The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete
resided two whole years in that capital, where the former had made
himself perfect in all the polite exercises, become master of the
French tongue, and learned to speak the Italian with great facility;
over and above those other accomplishments in which we have represented
him as an inimitable original.
As for the young Count, his exteriors were so much improved by the
company to which he had access, since his departure from his father’s
house, that his parents were equally surprised and overjoyed at the
alteration. All that awkwardness and rusticity, which hung upon his
deportment, was, like the rough coat of a diamond, polished away; the
connexion and disposition of his limbs seemed to have been adjusted
anew; his carriage was become easy, his air perfectly genteel, and his
conversation gay and unrestrained. The merit of this reformation was in
a great measure ascribed to the care and example of Mr. Fathom, who was
received by the old Count and his lady with marks of singular
friendship and esteem; nor was he overlooked by Mademoiselle, who still
remained in a state of celibacy, and seemed to have resigned all hope
of altering her condition; she expressed uncommon satisfaction at the
return of her old favourite, and readmitted him into the same degree of
familiarity with which he had been honoured before his departure.
The joy of Teresa was so excessive at his arrival, that she could
scarce suppress her raptures, so as to conceal them from the notice of
the family; and our hero, upon this occasion, performed the part of an
exquisite actor, in dissembling those transports which his bosom never
knew. So well had this pupil retained the lessons of her instructor,
that, in the midst of those fraudulent appropriations, which she still
continued to make, she had found means to support her interest and
character with Mademoiselle, and even to acquire such influence in the
family, that no other servant, male or female, could pretend to live
under the same roof, without paying incessant homage to this artful
waiting-woman, and yielding the most abject submission to her will.
The young gentlemen having tarried at Presburg about six weeks, during
which a small field equipage was prepared for Renaldo, they repaired to
the camp at Heilbron, under the auspices of Count Melvil, in whose
regiment they carried arms as volunteers, with a view to merit
promotion in the service by their own personal behaviour. Our
adventurer would have willingly dispensed with this occasion of
signalising himself, his talents being much better adapted to another
sphere of life; nevertheless, he affected uncommon alacrity at the
prospect of gathering laurels in the field, and subscribed to his
fortune with a good grace; foreseeing, that even in a campaign, a man
of his art and ingenuity might find means to consult his corporal
safety, without any danger to his reputation. Accordingly, before he
had lived full three weeks in camp, the damp situation, and sudden
change in his way of life, had such a violent effect upon his
constitution, that he was deprived of the use of all his limbs, and
mourned, without ceasing, his hard fate, by which he found himself
precluded from all opportunity of exerting his diligence, courage, and
activity, in the character of a soldier, to which he now aspired.
Renaldo, who was actually enamoured of a martial life, and missed no
occasion of distinguishing himself, consoled his companion with great
cordiality, encouraged him with the hope of seeing his constitution
familiarised to the inconveniences of a camp, and accommodated him with
everything which he thought would alleviate the pain of his body, as
well as the anxiety of his mind. The old Count, who sincerely
sympathised with his affliction, would have persuaded him to retire
into quarters, where he could be carefully nursed, and provided with
everything necessary to a person in his condition; but such was his
desire of glory, that he resisted his patron’s importunities with great
constancy, till at length, seeing the old gentleman obstinately
determined to consult his health by removing him from the field, he
gradually suffered himself to recover the use of his hands, made shift
to sit up in his bed, and amuse himself with cards or backgammon, and,
notwithstanding the feeble condition of his legs, ventured to ride out
on horseback to visit the lines, though the Count and his son would
never yield to his solicitations so far, as to let him accompany
Renaldo in those excursions and reconnoitring parties, by which a
volunteer inures himself to toil and peril, and acquires that knowledge
in the operations of war, which qualifies him for a command in the
service.
Notwithstanding this exemption from all duty, our adventurer managed
matters so as to pass for a youth of infinite mettle, and even rendered
his backwardness and timidity subservient to the support of that
character, by expressing an impatience of lying inactive, and a desire
of signalising his prowess, which even the disabled condition of his
body could scarce restrain. He must be a man of very weak nerves and
excessive irresolution, who can live in the midst of actual service,
without imbibing some portion of military fortitude: danger becomes
habitual, and loses a great part of its terror; and as fear is often
caught by contagion, so is courage communicated among the individuals
of an army. The hope of fame, desire of honours and preferment, envy,
emulation, and the dread of disgrace, are motives which co-operate in
suppressing that aversion to death or mutilation, which nature hath
implanted in the human mind; and therefore it is not to be wondered at,
if Fathom, who was naturally chicken-hearted, gained some advantages
over his disposition before the end of the campaign, which happened to
be neither perilous nor severe.
