147 Major M’Intosh commanded, Dyas led the forlorn hope, and Forster, of the Engineers, guided the party.

148 The French united corps amounted to sixty thousand infantry, and seven thousand six hundred dragoons. The allied force had probably fifty-five thousand infantry, and some four thousand cavalry. As only a portion of the latter arm was British, in quality, as well as numbers, it was much inferior to the French.

149 “Nothing but the greatest discipline, the most undaunted bravery and a firm reliance on their officers, could have saved those devoted soldiers from total annihilation. They were attacked, with a fury unexampled, on three sides of the square; the French horsemen rode upon their bayonets; but, unshaken by the desperate position in which they were placed, they poured in their fire with such quickness and precision, that the cavalry retired in disorder.”

“At the charge made by the whole of the French cavalry at El Bodon on the square formed by the 5th and 77th regiments, a French officer had his horse shot under him, and both fell together. The officer, although not much hurt, lay on the ground as if dead, and in this situation would, in all probability, have escaped, as the French infantry were fast advancing to the relief of their cavalry, had it not been for a German hussar, one squadron of whom were engaged in the conflict, who rode up to the spot, and made a cut at the officer lying on the ground; on which, he immediately sprang up, and, with his sword at the guard, set the German at defiance. Another of the King’s German hussars then galloped up, and desired the French officer to surrender, which he refused to do. The appearance of the officer in this position was truly heroic: he stood without his cap; his head was bare, and some marks of blood were on his face. From the fine attitude he presented, and being a tall, athletic man, he strongly impressed the beholders with the belief that he would defend himself against both the hussars. At this time, Ensign Canch, of the 5th, ran out of the square, and was proceeding rapidly to the place, in the hope of inducing the officer to surrender himself a prisoner; but the hussars, finding they were baffled, and could not subdue this brave man with the sword, had recourse to the pistol, with which they killed him, to the great regret of the British regiments that were looking on. This affair took place about halfway between the square already mentioned and the French cavalry, who were hovering about, after being repulsed by the 5th and 77th regiments.

“We were informed by a prisoner taken at the time, that the officer who defended himself so gallantly against the two hussars, was an Irishman, and the major of his regiment.”—Reminiscences of a Subaltern.

150 “Marmont contented himself with making an exhibition of his force, and causing it to execute a variety of manœuvres in our presence; and it must be confessed, that a spectacle more striking has rarely been seen. The large body of cavalry which followed us to our position, and had bivouacked during the night in the woods adjoining, were first drawn up in compact array, as if waiting for the signal to push on. By and by, nine battalions of infantry, attended by a proportionate quantity of artillery, made their appearance, and formed into columns, lines, echelons, and squares. Towards noon, twelve battalions of the Imperial Guard came upon the ground in one solid mass; and as each soldier was decked out with feathers and shoulder-knots of a bloody hue, their appearance was certainly imposing in no ordinary degree. The solid column, however, soon deployed into columns of battalions—a movement which was executed with a degree of quickness and accuracy quite admirable; and then, after having performed several other evolutions with equal precision, the Guards piled their arms, and prepared to bivouac. Next came another division of infantry in rear of the Guards, and then a fresh column of cavalry, till it was computed that the enemy had collected on this single point a force of not less than twenty-five thousand men. Nor did the muster cease to go on as long as daylight lasted. To the very latest moment we could observe men, horses, guns, carriages, tumbrils, and ammunition-waggons, flocking into the encampment; as if it were the design of the French general to bring his whole disposable force to bear against the position of Fuente Guinaldo.”—Lord Londonderry.

151 “The French batteries opened at daylight on the 28th June, and by ten o’clock a practicable breach was formed: the besiegers then appeared perfectly quiet, firing only an occasional round or two; but when the heat of the day was a little past, they suddenly rushed to the assault. The defenders made but a slight resistance, and in a few minutes the French columns were in the streets, and immediately gave loose to every species of licentiousness. Some thousands of the citizens perished by individual atrocity; whilst a continued fire from the batteries swept away crowds of trembling fugitives, who fled to the sea-side and sought refuge in the boats of the squadron. The British seamen gallantly rescued many within reach of the very sabres of the enemy’s dragoons, who charged amongst the defenceless mass, cutting and slashing in every direction. In a word it was a French army licensed to pursue its own inclinations; and scenes such as are read with distrust in the ancient historians, are attested by some thousand witnesses yet alive to have been acted here.”—Jones’s Account of the War.

