Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-05-02


shall hear, mid heavens Chimes
Little sister pleading for me-
"Brothcr dear is good sometimes"
Little Heroes.
JACpt,'s FORESTER, JOSEPH BARRA, AND
rIETRo DA CORTONA.
From Our Young Folks.
A. you are all old enough to be
schuol-cllildren, you have probably
rcat! in your histories something about
Alexander; who was. without doubt,
the greatest conquering hero of ancient
times. To-day if war is declared, men
try to have II reason or at least pre-
text for it; but in ancient times men
conquered n country simply for the
sake Of proving that they could do it.
They ravaged Kingdoms, destroyed the
people, RACED the cities, and fred the
country, in order to have the noble
pleasure of saying that no one was able
to prevent their doing all these grand
things.
Now, although Alexander was very
generous and had a great many very
noble AMI lovable traits about him, and
although many OF his acts would attract
any hi gh- spirited boy (the tanning of
the wild horse Bucephalus, for instance)
and fiji him with a spirit akin to that
which ar,uated Alexander, yet his is
not the kind Of heroism that ! should
wish you to emulate. Accordingly
will tell YOU one or two stories of other
kinds of heroism.
There isa fable that Lysimachus, hav-
ing offended the Emperor Alexander,
was thrown into the arena to struggle
with furnished lion, which was way
they had Of Furnishing offenders in those
times. When the infuriated animal
rushed upon him, Lysimachus suddenly
wrapped his arm in his mantle, sprang
forward, seized the lions tongue and
tore it ont, which so wounded the beast
that he died. Before passingjudgment
upon the probability of this story,
wish you to hear another which I be-
ieve, because ?ates and localities are
given which seem to be in some meas
IRE guaranty of its truth.
About the beginning of the last Gen.
fury, in Il certain village in France,
near Vitry, in Champagne, there lived
peasant, the father of boy very
small for his age, who was called JAG
quis Forester. In that country the
very name of wolf is a terror to all
children and to most grown people. In
the winter when the ground is covered
with snow, an encounter with wolves is
anything but pleasant, for, urged by
famine, they do not hesitate to attack
even men. Now jacques, who had q
horror of these cruel beasts, and who,
being gifted with valiant heart, desir-
ed to exterminate them all, demanded
of his father one day how he could
best fight them; "for," added he, III
I meet one mean to kill it,"
Considering this question as dictated
by the simple curiosity of the little fel.
low, or by his childish vanity, the faith.
er answered by repeating pleasantly
which he had probably heard related
By some juggler trying to amuse the
simple villagers. IT will tell you the
surest way to kill wolf, Jacques. As
be always comes upon you with his
mouth wide open, thrust your arm
down his throat, until you reach the
tail; then pulling at his tail, you turn
your wolf, like stocking inside out. .
''Bnt, j." said jacques, who took it all
seriously, II am small; my arm would
not reach to the tail of the wolff"
lin that case" answered the father
81 think that in thrusting the fist vel
down the throat you will succeed il
choking him."
Good! Thank you!" said tn,
child, who went away thoughtful OF
one side while the father went ava,
smiling on the other.
That year Q789) the winter was yer,
severe. The country WIS covered witt
snow; and the wolves pushed their ex
plorations, in open day, into the mid
die of the villages and even into tn.
very farm-yards, One morning tn,
parents Of Jacques, having gone cut
had left him in the house to take car,
OF his little sister, yet in the cradle
the door, which was left Unattached
opened suddenly, and young wolf ap
peared. It had doubtless smelt tn,
tender flesh; and without ceremon,
it sprang directly towards the sleeping
child.
But the famished creature had count
ell without the lesson given to littl
jacques, who had taken it very serious
ly and had thought it over many times
Without hesitating moment, he threw
himself before the wolf, which turned
furiously against him and, closing hi
fist, the brave boy thrust it into tn,
mouth of the animal. The wolf strup
gled, but jacques, pressing his othe
hand upon his neck, pushed it to tn
angle OF the wall, where he held i
slightly sqeezed, with his fist crammet
down its throat, until the beast rollet
suffice ated upon the flags. His excite
ment and the effort that he was oblieet
to make had exhausted the little van
quisher, and he fell fainting beside tn,
vanquished. When the parents return
cd, imagine their surprise and terro
at seeing the wolf and the child crouch
ed side by side! When Jacques cam,
to himself his first words were, IN,
little sister! The wolf has not eatei
here"
Joseph Barra, at the age of twelv,
years, was drummer boy in the arm,
OF the Republic. One day, by the for
tunes OF war, he fell into the hands O
the enemy, who supported the cause o
the king. The fierce soldiers SURF und
cd him, shouting, "Cry, Long lire til,
Hing, or die!"
Twenty guns were leveled ut him.
.Lony lice the Rcr2ublic!" cried tn,
child, and fell pierced with twent,
balls. This Joseph Barra joined tn
army when he was ten years old, in or
der not to be an expense to his mother
IL poor widow; to whom. after tina
time, he regularly sent his small pay
He was truly brave boy, true to hi
conscience and true to his affections
AMI although in our own time and coun
try 1T Is easy to find many instances o
great courage and devotedness. it. i
rare to fluid SO young boy doing hi
duty SO courageously.
1 will now tell you of a young artist
WHO, having felt his vocation instinct
lively, as birds know how to build thei
nests, struggled Oh and upwards
through privation of every kind, unit
he became that Which lie could no
help being,-a true artist.
Pictro ia Cortona was the SON of
poor shepherd of Tuscany, who did no
trouble himself to find for him an,
other condition in life but his owl;
pietro, whilst watching his goats, pass
cd his days in chalking upon the rock
and tracing images upon the sand. H
jrH himself al artist without kno,vsna
perhaps, the meaning Of the word.
One fine morning, leaving his tiockS
he directed himself toward Florence
where he expected to meet one of hi
little comrades of the fields, who ha
lcii him some time before to take tn
p;,"e OF sculliol, III the kitchens of