Jean-Étienne Champion de Jourdan

“ He chose Jourdan, a man whose quaint military career we must reluctantly leave aside in so brief a study as this, but at any rate an amateur, and put him in Houchard’s command over the Army of the Northern Frontier, and that command was extended from right away beyond the Ardennes to the sea. He ordered (and Jourdan obeyed) the concentration of men from all down that lengthy line to the right and the left upon one point, Guise. To leave the rest of the frontier weak was a grave risk only to be excused by very rapid action and success: both these were to follow. ”

“ His later choice of Jourdan’s army as the objective of his combination grew out of circumstances and in particular out of the brilliant reconnaissance work of a cavalry brigadier of the Lower Rhine Army, Nauendorff. This general’s reports—he was working in the country south and south-east of Nürnberg, Wartensleben being at Amberg—indicated first an advance of Jourdan’s army from Forchheim through Nürnberg to the south, and induced the archduke, on the 12th, to begin a concentration of his own army towards Ingolstadt. ”

“ He is the only man who is able to do what you ask." The king thereupon sent for him. In the meantime it happened that a certain bird flew over Jochanan's house of learning and, crying, said: "May God deliver thee, Jochanan, from the evils about to come upon thee." When Jochanan heard this, he was much alarmed, for the scorpion had blessed him with the very same words. The servants of the king then came to Jochanan, and said: "Arise, come unto the king; for he has sent for thee." Jochanan trembled very greatly. He rose, went to the king, and prostrated himself before him. ”

“ They were often wise and able men, brave and fearless of responsibility in camp and in action. Jourdan led on the reserves, and the men fighting in the bushes on either side of the road heard their drums to right and left. Jourdan fell wounded, but Delbrel headed a wild irregular bayonet charge which checked the Hanoverians, and Houchard himself, in his true place as a cavalry leader, came up with 500 fresh sabres and flung himself on the Allies. ”

“ The first to open the gate of battle was Jamrkan, who drave his charger into mid-plain and played with sword and javelin, till the understanding was amazed; after which he cried out, saying, “Ho! who is for tilting? Ho! who is for fighting? Let no sluggard come out to me to-day nor weakling! I am the slayer of Kurajan bin Jaland; who will come forth to avenge him?” When Jaland heard the name of his son, he cried out to his men, “O whore-sons, bring me yonder horseman who slew my son, that I may eat his flesh and drink his blood.” ”

“ No wonder! for they were filled by the constant labours of the Demons of the mine. The heart of Jochonan was moved by avarice, when he saw them shining in yellow light, like the autumnal sun, as they reflected the beams of the torch. But God enabled him to persevere.
"These are thine," said the Demon; "one of the vessels which thou beholdest would make thee richest of the sons of men—and I give thee them all."
But Jochonan refused again; and the Prince of the Mazikin opened the door of a third chamber, which was called the Hall of Diamonds. ”

“ At the shadowy and fleeting reputation which is sometimes gained by the frolics of literary vanity, or the mischievous struggles of controversial rage, Jortin never grasped. Truth, which some men are ambitious of seizing by surprise in the trackless and dark recess, he was content to overtake in the broad and beaten path ”

“ This Jochanan had a beautiful and pious wife. When his father was about to die he called his son and exhorted him to occupy himself with God's precepts and to continually perform acts of charity. He bequeathed to him all his wealth, saying: "When the days of thy mourning are over, go into the street and remain there until thou seest a man come to sell his wares in the market. The first man who comes, buy from him his wares and take them home, and take good care of them." ”

“ Jerdan, from the very great politeness the family have at all times received, ventures to intrude the enclosed lines. They are written by a young friend, for whom Miss L. feels most anxious solicitude. If Mr. Jerdan will, therefore, give his candid opinion whether he considers any taste or genius is expressed, or, on the contrary, if he should only call it a waste of time from which no benefit can arise. Miss L. feels the liberty she is taking; trusts Mr. Jerdan will believe it is an obligation never to be forgotten. ”

