El
gel-mt
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The Difference Between a Hero and a
[FROM THE
* One evening; a short tine after the battle
of Fontenoy, (1754,) a group tif the king's
bodyguard was congregated near the Latona
basin, at 'Versailles, listering to two of their
number discussing a subject which at that
period was rarely a matter of controversy in
military circles.
"Refuse a duel after a public affront)" ex
'claimed the tallest of the speakers, whose
bronzed features were rendered almost fero
cious by the thick red moustache; "it is a
stain that all the waters of the delug would
not wash away."
"I repeat, Monsieur de Malatour," replied
the other in a calm, polite tone, "that there
is more true courage in refusing than in ac
cepting a duel. What is more common than
to yield to passion, envy or vengeance ; and
what more rare that to resist them? There
fore it is a-virtue when exhibited at the price
bf public opinion; for what costs nothing is.
esteemed as worth nothing."
"A marvel! Monsieur d'Argentre, I would
advise, if ever the king gives you the com
mand of a company, to have engrUven on the
sabres of the soldiers the command—' Thou
shalt do no arder.'"
"And wherefore not? His majesty Would
have - better servants, and the country fewer
phunderers, if we had in our regiment more
801 liers and fewer bullies. Take, as an ex
ample, him with whom you seem so much
incensed; has he not nobly avenged what
you call an affront by taking, with his own
hands, an enemy's colors, while your knaves
most likely formed a prudent reserve behind
the baggage?" .
"Cowards themselves have their moments
of courage."
"And the brave also their moments of
MIS
" The expression is not that of a gentle
man."
" It is that of Monsieur de Turenne, whose
family equalled 'either of ours, and who avow
ed that he was not exempt from such mo
ments. Everybody has heard of his conduct
towards a braggadocia, who boasted in his
presence that he had never known fear. lie
suddenly passed a lighted candle under the
speaker's nose, who 'instantly drew back his
head to the great amusement of the bystan
ders, who laughed heartily at this singular
mode of testing the other's assertion."
"None but a marshal offince-had dared
to try such pleasantry. Tti our subject, sire
•I maintain that your friend is a coward, and
you —" •
"And —," repeated , D'Argentre, his eyes
flashing and his lips firmly compressed. ",
" Iloilo, gentlemen I" exclaimed a third
party, who, owing to the warmth of the ar
gument, had joined the group unperceived:
"This is my affair," said he to Monsieurd'Ar ,
gentre, holding his arm,; then turning to his
,salveratiu,added: "Monsieur do Malatour, I
am at your orders."
"In. that case, after you, if necessary," said
d'Argentreovith his usual calmness.
"By my-honor, you charm me, gentlemenl
Lit us go."
"One, moment," replied the new-comer,
who, young as he was, wore the cross of St.
•
Louis.
"No remarks. Gentlemen, !paten."
"Too great haste , is such cases evinces
less a contempt for de - a than an anxiety to
.get rid of his phantom."
"I listen, sir!"
"Monsieur d'Argentre just now stated that
the bmvest have their moments of fear. With
out taking as serious his anecdote of Mon;
aka de Turenne, I shall add that, with the
exceptiOn of the difference that exists be
tween muscles and nerves; the courage of the
duellist is naoc an affair of habit than of
principle; for it is the natural state of man
to love peace, if not for the sake of others,
Itt least for himself. Do. you wish me to
prove it?"
"Enough, sir, we two not hero to listen to
&sermon!'
Yet a moment. :Bete is my proposition;
we are all assembled this evening previous to
our,leave of absence; I invite you, then, as
also-these gentlemen present, to a bear hunt
on'my estate, or rather amongst the precipi
ces of Clat,iik, the Eastern Pyrennees.•. You
are very expert, Monsieur de Midatour=you
can snuff. a candle with. a pistol at twenty
paces, and you have no equal at the small
sword. Well, I shall place you before a
bear, and if you slicceed-,-1 do not-ev'tkit-say
itt lodging a ball in his head, but merely in
firing uponatnt—l shall submit immediately .
after to melt yuu face to face with. any wea
pons you choose to name, since it is only at
El
that price I am to gain your good opinion."
"Are y'ou playing a comedy, sir?"
• "Quite the contrary. And I even repeat
that this extreme haste shows more the cour
age' of the nerves, than 'of the 'true courage
arising from principle."
" What guaranty have I, filOtlld I accept
your proposition, that you trot again en.
detivor to evade me."
•
"My word sir; which I tale all my com
rades,
to N'ititne3s; and place under the safe
guard of their honor.'"
