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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..87f0d8b --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65393 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65393) diff --git a/old/65393-0.txt b/old/65393-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 67c20ec..0000000 --- a/old/65393-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12885 +0,0 @@ -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65393 *** - - THE - - PHANTOM REGIMENT - - - OR - - STORIES OF "OURS" - - - BY - - JAMES GRANT - - AUTHOR OF - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR" - - - - LONDON - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL - NEW YORK: 9 LAFAYETTE PLACE - - - - - JAMES GRANT'S NOVELS, - - Two Shillings each, Fancy Boards. - - THE ROMANCE OF WAR - THE AIDE-DE-CAMP - THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER - BOTHWELL - JANE SETON; OR, THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE - PHILIP ROLLO - THE BLACK WATCH - MARY OF LORRAINE - OLIVER ELLIS; OR, THE FUSILIERS - LUCY ARDEN; OR, HOLLYWOOD HALL - FRANK HILTON; OR, THE QUEEN'S OWN - THE YELLOW FRIGATE - HARRY OGILVIE; OR, THE BLACK DRAGOONS - ARTHUR BLANE - LAURA EVERINGHAM; OR, THE HIGHLANDERS OF GLENORA - THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD - LETTY HYDE'S LOVERS - CAVALIERS OF FORTUNE - SECOND TO NONE - THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE - VIOLET JERMYN - THE PHANTOM REGIMENT - THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS - THE WHITE COCKADE - FIRST LOVE AND LAST LOVE - DICK RODNEY - THE GIRL HE MARRIED - LADY WEDDERBURN'S WISH - JACK MANLY - ONLY AN ENSIGN - THE ADVENTURES OF ROB ROY - UNDER THE RED DRAGON - THE QUEEN'S CADET - SHALL I WIN HER? - FAIRER THAN A FAIRY - ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED - MORLEY ASTON - DID SHE LOVE HIM? - THE ROSS-SHIRE BUFFS - SIX YEARS AGO - VERE OF OURS - THE LORD HERMITAGE - THE ROYAL REGIMENT - THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S HIGHLANDERS - THE CAMERONIANS - THE SCOTS BRIGADE - - - - - CONTENTS - - I. The Romance of a Month - II. The Guarda Costa - III. Jack Slingsby - IV. The Venta - V. The Regiment of San Antonio - VI. La Posada del Cavallo - VII. The Halt in a Cork Wood - VIII. The Alcalde - IX. The Tertulia - X. Don Fabrique - XI. The Raterillo - XII. La Rio de Muerte - XIII. Pedro the Contrabandista - XIV. The Spanish Steamer - XV. The Circassian Captain - XVI. Osman Rioni - XVII. The Hussars of Tenginski - XVIII. Zupi - XIX. We Reach Head-Quarters - XX. St. Floridan; or, the Adventures of a Night - XXI. The Widow; or, the Adventures of a Night - XXII. Perez, the Potter; or, the Adventures of a Night - XXIII. The Major's Story - XXIV. "Estella" - XXV. A Legend of Fife - XXVI. The Phantom Regiment--The Quartermaster's Story - XXVII. The Phantom Regiment--The Unco' Quest - XXVIII. The Phantom Regiment--The Midnight March - XXIX. The Last of Don Fabrique - - - - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT; - -OR, - -STORIES OF "OURS." - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE ROMANCE OF A MONTH. - -"Adios, Señora Paulina--adios, mi Señora Dominga." - -"Adios, Señor Don Ricardo," replied a sweet voice from the depths of -the old Spanish coach. - -"Vaya usted con Dios, y que no haya novedad Señoras," said I, making -a vigorous effort with my best Castilian; and with these words, and -one bright parting glance from two black Andalusian eyes, so ended my -little romance of a month, as the old-fashioned coach, which was -doubtless the production of some cunning workman of Seville or Jaen, -rolled slowly, pompously, and heavily away towards the Spanish lines, -from the north gate of Gibraltar. - -And this farewell took place exactly this day twelve months ago. - -The coach which bore away the old lady who rejoiced in the euphonious -cognomen of Donna Dominga de Lucena y Colmenar de Orieja, and her -daughter the pretty Paulina, was a genuine old Castilian contrivance -of the true caravan species; and, though still in use, in this our -age of luxury and invention, had been constructed, perhaps, before -folding steps were conceived; for a three-legged stool, to facilitate -ingress and egress, hung near the door. The roof was shaped like the -crust of an apple-pie, and the lower carriage, like that portion of a -triumphal car. It was drawn by a pair of fat sleek mules, which -seemed to have grown old with the vehicle, and with Pedrillo, the -little postilion, who floundered away on a demi-pique saddle, with a -gigantic cocked hat surmounting his dark visage; and his lean spindle -legs lost in two gigantic jack-boots, which belonged to the -beforesaid saddle rather than to his own person. - -Such was the antediluvian vehicle which bore away the pompous old -Donna and her daughter the charming Paulina, who, for the past month -(during which she had resided in Gibraltar), had turned all the heads -of "Ours;" and was boasted by the Spaniards as the fairest belle in -las Cuatros Reinos--yes in the three mighty little kingdoms of -Seville, Cordova, Jaen, and Granada, which are now conglomerated into -the beautiful province of Andalusia. - -And so, without other escort than the redoubtable Pedrillo, who wore -a trabujo or blunderbuss slung across his back, and strong in their -belief in the virtues of the Santa Faz of Jaen, a picture of which -was hung in the back of their coach, these two Spanish ladies, on the -conclusion of their visit, departed on their return to Seville, their -native city; and from the British fortifications, which frown in -solid tiers towards the Spanish lines, I watched the venerable -carrozzo as it rolled across the low sandy Isthmus, which is known as -the neutral ground; and it disappeared just as the sun began to fade -upon the beautiful masses of the Serrania de Rondo, which rose in -piles against the golden clouds, and as the evening gun pealed like -thunder among the Moorish peaks of Jebel Tarik; and then I turned -away with a sigh as I thought of the winning smile I should never see -again. - -"It's all over now, Ramble," said my friend Jack Slingsby, who was -the subaltern of my company, and who had been my chum at Sandhurst; -"it is all over, Dick," he continued, with a laugh and one of those -rough slaps on the shoulder, which no one ventures to give but an -Englishman; "and so, instead of airing your sorrows here, 'sighing to -the evening breeze' and all that sort of thing, you may as well come -with me and knock the balls about a little--or join Shafton, the -colonel, and some of "Ours" who have proposed a pool to-night--and -meanwhile solace yourself with another of my 'very superior' cabanas." - -"Perhaps it is as well she is gone, Jack," said I, endeavouring to -imitate his light-hearted indifference; "had she remained among us -another week, I would certainly have booked for her, and so have -bedevilled myself, as you said yesterday." - -"For Donna Paulina?" - -"Of course--had you any doubts as to which?" - -"Why--no. I certainly did not think that you were in love with the -mother." - -"Well," said I, impatiently. - -"Paulina is very beautiful, no doubt; she has those Andalusian eyes -and ancles which all the world talk about, but which all the world -must see to feel the full effect of either. She has a charming -manner--a glorious 'espiêglerie'--yes, that's the word! full of -pretty repartee, and all that sort of thing--you understand me, Dick, -or Don Ricardo, as she called you; but withal, I assure you, I should -not like to enter for a Spanish wife, of all women in the world; no, -no--what does the song say?" and as we reascended to the higher parts -of the fortress, this careless fellow sang aloud a scrap of a popular -mess-table song, somewhat to this purpose:-- - - "No fair fräulein or demoiselle, nor donna with her smile, - Shall ever teach me to forget the dear ones of our isle; - And when I seek a heart and hand among the fair and free, - Still constant in my faith, I'll say an English girl for me." - - -"That is the mark, Dick,-- - - "----an English girl for me!" - -Besides, half of the young fellows in garrison here ran after -Paulina; and at every mess-table she was as well known as the big -drum, or the regimental snuff-box, or that great ram's head with its -devilish horns, with which those highland fellows of the 92nd -decorate their table, after the cloth is removed. At every jail, -field-day, and tertulia--at church, and on the promenade, a crowd of -admirers surrounded her, like flies round honey, and she seemed to be -equally delighted with all." - -"That was one of the peculiar charms of her manner, Jack," said I. - -"Peculiar, indeed!" said he, letting out a cloud of smoke from his -well-mustachioed lip. - -"In public, she distinguished none in particular, but was alike gay -with all." - -"And in private, who was said generally to be the happy Lothario?" - -I made no reply, but knocked the ashes away from the 'very superior' -cabana, with which he had just favoured me. - -"It was said to be a certain person known as Dick Ramble of 'Ours'," -continued Slingsby, in his bantering way; "but I am deuced glad it is -all over, like any other flirtation, and you are 'free to win and -free to wed another;' I don't like Spaniards--and never shall. In -fact, I have hated them ever since that unpleasant adventure I had at -Malaga last year, and about which I shall tell you some other time; -but here come Shafton, Morton, and some more of 'Ours,' and as soon -as we leave the mess, we shall adjourn to the billiard table." - -What this 'unpleasant adventure,' to which Slingsby referred--and to -which I had often heard him refer before--might have been I cared not -then to inquire; but walked on, more chilled than consoled by his -rattling manner and by that mess-room raillery, which I have known to -laugh many a wiser man than your humble servant, out of an honest and -sincere passion; while it has also been the saving of many an -inflammable "Newcome," or unfledged, but amatory ensign, from the -lures of those passé garrison belles, whose feathers are beginning to -moult, and whose brilliance is beginning to fade, after a long career -of close flirtation, round-dancing, supper-crushes, cold fowl, ices, -pink champagne, affectionate farewells in the grey morning, when the -drowsy drum-boys beat reveillie, or when the route arrived, and each -lover--a lover alas! but for the time--departed with his regiment to -return no more. - -Of Paulina de Lucena (such a pretty name it is!) I had seen much -during her short residence in Gibraltar, and had become--what shall I -term it, for 'Ours' were not marrying men--charmed by her sweetness -of temper and piquant manner, as well as by her acknowledged beauty. - -Jack Slingsby stigmatised this under the denomination of "being -spooney;" but as I have a proper abhorrence of all that slang -phraseology which is peculiar to the university, the barrack, the -clubhouse, and the turf, I believe I shall quote honest Jack no more, -but proceed in my own fashion. - -She was the only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Don Ignacio de -Lucena, a Knight of San Ferdinando, an officer of Lancers in the -service of the Queen of Spain, in one of whose battles he was taken -prisoner by Cabrera, and shot in cold blood with fifty of his -soldiers: for this ferocious Carlist behaved with such barbarity to -the Constitutional Army that one of its officers, who had been a -prisoner, assured me that at Valencia he and his comrades were -subjected to such cruelty by their captors, that after a thousand -sufferings, on being denied food, they were driven to the dreadful -necessity of devouring the body of a fellow captive.* - - -* A work published in Valencia positively asserts this. - - -The profession of her father, together with the circumstance of one -of her brothers being in the Spanish sea service, and another in the -army of Portugal, caused her to view with a favourable eye all who -have the honour to live by the sword; and my small smattering of -Spanish, which I picked up in those idle hours of a garrison life -that otherwise must have hung heavily over me, gave me every facility -for cultivating a friendship which had in it everything that might -serve to dazzle and charm a young man; for with the idea of Andalusia -and Spanish beauty we are apt to conjure up so much of love and of -romance that the imagination gets the better of the senses; besides, -those rogues of travellers and romancers have always given us such -exaggerated pictures of Spanish loveliness. - -In regularity of feature and fairness of complexion, Donna Paulina -was inferior to many a pretty girl I have seen at home. Her most -glorious attractions were her dark glossy tresses and her black -eloquent eyes--brilliant, sad, subduing, ever varying, but ever -black, and under their long, long fringes, ever melting. In beauty -of form and grace of movement she was unmatched out of her own -province, and I can assure the reader that the first time her very -striking figure appeared among the promenaders in the Alameda of -Gibraltar with her drapery of black lace falling from a high pearl -comb, her mantilla, her close-fitting dress, her pretty feet in their -Cordovan slippers, and her large fan, the unhappy bones of which were -ever in a state of flutter and excitement, and between which she shot -her most dangerous glances, it occasioned much marvel, curiosity, and -speculation at all the mess-tables of Her Majesty's forces stationed -on the rock. - -To such a companion imagine the charm of acting cicerone about the -fortifications of old Gibraltar; imagine our evening rambles round -Rosia Bay and along the new mole, where the ships of the British and -Yankees, the French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Turks, Greeks, -Moors, Arabs, and Jews, with all their varieties of ensigns, costume -and rig, are riding at anchor, and where many a grim mortar and -cannon gun frown over the new bastion; imagine the transition from -the sunny Alameda to the deep cool galleries which are hewn in the -heart of the living rock, and which are now turned to such war-like -purposes as old Pomponius Mela, who first wrote of them, could never -have conceived, and where we wandered for many an hour, the pretty -donna forgetting the starched customs of her country so far as to -grasp my arm with both her hands at times, for the aspect of these -places filled her with timidity and awe. - -To these subterranean batteries there is admitted but a dim and -dubious light that steals through their embrasures, glinting on the -damp slime of their walls and roof of rock; and on the heavy -ordnance--sixty-eight pounders some of them--which stand on frames of -metal, on piles of balls and bombs, and on doors studded with iron, -that lead to other and inner vaults full of missiles and unknown -terrors. - -On, on would we wander, through grim batteries, gloomy magazines, and -far-stretching galleries, that seemed to be without end, obtaining at -times through the vaulted embrasures a glimpse of the town, then -basking in the glare of the noonday sun, or of the sea, shining under -a brilliance in which the vessels on its bosom became lost, while we -heard only the sound of our own voices, the twang of a bugle, or the -sharp rat-tat of a drum in the barracks, the faint boom of a breaker -on the cliffs, or the fainter sound of voices in the town, far, far -down below, where all the races of the world were mingling; for -there, in its streets, might be seen the smart Greek in his scarlet -fez and ample kilt; the hideous Afric Jew in his black and white -striped cowl; the slow and solemn Turk; the bare-kneed Scottish -soldier; the lively Italian sailor, and the puffing, perspiring, and -grumbling John Bull. - -I saw Paulina daily, and garrison life became one long and enchanting -dream! - -In the batteries of the rock we promenaded often when the heat became -too great in the sunny Alameda, and with such a companion, while -wandering through the subterranean and twilight shades of Saint -George's Hall, or the Windsor Gallery, how was it possible to escape -from loving her.--A coquettish Andalusian, who, whenever I ventured -to become a little more tender than usual, would tap me over the -fingers with her fan, or give me one brilliant, flashing and -fascinating glance, as she closed her screen of black lace, and -threatened to leave me, while she sang, with the most charming grace -in the world, "Pues por besarte Minguillo," the English of which is -somewhat to the following purpose:-- - - "Give me swiftly back, thou dear one, - Give the kiss I gave to you; - Give me back the kiss, for mother - Is impatient--prithee do! - Give me that, and take another, - For that one, thou shalt have two." - -And where, the while, the reader may naturally enquire, was the -cautious, suspicious, and lynx-eyed Spanish mother therein referred -to? - -Now old Donna Dominga had conceived a vehement friendship for me -since the first evening on which I had the pleasure of meeting her at -the residence of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief; and where I -supplied her with ices when she was warm, adjusted her mantilla when -she was cool, held her fan, snuff-box, and poodle, and brought her a -cigarillo and orange-water dashed with the smallest taste of brandy; -and, discovering her sympathies and antipathies, soon learned to -anathematise Cabrera and the Conde de Montmolin, to express a vague -belief in miracles in general, and the verity of the Holy Face of -Jaen in particular. I "turned" the old lady's flank, and established -myself safely under the wing of her prejudices. - -She always accompanied Paulina and me in our rambles; but I generally -contrived, by a little successful manoeuvring, to leave her to the -care of Dr. MacLeechy, our senior surgeon, after Jack Slingsby had -very disobligingly revolted against this duty; and as the doctor and -the Donna were either somewhat pursy, or disposed to prose and -linger, we usually left them far in the rear and lost sight of them -altogether. - -Now the doctor, who quoted Kelaart as if he had been his own father, -and expatiated to the old lady on geology (with mineralogy, botany, -and Scottish metaphysics), was so very particular in explaining the -leaves, fibres, and various properties of the _Iberus Giberaltarica_, -the only plant peculiar to the rock, that the stout Donna Dominga, -who deemed all this but the language of the flowers, and viewed -everything through the medium of gallantry, became troubled in -spirit, and would occasionally blush behind the sticks of her fan, or -ogle and look unutterable things at our poor unconscious medico. She -would sigh tenderly when he plucked the soft palmetto which grows in -the rocky crevices, or tremble over the white polyanthus, and was -ready to drop like a ripe pumpkin into his arms, when he grew -eloquent upon the various species of the cacti. - -This was all very well while it lasted, for while the ponderous old -donna thought that our quiet, canny, and discreet Galen, who signed -himself M.D. of St. Andrews, and F.E.C.S. of Edinburgh, was a lover -of her own, she forgot to look too narrowly after us; and believed -that she had found a most agreeable mode of passing the month in -Gibraltar, which, for change of air, had been recommended by some -sangrado of Seville, as her health had become somewhat impaired by -ease and good living. - -I was so dazzled and delighted with the charming Paulina, and her -pretty little ways, that I had really begun to prepare my mind for -repelling the banter of the mess, and for waiting with due solemnity -upon Donna Dominga to confer with her alone, upon settlements and so -forth, when a terrible denouement took place! Having rashly boasted -of her imaginary conquest over our doctor, to a lady whom she met at -the house of a rich Spanish merchant in the Alameda, there ensued -between them an immediate scene; for this unlucky communication -(given with all the coy triumph with which the plump old lady could -invest it) was made to no other than the doctor's wife, who had just -arrived from Dublin; and as it had never entered the head of Donna -Dominga to inquire whether our unsuspecting medico was a -Benedick--bond or free, as they say in Australia--a storm was the -consequence. - -Now, Mrs. Leechy MacLeechy, our Scotch doctor's better half, was a -strong-minded Irish woman, who wore a species of turban, and was the -terror of the regiment; on each of her fat wrists she wore a bracelet -of blood-encrusted medals, torn, as she said, "off Rooshian breasts," -and sent to her from Sebastopol by her brother, who was "the -matchor--the saynior matchor--devil a less, or the foighting -eighty-ayth;" and so this lady, in her deep Galway patois, poured on -the Spaniard a broadside that would have sunk the Santissima Trinidad. - -Finding her love affair at an end, the cruel donna resolved to cut -short mine. Within an hour after this meeting, Pedrillo was -summoned; the old Spanish coach was brought forth; the baggage -packed, and her farewell cards--P.P.C.--dispatched to the governor -and his military secretary; to the aides-de-camp and staff colonel; -to the officers commanding regiments, and all the great folks of the -place. The old lady and the pretty Paulina got into the depths of -the ponderous 'carrozza;' the three-legged stool was strapped to the -door; Pedrillo clambered into his bucket-like boots, and muttered -many 'carajos!' as he applied his latigo to the sleek sides of the -dapple mules, and while their proprietrix was sulking and fuming at -Gibraltar and all the heretics who dwelt therein, the huge conveyance -crawled along the narrow causeway which forms the communication -between the town and the isthmus, and, for the present, thus ended, -as I have said, my pleasant little Spanish romance of a month. - -A recollection was all that remained to me of Paulina, and of that -flirtation which was fast maturing into something of a better and -more lasting nature. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE GUARDA COSTA. - -During the two preceding months we had been daily expecting orders to -embark for the Crimea, and this expectation formed almost our sole -topic at mess; but days became weeks, and weeks became months, yet we -heard no more of it than what passed among ourselves. - -Transports laden with troops--horse, foot, and artillery--touched -daily at the Rock, and steamed on into the bright blue Mediterranean, -with spirit-stirring cheers rising from their crowded decks. -Regiments junior to ours were withdrawn from the Rock and dispatched -to that scene of bravery and bloodshed, of mismanagement and -disaster, towards which all our thoughts, our hopes, and hearts were -turned; but the route never came for "Ours," and we grew decidedly -peevish, and found the dull routine of duty among the endless -batteries, bastions, curtains, magazines, and casemates of that -mighty fortress which was so long boasted (before the days of steam) -as the key of "the great French lake," sufficiently tedious; for we -felt that we were merely playing at soldiers like militiamen, while -our comrades of the line were engaged in desperate work, and played -the great game of war, with the eyes of all the world upon them. - -One evening, about a week after the departure of the ladies, I was -captain of the guard at the New Mole Fort, and Jack Slingsby was my -subaltern. We had just finished the dinner which had been sent to -us, hot and smoking, from the mess-house, in a conveyance for the -purpose; the windows of the officers' guardroom were open, and with a -box of contraband cigars, a few periodicals from the garrison -library, a telescope to watch the passing ships, and a bottle or two -of very choice mess claret, we were dozing the sunny evening of -Andalusia very comfortably away. - -The last dispatches from the Crimea had been read and discussed by -us; the last lists of killed, wounded, frozen, or missing in the -trenches had been conned over for some familiar name, which brought -vividly before us some fine fellow we should never see again; but -whose sudden fate was the more interesting to us, because it soon -might be our own. - -Whether it was the result of the good dinner, the good wine, the -sultry atmosphere, or our own thoughts that oppressed us, I know not; -but we sat long silent, and gazing at the varied scenery and -glittering waters of the bay. - -My thoughts were still wandering after Paulina, and I was -endeavouring to imagine what she might be about at that precise -moment. - -Slingsby had lost a very heavy and very absurd bet, on an interesting -race run at Grand Cairo between an Irish mare and an Arab horse -belonging to Halim Pasha, when the former beat the latter "all to -nothing," as Jack phrased it, and he had to hand over 500_l._ to -Morton, our colonel, for booking on a horse which neither of them had -ever seen. The same race was offered for the last two years against -all England, for ten thousand sovereigns, and, as all the sporting -world know, the challenge was not accepted. Blue-devilled by his -loss, Jack Slingsby sipped his claret in silence and made wise -resolutions which he never intended to keep, with moral reflections -which he never could practise, and longed for the Crimea, insensible -to the charms of this delightful climate, where, even in January, the -narcissus-polyanthus hang in white clusters from the rocks; where the -purple lavender flowers in large beds and parterres; where the -palmetto spreads its fan-like foliage to the sun; where the gigantic -aloe puts forth its leaves, and the prickly pear expands its -ponderous bunches, while the wild tulip and the damascus-tree are in -full blossom under the gloom of the solemn pine, or the lighter -foliage of the cork-tree--and where all is verdure, fragrance, and -joy! Yet, amid all this, Jack Slingsby, like the rest of "Ours," -sighed for the frozen camp, the battered trenches, and the misery of -Sebastopol. - -"So you have not got the better of your Spanish fancies, eh?" said -he, for lack of something better to talk about; "the charming -Paulina--that most rotund of elderly females, her mamma, and all that -sort of thing?" - -"What leads you to think so?" I asked languidly, as I lay stretched -at length on the Windsor chairs, watching the smoke which ascended -from my lips to the ceiling. - -"It is quite plain, dear Don Ricardo." - -"You cannot mimic her, so don't attempt it, Jack; but how is it -plain, eh?" - -"As clear as