The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-01-25

ne sxcNsm&ss ofshs skstmlsh wstmed tkrif blood.
sud gave ihesu - Il es4med, fresh eol9 upon life
n one Of thoes skirmishes. or rashsr IN sharp
combat, dear frt1nd of milne, acaptAin inshe same
regiment had bic leR Arm caffied on By cannon
shot After the affair was over. came suddenly
upsn him, where he lay moaning " The roadside,
his lace ashy PALE his arm still hanging by the sn-
sws. HE horse had either galioped away, or been
taken by the fueifives. ..u
e cver--I can 60 no further. shall never 'oe
France again I
Il saw that like the majority Of those who receis.
ed severe wounds In that retreat, his mora
WAS subdued. and had given way o,,sss 80 ~.
was terribly shocked, for felt how ssns Was uIs
chance of escape need hardly ten you .aeIe 80
very little dressing OF wounds during tne iauer part
OF the retreat; most OF the YER -
hospital wagons with medicine anu sns..ua
had been Left on the road transport tor the sick
waa ont OF the question. assumed - cheerful
cousteuanee as could
..Wby. preyille,' cried, this win not do we
must Get you along somehow. Come! coursge,
my friend You saaa see France again. in spite OF
"Ah, doctor. replied he, 10 piteous tones, 1t Ii
no USE HereI shall die. All you can do for me
isto blow my brains out and save me from the Cos
sack lauces
"By this time had dismounted and was at his
side. The intense cold had stopped the bleeding
of his wound saw that there was no lack of vital
y in him, and that but for this mishap, few would
have got ont of the campaign in better plight.
Even now, his dependency was perhaps his great
eat danger. reminded him of his wife aud child
(he had been married little more than year, and
news ofthe birth of daughter had reached him on
our forward march,) of his happy home, his old
mother of all the ties in short, that bound him to
life. Whilst speaking, severed the sinewsthat
still retained bis shattered arm, and bound 1t up as
best might. He still despaired and rnoaned, but
suffered me to do as l would, He was like an in.
fant in my hands-that man who, in the hour Of
battle, was a very lion for courage But long suf
ferng and the sudden Understanding, too when
| we seemed on the verge of safety-bad overcome
| his fortiiude With Panl's help got hin upon my
horse The poor brute was ia case to larry
double SO walked aud led it, although at that time
I could hardly hobble
"It is all useless, my dear DOCTOR Prevle said;
this is my last day; feel that. Far better shoot
me, leave me by the roadside, than risk your life
| for my sake
81 took no heed, but tried TO cheer him. Those
unciean beasts, the Cossacks, were lowering
around usual and at times the bullets fell pref
y thick Not aquarter oil an hour had elapsed since
! set Praville my horse, when shot struck his
right eye-not entering the head, but CHANGING
| across the globe, and completely destroying the
sight Well, sir then there occurred physiologi-
/ cal phenomenon, which have never been able
satisfactorily to account for This man, whom the
| loss Of an arm had reduced TO despair, seemed to
derive fresh courage from the loss OF an eye Al
any rate, from that moment he complained no more
| OIL MS rare, resumed usual IHsIily tOHt huu
up like hero Paul was lucky enough to catch
| a riderless horse, which, mounted. The worst
WAS over, and We soon got respite. Without trou
! bling you with details, and incredible though 1t
may seem to you, my poor friend escaped with llie
| although with a limb and an eye the less !"
There must have been many extraordinary
| escapes from that campaign" remarked.
"Innumerable. There was sergeant Of dr. a.
| goops, a former comsade Otmy servants, who, for
| masy days marched beside me and Paul He re-
ceived a severe wound. There were some vehicles
still with US at that Time AMI We got him place ia
| one of them, and made him as comfortable az
| could. The following night we stopped at town.
| In the morning. about to march. the
| Cossacks came down. There was great confusioD
several baggage-carts were captured in the street.
| and some OF the wounded were abandoned in the
/ houses where they had passed the night. Amongst
these was Sergeant Fritz. Not many houses In the
town were still in good condition-most of them
had been burned and Knocked to pieces by the SOL
ders. The house in which Fritz lay had still its
doors and windows, and was one of the most CONS
Portable in the place, which account it had been
| converted into temporary hospital WE'LL the
Russians came In, brought their wounded, aud turn
| ed out our poor fellows to make room for them.
| Some, who could not move quickly enough, were
| brutaliy pitched through a low window into gar
den behind the house, there to perish miserably.
| Fritz was one of these Only just able to crawl,
he made his way round the garden, seeking egress.
| HI reached gate communicating with another
garden. TWAS locked, and pain and weakness for
| babe him climbing He sat close to the gate,
| propped against 1t, and looking wistfully through
the bars at the windows of house, and at The cheer
| full glow of a fire, when he was perceived bya
young girl Shecame out and opened the gate, and
| helped him into the house. Her father was Ger
man clockmaker, long settled in Russia and Fritz
| Swiss, spoke German well. The kind people put
him to bed, hid his uniform, and tended him like
| a son. When, In the following spring, his health
retored, and he would have left them the Ger.
| man proposed to him to remain and assist him in
his trade. He accepted the Offer married the Ger
| mans daugter, and remained In Russia until his
father-in-aw's death, when he was taking with
longing to revisit mis- native mountains and returns
ed to Switzerland with his wife and family met
him since at Paris, and he told me his story. But
although his escape was narrow, and romantic
enough, there must have been others much more
remarkable. Most OF the prisoners made by the
Russians, and who survived severe cold and harsh
treatment, were sent 10 Moscow to labor at rebuid-
ing the city. When the fine season came some of
them managed to escape, and to make their way
in various DISCUSSES, and through countless adyen-
lures back TO their own country"
have set down but the most striking portions of
our conversational rather, of tie DOCTORS nara
tive, since did little but listen; and occasionally
by question or remark, direct his communicatiye-
ness into the cheunel wished it to take We were
| now near Orleans
sThe letter was reading when we started - se;d
| my companion, and which has brought back 10 nv
| memory ell that have told you-at risk. perhans
OF wearylng you" he added with slight bow and
smile, 'and host of other circumstances To ma NJ
thrilling and everlasting interest is from General
Preville who lives in the south of France but has
come unexpectedly to Orleans to pass month with
| me- That is his way, He lives happily with a
married daughter; but now and then the desire to
| see an old comrade, and to fight old battles over
| again. comes SO strongly upon him, that he has his
valise packed at an hours notice. and takes me bv
| surprise He knows well that THE Generals
Room and an afectionate reception always await
him. received his letter full of references TO old
unexpectedly evening, and am now hurryino
back to Orleans TO see him. He may very likely he
waiting for me at the station and you will see that
for man who gave himself up for dead forty years
ago In the SHOWS Of Russia and begged as favour
bullet through his BRAIN he looks toleraby hearty
and satisfied to i've"
There is thing, Monsieur le Doc,eur.rI
said, (which you have not yet explained TO me and
which do not understand. Did you mean lr>-saily
what you said. that since the Russian campaign Won
have never had your feet warm2"
Literally and truly, sir When we got to Or.
cha, where Jonini was in command and where the
heroic Ney, who had been separated from the army
reJoined US with the skeleton of his eorps-havjne
cut his way by sheer vaour and soldiershp throuph
clouds OF Plstof'e Cossaeks-we took dav's res,
1t was the Goth OF November. the last dav of snv.
thing approaching to comfort which we were 10 en-.
JOY before crossing the Russian frontier. True we
uda NM bn1t NJ