There ran' through his auditory Buell a buzz
of approbation that De Malntouf, though with
a bad grace, was obliged to accede to the
arrangement. It was then agreed that -on
the first of September, all present should as
semble at the Chateau du Clat.
Whilst the young lord of ' the manor is
making the necessary preparations for their
reception, we shall explain the accusation of
which he was the object, yet which had not
branded him with any mark of disgrace
among a class of men so punctilious on the
point of honor.
The young Baron de Villetreton, in enter
ing amongst the gentlemen who formed the
household guard of the king of France, car l i
-
ried with him principles which remained un
corrupted amidst all the frivolities of one of
the most licentious cowls in Europe. Such,
I however, is the charm of virtue, even in the
midst of vice, that, his• exemplary conduct
had not only gained him tbo esteem of his
officers, and friendship- of his companions,
but bad attracted the attention of the king
himself. One alone among his comrades,
IMonsieur de - Malatour, - took umbrage-at-this.-
general favor, and, on the"occasion of some
trifling expression or gesture, publicly insul
ted him. Villetreton refused to challenge
him, as being contrary to his principles, but
determined that this seeming cowardice, in
not fighting a well-known duelist, should'be
redeemed by some action of eclat during the
campaign just commenced. That moment
had arrived; and for his noble eonduct in
taking the English colors at the battle of
Fortenoy he received the cross of St. Louis
from the king's own hand on the field, the
eulogium of Marshal .Saxe, and a redoubled
enmity on the part of Do Malatour.
The first care of the young baron, on ar
riving at his estate, was to call his major-do
mo, an old faithful servant. •
have business with thee, my master,"
said he, cordially shaking him by the band.
"Speak, monseigneur," replied the iiareur,
who was deeply attached to his young lord ;
"you know the Old hunter is yours to his last
drop of blood." "
El
,"I never doubted it, my old friend. Did
you receive my letter from Paris?"
" Yes, sir; and those gentlemen, your com
rades, will have some work before them."
. "Are there bears already on the heights
then ?" asked Villetreton, extending his hand
in the direction of one of the lofty peaks,
whose summit, covered with snow, glittered
in the morning sun.
"Five in all—a complete menage—father,
mother and children; besides an old bach•
elor; whom tire' Spaniards had driven to this
side."
• "In less than a week we shall go in pm..
suit of them. Do you know, pareur, some of
my comrades are rather rough SportSmen?
there is one of them who is able to snuff a
candle with•a pistol at twenty paces."
"Easier, perhaps than to snuff a bear at:
four," replied the old man. laughing:
"That is what I said also. But as I should
wish to judge for myself of his prowess, you
must place us together at the same post—at
the bridge of :genre, for instance."
-,"ljum I" said the pareur, scratching his
ear; "it would better please the to have you
elsewhere." • ,
?" ,•er .
" Because to guard this post, a man ought
to be in a state of grace, for he willbe be
tween two death's the• bears and the preci-
pice."
"I know the one, and do not fear the 001-_
er; thanks to your lessom." •
"I am sure of that. But, with' your leave,
I should like to guard the - bridge - mytelf."
" You are sure, then, that the bears will
pais this Way?" • •
"Sure—yes; bitt quite sure—no. Recol
lect that they are sullen and prudent beasts,
which never confide their 'plan 'of route to
any one."
".1t is agreed on.' I sballguard the bridge
with my mutilate. Now go, and have the
traekers ready."
"Very well, very 'well," murmured the
pareur, as he retired, - "I Shull have my eye
on him."
Eight days afterwards all those invited,_
not excepting IdensieuvAe • NalatourWho,
despite the
,delieate ,ttftention of the host,
preserved a cold reserve:—were assembled at
the chateau. Themagnifieent 'grandenr of
tartiole percilD.
the Pyrenees, their Shining summlts relieved
against th blue sky of Spain was an un-'
lobked fort
leasure to the greater number of
the guests, who for the most part belonged
to the rich and' fertile plains of the interior.
The morning following their arrival a body
of trackers and scouts, provided with •all
manner of discordant instrunients—trumpets,
saucepans; drums, Sr.e., kc., were assembled
under the welt; of the chateau, With the pa
reur at their head i while by his side stood
the mandrill, who proudly guarded a — dozen
large mastiffs, held in leash by his vigorous
helpers. The young baron and his friends,
armed with ,carbines and hunting knives,
had scarcely appeared, when, by sign from
the pareur, the whole troop moved silently
forward. The dogs, themselves seemed to
understand the importance of this movement,
and nothing was heard but the confused tramp
of feet, blending with the noise of the distant
torrent, or, at intervals, the cry of some be
lated night bird, flying heavily homeward in
the doubtful glimmer of the yet unopened
day.
