The Iowa transcript. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1858-1866, 1866-03-28

retreat-lor such it doubtless was--went on.
And now tho plot begins to thicken. On III
sides were seen troops Of various nations,
hurrying on In the same direction - our
| selves. The road became ohoked. Once,
in q regular jam with some ammunition
wagons, violent thunder-equall came on,
and l began TO speculate on the possible
effects Of fash Of lightning. We had to
wait some little time, and lay down in the
long rye by the roadside. was violently
heated, and thirsty, and refreshed myself
by sucking the cars Of corn, which were so
drenched by the heavy rain that each was
sort of wet sponge.
The foreigners began to give out, and lie
down by the roadside in constantly increas-
ing numbers Most conspicuous among
them were some huge Dutchmen, with
enormous beards-things not then usually
worn. They made no attempt to conceal
their alarm, and began TO doubt how the
feeling that our allies were good for nothing
might affect our men. II was satisfactory,
however, to see that they seemed to look
upon it a. unmitigated fun. The passage
Of any staff officer was eagerly watched, in
the hope Of picking up information. over
heard one say, in answer to some inquiries
about our retreat: "Oh, we shan't have to
60 much further. lie is going to make q
stand at place called, believe, Waterloo,
or some such name."
From the crowded state Of the road,
checks were now become very frequent.
On some occasion, hearing an odd kind Of
noise close to me, I looked up, and saw
wagon Of wounded men. 1t was utterly un
expected, and only hope did not show
how it shocked me- Two figures see now.
One had been shot in the mouth; the whole
face had swelled till the features were un-
distinRuishable. 1t was one cake Of blood,
and where the mouth had been was . hole,
from which came sounds that were not
human. In contrast TO him sat very fine
looking man in . grcatcoat, which concealed
his hurt. His face was deadly pale, and
wore an expression Of deadly suffering; but
he maintained absolute silence
We passed through the town Of Braine-le-
Compile, which looked entirely deserted by
the inhabitants. II was occupied by some
foreign troops, who, we understood, were to
stay and meet the advance of the French.
One company got under arms at sort Of
guard house, in compliment to US, as we
passed They looked, officers and men, dis
mal-forlorn without the hope. could not
help admiring the endurance Of our men.
They had started about nine or ten on the
morning Of the 10th; had been marching
through drenching rain and violent storms
until now, the afternoon of the 18th, with
very triaing halts and no rstions. They
had breakfasted before starting, and had
little or no opportunity of picking up any
food on the way Il had only my share Of the
hot bread and Curacoa); and here they were,
going on without apparent fatigue, and
without q murmur. Well, all things Come
to an end. We turned off the road, upon
rising ground, which showed other regi-
ments forming line, as we did. The position
was reached, the march was over. As was
looking round, to see what was coming next,
was accosted BY an old Peninsu'ar captain
with q grim smile: swell, -, here's the
butchers shop. How do you like it," But
the real butchers shop came; we got the
meat, and some spirits, and fed at last
contrived to get capital bundle Of straw,
and lay down (thatching myself with it, for
the thunder showers were constantly on o
slope, from which could see all that was
passing. Before me spread one wide level,
mostly in corn, with no Enclosures or woods
to break the view. Across it, at the distance
Of more than mile, ran long lines Of Brit
sh cavalry, formed to cover our retreat.
beyond, 10 the distance, could make out
the French line. The guns could mot dis
tinguish, until they opened FIRE; then the
smoke. settling in . little thunder cloud
above each battery. mapped them out. l
vancing, retreating, but was too far of to
make out anything more than that skirm-
ish on grand scale was going on--then our
side seemed TO gain ground-and then the
suuall seemed over. There is horseman
coming from the fight, at speed, right to-
wards us. He pulls up close to party Of
our officers, throws the reins on his horses
neck, and bursts out laughing. His horse
is in q lather, but himself in the highest
spirits. This is the duke Of -, captain
in our regiment, but serving on the head
quarter staff; and he is laughing because
he has just seen the life guards ride over
the French. Tile did not tell us, what We
heard afterwards, that some Of our light
cavalry had first failed to do SOY What is
that astounding rattle on the right? And
what are our fellows elasping their hands
and shouting for, as If it were the best fun
in the world! II is the whole baggage
train of the British army in panic, fleeing
for their lives along the paved road, bound
for Brussels. And it is no joke at all. 1t
is only fright now; but all through the night
will be plumber and misunderstanding
and murder-women and children upset in
ia the canal and drowned. The loss Of life
was great; the conduct Of very many in
famous Il was shocking and disgraceful
business; but 1t was hushed up. Victory,
like charity, covered the multitude Of sins
and in the ocean Of our losses, this drop
was of NO account. Again we stood to our
arms. and moved off, l carefully carrying
nv precious truss Of straw under my arm.
The two armies were in motion-in presence
jim full view. The prsttle Of skirmishers
began, grew angry, died away. The sun,
Just before setting, came forth from MS
frowning host Of storm-clouds, threw one
wild CLEAN Of light over the awful scene,
and disappeared. Are we going to work
now :" / asked the little fellow by my side
Ia boy in years, in service veteran).
mot TO- night, think; it's too late.
"What . beautiful sight!-Isn't 1t Z" !
could not help saying.
With grave, sad smile Of superior expert
encc, he replied: "Wait till Tomorrow
night; tell me then how beautiful you
think it."
We kept changing our ground, and at
every move lost some Of my straw. Blum
dering through the dark and wet, the last
Of it went before we came to our final posi-
ton. Very quickly the opposite ridge was
lighted up by the FIRE Of the French army
making themselves happy for the night.
What y range of them; and how cnved
them! We had nothing Of the sort. The
ftful fire of outposts-every now and then
like q small battle-burned out. The last
sounds heard were the constant rush Of
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