The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-08-25

AS ll6 sun over Ou0
of the first things to emerge from the
blue-gray mist was the gilded dome
of the Hotel des Invalides. Not even
the sky-kissing uplift Of the Eiffel
tower, which had been exchanging
news and views all night long between
the armies of the east and west, by
wireless, like some supernatural inter-
prefer; not even the white basilica on
top of the Butte Montmartre, nor the
towers of Notre Dame, were visible for
a good ten minutes afterward.
And, in the meantime, the dome be-
came a sort of counterpart of the sun
itself-shimmering, golden, af1oat in
the opaque air. 1t hung like an au-
reole of glory over the great man
whose tomb was there-Napoleon-
last wish fulfilled.
81 desire that my ashes may rest
on the banks of the Seine, in the midst
of this French people 1 so greatly
loved"
Then, as the sun mounted still
higher, the rest of the Hotel des In
valides came into view a great mass
of buildings as blue-gray as the dawn
had been. After a while, when the
place was flooded with genial light and
warmth, out came the invalids them
selves-the veterans who made this
combination of barracks, museum,
church and tomb their home.
First to appear was Corporal Pic
tou, who lost part of one leg and all
of one arm at Solferino. in 1859, yet
was still the fine, military semblance
of a man-pink face, choleric eye,
white mustache waxed and white i'm
perial trimmed, the breast of his long,
blue coat adorned with half a dozen
medals.
A second or two afterward came
Marine Frenzy, a famous beau in his
day, but now slow of foot, much
stopped, and very deaf, never quite re-
covered from the wound in his head
received in Tongking in 1862.
They sat down side by side on the
bench that ran along the sun-warmed
wall, and the corporal glared at the
marine. The latter put up his ear
trumpet, and the corporal roared into
it:
1.-THE Prussians still advanced"
The marine looked dreamily into
space and whispered:
I'VE lack Napoleon"
Trumpeter Martin had come out
truculent, spry, and barely eighty
walking on two wooden pegs, neatly
turned and painted black. In response
to the corporal's words he ripped out
an oath and shook his cane in the air.
1.-The army's led by lot of unlocked
cubs" he declared. There's Joffre,
for example"
Other comrades Joined the group
Quartermaster Sandeau, decorated on
the field of battle at Montebello; Ser
geants Motto and Latude, inseparable
now as they were in the Crimea; Far
rier Saint-Lambert, who helped put
down the Kabyles of North Africa in
1858.
A desperate group they were, too
In a measure, they felt themselves al,
most the last hope of France.
Something had to be done.
Wen form a brigade" said Far
rier Saint-Lambert, "and-name of q
cannon-if they do come into Paris
we'll drown ourselves in their bloodn
Last night" quavered Quartermas
ter Sandeau, 81 slept with this under
my pillow" He drew from under his
coat an enormous horse-pistol of an
tique pattern. ut kept me from sleep
ing, it hurt my ear, but by the"
Sergeants Motto and Latude ex
changed look of mutual understand
ing, and the former unbuttoned his
coat, his comrade aiding him.
Look" painted Motto.
He held his coat open with arms
that trembled from age and rheuma
tism. The group stared in amazement
some of them saluting, others uncov
ering their bald or frosty heads.
Around the breast of the sergeant
where it had been concealed, was
faded flag, thin and torn.
A dozen voices whispered:
1.-THE colors of the emperor!"
1--WE took it yesterday" said Ser
geant Latude in stifled tones, as h,
stood at the side of his friend will
that mingled air of reverence and per
sonal pride with which a sacristan ex
hibits the bones of saint. 1.-The com
mandant was having the battlefiags o
the nations taken down, in there, 8,
that they could not fall into the hand
of the enemy should he enter Paris
as he did in 1870. Motto and l, watch
ing our chance, took this-his flag
our fiag-the flag that fioated over hi
sacred tent-the flag Of Napoleon!"
Latude began to choke, with emo
ton, or age, or both.
While this was going on, two othe
comrades had arrived-a strange pail
ofran liOLad-nno Of thap, mel, IN,
the other in an invalidehair. The
were the two extremes-the oldest an
the youngest of that little band of vel
Grams still sheltered in the Hotel de
Invalides.
The man in the chair was Adjutan
Latour-Michel, who had been blinde
away back in the revolution of 1874;
But, as he himself always said, he ha
seen enough before the accident Al
rived. Those eyes of his-now wild
open, gazing mystically on space-ha
once looked into the eyes of Napoleo
himself. The adjutant was very old
more than a hundred He was a mer
white shadow of a man in a rollin
chair, but he still carried with him a
aroma of power. He was the man VIII
had seen Napoleon!
AS for the man who pushed Latou
Michel along with touching care, b
also was bound up in the Napoleoni
tradition.
This was Grenadier Mere-the bah
of the company, a man of seventy-fiv
or so, with shaven, expressive fac,
kindling eyes, readiness to smil
They called him Cou-d' Argent. or 81
verneck, from the way that cunnin
surgeons had made him presentabl
after Gravelotte; and they say that b
had smiled while the surgeons wei