Frank E. Channon

“ He had a purse well filled with gold; a silver-mounted penknife; a match-safe; many papers and odds and ends; but, alas’ nothing that would be of aid to this poor fellow. As he yet lingered, wondering what he could do, he noticed the wounded man’s eyes rest with an almost appealing look upon the precious cigar he held as yet unlighted in his hand, In a moment the count understood. The poor fellow was longing for that cigar! ”

“ He was Field-Marshal Von Moltke, commander-in-chief of the Prussian armies in their campaign against the Austrians. Opposite the soldier sat an imposing and burly figure—that of Count Otto von Bismarck, then Prime Minister of Prussia, and later Chancellor of the German empire. ”

“ Day after day the French soldiers had pushed their batteries nearer and nearer toward the besieged town, and now one could look out from behind the breastworks and plainly see the faces of the Austrian artillery-men, as they stuck to their guns with prim determination and sent their shots flying into the French forts. In one of these little mud-constructed forts, a small party of French soldiers, under the command of a corporal, were busily engaged in returning the fire of the enemy. ”