The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-01-22
TON VIRGINIA, WEDNESDAY, MORNING, JANUARY a. 1868
About eighteen weeks after his departure,

About eighteen weeks after his departure
Thevenet received letter from England
running about as follows:
"You will find inclosed, as . mark Of m,
| gratitude, check for two hundred and fit,
guineas on Messrs. Panchaund, bankers, ii
Paris. You have made me the happiest Q
mortals in depriving me Of a limb which
alone stood in the way Of my complete felic
lity.
tNow you can learn the cause Of my fool
ish within, as You call it. You maintained
then that there could be no reasonable groune
for thus crippling oneself. / offered to be
with you, you acted wisely and declined.
"After my return from the East Indies,
became acquainted with Emily Harley. thu
most beautiful of women Her wealth and
family connections delighted my relations.
saw only her beauty, her heavenly grace
I joined the crowd of her admirers, and was
fortunate enough to become the most unfortu
nate Of her suitors She loved me, me alone
Of all men. She did not deny it, and fol
that very reason rejected me.
Gin vain I sought her hand In vain hcr
parents her friends all begged for me. She
remained memorable.
81 was unable for long time TO fnd the
reason for her dcclination to marriage with
whom, as she confessed, she loved to dist1ac-
ton. One Of her sisters at last told me the
secret. Miss Harley was wonder Of beau
ty, but had one defect; she was lame, and,
on account Of this deformity, she feared to
become my wife. She thought my feelings
toward her would change entirely when |
discovered this. My resolution was imnedi-
ately taken. There should be no difference
between us. Thanks to you, my dear They
enet, there is none.
Il came back to London with my wooden
leg, and my first act was to visit Miss Harley.
They had heard already, in fact had written
to them, that I had broken my. leg by falling
from my horse, and had had it amputated
Everybody pitied me; Emily fainted
when she saw me for the first time but she
married me. On the day after the marriage,
| for the first time impaired to her my secret !;
what a sacrifice I had made in order to OBJ
tain her. She loves me only more tenderly
My dear Trevenst, if | had ten legs to lose,
would give them all without hesitation for my
Emily. All my life will thank you; come
to London; visit US; see my noble wife and
then say, if you can, that 4 am fool
CHARLES TEMPLE"
Thevsnet told the story and showed the
letter to his friends, laughing till he was red
in the face each time be told it. sand he
still remains fool" said ha
This was his answer:
ssSir: THANK you for your valuable pres
ent, for such must call it since / cannot con-
slider it a reward for my slight trouble. 4
congratulate you on your marriage with the
most lovely Of your countrywonen. Its true
a leg is too much to give even for beauti-
full, virtuous, and tender wife, but not too
much, if you are not cheated in the bargain
Adam had to give rib for his wife, Others
Of us, too, pay for their wives with s'rib, some
with head. Nevertheless, permit meito re-
main obstinately Of my old opinion. True,
for the present, you are right. You are living
now in the paradise OF the honeymoon But
I too am right, only with this difference, that
the truth Of what say comes to light slowly,
as those facts which men hesitate long while
to receive. I am afraid that in two or three
years you will regret having had your leg
amputated above the knee; below the kree
would have done as we'll La three years you
will be convinced that the loss of foot would
have been enough In four years you will
consider the sacrifice Of the great toe; in Eve
years the amputation Of the little toe too
much, and in six years you will agree with
me that the pairing Of the nail would have
been sufficient. All this, without disparag-
ing the worth Of your amiable wife. The la
dies may preserve their beauty and their sir-
tue as men do their opinions. In my youth
| would at any time have given my life for my
lady-love, but not my leg. The former /
would never have regretted; the latter l
would certainly regret now. For if I had
done SO, would be saying to myself to-day,
"Treyenet, you were fool"
Il have the honor to be, sir, your most
obedient servant,
&c. THEVENET."
In the year 1898. during the Reign of
Terror, Thevenct, being accused Of aristocratic
tendencies, fed to London to escape the knife
Of that great levcler, the guillotine. From
want Of something better to do, or in order to
renew their old acquaintance, he inquired
for Sir Charles Temple. He was directed to
the palace, and, sending in his name he was
Immediately admitted. In an armchair with
foaming porter on the side board, surrounded
by twenty newspapers, sat corpulent gentle
man. He could scarcely rise, SO fat had he
become.
"Ah! happy to see you, Dr. Thevenet,"
said the tat gentleman, who no other than
Sir Charles Temple. sDon't be of Tended, if
| do not get.up, this cursed wooden leg hin
dsrs me in everything. Well my friend, you
came, suppose, to see if you we're not
rightl"
Il come as refugee, and seek shelter with
you"
'sYou must stay with ne, for truly you are
awise man. You must console me, Theyenet.
Itell you might to-day be admiral of the
blue flag if this confoanded wooden leg had
not made me worthless for the service Of my
country. I am reading the newspapers now
to curse myself black and blue that can be
Of no importance. Come console me.D
Your lady wife can console you better than
I can"
s'Not at all. Her lameness kept Ger from
dancing, snd SO she has devoted herself to
her garden and her gossip there is no get
ting along with her. In other respects she
is very fine Woman"
I $40 1v,os ~ - IL ~,