St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-01-02
WLL|ERS TALKS WAR,
He Gives Some Recollections
of Great Battles and
Great Captains.
His Experiences and His Sem
sations on His First
Battlefield.
Interesting Anecdotes Of the
Russian General, SkO-
belief.
How the Fights Of the Fut-
ure Will Likely Be
Fought.


ent, is a strong, well set up. soldierly
man. with the tales of travel and adj
venture, with strong, open, clear cut,
handsome face. A soldier to his finger
tips. One of the most popular men, he
is, on earth. Nobody has so many
friends. An interesting man wiJhal
to know and talk with.
On his studio walls hang the helmets
of many nations; the spears OF Abys
sinia and of the field of Ell Teb; the At
CHAN knife Rudyard Kipling talks
about; Burmese tapestry, and the
luncheon basket of King Theebaw of
Mandalay. Everything like the man
himself. picturesque and with a history.
Villiers told me about them as we sat
one day at lunch, with old-fashioned
green and pink Nuremberg glasses be-
fore us OH the table, says New York
Recorder correspondent.
"How do you SKETCH" | asked him,
ION the battlefield"
IL take" he said, "some very small
sketch books with me; 50 small | can
hold them in my hand. In these |
make my notes of costumes, weapons
and positions. l have to be very quick
L
big book l can use in the heat of the
engagement when people are too ex-
cited to notice me. Sometimes l have
sketched on my thumb nails. remem
Der once during the mobilization OF
Russian soldiers on the Roumanian
frontier [ had hard work to escape OBJ
serVation. l began Sketchlng on my
thumb, forgetting it was degrees below
zero, and had nearly to lose my thumb,
sketch and all, by frost bite. | only
knew this when | got to my hotel and
began drawing from my thumb. Then
the pain as it began to thaw was eX-
cruciating."
Didn't you feel nervous the first day
you were Outr'
"Ahw said he, with a backward
glance at the long-dead past, 'that first
day, | shall never forget it, 1t was at a
place called Sinitza, on the border OF
Bosnia. that | received my baptism of
fire. The Servians, with whose army |
was marching, were about to invade
Turkish territory by attacking that
town. | marched with the troops on,
foot, and | heard the crack of the mus
kerry In our immediate front, but this
didn't appeal to me more than field
day at Wimbledon would have done. At
first one never thinks of the danger
when one only hears the noise of the
firing. Presently, on my left, a battery
of Servian artillery in position opened
fire. So | walked up and watched
their shells bursting in some
scrub in our immediate front,
and presently curious rushing noise,
came through the air, and then there
was terrific explosion behind me,
where stood small pine forest. When
| this explosion took place the top OF one
of the pines was blown into atoms, and
a noise very much like that Of huge
tuning fork, from the vibration of one
| of the trees that had been struck, made
me wonder for moment what had hap
pened. Very soon the Servian battery
| Iimbered up and began to quickly retire
down the road through the forest up to
which we had marched in the early
morning. was looking Oh at this, to
me, extraordinary movement on the
| part Of the Servians, when number OF
| Servian infantry who had been lying
under cover of the scrub in front
of our battery rushed past me.
| AS the mass of men crowded a
| little on entering the road down which
the artillery was now disappearing, one
| of the enemy's shells, instead of strk-
ing the pine trees, burst in their very
midst. Then, for the first time, the
| horror Of war burst upon me; before the
noise of the explosion had ceased ring
| ing in my sat least half dozen poor
fellows were writhing in their last ag-
ony, torn to pieces by the segments Of
the shell. 1t was then, to steady my
own nerves, that | began the first of a
series of sketches of war pictures with
which have illustrated wars and bat
Ties in every part of the known world"
"Who is the most interesting soldier
of all those whom you have known, Mr..
| Villiers?"
"Skobeleff, emphatically," he replied;
81 knew him Iwell-no one knew him
better. We were great chums. He was
regular figure of romance. He en-
bodied all the qualities of those heroes
| | had WorshlDed ever since | was a
boy. Marlborough, Give, Napoleon, n ell
son, WelliDgton-all those 'chappies, in
short" continued he, with Il humor-
Gus smile, she was an embodiment
of the lot. The last timel ever saw him
will always live in my memory. 1t was
Z when the Russian army was facing
Constantinople. 1t was splendid
instance that army afforded of the
survival OF the fittest. Thirty thou
sand grim warriors who had come
through that terrible campaign under
Skobeleff were ready at moments
notice to occupy the city of the Sultans.
1t was a gray afternoon; the great gen
eral stood outside his tent, with his bare.
shaven head, looking like MuSSelman,
his flowing yellow beard blown by the
breeze, his deeply tanned features, his
blue eyes and well-chiseled nose
there he stood in his gray over
coat, the very incarnation of war,
and a remarkable picture he made out
lined against the gloomy background.
Further on was his escort just lighting
up their camp fires. had arrived from
Constantinople to bid farewell to the
general as | was ordered to Malta to
meet our own Indian contingent. Sko-
belief said: Not goodbye, Villiers, but
au revor. We shall meet again, but
how? viii it be when we Russians
face the Brtish?'-for SkoDeleff fully
believed, as did the people in 1873. that
a campaign was impending between
England and Russia-'or will you throw
in your fortune with us and come with
me? 1t would be new experience for
YOU But replied, general, how
would it be if you were beaten, for, you
know. we English are never defeated"
He laughed and said: We'll, anyhow,
you shall be well looked after; no harm
shall come to you in my care / re-
!
shook hands, and with his good wishes
ringing in my ears. departed. | never
saw that splendid figure of romance
again. We have only eQualed him once
in this century, and that WAS when
Gordon diedat Khart0unl."
Mr.. VillierS and L then drlfted into a
conversation concerning the soldiers of
the world.
"Kiplng apparently, at first" said
Villiers, 'Seems severe OH the British
soldier. but he always speaks the truth
about him. | can see that in his heart
he has the greatest respect and admira-
ton for his pluck. 1t is only question
of their youth and want of experience
For instance, in that delightfully."- true,
bold sketch. The Drums of the Fore
and Aft ne mentions an incident
which have seen more than once my
self occur in those little fights we had
up inAfghanistan. And especially true
in his adulation Of the soldierly quail
oe n ri yl,n