General Suchet’s own statement is as follows: “The rage of the soldiers was increased by the obstinacy of the garrison, who expected to be relieved, and who were prepared to sally out. The fiftieth assault made yesterday in the middle of the day to the inner works was followed by a frightful massacre, with little loss on our side. The terrible example, which I foresaw with regret in my last report to your Highness, has taken place, and will be long remembered in Spain. Four thousand men were killed in the streets; ten or twelve thousand attempted to save themselves by getting over the walls, a thousand of whom were sabred or drowned; we have made 10,000 prisoners, including 500 officers, and in the hospitals remain 1,500 wounded, whose lives have been spared.”

152 The duration of the siege was seventeen days, and for seven the breach had been perfectly open.

153 Lord Londonderry.

154 The probability of hitting the same object at different ranges, with the same gun, may be considered to be in the inverse ratio of the distances respectively; the advantage, however, being always in favour of guns at or under the line of metal.

The probabilities of hitting objects of various size, the gun and range being the same, are somewhat in the ratio of the square roots of the surfaces fired at.

Of any given number of rounds, with 24-pounders of nine feet six inches, under favourable circumstances, the range being accurately ascertained, the object on, or nearly on, a level with the gun—the traverse or trunnion—axis of the gun—being horizontal, the following proportion of shot may be expected to hit without grazing:

Ranges of a 32-pounder long gun, 9½ feet, charge 10 lbs. 11 oz. powder, single shot, initial velocity 1600 feet.

Elevation in Degrees.
RL | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 2 | 2½ | 3 | 3½ | 4 | 4½ | 5 | 5½ | 6

Range in Yards.
100 | 390 | 670 | 900 | 1000 | 1250 | 1390 | 1515 | 1630 | 1740 | 1850
1955 | 2055

First Differences.
280 | 230 | 190 | 160 | 140 | 125 | 115 | 110 | 110 | 105 | 100

Second Differences.
50 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5

155 The beautiful artillery practice at this siege was attributed to an accidental circumstance,—the shot brought from Almeida to the batteries, being of a larger size than that which is commonly employed; consequently the windage was diminished, and the firing became so singularly correct, that every shot struck the wall with a precision which ordinary bullets, discharged from the same gun and with equal care, could not effect.

156 General Craufurd entered the army at an early age, and had seen much and varied service. In the short interval of peace, he visited the Continent to improve himself in the scientific branches of his profession, and afterwards served in two Indian campaigns under Lord Cornwallis. After some unimportant employments on the Continent, he joined the disgraceful expedition against Buenos Ayres, and subsequently served with the army of Sir John Moore, in command of the light brigade. After the retreat, he joined Sir Arthur Wellesley the morning after Talavera, and became most deservedly a favourite of that commander.

Craufurd’s military talents are admitted to have been of the first order. An enthusiast regarding martial glory, he sought every opportunity to distinguish himself. In the affair of the Coa—at Busaco and Fuentes d’Onoro, he established an undying reputation. Wellington’s despatch contained his well-earned eulogy—and the breach before which he fell was fitly chosen as a last resting-place for the fearless leader of the gallant light brigade.

The following very able sketch of the respective dispositions and abilities of Craufurd and Picton, places their characters in a striking light. We agree with Colonel Napier, in awarding to Craufurd the possession of higher military talents than Picton ever exhibited—and we are convinced, had both lived, and both been employed in active service, that Craufurd would have shewed himself the abler officer. To compare either to Wellington, is nothing but egregious folly. Both undoubtedly were brave, ready, and intelligent—but to name them with the master-spirit of the age, is an act of very injudicious friendship.

