St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1898-11-09
THE ZOUAVE.


sun had set to seat himself on a bench
before his door, and, while enjoying
that lassitude which hard work on a
warm day leaves behind it, drink sever
al pots of beer with his apprentices be-
fore sending them away.
But on this particular evening the
good man remained at the forge until
it was time to 60 to the supper table,
and then went reluctantly into the
house
"What can be the matter with him?"
thought his wife. perhaps he has re-
ceived some bad news from the regiment
that he does not wish to tell me. Per-
haps our son is i'll"
But as she dared not ask she occu-
pied herself in trying to quiet her three
fiaxen headed youngsters whose laugh
ing faces appeared around the board,
where they were munching salad OF
black radishes and cream.
At last the blacksmith pushed away
his plate, exclaiming angrily:
"Oh, the towards Oh, the scoun-
drels"
"What is the matter, Lory?" asked
his wife.
Then the root of the whole matter
came to light.
81 am speaking Of those five or six
scoundrels whom any one could have
seen this morning rambling round the
village in the uniforms of French SOL
diers arm in arm with the Bavarians.
Yes, it il such as these-what shall l
call them-who have chosen to become
Prussiansl And to think we will have
to see these false Alsatians coming back
every day from Africa What magic po-
ton have they drunk to make them
change this way?"
His wife, motherlike, Immediately
attempted the defense of the abused.
"What would you have otherwise,
my poor husband?" said she. This re-
turn is hardly the fault of these chill
dren. Algiers, where they were sent, is
so far away that they were homesick,
and it must have been such tempta
tion for them to come back, such 6
temptation not to have to be soldiers
any longer"
Lory struck the table with his fis
fiercely.
"Hush, mother You women neve
understand anything. Living for you
children and with your children make
you lower your mind to the level of tn
intellect of the youngsters. AS for me
/ say to you again that these men ar
beggars, scoundrels, the worst kind o
towards, and, if i'll luck should max
our Christian capable of such infamy a
theirs, as true as my names Georg
Lory and that have served seven year
as a French soldier / would run hir
through with my sword" And with
terrible look, half rising, the black
smith pointed to his long saber hangin
on the wall beneath his sons picture
a portrait taken in Africa of soldier i
zouave uniform, but with such an hor
est Alsatan face, tanned by the SUI
that the sight suddenly Gained the fl
ther, and he said laughingly:
"It was well looked at the picture
AS if our Christian could become Pru
sian ~
Put into better humor by this ide
the good man gayly finished his Dime
and soon followed it up with coup
of pints of beer at the Vile de Stra
bourg inn.
At last his wife was alone
After putting the little flaxen hea
to bed and listening to their prattle
the next room, which sounded like
nestful of birds going to sleep, she to-
her work and sat down to knit befo
the door at the garden side of the hous
From time to time she sighed as S
thought, "Yes, | know it we'll, tn
are towards and renegades; but VIII
does it matter Their mothers will
glad to see them back once more all
same"
And she thought of the times beft
her son had gone with the army, how
this hour of the day he used to dew
himself to the care of the garden. In
mind she could see him, clad in blou
his hair long, his beautiful hair viii
they had cut off when he becam
zouave, filling his watering can at
well near by her.
Suddenly she started. The little g
at the end of the garden which oper
on the fields was ajar. The dogs /
not barked, notwithstanding the f
that some one had come over the W
like robber and was gliding in 8
out among the beehives
"Motherl"
Her Christian stood before b
ashamed and troubled, his tongue tn
from drink, his uniform dishevel
The miserable lad had returned Fl
Africa with the others, but for All b
had been rambling outside the he
waiting for his fathers departure.
mother felt it her duty to scold h
but she had not the heart to do it.
had been such long time since she
seen him. So she embraced him inste
Then he gave her asch good reas
for his return. He hated the coui
where he had been. 1t grieved hin
be SO far away from home, and his c
rades called him Prussian becaus
his Alsatian accent. He told her
this, and she believed it, She only
to look at him to believe anything.
Talking necessarily, they entered
house.
The youngsters awoke and ran !
tha,r ,,.uhtuo,uno harafoofad IN