Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-04-06
Bravo, Zouaves! You are tn

first soldiers in the worldr
II found myself sitting near tn
wheel, supporting my poor broker
paw, when suddenly 1 remembered
Dry-Jean's awful crime. At that very
instant he stepped out of the ranks
toward the general. He had lost his
fez, and from big cash in his close
shavea head ran trickle of blood.
Leaning on his gun with one hand,
with the other he held out an Austrian
flag, tattered and dyed red-a flag he
had taken. The general gazed at Him
admiringly.
Hey there, Bricourtr turning to
one of his staff; look at that, if you
please. What men!
"Whereupon Dry-Jean spoke up:
Quite so, my general. But you
know-the First Zouaves - there are
only enough left for once more!'
" Il would like to hug you for that'
cried the general; you'll get the cross,
you know, and still repeating, what
menp he said to his aid-de-camp some.
thing L didn't understandable no
scholar, you know. But remember it
perfectly: Worthy of Plutarch, wasn't
it, Bricourt?'
AT that very moment the pain was
too much for me, and l tainted. You
know the rest. I've often told you
how they sawed off my arm and how l
dragged along in delirium for two
months in the hospital. In my sleep
less hours L used to ask myself ii it
was my duty to accuse DryJean pub
licly. But could I prove it? And
then / said, He's scoundrel, but
he's brave; he killed Captain Gentili,
but he took flag from the enemy.
Finally, in my convalescence, learned
that as reward Tor his courage Dry
Jean had stepped up into the Zouaves
of the Guard and had been decorated.
All! at first it gave me q disgust at my
own cross which the colonel had
pinned on me in the hospital. Yet
Dry-Jean deserved his, too; only his
Legion of Honor ought to have served
as the bull's-eye for the squad detailed
to put him out of existence.
"It's all far away now. I never
saw him again; he remained in the
service, and I became good civilian.
But just now, when l saw that uni
form with its ullet-hole-God knows
how it got there-hanging q stones
throw from the barracks where the
murderer is, it seemed to me that the
captain, the crime still unpunished,
was clamoring for Justice"
[ did my utmost to quiet Pere
Vidal, assuring him he had acted for
the best. Five days later, on reaching
the Office, Vidal handing me paper
folded at certain paragraph, MUIR
INJURED gravely: "What did 1 tell
you?" 1 read:
another victim of intemperance.- .-Yester-
day afternoon. on the Boulevard de Gre
Jean, sergeant in the Zouaves of the Impe-
rial Guard, who with two companions had
been drinking freely. was seized with delir-
ium tremens while looking at some old uni
forms hanging in a secondhand shop. He
drew his bayonet and dashed down Il e
street to the terror of all passers-by. II c
two privates with him had the utmost dif1i-
Guilty in securing the madman who shouted
ceaselessly: Il am not a murderer l took
an Austrian flag at Melegnano" 1t seems
that the latter statement is true. Malle
was decorated for this feat; his addi elton tc
drink has alone prevented him from rising
- the ranks. Mallet was conducted TO the
military hospital of Gros- Gallon, whence he
will soon be transferred to Charenson, for II
is doubtful if he can recover his reason
AS returned the paper to Vidal, he
looked at me meaningly and con-
cluded:
Captain Gentili was Corsican-
he has avenged hims slf"-Translated
for the Argonaut from the French OF
Francois Coppee.