“Picton and Craufurd were, however, not formed by nature to act cordially together. The stern countenance, robust frame, saturnine complexion, caustic speech, and austere demeanour of the first, promised little sympathy with the short thick figure, dark flashing eyes, quick movements, and fiery temper of the second; nor, indeed, did they often meet without a quarrel. Nevertheless, they had many points of resemblance in their characters and fortunes. Both were inclined to harshness, and rigid in command; both prone to disobedience, yet exacting entire submission from inferiors; and they were alike ambitious and craving of glory. They both possessed decided military talents—were enterprising, and intrepid; yet neither were remarkable for skill in handling troops under fire. This, also, they had in common, they both, after distinguished services, perished in arms fighting gallantly, and being celebrated as generals of division while living, have since their death been injudiciously spoken of as rivalling their great leader in war. That they were officers of mark and pretension is unquestionable, and Craufurd more so than Picton, because the latter never had a separate command, and his opportunities were necessarily more circumscribed; but to compare either to the Duke of Wellington, displays ignorance of the men, and of the art they professed. If they had even comprehended the profound military and political combinations he was conducting, the one would carefully have avoided fighting on the Coa, and the other, far from refusing, would have eagerly proffered his support.”—Napier.

157 General Mackinnon was the younger son of the chieftain of Clan Mackinnon. He was born near Winchester, and commenced his military education in France. At fifteen he entered the army, served three years as lieutenant in the 43rd, raised an independent company, and exchanged into the Coldstream Guards. In Ireland he was brigade-major to General Nugent, and served at the Helder, in Egypt, and at Copenhagen. In 1809, he joined Sir Arthur Wellesley, was present at the passage of the Douro, and had two horses killed at Talavera. At Busaco he received thanks upon the field—and after some sharp affairs with the French rear-guard during Massena’s retreat, led the last charge in person at Fuentes d’Onoro, which left the British in undisputed possession of the field.

In Mackinnon’s character there was no trait wanting to form the perfect soldier. To the highest intellectual endowments, he united, “a gentle manner, with a dauntless soul.” Married to a woman worthy of a brave man’s love, his passion for military glory had allowed him little space to enjoy that quiet happiness that generally waits on wedded life. His selected profession demanded the sacrifice—a command was offered—he accepted it, and left a happy home. At last his health declined—a change of air was recommended—he reluctantly consented to leave the Peninsula for a season—and, for the last time, revisited England.

Walking one evening in the garden, his lady led him to a spot where, with all a woman’s pride, she had planted a laurel to commemorate every action in which her beloved one had been victorious. Mackinnon, deeply affected, turned away, whispering, “Alas! love, the cypress will be the next!”

No leader was ever more deeply regretted. The brigade immediately under his command adored him; and those who survived the explosion, dug a grave inside the breach, and there hastily entombed the body of their gallant general. After the confusion ceased, the officers of the Coldstream Guards raised his honoured remains, and interred them at Espeja with military honours.

But this lamented chief found a mourner even in an enemy. During Mackinnon’s earlier residence in France, Napoleon, then a military student in Dauphine, formed an intimacy with the family of the deceased. Consequently, he became a regular visitor at their chateau, and it would appear, that in after-days of pride and power, he never forgot the hospitality offered to him, when he was but a nameless cadet. At the peace of Amiens he invited the family to visit France—and when he heard Mackinnon named among those who had fallen at Ciudad Rodrigo, it is said that Napoleon betrayed unwonted regret at the decease of a youthful friend, who seemed to hold a place in earlier affections, before war and conquest had “steeled his heart, and seared his brow.”

158 “The letter in question was dated from Merida, at a period posterior to the relief of Badajoz, and the consequent retrogression of our divisions. It began by informing his Excellency the Prince of Neufchatel, that having succeeded, in conjunction with the Duke of Dalmatia, in raising the siege of Badajoz, the writer had since directed his undivided attention to the reorganization and re-establishment of discipline in the army of Portugal. The system of requisitions, and the irregularity of supply, had been carried, it was continued, to so great a height, that the army was become little better than a rabble of banditti; nor could any thing be attempted, with the slightest prospect of success, till the method should be entirely changed, and the troops provided and paid in such a manner as to render them both contented and manageable. To accomplish this the marshal was then devising plans; and he earnestly pressed for instructions and assistance from the Emperor in carrying them into execution.

