River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-01-08

where, and in the streets of Prague
they sang satirical verses, asking what
was to become of all this illegitimate
race, and whether Ottokar, like Angus
tus the Strong before him, would enroll
his bastards IN a squadron OF guards OF
honor. To provide for the wants of
his numerous progeny, the king turned
everything into money, and drained and
indebted the State. The trade in
decorations was especially scandalous.
/ There was a tailor at Vienna who was
I quoted as having made his fortune by
selling to amateurs of foreign orders, a
/ certain dress-coa at 500 forms, with
+ the ribbon of the most illustrous order
of Bohemia, military order that dated
back to the Thirty Years War, In its
buttonhole.
4 What is wrong? The train has
begun to go more slowly; it has
\ stopped. What is the meaning of
/ this stoppage in the open coun-
I try in the middle Of the night? The
4 General and the Baroness have awak-
ened very anxious; the lord-in- waiting
has let down the glass and is leaning
out into the darkness, and suddenly the
guard who is running along in the
snow beside the carriage, stops and
raises his lantern, lighting up the brist-
I ling white mustaches and fur cap of the
General.
"What is the matter? Why are we
stopping?" asks old Horschowitz.
''The matter is that we shall have to
stop here for an hour at least. The
Parisians will have to do without their
cafe au lait tomorrow"
"What wait here an hour in this
weather? You know the foot-warmers
are cold"
what can / do? They have tele-
graphed to Tonnerre for sweepers; but,
as | said, we must wait at least an
hour"
And the man moved away with his
lantern in the direction of the engine.
1T is too bad Your Masiesty will
catch cold!" crooked the Baroness.
Eyes, [ am very cold" said the
Queen shivering.
Now was the time for the General to
show his heroism. He jumped down
on to therails, sinking up to his knees
in snow, caught hold of the man with
the lantern, and spoke to him in o low
voice.
eff it was theGreat Mogul himself I
could do nothing" answered the man.
"The signal mans house Is just in front
Of US : he may have fire, and if the
/ lady likes to get down? Hi! Sabatier!"
A second lantern approached them.
I "Go and see if the signal man has fire
in his house.
Fortunately he had. The General
was as proud as if he had gained bat
tie or finished the last stripe of knitting
in his famous counterpart. He went
( back to the Queens carriage to tell her
\ the results of his efforts, and a moment
after the three travellers were in a low
rooted room of the little house, stamp
their feet on the floor to get rid of the
snow on their shoes, while the signal
man, who had brought them in and who
still wore his sheepskin, knelt down be-
fore the fire and threw some dead wood
upon the dogs.
/ The Queen threw her cloak on the
back of her straw bottomed chair and
sat down before the CHEEKY blaze. She
/ took off her long, Swedish kid gloves
and began to look about her.
/ 1t was peasants room. There was
a dry, uneven, earthen floor: strings OF
onions hung from the earthen rafters;
an old poaeher's gun was fastened over
the chimney-peice by couple of nails.
and there were a few lowered plates on
( the dresser. The General made grim
ace at two cheap pictures that were
pinned on the wall; one, the portrait of
3 10 ..Tl,hnY Of tho
! Legion of Honor, the other Garibaldi
in his red shirt. But what attracted
I the young Queens attention was wick
er cradle, by the side of the large bed,
! half hidden by striped chintz curtains,
from whence there came the murmur-
ings of child awakened from its sleep.
As soon as he heard it the signal man
left the fire, went to the cradle and
rocked it gently.
"By-bye, ehickie, bye-bye It is
nothing-only friends of daddv's."
He seemed o kind father, this man in
his goatskin, with his bald head, his
rough old soldiers mustache, and those
two deep sad lines around his mouth.
as that your little girl ?" the queen
asked with interest
Eyes, ma'am; it is my Cecile.. She
will be three years old next month"
"But-her mother?" inquired Her
Majesty hesitatingly. And as the man
shook his head, 'FYou are widower ?"
But he shook his head again. Then
the queen, touched, got up and went to
the cradle, and looked at Cecile who
had gone to sleep again hugging card
board dog tenderly to her breast.
''Poor childp she murmured,
"Wasn't it a heartless thing to do
for mother to abandon child of that
age?" said the signal man in smoth-
I cred voice. THAT she should have
left me after all was my own fault. /
ought not to have married woman too
Young for me- ought not to have let
her go to town where she picked up
evil acquaintances. But to abandon
this darling! Wasn't it infamous? And
now / have to bring up the poor mite
mvselfi And [ can tell you it is not
easy with all the work / have to do.
In the evening [ am very often obliged
to leave her there screaming and crying
when / hear the whistle of the train.
Iu the daytime. though, / take her with
rue, and she is quite used to it already,
the darIingl She is not afraid of the
railway now. Only yesterday Twas hold
ing her in my left arm, while | waved
my flag with my right. Well, she never
even trembled as the express train went
BY. But, Won see, what troubles me
most is having to make her frocks and
caps. Fortunately, | was q sergeant in
the Zouaves once and know how to use
my needle"
But, my poor friend" began the
Queen. ait is very difficult task for
YOU. I should like to help you. sup
pose there is village near here, and
there must be some good people in the
village who would take charge of your
little girl. Ii it IS only a question OF
money"
But the signal man shook his head.
NO, good lady, no. 1 am not proud,
and [ would accept with all my heart
ANYTHING that was done for Cecile.
| But will never part with her. No,
not even for an hour"
But why?"
"Why?" repeated the man, in his
deep voice, "beceuse 1 can trust no one
but myself to make this child what her
mother was not-a good woman But,
excuse me would you kindly rock Ce-
Gle moment? 1 am wanted on the
track"
Who can tell what thouohts passed