and thrust into a neighbouring great gun: from the want of his
_peepers_ he made a random shot, and killed the horse on which Lord
Lake was riding--his Lordship saluted the sod."

B.--"I recollect it perfectly; for the nose of the said sergeant
(recognised by sundry carbuncles) was so hard, that the following day
it was extracted from the abdomen of the unfortunate animal."

C.--"You make a mistake about the nose; it was discovered lodged in a
loaf in a corporal's knapsack; the man could swear to it, for it was
perforated by three balls, and otherwise curiously marked. Report said
that a shell had once blown it completely off, and that it was
stitched on again by a shoe-maker, who, ever after, went by the name
of the _nosy_ cobbler."

B.--"Nothing impossible. It reminds me of a story somewhat as strange:
During the battle of Delhi there was a quarter-master in the regiment,
a queer fellow, who was never at a loss; (he is now in the corps, and
can vouch for my statement) he was charging at the head of his
squadron, when he caught a cannon shot in his hands: instantly
dismounting, he chucked the ball into a field-piece, but, for want of
a ramrod, he drove it home with his head. One of the enemy, seeing him
thus zealously occupied, fired off the gun; strange to tell he was not
killed! From constant exposure to the sun, in search of toddy, and
from the free use of cocoa-nut oil, his head had become proof against
shot. The distance from the place whence he was projected, to that
where he was picked up, measured three miles, two furlongs, three
yards, and eleven inches. A hard-headed fellow, Sir.--In his career he
upset his colonel and a brace of captains."