The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-01-16

having been ia Madrid a few weeks before
ne had been put in requi,ition to carry
forage to the French ranks and "
said he, q recoIiect that this man took
my Lad Of forage, and lie gave me re-
c=ipt. ! was near him an hour, and
collect bin. When we caught him l
told my c1mrsie hat this is The FEenc
officer I delivered my forage to
This was correct Csstsros probably
iiscaraed the true state Of the case, but
he wssa generous zoe. He proposed TO
let him pursue hisjouuey. Tor L=ckiIsE
-tiu insisted he was a Russian, and he
could not be made 10 understand w0rI
Of French. But the moment he ven
tursd hint Of that kind, Thousand
threatening voices were raised against
| hlm. and he saw that clemency was
impossible.
But said he. viii you then risk a
quarrel with Russia, whose neutrality
We are so anziously asking tor?"
"E1," said the officer, but let US tiy
this man"
Lrckiaski understood all, for he was
acquainted with Spanish. He was re-
moved snd thrown into a room worthy
90 have been one Of the dungeons Of the
irquisitiou in It's worst days.
When tire Spaniards took him prisoner
he had eat nothing slice the previous
evening, aud when his dungeon door
closed Oh him he had tasted 7eighteen
/ hour; no wonder, then, what wi ex>
hsustion, iati1ue, aud the agony Of his
situation, that the unhappy prisoner fell
almost senseiess on his hard couch
| Night soon closed in and left him to
realize, in its gloom, the full horror OF
bis hopeless situation. He was brave,
Of course, but to die at eighteen--so sud
DENLY But youth and fatigue finally
| yielded to the approach OF sleep, and lie
was soon buried in profound slumber,
| He had slept perhaps two hours, when
the door 0: the dungeon opened slowly,
and some one entered with cautious
steps, hiding with his hands the light o.
a lamp; the visitor bent over the pria-
oner's couch, the hand that Swallowed
the lamp touched him on the shoulder,
and q sweet and silvery Voice-a woman's
voice-asking him:
do you want to est?"
The young Pole awakened suddenly
by the glare Of the lamp, by the touch
and words of the female, rose up on hi
couch, and with his eyes half open, said
in German, ''Whst do you want?"
GIVE me something to eat at once
said Castanos, when he heard the result
of The first experiment, "srd let him go.
He is not a FTenchmsn. How could he
have been so far master ofhimseli? The
thing is impossible"
But though LeckinsH was supplied
with food, be was detained a prisoner.
The next morning he was taken to spot
where he ooulG SEE the mutilated corpse
OF the Frenchman who had been cruelty
massacred by the peasantry of Truxillo,
and he was threatened with the same
death But the noble youth had prom
ised not to fail, and not word, not an
accent, not gesture or look betrayed
him.
Leckinski, when taken back to the |
prison, hailed it with joy; for twelve
hours he had nothing but gibbets and |
death, in its horrid forms, before his
eyes, exhibited to him by men with the
looks and passions of demons. He slept, |
however, after the harassing excitement
of the day, and soundly, too; when, in
the midst of his deep and death-like
slumbers, the door opened gently, some
one drew near the couch, and the voice
whispered in his ear
"Arise and come with me. w wish
70 save your Ike. Your horse is esdy."
And the brave young mau, LASTLY
awakened by tie words, Eve with to
save your lifr come answered still in
German:
What DO yoJ want p
Ca<tano, when e heard of this experi- /
ment and ia results, said the Russian
was a noble young n an; hesaw lie true |
state of the case
The next.monjng four men came 10
take him before sort of court martial,
of ,fficers OF Csstanos' staff. During the
walk they uttered most horrible threats
against him; but true to his determina-
ton, he pretended rot to understand
them.
When he csme before his judges he
seemed TO gather what was going on
from the arrangement Of the tribunal
and not rom what was said around him
and he asked in German where his in
erpreter wss He was sent for and the
examination began.
1t turned at first upon the motive Of
bis journey from Madrid to Lisbon. He
answered by showing bis diopatchea to
Admiral Siniavin and his passport.
Spite Of the presence and vehement
assertion Of The peasant, he persisted in
the same story, and did not contradic.
himself once.
Ak MIN said The presiding nfic :.