The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-13
SOLDIERS FACING DEATH
TO WIN A BRIDE,

Ever since the young lady immortalized
by Schiller in his poem, The Glove put
her lovers courage to the test by throwing
her glove among the fierce lions ROWING
in the arena. and dared him to rescue 1t,
there have not been wanting maids who ce-
mand proofs of their lovers prowess before
giving heart and hand into their custody.
1t Is a ~well-known fact, says London Tit
Bits, that the courage Of many of our brave
soldiers in South Africa has been inspired
as much Ly the hope of winning a bride rs
by love of country, and 1t has been the
memory OF many a fair young face 900
miles away that has Steeled the nerves and
set the teeth of our soldiers when death
has looked them most closely in the face.
Only last spring u young officer of Flu
siliers claimed n beautiful BRIDE as the re-
ward of his valor. Many wooers had sought
her hand, but only two of them. brother
officers in the same regiment, had any
chance of winning it, and their claims were
SO equal that the young lady ~laughlnS!y
promised 1t to the one who came home
from the war with the d. S; .. to prove his
valor. OF the two rivals only one returned:
having won the coveted order by a feat of
almost mad daring in the attack on Pieter's
Hill. while his unhappy feLSw-ofieer was
shot through the heart as he bravery leo his
men up its bullet-swept sleeps.
Less than two years ago a young aristo-
crat. the younger son OF a weii-known peer.
won his bride by his proves as a big
game hunter. He had wooed her for a long
time, but the young lady persistently re-
fused to give her consent, or even to treat
IF 1 marry at all" she would say. at
must be to a man, and not to a mere draw
ing-room idler and club-lounger.'
Tell me what l can do TO prove that l
am a man, and 1 will do it," the lover pro-
tested, IT. A.
might go out and shoot a Few lions, and
then come to me-"
A fortnight later the lover was on his
way to Africa fully determined to clear the
Continent of lions, but at the very outset
of his destructive career he came to grief.
The very first lion he encountered not only
refused to be killed. but coming to close
quarters with the huntsman mauled him so
severely that he was taken back TO the
coast more dead than alive, and 1t was SIX
months before he could handle a gun again.
To prove that. though nearly killed, he
was far from being beaten. he returned
again to the interior. and within another
six months was on his way home to claim
his bride with half a dozen lion skins to
prove that he was more than a mere club
%lourger.
A recent fatal duel in Bavaria was the di-
rect consequence of a womans FOOLISH wish
to test the valor of her lover. Herr Copper.
The young lady CONSIDERED that a certain
army officer. Captain Heinrich scheller,
and. when during the same evening Herr
Coerper asked her to become his wife. she
declared that she would consent on one con-
dition-that her lover challenged the in
solent Captain to a duel and punished him
for his affront.
The gallant young wooer sought out the
Captain, and when he refused to give salts
faction struck him violently in the face.
calling him a coward and a disgrace to
the army. This insult left the Captain no
alternative: a duel was forthwith arranged
for the following morning, when Coerper
received q mortal wound, paying for his
foolish gallantry with his life
A very tragic story of this kind is told of
an Italian lover, Gerolamo Bianco. who
sacrificed his life without a moments hesi-
tation to prove his love of Margharita Cas-
SIMS. The two lovers were exploring the
Tower of Pisa. when. as a result Of soma
foolish quarrel. the girl passionately de-
clared, You do not love me-
Tn vain Bianco professed that he did love
her as no man ever yet had loved a woman.
There is nothing I would not do to prove
my love- he passionately exclaimed, as
they reached the summit Of the over.
IT you really love me" Margharita an
swered. petulantly, you VIII jump from
the tower"
Bianco looked at her for a moment. as If
to see whether or not she was in earnest,
and then. with an "Addio. carissima." nung
himself over the parapet to certain death.
M~argharita is now an inmate OF an asylum
lover does not come 70 Visit hef.