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

364 MILITARY LIFE.
the shoulders and raised him to his knees. He waved both
arms and opened and shut his mouth, looking at the lieutenant
all the time, as if he wished to '
say something. What do you
'
wish, my brave soldier ? the lieutenant asked, in a tone full of
'
'
affection and emotion ;
what do you want ? Then he raised
his arms and clasped his hands, as if embracing some one.
The lieutenant had a capital inspiration, clapped his hand on
the mouth of the cannon, and asked :
'
Is it this ?
'
'
Yes !
yes !
'
yes he seemed to !
try to say, as he shook his head and gave
a sign of the greatest joy. The two soldiers lifted him up to the
cannon ;
he encircled it with his arms, pressed it to his breast,
uttered a cry, and . . . died."
The father, who had been listening to the captain with ever-increasing
emotion, seizing him now convulsively by the hand, now
by the sword or the ends of his jacket, feeling of his shoulders
and arms, as a blind man would have done to recognize him,
broke out at that last word into a violent sob, which was a mixture
of laugh and cry ; his eyes gleamed, and his whole face
was lighted up with an expression of radient joy.
" The sight of that hero's death," continued the captain,
" filled us with enthusiasm. The lieutenant seized your son's
head with both his hands, and looking into his eyes as if he were
still alive, shouted, almost beside himself :
sublime
soldier !
and I shouted :
'
'
Hurrah !
'
Salute him !
'
'
Dear, brave,
broke out all the soldiers at once,
'
All raised the hand to the
cap, and '
' '
repeated together Hurrah :
!
The old man burst out into a flood of tears.
"
Yes, yes," continued the captain, growing more and more
excited, " shed those sweet tears ; they will do you good ;
he is
the pride of our battery ;
he will never be forgotten ;
in twenty