Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1842-11-03
MISCELLANEOUS
1--we Sides OF the Picture

mel a mule BOY, VINO was gazing from
his nursery window, at a troop Of the
military who were passing. 'They
prance alon :" so famously on their fine
horses, and their swords look so hand
some. On, see, see! what beautiful
feathers they have in their caps, and
bark! at the fine music. OH if I live
to be a man, | am determined to be a
so!lier!n
No watchful mother was near him,
listening to her child, OF she would have
tried to correct his errors Of judgment,
by showing him that the life of sol
der is far from being so desirable as he
supposed. Instead Of her, there sat by
him youthful nurse, whose eye was
taken as much as his, by the dashing
appearance of the soldiery. She had
come from a foreign land, and she had
many anecdotes 10 tell the little boy,
about military scenes, in which her re-
latives and friends, or the families with
whom she had lived We're concerned.
She had seen nothing of the horrors Of
war, but her young and ardent imagin-
alton had been caught by its pomp and
pageantry.
The conversation and scenes Of that
day, made a strong impression on the
young and excitabIe Arthur, and from
that time the desire to be gay soldier
fastened on his mind, and thoughts, E.
ven while he was apparently engaged
at play, would continually reeur to the
brilliant military procession, and to his
nurses animated account Of her early
life. Whenever his indulgent father Of
tered him playthings, aud Arthur was
allowed the privilege Of selecting them,
he never failed to beg for a toy a
sword, or a drum, Or other implement
of war, and with these he would EN- :
ploy his play hours in exercising him
self In mimic warl,l1e sports.
Months rolled on, and the bent of the
little boys mind was becoming more
confirmed toward war and warlike
things, and as yet, no eye had detected
the evil that was lurking in his path
His father was an ambitious and world
ly minded man, and if his child's spirit
excited in him any emotion, it was
that Of pride, at seeing him so bold
and manly.
But happily, Or should say, provi-
dentially, not long since, there came to
visit the parents Of Arthur, his fathers
sister. This lady was pious and in
). telligent woman, and being, moreover,
very fond of children, she soon con-
tracted great affection for her nephew,
who was in his appearance and man
ners, very attractive to strangers. His
aunt was surprised and alarmed to find
the passionate desire for military life
which had been growing unchecked in
his young heart, and she seized every
opportunity to try to correct his opln-
ions. Whenever she met with anec-
dotes calculated to show forth another
side to the picture Of war, she never
failed to read or relate them to Arthur,
until at length, the little boy woke from
his dream Of fancied happiness, and
( learned to view a soldiers life and a
soldiers occupations in very different
light. One evening she was reading
Miss Sedgwick's Letters from Abroad,
and she stopped moment to look al
Arthur. Finding him favorably dis
posed, both to listen to her reading,
and to reflect upon what he might hear,
she explained to him briefly the history
of Waterloo, and ofthe leading men who
were concerned in the bloody tragedy,
which has rendered its name so memo
rable. She then read to him the fol-
lowing passage:
We drove round the rich wheat
fields to La Hay Sainte. There is nc
ground SO rich as this battle field. In
the spring, the darkest and thickest corn
tells where the dead were buried! The
German legion, slaughtered at La Have
Sainte, are buried on the opposite side
of the road, where there is a simple
monument over them.
La Belle Alliance, where Yelling.
ton and Butcher met after the battle
was pointed out to us; and Napoleon's
positions, the very spot where he stood
when he first deserted Butcher, anc
his heart for the last time swelled will
anticipated triumph.
eve were shown the places where
Gordon, Pickton, and others of note
fell: and there, where the masses lay
weltering in blood, the unknown, un
honored, unrecorded, there was
Horror breathing from the silent ground
1T was a piteous sight said oul
guide, TO see the next day the men