During the winter, while both armies remained in quarters, our
adventurer attended his patron to Presburg, and, before the troops were
in motion, Renaldo obtained a commission, in consequence of which he
went into garrison at Philipsburg, whither he was followed by our hero,
while the old Count’s duty called him to the field in a different
place. Ferdinand for some time had no reason to be dissatisfied with
this disposition, by which he was at once delivered from the fatigues
of a campaign, and the inspection of a severe censor, in the person of
Count Melvil; and his satisfaction was still increased by an accidental
meeting with the Tyrolese who had been his confederate at Vienna, and
now chanced to serve in garrison on the same footing with himself.
These two knights-errant renewed their former correspondence, and, as
all soldiers are addicted to gaming, levied contributions upon all
those officers who had money to lose, and temerity to play.
However, they had not long pursued this branch of traffic, when their
success was interrupted by a very serious occurrence, that for the
present entirely detached the gentlemen in the garrison from such
amusements. The French troops invested Fort Kehl, situated on the
Rhine, opposite to Strasburg; and the Imperialists, dreading that the
next storm would fall upon Philipsburg, employed themselves with great
diligence to put that important fortress in a proper posture of
defence. If the suspension of play was displeasing to our hero, the
expectation of being besieged was by no means more agreeable. He knew
the excellence of the French engineers, the power of their artillery,
and the perseverance of their general. He felt, by anticipation, the
toils of hard duty upon the works, the horrors of night-alarms,
cannonading, bombardment, sallies, and mines blown up; and deliberated
with himself whether or not he should privately withdraw, and take
refuge among the besiegers; but, when he reflected that such a step,
besides the infamy that must attend it, would be like that of running
upon Scylla, seeking to avoid Charybdis, as he would be exposed to more
danger and inconvenience in the trenches than he could possibly undergo
in the town, and after all run the risk of being taken and treated as a
deserter; upon these considerations he resolved to submit himself to
his destiny, and endeavoured to mitigate the rigour of his fate by
those arts he had formerly practised with success. He accordingly found
means to enjoy a very bad state of health during the whole siege, which
lasted about six weeks after the trenches were opened; and then the
garrison marched out by capitulation, with all the honours of war.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
HE PUTS HIMSELF UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF HIS ASSOCIATE, AND STUMBLES UPON
THE FRENCH CAMP, WHERE HE FINISHES HIS MILITARY CAREER.
Nothing else of moment was transacted during that campaign; and in the
winter our adventurer, with the young Count, and his friend the
Tyrolese, were disposed in quarters of cantonment, where Ferdinand made
himself amends for the chagrin he had undergone, by the exercise of
those talents in which he excelled. Not that he was satisfied with the
sphere of life in which he acted; though he knew himself consummate in
the art of play, he was not at all ambitious of a gamester’s name; nor
did he find himself disposed to hazard those discoveries and
explanations to which heroes of that class are sometimes necessarily
exposed. His aim was to dwell among the tents of civil life,
undisturbed by quarrels and the din of war, and render mankind
subservient to his interest, not by stratagems which irritate, but by
that suppleness of insinuation, which could not fail to soothe the
temper of those on whom he meant to prey.
He saw that all his expectations of Count Melvil’s future favour were
connected with his choice of a military life; and that his promotion in
the service would, in a great measure, depend upon his personal
behaviour in such emergencies as he did not at all wish to encounter.
On the other hand, he confided so much in his own dexterity and
address, that he never doubted of being able to rear a splendid fortune
for himself, provided he could once obtain a fixed and firm foundation.
He had in fancy often enjoyed a prospect of England, not only as his
native country, to which, like a true citizen, he longed to be united;
but also as the land of promise, flowing with milk and honey, and
abounding with subjects on which he knew his talents would be properly
exercised.
These reflections never occurred, without leaving a strong impression
upon the mind of our adventurer, which influenced his deliberations in
such a manner, as at length amounted to a perfect resolution of
withdrawing himself privately from a service that teemed with
disagreeable events, and of transporting himself into the country of
his ancestors, which he considered as the Canaan of all able
adventurers. But, previous to his appearance on that stage, he was
desirous of visiting the metropolis of France, in which he hoped to
improve himself in the knowledge of men and things, and acquire such
intelligence as would qualify him to act a more important part upon the
British scene. After having for some time indulged these prospects in
secret, he determined to accommodate himself with the company and
experience of the Tyrolese, whom, under the specious title of an
associate, he knew he could convert into a very serviceable tool, in
forwarding the execution of his own projects.
Accordingly, the inclination of this confederate was sounded by distant
hints, and being found apt, our hero made him privy to his design of
decamping without beat of drum; though, at the same time, he begged his
advice touching the method of their departure, that he might retire
with as much delicacy as the nature of such a step would permit. Divers
consultations were held upon this subject, before they adhered to the