when the right is in front, the left is the pivot." - -"A technical reply." - -"Dick Ramble, my boy, you are quite sad about her, and there is no -use in attempting to conceal it," continued Slingsby. - -"Not sad, exactly," said I, making an effort to look brave; "never -was I fool enough to be sad about any woman yet; there are as good -fish, &c., and as for the Spanish girl--try another Cuba, the box is -beside you." - -"Thanks--about this Spanish girl?" - -"Fill your glass, and push across the decanter; has not that bottle -been a little corked, think you?" - -"Perhaps--about this Spanish girl?" continued Jack doggedly. - -"Well, what the deuce about her?" - -"You were just on the point of remarking some thing." - -"Only that her eyes were very fine, were they not?" - -"Very, but I prefer blue-- - - "'No fair fräulein nor dem-----' - - -"For heaven's sake, Jack, don't begin that ever-lasting ditty!" said -I, pettishly; "yes, Paulina's eyes were beautiful; they seemed, as -the Spaniards say, to be in mourning for the murders they committed." - -"A stale compliment," was Jack's retort to my interruption of a song -with which he had favoured the mess every night since we left -Southampton, for a small amount of vocal talent will go a long way to -charm a mess-table; "she murdered you, however, with very little -compunction; but to think of the doctor's botanising with the mother -being mistaken for love-making--was it not glorious, Dick?" - -"I have sometimes thought of a month's leave, just between musters," -said I, without joining in Jack's boisterous laugh. - -"Leave! for what purpose?" - -"A ride into Spain--say, as far as Seville; what do you think of it?" - -"Seventy miles or more to help you to continue a flirtation begun in -the casemates of Gibraltar. Thank you, Ramble; I would rather hold -myself excused. I had a little adventure in Spain once before, and -its devilish concomitants quite cured me of all taste for another; -though if I had not lost this unlucky 500_l._ perhaps--" - -"Well, why the deuce did you not let Halim Pasha and his nag alone? -What did their race matter to you?" - -"But lend me the telescope--what is that puff--a gun?" - -"It is a smuggler running right for the harbour, pursued by a Spanish -guarda costa; bang! there goes another gun from the Don." - -"And right through the felucca's sail too!" - -"Hollo! they will be within gunshot of us ere long," said I, -springing up: "and this will be work for us. Sentry, call the gunner -of the guard." - -"Gunner of the guard!" reiterated the sentinel, who stood, bayonet in -hand, under a sunshade, at the guard-house door. - -The solitary artilleryman, who was attached to my guard, appeared in -an instant with his sword by his side, and a lintstock in his hand. - -"Get ready a gun," said I; "for there is a Spanish guarda costa in -pursuit of a smuggler, and we must protect our friend." - -"An 18-pounder, or a 24, sir?" - -"Oh, give him a twenty-four, and take a file of the guard to assist -you." - -While the smuggler, with her long sweeps out, and every stitch of -canvas crowded on her long and tapering masts and whip-like yards, -was straining every nerve to escape from the Spanish cruiser, which -plied away with her bow guns, and bore after her close-hauled, and -rushing through the shining waves till they seemed to smoke under -her, it may be necessary to inform the reader that the manufacture -and smuggling of tobacco and cigars at Gibraltar is a never-failing -and never-ending source of angry discussion between the Governments -of Spain and Britain; for, by the former, tobacco has long been -reckoned a royal monopoly. Now, in Gibraltar, almost every second -house is a cigar-shop, and more than two thousand men are daily -employed in the manufacture of these articles of luxury, without -which a Spaniard would be, as some one says. like a steamer without -a funnel. Three-fourths of the British exports from Gibraltar to the -three United Kingdoms are also smuggled, and to such an extent is the -contraband trade carried, that the annual importation of tobacco into -that fortified town, says Mr Porter, in his "Progress of the Nation," -"amounts to from six millions to eight millions of pounds, nearly the -whole of which is purchased by smugglers." - -The boats of the contrabandistas are generally rigged as feluccas, -and painted black; they are built sharp as a pike-head, and carry a -heavy brass gun, which, in harbour, is usually concealed under a pile -of old boxes and casks, with a tarpaulin thrown over it, while in -cases of emergency, various pistols, pikes, and cutlasses, make their -appearance in the hands of the brown-visaged, black-bearded, -red-sashed, and rather pictorial-looking ruffians, whose chief -occupation is to sleep and lounge about their decks by day. - -To look out for these lads of the knife and pistol, the Government of -Her Most Catholic Majesty maintains a number of fast-sailing revenue -craft, called guarda costas, commanded by brave and vigilant -officers. These are the abhorrence of the contrabandistas, whose -operations are greatly facilitated on land by the concurrence of the -corrupt Spanish officials; and those guarda costas, in their zeal, -had, of late, been rash enough to pursue their prey into those waters -which are under the jurisdiction of the Governor and -Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar; and in three instances had boarded -them with pistol and cutlass, shot the crews, or driven them -overboard, and thereafter cut the feluccas out from under the very -guns of Her Britannic Majesty's fortress. - -This, however, was not to be tolerated again, and strict orders had -been issued that every guarda costa who ventured into troubled waters -should be fired on. John Bull is consistently absurd and unjust in -all things, and, with all his boasted justice, is the most veritable -bully in the world--except, perhaps, his thriving son Jonathan; he -would no doubt cut his own smugglers out of any port in the world, -and in the same moment would deny the poor Spaniards the right to do -the same; for John is a man full of honour and liberality, or a man -of neither, just as may suit his own particular purpose for the time; -but to return,-- - -On came the felucca in question, running straight for the anchorage, -which was protected by the heavy guns of the New Mole Fort where we -were on guard. and the parapet of which was lined by the soldiers, -all eager to witness the result of that most exciting of all things, -a chase--a struggle between a strong party and a weak one. On came -the guarda costa in pursuit, plying her bow-chaser, cleaving asunder -the clouds of white smoke which ever and anon it rolled ahead of her, -and riding over the waves, then shining in all the rosy brilliance of -a Spanish sunset, while astern waved the large ensign with the red -and yellow horizontal bars of Castile and Leon. - -Suddenly the little felucca ran up British colours; a sharp patter -rang over the water, and a wreath of smoke rose from her stern as the -devil-may-care contrabandistas gave the cruiser a dose of small arms. - -Boom again! The don gave another shot from his brass gun, and this -time an angry shout arose from our own vessels in the roadstead, for -the ball had crossed the forefoot of a Newcastle collier. - -"Ramble, this will never do," said Slingsby; "that Spanish craft is -too near by half--much nearer than our standing orders permit." - -"Now, gunner, is that 24-pounder ready?" said I. - -"All ready, sir." - -"Then bang at her." - -We all watched the shot with breathless interest, for to us, the -whole affair was merely a race, a game of hazard, like any other. -The sullen roar of the 24-pounder shook the solid parapet of the New -Mole Fort, and pealed in repeated echoes round all the shore to the -extremity of Rosia Bay; and as the cloud of light smoke curled away -from before us, we saw the shot whipping the water far astern of the -guarda costa, and a flush of annoyance spread over the honest face of -the artilleryman; for, as all our eyes were bent upon his -performance, he had been most anxious to excel, and this very anxiety -had probably defeated its object. - -A muttered exclamation of impatience escaped him. - -"Run back the gun," said he to the guard. - -Back went the carronade, and home went the sponge, as he set his -teeth, and, with hasty determination, proceeded to reload. - -"Quick, quick," said I; "for if she hauls her wind, gunner, there -will barely be time to give another shot." - -"I'll toss you for it, Señor Capitano," said Slingsby; "bet you a -bottle of champagne that I will hit the guarda costa." - -"Done," said I; "toss for the first fire." - -We tossed, and it fell to Jack. - -"Take care that you don't hit the felucca." - -"Miss the pigeon and hit the crow--eh, Dick?" he said, while, -laughing, he applied his eye to the sites on the breech, and -proceeded to adjust the screw, to the evident annoyance of the -gunner, who, while he could not decline to relinquish his place to an -officer, was piqued on being deprived of a chance of retrieving his -name as a professional marksman; and now he stood by, with his match -lighted, in the earnest hope, doubtless, that Jack Slingsby would -send his shot as wide of the mark as possible. Cigar in mouth, Jack -glanced coolly--almost carelessly--along the gun, and on covering his -object, cried--"fire!" - -Again the lintstock fell on the touch-hole; again the gun-shot rolled -along the echoing shore, and pealed away to seaward; a large white -splinter was seen on the gunwale of the guarda costa; her sails -shivered and flapped in the wind, as the ball struck her, and -suddenly backing her mainyard, she lay to, heaving like a wounded -seabird, on the long glassy ridges of the ground-swell, ere the burst -of applause with which our soldiers greeted Slingsby had died -away--for my friend Jack was one of their most favourite officers. - -"You did for her, there, sir," said the gunner, approvingly, as he -rammed home the sponge. - -"Yes, but as you fired when she was much further off, remember that I -have the less credit in hitting," replied Jack, as he gave the gunner -a crown-piece to console him. - -By this time the felucca, with a shout of derision rising from her -deck, ran into the harbour, ducking her colours thrice to us in -salute, as she passed the New Mole Fort. - -I had not been looking for more than a minute through the spy-glass -at the guarda costa, when I became assured that some one on board had -been wounded severely, either by the shot or its splinters. The -crew--all save the man at the wheel--were grouped amidships; many -were kneeling on the deck, and, once or twice, clenched hands were -fiercely shaken in menace towards the battery; then we saw a man -borne carefully aft between several others. - -"Some one has evidently been killed or wounded desperately," said I, -handing the glass to Slingsby. - -"Good Heaven! do you say so?" cried Jack; "well, it would seem -so--poor fellow--you know, Ramble, I did not exactly anticipate such -a thing--so it is--so it is! There is a man stretched on the deck!" -he added, passing the telescope to our soldiers. - -"We have only obeyed a standing garrison order," said I; "and the -responsibility thereof, if any, does not lie with us, but with those -who issued it. Come back to the guard-room, Jack, and my servant -shall go to the messman for that bottle of champagne you have won so -well." - -"Oh! deuce take the champagne, and all that sort of thing," said -Jack, looking still at the guarda costa. - -For a time an evident confusion and indecision, seemed to reign among -her crew. She lay heaving and tossing, rising and falling on the -long and ridgy rollers, with the setting sun glaring full upon her -white mainsail, which lay flat to the mast; the light of day soon -sank in the west, behind the upper peak of the rocky mountain, from -which a myriad rays shot upward and played on the masses of floating -cloud; the strait was still bathed in the amber glory of evening, and -each glassy billow of the slow ground-swell as it rolled away from -west to east, rose like a bank of gold from a plain of brilliant -blue; and all the amphitheatre of the town, which stretches along the -base of the rock, and rises gradually from the shore in the most -delightful manner--mingling in picturesque confusion, the lofty and -airy Spanish caza, with its flat roof, verandah, and sun-shaded -windows, the close, compact English house, the solid rampart, and the -flimsy wooden storehouse--all were bathed in the warmest tints, and -every casement and window flung back the gleams of radiance, as if -they had been illuminated by lamps of crimson and gold. - -Soon after the departed sun had shed its last ray on the bare scalp -of the sugar-loaf, the crew of the guarda costa, as a protection -probably, hoisted British colours, and crept past us into the -harbour, and immediately on dropping her anchor, sent a boat ashore. - -We supposed that this visit could only be for the purpose of lodging -a complaint against the officer in command at the New Mole Fort--to -wit myself, a complaint which we knew would be unavailing: but we -were mistaken; for my servant, on returning from the barracks with -the bottle of champagne and other &c. requisite to enable Jack and me -to pass the night on guard agreeably, brought us the unpleasant -information that the shot had carried away both legs of the -unfortunate Spanish lieutenant who commanded the guarda costa, and -that doctor M'Leechy of "Ours" had at once gone off to the vessel to -succour the patient, who--poor fellow!--had died under his hands. - -This catastrophe proved a great damper to us, and to Jack in -particular, for he was one of the best-hearted fellows in the -service; so we had more champagne brought from the mess-house, and we -talked of the guarda costa and her poor lieutenant almost till the -morning gun was fired; and the affair furnished me with a special -paragraph for that "column of remarks" in the guard report which -seldom contains memoranda of greater importance than a notice of "the -cracked pane of glass, handed over by Captain O'Brien of the 88th;" -or, "the poker, handed over, broken, by the last guard under -Lieutenant Smith, of the Buffs," and so forth. - -In the morning we found that the guarda costa had sailed in the -night, taking her dead commander with her; and long before the end of -the week we had ceased even to speak of the circumstance at mess, and -I forgot the affair as the image of Paulina came before me again, and -thoughtless Jack Slingsby was as gay as ever. - -But I must mention, that on being relieved from guard at the New Mole -Fort, I found waiting me, at my quarters, Pedro de Urquija, a -well-known contrabandista, and king of the smugglers of Gibraltar, -who gave me a profusion of thanks "for saving his little felucca, La -Buena Fortuna, from that devil of a guarda costa," saying it was the -closest run he had ever experienced in twenty years of arduous -smuggling; and he insisted upon my acceptance of several boxes of -prime Cubas and some dozen yards of magnificent lace, worked by the -nuns of Cadiz and the poor sisters of Santa Theresa at Estrelo, and -we parted the best friends in the world: but a heavy rod was in -pickle for Jack and me; and the affair was destined to cost us more -danger, trouble, and anxiety, than we could ever have calculated on -risking. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -JACK SLINGSBY. - -The killing of the Spanish lieutenant revived among our diplomatic -people the ever-rankling quarrel about the contrabandistas, and the -captain-general of Andalusia wrote an angry letter to the governor of -Gibraltar, remonstrating with him on the conduct of the officer in -charge of the battery at the Mole Fort, in daring to fire upon a -Spanish government cruiser, and requesting that the said Don Ricardo -Ramble should be given up to the Spanish authorities to be sent to -the galleys at Barcelona probably, or to be otherwise disposed of. - -This absurd demand, however, the old general commanding waived -politely; but the correspondence was prolonged until the military -secretary became bored to death on the subject, and lost all patience -at the very mention of it. Now as the Queen of Spain designates -herself sovereign lady of Gibraltar, and as the alcalde of San Roque, -a little town which has sprung up within the last hundred and fifty -years, still styles himself in all official documents Alcalde of San -Roque and of Gibraltar, and holder of supreme authority therein, the -tone assumed by the capitan-general, who was on a visit to Jaen, was -pompous, high, and mighty; for no explanation we could give in -writing could make the irritable old Castilian hidalgo see that the -lieutenant of the guarda costa had been in the wrong. - -One evening, on entering the mess-room, I was startled by Colonel -Morton acquainting me that by directions just arrived from the -Foreign Secretary he had been requested to send the two officers who -were on guard in the new Mole Fort into Spain. - -"Without hostage or guarantee--the devil!" said I, shrugging my -shoulders; "and to whom?" - -"To this obstinate old bore by habit, and boar by nature, the -captain-general." - -"As prisoners, colonel?" cried Slingsby, with an astounded air from -the other end of the table, and pausing with his hand on a wine -decanter; "you don't mean to say as prisoners?" - -"Prisoners--not at all; how could you think of such a thing?" said -the colonel, laughing, for he was a hearty old soldier, at whose name -stood P.W. and K.H., and C.B. in _Hart's Army List_; "you go merely -to explain the late affair in person; and it is the more necessary -for you both to go as the two aides-de-camp of the governor are on -the sick list. It is only a ride of some seventy or eighty miles -into Spain--wish 't were I who had the duty to do." - -"And where does the captain-general live?" - -"At Seville, to which place he is now returning from Jaen." - -"Ah, indeed, Seville," said I, reviving, as I filled my glass with -Moselle, and Slingsby stuck his glass in his remarkably knowing eye. - -"You'll take good horses; but be careful of rogues, raterillos, and -footpads by the way. I can lend you a pair of pistols with spring -bayonets." - -"Thank you, colonel, I have my revolver," said I, laughing. - -"What! you smile, Ramble?" said the colonel; "and believe me to have -the bandittiphobia; but I know Spain well, having marched over every -foot of the Peninsula under Lord Lyndedoch, and fought my way from -the Black Horse Square at Lisbon to the banks of the Nive, so I know -pretty well, that in peace as in war armed desperadoes, whose hands -are against all men, are, as a certain traveller says, 'the very -weeds of the Spanish soil.' Right well do I know the land of Los -Espagnols as we used to call them in the old fighting 5th Hussars. I -was in the cavalry then, and had I not grown stiff in the joints, and -lost all relish for adventures by day, fleas by night, and the -resinous taste of vino out of a skin at all times, I would have saved -you the trouble of the journey and gone myself; but my instructions -from home say that Captain Ramble and Lieutenant Slingsby must go, so -there is the end of it. Major, Mr. Vice, another bottle of wine to -drink 'bon voyage' to Ramble and Slingsby." - -"With all my heart; sergeant Slopper, a fresh allowance of wine," -said the major. - -"Wish I were going with you," said Shafton, the captain of our light -company; "a ride to Seville! the very name of the place conjures up -a sunny vision of orange trees and glowing grapes, of black mantillas -and taper ancles, and different duty from trenching in the Crimea as -we might have been, and ought to have been by this time." - -"Aye," quoth M'Leechy the doctor, who although married (as he knew to -his cost) was dining that day with the mess; "and a pleasant change -after our dull routine of garrison life, during which we have, as -'Punch' says-- - - "Contentedly eat ration beefs and muttons, - Contentedly drank ration rums and waters; - Darned our own socks, and sewed our own buttons, - Fried in summer, and froze in winter quarters." - - -"A fine upon the doctor," said Shafton; "colonel, Mr. Vice, -gentlemen, he vilely satirises Her Majesty's service, a bottle of -champagne from the doctor." - -"You will remember us all most affectionately to Donna Dominga and to -the bewitching Paulina--you will see them of course," said some one -from the foot of the table. - -"The doctor must prepare some of the rarest specimens of those -remarkable cacti with which he subdued the heart of the plump widow," -said Slingsby, taking up the chorus of banter, "and have them ready -by to-morrow; we start to-morrow, I presume, colonel." - -"As early as you please," said Morton. - -"We shall have some glorious fun in Seville--eh, Ramble? You'll envy -us, gentlemen." - -"If the captain-general does not garotte you," snarled the doctor; -"or treat you as Don Ramon Cabrera, the Conde de Morella, treated the -husband of Donna Dominga." - -"But for that gentle sigh, doctor, I would have considered you quite -a bear," said Slingsby, "but pass the wine, M'Leechy." - -"If you find Seville dull," retorted the doctor, "you had better play -the same little prank you played at Kilkenny when you were in the -Sixth." - -"What did he do when in the Sixth?" inquired a dozen voices at once. - -"What did he not do you should ask," continued the doctor, while Jack -smiled faintly and filled up his glass. "Once when we marched into -Kilkenny we found there had been a quarrel between the Rapparees of -the district and the first battalion of Scots Royals. It was in the -time of high Repeal enthusiasm, and nothing was thought of but an -Irish Republic, so the people looked darkly at the redcoats. Now -Slingsby had never been in Ireland before, and as he received over -the barrack-guard from one of the Royals, with bayonets fixed and -drum beating, he asked how the inhabitants liked the troops. - -"'Ill enough,' answered the Royal, 'since we shot some of them in a -tithe business near Roscrea: they have been as cold as charity, and -the devil a dinner or ball have we had since last muster day, and you -be here till you are mouldy without seeing such a thing as a waltz or -white kids--ices and fowl, trifle and champagne.' - -"Whereupon Mr. Jack Slingsby, being an Englishman, and knowing no -better, believed he might play pranks upon the Irish; and seating -himself in his quarters next day, he assumed his pen and dispatched -the following card to every house in the town:-- - - -"'Lieutenant Slingsby, of H.M.'s 6th Foot, presents his compliments -to the ladies of Kilkenny, and takes the earliest opportunity of -announcing his arrival. He begs to inform them that he can play -whist, casino, and every game on cards known in Christendom; that he -flirts to admiration, and can polk, waltz, and dance the varsovienne -ditto, that generally he can accommodate himself to every whim-wham -of the charming sex, and is always to be heard of at his residence in -the infantry barracks.' - - -"Among others he rashly sent one of these precious circulars to Mrs. -Towler, the wife--I beg her pardon--the lady of the major-general of -the district, who wickedly handed it to her husband at breakfast; so -poor Jack's production brought him before a general court-martial. -It went very hard with him, for the irascible general deemed that his -wife and her ten highly-eligible daughters were grossly insulted; but -our hero escaped with a reprimand, and the colonel was directed to -watch his conduct in future, but he became thereafter the lion of -Kilkenny and Carlow to boot, and all the district from Roscrea to -Clonmel. After that, an evening party without Jack, would have been -like a bell without a clapper." - -"But the general never forgave me for that prank," said Jack, -good-humouredly; "and he was always on the watch for me afterwards." - -"You remember how nearly he had you booked for another court-martial -on a race day?" - -"And how nicely I outflanked and outwitted him! It was the day of -the principal races; I had a horse to run, and more than half the -regiment had made a heavy book on him, and a great amount of paper -was expected to change owners on the issue. The lord-lieutenant was -to be there, and I was all anxiety to be present at the race, when, -as the devil or the adjutant would have it, I found myself in orders -the day before--orders for guard! Everybody was going to the course, -and not a soul for love or money would take my duty; so with a heavy -heart I paraded in the morning; and as the time for the start drew -near I saw all our fellows bowl out of barracks in drags and cars -attired in sporting mufti and in high spirits. Then came old General -Towler, commanding the district, in his blue frogged coat, and with -the sabre which he had wielded at the passage of the Bidassoa, Mrs. -General Towler, several Misses Towler, all demoiselles of mature age, -and the A.D.C. Horatio Towler, captain of a regiment which he never -saw, for he wisely preferred his mamma's drawing-room in Kilkenny to -broiling on Cape Coast. They all scampered out, then the barrack -gates were shut, and all became very quiet and still. - -"No sound stirred in the empty parade-yard, for no one was abroad; -the sun was scorching and the sentinels stood in their boxes. I -thought of the buzz, the glitter, the fun and frolic, the cold fowl, -the iced champagne, the brandy and soda-water, the flirtation on the -roof of a drag, on the rumble or the dickey--all the excitement and -enthusiasm of the races, and more than all, I imagined how my nag -would look when the exulting grooms drew his cloths off, the jockey -in blue and white colours, and fancy painted him scouring like a -whirlwind round the smooth green course, and beating Flying Dutchman, -Lady Fanny, Albert, and all the rest of them hollow. As the time of -the start drew nigh, my excitement and longing increased, but I knew -too well the danger of absenting myself from a guard. I knew, -moreover, that old Towler, who spent half his life in laying traps -for subalterns (ensigns being his peculiar aversion), was daily -furnished with a card, whereon were written the names of the officers -on garrison duty, and he had seen me on guard as he passed out. The -barracks are so empty, I'll never be missed, thought I, and may steal -to the course in the crowd. So, as the distance was short, I hurried -off on foot and in full uniform just as I had paraded for duty, with -my sword, white belt, and shako. Lost amid the wilderness of tents, -stalls, thimblers, and rolypoly men, carriages, gigs, cars, and -vehicles of every kind, I reached the grand stand, or rather its -vicinity, and was eagerly looking about for my horse as the bell had -rung at the starting-point, and the race had begun long since, when I -heard a tremendous cheer, and saw my own jockey borne past me, -shoulder high. Blue and white had won! In my excitement and -confusion I forgot all about my uniform, and was pushing, jostling, -and fighting my way through the delighted mob, when the basilisk -expression of two fierce grey eyes that peered from under their -shaggy brows arrested me. - -"Heavens and earth! I was close to the carriage of old General -Towler, and there he sat, sullen as Jove upon his throne of thunder -clouds, scanning me and his card,--the fatal detail card, alternately. - -"'I am done for!' was my first thought; 'I have won the race, but -lost my commission; he has nailed me at last!' and my heart sunk, as -I thought of the too probable consequences of a second court-martial. - -"'To the barracks,' I heard him say imperiously, and I knew in a -moment that he was deliberately driving off to turn out the main -guard, and thus to prove me absent therefrom. I felt that I was -lost--that my commission, the pride of my heart, was gone; and had -not a happy thought seized me, I should not have been here to night. -Just as the carriage turned round, I sprang up behind it, and stood -there unseen, but stooping low, because the roof was open. - -"'You're sure it is that impertinent fellow, Slingsby, of the Sixth?' -said Mrs. Towler, with a smile of malicious satisfaction. - -"'Sure as you are beside me, my love,' growled the general; 'bad -example to the soldiers--very! subversive of all discipline--I'll -smash him now--absent from guard--a general court-martial----' - -"'A saucy jackanapes,' said Miss Towler. - -"'Gross dereliction of duty!' - -"'He was most impertinent to Maria at the last ball,' said Mrs. -Towler. - -"'Violation of the articles of war,' growled the Major General; 'but -here we are close on the barracks--now we shall have him!' - -"'Guard turn out!' cried the sentry, presenting arms, and facing his -post. - -"'Stop, coachman,' cried the general, as the carriage, with wheels -flashing and its steaming bays at full gallop, dashed up to the guard -house, where they reared back on their haunches, as the guard formed -line, opened ranks, and the drum gave the single customary ruffle, -just as I dropped unseen from the foot-board behind, drew my sword, -and took my place coolly at the head of my men. - -"'Sergeant,' roared the general; 'where's the officer of the -guard--where's that infernal--where is Mr. Slingsby?' - -"'Here, general,' said the astonished noncommissioned officer. - -"'I am here, sir,' said I, haughtily lowering the point of my sword. - -"'Here--you!' he exclaimed with a glance of astonishment and -perplexity, as he fumbled with his confounded detail card; 'what the -deuce--I thought--that will do, however; guard, turn in, sir; -coachman, drive on!' - -"And the carriage, with the general and all his daughters, with their -fringed parasols, rolled away. Old Towler never discovered how I -circumvented him, though he assured his son, the aide-de-camp, that -he could have made his affidavit on seeing me at the races, and in -ten minutes after found me at the head of my guard more than two -miles distant." - -Next day Slingsby and I left the garrison on our mission to Seville. -He accompanied me with some reluctance, for he disliked the -Spaniards, having been frequently among them, and being one who -possessed a strange facility for getting into all kinds of scrapes -and broils. Before starting we received from the military secretary -all the papers connected with the affair of the guarda costa; and, -what was of more importance to us, we received from the paymaster a -necessary portion of "the soul of Pedro Garcias," and taking with us -only our undress uniform and grey great-coats, our swords and -revolvers (for one might as well travel without brains as without -arms in Spain; besides, Fabrique de Urquija, a devil of a fellow, -haunted the Sierra de Ronda), a valise with six shirts each, a box of -cubas, and a John Murray, we crossed the isthmus, passed through the -Spanish lines about an hour after the morning gun was fired, and with -the gorgeous sunrise of a beautiful Spanish day took the wild and -lonely road into Andalusia, with well-filled purses, good nags under -us, light hearts and thoughtless heads, and in such a frame of mind, -that, in pursuit of adventure, we would have faced anything, from a -black beetle to a mad bull. - -I thought of Donna Paulina (when did I not think of her?) and as the -strong ramparts of Gibraltar lessened in our rear, I hummed "Pues por -bisarte Minguillo," her coquettish little song of "The Kiss." - -Poor Paulina! - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE VENTA. - -We had left the dull world of matter-of-fact behind us, and were now -in the land of romance, where, save the invention of cigars and -musket locks, all was unchanged since the days of Charles V.; for -while all the world moves around her, Spain alone stands still, -torpid and unchanging as her unclouded sun and mighty mountain -Sierras. - -On reaching Castellar we expected to receive an escort from the -officer commanding a troop of cavalry quartered there, a necessary -protection against the banditti of Fabrique de Urquija, whose name -was now a terror to Andalusia. - -It was a Spanish day; the air was clear, ambient, and pure as light; -the sky was cloudless, and exhibited a deep immensity of blue, -rendering the most distant objects visible in the blaze of the -soaring sun, that whitened the rocks and the narrow horse path we -pursued; while the dark pine branches and the light cork trees were -unstirred by a breath of wind. - -We passed through San Roque, a town of some importance to Spain, -since Sir George Rooke in 1704 took Gibraltar, which was almost the -only acquisition of the English arms until the union with Scotland, -and consequent consolidation of the naval and military resources of -the two kingdoms. After leaving it, our route lay through that -beautiful forest of cork trees which spreads over a great part of the -country, and borders on the bay of Gibraltar. - -At Venla we passed several strings of galley slaves, who were chained -together, and at work upon the road. As we trotted past, they paused -to glare at us, and their dark sparkling eyes shone through the -tangled masses of their jetty hair, which was the sole covering of -their heads alike under the winter rain and the scorching summer sun. - -At Castellar we were disappointed in our expected escort, as the -cavalry had marched to Seville, so we halted at a venta, or inn, and -were strongly advised by the hostalero, or keeper, to tarry with him -awhile, for the approaching night at least, as several outrages had -lately been committed in the neighbourhood, and a band of broken -Carlist soldiers and runaway galley slaves had hovered for some time -in the Sierra de Ronda, making themselves the terror of all the -country from Cortes to Vente Quemada. - -"Disparate," said I; "nonsense!" - -"A sly trick to get us to stay over night," said Slingsby, as he took -a long draught of Xeres and cold water, and renewed his attack on the -boiled fowl, which was all the patron could as yet provide for us. - -"Madre maria purissima!" said the latter, turning up his glossy black -eyes; "may you be forgiven your incredulity; but, señores, did you -not remark the number of crosses by the wayside as you came along?" - -"We did," said Jack; "and what then?" - -"Each one marks the scene of some 'novedad.'" - -"Novelty--a new term for a murder, Señor Patron?" - -"And the poles, with robbers' heads on them?" - -"I observed one," said I. - -"And singular to say, a bird had built its nest in it," added Jack; -"it was a mere skull." - -"One--madre de Dios--are there not a hundred? yet, señores, you could -not ride without an escort, even so far as Alcala--the thing is not -to be thought of." - -"What think you of all this sort of thing, Ramble?" asked Slingsby. - -Before I could reply, a loud cracking of whips, the creaking of -ill-greased wheels, and the clamour of voices were heard. On this -the hostalero cried,-- - -"It is the convoy already--the convoy from Marbella to Medina--your -graces will excuse me." - -He hurried away, and in a minute after came breathlessly back with -intelligence that it had been fired on by Don Fabrique with at least -fifty thousand banditti, at Benelauria, near the foot of the Sierra, -and but for a case of reliques carried by a padre of Medina, every -soul must have perished; but would not the noble señores come down -stairs, and count the bullet-holes in the pannels? - -"The bullet-holes!" - -"By Jove, this affair becomes interesting," said Slingsby, and we -descended to the inn-yard, where we found ourselves amid a Babel of -tongues and dire confusion. Let the reader imagine four calessos, -all painted in bright stripes of red and yellow, the royal colours of -Spain, each with pannels full of glaring flowers and absurd -miraculous pictures, a body like a cabriolet, supported on a -ponderous under-carriage with high wheels, all splashed with mud. -Each calesso was drawn by two mules, the collars and bridles of which -were covered with clear jangling bells. These were each driven by a -Jehu who wore all the brilliant colours of the rainbow in his jacket, -sash, breeches, and embroidered leggings. These four calessos were -full of passengers. There were soap-boilers and potters of Seville, -sleek, well fed, and in easy circumstances; the old padre, José -Torquemada, the curate of Medina, in a broad hat and long black -cassock buttoned to the throat; over his shoulders he wore a broad -cape, and in his hands were his beads, breviary, and the case of -reliques which had just been of such signal service. There were -several cotton manufacturers on their way to Cadiz; but all--save a -military man who wore a green surtout and forage cap laced with -gold--most unwarlike personages to meet a party of robbers in a -Spanish sierra. - -The drivers, we were told, were singing merrily, the bells were -jangling, the passengers all smoking, chatting, and laughing, as they -entered a defile in the hills, when suddenly the rocks and trees -which overhung the rough path were found to be manned-- - -"Don Fabrique de Urquija!" was the cry, shots were fired--maladito! -and the escort, which consisted of a sergeant and four dragoons of -the Spanish army, turned their horses and fled at full speed, leaving -the convoy to the mercy of the outlaws, who captured the rear -calesso, cut its springs, shot the driver, and had retained it with -all its contents and passengers. The other four had escaped, and -came thundering down the narrow path to Castellar with all their -passengers shouting with terror, the mules galloping, the bells -jangling, and every vehicle plunging like a ship in a storm. - -"Morte de Dios!" added the military personage, whom they called Don -Joaquim, and from whom we had this account; "it was a narrow escape, -for Urquija is a very Tartar--a blood-drinker! You belong to the -British service, señores, I presume?" - -"Yes," said I. - -"To the garrison in Gibraltar, of course?" - -"Of course; we have no other garrison in Spain." - -"And you are on leave, señores?" - -"Si, señor, on leave, and going to Seville," said I, conceiving that -to tell our real object to this inquisitive officer might not be -conducive to the cultivation of mutual good-will. - -"I also am an officer," said he, bowing; "and belong to the -Portuguese service--Major in the ancient Regiment of St. Anthony." - -"But you are a Spaniard," said I. - -"The señor is right; but my father was tied to a post one fine -morning, and shot by Don Ramon de Cabrera; it gave me a disgust at -Spain, for I saw it done, so I entered the service of Portugal. -Come, hombres, I am glad to meet two brothers of the sword; we shall -have a fresh bota of Xeres, and be comfortable for the night. After -this devilish piece of work, the convoy cannot proceed without an -escort; it must halt till morning, so let us all be happy together. -I shall be in Seville myself ere long, and hope to have the pleasure -of meeting you there." - -Don Joaquim seemed to be about thirty-five years of age; in figure he -was somewhat short and punchy, his face was round and good-humoured, -though at times it became stern, sinister, and almost fierce, if -anything excited him. His hair was shorn short, but his moustaches -were long and lanky, and hung over his mouth like black leeches, -imparting to his face an aspect not unlike the old portraits of -Philip II. His light-green military surtout, like his scarlet -trousers, was edged with gold lace, and he wore an enormous sabre, -which clattered in a scabbard of polished brass. At a button-hole -hung a little order of merit; the bag, or end of his forage-cap, -drooped upon his right shoulder; his mouth was never without one of -those paper cigaritos of which he was constantly employed in the -manufacture from a little paper book and tobacco bag; and now I hope -the reader sees before him, or her, Major Don Joaquim of the Regiment -of St. Anthony, otherwise styled of Lagos. - -The hostalero was in high spirits at the arrival of so much good -company, and being assured of their detention for at least a night or -two before the escort could join them, he bustled about, applauding, -vociferating, and directing, while getting their baggage, -portmanteaux, and bales under cover, ever and anon pausing to count -or draw attention to seven or eight bullet perforations which had -been made in the calesso panels, to the great perturbation of the -"easy-going" soap-boilers and "well-to-do" cotton merchants, who had -no taste or predilection for such matters, and could not see how or -why Don Joaquim considered it such "a capital joke," that one had -received a bullet through his hat; another had received one through -the collar of his coat; and that a third had his cigar--demonio--the -very cigar carried out of his teeth! - -Soon we were all grouped together, some thirty or so of us, in the -large apartment of the venta, some seated on stools, others on -chairs, but many on piles of baggage; bottles of vinto tinto, and -skins of the common wine, were set abroach; fresh cigars were made up -from those little pouches and paper books which every Spaniard and -Turk carry about with him; Don Joaquim produced his guitar, and -favoured the company with a song. To my surprise it was -Paulina's--"Pues por bisarte Minguillo"--and we all became merry and -noisy. The soap-boiler forgot the hole in his sombrero; the potter, -the dangerous mode in which he had lost his cigar, even the old padre -José relaxed his grim solemnity, and slily relaxed the lower buttons -of his long cassock, to make more room for supper and the purple -contents of the thrice-blessed bota; while the patrona, a buxom dame -in a short skirt and scarlet stockings, and wearing large silver -ear-rings, superintended the cooking of a vast dish of ham and -eggs--'huevos y tocino'--from which the fragrant steam went hissing -up the chimney, while the drivers in their gaudy jackets sat near the -glowing hearth, chewing biscuits and bacalao, or roasting the -sputtering chestnuts, joining in our jokes and stories, while the -happy hostalero bustled about, superintending everything and -everybody. - -The company of the convoy soon recovered from the terror of their -late adventure, and anxious speculations or terrible surmises as to -the fate of their captured friends, sobered down into hopes that they -would soon join us; but the ruddy evening deepened on the beautiful -mountains of the Ronda; the darkening peaks threw their shadows on -the vine-clad plains, the stars began to gleam in the dark blue -vault, and the last slice of ham and egg had sent its fragrance up he -wide chimney, but no fugitive reached the now closed and barricadoed -gate of the venta at Castellar. - -As one may easily suppose, the late occurrence caused the -conversation to run very much upon robbers and their exploits; thus -we heard stories of wanton cruelty sufficient to make the hair of a -well-regulated Briton stand erect on end; but as these tales closely -resembled the common stock of robber narratives, especially such as -we are told by romancers, who have been smitten with what has been -termed the bandittiphobia, I will not attempt to rehearse them all. -One or two of these relations struck me as having something peculiar -in them. - -"I was once passing through Antequera," began the venerable José -Torquemada, "that city so famed for robbers and picaros-- - -"Ay de mi! señor padre," said a goatherd of Honda, "it was once famed -lor something better." - -"True, my child," replied the old priest, approvingly; "for it was -there Don Ferdinand the Just, the valiant Infante of Castile, in the -fifteenth century, founded the noble order of the Jar of Lilies, in -honour of our Blessed Lady, by whose aid his good and valiant knights -stormed the city from the Moors, and slew fifteen thousand of those -God-abandoned infidels. Ah mi hijo! it was something to be a -Spaniard then! But to return; I was once passing through that same -city of Antequera, when I had an adventure with Don Fabrique-- - -"With Fabrique de Urquija?" exclaimed all, drawing nearer the padre -and lowering their voices. - -"Ave Maria!" exclaimed Don Joaquim, "this must indeed be something -worth hearing." - -"The more so, as I realised a pretty round sum by it," continued the -priest. "You all know Antequera, señores, a handsome town on the -plain between Granada and Seville, and situated in a land that teems -with oil and wine. One night when the hour was late, and no moon had -risen, I was passing through the great street which leads to the old -Moorish castle, and counting ever and anon in the pocket of my -cassock three poor pistareens, which were all I possessed, but which -I was hastening to bestow upon a poor widow. Her husband, a brave -guerilla, had been taken in a skirmish at the Pena de los Enamorados -(or Lover's Rock), which stands a league from Antequera, and, after a -brave resistance, had been bound with cords, and shot that morning in -the Plaza--" - -"By the Count de Morella?" cried Don Joaquim. - -"Yes, by Cabrera." - -"Bah--I thought so," said the major, grinding his teeth; "proceed, -reverend padre." - -"The little pistareens were all I had in the world, and when I -thought of the poor widow and her six children weeping by the corpse -of their unburied father, and unable to buy masses for his sinful -soul, I paused to gaze at the old castle of the Moors, and sighed to -know the secret of the treasures that lay hid among its ruins; and -then I craved pardon of Madonna for the thought, as all the gold of -the infidels is buried under the spell of such enchantment as no man -may break and live. - -"Well, señores, I was just thinking of these strange things when a -hand was laid heavily upon my shoulder; I turned, and by the light of -a shrine at the corner of a street, saw a dark face and a tall figure -girdled by a scarlet sash full of daggers and pistols. - -"'Who are you,' I asked fearlessly. - -"'Fabrique de Urquija.' - -"'Go, go,' said I, feeling my heart leap at the name; 'I am but a -poor priest, and can give you nought but my blessing.' - -"'Your blessing be hanged! señor padre, hand over all you possess, or -by the Holy Face of Jaen,'--and grinding his teeth he grasped a -poniard. - -"'As I live I possess nothing but my cassock and these poor little -pistareens which are for a widow and her starving children.' - -"'Then off with the cassock, and give me the pistareens to boot. -Your garment I must have, for I mean to play the priest to-night, and -visit a dame whom I may make a widow, too, some of these days.' - -"In vain I begged him to leave me the pistareens, but this demon of -avarice only laughed, and touching his pistols said,-- - -"'Quick, quick, and here take my jacket and maldito, begone without -looking behind you.' - -"The exchange was soon made; with a hoarse laugh the robber thrust -himself into my threadbare cassock, and with loathing I drew on his -old velvet jacket, which was tattered and full of holes. He then -bade me farewell with mock solemnity; and glad to escape so easily I -hastened away, but had not gone many yards when I heard the voice of -the terrible Urquija commanding me to 'stop;' and believing that, -repenting of his clemency, he only meant to poniard me, I turned and -fled with all the spaed of my poor old legs, fervently invoking the -saints, and praying to Madonna that the vision of the sacrilegious -pursuer might be obscured, and that I might escape. - -"'Come back, padre, come back, there is a mistake,' I heard him -crying; 'por vida del demonio, stop, or it will be the worse for you!' - -"But, blessed be Heaven, I escaped and reached the humble house of -the widow, where her little ones gathered round me, and sought to -clutch as usual the long skirts of my cassock; but, ay de mi, they -were gone, and with them my pistareens, so that I was without the -means of buying bread for the children of the dead guerilla. - -"What shall I do!" thought I, and mechanically felt the pocket of the -jacket; it contained something hard: what is this! I pulled it -forth, and Madre Maria! found the sudden cause of the robber's oaths, -pursuit, and vociferations, for by the exchange of our apparel I had -become the possessor of one hundred golden pistoles! - -"I had never held so much money in my hands before; find for a long -time I was quite bewildered how to dispose of such a treasure. First -I made the hearts of the widow and her little ones glad, and the rest -I bestowed on the poor old nuns of St. Theresa, who had just been -stripped of all they possessed in the world, and were begging their -bread in the public streets of Antiquera--thanks to the liberal -Government of Spain." - -The idea of the robber so egregiously outwitting himself occasioned -great satisfaction among all the listeners; the goatherd was so -delighted that he thrice flung his hat up to the ceiling, and aloud -'viva' greeted the old padre as he finished his little story. - -"I once had a more narrow escape than yours, Padre José," said the -Major Don Joaquim, "and but for the intervention of the blessed St. -Anthony of Portugal whose brother officer I have the felicity to be, -I had not had the happiness of addressing you all to-night, or -enjoying these roasted castanos, or the most excellent vino tinto of -the worthy señor patron." - -"Through the intervention of San Antonio," exclaimed all present; "do -tell us, señor oficial, all about this." - -"You have heard of St. Anthony, señores?" said the major to us. - -"One of the seven champions of Christendom, who broke enchantments, -fought with giants, and did all that sort of thing," said Slingsby; -"of course, who has not heard of him?" - -"Ah, who, indeed?" said the major. - -His words smacked of a miracle, and every one present became at once -interested. Lighting a fresh cigar, and replenishing his wine-horn -from the big-bellied leathern bota, the major pushed his red forage -cap a little more on one side, fixed his dark eyes on the glowing -embers, and, with all the air of a man who is rallying his forces to -tell an interesting narrative, began in the following words. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE REGIMENT OF SAN ANTONIO. - -You must know, Señora patrona, and señores, my friends, that Saint -Anthony, the patron of Portugal and patriarch of monks, though born -at Heraclea in Upper Egypt, on the borders of Acadia, so long ago as -the third century, is now a member of the battalion in which I have -the honour to hold the commission of major; and that he has been many -times visible in its ranks, mounting guard, and always when under -fire, or engaged with the French or Spaniards. Under Wellington in -the last war he was frequently seen among our men, clad in a cloak of -white wool, and wearing an inner garment of hair-cloth, with a bell -tied to his neck, and a pig trotting beside him, for it was his -favourite animal when he was hermit near the village of Coma. When -our esteemed regiment was first embodied about a century and a half -ago at the city of Lagos, in the ancient kingdom of Algarve, the -blessed St. Anthony was enrolled in the muster-book thereof, as a -private soldier, that he might be its especial patron and protector, -even as he is the patron of the whole Portuguese nation. - -He conducted himself with such fidelity, valour, and distinction, -that he soon passed through the ranks of corporal and sergeant, and -having restored, no one exactly knows how, the colours of the -regiment, after they were lost at the battle of Almanza in 1706, he -was appointed captain, and his pay, together with four marevedis from -each soldier, were devoted to buy masses for the souls of our -comrades who die on service--a very pretty perquisite, padre José, -for mother church. - -It would be a vain task in me to attempt enumerating the miracles -performed by St. Anthony during the one hundred and eighty seven -years he has belonged to the valiant regiment of Lagos in the kingdom -of Algarve; for in danger, doubt, difficulty, or death, his comrades -have never sought his aid in vain. - -Our colours have been thrice lost in battle, after prodigious -slaughter you may be sure--being Portugese colours; and were thrice -restored to us, being found quietly in the colonel's tent the next -morning, with the naked footmarks of a man and a pig--the blessed pig -of course--impressed upon the turf! At the passage of the -Guadalquiver, our drum-major was swept away and would have been -drowned beyond a doubt, had he not called upon St. Anthony; and lo! -an old man of most venerable aspect, clad in skins like this shepherd -beside us, but with a long beard and leathern water-bottle hanging at -his girdle, suddenly appeared among the reeds by the river side, and -stretching out his crook, fished up the ponderous Anibale Pintado -lightly as a straw, though he was at that moment in heavy marching -order, with knapsack, blanket, great-coat, sword and his canteen, -which was full of brandy. Then to think of the wounds that have been -closed, the bullets that have been extracted, the bones that have -been set, the sick made whole and fit for service, by our soldiers -merely thinking on, or praying to, the glorious St. Anthony, would -occupy all the paper in the kingdom of Algarve; but his crowning -miracle was the birth of a child of the regiment, for one of our -soldiers' wives being in labour, during the siege of Roses, and -calling upon the saint in her pain, to the astonishment of the whole -allied armies was delivered of a little drummer boy in the uniform of -the battalion of Lagos! I hope I have now said enough to convince -you that the regiment, and every member of it, are under the peculiar -protection of the saint, and this, as I am about to have the honour -of telling you, I experienced myself, although not a Portugese, but a -native of the fair city of Seville; and as a further proof of what I -have adduced, I will take the liberty of reading to you from my -pocket-book, the following certificate of the military service -performed by the saint--which certificate I copied fairly from the -books of the noble regiment of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, being -the document which was forwarded by one of my predecessors, then in -command of the battalion, when recommending the blessed saint to -further promotion from the rank of captain which he had held since -the year 1706. (With this long and pompous flourish, the Spaniard -opened his pocket-book, and read a translation from the Portugese, -which ran as follows.)