Michel Ney de Marmont

“ Probably in the course of the morning Marmont had caught that registered letter. That he had secured it, whether by bribery or strategy, in the face of the stringent postal regulations was proof enough of his ability.
“When you set out to measure swords with me, Ogilvy, you picked the wrong man!” said Marmont, a hint of steel in his voice. “I picked the wrong man when I secured your passport, I admit; but I'm equal to coping with errors. You're not. You ran your head into a game that's far beyond you, and you know what to expect.” ”

“ Nothing that he ever did was wrong—even the loss of the battle of Salamanca, entirely his own work, can be shifted on to the shoulders of his subordinates. And he has no sympathy and admiration for any other person in the world. As a bitter critic remarked at the time of the publication of his bulky memoirs, ‘Marmont is not only autolatrous, but his autolatry is exclusive and intolerant. Many conceited men are not incapable of recognizing merit in others; they can adjust themselves to their equals and respect them. Marmont gets irritated and angry whenever he runs against another man of parts. ”

“ It was said at the time that Marmont hoped to draw the whole of the allies across the river, when he would have seized the position of Christoval, raised the siege and maintained the line of the Tormes. It may however be doubted that he expected Wellington to commit so gross an error. It is more likely that holding his own army to be the quickest of movement, [133] his object was to separate the allies’ force in the hopes of gaining some partial advantage to enable him to communicate with his forts, which were now in great danger. ”

“ One man above all rose greater as the danger thickened, and won a higher name amid disaster than he had done when he led our van to victory. To him I drink this glass—to Ney, the red-maned Lion, glaring back over his shoulder at the enemy who feared to tread too closely on his heels. I can see him now, his broad white face convulsed with fury, his light blue eyes sparkling like flints, his great voice roaring and crashing amid the roll of the musketry. His glazed and featherless cocked hat was the ensign upon which France rallied during those dreadful days. ”

“ But de Marmont only laughed. He was so excited that his lips trembled all the time, his hand shook and his eyes glowed just as if some inward fire was burning deep down in his soul.
"No! I can't," he retorted. "I want to shout and to sing and to cry 'Vive l'Empereur' till those frowning mountains over there echo with my shouts—and I'll have none of your English stiffness and reserve and curbing of enthusiasm to-day. I am a lunatic if you will—an escaped lunatic—if to be mad with joy be a proof of insanity. Clyffurde, my dear friend," he added more soberly, "I am honestly sorry for you to-day." ”

“ Ogilvy stared out at the flitting shores, and said nothing. Despite his impassive mien, the very sting of the jeers served to rouse him. He could now depend on no one, had only himself to count on. Was he such a fool, indeed, as he seemed to this man? The thought was like a spur to him, a burning goad stirring him to action.
Yet he sat in silence, his face a stony mask of defeat, while Marmont outlined his victory step by step, and gloated over it. The car headed into Villers, unhurried, passed through the sleepy little town, and turned out for Marmont's villa. ”

“ Wellington naturally also crossed the Tormes by the fords near Salamanca: being aware that further reinforcements, especially of cavalry, in which Marmont was relatively deficient, would arrive in a day or so, he had made up his mind to retreat at night unless something unexpected should happen. And the unexpected did happen: Marmont, who had hitherto carried off the honours of the campaign so far as manœuvring went, for there had been no important fighting, suddenly committed a gross tactical blunder. ”

“ The moment the rear-guard had passed, he mounted, and although in his uniform, rode boldly into the village of Tamames, where he found all the scaling ladders left behind. With tidings of this fact, and the strength of Marmont's army, he at once despatched a letter to Wellington, by Manrico el Barbado, who, as before, concealed it under his nether-jaw ”

“ Lord Wellington saw clearly enough the false position of his enemy, but he argued, that if Marmont came up to fight, it was better to defend a very strong position, than to descend and combat in the plain, seeing that the inferiority of force was not such as to insure the result of the battle being decisive of the campaign; and in case of failure, a retreat across the Tormes would have been very difficult. To this may be added, that during the first evening there was some confusion amongst the allies, before the troops of the different nations could form their order of battle. ”

