The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-07-31
i her finger plain gold ring, and slipped it


swear this" she said, "for my sake"
The next morning Colonel Dufour SET
out with his regiment for the frontier OF
Savoy, to join the army Of the Alps. lie
reached his destination in due time, ana
in the course Of few weeks shared in the
famous march across Mount Gents to Lusa.
Then came the concentration upon the
line of the Pc, when the army OF France,
led by the Emperor Napoleon the Third,
confronted its enemy upon the classic SOIL
Of Italy.
At Magenta the fighting was hot and
heavy, and the Seventeenth and Colonel
Dufour rose high in the estimation OF all IN
the army; and when the Emperor came
to reward the. brave deeds performed on
that memorable 4th of June it was found
that Colonel Dufour had been given a
generals epaulet. He wrote regularly to
the sgnora, and it was with proud heart
that he sent her news Of his promotion.
His letters were generally answered
quickly but this one received no reply.
This surprised him; and as the time
passed on. and no word came from the
signora, he began to fear that she was I'LL.
But he had little time to think OF this Tor
the army was advancing towards the MID
clio, and every moment was taken mp Win
attending to his duties. The roads were
to be mended, and the bridges repaired
so thoroughly had they been destroyed Dy
the retreating Austrians; and there was
scarcely an instant to devote to his per-
sonal matters.
The morning of the oath of June came
at last; and in the dim mist Of the morn
ing the brigade of General Dufour was
thrown forward to open the attack upon
the village and heights of Solterlno. II
was warm work, for the Austrlans, who are
no children in battle, resisted stuDoornly.
The battle soon became general along the
whole line: and for fourteen hours the
French struggled with heroic valor before
the prize Of victory was yielded to them
The brigade of General Dufour was con-
spicuous for its gallantry. It's leader was
everywhere where danger called him.
When the final charge, which carried the
cemetery and drove the Austrians into the
village, was made, five color bad
been shot down in the Generals old regl-
ment, and his whole brigade had suffered
terribly. Selling the colors as the signal
was given to move forward, he tore them
from the staff, and wrapping them around
his body, placed himself at the head OF
his troops.
"We'll make sure Of the colors this
time, comrades" he shouted, as they
rushed along, and wild cheer answered
him.
The colors and their intrepid bearer
were always in advance that day. The
Austrians were driven from the position ;
and the terrible hand fight through
the streets and from house to house at
Solferino began. 1t was tough work, but
it was we'll done: and when the hour of 2
O'Clock sounded, a rousing French cheer,
rising high above the crash Of battle, told
that the key-point to the field had been
won.
But it was won at fearful price; and
when the order was passed along the line
to reform for fresh advance upon the
Austrian centre, it was found that Gene
raj Dufour was missing. The battle
swept on, and when night came the French
bivouacked on the hard-won field.
The next day the official gazette was
made out, and it announced that the gal
liant General Dufour, whose brigade had
rendered such good service, was among
the severely wounded, and that the En-
peror had promoted him to the grade of
Acknowledgements.
But the brave man himself was utterly
unconscious of all the honors that were
bestowed upon him. lie had been con-
veyed to the hospital at Milan, and he now
lay there lowering between life and death.
He was not alone, however, for he had the
best nurse in the whole establishment.
She was "Sistcr of Mercy "-one OF
that noble band whose tender ministra-
tons to the wounded formed one of the
most touching features of the great strug-
gle that gave Italy her freedom. The
woman had been for some time on duty in
tho hospital; and when General Dufour
was brought in, she sought out the sur
geon in charge and begged to be allowed
the privilege of nursing him. lie was an
old friend, she said, and she would feel q
more than ordinary interest in seeking to
restore him to health again.
The surgeon looked at her sharply as he
granted the desired permission, and as she
turned away muttcred, with wise shake
of the head, "An old lover, doubtless, and
this is the finale Of the drama. Well, well,
it is the way Of the world. Women will
love, and they must suffer the penalty"
For many weeks General Dutour lowered
between life and death; but the Sister
Theresa nursed him faithfully. She would
suffer no one to relieve her, and bore the
trying strain upon her health and strength
with frmness that was heroic. All
through the long hours of the summer
nights she would sit by his bedside, bath
ing his feycred brow, and soothing his de-
lirium of pain with her soft touch and her
low, tender words. The surgeon, who had
been interested in the case, watched her
closely.
"Ma FOL-" he would mutter with sigh,
"what would give Tor my wife to love me
as that poor woman loves that man."
At last he had to interfere. The task of
nursing one SO dangerously wounded as
the General was too severe for one woman
and the sister herself was growing pale and
thin. The kind hearted surgeon declared
that she must have an assistant, and secure
for herself more rest. If she went on in
that way she would kill herself.
81 care not, so save him." she said,
softly.
The surgeon winked hard to hide the
moisture in bis eyes, and returning to the
task to which he had set himself, finally
conquered. Sister Theresa consented to
share her duties with an assistant; and, as
if to reward her, the General himself all
at once began to grow better. Soon he
recovered his consciousness, and though
he was very weak and feeble, he was on
the way to health and strength again.
Sister Theresa now relinquished her
charge entirely to the assistant; and as
the war was over, and her services were