Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1844-02-16

gave, and the Lord taketh away, blessed be
the name Of the Lord" Go then, and If
you toce me do your dufy" iafai a'A iesealii
oh, the words of that saint! I hear them
yet sounding in my ears. Now the duty Of
''Syldier is to obey, everywhere and always
Everywhere and always have obeyed. 1t
is, therefore, to 60 right ahead, through ev-
cry peril, without hesitation, aud without re-
lection; and right ahead have | gone,
through every peril, without hesitation and
without reflection Those who saw me
marching steadily forward with balls flying
about me, exclaimed, There goes one who
IS truly brave They ought rather TO have
said, There goes one that loves his mother
One day it happened that received a let
ter, informing me that my mother was sick.
The poor dear woman / desired to 90 and
see her; ] asked leave of absence-it was
not granted. ! recalled her last words, II
you lone me do your duty, and was resign
ed. Soon after heard that she, my moth
er, was dead. Then my brain turned. AT
any price, at all hazards. determined to
return to the country. Whence sprang this
ardent, this impe,uous longing to visit the
place where my mother had just died /
will confess to you the cause. Since you
have mother; since you love her since
she loves you you can comprehend me-
We peasants of the Morvan are simple and
credulous men. We have neither the in
struction nor the science that is found in
cities, but we have our beliefs. which you of
the city call superstitions OF what coBse-
quence is il whether. they be called one or
the other We have them, aud skilful, in
deed, must be he who can tear them from
our soul. Now one of the beliefs which
we most firmly hold, is that which attrb-
utes 10 the first flower that blows upon a
newly sodded grave, SO great virtue, that
he who gathers il can never forget the dead,
or be forgotten Of them. Dear and charm
ing belief With that thought, death has
nothing to excite a fear; for death, without
forgetiulness, is Rothing more than mild
sleep-it is only repose after long fa-
tigues. ,a H'e. 81
And tina. flower! l desired earnestly to
see il spring up, wished to gather it, and
so left the camp. After ten days steady,
painful walking, | reached my mothers
grave. The earth seemed to be freshly
heaped up. No flower had appeared. /
waited-six weeks rolled away; then, in
the first dawn of beautiful day, saw ex-
banded little flower Of azure blue. /,
was one Of those flowers which the people
of the city call Myosotes, but which the
country folks call 'Forget-me-not.'
In gathering it, | shed tears of delight,
for it seemed TO me as if this little flower
was the soul Of my mother; that she had
felt my presence, and under the form of this
flower, she had returned to offer herself te
me. Nothing retained me in the country
for my father soon followed my mother to
The grave, aud had gathered my preciou:
flower, and what more did need!
remembered my mothers counsels, Id
your duty;' so inquired for the gens-d
armes, aud said to them, Il am deserter
arrest me- s.l
Now am going to die, and if, as you
have assured me, have friend in you,
shall die without regret, for you will per
form for me the service that / expect zion
you. The flower which / went to gathe
from the grave at the peril of my life is her,
here, in this little bundle which is suspen
ded over my heart. Promise me that yo,
will see that no one separates it from me
1t is the link that unites me to my mother
and if thought that would be broken,
should die like coward. You do solemn
promise TO perform what | ask of your
81 do promise il" ts
"Oh, your hand let me press il upoI
my heart. Oh, how good you are to me
how, how l love you; and if God, by hi
omnipotence, should restore me again TO life
that life would consecrate to you"
The friends separated. aaa
The next day, when the people had con
gregated at the place designated for the ex
ecution, and just as an officer had read tn,
fatal sentence, there was heard noise al
distance, and then loud cries ran along In
ranks of the army, 1.-The Emperor-it i
the Emperor--long live the Emperor"
He rode up, and dismounted from hi
horse. Then, with his short rapid steps, h,
walked directly to the prisoner. "Pierre,
said he.
Pierre looked at the Emperor and h,
seemed to be making an effort to speak, blu
he was struck with an immovable stupor
pierre" continued the Emperor, ..'recol
lect your own words last night, God doc
again restore thee 10 Gfe,' Consecrate tina
life, not TO me, but to France She is
good, noble mother; love her as thou dds
thy other mother"
The Emperor withdrew amidst deafeninl
cl5mors Of affection.
Some years aherward, Pierre, who hat
become captain in the Old Guard, fell Of
the battle field of Waterloo, and in the ago
ny of death he collected his whole morta
energies, and shonted with a firm voice
Long live the Emperor Long live France
God bless my mother 7