Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1897-09-24

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GNN Leg. The name
stuck to him. He
was fine fellow, muscular, with broad
shoulders, an open face and clear eyes.
More than one of the pretty country
girls would have liked to know him,
but he hardly addressed a word to
them, held back by timidity and shame
OF his poor leg. He never complained,
and when he watched his friends dane
ing at the fair, with their arms about
their partners waists, he accepted his
position with the philosophy of coun-
try fatalist. But one day he suffered
the sorrow of a great disappointment.
lie wanted to serve in the army, but
nrst he must pass the examination
with the others. He marched limping
along the road with them, his hat or
namented with long tri-colored rib
bons which fioated in the breeze, and
sung at the top of his voice with an
animation which made him forget he
was not like the rest of the world. But
his joy was short-lived.
Unfit for service; deformity of the
hip" pronounced the officer.
1T is unfortunate" added the gen.
eral, without that he would have
made a splendid soldier"
Bancroche departed alone, his heart
full of sadness and feeling the flower
of courage and loyalty which had
sprung up in him wither from lack of
nourishment. He reached the farm
where he was employed without meet
ing anyone, and going to the bed where
he slept he threw himself down and
wept uncontrollably.
Some time after this Bancroche was
employed on the farm of a certain
Benoit, a well-to-do farmer, who had a
very pretty daughter named Marietta
Her white teeth made line of ivory
behind two rosy lips always parting in
a smile. Her figure was dainty, her
arms strong, her feet untiring; alto
gether she was the picture of vigorous
beauty. She might have been a Ceres
of Rubens, in all the strength and
freshness of her 20 years. And, of
course, Bancroche fell madly IN love
with her She was not long in per-
ceiving her victory and, as she was
something of a coquette, she did all
she could to encourage him. She was
so good to him, looked at him with
eyes so sweet and bright that the
cripple was fired with love and hope,
letting himself dwell on happy dreams
of the future, in which he saw himself
departing from the church with Ma
riette, his wife, leaning on his arm.
He said many tender things to her, and
once, putting her mouth very close to
his ear, she had whispered: "Bancroche,
l love yOul"
And after all, why not? he had asked
himself. To be sure he was a cripple,
but he invented thousand reasons to
persuade himself that this was not an
obstacle. In marrying one thinks only
of the qualities of the heart. He had
come of a good family. He was held in
esteem by NJ. Benoit and was second
to him in command at the farm. All
these thoughts treasured him and he
spoke to Benoit of his hopes. To his |
Joy, Benoit gave him his hand willing |
" and said he would talk to his daugh- |
ter, who had just gone into the hay |
field. Bancroche followed at a dis
lance. and himself unseen watched the |
farmer approach Marietta and address
her in a low voice Then, after a mo-
ment, he saw her throw back her head |
with a peal of laughter and heard her |
cry: with his leg? And I would be |
a Nine. Bancroche? No! No! Mo-"
Poor Bancroche did not return until |
bo fnOlr his marc ?
supper without noticing the sad looks
of Benoit, nor the naughty glances of
Marietta. who was willing to be loved,
but angry that he, cripple, should
have dared to ask her hand.
81 understand, NJ Benoit,' he said,
after supper; eve will say no more
about it. l was wrong in forgetting my
leg" And more than this he would
not say. going on with his work as
usual, always brave, sometimes sad,
but never troubling either father or
daughter. And when, three months af-
fer Marietta married Sylvan Gillet,
nronrietor of the Coq-d Argent hotel,
he assisted at the wedding and no one
noticed that his eyes were red.
There was great excitement in the
village of Saint Georges. The Prus-
SLAMS were coming. They had already
the neighborilg village and
twenty times an hour each person look
cd anxiously down the road to The for
est. the direction from which the enc
nv was expected to come. All the
eble-bodied men had gone to war. with
the exception of Sylvan Gillet, who
trembled at the thought of being killed
A drinker and braggart, deceitsul ard
wicked. he had made his wife terribly
unhappy. and Marietta, made wiser by