The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-05-24
MY SERVANT ANDREAS.
Archibald Forbes in 1.-THE Idlsr."l

OuL IL happened That this resolution on
the part OF Andreas to accompany Ine
into the fights once assuredly saved my
lie. 1t was on the day OF Djunis, the last
battle fought by the Servians. In the
early part of the day there was q good
deal of scattered woodland fighting in
front of the intrenched line, which they
abandoned when the Turks came on in
earnest. Andreas and / were among the
trees trying to find a position from which
something was to be seen, when all of
q sudden |. who was in advance,
pumped right into the center of small
scouting party of Turks. They tore me
out of the saddle and | had given N.Y.
self up for lost-foE the Turks took no
prisoners, their cheerful practice being
to slaughter first aud then abominably
to mutiate-when suddenly Andreas
dashed in among my captors, shouting
aloud In language which | took to be
Turkish, since he beloved "Etiendi,"
as he pointed TO me. lie had thrown
away bis blllycock and substituted fez,
which he afterwards told me he always
carried in case OF accidents, ana in
one hand be waved a dingy piece of
parchment with a seal dangling from
it. which 1 assumed was some obsolete
tirman. The result was truly amazing.
and the scene had some real humOr in
it. With profound salaams, the Turks
unhanded me, helped me TO mount, and
as | rode off at a tangent with Andreas at
nv horses head, called after me what
sounded like friendly farewells When
we were back among the Russians-I
don't remember seeing much of the Ser
visns later on that dRy-A ndreas ex-
planned that he had passed himself for
the Turkish dragoman OF British CORE
spondent, whom the padishah delighted
to honor, and that. after expressing a
burning desire to defle the graves OF their
collective female ancestry. he had assured
my captors that they might count them
selves as dead men if they did not imme-
diately release me. To his ready-witted
conduct undoubtedly owe the ability to
write now this record OF g man of curious
ly complicated nature.
When the campaign ended with the
Seryian defeat at ID unis, Andreas went back
TO his head waitership at the Serbishcs
Krone, in Belgrade. Before leaving that
capital | had the honor of being present
at his nuptials, ceremony the amenity
OF which was some what disturbed by the
violent incurslon into the sacred edifice Of
sundry ladies, all claiming to have prior
cgins on the bridegroom OF the hour
They were. however, placated and subse-
quentiy Joined the marriage feast IN the
great arbor behind the Krone Andreas
faithfully promised to come 10 me to the
end OF the earth on receipt OF a telegram.
ii 1 should require his services. ami he
were alive.
Next spring the Russo. Turkish war
broke out, and hurried eastward in time
20 see the first ossack cross the Pruth. |
had telegraphed lndreas from England 10
NJ ~ 10 Ill.
Belgrade. Bazias is the place where the
railway used to end and where we took
steamer Tor the lower Danube. Andreas
was duly on hand, ready and serviceable
as Of old, little faiter and a triile more
consequential than when we had last
parted. lie was. II possible. rather more
at home IN Bucharest than be mad been in
Belgrade, and recommended NE TO Brotft's
hotel. in comparison with which the
charges of the Brunswick in
New York are infinitesimal.
lie bought my wagon and
team; he found riding horses when they
were said TO be unprocurab e; he con-
structed the most ingenious tent, of which
the wagon was, so 10 speak, the roof tree
he laid In stores, arranged for RELAYS of
couriers and furnished me with a coach
man in the person of q Roumanian Jew,
who. he one day owned. was a distant
connection, and whose leading attribute
was that he could survive more sleep than
any other human being | have ever
known. We took the field auspiciously
Mr. Frederick Nilliers, the war artist of
the London Graphic. being my campaign
ing comrade. Thus early / discerned a
slight rift In the lutte. Andreas did not
like Niliiers, which showed his bad taste
or, rather, perhaps, the nRrrOwness OF his
capacity OF affection; and | fear Nilliers
did not much like Andreas. whom he
thought was too familiar. This was true,
and il was my fault but really il was with
difficulty that l could bring myself to
treat Andreas as a servant. lie was pIore
in nv estimation, in the nature of the
confidential major-domo, and to me he
was simply invaluable. Nilliers had to
chew his mustache and glover discomfort
edly at Andreas.
l had some good couriers for the con-
Veyance Of dispatches back across the
Danube TO Bucharest. whence everything
was telegraphed to London; but they
were essentially fair weather men. The
casual courier may be alert, loyal, and
Trustworthy: he may be relied on to try
his honest best, but il is not TO be- ex-
pected OF him that he will greatly dare
and count his life but as dross when his
incentive TO enterprise is merely filthy
lucre. But / could trust Andreas to dare
and TO endure-to overcome obstacles,
and il man could, to get there" where,
in the base quarters OF Bucharest, the
amanuenses were waiting to copy out in
round hand for the foreign telegraphist
the rapid script of the correspondent
scribblinR for life in the saddle or the cleft
OF commanding tree while the shells
were whistling past. We missed him
dreadfullY when be was gone-even Viii
Tiers, who liked good cooking, owned to
thinking long for his return. For, in adj
dition TO his other virtues. Andreas was n
capital cook. IL is true that his courses
had a babit of arriving at long and uncer-
tain intervals. Alter dish OF pungent
stew. no other viands appearing to loom
in the near future Villiers and myself
would betake ourselves 10 smoking, and
perhaps on a quiet day would lapse into
slumber. From this We would be aroused
by Andreas, 10 partake OF a second course
OF roast chicken, the bird having been
alive and unconscious of its impending
fate when the first course had been served.
No man Is perfect and as regarded An
dreas, there were some petty spots on the
sun. lie had. for instance, a mania for
the purchase OF irrelevant poultry, and
for accommodating the fowls in our wag-
on, tied by legs against the day OF starva-
ton. which he always but causelessly APP
pretended. / do not suppose any reader
has ever had any experience OF domestic
poultry as bed-iellows, and | may caution