“ Marmont glanced around the circle and met none. “The motion is approved.”
“And how,” demanded Ogilvy, with sarcasm, “do you propose to carry it out? By putting cyanide in my coffee, or by staking me out on the sands to drown with the tide?”
“Neither,” said Marmont, and chuckled. “You will be put in a certain room. After dinner tonight the room will be flooded with a certain gas; when your body is found, it will be seen clearly that you died by drowning. We can even manage to flood the lungs with water by a simple device invented by M. de Nesle yonder, who is a physician.” ”

“ He sees what has to be done and does it. That is the sort of man for a leader. I would rather serve under a man who does what he thinks best at once, even if it turns out wrong, than one who hesitates and wants time to consider. Ney has been called 'the child of victory,' and I believe in his star. Anyone else would have surrendered after that fight yesterday, and yet you see how he has got out of the scrape so far. I believe that Ney will cross the frontier safe, even if he carries with him only a corporal's guard."
Julian was too exhausted to talk, and every moment of rest was precious. ”

“ Marmont, perfectly acquainted with the country, had outflanked and outmarched him, and gained the command of the Tormes, thus securing his junction with the king’s army, and enabled to fight or wait for reinforcements, while the scope of the allies’ operations would hourly become more restricted. Meanwhile Caffarelli having finally detached eighteen hundred cavalry with guns to aid Marmont, they were coming on, and the king also was taking the field; hence though a victory should be won, unless it was decisive, Wellington’s object would not be advanced. ”

“ Genis," cried de Marmont excitedly. "Ask him, Mademoiselle Crystal, ask him where is the man who to-day saved his life? whom I myself saw to-day on the roadside, wounded and half dead with fatigue, on horseback, with the inert body of M. de St. Genis lying across his saddle-bow. Ask him how he came to lie across that saddle-bow? and whether his English friend and mine, Bobby Clyffurde, did not—as any who passed by could guess—drag him out of that hell at Waterloo and bring him into safety, whilst risking his own life. ”

“ And de Marmont was satisfied.
He was perfectly ready to pick up the strained strands of friendship with the Englishman and affected not to notice the latter's absorption and moodiness.
"Can I drive you into Grenoble, my good Clyffurde?" he asked airily as he paused on the top of the perron steps, waiting for the hackney coach.
"I thank you," replied Clyffurde; "I prefer to walk."
"It is eight kilometres and a pitch-dark night." ”

“ Three thousand troops had joined since the battle, yet the general decrease, including the killed and wounded, was above eight thousand men, and the number of sick was rapidly augmenting from the extreme heat. It may therefore be said that if Marmont was stricken deeply by Wellington the king poisoned the wound. The English general had fore-calculated all these superior resources of the enemy, and it was only Marmont’s flagrant fault, on the 22d, that could have wrung the battle from him ”

“ His retreat through a devastated country was terrible, but his force of character kept his men together, and Ney having shown the worst side of his character now showed the best in the frequent and brilliant rearguard actions, until a new act of insubordination at last made the old marshal dismiss Ney from his command. ”

“ Marmont now retreated to Salamanca, hoping to effect a junction with Soult; but he was prevented from this step by the capture of the strong forts which the French had erected at Almaraz on the Tagus, and which were captured by General Hill. At length, on the 13th of June, Lord Wellington broke up from his cantonments between the Coa and the Agueda with about 40,000 men, leaving General Hill near Almaraz with 12,000 more. As his lordship advanced into Spain, he received reports that Marmont was about to be re-enforced by a division consisting of nearly seven thousand men. ”

“ A moment later the chauffeur appeared. The very fact that he did not bring Ogilvy's bag, showed that he had heard all the conversation and was managing the matter very quietly. He held the coat for Ogilvy, then turned to Marmont.
“Here, m'sieu, is your notebook. I believe you left it in the car this morning.”
Marmont nodded, pocketed it, gave Ogilvy a significant glance, then took him by the arm with an air of friendliness and they turned to the door.
“Good player, eh?” he observed. “Well, our car's waiting—another Renault. I do not depend on one alone, be it cars or men.” ”

