565. The Great Northern War: Revenge of the Cossacks (Part 2)

I saw his Majesty King Charles the Twelfth a great way off, with a suite of some fifty horsemen, riding along a column of wagons. His Majesty came at last to mine, and inquired who I was. The colonel replied, this is the unfortunate ensigned piper of the guards, whose feet were frostbitten. His Majesty then rode up close beside the wagon and asked me, How is it with you?

I replied, Ill enough, your Majesty, for I cannot stand upon either foot. His Majesty asked, Have you lost part of your feet? I told him that heels and toes were gone, and to this he said, A trifle a trifle and resting his own leg upon the pommel of his saddle, he pointed to half the sole, saying, I have seen men who lost this much of their foot, and when they had stuffed their boot, they walked as well as before. Turning then to the Colonel, his Majesty asked, perhaps he will run again. The Colonel replied, He may thank his god if he can so much as walk he must not think of running.

As his Majesty rode away, he said to the Colonel, He is to be pitied, for he is so young. So that was Ensign Gustav Piper of the Swedish Guards who had lost both his heels and most of his toes to frostbite, talking to Mr. Motivator himself, Charles XII of Sweden, in April 1709. It's a trifle, a trifle. I love that.

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