Military life in Italy : sketches - Societa italiana di storia militare

THE DISABLED SOLDIER. 233
a living soul about, nor hearing other noise than the sound
of his own footsteps, does not find barking of the dogs
burdensome ? Not that he is exactly afraid, but, well he
could do without it. Passing before the gates of the vegetable-
and flower-gardens, he walks on tiptoe in order not to
rouse the ugly dog crouched behind them, holds his breath,
and listens attentively he has
; nearly passed the gate, is ajmost
in safety, when a wretched bark which thoroughly startles
him breaks out at his back, and he passes on without
even turning, but he seems to see the ravenous beast
with his
nose at the crack in the gate, and his eyes gleaming with rage.
On he goes, but in the middle of the road, as he does not
mind the dust, provided he is
not obliged to pass too near the
hedges ;
and if he hears the sound of footsteps or the voices
of two wayfarers who are talking together, he does not turn
back to see who they are, as
that would make him appear like
a coward, but proceeds with his eyes on the alert, and pretending
to glance at the fields, he takes them in with the corner of
his eye then
; gazing ahead of him he sees appear in the distance
two men on horseback, enveloped in huge black cloaks,
their heads covered by a two-pointed hat (gens d' armes) he
; takes courage, quickens his pace, and arriving in front of
those two unexpected friends, makes way for them, looking at
them with an expression of amiable obsequiousness, and accepting,
with a feeling of intense pleasure, the long, searching
glance they bestow upon him. When he finally
reaches the
blessed gates of the city, and perceives the first lamp-post in
" "
the nearest street : Heaven be praised
! he exclaims, as he
dusts off his boots with his handkerchief; "here we are at
"
last !
At that hour any one passing the gate of a cemetery