Napoleonic Literature
Lord Blayney's Narrative
Volume II, Chapter XLVII

Blois . . . . Lodgings . . . . Provisions . . . . Passage of Prisoners . . . . Russian general . . . . Spanish grandee . . . . Hospital . . . . French military reports . . . . Quit Blois . . . . General Binard . . . . Château of Chenonceau.

The sudden influx of above a thousand persons, all of certain pretensions, into a town like Blois, containing only twelve thousand inhabitants, and where there had not been time sufficient to prepare for the reception of so many visitors, rendered, as may be supposed, the procuring lodgings extremely difficult; and besides those who had apartments to let, taking advantage of the moment, demanded such exorbitant prices, as could be afforded only by very few of the prisoners; such, for instance, as one hundred and fifty francs a month for two miserably furnished bedrooms on a second floor, to which the access was by an abominable filthy corkscrew staircase, without a ray of light. Indeed, the general idea of the French that the English are made of money, and that they squander it like prodigals without thought, was particularly exemplified at Blois. The price of all articles which were not strictly limited by a tarif, such as butcher’s meat and bread, immediately rose fifty per cent: which, however, was little felt by the prisoners, who had already been used to pay dearer for them at Verdun. A large turkey, which at Verdun would have cost five or six francs, was sold at Blois for three, or three livres ten sous; salmon, fresh from the Loire, for thirty sous the pound; the established price of the best butchers’ meat, was nine sous the pound. In short, the article of lodgings excepted, the English had no reason to complain of the change from Verdun.

During our stay at Blois, the town was constantly crowded by prisoners of war of all nations, changing dépôts according to the movements of the Allied armies. Many of them were in the most miserable condition, from fatigue; from the intense inclemency of the weather, without clothing or shoes; and above all, from hunger, being often for many days together without receiving any victuals whatever from the French government. Numbers sunk on the march under their complicated calamities, and perished miserably in the ditches, while others lost their fingers and toes by the frost, and were rendered cripples for life. The number of English soldiers were so great, that it was with much difficulty I could procure sufficient money to relieve them; and I am with much concern obliged to remark, that in too many instances that relief was badly bestowed. The money instead of being expended for necessaries, being often squandered in drink, which caused so many excesses, that the commandant of the town declared: that a hundred English prisoners caused him more trouble than a thousand of any other nation. It is however but justice to observe, that this bad conduct was principally observed in the prisoners from Sarre Libre, the greater part of whom were vagabonds who had entered the French service, from which they had been sent back on account of their unruly and turbulent characters, and on finding that nothing advantageous could be made of them. In general, the prisoners from the other denôts conducted themselves well, and more particularly those from Valenciennes.

Blois being at this time the thoroughfare for prisoners of war of all nations, I here received a visit from the Russian General Toutchacoff, with whom I had formerly some correspondence at Metz, and who, now thanked me for the services and attentions I had paid to his countrymen in passing through Verdun. In answer to which, I observed, “that both my duty and inclination led me to render every service in my power to the officers of his nation; and that besides the self-satisfaction of being useful to them, I had the additional one of knowing that I anticipated the wishes of the British government, and gratified the general feeling of the English nation towards Russia, which had made such sacrifices, and stood forward so nobly in the general cause of Europe against Napoleon.” This compliment was received by a bow, and an air of pleasure; and the General continued to converse with a lively communicativeness, which as far as I have been able to observe, characterizes the Russians of any education; indeed, they seem in general to possess much animation, and to be enthusiastic in executing whatever they undertake. Besides prisoners of war, several state prisoners passed through Blois; and amongst them I had the opportunity of conversing with a Spanish nobleman, who had formerly been ambassador at Rome and other courts.

The constant passage of English prisoners obliged me to pay frequent visits to the commandant of the department, and other authorities, from whom I experienced every civility; the commandant, in particular, was a polite gentlemanlike officer, who had been disabled for active service by a severe wound received in Spain. I had also occasion to become acquainted with Monsieur Le Fevre, the Receiver-General, whom I one day accompanied, at his request, and with several of the principal inhabitants, to visit the city hospital, in which they greatly prided themselves; it being superintended and partly supported by the voluntary exertions and contributions of the town’s people. The building had been formerly a Benedictine convent, consisting of a vast square, with a very extensive garden, well stocked with vegetables and medicinal plants. The monks’ cells have been thrown open by an arch in each, so as to be at all times perfectly aired, and in each is a bed; the established number of which was one hundred and eighty, but were now augmented to three hundred and sixty; the refectory, and other apartments, having also rows of beds placed in them. The internal services of the hospital are performed by a superintending sœur de la charité and several subordinate ones. The neatness and cleanliness of these pious old ladies’ dress; their orderly conduct, and the excellent arrangements and good management of the hospital in general, could not fail of affording me the greatest satisfaction; which was increased by observing many English prisoners treated with the same tenderness and attention as their own sick and wounded countrymen, and who expressed their gratitude for the kindness of the respectable sisters.

