【百科事典】ウィキぺディア第2096刷【Wikipedia】
■ このスレッドは過去ログ倉庫に格納されています
ｒu‐┐__ ｒu‐┐ '''ウィキペディア''' (Wikipedia) は、
.} Ω_{' ⌒´ヾｰ､.{ みんなで作るフリー[[百科事典]]です。
´ｒｰﾞｆ（ﾉﾉ）)））!i.｢
ﾉ乂k(lﾟ ヮﾟﾉ'ﾉ乂 このスレの住人には
´ ' と}i凹{っ ' '''スルー力'''が必要です。
ｆく/{__}〉
´ し'ﾉ fromウィキペたん
== 注意 ==
* ウィキペディアと関係のある話題のみ推奨。
* ユーザー叩き、依頼は他所でどうぞ。
* >>950付近になったら次スレ作成を依頼してください。
* 事情により次スレを作成できない場合はその旨お知らせください。または誰かが代理で立てても構いません。
== 関連リンク ==
* [https://ja.wikipedia.org/ 日本語版ウィキペディア]
* [https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikija-l Mailing List]
* [http://ja.wikichecker.com/ WikiChecker]
* [https://tools.wmflabs.org/pageviews/?project=ja.wikipedia.org Pageviews Analysis]
== 前スレ ==
【百科事典】ウィキぺディア第2095刷【Wikipedia】
http://lavender.5ch.net/test/read.cgi/hobby/1552722359/l50
http://lavender.5ch.net/test/read.cgi/hobby/1552725444/l50 This had to be done quickly, as he was not more than three miles from
the frontier, and the French cavalry would soon be on his track. While
he was thinking he glanced around to see if he were observed, and
saw an old man, evidently of the farming class, looking at him with
surprise. Jean determined to appeal for aid, and going towards the
peasant frankly told his story. The peasant smiled at first and then
laughed heartily.
"My good friend," said he, "take off the saddle and bridle and put them
here," at the same time pointing to a place where the underwood was
very thick. Jean did so, and the old man carefully concealed them.
"Now lead your horse by the mane to that field where you see the cows
grazing, and return."
Jean obeyed.
"Now come to my house"--he pointed it out--"in ten minutes: no one will
be within. You will find clothes on a chair, but be sure to take away
again your uniform, belts and sword--they would be of no use to me;
hide them where they will not be likely to be found."
Jean did as he was told. He found some old clothes on the chair
just inside the door; on a table were some bread and milk. He drank
the latter and pocketed the former when he had put on the disguise, >>597
[[ノート:ザワつく!一茂良純時々ちさ子の会]]のことか
Sumaruに追及されそうだな and then flung all his military clothing and equipments into a
stagnant pool. On that day he did not travel far, but found a secure
hiding-place until the darkness should allow him to go his way in
safety. During the night he tramped about twenty-five kilometres,
keeping his eyes and ears on guard, but only once was he in danger.
He heard the footfalls of horses at a distance and left the road. Two
mounted gendarmes passed, and after a short interval Jean resumed his
journey. At daybreak again he sought and found a hiding-place, and
there slept for some hours. When he awoke he felt hungry and thirsty,
and resolved to try to buy something at a farmhouse that was visible
about five hundred yards away. As Jean spoke good French he anticipated
no difficulty on the score of language, and, having some silver in his
pockets, there surely ought to be no difficulty in the way of obtaining
supplies. When he went to the farmhouse he was met by an old woman, who
at once pitied the tired wayfarer with the handsome face and the ragged
clothes; she gave him bread and meat and a glass of wine, refusing all
payment. She was so good and looked so trustworthy that Jean told her
his story, omitting, however, all mention of women, and explaining
that his desertion was due altogether to the tyranny of the officers.
The good old woman pitied him the more for his sad tale; she even gave
him a suit of fairly good clothing belonging to her son, at the time
serving with his regiment. How the women of Europe love and honour the
soldier and pity his misfortunes! There the army has hostages from all
homes. She even pressed money on him, but this he refused to take. He
had money enough in his pocket to carry him a good way towards Paris, >>700
サクラポップのせいだな
トコロテン不足かな and, even if he had to tramp a bit of the way, with his new clothing he
felt independent and free from care.
In the end Jean entered Paris, and immediately volunteered for the
Foreign Legion. At once he was accepted, and after a short time in
Algeria was sent to Tonquin. There he was taken into my battalion, and
handed over to me to help to make up the number of the squad. And now
he was amongst us, calling out every moment the unlucky words: "Quelle
misﾃｨre, quelle misﾃｨre!"
Nicholas took up a longer time in telling this story than I, but you
must remember that the Russian was very clever and had the story at
first-hand. I have only given the general outline; most of the details
have been forgotten by me after so many years.
Well, at last the sub-lieutenant in charge of both squads of the
outlying picket ordered the reliefs to be posted. I took Nicholas the
Russian, Le Grand the Irishman, and six others of various nationalities
to relieve the half-squad that had done sentry duty for the previous
two hours. I remember I put Le Grand in place of poor Jean. When
we--that is, I, the corporal, and the eight men relieved--came back
to the lying-down place I dismissed quietly the men, of course only
from duty, not from the place, and lay down on my back, shut my eyes,
and began to muse. Almost before I felt it I was in a half-doze, when
suddenly the report of a rifle caused me to jump up. As I opened my [[Wikipedia:コメント依頼/千代田区KDDI可変IP?]]
バカブラファビョってるなあｗｗｗ
もうそろそろ廃棄処分にした方がいいのでは？ｗｗｗ >>707
履歴見たけど一応記事の編集はしてるっぽいしなあ
説明がなけりゃ言い掛かりだっていうバカブラの言い草もどうかと思うんだが なんか池脱兎の過去の米風呂に湧いてたIPと似てる気がする
気持ち悪い言い回しがそっくり eyes I saw, so quickly did the alarm arouse me, the falling body of a
man. I hurriedly called out the names of the reliefs--the men relieved
were now the reliefs--all answered except Jean.
"I think, my corporal," said an Alsatian, "that he has shot himself."
The whole camp was roused; the sub-lieutenant ran down and called me
to account for the alarm. I went over to the prone figure, passed my
hand across the face, and found it at once warm and wet. Poor Jean, as
we saw when dawn came, had blown away the top of his head. There was
no enemy, it was true, but I fancy the legionaries did not sleep any
more that night; a dead comrade in the camp is worse, a thousand times
worse, than a living foe outside.
Now I won't moralise over this. Jean, as I have called him, was a good
comrade, especially when he had money; he was fickle, but so were all,
amongst the women; he chose to shoot himself, that was his business and
not mine. And that is all that I, his corporal, have to say.
