'
"'Talk another time of your exploits, my friend,' said the nobleman;
'here take this double ducat, and give me your pipe; I feel an
insurmountable wish to possess it.'
"'I am a poor man, sir, and have nothing to live upon but my pension;
yet I would not part with this pipe for all the gold that you possess.
Listen, sir, and I will relate to you the story of this pipe, which is
remarkable, or my poverty would long ere now have induced me to sell
it:--As we Hussars were charging over the enemy, a shot from the ranks
of the Janissaries pierced our noble captain through the breast; I
caught him in my arms, placed him on my horse, and carried him out of
the confusion of the battle. It was an irresistible sensation of
gratitude that prompted me to do so, for he had once rescued me when I
was wounded and taken prisoner. I watched over him to the latest moment;
and a few moments before his death, he gave me his purse and this pipe,
then pressed my hand and breathed his last sigh. Heroic spirit! never
shall I forget him!'
"As he thus spoke, the tears fell fast from the old man's eyes; but he
soon recovered himself, and proceeded--'The money I gave to the worthy
landlord under whose roof he died, and who had been thrice plundered by
the enemy; the pipe I kept as a sacred remembrance of the brave. In
every situation, and through all the vicissitudes of my life, I have
taken care to preserve it as a sacred relic, whether pursuing or
retreating from the enemy; and when it was not in use, I placed it for
safety withing my boot.
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