Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1845-06-27
PEACE.
From the Christian Citizen.
A BEAUTY-GEM OF WAR.


A writer, who was an eyewitness of the arri-
val of remnant of Napoleons army at Ores
den, relates the following heart-rending anec-
dote:-
8 "Fhe regiment of body-guards that acquitted it.
self so manfllly at M--k has in returning from
Moscow, been altogether cut up--mostly by the
frost Of the whole regiment, only about seven
ty remain.
Single bodies arrived by degrees, but in the
main in most pitiable plight. When they
reach the Saxon border, they are assisted by
their compassionate countrymen, who enabled
them to make the rest of the road in a carriage
or Wagon.
On Sunday forenoon, went to the Line1sCen
Bad, and found a crowd collected round cart,
in which some soldiers had returned from Rus
STA. No grenade Or grape could have disfgur-
ed them as | beheld them, the victims of cold
One of them had lost the upper joints of his ten
fingers and showed us the black stumps. An
other looked as if he had been in the hands Of
the Turks; for he wanted both ears and nose.
Most horrible was the look of the third; whose
eyes 0ere frozen. The eyelds hung down rot
ting, and the globes Of the eyes were burst and
protruded out of the sockets. 1t was awfuly
hideous, but more hdeous object was yet to
present ITSELF Out of the straw in the bottom
of the cart, now beheld figure creep painful
ly, which one could scarcely believe to be a
human being; SO wild and distorted were his
features. The lips were rotted away, and teeth
l. LIZ.
his mouth, & grinned like deaths head Then
he burst out into a wild laughter-began to give
the command in broken French, in voice near
.'er like the bark of a dog, than anything human;
and we saw the poor wretch was mad from a
frozen brain. Suddenly cry was heard, Glen
ry! my Henry!" and young girl rushed up to
the cart The poor lunatic rubbed his brow,
as if frying to recollect where he was--he then
stretched out his arms to the distracted girl and
lifted himself up with his whole strength. A
shuddering fever-ft came over him. He fell
and lay breathess upon the straw The girl
was removed forcibly from the corpse.-It was
her bridegroom"
Could the father who is swelling the huzza for
sthe warrior, have witnessed that scene-could
The have seen the dying manac-the lover and the
love ---could he have seen the hot tears of the
distracted girl and felt the bitterness of her soul
meth.nks if there lay in his bosom spark of la
tent feeling, the huzza would die on his lips.
Mother had that heart broken being first
drawn its sustenance from your breast----had you
first heard it lisp the name of "mother"hac
she been your idol-.--the angel Of your dreams
the image of your imagination, OH had you seer
your sky suddenly darkened by horrible clouds
So had you listened to the snap of her hear
strings----marked her desolate eye---and seei
your dearest go down to dark and hopeless
graye---and did you know that all this woe ant
sorrow was necessary to the warrior fame----wa
necessary to the victor---Mothers, would 70,
not teach your little ones to regard the warrior a
an enemy to hImanity?---to God?
Maiden!--you on whose polished fingers tn
laurel wreath is resting awaiting the time whe
it shall deck the warriors brow Maiden, pause
Pause, and ask him, "What is thy gloryW
it in broken hearts! in the wailing of damne
spirits? Is it in the widows tear? in her sigh
in the soldiers dying moan! Tell me warrior
tell me, ere add to your fame or glory,
.... D. w. B,
Avon, Con- June 4, l945.