The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1881-06-30

Time sent on. When the time Of the
conscription came NE drew lots. PuyiouI
and |. on the same day; bad number
ihre. aud he had number seven. and 80
NO both oi us became soldiers For mo.
men, Vas in state Of great fright. |
couiess People si Mesieres said that pu.
vionr had rich aunt. and that she would
buy him Of. II puviouI did not Join th.
army, PuyiouI would marry Marguerite,
ssd ]. knowing that should he obliged
to go, for | was poor. and thought al.
ready heard the fiddler At the wedding
rending my ears and nv heart
Luckily, Pierre Puviour was not bought,
of. His aunt died leaving debts instead
OF a fortune. He had not penny more
than ] had. We were obliged TO shoulder
our guns. aud we were expected on our
way bill every Inoment One night Father
Soryan took us each by the arm and led
us to an inn, and this vas what he said to
us ms We emptied bottle OF Mosolle wine
Ny boys, you are good and honest Ar
dennais, equal in merit. love you with
all my heart oneof ycn shall BE- my son
in.law; that is understood. Marguerite will
wait seven years. She has no preference
either for you, Puvioux, or for you, Che.
vaucheuI, but she loves both Of you, she
will make happy the one whom fortune
shall choose. These are the conditions on
which one OF you shall marry my daugh.
ter; you start on the same day--it is prob
able that you will return the same day.
Well, the one who first comes and shakes
hands with Father Servan. aud says, Here
| am, my time is out; he, swear shall
be the husband Of Marguerite.
| was astonished; thought that had
misunderstood. looked at Pierre Puv-
iouI and he looked at me, and although
we were sad enough at heart, We were Ger
tainly ready to burst out laughing.
But Father Servan was not joking. He
had discovered this means Of getting out
of the difficulty. and he meant to stick to
it. / held out my hand and swors to act
neither by ruse or violence, and to let
Pierre PuviouI marry Marguerite. il he
returned to Meizeres before did Pierre
stood up and swors the same. and then we
shook hands while Father Servan said.
Now the rest is your affair. The only
thing is to escape bullets and to return
safe and sound.
He filed our glasses once more, and we
drank parting drsught.
Before leaving wished to sec Marguer.
ite. just as l was arriving under her
window-it was at dusk-I saw some one
in the shade coming in the same direc-
ton. / stopped short It was Pierre Pu.
vioux. He seemed vexcd 10 find me there
I was not particularly pleased to find him.
We stood there for moment like two
simpletons looking at the toes Of our boots
Then with movement Of courage l said
to PuviouX:
Shall we go Ia together?
We entered and took our farewell Of |
Marguerite She listened to us without
saying anything. but there were tears at
the tips OF her blonde eyslashcs. Sudden
ly Pierre, who was talking, stopped and
began to rob and to do the same. Then
Marguerite joined il, and there We were
all three shedding tears and pressing each
otbar'u bandu
When the diligence that took us away
from Meziers began to rattle on the pave.
ment next day felt inclined to throw my
self down from the imperial and get
crushed under the wheels. The more so
as there was Lorrainer at my side who
was singing in melancholy voice song
Of his country, and l said to myself: 1t is
all over, Jean, you will never see her
again.
Well, you see. Time passes The sew
en- years are over, and who knowss Per.
haps am not only going TO see her again.
but to marry her
There are, indeed, strange chances in
life continued Jean ChevaueheuX. Pierre
and started on the same day, and the
same hour, and were placed in the same
regiment At first was vexed. should
have liked to have known that he was far
away. As you may imagine, ! could not
love him much. But | reflected after
wards that il Puviour was with me /
could at least talk about her. That con-
soled me. Well, / said to myself, l am in
for seven years OF it, After all, one gets
over il.
In the regiment became fast friend
of Pierre PuviouI. He proved to be an
excellent good fellow, and At night, in or
der to kill time, We used often to talk OF
Mezieres. Of Father Servan, and Of Mar
guerite. We used to write TO Mezieres
often, but each told the other the contents
Of his letters. 1t was struggle, it is true,
but it WAS loyal. When Marguerite or old
Servan replied, the letter was for both OF
u.s. An equal dose of hope WAS given TO
each OF us, and so We went on hoping
One day the colonel took it into his head
10 appoint me corporal. was ve1ed and '
proud at the same time. You see was no
longer the equal of PuviouI. Ny stripes I
gave me the right to command him. and in
the eyes OF our ArdennAis that was no
small advantage. But | did not glory in
my rank; on the contrary ii made me i'll at
ease. / did not dare 10 talk to PuviouI {
my more. Then ! reflected that there !
we're more ways than one Of getting rid Of
my new rank. neglected my duty and Z
was forthwith degraded. But who should
be made corporal in my stead but PuviouI. 4