Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 36, Number 31, 10 December 1910 — Page 2

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j OUR MORT nSTOKT BMSyf

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7 WVTW II ww e could never hove been "The Man on I II Horseback" had be not seemed much R J taller sitting tbaa standing On foot be was a stubby, clerk? reilow ; mounted, be waa tbe Marabal Magalflcent, after the populace's own beart. At work be was the humble old bookkee)er at Cass k Stacey's; at play, he was Mara, chaiieau-crowned. On the one" hand, naffslug obscurity; on the other hand.-dazzling publicity. To think that one's legs should tuakw n difference like that! lie despised tbosa legs and tlie life he led on them, but he gloried In his torso and the occasional triumphs it brought him. . ' . , It munt not bo thought for a minute that horseback life held for him' any visions of limitless desert or .Tossy plain, of long forest bridle paths or of highlifting mountain trails. He was bothered by no foollh cowboy, Bedouin, nor Cossack hankerings. He did i:ot know life In the open; he did not care to know It In tbe open. He bad never felt the tug and atrain end qulrer of horseflesh on tbe ran; he didn't ride Cant wsy. Tbe air of tbe town, a proper prancing CU, the crowd at the curb, the roar of the band, the swing of following legs and the drop of following feet, faces at Innumerable windows, the magic melting of traffic ahead, color, music, glitter, cheers all these were plenty good enough for him. rrecoclty, like Its antonym, nearly always misses fire wheu aimed at a parade. The crowd will have r.olblng overdone, nothing underdone. , It muat have It " done Just right. That; Is the reason so many men in parade nre failures. An ounce too aby or an ounce too vainglorious and they are lost forever. It Is a flno ti'n.1? to gnuse Instantly, over the ears of one's horse, ts..i exact nrrtbPtlco! demand of a street full of people. 1 OH rinrcrs Dogreinout could do that. Where be ; 't tbe tnatk of It. Heaven knows. One doesn't find '.such tblnca oa tbe leaves of n ledger. ; The mnn who rides- at tbe head of a parade successfully must potwrs that most rare of all faculties, tbe power to bclsnco a long line of display. It Is a snrt of r;:tJ!mctcd esprit dc corps tinged with a sense of beauty cud '.ramed by a flee altruism toward all ttio parts concerned. It Is a combination that is as rnre es a warrior who embroiders. Any marshal can i-.:f!ke a display of himself, but there are few marshals v.!:o cr.n moke a display of tbe men behind them. Old Marcus Degremont could do that, too. lie could do vastly more than that, Indeed; he could embody, ttt the head of n parade, the spirit that lay at tbe foundation of all its units. To make ten thousand spectators feel Fraternity wen four thin lines of lodgemen stripe tbe streets; to make ten tbouaand spectators tee Public Improvement when livks societies follow tbe drum! Some day a municipal office will await a nan like that and there will be a splendid living attached. Ills bread and butter will not have to depend upon the keeping of books. And there will be an adequate title attached also, so that the stoat unprincipled scoffer dare not wink the eye. ' Is It any woader that when strangers asked the townspeople who The Man on Horseback was that they should reply: "Why, that Is our Colonel Degreinont." Is It any less woader that, when men meditating parade sought old Marcus Degremont. his wife should say, although her husband had never studied stronger powder than she used In her biscuits, "Colonel Degremont Is not In. Will you wait?" Or, "Colonel Degremont will be glad to talk the matter over with you. I'm sure." She always said Colonel Degremont, like that, as If some other none wrrc ijiujt v .uu.uv. . All this wss -before the Spanish war. There was a real colonel In town now, to say nothing of captains and corporals, and there were even privates, who were not averse to display. Marcus Degremont had welcomed them heartily, but he did not know that they would ever threaten the place he had made for himself. It had not seemed possible to him. perhaps, that a real commander could ever care for the occasional honors of mere make-believe. Not that tbe town had known no real colonels nor privates before but that- those of its acquaintance were quiet old men with dimming eyes and slackened steps, who had fought In the Great War and were forever tired of battles and display and wanted henceforth but a warm fireplace and the honor, once a year, of walking with flowers to the graves of their fallen comrades. Put these latter-day Spanish war Teterans, with their ardent zest of life, their youth, their rollicking irresponsibility, their khskl uniforms so jauntily simple, their boyish faces, their resilient shoulders, their slender waists, their swinging steps, and their fine long legs those young veterans of a young war were tbe ones to make things hard for him. Lancy was the new colonel's name, ne was a tall, splendid-looking fellow with, an Incurring back, but with not much chest to speak of. Marcus Degremont had noted that chest at once. It wss not a swelling ehest-OMarcus Degremont could Inflate kit chest tin It strained the doth of his stoutest uniform and caused the brass button to protrude almost to bursting. That

