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Show Oar ioy$ anil girl$, ' EP 'E3 c aun: SUSY. flpnnrtment Is conducted solely In the inter-T!,fnur inter-T!,fnur Cirl ard boy readers. tfif 01 pupy Is glad to hear eny tJmo from tin Ant , ppphews who read this page, and to rrvi I t(Cf he advice and help In her Dower. vCto crx one side of the paper only. n not have letters too long. , nal Ftorles and verses will be gladly recelv4 f, ,fui:v edited. The manuscripts of contributions not aceerted wt'j u pb!1 letters to Aunt Busy. Intei-mounta' The Fieldmarshal's Rosary. (By Ellis Schreiber.) In the yr-ar 1S4S Count Dadetzky, the Austrian fjeldmar-hal, at the head of a brave army, inflicted pcr;Ps of defeats on the Piedmontese. The vic-i vic-i 8 custozza decided the issue of the campaign; j v t in ?ri,e tner hrilliant success, the Austrians had much 10 suf f er' They WCre exhausted 'lth tllG ues of the campaign; the population of Lom-vdv Lom-vdv into which Radetzky pursued the enemy, hostile to them; and the Piedmontese soldiery ?! ventured upon raids, in the-hope of carrying vgme provisions, of which they stood m sore .d or for the sake of covering their retreat. Thus ' vnnihes, flight but annoying, took place almost ; day, entailing losses on both sides. One dav an Austrian reconnoitering party was ' ttacked by Tiedmontese sharpshooters. Several m fell. ii"d after the enemy was driven off, one I funded' Austrian was laid on the turf by the road-' road-' le The army chaplain who happened to be with It piriv instantly came forward; and he had just ft the Vide of the dying man when the General, Count Kudetzky, rode up with his staff. He stopped; f d on being told what had occurred, he dismount-l dismount-l ed and. with the kindness which endeared him to ; jjjg troops, and won for him the title of Father Ra- detzky, he approached the wounded man. I "Is" there no hope?" he inquired of the bystand- frS"one at all, your excellency. Shot through the lung?' was the reply, j -Is there a priest here ?" was the nextuestion. ! "YV?. the chaplain. lie has already done what he could for him." , . . , ! On hearing this, a gleam of satisfaction passed I over the features of the General, heightened by the fight of a Rosary in the grasp of the dying man. It 1 is well known that the Count was a pious Catholic, j and that the Rosary was his favorite devotion, f Radetzky knelt down by the side of the soldier, who lay awaiting the last dread summons. "My son," he said, "have you any wish that I j can fulfil for you?" I The soldier a fine, stalwart man in the prime 1 0f life opened his eyes on hearing his General's I voice, and. with a faint, sad smile, murmured: j ''Must I really die ?" I "Yes. my son ; I will not deceive you ; your hours j are numbered. A warrior must not be surprised at this, hut must look death bravely in the face." "Oh, it is not of myself I think 1 I have made I my peace with heaven, and am prepared for my last j conflict. But my wife and children " Two tears rolled down the cheeks of the dying man, and his voice failed him. lie was entering on ' his last agony. ; Radetzky raised him in the kindest manner, and j ; poured a few drops of-brandy between his pallid ! I 1 "Tell me," he said again, "what you wish; and if it is within my power, it shall be done." - ! The soldier made a supreme effort. He held out ; ! his Rosary, a small silver one, with a cross of peculiar, pe-culiar, antique form. ; 1 "If your excellency," he gasped, "would tell my j rife" (he gave her name and the village where she I lived) "that I died in the service of my emperor, j And if you would send her this Rosary? My eldest t j loy is to have it, as a memorial of his father, that j ! he, too, may serve his emperor and his country. For ! 1 the rest. I commend my family to God. May Tie be ! their help!" j So saying, he sank back with a groan on the 'cloak his comrades had rolled up to support his i head. The General looked curiously and with evident j. emotion at the Rosary, which was of fine workman-J workman-J s-hip, quite unlike what is generally seen in the hand of a peasant. "My son," he said, in the gentlest manner, "where did you get this Rosary?" "1 had it from my father. I believe it was given to him by an officer to whom he rendered some service. I know no more about it, except that he gave it to me when he was dying, and bade me reverence rev-erence it and say it daily." Radetzky was deeply touched. "1 was that officer," he said; "and your father saved my life. He would not tell me his name. I Thank, Cod, I can now pay my debt of gratitude to j him in the person of his son! Do not trouble about i your wife and children, my man; they shall not I rant a friend and protector whilst Radetzky lives." The poor fellow looked up at his General with thankfulness and relief. He tried to articulate a t few v.