In the Track of the Troops | Page 9

of the sorties at the siege of Metz.
"They did not find him till next day," continued my sister, "for he had
fallen in a part of the field so far in advance of the ground on which his
dead comrades lay, that he had been overlooked. He was riddled with
bullets, they say, and his noble face, which I had so often seen beaming
with affection on his young wife, was so torn and disfigured that his
friends could scarcely recognise him. He was still alive when found,
and they knew his voice. When they raised him, he merely exclaimed,
`At last, thank God!' with a deep sigh, as if of relief. The words were
few, but they had terrible significance, for they told of a long, long
night of agony and dreadful solitude; but he was not quite alone," my
sister added, in a low voice, "for he was a Christian. He died before
reaching the tents of his division."
Bella's voice faltered as she said, after a moment's pause, "Dear Elsie
never recovered the shock. She joined her husband in heaven two
months afterwards."
"Truly," said I, "war is a terrible curse."
"I hate it! I detest it!" cried Bella, with a sudden tone and look of
energy, that was all the more impressive because of her natural
character being gentle and retiring.
I saw that Nicholas was surprised and pained. He would fain have
comforted Bella, but knew not what to say, for he had been trained to
talk of "martial glory," and to look on war through the medium of that
halo of false glitter with which it has been surrounded by too many
historians in all ages. The young Russian had hitherto dwelt chiefly on
one aspect of war. He had thought of noble and heroic deeds in defence

of hearth and home, and all that man holds sacred. To fight for his
country was to Nicholas an idea that called up only the thoughts of
devotion, self-sacrifice in a good cause, duty, fidelity, courage,
romance; while, in regard to the minor things of a warrior's life, a hazy
notion of dash, glitter, music, and gaiety floated through his brain. Of
course he was not ignorant of some of the darker shades of war.
History, which told him of many gallant deeds, also recorded
numberless dreadful acts. But these latter he dismissed as being
disagreeable and unavoidable accompaniments of war. He simply
accepted things as he found them, and, not being addicted to very close
reasoning, did not trouble himself much as to the rectitude or wisdom
of war in the abstract. Neither did he distinguish between righteous and
unrighteous war--war of self-defence and war of aggression. Sufficient
for him that he served his country faithfully. This was a good general
principle, no doubt, for a youthful officer; but as one who expected to
rise to power and influence in his native land, something more definite
would ultimately be required of him. As yet, he had neither experienced
the excitement, beheld the miseries, nor bathed in the so-called "glory"
of war; and now that a corner of the dark cloud was unexpectedly flung
over him in Bella's sorrow, he felt deeply sympathetic but helpless. A
sad look, however, and a gentle pressure of the hand that rested on his
arm, was quite sufficient for Bella.
To relieve my friend from his embarrassment, I pulled out my watch
and urged that we should walk in the direction of the Admiralty, as the
hour for my interview had nearly arrived.
At Charing-Cross we parted, and I proceeded on my mission with the
plan of my torpedo, which Nicholas styled the "infernal machine," in
my pocket, and a rather anxious heart in my breast, for although I was
quite certain that my invention was superior to all others, inasmuch as
it fulfilled several conditions which were not fulfilled by other
torpedoes, I did not feel sure that the Lords of the Admiralty would
take the same view of it that I did. Besides, the machine had only been
tried as a model, and might not act perfectly when tested in actual
warfare. But, of course, I knew that my inventive powers would readily
overcome each weak point as it cropped into view in practice.

I met with a very gracious reception from the first Lord. Beside him
were seated two elderly gentlemen, whom I judged to be brother Lords.
It were needless to recount all that passed during that memorable
interview. Suffice it to say, that after I had given a most careful and
clear explanation of my invention, to which the three Lords listened
with marked attention, the first Lord said, with a bland smile--
"But what, Mr Childers, is the peculiar point of superiority over other
torpedoes