Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-09-24
THE CAPTAINS VICES.

! .ANANttuiNl II NC4ltA -olA years OF StEAiC',
| twenty-five campaigns aud three
wounds-installed himself when he was
retired on pension, matters not. But
"a house ON the outskirts. where two
captive cows lowed and fowls and
ducks passed and repassed through the
| gateway, he placed himself. 1t SO hap
pened that il was n fixed habit of the
captain to spend much time at the
cafe. II was there that he satisfied at
the same time the three vices which
| reigned supreme in his heart-tobacco.
absinthe and cards. His first care after
! having settled himself was therefore,
| to find an establishment which he could
frequent and there enjoy his fayorte
! pas1me. So after having gone the
rounds of the village without finding
| anything to suit him, he stopped at
last to regard with the eye of a connis-
seur the Cafe Prosper situated at
| corner Of the Place de Maruhe and the
Rue de Ia PavoisSe. Eight days later
he became one of the pillars of the
Cafe Prosper.
| Perfect happiness exists nowhere, and
Captain Mercadier, who believed that
he had found 1t at the cafe, soon re
covered from his illusion.
For one thing, on Monday, the mar
ket day, the Cafe Prosper was unten-
antable. From early morning it was
oyerrun with truck peddlers, farmers,
and pouluymen Heavy men with
harsh voices, red necks, and great
| whips In their hands. wearing blue
/ blouses and otter skin caps, bargaining
over their cups stamping their feet
striking their fists, familiar with the
servant, and bungling at Billiards
Now, one Monday morning, when he
was resting quietly ut home, being sure
that the cafe would be much too fun
and busy, the mild radiance of the
autumn sun persuaded him to go
down and sit upon the stone seat by
the side of the house.
/ Depressed, and smoking a damp cigar,
he was sitting there when he saw COM
| ing down the end of the street-which
was only a badly-pa 7ed lane leading
out into the country little girl of S
or 10 driving before her a half-dozen
/ geese.
AS the captain looked carelessly at
the child he saw that she had wood
en- leg. There was nothing fraternal in
the heart of the soldier. 1t was that
of a hardened bachelor.
But the sight of that particular in
trinity, which recalled to him the sad
spectacle Of wounds and amputations,
/ touched on that account the old war
rior. He almost felt a contraction at
the heart at the sight Of that sorry lit
the creature half clothed in her latter
ed petticoats and old chemise brayely
running along behind her geese, her
bare foot in the dust and limping on
! her ill-made wooden stump.
The geese recognizing their home
/ turned into the poultry yard and the
! little one was about to follow them
when the captain stopped her with the
/ question, "Eh, little girl, what's your
name?'
''Pierette, monsieur; at your service,
/ she answered. loollin at him with her
great black eyes and tossing her dis
ordered locks from her forhead you
live in this house, then; l haven't seen
You before
Yes, know you pretty wen though,
for l sleep under the stairs and you
wake me every evening when you
come home"
rs that so, my girl? Oh, wen, I
must walk ON my toes in the future
How old are you!"
Mine, monsieur, come All Saints
day"
is the landlady here a relative Of
yows?"
NO, monsieur, I am in service"
And they give you?"
Soup and bed under the stairs"
And how came you to be lame like
that, my poor little one?'
THE kick of cow when / was FIVE,
Have you a father or MOTHER
The child bmshed under the sunburn-
ed skin II came from the Founding
hospital" she said briefly. Then with
IN awkard courtesy she passed limp
ing into the house, and the captain
heard as she went away on the pave
ment of the court the hard humping
Of the little wooden leg The captain
then sought his dear cafe, and he saw
there such a mob of blue blouses and
he heard such a din Of laughter and
click Of BILLIARD balls that he returned
home in a verg' bad humor.
Perhaps It was the first time that he
had spent several hours Of the day ia
his room, and it looked rather shabby.
His bed curtains We're the color Of an
old pipe The fireplace was heaped
with old cigar stumps and one could
have written ones name in the dust on
the furniture" ! must have a servant
he said Then he thought of the little
lame girl That's what IN do I'll
hire the next room; winter is coming
and the little thing viii freeze under the
stairs She win look after the clothes
and have my linen ard keep The quart
ers clean
But then a cloud arose across the
comfortable picture, The captain re-
membered that quarter-day was still