-ords; but his strength failed him, and he ; iun-iy pael away to the world where strife and ; wnrfare are unknown. ' Hi- comrades dug a grave; and, while the officers (-!"( round with uncovered heads, they laid him to ; r;M in his last long sleep. Then they returned to : the ranij). In war there is little time to indulge sentimont. What is one man's lot today, is perhaps iii;oi, Ts tomorrow. K '.d' tzky rode to his quarters in silence, serious sin! sorrowful. His thoughts recurred to the past; to 1 ;,n(. when he now the highest military com-hviinicr com-hviinicr in Austria, on whose breast the emperor h;i,j piniM'd the Grand Cross of Maria Theresa, wlii'-h he himself was wearing was an insignificant eapta.i,. stationed m a remote town. Jle remem-hen-d In, w one day, when he was riding out, his in r-,-. usually most gentle, proved strangely restive, "n ii ;:vinr the town and passing into the country, the animal was unmanageable; tossing his head vioe;,ty from side to side, he set off in a wild gal-h'p. gal-h'p. hredh'ss of the voice or hand of his rider, who had in. slight difficulty in keeping his seat, nl fact, ;' f'fi plunge on the part of the horse, over which ho had h.st all control, would probably fling him on t :)' r-.u-Ji, stony ground. In his great distress, all jiadi'ihy could do was to commend himself to ("d and our Blessed Lady. This he did fervently; nd ;). next moment he saw a man approaching, apparently ap-parently a farm laborer, who, perceiving the peril ' ( f ridor, boldly and adroitlv caught the horse hy th0 bridle, and forcibly held down his head, so fts to allow time for the captain to spring from the j saddle. But it required no little strength to hold ! the restive horse. He endeavored to strike his head, I ri"d his bloodshot eye had a look of anguish. Sud-! Sud-! denly the countryman perceived a smell of burning; putting his finpers into the horse's left ear, he pulled t l,t a-twist of still smouldering tow. ''This is what has driven your horse wild, sir," he said to the captain. "Poor brute, some one has played him a cruel trick." Teh captain turned white to the lips. He guessed i vho the miscreant was. That morning, being a "trict disciplinarian, he" had administered a sharp i i rebuke to some of his men, one of whom had taken the reprimand in ill part. "But you," he said, taking his rescuer by the hand "how can I ever thank you enough? Only for your timely help, I might be lying dead by the roadside." "ou owe me no thanks, sir. I have only done my duty as a Christian." "A duty, my friend, that few would have performed per-formed so promptly and so bravely. What is your name, please? And what can I do for you?" "Never mind about my name, sir. I am quite content to have saved the life of one of his majesty's majes-ty's officers and a gallant one at that, to judge by your looks." "At least take this Rosary, as a token of my gratitude. I shall never forget this day ; and if ever I can be of service to you, come with this Rosary, and ask for Captain Joseph Radetzky." So saying, he put the elegant silver Rosary into the man's rough hand. "I will accept the Rosary with thanks, but I hope I shall not need to call on you for help. I shall keep it carefully, and pray God that, if it be His will, you may do many a brave deed on the battlefield battle-field and attiin great honors." These words now seemed to the fieldmarshal to have been prophetic, though he hardly heeded them at the time. He had never seen his rescuer again; and today, through the providence of God, he had met the son of that worthy man, and the sight of the Rosary reminded him of the debt he owed him. Now the time had come to repay that debt, and the white-haired General resolved to do so to the utmost of his power. Radetzky kept his word. He wrote a letter with his own hand to inform the widow, as gently as possible, pos-sible, of her husband's brave death, assuring her that she and her children should not feel the pinch of poverty, as was often the case when the breadwinner bread-winner fell in battle. He placed the eldest son, to whom his father's Rosary was duly forwarded, in