Some of the more astute among the people had certainly thought for a
while that the cannon was a humbug, that it was useless either to
royalist or to republican, in fact, that it would never go off at all.
But these sceptics were cured of their infidelity at Thouars, when they
saw the soldiers as well as the republicans of the town fall in heaps
beneath the thunders of Marie Jeanne.
During April and the three weeks of May, Larochejaquelin and de Lescure,
together with Cathelineau, Denot, and M. Bonchamps, were actively
engaged in collecting and exhorting the people, planning what they
should do, and preparing themselves to bear that burst of republican
fury which they knew would, sooner or later, fall upon them.
Much of this time was spent at Clisson, as that place was centrically
situated for their different manoeuvres; and there certainly appeared
reason to suppose that Madame de Lescure was not altogether wrong in her
surmises respecting Marie. Here also, at Clisson, Cathelinean frequently
joined the party, and though he shewed by his language and demeanour
that he had not forgotten that he was a postillion, he gradually
acquired a confidence and ease of manner among his new associates, and
displayed a mixture of intelligence and enthusiasm, which induced his
confederates gene.
Pages:
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145