Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-04-19
THE TORPEDO MAN.

II WAS in the bay Of TOulon on board the
Russian frIgate lIvadia.
While i'll the company Of several French
naval officers, made the acquaintance Of
some officers belonging To the Russian
man of wer. and the latter had invited me,
the only civilian of the banquet, to the
banquet given in honor Of my friends Of
the squadron.
The Russians are strong headed drink
ers, a. NeTybndy knows, but their officers
particularly maintain the national reputa-
ton in this respect; and II Is well under
stood among French naval folk that an
invitation 10 visit the car : vessels
meant To indulge in libations that will he
talked of for long time II is true, Of
course, that these things happen among
respectable well educated men-wlthOut
any noise. and as discreetly aS possible.
Sentries are stationed at the door with
orders Ia prevent any one from entering;
and evsrybody drinks until he can not
drink any more
On the evening referred to things went
on in the usual style The banquet had
been exquisite. and was admirably served;
the company had eaten "A great deal, drunk
"A great deal, and talked great deal more,
Very agreebly, too. The French language
passing through Russian lips takes a
charmingly odd accent which delighted
me; and all those officers spoke French
as tiuently as any buulevariier. They
were all good -nstured snd witty. They
were all men of refinement also. In that
race refinement has special mark, u
charm of ariStocratic courtesy which never
fails to attract Is il because in Russia the
oil ali lnyal nf rising IpInnT
has not yet reached the upper classes as il
has done elsewhere
The stewards in black dress-coats ami
white cravats, never stopped tilling the
glasses with champagne. Champagne S
the favorite wine of the Russians. They
drink il, not by sips, as it is polite to do
among us-nor even aS II is drunk "en cab
met particulier" when the wine flows in
torrents" TO use hackneyed phrase
as really robust drinkers only can drink
it; throwing back the head, and emptying
the cup at one movement. 1t was thus
they drank il On board the Livadia; and
the stewards were kept busy replenishing
the glasses There were plenty OF hqueurs
La Fine and kummel, served in port
wine glasses. but all preferred champagne
especially my neighbor. The amount of
hOSl "nlCu lndl blllttT dDSbI Dtu " as du-
solutely extraordinary.
He was "A very handsome young man
very tall also, and very strUng-with fair
hair and blue eyes steel blue eyes, which
lighted up at certain moments with cold
flame. His conversation was uncOmmonly
attractive He knew Paris and her bOule
wards by heart all the places about which
all fashionable people talk, but which
only the initial. ed ever frequent. He talked
TO me about the Comedie Franchise and
the Eden of Mde de y. and Mile. Y. in
absolutely Partisan style. and i'll Il Ian
guage that would have done credit TO any
one OF our most accomplished clubmen.
And in the meantime glasses succeeded
glasses He could hold his cup by its thin
crystal stem, extend it 10 the waiter, and
the golden fluid would instantly disappear
down his throat.
$50 you leave for Paris tomorrow" he
asked
Il was to leave" replied but | post
poned my departure in order to be present
at the torpedo o-maupuVers of the squad
ron
He started-a a brighter light shone in his
eyes-then a sudden thought seemed 10
throw him into brown study.
Then you are really interested in tor
pedoes," he asked, after few moments.
Yes" answered. The torpedo is 50
terrible weapon, 1t is making the whole
world anxious just at present; everybody
is talking about it
All. indeed. Well. see here, Nobody
in the world can talk to you about it as |
can nobody
He leaned forward upon his elbows, ap-
psrenuy buried in thought. Then, all Of
a sudden, he asked me:
Did you ever hear about the Use Of tor
pedoes during the Turco Russian war;"
Certainly"
1t was that blew up that Turkish
man n-of-war"
He emphasized each word and watched
my face closely, rs if TO seize the impress
sion he was creating.
"Youy"
at was horrible thing, was it not-a
horrible thing
Again he lapsed into silence a moment;
then he continued:
"Oh; what would | not give never TO
have done that, You admire me, have
heard too much praise about il: have
been too often told that was hero-yes,
a hero. | got rewards, decorations, pro-
motions Well, | would give all have,
and do not know how much more also,
never To have done that thing Listen,
am going to tell you how it happened"
And he begau-evidently not so much
with the idea Of Interesting me, as of clear
ing his mind by making me his confidant
to relate the incident rs follows:
1t was on the Danube, you will remem-
ber For several days We had remained
moored near the Turkish fiotilla, a few
kilometres only from il, bat hidden from
each other by the curves of the river, YOU
might almost have called il a sea, it is so
wide and deep at that particular point.
We watched each other pretty closely; we
kept well upon our guard. But maneuv-
ering is dttCult there on account of sand
hanks; and a surprise was really not to he
feared at all Still, we all expected to be
4ttacke by the Turks, who We're far more
numerous and better armed They did
not come. Then we made up our minds
to attack them with torpedoes. was Sc
ected to command the lungboat that was
TO make the attempt. For in those days,
he torpedo was not the instrument with
" hich you are familiar today Il was a
much simpler affair, but also much less
easier to use. The torpedo had to he
placed right against the side of the vessel.
and then fired with q battery, while the
attacking party got away as best they
,ould.
Il started in the middle of dark night
black, profoundly calm-in the solemn
silence of the vast plains which environed
Is. My men were fellows of tried courage
and resolve-men. on whom | could RELY:
md was full Of hope. Nevertheless the
was d difficult one: and our
as he pressed my hand at the
moment of our departure, saying, 4 com
mend you TO the grace of GOdr could not
his emotion. We had either to
ucceed, OF, indeed, if the Turks observed
he attempt in time, the chances were that
zone of us could escape. But, for all that,
only felt thrill of pleasure. Think of it
trying a new system of attack, in.
Lugurating q revolution in the navy!
And then, again, If We succeeded, what a
idea Of destroying a great
nan of war with long boat!
The oars were wrapped with tow; we
made no noise. and We proceeded on our
'ay Win unSnGkabIe resolution rluauy
could distinguish the Turkish fiotilla
The admiral's vessel was in front, in the