* - - -* See notes at end - - -"Don Herculeo Antonio Carlos Luiz, José Maria de Albuquerque e Arajo -de Magalhaens Homem, noble of Her Majesty's household, cavalier of -the sacred order of St. John of Jerusalem, and of the most -illustrious the military order of Christ, lord of the towns and -partidos of Moncarapacho and Terragudo, hereditary alcalde-mayor of -the ancient city of Faro by the sea, and Major of the Regiment of -Infantry of the noble city of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, for -her most faithful majesty, Donna Maria, Francesco Isabella the first; -whom God and the Blessed Virgin long preserve, &c., &c., &c. - -"I hereby attest and certify to all who shall see these presents, -signed at the bottom with my sign-manual, and the broad seal of my -family arms a little to the left thereof, that the Lord St. Anthony -of Lisbon (commonly and most falsely called of Padua) has been -enlisted, and has borne a place in this regiment since the 24th of -January, ever since the year of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ 1668. - -"I do further certify, upon my word of honour, as a noble, a knight, -and a good Catholic, what hereunder followeth. - -"That on the said 24th of January, 1668, by order of His Majesty Don -Pedro II. (whom God hath in glory), then Regent of the valiant -kingdoms of Portugal and Algarve for Don Alphonso VI.,--St. Anthony -was duly enlisted as a private soldier in this Infantry Regiment of -Lagos, when it was first formed by command of the same illustrious -prince; and of that holy enlistment there is a register extant in -vol. i. of the records of the said regiment, page 143, wherein he -gave as security or caution for his good conduct, the queen of -angels, who became answerable to the colonel that he would never -desert his colours, but always behave as became a good Portugese -grenadier. Hence did the saint continue to serve and do duty as a -private until the 12th of March, 1683, on which day the same Prince -Regent became King of Portugal by the death of his brother Don -Alphonso VI., when he was graciously pleased to promote St. Anthony -to the rank of Lieutenant of Grenadiers in the said regiment, for -having, a short time before, valiantly put himself at the head, of a -detachment of the regiment which was marching from Jurumenha to the -garrison of Olivença, both in the province of Alentizo, and beat off -four times their number of Castilians who had been lying in ambush -for them, with the intention of carrying them all prisoners to the -castle of Badajoz, the enemy having obtained information by spies, of -the march of the said detachment, every soldier of which saw our -blessed patron, visibly, and to all appearance in the body, and -attended by his pig. - -"I do further certify, that in all the above-cited registers, there -is not any note of St. Anthony being guilty of bad conduct, disorder, -or drunkenness; frequenting taverns, or other improper places; nor of -his ever having been flogged or sent to the guard-house when a -private: Thus during the whole time he has been an officer, now about -one hundred and nine years, he has constantly done his duty with the -greatest alacrity, at the head of the grenadiers, upon all occasions, -in peace or war, conducting himself like an officer and a gentleman -of good breeding; on all these accounts I hold him most worthy of -being promoted to the rank of aggregate-major to our noble regiment -of Lagos, with every other favour Her Majesty may be graciously -pleased to bestow upon him. In testimony whereof, I have hereto -affixed my name, at the Castle of Belem, this 25th day of March, in -the year of our redemption, 1777. - -"MAGALHAENS HOMEM." - - -(Thus ended this wonderful certificate, the contents of which, -together with the pompous gravity of the reader, made Jack and I -almost choke with suppressed laughter. The major then continued)-- - -Hereupon Her Most Faithful Majesty, who reigned at that time--now -seventy-eight years ago--was pleased to promote the saint to the rank -prayed for, and he is now our lieutenant-colonel by brevet. Once in -each year it is the custom to send an officer to Lisbon to receive -the pay and perquisites of St. Anthony from the royal treasury, and -in the course of last year this most honourable duty devolved upon me. - -We were then quartered at Barbacena in the jurisdiction of Elvas; and -to this place I travelled alone from Lisbon, with the pay of the -saint, which was to be given to the care of our chaplain. Being in -moidores, it was not very bulky, but its value was great--its -sanctity greater; and after traversing in safety the whole province -of Alentijo, it was with some anxiety I saw the mountain Sierra, -which lay between me and my destination, rising in my front, about -sunset. The hope of being able to get across those rocky hills -before the approaching night set fairly in never occurred to me. I -found myself in a solitary spot, without shelter near, or any place -where information of the right way could be gathered, and my horse -was growing weary. - -The sunlight died away behind me, and shed its last rays on the white -walls, the square campanile and tall cypresses of a convent which -crowned a height on my left; and on the red round towers of an old -castle that topped a rock on my right; but both were in ruins and -desolate, as the wars of the infidel Moors, ages ago, had left the -first, and the desolating retreat of Marshal Massena had left the -second. The older fragments of a Roman aqueduct lay between, and -half hidden among wild shrubs. The pathway was rugged; untamed goats -scrambled about; snakes hissed in the long grass, and eagles screamed -in mid air. Ave Maria! it was impossible to conceive a place more -dreary and desolate; but the way became still wilder, and as I -progressed into the gorge of the Sierra, even the ruined works of man -and the traces of his feet disappeared. I was in a desert, and, save -the faint crescent moon, without a light or guide. - -As I rode slowly on, thinking of the bright golden moidores of our -Lord St. Anthony, with which my pouch was blessed, and reflecting on -the prize they would be for any sacrilegious picaros who might be -hovering in this dark wilderness, ever and anon humming a song, -muttering an ave, and feeling the percussion caps on my pistols, I -suddenly met a strange figure in the dim moonlight--a goat-herd, as -he seemed to me. - -He was clad in a zamarra of sheepskin, which he wore with the wool -outwards; his white hair hung in tangled masses upon his shoulders; a -bota was slung at his girdle, and he carried a stout Portuguese -cajado, with a little cross stick nailed thereon, to give it more the -aspect of a pastoral staff, than a weapon of defence. - -"Vaya usted con Dios, Señor Major," said he. - -"God be with you," I reiterated, a little scared on finding that this -stranger knew my name; "you have the advantage of me, Señor Pastor." - -"Hombre, do you think so? but do not be alarmed, for I am an old -Christian, without stain of Moor or Jew in my veins. I am no -enchanter----" - -"Ave Maria, I should hope not!" - -"Yet I know that you have in your pouch the pay of St. Anthony of -Lisbon, whom rogues and fools style of Padua--what the devil should -he have to do with Padua?--in your left breast pocket, all in fair -round moidores of gold--eh, señor?" - -"Very true, pastor," said I, slipping a finger into my near holster, -and keeping my horse well in hand and beyond the reach of his cajado; -"but how came you to know me?" - -"I know every officer and soldier in the regiment of Lagos as well as -if I had made them--and you especially, Señor Major." - -"Well--and about the moidores," said I, uneasily; "you know of them, -and what then?" - -"Merely this, Señor Don Joaquim; that if you would arrive at -Barbacena to-morrow with the pay of the patron of the regiment of -Lagos----" - -"In the kingdom of Algarve," suggested Jack Slingsby. - -"Si, señor; and would hand it over safe and sound to the reverend -chaplain," continued the old man, in a manner so impressive that a -chill came over me, the more so as I saw his sunken eyes shining in -the dim moonlight like two bits of green glass; "you will beware, my -son and comrade, how you taste the wine of Xeres to-night." - -"The wine of Xeres, father pastor," said I, with a loud laugh; -"Heaven forgive you for the tempting thought; I am not likely to -taste aught to-night but the chilling dew; yet if a good cup of Xeres -did come my way----" - -"Avoid it as you would poison, or by the soul of St. Anthony you will -repent it." - -At that name I raised my hand to my cap in salute, like a good -soldier of the regiment of Lagos; while waving his hand -authoritatively, the old man hobbled up the slope of the mountain -pass and disappeared. As he did so I heard the tinkle of a bell, and -for the first time perceived a little pig trotting by his side as he -vanished in the shadow of the mountain and its moonlit rocks. - -The scales fell from my eyes; por el Santo de los Santos, he was no -other than our Lord Saint Anthony, whom I had seen. Who but he would -have termed me "son and comrade?" sinner and fool that I was. The -hair of my flesh stood up, as the Scripture says, and with a prayer -on my lips I gored my poor nag with the spurs and dashed along the -pass of the Sierra for two leagues more until the poor animal almost -sank beneath me; but perceiving rest necessary for him, I reined up -at the door of a lonely wayside inn, in a part of the country which -was entirely unknown to me, and which seemed to be overshadowed by -mountain peaks and masses of rock, the features and outlines of which -were strange, and to me gloomy and fantastic. In my excitement, and -the holy terror under which I laboured, I had evidently lost the -path, and thus mistaking my way, had ridden, Heaven and St. Anthony -alone knew whither. - -Solitary, dark, and desolate as this posada seemed,--and it was just -the kind of place we so often read of in romances as being a -rendezvous for robbers, and for having a landlord in their interest, -with trap-doors under the beds, stains of blood upon the floors, old -skeletons in the cellars, and a terrible reputation for mysterious -appearances and unaccountable disappearances--it was a welcome -halting-place for one so weary, so thirsty, and anxious as I was -then, and so full of supernatural fear, as I never, for an instant, -doubted having seen the blessed patron of our regiment, and to me at -that time the human countenance even of a robber had been thrice -welcome. - -Though the hour was late the hostalero had not gone to bed. He -seemed a civil and respectable man, and smiled with good-humour when -he saw me, with all the care of an old traveller and the suspicion of -a true Spaniard, transfer my pistols from their holsters to my -girdle, a movement which seemed to fill with alarm the miserable and -drabbish-looking Maritornes, who seemed to be the sole assistant of -the patrona. Vague fancies and a sense of alarm were floating -uppermost in the current of my thoughts; and being most anxious to -start betimes when day broke, I left the saddle on my horse, as I -stabled him in the lower apartment of the posada, for you may know, -señores, that the Portuguese inns are constructed exactly like those -among us here in Spain, the lower story being entirely one vast and -clay-floored chamber, appropriated to the cattle and baggage of -travellers. I merely relaxed the saddle-girth and curb-chain, but -left my Andalusian jennet all ready for marching, when the morning -came, and then ascended by a wooden trap-stair to the upper story, -where the patrona had a steaming supper of ham and eggs, just such as -we have had, well seasoned with pepper and garlic, spread for me, -with a bunch of raisins and a choice flask of--ah, demonio! my heart -leaped when I saw it--the wine of Xeres de la Frontierra. - -A prayer rose to my lips, I thought of St. Anthony, but felt strong -and composed, believing that I was under the peculiar care of that -blessed patron of the regiment of Lagos. I would have left the -little venta and betaken myself once more to the road, but, if any -snare was really laid for me, such a movement might only render me -more liable to an open and deliberate attack. - -"I will be wary," thought I; "let me watch well, even as our holy -patron watches me. Xeres! ouf, I would rather drink the salt lake of -Fuente de la Piedra than touch a drop of it." - -I felt morally certain that it was poisoned or drugged for some fatal -purpose, and that in the tasting of it lay the main part of my -danger. I finished the rasher of ham and the fragrant huevos; and to -lull all suspicion asked my host to join me in discussing the bottle -of Xeres as he uncorked it. - -"The señor would, perhaps, excuse him. Xeres always made him ill, -maldito--yes, and there was no doctor nearer than Elvas or Abrantes; -but he would take a glass of aguadiente to my health and successful -journey." - -"Rascally picaro!" thought I; "you have other reasons for declining -the Xeres, but I shall mar them yet." - -I might have forced him with my sword at his throat to drink a -cupful; but I dissembled, and filling out a bumper from the leathern -beta, raised it to my lips, pretending to taste. I saw, then, the -slow stealthy eyes of the hostalero watching me keenly. - -"It has a peculiar flavour," said I. - -"Flavour, señor?" he asked, anxiously. - -"But not unpleasant." - -"It is from the grapes of Puerto de Santa Maria, like those of -Tribujena, as the Señor Caballero will perceive; they have a peculiar -flavour--sharp, is it not?" - -"Yes, but as I said before, not unpleasant," continued I, placing my -pistols on the table, and availing myself of an opportunity to pour -the whole of my bumper back into the bota, and this I achieved -unseen. Some grounds which remained at the bottom of the crystal -glass assured me that the wine was drugged. - -"I have a pigskin full of wine from the grapes of Don Carlos, or -rather I should say of my Lord the Marquis de Santa Cruz, who now -owns the vineyard; and if your grace----" - -"Many thanks," said I, pouring out a second bumper, so that the wine -frothed in the glass; "but be assured I shall content myself with -this most excellent bottle of Xeres," and taking another opportunity, -while the patrona was telling her beads near the fire, and the worthy -patron was below pretending to groom my horse--but no doubt to -appraise its furniture which he expected to possess before morning--I -repeated the manoeuvre, and poured the wine back into its leathern -receptacle; thus my deluded entertainers were led to believe that I -had taken enough to drug a regiment of Asturians. - -I scrutinised my hostess; she was a swarthy and dark-skinned -Portuguese; her hair, which was coarse and thick as the mane of a -steed, she had knotted in a coronet round her head, and over this she -wore a yellow shawl. Her features were square, massive, and -repulsive; and her arms and legs, which her scanty garments fully -displayed, were disgustingly powerful and muscular. - -"Are you not somewhat lonely here, señora?" I asked, when her orisons -were over. - -"Yes; but then we are never disturbed. Once, indeed, some drunken -contrabandistas, riding to Gibraltar, made a noise at our door; but -my husband shot one with his escopeta, the rest fled, and we have -never been molested since. But erelong the new railway from Lisbon -to Abrantes will change everything--for so the priests predict." - -"You talk of this little shooting affair with delightful coolness," -said I, "and just as if that devil of a contrabandista had been a -crow. Ah, and so he was shot?" - -"Yes, and buried about a mile beyond this," replied the woman, over -whose dark eyes there passed a savage gleam; "perhaps, caballero, you -observed the cross as you came along?" - -"You forget that I came this morning from Montemor o Novo, where I -wish I had stayed with all my heart." - -"Ah, our caza is a very poor one, señor," growled the host, with a -glance at my glass and another at the bota: "but none ever complain -of it after they leave us." - -"I believe you, my lad," said I, with a glance at the cuchillo in his -sash; madre mia! it was at least twelve inches long in the blade. He -detected my expression and said,-- - -"I am always well armed, Señor Caballero, for my little wife, our -niece, and I, are the only inhabitants here. They are apt to be -timid at times; thus I always keep my escopeta loaded, and six -junkets of lead in that old brass-mouthed trabujo over the -mantel-piece; so with my knife and strong bolts, bars and shutters, -we could stand a very good siege, even if Don Fabrique de Urquija and -all his band were assailing us. One glass more of the Xeres before -you retire, señor--no?--well, how such a sober Caballero belongs to -the regiment of Lagos surpasses my--a thousand pardons, señor; I -meant no offence; but a poor man must have his little joke as well as -a rich one, and I am sure a noble Caballero will excuse it. So you -won't take one glass more of the Xeres before retiring, well, -well--this way, señor, up this stair--take care of the step, and now, -señor, Bueno noches, and may all good attend you." - -I was alone. I was in my sleeping apartment, a miserable loft, to -which I had ascended by means of a trap-door and trap-stair. The bed -was poor and shabby; a thousand discolorations, the combined result -of damp and dirt covered the ill-plastered walls and bare wooden -floor. A small and ill-glazed window opened to the dark mountains, -behind which the moon, a pale crescent, was just sinking, and to the -deep black gorge which yawned between their peaks like some vast -Titan's grave. There was not a sound upon those solemn hills, or in -that savage pass through which the roadway wound; there was no sound -in the posada below me, and as I set down the candle and listened, I -heard only its sputtering and the beating of my own heart. - -I knelt down, and drawing forth my beads and crucifix, said my -prayers like a good Catholic, and solemnly invoked the protection of -St. Anthony. After this, apprehension almost vanished. - -If any attempt was made upon me in the night, I had but one man to -oppose--the hostalero, and surely I was a match for him. But then -there was his wife, a powerful Asturian termagant, who had doubtless -the cunning of a fox with the strength of a bull. I looked about for -something wherewith to secure the trapdoor, but found nothing; my -bedstead was the only piece of furniture, and it was too weighty for -removal. I might have lain down and slept above the trap; but the -idea did not then occur to me; and at times, as my candle burned low, -such is the weakness of the human heart, that I began to mistrust -even the protection of my Lord St. Anthony, and think I was unwise in -not quitting this unblessed posada, instead of retiring to a -bed-chamber, as the hostalero might be joined by others more -ruffianly than himself, and thus overpower me. - -"No, no," thought I; "no others will come; the rascal trusts in his -Xeres, and I shall soon see the sequel." - -I drew off my boots and flung them heavily on the floor, as one might -do who was undressing; and having thus, as I supposed, deceived any -one who was listening, drew them carefully on again; tightened the -buckle of my waist-belt, and loosened my good Toledo sabre in its -sheath. I then examined my pistols; ay de mi! what were my emotions -on finding the percussion caps removed, and that my pouch, with the -remainder, was in my holsters below! - -My heart stood still on beholding this, and an emotion of rage shook -my heart, for I now remembered having laid them on the table beside -me in case of accident, for I once had a friend who was killed by a -pistol exploding in his belt. The patrona, while laying the supper -table, or bustling about me, had adroitly--but the saints alone know -how--removed the caps. - -Twenty times I searched every pocket, in the faint and desperate hope -of finding a stray one. Not one--they were all below with my -holsters. - -"Ass that I am!" thought I, replacing them with a sigh in my belt; -"this will be a lesson of prudence that may cost me dear." - -At that moment the candle-end sank down in the iron holder; it shot -one red flush upwards on the cobwebbed ceiling and damp, discoloured -walls; on the ill-jointed trap-door which led to the lower story, and -expired. I was in darkness at last, with no companions but my Toledo -and my own thoughts. The first was silent--the second sufficiently -uncomfortable. - -Sleepless and watchful, I lay on the miserable pallet for more than -an hour, till the silence began to oppress me, and in spite of -myself, my eyes were closing. Could it be the drug--could it be the -wine that slowly was sealing them up? Nonsense; I had but put it to -my lips, and I struggled to shake off the coming sleep. Yet, I must -have closed my eyes for a moment, for I started suddenly, like one -who dreams he is on the brink of a precipice. A strange shivering--a -minute, pricking sensation ran all over me from head to foot, and -from a state of drowsiness, I sprang all at once to the sharpest -wakefulness, and grasped the hilt of my drawn sabre. - -A dim light was now ascending from the floor of the apartment, and I -perceived the trap-door was lifted up, and the round bullet-head of -the hostalero appeared, with his deep-set stealthy eyes, scanning the -bed and its occupant, myself, who affected to be sound asleep. Up, -up he came, step by step, until he stood by my side, with one hand -grasping his long cuchillo, and a finger on his coarse, blubber-like -lips, as if he would impose silence on himself, and still his very -breathing. - -Mueran del Demonio, what a moment it was! I would not endure it -again for a million of reals. He came close to the bed; he stooped -over me, the knife was lifted up, and I saw its baleful gleam; but at -the same instant there was an upward flash, as I swept my sabre round -me, and one stroke cut off three of the robber's fingers, and cleft a -fair slice off his right temple--a stroke which stretched him without -a cry at my feet. Desperate and furious as a wild beast--half -blinded with his own blood, he sprang upon me and we grappled in the -dark; but as his wife, that diabolical Asturian, rushed up the -trap-stair, armed with a ponderous cajado, to his aid, I flung him on -the bed, for he was weak as a child now. Seeing a figure struggling -on the miserable pallet, the woman, who was as furious as an enraged -tigress, and who, in the uncertain light, believed that figure to be -mine, whirled round her head the cajado--which is the favourite staff -of the Portuguese, and is usually seven feet long, with a leaden knob -at one end of it--and by one blow dashed out her husband's brains as -completely as a cannon-ball would have done. - -Madre mia, some of that frightful mess flew over me, and that blow -ended the matter, for I uttered a cry of horror, and plunging down -the trap-stair, threw myself on my horse, and galloped away. On, on -I rode, with no wish but to leave that scene of crime behind me, and -at the very place where I was met by that venerable shepherd, whom, -until my dying hour, I will maintain to be no other than our blessed -St. Anthony, but for whose warning I had drunk that poisoned Xeres, -and perished--I overtook a troop of the Carbineros of Alentejo, to -whom I told my late adventure. - -A party was sent to the little inn, where they found the hostalero -brained, as I have said, in that miserable loft, and the hostess -almost bereft of her senses, such as they were. But the dragoons -placed her on a troop horse, and brought her before the Alcalde of -Vimiero, which is the nearest town, and before the next day's noon, -she had been garotted and buried by the wayside; and you may still -see her grave, one mile beyond the gates, on the side of the way that -leads towards Estremoz and the mountains. - -Two days after, I reached Barbacena, our headquarters, in safety, and -paid over to our Father Chaplain, the purse of moidores, containing -the pay of our extra Lieutenant-Colonel, the blessed St. Anthony. -Only a month ago, we marched through the pass of the Sierra, and I -found the old posada roofless by the roadside, for it is shunned like -that place of horror, the Rio de Muerte; the grass has grown on its -floor, and the wild vine overtops its chimney; the merriest muleteer -becomes silent as he passes the place, and whips his lagging team -down the mountain side, without looking once behind him. - ----------- - -The major of the noble Regiment of Lagos now paused, and looked round -with the air of a man who thinks his story has rather made an -impression; for he had told it well, and with much gesture and -spirit, and completely succeeded in arresting the attention of all in -the venta; but of none more than my matter-of-fact friend Jack -Slingsby, who had listened to the narrative with a degree of -attention which I thought unusual in one so volatile and heedless. - -"Your story, major, has had a peculiar interest for me by its -striking and close resemblance to an adventure of my own," said Jack, -"an adventure to which I can never recur without an emotion of -horror." - -"Is this the Spanish story you so often refer to, Jack?" said I. - -"The story our mess could never get out of me?