236

THE STORY OF A RECRUIT.

every officer in the regiment would be hoarse for a month
to come. However, we were not to be in it that time ; for

| before we could get any thing like near the white smoke

in the distance, the firing had already slackened, and
when we at last spurred up, sabres in hand, it was only
to see the arms piled and the wounded being carried to
the rear.

Pheugh! The remembrance of that ride makes me
draw my breath now! And all for nothing. Most of the

work had been done by the infantry before we could.

come up. Of the few cavalry on the spot, one, a foreign
regiment on our side, was terribly cut up. I remember
them well, with their dark uniforms and their heavy
shakoes, ornamented (?) in front, if I remember rightly,
with a death’s head and cross-bones!. The ground near
where we halted was strewn with these poor fellows—all
dead. Here and there a wounded horse would occasion-
ally raise his head, his hot tongue lolling from his mouth,
look pitifully round, then sink down again. The thought
that such a thing might happen to Peggy made me
wretched. Another circumstance to upset me was that
I had never seen so many dead people before in my life.
I suppose I must have looked what I felt as I stared at
those brave young fellows, lying there so white and stiff,
with the flies beginning to settle in their eyes. I say I
suppose 1 must have looked what I felt, because Sam
pushed his little spirit-flask, which he always carried,
into my hand, saying, “There, take a sup, Jack; you'll
get used to it in time.”

I never remembered Sam so talkative before.

Shortly after this we were ordered to bivouac in a field
by the roadside; guards were posted, and the rest of us
proceeded to make ourselves and our reeling horses as
comfortable as we- could. Comfortable! when there
was no forage and no water to be had for love or money!
I took off Peggy’s saddle, to look for chafes, but luckily
found none. Notwithstanding that, her coat was matted
together by perspiration as if she had been ina river.
Now came in my wisps of hay. I stripped every morsel
of harness off her, and rubbed with a will, using half the
hay for that purpose; the remainder I gave her to eat, after
having first cleansed her muzzle from foam, and washed
her mouth with a little water which I luckily had in a
bottle. These preparations for the morrow being com-
pleted, I laid down by the side of my snoring comrades.

Ivy.

In the grey dawn of the morning I was awoke by Sam
nudging me in the side. “Look!” he whispered, point-
ing to the roadway. A few yards to the left I heard the
sound of wheels; so without tuning I answered half
asleep, “Yes, yes, I know. Wounded going in carts to
Brussels. They’ve been going all night. Let a fellow
rest, can’t you?” A low chuckle from my taciturn friend
induced me to sit up, and look in the direction of his finger.
No carts with wounded there! Instead of them, I saw,
by the dim light, tumbrils, mounted men, guns—the
artillery. “What does it mean?” I asked Sam. “It
means,” he said, “that the army is going to take up a
fresh position, and that we shall have to cover the retreat,
my boy!”

The evening previous I had been so tired and busy that
IT had scarcely given the matter a thought—but I sup-

1 Black Brunswickers.

posed that the battle would be renewed in the morning,
I did not, of course, know then that the retreat was neces.
sary in order to keep the communications open with the
Prussians.

Sure enough, after the artillery had filed past, a column
of infantry made its appearance; many of the men—their
shoulders up to their ears, shivering and swearing to
themselves at having been roused from their slumbers,
These grumblers were sternly rebuked by the officers,
more than one of whom had his arm ina sling. Thus
they slouched, rather than marched past, the colours in
their oilskin cases, the muskets carried any way, every
way. Other regiments followed in the same style; in
fact the whole British army was being drawn offas rapidly
as was consistent with discipline. A portion of the
artillery remained to assist in holding the enemy in|
check.

Our turn was now to come in earnest. As near as I}
can recollect at this distance of time, we received a small
ration of bread with a glass of spirits, as we stood
by our horses, waiting for the order to mount. The last
of our army, including the heavy cavalry, had gone past
some little time, when—Bang! went a gun from the
French, instantly answered by one of the English field-
pieces stillin position. ‘They're waking up at last,” was
the remark in the ranks. Then began a tremendous din,
of some halfhour’s duration, during which you could
scarcely hear yourself speak, so great was the uproar. I
saw, with my own eyes, one of our guns dismounted. A
twelve-pound shot struck the off-wheel, shattering it to
fragments. It then glanced off and struck the limber,
making the splinters fly in all directions, killing and
wounding every one near, “ This is too hot to last,” every
one near me said. And so it was; for soon the firing
ceased as if by usual consent. Ourown guns we could see
limbering up and galloping off. “ Now’s our time,” said
Sam, throwing back his hanging jacket.

“Hussars, mount!’ from the colonel.

We were in our saddles in a moment.

The next orders brought us into the open ground from
behind the cover where we had been concealed, and there
facing us when we had formed line, were the French. It,
was a splendid cuirassier regiment, coming forward at
a walk, from being obliged to break their ranks to pass
their own guns. A martial set of fellows they were,
truly, all steel and hair; their fierce faces were half
covered with hair, and horse-hair streamed down their
backs from their helmets, like the style adopted by
young ladies at the present day. They were mounted
upon powerful, large-boned horses.

I should judge that we were about fifty yards distance
from them.

When fairly face to face, a thrilling, simultaneous
“Hurrah !”’ broke from our ranks,—not a throat was
silent, Oh, what a moment it was! what a moment it
was! My poor withered body trembles with the re-
membrance. Every man’s heart was in that cheer. A
few hoarse shouts of “ Vive U’Empereur” was all I could
hear from the French, before the trumpets on both sides
sounded. Then our colonel found his tongue.

“Forward! CHARGE!” in a voice of thunder.
rings in my ears now.

In a few moments more we were upon them. Such a
rain of sword-flashes you never saw! My immediate
antagonist was a tall fellow on a dappled horse, @

It