The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-11-03
TOLD OF GALLIFFET
ANECDOTES OF "ENFANT TER.
.aIBLE" OF FRENCH ARMY.
Oece Ate a WinegIass on a Wager
How He Attempted to Lead a
Cavalry Charge Down q
Steep Embankment.

There is hardly a Paris paper which
does not e few days print a story
about the late Marquis General de
Galliffet, who crowned an ad7entur-
Gus career by accepting the portfolio
of war in the Cabinet of Republican
Defense" only to find hims elf face to
face with NJ. Millerand, the socialist
minister of commerce, whose father
Galliffet had once ordered to be shot.
That was during the Commune.
81 forgive you.'' said the % cor
daily.
Il had no idea ne such a bad
father remarked the Marquis dryly,
refusing to take the proffered hand
A volume of G%alliffetiana has been
compiled by NJ. Louis Thomas. Some
of the stories told of and by the cav
airy officer. who was an 'enfant ter
rible' all mis- long life, are new. Here
is a bet of Galliffet's:
One evening, when l was quite a
young officer, / bet that l would eat
a wineglass, stem and all. and | did
l took some time about it, but ate
it. My mouth was bleeding when !
had done, but L went to bed all right
At 3 in the morning | woke up in
fearful pain. l tried TO think what
i had eaten. and then I remembered
1t was the wineglass. of course. ]
proceeded to kick myself. 'Galliffet.
/ said. you're an ass. You were going
to die for your country. and now you
are going to die in your bed, because
of a driveling and disgusting bet.
While l cursed myself the pain
stopped. / turned around. went to
sleep and woke up fresh and fit in
the morning. and thought no more
about the wineglass."
Some say that the pluck which Gal.
liffet certainly had came from a GOOD
digestion. which he certainly seems
to have had also. here is a military
anecdote of him:
During some he was
watching a charge of cavalry under
his orders. Suddenly the leading
squadron stopped dead. Galliffet
roared. Send me the colonel.' and he
galloped up.
Now. colonel. what's wrong?'
I'VE came upon a road at the
bottom Of an embankment too steep
to ride down, SIR
Nonsense, sir You are net fit
for your job. will lead the charge.
You go to the tail of the squadron.
"Galliffet took the command, gal
Hoped to the road and rolled down
the embankment with his horse. Ly-
ing on his back with a sprained mus
Gle in his leg he shouted to his men
to stop. adding. 'Serd me the colonel
The colonel came up from the tail OF
the squadron. Colonel, you were
right; ! am a blank fool. You may
take the command of your regiment
again."
Toward the end of his life. when
in a bad temper. Galliffet insisted on
calling himself a played-out old idiot
Journalists would try to interview
him. and he generally showed them
the door with a voluble speech.
NO. sir. every one knows I am an
old fool. If l were to talk 10 you
everybody would say. What Ices that
blank blank dotard Galliffet want to
be talking for? Who wants to know
what the decrepit old sinner thinks? .
And you, my dear sir, what would
people say about you? That, you
we're the blankest ass in the press to
ask the opinion of a senile idiot like
Galliffet about anything. Now. / don't
wan people to call you an ass. That
Is why | won't tell you anything
Good day."