--yes." - -"And shall we hear it now?" - -"With pleasure; because it will interest all here, whereas among our -own bantering fellows at Gibraltar it would only have subjected me, -perhaps, to jibes and jokes, and all that sort of thing, from those -who were, perhaps, more thoughtless than myself. Señora patrona, -please to have the wine replenished; give us more cigars, and stir up -the fire, Ramble, while I prepare to tell you a story--aye, a marvel -of a story, in which I had the misfortune to be a principal actor not -very long ago." - -"Bravo!" muttered every one. - -All were provided with a fresh supply of wine, new cigars were -lighted, and Jack found himself the centre of a circle of dark, -gleaming, and intelligent eyes, while every ear was waiting for the -promised narrative; for among the romantic, adventurous, and -marvel-loving Spaniards, as among the wandering Arabs, a story-teller -is at all times the principal person in company. - -It would be scarcely possible to find a scene more remarkable, or a -group more picturesque, than the great apartment presented, in which -we were all congregated. - -A large fire blazed on its broad hearth, and shed a ruddy glow upon -the rough architecture and ill-squared beams of the chamber, from the -roof of which hung innumerable bunches of raisins, strings of the -garlic onion, pigskins of wine, hams, baskets, and other etcetera. -The flood of steady red light that gushed from the hearth glared on -the striking forms and foreign faces of the listening group, among -whom were the well-conditioned potters and soap-boilers of Seville in -their black velvet jackets and gaudy sashes; our patrona, a plump and -pretty paisana of Valverde, in her provincial costume, a dark blue -skirt, the scantiness of which displayed her well-turned legs and -handsome feet encased in little shoes of untanned leather, while the -gathered masses of her smooth black hair shone in the glow of light; -there, too, sat the old padre José of Medina in his sable cape and -long cassock, and a grisly goatherd of the Honda clad from neck to -knee in sheepskins, with a weatherbeaten sombrero slouched over his -sallow visage; a knife and bota, castanets and flute, at his girdle, -to which descended his snow-white beard, giving him the aspect of St. -Anthony in the major's story; then there was the major himself in his -light green frock-coat, scarlet cap and trowsers, with a cigar -glowing like a hot coal in the centre of his heavy thick mustache; -then there was an old unhoused Franciscan, begging for that -subsistence of which the new Government had deprived his order; a -charming young Gitana, tall and beautiful in form, with a clear olive -complexion and magnificent eyes; and by her side sat a free, jolly -Catalan reaper, whom in defiance of all gypsy rule and immemorial -custom she had taken as her spouse; so it must be acknowledged that -if Jack's audience was not select, it had at least the merit of being -so remarkable in costume and character, that a painter or novelist -would have been delighted with the whole group, its background, and -accessories. - -"In many of its features," said Slingsby, "my story is so similar to -the one just related by the major, that I am assured you cannot fail -to be struck with the resemblance. The adventure made a deep -impression upon me; and though several months have passed since it -occurred, the whole affair is as fresh in my mind as if it had -happened only yesterday. On leaving the 6th Regiment," continued -Jack, turning to me, "I went for a few months into the Highlanders, -but, being an Englishman, I never felt at home in the kilt, so I -exchanged into our present corps, which will account for my being in -the Mediterranean at the time referred to.--So now for the story." - -"Bravo, señor!" said the major of the regiment of Lagos; "you speak -Spanish like a good Christian. We are all attention." - -Jack bowed, stuck his glass in his eye, tipped the ashes off his -cigar with the nail of his forefinger, and began the following story, -which deserves an entire chapter devoted to itself. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -LA POSADA DEL CAVALLO. - -In the summer of last year, I was proceeding home to Britain on leave -of absence from my regiment, the --th Highlanders, which were then, -and are still, lying in garrison at Malta. Favoured by the -friendship of her commander, and my good friend and old -school-fellow, Lieutenant John Hall, I had a passage given to me in -Her Majesty's Sloop Blonde, of twenty-six guns; and after a pleasant -run for a few days, a smart breeze, which we encountered off -Almuneçar, when sailing along the coast of Spain, brought down some -of our top hamper, and we ran in to Malaga to repair the damage. - -It was a beautiful and sunny evening when our anchor plunged into the -shining waters of that deep bay which presents so superb a line of -coast, and the background of which is formed by the undulating line -of the Sierra de Mija towering into the pure blue sky of Spain, and -bounding, in the distance, the flat and fertile Vega. - -From the quarter-deck of the Blonde, we had a magnificent prospect of -Malaga, with its stately mansions, its domes, its spires and snowy -kiosks, bathed in a warm yellow tint as the sun's rays faded along -the Vega, and the shadows deepened on its hills, clothed with -vineyards and plantations of orange, almond, lemon and olive trees. -The gaudy Spanish flag descended from the dark ramparts of the old -Moorish fortress of Gibral-Faro as the evening gun was fired from the -guard-ship; and then, as the sun set behind tha mountains, the bells -tolled for vespers in the lofty steeple of the square Cathedral, and -a red lambent light began to glimmer on the tall brick chimneys of -that extensive iron-foundry, which (alas for romance!) a thoroughly -practical Scotsman has built in Malaga, where it finds food and work -for hundreds, in smelting the ore of the adjacent hills, while it -pollutes the cerulean sky of Granada. - -Bent upon a ramble or adventure, the second-lieutenant (Jack Hall) -and I took our fowling-pieces, and, leaving our swords behind us--at -least I took only my regimental dirk--were pulled ashore in the -dingy, which landed us at one of those piers that project from the -city into the sea, forming part of that noble mole which measures -seven hundred yards in length. - -Leaving our guns and shooting apparatus at our hotel, we wandered -about the town; visited the Alcazaba, which must once have been a -fortress of vast strength; then the old Roman Cathedral and Bishop's -Palace; but we lingered longest in the Alameda--that beautiful -promenade--which is eighty feet wide, and is bordered by rows of -orange and oleander trees, and in the centre of which a magnificent -marble fountain was tossing its sparkling waters into the starry sky. - -Here we saw some bright-eyed Spanish women in their dark mantillas -and veils, and not a few in tha homely and assuredly less graceful -bonnet and shawl of London and Paris, whose fashions are gradually, -and, I think, unfortunately, superseding the more captivating dress -of old Spain; we saw too, ferocious-looking soldiers in dark dresses, -weaving yellow sashes, red forage caps, and enormous moustaches; old -priests gliding stealthily along, with an aspect of meekness, and -apparently crushed in spirit; for the Government presses with a heavy -hand on the ecclesiastics; citizens clad in light stuffs of bright -colours, with red sashes and low-crowned hats, having black silk -tufts at each side; queer-looking Caballeros in large brown cloaks -like that of Don Diego de Mendoza's "Poor Hidalgo," and wearing hats -'à la Kossuth.' As every man was smoking as if his salvation -depended upon his doing so with vigour, the whole air was redolent of -cigars. - -I had on my undress, a forage cap, and plain red jacket, with tartan -trews, my sash and dirk; for I have found that the British uniform -always ensures the wearer attention and respect in every part of the -globe. - -We wandered long in that lovely Alameda, until the last of its fair -promenaders had withdrawn; and then we returned to our hotel rather -disappointed, that of all the black eyes we had seen flashing under -veils of Madeira lace, not one had given us a glance of -encouragement; that of all the pretty lips, which had been lisping -dulcet Spanish mixed with the Arabic of Granada, none had invited us -to follow; that of all the sombre cavaliers, not one appeared to be -an assassin or a Grand Inquisitor; and that, of all the hideous old -duennas whom we had seen cruising about us, not one had approached, -and with finger on her lip, and an impressive glance in her eye, -placed a mysterious note into either of our hands, and "disappeared -in the crowd." - -Nothing remarkable happened, save that Hall had his pocket picked of -his handkerchief and cigar-case, and we returned like other men to -our hotel, where we supped on devilled turkey and the wine of the -district, Tierno and Malaga; after which we turned into bed, warning -the waiter to summon us early, and have a guide to lead us toward the -neighbouring hills, where we intended to make some havock among the -game next day. - -Punctually at five o'clock in the morning the mozo-de-cafe roused us, -and, after coffee, we shouldered our double-barrelled rifles, and -accompanied by a young 'gamin' named Pedrillo, for whose fidelity the -waiter pledged his "honour," we departed on our ramble. - -If ever you saw the Spanish beggar-boys, as depicted by Murillo in -his famous picture, which is now in Dulwich College, they will know -perfectly the aspect of Pedrillo, our little guide. - -He was about twelve years old; but, hardened by indigence and -sharpened by privation, his perceptive faculties were keener than -those of many a man. His sallow little visage was stamped with more -of the animal than the intellectual being; his eyes were black, -glossy, and glittered alternately with cunning and intelligence. His -sole attire consisted of a dilapidated shirt, a pair of -knee-breeches, and a cowl, which confined his luxuriant black hair; -he had zinc rings in his ears, and bore altogether the aspect of a -little Lazzarone. - -He was intelligent withal, and he told us a vast number of anecdotes, -which increased in wonder and ferocity as we paid him one peseta -after another; but he dwelt particularly on the achievements of a -certain Juan Roa, otherwise styled de Antequera, who was then -prowling in that savage range of mountains, from whence he descended -sometimes alone, sometimes with many followers, especially when the -Solano blew from Africa, to commit outrages among the quiet quintas -and villages of the fertile Vega, where he was said to be in league -with every posada-keeper for forty miles around Malaga. - -About mid-day we rested under the cool shadow of a cork wood, about -ten miles from the city; it was a beautiful place, where the sward -was soft as velvet, and where a thick border of blushing rose-trees, -and wild hydrangias flourished near us. Here we shared our -provisions with a paisano and two armed contrabandistas whom we met, -and who shared with us their wine in return. The two smugglers had -strong and active horses, and carried blunderbusses and pistols to -guard their bales of chocolate, soap, tobacco, and cigars; they were -fine, merry fellows, gaudily dressed, and full of fun and anecdote; -for in Spain the contrabandista is a species of travelling newspaper. -Now all their news were of the last feat or outrage of Juan Roa. - -"I would give a guinea to meet this interesting vagabond; the -interview would tell famously in some of the monthlies," said Hall, -with a heedless laugh. - -"I think I should know him," said I; "for we saw at least twenty -coloured prints of him in the shops on the Alameda, last night. He -is a ferocious-looking dog!" - -The contrabandistas looked round with alarm, and then laughed -immoderately. - -"Ferocious? Indeed, señor?" said the paisano; "I beg to differ from -you, having myself seen Juan of Antequera face to face; and so think -him quite like other men." - -I gazed at the speaker, whom, by his green velvet jacket, adorned by -four dozen of brass buttons, his sombrero, with its broad yellow -ribband, his black plush breeches, red scarf and shoe-buckles, I -supposed to be the substantial farmer of one of the adjacent quintas. -He had a fine dark face, a powerful figure, and two black eyes that -seemed to be always looking through me. Over one eyebrow, he had a -large black patch. He carried a riding switch, had a knife in his -girdle; and altogether, as he lolled on the sward, smoking a paper -cigar and sipping red wine, I thought he would make a fine and -striking sketch, and equal to any by Pinelli. - -"Juan Roa," said he, "has committed great outrages in the Vega of -Granada. The Duke of Wellington has there an estate, having on it -about three hundred tenants, who yield some fifteen thousand dollars -of rental; but Juan has thrice drawn every duro of it from the old -abagado, who acts as steward to the duke." - -The contrabandistas again laughed at this immoderately. - -"You have seen this Juan of Antequera, have you not?" said I. - -"Face to face--often, señor." - -"And so have I," said little Pedrillo. - -"You! and when was this, my little fellow?" said Jack Hall. - -"On the night old Barradas, the muleteer, was murdered." - -The Spaniard with the patch knit his brows. - -"Caramba!" said he; "ah! I remember that." - -"Tell us about this murder," said Hall. - -"You must know, señors," said Pedrillo, "that at the foot of the -Sierra de Mija, about five miles from this, there stands a wayside -inn, called La Posada del Cavallo, for the keeper, Martin Secco, had -a great horse painted on his signboard. This man is the uncle of -Juan Roa, or of Antequera. He has a wife, and had two daughters. -The place is lonely; and it often happens, that those who put up -there for the night forget the right path; for they are lost among -the mountains, or fall into the sand-pits--at least, they are seldom -heard of after. You understand, señors?" - -The Spaniard with the patch smiled grimly, and played with his knife. - -"One night last year, I guided Pedro Barradas, the Cordovan muleteer, -to the posada, when it was dark as pitch. Pedro was very old, and -half blind, and had never been that way before. A storm came on, and -he desired me to remain with him, saying he would pay me well; old -Barradas was rich; he had made money in the war of independence, and -in the last civil war between the Carlists and Christines; and had -given three silver images to the church of his native puebla in Jaen. - -"We supped on baccallao, raisins, and plain bread, for the season was -Lent. While we were at supper, in the common hall of the posada, I -heard the rain pattering on the wooden shutters (there is not a glass -window in the house); I heard the thunder grumbling among the hills, -and the wind howling as it swept over the fields and vineyards of the -Vega. It was a lonely place for a poor boy who had neither father -nor mother, señors; but, then, I was not worth killing, though many -fears flitted through my mind; for Martin's wife--an ugly and -wicked-looking Basque provincial--put some very alarming questions to -old Pedro Barradas. She told him that the neighbourhood was infested -by bandidos and contrabandistas; and asked if he was a heavy sleeper. - -"'No,' said Barradas, 'in the war against Joseph Buonaparte I learned -the art of sleeping lightly.' - -"'But what will you do if attacked?' - -"'That is as may be; but I have only twenty duros, and so shall sleep -soundly enough.' - -"These questions alarmed me very much; visions of murder and -slaughter came before me. I crept close to Barradas, who, as I have -said, was very old and very frail; but his presence seemed a -protection to me for a time. - -"When the hour for bed arrived, we, who were the only guests, were -somewhat imperatively requested to retire to our rooms by the wife of -Martin Secco. - -"Barradas saw, perhaps, his danger, and said that I should sleep in -the same room with him. - -"But Inez Secco told him roughly that he must be content to sleep -alone. Then the poor old man was half-led and half-dragged away. As -for me, I was but a boy; so they thrust me into a dark closet, where -some straw lay on the floor, and, desiring me to sleep there and be -thankful, left me. - -"I lay down on the straw, and finding it wet, arose in horror, -fearing that it was blood; and so I remained in the dark, praying to -our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, and trembling and listening to the -howling of the storm for more than an hour, when all the other sounds -in that terrible posada died away. - -"I was just beginning to dose when a ray of light streamed through -the keyhole of my door; I heard it opened, and lo! Martin's wife, -Inez Secco, appeared with a long and sharp cuchillo in her hand. A -man accompanied her. He was Juan Roa de Antequera! Terror paralysed -me; and she believed me to be asleep, for she felt all over my -clothes--that is, my poor shirt and breeches-pockets, from which she -took two quarter-duros--all I possessed in this world; and then, -passing the light thrice across my face, to assure herself that I -slept, the hag went away muttering-- - -"'Caramba! only a half-duro; this little wretch is neither worth -lodging nor killing.' - -"Immediately after this I heard them whispering with Martin Secco; -and then they knocked at the door of old Pedro Barradas, who, like a -cautious man, had fastened it on the inside. - -"'Get up,' said they, 'Señor Barradas--get up--you are wanted.' - -"But old Barradas either slept like a top, or he was too wary to -open; for he heeded them not. - -"Then I heard Juan and Martin muttering curses as they deliberately -forced open the door; next there came a terrible cry of-- - -"'Help! Pedrillo, help! Ayuda, por amor de neustra Señora -Santissima!' - -"This was followed by sounds like those made by a sheep when the -knife of the carnicero is in its throat; and, in the meantime, -Martin's two daughters were singing as loud as they could, and -dancing a bolero in the passage, to conceal these terrible sounds, -which froze the blood within me." - -Here Pedrillo paused. - -"Go on," said Jack Hall, impatiently; "and how did you escape?" - -"If the noble señors would help me to refresh my memory----" - -"Ah, I comprehend," said I, tossing a peseta to him; "now fire away, -Pedrillo." - -"You should not encourage this young picaro, Señor Caballero," said -the Spaniard, whose face was now darkened by a terrible frown; "for -it is my belief that he was the mere decoy, who led poor old Pedro -Barradas to that villanous posada." - -Instead of being angry, Pedrillo lifted up his hands, and prayed that -Heaven and our Lady of the Seven Sorrows would forgive the speaker -for his vile suspicions. - -"I never closed an eye that night. In the morning I was told by Inez -the Patrona, that old Barradas had departed across the hills of -Antequera without me. Martin Secco asked me how I had slept? I -said, like a dormouse; and as soon as I was free, I ran like a hare -back to Malaga; and to make up for the loss of my last night's rest, -slept like a torpedo under the trees of the Alameda." - -"You acquainted the magistrates--the alguazils, of course," said -Hall, knocking the ashes from his third cigar. - -"I was only a poor, ragged, little picaro," replied Pedrillo, in a -whining voice; "and who would believe me? Besides, old Barradas was -a stranger from Cordova or Jaen; and a man, more or less, is nothing -in Granada; but since that time Martin's two daughters have been sent -to the galleys at Barcelona, by the captain-general of the kingdom, -for intriguing in many ways with the contrabandistas of Jaen. Now, -señors, the noon is past; and if it please you, 't is time we were -moving, if you wish to reach the Sierra." - -While we were placing fresh caps on our rifles, and preparing to -start, the Spaniard with the patch, who had listened to Pedrillo's -story with great impatience, now seized that young gamin by the arm, -and grasping it like a vice, gave him a savage scowl, and said -something in Spanish; but so rapidly, that I could only make out that -he was reprehending him severely for telling us "a succession of -falsehoods." - -So I thought at that time; afterwards I was enabled to put a -different construction upon his indignation, at which Pedrillo seemed -to be considerably alarmed. - -Bidding adieu to him and the contrabandistas, we departed under -Pedrillo's guidance, and (sans leave) shot all along the sides of the -mountain range, on the slope of which stands the small but ancient -city of Antequera, so noted for the revolt of the Moors in the -sixteenth century; and had some narrow escapes from falling into -those remarkable pits, where the water settles in the low places, and -is formed into salt by the mere heat of the sun. - -We did not see much game, but knocked over a few brace of birds, and -with these, and two red foxes, our little guide Pedrillo was quite -laden. So he seemed to think; for, taking advantage of the -concealment afforded him by some olive groves, and the scattered -remnants of an abandoned vineyard, among which we had become -entangled, the young rogue slipped away with our game and made off, -either towards Malaga or Antequera; at least we saw no more of him, -or of his burden at that time. - -This was just about the close of the day, when Hall and I were -draining the last drop of our flask, and surveying from the mountain -slope the magnificent prospect of the verdant Vega, spreading at our -feet like a brightly-tinted map, having that warm and roseate glow, -which well might win it the name of Tierra Caliente. Malaga, the -ancient bulwark of Spain against Africa, was shining in the distance, -with its towers and gates, its flat-roofed houses, and vast -cathedral; its Moorish castles and gothic spires, all bathed in a -warm and sunny yellow; while beyond lay the broad blue Mediterranean, -dotted by sails, and changing from gold to purple and to blue. - -This was all very fine: but our pleasure was lessened by the -conviction that our little rascal Pedrillo was absconding with our -game; and we knew that it would never do to relate to the gun-room -mess how we had been outwitted, on returning to the Blonde next day. - -The foreground of this beautiful panorama was broken by innumerable -small hillocks and clumps of wood of many kinds; but principally -olive, pine, and cork trees, that grew on the slope of the great -Sierra; and though the sky and landscape darkened fast after the sun -set, we instituted a strict and angry search for Pedrillo, shouting -and whistling as we stumbled on, we knew not very well whither, -looking for our lost spoils--two foxes, with gallant brushes, and -eight brace of birds. - -No moon had risen: the wind began to whistle among the groves and -hollows; the night was very dark. - -"What, if we should meet Master Juan of Antequera?" said I. - -"If he had our game, I should be very well pleased," replied Hall; -"but I wish that Pedrillo had been with old Scratch when we hired him -yesterday. If I had the little lubber on board the Blonde, I would -show him the maintop." - -"Spain is a land of mishaps and events," said I. - -"Yesterday we were wishing for an adventure." - -"And to-night we have one with a vengeance!" said I. - -"Belay; I see some one moving in that hollow. Let us jump down--ahoy -below there!" - -"But we may lose the track," I urged. - -"True; so do you remain where you are, while I go down into the -hollow. Hollo now and then, to let me know your whereabouts." - -With his rifle in his hand, Hall, who was a fine active fellow, -sprang down into a ravine that suddenly yawned before us, and I -remained with my rifle cocked, and stooped low to watch what might -follow. Hall disappeared in the obscurity below. I halloed; but the -night wind tossed back my own shout upon me. Then I thought I heard -his voice, and sprang after him; but fell upon a point of rock, and -sank, completely stunned, to the earth. - -There I lay for nearly a quarter of an hour, unable to move, or rally -my senses. When I arose, I found myself at the bottom of the hollow, -and upon a narrow mule track; the moon was rising brightly at the -south end of the ravine, silvering the masses of rocks, tufts of -laurel-trees, and wild vines that grew in the clefts of the basalt. -I shouted, but received no reply; and after a long and fruitless -search could discover no trace of Hall in any direction. - -Considerably alarmed for his safety as well as my own--for to lie at -night upon those hills of Antequera, with the devilish stories of -Pedrillo and the contrabandistas haunting one's memory, was anything -but pleasant--I tried the charges of my rifle, looked again to the -percussion-caps, and set off in that direction where, by the rising -of the moon, I knew that Malaga must lie; but frequently paused to -hollo for Jack Hall, and received no reply save the echoes of the -rocks. - -The ravine descended and grew more open. Again I saw the Vega -sleeping at my feet in the haze; and, on turning an angle of the -road, found myself close to an inn or taberna, which I approached -with joy, concluding that my friend Jack must have gone that way, and -would probably be there. - -Like all Spanish inns, it was a large and mis-shapen edifice, the -lower story of which was nothing better than a great open shed, for -mules and vehicles; and, ascending from thence by a stair, I reached -a gallery, at the door of which I was received by the host, who -carried in his hand a stable lantern. - -"Entrar," said he, bowing profoundly; "entrar, señor." - -"I have been shooting on the mountains," said I, "and have lost my -companion, a British naval officer. Has he passed this way?" - -"No, señor," replied the host, (whose face I could not yet see,) as -he led me up another stair. - -"Then get supper prepared; for he must soon be here, as I have no -doubt he knows pretty well the direction of Malaga. And now," said -I, drawing a long breath, as I seated myself, "what place is this?" - -"La Posada del Cavallo." (!) - -"Eh! ah--and you?" I asked, in a thick voice. - -"Martin Secco, at your service, Señor Caballero!" - -"Here was a dénouement! - -"Good Heavens!" thought I, mechanically resuming my rifle; "if the -stories of Pedrillo should be true." - -I scrutinised my host and hostess. - -Martin had a broad and open visage, with keen eyes, and a black beard -as thick as a horse-brush; a wide mouth, that frequently expanded in -grins; but in those grins no radiance ever lit up his glassy eyes. -The mouth laughed; but they remained immovable--invariably a bad -sign. His forehead receded, and his ears were placed high upon his -head. At the first glance, I concluded that my señor patron was an -unmitigated brute. His figure was somewhat portly, and encased in a -brown jacket, brown knee-breeches, and black stockings; he wore his -hair confined in a caul, and had a yellow sash round his waist. - -His wife was, as Pedrillo had described Inez Secco, a Basque, for her -Spanish was almost unintelligible; and her coarse black hair was -plaited in one thick tail, which reached to her heels. Her gown was -of rough red cloth, with tight sleeves and a short skirt, displaying -a pair of yellow worsted stockings and leather sandals, fastened by -thongs above the ancle. Her face was coarse and bloated; but the -expression of her eye was terrible. It hovered between the bright -ferocious glare of a snake, and the glazed orb of an arrant sot. She -scanned me closely; and I thought the old devil (she was a Spanish -woman, and past forty,) was accurately appraising the value of all I -had on. - -"Well, señora patrona," said I, "what can I have for supper?" - -"The señor has come at a bad time, for we have little or no -provisions in our larder." (The larder of every Spanish inn has been -in the same condition since the days of Cervantes and Gongora.) "For -now this road between Malaga and Antequera is but little frequented -after noon-day, owing to the terrible robberies and the four -assassinations committed by Juan Roa, during the last Solano. -Caramba! 