ONE MORE MARTYR

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 233, 6 November 1909, Page 3

ONE MORE MARTYR

A little one-act play, suffici -lilly dramatic, is revived irom tune to time among the Latin races for long runs. The play is of simplified, classic construction. But the principal part is variously interpreted by different actors. The minor characters, a priest and an officer, have no groat latitude for individuality. while the work of the chorus conies as matheniatiui as anything human can. The play is a pa<*i«»n play. Xo actor has ever played the principal part nunc than once. And the play differs from other pH\s in this, also, that there pre noi ev r traditional lines for the principal eh.l racier to speak, lfc may «av whatever comea into his head, lie may say nothing. 31c may play his part with reticence or melodramatically. It does not nmttor. Ilis is what actors call a fat part: it cannot lie spoiled. And at the climax and curtain he may sink nlowly to the ground or fall upon his back or upon his face. It does not matter. Once. Ij.-foie falling, a man leaped so violently upward and forward as to break the rop.s with which his legs and arms wore hound. Those who saw this performance can speak of it this day without a shudder.

Under the management of General Wcvler in Cuba this little play enjoyed, perhaps, its longest continuous run. Curiously enough, there were absolute 1 ;,/ 1 no profits to he divided at the end. But, then, think of the expense of pro- ■ duelion. Why, to enable tlu» lleneral to stage that play for so many night* - I mean sunrises—mjtiimi tin- employment of several hundred thousand men and actually bankrupted a nation. In ihis world one must pay like the dev'A , for one's fancies. Think what AVeyior paid: all the. money that his country coukt l>e : g or borrow; then his own rei putation as a soldier, n6 & statesman land aa a man; ending with a series of | monstrous mortgages on his own soul. I For whichj when it is finally sold at auemonstrous mortgages on his own soul, tion, there will not be bid so much as one breath of garlic. When Juan d'A'Coeta's mofher heard that her younger son Manuel liad been taken prisoner by the Spaniards and was to be shot, the following morning at sunrise she eat for an hour motionirss, staring at the floor. Juan, as is, or was, well-known, had died gloriously, a cigarette between his lips, after inestimable', if secret services to Ouri. Nor had his execution been entirely a martyrdom. He was shot for a spy. IT,? was a spy, and a very daring, Cleveland self-effacing one. He had been caught within the Spanish linee with incriminating papers upon his person. And before they could secure him he Had I had the eternal satisfaction of ripping' open two Spaniards with his knife so | that they died. He was executed without trial His mother went out with others oT fli? relatives to see him dl». The memorv of his dying had remained .with her to comfort her for the fact of it. She had seen him. calm, and in her eyes very beautiful, standing in strong relief with his back to the white wall, a cigarette between his lips. There had not been the slightest bravado in his perfect self-possession. Tt had had been that of a gentleman, which he was not by ; birtii, and a man of the world: quiet,'retiring and attentive. ITc had looked so courteous, so kind-hearted, so pure! He had spoken —on either side of his cigarette—for some moments to the priest, apologising through him to Hod for whatever sp<-l* there may have been upon his soul. Then his eyes had sought bis mother's among the spectators ami remained steadfastly upon them, smiling, until the exaction- of hi* part demanded that he face more to the front. The fire of I his cigarette having burned too close to | his lips for comfort, and his hands heling tied, he spat the thing out of his mouth and allowed the last taste of smoke which he was to enjoy on earih to curl slowly ofT though hip nostrils. Then. fo r it was evident that the edge of the sun would show presently above the rim of the world, he had drawn n breath or two of the fresh morning air. and had spoken his last words iu a clear, controlled voice. ( "Whenever one of us die*." he had said, "it strengthens the cause of liberty instead of weakening it. Tam so sure of this that T would like to come to life again after being shot, so that X might be taken and ahot again and again. You, my friends, arc about to fire for Cuba, not against her. Therefore. J thank yon. I think that is all. Christ receive mi?/'