As the party reached the crest of the moun
tain which immediately overhung the phateau
the first rays of the sun breaking from the,
east glanced on the summit of the Pyrenees,
and suddenly illuminating the landscape, dis
covered beneath them a deep valley, covered
with majestic pine trees, which murmured in
the fresh breeze of the morning.
Opposite to them the foaming waters of a
cascade fell sonic" hundreds of feet thr7gli'
a 'cleft which divided the mountain from the
summit to the base. By one‘f those capri
ces of nature which terrify the prinnitive con
clusions of our globe, the chasm was sur
mounted by a natural bridge—the piles of
granite at each side being joined by one im
inense flat -rock, almost seeming to verify the
fitble of the Titans ; for it appeared impos=,
aible that these enormous blocks of stone
could have ever been raised to such an ele-
vatimi by human agency.
Sinister legends were attached to the place,
and the mountaineers recounted with terror
that no hunter, with the exception of the pa
rent-, had ever been posted at the bridge_ of
Maure, without becoming the prey of either
the bears or the precipice. But . the pareur
was ti'm good a Christian to partake of this
ridiculous prejudice.; he' attributed the fix. -
ity to its real cause—the dizziness arising
from the sight of the bears and the precipice
combined, by destroying the hunter's pre-
sence of mind, made his aim unsteady, and
his death the inevitable consequence. He
could not, howeh'er, 'altogetb er.d i vest himself
of fears for his young master, who obstinate
persevered in his intention of occupying the
bridge with his antagonist.
After placing the baron's companions at
posts which he considered the most advan
tageous, the Paruer rejoined his , men, and dis
posing thera.so as to encompass the valley
facing the cascade,- commanded the utmost
silence to be preserved until they should hear
the first bark of his dog. At that signal the
mastiffs were to be unleashed, the instru
ments sounded, and all to move slowly for
ward, contracting the circle as they approach
ed the cascade.._. These . arrangeinents being
made, the pareur and his dog, followed by
the mandrin atone, disappeared in the depths
of the Wood.
For stme,minutes the silence had remain-,
ed unbroken; when suddenly fullems - bark - -
ing commetred, accompanied by low growl
ing. Each prepared his arms, the instru
ments sounded, and the mastiffs being let
loose, precipitated themselves pell-mell in the
direction of the struggle. Their furious
barking was Soon confounded with the cries.
of the hunters and the din of the instruments,
mingled with the formidable growling of the
bears, making altogether a hideous concert,
which, rolling along .the sides, of the valley,
was repeated by the distant - echoes. At this
moment the young baron regarded his com
panion, whose.countenttnee -- "thOugh pale, re
mained calm and scornful.
"Attention, sir !" said he in a low voice.—
"The bears are not far from us, let your aim
be true, or else—"
"Keep your counsels for yourself, sir!"
"Attention !" repeated Villetreton, without
seeming to notice the surly response—" he
approaches." •
Those who were placed in front, of the ens
eade, seeing the animals directingtheir course
to the bridge, cried front all parts', "Look out,
look oat Villetreton I"
But the - breaking of breeches. followed by
the rolling of loosened stones down the pre
cipice, had already given warning of the ani
mal's near approach. Malatour - `became
deadly .pale ; he, however, :held his . carbine
Only, in. the attitude.of a resolute hunter.
A bear,at length appeared, with foaming
mouth and glaring eyes, at times bursting as
if he would fain struggle:with his pursuers . ;
but when he
, fiaw the liridge,,his. only way of
esetipoi 3 Oceni)ied, he uttered a fearlid growl
and raising himself on hie. hind legs, , was
ruShing on our two hunters when a,ball struck
him in the forehead and he fell dead at their
feet.
Malatour convulsively .grasped hia gun—
he had become completely powerless. Sud
denly new cries, louder and more pressing,
were heard.
Firel fire! heis now on you!" cried the
pareur, who appearing unexpectedly, pale and
agitated, put his gun to his shoulder, but afraid
to fire, lest he should hit his master.
