The street beggars
he repulsed with great harshness--with one exception. This was a
one-legged man, who had lost his limb at Marengo, and who stationed
himself regularly beside the cross at the end of the village. Here he
would stand, leaning on his crutches, and the count, in driving past,
would always drop a coin into the maimed warrior's hat.
One day when the carriage drew near the cross, Count Vavel saw the old
soldier, as usual, but without his crutches. Instead, he leaned on a
walking-stick, and stood on two legs.
The count stopped the carriage, and asked: "Are not you the one-legged
soldier?"
"I am, your lordship," replied the man; "but that angel, the baroness,
has had a wooden leg made for me,--I could dance with it if I
wished,--so I don't need to beg any more, for I can cut wood now, and
thus earn my living. May God bless her who has done this for me!"
The count was dissatisfied with himself. This woman understood
everything better than he did. He felt that she was his rival, and from
this feeling sprang the desire to compete with her.
An opportunity very soon offered. One day the count received from the
reverend Herr Mercatoris a gracefully worded appeal for charity.
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