Excerpt from The McMaster University Monthly, Vol. 18: October, 1908 to May, 1909 Captain Mercadier - thirty-six years in the service, twenty-two campaigns, three wounds - had then just obtained his pension, which amounted to not quite four hundred dollars a year; this, added to the fifty dollars to which the Cross yearly entitled him, placed the Captain in that state of honorable poverty reserved for the old defenders of the country. The Captain's entry into his natal town was exempt fro-m demonstration on the part of the worthy burgers. He arrived one morning on the top of the stage, non'chalantly chewing the end of his-cigar, and already a fast friend of the driver, whom he had delighted with an account of his most sensational exploits as a warrior true and tried. When the coach stopped he threw his old, much-be-labelled valise on the sidewalk to the great surprise and interest of the loungers, who were overcome to see an officer of the Cross of the Legion of Honor treating the driver to white wine at the neighboring bar. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.