The latter, perceiving his agitation, turned
round : it was indeed time. On the other
side of th© bridge a bear, much larger than
the first, was in the act of making the final
rush. Springing backward, he seized the
carbine of• his petrified „ companion, and
lodged its contents in the animals breast,
ere he could reach them. He rolled, in the
death struggle, to where they stood. All this•
was the work of an instant. The knees of
the hardy old pareur shook with emotion at
the escape of his young master ; as for Multt
tour, his livid paleness, and the convulsive .
shuddering of his limbs, testified the state of
his mind. •
"Take your arms," said the young' baron,
quickly •replacing in his hands the carbine;
"here are our comrades—they must not see
you unarmed ; and, pareur, not a word of all
this." „
"Look]" said he to his companions, as
hey gathered around, pointing to the mon
strous beasts—"one to each. Now, Monsieur
de Malatour, I wait your orders, and am ready
to give the satisfaction you require."
The latter made no reply, but reached out
his hand, which Villetreton cordially shook.
That evening a banquet was given to - cele
brate the double victory. Towards the end
of the repast a toast to- " the vanquishers"
etas proposed, and immediately accepted.
MonSieur^d'Argentre, glass in land, rose
to pledge it, when Malatour, also rising, held
his arm, exclaiming : "To the sole vanquish
er of the day! - to our noble host It was he
alone who killed the-two bears; and if, through'
his . generosity, I have allowed the illusion to
last so long, it was simply for this reason :
The affront which I gave him . was a public
one, the reparation ought to be public also.
I now declare that Monsieur de Villetretoft is
the_bravest of the brave, and that I shall
maintain it towards all and against all."
"This time, at least, I shall not take up
your gauntlet," said Monsieur Argentre.
"There's a brave young man !" cried the
pareur, whom his master had admitted to his
table, and who endeavored to conceal a fur.
tive tear. "Nothing could better prove to
me, sir, that, with a little experience , you will
be as calm iu the presence of bears as you
are, I am sure, in the face of an enemy."
TUE PUNCTLIAL hIAN.-Mr Higgins was a
very punctual man •in all his transactions .
through life. He amassed a large property
by untiring industry and punctuality; and at
the age of ninety years was resting quietly
upon his bed, and calmly waiting to be
called away. He had deliberately made al
most every arrangement. for his decease and
burial.
His pulse grew fainter, and the light of
life seemed just flickering in its socket, when
one of his sons observed—
"Father, you will probably live but a day
or two; is it not well for you to name your
bearers?"
" To be sure, my soil," said the dying man;
"it is well thought of, and I will do it now."
• Ho gave a list of six, the usual number, ail('
sunk back exhausted upon his pillow.
A gleam of thought passed over his with
ered lace like a ray of light, and ho rallied
once more. "My son, read me that list. Is
the name of Mr. Viggins there?"
"It, is, my father."
"Then strike it off," said be emphatically,
"for be was never pinictiqat—was never any
where in season— and he might detain the
procession a whole hour I"—BostanThinipet.
lIC=S=I
RELIWON. -- Whatever of excellence is
wrought into the soul'itself, belongs to both
worlds.-144 goodness does not attach it
relf merely to life; it points to another. World':
Political and professional fame cannot last
forever, but a conscience void of off nce be
fore God and man, is an inheritance or eter
nity. 'ReligiOn; therefore, is a .necessary, an
aluloSt indispensible ilement in any human
character. Them is no living without It.
Religion is .the 601114 ‘connects man with
his. Creator, and holds him to His throne.
If that tie. is sundered or broken, he floats
away, a worthless atom in the universe, its
proper attractions all gone, its destiny thwar
ted, and, its .whole, future, nothing but dark.;
ness, desolation and death. A man with no'
sense of religious duty is ho whom the Scrip
tures describe—in so : terse hut terrific man
ner—as "livingwithoueGod in the 'world."
Such a man is out,of his proper being ---out
of the circle of all his happiness, - and away,
far away from the purposes of his creation,—
Dem iet Webster..
The Fun of Smash-Ups.
A WESTERN LOCOMOTIVE; FIREMAN TO Mb
FRIEND IN THE EAST
TOLEDO, NOV:I2, 1854
Dear Jim :—Why don't you pack up your
plunder and come here. We have rare sport,
I can `tell you—you can bet your life on tha
When I first came out here I had the ager
good deal. I shook every other day for six
months, and then got a going every 9ther
day. Took more quiiiineThari a horse-dould
draw. After a while Joe Smashup asked me
to run on his engine and fire for him. "You
won't shake long on my engine," says he,
"for if pine knots don't drive out your ager,
one or two etillisions ill fix yon complete."
`Wall, sin to his engine I went, and I Italia
shook since. It's better than a Kolagog.
