The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-06-10

$ of a sympathizing friend some wisl
le to express, or some message to send
/ have come to be that friend to you
Is Have you anything you wish tC
say 2p -. ,....sy-..,, .........
! ed Pierre, extending his hand, 81
have nothing"
"Nothing to say to me, my poor fel-
low No last wOrds-nO message"
- "None.u .f. 81 Is
&c ''Not parting word for your be-
trOthed or your sister ?''
81 haye neithersis or sweetheart,
II comrade."
"But your father?"
|, "Ah, my poor father died two
y months ago in my arms"
"And your mother" !"
; any mother," cried Pirre, his voice
growing tremuIousand husky. ''Com-
rade, spare me all mention of my
u mother, | cannot hear her namew
"And why not ?'
'Because, the very thought of her
brings tears tony eyes. And do you
think / could bear TO go out and meet
death with tears on my face" eX-
. claimed he, passiOnately.
"YOu are too stoical, Pierre" said
the officer 81 believe, thank heaven!
that am as much of man as any
officer in the army, but L would not
be ashamed of tears that sprung from
mention of my mothers name"
I 'Indeed pf cried Pierre, seiZing the
hand of the officer, "is this true ? Are
you a man and n soldier, and yet not
ashamed of shedding tears ?'
"Shedding tears at the thought of
my motherl God forbid! She is so
good mother and 1 love her SO
, dearly %
"You Ioveher so dearly ~ echoed
Pierre. "Oh, then / may speak tOyOu
of my mOther-my dear, idOlized
motherI My heart is full-full TO
| bursting; but thought / should die
without cOnfiding the secret of my
desertiOn to any man. You see Lieu
tenant, was afraid of beingridiculed,
, and of being thought unmanly. But
f your sympathy assures ME that how
ever much you may wonder at my
| feeling and behavior, you will not
sneer ut them. You were right, COM
rade; no man dies content that dies
with a secret weighing on his heart.
Mine is unimpOrtant, but"
"But / came hither to invite your
confidence, and L am prepared TO re-
ceive it in the same spirit as you make
it. Come, Pierre, we have not, alas
"much time to spare"
NO-truly, we have very little time.
A Well, Lieutenant-frOm as far back
as remember anything, remember
loving my mother better than any
human being on earth. AS soon as |
could see, hear, and speak, my whole
existence lay in the atmosphere of
her love. / understood glance from
her eyes as plainly as did the words
that were spoken by the rest of man-
kind. We were all in all to each 9TH
er. 1 never had friend, compan-
ion, or q mistress. There was no room
in my heart for any one but my
mother. When it came to my turn to
serve in the army, and to part from
| her, was in paroXysm of despair at
the mere thought of. separation, and
sWOre that / would sooner die at her
feet than leave her.
"My mother was q brave and relig-
ious woman. She fixed her eyes up
on me, and few words from her dear
lips subdued me.
!" Pierre said she, you must go; it
is your mothers wish
'In a second I was on my knees be-
fere her, and promised to obey.
My child,' continued she, you
have always been a good son, and
thank God for the joy you have given
me up to this moment. But man
has other duties besides parental obli-
cations. Your country calls you, and |
are no longer mine. You are the
child of France, and if France de-
mands your life give it freely, my
darling. If God wills that you die be- |
fore me, though my heart will bleed,
it shall acknowledge His justice. The |
Lord giveth and the Lord taketh |
away. Blessed be the name of the
Lord
ooh how I treasured her words !
And for her sake it is that / have
never infringed the most trifiing rules
of the service. For her sake l have
fought without ever giving one
thought to my safety. She babe me
give my life to France, and for love
of her gave it without stint. This,
Lieutenant, is the reason why / have
been considered one of the bravest
men in my regiment. My bravery
was nothing but an expression of love
love for the best of mothers ~
Here Pierre bent his head and be-
gan to weep. Presently he wiped his
ewes and went on. "One day a letter
came, informing me that she was very
sick, and went at once to beg per-
mission to see her. Twas the first
time had ever asked for furlOugh
it was denied me. My heart was
ready to burst with grief, but / pom
dered on her words, Your country
calls you and you are no longer mine,'
and, comradc, submitted to my fate
without Il murmur Not long after
came n second letter. She ards dead
Dead-and she had not blessed me!
Dead and had not one kiss Oh,
then! | lost my senses, and when a
second time my furlOugh was denied
me, went in spite of denial. What
cared | for life or death, for honor or
reputatiOn2 She was gone, and no
love of country could keep me from
her grave. COmrade, you have said
that you loved your mother, and that
she loved you. IF so, you at least will
think indulgently of my desertion,
when I tell you why | was so frantic
to visit my mothers grave.
among my native hills the peasan-
ry are simple and credulOus. They are
not enlightened, and it may be that
they are superstitiOus.s Be that as il
may, we have our traditions, and no
power on earth can shake our faith in
them. One of our most cherished be-
Iiefs is this: whoever gathers from a
grave the first flower that blossoms
there, will cherish the memory of the
one that lies below, and will forever
be remembered in the departed ones
prayers. Sweet, comforting thought,
that robs death of its sting, and likens
it to gentle sleep.
HLieutenant, without that flower 1
could not live, and deserted. After
ten days of weary march, reached
my mothers grave. As yet no flower
had taken root in the fresh mould, a
and IYent home to wait. Six weeks
passed by, when, on q bright morn
ing, just after sunrise, beheld leafy
cup, from whose center arose an OPEN !
ing flower that gardners call the N.Y.
ostis, but which, with us, is known as
the "FOrget-me-nOt.n l bent over
and kissed it, for it seemed to me
messenger from nv mother, and nv
mission was at an end. / had now
no further reason for absenting N.Y.
SCH liOlH Ile dIu ~. iau Culltu my |
flower, and forged q link between my
self and heaven. / remembered my
mothers counsels, and, following the
dictates of conscience, sought the
gems d'dTDeeS and surrendered myself
as deserter.
81 am about TO die, and have no
complaint to make. If, as you assure
me, you have come to me as friend,
l hope | may rely upon you TO do me
one last service. The flower that /
purchased with my life is in this little
sGchet that Won see hanging around
my neck. Promise me that it shall {
not be removed, and will die con-
tent"
II promise, Pierre replied the of