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The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
241
Gloomy,
cast
down,
and
above
all
irate,
he
was
ready
to
fight
with
the
wind
or
his
own
shadow.
In
the
first
brush
with
the
enemy
he
threw
himself
into
their
midst
with
fury,
and
fought
desperately
for
several
hours,
as
if
to
provoke
the
end
which
he
now
longed
for.
Instead
of
meeting
his
death,
however,
he
gained
the
hero's
prize--the
cross
of
honour.
One
month
previously
he
would
have
hailed
this
distinction
with
delight;
now
everything
was
dull
and
indifferent
to
him--even
glory!
About
a
year
after
this
event
Goraud
accompanied
his
regiment
to
Paris.
As
he
was
leaving
the
barracks
one
day
a
voice
hailed
him
with
the
question,
"Is
not
your
name
Goraud?"
"Yes,
major,"
was
the
soldier's
reply.
"Very
good,"
says
the
other,
"here
is
a
letter
for
you.
There
are
several
Gorauds
in
the
regiment,
and
the
letter
has
already
been
opened.
I
see
you
are
wanted
at
the
Dead-letter
office
of
the
Post-office
about
some
business
which
concerns
you."
He
took
the
letter,
and
at
once
hastened
to
the
Post-office.
There
an
explanation
awaited
him
of
the
miscarriage
of
his
remittance,
and
the
mystery
which
had
clouded
his
spirits
and
embittered
his
life
for
a
whole
year.
The
same
letter
that
he
had
despatched
lay
before
him
with
its
contents
intact.
It
had
been
written
and
addressed
for
him
by
a
comrade
in
the
regiment,
the
superscription,
turned
into
English,
being
something
in
this
form--
"To
M.
Jacques
Goraud,
for
Widow
Goraud,
at
La
Bastide,
CANTON
of
Marseilles."
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