Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-13


down sort of diligence such as they
used to run early in this century be-
tween some of our more remote vii
lagos. There We're three old mules, too
none of which were strong enough tc
carry man, but together they might
draw the coach The sight OF Their
gaunt ribs and spawned legs gave
me more delight than the whole
two hundred and twenty hunters
of the emperor which l have seen in
their stalls at Fontainebleau. In ten
minutes the owner was Harvesting
them into the coach, with no very good
will, however. for he was in mortal
dread of this terrible Cuchillo. 1t was
only by promising him riches in this
world, while the priest threatened him
with damnation in the next, that we at
last got him safely upon the box with
the reins between his fingers. Then
he was in such hurry to get off out
of fear lest we should find ourselves in
the dark in the passes, that he hardly
gave me time to renew my vows to the
innkeeper's daughter. l cannot at this
moment recall her name, but we wept
together as we parted, and l can re-
member that she was very beautiful
woman. You Will understand, my
friends, that when a man like me, who
has fought the men and kissed the
women in fourteen separate Kingdoms.
gives a word of praise to the one or the
other it has little meaning of its own.
The little priest had seemed a trine
grave when we kissed goodbye, but he
soon proved himself the best of COM
panions in the diligence. All the way
he amused ne with tales of his little
parish up in the mountains and 1 in
my turn told him stories about the
camp, but my faith l had to pick my
steps. for when | said a word too much
he would fdget in his seat and his face
would show the pain that had giver
him. And OF course it is not the
act of a gentleman to talk in anything
but a proper manner to a religious
man, though with all the care in the
world ones words may get out of hand
sometimes. He had come from the
north of Spain, as he told me, and was
going to see his mother in a village OF
'Estremadura, and as he spoke about
her little peasant home, and her joy in
seeing him, it brought my mother SO
wildly to my thoughts that the tears
started to my eyes. In his simplicity
ne showed me the little gifts which he
was taking to her, and SO kindly was
his manner that l could readily believe
him when he said that he was loved
wherever he went. He examined my
own uniform with as much curiosity as
Il child, admiring the plume of my
;busby and passing his fingers through
the sable with which my dolman was
trimmed. He drew my sword, too,
and then when l told him how many
men l had cut down with it, and set
my fingers on the notch made by the
shoulder bone of the Russian emperor;
he shuddered and placed
the weapon under the leathern cushion,
declaring that it made him sick to look
at it.
Well, we had been rolling and creal1-
ing on our way whilst this talk had
Been going forward, and as we reached
the base of the mountains we could
hear the rumbling of cannon far away
upon the right. This came from
Messena who was, as l knew, besieging
Cindad Rodrigo. There was nothing |
should have wished better than to have
gone straight to him, for he was the
best jew that | have heard of since
Joshuas time, and if you are in sight
of his beaky nose and bold, black eyes
you are not likely to miss much of what
IS going on. Still a siege is always
poor sort of a pick-and-shovel business,
and there were better prospects with
my hussars in front of the English.
Every mile that passed my heart grew
lighter and lighter until found myself
shouting and singing like young en-
sign fresh from Saint Cyr, just to think
of seeing all my fine horses and my gal
liant fellows once more.
AS we penetrated the mountains the
road grew rougher and the pass more
savage. At first we met few mule
teers, but now the whole country
seemed deserted, which is not to be
WOnuefCQ dt NHtH you IillHh JildO lIIc
French, the English and the guerlillas
had each in turn had command over it.
So bleak and wild was it, one great
brown wrinklcd cliff succeeding anoth-
CT, and the pass growing narrower and
that ceased to look out, but
sat in silence thinking of this and that,
of women whom l had loved and of
horses which / had handled. l
was suddenly brought back from
my dreams, however, by observing the
difficulties of my companion, who was
trying with sort of bradawl which he
had drawn out to bore a hole through
the leathern strap which held up his
water flask. As he worked with twitch-
ing fingers the strap escaped his grasp
and the wooden bottle fell at my feet.
l stopped to pick it up, and as did 50
the priest silently leaped upon my
shoulders and drove his bradawl into
my eye,
My friends, am, as you know, a man
steelcd to face every danger. When
one has served from the siege of Genoa
to that last fatal day Of Waterloo, and
has had the special medal which
l keep at home in a leathern
pouch one can afford to confess