“ Jortin in the esteem of the judicious. His Latin poetry is classically elegant — his discourses and dissertations sensible, ingenious, and argumentative — his remarks on ecclesiastical history interesting and impartial — his sermons replete with sound sense and rational morality, expressed in a style simple, pure, and perspicuous. Simplicity of style is a grace which, though it may not captivate at first sight, is sure in the end to give permanent satisfaction. It does not excite admiration, but it raises esteem. It does not warm to rapture, but it soothes to complacency. ”

“ Take poor Jorian for an example of what the absence of ambition brings men to. I treasure Jorian, I hoard the poor fellow, to have him for a lesson to my boy. Witty and shrewd, and a masterly tactician (I wager he would have won his spurs on the field of battle) , you see him now living for one hour of the day—absolutely twenty-three hours of the man's life are chained slaves, beasts of burden, to the four-and-twentieth! So, I repeat, fag at your German.
'Miss Penrhys retires to her native Wales; Jorian and I on to London, to the Continent. Plinlimmon guard us all! ”

“ On account of this the counsellors envied him, and said to each other: "Unless we take counsel together to slay this man, he will now requite us for all the evil which we have done to him and his sons." So one day they lay in wait for him, smote him, and tore him to pieces limb from limb. When the news reached the king's palace that Jochanan was slain, and that his murderers had torn him to pieces, the king and queen were exceedingly grieved. And the queen said: "Take me to the place where his (scattered) limbs are lying." ”

“ Distinguished in various forms of literary composition, engaged in various duties of his ecclesiastical profession, and blessed with a long and honourable life, he nobly exemplified the rare and illustrious virtue of charity. The esteem, the affection, the reverence, which I feel for so profound a scholar and so honest a man as Dr. Jortin, make me wholly indifferent to the praise and censure of those who vilify without reading his writings, or read them without finding some incentive to study, some proficiency in knowledge, or some improvement in virtue. ”

“ In the same year Jerdan purchased of the proprietor, George Manners, the copyright and business premises (at 267 Strand) of a periodical entitled ‘The Satirist, a Monthly Meteor.’ Begun on 1 Oct. 1807, the paper had been noted for its virulence. Jerdan moderated its tone, but it was not a commercial success, and ceased in 1814. Meanwhile Jerdan had secured, on 11 May 1813, the more responsible post of editor of the ‘Sun,’ a high tory daily paper, and a vigorous champion of ‘Pitt politics.’ He received a tenth share of the property, and a vague promise of 500l. a year. He worked energetically. ”

“ But I remembered, too, that Father Josef, mercilessly just to Ferdinand Ramero, had not even asked Jondo to defend himself from the black charge against him.
The sunny Kansas prairies, the far open plains, and the wild mountain trails beyond, had brought their blessing to Jondo, whose life had known so much of tragedy. And my cross was just my love for a girl who could not love me. That was all. Jondo had never forgotten nor ceased to love the mother of Eloise St. Vrain. I should be like Jondo in this. But the world is wide. Life is full of big things. ”

“ Champlain was as much at home in the brilliant court of France as in a wigwam on a Canadian lake, as patient and politic with a wild band of savages on Lake Huron as with a crowd of grasping traders in St. Malo or Dieppe. Always calm, always unselfish, always depending on God, in whom he believed and trusted, and thinking of France, which he loved, this single-hearted man resolutely followed the path of his duty under all circumstances ”

“ So she spake, and the messenger from the princess brake in upon them, bidding the Sieur Rudel hasten to the council-chamber, for that the Princess Joceliande waited this long while for his coming.
"Now will I ask for the fulfilment of her promise," said Rudel to Solita, "and to-night, sweet, I will claim thee before the whole Court." With that he got him from the chamber and, following the messenger, came to where the princess awaited him.
"Madame," he said, "good tidings! By God's grace we have won the victory over your enemies. ”

