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Article THE GUIDE. ← Page 7 of 8 →
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The Guide.
only after we had learnt that our father had been made prisoner by your troops—ancl shot . I have no longer a tie on earth , and should have died with them . ' " 'Are you quite certain , ' I asked , 'that both your brothers fell ?' " ' I am ; the same ball struck them both . I tried to hope , but there is no mistaking death . '
" ' There may , however , be some error as regards your father . What authority have you for believing that he has perished ?' '" The authority of a witness of his execution . Ah , sir , it was not thus , as a felon , and with banded eyes , that Captain Santa-Croce , the finest man and the most devoted patriot of Spainshould have met his death !'
, "My start of surprise attracted the attention of the brave boy . ' Yes , sir ; he , the noblest grenadier of our army , was my father ; ' he repeated with enthusiasm ; ' he had been intrusted by the General-in-chief , who was his close friend , with a secret mission of the highest importance ; and he perished—as I have said . '
" ' How long ago ? ' I asked hurriedly . "' About a week since when he left us , and crossed the Tagus . ' "' Well ?' " ' Well , sir , yesterday morning , a few hours before the engagement commenced , a soldier by whom he was accompanied , ancl who was also disguised as an arriero , informed us that he had
been selected as a guide to a column of French infantry ; but that , ignorant of the country , he hacl led the troops astray ; that his papers had been discovered ; and that he had been tried and shot at Truxillo . ' " It was with difficulty that I could control my agitation . ' What did you say was the name of your father ? ' I asked , as
I anxiously sought in the pockets of my uniform for the card which the non-commissioned officer had brought me from the prisoner at Truxillo . " ' Santa-Croce , ' was the reply . " I held the card toivards him . ' My young friend , ' I said , * your father still lives . ' "' Lives !'
"There Avas an age of passionate emotion compressed into the agonizing joy of that one word , as it burst from the quivering lips of the boy ; ancl then , regardless of his Avounds , he threAV his arms about my neck and Avept . He had found no tears for his own sufferings , but my cheek was Avet Avith them as he hysterically repeated , He lives ! he lives !' "' Yes , ' I said , with as much composure as I could assume ; ' it is true that he Avas arrested , and Avould have been subjected
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Guide.
only after we had learnt that our father had been made prisoner by your troops—ancl shot . I have no longer a tie on earth , and should have died with them . ' " 'Are you quite certain , ' I asked , 'that both your brothers fell ?' " ' I am ; the same ball struck them both . I tried to hope , but there is no mistaking death . '
" ' There may , however , be some error as regards your father . What authority have you for believing that he has perished ?' '" The authority of a witness of his execution . Ah , sir , it was not thus , as a felon , and with banded eyes , that Captain Santa-Croce , the finest man and the most devoted patriot of Spainshould have met his death !'
, "My start of surprise attracted the attention of the brave boy . ' Yes , sir ; he , the noblest grenadier of our army , was my father ; ' he repeated with enthusiasm ; ' he had been intrusted by the General-in-chief , who was his close friend , with a secret mission of the highest importance ; and he perished—as I have said . '
" ' How long ago ? ' I asked hurriedly . "' About a week since when he left us , and crossed the Tagus . ' "' Well ?' " ' Well , sir , yesterday morning , a few hours before the engagement commenced , a soldier by whom he was accompanied , ancl who was also disguised as an arriero , informed us that he had
been selected as a guide to a column of French infantry ; but that , ignorant of the country , he hacl led the troops astray ; that his papers had been discovered ; and that he had been tried and shot at Truxillo . ' " It was with difficulty that I could control my agitation . ' What did you say was the name of your father ? ' I asked , as
I anxiously sought in the pockets of my uniform for the card which the non-commissioned officer had brought me from the prisoner at Truxillo . " ' Santa-Croce , ' was the reply . " I held the card toivards him . ' My young friend , ' I said , * your father still lives . ' "' Lives !'
"There Avas an age of passionate emotion compressed into the agonizing joy of that one word , as it burst from the quivering lips of the boy ; ancl then , regardless of his Avounds , he threAV his arms about my neck and Avept . He had found no tears for his own sufferings , but my cheek was Avet Avith them as he hysterically repeated , He lives ! he lives !' "' Yes , ' I said , with as much composure as I could assume ; ' it is true that he Avas arrested , and Avould have been subjected