Santerre

“ Then Santerre, who had hitherto stood on one side, gently drew near to her and ventured to take her hand with a gesture of affectionate compassion, while saying in an undertone: "Come, calm yourself. You know very well that you are not alone, that you are not forsaken. There are some things which cannot touch you. ”

“ You all hear," said Santerre, "that Capet's wife will come down to walk in the garden. Now," addressing the whole battalion, "take care she does not abuse this favor granted her by the nation, by making her escape over the wall; for if that happens I will cut off every one of your heads." A roar of laughter followed this pleasantry of the citizen general. "Now that is settled," said Santerre, "adieu. I am going to the Commune. It appears that they have reunited Roland and Barbaroux, and the question under debate is to deliver them a passport to another world." ”

“ Lady Santerre guarded against that. Any thing as familiar as a quarrel might have produced a reconciliation, and with that a better understanding of each other's real disposition. The disdain that rose in Cornelia's bosom on this taunt, fostered by conscious innocence, and a sense of injustice, displayed itself in a scornful smile, and by an augmentation of kindness towards Casimir. ”

“ My faith, she is pretty. And this ugly fellow who has given her his arm?"
"That is the Citizen Morand, her husband's partner, and chasseur in Dixmer's company."
Santerre approached Geneviève.
"Good-day, Citizeness," said he.
Geneviève made an effort.
"Good-day, Citizen General," replied she, smiling.
Santerre felt flattered by both title and smile.
"And what brings you here, fair patriot?" continued Santerre.
"The citizeness," replied Maurice, "has never seen Widow Capet, and would like to see her."
"Yes," said Santerre, "before—" and he made an atrocious gesture. ”

“ Santerre was in great haste; he investigated the Temple, and changed the guard, to the great disgust of Lorin, who stoutly protested against this offence offered to his battalion.
"Ah! vile cobbler," said he to Simon, menacing him with his sabre, "I have you to thank for this pleasantry; but only wait a little, and I will pay you back in your own coin."
"I think rather that the entire nation will pay you," said the shoemaker, rubbing his hands.
"Citizen Maurice," said Santerre, "hold yourself at the disposal of the Commune, who will examine you." ”

“ This was Théroigne de Méricourt.
Santerre was well known: he was the king of the faubourgs. Saint-Huruge had been, since '89, the great agitator of the Palais Royal.
The Marquis de Saint-Huruge, born at Mâcon of a rich and noble family, was one of those men of tumult and disturbances who seem to personify the masses. Gifted by nature with a towering stature and a martial figure, his voice thundered above the roars of the crowd. He had his agitations, his fury, his moments of repentance, and sometimes even of cowardice; his heart was not cruel, but his brain was disturbed. ”

“ She looked at the young man in a bold, provoking, significant manner, and then, like Santerre, cast a sly glance of mocking contempt at Marianne and Valentine. She and the novelist between them soon turned the conversation on to subjects that appealed to their vicious tastes. And Santerre related that he had lately seen Doctor Gaude perform several operations at the Marbeuf Hospital. He had found there the usual set of society men who attend first performances at the theatres, and indeed there were also some women present. ”

“ Maurice took care not to refuse the hand thus offered [Pg 205] to him. The friendship of Santerre was certainly most valuable at this epoch. At sight of this man who had commanded the famous rolling of drums, Geneviève shuddered, and Morand turned pale.
"Who is this lovely citizeness?" demanded Santerre of Maurice, "and what does she here?"
"She is the wife of the brave Citizen Dixmer; you have heard this excellent patriot spoken of, Citizen General?"
"Yes, yes," replied Santerre; "the chief of a tannery, captain of chasseurs of the legion Victor." ”

“ Mathieu then for the first time noticed that Santerre was in evening dress. They continued chatting for a moment, and the novelist called attention to a new pewter treasure among Séguin's collection. It represented a long, thin woman, stretched full-length, with her hair streaming around her. She seemed to be sobbing as she lay there, and Santerre declared the conception to be a masterpiece. The figure symbolized the end of woman, reduced to despair and solitude when man should finally have made up his mind to have nothing further to do with her. ”

