The statement was made to a reporter at noon on October 5, while he was lying on a mattress4 in the Church of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, so badly wounded in the chest that the surgeons had given him up.
He related his story in the form of a farewell letter to his sister. The reporter chanced to be passing, and, hearing him asking for some one to write for him, volunteered to do so.
"We all did our best," he said, "every one of us.[246] Myself, I was at the barricade for thirteen days—thirteen days of semi-starvation, sleeplessness5, and constant tension, for we knew not, from one moment to another, when a sudden attack might be made upon us. At first our obstruction6 was a mere7 ill-built pile of miscellaneous articles, half of which would not stop bullets; but on the third day our men, superintended by several non-commissioned officers in uniform, began to put the position in a proper state of defence, to mount Maxims8 in the neighbouring houses, and to place explosives in the crown of two of the arches of the bridge, so that we could instantly demolish10 it if necessity arose.
"Fully11 a thousand men were holding the position, but unfortunately few of them had ever handled a rifle. As regards myself, I had learned to shoot rooks when a boy in Shropshire, and now that I had obtained a gun I was anxious to try my skill. When the League of Defenders12 was started, and a local secretary came to us, we all eagerly joined, each receiving, after he had taken his oath and signed his name, a small silk union Jack13, the badge of the League, not to be worn till the word went forth14 to rise.
"Then came a period—long, dreary15, shadeless days of waiting—when the sun beat down upon us mercilessly and our vigilance was required to be constant both night and day. So uncertain were the movements of the enemy opposite us that we scarcely dared to leave our positions for a moment. Night after night I spent sleeping in a neighbouring doorway16, with an occasional stretch upon somebody's bed in some house in the vicinity. Now and then, whenever we saw Germans moving in Wellington Street, we sent a volley into them, in return receiving a sharp reply from their pom-poms. Constantly our sentries17 were on the alert along the wharves18, and in the riverside warehouses19, watching for the approach of the enemy's spies in boats. Almost nightly some adventurous21 spirits among the Germans would try and cross. On one occasion, while doing sentry22 duty in a warehouse20 backing on Commercial Road, I was sitting with a comrade at a window overlooking the river. The moon was shining, for the night was a balmy and beautiful one, and all was quiet. It was about two o'clock in the morning, and as we sat smoking our pipes, with our eyes fixed23 upon the glittering water, we[247] suddenly saw a small boat containing three men stealing slowly along in the shadow.
"For a moment the rowers rested upon their oars24, as if undecided, then pulled forward again in search of a landing-place. As they passed below our window I shouted a challenge. At first there was no response. Again I repeated it, when I heard a muttered imprecation in German.
"'Spies!' I cried to my comrade, and with one accord we raised our rifles and fired. Ere the echo of the first shot had died away I saw one man fall into the water, while at the next shot a second man half rose from his seat, threw up his hands, and staggered back wounded.
"The firing gave the alarm at the barricade, and ere the boat could approach the bridge, though the survivor25 pulled for dear life, a Maxim9 spat26 forth its red fire, and both boat and oarsman were literally27 riddled28.
"Almost every night similar incidents were reported. The enemy were doing all in their power to learn the exact strength of our defences, but I do not think their efforts were very successful. The surface of the river, every inch of it, was under the careful scrutiny29 of a thousand watchful30 eyes.
"Each day the 'Bulletin' of our national association brought us tidings of what was happening outside.
"At last, however, the welcome word came to us on the morning of October 4, that at ten that night we were to make a concerted attack upon the Germans. A scarlet31 bill was thrust into my hand, and as soon as the report was known we were all highly excited, and through the day prepared ourselves for the struggle.
"A gun sounded from the direction of Westminster. We looked at our watches, and found it was ten o'clock. Our bugles32 sounded and we sprang to our positions, as we had done dozens, nay33, hundreds of times before. I felt faint, for I had only had half a pint34 of weak soup all day, for the bread did not go round. Nevertheless, the knowledge that we were about to strike the blow inspired me with fresh life and strength. Our officer shouted a brief word of command, and next moment we opened a withering35 fire upon the enemy's barricade in Wellington Street.
"In a moment a hundred rifles and several Maxims spat their red fire at us, but as usual the bullets flattened[248] themselves harmlessly before us. Then the battery of artillery36 which Sir Francis Bamford had sent us three days before got into position, and in a few moments began hurling37 great shells upon the German defences.
"Behind us was a great armed multitude ready and eager to get at the foe38, a huge, unorganised body of fierce, irate39 Londoners, determined40 upon having blood for blood. From over the river the sound of battle was rising, a great roaring like the sound of a distant sea, with ever and anon the crackling of rifles and the boom of guns, while above the night sky grew a dark blood-red with the glare of a distant conflagration41.
"For half an hour we pounded away at the barricade in Wellington Street with our siege guns, Maxims, and rifles, until a well-directed shell exploded beneath the centre of the obstruction, blowing open a great gap and sending fragments high into the air. Then it seemed that all resistance suddenly ceased. At first we were surprised at this; but on further scrutiny we found that it was not our fire that had routed the enemy, but that they were being attacked in their rear by hosts of armed citizens surging down from Kingsway and the Strand42.
