Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1909-01-28
BATTLE OF THE NILE,
Where "the Boy Stood on the
Burning Deck"
CASABlANCA AND HIS FATE

The Facts About the Little Hero OF
Mrs. Hemans' Famous Poem, His
Father and the Tragedy of the
Doomed French Flagship, the Orient.
That was lucky child who in the
latter part OF the Lest eAa!rry escaped
the ordeal of standing up before cir
Gle of relatives and friends-outwardly
enthusiastic and admiring, inwardly
often greatly bored-to repeat those
well known If somewhat inaccurate
lines that tell us how 1.-THE boy stood
on the burning deck" Whether, nine
times out of ten, the infant reciter or,
for that matter, any Of the members
of 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 all
the history that they craved, and when
the parrot-like performance closed with
faithful heart a sentimental maiden
aunt would sigh, liberal uncle be-
stow largesse to the extent Of half
crown, and that was all.
1t was In 1913 that young Casabi-
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 Ill fated Orient
from Toulon in the previous May, TAX
ing with him a good stock of bur-
gundy and also that famous "camp IL
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, from whose
always entertaining If not invariably
accurate pen we have capital ac-
count of the voyage to Egypt.
Much of the time was passed by Ma
poleon lying In his berth while Bour-
rienne 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 1000 souls, and the cry OF
Man overboardr was not infrequent.
On these occasions Bonaparte display
ed a side Of his character to which full
justice Is not always done. Bour-
rienne describes his agitation tin res
cue was effected as extreme. On one
occasion false alarm was raised dur
Ing tine darkness of night, and the sup
posed "man" proved to be the quarter
Of a bullock which had dropped from
the rigging, but Napoleon rewarded
| the rescuers even more literally than
usual, pointing out that their exertion
had been for what they believed hu-
man life.
The feet arrived or the coast, Of AZ
rica on July /, 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.
bodings as to the result of an encoun.
ter with the British fleet. Nelson
who sailed from Syracuse on July 25
was confident, but well knew the price
he might be called upon to pay. wher
Captain Berry said. IF we succeed
what will the world say?" Nelson re
Piled: There n no II In the case. Tha
We shall succeed II certain. Who maj
live to tell the story IL very difIer
emit question" For himself he mad,
that famous anticipation. "A peerag'
or Westminster abbey"
!, The battle began at $50 o'clock. hal
J an hour before nightfall. Nelson, o.
board the Vanguard, dew his color
IN six places lest they should be sho
away. In Z few minutes after th
ship had gone into action the crew
Of the arst six guns were swept ava
: BY the terrible IRE of the French dee
and twice again during the light wer
fresh creMa c.yled FOR The 4hs