Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-05-25

commissioned officer. Henri Vidal. He
had lost left arm in ths Italian CAIN
paign, but with his remaining hand he
executed marvels of caligraphy--down
to drawing with one pen-stroke bird
in the flourish of his signature.
A good fellow, Vidal; the type of
the upright old soldier, hardly no. with
sprinkling of gray in his blonde i'm
perisl- he had been in the Zouaves.
We all called him Pere Vidal, more
respectfully than Familiarity, for we all
knew his honor and devotion. He lived
in cheap little lodging at Grenelle,
where on the money of his cross, his
pension and his salary-he managed
to support his widowed sister and
her three children.
AS at that time /, too, was living in
the southern suburb of Paris, often
walked home with Pere Vidal, and l
used to make him tell of his campaigns
as we passed near the military school,
meeting at every step it was at the
close of the empire-the splendid uni
forms of the Imperial Guard, green
chasseurs, white lancers and the dark
and magnificent artillery officers, black
and gold, costume worth while get
ting killed in.
As we walked along the hideous
Boulevard de Grenelle he stopped sud
denly before military old-clothes
shop-there are many like it in that
quarter-a dirty, sinister den, showing
in its window rusted pistols, bowls
full of buttons and furnished epaulets;
in front were hung, amid sordid rags,
a few o d officers uniforms, rain-rotted
and sunburned; with the slope-in at
the waist and the padded shoulders
they had an almost human aspect.
Vidal, Selling my arm with his right
hand and turning his gaze on me,
raised his stump to point out one of the
uniforms, an African officers tunic,
with the killed skirt and the three
gold braids making figure eight on
the sleeve.
Look" he said; chats the uni
form of my old corps, a captains
tunic."
Drawing nearer, he made out the
number engraved on the buttons and
went on with enthusiasm:
"My regiment! The First Zouaves"
Suddenly his hand shook, his face
darkened; dropping his eyes, he MUIR
INJURED, in horror-stricken voice:
"What if it were hisl"
Then brusquely turning the coat
about he showed me in the middle of
the back a little round hole, bordered
by black rim blood, of course-it
made one shudder, like the sight of q
wound.
ga nasty scar" I said to Pere
Vidal, who had dropped the garment
and was fastening away. And fore
seeing tale, I added to spur him on
cts not usually in the back that bull
lets strike captains of the Zouaves. .
He apparently did not hear me; he
mumbled to himself; "How could II
get there? It's long way from the
battlefield of Melegnano to the Boule-
ward of Grenellel Oh, yes, 1 know
the carrion crows that follow the army
the strippers of the dead! But why
just there, two steps from the military
school where the other fellows regi
ment is stationed? He must have
passed; he must have recognized it
What ghostp'
''See here, Pere Vidal" said I, vic
lently interested, "stop your mutter
ing, and tell me what the riddled tuni
recalls to YOU
He looked at me timidly, almost sus
piciously. Suddenly, with great eff
fort, he began:
''Well, then, here goes for the story
can trust you; you will tell me frank
ly, on your honor, if you think m,
conduct excusable. Where shall
begin? All, can't give you the othe
mans surname, for he is still living
but I will call him by the name h,
went under in the regiment-Dry-Je cal
and he deserved it, with his !:
drinks at the stroke of noon
"He was sergeant in the Fourth o
the Second, my regiment, goo(
fighter, but fond of quarrel and drinl
all the bad habits of the African
soldier; brave as a bayonet, with cold
steel-blue eyes and rough red beart
on his tanned cheeks. When | en-
tered the regiment Dry-Jean had jus
re-enlisted. He drew his pay AM
went on three days spree. He an,
two companions of the same kidne,
rolled through the low quarters of Al
giers in cab, flying tri-color bear
ing the words, cit won't last forever.
1t did wind up with a knock dow
fight Dry-Jean got cut on tn
head from tringlo that nearly fin
ished him, a fortnight in the guard
room and the loss of his stripes-th
second time he had lost them.
''Of well-to-do parents and wit
some education, he would have rise
to be an officer long before if it ha
not been for his conduct. Eightee
months later he got his stripes bac
again, thanks to the indulgence of til
old African captain who had seen hiI
under fire in Kabylie. Hereupon on
old captain is promoted chief Of bal