Year: 1859

fcrent was the case ! Not even towards
their own soldiers are the French more hui
manc than towards those who fell into their
hands by the chances of war They nurse
them like children, handle them gently,
like mothers, and do everything in their
power to relieve their sulfcrings.


TIE NICToRY.--Wcll, by cight o'clock
the mission of the Due dc Magenta was full
filed Magenta taken. AS the attack of
the latter had saved the couple of regiments
which attacked at the ponto Nuovo d Ma
gcnta, so the advance of this column, with
the powerful reserves which had come up
by this time, contributed to make the vic
tory complete and swell the number of
prisoners, 1t is well nigh impossible to
name the number of these latter, every mo-
mcnt others arc being brought in, but they
must be at least 5000. The number of
dead and wounded in the whole affair must
be quite 10000 for the French aclinowl-
edge themselves to have lost 4,000.


That it was splendid and decisive vic
tory there cannot be the slightest doubt
The cOOrs of two Austrian regiments were
taken, and three guns on this side. This
small numhcr of guns is explained by the
circumstance that the Austrians could bring
them little more than their advcrsarics into
play, and when they did, it was done very
cautiously, as if they had forcsccn acci-
dent


The best proof the greatness OF the vic
| tory has been in the rcsult--tlut the Aus
/ trims abandoned Milan the same night,
leaving 100000 lire in silver and 1900
stand of arms in the citadel, Their retreat
was so prcciplatc that they did not even
take time to destroy the railway or carry
off the matcrie, for the next morning the
Milancse sent up train to Magenta, which
happens to be the last station towards the
Ticino, to fetch the wounded. The mass
of their army rctrcated towards ALbiute
Grasso in the direction of Lodi They left
likewise the line of Pavia and pMcenza,
which becomes uutcnablc now that tho Al
lies are Mt Milan.


FoRTUNEs OF TEE WoUNDED-THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE pIcrURE.--lfs If some
one had told me that just on the ninth day
after my arrival ut the camp of Ncrcclli
should go by rail from Magenta to Milan,
! should have thought him mad ard yet
so it is. larrivcd here yesterday afternoon
with train of wounded and prisoners. As
| told you in my last. the Miancsc, immc,
dlatcly after the Austrian evacuation, sent
up train to fetch the wounded As they
were found they were brought in success
sion to the station by the soldiers, de
tachmcnt of two companies of the First Fu-
silccrs of the Guard. At the station the
surgeons were in attendance to apply the
first dressing, and the trains from Milan
went to and fro TO carry them OIL The
trains consisted of nothing but third class
carriages and goods wagons, partly covered,
partly open. Those who were only lightly
wounded and could walk were put into the
carriages, while the others were laid in the
goods wagons, which had been made rs soft
as the circumstances admitted by putting
straw and hay at the bottom TO these the
unfortunate wrctches were carried in ago
ues of pain caused by the movement A
large barrel of cooling drink, made of water
and syrup, was near, as well as another
filled with wine, with which to assuagc the
fiery thirst caused by thcirwounds Eoughs
were cut to make an awning over the open
goods trucks, so as to protect their mis-
cradle inmates from the rays of Il real Ital-
ian sun


This station and the railway train itself





misery which one can possibly conceive 1t
was the darker side of brilliant victory
looking behind the scenes by daylight
wounded in all stages of agony and pain,
only half clad, torn, dusty and muddy in
their own blood. The priests walking about
with the viaticum to administer the last sa-
crament to the dying the glazed eye of
death in some, showing that they had ccas-
ed to suffer, the working eyes OF others and
knccing priest before them, showing that
they were on the point of sighing their last;
near them were others, whom you would
have thought dead had it not been for the
perceptiblc movement ofthc eye or con
vulsive twist of the limb You became in
voluntarily silent when you entered and
took off your cap at the sight of so much
misery. Even the lively French soldiers,
| who ministercd to the wants of these de-
faced specimens ofhumanity, became grave,
and this dead silence was or y broken from
time to time by the solemn words of the
priest, faint sob, a frantic shrek of pain,
ora weak sigh. You forgot almost that
thcrc was victory to redeem this dark
scene, and these men, who would otherwise
have peacefully followed lheir domestic oc-
cupations, were summoned TO expose them
selves to all this for cause which is not
their own, which they know nothing about,
nor care for. III was indeed, hard lot
! But it was, above all, when the wounded
had to be moved to the carriages that the
neighborhood became almost intolerablc.
Such shrieks, such pale faces, contracted