Fabiola : or, The church of the catacombs - Digital Repository Services

silence reigned in our ranks a strange tiling and quite
But Martin, who, as you know is a great enemy to sadness,
and, besides, knows not fatigue, suddenly struck up, near mo,
in a ringing voice, our popular song, Klaus en Irmivat, zijn
leven niet. Thereupon the entire company burst out laughing
and all our comrades from Flanders
our jovial companion.
chorused the refrain of
"But, as yon may imagine of all our national airs, it is the
hymn of the Belgian volunteers, " For the See of Peter," we
repeat oftenest and with most plensure. Victor, who, in his
leisure moments, sometimes takes to rhyming, has translated
it, and turned it into a kind of Jlrabanconne. So the hymn of
victory of our dear native land arises and resounds every day
among us under the beautiful Italian sky. I hasten to transcribe
the national and poetical work of our friend Victor in
this letter, so that, in remembrance of us, our good friends may
may sometimes land.'"
repeat the refrain to the echoes of our fair
"Bravo! bravo!" cried all the bystanders unanimously.
" We'll copy it and learn it from this day."
"
We'll begin this very instant," said the blacksmith.
"
That's not the question," interposed Jean Pierre. "I suppose
you'd prefer first to hear the rest of the news. Listen,
then," he continued, unfolding a second letter ; "here's what
Joseph writes on the subject of their '
camp life : Wo are now
camped a short distance from Terni, where the staff are stationed.
We sleep under tents, and when we came here we had
first to learn to pitch them. Now, in this respect, our education
is complete so ; henceforward we devote ourselves to other
occupations. Hardly have we finished the exercise and manoeuvres
when we disperse in different ways to look forward,
draw water, and buy provisions. Our hardest task is in pro-
viding ourselves with water, fc.r, unfortunately, the springs are
a great way off, in the neighborhood of Coilescipoli, a small
village, perched on the t'ip of a steep hill, three miles from our
camp. Wo generally use large wooden pails to draw water
from the spring, but jovial Martin finds those enormous pails
infinitely too light for his robust shoulders.
'
Haven't you got
anything else to give me ?' he cried, with a burst of disdainful
laughter.
could carry in the hollow
'
of my hands. Our captain then
placed at his disposal a regular trough, nearly as large as an
ordinary wherry. Without stopping or stumbling he brings it
back full on his back, and it's u pleasure to see all our thirsty
' These little half-pints hold no more water than I
companions, impatient for their share of the refreshing liqu d,
which he generously dispenses, crushing around him on his
return.
' ' ' Now we've got to clean our belts, polish and furbish up
our arms, and perform a thousand other little occupations in-
cidental to camp life. You see by that our days are very well
ness in that thought alone to render all our sufferings light and
our privations supportable. Ah ! of what isn't man capable
when he works for God and with God !
" ' The Pontifical volunteers for the most part belong to rich
the luxurious comforts, delicacies, and delights of prosperity.
One might expect, then, to see them disheartened by privations
so severe, or become weak and emaciated, and succumb
to such constant fatigui s. For instance, when they return
from the morning exercise, after marching, running, leaping
and climbing for six or seven hours, without taking breath,
they re-enter the camp harassed and weakened, \\ ith eyes
swollen, lips burning, mouths gaping, and chests heaving.
And yet a moments' repose, a few instant*' sleep, suffice to
t IHH /;/,/,' ,v,ir/,//''/r/v'. 29
banish fatigue and recover Htrmigth; half an hour hasn't
passed when t' ry re-appear, quit' I, full of vigor,
\: ami animation, with renewed eiitbn.supsm and gE
'
; Scarcely
for
nri instant than one of us i
In play tin' llu'.e, a third rises and grasps his
companion's hand or pinehi H his ears playfully, and thru rings
out, from all our joyful gronpl, (he grand Cry of "Long live
the Holy Father ! Long live the valiant colonel of the Pontifi-
cal Zouaves !
