While Thus Occupied A Round Shot Struck Him Full
In The Face, And Simply Left Him Headless.
Another accident, partly due to an ignorance of dynamics,
happened at the taking of Canton.
The whole of the naval
brigade was commanded by Sir Thomas Bouchier. Our men were
lying under the ridge of a hill protected from the guns on
the city walls. Fully exposed to the fire, which was pretty
hot, 'old Tommy' as we called him, paced to and fro with
contemptuous indifference, stopping occasionally to spy the
enemy with his long ship's telescope. A number of
bluejackets, in reserve, were stationed about half a mile
further off at the bottom of the protecting hill. They were
completely screened from the fire by some buildings of the
suburbs abutting upon the slope. Those in front were
watching the cannon-balls which had struck the crest and were
rolling as it were by mere force of gravitation down the
hillside. Some jokes were made about football, when suddenly
a smart and popular young officer - Fox, first lieutenant of
one of the brigs - jumped out at one of these spent balls,
which looked as though it might have been picked up by the
hands, and gave it a kick. It took his foot off just above
the ankle. There was no surgeon at hand, and he was bleeding
to death before one could be found. Sir Thomas had come down
the hill, and seeing the wounded officer on the ground with a
group around him, said in passing, 'Well, Fox, this is a bad
job, but it will make up the pair of epaulets, which is
something.'
'Yes sir,' said the dying man feebly, 'but without a pair of
legs.' Half an hour later he was dead.
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