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WILLIAM -CHESTER EAS TAB ROOK.

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was tbe pity of it; bis legs had been cheated to perfect bis chest. He had that military countenance and that commanding poise of the head Been In good pictures of Major-Genera I Hancock. He had tbe same soldierly white mustache and tbe same eyes. His skin was inclined to ruddiness and it had a habit of purpling slightly when be was excited a warlike shade which might nave pleased any soldier. His hslr was snow white, and was worn like the dashing Logan wore his, combed straight back and long. And his legs? We say of crippled legs, "They are crippled," and that Is all; further, pathos forbids. But one could only say of Marcus Degremonfs legs tbst they were funny. That Is, one said It until one's icoa'f hare you saying thing glance reverted to the splendid body above them. They were thin legs for so large a body and ridiculously short. Below the knees they bowed rearward as well as sidewlse. When relieved alternately from the weight of the body, as In walking, the rearward curves straightened 6ligbtly. so that, viewed from behind, the calves of the legs twitching at the trousers seemed carrying on a humorous conversation by winks. The left kneecap was larger than tbe right and was thus enabled to hold the trousers firmly.

making a solemn, pious leg In front, while Its mate bagged dissipatedly ! What did those legs cost bim? Times innumerable during tbe Rebellion he had responded to the call for men, his heart burning with patriotism, and had each time been refused, until, tired of having him about the recruiting station, the sergeant had pointed to his legs, smiling significantly. After that Marcus Degremont gave him no more bother. Life had not, however, been entirely without its triumphs, its glory. The town could not recall when he bad not let its parades. By some hazy process it had chosen him, and having chosen him, it abided bim, on parade. It obeyed him by platoons, and about yourself," she cried. when the parade was over it promptly forgot all about him. by platoons. For that is the way of the crowd with a man whose dally life is as Insignificant as its own. It Is difficult for the Marshal Magnificent of the hocr to redeem the Bookkeeper Obscure of the year. Shortly after the soldiers came home from Cuba there was a parade, and Lancy rode at the bead of It. Although be had not seen any more real service than had Degremont, he wore tbe halo which em