CHAPTER XIV >>707
依頼者コメント欄に侵略してるし
もうお返事しませんとか言いながら止めないし
やりたい放題だ 海獺のアカウント作成者立候補の件でぱたごんに絡んでたのも同じ奴なんだな
確かにそういや池田の米依頼にもいたかもな Wikipedia:投稿ブロック依頼/Sakurapop7
賛成 スマル、ぱたごん、Yダッシュ、むよむよ、新幹線
保留 ザパに
ザパニもブロックで良いんじゃあないかな >>704
>>709
議論ページに現れて人工知能だの集合知だのという演説をするIP、
「毛の壁」（[[利用者:FXST]]）なんじゃないかと俺は思ってた IPはゴミだが今乗っかるとバカブラを増長させたくないから参加したくないって人が大半なんだろうな 最近
ブロックのスペシャリストが森君からスマル君に変更になってるな A little time after the suicide of Jean we found ourselves in a
position to attempt the recapture of Lang-Son. We went forward
cautiously, doing at most ten kilometres a day. Then even at the end
of a day's march we were in fit condition for a battle, in case the
enemy elected to attack us in the evening or during the night. As we
again went forward our spirits rose. We were extremely glad to have
done with the constant retirement in front of the enemy; of all things
in the world the most disheartening is a withdrawal after a defeat.
A victory means hard work, and a pursuit harder, but a retreat is
the hardest of all. I am not speaking of the glory of victory or the
disgrace of defeat. Like most soldiers I think only of my private
troubles and the troubles of my comrades, and I can assure the reader
that, when a battalion is falling back on the base, supplies are bad
and insufficient, anxiety on the part of all is heart-breaking, an
attack in force is always to be expected, and no one can safely say
that those who have beaten his side once may not do so again and more
decisively. Even in a pursuit, when the rations are short, one feels
that the enemy is suffering more than himself, and the thought that
the battalion is pressing on their rear, giving them no peace or ease
or quietness, adds a zest to the bad and scanty food which makes it
palatable and satisfying. Let no one run away with the idea that we
simple soldiers did not feel the sting of defeat--indeed, we felt it,
and sorely too--but while one can forgive himself for a disaster, he
finds it very hard to forgive the enemy for following it up. It is bad
enough to be driven off a stricken field; it is infinitely worse to > 別に「管理活動しません→やっぱりやる」は問題ありません。
ザパニ自身も削除依頼には手を出しませんと言ってすぐ手を出したもんな 森さんでもスマルさんでもいいので、早く[[LTA:YASSIE]]を無期限ブロックに追いこんでください！！！！！ be harassed afterwards. War is like gambling: if you win first, even
though you lose afterwards, you like to keep on playing the game; but
if you lose in the beginning, you will at once imagine that the game is
not worth the candle. The young soldier who in his first battle tastes
the bitterness of defeat and endures the hardships of the hurried
march, the wakeful rest under arms, the wretched food, the dirt and
worse than dirt, the continual strain upon the nerves, and all things
else which are the portion of the conquered, will see war divested of
all its seeming glory; his voice at least will never be for war.
The Black Flags and their allies, the Chinese regulars, gave us very
little trouble on our march towards Lang-Son. What little fighting did
take place on the way cannot be described by me, as my battalion had
nothing to do with it. Annamite tirailleurs with some French soldiers
and legionaries formed the first line of the advance. They easily
overcame all the opposition offered to them; it was only when the grand
assault in force had to be made that we others came into the fighting
line. While advancing rations again were both good and sufficient;
occasionally too we got an allowance of wine or brandy, and these
extra rations pleased us very much, for it is wonderfully easy to make
soldiers happy. Our guards and pickets were just as well set and kept
as ever--our officers were taking no risks--and God help the man of
ours who slept at his post. We acquiesed cheerfully in this; and in any
case we were so accustomed to exact discipline and perfect precautions
against surprise that constant guard and picket-mounting seemed as natural as getting one's morning coffee or evening soup. Since we did
not march much any day there was always a fairly long time in camp,
and when we entered camp in the evening, the men who had been up the
night before lay down and rested while the others, who had had, thanks
to their comrades' watchfulness, a good night's rest, lit the fires
and cooked the evening meal and performed all the other duties that
soldiers have to do in the field. This had a good effect upon all; it
was just as if one man said to another: "You watched last night while I
slept in safety, I will now work while you rest in comfort and wait for
your soup." The officers, I am sure, noted this and were glad: anything
that makes soldiers better comrades tends also to make them better
fighting men.
At last the day came when we were within striking distance of the
enemy. All ranks were satisfied. We knew that very soon the disgrace
of the last action would be wiped away, and we in the ranks were just
as eager to clean the slate as our officers. I do not think that many
were thinking of gaining promotion or distinction in the fight. The
important thing was to show to all the world, or at least to that part
of it which was interested in the campaign, that our reverse was but an
accident of war and its effects only temporary. Again, we all desired
satisfaction for the torments and annoyances of the retreat; these were
too recent to be easily forgotten.
The battle was begun, as usual, by the artillery. They, however, were >>692
それを実現するには、問題利用者を片っ端から投稿ブロックする権限がないとダメ
正論を述べても、ドルヲタが「ノートで合意済」と言って強行するだけ
MaximusM4が鉄道記事を統制できたのは、強大な権限を持っていたから LTAとして追放された奴の言うことを聞く義務はないな
ってわけでシッシッ not long the only men engaged, for very soon after the cannonade had
begun the long lines of infantry were extended to right and left.
My company was in the right attack, and we went gaily forward in
skirmishing order until a man or two fell. Then we opened fire at a
pretty long range at the place where the cloud of smoke told us that
our friends the enemy lay. This firing did not delay the advance. On
the contrary, it hastened it, for now we fired and ran forward, fired
again and made another dash towards the front. Indeed, our officers
and sergeants had a good deal of work to keep us from going along too
quickly, and in the end we corporals were commanded to cease firing
and to devote our attention exclusively to keeping our squads well in
hand, so that the line might advance evenly and the men be brought up
in sound wind and condition to the point where the bayonets would be
fixed for the final charge. Of course, I know you will say that the
corporals should have been doing this from the very outset, but it is
very hard for a man to carry a rifle and cartridges without making some
use of them. Why, I have seen officers, and those of high rank too,
take the rifle of a dead man and half-a-dozen cartridges from his pouch
in order to have the satisfaction of firing a few shots at the enemy.
It is human nature, or rather the nature of soldiers in a fight; one
likes to feel that he is doing something on his own account to help his
comrades and to hurt the foe.
Well, the officers and the sub-officers worked well together, and
the men, to give them their due, obeyed orders willingly, especially >>719
スマル氏は没後、賽の河原の鬼に内定してますｗ when the excitement of the first firing had passed away and they had
settled down to the steady work of the advance. When we came within
about four hundred yards of the entrenchments the rushes succeeded one
another more rapidly, and men went a greater distance between shots.
