The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1859-05-28

Early on the following morning . strange
procession was seen emerging from tho little
village OF Burnhoim-four old peasants e.
, o0rting one Young soldier. The country
] judge With grave airs marched ahead ~
, them. whilst the sohsolmastsr, who had OBJ
atinately Insisted upon accompanying tie
itaPtagytsu, t,ruuEht mp the rear The priso-
nor, with downcast eyes an d fallen e0unte-
nance, Nas ralkilg hetNren The two athaL
patriots, and as he had pledged his word not
10 make any atlemPt ~ flight, they had con-
ssnled "a leave bic hands united Wnen the
expedition, after a day's march, pat up Tor
the night in a small hamlet, they were told
that oil the villages around we're ofammed
full With ffeaehmen, 40 they we're obliged
10 take long roundabout way, and u was
not before the morning Of the thh day aher
their departure that they reached hsad-quar-
teta,
"Where Il the residence Of the command
er'in-chiefW asked they Of one of the ord
nance officers, who we're galoping through
the slreeta In every direction,
"Why, In the chateau, TO be sure where
The two hussars wers mounted guard on
/ horseback"
! When they had entered the yard, tliet
we're not In the least discouraged At the sight
Of whole scores Of AdjuiaH,s and ofderly.ohi
GERS Of every rank and arm, oil Of whom
seemed 20 have some urgent business with
[ the oommander-in-ohief for no sooner had
any Of them been despatched, than he was
| seen mounting again, and tearing away with
his horses belly to'Rround. IL never enter
ed their heads for one moment that the gen.
eral might consider their own business 10 be
! 0r q ROWbSh6t EtUriIF importance, utthuugtT+
the sehoolmaster argued from what he aaW,
that something Of consequence was going on
just now. The worthy man was right, 40 |
far, the eommAnder-in- chief was about 10 /
give battle on the following day. When /
they had beeR waiting patiently fof couple /
OF hours, aud began TO feel somewhat tired |
and hungry, the country judge, conscious of /
the importance Of his mission, ventureG at
last 10 aeeost one Of the officers Of the gene
rails stall who was passing by with packet
Of sealed letters in his hand, but that hasty
functiunAry did not even stop 10 give ear 10
the address Of the head man Of the rural de-
puta,ion, but merely grumbled something
about the propriety Of their going TO jericho
or further.
Our worthy inhabitants Of Burnhcim how.
ever, we're not the men TO give way 40 soon,
and renewed the charge accordingly. This
time IL was a middlc-aged man with beney-
olent eountenanee whom they made acquaint.
cd with their request to see the feld-mhphal
on most urgent business.
"Why, they had chosen their time rather
sy. Couldn't one Of the secretaries do as
well P"
"liy no MEANS they must acc the general
himsclL"
WAS II any information concerning the
enemy which they wanted to deliver ?"
20; no, something more impoT1ssnt!,srgaisrSss@ !,rasSso
lent eountenapoe laughed sayiRg heSoald try,
After the lapse uf Bbout h-lf an hour, he
came. back and brckoned them 90 follow,
They we're then ushefed into an ante-roOm,
and directed to wait for the eommander-ip-
chief
The door opened after another half hours
waiting aud an old man with gray nairs iron
cut features and bright ewes entered the
room II was the eommauder-in-chief old Fa-
Their Blucher rs the soldiers called him. The
country judge stepped forward, and bowing
very low, Gelivered the speech about which
hr fIuts UUUn pur[ierfhE eTtf= s5E'y'u tIv ''i'rs
let his native place. and which, OF course, he
thought To- be very eloquent He stated all I
that has been told already In the course of |
this narrative how the dcsertcr's own mo- |
ther had given information Of her sons
crime how they had resolved at once to
bring him back To head quarters, and conclu- |
ded his nddrcss'with hope that his excel
lency would not be induced 10 think worse
of their village, because OF one that had rem
derrd himself unworthy Of the name Of n
PmsSian. The tears came tricklng down
his honest cheeks
III IAs-ssaeEal- -lankGd-XerY- graXe- indeed.
Those large bright eyes Of his ronmed for ~
instant over his rural audience with = strange
expression. lie knew at glance what sort
of men they were he had to deal with, then
his looks rested for while on the bent fig
urc of the young man who With downeast
ewes and eareworn face, appeared the very
image Of misery and detection. lie knew
his case to be hopeless one, dcscrting CO.
( lors in time of-war is capital crime and Fa-
/ ther Blucher, with his iron will was the last
man in the world to be .rilled with.
On n sudden, the features of the old hero
assumed an expression of hnrshness. Turn
ing round towards the speaker Of this singu-
lar deputation, he said in a.rough voice, and
in a very abrupt manner,
"Mr. Judge, YOU are an ass"
The villagers started ns il they had been
stung. Aflcr oil the anxiety and trosble
they had undergone for the cause which they
considered to be just one, they had expect
! ed a somewhat more cordial reception.
"But, your cxcellency," demonstrated the
amazed dignitary.
"Hold your tongue, say you are an ass.
know belteri in Burnheim there are mo
runNways. And you, my son. he went on
with his iron features relenting little, and
with that same strange expression in his
large bright eyes, ",ou will shay them to-
morrow. ON the battle fcld. what Burnheim
man can do will you notP
The young man dropped down on his
knees, and was Stammerng few broken
words, which the general did not hear, how
ever. for when the lad rose ngain with high
flushed check and sparkling eyss-a far diff
!. fcreut man-Bluchrr had already left the
room.
The worthy peasants, whose perccpure IA
culties we're by no means equal TO their hon
esty, began at last TO get glimpse OF the
generals real meaning. The country judge
was the first to throw his cap high into the
air, and to give three hearty cheers for Fa-
ther Blucheri who, with one single word,
had extinguishcd what they considered .
...i.. l-nr.a- thnir hnlnNnl Nillnnn- cnmlnrIcl