V playing at war sometimes contrives. Then, too, he was a man of affairs, and had been a social Hon before the war. There were other reasons why he was to be feared, too trivial to be set down here. When it doesn't cost any more, the people like the real thing, and Colonel Lancy was the real article. Did you doubt his rank, there was his commission In black and white. There is no winking tbe eye when his name was mentioned. If not a real man of war, be was a man of war's alarums, which is the next best thing. He liked display even as Marcus Degremont liked It, and he was young and rich and handsome. The air of the town, a proper prancing gait, the crowd at the curb, the roar of the band, the swing of the following legs and the drop of the following feet, faces at innumerable windows, the magic melting of traffic ahead, color, glitter, music, cheers all these had their lure for him, too. Is it any wonder that old Marcus Degremont felt : the ground slipping from beneath his feet? What made his position intolerably bitter was the fact that after thirty years Dick Leyden was coming home Leyden, the one real friend of his whole life, except his wife. He was coming home, honored of men, to find bim still the nonentity, the drudge, the clerk. And life had been equally hard for Leyden, but he had not tired until he had hawked his dove of success from the sky, while he he groaned and his head dropped wenrily Into the worn hollow of his chair as he sat before the fire the night be heard that Leyden was coming and that tbe town meant to give him a properly fitting welcome. There was to be a triumphal procession to escort him from the station, through the principal streets, to the old house which had been his birthplace ; and afterwards many distinguished citizens would speak their word of greeting. "They will ask you to ride at the head of the procession, Marcus," said his wife, brightly, setting delicate stitches In a bit of napery. "No," said he, bitterly, "it will be Lancy." "How absurd! Tou can't Imagine Colonel Lancy is to permanently supplant you? What happened was merely a tribute to the returned soldier. Besides, the committee would think no one so fitting to lead the procession as Dick's old friend." "Nobody recalls the friendship, I'm afraid. It waa too long ago. And Heaven knows it's no wonder they shouldn't connect us, Dick In his prosperity, and I in my " "I won't have you saying things about yourself," she cried, coming quickly to his side, and stooping to press her sweet old face against his. "Tou are making yourself wretched about nothing. Undoubtedly the place at the head of - the column will be offered you as usual. And Dick will understand that in your way you also are preferred of your fellowmen. Oh, you'll see! The committee will wait on you to-morrow." But the committee did no such thing, although he did not leave the office until later than usual tbe next day. Indeed, it was nearer seven than six when, after a last anxious glance of searching down the thinning street, he finally took off his black sateen sleeve protectors and got wearily Into his coat, f There was a letter from Leyden awaiting bim at Lome. He had written briefly to say that he was coming, and, speaking of his life since he had been absent, be wondered If, after all, Degremonfs way had not been the wise way, the better to stay quietly on in the old town, the spot which had been beloved of their fathers, making himself the more secure as time went by in tbe place he held there. Marcus Degremonfs face spotted with color like a girl's, and he dropped the letter hastily Into the fire lest bis wife should ask to read it and tbe Irony of t scorch her soul. His place! He had none. He was not even remembered. Neither as friend nor citizen was he bidden to take any part in the home-coming ceremonials. And what would It not have meant to him to have done o ! His heart leaped at the thought of it. He would have made it such a parade as the town had never seen. He would have done it for Leyden's sake, and Ley-"-n, seeing him at Its head, would have remembered him so, when, his brief sojourn over, he would have gone away. At the moment the street bell rang and his wife brought in a communication from the committee. She sttood back of his chair, leaning over his shoulder as he opened it. "I told you sor she triumphed. "I knew they wouldn't think of trying to get along without you." He drew the brief lines from theL cover and they glimpsed them to?etbr. then she ban in silence otpt him: the committee desired him to head the third division f tbe parade! Her hands dronped to his shoulders and pressed bim into the chair when he would have started up

