The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 351, January 10, 1829Various
History
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 351, January 10, 1829
Various
Popular literature -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
Hundreds of these fine creatures were,
indeed, galloping over the plain, kicking and plunging, apparently mad
with pain, whilst the poor wounded wretches who saw them coming, and
could not get out of their way, shrieked in agony, and tried to shrink
back to escape from them, but in vain. Soon after, I saw an immense
horse (one of the Scotch Greys) dash towards a colonel of the Imperial
Guard, who had had his leg shattered; the horse was frightfully wounded,
and part of a broken lance still rankled in one of its wounds. It rushed
snorting and plunging past the Frenchman, and I shall never forget his
piercing cry as it approached. I flew instantly to the spot, but ere I
reached it the man was dead; for, though I do not think the horse had
touched him, the terror he felt had been too much for his exhausted
frame. Sickened with the immense heaps of slain, which spread in all
directions as far as the eye could reach, I was preparing to return,
when as I was striding over the dead and dying, and meditating on the
horrors of war, my attention was attracted by a young Frenchman, who was
lying on his back, apparently at the last gasp. There was something in
his countenance which interested me, and I fancied, though I knew not
when, or where, that I had seen him before. Some open letters were lying
around, and one was yet grasped in his hand as though he had been
reading it to the last moment. My eye fell upon the words "Mon cher
fils," in a female hand, and I felt interested for the fate of so
affectionate a son. When I left home in the morning, I had put a flask
of brandy and some biscuit into my pocket, in the hope that I might be
useful to the wounded, but when I gazed on the countless multitude which
strewed the field, I felt discouraged from attempting to relieve them.
Chance had now directed my attention to one individual, and I was
resolved to try to save his life. His thigh was broken, and he was badly
wounded on the left wrist, but the vital parts were untouched, and his
exhaustion seemed to arise principally from the loss of blood. I poured
a few drops of brandy into his mouth, and crumbling my biscuit contrived
to make him swallow a small particle. The effects of the dose were soon
visible; his eyes half opened, and a faint tinge of colour spread over
his cheek. I administered a little more, and it revived him so much that
he tried to sit upright. I raised him, and contriving to place him in
such a manner, as to support him against the dead body of a horse, I put
the flask and biscuit by his side, and departed in order to procure
assistance to remove him. I recollected that a short time before, I had
seen a smoke issuing from a deep ditch, and that my olfactory nerves had
been saluted by a savoury smell as I passed. Guided by these
indications, I retraced my steps to the spot, and found some Scotch
soldiers sheltered by a hedge, very agreeably employed in cooking a
quantity of beefsteaks over a wood tire, in a French cuirass!! I was
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 13, No. 351, January 10, 1829 — John Shaqi
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