1.Humanity in war！Can such a thing be？Do not the two terms contradict each other？For what is war？It has been well described as “the combination of all thehorrors，atrocities，crimes，and sufferings of whichhuman nature is capable.”And what is humanity？It is the sum of all the noblest qualities of the human heart-pity，tenderness，mercy，brotherly love.What room can there be in war for the exercise of these virtues？
2.Yet it is a fact that some of the greatest conquerorshave been the most humaneof men.In the momentof his victory over Pompey，when Romans were driving Romans from the field，Julius C？sar rode hither and thither exclaiming，“Spare，spare the citizens！”And who has not been touched by the picture of Wellington moved to tears as he rode amid the dead and the dying over the field of Waterloo？
3.War does not always harden the soldier’s heart，or crush within it feelings of humanity，even toward his enemies.Nothing in history is more curious，or morecreditable to human nature，than the readiness with which enemies become friendly during a truce，or even in an accidental lull in the fighting.
4.In the American Civil War，a party of Northern soldiers came face to face with a troop of Southerners in front of a farmhouse.When the order to attack was about to be given，a little girl，seeing her pet kitten in danger，rushed from the farmhouse to a tree in the line of fire，and called out，“Kitty，kitty，come down！”The soldiers paused，then they laughed，and then they cheered；and from both sides several men ran forward to help the girl，and to warn her of the danger she was in.After that，fighting was out of the question.Northerners and Southerners were soon exchanging tobacco and sharing their rations in the most friendly way.
5.After the battle of Inkermann，a Russian and a Frenchman，both severely wounded，found them-selves lying side by side.As the cold increased with the advance of night，they drew nearer to each other.Soon the Russian，in spite of his shivering，fell asleep from sheer weakness.When he awoke towards morning，he found himself comfortably wrapped in a second overcoat-in addition to his own-while his French friend lay beside him，dead：needless to ask whose wasthe second overcoat.The Russian carried a button of that coat in his pocket till his dying day.
6.At Waterloo，a Highland soldier，seeing the colour-sergeant of his regiment fall with the flag，rushed forward in the face of a cavalry charge to save his colours.The flag was so fast in the grip of the dead sergeant，that it could not at once be disengaged.The Highlander therefore lifted both man and flag on hisback，and carried them off.The leader of the French cavalry was so struck with the bravery of the deed，that he halted his troop and shouted，“Bravo，Highlander！”
7.The great Napoleon was a man who never hesitated to sacrifice life for the advancement of his own ambition.Yet even Napoleon had his humane moments.During the battle of Austerlitz，when a body of Russians and Austrians were fleeing across a frozen lake，Napoleon ordered his cannon to be fired on the ice so as to break it up.The result was that hundreds were drowned.Next morning，he observed a wounded Russian lyingon a floeof ice near the shore of the lake，and callingpiteously for help.Though the soldier‘s plight was the result of Napoleon’s order，the emperor‘s heart was touched，and he asked his officers to do what they could for the unfortunate man.
8.Several Frenchmen at once plunged into the icy water in order to effect a rescue；but their wet clothes froze，so that they could not swim，and they were themselves rescued with difficulty.Thereupon，two brave young officers，having stripped themselves to the skin，boldly swam out to the ice-floe，and succeeded in pushing it to the shore.The Russian was rescued，andsoon revived，and he showed his gratitude by taking service under the emperor’s flag.His rescuers showed courage surpassing that of the battlefield，in saving the life of an enemy，and one of them contracted an illness by it from which he never completely recovered.
9.The rude game of war is being tempered more and more by the spirit of humanity.Civilized nations have agreed to prohibit the use of explosive bullets，which，like the poisoned arrows of the savage，prolong and aggravate the agonies of the wounded.Humanity has also led to the improvement of appliances for the reliefof the sick and the wounded.The field-hospital withits staff of nurses，and the ambulance-wagonwithits attendant surgeons，are now as important in the equipment of an army as the ammunition-wagon and the field-battery.
10.The most cheering proof，however，of the advanceof civilization is the growing desire of the Great Poweto settle their disputes，not by war，but by arbitration and mutual agreement；and when one thinks of it calmly，the decision of internationaldifferences by war-thatis to say，by the slaughter of hundreds or of thousands of men who have little knowledge of，or interest in，the quarrel-seems to be a savage mode of proceeding，and altogether unworthy of the civilized nations of the world.