At the moment that most of the English had formed as comfortable establishments as their circumstances would admit in Blois and the surrounding country, and were beginning to reconcile themselves to change of dépôt, calculating that the superiority of the climate and the beautiful scenery of the banks of the Loire would, in the spring and summer, compensate for the disadvantages of the town, they received orders for a precipitate removal, in consequence of the appearance of a body of the allied troops before Orleans, which for some time threw the authorities and inhabitants of Blois into the utmost consternation; the force of the Allies in that direction being much exaggerated, and it being even reported that they had entered Orleans; while in fact the business turned out to be, that a party of pillaging Cossacks had only presented themselves before the town, and finding no force sufficient to receive them, again retired, after a skirmish of little consequence.

At the same time Napoleon having gained some trifling advantage over the corps commanded by General Blucher, it was an object of consequence to make as much as possible of it, and accordingly it was proclaimed throughout the streets by sound of trumpet, and affixed in large characters on the walls of all the public buildings, that the Emperor had gained a complete victory, and that the Russian army étoit entèrement anéantie. The same evening I was at the theatre, and between the pieces one of the actors came on the stage, and read the bulletin, dispatch, or account of this grand victory, for it is difficult to give a name to the reports of the operations of the army at this time; indeed, the word bulletin was now entirely dropped, from the ridicule in which it was held by all classes, on account of the gross and stupid falsehoods of which these reports were composed; in general the official accounts were given with this preface: “Sa Majesté l’Impératrice, Reine et Régente, a reçue les nouvelles suivantes des positions des armées.” The Moniteur, as well as the minor papers, had also recourse to every possible means, such as supposed intercepted letters, private information, &c. &cl to blindfiold [sic] and impose on the people. The player, however, who, as I have said, came forward to announce this grand victory, unmindful of the advice of Hamlet, entirely overacted his part, and, by “out-stepping the modesty of Nature,” destroyed the impression he intended to make, and rendered the whole account absurd. After running on with a string of unpronouncable Russian names, and stating that the artillery, caissons, fourgons, baggage, and equipage of the enemy had fallen into the power of the French, he concluded with, “Messieurs, l’armée Russe est entièrement détruite et, je suis heureux d’avoir l’honneur de vous informer, sans nous avoir coûté un seul homme de tué.” All the persons under government having been ordered to attend at the theatre on this occasion, more particularly on account of the English, the news was received with clapping of their hands, and acclamations of “bravo! vive Napoleon!” The eyes of the whole house were, as might be expected, turned on the English; and they seemed to be not a little surprised, at observing John Bull louder in applauding than themselves, vociferating “bravo! vive Napoleon! encore! encore!” which brought the actor forward again to repeat the news, and he was even so stupid as to continue, until the French at last perceived that we were turning them into ridicule, and from several parts of the house was heard, “bravo! ce n’est pas vraie! bravo! quelle mensonge!” So that the authorities would have done much better in not ordering the mention of this pretended victory on the stage. A few days proved the ridiculous exaggeration of the account; for this same totally annihilated Russian army resuscitated, as if by miracle, and gained some considerable advantages. Besides, the positions occupied by the French armies, as well as the falling of the funds, convinced the people of the successes of the Allies.

The orders for the removal of the dépôt from Blois to Gueret, in the department of the Creuse, were forwarded through General Bonard, commanding the district, whose ungentlemanly manners I have already had occasion to notice. The execution of these orders resting with him, the directions he gave were such as might be expected from his character, and known animosity to the English. He not only directed the order to be put into execution an hour after its being received, but also, to render the persecution more intolerable, marked out a line of cross roads, forming two-thirds of a circle, and entirely impracticable for carriages, and without any, or with only the most wretched accommodation. The littleness of mind of this wretch doubtless made him inwardly rejoice, at an opportunity of, as he conceived, annoying the English nation, by persecuting a few helpless families, and superannuated and distressed masters of ships; for though the orders were positive not to deviate from this route, those only obeyed them whose poverty obliged them to accompany the gend’armes, in order to procure lodging gratis while on the march; the families who could afford it, and the officers of the army and navy paying no attention to them; and though the high road by Tours was particularly forbidden, and orders issued not to furnish post horses, many went by this road; which I also chose, determined to risk the consequences, being satisfied that these orders originated in General Bonard himself, without the knowledge of the Minister of War; and indeed this was clearly proved, by his taking no notice of the many persons who acted in direct violation of them.

