New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-03
CARRYING DISPATCHES.
AND WHAT CAME OF 1T.

consequently full Of enthusiasm and eAagSer''e'
ido,s IF tho duty Of woman" When the regi
mcnt Of which my husband was colonel received
its marching orders, the wife of the he"Iehaht
colonel, Count Y, and myself obtained, not wi'n
ont a good deal Of trouble, permission to roio"
the regiment TO the field Of war. we arRhe'
that, protected by the Red Cross badge OF 'h'
|" Convention de Cicueve.- we would really run NJ
danger, and that as far privations were con
|ccrned, we did not mind that one bit. his eA
raordinnry declaration, coming from TWO spoile'
children like ourselves, who had been brought ny
in the very lap of luxury and who hnd not Tho
faintcst idea Of what privations really meant
caused our friends to smile at our simplicity Bn'
az. after all we were in perfect health and firmly
resolved TO gain our point we finally succeeded
"Ce que femme veut, Deu lie veut,' Is French
proverb which has more than once proved only
too true, and Austrians are far too gallant ever
TO give il the lie.
our first weeks Of campaigning were de-
voted TO nursing the sick and tending the wounded
In spite OF all that may be said 80 the contrar!
by idealists, il is not a pleasant task. ana many
time have | cried very bitter tears at the sight
Of some strong young soldier crippled for life ny
the bullets of the enemy Habit, however IL
"a great master and with time ! became so well
used TO life In camp ambulanceS TINT really
considered myself as cool and collected In the &C
mplishncnt Of my srlfmposed duties as any
hardened army surgeon among MS.
No county on the face of our unfortunate
planet has been oftener ravaged, no land oftener
soaked with thc blood OF its Inhabitants than
the portion Of the Balkan Peninsula which our
troops occupying. Everything around us
had been desolated by fire ana bloodshed rs Sc
Gr., of fle hnr-
barians, hundreds of year, before. Very grand.
but very dIeory and sad, the landscape with
it's wonderful defles its high mountains enclosing
rushing streams The sandstone rocks, worn by
erosion into fantastic forms worthy OF Gnstavc
Dore, took in the twilight the shapes Of huge
dragons. lions or other equally terrific looking
objects Then came great deserted plains with
here and there cottages built OF clay or founda-
ton Of dry stones aud covered with pieces Of
wood. from which the Inhabitants had fled in
terror. 1t WIS difficult 10 procure food for the
army. The culture is always poor In this wild
land, and now everything bad been plllaged.
For the hrst time in my life, ! knew what
hunger meant In after years an experience %
that kind makes one feel very chartably inclined
toward the unfortunatcs who claim ones mercy
on the plea OF storvation Strange rs 1t may
APPEAR. | bad never felt better in my lite than
during these months " privation AID fatigue
Many time after being a whole day in III" sad
die | slept on the bare ground with nothing 10
protect me from the sharp night air but a rough
military cloak or II horse blanket, and slept far
better than under the velvet and lacr canopy of
my soft bed az home.
inst in the same manner did relish n crust u
soldiers hard bread and nirss Of nor than
questionable soup eaten bsde the biyouac flns
with ravcnous hunger az M appetizer. Every
body was so courteous and consiGera'c. Thee
uncducatel men Of our regiment. hardened iy tll"
adventurous life Ot soldiers in active service wee
always Nady 10 give up their own scanf comforts
in order To add 70 mine, had been disposed 70
allow them 10 do s.. rs II WIS. | had many "a
bard fight with my patients In the ambulance, 81
anxious were they ~ share with me Re hin
b-ef-;ca or sip Of wine which & was 70 difficult
10 procure for them But enough Of this. or my
will carry ne s. far HAT : -hnll
never come ~ the advrntnr which ! am about
to relate
II happened shortly after 'hc defeat of the Brsni-
ans ~ orr forces. between Tcpcc aud Mnglai.
Onr brigade was camping AZ the foot OF some high
and PERCEPTIONS cliffs some miles from Zepcc. our
regiment being separated from the army corps
Ivy n superb dchlc of steep rocks. II H-ns the
most romantic site imaginable, plentifally wooded
with oaks b>,cchcs and clns but the very harrow
road winding between the Gins was grur'onc
Ia the extreme In ts Loneliness md awcinspiriug
grandeur
One afternoon had ridden over from our camp
distance OF ten miles 50. 20 the other side u
the dcGc. where Countess Y was visiting her
uncle, tie general in command OF the brigade
II was Getting toward dusk when | ordered nv
u.i.1 vi IA bap "a
before night | refused The escort which the gen
rral most kindly pressed ne TO accept. for |
knew that would be fnr safer alone than when
accompanied by soldiers wenring the hated uni
form Of the army of occupation BESIDES. this, ~
have said before. | was very romantic in those
days. and preferred not TO e.pose any fellow-cra-
lures 10 the bullets and yataQans Of the dreaded
who were known 10 bc always In
anil uSh IN the mountain pnsscS
After having succeeded in rcrsuadng the general
Of my perfect safety, mounted ms back charger.
" Dare Devil and WHO about 70 start OIL at IA
brisk canter. when the deer old gentleman, put
ting his hand on the pommel OF my SADDLE and
coming close 10 me whispered, Take care my
child. II would never do for YOU TO be- caught
carrying dispatches" laughed guyly 10 rcasuie
him. but nevertheless | knew full we'll how trua
his words wore. f,r. indeed, II would vary likely
meat death 10 ne. Tie fact was, that seeing
me determined 10 ride back 70 camp alone the
general, who felt certain that woman protected
BY the birssard' Of the Ped Cross stood better
chance of passing unframed through the dcfle
than any member Of his staff, had intrustcd 10
me n dispatch OF the utmost importance. II was
written In cipher on a tiny scrap Of timsy paper
and rolling IL tightly, lad inserted IL In the wood
cock quill which so jauntily stuck in the
band Of my military cap.
AS rode along I'm the gathering gloom, glanced
once or twice at the two rcvolyers In my holsters
with feeling Of confidence, for WAS neat shot
and | knew that | perfectly capable OF de-
tending myself II attacked. The trouble however
was that those terrible Montcnegrins lay In hiding
behind juttinG rocks and that their mode of pro-
ccdurc consisted in shooting the unsuspecing trav-
rllers who ventured through the mountain passes
like so many rabbits In warren, or sometimes In
swiftly bouncing mon them from their plares of