Adventures of an Aidedecamp Author:James Grant Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: pings, they lie weltering in blood—death glazing the eyes that have no kind hand to close them, and each yielding up his life lite a dog in a ditch, unnoticed an... more »d unknown! " The groan, the roll in dust, the all-white eye Turned back within its socket,—these reward Your rank and file by thousands; while the rest May win. perhaps, a ribbon at the breast." CHAPTER IX. LIVES FOE DUCATS !—BIANCA D'ALFIEEI. The remains of General Regnier's army were now in full retreat for Crotona, a seaport of JNaples, harassed and galled by the Highlanders, and by the free corps under the duca di Bagnara and cavalier del Castagno. The brigands and a host of armed peasantry also hovered like storm-clouds on their skirts, and all who fell to the rear, under wounds or fatigue, perished by that favourite Italian weapon-—the knife. On rejoining the main body of our army, I found the general in the highest state of glee at the glorious success of the day; he was seated on horseback in the midst of the field, a holster-flap serving as his desk, writing a hurried despatch, recounting our first regular brush with the enemy in Calabria. My arrival with the standard added a new and important paragraph to the general's missive. While he was complimenting and rallying me by turns, our interview was interrupted by cries of Frenchmen for succour, proceeding from a thicket close by. There I found six French officers, and the same number of soldiers, bound with cords to the trees, and surrounded by some of Santugo's free corps, who were hammering their flints and loading, with great deliberation, for the purpose of making targets of these unfortunates. Among the prisoners I recognized the gallant leader of the cavalry, whom I had encountered in the early part of the day. His arms were corded behind him...« less