Jean Chouan
Jean Chuoan had been aware of the expected passage of the Loire, although not of the precise point at which it would be effected; and one day he had given a rendezvous to Puisaye, in the forest of Pertre, with a view to concert measures for a coalition of the Breton with the Vendean insurgents, when one of his men exclaimed that he heard thunder. “It is La Vendée,” said Jean, putting his ear to the ground; “it is the sound of cannon. Let us on to Laval, the Prince de Talmont expects us there.”
“Chouans” by Charles Fortin
The troop set off in the middle of the night, recruiting as they went; and Jean entered Laval at the head of four hundred men, besides four thousand five hundred other combatants who came in from other parts of Maine. Their arrival excited the greatest transport in the Vendean army; for Jean’s reputation was well known on their side of the Loire. This Breton contingent was known as the Little Vendée; they performed good service at the great battle which took place the next morning, when the republican army sustained their memorable defeat.
George J. Hill, The Story of the War in La Vendée and the Little Chouannerie (New York: D. & J. Sadlier & Co. n.d.), p. 182.
[Commentary: Note the quasi-feudal sentiments between Jean Chouan and the Prince de Talmont. Realizing that the Prince his benefactor is nearby, he immediately takes measures to find and assist him in the battle that was fought the next day. ]
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 45