Thus we gradually approached, until finally we were all ordered to lie
down and fix bayonets. As we did so the supports joined the fighting
line--they were somewhat blown with the last race forward--and so we
lay about eighty yards or less from the enemy's position, firing as
quickly as possible. The Chinese regulars and the Black Flags were not
remiss either in their volleys. A hail of bullets crossed the zone
between us, but their fire slowly slackened, especially as a very
storm of shells was falling towards their rear. Their supports, we
saw, could not easily come up. At length the guns in our rear ceased
shelling the position; at the same time the fire had greatly diminished
in front. The commandant saw that the time had come, and at the sound
of the charge we sprang up, ran at the regulation _pas gymnastique_
towards the trenches, and, when about twenty yards away, rushed at
the top of our speed, with the usual charging cry of "Kill, kill," at
the fortifications, which had been already so badly damaged by the
guns. In a few seconds we were in and using the bayonet with deadly
earnestness and a grim determination to wash away in blood the memory
of our recent defeat. The Black Flags flung down their weapons and ran
out at the back of the entrenchments, but the Chinese regulars fought
very well indeed. Well as the Chinese fought they could not long stand
up against us. I have already mentioned that they are very light; 千代田区KDDI可変IPを見るとFXSTを思いだす
馬鹿なのに(本人が思ってる)「賢い」言葉遣いをしたがるとことか [[Wikipedia:コメント依頼/Ntsctalk]]
鈴虫が秋田戦争を勃発ｗ 管理者不足らしいが、そもそもボランティアが管理者をすることに無理がある indeed, I doubt if the average weight is much more than seven stone and
a half. Then they can stand bayoneting without shrinking, but they are
by no means quick in using the bayonet themselves; again, if a Chinaman
gets you on the ground he will drive his weapon home six or seven times
more than are needed, and will never notice your comrade coming along,
quietly, with lowered head and levelled bayonet to attack. It seems to
me that the Chinese go into a fight with something ugly to foreigners
to meet, but altogether unlike what we Europeans call courage; they
just go in, they kill, they are killed, and that is all there is about
it. Yet they are not cowards; if they are, why did they not run like
the Black Flags? And they will charge wounded men with spirit, if I may
use the word in that connection; and with just as much steady calmness
they will await the onset of the foreign devils when they rush the
mound, get into the ditch and slay, and, not yet slaked with blood,
rush out at the rear of the entrenchments with bloody bayonets, and
loot and murder and rapine in their minds.
We got in, and in a few moments not a man was left standing up in the
trenches. We looked around. What was the next thing to do? "No. 1
Company, remain here," shouted the commandant as he tried to staunch
the blood that ran down the left side of his face from an ugly sabre
slash on the temple; "the other companies advance." We three companies
got out at the rear of the field fortifications and awaited orders
again. "Go up that hill, captain"--this to my captain from the
commandant--"and help the soldiers of the line to carry it." "Yes, my commandant," said the captain. We turned towards the right and looked
at the little hill. It was about three hundred yards only from level
ground to crest; the top was fortified, but only slightly; the soldiers
of the line were half-way up on their side, but they were meeting
with a very gallant resistance. The rifles above showed no signs of
slackening; a heavy, dense smoke covered the crest of the hill; midway
down you saw the spirts of flame and little smoke clouds where the
French were going up. That smoke quickly disappeared, for the men never
fired twice in the same spot. We ran at first up the hill, and were
not noticed; very soon we went more easily, as the hill grew steeper
and the rifles above began to pay us attention. Then we fired upwards
in return, but our bayonets were fixed, and we knew very well that in
these alone lay any chance of success. How could we hit men above us
whom we could not see? It was impossible, but we could, and did, send
bullets so near their heads that aiming down was almost as fruitless
for them as aiming up was for the soldiers of the line and ourselves.
As we went along an officer ran up almost to the top, waving his sword,
and crying out to the men to follow. We went a little more quickly.
Just as he reached a point about ten paces from the outer face of the
entrenchments he fell, shot through the heart. A great cry arose from
us; we sprang up, disregarding all cover, and madly raced for the
summit of the little hill. Volley after volley was fired at us, but
with little damage. Take my word for it, when the Asiatic sees the
European charging with bayonet on rifle-barrel his aim is not quite so [[舞鶴市立志楽小学校]]
「みなさん こんにちは」って… 5ちゃんでの英文荒らし、表でも米帝地方都市記事粗製乱造荒らしの[[LTA:YASSIE]]を早く無期限ブロックにして下さい！！！！！ good as usual, and in any case his best is not much. So we rushed, and
when we came to the little fortification we had small difficulty in
getting in; by that time the French soldiers of the line had crowned
the height on their side and were over the entrenchments. We were
almost shoved back by the fugitives running from the Frenchmen, but
we steadied ourselves and gave them the bayonet, until at last they
were all down, and the soldiers of the line and the legionaries alone
stood facing one another on the little hill with ugly curses and bloody
steel. Not that they cursed us or we them; only when you are using the
bayonet, and for a while afterwards, your language is a real reflex of
your thoughts.
It was the Frenchmen who really carried the hill; we had only come in
towards the end to their assistance. So we left them on the ground
that they had so gallantly won, and, going down the side nearest the
remnants of our opponents, we looked for more work, more excitement,
more glory, and more revenge. And we found them all very soon.
We had scarcely reached the bottom of the hill when a crowd of Chinese
regulars, with some Black Flags who had not run away, charged us with
loud cries and imprecations. We met them fairly and squarely, and
pushed them at the point of the bayonet a few yards back. They were
reinforced, and by sheer weight of numbers made us for a time give way.
Our officers fought like devils; truth to tell, though we did not like
them, we could not help admiring their courage in a fight. The captain >>697
>取り下げ ノートでの説明通り、ウィキブレイクが決まっていたため、取り下げとします。--Sakurapop7（会話） 2019年3月24日 (日) 12:03 (UTC)
決まっていたのに提案してる時点でおかしいだろうがｗ YatobiとかGcG辺りかなって思ってたけどFXSTか・・・そういやそんなのもいたね。 was down, so was the sub-lieutenant, the lieutenant had been wounded at
the beginning of the battle; the one sergeant who was left took up the
command and led us back from a short retreat in an ugly rush against
the enemy. I saw a Black Flag carrying a standard in his left hand,
while he cut all around at our fellows with the sword in his right. I
determined to have that flag, or at least to make a bold try for it,
and went with levelled bayonet at the barbarian. He cut down a man of
ours as I came, and had not time to parry my thrust with his sword, and
failed to do so with the staff of the banner. He took the point fairly
in the left side, and I had only just time to get my weapon back when
he delivered a furious slash at my head. Receiving this on the middle
of the rifle-barrel I thrust a second time, and sent him fairly to
the ground. Reversing my rifle--that is, holding it at the left side
instead of the right--I stabbed straight down, and pinned his right
hand to the ground. Pressing then on the rifle with my left hand, so
that he could not free his sword arm, I plucked away the banner with
my right. Nicholas at the time shouted out: "Look out, corporal, look
out." And, looking up, I saw half-a-dozen Black Flags coming straight
at me. I flung the banner on the ground, pulled my bayonet out of the
savage's hand, and, just in time, got into a posture of defence. The
first man I stopped with a lunge in the face just between the eyes, but
the others would have killed me were it not that now the squad came to
my assistance. Nicholas and the others soon finished the half-dozen who
had attacked me, but others came up too, and very soon about a dozen of
us were desperately resisting a desperate attack. They outnumbered us [[利用者:けぶお]]のブロック破り、またもや[[A応P]]で喧嘩しはじめて例祭にブロックされる by about four to one, but we were heavier, steadier, and, above all,
quicker with the bayonet. All the same, man after man of ours went down
till half our number lay dead or dying on the ground. Luckily, Le Grand
noticed our difficulty and, calling together six or eight men of his
own squad, came to our assistance. Le Grand and his comrades took the
Black Flags in the flank; the new assailants overwhelmed them; they
gave way sullenly at first, but in the end broke and fled, leaving
more than half their number on the field. I was happy in retaining
the banner, but I almost at once learned how dear that banner was to
me. A cry from Le Grand made me turn round, and I saw Nicholas lying
on the ground and a wounded Black Flag cutting at him with a sabre,
while the poor Russian did his best to ward off the blows with his
hands. As I looked, a Spaniard of Le Grand's squad drove his bayonet
up to the rifle-muzzle three times in quick succession into the body
of the wounded savage who was trying to kill our good comrade. I ran
to Nicholas and, laying down rifle and captured flag, asked him how he
felt, was he badly wounded, and without waiting for an answer began to
bind his wounded arms and hands. He shook his head sadly.
