How the Brigadier was Tempted by the Devil

Name: How the Brigadier was Tempted by the Devil
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Brigadier Gerard recalls the collapse of Napoleon’s cause after Fére-Champenoise, when Paris has turned to the Bourbons, generals have defected, and the exhausted remnants of the army gather at Fontainebleau. Though defeat seems inevitable, Napoleon remains outwardly composed. Gerard, Colonel Despienne, and Captain Tremeau are summoned separately by Berthier, who asks each to join a plot to seize the Emperor and surrender him to the allies. Gerard rejects the proposal with passionate loyalty; Despienne is equally outraged, while Tremeau attacks Berthier in fury. Napoleon then emerges from behind a curtain, revealing that Berthier’s treasonous offer was a test arranged by the Emperor to identify men he can trust. He entrusts the three soldiers with papers of immense political importance: proofs of his divorce from Josephine, his marriage to Marie Louise, and the birth of his son, together with securities worth forty million francs. The Countess Walewski is to bring the packet from Paris in a blue berline; the officers must receive it, bury it at the ruined Colombier in the Forest of Fontainebleau, and reveal nothing. At the appointed meeting on the Paris road, the Countess mistakes Gerard and his companions for impostors, for she has already surrendered the documents to three false officers. Gerard races to inform Napoleon, who orders him to pursue the thieves toward Paris. Gerard, Despienne, and Tremeau seize fresh horses and overtake three riders. Gerard recognizes their leader as Colonel de Montluc. A fight follows: Despienne is shot, Tremeau engages another enemy with sabres, and Gerard pursues Montluc alone. Montluc shoots and wounds Gerard’s beloved mare, Violette, but Gerard kills him. Searching the body yields nothing until Gerard realizes that Montluc threw away his hat deliberately; the papers are hidden inside it. Napoleon meets Gerard and praises him after receiving the recovered packet. He tells Gerard that Despienne has been killed and Tremeau cut down, while one enemy has escaped. They find the fallen soldiers, and Tremeau briefly stirs at Napoleon’s voice, attempting a final salute before dying. The Emperor entrusts the bodies and horses to a nearby farmer, then rides with Gerard through the forest. He explains that only three people knew the plan for transferring the papers from Paris, and that one of two unnamed men must have betrayed it. At the Colombier, Napoleon and Gerard bury the papers in a pistol holster beneath the earth, conceal the disturbed ground, and mark the place with a stone. Napoleon orders Gerard to forget everything unless he later receives a direct command under the Emperor’s hand and seal. When Napoleon tests him by asking where the papers were buried, Gerard pretends not to know what papers he means, earning the Emperor’s approval. Gerard later says that the documents remained hidden after Napoleon’s return from Elba and subsequent exile to St. Helena. Napoleon tried repeatedly to send Gerard secret letters concerning them, but his guardians intercepted the letters and refused even his offer to finance himself in exchange for one unopened message. Gerard presents himself as the last living participant in the affair: the man tested by Berthier, who recovered the papers, received Napoleon’s embrace, and shared his confidence in the moonlit forest.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · First published 1895 · Genre: Historical Adventure, Historical Fiction, Military Fiction · 10,822 words

First lines

The spring is at hand, my friends. I can see the little green spearheads breaking out once more upon the chestnut trees, and the café tables have all been moved into the sunshine. It is more pleasant to sit there, and yet I do not wish to tell my little stories to the whole town. You have heard my doings as a lieutenant, as a squadron officer, as a colonel, as the chief of a brigade. But now I suddenly become something higher and more important. I become history.

Open reader

Similar titles

Genres

Historical Adventure — Set during Napoleon's 1814 downfall, the story combines real historical figures and events with a fast-paced mission involving stolen state papers, pursuit, combat, and secrecy.
Historical Fiction — The narrative fictionalizes the final Fontainebleau period of Napoleon's reign while incorporating Napoleon, Berthier, Talleyrand, the Countess Walewski, and the political collapse of the First Empire.
Military Fiction — Its narrator is a veteran cavalry officer, and its concerns include military loyalty, command, weapons, horsemanship, duelling, battlefield identity, and the fate of Napoleonic soldiers.
Adventure Fiction — The plot is driven by a dangerous secret assignment, an intercepted dispatch, a moonlit horseback chase, pistol fire, sword fighting, deaths, and the recovery and burial of vital documents.

What this Textopian page supports

How the Brigadier was Tempted by the Devil is listed on Textopian as a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dated 1895 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Short story
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Date: 1895 CE
Language: English
Genres: Historical Adventure, Historical Fiction, Military Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Napoleonic Fiction
Length: 10,822 words
Structure: 1 section, 165 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

Good citation fit

Work identity for How the Brigadier was Tempted by the Devil by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph