The Irish standard., 1898-02-05
c1ined to avail himself OF the services Of
the regimental barber.

Nevertheless, he instinctively felt
that continued refusal to conform to
the general custom must inevitably en-
danger his popularity, and that the only
way TO atone for this obnoxious sineu-
larity was to distinguish himself by
some exploit which might obtain for
him an honorable mention in the order
OF the day.
An opportunity soon came. On the
18th of Angus, his regiment, posted
near St. privat, behind an avenue OF
poplars bordering the road to Saar-
bruck. had been exposed for several
hours to CALLING fire of the German ar
tillery. and had suffered severely from
an inccssant storm of shells, which
were beginning TO set the trees OH fire.
The position of the French corps be-
came untenablc, and the colonel, decid-
ing that the encn1y's guns must at any
cost be silcncctl, ordered Il small detsch-
ment of dragons commanded by de
La"geais to charge, and cut them Off
from the main body. The Germans,
taken by surprise, and imagining they
were about to be attacked by the en-
tire regiment, ceased firing and hastily
retrcatcd, leaving one of their guns on
the field, which CASTOR, at the head of
IS men, bore down upon, and, sabering
the gunners, carried it triumphantly
into the French lines.
"Bravc." cried the colonel, warmly,
graspng the young sub-licutenant's
hand; You have deserved the cross
for this, and I will take care that YOU
get it!"
Stimulated by this first success, and
eager to justify, by some further act of
daring, the good opinion of his chief, de
Langcais neglected no opportunity of
proving himself worthy of it. Dis
patched on forage expedition, and
attacked by al outpost of infantry, ho
completely routed them, and brought
ten prisoners into the camp; and
few days later held his ground for half
I'm hour, unsupported, save by his own
men, against an entire corps OF
the enemy. His gnllantry did not
pass nnrcware!cd Not only was
the cross of the Legion of Honor con-
ferred on him, but his name was three
times mentioned for exceptional
bravery in the order of the day. and his
speedy promotion to the rank of leu
tenant was generally regarded as GER
tainty.
At this iunctnrc the unexpected cap.
ttulation of Metz was n severe blow to
him, and, unwilling to accept compara-
tive liberty on parole, he conceived Il
project, which, although extremely lnz-
nrdous, might possibly enable him to
join the army of the Loire. His design
being approved of by the general com.
handing under Hazainc, VIII Entrusted
him with a letter to his colleague, Au-
rellc de Paladines, informing him that
the army of Prince Frederick Charles
would shortly march toward the Loire,
CASTOR exchanged his uniform for u
blouse and a PEASANTS straw hat. and,
carrying n basket of eggs, pursued his
way coolly in the direction Of the en-.
emy's lines.
at is terrible risk" he thought.
"but better be shot at once than rot
In German prison"
Challenged by the first sentinel he
met, and arrested on suspicion, he was
taken before the colonel of the rcgi.
ment, who, surrounded by his officers in
council, scrntnized the prisoner att
tcntivcly.
where do you come from?" he in.
guircd in tolcrablc French.
"From Landonchamps. on my way
Will, these eggs to Grigy.' was the
young mans reply.
care you aware that You run the
- ~ Is
sued his interrogation.
Necessity has no choice" rctortcd
lie Langcais, with Il perfectly indiifcr-
ent air.
During this brief colloquy the officers
glanced cllriouSly at the stalwart indi-
vidnal before them, whose appearance
and manner contrasted so strangely
with the homcly dress he wore; and
were almost unanimously of tho
rolonels openly expressed opinion. that
he was no peasant, but an officer in dis
guisc. and consequently Il Spy. A
pause boiling no good TO The accused en-
sued, and in another moment his fate
would have been sealed, when gray
haired major, who had been intcntly
gazing at de Langcnis, suddenly arose
from his scat.
"Stny!" he exclaimed, "with all sub
mission, think you arc mistaken. This
man, whoever he may be. is no officer.
All those we have taken prisoners
have been close cropped, and 10 one
ever heard of a French soldier on active
service with such u head of hair rs
that"
"Truc-thc major is right" aSscntcd
several of those present.
at may be So" said the colonel, only
half convinced. "and in that case no
is entitled to the benefit of the doubt.
Give him pass, and let him go and be
banged somewhere else"
az narrow cscnpc!" muttrrcd Castor
TO himself rs he left the camp. 81 Won
der what Rouchnrd would Eny If he
knew Of it,"
A week later our hero rcnched
his destination and delivered his
credentials 10 the general in COM
mnnd, by whom the grade OF lieu
tenant was Immediately conferred
on him. At the conclusion Of the cam
pagn he was promoted to the cap
taincy. and in 1871, after the final rout
Of the Commune, married his cousin
Louise. In the following year. whilo
on leave in Paris, he came across his old
enemy, BoucharG, on the boulevard dcs
1tnliens.
GLOW goes it with you?" asked the