"It is no use, my comrade; I have got worse than that."
Indeed he had, for his left side was torn open. Nicholas nodded his
head towards a dead Black Flag, and we saw at once the weapon that had
inflicted so horrible a wound. It was shaped somewhat like a bill-hook,
but could be used for thrusting as well as cutting, about four inches >>732
独自研究とトリビアか
こりゃ鈴虫が正しいな
なんでもかんでも載せられるサイトじゃねえってんだよ of the end being shaped like a broad-bladed knife, the remainder of
the steel rather resembling a narrow-bladed hatchet. The poor Russian,
in spite of the severe wound, had managed to kill his enemy. I am glad
he did so, for, had the barbarian been only wounded, I should have
been sorely tempted to finish the work, and though one may kill a
helpless man without pity when "seeing red" or to avenge a friend, yet
afterwards the thought of such slaughter is unpleasant. After some time
we stopped the bleeding, and were glad to be able to give him a good
long drink, and then to refill his own water bottle with the few drops
still remaining in the bottoms of ours. We left him only when we had to
rejoin the company. The sergeant who now commanded it asked me gruffly
where I had been. I showed him the captured banner, and in a few words
told of the desperate fight made by the Black Flags to regain it. He
seemed satisfied, and asked how many men I had lost.
"Nine," I replied.
He counted us, and said: "Nine lost and nine left; that is rather
serious; a banner is not worth so many men."
But you may be sure that it would have been worth a whole section in
the sergeant's eyes, had he taken it.
There was little more fighting to be done that day. All along the
line the French had been successful, and already linesmen, chasseurs, zouaves, legionaries, and tirailleurs were bivouacking in Lang-Son. My
battalion searched out its wounded and brought them to an appointed
spot; you may be sure that poor Nicholas was carried as gently as
possible to the place. I went back for him before I thought of looking
for anyone else, even an officer. He was lying quietly where we had
left him, and I found that already he had drunk all the water in the
bottle. Luckily, as I was going back, I passed the dead body of a
white officer of our opponents; he was dressed in a yellow tunic and
trousers, with tan boots; his white helmet lay a foot or so from his
head; a heavy, fair moustache curled outwards on both cheeks; his jaw
had fallen, and his wide-open blue eyes were staring upwards at the
sky; at least a dozen gashes showed red upon the body, and a bloody
sword in one hand, an empty revolver in the other, were evidence that
his death had been amply paid for. A white man fights well when he
knows that there is no quarter for him. Luckily, as I have said, I came
across this body, for slung round the right shoulder and resting at the
left hip was a leather bottle. I took this, and was glad to find that
it was more than half full of brandy and water.
"A share, corporal," said a comrade.
"No," I answered; "all for Nicholas."
"Pardon me, corporal; I forgot." [[LTA:YASSIE]]はいい加減英文荒らしをやめなさい！！！！！ 堕落ｗｗｗ
お前は明日は我が身という言葉を知らんのか
桜ポップは1か月後のお前の姿だ Nicholas thanked me with a glance and a nod. With some rifles and a
couple of greatcoats we made a fairly good litter, and bore him to the
quarter where the surgeons were working in their shirt sleeves. There
we left him with the attendants and went out to bring in others. When
I was leaving the hospital, if I may call it so, for the last time, as
every wounded man had been brought in, Nicholas beckoned to me. I went
over, and he whispered:
"I am dying. I make you the heir to all I possess. Very little--but
still all; here it is."
He pressed a small bag into my hand. I said:
"Not at all, good comrade; you will want it when you recover, or at
least to get better attendance and a few delicacies in hospital."
"No, my friend; I am leaving _la gamelle_. Take it and I shall be
pleased. Try to see me in the morning; to-morrow evening it will be too
late."
He forced the little bag again into my hand. I had to take it, but I
resolved to see him in the morning and to return it if he were still
alive, though I could not help feeling an ugly presentiment that my
poor friend was really dying and that the best friend I had in the
little world of the Foreign Legion was about to leave me for ever. After soup had been served out to all the men the sergeant, who still
commanded the company, told me that I was wanted at the hospital. I,
thinking only of Nicholas, said that I should go thither at once.
"Do you know, corporal," said he, "where it is?"
"Certainly, yes," I answered. "Did I not help to bring many wounded
there to-day?"
"Of whom are you thinking?" he asked.
"Nicholas, the prince, you understand. Do you not remember Three
Fountains?"
"Very well--too well, indeed," the sergeant replied; "but it is not
the Russian who desires to see you, it is the captain." Calling to a
hospital attendant passing at the time he inquired if the man were
going to the officers' hospital. He was not going there, but would pass
it on his way to his own destination.
"Go with him," said the sergeant to me; "he will show you the place.
Ask for our captain."
I went away with the hospital orderly, and was shown the officers' hospital quarters by him. On giving name, company, and battalion--they
saw my rank upon my sleeve--I was told to wait until the
surgeon-in-charge could be told that I wished to see a patient. Very
soon the surgeon came. He asked me quite abruptly whom I desired to
see. I told him with military directness, but respectfully, and he said
that I might be brought to where the captain lay. I went there with an
orderly. The captain had a wound on the right arm not of much account;
it certainly did not keep him in hospital, but, as he had been knocked
down and stunned by a blow of a musket-butt on the left temple, the
surgeons would, and did, detain him for awhile. Several times while
I was with him he put his hands to his head and swore a little. But,
of course, that was none of my business. He asked me about the banner
I had taken--"not, you must remember," said he, "that that was very
useful or very creditable."
I told the story, and especially laid stress on the facts that poor
Nicholas had warned me of the first attack and that he was now dying in
the simple soldiers' hospital.
"You are sorry?" he queried.
"Very; he was my good comrade."
"Had he much money?" >>711
完全ログイン制にすればいいだけなのにな
TwitterもYahooもログイン制度だろ "He gave me all." And I showed the little bag.
"How much?"
I counted, and replied:
"One thousand four hundred and fifty francs, twenty or thirty piastres."
"You are rich."
"My captain, he will share with me if he lives, and if he dies I am the
poorer by a friend."
"Pouf! a sergeant does not want friends amongst the simple soldiers."
"No, my captain, nor enemies; but I am not a sergeant."
"You are; the commandant will announce it to-morrow. He was with me an
hour ago."
