The Hussar

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THE

HUSSAR;

CHAPTER I. MY BIRTH, parentage, AND EARLY ADVENTURES

My name is Norbertus Landsheit, my Christian name being familiarly pronounced in my own country. Norbert I was born on the 4th of November, 1775, at a place called St. Dennis, a village in the Bishopric of Cologne, not far from Crefeldt. My origin was at least respectable, and my prospects were at one time good ; for my father was an officer of gendarmes, in the service of Maximilian the Second, and my mother, a native of Prussian Silesia, came from an honourable stock. But the profession of a soldier is not very lucrative anywhere, and least of all in the Bishopric of Cologne. — Wherefore my father was prevailed upon soon after my birth to quit the army, and to establish himself as a distiller, and the keeper of a creditable hotel in the village where I first saw the light.

His business proving, on the whole, a profitable one, and I being his only son, my father determined to make of me a Lutheran clergyman, and in order to qualify me for the office, he bestowed upon me as good an education as the state of the country and his own circumstances would permit. From him and from my mother I learned to read write as well as to repeat my catechism, and to know something of scripture history ; while the curate of tlie parish taught me the rudiments of Latin, and encouraged me to aspire after still higher A2

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attainments. But long before I had made any proficiency in scholastic lore, a calamity overtook both my mother and myself, which was to her the beginning of many sorrows, and to me proved irremediable, I was barely seven years old when my father died, leaving his son and his twofold occupation, to be managed as she best could, by his widow.

My father and mother had been sincerely attached to one another, and her grief at his loss was in consequence excessive : yet being a strong-minded woman, she did not permit it to interfere with the steady discharge of the duties which she owed to herself and her family. She continued to carry on both the distillery and the hotel, as had been done during his life-time, and my education was not for a moment interrupted. — On the contrary finding that St. Dennis could not supply such tuition as I came by this time to require, she sent me to Kempen, where, till I attained to my seventeenth year, I resided as a pupil, in a respectable academy.

Such was my condition when those extraordinary events befel, which produced throughout Europe other and more violent revolutions than the conversion of a parson in embryo into a hussar. The French people, victorious at home over religion, law, order, and humanity, burst like a river that has broken down its banks, across their own frontier, and carried, wherever they appeared desolation and misery into the districts which they came avowedly to set free. One of their armies, under the command of General Coustine, after driving the Austrians back upon the Rhine, advanced, in the summer of 1792, into our province, where they pursued the system which was acted upon everywhere else, in reference as well to the persons as to the property of the inhabitants. Not content to live at free quarters, to levy contributions money, grain, horses, and other materiel, they brought the conscription into active play among the young men of the country; compelling

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all between the ages of sixteen and forty to take up arms and serve under the republican banner. Now, my mother had no particular fancy that I should become a soldier under any circumstances, and least of all, that I should serve France. She therefore took time by the forelock, and while the invaders were yet at a distance, packed me off to one of her brothers who resided in Dusseldorf.

I arrived in Dusseldorf some time in June, and was kindly received by my uncle. He put me to school, and treated me in every respect as if I had been his own — indeed I should have been perfectly happy under his care, but for the strange desire which in common with other lads of my standing, I experienced to see something of the French. For we were told from day to day of their inroads ; we saw the Bavarian garrison march out and an Austrian arrive in its room ; and not knowing what war was, we longed to be eye-witnesses of scenes, concerning which we had read, and heard others speak with the deepest interest. Not that I harboured at that time the smallest wish to wield a sword or wear a uniform. Mine was a mere boyish curiosity, which was perhaps the more whetted in consequence of the rebukes which it drew forth from older and wiser men. But this is not worth dwelling upon, so I will pass it by.

At the period to which I am now referring, Dusseldorf was crowded with French emigrants. Multitudes of all ranks, from the Duke de Broglie down to the meanest artizan, had taken refuge there, and as each brought with him a certain supply of cash, money was, for a while, abundant in the city, and all fared well. — By degrees, however, the resources of the less wealthy began to fail and then might be seen the devoted generosity with which their richer neighbours — men of family and high name — stepped forward to the relief of their necessities. The Duke de Broglie in particular seemed to regard himself as nothing more than a trustee

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for hi3 suffering- countrymen — for whose benefit he hired a large hotel, with all its accompaniments of cooks, waiters, and other attendants, and caused a dinner to be daily provided there at his own expense for not fewer than four hundred persons. Such munificence could not of course be displayed without utterly draining in a veryshort time, the resources of him who indulged in it. — The Duke de Broglie became in a few months almost pennyless, and was forced to seek a supply by dispatching his son in disguise through the enemy’s lines into the heart of France. The young man’s first expedition proved to be eminently successful. His father’s tenants paid their rents cheerfully and returned with the proceeds unobserved to Dusseldorf — but the supply procured went as other monies had done, and a second expedition was decided upon. Alas ! it was a rash act, however dictated by the noblest feelings — and led to results the most disasterous. The young Duke being discovered, was put to death ; and his untimely fate was mourned in every house in Dusseldorf, with as much sincerity as if each had lost a relative.

