The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1897-01-23

ANAA A0aA-
ing full upon his hooking face, his
sneering lips, his clear blue eyes. Ho
was posed swagaeringly. according to
the fashion Of the day. the left hand be-
hind his back and well opened, the knee
bent, the point of the compass at the
proper height. This adventure amused
hlm-he was going to belabor an impe-
rial conscript, and this conscript who
had resisted him, a corporal Of the Prv-
tapeunl. he was going to send him to
the infirmary for a week at least, but
nc until he had taught him q lesson.
He had done it before. during the last
season, and they had not expected him,
the little bourgeois whom be had bella
bored as he was going to belabor this
one-they had not expected him 10 live.
"'One-two-three.' counted the sec
onds. and our weapons crossed, he at
lacking me.
"Well done, cnnscript, we'll done,
and parried! You have been ia the hall
before. But, behold, a stroke you have
never heard of. Heed it welI-I recon-
mend it'll / parted it as easily as the
others.
$50 cried my adversary, a little
astonished-'so, but Ill give . q
fourth. ToU are a novice by no means.
Now parry this, my garcon, parry it il
you cant And he came at me again. I
obeyed, and following up my momen-
tary advantage responded quickly with
q hasty feint and a forward thrust.
4f1Ab h,t - ho-o x--at- -- q . I -
cried. You have wounded me-you
have And all at once, without another
word, the corporal threw up his arms,
his weapon fell from his hand, a red
foam frothed from his mouth, and he
dropped upon the floor, dead. The com
pass had buried itself in his breast to
the tying.
Describe to you that moment? No! !
cannot. | remember it only as one re
members the horrors of a dream. There
was noise, there was confusion, O heat
ed wrangle between the seconds "a
wrangle that would have ended in an
other struggle but for the rest Of the
witnesses and the necessity for h%urrying
to quarters. After hat no more. The
blood had mounted to my brain, my
head whirled, and / swooned away.
When | returned to myself, / was
alone in the Cafe Turc. Alone? No, for
extended beside thu door, boIted from
the outside. the corporal slept his last
sleep. All, that handsome and martial
figure that an hour ago had laughed at
death, the death that had taken him at
20 years Of age and for the sake Of O
foolish s%choolboy's quarrel.
II was afraid. His wide open eyes
made me shiver, and | got upon my
knees beside him, striving, with culver
ing fingers, to keep them closed. My
chlldhood's prayers came back to me,
and | recited them, some vague and
wild idea of atonement revolving in my
brain, while the De profundis CLAIMANT
ad to. Domino, rolled from my lips like
a dirge. Above us-and how often, in
moments supreme, as this, similar tri-
1es catch and fix the attention!I no.
ticed that the blood had spattered upon
the wall beside the body, ~tattooing from
head to foot the figure Of a grotesque
kaiserlich that a %grenadier of the Old |
Guard was in the act of piercing with
his %bayonet; also that more red drops
We're falling from a wounded heart
pinned to the corner Of the frame, across
which ran the motto, Hove Josephine!'
And on my knees beside the dead / con-
my ~lugubrious prayer, De pro-
funds clamavi ad te, Domino Aquar-
ter of an hour more of it and / would
have been mad.
Happily at this ju~ncture the door
opened. 1t was the sergeant in command,
an ampute from Egypt. followed BY a
file Of cadets under arms, behind them
a litter.
Garry it., said the officer, motion
ing to the body beside which / knelt,
carry it to the infirmary. As for you,
conscript, come with me at once to the
governor And, turning upon his heel,
the officer went out again, evidently ex-
pecting me to follow him. !,
keep up thy heart, conscriptt my
second murmured as I passed him-he
had returned with the others. Keep up
thy heart! Sacre bleu, but thou hast no
reason to ~reproach thyself!'
mo reason to reproach myself when
even then / was walking i'll the wake Of
that funeral litter, that CHASTITY burden, !,
through the darkness of the night, the !
courts white with snow, and to the cab
met of the man who was to judge mo for ,
my deed! No, truly, | had naught with
which to reproach myself
1.-THE governor, TO wnom they were
conducting me, was the general Of the
division, a certain Baron Bellayene, a
grognard, as they already designated
the conquerors who had planted the
flag of revolution at the four corners OF
the Europe coalisee, and who had left d