The Last Cavalier: Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon. Alexandre Dumas

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      “A SHORT TIME AFTER my father was executed, my mother, who had fallen ill upon hearing of his death, also died.

      “I was unable to send my brother Léon word about this new misfortune because we’d had no news of him since the Battle of Berchem. But I wrote to my brother Charles in Avignon, and immediately he rushed back to Besançon.

      “All that we knew about the Battle of Berchem and my brother’s fate came from the Prince de Condé himself. In her worry, my ailing mother had sent a messenger to him, but the messenger failed to return before my mother died. He arrived, in fact, on the same day as my brother did from Avignon.

      “So we learned that on December 4, 1793, the Prince de Condé was headquartered in Berchem, where twice Pichegru launched an attack, but he was unable to hold the village after driving the prince out. When the émigrés retook the village, Léon performed extraordinary feats. Indeed, he was the first to enter the village, but then he disappeared and even the companions following close behind him had no idea where. They searched among the dead but did not find him. The general opinion was that, having advanced too rapidly in pursuit of the Republicans, he had been taken prisoner. Which was no better than death, since every prisoner who’d borne weapons was formally charged before the council of war and then shot.

      “In the absence of news we had accepted that painful explanation when we were visited by a young man from Besançon who had been with the Rhine army. I say young man, but he was really just a child, scarcely fourteen years old, the son of one of my father’s former friends. He was only a year younger than I; we had been raised together. His name was Charles N.

      “I was the first to see him. As I knew that he had been with General Pichegru for three months, I ran up to him, shouting: ‘Charles! Is that you? Have you any news of my brother?’

      “‘Alas, yes,’ he replied. ‘Is your brother Charles also here?’

      “When I answered yes, he said, ‘Well, then, send word to him. What I have to tell you requires his presence.’

      “My brother soon appeared, and I told him Charles was bringing us news of Léon.

      “‘Bad news, right?’

      “‘I’m afraid so. Otherwise he would have already told us.’

      “Then, without answering but smiling sadly, my young comrade pulled a garrison cap from under his vest and presented it to my brother. ‘You are now the head of the family,’ he said. ‘This relic now belongs to you.’

      “‘What is this?’ my brother asked.

      “‘The cap he was wearing when he was brought before the firing squad,’ Charles answered.

      “‘So, it’s all over?’ my older brother asked, dry-eyed, though from my eyes, in spite of myself, tears were falling.

      “‘Yes.’

      “‘And he indeed did die?’

      “‘Like a hero!’

      “‘God be praised! Our honor is intact.… There must be something in this cap?’

      “‘A letter.’

      “My brother ran his hands over the cap, felt the paper, cut the lining with his pocketknife, and pulled out a letter: ‘“To my brother Charles,”’ he read. ‘“First of all, and above all, keep the news of my death from our mother as long as possible.”’

      “‘So he died without knowing that our poor mother preceded him to death?’ my brother asked.

      “‘No,’ said Charles. ‘I told him myself.’

      “My brother turned back to the letter and continued reading:

      “‘“I was captured in Berchem. My horse was shot out from under me, and when it fell I was caught underneath. There was no way to defend myself. I threw my sword aside, and four Republicans pulled me loose. They led me to the fortress in Auenheim to shoot me. Short of a miracle, nothing could save me.

      “‘“My father had given his word to the king that he would die for the Royalist cause, and so he did. I gave my word to my father to defend to death the same cause, and so I am. You gave me your word, and so you will. If you too die, Hector will avenge us.

      “‘“A prayer on my mother’s tomb. A fatherly kiss to Hector.

      “‘“Adieu.