“In addition to this despatch from Marmont, a letter from General Tresion, chief of the staff, was likewise intercepted; but it contained little calculated to interest, except an explicit declaration that the French troops were unable to cope with the English, and that their best chance of success lay in manœuvring.”—Lord Londonderry.

159 “The first men that surmounted the difficulties the breach presented, were a sergeant and two privates of the 88th. The French, who still remained beside the gun, whose sweeping fire had hitherto been so fatal to those who led the storm, attacked these brave men furiously—a desperate hand-to-hand encounter succeeded. The Irishmen, undaunted by the superior number of their assailants, laid five or six of the gunners at their feet. The struggle was observed—and some soldiers of the 5th regiment scrambled up to the assistance of their gallant comrades—and the remnant of the French gunners perished by their bayonets.

“Lieutenant Mackie, who led the forlorn hope, had miraculously escaped without a wound—and pressing ‘over the dying and the dead,’ he reached the further bank of the retrenchment, and found himself in solitary possession of the street beyond the breach, while the battle still raged behind him.”D

The following anecdote is descriptive of those personal affairs that the mêlée attendant on the first entrance of a defended town so frequently produces. The actor, since dead, was a personal and an attached friend of the author.

“Each affray in the streets was conducted in the best manner the moment would admit of, and decided more by personal valour than discipline, and in some instances officers as well as privates had to combat with the imperial troops. In one of those encounters, Lieutenant George Faris, of the 88th, by an accident so likely to occur in an affair of this kind, separated a little too far from a dozen or so of his regiment, found himself opposed to a French soldier, who apparently was similarly placed: it was a curious coincidence, and it would seem as if each felt that he individually was the representative of the country to which he belonged; and had the fate of the two nations hung upon the issue of the combat I am about to describe, it could not have been more heroically contested. The Frenchman fired at, and wounded Faris in the thigh, and made a desperate push with his bayonet at his body, but Faris parried the thrust, and the bayonet only lodged in his leg; he saw at a glance the peril of his situation, and that nothing short of a miracle could save him; the odds against him were too great, and if he continued a scientific fight, he must inevitably be vanquished; he sprang forward, and seizing hold of the Frenchman by the collar, a struggle of a most nervous kind took place; in their mutual efforts to gain an advantage, they lost their caps, and as they were men of nearly equal strength, it was doubtful what the issue would be. They were so entangled with each other, their weapons were of no avail, but Faris at length disengaged himself from the grasp which held him, and he was able to use his sabre; he pushed the Frenchman from him, and ere he could recover himself, he laid his head open nearly to the chin; his sword-blade, a heavy, soft, ill-made Portuguese one, was doubled up with the force of the blow, and retained some pieces of skull and clotted hair! At this moment I reached the spot with about twenty men, composed of different regiments, all being by this time mixed pell-mell with each other. I ran up to Faris—he was nearly exhausted, but he was safe. The French grenadier lay upon the pavement, while Faris, though tottering from fatigue, held his sword firmly in his grasp, and it was crimsoned to the very hilt.”—Grattan.

It is strange how the lighter occurrences of human life ridiculously intermingle with its graver concerns. An officer with a shattered leg crawled into the corner of a traverse to avoid the rush of friends and foes, each equally fatal. Presently the contest changed from his neighbourhood, and the adjacent streets were deserted.

An hour passed—none disturbed his melancholy rest—when a footstep was heard, and an 88th man staggered round the corner with a bundle of sundry articles he had managed to collect. Unable to get further, he placed it beneath his head—fixed his bayonet—and lay down to sleep in peace. In a few moments a Portuguese camp-follower peeped round the corner, looked suspiciously about, substituted a truss of straw for the bundle, and absconded with the plunder the drunken Ranger had, as he imagined, so carefully secured.