"Thanks, my captain; I did not see a ghost this time."
"Ah, you remember! What made you look so pale that day?" I told him,
and his only remark was: >>761
そうするとなぜか「誰でも参加できる〜って精神が損なわれる」って言い出す奴が出てくるんだよな
登録にメールアドレスさえ必要ないのに Intersect Contribsって使えなくなったの？サイトに繋がらん
便利だったのになあ・・・ "It might have frightened a man, and you are only a boy. How old are
you?"
"Oh, in truth," I said, "not yet seventeen."
"But you are over eighteen in the records."
"That, my captain, is my official age."
"Very well, very well; it has nothing to do with me."
After awhile the captain said:
"Who was Nicholas? What was he?"
I answered truly that I did not know--that nobody knew--that he had
often plenty of money, and was a good comrade.
"We could not fail to see, my captain," I went on, "that he had been
in a high position once; there is, indeed, a story that he commanded a
company of Russian guards at Plevna, but no one knows with certainty.
He did not tell, and we did not like to inquire." Then I asked the
captain for permission to leave the company for half-an-hour in the
morning. "Why do you ask that?"
"I want to see Nicholas; he will be disappointed if I do not go to see
him."
"Perhaps he will be dead."
"I think not so."
"Perhaps he will ask for his money."
"I mean to offer it to him."
The captain smiled, and said:
"You are a strange legionary; you do not care for money."
"On the contrary, my captain, I do like money and what it buys; but
Nicholas is my friend."
"You may go; stay away an hour if you like. Tell the sergeant that I,
the captain, have given you permission."
"A thousand thanks, my captain." After some further questions and answers the captain ordered me to
go. I saluted, and was just turning to leave when he called me back.
Pointing to a cigar-box on a rickety table, he told me to give it to
him. I did so. He opened it and took out two cigars.
"Give that to monsieur the prince, with his captain's compliments, and
keep this for yourself. Tell him, sergeant"--he laid stress upon the
word--"that I am sorry for his misfortune and proud to have had such a
man in my company. Say to him exactly what I have said to you."
"Yes, my captain," I answered, saluted again, thanked him for the
cigars, and went away. Let me say here, though it does somewhat
anticipate events, that the captain was my good friend afterwards,
and more than once broke my fall when I got into trouble. The death
of Nicholas deprived me of a good comrade. By it I gained a friend
in a higher position, but I would any day have surrendered the
captain's good will if by so doing I could regain the companion of the
barrack-room and the canteen.
When I got back to the company, I reported my return at once to the
sergeant. He asked me what the captain wanted me for, and I told him
that the officer had questioned me about the affair of the banner and
about Nicholas. I said nothing of the money or the cigars.
"Did he tell you anything?" "Yes; he said that I was to be sergeant to-morrow."
"Indeed," said the sergeant.
"I suppose, sergeant, I may thank you for a favourable report about
to-day's fight."
"I only told the truth," said the sergeant, "and I always liked you
when I was corporal of the squad."
Then I told him about the captain's permission to me to absent myself
for an hour in the morning so that I might pay a visit to Nicholas.
"You must tell that," he replied, "to the sub-lieutenant in charge; an
officer has been sent to us from another company."
"Very well," said I. "Where is he?"
He brought me to the sub-lieutenant's quarters. I told the officer
of my permission; he was satisfied. Before I went he asked about the
captain's wounds and a few questions of curiosity about Nicholas. I
told him all I knew about the captain and almost nothing about my
comrade. As I was leaving, the sergeant drew my attention to the fact
that I had omitted speaking about my promotion. "You captured a flag, you say?"
"Yes, sir; and there was a hard fight to retain it."
"And the commandant will promote you sergeant to-morrow?"
"Monsieur le capitaine said so, sir."
"Very good, very good; somebody must be sergeant, I suppose, and why
not you as well as another? You may withdraw."
As we went away I asked the sergeant if there were any place where I
could get a drink of wine or brandy.
"Certainly, yes--if you have money, my comrade."
"Come then," I said, "let us go there together."
He brought me to a small hut, where I had to pay a stiff price for
his brandy and my wine, and when he saw that I had plenty of money he
unbent and congratulated me more than once on my promotion. He ended by
borrowing twenty francs, which I willingly lent; of course, he forgot
to repay me. [[前川清の笑顔まんてんタビ好キ]]
サクラポップはこんな記事編集してる場合ちゃうやろ > 以前の被依頼者については（少なくとも私が管理活動に
>関わるようになった頃は）コミュニティを疲弊させる
>ようなイメージはなかったと思うのですが、先月の
>1日ブロック以来の被依頼者の対応を見る限りでは
>まるで人が変わったように思えます。
そう、中の人が違うの（ボソッ The next morning on parade the commandant praised me a little and
ordered me to take over the duties of No. 1 section. The sergeant who
had borrowed the twenty francs from me the day before was appointed
sergeant-major, and the corporal of a squad of No. 2 was made
sergeant of that section. When we were dismissed, I reminded the new
sergeant-major of my permission to visit Nicholas. He remembered the
money I had shown the evening before and promptly brought me up before
the sub-lieutenant in temporary command of the company, in order that I
might report my intention of taking advantage of the leave given me by
the captain. The sub-lieutenant offered no opposition. As I was going
away the sergeant-major, no doubt remembering that I was comparatively
rich--that is, rich for a sergeant of legionaries--told me that he
would take care that my section was all right during my absence.
"Many thanks," I said; "perhaps monsieur le sergent-majeur would wet
the promotion in the evening."
"But yes, but yes, with pleasure. Do not hurry, you will be back in
good time; sometimes the sergeant-major is a better friend than a
simple sub-lieutenant." He was right, and we both knew it.
I went across as quickly as I could to where the field hospital for the
wounded of the right attack lay. I had little difficulty in finding
Nicholas; he visibly brightened at seeing me, and, when I tried to
shake hands, he put his finger on my sleeve, where the single gold chevron was that a sergeant of a section wears.
"It pleases me," he whispered; "but don't be too ambitious, other men
have lost all through ambition."
I said nothing. I was glad that he was pleased, but I cannot tell how
sorry to see him weak, worn out, and, as one may say, with the dews of
death already gathering on his forehead. He could not speak, even in a
low tone, he could only whisper; I had to bend down to catch his words.
He asked about a few men of the squad, and I told him who were dead,
who dying, who still in the ranks. He was anxious too about Le Grand,
and was very glad to hear that the latter had gone through the fight
without even a scratch, though he had had one narrow escape.
"Le Grand," I said to Nicholas, "had to take a dead man's helmet."
"Why, why?" he eagerly whispered.
"Because his own was cut in two by a sabre-stroke. Had the cut been
downwards, Le Grand would be alongside you to-day."
"I am glad he escaped so well; I like him."
After a little more conversation I was told that my visit must end. "Who is chiefly with you, Nicholas?" I asked.
He nodded towards an attendant. I went to this man and gave him a
hundred francs.
"Be good to my comrade," I said.
"Yes; yes," he replied, astonished at such a gift from a mere sergeant
of legionaries; "I will do all I can, but that, alas! is little."
"I know," I answered, "there is no hope; but smooth the way for him as
well as you can to Eternity."
