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

THE WOUNDED SENTINEL. 31
and accompanies them home, exhorting them by word and
gesture to be courageous.
Meanwhile confusion, great excitement, and deafening noises
"
have sprung up in the multitude. Give way there ! Make
way there ! " is
suddenly
shouted on one side of the street.
All turn in that direction. Who is it ? What is it ? What 's
"
way there !
happened " Make ? way there ! Make
crowd divides, falls back rapidly, forms a hedge
The
on the sides
of the street, and a company of sharpshooters traverse it on a
run. A dirty, noisy troop of gamins follow them. The crowd
closes up again.
Suddenly a confused sound of angry menacing voices breaks
out on another side ;
the crowd gathers and forms at this
point ;
above the heads two or three carabineers' hats appear
and disappear, then a burst of applause, the crowd
opens, a man breathless and disfigured runs out and disappears.
"They wanted to put handcuffs on him," some one
remarks in a tone of satisfaction,
" but they did not succeed
in doing so there were some
; strong people who took his
"
part. We should like to see them !
The crowd proceeds slowly in one direction, and reaches
the corner of a street. Suddenly the people in front stop and
those behind press on to them ;
the former recede a few steps,
the latter are violently forced back, then begin to push forward
again, and then recede once more ;
all of which gives rise
to indescribable disorder.
" What is the matter ? Who is
preventing our going on " " ? Forward, forward ! Oh, yes, it
is
very fine to say forward ! There is a company
of soldiers
with bayonets fixed who are barring the passage." Then follow
shouts, hisses, oaths, and imprecations.
" Down with the