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violently, words of furious protest upon his Hps, bis heart bursting with the outrage of It all. "You will do It, Marcus," she said, "you'll do It that no one may say that you were hurt. You can stand It the mortification and the disappointment und the sense of ingratitude. But they mustn't pity you!" . So. on that day which might have beeu the greatest and happiest of his life, old Marcus Degremont rodJ at the head of the third division. He rode his own mount, Tompey, a chestnut sorrel with a white man and tail, and the walking gait of a conquering war horse. The mount was as familiar to the people as the man himself. , He sat in the saddle exactly as he hud sat for years. He held himself so for her sake, who. would be watching for him, love and rebellion, mortification and passionate protest filling her, but with her old head carried high, and an indomitable smile for all who glanced her way. After much delay Lancy finally got the parade in shape and started it off towards the depot. He looked uncommonly proud as he rode at its head on hl dainty-stepping, beautifully muscled horse. Bands were playing and people were cheering. The old thrill was in the air and Degremonfs blood began. to race. But there, blotting out the brightness of the day. was Lancy's slender, impudent figure, and he wheeled Pompey half-way about that he might not see It. Then a shout brought him sharply around, Down the street from the first division, four blac!t horses hitches to a float swung shout, toppled their driver from his seat, and came jnlungjng, madly bock through the line of parade. -To,Dewont, the street before them seemed to lift In tU-oaidu.e, spilling colorful rivulets of paraders toward; the c rb. A pan icky mob was instantly evolved, from the orderly ranks. Men pushed and struggled and fought to get out of the uncertain course of the frightened animals. . Drivers lost their heads and tried to pull Into near-by alleys, Jumbling the line of vehicles inextricably. The sidewalk crowds jammed ruthlessly into store entrances. - ' :-' - jV 4 Degremont spurred Pompey toward the runaways. At the second corner they swerved suddenly, crashed the rear wheel from a projecting float, and , swuns toward a flower-bedecked phaeton that had pulled Into the curb. The woman In it tried to ljf t her two little children out of the way. Lancy, who had come galloping behind the runaways, shouting futllely, saw her and called? to her in a frensy of alarm. - At the moment old' Marcus Degremont swept by. He seized the nearest horse by the bit and the force with which came pulled tho leaders to their knees and broke the pole of the float, the splintered end stopping within a foot , of the phaeton's wheels. A great cheer went up from the dense crowd and Lancy flung himself from his horse. i "Is your wife hurt, colonel V asked Degremont, leaning down from his borse. - - Lancy, an arm about his wife, re ed up anI gripped the gauntleted hand. "No, not hurt, thank God! You saved her, and the children. . . . Take my place," he added. "Nobody but yon can straighten things out in time now. And It was your place, anyhow it shall always be your place." A mo it later, because of that magic which was his, scattered columns were reassembling, floats and vehicles were taking their oM positions, bands began to play, flags that had been abandoned were waving again, and Pompey and his rider, both unmindful of that terrific strain of the muscles during the second's onslaught against the blacks, took their old place at the head of the parade, the rider with his accustomed martial bearing, the horse with his conquering step. ' ,' Degremont massed the first division In the square before the station, the others stretching away in beautiful, streamer-like lines. The train was Just in, and a few tr nutes later the welcoming committee came) out with their distinguished guest ? . , Cheers started In the square and ran down tho lines. With uncovered head, the visitor started forward to bis carriage, then glimpsed the splendid pi J figure at the head of the parade. "A minute, gentlemen," he said, and ran out in tne square like a schoolboy, to grab Marcus Degremont s hand. There was a nandemoniam of cheers at that which did not cease till Leyden returned to the committee. "This is a proud day to me, to be thus honored; and to see my old friend honored also," he remarked to the chairman. . . . . The carriage fell in behind the marshal, and hi rfp ii TvaMt MmmtiL Never. It seemed to Marcus Dem-emont, had his heart beat so proudly, never had Pompev stepped tn high. On the tiny balcony of their old-fsshioned hous one of the last residences left In tbe business district. Mrs. DeTemopt iwltd the parade. There was hurt In her heart and, proudly nonchalant she turned her hid from the glittering staff and tried to kor hr gae on the distant third division where she thoneht her husband must be. Thf her woman's curiosity got the better of her and she permitted herself one swift glsne in t direction of the staff. No word of what had happened had come to her. .v . Just as be had done many times before when h reached thst balcony. Dsrremont turned his horse silently, reined him In for a second, and swept a gallant salute to the old figure above. Hfs wife stared In astonishment. Her Msrens! Had there been a miracle! Aye. bat she had felt all along that something like that mut hannen What It was she did not. know, did not care. He hsd been spared erueltv. He bad kept his place of honor. That was enough. ' She snfltched her old bdkerchtef from her bosom and waved tward him. following him as long . as she eouM e him. end missing altogether the tribute of the disHnmieert visitor in the carriage who. serine her there, had bowed profoundly and lifted his hat. Copyright, 1810; by YetropoUte Vtvspofer Byn&mii.

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