The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-04-19
WONDERFUL ESCAPES.
ONE WONDERFUL INSTANCES OF
IAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES.
Human Lives Saved Under Curious Cir
cumStanceS.

Jew instances of Eair-brcatlth escapes. by
which various human beings have been
saved from death.
Colonel Gilmor. relating the story of a
fight in which he figured, says in his
Four Years in the Saddle "Turning
i,alf round i'll my saddle to call on my
men, I received a sudden shot and felt
deadly sick, and at the same instant saw
a man trail his gun and run off, | killed
him before lie had gone three steps. His
ball had passed through two coats and
stuck in a pack of cards in my lett-side
pocket They were quite new, the wrap
per not even having been broken open.
The suits were each distinct. The bull
let passed through all, stopping at the
last card. which was the ace of spades
Such another literal illustration of the
phrase within an ace of death is not
upon record; but hair-brcadth escapes
are common in war. At the battle OF
Laon, Steffens saw shell strike the horse
of Prussian officer Entering near the
shoulder, it caused the poor animal to
make convulsive spring and throw its
rider, the fragments of the shell being
projected on all sides, while the rider
jumped up from the ground unhurt.
During the Crimean war. Col. Wynd-
ham, dispatched to find out how matters
were going in the first attack on the Re-
dan, saw soldier walking along the
trench two or three yards ahead of him.
Presently round shot came flying over
the parapet, and the man was hidden
from sight by the dust When it sub
sided. the colonel was astonished to find
himself beside living man, whose coun-
tenance presented a curious admixture of
fright and joy, as, scratching his head he
exclaimed
why, dash my buttons, but that was
amazing night
LAY, ay, my boy responded the
colonel: ''we'd much better be digging
trenches at threepence a rod i'll Norfolk.
To which his fellow countryman only
replied: "What! arc ycw tew from Nor
folko"
Amazingly nigh death, although in
blissful ignorance of the fact, was the
Confederate staff officer marked down by
a Northerner's rifle, and only saved by
the officer commanding the platoon hap
insurance office of which he was secretary
and striking up the leveled weapon with,
Don't shoot! we've got policy on
him.
The sword ofjustice is not always Ii GIT
~ directed and sometimes comes near per-
petrating murder, i young New York
er, named Wells, went one evening to
Booths Theatre. Taken with fit OF
coughing, he left the theatre. intending
to go home, but after going some little dis
tance, il came on showing 50 fast that he
retraced his steps. As he strobe along
two men came rushing down the street.
d, one Of them dropping gold watch and
chain, which Wells picked up, and then
went after the loser. running into the arms
of policeman, who marched him OFF to
the station to explain matters. Presently
a messenger arrived III hot haste. saying
the thief was wanted at the Fifth Avenue
Hotel. Wells was taken there and
brought face to face with man lying on
a lounge, covered with blood.
as this the man who stabbed you?''
asked the officer.
1T is said the poor fellow, falling
back, never to speak again.
Wells was tried for murder, found
l guilty and sentenced to be hanged: and
hanged he would have been if fortnight
before the day fixed for his execution a
prisoner in Sing Sing had not confessed
on his death bed that he had robbed the
man of his watch, then stabbed him and
run off afterward dropping the watch rs
he ran.
Among the Communists at Versailles
. was Jean Baptiste Pigerre. charged with
!. commanding the firing party who shs
the hostages at La Roquettc. lierfo-
tested he knew nothing of ho~readful
business, and was not awaG~ that the
hostages had been she until after his
ARREST. His denial Gent for naught He
had been denolheed by members of his
Own party; Jnree of them on trial with
hSh deGared he was at La Roquette.
y. Clexrieu, prisoner there at the time,
Ss2 he saw Pigerrc from his cell dressed
Is National Gnard, trailing a scabbard
after him; his face was fixed in his
memory, and Scissor, police officer. as
:. serted emphatically:
I ''That's the man.
Only one voice was raised in Pigerre
behalf, that of the Communist judge,
Genton.
"You can shoot me, if you like" ex-
claimed he: "but Piserre is innocent.
He had nothing to do with it,
The prosecutor summed up, insisting
unon Pigerre's conviction with the rest;
the advocates for the accused said their
Intellectual say, and then came an inter
ruption. \ man named Jarraud. whom
everybody agreed was implicated III the
murder of the hostages and who was
supposed to have been killed by the
soldiers, was brought into court. Pigerre
was ordered to stand forward.
..Thafs not the man who command
hn laaI
of the band was Sicard.'
The proceedings were suspended, and
that same evening Sicard was found i'll
one of the prisons. 1t was evident he
had not long to live. but they carried him
to Versailles to testify to Pigerre's limo
cance and convince all the witnesses, save
the three Communists. that they had
been misled by the extraordinary resem-
blance between the two men. Tile pros
ecutor at once demanded that the ac-
>usation he had formulated against
NJ. -erre should be withdrawn; and so
ta % 'uated what might have proved a
t,taI "a Sc OF mistaken identity.
Vet more singular was the escape of a
vounc SIropsh hire lady from an ignomni-
ons death. Staying in Paris during the
Reion of Terror. she was dragged with
others .:aristocrats before one OF the
tribunals. She pleaded that she was an
English woman: but was on the point OF
beino hurried out to the waiting tumbril,
when one of the Judges asked her what
proyincc in England she was native of.
In her fright She exclaimed Salop,' a
reply greeted by 4 general shout and
clappins of hands, followed b. ali order
to let her go; and amid cries of Salope!
Salopen' the dazed girl was hustled into
the street to run home, wondering that
her head was still on hor shoulders, little
thinking that by uttering the word
..Salop" she had efiectually rebutted the
notion of her being one of the hated
Observation-Disclosures to = Salope being Il
word then used to designate one of the
most depraved Of the sex.
Another remarkable escape of that
terrible time was that of NJ. de Chateau
brun, for he was not only condemned,
. but actually waited his turn at the gull
,'otine. standing sixteen in line OF
twenty. The fifteenth head had fallen.
when The machine got out OF order, and
tbe five nd to wait until it was repaired
The crowd p, essed forward to see what
was aoine on. and as it began to grow
dark. NJ de ChateanGrun found himself
GRADUALLY thrust into the rear of the
.ssectators: so he wisely slipped away,
and meeting man simple enough OF
charitable enough TO take his word that
wac had tied his hands and run of
I IL, l. H., -.