't is very hard that we should suffer for him." - -"What can I have, then?" - -"A roasted galina, dressed with a few beans," said the patrona. - -"And a glass of good aquadiente," added the host; "our Tierno has -soured in the wine-skins." - -"'T is poor fare this, for hungry men. I have said that I expect my -friend's arrival momently." - -The host gave a cold smile, and said, "We have had nothing ourselves, -for a week past, but Indian corn and boiled garbanzos (beans); but -the best we have is at the disposal of the señor caballero." - -The inn was old and crazy; the wind came in at one cranny, and -whistled out by another. The roof, walls, and floor of the large -apartment in which we three were seated, consisted of a multitude of -beams and boards, placed horizontally and diagonally, without skill -and without regard to design or appearance. There was but one candle -in the house (as the host assured me), and it was rapidly guttering -down in the currents of air. The patrona transferred it from the -lantern to an iron holder, and it was placed on the table to light -the room and my supper. - -An ostler, or nondescript servant, wearing fustian knee-breeches, -without braces, with a muleteer's embroidered shirt, and having a -yellow handkerchief tied round his head, spread a (not over-clean) -cloth on the table; knives, forks, and covers were laid for two, with -a cold fowl, a loaf of white bread, a dish of beans, garlic, and a -bottle of aquadiente. - -I observed this wild-looking waiter frequently glancing at my rifle, -and the jewelled dirk that dangled at my waist-belt; I became -suspicious of everything. - -"You are well armed, señor," said he. - -"It is natural; for arms are my profession," said I. - -I looked at my watch: the hands indicated eleven o'clock! Two hours -had elapsed since Hall and I had separated; still there was no -appearance of him. Twenty times I opened the shutters of the -unglazed windows, and listened intently; but the night wind that -swept down the dark ravine in the Sierra, brought neither shout nor -footstep; so I resolved to sup, go to bed, and trust to daylight for -discovering Jack, if he did not arrive at the posada before morning. - -I had just concluded supper, when the last remains of the last candle -in this solitary inn, sank into its iron socket, and left us in -darkness; at least with no other light than the red wavering glow -that came from the hearth, where a few roots of pine and corkwood -smouldered beside the brown puchero, in which the amiable patrona had -boiled the beans for my repast. - -"Here is a pretty piece of business!" said Martin Secco; "we have not -another candle were it to light a blessed altar; and the señor -Caballero must go to bed in the dark." - -"Heed not that, señor patron," said I; "for I am a soldier, as you -may see, and am used to discomfort." - -"'T is well; for I am sure that the señor has experienced nothing but -discomfort in our poor posada. When I am rich enough, señor, I hope -to have an hotel in the Alameda; and then should the Caballero ever -come to Malaga again, he will remember Martin Secco." - -At this remark, I heard the patrona utter a low chuckling laugh; but -whether at the prospect of the fine hotel, or the doubtful chances of -my ever again visiting Malaga, I could not say. - -"Now, señor patron," said I, rising and taking up my rifle, "I should -like to reach the town betimes to-morrow; so show me to my chamber, -and should my friend arrive, fail not to call me." - -"Will you not leave your gun here?" suggested the host. - -"Thank you--no," said I, while my undefined suspicions grew stronger -within me. "Do you lead the way, señor, and I shall follow. Good -night, señora patrona." - -"Bueno noche, señor," said she, stirring up the embers; and we -separated. - -To follow Martin was perhaps the most unpleasant part that I had yet -acted; for I had to grope my way after him along a dark passage, -about forty feet long, at the end of which he ushered me into a room, -where there was no other light than that given by the moon, which -shone through a small window glazed with little panes of coarse -glass. Here he bade me "Bueno noche;" and, after many apologies for -my miserable accommodation, left me. - -The apartment was small. In one corner stood a French bed, having -light-coloured curtains; this, with a basin-stand, two chairs and a -mirror, made up the furniture. Like a true soldier, I turned to -secure the door. - -Destitute of lock or bolt: it had only a small thumb-latch! - -Dismounting the ewer and basin, I placed the stand end-wise between -the bed and the door, firmly fixing it, and thus forming a barricade, -which none could force without awaking me. To make all sure, I again -dropped the ramrod into each barrel of my rifle, passed a finger over -the caps, unbuckled the belt at which my dirk dangled; and, without -undressing, for every moment I expected to hear Jack Hall hallooing -outside the house; in short, to be prepared for anything, I threw -myself down on the coverlet, and weary and worn by a long day's -ramble among the mountains, prepared to sleep. - -For a long time a species of painful wakefulness possessed me; the -moans of the passing wind, the flapping of a loose board in the -external gallery, the wavering shadows thrown by the moonlight on the -damp and discoloured walls; even the ticking of my watch disturbed -me, and kept me constantly thinking of poor Hall's unaccountable -absence, with many a fear that he might have fallen into the hands of -Juan of Antequera, and not a few reproaches for my having perhaps too -easily relinquished my search for him. - -These thoughts completely obliterated any sense of my own immediate -danger; but I was about to drop asleep when something moist that -oozed over my neck and face aroused me. I started, fully awake in a -moment; and, passing a hand across my cheek, looked at it in the -moonlight. - -"Blood!" said I, springing off the bed, while a thrill ran through -me. I had not been wounded or cut by my fall; then from whence came -this terrible moisture? I examined the pillow, and found the lower -part of it quite wet; I turned it, and lo! it was saturated with -blood! - -This was the reason, that Martin Secco had declined to give me a -candle. My heart beat thick and fast; apprehension of something -horrible came over me, and I remembered the stories of Pedrillo. I -also recollected that I had some excellent Spanish cigar fusees, and -tearing three or four blank leaves from my note book, I twisted them -together, lit them, and surveyed the dingy chamber. The boards in -front of the bed were marked by recent spots of blood; I raised the -little fringe or curtain, and, guided by some terrible instinct, -looked below, and saw--what? - -Poor Jack Hall lying there in his naval uniform, with his epaulette -torn off, and his throat literally cut from ear to ear! - -He had found his way here before me, and been assassinated. - -Almost paralysed, I continued for half a minute to gaze at this -terrible spectacle, till the paper burned down to my fingers and -expired. I heard my heart beating; and my head spun round as I -tightened my belt and grasped my loaded rifle. Before I could adopt -any plan of operations, I heard a rustling and whispering in the -passage near my door; and, looking through a crack in the panels, -saw, within a yard of me, Martin Secco, bearing in one hand the rifle -of my poor friend, and in the other a lighted candle, although he had -made to me so many apologies, about two hours before, for not having -another in the house. As he approached, he handed it to a boy, in -whom I discovered Pedrillo; and then the light flashed upon two other -men, in one of whom I recognised the ostler, and in the other, our -acquaintance of the noon, with the patch on his face, and wearing the -green velvet jacket and sombrero. This worthy had a pistol in one -hand and a knife in the other. The patrona was also there, with her -wolfish eyes and enormous Basque queue. - -Outrage and assassination were impressed on the hard lines of all -their cruel and savage visages; and I perceived at once that without -a vigorous effort I was lost--that my life was forfeited; and all the -anticipations of newspaper paragraphs; "a mysterious disappearance" -in the "Times" and "Military Gazette," flashed upon my mind. I had -youth, a noble profession, many kind friends, my regiment, and home, -with "the best of expectations," as old dowagers say, on one hand; a -horrible and sudden death--a lonely scene of unknown butchery, on the -other! - -I cocked the locks of my rifle, and resolutely removed the barricade -from the door. - -"Take time, Juan Roa," said the patrona. - -"Hold your tongue, old perra; I know well enough what I am doing," -growled the personage in green, whom I now knew to be that terrible -outlaw, who since the Carlist war, had laughed at the carabineros and -alguazils, and kept all Malaga, the Sierra de Mija, and the Vega of -Granada astir and in terror. - -Including the patrona, and the treacherous young rascal Pedrillo, I -had five desperate enemies, and only two bullets at their service. - -"Let us prove whether the Inglese is asleep, before we enter," said -the patron, knocking at the door gently, and placing the candle -behind him. - -"No answer--he is certainly asleep," whispered the patrona. - -"Knock again," growled Juan Roa. - -A smart blow was then given; but still I made no reply. Then the -patron applied his hand to the latch; but before he could open the -door, I fired right through the slender panels, and shot him dead by -one bullet, knocking over the ostler by the other, which he received -through his neck and shoulder. - -Clubbing my rifle, I then rushed out; and charging them in the smoke -and confusion, dealt Juan Roa a tremendous blow with the butt end, -which levelled him beside the two ruffians who lay bleeding in the -narrow passage. Escaping a pistol shot from Juan, but receiving two -desperate cuts from the termagant patrona and the wasp Pedrillo, I -reached the end of the passage, sprang through the common hall, and -found the outer door fastened. By main strength I tore it open, and -reached the external gallery, over which I dropped, though it was -fully twelve feet from the ground; and, just as I did so, the boy -Pedrillo fired one of Juan's pistols after me; but I escaped it, and -ran down the mountain slope, loading my rifle as I went, and driving -a bullet home into each barrel. - -Grey morning was spreading along the east, and the red flush of the -coming sun was brightening behind the dark towers of Gibral-Faro, and -sparkling on the lattices of Malaga. The aromatic plants were -putting forth their sweetest perfume, and the light foliage of the -sugar-cane, the cotton plant, and the citron tree, were shaking off -the heavy dews of night. The air was clear and cool; after the toils -of the past day, the sleepless night and its terrors, the fresh dewy -atmosphere revived me, and, dashing down the lonely mountain-side, I -reached a little puebla, and reported the whole affair to the officer -who there commanded a party of the carabineros of Antequera. - -A sergeant and twenty troopers galloped away to the posada, which -they found completely deserted by all its living tenants; but they -hung the body of the patron upon a tree, burned the house to the -ground, and conveyed the mangled remains of poor Jack Hall to Malaga, -where they were interred next day, with all the honours of war, in -that corner of the Campo Santo which is appropriated for the burial -of strangers; and there the marines of the Blonde fired three volleys -over the grave, where as noble a heart as Her Majesty's service -possessed was committed to the earth of Spain. - -An hour's examination before a magistrate, who swore me across my -sword as to the particulars, was all the judicial inquiry ever made; -we sailed next day, and reached Portsmouth, after a fine run, and -without any other mishaps; but I shall never forget that terrible -night among the mountains of Antequera, Martin Secco, his wife's -tail, and the horrors of La Posada del Cavallo. - -Jack's adventure elicited a burst of applause, and was voted the -story of the evening, notwithstanding the great spice of the -miraculous and holy, which had seasoned the narrative of the Major -Don Joaquim. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE HALT IN A CORK WOOD - -Next morning betimes we left the venta of Castellar where, overnight, -we had spent so many pleasant hours. The Major Don Joaquim was very -curious to know the object of our mission to Seville, of which he -announced himself a well-known citizen; but we declined to state the -reason of our visit in uniform to that far-famed city; neither did we -mention that our business lay with no less a personage than the -captain-general of Los Cuatros Reinos. - -In a country like Spain, where the people are so jealous of their -national honour and so revengeful, we did not conceive that it would -be conducive to our safety to state that we were the identical -officers whose affair with the guarda costa had caused so much -heartburning for some weeks past, and so much correspondence between -our governor and the minister Espartero; so, somewhat piqued by our -reserve, the major gave us a formal bow, and clambered into the -vehicle which was to convey him to Medina. We separated, the convoy -of calessos got into motion after much noise and vociferation on the -part of the drivers, the stable-boys, the hostalero, and the -passengers, who were all gabbling at once in full-toned Spanish as -they rolled away under the escort of a party of very ill-appointed -dragoons in the service of Donna Isabella la Catolica, while we rode -off in the opposite direction towards Alcala de los Gazules, a small -town, which lies on the Seville road, and through which we passed -soon after. - -"Let us push on," said I, to interrupt Jack, who had been rallying me -pretty smartly about Donna Paulina, and vowing that all this affair -of a trip to Seville had been foreseen and preconcerted by me for the -purpose of meeting her again and continuing a flirtation which was a -source of great merriment to the regiment. "Let us push on, Jack, -for I feel very anxious----" - -"To reach Seville, of course; but it won't run away; we shall find it -in its proper place on the left bank of the Guadalquiver." - -"You mistake me. I was thinking how awkward it would be for us if -the Himalaya was to come round during our absence; and if on our -return we should find the whole regiment embarked and steaming away -for the Crimea." - -"Awkward! I should think so, rather; but it is not likely they can -decamp in such a hurry. After all we heard last night about the -restless habits of the good people in these mountains, and their -vague or peculiar ideas regarding property, together with the -eccentricities of this Don Fabrique, do we not run a little risk in -proceeding without an escort?" - -"There is risk, certainly; but our return is not to be thought of -till the duty is done." - -"Of course not--what would the regiment say?" - -"And what should we think of ourselves?" - -"We are, I hope, a match for any six Spaniards, with our swords and -revolvers, in fighting; and with these good nags under us I should -think we are more than a match for them in flying. But the noon is -becoming so hot that I propose we should halt under that grove of -cork-trees and there take a siesta." - -We halted accordingly at the base of a steep mountain chain, between -the cleft peaks of which a noonday-flood of yellow light was gushing. -Sterile, abrupt, and bare above us rose the ridgy rocks: the little -valley at the base was teeming with verdure and fertility, but it was -silent and solitary, for not a sound was heard save the murmur of a -stream which bubbled from a fissure in a vine-covered cliff. It -meandered between meadows of aromatic plants, and sought deep pools -over which the oleander and the bay threw their branches, and the -cool shady thickets of the dark wood of olive and cork-trees. - -Just where we dismounted, we found a personage lounging on the grass. -He was smoking a cigar, and had a long gun beside him. Without -rising for a minute nearly, he scrutinised us and our horses with -marked curiosity. His costume was somewhat gay, being in the highest -style of the bull-ring, or that of a majo or dandified Spanish -ladrone, whose free aspect and gallant air make him the admiration of -the dark-eyed paisanas and the envy of their more peaceful male -relatives; for the majo is the bravo of our own time. - -This personage wore an ample brown cloak, which hung loosely about -his shoulders, a black velvet sombrero, with a large tuft of black -plush on one side thereof, and under its deep rim his coal-black hair -fell in heavy locks, and his flashing eyes watched all our motions, -with an indescribable expression of stealth and suspicion. A long -knife and a pair of brass-butted pistols were in his gaudy sash; he -wore leathern gaiters, and was playing with the blade of a navaja, or -clasp-knife, about ten inches long--a deadly instrument, which the -Spaniard is never without, for therewith he cuts his 'carne' and -bread, or his bacallao in Lent, slices his melon in summer, and -slashes the face of any person with whom he may chance to differ in -opinion. Indeed, the visage of this lounger bore the very -unmistakable mark of a long slash which had once laid it open from -eye to chin. Beside him stood a beautiful Andalusian jennet, high of -head, and bold in chest; its gaily-fringed bridle was thrown over the -branch of an olive tree, and it was accoutred with a high-peaked -saddle of antique form, covered by a piece of white sheepskin, which -was spread also over a pair of holsters. - -"Buenos dias, señor," said I; "a good morning--I fear we are -disturbing you." - -"Not at all, señores--the greensward, the shadow of those trees, and -the waters of this stream, flowing from yonder sierra, belong to us -all in common. Sit down, señores, and halter your horses, as you see -I have haltered mine. You belong to the Gibraltar garrison, I -presume--right--you are Inglesos." - -"No, Brittanicos," said I, with a smile. - -"And whither go ye?" - -"To Seville." - -"Ah, would I were going with you: it is a place of joy and merriment, -Seville. The sun shines on it once every day of the year; yet I go -there but seldom. Allow me to make you each a cigarillo." - -"With pleasure." - -To have declined would have been an affront as great as to refuse a -proffered snuff-mull in the country of the clans. Our Spaniard -produced one of those little books of soft blank paper (almost the -only volumes used in Spain), and tore out three leaves; he then took -tobacco from his silk pouch and made up three little cigars very -neatly and adroitly; but twice during the operation I detected his -stealthy eyes scanning us from under his bushy eyebrows. - -My little box of patent lights excited his wonder and admiration, as -he was about to exert his patience by having recourse to the -antiquated flint and steel. Then Jack Slingsby produced his -travelling flask; I brought forth mine, and the Spaniard had a -capacious bota of wine, a drinking cup of leather, a piece of -bacallao and biscuits; and we were just proceeding to lunch, when his -Andalusian jennet pricked up its ears and neighed uneasily. - -"Maldito!" said our companion, as a scowl came over his visage and -his hand fell mechanically on the lock of his gun; "some one -approaches." - -"An old woman on a donkey, and nothing more," said Slingsby, -carelessly; "amigo mio, you look as much alarmed as if you expected -the terrible Fabrique de Urquija, or Juan Roa of Antequera." - -The keen eyes of the Spaniard flashed, and he looked at Jack as if he -would have pierced him through. - -"I fear neither Don Fabrique nor any other man," said he gruffly; "a -woman on a burro--oh--it must be poor Sister Santa Veronica, of -Estrelo, a town about a league distant." - -"How is she named so?" I asked. - -"After the blessed Santa Veronica who wiped the pale face of our -Lord, when dying upon his cross," replied the Spaniard, lowering his -head; "and as she did so, on her kerchief there became impressed the -most wondrous of religious miracles--the Santa Faz--the holy -countenance of Jaen, where it is still preserved in our cathedral, -and from which the portraits of our Saviour are all taken; hence it -is that his sad and upturned face, with its crown of bloody thorns -and curling heard, and the long yellow hair parted over the smooth -pale brow, are so well known over all the Christian world." - -As he spoke, an elderly woman, habited like a nun, in a coarse and -well-patched dress of black serge, with a hood of spotless white -linen folded across her brow and chin, and having its long ends -drooping lappetwise down her withered cheeks, rode up to us on a -donkey, which displayed--what one seldom sees in a Spanish -ass--evident signs of being ill-fed and ill-groomed. The nun, who -had a careworn, grave, and, though stern, not unpleasing expression -of face, carried a covered basket on her arm. Our companion sprang -to his feet, and, doffing his sombrero, hastened to meet her and to -hold the bridle of her animal. - -She was abroad, as she told us, begging alms and food for the sisters -of her convent--ten ladies--all of whom were of noble rank, but the -most of whose kinsmen had fallen in battle under Don Ramon de -Cabrera, and thus left them friendless. They were now, by the -confiscation of the ecclesiastical revenues, and the seizure of those -sums which they had paid as a dowry into the convent treasury, -reduced to extreme penury in their old age, and were driven from -their pleasant convent in the beautiful vega of Jaen; since then they -had endeavoured to perform the duties of their order, and to serve -God, in a poor and half-ruined house, which belonged to a noble, -charitable. and religious lady, Donna Dominga de Lucena, y Colmenar -de Orieja, at Estrelo; and now would not the noble Caballeros give -something to the poor ladies of Santa Theresa, however small, for the -love of God and of blessed charity? - -All this, which she prettily told, was addressed to us, rather than -to the stranger, at whom she glanced uneasily from time to time, -although he stood bare-headed, with the deepest respect, and holding -her burro by the bridle. - -The circumstance of the sisterhood being befriended by the mother of -Donna Paulina would have sufficed to interest us, if the wrong done -them by the present Government of Spain had failed to do so. Our -purses were at once produced, and we respectfully raised our caps on -presenting the poor nun with a few pillared dollars, which no doubt -she little expected from two heretical Brittanicos. - -They had been robbed of everything, she continued--at least, all save -their cases of reliques and the bones of Santa Theresa, which they -had borne on their shoulders in sad procession from Jaen to Estrelo; -and, moreover, they had lost the wonderful portrait of their -patroness, which had been seized and sold by those hijos de Luiz -Philipe, the men of the new administration; but it was no fault of -the present Queen of Spain, for poor Isabella la Catolica had wept -her eyes out in the cause of the poor monks and nuns. The señores -had, no doubt, heard of the wonderful portrait of the blessed Theresa? - -In great sorrow we professed our ignorance thereof. - -"Madre Mia! It was said to be an Alonzo Cano, and had narrowly -escaped the clutches of the Marshals Soult and Massena, when they -swept away the golden moidores of the Portuguese and the divine -Murillos of the Spaniards. It belonged to the chapel in which the -saint was baptized, and was quite as veritable and wonderful as the -holy countenance of Jaen, and was usually placed over the great -altar; but one day when the chapel was undergoing repair, it was -placed at the porch, where it was seen by a certain ruined -gamester--a savage and desperate fellow, worse than Juan Roa or Don -Fabrique, as he came past that way. In a fit of mad despair, having -just lost everything, he struck his dagger into the bosom of the -picture, from which there immediately gushed out a torrent of blood -in the sight of the terrified people; while a faint cry was heard in -the air, as of one in pain afar off." - -"And the gamester?" - -"Went raving mad and died, chained like a wild beast in the Gaza de -Locos of Jaen." - -To our gift, our companion added a doubloon, a present so valuable -that it excited our surprise and kindled the fear of the poor nun, -who accepted it with reluctance, and, with abundance of genuflections -and thanks, whipped up her burro, which trotted away. - -"Shall I not have the honour of escorting you to Estrelo, reverend -señora?" cried our friend, hurrying after her. - -"Muchos gratias--no, no! a thousand thanks, señor," she replied, -hurriedly; "no one will molest a poor sister of Santa Theresa." - -Her ill-concealed repugnance to receive his alms evidently impressed -the Spaniard, who seated himself in silence, and smoked with a sullen -expression, as if somewhat depressed by the whole affair; but Jack -Slingsby, who hated silence more than anything in the world, began to -make some casual inquiries as to whether or not the famous Urquija -had been heard of hereabout, and where he was generally to be found. - -"Found," reiterated the Spaniard, with a frown of surprise; "he is -often found by those who least like such a discovery." - -"So it seems," replied Jack, "and by the accounts we heard of him at -the--how do you name it?