, 1890-06-03
A BABY IN THE BATTLE.
AN INCIDENT IN THE CAREER OF
HEROIC LORD CHARLES HAY.

Into the Jaws of Death He Strobe Alone,
and. Raising the Helpless Child In His
Arms, Carried 1t Up to the EnemJ's
Front and Delivered 1t to the Mother.
"HeIlol Whats Young Salamander'
up to nowT'
Mad, l fancy. or else he wants to get
killed"
And so he will, whether he wants IL
or not, IL he goes running in among the
bullets like thatI'
In truth Young ~SalamaDder" Other
wise Lord Charles hay Of the First Life
Guards did seem to be running a fearful
risk without any reasJn whatever. One
Of the hardest battles ever fought be-
tween the French and English in Bel
gium wa at its hottest The French
army was much the stronger Of the two,
and although the English held their
ground as stubbornly as bulldogs IL
seemed very doubtful which way the
fight would go. Just then, in the thick
Of the uproar and confusion, the rolling
smoke and the flying shot, young Hay
(whose bravery under fire had long since
earned him the nickname OF "Salaman-
der" from his adoring soldiers) was seen
to step forth from the English line and
advance straight toward the enemy.
A DESPERATE vEsTuRE.
A more desperate venture could hardly
be imagined, for so thickly were h bull
lets flying between the two opposing
lines that the little jets of dust which
they Knocked up from the dry earth
f,rpn,A N cloud almost ms Hanaa M the
smoke itself. Nothing mortal surely
could live in such n storm Of shot; and
what could he possibly be going to do
there?
Come back. my lord; come back, for
heavens sakeT' shouted n dozen deep
voices at once.
The young FOOLS ~mad-stark madT"
roarrd the English colonel, recovering
from his stupor of amazement. Come
back this minute, you young IDIOT Do
you want to be killedT'
But Lord Charles still went forward
without a moments pause. as II he had
not heard them Then the English
ceased firing in sheer astonishment; but
just at that moment the flash and crackle
of a fresh volley burst forth like a storm
along the glittering line OF French bayo-
nets, and all was hidden in smoke. When
the smoke cleared again every one expect
cd to see the brave lad lying dead. But
no-Hay was still on his feet. His cap
had been struck off, and some said that
they could see blood on his face, but he
was still marching onward as steadily as
ever.
And now the French grenadiers, begin
IL - &c., -, tHr,,,.h a.. r.IIg-,
smoke, stopped firing in their turn, sup
posing that this single man who was
coming toward them 30 boldly from the
English line must be the bearer Of some
message from the British general, and
the attention OF the two c~ontending hosts
was bent upon the solitary figure be-
tween them. Just then a sudden gust of
wind whirled aside for a moment the
cloud Of smoke and dust, and every one
saw for the first time what Lord Charles
Hay was about.
A little TO the left of the English line
of battle stood a cluster Of miserable
novels, and the Flemish peasants who in
hAbited them, instead OF running away
when the battle began, as n might
have expected, had stayed where they
were, seeing that the fight seemed to be
rolling away from them, and not liking
the idea Of abandoning their huts. which,
poor and wretched as they were, were
the only home that they had. But they
soou found that they were mistaken, for
n sudden change in the position of the
two armies brought these unlucky cot
tagcs right into the line OF fire, and the
terrified peasants, finding he cannon
balls falling thickly on every side OF
them, took to their heels at once, drag
ging with them their children and what
few goods they could manage to carry.
In the hurry of this panic flight a tiny
girl. hardly old enough to walk alone,
had fallen or been left behind, and was
now lying on the ground midway DO
tween the French and English lines, cry
ing bitterly, while her mother could DO
seen in the distance shrieking wildly and
tossing her arms in the air and strug-
Cling TO break loose from her hus band,
who was holding her firmly, for, count
ing his child already lost, he had no wish
to lose his wife as well.
APPLAUDED BY THE Enemy.
Coolly as If on parade the brave young
guardsman strobe onward to the spot
where the helpless child lay. his fair hair
and bright young face showing through
the billowy smoke like those OF an angel
in some old Italian painting. he raised
II tenderly in his arms, and some who
saw 1t said after ward that the poor little
trembler ceased crying Mt once, as II
soothed and comforted by his gentle
voice and kindly smile. Then, keeping
his own body as much as possible be
tween the child and the leveled musketi
Of the French, he went straight on, III
calmly as ever, toward the dark mass Of
his enemies.
Don't fire, comrades-don't fret
shouted a tall stern looking Frencl
soldier, whose grim face was black will
dust and ~gunpowder. III he wer,
twenty times an Englishman, he's a
good as saint from heaven, for all thatl'
A that moment a mighty shout, which
was heard high above the roar OF cannon
and musketry from the other side Of the
battlefield. burst from the English rank
as they saw their young hero bearing
the child unframed across that dead,
space, and scarcely had the cheer die
away when it was echoed by nn answer
ing cheer from the French, which rollet
along the vast plain like a peel of dis
ant thunder. Meanwhile the younj
officer, passing close to the cruel point
OF the French bayonets as ooolly Us /
they had beer only bulrushes. with tn
tiny face nesting trustingly against hi
shoulder. went straight up TO the dis
tracted mother and placed the child Il
hei AIMS,
Then he kissed the tiny thin littl
cheek tenderly, and was Just turnin
away to go back to his own men when
stately old officer with n long gray mu,