19. “Little Ten Minutes”

When the English were at war with the Zulus in South Africa, a French prince, named Louis Napoleon, enlisted, and one morning was riding outside the camp with a small company of soldiers. All about them in the open country they saw the Zulus. One of his friends said: “Louis, we had better go back to camp. We are in great danger here. The Zulus may come upon us any minute and kill us.” “Oh, no danger,” said the Prince, “let us stay here just ten minutes more, and drink our coffee.” During that ten minutes the Zulus came upon them, and in the skirmish the Prince lost his life. When the news of his death was telegraphed to his widowed mother in London, England, she said: “That was always Louis’ way. When he was a little boy he was never ready on time. He was always saying, ‘Just ten minutes more.’ Sometimes when I called him in the morning and he was too sleepy to speak he would lift his hands and spread out his ten fingers to show that he wanted ten minutes more. I used to call him ‘Little Ten Minutes.’ Those ten minutes have lost me my boy, and my boy his life. His fault has become his fate!”