“ The mob attempted to pillage her carriage, but a strong man mounted the box and defended it. She learned afterward that it was the notorious Santerre, the person who later superintended the execution of Louis XVI., ordering his drummers to drown the last words of the dying King. Santerre had seen Necker distribute corn to the poor of Paris in a time of famine, and now he was befriending the daughter for this noble act. Finally she was allowed to continue her journey, and reached Coppet with her baby, Auguste, well-nigh exhausted after this terrible ordeal. ”

“ Santerre will find that he has better soldiers to meet than any he brings with him.”
“Fear, Henri! no, for myself I fear nothing. What injury can they do to an old man like me? I do not even fear for my own children; if their lives are required in the King’s service, they know how to part with them in perfect confidence of eternal happiness hereafter; but, Henri, I do feel for our poor people; they are now full of joy and enthusiasm, for they are warm from victory, and the grief of the few, who are weeping for their relatives, is lost in the joy of the multitude. ”

“ Before the entrance a huge mass of a man, boisterous in his hospitality and his laughter, was distributing enormous hand-shakes.
[Pg 42]
Nicole saluted him with evident familiarity.
"I have brought you a patriot to dinner, citoyen!"
Santerre winced a bit and grumbled:
"Eh, Nicole, and you have brought yourself along."
"Vive Santerre!" the girl cried, with a laugh. "Citoyen Barabant has just arrived, and the first thing he asked was to see the famous leader of the Faubourg St. Antoine."
"At lunch-time, of course," said Santerre, with a shrug. "Pass in and eat." ”

“ SANTERRE, ANTOINE JOSEPH (1752–1809) , French revolutionist, was born in Paris on the 16th of March 1752. Like his father, he was a brewer, and gained great popularity in faubourg St Antoine by his beneficence. In 1789 he was given the command of a battalion of the National Guard, and took part in the storming of the Bastille. ”

“ Lady Santerre was of humble birth, the daughter of a solicitor of a country town. She was handsome, and won the heart of Mr. Santerre, then a minor, who was assisted by her father in the laudable endeavour to obtain more money than his father allowed him. The young gentleman saw, loved, and married. His parents were furiously angry, and tried to illegalize the match; but he confirmed it when he came of age, and a reconciliation with his family never took place. Mr. Santerre sold reversions, turned expectations into money, and lived in the world. ”

“ As he took it, he shook the faithful Cléry’s hand. Then, turning to Santerre, and looking him full in the face, he said, “I am ready.”
Santerre and his troop rather followed than escorted him.
The King passed down the staircase slowly, and without any signs of tremor. Now, it is in descending a staircase that a man, convulsed by agitation, is almost sure to stumble. ”

“ SANTERRE, Jean Baptiste (1650–1717) , French painter, was born at Magny, near Pontoise, and was a pupil of Bon Boulogne. He began life as a portrait-painter, and enjoyed for half a century a great reputation as a painter of the nude. He died at Paris on the 21st of November 1717. ”

“ I can conceive nothing in human form more deplorably low, more pitiably degraded, than such a poor subservient slave as he was.”
“There, Westerman, you are grossly wrong,” said Santerre. “Your cowardly Marquis, run-fling from the throne which he pretends to reverence, but does not dare to protect; whose grand robes and courtly language alone have made him great; who has not heart enough even to love the gay puppets who have always surrounded him, or courage enough to fight for the unholy wealth he has amassed: this man I say is contemptible. ”

“ At the same time Santerre arrived, with his epaulets of yellow wool, and a coat on which his patriotism was displayed by large spots of grease. He reviewed the battalion, which was in a proper state, but on counting the municipals, found only three.
"Why are there only three municipals?" inquired he; "and who is the bad citizen who fails us?"
"The absent citizen, General, is not lukewarm," replied our old acquaintance, Agricola; "for it is the secretary of the section Lepelletier, the chief of the brave Thermopyles, the Citizen Maurice Lindey." ”

“ He was drinking hard and talking loudly, and was evidently quite at ease with his company; he was as completely at home in the Mayor’s parlour at Angers, as when rushing into the Tuilleries at the head of his fellow citizens from the faubourg St. Antoine.
Santerre was of Flemish descent, and by trade a brewer. He was possessed of considerable wealth, which he freely spent among the poor, while famine pressed sore upon them; he was consequently loved, followed, and obeyed. He was the King of the Faubourgs ”

