Beaumarchais and the War of American Independence Volume I Part 14

??He is a very honest man,? she said, shedding more tears.

??You love him,? cried the duke. ?You humiliate me. I declare to you that _I will kill him!_?

?The duke sprang up and rushed from the room. We all rose and cried out. I ran to prevent his escape, but he evaded me. I turned back into the room, I cried to the women that I would warn Beaumarchais and prevent the combat.

?I was beside myself, I left and ran to his house. I met his carriage in the Rue Dauphine. I threw myself in front of the horses, stopped them, mounted on the steps of his carrosse, and told him that the duc de Chaulnes was hunting for him and wished to kill him.

??Come home with me, I will tell you the rest.?

??I cannot,? he answered, ?the hour calls me to the tribunal of the varenne du Louvre, where I must preside, I will come to you as soon as the audience is finished.?

?His carriage started and I went back home. Just as I was mounting the steps of the Pont-Neuf I felt myself violently pulled by the skirts of my coat, I fell backward and found myself in the arms of the duc de Chaulnes who, using his gigantic strength, picked me up like a bird, threw me into a fi?cre, cried to the coachman, ?Rue de Cond?,? and said to me with horrible oaths that I should find for him the man he sought to kill.

??By what right,? I said, ?Monsieur le duc, you who are always crying for liberty, do you take mine from me??

??By the right of the strongest. You will find for me--Beaumarchais or--?

??Monsieur le duc, I have no arms, you will perhaps wish also to a.s.sa.s.sinate me??

??No--I will only kill that Beaumarchais.?

??I do not know where he is and if I did, I would not tell you while you are in the fury of your present rage.?

??If you resist, I will give you a blow.?

??And I will return it.?

??What, you would strike a duke!? With that he threw himself upon me and tried to seize my hair. As I wore a wig it remained in his hand, which made the scene very amusing as I perceived from the laughter of the populace outside the fi?cre, all the doors of which were open. The duke who saw nothing, seized me by the neck and wounded me on my throat, my ear, and my cheek. I stopped his blows as best I could and called the guard with all my might. The duke grew calmer and we arrived at the home of Beaumarchais.

?The duke jumped from the carriage and pounded on the door. I sprang from the other side of the carriage and knowing that my friend would not be found, I escaped to my own home by the side streets, there to await the coming of Beaumarchais.

?I waited in impatience,--he did not come, I grew uneasy, fear seized me, I gave orders that he should await me, I ran to his home. Here is what happened and which is to be found in his pet.i.tion to the marshals of France.?

?Exact recital of what pa.s.sed Thursday, the 11th of February, 1773, between M. le duc de Chaulnes and myself, Beaumarchais.

?I had opened the audience of the _capitainerie_, when I saw M. le duc de Chaulnes arrive with the most bewildered air that could be imagined and he said aloud that he had something very pressing to communicate to me and that I must come out at once. ?I cannot, Monsieur le duc, the service of the public forces me to terminate decently what I have begun.? I had a seat brought for him; he insisted; everyone was astonished at his air and tone. I began to fear that his object would be suspected and I suspended the audience for a moment and pa.s.sed with him into a cabinet. There he told me with all the force of the language _des halles_, that he wished to kill me at once and to drink my blood, for which he was thirsty.

??Oh, is it only that, Monsieur le duc? Permit then, that business go before pleasure.? I wished to return; he stopped me, saying that he would tear out my eyes before all the world if I did not instantly go out with him.

??You will be lost, Monsieur, if you are rash enough to attack me publicly.?

?I re-entered the audience chamber a.s.suming a cold manner.

?Surrounded as I was by the officers and guards of the _capitainerie_, after seating le duc de Chaulnes, I opposed during the two hours of the audience, a perfect _sang-froid_ to the petulant and insane perturbation with which he walked about troubling the audience and asking of all, ?Will this last much longer??

?Finally the audience was over and I put on my street costume. In descending, I asked M. de Chaulnes, what could be his grievance against a man whom he had not seen for six months.

??No explanation,? he said to me, ?let us go instantly and fight it out.?

??At least,? I said, ?you will permit me to go home and get a sword? I have only a mourning sword with me in the carriage.?

??We are pa.s.sing the house of M. le Comte de Turpin, who will lend you one and who will serve as witness.?

?He sprang into my carriage. I got in after him, while his equipage followed ours. He did me the honor of a.s.suring me that this time I would not escape him, ornamenting his sentences with those superb imprecations which are so familiar in his speech. The coolness of my replies augmented his rage.

?We arrived as M. de Turpin was leaving his home. He mounted on the box of my carriage.

??M. le duc,? I said, ?is carrying me off. I do not know why he wants us to cut one another?s throats, but in this strange adventure he hopes that you will wish to serve as witness of our conduct.?

?M. de Turpin replied that a pressing matter forced him to go at once to the Luxembourg and would detain him there until four o?clock in the afternoon. I perceived that M. de Turpin had for his object to allow time for the rage of Monsieur le duc to calm itself. He left us. M. de Chaulnes wished to take me to his home. ?No, thank you,? I replied, and ordered my coachman to drive to mine.

??If you descend I will poniard you at your own door.?

