The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1868-04-18

ana sAe hau LOST the pain, ana wanuere
! off to the % of the morass, where 81
had sunk in ne mud
i =" Oh, good Jerome cried the lit
one, seizing the mans hand, "cant 20
hear her? She will die if you do u,
come and help herl"
i At that moment the sentinel faneie
be heard the wall of the unfortuna-
womaN Lisette, the good, the beaut
ful, the tender hearted Lisette was
danger, and it was in his power to sax
her 1t was not in his heart to withstan
, the pleadings of the child. He coul
90 and rescue the nurse and return t
his post without detection. Atall event:
he could not refuse the childish pleadei
Give me your hand, Natalia, I'll g
along with you"
With cry nJf Joy the child sprang t
tbs jIsrs .slds az ssa steE. sAs IA 8
towar t-She place where She had left ~
mother. 1t seemed long distance tt
Jerome, and once he stopped as thsugl
he would turn back. He did not feal
death, but he feared dishonor.
'sHark p uttered the child.
The soldierS6oRed, and plaialy heard
the voice q Bring woman calling
for - erAted no longer. Or
he =, eough the stolm, and
fod - sunk to the arm pts in the
soft MRiss. Fortunately terft tf long
grass had been within her reach, by
which means she had held her head
above the fatal mud. 1t was no easy
matter to extricate her from the miry
pit, as the workm9n had to be very care.
/ ful that he did not himself lose his foot
ing At leng kubowever, she was drawn
forth, and Id d her forward to his
post.
Who comes there ?" cried voice
from the gloom.
Heavens r grasped Jerome, stopping
and trembling from head to foot
Who comes there2' repeated the
voice
Jerome heard the click of musket
lock, and he knew that another sentinel
had been placed at the post he had left.
The relief had come while he was alb
sentl
Friend with the couutcrsign 7! he
answered to the last call Of the new sen
tinel
He was ordered to advance, and wher
he had given the countersign he found
himself in the presence OF the officer o.
the guard. La few hurried words be
told his story and had the officer beea
alone he might have allowed the matter
to rest where it was But there Were
others present, aud when ordered to giTe
up his musket, he obeyed without a nun
mur, ard silently accompanied the offi-
Ger to the camp, where he was put in
irons.
On the following morning, Jerome
Dubois was brought before a court mar
tial under charge of having deserted his
f,s~s. H. -se.sls-.s.l -. s-~ns. sss.sls,s arssa
then permission was granted him to tell
his story.
This he did in few words, but the
court could do nothing but pass SEN
tence Of death but the members there
Of all signed a petition praying that he
might be pardoned and this petition was
sent to the General of the division, by
whom it was endorsed and sent up to the
Marshal.
Lefebyre was kind and generous to his
soldiers, almost to a fault, but he could
not overlook so grave an error as that
committed by Dubois. The orders given
to the sentinel had been very simple,
and foremost of every necessity was the
order forbidding him to leave his post
until properly relieved To certain
extent the safety of the whole army
rested on the shoulders of each individ-
ual sentinel and especially upon those
who at night were posted n, Arrest the
lines of the enemy.
/ am sorry" said the gray-haired
old warrior, as he folded up the petition,
and handed it back to the officer who
presented it. am sure that the man
meant no wrong, and yet great wrong
was done. He knew what he was doing
ard ran theirs She was detected-he
has been tried sshd demned. He must
suffer!" p
They asked Lefebvre if he would see
the Condemned.
" No, now the marshal replied quick
ly. Should 1 see him and listen to his
story might pardon him, and that must
not be done. Let him die that thousands
NAV be Ned
The time f I'D for the execution of
Dubois was i erning succeeding his
trial. The i n the interview with
Marshal LefeSQ1S Vas made known to
him, and he was not at all disappointed
He blamedzno one, and was only sorry
that he had not died on the battle field
" have tried to be good soldier,
he said to the captain. 81 feel that |
have done no crime that should leave a
stain upon my name
The captain took his hand aud assur-
ed him that his name should be held in
respect.
Towards evening Pierre Valiant,
with his wife and child, were admitted to
see the prisonsssAT This was visit which
Jerome wop edIy have dispensed
with, h as slings ,g I'VE We're e,.,d1t already ns
manned km but he braced himself for
the interview, and would have stood it
like hero, had not little Natalia, in the
ca sgerness of her love and gratitude,
thrown herself on his bosom and offered
to die in his stead. This tipped the
brimming cup, and bis cup flowed freely.
Pierre and Liseu1 knew not what to
would have Wiling ly died for the noble
fellow who had been thus condemned.
Later IN the evening came compan
ion, who, If he lived, would at sometime
return 10 jerome boyhood home. First
the condemned thought of his widowed
mother aud he sent her message of
love and devotion. Then he thought of
his brother and sister. And finally he
thought of one-a bright eyed maid
whose vine-clad cottage stood upon the
Seine-one whom he had loved with a
love such as great hearts alone can feel.
sOh, my dear frieAdlp he cried bow
= L I 4