The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1899-08-15
TIE Majors Reward.
How Soldier Who Had Saved His
Kings Life Was Remembered
In the Hour of Need.

i How Soldier Who Had Saved His !
Q Kings Life Was Remembered o
Z In the Hour of Need. X
o*o*o*o*o*o*oxo*o*oxo*o*oxo
The great battle of Torgau was at its
height. The air was thick with hot,
sitting smoke, and the cannonade
made the very earth tremble as col
umn after column of blue coated Prus-
sian soldiers came sweeping forth
from the wood that sheltered them
from the flaming mouths of 400 cannon
which Numbered necessarily against
the wood held by the Prussians and
against every living thing that issued
from it.
Twice the assailants had forced their
way through the pelting shot, and
twice they had been driven back with
severe loss after desperate conflict.
In the mad hurly burly and confusion
Of that terrible struggle the two armies
had got SO completely mingled together
that not few Prussian and Austrian
regiments had fairly changed places,
and when the third attack began it
was no easy matter for the Prussian
column of assault to make out where
the key Of the enemy's position lay
OF which way they must turn In order
to strike it.
But just then appeared out Of the
thick Of the smoke a small lean, sick
ly looking old man. In a soiled and
threadbare uniform, at the sight of
whom and at the sound of the few
short clear orders that he uttered
everything seemed to arrange itself at
once as if by magic. And well might
1t be so; for this queer little fellow was
no other than the King of Prussia him
self, Frederick the Great, who had al
ready sent Is name throughout the
whole world as the greatest soldier of
his time.
Just then, howeveE a body of Aus
TRAN grenadiers showed themselves
through the rolling smoke at short
distance and began to pour heavy
fire Of musketry upon the Prussians
and their leader. Two men fell wound
ed beside the king, and his own sleeve
was torn by q bullet.
"YOur majesty Is in danger here"
said a Prussian officer, saluting him
respectfully. ."Will you not be pleased
to move farther back%
Frederick was just about to refuse,
for he cared little what risk he ran pro-
vlded his presence could do anything
to turn the fortune of the battle. But
before he had time to speak the officer
(who had placed himself In front of the
king, apparently to shield him from the
flying bullets with his own body fell
to the ground as if struck by lightning.
Frederick stopped over him with a
look of concern, for he saw that the
breast Of the fallen mans uniform had
been pierced by a bullet and naturally
concluded that he must be either killed
or mortally wounded. But, to his no
small amazement, the supposed dead
man suddenly rose from the earth, to
all appearances quite uninjured, and
took out Of his clothes a fiattened mus
ket ball, which had been stopped by
the metal cover of miniature that be
wore in his breast.
Il shall keep this" said he, holding
out the shapeless piece of lead. Sin re-
membrance of your majesty"
You shall have something better
than that to remember me by, my
brave fellow" answered the king kind
ly. "You have saved my life, and you
shall not find me ungrateful What is
your name|
The officer told it. Frederick repeat
ed 1t twice to himself, as If to fix it
more surely in his memory. and then he
said:
very good; will not forget you. If
we both live through this nights work,
you shall be promoted. And now let
each Of us go to his duty"
And on the following morning, when
the battle was won and the Austrian
army in full retreat, King Frederick
made good his promise.
But, unhappily, the brave officers
good fortune went no further than this
Two years later the war came to an
end, and Frederick. with his treasury
empty and his whole kingdom lying
wasted and ruined around him, was
fam to devote every penny that he
could raise to the putting of matters to
rights again.
AS matter of course every branch
of public expenditure had to be cut
down to the very lowest point Among
other economies the army was reduced
by a good many thousand men, and
the sudden disbanding of so many reg
iments at once was a heavy blow to
hundreds of officers who Unexpectedly
found themselves cast upon the world
in their old age with no occupation, no
money In their pockets and no visible
way Of getting any.
Among the countless sufferers by this
measure was poor Major Tapfermann,
the hero of Torgau, who. with three
wounds, chronic rheumatism and al
most as little money as he had ten
years before, found it no easy matter
to make both ends meet"
One by one he had to part with all
the little knickknacks which he had
treasured up so long-the silver mount
ed pistols presented to him by junior
officers of his regiment, the fieldglass
which he had used during his last cam
paign and the ivory handled hunting
knife which had been given to him by
an Austrian prisoner to whom he had
shown some kindness. Even his watch
had to be sold at last. But, although
in this sore strait, he could not bring
himself to part with the chain which
had been gift to him from his wife
not long before her death.
There was still, however, one hope
left for the poor old man. King Fred
erick was now back again in his palace
at Potsdam, near Berlin; and, having
by this time begun to get the affairs Of
his kingdom into some sort of order
again, he was not so overwhelmingly
busy as he had been before. Perhaps
some help might be got from him, and,
Mt all events, 1t was worth while to
try.
Tapfermann's first idea was to draw
up a memorial stating his case and
send it to Frederick himself; but he
then remembered that it would have to
pass through several hands before
reaching the king and might possibly
never reach him at all In any case
he oo,.Id not a ford IN xroff louer FOR q n
answer, being almost down to his last
penny as it was, so he finally determin-
ed to present himself at the palace and
see what would become of it.
The very next morning accordingly