Prev | Current Page 102 | Next

Defoe, Daniel, 1661-1731

"Memoirs of a Cavalier A Military Journal of the Wars in Germany, and the Wars in England. From the Year 1632 to the Year 1648."


This was the first service I was in, and indeed I never saw any fight
since maintained with such gallantry, such desperate valour, together
with such dexterity of management, both sides being composed of
soldiers fully tried, bred to the wars, expert in everything, exact in
their order, and incapable of fear, which made the battle be much more
bloody than usual. Sir John Hepburn, at my request, took particular
care of my comrade, and sent his own surgeon to look after him;
and afterwards, when the city of Leipsic was retaken, provided him
lodgings there, and came very often to see him; and indeed I was in
great care for him too, the surgeons being very doubtful of him a
great while; for having lain in the field all night among the dead,
his wound, for want of dressing, and with the extremity of cold, was
in a very ill condition, and the pain of it had thrown him into a
fever. 'Twas quite dusk before the fight ended, especially where the
last rallied troops fought so long, and therefore we durst not break
our order to seek out our friends, so that 'twas near seven o'clock
the next morning before we found the captain, who, though very weak by
the loss of blood, had raised himself up, and placed his back against
the buttock of a dead horse.


Pages:
90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114