??You will have the pleasure then, because it is exactly where I am going.? Then I asked him to dine with me.

?The carriage arrived at my door, I descended, and he followed me. I gave my orders coldly, the postman handed me a letter, the duke seized it from me before my father and all the domestics. I tried to turn the matter into a joke, but the duke began to swear. My father became alarmed, I rea.s.sured him and ordered dinner to be served in my study.?

At this point we return to the account by Gudin which is much less detailed than Beaumarchais?s recital.

?The duke followed him, and on entering the study though wearing a sword of his own, he seized one of Beaumarchais?s which was lying on the table and attempted to stab him, but found himself seized and enveloped before he had time completely to draw the sword from its case. The men struggled together like two athletes, Beaumarchais less strong, but more master of himself, pushed the duke toward the chimney and seized the bell cord. The domestics came running in and seeing their master a.s.sailed, his hair torn and his face bleeding, they attacked the duke. The cook arming himself with a stick of wood was ready to break the skull of the madman.

Beaumarchais forbade them to strike, but ordered that they take away the sword which the duke held in his hands. They so far disarmed him but did not dare to take the sword which he still wore at his side. In the struggle, they had pushed and pulled each other from the study to the steps, here the duke fell and dragged Beaumarchais with him. At this moment I knocked at the street door. The duke immediately disengaged himself and threw open the door. My surprise can be imagined.

??Enter,? cried the duke, seizing me, ?here is another who will not go out of here,? his mania seemed to be that no one should leave the house until he had killed Beaumarchais.

?I joined my friend and tried to make him enter the study with me; the duke opposed himself to us with violence and drew his own sword.

Beaumarchais seized him by the throat and pressed him so closely that he could not strike. Eight of us came instantly to his aid and disarmed the duke. A lackey had his head cut, the coachman his nose injured and the cook was wounded in the hand. We pushed the duke into the dining-room which was very near the street door and Beaumarchais went up stairs.

?As soon as the duke ceased to see his enemy he sat down by himself at the table and ate with a furious appet.i.te.?

Here Beaumarchais shall continue with the account: ?The duke again heard a knocking at the door and rushed to open it. He found M. the commissioner Chenu, who, surprised at the disorder in which he found the establishment, and at my appearance as I descended to greet him, inquired the cause of the confusion. I told him in a few words.... At my explanation the duke threw himself once more upon me striking me with his fists, unarmed I defended myself as best I could before the a.s.sembly who soon separated us.

M. Chenu begged me to remain in the salon while he took charge of the duke, who had begun to break gla.s.s and tear his own hair in rage at not having killed me. M. Chenu at last persuaded him to go home and he had the impertinence to have my lackey whom he had wounded, dress his hair. I went to my room to have myself attended to and the duke throwing himself into my carriage rode away.

?I have stated these facts simply, without indulging in any comments, employing as far as possible the expressions used, and endeavoring to state the exact truth in recounting one of the strangest and most disgusting adventures which could come to a reasonable man.?

Gudin ends his account with a very characteristic picture of Beaumarchais.

?Anyone else, after an equally violent scene, would have been overwhelmed with anxiety and fatigue, would have sought repose, and would have been anxious in regard to precautions against the repeated violence of a great lord, but Beaumarchais, as cheerful and a.s.sured as if he had pa.s.sed the most tranquil day, was not willing to deny himself a moment of pleasure.

That very evening, at the risk of encountering the duke, he went to the home of one of his old friends, M. Lopes, where he was expected to give a reading of his _Barbier de S?ville_.

?Upon his arrival he recounted to them the adventures of the day. Everyone supposed that after such an exciting experience, there would be no feeling on his part for comedy. But Beaumarchais a.s.sured the ladies that the scandalous conduct of a madman should not spoil their evening?s pleasure and he read his play with as much composure as if nothing had happened. He was as calm, as gay, and as brilliant during supper as usual, and pa.s.sed a part of the night playing on the harp and singing the Spanish seguedillas or the charming scenes he had set to music which he accompanied with so much grace upon the instrument which he had perfected.

?It was thus that in every circ.u.mstance of his life he gave himself entirely to the thing which occupied him without any thought of what had pa.s.sed or was to follow, so sure was he of all his faculties and his presence of mind. He never needed preparation upon any point, his intelligence was always ready, and his principles of action faultless.?

As might be expected, the scandalous adventure made a great deal of noise.

It was taken up by the marshals of France, judges in such cases between gentlemen, and a guard was sent to the home of each one of the adversaries. Lom?nie says, ?In the interval the duke de la Vrilli?re, minister of the house of the king, ordered Beaumarchais to go into the country for some days, and as the latter protested energetically against such an order the execution of which, under the circ.u.mstances, would have compromised his honor, the minister had directed him to stay at his home until the matter had been taken before the king.

?The marshals then successively called each combatant in turn to appear before them. Beaumarchais had no trouble in proving that his only wrong consisted in being permitted the friends.h.i.+p of a pretty woman, and the result of the investigation having been unfavorable to the duc de Chaulnes, he was sent on the 19th of February by a _lettre de cachet_ to the ch?teau of Vincennes. The Marshals of France then sent for Beaumarchais a second time and declared him free.