The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence by William Lawrence (fiction novels to read TXT) 📖

falling, and then I proceeded on to the old man, who was quite infirm and hobbling along behind on two sticks, and I need hardly say that he behaved worse than any of them at my strange and sudden appearance. I led him in and got him with difficulty to a chair. None of us then spoke for a long time, but at last the old man gave utterance to, "My child, I did not expect to see you again." It was indeed sixteen long years since I had left them at Dorchester.

My wife, though of course she could not understand a word, was much affected by this scene. I now began to throw a word or two to her occasionally in her own language, which surprised them a good deal, and no less were they astonished when I told them she was my wife. No doubt she felt queer with all strangers round her and in a foreign land, which to her was like a new world, but by the evening we were all reconciled to each other; and by that time too we had dozens of friends and neighbours in to see us. My wife particularly wished to know what all these people wanted, as so many could not be all relations, so I told her that they had chiefly come to see her, as they had never seen a Frenchwoman before; but of course she would not believe this piece of flattery.

I then thought of wetting the subject a little, but there was no public-house in the village, the nearest being at Piddletown about three miles off. However, I got one of my brothers to go even that distance, and he having brought back four gallons, we made ourselves comfortable till ten o'clock, when we retired to rest in the same room that I had slept in eighteen years before.

After a good night's rest we rose early and found all recovering themselves, except perhaps the old lady, who had not yet done piping. After breakfast I took a walk round the village and fell in with the clergyman of the place, who would insist on taking me to his house and giving me some ale; and when he had once got me there, he kept me for at least an hour, the chief topics we talked about being the war and the religion of the countries I had been in. I was glad enough to get away from there, but I had to spend the whole of that day in visiting the people of the village; and the next day I had to occupy still worse, for my mother brought out every letter sent by me during my absence from the first to the last, and made me listen to them being read, which by the time night came on had almost sent me crazy. I advised her to burn the lot, but that only made her put them back in their place again, saying, "Never, William, so long as I live."

We passed the next two days visiting such of my brothers and sisters as lived more near, and then as I could not rest in one place for long, on the third morning I set out with my wife for Corfe Mullen, about twelve miles off, to see another brother who was a farm-labourer there. After some few inquiries for George Lawrence I found out his house, and was answered at the door by his wife, who of course had no knowledge who I was, though I had known her before her marriage. She did not ask me in, but pointed out a barn, where she said I would find George. I went over and he was there threshing, so I said, "Well, friend, do you thresh by the day or the quarter?" He answered, "By the quarter, but I cannot do much of it." He stared at me, for I had on my regimentals, but I did not yet make myself known. Then I asked him if there was a public-house handy. He said there was one just below, so I told him that if he would go there with me I would treat him, as his must be hard work, and he thanked me and led the way.

I ordered some beer and tobacco with pipes, and after that took off my shako which I could not bear any longer, and he immediately recognized me as his brother William. We then went to his home to be introduced to his wife, and we stayed there two days, after which we returned to Bryant's Piddle and remained with the old people for the rest of the eighteen days I had allotted for our stay out of the six weeks; the going and returning taking away above half our furlough. The morning we left was quite as bad as the morning of my appearance, my wife, who had got used to the old people, being quite as loud as any of them; till at last being sick of the whole affair I buckled on my knapsack, and bidding them good-bye, as quickly as possible took myself off, leaving my wife to follow with my brother to Dorchester, he having volunteered to go with us as far as that.

I had planned out a different way for my journey back, intending to find a ship at Bristol to take us to Scotland and with this view I proceeded westwards, parting from my brother at Dorchester. We found a public-house by the roadside a little way from Dorchester, and after stopping there for the night, continued through Sherborne towards Bristol. On the way we fell in with one of the light company of my regiment, called Warren, who said he was going to London to get a ship back to Scotland; but when I told him of my way of getting there, he immediately said he would go with us; only he had got no money, and hoped I would lend him some. I declined doing this as I had very little myself, but I told him that if he liked to come and live as we did, I would pay for his food and lodging till we got to the regiment, to which he consented and we marched on together.

