Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-02-27
CHAPTER |.
A MEMORIAL DATE.

n BLURRING rain fell upon Par.
"a Is that day. 1t was the lGtl,
Of June. To Fitzgerald there
was something electric In the
date. Many years before this date
had marked the end to certain hun
dred days. the eclipse Of sun more
dazzling than Rome in the heyday Of
her august Caesars had ever known
Waterloo. A little corporal Of artil-
lery, from u cooked hat to crown.
from Corsica to ST. Helena-NapOleon.
Fitzgerald as he pressed his way
along the boulevard des lnvalides, his
umbrella swaying aud Swapping in the
wind much like the sail Of derelict,
could see in fancy that celebrated
field whereon this eclipse had been
supernally prearranged. He held the
handle of the umbrella under his arm.
for the wind had temper mawling
and destructive. and veered into the
Place Vauban. Another man coming
with equal haste from the opposite
direction, from the entrance Of the
tomb itself. was also two parts hidden
behind an umbrella. The two came
together with a Jolt as sounding as
that Of two old crusaders In friendly
joust Instantly they retreated. lower
ing their shields.
II beg your pardon" said Fitzgerald
In French.
ut is of no consequence" replied the
stranger. laughing. This is always
devil OF q corner on q windy day"
His French had q slight German twist
to It.
Briefly they inspected each other. as
strangers will, carelessly, with annoy
ance and amusement interplaying in
their eyes and on their lips. all in u
trihing moment. Then each raised his
hat and proceeded as TRANQUILITY and
unconcernedly as though destiny had
no Interior motive In bringing them
thus really together. And yet when
they had passed and disappeared from
each others view both were struck
with the fact that somewhere they had
met before.
Fitzgerald went into the tomb. his
head barred. Napoleon had always
been Fitzgerald's hero; but he did not
worship him blindly. no. he knew
him to have been q brutal. domineer-
ing man. unscrupulous In politics. to
whom woman was either a temporary
toy or a stepping stone. not overpar-
ticular whether she was dairymaid
or an Austrian princess-in fact. a
rascal. but great. inventive. splendid.
courageous one.
Near to Fitzgerald stood an elderly
man and a girl. The old fellow was
q fine type Of manhood, perhaps In
the sixties. white haired. and the
ruddy enamel on his cheeks spoke
eloquently Of sea changes and many
angles of the sun. There was a but
ton in the lapel Of his coat. and from
this Fitzgerald assumed that be was
a naval officer. probably retired
The girl rested upon the railing. her
hands folded. and dreamily her gaze
wandered from trophy to trophy: from
the sarcophagus to the encircling
faces. from one window to another
and again to the porphyry beneath
And F1tzgerald's gaze wandered, too
For the girls face was Of that mold
which invariably draws first the eye
of a man. then his intellect. then bis
heart. and sometimes all three at once.
The face was as lovely as rose OF
Taormina. Dark brown were her
eyes. dark brown was her hair. She
was tall and 1.-the. too. with the subtle
hint of the woman. There were good
taste and sense In her garments. A
bunch of Parma violets was pinned
against her breast.
Between Fitzgerald and the girl was
q veteran. He had turned eighty II
q day. His face was powder blown.
an empty sleeve was folded across
his breast and the medal Of the Legion
Of Honor fell over the sleeve. Al
the girl and her elderly escort. pre-
sumably her father, turned about to
leave. she unpinned the flowers and
offered them impulsively to the aged
hero.
.Take these, mon brave" she said
lightly. "You have fought for France"
The old man was confused and his
faded eyes flled. For me. mademoi'
seller
"Surelyr' :,
.Thanks, mademoiselle. thanks! l
saw Aim when they brought him back
from St Helena. and the Old Guaro
waded out into the Seine. Those were
days. Thanks, mademoiselle; an Old
soldier salutes your And the time
bent. withered form grew tall.
FITZGERALD cleared his throat. for just
then something hard had formed there.
Why. God bless herl She was the
kind Of girl who became the mother
Of soldiers.
With her departure his present IN
terest here began to wane. he won