The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-08-08


Iron ono, and l shall have to give in at
last. 1had better try old Grison once
more
Whereupon. having previously, by
way OF precaution. added n few touches
TO the pictorial establishment of his
knee. he limped into the consulting
room Of DR.. Grison. who was for.
tunately too much engaged with other
patients to bestow more than cursory
glance at the bruise. and, not knowing
precisely what to make of the case,
gave the newcomer an order of admis-
sion to the intirmary, then under the
charge of half u dozen Sisters OF
Charity, presided over by a Lady
Superior.
CASTOR had hardly changed his or.
binary attire for the regulation loose
gray coat and cotton night-cap when
Pitrot. the tonsor of the establishment,
was announced, bearing an enormous
pair OF scissors and laconic note,
which ran as follows:
THE pupil de Langeais's hair is to be cut OF
immediately. BOuCaARp."
The poor coiffeur, unwilling to lose
so excellent q customer for pomades
and other capillary unguents, and yet
compelled to obey the imperative man
date, was in despair.
''Would it not be possible, mon
sieur." he suggested. to obtain from
the Lady Superior certificate that the
effect of the operation might be iniuri-
Gus to an invalid?'
CASTOR could not help smiling at the
idea. Il don't quite see.'' he said,
what cropped head has to do with a
bruise on the knee; but there can be
no harm in trying"
AS good luck would have it, Sister
Angeliqne. in whose memory, perhaps,
still fingered the fondly cherished rec
election of some romantic episode of
her youthful days, listened with inter-
est to the handsome Breton, while he
related to her his hopes and fears, and
his attachment to his cousin Louise.
Being naturally kind-hearted and svm-
thetic, she agreed without much per-
suaslon to his rather homogeneous re-
quest, so that Pere Pitrot, relieved
from his disagreeable responsibility,
went on his way rejoicing.
A quarter of an hour later the lieu.
tenant burst into the infrmary in q
paroxysm of fury.
$50, youngster" he cried, lit seems
you are bent on Drawing me! Well,
We shall see. You can not stay sham
ming here forever; and mark nv
you do come out, I'll
nave that head of yours as smooth as a
billiard ball!''
With this parting threat he bounced
out OF the room; and next day every
one OF the future cavalry of1icers-the
prisoner alone excepted-underwen
the summary operation of ''cropping'
At the hands of the tonsor, Pitrot.
Meanwhile, Gaston's position was by
no means an enviable one. Through
the grated windows of the infirmary he
could see his comrades mounting their
horses in the courtyard, and caracoling
gayly as they passed, and on SUNDAYS
painful trial of all-could hear
with pang of envy tho joyous shouts
of his more fortunate colleagues, eman-
cipated for a few hours from duty.
and on their way to catch the first
train to Paris.
The day of deliverance, however, was
at hand. Early on the 18th of July
a date never to be forgotten by de
1,angeais-the occupants of the in
Urinary were suddenly startled by. q
tremendous uproar Immediately under
their windows, and, on looking out,
imagined for a moment that pande-
had broken loose.
Such a spectacle had assuredly never
been witnessed at St. Cyr. The entire
was thronged by an ex-
cited multitude, rushing to and fro in
tumultuous disorder, tiinging their
caps high in the air, and bursting
every now and then into a loud and
prolonged hurrah! Was it a revolt,
the sisters and their patients,
or what could it possibly mean?
A few minutes sutficed to explain the
mystery. A hasty step was heard out
side the door, Immediately followed by
the entrance into the sick-room OF an
adjutant, bearing in his hand an Off
cial document, the contents of which,
1s0S hVy lin in
were greeted with an enthusiasm bor-
dering on frenzy.
"War is declared with Prussia. BY
Imperial decree, the seniors are hence
forth sub-lieutenants.'
Before tho sisters, deafened by the
clamor, had recovered from their
they found themselves
alone in the infirmary; the invalids,
one and all. having mustered strength
to throw aside their wraps and
make the best of their way downstairs.
CASTOR, whose instantaneous cure
Sister Angelique afterward described
rs little short of miraculous, was the
first to rejoin his comrades; and, de-
serving his prosecutor, Bouchard,
apart from the rest, and ap-
in no very good humor, went
up to him with outstretched hand and
u frank. CHEEKY smile.
''Well, lieutenant" he said, you
won't have me cropped now!'
$50 it seems, ''grimly replied the
other, returning somewhat reluctantly
the protfered grasp. "You have more
luck than you deserve; for, depend
upon it. I should have shown you no
Each of the seniors entitled to pro-
motion having notified to the ad]utant
on duty the regiment to which he was
DESTROYS of being attached, the prepa-
rations for departure were speedily
At an early hour in the
afternoon the band of exulting young
sters started for Paris, intent on maxi
ing tho most of the three days allowed
them before joining their respective
CORPS. GastOn's regiment being