DThe selection of anecdotes connected with an Irish regiment might appear a national partiality: but at this period of the campaign the Rangers had been heavily engaged. Their casualties, from the investment of Rodrigo to the fall of Badajoz—six-and-twenty days—amounted to twenty-five officers and five hundred and fifty-six men!

160 “Ill as I was, in common with many others, who, like myself, lay wounded, and were unable to accompany our friends, I arose from my truss of straw to take a parting look at the remnant of my regiment as it mustered on the parade; but, in place of upwards of seven hundred gallant soldiers, and six-and-twenty officers, of the former there were not three hundred, and of the latter but five!

“The drums of the division beat a ruffle; the officers took their stations; the bands played; the soldiers cheered; and, in less than half an hour, the spot which, since the 17th of the preceding month, had been a scene of the greatest excitement, was now a lone and deserted waste, having no other occupants than disabled or dying officers and soldiers, or the corpses of those that had fallen in the strife. The contrast was indeed great, and of that cast that made the most unreflecting think, and the reflecting feel. The sound of the drums died away; the division was no longer visible, except by the glittering of their firelocks: at length we lost sight of even this; and we were left alone, like so many outcasts, to make the best of our way to the hospitals in Badajoz.”—Grattan, Reminiscences, &c.

161 Fascines are small branches of trees bound together. They are used for filling ditches, masking batteries, &c. &c.

162 A work on either side of a ravelin, with one perpendicular face. They are also sometimes thrown up beyond the second ditch, opposite the places of arms.

163 “The town of Badajoz contains a population of about 16,000, and, within the space of thirteen months, experienced the miseries attendant upon a state of siege three several times. The first was undertaken by Lord Beresford, towards the end of April, 1811, who was obliged to abandon operations by Soult advancing to its relief, and which led to the battle of Albuera on the 16th of May.

“The second siege was by Lord Wellington in person, who, after the battle of Fuentes d’Onoro, directed his steps towards the south with a portion of the allied army. Operations commenced on the 30th of May, and continued till the 10th of June, when the siege was again abandoned; Soult having a second time advanced in combined operation with the army of Marmont from the north. The allies continued the blockade of the town till the 17th, when they recrossed the Guadiana, and took up a position on the Caya.

“The third siege, again undertaken by Lord Wellington in person, was begun on the 17th of March, 1812, and continued without interruption till the 6th of April, when it fell by assault, after a most determined and gallant resistance on the part of the French.”—Mackie.

164 Counterguards are small ramparts, with parapets and ditches, erected in front of a bastion or ravelin, to secure the opposite flanks from being open to the covert-way.

165 Gabions are large circular baskets, filled with earth or sand, and used for forming parapets, covering working parties, &c. &c.

166 Revêtement of a battery is the exterior front, formed of masonry or fascines, which keeps the bank of the work from falling.

167 The reader, who may not be acquainted with terms used by engineers, will find a brief explanation of those of frequent recurrence serviceable.

The glacis is the part beyond the covert-way to which it forms the parapet.

The flank is any part of a work which defends another.

The epaule is the shoulder of the bastion.

The gorge is next the body of the place where there is no rampart.

Fougasse is a small mine, six or seven feet under ground, generally formed in the glacis or dry ditch.

Curtain, the wall that connects bastions.

168 Retrench, in fortification, means the isolating of a breach by forming inner defences; as cutting a trench, palisading, erecting barricades, &c.

169 Chevaux-de-frieze, are wooden spars, spiked at one end, and set into a piece of timber. They were originally used as a defence against cavalry, but are now commonly employed in strengthening outworks, stopping breaches, &c.

170 “A general officer had one of the soldiers’ wives stripped of her under petticoat, by the provost, of which he had got an inkling, either by secret information, or by its obtruding itself on his notice, from being of red velvet bordered with gold-lace six inches deep, evidently the covering of a communion-table.”—A Campaigner.

171 “The Bivouac.”

172

“G. O.
“Camp before Badajoz, 7th April 1812.

“It is now full time that the plunder of Badajoz should cease.”

“G. O.

