Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-02-19

The old lady started up and gaze
around. She saw the stranger, and
look of hope rested upon her features.
"Havent ye light ?" asked the stran
ger.
"No-only the fire." answered tn
boy:
"Then we'll have better one." til
soldier said. GIVE candle in nv hay
ersack, and bit of food, too.''
AS he spoke he sat down in chair
the only other one in the room, and hay
ing unslung his haversack he overhaulc,
the contents until he came to the candle
This he gave to Pierre and babe hin
light it. An old wooden candlestick wa
found and the candle was soon burning
The soldier could now see the faces O.
h1s hostess and her son more plainly
The former was a mild-looking, full
proved woman, with prayerful cast O.
conntenance, and must have once been
extremely beautiful. She was certainl,
fifty years of age, for her hair WAS very
gray, and time had been busy with its
indelible touches. Her son was not over
nineteen, and was q handsome youth.
He was pale and wan now, but his brow
was full, his eyes large, dark and bril-
liant.
"You suffer much % said the soldier
addressing the hostess.
Very much" she returned. IT have
been very sick, but I am getting better
now. Yet my sickness has eaten ur
everything we had, and my noble boy
has sacrificed all his earnings, and.
worse than all else, he can't find work
now to do. The crops are all garnered
and the barns closed. Yesterday he went
to the house OF a rich man to beg. and
/ he was hcked-'
"No, no, mother-not kicked % ex-
not dare to do that. He said he would
kick me if came there again."
"But are there not others who would
help you?" asked the old man.
"They might" returned Pierre;
"but the sou-prefet Of police swore that
he would have me sent off if he caught
me begging again. What could do.
sir?''
"But the sou-prefet is villain What
does he mean?"
"He is angry with me. He wanted
me in the harvest time to work for him
for tive sous day, and I wouldn't be-
cause better man gave me fifteen SOUS"
He is perfect villain. But come
we'll eat something: My old haversack
has something else in it besides candles.
don't travel without something to
guard against the danger of being be-
nighted in the wood"
| As he spoke he pulled loaf of bread
and a piece Of cold boiled beef from his
old provision bag, and then made the
mother and son eat. He assured them
that he had eaten hearty supper, and
that he had money to buy more, SO with
| out further ceremony they began the
meal-the first they had eaten since the
morning Of the day before, save the little
milk which they were able to get from
one old goat which they yet retained.
Tears stood in the old soldiers eyes as
he sat and saw the boy and his mother
eat, and when they were done they turn
ed and blessed him. The woman SEEM
ed much revived, and as her son put
some more faggots upon the fire, she
turned, and spoke to her guest. Her
voice trembled as she spoke, and tears
were in her eyes.
"You are soldier ?" she said.
EYES," the old man replied, turning
his gaze upon the fire instead Of upon
his questioner.
"Have you been long in the army?"
Eighteen years"
perhaps you have been in Africa?"
81 have"
"Whom did you serve under? %
"Colonel Pelissier.'
"Then you may have known Francois
Chollet?"
And as the woman said this she wiped
her eyes with her apron.
Corporal Chollet? To be sure I |
knew him. Aye-and fine fellow he
was too. Did you ever know him?"
eyes, sir. He-he-" and here q
passionate food of tears interrupted her:
but finally she concluded che was my
husband"
"Ah-was he? Poor Francois His
was sad fate !"
The woman started and laid one of her !
hands upon the soldiers arm. The tears
ceased flowing and her lips were closed. |
..Then he is dead ?" she whispered.
"No-l guess not.''
"Not dead Francois alive Do you
know this?" she cried. !
81 am sure of it. He was sadly |
wounded, and lost leg-as I have done.
He was taken prisoner and kept long
while, too, and that is the reason why be !
did not come home with his regiment.
But how long since you have seen him ?"
"Fifteen years, sir. He sailed from
Marseilles with the first that went to
Algiers. But where is he now? Where
did you see him last ?"
'He landed at Toulon with me-
80, God bless you, sir! And he will
come to me soon. Did you leave him
there?''
Ono. He started on with me-"
"Started on? But where-where did
you leave him?''
"The last I saw of him was in q small
hut where he had called to pass the
night. But you see, came off with his .
crutch and staff, so shouldn't wonder if !
he had to stop where is for some time"
"O-how could you, sir? But you
didn't know that he had waiting, Weep
ing wife to whom he would CO.
&C. Yes, did, |
" And you left him thus y
But the crutch was mine"
"Ah-you lent it to him. But no-if
you had only one crutch between you
both, how did you come so far?'
"Simply because we were both one
and the same person."
"One-both-yor-''
am Francois Chollett.'
T. he woman started to her feet. and
having gazed one moment into the SOL
dier's face, she sank upon his bosom and
wept. Pierre was upon his legs in an
instant, and in the next was by his faith
er's side. BE forgot for the moment his
expedition upon the highway, and only
realized that his father had returned.
He remembered well when that father
took him upon his knees fifteen years be-
fore, and kissed him; and he remem-
bered, too, how the big tears had rolled
down that fathers cheeks.
But the husband and father was ut
home once more, and if he had returned
with his body manned, he had brought
back an untarnished name. In addition
to goodly bulk of gold which he carried