Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-02-17
THE OLD SERGEANT.


II furcu, straight still hS pIue, htsnOuSu
4 in his time he had put in forty years OF
hard soldering. His regulation mutton
chop whiskerS white as snow, just
4 reached the corners OF his grim old
Il month. the rest Of his lined visagc close
4 ly shaver. Yon would have known him
81 III a glance for an old soldier by lis
4 balanced step, his square should
efs, and his disciplined attitudes I;
a he stood proclaimed yet more plain
#ly by the well.brushed, threadbare
n trews of Gordon tartan that encased
las lean and wiry neither limbs. Robbie
~ ND been sergeant in the local regi-
Uncut. the gallant Ninety second, and in
It's ranks had borne the brunt OF many q
x stubborn fray. lie had worn the
Fl broyues from OF bis feet in Moore's dis
as,rons retreat on Corunnl. and bad
helped 10 bury that noble chief "by the
s. struggling mooubeam's misty ray aud
fhe lantern dimly burning" lie had
81 been IN the thick OF the fierce bayonet
"a siruqCles IN the steep street OF Fuentos
81 'Onoro. bad climbed tine ridge 70 the
"a desperate tight of Albnera, aud had taken
81 q hand m carrying the bridge Of AlmareZ
81 4 wound had kept him from Salamanca,
"a but he was IN Grabam's front line on the
Il dav Of Vittoria. and had many tale OF
p the rich plumber that fell 10 the conquer
b ors in that short sharp, aud decisive
81 combat. He bad heard the bullets pat
81 ter on the rocks of ROucesyallos, and
q wadei the "bloody Bidas0a " under the
B shadow of the lofty Kuune. and was
81 only hin0ercd from being IN at the death
"a in the fnsl desperate struggle on tho
81 plscis Of Toulouse 10y having got IA bullet
81 IN The chest as he waded up b the knees
#hshini picion through the marsh which
81 Soult yainlyimsgincd protected bis front
& ni Drthez
81 Robbie was hut a corporal when ho
u won't down st Orihez, but he WAS fail
81 sergeant on that wet juno morning Of
81 tho following year when "CamerOn 5
q pihroch woke the slumberng host 10
q RANGE itself IN "hatiles maRniicenuy
2 stern array !" Bullets had an unplea-
SAINT habit OF finding their billets in BIN,
and me was knocked over again on the
forenoon If Waterloo when hanging on
10 the Nirrnp leather Of rcots Grey
in the memorable charge Of the " Union
Brigade" and shouting "Scotlsnd for
ever o." iu unison with the comrades Of
horse and foot haiing from tho land o
Cakes. The army surgeons In their
CHEEKY manner pronounced hnn as full
al holes as culleudcr, and were for
invalding him then and there az mint
for further service but Robbie stoutIy
pleaded that be would be ~ good man
as ever when his wounds were healed,
1 /. Tai u
SO no had put in fifteen years subse-
Quent soldering snd had heard the
British drum boat all round the
world. ere, some ten years before
tie date Of my story, he had
been retired with "a sergeants pension
for life and something additional for
wounds. lie was an old man now, hut
he carried his years well, and was still a
GOOD man ID the harvest field or with
the spade Most Of his work with that
implement was done IN the manse
garden, and we manse boys used 70 epend
hours IN listening 20 ms stories of his
old fighting DAYS, while he made the
drills for the garden peas, or dibbled IN
the kali plants in tho plot behind the
go0seberry bushes
An exemplary man in q general way,
Eereeant Robbie had his little iailings
but for which he would have been an
elder Of the parish instead Of being but
the bellman and kirk officer lie was
rather quick tempered. and when moved
20 wrath lie sworc IN a manner which
conclusively proved he had been with
the army in Flanders. Then again,
occasionally, on pension days mostly,
he would take more whiskey than
wac good for him. When he got "fou %
II was always I'm the LIGHT of day, and so
hocxrosed himself Ashe marched home
from the little pubic house down at
Iackhiliock. with "tho matt 0bunc the
rsal," has effort to appear preternatu-
rally sober was quite spectacle.
ALWAYS stiff OF attitude. ho Was th "A
urely rigid. lie would sway, but II
vas tie swoyug of a ramrod. When
fa.., he fell INTO the ditch there was no
cl.apsue IN limp heap He went
down an of "a length. os II there were
r.ta Joint i'm all lis long body. but
these exhibitions were comparatively IN
remeut ana were excused IN the eyes
q the parish ceus0rs because of the hole
in lhe Serpeauts head moio 10y tho
Waterloo bullet
he and his old wife, who had seen n
rr.ot deal Of the world from the top OF
"a harrace- wagon hut who was most
worthy domestic soul, lived together IN
p cottage at the back oi the wood. Tie
r0uuie had an only son. When the
youth grew into q stroppiug lM Robbie
lad marched him down 20 Gordon Cas-
Ne tot take counsel concerning his boy d
future with hi8 patron the Duke. IL
was in hobbies sironi- aims that the
Nule-theu Lord March had lain when
tie SURGEONS proled uuslccCssiuilv
for the bullet that pierced his chest on
tine dav of Orihel. and which bis Grace
cnuitd with him 90 his grave, Ae th'
result ol TINS conference honbie had
tnten ms son into Aberdeen aud enlisted
him IA his own old corps, the Gordon
Iirhlanders. remember the Young
fellow coming home on fur.ougl, and
the sensation among the simple iolk as
lc swsggered mp TO the kIk IN his flow
inc tArlans aud with the ostrich-ieather
bonnet on his handsome head. Old
Robbie was a proud man that day. Tor
his son had the corpoml's stripe already
on his arm, although he had been barely
three wears a soldier
n 1 have been over minnie in the
attempt 10 depict Sergeant Robbie al
vance the double excuse that he was
among the prominent figures Of my
youth.time and that the type is now as
extinct as the dodo. The old man
stepped out from under the kirk wall with
tine bell-rope in his hand and We boys
dartod forward 10 make our request thst
he would hand II over 10 us and let as 10
the ringing for him. But there was a
strange stern expression on his face that
gave us pause. so the day, ladies,
was all lie said as he took post al the
corner OF the stone dyke and began TO
sway the chafed old rope. We stood 81
len,ly 10y in wonder at his mood. We
had known him cross. hut he was not
cross now in the gloomy, set face and