India 2001 books

You find a more active man than yourself just above you; he is already
nearly at the top of the bank, his feet are stuck in the sods above your
head; he is about to spring upon the rampart, when the bayonet of a
republican passes through his breast, and he falls at your feet, or
perhaps upon your head. You feel your heart shudder, and your blood runs
cold, but it is no time for pausing now; you could not return if you
would, neither can you remain where you are: up you go, grasping your
musket in one hand and digging the other into the loose sods. Your eyes
and mouth are crammed with dust, your face is bespattered with your
comrade's blood, your ears are full of strange noises; your very nature
changes within you; the smell of gunpowder and of carnage makes you feel
like a beast of prey. You do not think any longer of the friends who
have fallen beside you; you only long to grapple with the enemy who are
before you."
"Oh, mercy me! how very shocking!" said the housekeeper. "Pray don't
go on Chapeau; pray don't, or I shall have such horrid dreams.


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