The Arkansaw traveler., 1882-06-25
THE STANDARD BEARER.

4 Translated from ihc French oi Nphon>e naudct
 The rc.rineni WAS fighting upon a slope of the railroad. and served as mark for the whole Prussian army massed oppo- site in the wood. They were exchanging shots al eighty metres. The officers shouted "Do~n. down hu, Sn one would obcl and Inc proud regiment re- mained on its feet. grouped about is standard. h the broad stretch of fading sunlight. of grain in the ear. of pasture grounds, thls mass of men. tossing. cnvel- oped in confused smoke. had the ar oi q herdasf animals surprised Tn an open field by the frs; Whirlwlnd of ! formidable tempest.
 IL rained lead ufan the slope. One heard anlv ;hc crack ot the fu,iladc. the hollow sound of mess-platcs rolling into the ditch and the balls which made long vibrations from one end ot the field of battle io the other. like the stretched strings of some sinister and sannrous in- strumcnt from nme - time the stand ard. which was raised oVci head. asiiated by the wind of tkc canister shot. sank amid the smoke: then a voice arose. grave and commanding. sounding above the fusladc. the death-rattles. the oaths of the wounded: ;" fo ,hc flag. my chil- dren. to the flag. Instantly an officer leaped toward. easue as a shadow III the red mist. and the heroic standard. re stored ,o life. again scared over the battle. Twcnty-,wo times l, fell. Twenty times its stiii warm staff. escaped from a dying hand was seized. lifted up aEaln. and when. IL the Sun disappeared. what remained ot the regiment scarcely l handful ot men slowly rctreaicd. the standard va, but | rag ln the hands oi Sergeant iiornu, the twcnty-third stand ard-bearer ot the day.
 Iris SerSean- iIornt> was ,n old fellow with three stripes on hl> arm. who hardly kacm how |" ,Jsn hl> nainc. and had been twenty wears winning promotion Ia Inc ranks of Il >ub-o;:iccr. XII the miserl nf a foundlins ,ll the brutishncss of the bar rack. could be seen on his low and re>o- iutc forehead. on hls back crooked by the knapsack ln hls ,toild bearing of sol dier in the ranks. With this. he ,;ut,ercd d little. bur. tp be ,tandard-bearef. enc
 has no need of eloggence. On the yc:A evening of inc battle his colonel said to
 him: You have rhc jag my brave man keep 1t, And upon his wretched cam paign capote terribly faded by the ram and the ire. the can,iniere immediately sewed the sald embroidery oi a sub-lieu- tenant
 This was inc sole ambition of lie oi humility. At once. ;hc form 0i tlic siel
 soldier s,ralsh,ened up. The poor cre..- ,urc. arcuS,o.rreei- -...-,...teh.- bent -hiS c}e9 on the ground. would for the future have
 ..1 yf t,fsad
 that strlpof bunting float and hold !, up-
 right. very high. aboye death. treason and defeat
 Never was man as happy as Hornus on the day of battle. when he held his flag
 staff with both hands. frmly planted if
 its leather suppor. He spoke not. he
 moved not, Sc-lou> as q priest. he seemed to bc holding something sacred.
 All his life. al his strength was IT his tn- gers. clenohed around the beautiful. sild- ed rag apo. which the balls hailed. and in hls eyes full of defiance winch looked the irussians straight | ihe face with tn
 air of saying: Y io t.ke ]; from me
 No one ned nc; even death After
 Borny. after C,r.vciot;e. those feariuily
 sanguinary battles. the flag went every
 where. cut. torn. transparent with wounds :
 bu; II MAS always old Homus who bore IL
 Then September came. the army IT
 Metz. the siege and that long halt n the
 mud when the cam P rusied. when the
 fines, troops IT the world. demoral!zed
 by inactivity by the lack of f-od and
 news. were dying ef fever and ~eariness at the foo; af thel- defense. Neither chiefs nor sntilers. no ono. had anA iurIh- CT faith HoFna> ~fli. a.5-.e as confident.
 lis irl-eoloreG latter was esen thing tp him and &ndic he knea fha; ]; a. safe II seemed to him that uothine Va, 1sss. tnfeFtuna;el. A me tlEhiir had -casee
 ihc colonel Seg, the f.as X hls ssar1er, in one of the suburbs af Metz and the brave Hornus vas somewhat ike . rs~ssag- CT whose infant $ oli io alrse- lie thought of | necessarily. l hen. when he fcig too uneasy. he ran all the wsy to
 Ne;I. and ,hc mere s,.h, af t s,iil n ,he same place. rlotionless aganst he ~ail
 sent him bacS fsii af courage. - patience. bearing ,o his soaked tent dreams of bat tle. of marching IT he van. @i,h the trl- color spread out 70 its u;mos: extent float ing over the i'russlan trenches
 An order of the day from Marshal Ba- zaine destrol ed all these illusions One morning. Hornus. or awakening. saw inc whole camp in an uprnar. ,he soldiers in groups greatly animated. exciting each other with cries of rage: with evers fis; lifted towards the same quarter of the city. as If-iheir ire designated cuiprit they. shouted: Let us drag him out. Let us shoo, him And the officers did