He promised with many oaths that he would do so. I don't know whether
or not he kept his word, but I really do think that the unexpected
money, and still more the unexpected amount of it, made him a good
friend to the last to my poor comrade.
So Nicholas the Russian passes out of my story. I never saw him
afterwards, for that evening my company left Lang-Son for an outside
station about ten miles from the place. Some time afterwards a
legionary of No. 2 Company told me that he had been in hospital with
Nicholas, and that the Russian had died about four o'clock in the
afternoon of the day I visited him, and was buried in the evening of the same day. He is out of the turmoil of the world now, and I wonder,
had he in early youth understood life as he learned it in the Foreign
Legion, would he have "played the game" in the same way? One never
knows. Perhaps he would have lived and died that wretched nonentity,
the respectable member of society--the Pharisee who has neither
courage to do evil nor heart to do good--but who lives his life out in
constant endeavour to equate God and the devil, to balance, for his
own benefit of course, his duty to his fellow-man and his so-called
duty to himself; perhaps he unknowingly thought at the end as the Dying
Stockrider spoke:
"I've had my share of trouble, and I've done my share of toil,
And life is short, the longest life a span,
I care not now to tarry for the corn or for the oil
Or the wine that maketh glad the heart of man.
For gifts misspent, and chances lost, and resolutions vain
'Tis somewhat late to trouble: this I know--
I would live the same life over if I had to live again,
And the chances are, I go where most men go."
Anyway, whatever he was to others, he was good friend and good comrade
to me, and if no one else regrets, I regret.
_Amice mi, vale, vale, vale!_ CHAPTER XV
One evening the sergeants and corporals were ordered to forewarn the
men that the battalion would leave the neighbourhood of Lang-Son early
the following morning. Where we were going we did not know; indeed, I
believe that even the commandant himself was unaware of our destination
when he ordered the battalion to hold itself in readiness for a march.
When the morning parade had been inspected--we, of course, paraded in
full marching order--the commandant ordered us to stand at ease. While
thus waiting in the ranks, an officer of the staff came and gave a
written paper to the commandant. Shortly afterwards the staff-officer
went away, and we were marched off in column of fours for some place
or other, where, we--sub-officers and men--knew not, nor did we care.
Restlessness is the chief characteristic of the soldier; he stagnates
in garrison, or, if he doesn't, he avoids _ennui_ by illegitimate
amusements--excitements, I should say, that sooner or later get him
into trouble.
I am ashamed to confess that I was as happy as the others as we tramped
along. Of course, I was sorry for Nicholas, and as I spent the money
he had left me with the other sergeant and the sergeant-major of the company, I felt that all the fun and gaiety that money can produce
cannot make up for the loss of a good comrade. I took care to do as
Nicholas would wish me towards my late associates, the corporals, and
my former associates, the simple soldiers--they were not forgotten when
the money was spent. Of course, I did not go outside my section, and I
took good care that my former squad, the squad I had soldiered in ever
since I was sent from the depot to a battalion, first as soldier of the
second class in the little trouble with the Arabs in Algeria, in the
big trouble at Three Fountains, in the troopship, at Noui-Bop; then as
soldier of the first class till the end of the vengeance at a place I
have not named--you may be sure it gets scant mention in the official
records; then as corporal in the defeat at Lang-Son and the retreat
afterwards, and at the second battle, when we recaptured the town:--oh
no, I did not forget the men who were what Xenophon would call my
table-companions; for their part, they thanked me but little, but we
all understood.
There is no use in detailing our life for the next few weeks. We were
always marching, now to the north, anon to the west, then a sudden turn
to east, perhaps, or south or back towards the north again. It was all
one; we looked for the enemy; we did not find him. At last a momentous
order came for us. We were much reduced in strength, and the general
commanding-in-chief determined to send most of the battalion to the sea
coast and, if the doctors should recommend, back to Algeria. I don't
think that we mustered six hundred of all ranks at the time, possibly we did not exceed five hundred. When I tell you that we were constantly
receiving batches of fresh men--almost every troopship brought out a
hundred or two hundred soldiers of the Foreign Legion--you will be
surprised at this; but then the country is bad for Europeans, and we
were always in the fighting line of the battles and on tramp here,
there, and everywhere between them. Anyway, the commandant asked for
volunteers to form a company to be left behind, and officers as well as
men were asked to come forward.
"First," said the commandant, "I want a captain."
All the captains stepped out He selected mine. I forgot to state that
my captain had been sent back to duty, as soon as the surgeons found
that the blow on the head had produced only temporary ill-effects.
"Now," said the commandant, "a lieutenant."
Forward stepped every officer of that rank. The sub-lieutenant--now a
lieutenant--who had come out with my company, the _vieux militaire_
who had risen from the ranks, the man who was good at fighting and
better at pillage, the man who could overlook much if you were a
good looter and handed him over a decent percentage of your gains,
the man with the piercing eye, the hooked nose, the spike-like grey
moustache was taken on the spot. I believe this selection gave the old
soldier immense pleasure. "Ah," I can fancy him saying to himself, "the commandant knows better than to take boys fresh from school."
Everybody under forty was to him a boy fresh from school, except, be
it noted, Nicholas. He did not understand Nicholas, but he was too
old a soldier, too experienced in the Legion, not to know the ruined
nobleman, the dangerous man, when he met him. A sub-lieutenant was
selected in turn, a mere boy who had been sent to us for some little
peccadillo, some little indiscretion, probably in connection with a
senior officer's wife. Then a sergeant-major was taken, an Alsatian
from No. 3. The sergeants were now called on for volunteers, and, just
as we all stepped forward, a French officer of chasseurs approached the
commandant to speak with him.
"Select your own sergeants and corporals, captain," the commandant
cried out to my captain; "the doctor will select the men, for I assume
that all will volunteer."
The captain promptly selected the two sergeants of his own company. I
was delighted. I, a boy of less than seventeen, as the captain knew,
though in the records of the battalion I was approaching nineteen,
found myself senior sergeant of a company that was evidently to be
a separate unit for some time. How I mentally thanked the officer
of chasseurs for his timely intervention, for I felt sure that the
commandant would not have selected me. The corporals were quickly
chosen as the captain took all his own corporals who had not been
seriously wounded and who did not show signs of breaking down, the others were taken by him from corporals of other companies after
a hasty walk down the line of volunteers. He was a clever man,
that captain of mine: all the outside corporals he selected were
fair-haired. I have already mentioned that such men can stand hardships
better than the black-haired ones.
When the commandant had finished his chat with the chasseur, he said:
"All men in the front ranks"--we were drawn up in column of
companies--"that wish to volunteer, step one pace to the front; all men
in the rear ranks that wish to volunteer, step one pace to the rear.
March."
All stepped forward or backward, as the case might be; the commandant
went down the right flank and saw all the companies opened out.
"Very well, _mes enfants_, since you all volunteer, the doctor will
make a selection."
The doctor examined every man. As he marched down the ranks he cast
out almost half, one glance told him that these could not be accepted,
wounds and disease and semi-starvation and hardship had worn them
out; the rest he carefully examined in the afternoon, and, to cut
the matter short, next morning the commandant and other officers and
other sub-officers and other soldiers said good-bye to a fairly strong company--we were more than two hundred and twenty all told--and started
on their march to the coast. We felt sad as our comrades went away.
