, 1859-10-18
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THE CHALLENGE OF EAnLETrA, ,

press Griibttttt.
THE CHALLENGE OF EAnLETra.
4 TALE OF ITALY.
Fnn r1EsAHe.os s1. ;:sg;e, sqse b Na.sao
INTRODUCTION.
In the year 1903 the French under the
Duke Of Nemours besieged the Spaniards and
Italians under Gen. Gonzalo and signor Pros
pero Colonna. in the fortified town Of Bar;etta,
on the Adriaslc coast Of the Kingdom: Of
Naples. In one Of the outside skirmishes be-
tween foraging parties band of Frenchn1en
under the Chevalier De La Motte were cap
tured by party Of the Barletta garrison, COM
'randed by Diego Garcia. Being conducted
to Barletta the prisoners were treated with the
utmost ciyility, but II. De La Motto, chatting
under the indignity Of his defeat, gave utter
ance to the sentiment that " French man-at-
arms would be ashamed to employ Italian
kniahts to tend his stables, 90 worthless were
thor in the field" This ruthless insult was
Immediately caught up By an Italian knight
who challenged La Motto and the whole
French army to fight m equal number Of ltal-
iaps, 10 10 chosen from the Barlelta garrison,
on any day and with any weapons which might
be agreed upon-the selection Of men to be
made by the commanding officers Of tho re-
snectivt armies. The preliminaries Of the
sending and acceptance Of the challenge bav~
ing teen gone through, with the following
knights were chosen by Gen. Gonzalo on the
one hand; and the Duke Of Nemours On tue
other:
r,o,, F,s9.n,.s .tsssss. cA.r.e. :seass 6 5ea.s:
Roma, eio. of Fort+ M.r De FE!snes.
,!ss;sa, s;f s,es sIsn.ants e Nsptst fe
| Nisis. I's.Ei Il 1!o,,. Fass + S.5sa:. 5s.
rs 6 's: Es;s,Ds Of 81 ss q !. isss 5ssst
rss9soss ss!y; Of noa.. sS : 4 sslsns.
lss1se 4 %la. asa Of 7ap lssl dAs
t;iovanut carloeco. of
It is necessary to IN understanding Of a
| nnrtion Of tho tale to observe that Ettorc
Ficramosca had been secretly at1iauced to
G;ucyra, Of .Monreale, but that in one Of tho
Frenc1, forays through the country, Claudio
| Graiauo d'Asti, IN Italian by birtl. who had
| taken un arms with the invaders Of his eoun-
| try. lad rayaged Monrealo and lIal taken
| Giueyra md her father prisoncrs-Fiera'nosca
| meanwhile being in a distant part Of the couu-
| trv In order to save her fnt1ler's lie Gincyrn
married her cap.or, but shortly afterwards,
,,nyinc attracted tie attention Of the Duke Of
valentino, {Cgsat Borgia,) she was abducted
liz that villain, and only rescued by Fierau1os-
"a in tho moment Of her peril She then fled
TO the convent Of Ba1lctta her husband sup
nos;nr her to be dead, and she not being
aware Of his Whereabouts.
| THE BATTLE
At an enual distance from Barletta' and the
French camr, the land slopes gently iron The
f;,ot If the hills dow, to levcl bottom Of about
ono thousand feet square, surrounded ty swell
inr mounds, most probably Of allurial for1na.
ton. The ground is formed OF small gravel and
s:licious sand, entirely free from weeds aud
shrubs, and affords a solid and sure tread te
tho horses i,ot. Such wns tile plane chosen
tor the combat. On the day previous, men Lad
spen dispatched there 10 level the Inequalities
Of the sur(acc. Tie bounds were set by 6
,rencll and large stones plnced I'LL round. Or
tic brow Of a hill which commanded yioH
Of tic place, under tho shade Of immense holms
| tile stand for the Judges was erected, with tag
white and ycrmil'ion hanging from tue branch
es. Twenty ]anccs with the shields Of tn
meu+at-arms OF the two natlous, and thel
names posted On placards With large letters
were placed in front Of this tribunal curioslt!
had drawn togeth' IN immense ti'rong o. sig
norotti and peasants from towns and village
nil around, and every high place in the env'
. rons was taken possession of before sunrise
Spectators Of any note above tho rest sat Wit
old folks and women On tle green sward; boys
noor 1,conlc, and urchins had climbed on til
| tops Of trees, and their faces and garment
were strongly contrasted with the green fol-
age amidst which they were percled. 1t wa
!, beautiful sight especially for those who. stu
ated at one end Of tho camp, had tho inland be
| hind them and looked over the basin Of th
| |,arbor-s,,c1.a rich rural scene. enlirencd y
crowd with 50 much stir aud ll!e!-on til
I ight tue majestic clunap Of oaks, the dark hu
Of their leaves shading with the lively and ga
..recn Of smaller wool on plain tar beyon
The forest stood the town Of Quarsto, oi whtc
oily the gates were visible as tncy wer
t1,arlcd by tower built on tile projection
rocks, at tho 70 t Of which the road is windtn
in lis coursc:-in the centre OF tho field m
I,eyond tho Adriatic shore the city and cast
uf Barletta, and the colored forms OF tue built
ines standing in bold relief over the blue tint
tho yaters-G,r1hcr away still thc bridge an
island Of SAINT Ossola, and tue peaks Of Garg'
no. bounded by the line Of tho horizon ;-tl'e
II At The left the hills gently rising to gre:
height: and opposite to the Judges stand,
IN Uneven ground, carpeied with fresh g1as
cl,.u,ps Of gigantic oaks, covered with ivy, at
IN tue full yigor Of luxnriant growth. i II
That had been lowering during tho night y:
{ chased away by the dawn, and foated Ill II
upncr regions Of the atmosphere in clouds
fantastic appearance, rejecting already Il
.oldcn rays Of tic rising sun. Broad strea
Of more dense fog still remained graceful
roised over the plains, like so many ecos
=. | the whitcst down, aud suTmoun'co mere III
IL there by cluups. Of taller trees ana hnl-9ol
An orange tint was d.Hused from ts.c SOAR u
r not yet emerged from tue sea, se1ll'ng the u
!, :, yestrial objects in silent lu'efnae as lucy W
y, "a ;llumined only tue reflection OF tue atmosphe
10. trI,c snectator' y eve was drawn almost 1l1ct
60 .cousiy toward tie place Of the rising S,
IN tic furtbcst limit Of the sea, n spark ol I
: most brilliant light seemed to be ignited ;
Increased, it took determined form, aud
z. sim ia its mojesty like elobe Of fire arc
: expanding its rays, giving shape and color
4, the objects, and doubled BY reflection from
waters.
. A SQUAD Of soldiers on foot, placed here at
early hour, kept the ground free from the
plo who had gathered in groups all arosI
ind were crowding more denRely in tile nel
horhool yl,erc vendors Of reiresements |
VINO and pitched their tents and placed se
r.. and tables. Among the rest the reader mi
recognize Venom, the keeper Of the tavern
Sun, who had already fixed lis ambulatory
tablish.nent in one Of the most consplct
spots, under temporary aEbor, to which n,
oftle soldiers. lis regular customers. had
ready rcsosted. He had two or three Il
= ffying-pans, heated II portable iron sto'
q, table made Of rough boards joined toget
and supported by short poles driven in
GROUND which stood in tho place Of legs,
crowded with huge baskets filled )
No ,ish, artichokes, and every kind OF veset'
ID There he was, viii. two aprons and q