“ Santerre withdrew from the front rank, up against the side of the cart, where a rough stable lantern had been fixed. He took the paper from the soldier's hand, and, hastily tearing it open, he read it by the dim light of the lantern.
As he read, his thick, coarse features expressed the keenest satisfaction.
"You have two more men with you?" he asked quickly.
"Yes, citizen," replied the man, pointing towards his right; "and the Citizen-Minister said you would give me two more."
"You'll take the prisoners quietly across to the Prison of the Temple—you understand that?" ”

“ So few years indeed are passed since the period to which the last chapter brought us, that it may be safely announced that Cornelia Santerre possesses that happiness, through her generosity and devoted affection, which she had lost through pride and self-exaltation. She wonders at her past self—and laments the many opportunities she lost for benefiting others, and proving herself worthy of their attachment. Her pride is gone, or rather, her pride is now placed in redeeming her faults. ”

“ His unnatural ruthlessness and prompt obedience were of no avail to him. Soon after his return from the western provinces he perished under the guillotine.
“And so the good Cathelineau is dead,” said Santerre. “The invincible, the invulnerable, the saint! ha, ha! What sweet names these dear friends of ours have given themselves.”
“Yes,” said General Bourbotte; “the messenger who told me had come direct from their hospital; Cathelineau breathed his last the day before yesterday at St. Laurent.”
“Let us drink to his health, gentlemen; his spiritual health,” said Santerre ”

“ I could have told him better. We are not fools!"
"And then——?"
"Well, thanks to the drums, you couldn't hear; but there was a whispering with the Abbé, and Sanson hesitating and shivering like a cat with a wet paw and the gutter to cross. Everything was ready, but it seems he had qualms—that Sanson. The National Guards were muttering, and the good Mère Garnet next to me began to shout, 'Death to the Tyrant,' only no one heard her because of Santerre's drums, when suddenly he bellowed, 'Executioner, do your duty!' and Citizen Sanson seemed to wake up. ”

“ Santerre, an eminent brewer, who, from his great capital, and his affectation of popular zeal, had raised himself to the command of the suburb forces, was equally inactive in mind and body, and by no means fitted for the desperate part which he was called on to play. [244] Westerman, a zealous republican, and a soldier of skill and courage, came to press Santerre's march, informing him, that the Marseillois and Breton Federates were in arms in the Place du Carousel, and expected the advance of the pikemen from the suburbs of Saint Antoine and St. ”

“ Her answer was the same; but she added:
"It is you who have caused the misery of the nation."
"You have been told so," answered the Queen; "you are deceived. As the wife of the King of France, and mother of the Dauphin, I am a French-woman; I shall never see my own country again, I can be happy or unhappy only in France; I was happy when you loved me."
The fury began to weep, asked her pardon, and said, "It was because I did not know you; I see that you are good."
Santerre, the monarch of the faubourgs, made his subjects file off as quickly as he could ”

“ General Santerre knows that the Vendean royalists have never disgraced themselves by shedding the blood of the prisoners whom the chance of war may have thrown into their hands. He knows that they can be brave without being cruel. I grieve to say that the republicans have hitherto not often allowed us to repay mercy with mercy. ”

“ That, of course, is all very well, but let me tell you what I heard whispered about by Santerre, the brewer, who is to lead them. Each sans-culotte is to carry a pike, and he [Pg 36] thinks that when the King sees forty thousand pikes assembled about his door that he will become alarmed. Then will be the time to lead a general insurrection and demand that he resign his throne and crown or else force him to it. Is it not outrageous thus to take advantage of him unfairly?" Mère Clouet was alarmed and indignant. ”

“ And, as is usual in war, the mass of the people, who had the least to gain by the issue, suffered most in their obscure persons and their humble fortunes.
General Santierra began his service as lieutenant in the patriot army raised and commanded by the famous San Martin, afterwards conqueror of Lima and liberator of Peru. A great battle had just been fought on the banks of the river Bio-Bio. Amongst the prisoners made upon the routed Royalist troops there was a soldier called Gaspar Ruiz. His powerful build and his big head rendered him remarkable amongst his fellow-captives. ”