t a calibre" noticed one gunner, "that's the calibre for me!"
"that's no peashooter!"

I started measuring the muzzle of the cannon, and the soldiers repeated:
"those jaws are no joke!"

Then, when we started examining the harness, then again they called as a
choir: "Oh, what sturdy straps those cursed Muscovites have!"

Nobody will guess in the end, what caused us the greatest joy; it was none
other than ordinary oats, taken as spoils. Our cavalry didn't have any
more fodder, but the Muscovites had it in ample amounts; their wagons,
caissons, gun carriages even, were full of oats. Soldiers rushed on them
hungrily, filling sacks with them, cartridge cases, pockets, and saying
that they had never seen such beautiful oats.

The leader rode up and at the sight of him a shout of enthusiasm and
worship thundered. Perhaps he was very tired, because despite a cool day,
sweat flowed from him in drops.

We surrounded him in a dense crowd. Amid the general commotion and bursts
of joy, he alone was calm and silent, though visibly moved.

"My children," he said to us, "I promised to lead you to the enemy; you
promised to beat him--and so both you and I have kept our words."

Such was our memorable day at Stoczek. With night falling stories began by
the camp's bonfires, there were no listeners, because everyone spoke;
everyone bravely acquitted themselves in battle, everyone had
jokes--because everyone was happy.

If that blessed hour comes to me, that I can again fight for my country,
to see the Muscovite army in panic, to seek out my beloved eight pounder
and to hurl cannon balls from it at golden roofs of the Tsarist capital
city, then I will call myself happy; but even then I wouldn't be able to
feel that, which I experienced in the first battle, in the memorable
Battle of Stoczek.

1 1831.

2 A soldier of the Cracovian cavalary. "Krakus" is an alternative name
of _Krak_, the legendary founder of Cracow, and is used to refer to
an inhabitant of the city.

3 A type of tunic, of Turkish influence, typical of Cracow.

4 The first line of "Dabrowski's Mazurka", now the National Anthem of
Poland.

5 Untranslatable: Mateusz here uses the non-human form, echoing his
earlier use of "beasts"

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY FIRST BATTLE***

CREDITS

March 7, 2009

Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1
Translated by Jimmy