The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-09-28
line.

cette Verniere, the child who imper-
sonated Emmeline. As for Simon, he
ragged and stormed inwardly at the IN
happy fortune which had turned him
into a nursery maid" instead of per-
uniting him to bear a hand in tanning
the hides of the ''kaisarlichs.
The corporal and Emmeline had taken
shelter on the outskirts of a wood, when
Of a sudden Simon perceived the glitter
of cannon and the sheen of steel among
the trees. Almost at the same moment
the enemy spoke" Volley after volley
whistled through the branches, scatter
ing the leaves and tearing off the bark.
It's nothing" said he to the child
"Don't be afraid. Here, let's play pick
a-baok.
The cannon poured IN a broadside.
Simon lifted the little girl upon his
shoulders and set her on his knapsack,
and trembling for the fist time in his
life, fired his musket, to the great de-
light of Emmeline, who clapped her
hands and shouted gleefully. In due
time a company Of French troops ar
rived upon the scene, and amid frantic
cheering from the spectators the corporal
and his companion are borne of in
safety, but General Roquebert has been
mortally wounded. He is carried in
upon Il litter, and in his last agony
blesses Emmeline, who is Left in charge
Of the old corporal after a thousand in
structiOns and recommendations neces-
sary to the rest Of the piece.
The little innocent, Growing and
smiling in the middle Of this crowd of
sOldieyy, among all these decorations,
this noise and smoke Of battle, won a
veritab!e triumph. The public applaud
ed with frenzy, and when some DIG
spoke Of her as an ''infant prodigy" the
phrase was caught up and echoed round
tine house.
Always "pich a back Oh the KNAPP
sack of the old corporal, she was ''call-
ed three times, and on reaching the
wings was Immediately Rugged and
kissed, feted and fondled and cram,ned
with bonbons and dainties by the ladies
of the company.
"That was a capital idea Of mine,'
Verniere had said to himself on signing
the engagement of his daughter at tie
Theatre du Nord, ''capital."
For a hundred nights The Old Cor
,3Oral' drew crowds to the boulevard,
md those unable to get inside remained
outside to cheer the Infant prodigy"
Lucette Verniere.
All was going merrily.
At the end Of three months Lucette
began to show signs that the strain was
telling on her. Her slim figure and pale
face were growing Simmer and paler.
her eyes were heavy, her look jaded.
The grandmother observed the symp-
toms with alarm. She called the atten-
ton Of the parents to the child, but
Verniere would listen to nothing and
ctntented himself with replying:
Don't make yourself uneasy about
nothing. The Old Corporal's' begin
ming to futter. Wecan't keep him going
much longer, and after he drops Lucette
will have plenty of time to rest"
She was ''resting'' now, little Lu-
! cette.
Resting, with a face whittier than the
pillow on which her head lay, a victim
to brain fever.
From time to time her wasted little
hand would grasp conyulsively, as il
seized with sudden fear, the long, bony
hand of her old grandmother.
Poor old woman, how she suffered tt
see her darling lying i'll. and in a fury
Of anger she would charge Verniere
with sacrificing the child to his vanity
You have driven her beyond he
strength. You've exhausted all he
forces. Maudit!'
The father never replied. He knew
that he had done a bad business aud de
served all the reproaches his mothe
heaped upon him.
When Lucette opened her big eyes ant
fixed them on him, they seemed to re
proach him also. They felt like knive
in his heart.
One afternoon, after the Doctors de
parture, Lucette was taken delirious
She sat up in bed, staring about he
wildly and crying: "The enemy! Loo
there! Forward Vive l'empereurl"
And again:
General Roquebert is MORTAL
wounded. A doctor-quick-hurry-
there's 10 time to lOse!'
They were phrases from "The OF
Corporal" which were passing throug
the fevered brain of the poor child. We,
Mere and his wife stood at the head {
the bed. plunged in an abyss Of grie1
As for the old grandmother, she coul
scarcely SEQ for weeping. Her heart Wa
hroJoO