Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1868-05-01
THE condemned SENTINEL.


twenty-seven thousand French troop
had invested Dantiez. The city wa
/. garrisoned by seventeen thousant
Russian and Prussian soldiers; ant
these together with twenty On thirt,
well armed citizens, presented nearly
double the force which could bt
brought to the assault. So there wa.
need of the utmost vigilance on the
part of the sentinels, for desperate
sortie from TIE garrison made una.
wares, might prove calamitous.
AT midnight Jerome Dubois was
placed upon one of the most impOr.
tant posts in the advance line of pick.
cts, 1t being upon narrow strip OF
land ri. ing above the marshy flat,
called the Peninsula of Nehrung.--
For more than an hour he paced his
lonely beat without hearing anything
but the moaring Of the wind and the
driving of the rain. At lie igth, how
ever, another sound broke upon his
ear. he stopped and listened, and
he called-"Who's there?
The only answer was a moaning
sound.
He called again, and this time he
heard something like the cry of a
child; and presently the object came
toward him from out of the darkness.
With a quick, emphatic movement,
he brought his musket to charge
and ordered the intruder to halt.
Mercy J! exclaimed q childish
voice. Don't shoot me! / am Ma
talia. Don't you know mew
Heavens" cried jerome, elevating
the muzzle of his piece. as it you,
dear child?
"Yes; and you are good Jerome
Oh, you will come and help mama;
Come, she Is dying"
1t was certainly Natalia, q little
girl only eight years old, daughter of
Lisette Valiant. Lisette was the
daughter of Pierre Villant, a sergeant
in Jerome's own regiment, and was
in the army in capacity of nurse.
"Why how Is this, my child ?" said
Jerome, taking the little one by the
arm. "What Is it about your moth
erw
"Oh, good Jerome, you can hear
her now! Harkr'
The sentinel bent his ear, but could
hear only the wind and the rain.
Mamma Is In the dreadful mud -
said the child, ''and is dying. She is
not far away. Oh. | can hear her
crying"
BY degrees, Jerome gathered from
Natalia that her father had taken her
out with him in the morning, and
that in the evening when the storm
came on, her mother came after her.
The sergeant had offered to send a
man back to the camp with his wife,
but she preferred to return alone, feel
ing sure that she should meet with no
trouble. The way, however, had be-
come dark and uncertain, and she
had lost the path, and wandered off
to the edge of the morass, where she
sunk in the mud.
"OhO, good Jerome" cried the lit
tie one, scizing the mans hand,
cant you hear her? She will die if
you do not come and help her !"
At that moment the sentinel fam
Cied he heard the wall of the unfor-
tunate woman. I.isette, the good,
the beautiful, the tender hearted Lis
cite was in danger, and it was i'm his
power to save her. 1t was not I'm his
heart to Withstand the pleadings of
the child. He could go and rescue
the nurse and return to his post with
out detection. Atall events, he could
not refuse the childish pleader.
"Give ME your hand, Natalia, I'll
go along with you.r
With n cry of joy the child sprang
to the soldiers side, and when she
had secured his hand she hurried him
along toward the place where she had
left her mother. 1t seemed a long dis
tance to Jerome, and once he stopped
as though he would turn back. He
did not fear death, but he feared dis
honor.
"Hark!" uttered the child.
The soldier listened, and plainly
heard the voice of the suffering wO-
man calling for help. He hesitated
no longer. On he FASTENED through
the storm, and found Lisette sunk to
the arm pits in the soft morass. For
tunately a tuft Of long grass had been
within her reach, by which means
she had held her head above the fatal
mud. 1t was 10 easy matter to eX-
tricate her from the miry pit, as the
workman had to he very careful that
he did not himself lose his footing
At length, however, she was drawn
forth, and he led her forward to his
post.
"Who comes there ?" cried q voice
from the gloom.
"Heavensw gasped Jerome, stop
ping and trembling from head to foot.
"Who comes there ?" repeated the
voice
Jerome heard the click of musket
lock, and he knew that another SEN
tinel had been placed at the post he
had left. The relief had come while
he was absent!
"Friend with the countersign ~ he
answered to the last call of the new
sentinel.
He was ordered to advance, and
when he had given the countersign
he found himself in the presence of
the officer of the guard. In u few hur-
ried words he told his story; and had
the officer been alone he might have
allowed the matter to rest where ii
was. But there were Others present,
and when ordered to give up his mus
and silently accompanied the officer
to the camp, where he was put In
irons.
On the following morning, Jerome
Dubois was brought before court
martial under charge of having de-
serted his post. He confessed he was
guilty; and then permission was
granted him to tell his story.
This he did in few words, but the
court could do nothing but pass sem
tcnce Of death; but the members
thereof all signed 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.
Lefebvre was kind and generous to
his soldiers, almost TO a fault, but he
cnnll moi nNnrlnnk Al nr,lN,a nn error