General St. Amour
: Affection.This officer, who distinguished himself in the Imperial
service, was the son of a poor Piedmontese peasant, but he never forgot his
humble extraction. While the army was in Piedmont, he invited his principal
officers to an entertainment, when his father happened to arrive just as
they were sitting down to table. This being announced to the general, he
immediately rose, and stated to his guests his father's arrival. He said he
excuse him if he withdrew, and dined with his father in another room. The
guests begged that the father might be introduced, assuring him that they
should be happy to see one so nearly related to him; but he replied, "Ah,
no, gentlemen; my father would find himself so embarrassed in company so
unsuited to his rank, that it would deprive us both of the only pleasure of
the interview--the unrestrained intercourse of a parent and his son." He
then retired, and passed the evening with his father.
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elucidation of facts in court
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