“ Then he said to Jouder, ‘O Jouder, thou hast left thy native land on our account and hast accomplished our need; wherefore thou hast a right to a reward of us. Seek, therefore, what thou wilt; it is God the Most High that giveth unto thee by our means. Ask thy will and be not ashamed, for thou art deserving.’ ‘O my lord,’ answered Jouder, ‘I ask first of God the Most High and then of thee, that thou give me yonder saddle-bags.’ So the Moor called for them and gave them to him, saying, ‘Take them, for they are thy due, and if thou hadst asked of me aught else, I had given it thee. ”

“ In Jolson there is always one thing you can be sure of: that whatever he does, he does at the highest possible pressure. I do not mean that one gets the sense of his effort, for his work is at times the easiest seeming, the most effortless in the world. Only he never saves up—for the next scene, or the next week, or the next show. His generosity is extravagant; he flings into a comic song or a three-minute impersonation so much energy, violence, so much of the totality of one human being, that you feel it would suffice for a hundred others. ”

“ There are beings, kind and patient as old Jordy, who pass through life with a bitter thought in their heart and a tender but sorrowful smile on their lips, carrying with them to the grave the secret of their lives; letting no one guess it,—through pride, through disdain, possibly through revenge; confiding in none but God, without other consolation than his.
Monsieur de Jordy, like the doctor, had come to die in Nemours, but he knew no one except the abbe, who was always at the beck and call of his parishioners, and Madame de Portenduere, who went to bed at nine o'clock. ”

“ He does more than make 'em laugh; he gives them what I am convinced is a genuine emotional effect ranging from the thrill to the shock. I remember coming home after eighteen months in Europe, during the war, and stepping from the boat to one of the first nights of Sinbad. The spectacle of Jolson's vitality had the same quality as the impression I got from the New York sky-line—one had forgotten that there still existed in the world a force so boundless, an exaltation so high, and that any one could still storm Heaven with laughter and cheers. ”

“ Jortin had studied the ancients, and perhaps formed himself on the model of Xenophon. He wrote on subjects of morality, and morality is founded on reason, and reason is always cool and dispassionate. A florid declamation, embellished with rhetorical figures and animated with pathetic description, may, indeed, amuse the fancy and raise a transient emotion in the heart, but rational discourse alone can convince the understanding and reform the conduct.
“The first efforts of genius have commonly been in poetry. ”

“ No grander prince of men ever rode the trails or dared the dangers of the untamed West. I did not know his story for many years. I wish I might never have known it. But as he began with me, so he ended--brave, beloved old Jondo!
Down on the parade-ground Beverly Clarenden and Mat Nivers were sitting with their feet crossed under them, tailor fashion, facing each other and talking earnestly. Over by the fort, Esmond Clarenden stood under a big elm-tree. A round little, stout little man he was, whose sturdy strength and grace of bearing made up for his lack of height. ”

“ The same caprice which raises to reputation those trifling discourses which have nothing to recommend them but a prettiness of fancy and a flowery language, will again consign them to oblivion; but the sermons of Dr. Jortin will always be read with pleasure and edification.
“The transition from an author’s writings to his life is frequently disadvantageous to his character. Dr. Jortin, however, when no longer considered as an author but as a man, is so far from being lessened in our opinion, that he excites still greater esteem and applause. ”

“ When Jochonan and the lady were alone, she turned in the bed towards him, and said:—
"Unhappy man that thou art! knowest thou where thou hast been brought?"
"I do," said he, with a heavy groan; I know that I am in a city of the Mazikin."
"Know, then, further," said she, and the tears gushed from eyes brighter than the diamond, "know then, further, that no one is ever brought here, unless he hath sinned before the Lord. What my sin hath been imports not to thee—and I seek not to know thine. But here thou remainest for ever—lost, even as I am lost." And she wept again. ”

“ Jarl Rognvald’s followers were not numerous enough to force their way across the bog and the moss-hag in face of the men at Thorbiorn’s back, and they were equally at a loss for lack of a leader who was skilled in war.
Jomar and others ran to Jarl Harald’s side as he rode amongst them.
“See, Lord Jarl,” they called. “There are the murderers of our lord. Do you lead your men and us, and we will soon get across and be the means of his death.” ”