St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-14

j ssamed Louis Muffay, reserviste cor
pora"
"I have, my colonel.'
"'Send nam to me, to the hall of re
port
Il mounted to the mess room; in the
corner, preparing to sketch in a great
album spread out before him, found
the man desired. A slender fellow
with the skin and feet of demoiselle,
delicate muStache that rose from the
the corner of his lips in curly spirals,
and gray eyes shaded by long black
lashes that still more increased their
singular beauty.
"Muffay," said l. ''the colonel wants
you in the hall of report"
'Ahr'
''l1e spoke like man to whom had
come all expected thing, and TRANQUILITY,
without haste, began to descend the
staircase.
40 be only plain corporal, to see
himself called by his chief, and to be-
tray no trace of emotion! l compre-
hended it as little as bis Partisan air
and his paraphernalia of the artist.
ARTISTS and have never loved each
other since my Uncle Ducr0chard had
annoyances from the gendarmes for
having photographed some little act
resses clothed only in their modesty. |
loved them still less than ever when L
learned the next morning that Muffay
had dined with the colonel, while l, the
Sergeant-maJOr, had been forced to con-
tent myself with the canteen stew.
Then Immediately a note from
captain informed me that the Corporal
Muffay was authorized to sleep in the
city. And. finally, learned that this
eternal Corporal Muffay would remain
with the lame, the sick, the cooks and
the women, while the others marched
and countermarched kilometres over
the department roads, going to famil-
iariZe and harden themselves with the
fortunes of war by long hours of maneu-
Verlng under the nose Of the sun.
And then, oh irony of fate l, too.
had to remain behind. Forced to watch
that animal of draughtsman, scratch
ing his biceps over his internal drawing
board, and reduced, /, instead of taking
the air with the rest of the regiment
over mountain and vale, to guarding the
contounded band of emptieS and an
swerlng every quarter of an hour to the
call of my grade.
MADAME the COlOnelle Baisembois
also remained at RabeStens. She lived
on the Cours, in superb house, with a
park before and behind it that would
have made even the Place of the Gam
BETA statue hide its head in jealous
rage. Right OF wrong, it seemed to ME
that Muffay, under a hundred and one
artistic preteXts, climbed that park and
avenue much more frequently than the
eXigencies of the service required.
Sat heart painters are all people so
diSSolute that canaillerie on his part
wouldn't have astonished me the least
in the world; and care for the honor of
my chief, NJ. BaiSembois. began good
deal to disquiet me. Right or wrong, l
said to myself, Houpillart, if misfortune
comes to the colonel the fault will be
thine. Thou shOuldst range thySeif
against this handsome boy and save her?
And whilst L slept with one eye
op II, roaming of all this, Muffay, every
morning, gayly returned To the quarter
at 6 o'clock, and Col. Baisembois covered
hlmst If with glory at the maneuvers
under the eyes even of Gen. CornOt.
This news so tickled me that l went
l alone knew of at the end of the COurS
to drink bumper of good wiue
to the success of the One Hun
dred and Fifty-third. We drank it
and so many after it, that it was close
on to midnight when we separated, and
l, returning to the barracks, suddenly
perceived in the shadows of neighbor-
ing pathway two figures interlaced.
Parbleu! L rubbed my eyes; no, was
right-it was my coXcomb, and I'D
caught him in a bonnie fortune. L
sprung forward-my saber tripped my
legS-then he was gone!
"N'importe! I'd seen enough!
In the interest of the service
Corporal Muffay next morning, by my
order, was sentenced to four days So
jOurn in the sale de police.