The impact of tlte volley had flattened him backward against the .wall wil;h j shocking violence. but he had remained on his feet for an appreciable interval of time and had then sunk slowly to his knees and had fallen quietly forward upon (his faee. So her older boy had died, honoring himself and his country, after serving his country only. The memory of his life-deeds and dying wan a comfort to her. And When she learned that Manuel too was to be shot, and sat staring at the floor, it was not. entirely of Manuel that she was thinking. She did not love Manuel as she had loved .Juan. TTe had not been a comfort to her in nnv way. He had been a sneaking, coward ] Iv young man. He was a patriot be-' cause he was afraid not to be; he bad enlisted in the Cuban army because he was' afraid not to. He had even parti-,

> cipated in skirmishes, sweating witli fear and discharging his riile with eyet J closed. But he had been clever enoug'i fto conceal his white feathers, and he could talk in a modest, purposeful way 3 ! just like,a genuine hero. lie was to he ; shot uot because he was himself, but because he was Juan's brother. The •Spaniard* feared the whole family as a man fears a hornet's nest in the eaves, and, because one hornet lias stung him, wages exterminating war upon all hornets. Iu ease, however, there was u trial, short and pleasant. The man was on his 1 knees half tlia time, blubbering, abjuring, perspiring and begging for mercy; swearing on .lis honor to betray .his country wins ver and whenever possible; to light against her, to spy within her defences and plans—anything, everything! Ills judges were nut impressed. They believed him to be acting, lie was one of the D'Aeneas: Juan 5' brother, Ferdinand's son—a hornet. Xoi the same type of hornet, but for that very reason, .perhaps, the more to be feared. "W'lhen lie finds," say* the Colonel who presided, "that he is lo lie just beyond ; peradventure he will turn stoic like tT others, you'll see. Kveu no\v iic is probably laughing at us by being moved by his blubberings and entreaties. lie wants to get awav from us at anv price. Thai's all. lie wants a chain-' to sting us again. And that chance \v: will not get." Oddly enough, the coward did turn stoic the moment lie was formally cm,, denmed. But it was physical exhaustion as much as anything else; a sudden numbing of the senses', a kind of hideous hypnotism by the idea of death. It lasted the better part of an hour. Then, alone in his cell, he hurled himself against the walls, screaming, , r

towered upon the stone Hour, pooling it with tears, sobbing horribly with his whole body, going how anil again int.) convulsions of nausea. These actions were attributed by his guard to demoniacal rage, but not to fear. He thus' fought blindly against the unfightable until about four in the afternoon, when exhaustion once more put a quietus' upon him. It was then that his mother, having taken counsel at last with her patriot soul, visited hint. She had succeeded, not without difficulty, in gaining permission. It was not every mother who could manage a last interview with a condemned son. mil she h;ul bribed the Colore], She had given him in silver the savings of a lifetime. The old woman sat down by ,lier so 1 and took his hand in hers. Then the door of the cell was closed upon them and locked. .Manuel turned and collapsed against Jiis -mother's breast "it's all right, llanuel," she said in her quiet, cucerful voice. "I've seen the Colonel."

Manuel looked up quickly, a glint o? hope ill his rodent eyes. "What do you mean?" lie suiil. His voice was hoarse. His mother bit her lips, for the hoarseness told her that : her son had heen screaming with feav. In that moment she almost liated him, I But she controlled herself. She lookej

at him sidewise. | "'Hie Colonel tells me that you have offered to serve Spain .if lie will giw you your life*" This was a shrewd guess'. She waiteJ for Manuel's answer, not oven hoping that it would lit? in the negative, till.' knew him through and through. "Well,'' he choked, "it wouldn't do/' "That's where you are wrong, my son,' she said. "The Colonel, on Hie contrary, believes he can make use uf you. I-le is going to let you go free." Manuel could not believe his oars, it seemed, lie kept croaking -'What?" in his hoarse voice, is face brighteneing •vith each reiteration.

••But;' she went on., ho doesn't wWi this to In l known to the Cubans. You if tlifv knew that von had been allowed to go free it would euunteni't "our usefulness, wouldn't it V" j "Yes—but •" i

''Listen to mo. Everything is to proceed as ordered, and according to army regulations, except- one thing. The rifles which are to be tired at von will be loaded with blank cartridges. When the squad fires you must fall as if—as if you were dead. Then you will be put in a coliiu and brought to nie for burial. Then you will come to life. That is' all." , She a'niilrd into her son's t'ace with a greal gladness and patted his .hands. "Alterward, ,: she said, "you will grow' a beard and generally disguise yourself.! It is thus that the Colonuel thinks lie ■ ran best make usy of your knowledge and cleverness. And. of course, at the first opportunity you will give the Col-' onel the slip and once more take your place in the patriot army." "Of course,' s'aid Manuel; "! never' meant: to do what 1 pretended [ would." | "Of er.urse not!" said his mother. , '•But—" "Hut what?" | 'T don't see the necessity of having a mock execution. It's not nice to have a lot of blank cartridges go oil' in your face." ".Vice!" The old woman sprang to her fiet. She shook her finger in his face. '"Nice! Haven't you any shrel of courage in your great, hulking body?

