Child of the Regiment

by Anonymous

In the French army was a regiment of soldiers who were called guards; they were all dressed alike, in blue coats and white pantaloons, trimmed with crimson and gold: they were terrible fellows to fight, and their enemies were very much afraid of them, or they were always in the thickest of the battle, clearing their way with the points of their bayonets. While this regiment was pursuing the Austrians, near the burning village, one of the Guards, an old man, saw a sweet little girl who could scarcely walk; her papa and mama had been driven from their homes, and her papa, who carried her in his arms, was killed by the soldiers. Mary, for that was her name, held up her little hands crying bitterly, as she lay among the killed and wounded; and the Old Guard, who was a brave but kind soldier, pitied her, and took her in his arms, and when the battle was ended, carried her to his tent, and calling his comrades together, told them of the little girl he had found; and no one knowing who she was, or who her parents were, they called her Mary, the Child of the Regiment, and agreed to take care of her as well as they could. Poor little Mary, she had no mama to undress her at night, and make her a little bed, but the good old Guard, gave her some of his supper and laid her down on some straw, for the soldiers have no other beds in their tents; and after laying his coat over her to keep her warm, and his haversack under her head, she sobbed awhile, and fell asleep to forget the scenes of that dreadful day. The next morning the old Guard awoke little Mary, and washed her face, and combed her hair as well as he could, for he had never taken care of a child in his life, and was almost afraid to touch her with his hard and rough hands, which he thought only fit to shoulder arms or charge bayonet with; and after taking some dried meat and hard bread for breakfast, he took her out to let her see the soldiers: they were delighted with Mary, and many of them ran to take her up in their arms, but she liked the Old Guard best, and wanted to be with him, for she was afraid of their glittering muskets, as she remembered how terrible they looked only the day before, when the noise of their guns, and deafening hurrahs had almost frightened her to death; but they were kind to her, and she afterwards loved them very much, for she said the whole of the twenty-first regiment was her father, as they called her their child, and took care of her.

The old Guard then took little Mary to live with him, and she learned to sew and play with her doll, which he had bought for her; and delighted in filling his canteen with water, and polishing his epaulettes; she would also sing and dance with him; which pleased him very much, for he loved no body but her; as he was a great many miles from his home, and had marched all the way with the army.

At other times, when the old Guard was not with her, she amused herself by rambling through the fields gathering wild flowers, or climbing the mountains to see the army in the valley below.

At length the regiment was ordered home, and took little Mary with them. She suffered many hardships in travelling so great a journey, for sometimes she had to walk a long way, or ride on a baggage waggon, which was no better than a cart; and in crossing the Alps, they frequently slept on the cold ground, without any fire or even their suppers; and as the mountains were covered with snow and ice, poor little Mary passed many bitter nights and tedious days; and often thought of the peaceful and happy home she had lost for ever; but the old Guard was kind to her, and often carried her on his back or in his arms a great way: and after many lone weeks, during which time a great number of the poor soldiers died from suffering and toil, they arrived in France.