St. Paul daily globe., 1888-08-20

DISIION0RED. early spring morning
that follows night OF rain.
The trees of the garden had begun to
blossom, rosy clouds floated above the
houses, hovered a moment upon the
chimney-tops like the wings of birds
and then resumed their way. Before
him, bathed in pallid sunlight, veiled
still by vaporous mist, the quadrangle
lar bulk Of the quarters, its walls yellow
and naked, showed itself i'll an atti-
tude stiff and martial. For the first
time he seemed to see all these things,
and more quickly than ever, tl!
impression of external objects ac;
ing upon a CALLED and tortured
brain. Nevertheless, while in his lungs
the fresh. pure air of the morning cir
culated and he felt and he saw the
beauty of the world about him, by a
curious doubling of personality he fol-
lowed impossibly in another self, the
terrible and commonplace history that
had
DISHONoRED HIM.
He, Capt. Random, accused of forgery,
was going to be brought before a court
martial. Tomorrow at latest he
would be arrested-the colonel had
given him but twenty-four hours-had
said: ''And now, monsieur, you know,
think, what you have to do!'
He had but one passion-the horse
and that passion had ruined him. To
ride, to run them, to mount them at
races and to have stable had been the
fixed idea of his life: the goal of all his
desires and efforts; the single thought
of his soul. a marvellous hOrseman-
absolutely indiSmountable, so they said
in the regiment-the men had sur
named him "The jockey''-a
name that was at once his am
bition and his pride. The MAIN
tenance of his stable, however, had cost
him his patrimony. He had borrowed,
and pack of creditors loosed at his
heels tracked and haraSSed him. At
last, at bay one day, mad with worry
and lost in one of those moments when
moral sense is obliterated and con-
science uses sophistres to put to sleep
its scruples, he had drawn from the
cash-boX of his squadron, forged sigma
lures to the bills in it, and falsified his
accounts in the hope of hiding the de-
felt.
Unskilfully done, the fault was speed
lily discovered, and tomorrow he was to
be publicly branded, and the cavaliers
of the second class, who, in the street
rode behind him, would then have the
right to refuse to salute him, the right
to ScOrn him.
GLOW could l have done it?'' he cried
aloud, clutching the window-frame in
agony, all in a sweat, his eyes dry and
staring straight before him in an atti-
tude of blank despair. He had a vision
of the ordeal awaiting him-the five
brother officers united there to judge,
CONDEMN AND DEGRADE HIM!
''And now, monsieur, you know, l
think, what you have to do"
The phrase of the colonel returned to
him suddenly in its implacable signif-
cance, followed by that other one that
his brain conveyed to him like an echo
-"He means you to kill yourseltr
He remained moment beWildered,
stupefed. Then, a sob shook his breast,
tears rolled from his eyes, and like a
child, who, feeble and without support,
has need to sustain and sOlace itself by
affection, he was seized with an infinite
gratitude, an instructive thankfulneSS ia
the colonel who had been kind to him
his colonel, who had accorded him
twenty-fOur hours of grace, who had
opened to him door of salvation in
permitting him to evade a public dis
honor.
He must kill himself-that liberty
alone remained to him. Kill himself
Finish it, and Immediately! Death
No more hubbub, no more upeaSineSS OF
Forgetfulness of everything and of him
self!
So be it! He had had enough Of this
needy, tormented existence!
Meanwhile he had not stirred from
his window, unable to tear his regard
from the spectacle of life that sur
rounded him. In the distance from the
gates of the quarters a platoon of riders
were going out for their regular maneu
vers. Men and horses were like pig
mics, small but distinct. Mechani
cally he counted them. Foul
-6ht - twelve - sixteen - eighteen
Soon the platoon was lost from
sight in one of the cross streets, anC
when the last of the cavaliers had disap
peared around the turning, a grea
emptiness filled the breast of Random
1t seemed to him that henceforth he
was alone in the world bandoned by
every one. He drew lin self back
slowly reclOsed the sash and re-entereC
his chamber.
RM -