio, lieutenant in the 3rd regiment of the line. - -Giovanni delta Camera, Public Prosecutor to the Criminal Courts of Lower -Calabria. - -Francesco Papavassi, registrar. - -The commission assembled that night. - -On the 13th October, at six o'clock in the morning, Captain Stratti came -into the king's prison; he was sound asleep. Stratti was going away -again, when he stumbled against a chair; the noise awoke Murat. - -"What do you want with me, captain?" asked the king. - -Stratti tried to speak, but his voice failed him. - -"Ah ha!" said Murat, "you must have had news from Naples." - -"Yes, sire," muttered Stratti. - -"What are they?" said Murat. - -"Your trial, sire." - -"And by whose order will sentence be pronounced, if you please? Where -will they find peers to judge me? If they consider me as a king, I must -have a tribunal of kings; if I am a marshal of France, I must have a -court of marshals; if I am a general, and that is the least I can be, I -must have a jury of generals." - -"Sire, you are declared a public enemy, and as such you are liable to be -judged by court-martial: that is the law which you instituted yourself -for rebels." - -"That law was made for brigands, and not for crowned heads, sir," said -Murat scornfully. "I am ready; let them butcher me if they like. I did -not think King Ferdinand capable of such an action." - -"Sire, will you not hear the names of your judges?" - -"Yes, sir, I will. It must be a curious list. Read it: I am listening." - -Captain Stratti read out the names that we have enumerated. Murat -listened with a disdainful smile. - -"Ah," he said, as the captain finished, "it seems that every precaution -has been taken." - -"How, sire?" - -"Yes. Don't you know that all these men, with the exception of Francesco -Froio, the reporter; owe their promotion to me? They will be afraid of -being accused of sparing me out of gratitude, and save one voice, -perhaps, the sentence will be unanimous." - -"Sire, suppose you were to appear before the court, to plead your own -cause?" - -"Silence, sir, silence!" said Murat. "I could, not officially recognise -the judges you have named without tearing too many pages of history. -Such tribunal is quite incompetent; I should be disgraced if I appeared -before it. I know I could not save my life, let me at least preserve my -royal dignity." - -At this moment Lieutenant Francesco Froio came in to interrogate the -prisoner, asking his name, his age, and his nationality. Hearing these -questions, Murat rose with an expression of sublime dignity. - -"I am Joachim Napoleon, King of the Two Sicilies," he answered, "and I -order you to leave me." - -The registrar obeyed. - -Then Murat partially dressed himself, and asked Stratti if he could -write a farewell to his wife and children. The Captain no longer able to -speak, answered by an affirmative sign; then Joachim sat down to the -table and wrote this letter: - -"DEAR CAROLINE OF MY HEART,--The fatal moment has come: I am to suffer -the death penalty. In an hour you will be a widow, our children will be -fatherless: remember me; never forget my memory. I die innocent; my life -is taken from me unjustly. - -"Good-bye, Achilles good-bye, Laetitia; goodbye, Lucien; good-bye, -Louise. - -"Show yourselves worthy of me; I leave you in a world and in a kingdom -full of my enemies. Show yourselves superior to adversity, and remember -never to think yourselves better than you are, remembering what you have -been. - -"Farewell. I bless you all. Never curse my memory. Remember that the -worst pang of my agony is in dying far from my children, far from my -wife, without a friend to close my eyes. Farewell, my own Caroline. -Farewell, my children. I send you my blessing, my most tender tears, my -last kisses. Farewell, farewell. Never forget your unhappy father, - -"Pizzo, Oct. 13, 1815" - -[We can guarantee the authenticity of this letter, having copied it -ourselves at Pizzo, from the Lavaliere Alcala's copy of the original] - -Then he cut off a lock of his hair and put it in his letter. Just then -General Nunziante came in; Murat went to him and held out his hand. - -"General," he said, "you are a father, you are a husband, one day you -will know what it is to part from your wife and sons. Swear to me that -this letter shall be delivered." - -"On my epaulettes," said the general, wiping his eyes. [Madame Murat -never received this letter.] - -"Come, come, courage, general," said