In twenty-four hours we had forgotten them, as, undoubtedly, they had
forgotten us. Wrong! you say; well, the soldier who can't forget will
die of brooding over his memories.
In a day or two a few Annamite tirailleurs and eight or ten French
engineers had came into camp. The chief officer of the tirailleurs
brought a message for our captain, and in accordance with this we
pushed forward about seventy or eighty miles and seized a strong
position, right, as one may say, in the heart of the enemy's country.
This we proceeded to fortify, the engineers superintending, the
legionaries working, and the Annamites out on all sides to give us
notice of any movements against our little post on the part of our
foes. These, however, allowed us to finish the little fortification
in peace; once it was finished, we cared not a jot for them. We
had brought along a good deal of supplies; more of every kind that
the country produced were collected from all sides; ammunition was
plentiful, so why should we care?
This was my captain's first separate command, and he had a nice
little force to help him to keep the post. First, there were the
legionaries, two hundred and twenty seasoned soldiers; then about a
hundred and eighty native levies under French officers; last, a really
admirable demi-squad of engineers. No artillery, of course; but who wants artillery when he has enough of rifles? My captain did not, and
he was really a clever man. Not that guns and gunners have not their
uses--oh, they have--but they are wanted with brigades and divisions
for big battles; they are useless, they are worse than useless, to
small parties on the trail of the enemy or holding some out-of-the-way
position which may have to be abandoned at a minute's notice. In a
retreat, when you are burdened with guns, one or two things must be
done--destroy the artillery, and so produce a bad effect on the men;
keep it, and by so doing slow down your march in swampy ground. We were
all glad that no guns had been sent to us. We were quite confident that
we could maintain our ground with the rifle alone; then, if we really
had to withdraw, we felt more confident of cutting our way through
with steady bayonet fighting than if we had to depend on the spasmodic
assistance of artillery in a retreat.
When the little fortification was finished to the satisfaction of the
captain and the sergeant in command of the engineers, the little force
was divided into four parts. Every part had a special duty every day.
If No. 1 were employed guarding the camp for the twenty-four hours, No.
2 would be out in the day gathering stores of all kinds and getting
information; No. 3 would be cooking and doing the other work of the
camp, except guarding it; and No. 4 would be quietly resting. Thus
every part had three days' work for one day of rest, but, be it well
understood, every man was on guard-duty only one night in four. Every
party, I may mention, had one-fourth of the legionaries and one-fourth of the Annamite tirailleurs. As for the engineers, they examined the
fortifications every day, and did nothing then but cook and eat,
mend and wash their clothing, and lie about and smoke. The officers
commanding the parties were the lieutenant and the sub-lieutenant of
the legionaries, the lieutenant and the sub-lieutenant of the native
levies, while the captain exercised a general supervision over all,
especially the entrenchments, the engineers, and the stores.
Things went on well and pleasantly for some time. In fact we were all
getting tired of the monotony--that is, all except the Annamites, who
were quite satisfied--and we sergeants and corporals especially were
desirous of some excitement. This we got, and in full measure. That
everything may be understood I must give a brief description of the
post--the fortified encampment I may call it.
The main post was almost rectangular in shape, but a little way out
from one corner stood a block-house, its nearest angle pointing towards
an angle of the fort. This block-house was built with the intention of
protecting the portion of the camp nearest to it, and also in order
to prevent the enemy from taking up a commanding position within less
than half musket-shot of our quarters. Furthermore, it dominated a
spring from which a stream flowed in close proximity to the main
fortification. This was very necessary, for the Black Flags have no
compunction about poisoning "foreign devils." The block-house had two
storeys, and was generally occupied by about twenty men, detached, of course, from the party on guard for the day. It was rather exposed on
the two sides away from the main position, but being well and solidly
built no one dreamed that it could ever be in any great danger. Well,
it was; but that came afterwards, and will be dwelt on in due course.
As for the big position being in danger, everyone scouted the thought.
Ah, it's well for men that they are generally fools!
Well, the time came at last when the Black Flags came to visit us. The
first token of their arrival in force was given by the cutting off of
a squad of Annamite tirailleurs; the second, firing at long range on a
party of legionaries; the third, the burning of a couple of villages.
I suppose they thought that the people in these hamlets were friendly
to us; they were, indeed, friendly, but so they would have been to any
men who carried arms. The poor people who remain quietly at home and
take no part in fighting always suffer most. We took their property and
paid them for it, at least our officers did; the Black Flags came, took
their money, their women, and often their lives, and then set fire to
their wretched habitations. In war both sides live very much, if not
altogether, on the country. You can imagine how pleasant that is for
the cultivators and others who seek to continue the occupations which
can be profitable only in time of peace. Well, cowards sow and brave
men reap.
After the burning of the villages we scouted much more cautiously. Up
to the first appearance of the Black Flags the Annamites were often by themselves, but afterwards we never went in smaller parties than
thirty, of whom two-thirds were legionaries. So long as we had the
natives, we could not very well be surprised; and so long as they had
us with them, they knew that they would not be asked to bear the brunt
of the fighting, if the enemy only showed himself in force.
One day I was in command of a small party that cautiously felt its way
towards the north-east, where a village had been seen burning the night
before. I had two weak squads of my section and a dozen natives, in all
we were about thirty-five rifles. As we went slowly on, the corporal
of the tirailleurs gave me to understand that there was danger ahead.
I did not thank him for the information--I knew as much myself--but,
as the ground was fairly open, I determined to push on a little
farther. At the same time I took the precaution of sending a couple
of men to reinforce the little party guarding each flank, and four to
the corporal of legionaries who commanded the advance-guard. Scarcely
had these soldiers reached their respective destinations, when heavy
firing began in front, followed almost at once by scattered shots on
the right. The Annamite tirailleurs came back at once, the legionaries
did not retreat so quickly; they fired as they retreated, and showed
no signs of panic. I steadied the natives by telling them very plainly
that the man who moved without orders would be at once shot. When they
understood this, they stood up to their fight fairly well.
As the outlying squads closed on my command, I asked the corporal who had led and the legionary of the first class who had commanded
on the right, what they thought of the attack. The corporal said it
seemed serious; the soldier of the first class, that we ought to move
off to the base at once, as many men were trying to creep round to
our rear. Now both of these might be depended on. The corporal was a
man of much service; the other a Prussian who had found life in his
own country too exciting, but who was a good soldier in all respects
on active service; in garrison, of course, it was different. I fell
back, therefore, showing a bold front, keeping the Annamites and six
legionaries together--the latter to hold the former--and leaving all
the other legionaries to fight in skirmishing order as we went away.
A few of ours were wounded, and these the natives had to carry, but
we managed to withdraw for more than half-a-mile without any serious
casualty. Then a legionary was shot through the heart; an Annamite was
sent for his rifle and ammunition, and the retreat went on as before.
Once only did the enemy attempt to rush us. I hurried to the right with
tirailleurs and legionaries when I saw them nearing for the charge, but
our rifle fire was so effective that no man reached our bayonets.
