Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-04-04

| as CooIl 90 ~ pCSuu UnC iii
lishman lit his pipe and swore it should
not go out. He kept his word. The leg
lay dead on the floor, and he continued to
smoke.
Theveret finished the business like a
master. The invalid was healed in a re-
markably short time. He paid the sur
geon, whom he treasured more highly ev-
cry day, thanked him with tears of joy for
the loss Of his leg and sailed for England
with a wooden leg.
Some Is weeks after his departure from
the house Ihevenet received a letter from
England whose contents were as follows:
Please accept Enclosed draft for 200 guineas.
You have made me the happiest mortal on
earth by freeing me from the limb which was
the hindrance to my earthly bliss. Brave man!
You shall know now the cause Of my foolish
within, as you termed it. You believed then
there could be no sensible ground for such
self mutilation. I offered to bet with you.
You did well not to take it. After my second
return from the East Indies l became acquaint-
ed with Emily Harley, the most perfect won
all in the world. I adored her.
My relatives were attracted by her property
| and her family, but I only by her beauty and
+! her heavenly disposition.
l Joined the throng of her admirers. All, my
| OCdI AhOfCLOpS 1 AuPPy OhOoS1 w
the unhappiest of these rivalsl She loved me
me above all men. She did not disguise it.
/; Yet she rejected me for that very reason. In
vain l begged for her hand. In vain her par
ents and her friends begged for me. She re.
manned immovable. For a long time / failed
to guess the reason of her aversion to a union
with me, whom she admitted she loved to DIES
p%eration.
One Of her sisters at last betrayed the secret.
Miss Harley was a miracle Of beauty, but had
the misfortune to have been born with but one
leg and feared to become my wife because of
this imperfection. She trembled lest it might
cause a revulsion of feeling in me when ! knew
the truth.
My decision was Instantly taken. | would
become like her. Thanks to you, l did SO. !
came back to London and fastened to see Miss
Harley.
l had written beforehand to England that !
had broken my leg by a fall from a horse, and
| that it had been amputated. l received uni
versal pity. Emily fell in a swoon when she
first saw me. She was long inconsolable.
But she became my wife. Not till the day
after the wedding did ! reveal to her the secret
Of what q sacrifice my desire for her had oc
casioned, She loved me only the more ten
derby.
Oh, my dear Thevenet. if l had ten legs to
lose I would give them up without a murmur
for Emily! So long as / live ! shall be thank
full to you. Come to London and make us a
visit. Learn to know my glorious wife and
then say, il you can, ! am a fooll
CHARLES temple
Thevenet told the anecdote and read the
letter to various friends and laughed up
roariously every time, crying, ITO my
mind he Is still a fool!'
This was his answer to the letter:
S1R-1 thank you for your valuable gift. !
must call it SO since it is far beyond adequate
compensation for my trouble. | wish you Joy
in your marriage with the lovely English
woman. 1t is true a leg is much to give for
a beautiful, virtuous and tender wife, yet
not too much if one is not deceived in the bar
gain.
Adam paid for his spouse with a rib, and the
possession Of beauty has cost many another
man a rib and some Of them a head into the
bargain.
Nevertheless allow me with all modesty to
remain of my old opinion. Certainly you are
right for the moment. You dwell now in the
paradise of the honeymoon. But I am right,
too, with this difference, that my right will
ripen slowly, like every truth that one long
h~esitates to accept.
Sir, take care. l fear that after two years
you will regret that you had your leg taken off
above the knee.
After three years you will be convinced that
the loss of a foot would have been enough;
after four you will believe that the sacrifice
of your great toe and after five that the ampu'
tation Of the little toe would have been too
much. After six you will admit that the re-
moval of the toe nail would have been stuff
Gent.
All this without disparagement to your
charming consort. Ladies can preserve their
beauty and virtue less altered than men their
opinions. In my youth l would have given my
life for the loved one any day; never my leg.
For the one / should have had no regret, for
the other a lifelong regret. Had done SO
should be saying today, ''Thevenet, you are a
fooll" With which l have the honor to remain.
sir, your obedient servant,
LoU1s THEvENET.
In 1898, during the reign Of terror, M.
Thevenet, whom a younger physician had
cast under suspicion Of being an aristocrat,
fled to London to save his head from the
rank leveling guillotine. He inquired
after Sir Charles Temple and was directed
to his mansion. His name was announced
and he was received at once.
In an armchair by the fireside, surround
ed by newspapers and with a jug of foam
ing porter at his elbow sat a stout gentle.
a
He was SO heavy he could scarcely rise.
Welcome, M. Theyenet," cried the fat
gentleman. do not take it amiss that !
keep my seat. This cursed wooden leg
binders Inc in everything. My friend, you
have come to see whether your right has
ripenedp"
II come as a refuge and seek protection
from you"
"You must live with me, for truly you
are a wise man. You must console me.
On my word, Thevenet, I should be today
perhaps admiral Of the blue If it were not
for this goddess leg, which makes me in
competent for the service of my country.
Here I sit reading papers and cursing my
self to think I'm not fit for it. Come and
console me-"
"Your lady wife will know how to con
sole you better than l."
mot sol Her wooden leg keeps hei
from dancing, SO she has given herself UP
to cards. There's no getting along with
her-otherwise an agreeable wifel"
"Whatl So I was right after alp"
Perfectly, my dear Thevenet. But nc
more on that point. 1t was a stupid
prank. If I had my leg again, l wouldn't
give the pairing of a nail from it. Between
you and me, I was a fool! But keep that
to yourself. From the German Fol
Short Stories.