I have said, that not long after my arrival the Bavarian garrison marched out, and a body of Austrians, both horse and foot, reached Dusseldorf. Now, as the Bavarians had taken neither side in the strife, and the Austrians were principals in opposing the French, this movement naturally convinced us that tlie period could not in all probability be distant, when we should see something of the invaders. Each new day, moreover, brought intelligence of their successes, which more and more prepared us to receive a visit. The Austrians were falling back ; they had crossed the Rhine, and it was very doubtful whether, with that obstacle in their front, the enemy would be arrested. At last late in the autumn — I think somewhere in the beginning of October — it was announced that the French were approaching. In common with others, I hurried to the ramparts, and saw, sure enough, with a glass, three or four

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heavy columns in movement on the opposite side of the river — of W’hich a portion established themselves in rear of some houses that crowned the bank within less than half cannon shot of the town.

It was not however among us civilians alone that a visit from General Coustine’s army had for some time been anticipated. The military authorities had caused the flying bridge, which connects the two banks of the Rhine, to be hauled in. Far and near, above and below the town, every vessel and boat was secured, while posts were established here and there, in order to provide against the possibility of some sudden dash, such as might give to the enemy a moment’s command of the river. Moreover, as soon as the French columns showed themseves in rear of the houses opposite, there went forth an order to rip up all the pavements, a strict observance of which converted a clean and well-regulated town, in the course of four-and-twenty hours, into one huge puddle. For no sooner were the stones removed than straw, mud, horsedung, and every other filthy substance was accumulated in the streets, with the view, as I afterwards found, of rendering the shells which were expected to fall among us, comparatively innocuous. Unfortunately, however; there were weak points in Dusseldorf, which no providence, on the part of the governor, could defend. In the heart of the town stood a Mews — a large stableyard — accessible by one gate only, and surrounded by buildings capable of containing a brigade of horse with the forage necessary for their maintenance. That enormous pile was, at this juncture, full of combustibles and a regiment of Austrian dragoons had established in it their quarters. It was found impossible to protect the Mews from shot, while numerous store-houses, wharfs, and other places of commerce were likewise exposed. Still the distance between us and the enemy’s position was considerable, and something it was assumed might be trusted to their ignorance of our localities, — while

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ten or twelve of our own ^uns which looked towards the houses on the opposite bank, would it was hoped, when the proper time came, keep their fire under.

There had been no discharge from the other side, though the guns from the city had ruined the houses opposite ; when on the sixth of October I retired to my bed-room as usual, about ten o’clock at night. My curiosity was more awakened than ever, so that I made it a constant practice to look out the last thing before I stepped into bed ; and to-night I had been not less careful than on former occasions, though just to as little purpose, in my endeavours to see anything that might please by its novelty. My astonishment was therefore very great, when having heard a report of a cannon a long w^ay off, I saw a hissing over my head, in the declivity of a half-circle, some substance loaded, with a fiery tail. Presently another, and then another, shone in the sky, which so delighted me that I ran down stairs, and communicated my discovery to my uncle. I was yet speaking when the mystery, for such it was to me, received its solution. The Frenclf had opened a mortar battery, and were bombarding the place ; and such was the precision with which they threw their shells, that scarcely one fell short of its mark. The Mews was soon in a blaze. Then followed store-houses and market-places without end ; w’hile an incessant showor of red-hot balls rendered it utterly impossible, either to extinguish the flames already raised, or to hinder them from extending elsewhere. What a night of confusion and dismay was that ! The Governor had in the outset refused to give passports to the inhabitants ; the emigrants were indeed permitted to withdraw and take shelter in Elberfeld ; but the people of the place it was considered more politic to detain in their houses, in order that the feelings both of them and of their relatives might be enlisted on the side of the attacked. But now the clamour was so great that the Austrian Commandant could not resist it. He threw

Open one of the gates, by which crowds of men, women and children made their escape and beyond which I, very much to my own annoyance, was hurried. That night, however, I went not beyond the glacis; and the splendour of the scene — the burning town — the ceaseless shower of fiery projectiles — the roar of cannon — the shouts of men — I have no language to describe ; though the effect produced by all these I never can forget.

