HE said it was against their orders to remove even their own men; but that if they gained the day (and he understood that the Duke of Wellington was killed,* and that some of our battalions had surrendered), every attention in his power would be shown me. I complained of thirst, and he held his brandy-bottle to my lips, directing one of the soldiers to lay me straight on my side, and place a knapsack under my head. He then passed on into action — soon, perhaps, to want, though not receive, the same assistance; and I shall never know to whose generosity I was indebted, as I believe, for my life.
By and by another tirailleur came up, a fine young man, full of ardour. He knelt down and fired over me many times, conversing with me all the while.* At last he ran off, exclaiming, ‘You will probably not be sorry to hear that we are going to retreat. Good-day, my friend’.
It was dusk, when two squadrons of Prussian cavalry,* each of them two deep, came across the valley, and passed over me in full trot, lifting me from the ground, and tumbling me about cruelly.*
Abridged
* This rumour was, of course, unfounded: Wellington saw the battle through to the end. See also Wellington’s Cook.
* The Frenchman kept up a breezy commentary on his targets and the progress of the battle — no more reliable, presumably, than the reports brought by the French officer a few moments earlier. It must have been galling to the Englishman to have to listen to it.
* The Prussians were allies of the British, and played a decisive role in the outcome of the battle. The size of a squadron varies but each one would be likely to have around 120 to 150 horses in it.
* By now it was about nine or ten in the evening and the battle was mostly over. However, Ponsonby’s long day was not. A badly-wounded English soldier crawled over his legs and lay there in a distressing state. A Prussian came by and rifled his pockets. At eleven, an English soldier happened by, ‘on the same errand’ as Ponsonby wearily supposed: but on learning that his mark was an officer, and on hearing the promise of a reward, he decided instead to stand guard over the fallen hero. Ponsonby was picked up at six the following morning, almost sixteen hours after he was first wounded, and taken to Waterloo where his treatment for seven distinct wounds included a surgical blood-letting of 6 pints (3.4 litres) spread over two days. Astonishingly, he survived.
Précis
The kindly French officer gave Ponsonby some brandy and eased his posture, but could not take him to safety and duty called him away. Ponsonby then had to endure spell as a rest for a cocky French sharpshooter, and even as the battle was ending a squadron of Prussian cavalry (his own side) trampled negligently over him. (57 / 60 words)
The kindly French officer gave Ponsonby some brandy and eased his posture, but could not take him to safety and duty called him away. Ponsonby then had to endure spell as a rest for a cocky French sharpshooter, and even as the battle was ending a squadron of Prussian cavalry (his own side) trampled negligently over him.
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: about, although, if, or, unless, until, whether, who.
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Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Complain. Cruel. Time.
2 Although. Power. Trot.
3 One. Plunder. Soldier.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Opposites Find in Think and Speak
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the words below. We have suggested some possible answers; see if you can find any others.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations: 1.instead of opposites, suggest words of similar meaning (synonyms). 2.use a word and its opposite in the same sentence. 3.suggest any 5 opposites formed by adding dis-.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
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