1.As we sailed into the harbour of Corunna，on the morning of the 15th of January （1809），we distinctlymade out with our glassesthe twolines of troops；for although the ridge upon which the British were posted lay nearer to the sea，it was of such in-considerable heightcompared with that occupied by the French，that wecould observe the army of the enemy mustering thick along the sky-line，and over-looking ours in a veryominousmanner.
2.When night fell，a double row of fires along the summits of the two hills pointed out the position of the rival hosts.The night proved very dark：and as fresh fuel was piled on the fires，they became obscured for a moment，rising again into a sudden blaze on being stirred up by the groups of soldiers whom we saw，or fancied we saw，standing between us and the light.
3.It will easily be supposed that our curiosity to see the ground，and to talk with the soldiers on the field，was very great.We had small hopes，however，of being allowed to leave the ship at such a time；and I can never cease to feel grateful for the kindness of the captain，who allowed the purserand myself to go on shore.Wewere personally acquainted with several of the officers in the army，whom we hoped to find on the ground；so next day we pushed our way through the town （which was in a shocking state of disorder），and soon found ourselves on the great Madrid road，which cut across the positions of both armies nearly at right angles.
4.As the morning turned out fine，the whole scene looked highly picturesque ；and though painful in many respects，it possessed an uncommon degree of interest.The soldiers lay scattered about，wearied and dispirited，ragged in their dress，and many of them broken down in appearance，by the fatigues of this celebrated retreat；their hands and faces had been rather less familiar with soap and water than with the smoke of their muskets and the charcoal of their cooking fires.Many were sitting on the grass，and gazing every now and then with very wistful eyes toward the ships.
Purser，the naval officer who keeps the accounts of a ship，and has charge of the provisions，etc.
5.When we reached the 95th the well-known riflecorps，I was happy to meet an old friend alive andmerry among the officers of this regiment.These gentlemen appeared in better spirits than most of the others with whom we had conversed.We were surprised，indeed，to find them laughing heartily；and upon asking the cause of their mirth，we were shown a good-sized pig，which the regimental cooks were busily cutting up.It seems that this unfortunate grunter hadbeen disturbed by the French picketsnear the villageof Elvina，just in front of the spot where the 95th were stationed.He had made good his retreat，as he thought，but fell right upon our friends the sharp-shooters.These merry soldiers，delighted with their good luck，pressed us much to stay and partake of their windfall ；but we wished to retrace our steps along a part of the line，so as to gain the road to Corunna，and return on board before sunset.
6.I asked the commanding officer of one of the regiments，stationed near the top of the position，whether he thought anything could possibly rouse the men up.In reply，he said，with a very expressive smileand a slight nod of his head，implying that even then he suspected what was about to take place，“You‘ll see by-and-by，sir，if the French there choose to come over.”
7.These words had hardly been uttered，when amovement along the whole of the enemy’s line be-came apparent.Almost at the same instant a furiouscannonadeopened from a battery mounting elevenguns （eight and twelve pounders），of the existence of which I believe no person on our side had previously had the smallest suspicion，so completely，up to this moment，had it been masked.Had we remained to share the picnic with our friends of the 95th，we musthave partaken，close at hand，of the first salvoshot and grape from the French guns.
8.The effect of these preparatory notes of war was extremely curious.At the first discharge from the French battery，the whole body of the British troops，from one end of the position to the other，started to their feet，snatched up their arms，and formed in line with as much regularity and apparent coolness as if they had been on parade in Hyde Park.I really could scarcely believe my eyes when I beheld these men spring from the ground，full of life and vigour，though but one minute before they had all beenstretched out listlessly in the sun.We could hear a loud hum，and occasionally a jolly shout，and many a peal of laughter，along a distance of nearly a mile.In the midst of these sounds the peculiar sharp “click-click-click”of fixing bayonets fell distinctly on the ear，very ominously.
9.Many thousand stands of new arms had been issued to the troops from the stores at Corunna；and I could observe the men rapping the flints，tightening the screws，and tossing about their firelocks，with the air of veteran sportsmen eager to try their newpieces.Not a single face could now be seen turningtoward the ships，and we found it difficult to obtain an answer to any of our questions.All had become animation and cheerfulness in minds from which，but a short time before，it seemed as if every particle of spirit had fled.