The weather was very cold, and my uncle making a point of our removing to a place of safety, we travelled next day as far as Elberfeld, where, however, it was judged imprudent to detain me long, lest the enemy should prevail, and make a conscript of me after all. As fortune would have it, there was no ground for these apprehensions, inasmuch as the French never forced the passage of the Rhine ; but were compelled, by some demonstration made upon their flank, to raise the bombardment of Dusseldorf and march away. But we could not foresee all this, and as my mother had exacted a pledge that my uncle would provide for my security, he determined to remove me from the seat of war, by sending me to his brother in Hanover. I spent the winter, indeed, in Elberfeld, but early in the spring, alone, and but moderately supplied with money, I began^ my journey towards Ousnabruck. I reached it in the month of April, and again met with the kindest treatment; my uncle being annoyed at nothing except that I should have been left at my years to travel unattended. By this time, however, though still a raw youth, 1 had learned somewhat to take care of myself, so I only laughed at my good uncle’s anxiety, and for several months pursued under his roof the studies which recent events had interrupted.

My opportunities of observation were not such as to authorize my giving any account of the progress of the war. At Ousnabruck we only heard of it at a distance, though even in Ousnabruck the feeling of hostUty

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which then pervaded all Germany in reference to France, was perceptible enough. In particular my uncle began to talk to me frequently of taking up arms against these enemies of the human race, and easily won from me a declaration, that if he joined the army of the Emperor, I would accompany him. Not yet however, was an opportunity afforded of realising our day dreams; for though recruiting parties were out in every direction, my uncle appeared to take no interest in their proceedings : but towards the end of the summer he left me. It was necessary for him, he saidj to proceed as far as Celle, whence he would return witliin the week, and it was not impossible but that when next he visited the place, I might accompany him. There was something in this journey of his, which, I could not tell why, excited in me a deep interest. I watched for his return with the utmost anxiety, and when he came, true to the hour appointed, the hilarity of his manner, instead of allaying the ferment in my mind, only increased it. At last, in the latter part of July, he carried me to Celle, and gave me a room in his lodgings ; where, for the first time, he presented himself to my wondering gaze, in the uniform of an officer of hussars. The facts of the case were these : Baron Charles de Hompesch had been for some time occupied in raising a regiment of cavalry, in which my uncle, having been very successful in procuring recruits, had obtained a commission ; and now, the corps being ordered to assemble on the heath of Schwann, it was necessary for him to join. I need scarcely add, that the splendour of my uncle’s appearance altogether dazzled me. I declared that nothing should prevent my joining the corps as a cadet, a determination to which my uncle was far from opposing himself, though he required that I would take time to deliberate ere I acted ; and proposed that 1 should attend him to the camp in the quality of a friend.

I went with him cheerfully, being willing to humour him so far as might not be inconsistent with the grati-

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fication of my own desires, and continued a civilian up to the month of August, 1793. Then, however, I enlisted, and received both from uncle and the officer commanding liis squadron, assurances, that provided I behaved well, I should never want a friend, nor find the road to promotion barred against me.

What a magnificent encampment was that of Schwarm ! there were assembled six regiments of cavalry, the weakest upwards of eight hundred strong — besides a corps composed entirely of French gentlemen, whom the success af the revolution had driven into exile. Hompesch‘s Hussars, the regiment of the Prince of Salem, Soicelles, Old Ruen and New Ruen, — both made up of emigrants, — and a regiment of Ulans, equipped after the Polish fashion, with square caps and lances, were each very fine. But the most brilliant corps of all Was that of Montelambert. It consisted entirely of the flower of the nobility of France, who provided their own uniforms, their own horses, everything, in short, excapt their arms and accoutrements, and, glittering with silver, had their tents in a quarter apart from the rest of us, though on service they did the duty of private soldiers. I have seen many a regiment since, of what might well be accounted the elite of the armies of Europe ; but such a body as that — so full of fire, so gallant, so gay, so chivalrous — were you to search the world over, you would probably not succeed now in getting togeliier its parallel.

