Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1880-03-20

seemed 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 q soldierP" she said.
eyes," the old man replied, turning
his gaze upon the fire instead of upon
his questioner.
"Have you been long in the armyp"
eighteen years.
Perhaps you have been in African"
81 nave"
"Whom did you serve underP"
"Colonel Pelissier."
"Then you may have known Francois
CholletP"
And as the woman said this she wiped
her eyes with her apron.
Corporal CholletP To be sure l
knew him. Aye - and fine fellow
he was, too. Did you ever know
himP"
eyes, sir. He-he-" and here a
passionate lood of tears interrupted
her; but finally she concluded-'' he
WAS my nuSDdllu.
"Ah-was he? Poor Francois! His
was a 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 deadP" she whispered.
"No-I guess not"
"Not dead Francois alive! Do you
know this?" she cried.
81 am sure of it. He was sadly
wounded, and lost II leg-as | have
done. He was taken prisoner and kept
long while too, and that is the reason
why he did not come home with his
regiment. But how long since you have
seen himPn
"Fifteen years, sir. He sailed from
Marseilles with the first that went to
Algiers. But where is he now?" Where
did you see him lastP"
"He landed at Toulon with me-"
80, God bless you sir! And he will
come to me soon. Did you leave him
there's
"No. He started on with me-"
Started onP But where-where did
you leave him!"
"The last | saw of him was in a
small hut where he had called to pass
the night. But, you see, have come
off with his crutch and staff, so l
shouldn't wonder if he had to stop
where he is for some time.''
"O-how could you, sirP But you
didn't know that he had waiting,
weeping wife to whom he would 60"
Yes, l did"
"And you left him thus!"
"But the crutch was mine"
"Ah--you lent it to him. But no-it
you had only one crutch between you
both, how did you come so farP"
" Simply because we were both one
and the same persons"
One-both-you-'
81 am Francois Chollet."
The woman started to her feet, and
having gazed one moment into the sol
4 dier's face, she sank on his bosom and
wept. Pierre was upon his legs in al
instant, and at the next was by his
fathers side. He forgot for the moment
his expedition upon the highway, and
only realized that his father had re-
turned. He remembered well wher
the father took him upon his knees
fifteen years before, and kissed him
and he remembered, too, how the big
tears had rolled down that fathers
cheeks.
But the husband and father was al
home once more, and if he had returned
with his body MANNED, he had brought
back an untarnished name. In addi
ton to a goodly bulk of gold which hC
carried stitched up in his vest, he had ;
pension settled upon him. and the fu
ture looked bright and clear. The sol
of Corporal Chollet became an i'm
portant parsonage among the gooc
peasants, and the sou-prefect was among
the first to solicit the friendship of tn,
battle.scarred old soldier. The littl
cot smiled once mofe, and Pierre hac
never occasion to 90 upon the highwa,
again with any foul intent. The OLE
soldier often refers to meeting with tn,
the young robber of st. Gervais, an,
under all the circumstances it rathe
pleases him, and he thinks he can see il
it the proof of Piefre's courage, an,
also of his true affection for his mother