Joe is a perfect brick. He'd ruttier run
into a train or drove of cattle than not. Yon'd
ought to see ; the horns fly sometirnes. We
had n little fun the other night, and ni tell
you how it was. The other train, that we
meet every night at pile-up station, has been
in the habit of holdin' on to the track on our
time, and the conductors had two or three
jawins about it. Our conductor says to the
other one, says he, 'lf you don't get off on to
the other track a little livelier in futur, I'll
run into you some nit ht—sure's you live.'
Then the other one says, 'You run inter me
and yOull get cleaned out, certain. An I'll
stay on the track twelve hours, if I like—you
can bet your sweet life o' that l'.
'Wall,' says our conductor, 'when you stand
on the track on my time, you've got to go back
to the east end of the sidetrack to switch off,
or you'll ketch it some dark night:
'No,' says t'other one, 'I ain't a going to ni
east end of the side track to switch off—cett
tain's you live.'
'Wall, then, you'll get smashed to hell-up,
sure's you live.
`Wall, you jest try it on.
'Wall, you'll see.'
'Wall, you'll sec . .'
`You'll make a heap by runnin' into me, I
reckon.'
- 'Wall, snake a heap by holdin' on t‘;
the track—that's certain.'
Well, you see, that's the kind of talk we
had once or twice, and the (Alter night, about
halfpaSt two in - the morniag; they got to the
station ahead of us and held on. The con
ductor goes into the depo and cocks his feet
up on the stove as cool as cucumber, leavin'
train—eight passenger cars—on the track.-- -
The depo man is a-wide-awake chap, and be
cause his switchman wait sick and off duty,
he kuowed he got to turn the switch if the
train was put on the side track fur us to go
by. So he went in and axed the conductor
if he warn't goin' on to the side track 7.,
'Y
-a-a-s, I spose so." • -
'Wall,' says he, 'you can't be a mite tv'
quick about it—now I tell ye.'
The conductor went out kinder slow, and
tolled the engineer to go the west end of the
'side track and switch off, but afore they got
there they met us, and then wa'nt the.e some
fun t Joe Smashup says to me, 'What's them
fetters tryin to do? Aint they on our time?'
'Yes,' says he, looking at his watch, 'the vatic
belongs to us, an' I'm goin' to let her rip—c f .
sure's you live.
'What; says I, 'you pin' to run the,
trains together ?'
'Look here,' says he, I'm 'rennin on ni
own time—the track belongs to
.me, and I
m
'don't see any signals, so I at to blame
there's k smash. Same time, between you
and I, welds-always orter be ready to
gin nit
a wink, as if to say, 'Look out for yourself!
It's a mighty straight track across thi
country at Pileup, and we struck a pretty
good gait. Joe had his hand upon the irons
but he kept a lookin .mighty sharp. "8 . ,
George,'' says be, 'we shall head 'etn
They can't get up to the switch in time 6(4
ready to jump. No, you needn't. - 'Twont be
'a killer, for they've stopped and are crowing
off the other way, I'm afraid we shall run
into 'etn, though.'
I did jump, though, before she struck, but
Joe stuck to the - machine. He's used to it,
and knew jest howhard they'd hit; to a pound.
The damage wasn't so great. The Lion,
t'other locomotive„was smashed up conside
rabic, end one baggage ear, and one passen
ger weren't-no good arterwards. Then al
the couplings and platforms in both trtiite .
Were smashed up. We lost our cow-catcher
and lantern, but the old bully machine Tut
jest as well as ever that month].
Well; the passengers screamed.' One Man'
allele was smashed, one shoulder was put On
ofjoint, and one passenger had !lisle. , crush •
ed all to pieces. We took him le tire der,
and a young surgeon cut off his leg at the
thigh. It's probable that he'll die. The
young doctor has - got to hangin around the
Pileup depo every night fin- the train. I be
lieve lie's cut off rourle'gsthere in two thontbs:'
I been] hint tell. 'Robinson that lie was
O* yet. I got sight of this tielluii sun , .
I heard the
,jaw between the conductors yes
terdny, and I reckoned on it job ti4inorning
The man that was smashed Was 'goin hem(
-to his flintily in WisConsin.' 'lt took us a loaf
time to clear the track, and the passenger
growled. like fun
-,titter they got over tie
fright.
Now, Jim,, come opt : here, anti get on':
train with a gritty set of conduCtors and ye
gineers, and you'll haVe a heap of fun, sure'
you lire. SANITEL•rintIATEit.
ETI