ISBN: 2940013091580

CONTENTS1. How the Brigadier came to the Castle of Gloom2. How the Brigadier slew the brothers of Ajaccio3. How the Brigadier held the King4. How the King held the Brigadier5. How the Bri… More...

CONTENTS1. How the Brigadier came to the Castle of Gloom2. How the Brigadier slew the brothers of Ajaccio3. How the Brigadier held the King4. How the King held the Brigadier5. How the Brigadier took the field against the Marshal Millefleurs6. How the Brigadier played for a kingdom7. How the Brigadier won his Medal8. How the Brigadier was tempted by the Devil1. HOW THE BRIGADIER CAME TO THE CASTLE OF GLOOM[A]You do very well, my friends, to treat me with some little reverence,for in honouring me you are honouring both France and yourselves. It isnot merely an old, grey-moustached officer whom you see eating hisomelette or draining his glass, but it is a fragment of history. In meyou see one of the last of those wonderful men, the men who wereveterans when they were yet boys, who learned to use a sword earlierthan a razor, and who during a hundred battles had never once let theenemy see the colour of their knapsacks. For twenty years we wereteaching Europe how to fight, and even when they had learned theirlesson it was only the thermometer, and never the bayonet, which couldbreak the Grand Army down. Berlin, Naples, Vienna, Madrid, Lisbon,Moscow--we stabled our horses in them all. Yes, my friends, I say againthat you do well to send your children to me with flowers, for theseears have heard the trumpet calls of France, and these eyes have seenher standards in lands where they may never be seen again.Even now, when I doze in my arm-chair, I can see those great warriorsstream before me--the green-jacketed chasseurs, the giant cuirassiers,Poniatowsky's lancers, the white-mantled dragoons, the nodding bearskinsof the horse grenadiers. And then there comes the thick, low rattle ofthe drums, and through wreaths of dust and smoke I see the line of highbonnets, the row of brown faces, the swing and toss of the long, redplumes amid the sloping lines of steel. And there rides Ney with his redhead, and Lefebvre with his bulldog jaw, and Lannes with his Gasconswagger; and then amidst the gleam of brass and the flaunting feathers Icatch a glimpse of _him_, the man with the pale smile, the roundedshoulders, and the far-off eyes. There is an end of my sleep, myfriends, for up I spring from my chair, with a cracked voice calling anda silly hand outstretched, so that Madame Titaux has one more laugh atthe old fellow who lives among the shadows.Although I was a full Chief of Brigade when the wars came to an end, andhad every hope of soon being made a General of Division, it is stillrather to my earlier days that I turn when I wish to talk of the gloriesand the trials of a soldier's life. For you will understand that when anofficer has so many men and horses under him, he has his mind full ofrecruits and remounts, fodder and farriers, and quarters, so that evenwhen he is not in the face of the enemy, life is a very serious matterfor him. But when he is only a lieutenant or a captain he has nothingheavier than his epaulettes upon his shoulders, so that he can clink hisspurs and swing his dolman, drain his glass and kiss his girl, thinkingof nothing save of enjoying a gallant life. That is the time when he islikely to have adventures, and it is often to that time that I shallturn in the stories which I may have for you. So it will be tonight whenI tell you of my visit to the Castle of Gloom; of the strange mission ofSub-Lieutenant Duroc, and of the horrible affair of the man who was onceknown as Jean Carabin, and afterwards as the Baron Straubenthal.You must know, then, that in the February of 1807, immediately after thetaking of Danzig, Major Legendre and I were commissioned to bring fourhundred remounts from Prussia into Eastern Poland. Digital Content>E-books>Mystery>Sherlock Holmes>Sherlock Holmes, SAP Digital >16<

ISBN: 2940013091580

The Exploits of BRIGADIER GERARD Exploits-of-Brigadier-Gerard~~Arthur-Conan-Doyle Mystery>Sherlock Holmes>Sherlock Holmes NOOK Book (eBook), SAP