The Portland daily press., 1880-06-25
A Point of Honor.

| country Of Europe where decent Gner is
still to be got at such places, when mtten-
tion was attracted by tall, reserved n, in
the uniform of a cavalry officer, who sas tKs
head of a side table. Beside me was Ger
messenger, Capt Bolton, who, of courser !.
everything and everybody, from the gop Of
the legations which he visited in profeonal
| capacity; so asked him who the gravook-
ing soldier might be. His reply was aait-
| Ter.
''That is Field Marshal Eisenberg, an
swered the Queens messenger. coolly, nsiDg
one of the first soldiers of our age. "I al
| ways dimes here. and has done 80 ever size 1
have been in the line."
"Odd place to pick up a Field Marsha at
dinner in public house, isn't it, at leaiin
these piping times of peace?"
Hal" exclaimed Capt. Bolton, who, lie
several of the distinguished corps to which
belongs, is an agreeable Rattle. "Ha, thereb
| hangs tale-don't you know it?''
had just returned-for /, too, am "in the
| line"-from Barataria, whittier 1 had been
sent by grateful country for not belonging to
one of the governing families then in power,
so replied, somewhat to Bottoms sstonish.
| ment. 81 did not know it, .is o4 i.i
"Well, them" remarked the Captain gaily.
81 will tell it you when have done with this
| pheasant and melon salad, which is too good to
| spoil for an anecdote."
| He ate for some time in silence and with
such an evident sense Of enjoyment that did
| not venture to question him further, though
| noticed certain preoccupied air about him,
| as though he were trying to recall some half
| forgotten incident, or were, perhaps, trying to
put 1t into language which would do more
| credit to his reputation as an expert narrator.
By and by when the coffee came, he Lit cigar
| which had been sent him by little jerks, our
Vice Consul at Havana, and as the first
| wreaths Of perfumed smoke curled round about
him, he thus delivered himself: 1.-THE Mar
shal used to have son. iel
As he spoke the gauDt, upright figure Of the
famous military commander strobe by. He
| turned his haggard face toward US as he did so
but there was no speculation in his eyes, and
the life that was in him seemed to serve only
to carry heart that was dead. Though every
one at the hotel made way for him with sort
| Of awe-stricken respect he saluted nobody, but
passed out into the street like some mournful
| Spectre, not terrible, but unutterably sad
| Then we heard the clank of his harness in the
| ante-room, and once his sword smote against
his spurs as he girded it on. Then he was
| gone. His appearance had served but to en-
1 phasize Capt. Bottoms statement that he
used to have son." he- 61 rll safs
The Queens messenger, who had been in
| terrupted by the solemn apparition above men,
| toned, threw back his head, perhaps to get
better view of his subject, took a long pull at
his cigar, began his liquor, and then swent on
with his story. IL at e ..la0 7ts.5 Ei
eyes, as was saying, Field Marshal Count
| Eisenberg had q SON who was one of the finest
| young men in the army. he was in a light
| cavalry regiment, and all the girls went mad
about him. You never saw fellow better
built, or with more downright pluck and go in
him. Hang it, sir, he deserved to be an Eng
| lishman, and used to tell him so whenI
| passed through here, and could get days
shooting with him at Edelsheim--a grand
| place his governor had then. 1t is sold now.
Never was more CHEEKY or better compan-
ion than Rudy Eisenberg He could ride as
i we'll as Lord Cork, and shoot snap shots with
any one you like to name. 1t wasn't all glitter
| either about him. He had been out in a big
| war and done all sorts of fine things. His
| nerves were said to be wonders ully steady un-
| der fire, and he had ridden well to the front
in one of the boldest hand to hand fights on
record. OF course he did not rise in rank very
| quickly, for the Marshal would not hear of his
| being promoted out of his turn, and there was
nothing of the cocktail about him; so he did
not put himself in the way of special service to
i
looked upon him, with good reason, as man
| who was booked for every prize of life which
does not go by favor. Not chap in his regi-
ment from the colonel to the piper, had word
| to say against him, r..f.f'1l slr,.5, -.it. n.
