The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1896-10-16
A MODEST HERO.
lie Boldly DfscEafms Credit For Erave
Deed Attributed to Him.

Z
Deed Attributed to Him.
! Recently in Gloucester Mas, a mem
Der Of the Detroit Free Press staff became
acquainted with Captain BicIlford whose
| experiences as first gunner on the Kcar-
sarge in the celebrated cnga cement with
the Alabama are of considerable interest.
| The captain is now residing il the old fish
ing toxin. He wears a medal, one of tho
few presented by Uncle sam to his bravo
sailors in the war, upon which appears
words showing that it is Il testimonial for
vaiDr performed in tho noteworthy engage
mcnt This battle royal took place on Sum
day, juno 10, 1861. The armament OF tho
kCarsargG WIS seven guns and that Of tho
Alabama eight guns, including & 100
pound Blalscly rife. The KcarSargc had
1913 men and the Alabama 149. This was
the most important sea fight Of the var
bcUwcen two ships, the Alabama being
sunk after an engagement lasting hour
and 20 minutes. But three men were
wounded on the Kearsargc
1t is tradition at Gloucester that Cap
tain BicEford received his medal for throw
ing overheard one Of the encmy's shells
which lighted upon the deck Of the kcir-
sarge. The captain was asked about >lis
and laughed heartily.
ed. 'Now that isgood Yet [ have ,aad
about such things in books written about
sea fights and hist9yies of heroic deeds fur
nishad to children in the schools, but I be-
icvc such thing is impossible. In tho
first place, shell is timed to explode in n
certain brief interval, fraction OF u Soc
ond after striking. In the next place, u
shell is Il very heavy article to handle Did
you ever try to lift one? If you have, you
won't believe all that is said about people
throwing an enemy's shell overheard.
"Supposo IL shell rested on the deck.
How long DO you think it would wait for u
man TO come and pick it up, sJagrer to
the side beneath its weight and then ha&ve
it out into the ocean? By the timo he took
three steps toward it off il would 20 Io
had better jump overheard himself and let
the shell take care OF itself.
'What did you get the medal for, cap
t!in?''
"D0n't know; never found out. II wasn't
for hoaving shells overheard though. That
would make n nice story TO tell laEdsmcn,
but a sailor aboard u man-of-w;r would
have his own opinion about the yarn
a Labouchero Card story.
A story which Mr.. Laboucherc tells about
his prowcss at cards concerns Khalil Pasha,
a Turkish diplomat who dissipatcd & for
tune in gambling. When he was Turkish
ambassador i'll st. Petersburg, he lost sew
eral million francs ut whist to tho RGs-
slams about the court. which he paid like IL
gentleman. "Hc once saved me" sid
Lahouchcrc "from II heavy loss. He, Il
Russian and | SIT down one evening TO
have a quiet rubber. The russians have q
hidcous device of playing with what they
call Il Zcro--that is u say, zero is added 70
all winnings and losses; So that ton stands
for 100, etc.
''Whcn Khalil and tho Russian had won
their dummies, found, to my horror, that,
with the zero, | had lost about &f,000
Then it came to my turn to take dummy.
1 had won IL game, and my opponents had
won Il game, and We were playing fer the
ODD trick in the last game. If l had failed
10 win It, l should lose about -, 900. Only
two c;~ds remained in my hand. l mad
marked up six tricks and my opponents
five. Khalil had the lead. He had tho
best trump and thirteenth card
"Thc only other trump was in the hands
of the dummy. He had, therefore, only 30
play his trump and then tho thirteenth
card to win the rubber, when lie let drop
the latter card, for his fingers were OF Il
very 'thumby' description. Before Eo
could take it I'D pushed tho dummy's
trump on it and claimed the trick The
Russian howled; khalil howled. They
said that this was very sharp practice I
replied that whist is Cssentialiya game Of
sharp practice, and that l was acting i'll
accordance with the rules. The lockers on
wcro appealed TO and Of course decided in
my favor.
"Thus did 1 make, or rather save, GO
O00 AGAINST Russia and Turkey in alliance
tLrough the fault Of the Turk. "-Pears5n's
Weekly.