Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1873-02-11

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chivalrous age, assure voc FRAT feel
sick at all see Dear Rheims should
! | once more behold thy ancient spires
| will exchange the sword for the
| ploughshare My mother was right.
we had glory enough But come, my
host. for the sake of your noble charge.
| will secure YOU and your household
from all future dangers from French
| sOldiery. l have a protection card
signed 10y the Emperor himself 1t is
| the only one | ever had. | will fill il
! out with your name and the names of
| your household. Show it only TO any
| insnlent soldier, and be he us great a
ruflian as that seoundrel who insulted
| your charge, and you will be treated
with respect, nay with kindness
| This | do the more willing becau>
this unprotected lady-eneny in the
| open field her father no doubt is to nue.
yet is of my order and Glass;
Opening his Utmost vest pocket lie
took from it carefully kept card
| about six inches square, on which
was printed under an eagle the words:
''kesPect, protect and succOr the within named.
| "NAPOLRSS. EsPEKOR."
katinka was moved to tears at his
generosity While De Baryille was
| filling out the card she looked at him
| for the first time attentively. His
manly cOuntenaEce, his high and
| white brow, his genuine noble features.
his youth-abOve all, his strange. sym
pathetic generosity for her, enemy
though he Vas, made fearful threads
upon her heart, that until now had not
known what the softer emotion OF love
was. She hated the French now a.
much as before, but she could not find
it in her heart possible to hate him.
She moved uneasily about suddenly
she addressed JOsephea in Russian:
Save him; you have the means to
do so. My father had no secret from
me. He is the general o: the secret
order, you are an officer of it; save him
l say save him.p
"Oh, Katinka." said the Jew, al
had thought of ii already, bat coEsid- |
er the danger-p
''Save him." she answered, 1.-THE
fault shall be mine.n
The Captain thought it rather rude |
of Katinka to speak IN foreign |
tongue, particularly as he felt that he |
was the object OF the conversational
But the noble girl mOdestly but firmly |
took hold of his hand, and, looking in |
to his face. said, Pardon me we were |
speaking of you but it was for your |
good"
General" said Josephca Che some
how persisted in calling him generan,
could you not manage to stay in Will
ma? You will have French garrison !
here why not stay here ~
"Oh, no." said De Banville, "Mc-
Donald Will garrison wilma with the
Prussian auXilaries | belong to Mu-
rats corps, and must march on"
"Well, General" said his host, lone
favor deserves another. You gave me /
card of safety; will in return give
you one. 1t is much smaller. yet I |!
can vOUch for its being more potent
than yours. Should you fall into the
hands, not of the regular army, for
there you will be pTiSOner-Of-war, hut
of the pcasahtry and irregular, show
this little talisman alive, dead, or dy-
ing, if you are within n hundred
leagues from here, you will te brought
to me. Ask no questions. he cOntin-
ued, ''and only resort to it in the last
extremity"
"a thousand thanks, my friend
but must know whether my honor is
not involved i'm this transaction
But Katinka, with all the love of
her soul shining in her large eyes, Ia
king him round the neck, whispered,
''Take il for the sake of your mother,
for the sake Of me, whose honor you
savedn
Give il me / would not only trust
my life but my honor to you, noble
girl"
The tallisman was O small leather
en- which strange figures
were pressed outside. 1t opened, and
inside was in Russian letters printed,
'Josephea, Wilma" aud also suTroun-
ded with strange figures like
those outside. 1t was made
to wear on chain or string. Jose
plea took a strong, coarse Irvine, and
was about to fasten il on the talisman,
when Katinka said "HOld. my
friend" and loosening her hair, which
was literally streaming below her
waist, told little Miriam to bring a
pair of scissors. Cutting thin trrss
from the mass, she nimbly plated il
into a strong chain and fastening the
talisman on it, hung it, with n smile
on her face and tears in her eyes, round
the neck of De Banville.
The poor young captain felt q strange
never before had a woman's
image so suddenly impressed itself on
his mind, or rather heart. He began
to ask Eatinka's history, and found
she had no mother, and perhaps the
French army would soon make her
fatherless. Her relations were far
away in Courland, and the only friend
she had was .IOsephea She was nat
urally reserved, and, strange to say,
neither Josephea nor Katinka asked
De Banville his name. lineage. or even
station in the army.
Nights in Russia in the month of
August are very short, and at three
o'clock broad daylight and glorious
sun appeared. The trumpets sounded,
the Captain and Josephea ran to the
stable, saddled the horse, and in a
few short moments he stood before
Katinka, and taking both OF her hands
said farewell.
''If heaven wills it that we shall be
friends, and i'll am alive, / will seek
yOu ont and find YOU, be sure of that. |
.hou dear, dear girl" Then tearing
himself from her with an effort, he
shook hands with the host, his wife,
md daughter, and vaulting into the :
saddle disappe lreI among the
thousands OF cavalry troops that were !
getting into line of march.
How strange that the romance OF a
light should become the destiny for
ife. Katinka, like poor Marguerite in
Faust" no sooner had the Captain
disappeared. felt that her peace, her
heart, her happiness, had gone with
lin. IL is not my intention even for
moment to dwell on that awful Rus :
ian campaign, which reduced the
100, 600 men who in August marched
nto Russia to 20, 900 starved and frozen
epers that left in January, 1872
1 will only say this much, that all
discipline in the French army came to
m end after the passage of the Ber-
sina. Thousands struggled without
Weapons, clad i'm rags, their feet tied
Up in woOilen strips torn from their
ioaks, resembling in their gate hu-
nan elephants. These were merciless-
y slaughtered wherever found by tie
fHH, MANY orrh n u.rs.l- 10 1