New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-07
sT0RlES or MARSH4L SfXE

Fran The GenHtIa0n's Noqp. iar
His mother. who Was IN excellent French lin
gust, wished him 10 excel in that language; and
although Maurice learned % speak IL with llu"Gcy,
be SO tile grounded IN its photography that he
could only write il phOnetIcaliy. lie WAS quite
con,cou, OF Tie !mpefcction ~ E, elementary cdu-
cation, "a, the following letter viii show It was
prompted By the fact that the French academy
wanted 10 elect the couQurror OF ontenOy mem
hcr-an honor which SAKE had the nse 10 decline.
The Academy cNpOsiulIted, and asked why h.
fused the honor: here Is the Marshal own account
gwen in a letter 10 his trend and leneiactOr
Marshal No4illes II has been proposed To me, my
master. 10 become member Of the Academy. /
answered that | do not even know bow 10 spell,
and that IL would become me as ring would cat.
The reply got was that Marshal Nillars did not
know how 10 read. LET alone write, ana that he WAS
"a member This is persecution don; want to be-
made au. Ching stock and that will be- the elect
OF this proposll.n That The M1r,hlls estimate OF
his literary attainmeus was not far from the fact
above letter in the original: lis Vcuie ne icre de
In Cadcmic. scla mlret com une bage a M chas D.; a
IAcad6mc. celia mlroit CONNIE une hague IN
chat"
lie inherited the great Muscular strength of his
father who il is aycr1cd could break a horseshoe
with hi, handa. Josted once on tho streets Of
London by a ,cavcngeI. SAKE cXpostuiatcd with the
fellow for hi, rudcueas. The broken English con
Grmcd the scavengcr's suspicion that the gentle
man, besides being wen dressed. was foreigner,
and therefore doubly legitimate object of insult
he gave for answer gesture OF contempt-either
threw himself into boxing attitude. or used the
strcct-hoys dgal sign OF derlson, which SAKE
himself employed after the capture Of Igau to
acquant Marshal Naon with his estimate Of his
military capacty-the great Naor II is written,
answered SaAc after the fashion. and the two
commanders stood glazing al each other with
thumbs at nose and fingers spread, till SAKE grew
tired of attltudiniZing and jumped INTO bed.
Mortal ncsh could stand the ndignity when -
French marshal IN uniform and with jewellcd
fingers the tis-d-ris. but not when 1t was a
street sN ccpcr; and so SAKE, turning his inSuter
round, caught him bynap aud seat, and balancing
him horizontally above hls head for u moment sent
him by the projectilc's into the heart OF ms
own weli-hlled mud cart, aud passed on without
further comment. He had the stateliness, stature
and good looks of his father. which. as Pollnitz
says. made his father very much IN love with
hIni -; black eyes full Of lustrOus shining passion
ate rather than intellectual highly arched eye
brOws aud great name OF black hair. His wild
careeT--lor, in addition to powerful frame. AN
other legacy his father left HIM was gross and
undiscipned nature-and these two, il may be
said, exhaust the pBtrmonial bequests-his wild
career made him premature wreck. In 17lI
when he was only fifty years Of age Noltaire met
him in the streets of Paris u few days before he
l. 1T .or the campaign of fOntenOy, and asked him
how lie. laboTing under consumption aud dropsy
could think Of going TO the camp. sir replied
the Marshal sentent0usly the question is not
about life but duty lie was feeble that during
tho battle he could not wear breast- plate; he
wore "a sort of buckleI. made OF several folds of
quilted tallota. which rested tho pommel of his
saddle when for a minute, he was able To mount
his horse lac was carried about the field in IA basket
woven OF withes of willow. sucking leaden bullet
to quencL an intolerable thirst.