Quasqueton guardian. (Quasqueton, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1856-1858, 1857-10-08

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child and even now, methinks, if 1 wer
to speak of her lad
what then p ILL. ...r
The tears would come-and tears d.
not become man Tears continuet
he, tears when | have but few hour:
to live All there would not. be mucl
courage in that J. .4s
Thou art too stern, comrade !; thinl
| have, thank God, as much courage a:
other people and yet | would not bt
ashamed of weeping, were l to speak o
my mother ,.4t i-g,na ~.
Are you serious p said Pierre, eager.
ly seizing the officers hand. You, &
man and a soldier, and not ashamed tc
weep
When speaking of my mother? Ger
tainly not. My mother is so good, SO
kind, she loves me much, and l, too, love
her dearly
She loves you, and you love her Q
Oh! then l may indeed tell you all
Ny heart is full-it must have vent and
however strange my feelings may APP
pear to you / am sure you will not laugh
at them. Listen, then, for what you said
just now is quite true. A man is glad
when about to die, to have heart into
which he can pour his own. Will you
listen to me, and not laugh at me p
Surely l will listen, Pierre. A dy-
ing man must ever excite compassionate
sympathy
You must know that since / came in
to this world, l loved but one being
that being was my mother. But her l
loved as none love-with all that was in
me of life and energy. While yet babe
l used to read her eyes as she read mine.
She was the heart of my heart, and | the
heart of hers. | have never had either
sweetheart or wife. Inever had friend,
my mother was everything to me- Well
was summoned to take up arms and
when they told me 1 must leave her, in
paroxysn Of despair, declared they
might drag me limb from limb, but nev
er should they take me from her alive.
With one word spoken in her holy forti-
tude and strong courage, she changed
my whole purpose Pierre, said she,
you must go; it is my wish, l knelt
before her and said will 60, mother
good son, and thank God for it, but the
duties Of a son are not the. only ones a
man has TO fulfill Every citizen owes
himself to his country /; it calls thee
obey Thou art going to be soldier.
From this momeut thy life is no longer
thine own. 1t is thy country's. If its
interests demands it, lay it down cheer
fully. If it be the viii of God that thou
shouldst die before me, | should weep
for thee my hearts tears but | would
say, He gave and He has taken away
blessed be the name of the Lord !! Go
now, if thou lovost thy mother, do thy
duty Oh! how precious those holy
words l have never forgotten them
Do thy duty she said. Now, the du-
ty of soldier was always and in all
things to obey and in all things and al
ways | obeyed. 1t was to go straight
face danger without hesita-
tion-without second thought; and l
went straight -forward-faced danger
without esitation-without a second
thought. Those who saw me thus seek,
as it were, to meet the bullets, said
9 There is brave fellow ! They might
have better said. there goes a man who
loves his mother ? One day a letter
brought me tidings that she was ill-my
own poor mother. longed to so to her.
| asked for leave of absence but it was
not granted remembered her last
words If thou love me- Submitted
A little after | heard that she was dead.
Oh then my senses forsook me; at
any risk | determined to travel the coun-
try. Whence proceeded SO ardent, so
impetuous desire to see once more a
place where my mother had just died ?
/ will tell you +; aud as you have moth
er, and as she loves you, and you love
her, you will understand me.
We peasants of Morvan are simple
and confding race. We have not re.
ceived the instructions, or attained the
knowledge that they have in cities ; but
but we have our beliefs, which the town
folks call superstitions. What matters
the name? Be they superstitions or be-
lief, have them, and clever would bt
the man that could uproot them. Now
one of these beliefs to which we cling tn,
most, is that which attributes to the frs
~ =.