The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 152: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE OCHILD OF WATERLOO, 149 she found him; she thought he was no more, and, with a shriek of agony, she flung herself beside the blood-stained form, and prayed to Heaven to take her, too, to that world which is to come. It seemed as if God’s mercy had granted the mourner’s prayer; she moved not, spoke not; insensibility stole over her, and as Adolphe slowly opened his eyes, upon which the film of death was gathering, and looked upon that bloody field, he became ainfully conscious that beside him was the cherished idol of bis heart. He saw the child, too, and he saw that it lived, al- though he believed that its mother was no more. The wounded officer, who was enabled, from the observations he made, to tell me this much, states that at that moment a horse, maddened by wounds, and in the agonies of death, rose up and dashed across the field, scattering destruction beneath his sounding hoofs. He was trodden on by the infuriated animal in its-wild career, and the pain he endured sueciently confused his faculties to enable him to have a faint, dreamy kind of perception of what next occurred. He thinks he heard the sound of English voices close about where Adolphe lay, and he fancied that some sort of struggle took place, for he distinctly avers that a musket was discharged by some one. Then he saw Adolphe rise up, or nearly so, but he could not be sure; darkness was coming over the plain, and he was getting fearfully faint himself, as much from exhaustion, in consequence of the want of food for many hours, as from the anguish of his wounds, and that was all he could actually tell me of his own knowledge; and from that moment I ae heard nothing definite concerning my son, Marie, or the child. ‘‘But you have heard something, although of an indefinite character ?” ‘*Yes; but, because all inquiries have been fruitless, I am led to think that what I have heard is founded upon error, and that some accidental coincidence of circumstances must have occurred to give color to a story which surely cannot be the fact, or diligent inquiry would have been crowned with some sort of success.” ‘‘Have you any objection to impart to me those particulars which you thought you acquired ?” ‘* None in the least; listen I will tell you all. My son’s friend was taken up by the English, and conveyed to Brussels, where he remained many weeks in a church, which had been devoted to the purposes of a military hospital. There, from various parties, who came to speak to him, he learned that an English officer, while lying wounded on the field, and scarcely able to help himself, so baldy was he hurt, had consigned to bis care a young child, by a French officer of rank, who, shortly after stowing such a trust upon him, and getting his promise in the name of heaven to fulfill it, expired by his side. This story was currently spoken of among the soldiery; but our friend was disabled, as you will understand, from making personal inquiry. He was told that this very officer lay .dangerously wounded in Brussels, and, as his own injuries were not of a very serious character, but, on the contrary, such as promised comicbooks. com