“ At any rate, poor Noyes wasn’t a predestined genius. But he was beautiful to see, and charming as a comrade too. It was only when he began to talk literature that my heart failed me. I knew all the symptoms so well—the things he had ‘in him,’ and the things outside him that impinged! There’s the real test, after all. It was always—punctually, inevitably, with the inexorableness of a mechanical law—it was always the wrong thing that struck him. I grew to find a certain grim fascination in deciding in advance exactly which wrong thing he’d select ”

“ Then a spat-spat of fists, heavy pounding blows, merciless, unguarded, the two men slugging with every ounce of strength.
Neither of them could stand such furious expenditure for long. Human flesh and muscle could not stand it. Twice Marmont opened his mouth, drew back his head to utter a shout; each time Ogilvy smashed him square in the teeth. His face was a white-and-red mask. Abruptly he got in a straight left to the chin and Ogilvy was hurled backward. In this instant Marmont got out one hoarse, panting shout ”

“ MANHOOD AND ITS VIGOR Virility like unto steel is the very mark of Noyes. But as this study of Childhood has shown, it is a virility touched with tenderness. As Bayard Taylor sings:
"The bravest are the tenderest,
The loving are the daring!"
And this is Noyes. Noyes knew Manhood, he sang it, he challenged it too, he crowned it in "Drake"; he placed it a little lower than the gods. Hear this supreme word, enough to lift man to the skies:
"Where, what a dreamer yet, in spite of all,
Is man, that splendid visionary child
Who sent his fairy beacon through the dusk!" ”

“ Monte, in spite of his ancestry, had jogged along, dodging the responsibilities—the responsibilities that Peter Noyes rushed forward to meet. He had ducked even love, even fatherhood. Like any quitter on the gridiron, instead of tackling low and hard, he had side-stepped. He had seen Chic in agony, and because of that had taken the next boat for Marseilles. He had turned tail and run. He had seen Teddy, and had run to what he thought was safe cover. If he paid the cost after that, whose the fault? The least he could do now was to pay the cost like a man. ”

“ It only proved again what Monte had always maintained—that excesses of any kind, whether of rum or ambition or—or love—drove men stark mad. Blind as a bat from overwork, Noyes still asked the question.
"Look here," said Monte, with a frown. "Before the big events the coach used to take us one side and make us believe that the one thing in life we wanted was that game. He used to make us as hungry for it as a starved dog for a bone. He used to make us ache for it. So we used to wade in and tear ourselves all to pieces to get it." ”

“ He could answer that? To be sure he could, and he was honored. He suggested, with her permission, that she spend the night on shore, she and her maid, since the café was also a hotel. Meantime, the sailors could bring what she needed from the boat.
As he listened, Ney’s slow thoughts came to a focus. And when Jacqueline turned to him again, he gave way graciously, which brought on him a sharp scrutiny from the ranchero. However, the truce between the two antagonists was patched up with a readiness on both sides. Ney restored to Fra Diavolo his pistol, and had his own weapons back in exchange. ”

“ Then Marmont opened fire.
“Odd, the amount of crime going on in Calvados at present!” he observed with an air of detachment. “In Havre, across the bay, I lost a suitcase—it was later returned, but with certain things missing. And only the other night my little chalet was entered and pillaged of some valuable documents.”
“You've called in the police?” asked Ogilvy blandly.
Marmont regarded him steadily, a glimmer of amusement growing in his eyes; then both men broke into a laugh.
“Come!” Marmont flung off all pretence. “You're a good enemy; I'd prefer not to have you as a bad enemy, Mr. ”

“ Marmont however relinquished this stroke to march eighty miles in forty-eight hours, and after many nice evolutions, in which he lost a thousand men by the sword and fatigue, found his adversary on the 18th facing him in the very position he had turned on the evening of the 16th!
On the 19th the armies were quiet until evening, when the French were suddenly concentrated in one mass on their left. Wellington made a corresponding movement on the tableland above, which caused the light division to overlook the enemy’s main body, then at rest round the bivouac fires ”