Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-02-06
BAT TILE THE NILE ! Il,
Where 1.-The Boy Stood on the
II Burning Deck. !"
cAsABIANcA AND HIS FATE.

That was . lucky child who in the
latter part Of the last century escaped
the ordeal Of standing up before q CIR.
Gle Of relatives and friends outwardly
enthusiastic and admiring, inwardly
often greatly bored ito repeat those
well known IL somewhat Inaccurate
lines that tell us how 'the boy stood
on the burning deck" Whether, nins
times out Of ten, the infant reciter Or,
for that matter, any Of the members
at the applauding family circle could
have given the date and place Of the
occurrence may be doubtful. The forty
lines Of Mrs.. Hemans gave them al
the history that they craved, and when
the parrot-like performances closed with
faithful heart a sentimental maiden
aunt would sigh, liberal uncle BE-
stow largesse to the extent Of half Z
crown, and that was al.
1t was in 1796 that young Casabl-
anca, the ten-year-old son Of the COM
modore Of the French flagship Orient,
stood amid the awful devastation Of
the battle Of the Nile. Bonaparte had
himself sailed In the III fated Orient
from Toulon in the previous Nay, tax
ing with him, q. good stock Of bur
gundy and also that famous camp u
brary" Of cabinet editions, including
forty volumes Of English novels, In
which the Bible and the Koran were
|classed under the head Of politics"
More important still for those who love
the picturesque details Of history and
great men, he was accompanied BY his
then private secretary, Louis Antoine
Fauvelet de Bourrienne,s from whose
always entertaining IL not invariably
accurate pen we have capital &C.
count Of the voyage to Egypt.
Much Of the time was passed by Ma
|poleon lying in his berth while Bour-
[Fienne read to him and In promoting
discussions on various questions among
the scientific and other distinguished
men who accompanied the expedition.
The flagship carried population Of
more than 1900 souls, and the cry OF
MAN overboardv' was not infrequent.
On these occasions Bonaparte display
"a side Of his character to which full
Justice is not always done. Bour-
rienne describes his agitation till q res
cue was effected as extreme. On one
occasion false alarm was raised dur
ing the darkness Of night, and the sup
|aosed imam proved to be the quarter
Ia bullock which had dropped from
the rigging, but Napoleon rewarded
the rescuers even more literally than
usual. pointing ont that their exertion
had been for what they believed hu-
man1ife.
The fleet arrived OF the coast Of A.
RIGA on July 1, and here Bourriennc
and his ''Memoirs'' leave the squadron
to accompany the army and his chief
on Land. Brueys, the French admiral,
had during the voyage expressed fore
bodtnss ~ to the result Of an encoun-
ter with the British feet Nelson,
who sailed from Syracuse on July Is,
was confident, but well knew the price
be might be called upon to pay. When
Captain Berry said, If We succeed,
what win the world say7' Nelson re-
Piled: There is no II in the case. That
we shall succeed is certain. Who may
live to tell the story Is q very differ
ent question" For himself he made
that famous anticipation, "A peerage
or Westminster abbey" 5~ -
The battle began at $50 O'Clock, half
an hour before nightfall. Nelson, on
board the Vanguard, new his colors
In III places lest they should be 6hot
away. In few minutes after the
ship had gone into action the crews
Of TIE ll1st SIX guns were swept away
by the terrible fire Of the French feet,
and tnice again during the 6sht were
fresh crews called for. The shot
which struck Nelson on the head tore
from Ills forehead q piece OF skin
which, failing over his one useful eye,
rendered him Tor the time being to-
tally bind. Carried to the cockpit he
insisted on taking his proper turn
among the wounded for the surgeons
attention. Soon after 9 O'clock at
night while he was stil1 below, = cry
arose that the Orient was on ARE.
Unaided and unnoticed In the confu-
sion, Nelson made his way up. and
presently from the Quarterback his
voice was heard shouting orders that
the boats should be lowered to- 90 to
| the assistance OF the Orient.s crew.
The doomed French flagship had but
inst sh eens naintefl. and quantities Of