, 1863-05-07

answering 10 " steppeu IOtWuro 70 tne Oenefa
and received the Gross Of the Legion Of Honor
The ceremony was over the fOrty-one had re
ceived their crosses, and the men were about To
be marched back to their encampments, when O
voice from the ranks cried out
8" And /. then? Am to have nothing !"
1t was BilbOquet, the little drummer boy, who
had been quite forgotten. ......., '...-.
The General looked around and saw the young
hero standing before him, his face red with excite
ment, and with two large tears starting from his
eyes. -.s'a .-
You what do you want" asked the General
"Why, General, wasn't / one Of them |" in
quired Bilboquet, almost in passion. Didn't !
beat the charge in front Of them all, and wasn't
II that got first into the batteryH"
sits true, General, be did" exclaimed fOrty-One
voices.
"Silence in the ranks," shouted the General
Then, turning again to Bilboquet, he said:
"What am to do, my poor boy? It's very
hard, but they have forgotten you. Besides, you
are very young" he continued. "Wait till you
have hair on your chin, and then you'll get one,
too. In the meanwhile you must try to console
yourself with this" n 10 .a..
And with these words the General held out a
forty franc piece to the unfortunate Bilb0quet,
who looked at It for few seconds without evinc-
ing the slightest intention Of taking it. All were
silent Every one was looking at the little dryp-
mer boy, and wondering what be would do. His
eyts were filed with tears, and those who had
been the first to tease him, now pitied him from
the bottom Of their hearts. The whole regiment
seemed inclined to tske up his case, and probably
the result would have been petition to the En-
peror, had not the young drummer suddenly chang
ed bis attitude. 1.D
He raised his head, looked the General full in
the face, and said: t....
"Well, give it 70 me. must wait for another
time" "
And. without furthef ceremony, he put the coin
in his pocket, and went back to Tie ranks hum
ming an air. ,...
From this moment no oIe thought Of illtreat-
ing young Bilboquet. But be was not very COM
municative to bis comrades, and seemed TO have
some STANCE project in bis head about which he
was constantly meditating. 1t was expected that
he would spend his forty francs in q treat, and
several hints to that effect were given out BY his
fellow soldiers. But no. Rlboquet kept his
money and his counsel to himself = --rtTE
Some time afterward the French army entered
Smolensk. Bilboquet had assisted in the capture
and the day after walked all over the town exam
lining every iacs with psmAFkAbls acaRiosity.a He
seemed pleased with most Of the physiognomies
he saw, for he was perpetually smiling,, especially
when he met man who had o long bekfd, and be
met several Thousands Of them in the course Of
the day. a''h
However, the boards Of smolemk are for the
most part carrotty. This seems not To have met
with Bibloquets appreciation but he probably
reflected that II the Russians, the Poles, and other
Sclavonians had rcd beafds, that was not their
fault, aud that they had not chosen that color
themselves for the purpose Of annoying French
drummer boy. t1t@
ITo,.o,.o. sL.k ,.,, L.. L,,.. l.. ....k;,.,A a
laugh whenever be met man with red beard,
until, at last, he found himself in the Jewish
quarter Of the city, where all the boards are black
'BiblOquet did not like Jews but he liked their
black boards, and, indeed, was 50 delighted that
he resolved to have one Of them, and without Do
Behind the counter, ia dirty little shop, which
was one Of q long row, stood Hebrew with Q
magnificent beard, as black as ebony.
"What do you want, my little man" said the
Jew, patronisihgly. -. .,..;..L. ..,....y
IL want your beard" answered BilboqGet, ID d
decided tone.
any beardf You're joking, my little mani"
suggested the proprietor, with an uneasy express
II want your beard, I tell sOu" repeated BIZ
boquet, as be put his hand to his sabre ); and
what's more, mean to have It. But don't think
that mean to rob you Of Il" be mildly contin-
ued, here's forty franc piece, and you can keep
the change" ls..Hi ~ d.-
The poor Jew tried to cOuvince BilbOquet that
his beard would be Of no use TO him; that It was
not worth forty francs or forty sous, or forty cen
times to any one that he, Bilboquet, would do
much better to invest bis money 10 horsehaiF, II he
really wanted for anything Of the kind that he,
himself would gladly undertake such commits
sion, and so on. -...-..-i ......- ....
But it was all in vain. Bilboquet was deter
mined to have his forty francs worth Of black
beard. Some French soldiers had been attracted
to the Jews shop by the high words that had
passed between the latter and Bilboquet, and hav-
ing ascertained Whist the quarrel was about, came
to the conclusion that the drummer boys notion
was both humorous and original, and called upon
the Hebrew to surrender his chin at discretion.
Fortunate for the Jew, one Of the soldiers pre-
sent happened to be the barber Of the regiment.
We say fortunately, because in the absence Of d
razor there can be no doubt whatever but that
the Jew would have been shaved with sabre.
However, the beard was taken OF more or less
according to art, and given to Bilboquet, who
folded it up carefully in piece Of paper, and
slowed it away in his pocket I
When Bilboquet regained his quarters, he got
the regimental tailor TO sew the Jews beard, OF
BilbOquet's beard, as II had now become, to q
strip Of parchment cut from an old drum; and
then, withOst giving any explanation Of his con
duct, put it at the very bottom Of his knapsack
His comrades bothered him about the matter ioI
few days, but then the regiment started east
ward, and, after the battle Of BOrOdinO and thG
taking Of Moscow, such incidents rs Bilboquctt
adventure with the Jew Of SmOlensk naturally
passed from recollection.
Then came the horrors Of the retreat. Cossacls
and famine. Napoleon's army was decimated ia
an inverse sense-that Is to say, every tenth mar
was spared, while the nine others fell victims tC
the Cossaek lances or, worse still, TO the Russian
snow. The 9th regiment formed part Of the rcaI
guard, which watched and fought so magnificent!
under the leadership and auspices Of Ney. Littl'
BilbOquet was among the most fortunate, Tor b
was neithhr wounded nor fFost-bitten.