Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 43: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

+ 4 a ac. *s e = @ me ; me? ae <i *: = eae ois ee ye THE SKIRMISH. 33 The village was on fire, and the fusillade burst in the plain. Monsieur d’Assonville rose in his stirrups, sword in hand. He was no longer the pale young man with the col- orless forehead. Lightning flashed from his eyes, and blood reddened his cheeks. ‘*Forward!’’ he exclaimed, in a thundering tone, and with the end of his sword he pointed out to his soldiers the flaming village. The whole troop moved off. At sight of the French the clarions sounded, and the enemy ranged themselves in line of battle at some distance from Auvin, on the banks of the Ternoise. It was a nu- merous and well-mounted troop; but Monsieur d’Asson- ville was one of those who do not know how to draw back. He made the grenadiers alight and divided them into platoons of from twenty to twenty-five men between his cavaliers. ‘‘Make use of the gun as we shall the saber,’’ he said to them, ‘‘and we shall make these devilish scoundrels pass over the river without boats.’”’ The grenadiers cried, ‘‘ Vive le roi!’’ and got their arms in readiness. Just as Monsieur d’Assonville was going to give the signal of attack an old officer touched him lightly on the arm. ‘‘Monsieur le Comte,’’ he said to him, ‘‘they are two to our one and have the advantage of position.”’ ‘*What! it is you, Monsieur du Coudrais, who counts the enemy?’’ ‘“‘T must account to the king, my master, for the lives of all these brave men,’’ said the officer, indicating with the end of his sword the impatient soldiers. ‘‘Now order, and you will see if I hesitate to let myself be killed.”’ ‘‘No, monsieur, you shall triumph with your grenadiers. They are two to our one. Well, we have for us the sight of that burning village! Each hut which falls in, cries for revenge. Forward!”’ Every member of the troop heard these words. The electrified soldiers bounded forward, and Jacques, one of the first to feel the transport, felt running in his veins the shudder of war. The Hungarians, after having prepared for battle, awaited the French. Thanks to the superiority of numbers, they counted upon an easy victory; far from thinking of placing the river between themselves and their assailants—which would have doubled their strength by the advantage of position _ =they ran to the encounter pell-mell and without order EOomiGchboo S (C©) im