Here then we lay for many months, wfell fed, well attended, and regularly paid ; having for our sole occupation the business of drill, together with frequent field-days, under the orders of the English General Lord Cathcart. At last, however, in the spring of 1794, our regiment received orders to march for the Low Countries, in order to reinforce the army which it was intended to oppose to the French General Pichegru. Perhaps fortunately for myself, though at the time I bitterly lamented it, a severe kick from a horse while I

VoL. I.— B

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led him to water, hindered me from accompanying’ my uncle on that expedition. My shin bone was so much injured, that it seemed at one time doubtful whether I should ever again be able to do duty; and I was confined, to my inexpressible chagrin, in the hospital. Yet was the campaign pregnant with nothing but disasters to Hompesch’s Hussars. Somehow or other, I know not when, nor under what circumstances, they were attacked at a disadvantage, and almost to a man, either killed or taken prisoners. Among others, my uncle paid the debt of nature while employed on that service. He was in the act of lighting his pipe at the pipe of a brother officer, but sitting on horseback in front of their troop, when a cannon-ball from the enemy’s lines took off their heads, and deprived me of the only real friend I ever had in the world. Hot and bitter w'ere the tears which I shed, when the sad news reached me ; and many a time since have I felt my cheeks moist, when the image of my excellent relative has come back to my memory.

Chapter II. In Which The Soldier Gets Better Acquainted With His Duty

The campaign of 1794 ended, as I have said, very much to the disadvantage of Hompesch’s Hussars. Out of the twelve hundred men that followed Baron Charles to the field, only a handful returned, on which, as on a nucleus, he began, in the autumn of the same year, to form his regiment anew. Nothing could exceed the success which attended his recruiting. To be sure, we were not particular as to the country or lineage of the individual who offered khnself as our companion in arms. So long as Jie was fit for mUitary service, could

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ride, or was willing to be taught, no further questions were put to him ; by which means we soon brought together into our camp, Germans, Russians, Prussians Danes, Swedes, Hanoverians, Poles, and even one or two Tartars. But there was a circumstance attending the re-formation of the corps, to look back upon which even now gives me pain. Baron Hompesch, though a German himself, entertained sostrong a partiality for the P»ench, that out of the whole body of his officers, more than two-thirds were selected from that nation. Now I have nothing to say against the bravery or skill of the French as officers. They are fine fellows certainly; but I do think that the Germans are quite equal to them ; and 1 am certain that the consequence of our having such a preponderancy of emigrants in our regiment was, that against all but Frenchmen the avenues to advancement were well nigh closed.

It was singular enough that this new regiment of Hompesch should have assembled for training on the very same heath which had witnessed the training of the old regiment, and that it should have had as its consorts in the camp and field the identical corps which had manoeuvred so often with the gallant dead. Yet this was not the only nor the most remarkable circumstance that attended us. I know not whence it came about, but a rumour gained by degrees credit among us, that the whole of the six regiments (for Montelambert’s was not included) were designed for transportation to England. Now at the time of which I am speaking, there prevailed throughout all Germany the greatest horror of England, and of the English service. We had been taught to believe that England was never at peace, and that all her soldiers were liable to be sent, and were sent, to act as marines on board of the fleet. Of the sea, however, we had one and all the utmost dread. Born far inland, and knowing nothing of the customs of the coast, we took our opinion on such subjects from the reports of men who, iiaving ventured

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down to Rotterdam, either on business or pleasure, had there been themselves kidnapped, or witnessed the kidnapping of others. Our consternation, therefore, I am quite incapable of describing, when first the rumour began to spread that our chiefs intended to carry us to England — because we took it for granted that, w'ere we once fairly embarked, we should never see our native land again, nor, indeed, escape from our floating prisons. Still, with very many, the feeling thus excited and kept alive produced no results that appeared to be dangerous to tliemselves or others. There were some on the contrary, who took a different view of this matter, and of the plot into which they entered ; and though, at the time, I was profoundly ignorant of it, it will be best if I give here a detailed relation.

The proportion of French to German officers in the regiment of- Hompesch was,- as I have said, about three to one : in several of the other corps, particularly the Old and New Ruen, and the regiment of Salem, it was still greater. Now there was scarcely one of these Frenchmen whose object in taking up arms had not ,been to act against the republican oppressors of his own country, and in whom an order to withdraw from the seat of wJtr would not have occasioned the deepest morliycation. No sooner were they made aware of the sentiments of the men, than the bol.der spirits among them resolved to take advantage of it. A conspiracy was entered into, at the Head of which a Captain Dalwig, of our regiment, placed himself, to march in a body and join the Prince of Conde, so soon as it should be ascertained, beyond the possibility of doubt, that England was our destination. Nay, I happen to know, that nothing, except the absence of funds, hindered these conspirators, if such they ought to be called, from carrying their device into execution as it was matured. But they were all poor. They did not know where to find money, and they were afraid to move without it. At last Captain Dalwig made a bold effort to remove the obstacle, out of which the following results came to pass.