--the venta last night, he seems to be ripe -fruit for the gallows." - -"Indeed," said the Spaniard, quietly making up another cigarillo, -"you are very loud, Señor Viajador, (traveller), in condemning this -poor son of Andalusia, this Don Fabrique; but you do so simply -because you know nothing about him; being, like most Englishmen, -totally ignorant of every country except your own portion of Britain, -and, believing that whatever is not English must be radically, -physically, and morally wrong, you have come among us predisposed to -ridicule and to condemn." - -"The deuce!" said Jack, with an air of pique; "I beg to assure you, -my fine fellow, that I could tell you a story of a posada----" - -"Enough, señor," replied the other, waving his hand with great -dignity of manner, while a savage gleam shot over his stealthy eyes; -"but allow me to inform you that a bandit--I do not mean a pitiful -picaro who steals purses and pocket-handkerchiefs on the prado, or a -swindling raterillo who cheats at cards, but an armed robber (and -here his hand struck the butt of his escopeta)--is a modern Spanish -hero, and the pretty paisana and the bluff muleteer sing of his -exploits in the same breath with those of Rodrigo de Bivar, the Cid -Campeador, Hernando de Cordova, and the chiefs of the war of -Independence, when we saw the fields of Vimiero, of Talavera and -Rorica; lend a new lustre to the names of Mina, of Murillo, and of -Wellington!" - -"Very likely; but this Don Fabrique commits such devilish atrocities, -and all that sort of thing," urged Jack, closing with his incessant -phrase. - -"Do you know why poor Fabrique took his gun and stiletto, and went to -the mountains?" - -"Shall I tell you?" - -"If you please." - -"Listen. There was an abogado, a lawyer of Jaen, named Jacop el -Escribano, who married the aunt of Fabrique--an aunt who had been a -mother to him after his own died, or rather was murdered by the -Chapelgorri's. She tended him, reared him, loved and educated him at -Alcala, and he was to be her heir, for she was rich, and had mines of -quicksilver and cinnabar on the confines of Murcia; and her heir he -had every right to be, for other kindred she had none. Well, this -good aunt fell sick; those who were more than usually acute, or more -than usually evil-minded, said that the abogado had poisoned her -mentally and bodily. At all events he wrote out her will, which -bequeathed all her property to himself, whom failing, to a certain -Gil Jacop, his son by a former marriage, and to poor Fabrique, the -son of her dead brother, not a peseta, not a pistareen! This limb of -Satan and the law, succeeding in all his ends and objects, poisoned -her ears against the poor student of Alcala. Well, the aunt died. -Full of sorrow Fabrique hastened to his home to find the door of it -shut in his face, and the malicious abogado in possession of -everything, even to his aunt's snuff-box and armed chair. Our poor -student rushed to the Alcalde, who heard him with a smile of -incredulity--why? because he was the cousin of the abogado, and he, -too, shut his door in the face of Fabrique. Bursting with -indignation he sought the corregidor, to pour out anew the story of -his wrongs; but, ay de mi! the corregidor, a Commander of the Knights -of Calatrava, was to dine that day with the abogado, who had invited -half the city to feast, and weekly gave a magnificent tertulia in the -house of the dead woman. - -"Fabrique lost all patience and, swore a dreadful vow of vengeance, -so the wise, just, and most illustrious corregidor expelled him from -the city, and by the alguazils he was driven forth by the Audujar -gate. His last money was in his pocket; so he bought a dagger and -musket, and shaking the dust off his feet at the puerta de Audujar, -he gathered together a band of gallant spirits who had followed Juan -Roa, and betook himself to the mountains, leaving the abogado in -possession of his aunt's house and her mines upon the Murcian -frontier." - -"And did he enjoy them long?" I asked. - -The Spaniard smiled grimly, and took a long quaff of the bota. - -"You wish to know, señor?' - -"Exceedingly." - -"Listen. A week after these events our abogado disappeared from -Jaen, and no man knew whence he had gone, and few cared. A month -after, a poor wretch, half crazed and in rags, emaciated, pale and -hollow-cheeked by hunger, illness, agony, and wandering, and whose -vision had been destroyed by the simple application of a red-hot -ramrod, was found near a village of the Sierra de Ronda. It was -Jacop el Escribano--whose scribbling was at an end, and whose eyes -were closed on the world for ever." - -"And his son, Gil Jacop?" - -"Was found shot one fine morning at the corner of that road, just -where you see a rough wooden cross, erected by the curate in memory -of the affair, and to beg a prayer of every passer-by for the dead -man's sinful soul. The corregidor has thrice been robbed of all he -possessed--his rents, fees, and the revenue of his commanderie; and -the alcalde has quite as often been beaten to the very verge of -death. Evil-disposed people lay those things to the charge of Don -Fabrique; but I say nothing, having no opinion on the subject." - -"Then you are afraid of him?" said Jack, laughing. - -"Afraid--ha, ha!" said the Spaniard, taking up his long gun; "no--not -so much as you were afraid of Juan Roa and Martin Secco, on that -night in the 'Posada del Cavallo' at Malaga. - -"How know you of that affair?" asked Jack, starting to his feet. - -"Did I not hear it told at full length last night in the venta at -Castellar?" - -"Were you there?" I inquired, with surprise. - -"You saw a goatherd present--an old fellow with a sheep-skin dress, a -long beard, a crook, and bota." - -"Yes." - -"'T was I. Last night I was a goatherd, because it suited my purpose -to appear so, and to laugh at the terror of those miserable -soap-boilers on hearing the whistle of bullets in the Sierra; to-day -I am Fabrique de Urquija, the friend of poor Juan Roa; and had you -been less kind to that poor nun than you were, it was my intention to -have shot and robbed you both, which I could easily have done, -despite your swords and revolvers, your English impudence and cool -assurance. Vaya usted con Dios, and may you have a pleasant ride to -Seville; but attend more to the rules of common politeness when next -you speak of Urquija beyond the security of your own lines at -Gibraltar. I am not a bad fellow, señores, at times, though more apt -to take the advice of a curer of fish than a curer of souls in Lent." - -With these words he leaped on his horse, and slinging his long gun by -his right leg, galloped into the cork wood, and disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE ALCALDE. - -This rencontre, by illustrating the danger of lingering and of making -chance acquaintance--dangers for which no credit would be given by -the Horse Guards, and against which we found no hints afforded by our -"John Murray"--caused us to hasten through Estrelo without paying a -visit to the nuns of Santa Theresa, which (on the base of our -acquaintance with Sister Veronica) we had proposed to do; and a ride -of ten miles further, through a fruitful and beautiful district, -brought us to the ancient ducal town of Medina Sidonia, where the -Spanish commandant invited us to dinner, and where, finding ourselves -in safe quarters, we spent a pleasant evening, and with cigars and -Ciudad Real, Tresillo and Monte, whiled away the hours until we -retired to our posada, where we slept undisturbed by rats or robbers, -as quietly as if we had been in the best hotel in London. - -We crossed a stream next day, and arrived at Arcos de la Frontierra, -a picturesque little town, situated upon a lofty rock, almost -insulated by the Guadalete, and so difficult of access on the south -and west that we had some trouble in discovering an entrance to it -anywhere. - -The aspect of the place, with all its flat-roofed or red-tiled houses -clustering on the summit of a steep and abrupt rock; its two large -parish churches, with the square campanile of Santa Maria, and the -façade of the palace of the reverend the vicar-general to the -metropolitan of Seville, all lit up by the flush of a Spanish setting -sun, and throwing a huge broad shadow across the girdling Guadalete, -and that rich undulating country which stretches far away beyond it, -pleased me so much that, dismounting at the foot of the eminence, I -seated myself among some fallen walls and prostrate -columns--doubtless fragments of the ancient Arcobriga--to make a -little sketch of the place. - -Reclined against a mass of vine-covered ruin, Slingsby of "Ours" had -fallen fast asleep with his horse's bridle buckled over his left arm, -and both he and the nag occupied a prominent place in the foreground -of my view, and a wayside cross, covered with rich creepers, and -having a sulky-looking raven seated on its summit, was in the middle -distance. My labours proceeded rapidly and greatly to my own -satisfaction when they were suddenly interrupted by a heavy hand -being roughly laid on my shoulder. I looked up. Four men, muffled -in the inevitable, invariable, and eternal dirty brown cloak, in -which we always see the mysterious characters stride, swagger, and -swell on the boards of minor theatres, and which a Spaniard is never -without, under any circumstances, appeared beside me. Two had drawn -swords, and two cocked blunderbusses. - -"The señores will understand that they are our prisoners?" said one. - -"Who the deuce are you--comrades of Don Fabrique, I suppose?" - -"Heaven forbid! we are honest men--alguazils of Arcos, and the -Caballeros must both come before the señor alcalde." - -"For what purpose?" I demanded hastily. - -"The señor will soon be informed," said one. - -"To his cost, perhaps," added a second. - -"Vaya, come along," growled a third, "or it may be the worse for you." - -Finding expostulation vain, I roused Jack, who after revolving in his -own mind whether or not he ought to revolve them--for his pistol had -six barrels, we took our horses by their bridles, and accompanied the -bravo-like alguazils, whose good-will we sought to cultivate by being -liberal with our cases of cheroots. - -The alcalde, a bustling little manufacturer of Cordovan leather, -received us in his office, stuck his barnacles on his nose, summoned -his escribano, and opened the case with an air of awful pomp and -chilling consequence; but he seemed to be about as well qualified for -the office of lawgiver as Mr. Justice Shallow. - -"The señores, who seemed to be British officers belonging to the -garrison of Gibraltar, of which her Most Catholic Majesty Donna -Isabella is sovereign, whatever Queen Victoria may assert to the -contrary, were found making a sketch--a military sketch, no doubt--of -her ancient city of Arcos, in the province of Andalusia; and the -señores, of course, knew the law framed by the Cortes on that point." - -"Of sketching the city of Arcos?" - -"No." - -"What then?" - -"Any city," returned the fussy little alcalde. - -"But this is not a fortified town." - -"But it might be fortified." - -"No doubt--but it is not fortified at the present moment." - -"Tonto de mi! what does that matter?" - -"Why you stupid old----" Jack Slingsby was beginning, but I placed a -hand upon his mouth, and the irritable little alcalde continued. - -"For what purpose was the sketch--this sketch made?--answer me that, -señor." - -"To please myself and to show my friends." - -"Of course, a likely story truly," he sneered, as he deliberately -tore my poor production into several pieces, threw them into the -brassero of charcoal which glowed in the centre of the apartment, and -watched until every fragment was entirely consumed. I gazed at him -in silence, but feeling an emotion of considerable disgust; for -although well aware that to sketch any fortified place or garrison -town, barrack, or citadel, was strictly forbidden, it never occurred -to me that the restriction could apply to the miserable -conglomeration of Spanish huts and crumbling Moorish hovels which -clustered round the churches on the rock of Arcos; but in their -ignorance of the arts the Spaniards, like the Turks, cannot see a -difference between a little artistic sketch and a regular plan drawn -for the most desperate military purposes. - -"So we are suspected of being spies," said Slingsby; "I am glad that -sketching was omitted in my education, and that I never could draw -aught but a cork or a bill in my life." - -"But this may prove no matter for laughter, Jack," said I, as the -alcalde, with awful gravity, after duly entering our names and -designations in a huge tome, turned to another part thereof, wiped -his spectacles and addressed us. I must own to feeling some -uneasiness, having once had a brother officer who went on sick leave -to Cadiz, where he was shot as a Christino priest; he was our senior -lieutenant, poor Bob Rasper, and was as much like a priest as the -great Mogul. I had an uncle who was very near being strangled by an -alcalde, who was persuaded he was Don Carlos; and we all know that -Lord Carnarvon was well nigh murdered in mistake for Don Miguel, -while Captain Widrington was about to be garotted by another -official, who thought he might be an agent of Marshal Baldomero -Espartero, now first minister of Donna Isabella II. These instances -of Spanish justice, clearness, and legal acumen were floating before -me when the little ruffian of an alcalde curled up his mustachios and -said,-- - -"The señores will have passports, no doubt?" - -"No passports," I replied. - -"Demonio!" ejaculated this Andalusian Solon, while the alguazils -(having finished their cheroots) began to clank their sabres and cock -their ominous-looking trabujos. "Then you must both be sent to -prison in irons, and kept under guard until we communicate with -Espartero." - -We lost alike our patience and temper at this piece of intelligence. - -"Beware, señor alcalde," said I, "for the very person you have named -may send you to the galleys for this insolent interference. We are -two British officers going on public duty to Seville, and being -passed through the Spanish lines by the officer commanding there, -require no other passports than our swords and our uniform, which you -had better respect, or we may play a mischief with you. Our -ambassador at Madrid----" - -"Vaya usted a los infernos!" exclaimed the alcalde, in a towering fit -of official indignation; "I shall show you how we treat those who -enter our city of Arcos without proper credentials, and I verily -believe you to be a couple of pitiful raterillos. Search and secure -them!" - -How this affair might have ended, I have no means of knowing; but -nothing saved us from much trouble and perhaps danger, but the sudden -discovery of a letter, which was found by one of the alguazils who -rudely plunged a hand into one of my pockets. It was addressed in -high-flowing terms to the most illustrious señor, the captain general -of Andalusia, and bore the great official seal of the Governor of Her -Britannic Majesty's garrison of Gibraltar. On beholding this, the -countenance of the alcalde fell. This human bladder, which was -inflated by so much wrath and Jack-in-office pride, suddenly -collapsed. His manner changed at once; he was profuse in his -apologies, and on a wave of his hand, those alguazils who, a moment -before, were ready to drag us to some foul prison and rudely too, -like ruffians as they doubtless were, slunk aside and withdrew; and -in five minutes after we were mounted, clear of Arcos, and trotting -along the road which ascended from the banks of the Guadalete. - -"Those Spaniards will never change," said Jack; "they will ever be -bullies or cravens; so cudgels or cannon shot are the only means of -argument with them." - -We then laughed at the whole affair--at the absurd pomposity of the -alcalde, and the idea of our being arrested as spies. - -At a trot we traversed the little town of Alcantarilla. It lies not -far from the Guadalquiver, a stream that wanders through a fertile -hollow, which in the days of the Cæsars was a hopeless march. We -crossed the bridge which was built by the hands of the Romans, who -placed a tower at each end for defence. Slingsby, with a waggish -smile, recommended me to make a sketch of these interesting remains; -but a wholesome terror of the alcalde of Arcos was yet too fresh in -my mind, so we pushed on towards Los Palacies, in company with a long -train of mules from the seaport of San Lucar de Barameda. Their -drivers were gaily attired, and were all sturdy and hearty fellows, -who beguiled the way with stories, laughter, and songs of love and -wine, or legends of the Avalos, the Moors of Ronda, and of Bravonnel -the Moor of Zaragozza and his ladylove Guadalara, while they sung to -the cracking of their whips, the merry jangle of the mule-bells, and -the thrum of a guitar. With all this, they were prepared for every -emergency, having poniards, blunderbusses, and other weapons--being -armed to the teeth, in fact; and with them we travelled until Seville -rose before us, with the fretted spires and gothic pinnacles of its -cathedral and Alcazar, and the gigantic tower of La Giralda, rising -above the domes of the Mohammedan times and the befrays of the -Christians; and all steeped in the unclouded blaze of an Andalusian -sunset, with the Guadalquiver winding through a low valley in the -foreground, bordered by groves of the orange and citron, and the -green undulating ridges of the Sierra towering in the distance, with -a golden vapour resting on the mellowed peaks, which bound a -landscape that, in the days of Alfonso the Wise, was studded by a -hundred thousand cottages and oil-mills. - -But the Guadalquiver seemed as muddy as the Thames, where it -approaches the ancient fane of St. John of Alfarache, and there its -turgid tide was lashed and beaten by the steamers from San Lucar; and -we could see them ploughing their way (with red lights hanging at -their fore cross-trees) into the evening haze that settled over -Seville. - -Our passports were demanded by the officer commanding an -ill-accoutered guard at the gate: but our letter addressed to the -captain general freed us from further question, and he politely -directed us to an hotel. - -We rode through the grass-grown streets of the lazy Sevillanos, I -reflecting on stories of Pedro the Cruel and the past glories of the -Arab city--Jack Slingsby reflecting on the thoroughfares, which he -said "were remarkably dingy, devilish dirty, and all that sort of -thing," until we discovered the hotel de la Reyna near the Lonja, or -Exchange, and close to the far-famed cathedral church. There we took -up our quarters for the night. - -"At last we are in Seville!" said I, as I threw myself into a down -fauteuil, after tossing off a glass of iced Valdepenas, and flung -aside the last week's Madrid papers, the 'Heraldo' and 'España;' "in -Seville, where Trajan, Adrian, and Theodosius were born, and -where----" - -"You shall flirt with the pretty Paulina to-morrow," said Jack; "pass -over the decanter; thanks; I can take you off your stilts in a -twinkling, my boy." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE TERTULIA. - -In the morning, after coffee, a devilled bone and a cigar, we sallied -forth to deliver the dispatch of our Governor to the captain general, -and resolved, soon after, to bid farewell to Seville; for Jack was -full of fears that the whole corps would be off, bag and baggage, to -fight the Russians before we could return. The hour was somewhat -early, so we rambled about the beautiful city; but I do not mean to -inflict upon the reader a description of all we saw--of the gay -crowds who thronged the Plaza de Toros and the Alameda, with fan and -mantilla, sombrero and mantle; of the cathedral of Santa Maria, with -its carved buttresses and stupendous spires; of the Alcazar or palace -of the Moorish kings, with all its arabesques and oval arches; of the -Lonja and the huge tobacco factory. I beg my reader to imagine them -all, for I could easily devote five several chapters to describing -these five several edifices. It is enough that the Sevillanos have -an ancient proverb, that he who never saw Seville has never seen a -wonder; to wit-- - - "Que en no ha visto Sevilla, - Ne ha visto Maravilla." - - -As we issued from the cathedral, Jack's loquacity was somewhat -stilled by the grandeur of that stupendous pile and its dark -Murillos, the chief of which is the adoration of the Saviour by St. -Anthony of Padua--I beg pardon--of Lisbon and of Lagos--and full of -thoughts, which were rather solemn for such fellows as we are, we -walked slowly on with our eyes fixed on the far-famed tower of the -weathercock--the Giralda--which rises at the north-east angle of the -church, when a personage, whose eyes were raised to the same -altitude, came somewhat violently against us, and then we poured -forth mutual apologies. - -"Maldito--come esta, señores; well met." - -"Come esta, señor major--who would have thought of meeting you here?" - -"Why so?" asked Don Joaquim, for he proved to be our friend of the -noble regiment of Lagos; "I think that I mentioned Seville as my -native city--so you have reached the end of your journey?" - -"Yes, and mean to leave this to-morrow," said Jack. - -"So early! Maldito--a short visit. Is your business so soon -concluded?" - -"It is not yet begun; we have a dispatch for the captain general." - -"Indeed!" said he, with wonder in his face. - -"Where is his palace? We were just about to inquire the way." - -"You must pass the Lonja, our famous Exchange, a triumph of the -genius of Juan de Herrera--the architect of the Escurial; well, you -must pass it, and cross the Plaza de Toros; but allow me to have the -pleasure of escorting you." - -"Many thanks." - -"None are necessary, señores--hut this dispatch for the captain -general--Maldito! I am bursting with irrepressible curiosity to know -what it is about. Are we going to war with Russia too?" - -"Then, señor," said I, "we may as well inform you that it concerns -the killing of a man on board of a Spanish government guarda costa, -by a chance shot from the Mole Fort at Gibraltar." - -"He was in pursuit of a contrabandista, I presume?" - -"Exactly so." - -"Ah, those rascally contrabandistas! It is too bad of your -Government to protect them--quite as bad as making war on the Chinese -because they would not poison themselves with opium. I heard that -some of your people had shot at a guarda costa, and killed some one -on hoard. It has excited considerable animosity, and been much -spoken of." - -He led us through several dark and narrow streets, so narrow, indeed, -that people could easily have shaken hands from the windows on each -side of these quaint old Moorish thoroughfares. Issuing suddenly -into the full Haze of the scorching Spanish sunshine, we found -ourselves before a handsome palace decorated by Corinthian pilasters, -and having its lofty windows covered by external shades of brilliant -red and white striped stuff. Two sentinels of the line stood at the -portal under sunshades, with their muskets "ordered;" and they stared -at our uniform with black and lacklustre eyes. - -"The palace of the captain general," said Don Joaquim, bowing; "he -has just returned from Jaen, having gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy -Face." - -"We must have the pleasure of meeting you again," said I. - -"Our hotel is the Queen's--de la Reyna--near the Exchange," added -Slingsby. - -"Oh, I know the place very well," replied the Don, producing his -card, a token of civilisation little known in Spain; "my mother gives -a tertulia to-night, and we shall be delighted to see you--her -reception hour is eight--Donna Dominga de Lucena--Calle del Alcazar." - -"You are the son of Donna Dominga, whom we had the pleasure of -knowing in Gibraltar?" - -"The same, señores. Are you the gentlemen who were so kind and -attentive to her? It is quite a little romance this meeting. How -odd, to think that we sat a whole night in the venta of Castellar and -knew nothing about this! Then, doubtless, one of you must be that -accomplished cavalier, Don Leja Mag Leja, concerning whom she wrote -me so many letters when I was at Lagos." - -With some laughter, we professed that neither of us was the portly -Leechy Mac Leechy, to whose name the Donna had given somewhat of a -Castilian character in her epistles to the major. - -"But about the tertulia? we have no full uniform," urged Jack. - -"Full uniform--bagatella!