The mountain Democrat., 1863-06-20
THE GARRISON.

It happened in the course of the thirty
years war, that Gonsalvo de Cordova,
who commanded the Spanish troops then
overrunning the Palatinate, found it ne
cessary to possess himself of little wall
ed village, called Ogersheim, that lay in
his way. On the first Intelligence Of his
all the inhabitants fled to Man
helm ; and when at length Gonsalvo drew
near, and summoned the place to surren-
der, there remained within the walls only
a poor shepherd and his wife, the latter
of whom having that morning brought a
little infant into this world of misery,
was unable to leave her bed, and the hus-
band Of course staid with her.
The anxiety and distress Of the poor
man may be easily imagined. Fortunate.
ly, however, he possessed both courage
and shrewdncss, and bethought himself,
on the spur Of the moment, of scheme
for escape, which, after embracing his
family, he hastened to put into execution.
The inhabitants having run off in q tre-
mcndous hurry, had left almost all their
property at his disposal; SO he had no
difficulty in finding what was requisite
for his purpose, viz: complete change
of dress. Having first arrayed his lower
man in military guiSe, he tossed away his
Shepherds hat, which he replaced with
huge helmet, "a world too wide;" he
buckled long sword to his side, threw a
goodly cloak over his shoulders stuck two
enormous pistols in his belt, and putting
on boots SO thick in the soles and high in
the heels that they lifted him about foot
from the ground, he fastened to them q
prodigious pair of spurs, which were the
fashion of the time. Thus accoutered,h he
bet0ok himself to the walls, and leaning
with pompous air on his sword, he lis
tened coolly to the herald who advanced
20 summon the village to surrender.
Friend" said our hero, as the herald
concluded his speech, "tell thy command
er that though have not yet made up
my mind to surrender at all, may pos
sibly be induced to do so, provided he
agrees to the three following conditions,
from which | shall make no abatement
whatever: First-the garrison must be
allowed to march out with military hon
ors; sccond-the lives and property Of
the Inhabitants must be protected; third
they must be allowed the free exercise
of the protestant religion"
So saying, the shepard lighted his pipe
ard putfed away with an mir of the uttnos.
ncnchalancc. Confounded by this ap-
pearcnce CT boldness and security, the
herald thought it prudent to return and
state to Gonsalvo the demands which had
been made. The Spanish general, deceiv-
ed by this show of resistance, and being
unwilling TO waste either men or time in
reducing this paltry place, resolved to
agree to the conditions offered, and fol-
lowed by his troops approached the gates.
This lenient determination was announced
by the herald to the shepherd, who only
vOuchsafed to say in reply, 81 find your
commander is man OF some sense. -
He then left the walls, let down the draw
bridge, deliberately opened the gates, and
allowed the Spanish troops to pour into
the town. Surprised at seeing no one in
the streets but strange looking fellow,
hung upon him Ike patch work, Gonsalvo
began 10 suspect treachCry, and scizing
the shepherd demanded to know where
the garrison was.
"If your highness will follow NE, | will
show you," answered he.
keep by my stirrup, then" exclaimed
GonSalvo; land en- the least symptom
that you mean to betray me, | shall send
n bullet through your heart"
" Agreed" said our friend. Follow
me, Spaniards; for swear by the word
of an honest man and Christian, as well
as by the honor of gentleman, that the
garrison will offer you. no resistance"
He then placed himself by the stirrap
of Gonzalvo, and followed by the troops,
passed through several other streets, all
silent and deserted, until at length turn
i"g into narrow lane, he stopped before
a mean-looking house, and having pre-
vailed on Gonsalvo to enter, he led him
into small room, where lay his wife and
her little boy beside her.
"Noblc general" said he, pointing to
the former, "this is our garrison; and
this, he added, as he took his son in his
arms, is a reinforcement we received this
II. orning."
Aware now Of the real state of matters,
the absurdity and cleverneSs of the trick,
moved even Spanish gravity, and Gonsal-
vo gave free course to his mirth. Then
taking off a rich gold chain, which deco
rated his own person, he passed it around
the neck of the other.
Permit me to offer this mark Of my
esteem," he said good-naturedly, I" for
the valiant garrison of Ogershem, by the
hand of soldier, / envy you the pos
session of such reinforcement; and you
must let me present you with purse of
gold, for the use Of the young recruit.
He then stopped down and kissed the
mother and her boy, and then quilted the
house.
AT the dinner table of hotel in Cali.
polls, Ohio, the other day, green 'un, !"
unable to retain the cravings of his appe-
tite, pitched into large dish of rice be-
fore him. A waiter mildly informed him
that it was intended for a desert, and that
he had better eat something else first.
Greeney replied" Desert be id. /
don't care if it's wilderness, it's good,
and I'm going to eat it."
S SS%
In the Arctic region, when the ther-
mometer is below zero, persons can con-
verse more than a mile distant DR. JAM
ieSon asserts that he heard every word Of
a sermon at distance of two miles.
-SSSS-$-
AN Indian philosopher being asked
what were, in his opinion, the two most
beautiful things in the universe: ''The
starry heavens above our heads, and the
feelings Of duty in our hearts"
-SoAPY.-!t is said that there is man
who is so extraordinary fat and adipose
that he had the imprudence 10 seat him
S..lc or, a n;lo Of rrood aakaa A a..a.4;4.