The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1891-02-12

5 s., ~ 80 J.
tate s ny leg: What you vim not do To-
ne eisner out Of courtesy or love Of 70
D. ward OF fear of . bullet, you shall - s..
cord through pity"
How 10, STRIP -
y will myself, here upon the moi
before your eyes, shatter my leo with
g pistol shot. y -
The Eng ishman sat down. aeizeds tha
pistol md held the muzzle 5close .oa, III.
s nus Knee. Mons. Thevenet was about 10
spring towards him to wrest the pistol
from his hand. 80.
DO not move,'' said the Enelishman.
or I viii fire. Only answer me one
question: Do you wish unnecessarily to
increase and prolong my sufferineq"
Sir, you are q fool! Have your own
way! win take your leg of. =
Mons. Thevenet accomplished his task
Ike master. The invalid was,
through his skill, in brief time restored
TO health. He rewarded his physician,
whom he esteemed more highly every
day; shed tears Of Joy for.the loss Of his
limb. and sailed back to England with
q wooden leg. ~
Some eighteen weeks after the En-
glishman's departure, Thevenet re-
ceived letter from England, the con-
tents Of which was the following:
You receive the Enclosure is o proof OF nv
most profound gratitude. 1t is draft for two
nonorec and nifty guineas on M. sPanschaud.
banker, in Paris. You have made me the han.
p1est OF earthly mortals In depriv,ng mo Of nv
ilmn' which stood In the way OF my earthly
ha piness @ ~-s
Worthy man. now you may know the cause of
my foolish whin, as you then called It. You as.
serted, on the occasion referred to, that there
could be no reasonable ground for q self-im
posed muttlation such as mine. I offered then
to lay you . wager. You acted wisely in not 90
ceptirg it.
After my second return from the East Indies
made the acquaintance OF Emily Harley the
most perfect Of women. adored her. Her
wealth, her family connections were satis-
factory to my relatives. To me her beauty aud
angelic disposition were alone attractive I
mingled in the throng of her admirers. Alas!
my good Thevenet, was fortunate enough to
become the most unfortunate of my rivals. She
i ss me--oeSond any and oil men. me. She
ola not conceal It; and for that very reason she
dismissed me. In vain I supplicated for her
hand. Her parents and friends all joined with
ne. In vain! She remained immovable.
Fer long time was unable to discover the
ground of her objection to marriage with me,
whom she passionately loved, as she herself
confessed. At length one OF her sisters dis.
closed to me the secret. Miss Harley was mar.
velously beautiful but had the misfortune to
nave been born with one leg. and by rea on OF
this 1mperiection she hesitated to become nv
wife. She feared I would esteem her less on
account Of this imperfectton.
ut once reso we'd to b. come like her. Thanks
70
accomplished
returned to London with my artificial leg.
MY first thought was to visit Miss Harley.
mad previously written to Engl md that through,
fall from my horse had broken my leg, and
that amputation had become necessary I had
the sympathy Of all, and Emily swooned the
| 1rst time she saw me- She was for long tim
1nconsolable. but she became my wife. The
day following cur marriage I contded to her
my secret how great sacrifice my desire to
possess her had cost me. She loved me SO much
the more tenderly. Oh! my good Thevenet, il /
possessed ten legs to lose, would, without q
sign OF regret, give them oil for Emily.
I shall be grateful to you as long as I live.
Como to London and visit us. Learn to know
my glorious wife, and then say again Il am q
TOOL" CHARLES TEMpLE.
Mons. Thevenet showed this letter to
his friends, and rotated the incident,
and laughed most heartily as often as
he told the story. Nevertheless. he is
q fool" said he.
The following was Mons. Thevenet's
reply:
SIR thank you for your magnificent pres.
ent for SO must call it, because can not term
| 1t compensation for the small service rendered
you.
wish you happiness IN your marriage with
MI ct nfE ,oir1 I, Id:
leg Is much to give for q beautiful virtuous and
tender wife; yet not too much. il in the end orc
does not come to feel that he has been cheated
| In the exchange. Adam was obliged to sacrifice
rib for his wife; and it has cost many othe,
men q rib for their loves-some head. But
after all you must permit me. very moderately,
to stand by my opinion. Indeed. for the present
moment you are right. You are now in the par.
adise Of the spring time Ct matrimony But
am right also, with this difference only that nv
view comes but slowly to be recognized and ac-
cepted. like every truth which one at first de.
clines to receive.
Have a care, sir; fear that within two year.
you will regret that you had your leg taken Of
above the knee
You will think it would have been much bet
ter below the knee. At the end of three yen, {
you will be convinced that the loss Of q foot
would have been sufficient. In four years you
will affirm that the sacrifice Of great toe and
III HVe years, the ami utatlOn OF little toe
would be too great. At the end OF six years, you
will G. Mess that the cutting of the nail would
have been sufficient.
l say all this without any purpose OF detract
ing m~the worth of your estimable wife
Women con preserve their beauty and virtue.
more unallerable than men their judgments I. @
| speeding them. In my youth could any day
huve sacrificed my life for beautiful woman
but .pever leg: for that should never, my life
long have ceased to repent II had done SO
should to-day say: "Tnevenet, thou vast q
fool" With which have the honor to be. Won,
most obedient servant, THEvENEr.
the year 1898, during the Reign OF
Terror, Mons. Thevenet, whom a young
surgeon had caused to be suspected OF