' '
"Hurrah," suddenly
shouted the blacksmith in a thundering
voice, interrupting worthy Jean Pierre in the middle of a
paragraph. "There are brave yonng fellows, true soldiers,
it's easy to know them ! Ah ! you'll see, they'll beat the revo-
lutionary armies just as easily as a piece of red-hot iron In at.eu
"
on nn anvil !
"'Then, in the course of the evening,'" continued the
rural-guard return ng his reading, "'we delight to wander
back in thought to the plains and villages of our dear C-impine,
for I needn't tell you we can't forget it: a true son of the Campine
remains faithful at once t > his creed and country. Then
we sing in chorus some one of the songs of our country, or we
discourse always with renewed pleasure either of our ancient
legends or old national customs, traditions, and manners, or of
the numerous friends and acquaintances we havo left behind
us at home. Among other things, we have devoted an entire
evening to recalling the popular surnames, and sobriquets
that, as you know, the different towns of the Carnpine lar.
But, above all, we feel a iudesciibab'e joy and emotion
every time we speak of our dear Schrambeek, its old manor,
its pine forest, its green prairies, and particularly its inhabitants so sincerely beloved.'
good
"
"
That's right !
'
cried the carpenter.
"
That's what I like
to hear. Jean Pierre take care to tell Mademoiselle Marie she
mustn't forget to write to her brother to tell him from us that
we're never so glad as when we receive good news of our dear
Zouaves."
"Certainly, I'll not fail," responded old Piquet, greatly
ilattered by the interest and pleasure his reading excited.
Then ho paused for a moment, readjusting his spectacles and
looking through the packet for a fresh letter, leaving his num-
erous auditors leisure to exchange reflections on what had heard.
they
"Ah ! ah I" he cried at last, "here's a passage about Victor
in this letter.
'
I must tell you,' writes Joseph to his mother,
'
of an adventure of which our dear Victor was the hero,
There's a butcher at Terni who, on account of his extraordin-
ary strength, as well as ferocity, has, with good reasons, become
the terror of the entire town. Truth compels me to say
that he is by no means a friend of the Zouaves ; how-
ever he consents to sell them his beef, pork, and mutton,
occupied, and that we can't be dull in
petual activity and constant diversity.
the midst of sucli pn--
And yet, despite so
ma^y fatiguing exercises and incessant manoeuvres, such a
multiplicity of duties and toilsome labors, we have never been
so happy or contented as we are now. Wo wouldn't exchange
our modest and laborious life for all the grandeurs and
triumphs of the universe. Aren't we provided
working, and shall we
not henceforward bo suffering, for the Church, the divine
spouse of Christ; and isn't there consolation, joy, and sweet-
he gets a good price. Now, it being Victor's
lately
dii'y
to go and pay him the disbursements of the <
pany, this Hercules of the block, thinking to easily intimidate
our young volunteer, claimed much more money than was due
to him. Victor distinctly refused to give him a ha'penny
than the actual amount. The angry brute then became furi-
ous, and brandished his cutlass with a horrible tinprei-
'Dome the fav,.r of putting down your knife,' said \
qu et.ly to nim. At tin so words the ruffians, thinking hi
stronger and braver than our companion, flung hims, If upon
h,m with tho intention of plunging the blade into his heart ;
but Victor, exhibiting the greatest coolness at that terri'.ilo
moment, parried the blow with his left arm, and used his
and noble families; they have been reared in the midst of idl right to deal the murderer a blow, full in the tare, so well
aimed that the latter, v.ith smashed teeth and bleeding lips,
went spinning along the pavement, having, as hr
received an excellent lesson, which Will make him less do.
sirous in future of a fuller acquaintance with our Zouave's
lista. This adventuie, as you may well think, has resulted in
still fuither increasing the general esteem and sympathy for
our dear Victor, who posses* everyone's good opinion, and was
not long in being raised to the grade of corporal, to our unanimous
satisfaction ?"