1 don't believe you'll even face blank cartridges like a man—l believe you !l I scream and blubber and be a shame to |

lis all. You disgust me!" She spat on the floor. "Here T come to tell you that you are to be spared, and you're afraid to death of th 0 means by which you an to go free. Why, I'd stand up to blank cartridges all day without turning a hair—or to bullets, for that mutter—at two hundred metres, where I knew none of those Spanish idiots could hit me except by accident. 1 wouldn't expect you to play the man at a real execution or at anything real, but surely you cau

pull yourself together enough to piny the man at a mock execution. What t ! chance! Yon can leave a reputation a* great as your brother's—greater, eve); you could crack jokes and burst out laughing just when they go to lire i Then, as suddenly as she had .flown ! into a pasision, she burst into tears and | flung her arms about her boy and clung; to him and mothered him until in the j depths of his surly, craven heart lie was touched and strengthened. "Don't be afraid for me mother." he 1 s;ii(V. "'1 do not like -evien thV cartridges, God forgive me; but 1 will not shame yon." She kissed him again and again an.l laughed and cried. And when the guard opened the door and said that the time was up she patted her boy upon the cheeks and shoulders and smiled bravely into his face. Then she left him. I The execution of Faiiucl l)'Aeo-'!a was not h'*« inspiring to the patriots h'-art than was tliat of his brother; .hia;;. An.l who know* but that it may have been a* difficult an art of control for the former tit place the blank cartridges as for the latter to stand up I" those loaded with ball. Like Juan. 1 Manuel stood against the wall with a cigarette between his lips. Like Juan, he sought bis mother'-' face among the speet si tor* and smiled at her bravelv. lie did not stand so modestly, so gentlemanly as Jean had dene. but with touch of bravado, an occasional halfswaggering swing from the hips, and upward till of the chin. -| told you he would turn stoie," the Colonel whispered to one of the officer* who had taken part in the trial. "J know these Cubans." It was all very edifying. Like Juan. Manuel s'pat out'his cigarette when it had burned too short. But, unlike Juan, lie made no dying speech. He felt that he was still too hoarse to be effective. Instead, at the command, "Aim!" he hurst out laughing, as if in derision of the well-known lack of markmansliip which prevailed among the Spaniards. He was nearlv torn in two. Those who lifted him into his coffin noticed that the expression upon his face was one of blank astonishment, a 4-' if the beyond had contained an immeasurable surprise for him. His mother' took a certain wmifort from the manner of his dying, birt "l was the memory of her other bov t nut reallv enabled her to live out her life without going mad.—By (iouverncux "Morris. Nearlv £10.000.000 worth of fish i< landed in n venr in the IJniled Kingdom. Kaiser William pay?! about £27,000 annually out of his own pocket, for the support of the Prussian "Royal theatres. Tim Tlrifix'li "Empire has 23 completed

Nearlv £10.000.000 worth of fish i< i landed in n venr in the V T niled Kingdom., Kaiser William pay?! about, £27,000 annually out of his own pocket, for the support of the Prussian "Royal theatres. The "British Empire has 23 complete! docks capable of taking a Dreadnought at normal draught; the fierman Empire G; T'ranoe, 5: nivl tV T'nited States, 5 "Roman men-of-war had a erew of about. 22a men. of whom 174 wew oarsmen wcrking in tfiree decks. The speH of these vessels was about six miles an hour ?n fair weather. Queen Alexandra U 'entitled lo f tail of every whale caught on English shores.

Except <>n the coast, there are no inns O'- hotels in "Morocco.

In .Taoan dancing plavs a verv imporcant part in the education o' *>oy6 and girls.