The Soldier's Wife — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

THE SOLDIER'S WIFE. 163 strong impulse to indulge in his garrulous pro-|England for France, touched upon the even- pensity—remarked, ‘ Well, I say, this job was dune neat and clean, wasn’t it?” “Are you addressing yourself to me?” de- tanuded Lonsdale: for the interior of. the coach being qaite dark, he could not exactly perceive iu which direction Bates was looking. But as he thus addressed that greatest vf all mus- treants, he felt the fury of a tiger springing up within him—a boiling rage—a terrible thirst for vengeance, such as he had never expe- rienced in his life before. tualities which might arise from his detection, had he dropped a hint tu her that there was a penalty provided by the remorseless tyranny vf the military code in addition to the already sufficient atrocities of the lash. To be branded —QOh, it was indeed something frightful to con- template !—and it was chiefly because he had apprehended this, that he counselled his wife to remain far away with their child until the measure of his punishment shoula be accom- plished. But now he learut to his dismay, that “Well, I was speaking to anybody thatihe would have to undergo the flogging first; chooses to listen,” answered Bates. Lonsdale, you must confess that you deserved| jected to the process of branding. that it would take full six weeks ere he could this of nie.” “Come,|/and not till he was cured, would he be sub- Reckoning “When I pledged myself to remain perfectly] hope to issue from the infirrrary, was he to keep quiet,” replied Frederick, now experiencing a/Lucy away from Manchester the whole of tha. diiticulfy amounting almost to an excruciation|time# Yes—it was absolutely necessary to take t» prevent himself from flying at the barber’s|/this step: for he knew full weil that it would ‘throat and throttling him, “I at least expected| drive her to despair if she learnt that when the Fe every cause of irritation would be avoid- eT a “Comes, come, Mr. Bates,” said one of the constables, “it isn’t exactly fair.” “Well, then, I won’t address myself to him :” aud throughout the rest of the journey the bar- ber kept his word. CALA PL ER. XK RLY. THE BRANDING. Ir was a cold, dismal, drizzling evening, on the third day after the arrest at Dover, that the un- happy Frederick Lonsdale entered the town of Manchester in the custody of Bates and the two Dover constables. He had now the handcutfs gn his wrists; but he was not aitoyether dis- pirited.. There was a sinister yleaming in his eyes and a settled moodiness on his counte- pance, indicating full well that his mind, in- stead of being sunken into despondency, was at work with a frightful activity. ie was, in- deed, thinking of all his wrongs; and he could ho more keep back a craving for vengeance than tle mariner cau repel the violence of the eurrent which hurries hin ouward into the vor- tex of the Maelstrom. There was a project ii: Lonsdale’s mind which he fancied would—if varried out, and if his conjectures on a certain puiat were correct—atiord him the means of iutheting a terrible punishment upon the au- tuor of his calamities. What his project was, aud what our hero’s conjectures were, will \ranspire in due course. On being delivered up at the barracks where his regiment was stationed, Lonsdale was con- siyiied to the black-hole. It is not our purpose to linger upon this portion of our narrative: to do so, would be merely a repetition of what 4#3 been placed on record before. Suffice it to sj, that a court-martial being duly summoned, Frederick was condemned to receive five hun- dred lashes—and in additiou twereto, to be bianded asa deserter! That he had readered biniseif liable to this last mentioned horror, he all alorg too well knew: but never, when on bu f-W occasioms he and Lucy had, ere leaving t demoniae tortures of the lash were over, he had yet to look forward to a punishment which, if far less painful, was if possible far moie ints mous. The permission to write to a wife is seldom refused to a private soldier when on the eve of undergoing his punishment. He is looked upon as an individual who stands upon an abyss’ at the bottom of which is death; and he 1s there. fore treated in some respects like the condemned felon awaiting the day of execution. Lonsdale obtained writing-materials; and in a letter full of mingled endearments and entreaties, he be- sought Lucy not to think of coming to Man- chester until she received another communi¢a- tion from him to let her know when he was released from the infirmary. He reminded her how desirable it was that their son should re- main in ignorance of the ignominy and the tor ture to which the father was to be subjected; and in order to keep the boy in this state of ignorance, it was requisite that he should see his sire at large the moment he set foot with his mother in Manchester. We need hardly state that Frederick’s letter abounded in tender assurances of his devoted love, and of such con- solations as it was possible for hun to impart under the distressing circumstances of the case On the following morning Frederick Lonsdale underwent the lacerations of the scourge in the presence of the entire regiment. Sergeant Major Langley was in attendance, as on the former occasion; and under his directions there was no chance of the drummer-boys being per- mitted to spare the full vigor of their arms or the satanic powers of the lash. Without a murmur from the lips, but with rage in the heart and frenzy in the brain, did the unhap- py Lonsdale receive the merciless infliction. Though the wounds of the former flagellation had long since been healed and the skin grown over them, yet was the whole of the back and the space extending round upon the ribs most painfully tender; and imasmuch as a field which has once been plouyhed, is ail theanore easy to plough up again, so was it with the flesh of the unhappy Lousdale. This time the very first blow fetched blood; and ere many were inflict ed, the thongs of the accursed scourge bear CORnnicooolKs (E(O)