Murat; "we are soldiers, we know -how to face death. One favour--you will let me give the order to fire, -will you not?" - -The general signed acquiescence: just then the registrar came in with -the king's sentence in his hand. - -Murat guessed what it was. - -"Read, sir," he said coldly; "I am listening." - -The registrar obeyed. Murat was right. - -The sentence of death had been carried with only one dissentient voice. - -When the reading was finished, the king turned again to Nunziante. - -"General," he said, "believe that I distinguish in my mind the -instrument which strikes me and the hand that wields that instrument. I -should never have thought that Ferdinand would have had me shot like a -dog; he does not hesitate apparently before such infamy. Very well. We -will say no more about it. I have challenged my judges, but not my -executioners. What time have you fixed for my execution?" - -"Will you fix it yourself, sir?" said the general. - -Murat pulled out a watch on which there was a portrait of his wife; by -chance he turned up the portrait, and not the face of the watch; he -gazed at it tenderly. - -"See, general," he said, showing it to Nunziante; "it is a portrait of -the queen. You know her; is it not like her?" - -The general turned away his head. Murat sighed and put away the watch. - -"Well, sire," said the registrar, "what time have you fixed?" - -"Ah yes," said Murat, smiling, "I forgot why I took out my watch when I -saw Caroline's portrait." - -Then he looked at his watch again, but this time at its face. - -"Well, it shall be at four o'clock, if you like; it is past three -o'clock. I ask for fifty minutes. Is that too much, sir?" - -The registrar bowed and went out. The general was about to follow him. - -"Shall I never see you again, Nunziante?" said Murat. - -"My orders are to be present at your death, sire, but I cannot do it." - -"Very well, general. I will dispense with your presence at the last -moment, but I should like to say farewell once more and to embrace you." - -"I will be near, sire." - -"Thank you. Now leave me alone." - -"Sire, there are two priests here." - -Murat made an impatient movement. - -"Will you receive them?" continued the general. - -"Yes; bring them in." - -The general went out. A moment later, two priests appeared in the -doorway. One of them was called Francesco Pellegrino, uncle of the man -who had caused the king's death; the other was Don Antonio Masdea. - -"What do you want here?" asked Murat. - -"We come to ask you if you are dying a Christian?" - -"I am dying as a soldier. Leave me." - -Don Francesco Pellegrino retired. No doubt he felt ill at ease before -Joachim. But Antonio Masdea remained at the door. - -"Did you not hear me?" asked the king. - -"Yes, indeed," answered the old man; "but permit me, sire, to hope that -it was not your last word to me. It is not, the first time that I see -you or beg something of you. I have already had occasion to ask a favour -of you." - -"What was that?" - -"When your Majesty came to Pizzo in 1810, I asked you for 25,000 francs -to enable us to finish our church. Your Majesty sent me 40,000 francs." - -"I must have foreseen that I should be buried there," said Murat, -smiling. - -"Ah, sire, I should like to think that you did not refuse my second boon -any more than my first. Sire, I entreat you on my knees." - -The old man fell at Murat's feet. - -"Die as a Christian!" - -"That would give you pleasure, then, would it?" said the king. - -"Sire, I would give the few short days remaining to me if God would -grant that His Holy Spirit should fall upon you in your last hour." - -"Well," said Murat, "hear my confession. I accuse myself of having been -disobedient to my parents as a child. Since I reached manhood I have -done nothing to reproach myself with." - -"Sire, will you give me an attestation that you die in the Christian -faith?" - -"Certainly," said Murat. - -And he took a pen and wrote: "I, Joachim Murat, die a Christian, -believing in the Holy Catholic Church, Apostolic and Roman." - -He signed it. - -"Now, father," continued the king, "if you have a third favour to ask of -me, make haste, for in half an hour it will be too late." - -Indeed, the castle clock was striking half-past three. The priest signed -that he had finished. - -"Then leave me alone," said Murat; and the old man went out. - -Murat paced his room for a few moments, then