Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-07-08

faith. under leaders the most heroic
that army ever had. II IL against
those peasants of La Vendee that this
cursed carnival OF slaughter will
wreck itself"
His face was allght with enthusiasm,
mis- eyes shining with deep emotion.
They are carrying all before them,"
he wen on, more calmly. To-day,
they are mere scattered peasants work.
ing In their fields. Tomorrow, they are
an army of $4,000, springing from the
very ground to smite the enemy. They
shoot him down from behind their
hedges, they put him to the sword, they
send him staggering back TO his bar
racks, all but annlhilated. Then, the
next day, II there is no more fighting,
they are back again with their fiocks
and herds. 1t recalls that golden age
OF Greece when every man was eager
TO give his life for his country"
But. surely" / objected, trained
troops should be able easily to stand
against them"
'"They have not yet done So" he re-
torted. wv have taken Les Herbiers,
Montaigu, C~hantonnay, Cholet and VII
HERS, one after the other, like shaking
ripe plums from a tree. After all, VIC
tory depends not so much upon organ
ization or g~eneralship, or even num-
bers, as upon the spirit of the men
themselves. The army which goes into
a battle with zach individual unit OF II
bent on victory, wins the victory. The
army which fights half heartedly, loses.
That is the history Of every battle. The
people or the Bocage are fighting for
their homes and their religion-their
souls are In the conflict, and they will
never admit themselves defeated until
the last man has been slain. Within a
nnrth The Tyl..nr Mill A..rL AAa. -.
completely from Vendee and the king
will reign there" and at the words, he
crossed himself.
He saw the question in the glance I
turned upon him.
You are wondering" he said, "why,
at such q time, l should have left the
army. Two nights since, / received a
message that my wife was dangerously
W-dying even. The army will be VIC
torius without me but my wife"
He stopped. / understood and nodded
gently.
only that could have brought me
1-2Cr a5 added the certainty that
h needed me. I started at once, but
found the Blues In force at Coulanges.
| attempted to turn aside and at once
lost my way amid the innumerable and
abominable roads with which that
country is cursed. / was forced finally
TO ride on to Chinon and then along
the Loire, for II seemed as though ey-
cry road was blocked by the enemy. I
should have reached the chateau last
night, and behold me only this far"
and he pricked his horse savagely and
galloped forward.
/ followed, and for an hour or more
we held the pace without exchanging
a word, he busy with his own thoughts
n wrapped In contemplation of the
marvellous turn OF fortune which had
not only restored me all that ! had lost,
but which a also given me the
friendship of a man like this. I looked
at him from time to time, admiring
more than ever the fine face and
graceful figure. He was, / judged, not
over thirty: but there was something
In the glance OF his eye. in the set OF
his lips, which odd me that he had
played his part In the world for many
years. Perhaps the time was at hand
| should play my part. too!
At last we drew rein to give our
horses breath. and my companion
pointed out to me some OF the features
OF the country. To our right was the
gentle valley Of the Vienne, and finally
we dipped into 1t and crossed the river
at a ford.
Now ! am at home.'' he said, look
ing about with a smile of pleasure.
But In this case home is not without
its dangers for / may be recog-
nized at any turn, and the ~adYenture
OF this morning warns me to be care
full. AT the village, there may even
be another detachment of republicans.
| think 1t would be wise to turn
aside and take that path yonder by
which we shall not only avoid the
town, but come directly to my estate
Very well, monsieur" I agreed, and
In another ome we had plunged
among the trees.
The soft earth of the wood, with it's
carpet OF leaves, deadened the sound of
our horses hoofs and we went on
silently among the shadows for some
time. Then we turned abruptly to the
left, the wood opened and again / saw
the river cleaning before us.
There is the chateau" he said sud-
denly, and following his gesture, I saw
a lofty tower rising above the trees
That tower" he added, smiling. SIS
my heritage from an amorous ances-
tor, who built II, some hundred years
ago. to shelter a certain fair lady.
whom a rival coveted. The tower was
designed to Withstand attack-and did
Withstand it-so the fair lady remained
in our family and helped to perpetuate
ii. That brave Marquis de Favras. who
died so CALAMITY on the Place de Greve
two years ago, belonged TO that bran en-
OF the family, so you see we have no
reason to be ashamed of It, however
irregular It's origin. There Is the mod
ern wing" he added, as we came out
father"
II was a handsome building of white
stone. and as we approached II, I saw
two ladies' StrOllinR uDOn the farraca