The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-10-27

creatures, overcom, by the ennni of the
province, t)r wlo II the arrival OF the
n,w.om II, post mister of all sports,
relating with equal spirit tales of his
campaigns and his loves, was veri-
table piece of gool fortune. The cap
tain in turn was enchanted to meet a
few hun,n b,ings rs yet ignorant of his
repertoire. So for six months he spun
yards about his raids, his pursuits OF
the enemy, his battles, the retreat Of
Cons.anti1', the capture of Bon-Maza
and the military receptions with their
shocking quantities of the kirschwas-
ser.
Oh, human frailty! He. too, was
not averse to being an oracle; he
from whose prodigious tales the little
sub-lieutenant fresh from St. Cyr, had
fled 80 short time before
His customary audience consisted ol
the owner of the cafe, great, stupid
tippler, always in his shirt sleeves,
who was only noteworthy on account
of his marvclIouslv coarocted drinks;
the auctioneei, ,itfa - CT 'i.H:c lresS-
ed in black, unpopular on account OF
his inelegant custom of carrying away
the sugar; the registry clerk, him OF
the acrostics, serene being in feeble
health who sent the solutions Of reb-
uses and cross-words to the illustrated
papers; and, lastly, the veterinary sur
geon OF the district, the only one, who,
in his character OF dem rcrat and athe-
list, ever presumed to contradict the
captain. This practitioner, of blushy
side whiskers and Il ptnce-nez, presided
over the radical committee atelections,
and when the curate was making a
modest collection among his parision-
ers to adorn the church with some hor-
rible little image in glided and illumi-
mated plaster, denounced the sons of
Loyola in a letter to the Nineteenth
Century.
One evening when the captain went
out in search of cigars, after very
animated political discussion, the afore-
said veterinary muttered some dark
and dreadful things about proving
his statements and Il, mere sword
dangler," and '.cutting his face" AS
the object of the vague menaces re-
turned suddenly, the incident was with
out sequel.
So, in fine, the group lived in har-
mony and willingly allowed itself to be
presided over by the newcomer, whose
martial head and white beard were
really most imposing, and the little
city, which was already proud of a
good many things, could be proud as
we'll of its retired captain.
Perfect happiness does not exist,
however, ard Captain Mercardier, who
thought he had found it at Cafe Pros
per, was doomed to speedy disen-
chantmeut The fact is that on Mon
days, the market days, the inn became
unbearable. From daybread it was
was invaded by great, coarse-voiced,
red-necked fellows in blue blouses and
other chaps who carried their WHIPS ...
their hands. They were vendors Of
vegetables, farmers, sellers of ducks,
and sellers of chickens, who knocked
the billiard balls about noisily, and de-
cided all discussions over a litre Of
beer, talking jocosely with the waiter
all the while.
When the captain arrived at eleven
o'clock to imbibe his first absinthe, he
found the crowd already tipsy, and
giving their orders recklessly. His
accustomed place was taken, and he
was served tardily and carelessly.
The bell at the desk kept up con-
tinual jangling; the master and the
waiter, each with napkin over his
arm, flew about in frenzy. In short,
it was an unlucky day, and one which
upset his very existence.
On certain Monday morning, when
he had stayed at home, knowing very
we'll that the cafe would be too crowd
ed and noisy, a soft gleam of autumn
sunshine lured him downstairs to a
stone bench by the side of the house.
He was sitting there smoking damp
cigar, and melancholy enough, when
he saw coming from the end of the
street-it was badly paved lane at
the edge of the town-half Il dozen
geese, which little girl of eight or
ten years of age was driving with a
switch.
The captain, resting his wandering
gaze upon the child. saw she had a
wooden leg.
Now, there was nothing of the pa
ternal in the old soldier His habit
was more that of hardened celibate.
In Algiers, when tue Arab beggar
children pursued him with their teas
ing, he generally chased them with his
riding crop, and, upon rare occasions,
when he penetrated the household of
some nomad friend who was married
and father of a family, he had left,
cursing and squalling brats and their
dirty hands, which had furnished the
gilt on his uniform.
But the sight Of this peculiar infirm-
ity, which reminded him of the dread
fu! sights of the battlefield. moved the