human
It was on that occasion that General Pichegru, who is as good as any man --and he emphasized this characterization--
gpt
Go on, said Bonaparte;
human
I have this to tell you also, general. If you had been at Froeschwiller, on the day that General Hoche offered six hundred francs on the Prussian cannon, you would have seen me capture one of those cannon, and also have seen me made quartermaster for it.
gpt
And did you receive those six hundred francs?
human
We gave them up to the widows and children of the poor fellows who died on the day of Dawendorff, and I took only my pay, which was in one of the Prince de Condé's chests.
gpt
Brave, disinterested fellow! Go on, said the general;
human
I like to see such men as you, who have no journalists to sound their praises or to decry them, pronouncing their own panegyrics.
gpt
And then, continued Falou,
human
And is this all true?
gpt
Oh! as for that, said Faraud, drawing near, and bringing his bandaged hand to the salute,
human
Well, said Bonaparte, looking benevolently at the two men who had just been exchanging blows, and of whom one was now sounding the other's praises,
gpt
I am delighted to make your acquaintance, citizen Falou. I trust that you will do as well in the Army of Italy as you have in the Army of the Rhine. But how does it happen that two such fine fellows as you should be enemies?
human
We, citizen-general? exclaimed Falou.
gpt
We are not enemies.
human
Why the deuce were you fighting then, if you are not enemies?
gpt
Oh! said Faraud, with his customary twist of the neck,
human
But suppose that I tell you I wish to know why you fought?
gpt
Since the citizen-general wants to know, I see no reason why we should conceal it,
human
Well, we fought--we fought--because he called me monsieur.
gpt
And what do you want to be called?
human
Citizen, by Heaven! replied Faraud.
gpt
We paid dearly enough for that title to want to keep it. I am not an aristocrat like those messieurs of the Army of the Rhine.
human
You hear, citizen-general, said Falou, tapping impatiently with his foot and laying his hand on the hilt of his sabre;
gpt
He was wrong, and so were you when you called him monsieur, replied the commander-in-chief.
human
We are all citizens of the same country, children of the same family, sons of the same mother. We are fighting for the Republic; and the moment when kings recognize it is not the time for good men like you to deny it. To what division do you belong?
gpt
To the Bernadotte division,
human
Bernadotte, repeated Bonaparte--
gpt
Bernadotte, a volunteer, who was only a sergeant-major in '89; a gallant soldier, who was promoted on the battlefield by Kléber to the rank of brigadier-general, who was made a general of division after the victories of Fleurus and Juliers, and who took Maestricht and Altdorf! Bernadotte encouraging aristocrats in his army! I thought he was a Jacobin. And you, Faraud, to what corps do you belong?
human
To that of citizen-general Augereau. No one can accuse him of being an aristocrat. He is like you, citizen-general. And so, when we heard these men of the Sambre-et-Meuse calling us monsieur, we said to each other, 'A cut of the sabre for each monsieur! Is it agreed?' 'Agreed!' And since then we have stood up here perhaps a dozen times, our division against that of Bernadotte. To-day it is my turn to pay the piper. To-morrow it will be a monsieur.
gpt
To-morrow it will be no one, said Bonaparte, imperiously.
human
I will have no duelling in the army. I have said it, and I repeat it.
gpt
But--
human
I will talk of this with Bernadotte. In the meantime you will please preserve intact the Republican traditions; and whether you belong to the Sambre-et-Meuse, or to the Army of Italy, you will address each other as citizen. You will each of you pass twenty-four hours in the guard-house as an example. And now shake hands and go away arm in arm like good citizens.