Year: 1863

lofty cSDtUe> 10 any one lh2t he- bNoOiucl,
would do mnch better to invest his money in
horsehair, if he really wanted for anything Of
The kind that be himself would gladly under
take Sach commission. and so on.


( Bat it was all in vain. Bilboquet was de
termined 10 have his forty francs worth Of
black beard. Some French soldiers had been
attracted to the Jews shop by the high words
that had BASED between the latter and Bilbo-
/ quet, and, having ascertained what the quarrel
was about, came to the conclusion that tie
drummer boys notion was both humorous and
original, and called upon the Hebrew 10 sur
render his chin at discretion


Fortunately for the Jew one of the soldiers
who was present happened to be the barber Of
the regiment. We say fortunately. because
in the absence of razor there can be no
doubt whatever but that the jew would have
} been shaved with sabre. However, the
beard was taken off more or less according to
art, aud given to Bilboquet, who folded it up
carefully in piece of paper. and slowed it
away in bis pocket.


( When Bilboquet reganed his quarters, be
got the regimenial tailor to sew the Jews
beard, or Bilboquets beard as it had now be
come, to strip of parchment cut from al old
drum; and then without giving any explaua-
tion of his conduct put it at the very bottom
of his khapsack. Hi comrades bothered him
about the matter FOR few days, but then the
regiment started eastward. and after the battle
of Borodino and the taking of Moscow, such
incidents as Bilboquet's adventure with the
Jew of Smolensk naturally passed from recol-
lection


Then came the horrors of the retreat, Cos
sacks, and famine. Napoleon's army was deci-
mated 10 an inverse sense-that is to say, every
tenth man was spared, while the nine others
fell victims to the Cossack lances, or, worse
still, to the Russian snow. The 9th Regiment
formed part of the rear guard, which watched
and fought so magnifcently under the leader
ship and auspices of Ney. Little Bilboquet
was among the most fortunate, for be was nei-
/ NHNi "NNNeNN hot a'Sos-pINtSb.


A few days after the terrible passage of the
Beresna, the troops had to cross a small river,
over which the engineers had already thrown a
bridge. Bilboquets brigade, which formed
the extreme rear, had passed over in safety,
and the great point now was to prevent the
Russians following. The general ordered the
Sappers to blow it up. but the explosion was
attended by only partial success; one half of
the bridge was still connected with the other
by means of a single BEAM If this beam
could be cut in two the whole structure would
fall into the river. Otherwise the enemy would
have no difficulty in repairing the bridge, and
their pursuit would not be delayed for more
than an hour at most. Some Sappers were
directed to get on raft and endeavor to de-
stroy the bridge altogether, bat the Russians
arrived on the opposite bank of the river
before the order could be obeyed, and opened
murderous fire, which seemed to render its
execution quite impossible. The French re-
turned the FIRE, aud the army Was about to
uIJNC Ous W itu ouilGuiN Il SpiuitT WIN i Udtcu-
ct on his shoulder, plunged into the river,
dived, and came up half minute afterwards at
distance from the beam which it was desired
to sever. By his long beard it was easy to
/ tell that this was Sapper that was sacrificing
himself so uobly for the sake of his comrades.
The brave man swan vigorously for the near
ocf, 10 o,,l al
shower of bullets, which caused the water to
boil all round him. until at last be reached the
centre pile of the bridge, and, climbing up it,
got on to the bridge itself The beam was
not so large as it appeared from the shore, and
it was already half divided. With one blow
the soldier cut it into two, when the bridge,
and himself with it, fell into the water with a
tremendous crash.


The Russians, in their astouishment, ceased,
firing for a moment, but the Frenchman soon
rose to the surface, and be was then again sal
uted with a storm of shot Now a hundred
poles were extended to the daring Sapper, and
the General himself was among the most en-
thusiastic applauders of his gallant exploit.


Suddenly the General gave start.


"What is that ?" be exclaimed


He might well be astonished. for the sup
posed Sapper who had destroyed the bridge
was no other than young Bilboquet, the drum
mer, with his celebrated black beard under
his chin


What in the name OF fortune does this
mean ?'' inquired the General, scarcely credit
ing his eyes.


Its only me" said Bilboquet, the drum
mer-boy that you said you'd give the cross to
when be had hair on his chin. I've beard
now, General; aud capital one, too gave
your forty francs for it, and l think it ought
to be good"


TIE General was fairly electrified by the
youngsters courage, and scarcely less so by