| Unluckily,' mused Capt. Bolton, again
| throwing his head back, perhaps for philoso-
| phys sake this time that was Just it. Peo-
| pie liked him too much, especially ladies.
not far off from the reigning dynasty, had
| fretted herself nearly crazy about him; and
though even the Court officials agreed that he
had behaved very well in mysterious busi-
Eisenberg went to parade with face white as
| a ghost after a masked ball where it was
| thought some scandal had taken place. 1
would advise you never to touch on this part
of the story if you mean to make any stay
here One thing only oozed out, and this was
| that the love, if there was love, had been mu-
| tual; and have heard that Rudy got little
| wrong in the head after it was all over. The
| doctors spoke of brain fever, and recommended
change Of air; so the old Marshal, who
| knew nothing about money, gave his son
about enough to keep him for week, and
sent him off to Homburg for the waters. The
DEVILS own play was going on at that pictur-
esque. little hole in those days, and young
Eisenberg naturally found himself tumble
| headlong into the set who lived where it was
hottest. There was Bob Cheyke, of the Life
Guards, and Agincourt, who had Just come
into his title; with Ivry de Videsac, the crack
Frenchman, who went such tremendous
smash two years later; and Crichton and
Mauleverer, with Jack Nortiman, Birbantaki
Pasha, old Lord Chowser, and do not know
how many more of the same lot. fancy
Rudy Eisenberg did not know what to make Of
them at first. Their ways were not his ways,
but he soon fell into them. As mischance
would have it, too, he spoke little English,
and that helped, dare say, for he had got
many of the stolid, honest ideas Of his country
men about improving himself, and very likely
thought at times that he might some day have
to act his part in a Battle Of Dorking, SO that
1t might be as we'll to prepare for the emer-
gencies that would probably arise out Of such a
| situation, whether he was among the conquer
ors or the conquered For awhile Cheyke and
the rest of them used to always find him in his
den on the fifth floor Of a cheap hotel poring
over books of tactics and working out military
problems with corks and pins, or one OF those
wonderfully accurate maps issued by his ma
tive War Office. But they soon badgered him
out of that, and at last he was forever with
them when they were going fastest. He rode
steeplechase on Agincourt's horse and won
it gallantly for him, but he also held the bank
against Ivy de Videsac and Lord Chowser for
three nights running without going to bed,
and he won nothing, as you may expect, at
that game. The Lord knows what happened
next 1t was never made quite clear, Some
fellows will have it that Nortiman and Bob
Cheyke, who had won whole pot Of money
from him, insisted on having it at once, and it
is certain that check bearing the Field Mar
shals signature, given in payment to Cheyke,
was refused Dy the blikendorfS, MS bankers
Hut by the first express train afterwards the
old Count came to Homburg himself, stalked
into Bob's rooms at the best hotel, laid down
the money on his toilet table, and then stalked
out again without a word. 1 hardly like to
tell on my own responsibility what followed,
but Lord Chowser says that he met the Mar
shal upon the stairs leading to Rudy's room,
and that he could not help hearing what
passed between them through the half-open
door of young Eisenberg's apartment. 1t was
very brief. The old soldier sternly confronted
| his son.
s"Ich habe'' then said he 'dds schmutzes geld
bezdhH. have said the foul gold for which
you dishonored us. Now do your part And
as he ceased speaking he placed on the table
between them pistol he had brought with
| him. y
The young man made no answer, but the
next moment there was loud report, and the
Marshal came forth from the presence Of his
dead son with that white, ashen face you have
Just seen. He never smiled again.
All the set who were mixed up in the affair
naturally tried to put the best face on it. Bob
says he had right to get his money, and so
does Nortiman; but Chowser, though he is a
hardsh old bow doesn't like to talk much ON