February 21. Having sent my servants with the carriage and horses by the great  road to Amboise, I proceeded along the opposite bank of the river, as well to see the country as to visit General O’Connel, at his seat named Madon, which I found to be a very respectable mansion, but the road and approaches to it abominable. Indeed, though the country was most romantic, and had some magnificent châteaux, I almost repented my curiosity, from the badness of the roads, where there were any; for in many parts there was no trace of a road, and my only direction was the course of the Loire. These obstacles retarded my arrival at Amboise till late in the evening, where I put up at the comfortable little inn I have formerly noticed. I was soon called on by an old acquaintance, Captain Lutyens, of the 11th dragoons, accompanied by a Swedish colonel, this being the dépôt for Swedish officers prisoners of war. In the course of the next day I saw many of these officers in the streets, and could not help admiring their decent and respectable dress and appearance, though they possessed no other resources than the pay from the French government. In these respects they far surpassed the prisoners of other nations under similar circumstances.

It being Shrove Tuesday, I accepted the invitation of Captain Lutyens to dinner, on the express condition of having pancakes; for, such is my adherence to the respectable old customs of our country, that I should deem it almost a misfortune to omit a goose on Michaelmas day, a plum-pudding at Christmas, or pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.

I passed the morning in a ride to the celebrated chateau of Chenonceau, built by, and the favourite country residence of Francis the First. It is above two leagues and a half from Amboise, but, as is very generally the case with the approaches to the best country seats in France, the road, or rather the no-road to it is execrable. The building consists of two parts, one on each bank of the Cher, the communication being by a bridge one hundred and eighty feet long, which crosses the river, and on which is built a gallery, so that one is ignorant of this remarkable situation, until, looking out of the window of the gallery, the rapid and handsome river is seen running beneath; and from the windows a person fond of fishing may amuse himself catching the finest salmon and trout. The gallery contains likewise a good collection of antient pictures. An opposite door from that of entrance leads into the grounds and wood formerly appropriated to the royal chace. This demesne has been for some generations the property of the antient and respectable family of Villeneuve; and the present proprietor is chamberlain to the Queen of Holland, a situation which it is to be presumed policy alone has caused him to accept. He possesses the manners and appearance of a gentleman, and politely invited Captain Lutyens, the Swedish colonel and myself into the drawing room, where we found some good company, several of whom were here on a visit, particularly Monsieur and Madame de Marcolle. The latter surprised me by speaking English perfectly; but I soon learnt that she was an English lady, and married to Monsieur de Marcolle in England, to whom she brought a marriage portion of above £30,000. They reside near Chenonceau, at a small place called Chisay, which is, I believe, the family estate. Both were very pleasing in their manners, and pressed us to visit their house, and pass the day with them, which I regretted being obliged to decline, in consequence of my previous engagement at Amboise. Monsieur de Marcolic recounted to us the history of the château in ancient and modern days, and explained the historical pictures it contains. Most of the events they enumerated I had already read of, and I was much gratified by having them recalled to my memory by these representations. The château also contained the portraits of several princes and great men conspicuous in history. Among other curiosities, we were shown a pair of black silk breeches of Francis the First, in which, however, there was nothing remarkable, except their having been worn by that monarch.

Among the pictures, as may be presumed, were several in which Francis the First figured; particularly one of the battle of Marignan, gained by that king in person over the Swiss, in 1575. Francis is represented in the act of succouring a cavalier, who has fallen nearly under his horse, in such a manner as to be unable to defend himself against two Swiss, by whom he is attacked; the prince alone attacks the Swiss with his sword, defeats them, and replaces the fallen cavalier on his horse.

The Chevalier Bayard, celebrated in the martial annals of France by the name of  “Le Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche,” and who contributed much to the gaining the battle of Marignan, is also complimented in this and several other pictures, and particularly in one where he is represented knighting the king, who had desired to receive a sword from this celebrated warrior. The speech addressed by the chevalier to his sword on this occasion is recorded in history; “Glorieuse épée, qui aújourd’hui a eu l’honneur de faire chevalier le plus grand roi du monde, to seras comme relique gardée; je ne t’emploirai plus que contre les infidelles et ennemis du nom chrétien.” In another picture the chevalier is represented as having received his mortal wound at the battle of Romagnano.

Much merit is due to Monsieur de Villeneuve, for having preserved so many interesting pictures and remains of antiquity in this chateau.

From Chenonceau we returned to Amboise by a tolerable road, over some fields and through woods where the riding was good, until we reached the château of Chanteloup,* which I have before noticed as being the property of Monsieur de Chaptal, a senator. After dinner the commandant, a most respectable old gentleman, paid us a visit at Captain Lutyens; he strongly avowed his attachment to the antient dynasty, under which he had served with distinction, and expressed his hopes of the campaign terminating in the destruction of the Usurper, and of the satellites who are his accomplices, in subjugating and degrading France.

* Before the Revolution the princely residence of the Duke and Duchess de Choiseul, the patrons of the Abbé Barthelemy, author of Les Voyages du jeune Anacharse en Grace, and who it is said wrote this celebrated work principally at Chanteloup.

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