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It was late in the autumn, and the rain fell so heavily, that no man, except at the call of duty, or when pressed by urgent business, ever ventured beyond the camp. Twice a day, indeed, the horses were led to water at a large pond or tarn, about five hundred yards beyond the rear-guard ; but except when thus employed, or when standing sentry, we seldom emerged from our tents. The officers, to be sure, had the mess-house, a temporary wooden building, were they often spent the day together ; and the Colonel did his best to amuse and keep the men in good humour, by providing ample supplies of beer and tobacco^ But we were not a little flat, when an event befel which put us, for a while at least, a good deal on our mettle. There was in our regiment one Major Tagtunck, with whom Captain Dalwig lived on terms of great intimacy. This gentleman received, during the autum, a sum of money from home, and his friend Captain Dalwig resolved to gain possession of it. He had seen in the Major’s tent a small box, standing in a corner by itself, in which he naturally concluded that the cash lay hid; and having watched his opportunity, he one morning seized, put it under his cloak, and walked away with it. It was a day of great storms : the wind blew high, and the rain came down in torrents, so that, except the vidette at the Colonel’s tent door, nobody was abroad to watch him ; and as his cloak was ample in its folds, he had every reason to conclude that the real cause of his wearing it wquld never come to light.

Well, Captain Dalwig stole the box ; but, instead of carrying it home to his own tent, he walked to the rear, passed the guard, made his way the the pond, of which the edges were covered with tall spear grass ; and penetrating into the swamp, he sought out a convenient spot, and there thrust his prize into the mud. This done, he returned to the camp, and for a while attracted no attention.

But the absence of his box was not slov^i in being dis- B2

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covered by the Major. He questioned his servant, who had left it safe, and had seen nobody enter the tent by whom it was likely to be removed. He applied to the sentry, who declared that, since he came to his post, only Captain Dalwig had gone and come. “ Had he entered the tent ?” “Yes.” “ Did he carry anything out ?” The man could not say, for the Captain was wrapped up in his cloak. “ Whither did he go? “To the rear,” Here then was something of a clue, at all events, and the Major followed it up with great pertinacity. He examined the rear-guard. They had seen Captain Dalwig go to the pond, and fish, as they supposed, for eels ; but the day was so rough that nobody could face it, so he soon returned again.

On to the pond went the Major. He saw the print of feet, and being satisfied that he had got on the right scent, he hurried back to the camp. There he summoned to him the Adjutant, one or two officers besides, and the man who had stood sentry on the ColonePs tent *, and he carried the whole body down to the pond, without giving them a hint of the business on which they were about to be employed. But it was now time to speak out. He stated what had befallen, as well as the nature of his own suspicions, and the grounds on which they rested ; and passing into the swamp, they discovered the missing box, covered over with weeds, as the delinquent had left it. The consequences to Captain Dalwig could not fail to be serious. He was put in irons, and sentries placed over him, while an express was sent off to the Colonel, then residing in Bremen, to make him aware of what had happened. I am sorry that I cannot tell what was the ultimate fate of Captain Dalwig ; I only know that, by Baron Hompesch’s orders, he was removed from the camp a prisoner, and that we never saw him afterwards.

The incidents which I have just related were kno^\^l to us all at the moment. Of the motives by which Captain Dalwig was swayed, we were not informed till

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long afterwards. But it appeared that his failure to secure this money, though it cast a temporary damp upon the spirits of the mutineers, by no means caused them to waver in their determinations. A new leader stood forward in the person of an officer belonging to the regiment of Salem ; a fine old soldier, who had served as Lieutenant-Colonel in the French regiment of the Dauphin’s dragoons. This man conducted their correspondence with equal skill and energy, and warned them that the day for action could not be far distant. Nor was it far distant. One day, in the month of December, it came out, through the Colonel’s lady, that our destination would certainly be England, where we w^ere to take rank and do duty as Queen Charlotte’s body guards. Now, as I have already stated, the ideas of England, and of perpetual imprisonment on board of ship, could not in our minds be separated; and the conspirators, whose plans were all matured, determined not to waste another hour, but to take advantage of the ef feet of this confirmation of the men’s fears at once to accomplish their purposes.