2. “The Commander of the Forces has ordered the provost-marshal into the town; he has orders to execute any men he may find in the act of plunder after he shall arrive there.”

“G. O.
“Camp before Badajoz, 8th April 1812.

3. “The Commander of the Forces is sorry to learn, that the brigade in Badajoz, instead of being a protection to the people, plunder them more than those who stormed the town.

6. “The Commander of the Forces calls upon the staff-officers of the army, and the commanding and other officers of regiments, to assist him in putting an end to the disgraceful scenes of drunkenness and plunder, which are going on in Badajoz.”

“G. O.
“Fuente Guinaldo, 10th June 1812.

7. “The Commander of the Forces is sorry to observe, that the outrages so frequently committed by soldiers when absent from their regiments, and the disgraceful scenes which have occurred upon the storming of Badajoz, have had the effect of rendering the people of the country enemies instead of friends to the army.”

173 “On entering the cathedral I saw three British soldiers literally drowned in brandy. A spacious vault had been converted into a spirit depôt for the garrison; the casks had been perforated by musket-balls, and their contents escaping, formed a pool of some depth. These men becoming intoxicated, had fallen head foremost into the liquor, and were suffocated as I found them.”—Table Talk of a Campaigner.

174 “At the period of the re-capture of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, Buonaparte stood on the pinnacle of fame and power: his empire stretched from the Elbe to the Pyrenees, and from the shores of the northern to those of the Adriatic Sea: whilst throughout all continental Europe his military supremacy was admitted and feared. As proof of the latter assertion, it need only be recalled to memory, that the various arbitrary decrees which, in the arrogance of uncontrolled authority, he from time to time issued, to cramp and confine the industry of the world, were obeyed without a hostile movement. The powerful and the weak equally yielded them a full though reluctant compliance: even Russia, doubly secured against his interference by her immense extent and distant situation, deemed it prudent to submit; till at length the prosperity of her empire being threatened by a long adhesion, she endeavoured, by friendly representations, to obtain an exemption. These failing in effect, the discussion had, at this time, assumed the character of angry remonstrance, the usual precursor of war; but, as a long series of overbearing conduct and insulting replies had failed to drive her into open resistance, it cannot be doubted that it depended on Buonaparte, by conciliatory and friendly attention, to preserve her as an ally. No external interference, or the apprehension of it, therefore, existed, to divert his attention from the affairs of Spain; and the impartial historian, of whatever country he may be, is bound to record, that those brilliant triumphs over the French armies were obtained by the Portuguese and British, when Buonaparte was in amity with all the rest of the world, and his military empire in the zenith of its strength and glory.”—Jones’s Account of the War.

175 The numbers, French and English, were about two thousand sabres each.

176 Marshal Beresford disbanded these regiments for their cowardice, and had a few of the runaways tried and executed at Coimbra.

177 The bridge at Alcantara had been rendered impassable by the blowing up of one of the arches. The ingenuity displayed by the engineers in rendering it available for the passage of an army, was most creditable to that department.

178 Têtes-des-ponts are thrown up to cover a communication across a river, and favour the movements of an army advancing into, or retreating from, an enemy’s country. The form, size, and strength of a tête-du-pont must be entirely regulated by locality and circumstances. A tête-du-pont may be composed of a horn-work defended by batteries on the opposite bank—or it may be a half square fort with bastions—or half a star fort—or redoubts disposed to flank each other.

179 “Coming from Castile, the traveller descends from this ridge into a country, where, for the first time, the gum-cistus appears as lord of the waste; the most beautiful of all shrubs in the Peninsula for the profusion of its delicate flowers, and one of the most delightful for the rich balsamic odour which its leaves exude under a southern sun, but which overspreads such extensive tracts, where it suffers nothing else to grow, that in many parts both of Portugal and Spain, it becomes the very emblem of desolation.”—Southey.

180 Leith Hay’s account of the destruction of the bridge differs from Southey’s. “Those who first succeeded in gaining the right bank cut away the three boats nearest to that end of the bridge, by which means the survivors of the garrisons of Fort Napoleon and the tête-du-pont were prevented escaping.”

