Introduction
Early in the Battle of Waterloo on June 18th, 1815, the Union Brigade inflicted heavy losses on the French guns and then withdrew, shielded by Colonel William Ponsonby’s 12th Light Dragoons. But then 300 Polish lancers, French allies, rode up. There was a crush. The French fired indiscriminately. In minutes, Ponsonby had lost the use of his arms, his sword and his reins. Then with the flash of a sabre he was down.
RECOVERING, I raised myself a little to look round, being at that time, I believe, in a condition to get up and run away; when a lancer, passing by, cried out, ‘Tu n’est pas mort, coquin!’* and struck his lance through my back. My head dropped, the blood gushed into my mouth, a difficulty of breathing came on, and I thought all was over.
Not long afterwards (it was impossible to measure time, but I must have fallen in less than ten minutes after the onset), a tirailleur* stopped to plunder me, threatening my life. I directed him to a small side-pocket, in which he found three dollars,* all I had; but he continued to threaten, and I said he might search me: this he did immediately, unloosing my stock and tearing open my waistcoat, and leaving me in a very uneasy posture.
But he was no sooner gone than an officer bringing up some troops, to which probably the tirailleur belonged, and happening to halt where I lay, stooped down and addressed me, saying he feared I was badly wounded; I said that I was, and expressed a wish to be removed to the rear.
* ‘You’re not dead, rascal!’ This was shortly after 2.15pm on June 18th, when the Union Brigade attacked the French artillery. See a timeline of the battle at the Royal Armouries Collection.
* A sharpshooter.
* Large numbers of Spanish coins worth eight reales (‘pieces of eight’) were seized during the Napoleonic Wars. Some were overstruck (re-embossed) as crowns, worth five-shillings, for the Bank of England. They were popularly called dollars.
Précis
Minutes into an assault on the French artillery, Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was cut down from his horse and run through by a lancer. To his surprise he did not die, but he was easy prey for a French sharpshooter, who robbed him. A short time later, a French officer found him and asked sympathetically after his wounds. (57 / 60 words)
Minutes into an assault on the French artillery, Colonel Frederick Ponsonby was cut down from his horse and run through by a lancer. To his surprise he did not die, but he was easy prey for a French sharpshooter, who robbed him. A short time later, a French officer found him and asked sympathetically after his wounds.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, may, must, otherwise, ought, until, whereas, whether.
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