Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-28

A Romantic Adventure of the Frs.co-
Prusafan Wa

Count Paul de Leusse. whose son mar.
RED the granddaughter Of Marshal No
reau the other day, says Paris letter. is
the hero OF a romantic adventure in the
Franeo-Prussian war. As the Prussiaus
advanced on the evening Of the battle Of
Worth, driving the French tirailleurs be-
fore them, the latter made a desperate
stand at the Chateau de Leusse. The
Prussians forced their way into the park.
and the French fell back on the chateau
itself. A young chasseur, terribly
wounded and badly pursued bV the enc
my, staggered up to the old Count. who
viewed the dismal spectacle in anguish
from the balcony, and holding up French
flag called out to him TO save III
Take IT," said the dying soldier: II am
done for. Keep it. | am willing to die if I
can only save it from those wild beasts,
80 saying he fell across the steps and
expired. The Count did not know what
70 do. The PrussIans were laundering at
the gates; IN a few minutes they would be
swarming all over the chateau, which
could make no defense, and it was full of
tue wounded and the dying. Time passed
and the Count had but a few minutes to
make up his mind. Rushing to his room.
he tore the flag from its staff, which he
burned, folded it up, and hid it in bureau
drawer among his linen, remembering
that the best hiding-plaee in the world is
the one least hidden. The event proved
his foresight. The Prussians searched
every inch of the chateau except the top
drawer of the Counts bureau.
But as 1t might be dangerous to leave
the flag where il was he had il tightly
packed IN tin box, and with the aid of
an old servant named Pierre, buried it at
night under large square stone in the
cellar. The Count felt very much reliev-
ed, but a scOundrel of an hostler, who had
watched them, denounced them, stimulat-
ed by the hope of gain, to the Prussians.
The Count had made the old servant
swear TO let himself be cut to pieces
rather than betray the present hiding
place of the poor soldiers legacy. So
when the Prussian Lieutenant in COM
mand seized him by the collar and asked
where it was, he simply answered shat
he did not know"
''Iou lie,' said the officer, sand a file
of fusileers will soon get the truth out of
YOU"
81 do not lie, NJ. Z Officer"
"4es, you do. We took the flag. 1t was
the fortune OF war. You and your master
stole it. Give it up"
''Do what you please with me, don't
know anything about it,"
1--WE Will turn this place inside out,
in rage, ''and when we find it God help
YOU"
The old man felt that he was lost. The
cellar was a large one. 1t would take a
long time to take up the whole pavement,
but sooner or later the fatal stone must be
removed, and then
The Prussian Lieutenant became i'm
patient, as stone after stone was lifted
from its place, and discovered nothing but
a A.,
him. He picked up a walking-stick, and
tapping the stones, ordered every one that
sounded hollow TO be marked with a
piece Of chalk; the others might be left
undisturbed.
Old Pierre, the servant, watched the
proceedings in silence. Near the stone
that hid the flag was pile of bagging.
He sat down on the pile and noticed that
one end of the bagging trailed over to-
ward the stone. By pressing his foot
against this and rubbing it gently against
the chalk mark, he succeeded in effacing it.
The search was over, the flag had not been
discovered, and the officer was furious.
A few weeks afterward a young Lieu
tenant of Zouaves, who had been wound
ed and paroled, was sent through the
Prussian lines to the French headduar-
tiers. He was weak and feverish when he
arrived at the chateau and had to stop to
have his wound dressed. 1t was very
severe one; his leg had been shattered by
a piece of shell. When the men of the
ambulance corps came to carry him down
stairs his leg appeared to be swathed in
unusually heavy bandages. Between the
UPPER and the lower layer was the tri-
color of the TIL chasseurs.
"Au reYOir, messieurs," said the
wounded Frenchman,a as he acknowledged
the Prussian officers salute. Then
raising his KEPT to the Count, who stood
on the balcony to watch this departure.
his lips formed the words 'sVive la
France"