181 “Our bivouac, as may be supposed, presented an animated appearance; groups of soldiers cooking in one place; in another, some dozens collected together, listening to accounts brought from the works by some of their companions whom curiosity had led thither; others relating their past battles to any of the young soldiers who had not as yet come hand-to-hand with a Frenchman; others dancing and singing; officers’ servants preparing dinner for their masters, and officers themselves, dressed in whatever way best suited their taste or convenience, mixed with the men, without any distinguishing mark of uniform to denote their rank.”

“The whole appearance of what had been a French bivouac for a fortnight was perfectly characteristic of that nation. Some clever contrivances for cooking, rude arm-racks, a rough table, and benches to sit round it, still remained; while one gentleman had amused himself by drawing likenesses of British officers with a burnt stick, in which face, figure, and costume, were most ridiculously caricatured; while another, a votary of the gentle art of poesy, had immortalized the charms of his mistress in doggrel verses, scratched upon the boards with the point of a bayonet.”—The Bivouac.

“In bivouacs, the squabble for quarters is extended and transferred to a choice and dispute for the possession of trees, and I have heard of officers being, sorely against their will, flushed like owls, and made to decamp from an evergreen oak, or other umbrageous tree.

“Nothing more exemplifies the vicissitudes of a soldier’s life, than the different roofs that cover our heads within a week: one day we have all the advantages of a palace, and the next the dirt and misery of the worst chaumiere, sometimes even in the same day. A fortnight ago, just after the battle of Orthez, opposite Aire, our regiment being in the advance, we established ourselves in a magnificent chateau, certainly the best furnished house I have seen since I left England, decorated with a profusion of fine or-molu clocks. Just as we had congratulated ourselves on our good luck, and prospect of comfort, and I had chosen for myself a red damask bed, an awful bustle was heard, indicative of no good, as was speedily proved to our discomfiture. Whether it was a judgment upon us for looking so high as a chateau, on the principle of those who exalt themselves being abased, I leave to divines to decide; but we quickly learned, that in consequence of the fourth division treading on our heels, and Sir Lowry Cole having as sharp an eye for an eligible chateau as ourselves, he had ordered his aide-de-camp to oust all its inmates under the rank of a major-general.

“Though possession, in civil matters, is said to be nine points of the law, it does not hold good in military affairs; and as the articles of war, as well as the gospel, teach us to avoid kicking against the pricks, like the well-bred dog (I dare say you have heard of), we walked out to prevent being more forcibly ejected.

“This highly satisfactory incident took place in a shower of rain; and the only building near the manor-house was a mill, belonging to the estate, and into this we crept, and were doomed, instead of splendour, quiet, and cleanliness, and the harmonious chiming of the or-molu clocks, to put up (certainly not to be satisfied) with the bare walls, the eternal clack of the mill, and a considerable loss of good English blood, from the attacks of thousands of hostile French fleas.”—Hussar’s Life on Service.

182 De la Cuesta.

183 “The scene was grand and impressive, the spacious, noble building crowded to excess, and the ceremony performed with all the pomp and splendour of Catholic worship. The pealing organ never poured its tones over a more brilliant, varied, or chivalrous audience. To describe the variety of groups would be endless: the eye, wandering through the expanse of building, could seldom rest twice on objects of similarity. All the pomp of a great episcopal seat was displayed on the occasion. Contrasted with the sombre dresses of the numerous officiating clergy, the scarlet uniforms of the British were held in relief by the dark Spanish or Portuguese costume. The Spanish peasant, in all the simplicity and cleanliness of his dress, appeared by the mustached and fierce-looking guerilla; while the numerous mantillas and waving fans of the Spanish ladies attracted attention to the dark voluptuous beauties of Castile.”—Leith Hay..

184 Casualties of the allies on the 18th July, 1812:—Killed 95; wounded 393; missing 54; total 542.—Wellington’s Despatches.