Not very long afterwards the lieutenant of my company came up with
about forty men, two-thirds of whom were legionaries. He at once took
over the chief command, and had little difficulty in getting us all
back to camp. I fancy, however, that the Black Flags could have done
a great deal of harm to us if they had tried more resolutely to come
to close quarters, for they outnumbered us certainly by six to one. >>726
あいつは、粘着質だから定期的に戻ってくる >>770
何か書きたいという衝動は抑えられず、さりとてブロック依頼にコメントすれば
脊髄反射と言われ、どうにもならない状態と推測。 They made only faint-hearted attempts to rush us, and every time they
tried that game, we concentrated our fire on the men concentrated for
the charge. They made a great mistake in massing themselves together,
for our bullets could not fail to find a man or men amongst them in
the too close formation they assumed. We, on the contrary, kept a very
open formation in the firing line, but behind there were always two
little squads ready to hurry up to the part where there was any danger
of a serious attack. For my part, I was glad to see that the lieutenant
practised the same tactics as I; in the first place, it was a sort of
compliment to me; and in the second, no one could blame the sergeant
for doing what the officer, a most experienced fighter, did. To end
this portion of my story, I may say that the little party got back
safely to the fortification with the loss of three legionaries and one
Annamite tirailleur killed and about seven or eight wounded severely
enough to go into hospital. There were other men wounded, but their
wounds did not count--they were only bullet-grazings or flesh wounds.
When we were safely inside the little post, the captain ordered us to
see first to our wounded and then to hold ourselves in readiness to go
to any part of the defence where we might be required. The Black Flags,
however, did not press the attack; evidently they were only part of the
enemy who meant to assault our position, probably a few hundred sent
out for raiding purposes.
Nothing of any importance occurred for two or three days. We knew that the Black Flags were closing round us; in fact, we could not go five
hundred yards from the camp without being fired on, but that gave us no
uneasiness. Ammunition and stores were plentiful, the block-house made
our water supply safe, our friends were only a hundred miles away, and
we guessed that very soon a general or other high officer would come to
inspect the post, and, of course, such people are always accompanied by
at least a couple of thousand men. A gold-laced cap and an escort are
not a sufficient outfit for a general; you must, to satisfy his _amour
propre_, give him an army as well. One thing must be noted here. Though
the block-house commanded the spring from which arose the rivulet that
ran by the outer side of the fortification, yet the captain was not
satisfied. He feared that in spite of all vigilance the well might be
poisoned or polluted, so that orders were given that no water was to
be taken into camp until four hours after sunrise. By that time all
poisons that might have been deposited in the spring during the dark
hours would be washed away, and a fatigue-party would have examined
the stream carefully for dead bodies of men or animals. As I shall not
allude to this again, I must tell here that on several occasions we
found putrid bodies in the stream. We always took them out on the spot,
and the men would take no water from the parts below where they were
found for at least twenty-four hours. If the carcasses were got in the
spring itself, a couple of engineers and two or three legionaries went
out and cleansed it.
At last we recognised that regular siege was being laid to our position. The Black Flags, assisted by a fair number of Chinese
regulars--we knew these by their uniforms--had possession of every
natural vantage-point around the camp. In some places, the nearest
enemies were fifteen hundred yards away from the outer face of the
entrenchments, in one or two the ground permitted them to come with
safety as near as six or seven hundred yards. The average distance
between the opposing forces was, I believe, about a thousand yards.
They did not carry round a big fortified line--that would be too much
trouble and would require a large number of soldiers to man it at all
points--but they selected six or eight places of natural strength,
erected forts upon them, and crowded these forts with defenders. The
intervals between these were held by constantly moving bands, numbering
anything from half-a-dozen to a hundred.
For some time the fighting was desultory. We did not fire at them
unless they came within easy range, for there was no use in throwing
away ammunition, and, besides, it would be a good thing if they would
only learn to despise us. They knew our strength to a man. If they saw
or believed that we were short of cartridges, they would surely reckon
us a certain prey. At the same time they would be doubtful of the
success of a mere blockade, as our stores were plentiful, and any day
might bring a relieving force. As for us, we eagerly desired a grand
attack. We had enough of men to provide all parts of the entrenchment
with a sustained rifle fire, and even if they did get up to our
fortifications we trusted to our bayonet work too much to have any fear of the issue. Moreover, since the second battle of Lang-Son and our
selection to remain behind when our comrades went down to the coast,
we had conceived, unconsciously, I believe, a very high idea of our
prowess both as individual soldiers and as a company.
The grand attack which we had been expecting and praying for--I mean
that we should have prayed for, if we ever prayed--was delivered at
last. For a couple of days and nights the enemy kept up a brisk fire,
giving us no rest. To this we made but little reply. The Black Flags
became bolder every hour, and on the second day of the fusilade some
were so contemptuous of our fire that they crawled up to within less
than two hundred yards of the entrenchments to burn their powder.
Our arrangements for the second night did credit to the captain. He
divided his little force into two parts. The first of these kept watch
and ward from sunset until half-past one in the morning; the second,
which had been resting with rifles by their sides, took up guard duty
in turn until six. Thus, along the entrenchments half the men, clad
in greatcoats, were standing up, looking out for any movement of the
enemy, while the other half, wrapped up in greatcoats and blankets,
lay down only a yard away from their watching comrades. Thus half the
rifles in garrison were ready for instant use; the remaining half could
be in action in thirty seconds. Our captain was clever--I have always
said so, and I will always assert it; other captains are creatures of
routine, and will do the same thing in a fortified post in the enemy's
country as they were in the habit of doing in a quiet town in the heart >>771
人は変わってない。
去年7月から、苦情受ける→控えます のコンボが始まってる of France. Routine, so admirable in time of peace, is a thing rather to
be neglected in time of war.
The moiety to which I was attached lay down just behind the men on
guard from sunset to half-past one. Then we were called to take our
turn of duty. I had only dozed off once or twice while lying down, but
for all that I was as wakeful as if I had slept for a week, when I
turned out of the blanket and stood up in my greatcoat in the chilly
air. Very soon I had the men under my charge at their posts. First, the
lieutenant came round to ask in an undertone if all were ready within
and if all seemed right outside; then the captain visited me and bade
me pass the word up and down my command that the attack, if made at
all, would be made within an hour, or an hour and a half at most, and
that all should be thoroughly on their guard, for on every man's rifle
a good deal depended. I, standing at the centre of my section, told
the men on my right and left what the captain had said, each of them
whispered the message to his next man, and so the words went down the
ranks. After this all was quiet; the men seemed like so many bronze
statues, but one knew that every eye was peering out intently into the
blackness and that every ear was straining to catch the lightest sound.
As for me, I looked now to the front, then to the right, and then
towards the left; I neither saw nor heard anything which could betoken
the approach of an enemy.
We were nearly an hour so waiting, watching, and listening, and the そういえば堕落と切干が手付かずだな
ミラブラ加えた転生迷惑馬鹿自警の三馬鹿を始末してくれ >>795
生3つ追加で
会計はぱたごんが払います ■ このスレッドは過去ログ倉庫に格納されています
