Part 81 (1/2)

And he sprang lightly back into the carriage just as the train was starting, leaving behind him two galley sergeants dumfounded.

The police released Charras at Brussels, but did not release General Lamoriciere. The two police agents wished to compel him to leave immediately for Cologne. The General, who was suffering from rheumatism which he had caught at Ham, declared that he would sleep at Brussels.

”Be it so,” said the police agents.

They followed him to the Hotel de Bellevue. They spent the night there with him. He had considerable difficulty to prevent them from sleeping in his room. Next day they carried him off, and took him to Cologne-violating Prussian territory after having violated Belgian territory.

The _coup d'etat_ was still more impudent with M. Baze.

They made M. Baze journey with his wife and his children under the name of La.s.salle. He pa.s.sed for the servant of the police agent who accompanied him.

They took him thus to Aix-la-Chapelle.

There, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the street, the police agents deposited him and the whole of his family, without a pa.s.sport, without papers, without money. M. Baze, indignant, was obliged to have recourse to threats to induce them to take him and identify him before a magistrate. It was, perhaps, part of the petty joys of Bonaparte to cause a Questor of the a.s.sembly to be treated as a vagrant.

On the night of the 7th of January, General Bedeau, although he was not to leave till the next day, was awakened like the others by the noise of bolts. He did not understand that they were shutting him in, but on the contrary, believed that they were releasing M. Baze, his neighbor in the adjoining cell. He cried through the door, ”Bravo, Baze!”

In fact, every day the Generals said to the Questor, ”You have no business here, this is a military fortress. One of these fine mornings you will be thrust outside like Roger du Nord.”

Nevertheless General Bedeau heard an unusual noise in the fortress. He got up and ”knocked” for General Leflo, his neighbor in the cell on the other side, with whom he exchanged frequent military dialogues, little flattering to the _coup d'etat_. General Leflo answered the knocking, but he did not know any more than General Bedeau.

General Bedeau's window looked out on the inner courtyard of the prison.

He went to this window and saw lanterns flas.h.i.+ng hither and thither, species of covered carts, horsed, and a company of the 48th under arms.

A moment afterwards he saw General Changarnier come into the courtyard, get into a carriage, and drive off. Some moments elapsed, then he saw Charras pa.s.s. Charras noticed him at the window, and cried out to him, ”Mons!”

In fact he believed he was going to Mons, and this made General Bedeau, on the next day, choose Mons as his residence, expecting to meet Charras there.

Charras having left, M. Leopold Lehon came in accompanied by the Commandant of the fort. He saluted Bedeau, explained his business, and gave his name. General Bedeau confined himself to saying, ”They banish us; it is an illegality, and one more indignity added to the others.

However, with the people who send you one is no longer surprised at anything.”

They did not send him away till the next day. Louis Bonaparte had said, ”We must 's.p.a.ce out' the Generals.”

The police agent charged with escorting General Bedeau to Belgium was one of those who, on the 2d of December, had arrested General Cavaignac.

He told General Bedeau that they had had a moment of uneasiness when arresting General Cavaignae: the picket of fifty men, which had been told off to a.s.sist the police having failed them.

In the compartment of the railway carriage which was taking General Bedeau into Belgium there was a lady, manifestly belonging to good society, of very distinguished appearance, and who was accompanied by three little children. A servant in livery, who appeared to be a German, had two of the children on his knees, and lavished a thousand little attentions on them. However, the General, hidden by the darkness, and m.u.f.fled up, like the police agents, in the collar of his mantle, paid little attention to this group. When they reached Quievrain, the lady turned to him and said, ”General, I congratulate you, you are now in safety.”

The General thanked her, and asked her name.

”Baroness Coppens,” she answered.

It may be remembered that it was at M. Coppens's house, 70, Rue Blanche, that the first meeting of the Left had taken place on December 2d.

”You have charming children there, madam,” said the General, ”and,” he added, ”an exceedingly good servant.”