Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-04-06

We offer to our readers a few instances of
hair breadth escapes, by which various hu-
man beings have been saved from death, as
) we find them set forth in Chambers Edin-
burg Journal: Colonel Gilmer, relating the
story of fight in which he figured, says in
his -Four Years IN the Saddle:' Turning
half round in my saddle to call on my men,
l received a sudden shock, and felt deadly
sick, and at the same instant saw a man trail
his gun and run Off l killed him before he
had gone three steps. His ball had passed
through two coats and stuck in pack of
cards in my left side pocket. They were
quite new, the wrapper not even having been
broken open. The suits were each distinct.
The bullet 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-breadth escapes are common
in war. At the battle of Laon, Steffens saw
a shell strike the horse of Prussian officer
Entering near the shoulder, 1t caused the
poor animal to make convulslve 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; Colonel Wyndham
dispatched to find out how matters were
going In the first attack on the Redan, saw a
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 subsidized, the colonel was as
tonished to find himself beside a living man,
whose countenance presented a curious ad
mixture of fright and joy, as, scratching his
head he exclaimed: why, dash my but
tons, but that was amazing NIGH" ''Ay. ay,
my boy, responded the colonel; I'VE d much
b tier be digging trenches at threepence
| rod In Norfolk" To which his fellow-coun-
trynan only replied: what! are yew tew
from NorfolkP"
Amazingly nigh death, although in bliss
full ignorance of the fact, was the Confeder-
ate staff officer marked down by a northern
| er's rife, and only saved by the officer COM
handing the platoon happening to recognize
in him a client of the insurance office of
| which he was secretary, and striking up the
| leveled weapon with, Don't shoot we've
| got policy on hlml"
DR.. Brydon, the sole English survivor of
the retreat from Cabul, during the last At
| ghanlstan war, was quite aware OF the mar
| rowness of his escape, but never could I'M
| derstand how it came about. After long
and terrible ride, he was Just coDgratulating
| himself upon having at last got clear of the
enemy, when he found himself pursued by
| solitary horseman. He had but a broken
| sword wherewith to defend himself, and with
| this he managed to intercept a cut at his
| head, directed with such force that it cleft
through the base of his blade and left only
the hilt which the doctor hurled in his assail-
cut through Brydon's headpiece and the mag
azlne he had that morning placed inside it.
Unarmed, half-stunned and hopeless, he
mechanically stopped TO recover his fallen
rein, when, to his surprise and relief, his foe
turned away and galloped off, leaving the
doctor tc drag himself to Jelalabad.
The sword of justice is not always rightly
directed, and sometimes comes near perpe- |
trating murder. A young New Yorker,
named Wells, went one evening to Booths |
theater. Taken with fit of coughing, he |
left the theater, intending to go home; but, I
after going some little distance, it came on |
showing so fast that he retraced his steps. |
As he rode along, two men came rushing |
down the street, one of them dropping gold |
watch and chain, which Wells picked up, and |
then went after the loser, running into the |
arms of a policeman, who marched him off |
to the station to explain matters. Presently |
messenger arrived in hot haste, saying the |
Wells Was aResnd G. fge and Eb Brought face
face with man lying on a lounge, covered |
with blood. us this the man who stabbed
youT' asked the officer. 1T is" said the
poor fellow, falling back, never to speak
again. Wells was tried for murder, found
guilty and sentenced to be hanged; and |
hanged he would have been if fortnight be-
fore the day fixed for his execution prisoner
IN Slng-Sing had not confessed on his death
bed that he had robbed the man of his watch,
ping the watch as he ran.
Among the communists tried at Versailles
was Jean Baptlste Pigerre, charged with COM
handing the firing party who shot the hos
tages at La Roquette. He protested he knew
nothing OF the dreadful business, and was not
aware that the hostages had been shot until
after his arrest. His denial went for naugf t.
he had been denounced by members of his
own party, three of them on trial with him de-
clared he was at La Roquette. NJ Chevrieu,
a prisoner there at the time, said he saw
Pigerre from his cell dressed as National
Guard, trailing a scabbard after him; bis
lace was liked In his memory, and Scissor, a
police officer, asserted emphatically: That
the man." Only one voice was raised in Pr
ceres behalf, that of the communist Judge,
Genton. You can shoot me, if you like"
exclaimed de; ''but Pigerre is innocent. He
had nothing to do with it. - The prosecutor
summed up, insisting upon Pigerre's convic-
ton with the rest; the advocates for the ac-
cused said their Intellectual say, and then
came an interruption. A man named Jar
raud, whom everybody agreed was implicated
IN the murder of the hostages, and who was
to have been killed by the soldiers
was brought into court. Pigerre was ordered
to stand forward. That's not the man who
commanded" said Jarraud. "Oh, no! the
leader of the band was Sicard." The pro-
ceedings were suspended, and that same
evening Slcard was found in one of the pris-
OuS. IL WAS ONIuOQU Ne lHQ not long TO live. |
but they carried him to Versailles to testify
to Plgerre's innocence, and convince all the :
save the three communists, that
they had been mlsled by the extraordinary ,
between the two men, The
prosecutor at once demanded that the accusa-
ton he had formulated against Pigerre
should be withdrawn, and so terminated
what might have proved fatal case of mis- ]
taken identity n
Yet more singular was the escape of a
young Shropshire lady from an gnominious 7
leath. Staying in Paris during the reign of
error, she was dragged with other "aristo-
rats before one of the tribunals She Z
pleaded that she was an Englishwoman; but
vas on the point of being hurried out to the 7
Waiting tumbrIl, when one of the Judges
Isked her what province In England she was L
native of. In her fright she exclaimed,
'SaloP, reply greeted by a general shout G
md clapplng OF hands, followed by an order .
o let her go; and amid cries of 'Salope!
'alope!" the dazed girl was hustled into the G
treet to run home, wondering that her head .
vas still on her shoulders, little thinking that
y uttering the word ''Salop'' she had effect. O
tally rebutted the notion of her being one of
he hated Observation-Disclosures to "Salope"
icing word then used to designate one of
he most depraved of her sex. T
Another remarkable escape of that terrible !.
lme was that of M. de Chateaubrun, for he a
vas not only condemned, but actuaIiv wait q
|
cen in line of twenty. The fifteenth head
ad fallen, when the machine got out of
rider, and the five had to wait until it was =;
epaired. The crowd pressed forward to see ~
That was going on, and as it began to grow n
ark, M. de Chateaubrun found himself r
radually thrust into the rear of the specta- ~
ors; SO he wisely slipped away, and meeting 4
man simple enough or charitable enough to W "
axe his word that wag had tied his hands -
nd run off with his hat, had his hands set - =,
zee, and managed to reach a safe hiding ~
lace. A few days later he put himself be- "a
ond the reach of the executioner. "
MAJOR Duncan vouches for the truth of the -
blowing tale: In 1887 the christian general. %
sealera, was murdered at Miranda by the 1IrI
lutlneerlng regiment of Segovia. About -
70 months later, Espartero and his army ar &c
we'd at Miranda; and on the thirtleth of ~ ~
ctooer the whole force was paraded outside y.
lie town, the regiment of Segovia being n
anked by artillery and other regiments, va va
ccompanied by his staff, Espartero rode up IN en
it, and told the men he had come TO ask ID
r his old friend and commander, their chief.
scalera. Where is hep" he cried. Then
'inhnR to the dead commanders resting, NO
ace, went on: "He is there; foullv mnr- -. -"