Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1896-01-09

be Immediately put TO death.
While confined, disheartened and
weary, in the village Jail I heard the
hour Of ring out, the time for my
meeting with Ramon. l asked for my
friend and was told, "He is hero
killed a lieutenant colonel with his own
hand-but he. must undoubtedly have
perished in the last hours of the battle "
"Wby do you think sof'' l asked.
Because he has not yet come back
to camp and those he commanded can
give no account of him.
Oh, what I suffered that night But
one hope remained to comfort me-that
Ramon was still awaiting me at the her
mitage and for this reason had not re-
turned. "How troubled he will be when
he finds do not comei" l said TO my
self. He will believe me dead, and,
indeed, am / very far from being so?
My last hour cannot now be far dis
tant." AT daybreak chaplain entered
the prison. My companions in misery
were sleeping.
"Death?" 1 exclaimed upon seeing
the priest.
"Yes, " he replied softly.
"NowY" l asked.
"No; within three hours.
A few minutes later my fellow pris-
oners had awakened. Sobs, cries and
blasphemies filed the prison.
Every man about TO die usually has
one idea that is ever present in his
thoughts and to which he chngs. So it
was with me, and weakness, fever, or
madness, I know not which, filed my
mind with thoughts of my friend-of
Ramon living, of Ramon dead, of Ra-
mon waiting for me in the hermitage,
of Ramon waiting for me in heaven
and so powerfully had these ideas taken
possession Of my mind that thought of
nothing else during those hours of agony.
They took off my captains uniform
and wrapped me in an old soldiers S
cloak. placing upon my head the Carlist
cap. Thus 1 marched to my death with
my 10 companions in misery. One only
had been pardoned, and this because he
was a musician. The Carlists at that
time spared the lives of all musicians
on account Of there being a great scarcity
of them in their battalions.
"And were you musician, Don Ba-
silio2 Did you save yourself by that?"
exclaimed his hearers with one breath.
"No, my children" responded the
veteran. "I then knew nothing Of mu-
sic. ;"
Well, the execution squad drew up in
line and we were placed facing it. 1
was No II in the row-that is to say,
I should be the eleventh to die. Then I
thought Of my wife and my child-of
you and your poor mother, my daugh-
ter!
The firing began. Those awful death
volleys maddened me. AS my eyes were
bandaged I could not see my compan-
ions fall one by one. l wished to count
the discharges SO as to be able to prepare
myself for the last moment, but at the
third or fourth volley / lost count. Oh,
the echo of those shots will reverberate
in my heart and brain forever as they
rang out that fatal day At one moment
they were a thousand leagues away !;
the next, their thunder seemed to peal
within my very ear. And the volley con-
tinued.
"NowP' thought. The sharp report
followed, and was still alive.
"This will be it ~ said, and then I
felt myself seized by the shoulder and
dragged out of the ranks, while voices
sounded in my ears. I fell unconscious
to the ground, the last thought that
passed through my mind being that 1
had been shot and was dying.
Afterward it seemed to me that l was
lying strUtvnvd my PrisUn cot. 1 hafr
raised myself and looked around me,
trying to pierce the darkness with my
eyes, A shadow more obscure than the
others appeared to detach itself and
bend over me. 1t had the outline of a
man. My lips murmured mechanically
the name of him who had been so much
in my thoughts.
'RamonP'
"What is it?" replied the shadow.
I shuddered. my GodW / ex-
claimed "Can be in the other world?"
"No," replied the same voice.
Ramon, you still live?"
"Yes.'
"And p
"Also.
"Where am I? This is not the her
mitage of st. Nicholas and I still a
prisoner, or has it all been dreamf"
"No, Basilio, you have not been
dreaming. Listen:
'As you know, yesterday ! killed the
lieutenant colonel in fair fight. After
ward, mad with the excitement of the
battle, / went on fighting desperately
until the close of the action. Then, as
the moon rose, thought Of you and of
our appointment, and directed my steps
to the old hermitage, with the intention
Of awaiting you there. 1t was about 10
O'Clock when arrived; so, as the hour
agreed upon was /, I lay down to sleep.
At the stroke of /, awoke with a start
to find myself alone. Two. three, four,
the hours rang out, and still you did not
come Without doubt, I said to my
self, he is dead, and with q heavy
heart set out at daybreak for the rebel
camp. ALI had given me up for lost, SO
I was received with joy and the general
showered distinction upon me.
"Afterward I learned that some pris-
oners were to be executed that morning.
A presentiment filed my mind. Can
Basilio be among them?' thought. 1
ran toward the place of execution. The
soldiers Of the firing squad had already
taken their position. I heard the report
Of the rifles as they rang out in volleys
ON the still morning air. At length l
reached the scene and threw my eyes
rapidly along the line of victims, but
can see nothing. Anguish blinds me-;
fear unnerves me- At length 1 distin-
guish you but two places removed from
that of death What is to be done? go
mad, give shout, break through the line
of soldiers, and rush to your side, and,
finging my arms around you, exclaim
hoarsely:
/" This one, no! This one, no, my
general
"The general who was in charge of
the execution and who knew me so IA
vorably by my behavior in the previous
days battle asked curiously:
why? Is he musician?
"That word was for me what it
would be for a man born blind to sud-
denly see the sun in all its splendor.
The light of hope fell ON my eyes and
dazzled them.
" 'Musician' p cried. Yes, yes, my
general A musician, great musician 7
What instrument does he play?
inquired the general
d" The-the-er-that is-why, of
course, the cornet He plays the cor
metz
Are we in need of a cornet player?
said he. turning to the leader Of the