he sat down on his bed and -let his head fall into his hands. Doubtless, during the quarter of an -hour he remained thus absorbed in his thoughts, he saw his whole life -pass before him, from the inn where he had started to the palace he had -reached; no doubt his adventurous career unrolled itself before him like -some golden dream, some brilliant fiction, some tale from the Arabian -Nights. - -His life gleamed athwart the storm like a rainbow, and like a rainbow's, -its two extremities were lost in clouds--the clouds of birth and death. -At last he roused himself from this inward contemplation, and lifted a -pale but tranquil face. Then he went to the glass and arranged his hair. -His strange characteristics never left him. The affianced of Death, he -was adorning himself to meet his bride. - -Four o'clock struck. - -Murat went to the door himself and opened it. - -General Nunziante was waiting for him. - -"Thank you, general," said Murat. "You have kept your word. Kiss me, and -go at once, if you like." - -The general threw himself into the king's arms, weeping, and utterly -unable to speak. - -"Courage," said Murat. "You see I am calm." It was this very calmness -which broke the general's heart. He dashed out of the corridor, and left -the castle, running like a madman. - -Then the king walked out into the courtyard. - -Everything was ready for the execution. - -Nine men and a corporal were ranged before the door of the council -chamber. Opposite them was a wall twelve feet high. Three feet away from -the wall was a stone block: Murat mounted it, thus raising himself about -a foot above the soldiers who were to execute him. Then he took out his -watch,[Madame Murat recovered this watch at the price of 200 Louis] -kissed his wife's portrait, and fixing his eyes on it, gave the order to -fire. At the word of command five out of the nine men fired: Murat -remained standing. The soldiers had been ashamed to fire on their king, -and had aimed over his head. That moment perhaps displayed most -gloriously the lionlike courage which was Murat's special attribute. His -face never changed, he did not move a muscle; only gazing at the -soldiers with an expression of mingled bitterness and gratitude, he -said: - -"Thank you; my friends. Since sooner or later you will be obliged to aim -true, do not prolong my death-agonies. All I ask you is to aim at the -heart and spare the face. Now----" - -With the same voice, the same calm, the same expression, he repeated the -fatal words one after another, without lagging, without hastening, as if -he were giving an accustomed command; but this time, happier than the -first, at the word "Fire!" he fell pierced by eight bullets, without a -sigh, without a movement, still holding the watch in his left hand. - -The soldiers took up the body and laid it on the bed where ten minutes -before he had been sitting, and the captain put a guard at the door. - -In the evening a man presented himself, asking to go into the -death-chamber: the sentinel refused to let him in, and he demanded an -interview with the governor of the prison. Led before him, he produced -an order. The commander read it with surprise and disgust, but after -reading it he led the man to the door where he had been refused -entrance. - -"Pass the Signor Luidgi," he said to the sentinel. - -Ten minutes had hardly elapsed before he came out again, holding a -bloodstained handkerchief containing something to which the sentinel -could not give a name. - -An hour later, the carpenter brought the coffin which was to contain the -king's remains. The workman entered the room, but instantly called the -sentinel in a voice of indescribable terror. - -The sentinel half opened the door to see what had caused the man's -panic. - -The carpenter pointed to a headless corpse! - -At the death of King Ferdinand, that, head, preserved in spirits of -wine, was found in a secret cupboard in his bedroom. - -A week after the execution of Pizzo everyone had received his reward: -Trenta Capelli was made a colonel, General Nunziante a marquis, and -Luidgi died from the effects of poison. - - - - - ---- - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MURAT *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2755 - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so -the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and -trademark. 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