The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-01-05

Tsp Blum Old Mariner Afsss w. ~
French warship IL Kamsa.
One Of the French warships whioh oooh
part In the Columbian naval review q Now
York was named the Jean HsrA ~ tho
ship was one Of the first class. and attract
ed consequently great deal Of at>ontfou.
no little curiosity was aroused by H. name,
which to most people sssmsd . stsango
one In books OF reference peopls weSs
told that Jean Bart was Ersuch s1m1rn1
who flourished at the close Of The ooyons
teenth century, and who, beginning lifo -
fisherman. rose to high rank and booomo
popular hero. but none Of the current
biographies contains any Of the cuxious on0
amusing anecdotes about him which havO
come down from the time when be lived.
One of these stories will ssRve = uhoW
what sort OF man jean Bart was. When hs
had made brilliant record q Kind Of
buccaneer and shown that he Yves much
abler sea warrior than any Of the officers OF
Doble birth who commanded the navy,
King Louis XIV made him FIRST lIeutsn-
ant and then the captain Of friknxe, IN
which position he greatly distinguishsd
himself.
One day, while several elegant oourttsuu
were waiting In the great monarch's ante
chamber for an interview with the king,
rather rough looking sailor came In. The
courtiers and attendants were greatly
shocked, but the sailor announced that ho
was Jean Bart, and that he had come to
see the king. One of his men. Keyser, hnd
been condemned to death for killing man
in duel. and he was going 70 ask the king
to pardon him.
"But, M. 10 Capitaine," said the attend
ant, "have you a royal invitation emitting
you to an audiencee"
"A royal invitationf" exclaimed the cap
tain. what do want of thatr The king
and are good friends. No need Of all that
nonsense between usi You just tell him
that Jean Bart wants to talk to him, and
that'll be enoughr"
But / can't announce any one whn
hasn't an invitation" said the attendant.
"All right" said Jean Bart. "pll an
nounce myselfp'
He bounded toward the door of the king's
apartment, very much Us IL be were start
ing to run up mainppst. The attendant,
with pale face, placed himself before him.
exclaiming:
But the kings ordersi Don't you obey
the kings ordersS"
"Oh. WE'LL" said the sailor, III IL comes
to that, I'll wait. won't 60 against the
kings orders"
He sat down among the astonished court
iers, took out a pipe and some tobacco,
struck light with his flint and tinder and
began to smoke. The attendant protested
that no one smoked in the king's ante
chamber, but Jean Bart insisted that when
he was waiting he always smoked.
"Put him OUT some one whispered, but
no one ventured to do more than whisper
it. Soon the king learned what was going
on and ordered Jean Bart ushered IN a.
soon as he should have finished hie pipe.
The interview, in which Jean Bart con-
Quoted himself with all due respect to the
king, ended in the granting Of Keyser's
pardon, and Jean Bart came back into the
courtiers' presence triumphant
They all crowded about the blum captain.
very obsequious to him now, and completely
blocking his exit. He was in grsst haste 70
carry the pardon to Keyser.
"Oh, tell us, NJ. Jean Bart, the courticrs
began to exclaim, tell US how you got out
of the harbor of Dunkirk when you wexu
blockaded there by the English flestr'
"You want to know, ehi" asked the cap
tain, pausing.
"Certainlyr'' they exclaimed. erowding
still more closely about him.
"All right. I'll show you just how 'twao
done. Look here. I'm Jean Bart, amt II
Well, this room is the barbor Of Dunkirk,
and you fellows are the English dest block
aiding me. And now"---
whack! bangl whack! Jean Bart laid
about him, now administering cun, now
kick, and very forcibly clearing . way TO-
ward the door. AS he reached It 10 sx-
claimed:
"And that's the way. gentlemen, that I
got out OF Dunkirk harbor when ] wns
blockaded there by the English flseti Good
byr'
The warship that bears the name Of this
redoubteble seadog should be o formidable
antagonist Youths Companion.