185 “An error of one of their generals gave him the opportunity he desired, availing himself of which, he fell upon them like a thunderbolt; and the issue of the attack was as decided a rout upon the part of the French, as was, perhaps, ever experienced by any army. Their broken and discomfited masses, swept away before our victorious troops, were precipitated upon the Tormes, in crossing which many were drowned. Had it not been for the protection afforded them by the night immediately coming on—for it was four in the evening before the action commenced—few of them could have escaped. As it was, although prevented following up the victory to the full extent, the trophies of the day were two eagles, twelve pieces of cannon, and 10,000 prisoners.

“It has been said, how far with truth the editor is not aware, that the Duke of Wellington has been heard to express himself to this effect,—‘that if required to particularize any of the battles in which he commanded for the purpose, that Salamanca is the one on which he would be best contented to rest his reputation as a general.’ When we consider the infinite skill with which, during the previous operations, he out-manœuvred his opponents, rendering their superiority of numbers of no avail, the eagle-eyed sagacity that saw the error of the French commander, and the promptness and decision with which he turned it to his purpose, ending, as it did, in the total discomfiture and rout of the enemy, it is by no means improbable that such is his opinion, although it may never have been so openly expressed. On comparing it even with the most brilliant of his other victories, such, no doubt, will be the opinion of most military men.

“The allied loss in the battle of the 22nd, and previous operations, was nearly 6,000; the Spanish proportion being two men killed and four wounded.”—Mackie.

186 “He (Lord Wellington) ordered Pakenham to move on with the third division, take the heights in his front, and drive every thing before him. ‘I will, my lord, by God!’ was the laconic reply.”—Robinson’s Life of Picton.

“His answer to Lord Wellington, when the latter ordered him to attack, was not ‘I will, my lord, by God!’ but, ‘Yes, if you will give me a grasp of that conquering right hand.’”—Napier.

Those who knew Sir Edward will best decide between these versions of his answer. With chivalrous gallantry, Pakenham’s modesty and gentleness of manner were proverbial. The curt and vapouring terms of his imaginary reply are in no keeping with his character—and Mr. Robinson, in common justice to his memory, should expunge them.

187 “The two Irish officers who carried the colours of the 88th regiment, and who were immediately in the rear of the mounted officers, thought that the shot was intended for either of them. Lieutenant Moriarty, carrying the regimental colour, called out, ‘That fellow’s aiming at me!’ ‘I am devilish glad to hear you say so,’ replied Lieutenant D’Arcy, who carried the King’s, with great coolness,—‘for I thought he had me covered.’ He was not much mistaken: the ball that killed Murphy, after passing through him, struck the staff of the flag carried by D’Arcy, and carried away the button, and part of the strap of his epaulette.”—Reminiscences of a Subaltern.

188 Leith Hay.

189 “Capt. Brotherton, of the 14th dragoons, fighting on the 18th at Guarena, amongst the foremost, as he was always wont to do, had a sword thrust quite through his side; yet, on the 22nd, he was again on horseback, and being denied leave to remain in that condition with his own regiment, secretly joined Pack’s Portuguese in an undress, and was again hurt in the unfortunate charge at the Arapiles. Such were the officers. A man of the 43rd, one by no means distinguished above his comrades, was shot through the middle of the thigh, and lost his shoes in passing the marshy stream; but, refusing to quit the fight, he limped under fire in rear of his regiment, and, with naked feet, and streaming of blood from his wound, he marched for several miles over a country covered with sharp stones! Such were the soldiers; and the devotion of a woman was not wanting to the illustration of this great day.

“The wife of Colonel Dalbiac, an English lady of a gentle disposition, and possessing a very delicate frame, had braved the dangers and endured the privations of two campaigns, with the patient fortitude which belongs only to her sex; and in this battle, forgetful of every thing but that strong affection which had so long supported her, she rode deep amidst the enemy’s fire; trembling, yet irresistibly impelled forwards by feelings more imperious than horror, more piercing than the fear of death.”—Napier.

“At the sale of some deceased officer’s effects at Salamanca, the man who officiated as auctioneer on one occasion, on producing a prayer-book as the next lot for competition, remarked, that “he must indeed be a brave man who purchased it, as that was the fourth time during a month he had submitted it for sale.”