But when we got to Bristol we found there was no ship going to Scotland, so my wife who was an excellent walker proposed going all the way by road; and accordingly on the following day we started, doing generally two stages a day, through Gloucester, Worcester, Manchester, and Carlisle, and so to Glasgow, a long and tedious march. Our companion, who was anything but a pleasant one, left us at Manchester. We returned to the barracks just one day before my time expired, with only twopence-halfpenny in my pocket and having had to sell my watch for subsistence on the way. After reporting myself, however, I drew my remaining tenpence per day for the six weeks, a penny being deducted from my pay per day for small-beer, which was not allowed while I was away. Soon after our arrival at the barracks my wife became very ill owing to having been frost-bitten during the march, and remained so for upwards of a week.

We had not been here very long before General Sir George Osborne, the head colonel of our regiment, came expressly to review us; he being a very old man, and not having seen his regiment for some years. After going through our facings, we were arranged in a square, into which the old gentleman entered and presented us with a new stand of colours; then he addressed us as he said for the last time, and hoped his colours would endure as well as our old ones had and be crowned with an equal amount of victory. On them were engraved in gilt letters, "The Peninsula" and "Waterloo." He then took a farewell leave of his regiment, as he doubted if he would ever see it again, and we returned triumphant with our new colours to the barracks. But I may as well add here that every man received sixpence from the old colonel to drink his health.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Reduction of the army — Lawrence sent up to London, where he is valued for his pension — Returns to his home — Thence to Studland, and obtains work — Called out on service again, and sent to Ireland to suppress smuggling — Ingenious devices in that line by the inhabitants of Dingle — Finally discharged at Plymouth — settles down at Studland again, and commends his narrative to the public.

Very shortly after this the army was reduced, and our regiment was made six hundred instead of a thousand strong. First all the old and disabled were discharged, and then lots were cast for the remainder, and the lot falling on me amongst the sergeants, at the end of about a month I and nine others were ordered to Chatham. We marched to Leith, where we embarked on the Leith packet, and after some very rough weather landed at Gravesend and proceeded to Chatham, remaining there six weeks while we were waiting to pass the board. Then we re-embarked on a small craft at Gravesend and went up the river to the Tower of London, whence we marched to Chelsea Hospital. The next morning, after we had been examined by the doctor, we were called up before the board one at a time. I was asked my age and time of service, and one of the gentlemen called out "Seven!" but the doctor immediately said "Nine!" as I had a wound in my knee; they evidently meaning that I should have ninepence a day as my pension, as that was what was settled on me for life. I then went to the office, where I received my expenses to Dorchester, to the amount of one and tenpence for myself, and three-halfpence for my wife for every ten miles; and with that we started off for Bryant's Piddle again, and walked every step of the way, not, however, meeting any such kind gentleman this time as we had on our last route to the same place.

When we arrived we found them all as well as when we had left; but I did not want to stay there long, so on the following morning I took leave of them and proceeded with my wife to Studland, the place where I had been apprenticed, as I claimed that rightly as my parish. I put up at the public-house till I could procure a house and some furniture, which last took me about a week, and then my next undertaking was to try for work, for it may well be imagined that my wife and I could hardly live on my pension of ninepence a day. I soon obtained employment on a farm close by, for which I received ten shillings a week. I was only in the capacity of a labourer, and it certainly seemed to come very hard at first, but I soon got used to it, and I worked for this master for nine months. He had been formerly a captain in the navy, and I found him very sharp but very just.

My reason for leaving him was a sudden call I received to again join the army. I started on the fifth of November, 1819: I was ordered to Plymouth, where I joined the Third Veteran Battalion, which was about a thousand strong at the time, and from Plymouth we went on to Ireland, where we landed at the Cove of Cork and marched through Cork to Fermoy. We went on next day to Templemore, which