The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-01-18
TOLD OF GALLIFFET
ANECDOTES OF "ENFANT TER,
RlRLE" OF FRENCH ARMY.
Once Ate a WlnegIass on Wager
How He Attempted to Lead
Cavalry Charge Down a
Steep Embankment.

There is hardly Paris paper which
does not every few days print story
about the late Marquis General De
Galliffet, who crowned an adventur-
Gus career by accepting the portfolio
of war in the Cabinet of Republican
Defense" only to find himself face to
face with M. 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 son cor
daily
81 had no idea he was such bad
father" remarked the Marquis dryly,
refusing to take the proffered hand.
A volume of Galliffetiana has been
compiled by M. Louis Thomas. Some
Of the stories told of and by the cav
airy officer, who was an 'enfant ter
rible" all his long life, are new. Here
is a bet of Galliffet's:
"One evening, when was quite a
young officer, bet that l would eat
a wineglass, stem and all, and l did.
l took some time about it, but l ate
it. My mouth was bleeding when
had done, but went to bed all right.
At in the morning l woke up IN
fearful pain. tried to think what
l had eaten, and then l remembered.
1t was the wineglass, Of course. l
proceeded to kick myself. 'Gallifet,
l 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. l 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 good
digestion, which he certainly seems
to have had also. Here Is military
anecdote Of him:
During some maneuvers 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?'
1--WE came upon road at the
bottom OF an embankment too steep
to ride down, sir
Nonsense, sir! You are not fit
for your Job. will lead the charge.
You go to the tail of the squadron
"Galliffet took the command, gal
loped to the road and rolled down
the embankment with his horse. Ly'
ing on his back with sprained mus.
Gle in his leg he shouted to his men
to stop, adding Send me the colonel.
The colonel came up from the tail OF
the squadron Colonel. you were
right; 1 am 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 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 l am an
old fool. If l were to talk to you
everybody would say, What does 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 senile idiot like
Galliffet about anything Now, I don't
want people to call you an ass. That
Is why I won't tell you anything.
Good day"