a military school; and he in his turn became an able officer, who ended his life only too early on the battlefield. bat-tlefield. The other members of the family were also provided for; and to each was given a silver Rosary, with the request to say it sometimes for their benefactor, bene-factor, the then aged veteran, Radetzky. Ave Maria. An Easter Miracle. It was in the year 1799, when the armies of Napoleon Na-poleon were passing over the continent of Europe and conquering all that came in their way. It was Easter morning, and the sun shone brightly on Feldkirch, a little town situated on the HI river, just within the borders of Austria. The 111 flows into the Rhine. Quite early on this morning there suddenly appeared ap-peared on the heights above the town to the west j the glittering weapons of 18,000 French soldiers, the division under the command of General Massena. There was a hasty assembling of the town council, coun-cil, and it was decided that a deputation be sent to Massena with the keys of the town and a petition for mercy. In the midst of al the confusion of .the hurrying to and fro and the anxious consultation the old dean of the church stood up serene as was the morning, with no thought of fear in his brave Christian heart. "It is Easter day," he said. "We have been reckoning reck-oning on our own strength, and it is but weakness. Let us ring the bells and have service as usual. We will leave our troubles in the hands of the Higher Power." Soon from all the church spires of Feldkirch the bells rang out joyously. The streets became thronged with worshipers on their way to church. Louder and more triumprhant pealed the bells as they rang out the glad message, and the hills, putting on their new green, echoed back: "Christ is risen. He is risen from the dead." The French army heard the sounds of rejoicing, and Massena concluded there could be but one reason rea-son for it. He was sure that the Austrian army had arrived in the night. He ordered his men to break up camp, and almost al-most before the bells had ceased ringings long before be-fore Easter services were over the French army was in orderly retreat. By noon not a tent, not a soldier, not a glittering glitter-ing bayonet, was to be seen on the heights above Feldkirch. Boston Globe. Easter Myths and Customs. Many and varied are the superstitions, ideas and customs which cluster around Easter. One of the best known is that it is unlucky to neglect the wearing wear-ing of new attire on Easter day. This widely prevalent preva-lent custom originated, it is said, with the young people of Yorkshire, England, who never fail to provide for themselves some new article of dress or of personal adornment, firmly believing that unless they do the crakes or rooks will avenge the neglect by damaging their clothing. It is held to be a good omen if one sees a lamb the first thing on Easter morning. The lamb, it is to be noted, should be standing erect and looking toward one to augur the most felicitous results. The weather on Easter day is also specially significant. sig-nificant. This is a point for forecasters. If the sun blazes out on Easter day, that is very good augury, for it is sure to shine again on Whitsunday in May. An old couplet tells us that A good deal of rain on Easter day Gives a good crop of grass, but little good hay. The direction from which the wind blows should also be carefully noted. If the wind is in the east it is said that there'is great virtue in the water used i-'ii Easter day. A curious fable connected with Easter day is that on that day the sun could be seen to dance, a superstition which has readily been traced to heathen hea-then origin. It was the custom during the ancient pagan spring festivals, of which the modern Easter is an adaptation, for the sun worshipers who held these ceremonies to dance at a festival in honor of the sun after the vernal equinox. Leslie's Weekly. Chance to Be a Hero. A boy has a chance to be a hero every day of his life. Chances to save lives do not come often to the average human being. But the boy who practices prac-tices self-control, who keeps his temper, who refuses to take a foolish dare from one of the crowd, the boy who defends those weaker than himself, who has the nerve to stand up for the fellow the boys all make fun of, who has the backbone to refuse to smoke cigarettes just because all the boys do, the boy who has the courage to say "Xo," and say it good and strong he is a real hero. |