The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-10
A SOLDIERS
STRANGE Bet.
A Hitherto unpublished Sketch by the
French Novelist BalZac.
a Very Reckless Gamester Who Had Lost
Everything staked His Two Ears That
he Would Eat Human Heart.
Written for THE SUNDAY CALL

Last winter I frequeEted house, the only
one perhaps at that time where in the even
ing the conversation escaped from politics
and the Stiffness of the salon. Thither came
artists, poets, statesmen, savants and young
fellows devoted to the chase, horses. women,
gaming and dress, but who, in the reunion.
took 1t upon themselves to dispense their
wit as elsewhere they lavished their money
or faulty.
Between II o'clock and midnight on the
occasion l speak of the conversation. until
then brilliant and antithetlc, assumed mar
rative form; in its precipitate course 1t
drew forth curious condolences, several por-
traits aud a thousand follies.
We were indebted to an old soldier for
the turn the conversation had taken. He
had just finished game in an adjoining
salon, and when he planted himself straight
as an arrow in front of the fireplace, lifting
the two tails of his blue coat, one OF the la
dies said to him:
well General, did you win"
"Oh, mon Dieu, no. l did not hold sim
gle good hand"
CAN MAN LOSE HIS TWO EARsP
The same question put to several players,
who were. without doubt, thinking of max
ing their escape, demonstrated, as usual,
that everybody had cause TO complain OF
the game. From carefully made reeapitu-
latiOn 1t appeared that sculptor who to
my knowledge had lost % louis was accused
and convicted of having won 600 francs.
bah! money wounds are not mortal
said savant land as long as man has
not lost his two ears"
"Can man lose his two ears" demanded
the lady.
ITO lose them he must bet them" replied
the physician.
Pit Ni,nrr 80 I'D
=" should say sol" cried the General
raising one of his feet to present his toes to
the FIRE. Z" knew In Spain, pursued he, a
man named Bianchi, captain in the Sixth
Regiment of the line-he was killed at the
siege of Tarrag staked his ears
against 1000 ecus. He bet them fairly and
SQuarely. His adversary was another cap
tain of the same regiment an Italian like
himself, and, like him, scapegrace; they
were two very daredevils, but good officers,
excellent soldiers.
AN UNLUCKY CANISTER.
1--WE were then bivouacked in Spain.
Biauchi needed 1000 ecus for the following
morning. and as he possessed only, 1900
francs he fell to throwing dice on drum
head with his eomrade while their COM
paniOns we're preparing supper.
There were, ma fol, three fine quarters
of goat meat cooking in pot beside us, and
the rest of us officers watched alternately
Il,
which sounded very agreeabiy in our ears,
for we had eaten nothing since morning.
Our soldiers came in one by one from their
foraging expeditions, bringing wine and
fruit.
I'VE had a good meal in prospect The
pot was suspended above the fire by means
of three poles arranged in the form of
faSces and sufficiently removed from the
flames not TO burn; besides, the soldiers,
with that marvellous instinct which charae-
teriZes them. had raised little rampant of
soil around the fire.
"Banchi lost everything. He did not
utter a word; he remained as he was,
sduatted on the ground; but he crossed his
arms upon his breast looked at the fire, the
sky, and occasionally at his adversary. At
that moment l feared lest he might do some
wicked ACHE seemed ready to murder bis
opponent. Finally, he arose suddenly as il
to flee from some temptation. On arising
he kicked over one of the three poles which
upheld the pot and the goat meat and our
supper went to the four winds of heaven.
BIANCHTs TERRIBLE PROPOSAL
I'VE sat by in silence, aud although the
famished stomach does not have much re-
spect for passions. we dare say nothing to
him, so much did it pain us to see him. The
other was counting his money. BiaDchi
burst out laughing he looked at the empty
pot and perhaps thought that he now had
no more supper than money. He turned
toward his comrade and said with an
Italians smile:
"'Do you want TO bet your 1000 ecus,'
pointing to a Spanish sentinel, posted about
80 meters distant from our picket, whose
bayOnet we saw in the moonlight, do you
want to bet your 1000 eeus that without
other weapon than the spit of your corpO-
raj, and be took the saber of foOt-guard,
I will not go to that sentinel, bring back
bis heart. cook it and eat it?
coi of ar mt
don't succeed
"'Well,' he said. sin that case you shall
cut off my two ears
agreed said the other.
You are witnesses of the bet cried
Bianchi, with triumphant air, turning to-
ward u.s.
"And he started off,
THE RESULT.
1--WE had no longer any desire to eat We
all sprang to our feet to see what he would
do, but we saw nothing at all. In fact, he
turned into path and crawled like a SER
pent; We did not even hear the sound that
leaf might make in falling. Our eyes did
groan, a deep and hollow 'heu' made US
start. Something fell. Boumi And we
no longer saw the cursed-eXcuSe me, Ia
dies, the cleaning bayonets.
" Five minutes afterward that scapegrace
Biancbi was galloping in the distance like n
horse. BE came back to us very pale and
painting fearfully. He held in his hand the
Spaniard's heart aud showed it laughingly
10 his adversary.
The latter said to him with a serious
air:
"'That's not ALP
az know itp replied Bianchi.
Without washing the blood from his
hands he set up the poles again, readjusted
the pot, quiekened the fire, cooked the heart
and ate it without being in the least in
cOmmoded.
'' He pocketed the 1000 ecus, which he had
promised to a little Partisan yiyandiere.