Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-09-24
AFAMILY BOMBSHELL.


enisode of the seige of Paris, which, /
flatter myself reflects no small credit on
me. But be not alarmed / shall not lead
YOU among the shot and shell of the ram
parts, nor the dangers of the outposts.
The incident / speak of took place in
quiet street, in the house of my old friend
Durand, a wealthy manufacturer of chem
icaIs, and the husband of an estImabie
young lady, the father of charming girl,
a good patriot and, though little hot
headed i'll his politics, on the whole one
OF the best men in the world.
Although surprised by the investment
of Paris, Mime. Durand, always a provl-
dent woman, and had looked to the con
ditiOn of her harder, and she had laid in
such a stock Of provisions that had the
siege lasted three months longer than 1t
did, the Durands would never have known
hunger Along in October her wisdom
became apparent, and | added my bless
ings on her forethought to those of the
family, for n cover was always laid for me
at her table; and who, during those days
of privation, would not be enraptured at
sight of IL golden omelet or some genuine
gruyeref
/ was not the only guest at this hospi-
table table. for my next nCighbor at table
was Victor Lamont, the head clerk of the
chemical works. He was an excellent
young fellow, dark and slender and some
what retiring, and apparently very much
IN love with his employers daughter,
Gertrude, who seemed not insensible to
his attentions. Though not a word had
been spoken on the subje the union of
the young couple was tacitly accepted by
ALL
Unfortunately, the war prevented its
accomplishment. Victor was Il corporal
III the Paris militia, and performed his
duties with the same conscientious care
lac exercised i'll all things, but he was not
enthusiastic in anything except i'll con
signing to the devil this eternal siege
which had come between him and his
happiness. And his criticisms on the
conductor of the operations were per
haps excusably somewhat bitter.
These criticisms never failed to excite
Durand, who was a devoted admirer of
General Trochu. And still another thing
served to estrnuge them; lie Temps was
then publishing series of articles in
which the author remodeled the military
operations which had taken place i'll the
province. He INDUCED in wild flights of
Imagination, but Durand took them
seriously and predicted brilliant victories
III the near future. The doubling Victor
would venture "A timid objection. Then
Durand would become excited and angry,
and would not be appeased until the
clerk granted that each separate battle
WIS victory.
The presence of a new guest tended to
cOmplIcate matters still more. | was
surprised enc evening to find my place
at Mime. Durnnd's right hand occupied
by stranger swash- buckling indiyid-
ual with bull neck and very red face.
Ho wore Captpin's epaulets his uniform
looked rs If he might have found it in a
property room of some theatre; his enor
nous boots were mid leg high, and alto
gcther II was casy To see that lac posed as
II hcro
M NORM SAID Durnnd, in introduc-
ing Us, captain of the Montmartre
Iouaycs of Death
The Captain curlcd his mustachcs and
scowlcd salute.
Before the soup was over | reCOllected
who this NORM was. His exploits con
sisted III removing from the deserted
houses of tho subcrbs such furniture ms
would be likely to arouse the cupidity of
the enemy, and putting 1t i'll n place of
sHfety until the owners should take it
away. | was wondering how this iron
lnwed braggart came to share our meal,
when Mime. Durand explained tho matter
To me, with considerable show of emotion
While out walking late i'll the afternoon
she had slipped on the sidewalk and fall
en- aud NORM, who happened to be pass
my nj the time, assisted her to rise, and
az she was somewhat faint and NERVOUS
had accompanied her home. She could
d" no less than ask him to dinner. This
explanation reassured me; | hoped we
should see no more of him.
"l'hc war" he said, had led him to
Paris whose safety required his pres
ence.' As To his exploits in the suburbs
at the head of his "Zouaves of Death"
they passed NIL belief, 'Fhe enemy could
do nothing! With my five thousand
wolves Mt my back | made breach" etc
Mime. Durand listened to this rhode
montade with omplaisance; IDuraud with
uudisguised admiration. As to the poor
mIlitinmHu, Victor his existence seemed
totally erased in the presence of this blus-
tcrer
| invented prctcxt to leave immedi-
atcly after the coffee, for was oppressed
by the Dragging of the lcather-lunged
Gascom, whom hoped never To see
again. But in vain, for ON the following
Sunday found him i'll the same place,
again ON Friday, and finally a cover was
placed for him every evening. The en-
tire Durand family seemed fascinated by
him. Morton had captured Nine Durand
by his Jovlallty, and papa Durand by the
interest he seemed to take in the mill
tary operations conducted by Le TEMPS.
Victor lost more ground at every dinner.
The discredit into which he had fallen
became plainly apparent after the bloody
Ikrh u ~ Vvhn . !
had done his duty nohly and received a
painful wound in the forearm. He mar
rated the whole affair to us the retreat
and the sad ending of that heroic COM
bat, with SO lamontable an air of discour-
agemut that the Captain began TO treat
him as If he were deserter and a COW
ard.
With what noble indignation he dem
anstra;ed that if the "Zouaves of Death"
had been there things would have been
worry different. Thereupon. warming to
the subject, he sketched out for US a
plan for sortio by the passage of the
Disc, march to Roueu, and final trl-
umphant arrival at Havre So clearly and
wildly that he aroused Duraud to great
enthusiasm, And all this time poor. hu-
INFLATED Victor was suffering from his
still bleeding wound.
The next day Victor had fever and
kept his bed, and for some weeks he did
not appear AT the table. The Captain.
meanwhile, energetically established his
pretensions to the hand of Gertrude.
The evening that Victor reappeared
among us, weak and paler than ever, it
seemed to me that Gertrude's eyes were
very red and that some skirmlsh had tax
en- place between her and her mother. who
seemed more taken up with NORM than
ever.
| saw that it was time to interfere in
the interest of these poor children. 1t
was the last day of the year, and as we
were talking of the new year we decided
to celebrate the anniversary together.
''Egad, Mime. Durand, said the captain,
Il have surprise for your New Years
present
This put an idea into my head.
On New Years day Durand received us.
radiant with open arms. The strategy
cal editor of lie Temps had struck a ter
rible blow at Prince Charles in the neigh
borhood of Evreaux. Durand offered us
this good news for our New Years pres
ent.
Victor brought hare which he had
trapped beyond the Notifications. As to
the captain, he presented Mime Durand
.,F ~, III