Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-12-07

eyes of death; come UP to my room
and rest; it is a poor place, but you
are welcome. And l can give you a
cup of coffee and a bit of bread; it is
not so bad as in the siege"
Not so bad? The streets We're not
drowned in blood them said Kathleen
NO, you are very good but l am not
tired with a CHASTITY smile. Il will
go and look at the corner where he
fell, Stay, what did they do with the
lbodieS|
i 1.-The Versaillais came an hour after
AMI carried them all away"
"Where- where?' gasped Kathleen.
But the woman could not tell her.
Among so many WagOn-lOadS of dead,
who could tell, who cared, whittier
one particular batch had been taken
! Perhaps they had all been carried
to that gasping chasm behind the
chapel az Pere DachaiSe, into which
the Federal cO1IpseS were flung en-
masse after the battle Of AsniereS.
The sempstress had seen that common
grave, sixty corpses waiting for recog-
milton, Il sight to freeze ones blood.
Kathleen left her, and walked wear
lily to that side street, a narrow shabby
street: doors and windows We're all
closed, most Of the houses had an
evil aspect. There was no one stand
ing about whom She could question.
A few PAGES from the corner of the
street. at the foot of a lamp-pOst, she
saw the spot where the victim had
& H., hnI ,+ai, M
the summer dust. 1t was dry now,
but she could see how the corpse had
lain in blood and mire. The figure
had printed it's outline on the ground.
There was no other trace of the mas
sacre about. One victim, and one only,
had fallen here.
! She knelt beside that awful stain;
she watered it with her passionate
tears, the first she had shed throughout
her pilgrimage of Internationally
hours. The church clocks were striking
four Yesterday morning at six she
had left the Rue Git lie Occur. And now
she had come to the end of her journey;
she had found her resting-place. She
knelt alone, unnoticed, with her hands
for her beloved, for the repose of his
soul; then followed a prayer less pure
less Christian, for revenge upon his
murderer, the destroyer of her happi-
ness
! Who was mis- murderer: Not the
blind mad mob, not even the deviliSh
woman, the petroleuse, dashed into
jnTs lNu of
insurgent tyrants. Serizier, the man in
authority, the wretch who brought
those good fathers from their peace
full seclusion to the gaol and the sham
bles 1t was Serizier of whom she
thought when she prayed for ven
geance.
Let, it come, o Lord; long or late
let Thy thunder come and strike him
as he struck them! Let Thine hour
of vengeance be sure and swift! Lo
here, looking up to Thee, [ swear never
to know rest or respite till [ have
tracked him to his DOOM
Serizier, colonel of the 101St battali-
on. She wanted to know more about
him-Whither he had vanished after
garnet this craven hound had hidden
himself
/ When she had exhausted her passion
in prayer, she Gained herself and be-
gan to think.
She was tired to the point of being
fain to cast herself down upon the
dusty road, and to lie there till sleep
or death came to give her rest from
the fever of her brain and the dull
aching of her bones. But she strIlg-
gled heroically against this overpow-
Iering laSsitude, and went back to the
boulevard, and hobbled on till she
came to Il workman's cafe that opened
early for the accommodation of the
neighborhoOd Here she enterd, and
seated herself at a table near the door.
The fresh morning air blew in upon
her face as she sat there, and she felt
as if that alone kept her from fainting
Never in all her life before had she
entered such Il place alone or sat alone
among such company. Her girlhOod
and brief married life had been as
closely guarded as if she had been a
duchess. To sit alone among rough
blouses and Versaillais soldiers in
their stained uniforms was q new eX-
perience.
She ordered some coffee, and the
waiter brought her q roll and butter.
She had eaten nothing except one piece
of bread since she had left home. The
coffee and the food revived her, and
she was able to look about her. and
listen to the eager voices of the blouses
and soldiers. as they sat eating and
, talking, smoking, drinking all at once
as it seemed to her, with their elbows
on the table, seen indistinctly in q
cloud Of tobacco.
t HE, lie PEREZ two little glasses OF
| cognac, one of aBsinthe," called a
| blouse.
"Garcon, une CONNIE" drawled an
t other blouse, with sublime affectation
initiating the expired, or temporarily
obliterated, race of foplings, the petits
| creves of the empire, known after
{ wards as gommeuX, elegant cOnsum
: ers of absinthe considerably diluted
with gum arabic. And then came 6
5 name which riveted Kathleen's atten
' ton to the next table. The name was
e Serizier. They were discussing the
2 delegate of the 18th ACCOMPLISHMENT
4 the commander of the 101st battalion
Y '"They say that he has decamped
: this good Serizier, the hero of oul
hattlHS E: said ono of tho mon