The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1912-07-05
ALMIGHTY WARRIOR
General Dumas Was a Colossus
In Size and In HeroiSm.
HIS AMAZING FEATS OF ARMS.
The Herculean Father Of the Famous
Novelist Had tho Strength Of Sam
son and the Valor Of Horatius-His
Son Was a Chip of tho Old Block.

son and the VaIor OF foratiuS-nIs
Son Was a Chip Of tho Old Block.
General Alexandra Dumas. the IA.
ther of the celebrated French novelist.
was a mulatto OF herculean build, who
was renowned as a tremendous fighter
and as a man of marvellous bodily
strength.
IL is generally believed that he was
the model from which his son drew the
character OF Porthos IN the Three
Guardsmen"-the sometimes vainglo-
rious. sometimes heroic. but always
lovable Porthos.
or the reckessness and daring OF
General Dumas there can he no doubt.
aud evidently fear TO him was an abso
lutely unknown quantity. II had long
thought the feats Of arms ascribed to
him In La Vendee. Italy, and Egypt
rather apocryphal, too good 10 be true.
writes NJ Jules Claretie In French
paper. They seemed TO combine In
one the tours de force of Porthos ans
the escapades OF Chicot. But one day
when | had promised to write shOr1
life Of the man his grandson put int'
my hands all the papers relating to ihr
soldiers career. and then saw that
had before me n real epic. describing
q sequence OF glorious actions OF un
doubted authenticity.
"It was. for example. established by
official documents that General Dumas,
standing. solitary colossus, at the end
of the bridge of Brixen. In the Tyr
oil. did, like Horatius Of old, dispute
the passage Of 1t with cloud Of Aus.
trlans, whom he sabered and shot one
after the other until be had broken
his sword and used his last cartridge,
and that he then did convert the body
OF an enemy into battering ram.
Again. at the theater one day he
was In box with lady who had won
his affections when a gentleman OF the
court, pointing at him. remarked to the
lady. so. marchioness, you have got
your negro here At which the mulat'
TO, without q word. seized the man by
his collar, lifted him from his seat and
threw him across the footlights on to
the stage.
His son inherited the fathers mus
cles. Travelling one year In the south
OF France for the sake OF collecting
some amusing impressions, he came
to Avignon by diligence with the inten-
ton Of enjoying the well known view
Of the silhouette OF the papal palace
The diligence. on stopping, was sur
rounded by porters, who tried TO clutch
the travellers luggage. Dumas insist
ed on carrying his own valise, and this
provoked some insolent remarks from
the porters.
Look said one, at the big lout
who won't let poor fellow earn II
livingp
whats so astonishing i'm that| re
piled another He's uigger Nature
intended him for drudge
THE son did not hesitate TO initiate
his fathers example He put down
his valise. seized one of the porters,
took him by the waist. carried him TO
the parapet of the bridge and held him
out over the river, saying:
"'Give me your word that you are
not the assassin OF Marshal Brune!
Marshal Bruno was assassinated at
Avignon, In the white terror, 1915.
"T? But, monsieur
"'Swear, tell you. that you did not
assassinate Marshal Bruno or ! will
throw you into the Rhone!
''The mans face became as white as
a sheet. aud he gasped out:
~ will swear, monsieur. by all the
saints, did not assassinate him..
"'All right said Dumas. and he
threw the wretched man on to the
bridge. took up his vallse and went on
his way. smiling. leaving the porters
gasping with wonder.
ITO return to the old general, he was
coming back from Egypt when his ship
was surrounded by some English YES
sells.
Flight to the last was the order
and when shot and shell are exhausted
blow up the ship sky high
"All very well. but he could swim
and others couldn't To euuali2e mat
ters Dumas got two cannon balls. pu'
them into his pockets and said with
a laugh:
Nov | shall go all the quicker to
the bottom
But IL was not 10 be. He was taken
prisoner and thrown into a foul dun
geon at Naples from which he only
emerged with his health shattered and
his magnificent strength dwindled TO
the vanishing point"