The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1899-03-30

One Of my desk-mates i'll the osice
at the ministry o. war was an ex-non-
commissioned o-@cer, Henri Vidal. he
had !sst left arm il the Italia cam
ra;gn, bat With A:s remaining hand he
ezecntsw|ma-. els OF cali3raphy--doTD
10 drawing y N tne pen stroke bird
in the foari>h OF bis signature.
A good fellow, Vida; the type of
the upright o!d soldier, hardly 20, with
a s.rinkling of gray in his blonde in
periaG-- he had been IL the Zouaves.
We all called him Pe:e Vidal, more
respectfully than fa27i!!ariv, for We All
knew bis Aono- anu devotion. He lived
in cheap little lodging at Grenel;e,
where on the money Of his cross, his
rens;on and his sala:y.-he managed
to 81: royt his widowed sister and
her thee children.
AS at:tlat time I, too, vas living in
tie southern suburb CT Pals, l often
walked home with T'ere Vidal, and I
uSel 10 tnaSe him tell O.: his ca 4paigns
as we passed near the military schoo',
meeting At every step it was at the
else Of the emri:e-the splendid uni
forms of the Imperial Guard, gre II
- chasseaTs, white laacers and the da:k
and magnificent artillery Officers, black
and gold, costume worth while get
ting killed il.
AS we walked along the hideous
Boulevard De Urene;le he stopped sud
denly before military cld-ciothes
shop-th ere a:s many ike i: il that
euarter--a dirty, sinister den: showing
in its wjndsw rus:ed pistols, bowls
full Of buttons and tarnisheI epaulets:
ip front were hung, amid sordid rags,
few 4 officers uniforms, rain-rotted
end sun5urned; with the slope-in at
the waist and tbs padded shoulde:s
they had an ALMOST human ssasGt.--- sG.---,--.
Vidal, Selling my arm with his right
hand and turning his gaze on me:
raised his stump to poin; out one ot the
uniforms, an African officers tualc,
with the killed skirt and the three
gold brai,'s making figure eight on
the sleeve.
"Lookr' be said; ':that's the ami
form Of my old corps, a captains
tunic."
Drawing nearer, he made out the
number ergraved on the buttons and
vent on with eathusiasm:
MY regiment. The First Zoaaves!'
Suddenly his hand sboo!', his fave
darkeDed; dropping his eyes, he muir
mu1 ed, in a hc:ior-s:ricke:l "olte;
"What if it Were his!'
Then brus1uelv turning the coat
about be showed me in the middle Of
the back little round hoie, bordered
bv black Iim blood, Of Course it
made one s1ad;ier. like the sight Of a
wound.
"a nasty scar I said to Pere
Vidal, who hal dropped the garment
and was hAsteniGg away And fore
seeing tale, ! added 10 s3.- him on:
stIt's not usually II tie back that bull
lets strike ca~tai-s Of the Zouave:. ="
he appa: :ent!y did not hear ne: he
numbled to himself: "I.w coull it
get there? It's loag way from the
battlefield Of Melegnano to tie Boule-
ward Of Grenele! Oh, YES, T know
the carrioo crows that follow the army;
the striprers ci tie dead: i',t Why
lust there, two steps from the military
school where the other fellows regi-
ment is s:Gtioned?. He must have
passed; he must have recognize il.
What glo.,:.'
t:See here, Pee Vida',' said I, vio-
le2tly interested, ':stop your Eutter-
ing, and tell me what the riddled tunlc
recalls to you.''
He looked at ne timidly, almost sus-
picioRsly. Suddenly, with a great ef-
fort, he began:
"Well, then, mere goes for the story;
I car trust you; you will tell me frank
ly, on your honor, if yoa think my
conduct excusable. Where shall l
Begin? Alb, I can't give you the other
mans surname, 1o- he is still living,
but will, call him by the pane he
went under in the regiment-Dry-Jean
and he: deserved it, with his II
drinks at the stroke of neon.
stHe was sergeant IN the Fourth Of
the Second, my regiment, a good
fighter, bnt fond Of quarrel and drink
all the bad habits Of the African
soldier; brave es bayonet, with cold,
steel-blue eyes and q rough red beard
on his tanned cheeks. When I en-
tered the regiment Dry-Jean had just
re-enlisted., He drew his pay and
went on three days spree. He and
two companions Of the same kidney
rolled through the low quarters OF Al
giers in cab, flying tri-color bear
ing the words, ''lt won't last forever. "
It did wind up with a knock.down
fight Dry-Jean got q cut on the
head from a tring;o that nearly I'm
ished him, fortnight in the guard"
room and the loss of his stripes--the
second tine he had lost them.
';Oi well-to-do parents and with
some education, he would have risen
to be an oHce: long before if it had
not been for his conduct. Eighteen
months la;eg he got his stripes back
again, thazks to the indulgence Of the
old Africas captain who had seen him
under Gte = Kabylie. Hereupon on,
cid captain & promoted chief Of bat