Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-18

would peep out FROM under his rum
pied surplice. what is he going to
do with us?r the prisoners asked
themselves in wondering terror, as
they called to mind 50 many deeds Of
barbarity that had obtained for the
Cabecilla an exceptional renown in
the royalist army.
For a wonder, on that morning, the
father was in a merciful mood. This
mass, solmenized in the open air, his
military success on the preceding day,
the c~heerfulness inspired by Easter
Sunday, to the influence OF which this
singular priest had not yet grown quite
insensible, irradiated his features with
a CLEAN ofjoy and goodness. AS soon
as the religious ceremony was over,
and while the sexton was clearing the
altar and locking up the holy vases in
a large chest that was transported
from place to place on a mule back, in
the c a Of the expeditiOnary forces,
the curate approached the prisoners.
There they stood-a dozen Republi-
can carbineers-worn out by a days
fighting and by the anxieties Of a
night passed among the straw of a
sheepfold in which they had been con-
fined after the engagement. Wan with
fear, emaciated with hunger, thirst
aud fatigue, huddled together like a
herd Of cattle in the slaughter-pe of
the shambles. With their uniforms
covered with hay=and straw, their
equipments in disorder and displaced
during their flight and their sleep:
the dust that covered them, from the
tops of their pompons to the tips of
their yellow shoes-all this impaired
to their appearance that sinister ex-
preston of the vanquished, whose
moral Encouragement is attested BY
physical prOstratiOn. The Cabecilla
looked at them for a moment with an
ironical sheer. He was not sorry to
see the Republican soldiers humbled.
swallow, ragged, in the midst of the
well-fed, well-equipped Carlists, and
Of the Nayarrest, who we're brown as
berries and dry as locust STATES.
Viva Dios my children, said he,
good humoredly, the Republic feeds
her defenders very sparingly." You
are all as lean as the wolves of the
Pyrenees when the mountains are
covered with snow. That is not the
way we treat the soldiers of the good
cause. Would you like to Judge for
yourselves, hermanos? Dof those in
famous caps and put on the white
ones. AS sure as this is Easter Sun
day, to all those who will cry, Long
live the KingI their lives shall be
spared, and they shall receive the
rations that | give to my other
soldiers.
Before the priest had fairly uttered
the word all the caps were tossed in
the air, and the shouts, Long live
the Kingl Long life to the Cabe-
were echoed by the noun
tains. Poor fellows they had been
ia such mortal dread Of death and il
was so tempting TO smell the dainty
yiands that were broiling under the
shadow Of the rocks by the camp-fres
that looked so rosy in the sunlight.
| doubt whether the Pretender was
ever hailed with such hearty ac-
claims.
Make haste and feed them, said
the priest, laughing. When wolves
cry 50 Justify as that it shows that
their teeth are long and sharp
The prisoners moved of, but one of
them, the youngest, stood before the
chieitain, in a proud and resolute atti-
tude that formed a striking contrast
with his youthful features and the
slight down, scarcely tinted, that Gov
cred his cheek. There was something
.feYerish in his large, lustrous eyes.
Arab eyes kindling with Spanish
flame, But this fame seemed to dis
concert the Cabecilla.
What do YOU want?' said he.
Nothing | am waiting for yeu to
decide upon my fate"
Why, your fate shall be the same
as that OF the Others. named no
one in particular. The pardon is a
general one"
But the others are a pack of
traitors and towards. alone did not
Join in their shouts"
The Cabeeillagayc a start and looked
the boy full in the face.
'YOur name?'
Tonic Vidal.
Where from p
Puycerda.'
Your age?'
Seventeen
The republic must be haYl pushed
70 find men when she has to enlist
children
But | am not an enlisted soldier.
padre, | am a volunteer
You know, you scamp, that I
could find more than one way to make
you shout Long live the king"
Try me-
Would you rather die?"
A hundred times rather
80 he il; you shall diel'
The curate then made a sign to the
platoon that had been detailed for
punishment parade, to draw nearer "
the doomed prisoner, who never 50
much as WINGED. At sight Of this
genuine courage the soldier-priest fsit
u touch Of genuine pity. Have YOU