"We could plainly discern that the Germans were fighting for their lives. Into the midst of them we sent one or two shells; but fearing to cause casualties among our own comrades, we were compelled to cease firing.
"The armed crowd behind us, finding that we were again inactive, at once demanded that our barricade should be opened, so that they might cross the bridge and assist their comrades by taking the Germans in the rear. For ten minutes our officer in charge refused, for the order of General Greatorex, Commander-in-Chief of the League, was that no sortie was to be made at present. However, the South Londoners became so infuriated that our commander was absolutely forced to give way, though he knew not into what trap we might fall, as he had no idea of the strength of the enemy in the neighbourhood of the Strand. A way was quickly opened in the obstruction, and two minutes later we were pouring across Waterloo Bridge in thousands, shouting and yelling in triumph as we passed the ruins of the enemy's barricade, and fell upon him with merciless revenge. With us were many women, who were, perhaps, fiercer and more unrelenting than the men. Indeed, many a woman that night killed a German with her[249] own hands, firing revolvers in their faces, striking with knives, or even blinding them with vitriol.
"The scene was both exciting and ghastly. At the spot where I first fought—on the pavement outside the Savoy—we simply slaughtered43 the Germans in cold blood. Men cried for mercy, but we gave them no quarter. London had risen in its might, and as our comrades fought all along the Strand and around Aldwych, we gradually exterminated44 every man in German uniform. Soon the roadways of the Strand, Wellington Street, Aldwych, Burleigh Street, Southampton Street, Bedford Street, and right along to Trafalgar Square, were covered with dead and dying. The wounded of both nationalities were trodden underfoot and killed by the swaying, struggling thousands. The enemy's loss must have been severe in our particular quarter, for of the great body of men from Hamburg and Lübeck holding their end of Waterloo Bridge I do not believe a single one was spared, even though they fought for their lives like veritable devils.
"Our success intoxicated45 us, I think. That we were victorious46 at that point cannot be doubted, but with foolish disregard for our own safety, we pressed forward into Trafalgar Square, in the belief that our comrades were similarly making an attack upon the enemy there. The error was, alas47! a fatal one for many of us. To fight an organised force in narrow streets is one thing, but to meet him in a large open space with many inlets, like Trafalgar Square, is another.
"The enemy were no doubt awaiting us, for as we poured out from the Strand at Charing48 Cross we were met with a devastating49 fire from German Maxims on the opposite side of the square. They were holding Whitehall—to protect Von Kronhelm's headquarters—the entrances to Spring Gardens, Cockspur Street, and Pall50 Mall East, and their fire was converged51 upon the great armed multitude which, being pressed on from behind, came out into the open square only to fall in heaps beneath the sweeping52 hail of German lead.
"The error was one that could not be rectified53. We all saw it when too late. There was no turning back now, I struggled to get into the small side-street that runs down by the bar of the Grand Hotel, but it was blocked with people already in refuge there.
"Another instant and I was lifted from my legs by the[250] great throng54 going to their doom55, and carried right in the forefront to the square. Women screamed when they found themselves facing the enemy's fire.
"The scene was awful—a massacre56, nothing more or less. For every German's life we had taken, a dozen of our own were now being sacrificed.
"A woman was pushed close to me, her grey hair streaming down her back, her eyes starting wildly from her head, her bony hands smeared57 with blood. Suddenly she realised that right before her red fire was spitting from the German guns.
"Screaming in despair, she clung frantically58 to me.
"I felt next second a sharp burning pain in my chest.... We fell forward together upon the bodies of our comrades.... When I came to myself I found myself here, in this church, close to where I fell."
On that same night desperate sorties were made from the London, Southwark, and Blackfriars Bridges, and terrible havoc59 was committed by the Defenders.
The German losses were enormous, for the South Londoners fought like demons60 and gave no quarter.
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1
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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barricade
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| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
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mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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sleeplessness
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| n.失眠，警觉 | |
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obstruction
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| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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8
maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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10
demolish
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| v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等) | |
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11
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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12
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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13
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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14
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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15
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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16
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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17
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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18
wharves
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| n.码头，停泊处( wharf的名词复数 ) | |
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19
warehouses
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| 仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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20
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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21
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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22
sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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23
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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24
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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25
survivor
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| n.生存者，残存者，幸存者 | |
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26
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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28
riddled
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| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
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29
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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30
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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31
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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32
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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33
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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34
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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35
withering
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| 使人畏缩的，使人害羞的，使人难堪的 | |
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36
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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37
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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38
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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39
irate
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| adj.发怒的，生气 | |
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40
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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41
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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42
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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43
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45
intoxicated
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| 喝醉的，极其兴奋的 | |
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46
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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47
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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48
charing
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| n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣 | |
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49
devastating
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| adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的 | |
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50
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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51
converged
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| v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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52
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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53
rectified
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| [医]矫正的，调整的 | |
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54
throng
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| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
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55
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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56
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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57
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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58
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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59
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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60
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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