--stuff--come just as you are; but as your -business here is about that unlucky guarda costa, 'tis as well my -brother Hernan has not arrived; for he is in our naval service, and -might feel piqued on the subject. Well, addio--I shall see you at -eight to-night--don't forget, the street of the Alcazar," and with a -salute he left us. - -The sentinels at the door "handled" their arms as we ascended the -flight of marble steps which led to the door of the captain general's -palace. - -"The last general officer with whom I had the honour of an interview -was old Towler, of the Kilkenny district," said Slingsby; "I have no -idea what manner of man our Spaniard may be." - -As the interview with the captain-general and all the various pros -and cons thereanent--as a Scotsman would say--may have appeared -already among the public intelligence of "our own correspondent," who -most likely was not in Seville, and knew nothing about the matter, I -will only state that we were received with great urbanity and -politeness by the Spanish officer who held the important post of -Governor of the four kingdoms. He was a fine old cavalier, and in -earlier years had served in the Peninsular war; he told us that he -had commanded a regiment under Cuesta; a brigade of Cazadores under -Hill, and a division under Murillo; that he had been wounded at -Vittoria in attacking the heights of La Puebla, and had received the -Grand Cross of the Bath from the hand of the Duke of Wellington, and -latterly the Order of Carlos III., which devoted him "to the pure -conception of the blessed Virgin Mary," from the Queen and the -Patriarch of the Indies, at the solemn chapter held in 1853. The old -fellow's eyes kindled with pleasure as he invited us to lunch, and to -share with him a bottle of choice Valdepenas, saying that he loved -the sight of the red coat for the memory of the olden time that would -never come again--the poor red coats--he had often seen them lying -thick enough on many a Spanish plain, and in many a crumbling breach -and trench--at Badajoz, at Ciudad Rodrigo, San Sebastian and Tarifa. - -Here, at least, was one noble old Spanish soldier--one true -cavalier--whose lively recollection of those great campaigns (which -are second to none the world has seen) and whose sense of what his -country owed to ours, formed a strong contrast to that cold -ingratitude which desecrated the tomb of the Scottish hero of -Corunna, and ploughed up the graves of our brave men, who were buried -in the little field beneath the ramparts of Tarifa; and for the -repose of whose bones our Government had to pay a sum to Spain. - -We received from him a letter to the Governor of Gibraltar, stating -that our explanations of the affair of the guarda costa had perfectly -satisfied him; and on our rising to retire he made us an offer of a -cavalry escort as far as San Roque, which lies within a few miles of -our garrison; but being aware that we should be obliged to maintain -both the horses and the men, and to make them a handsome donation at -parting, I declined, saying that we had an idea of returning by San -Lucar de Barameda, and would there take the steamer for Gibraltar. - -"But remember there is that restless gentleman, Don Fabrique de -Urquija," said the general, smiling; "he makes the roads very unsafe, -and does not hesitate to commit such outrages as have not been known -in the land since Marshal Massena marched through it." - -We assured him of our being without fear in the matter; on which he -laughed, saying that he knew "los Brittanicos, of old, and that, like -our fathers who fought under Wellington, Hill, and Grahame, we also -were without fear," and we parted, highly flattered and delighted by -our interview with this old Castilian hidalgo. - -We lounged long in the Alameda, where the notice our uniform -attracted was rather an annoyance. After dining at the hotel and -making the most of our costume that our light marching order would -admit, we appeared at the door of Donna Dominga's residence in the -Calle del Alcazar, just as the cathedral clock struck eight; for the -Spaniards are too well bred to esteem any one the more for being late -at a conversazione, for such is a tertulia in fact and in effect. - -A number of sedans, borne by servants in livery, were standing about -the steps of the mansion; and the links and torches flared on the -coats of arms that decorated the panels and the collars of Santiago -and Calatrava which surrounded them. Various long-visaged and -spindle-shanked representatives of the pure did blood of los Cuatros -Reinos, untainted by the stain of Moor, or Jew, or heretic, were -stalking through the vestibule with due gravity and grandeur. - -We were ushered forward by one servant, and were announced by another -on entering the saloon, where our old friend Donna Dominga sat with -fan and snuff-box in hand receiving her guests; and as her son had -prepared her for our visit, she was in a prodigious flutter, with her -fat round face forming the apex of a pyramid of black satin and black -Cadiz lace; for her veil, which was of the finest texture, fell over -all her person. - -By her side sat the pretty Paulina on a rich low tabourette, -gracefully as a Spanish lady sits at mass, or a Moorish maiden on her -little carpet, for it is from their Arabian conquerors that the low -seats of the Spanish dames are borrowed. - -The major, who wore the blue uniform and massive silver epaulettes of -"the noble Regiment of St. Anthony," and who had the order of St. -John of Portugal on his breast, hurried forward to meet and to -present us. Then the younger donna blushed crimson, while the elder -wished very much to do so too, and dropping her eyelids, fanned -herself, and affected to be much agitated. We bowed very low and -then stepped back, as it is not the custom in Spain to shake hands. -After a few of those complimentary remarks and those commonplaces, -which are customary in every country, we should have withdrawn a -little to make way for other tertulianos, had not Donna Dominga -especially invited us to remain beside her; and while the -presentation continued, and all that were noble (being rich or -beautiful went for nought in Seville) appeared in succession, and -while caballeros and grave and solemn hidalgos, with the red cross of -Calatrava, and the little sword of San Jago dangling at their -button-holes, advanced slowly, and with a faint smile and courtly bow -laid a hand on their heart and lisped the usual and invariable "A los -pies de usted, señoras" (I am at your feet, ladies), and then -retired; I was chatting gaily with Paulina, who had now become more -assured, and who overwhelmed me with a thousand inquiries about -Gibraltar and her friends. Meantime that rogue Jack Slingsby poured -into her mother's ear pretended messages from MacLeechy, our -doctor--messages so tender and so pitiful that the old lady relented -and forgave him being married, saying it was "his misfortune, not his -fault, poor man;" Jack asserted his belief that the doctor was quite -of her opinion; and then the bulbous-shaped fair one made a vigorous -use of her fan and snuff-box, as she conjured up the image of the -"gay deceiver." - -The saloon was a large apartment; the floor was of polished oak, and -was varnished until it shone like glass; the ceiling was of cedar, -and divided into deep, dark panels; the walls were painted white, and -were hung with several dusky pictures, principally of religious -subjects; one of these was by Roelas; another by Murillo, and both -had narrowly escaped abstraction by the French, during the War of -Independence, for Messrs. Soult, Suchet, and Co., made everything -march over the Pyrenees that was neither too hot nor too heavy. - -Our garrison evening parties in Gibraltar had shown Donna Dominga -that considerable improvements might be made upon the solemn gravity -of the Spanish tertulia; thus the company were pressed to stay longer -than usual in honour of us; we had a few airs on the piano--a very -antique instrument, said to have been found among Joseph's baggage at -Vittoria, and in no way calculated to give full effect to the -compositions of Donizetti, Verdi, or Orsini, which Paulina and her -companions attempted to give us; but then they had their guitars, and -the lively songs of old Spain, and legendary ballads of the brave -Avalos of the Ronda, which if destitute of science, had at least the -merit of being full of music and melody. - -Every sound was hushed as Paulina sang the song which was wont to -turn the heads of half Her Majesty's garrison. - - "Since for kissing thee, Minguillo, - Mother's ever scolding me; - Give me swiftly back, O dear one, - Give the kiss I gave to thee!" - - -Either by chance, or an irresistible inclination, our eyes met just -as she sang these very tender and pointed words, and a soft tinge -shot over her pure white cheek. My own heart filled with a tumult of -emotion, for the aspect of this noble Spanish girl, as she sat on the -low tabourette, in an attitude full of grace, with her high proud -head and the long veil of black lace that fell from it over her back -and shoulders, was so bewildering, that I felt convinced my peace of -mind would require an explanation with her before my bantering mentor -and I turned our horses' heads once more towards Gibraltar. - -We had now a little waltzing, and a quadrille or two, with plenty of -groseille and fleur d'orange. - -I had a thousand things to tell Paulina; but when she was the centre -of almost every eye in the room, it was no easy matter to be tender; -besides, whenever I looked round, the comical eye of Jack Slingsby, -with a glass stuck in it, was sure to meet mine; for whatever he was -about, in the waltz, the quadrille, in a quiet two-handed flirtation -(which, by the way, made the old hidalgos of Seville, who are not -wont to tolerate such things, shrug their shoulders and elevate their -eyebrows) in the middle of a tender speech, when handing fleur -d'orange, restoring a fallen fan, or reclasping a bracelet, he seemed -to watch all my proceedings with a species of amused interest--so -that nothing passed between Paulina and me but the merest -commonplaces. - -"The moment so ardently wished for has arrived at last," thought I; -"she is beside me, and I have not one word of interest for her." - -"And you leave Seville to-morrow?" said she, to break an awkward -pause. - -"No, señora, in two days." - -"A short visit--there are so many things to see here. There is the -great tower of Cabildo with its enchanted weathercock, a Pallas with -a standard which always indicates the quarter from which an enemy is -approaching Seville." - -"Ah--yes; I remember in the adventure of Don Quixotte with the Knight -of the Wood, the latter boasts, that among other deeds done in honour -of his mistress, he 'had challenged the famous fighting giantess, La -Giralda of Seville, who is strong and undaunted as one who is made of -brass.'" - -"And who without changing place is the most inconstant woman in the -world. Oh, Don Quixotte, he is charming! And then in Seville we -have the letters of Francisco Pizzaro, of Columbus and the valiant -Hernan Cortes; and more than all, we have the cathedral with its -Puerta de Perdon, which was the work of a Moorish necromancer, and -was all built by a spell between the night and morning. In two days -you can never see all these things." - -"Your own presence, Donna Paulina, is more than enough to detain me -here for ever." - -"Then why go so soon?" she asked, with her pretty Spanish lisp, while -her long lashes drooped. - -"Go I must, señora, for, being a soldier, I have nothing to urge; -but----" - -"But what?" - -"The stern necessity of obedience." - -"Ay de mi!" said she, gazing fully and honestly at me; "I am so sorry -to hear all this." - -"I am full of gratitude to hear you say so, señora; but there is no -remedy." - -"Señor," said she, smiling, "para todo hay remedio sino para la -muerte." - -"True, there is a remedy for everything but death, it is a good old -Spanish proverb," said I; "but is not absence from those we love but -a living death? so when I am far from Seville I shall have but the -memory of one most beautiful face, and one bright happy night." - -"Take this rose," said she, disengaging one from her bouquet; "it -will be a memento, though a small one." - -"Thanks, señora; but the rose will wither and fade." - -"So will the memory of the beautiful face and the one happy night," -said she, with a winning smile. - -"Never, never Paulina--you are so charming--so gentle and so good, -that----" - -"Hush, Dios Mio! the people are observing us, and--but ave Maria -purissima! what is the matter with my mother?" - -During this brief conversation, the servant Pedrillo had delivered a -note to Donna Dominga, who, on hurriedly glancing at its contents, -uttered a faint cry and fell upon the sofa, where all the ladies -crowded in an excited manner round her. Don Joaquim snatched up the -letter and read it with flaming eyes. - -"What, in Heaven's name, is the matter?" I asked, pressing forward. - -"A letter has come from the captain of the guarda costa, stating that -the son of Donna Dominga, his lieutenant, had been killed by a shot -from the garrison of Gibraltar," said Slingsby, in a rapid whisper. -"The absence of the captain general at Jaen prevented the Sevillanos -from learning that the person slain was a townsman. I find we are in -a mess here, and think we had better be off, my boy." - -Though Spain had a post-office in those days when James III. of -Scotland was fighting the battles of the people against his -traitorous nobility, and when the brutal Henry of England was -murdering his wives and burning Catholics and Protestants together at -Smithfield, she has so far receded in the arts of peace that this -unfortunate letter had been all these many weeks in finding its way -from the sea port of Malaga to Seville. - -Don Joaquim now said something to Paulina, who turned upon us with -eyes full of grief and dismay. - -"'T is my brother Hernan you have slain," she exclaimed, in tones -that went through me like a sword; "O madre mia, madre mia! they have -murdered our dear, dear Hernan!" and she threw herself beside her -mother. - -"Yes, señores," said Don Joaquim, folding up the letter with an air -of sombre ferocity; "her accusation is right, you have heard her; 't -is my brother Don Hernan who was killed by your accursed shot from -the mole fort of Gibraltar,--Hernan, lieutenant of the guarda costa, -and this letter is from his captain, detailing the circumstances of -that outrage on the Spanish flag--an outrage of which I have heard so -much since I left Portugal; but which I little thought--O Dios Mio! -how little indeed, that it would bring such sorrow to my own house, -and to hearts to me so dear. My poor boy brother, Hernan! So, -señores, you it is, who were the perpetrators of this foul act? Fit -men you were, and proper too, to detail it to our blockhead of a -captain general, who was worshipping an old rag at Jaen, when he -should have been seeking vengeance at Madrid. But look ye, señores, -I'll have it, sure and deep, and as certainly as there is a saint in -heaven, sure as my name is Joaquim de Lucena of the regiment of -Lagos!" - -"Mueran los gabachos--death to the miscreants!" growled a number of -voices, and I laid a hand on my sword. It was a natural impulse. - -The ladies clustered like a brood of terrified doves round Donna -Dominga and her daughter; the gentlemen drew round her son; Slingsby -and I were left together in the middle of the large saloon. - -"A pleasant predicament this!" said Jack, shrugging his shoulders: -"Ramble, I think we had better retire." - -"To remain is useless, for these people are alike past listening to -explanation or apology," I replied; and with an emotion of -mortification and sorrow, which the reader may easily imagine, we -took up our swords, made a profound bow to this ungracious company -(none of whom responded), and quitted the house. - -"Awful business this," said Jack, "is it not, Dick -Ramble?--speak--have you lost your tongue?" - -"A strange combination of unfortunate circumstances! To find -ourselves the honoured guests of the very woman whose son we slew! -In what light will Paulina view us, and Don Joaquim too?" - -"As an officer he ought to be aware that we did but our duty," urged -poor Jack, who felt himself the most guilty party; "but I did not -half like the expression of his eyes as we left the saloon." - -"How?" - -"I read in them more of hatred and malice, than of horror for the -event, or natural grief for his brother's fate." - -"You think so?" - -"I am sure of it!" - -"Well, the man is a Spaniard." - -"And being so, will not let us off easily." - -"We shall have a message from him in the morning, challenging us both -to fight, you think?" said I. - -"Not at all; your Spaniards don't fight duels; he will lay some -desperate snare for us between this and San Roque; so, depend upon -it, the sooner we make ourselves scarce in Seville the better. But -here is the hotel--for Heaven's sake let us have some iced champagne, -for this horrid business has made me as thirsty as if I had crossed a -whole county in the hottest hunting season." - -I must own that though I was pretty well assured of the truth of -Jack's surmises and suspicions, fear for my own safety was quite a -secondary emotion to my sincere sorrow for the bereavement we had -occasioned to poor old Donna Dominga and the lively Paulina. As for -that stormy fellow Joaquim, I felt no compunction for him in the -least; his grief was too noisy, and his sudden hostility too deep to -leave much room for natural sorrow; and so, while surmising, -considering, revolving, and talking the matter threadbare, we -finished several bottles of champagne; through the medium of these we -easily came to the conclusion that we were the most injured parties; -that we had been grossly insulted somehow, over night--that the usual -satisfaction was necessary; and then we retired to bed in a state of -just and proper indignation at the malevolent threats of Don Joaquim -and his friends, to whom the affair formed a notable subject for -discussion at those morning meetings, which are so dearly prized by -the Spaniards, who then debate everything from a ballet girl's ancle -to a rising in Catalonia; and for these gossips, the place of -rendezvous in Seville is the Plaza de San Domingo. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -DON FABRIQUE. - -We were awake betimes in the morning, and breakfasted early, in the -true Spanish style, on good stiff chocolate with fried eggs, purple -wine, and snow-white bread; but no hostile message came from Don -Joaquim. The hours stole on, and the sunlit streets threw the -shadows of their picturesque façades against each other. The events -of the last night, and their probable consequences, had given us a -decided distaste for prowling about the streets of Seville. We were -both somewhat thoughtful, and said little, or conferred only on the -nearest route by which we could reach Gibraltar, in coming from -which, we had made somewhat of a détour; and Jack hinted that we -should probably have some more brawls with alcaldes, rows at posadas, -skirmishes with banditos, and other pleasant adventures, before we -reported ourselves "as just arrived" at head quarters. - -"A letter for El Señor Capitano Don Ricardo," said the waiter, -approaching. - -"A letter for you, Dick," said Slingsby. - -"So it has come at last," said I, breaking the seal. - -"Will it be an affair of knives or pistols?" - -"Hush!" said I, as the waiter retired. - -"Slugs in a saw-pit, and all that sort of thing--a triangular duel, -eh? But an officer should have brought it." - -"Yes, had it been that for which you seem so very anxious." - -"Anxious! not I, believe me." - -"Well, this is from a lady." - -"The deuce--you quite interest me. I can perceive that it is penned -on pink paper, a little flourished, but without signature. It is -from Paulina, poor girl! I can imagine her writing it, and as Byron -says-- - - "'How tremulously gentle, her small hand--'" - - -"How can you run on thus?" I asked, imploringly. "Fie upon you, -Jack, after all the misery we have wrought to these poor people." - -"Well, perhaps you are right and I am wrong. I beg pardon; but the -letter--what is it about?" - -"Only the safety of our lives." - -"Our lives--indeed--how so?" - -"Read it." - -The note ran thus:-- - - -"SENOR DON RICARDO. - -"In the name of the Blessed Mother of God, I implore you and your -friend to leave Seville on receipt of this, and to take the nearest -road for San Lucar de Barameda, where you can reach a steamer, which -sails direct for Gibraltar. Don Joaquim vows to have a terrible -revenge for the death of our dear brother Hernan; and, last night, -was seen in conference with Fabrique de Urquija on the old Alameda. -The road you came will be beset--his band are, doubtless, now in hire -to waylay you. El santo de los Santos, forgive you the misery you -have caused to those who never wronged you, and may it deliver you -from the snares of death that lie in your homeward path." - - -"More melodramatic than pleasant," said Jack. - -"It is from Paulina, no doubt.--how considerate!" - -"Kind and gentle too," added Jack. "Well, all things duly -considered, I think we should take her advice--mount, and be off." - -"Poor--poor Paulina!" - -"Deuce take it, Dick, don't be faint-hearted. 'T will be all one -when the route comes for the Crimea, and sell or sail is the word." - -"Not among "Ours," I hope." - -"The San Lucar road be it." - -"Then the sooner we leave the better, for we have much to lose and -nothing to gain by lingering here." - -"For there is neither law, justice, nor honour among these -Spaniards," said Slingsby, making a smart application to the -bell-rope. - -"What! you say so in the face of this charming letter?" - -"Charming, indeed, to be told that a captain of robbers--a -picturesque ruffian in a steeple-crowned hat and red garters, has -been bribed to cut your throat--to 'do' for you in the flower of your -youth for a hundred pistoles." - -The letter raised a glow of sad, of kind, and regretful emotions -within me; but I stifled them all, and, calling for the bill, settled -with the landlord in person. - -"What manner of magistrates have you here in Seville?" asked the -unwary Jack. - -"How, señor?" - -"When they permit thieves to prowl about your streets at night." - -"Thieves, señor--Ave Maria!" - -"Yes, thieves, señor patron. Fabrique de Urquija was on the old -Alameda last night with a well-known bravo from Portugal." - -"Don Fabrique," reiterated our host, aghast at the name; "ah, he is -too great a man to be easily arrested, señor." - -"Is he not a mere ladrone?" - -"True, Caballero; but then his band is numerous. Yes, señor; Ave -Maria purissima!--tiene con exercito de 10,000 hombres--all -determined men, and armed to the teeth." - -"Ten thousand men--nonsense! A hundred, more probably." - -The host felt his veracity impugned, and he called upon all the -saints in the calendar to witness the truth of his assertions; and -while we had a decanter of wine before starting, he told us a vast -number of anecdotes, descriptive of the cruel and unscrupulous -character of the so-called Don Fabrique. Two of these occurred to me -as being peculiarly diabolical in their nature. - -On one occasion he plundered the house of a wealthy merchant near -Estephana, a town on the Grenada coast; and because the unfortunate -proprietor would not yield up the alleged treasures of his strong -box, and sign bills on his bankers in Seville, Fabrique snatched up a -camphine lamp from a marble side-table, and, with a dreadful oath, -poured the contents over the hair and whiskers of his prisoner. He -then deliberately applied a lighted candle thereto, and in a moment -the whole face and head of the miserable man were enveloped in -flames. His skull was roasted like a large castano, and he died in -great misery--his head being literally burned off! - -Another amiable little trait of Don Fabrique was the strange way he -took to remove his predecessor from the command of the troop. This -was a rough old guerilla, who in his youth had fought in the -campaigns of Wellington, under Don Julian Sanchez, the famous Captain -Harelip, as our soldiers named him, and latterly in the service of -the Carlists, under the banished Conde de Morella. - -The robber captain--Gomes el Guerilla--having incurred the animosity -of Fabrique, that worthy procured some gun-cotton (which our patron -believed to be a preparation by the devil himself), from a -drug-chest, when investigating the shop of a botarico (apothecary) at -Castellar; and some of this he placed in the folds of Gomes' -neckcloth in the night, and for three days the old and unsuspecting -sinner wore this dreadful thing under his well-bearded chin. On the -third, Fabrique, who began to lose patience, and vow to have -vengeance on the botarico, said, "Come, señor, let us make up a -little cigar;" so the cigar was made, and they proceeded to smoke, -until some sparks fell on the breast of the old guerilla; and then, -Madre de Dios! there was a dreadful flash and explosion like that of -a cannon; and to the consternation of all his band, the head of Gomes -was blown right off his shoulders, and not a vestige of it was ever -seen again. - -"The noble Caballeros," continued our host, "have no doubt heard of -the great robber-chief, Manuel de Cordova, who in January, 1853, -killed the commandant of the civic guard of Bute?" - -"No." - -"He was betrayed by Don Fabrique, and shot to death by a platoon of -infantry, in the Plaza of Cordova. Oh, señor, the saints deliver us -from the devil and Don Fabrique!" - -"So say I," added Jack, as the landlord left us, and thus, being -impressed alike by these communications and that of Donna Paulina, we -resolved to change our route and avoid this formidable personage who -took such an interest in our proceedings. - -To deceive any person who might be watching about the hotel, or be -bribed by Fabrique, or the major, we made particular inquiries of the -patron, the waiters, and stable-boys concerning the road to Gibraltar -by the way of Puerto Serrano; and having, as Jack said, "completely -thrown dust in their eyes," we took the route to San Lucar and left -Seville at a rapid trot about an hour after noon, pausing only to -give a peseta to a poor Franciscan who begged from us at the city -gate. - -I looked back to Seville as we galloped away. - -The tower of La Giralda and all its spires were sinking in the sunny -haze and lessening in the distance. - -"So ends an intimacy that might have ripened into something better," -thought I. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE RATERILLO. - -Passing Coria del Rio, a little province and partido, after a twenty -miles' ride we halted to dine at Lebrija, which is so famed for its -oil of olives, and there we got some prime Xeres, which bore the -private mark of the señores Gonzalez and Dubose, the famous wine -merchants; and now we enjoyed the hope that our acquaintance Fabrique -de Urquija and his "ten thousand hombres" (or whatever their number -might be) were sunning themselves on the mountains, and lying in wait -for us on the dusty road by Puerto Serrano; and any anxiety we might -have felt to reach the coast unmolested began to lessen when we set -forth again, while the evening sun was verging towards the western -sierras of the province, and pursuing an old and narrow path, so old -that perhaps the Christian knights of King Ferdinand might have -traversed it to battle with the Emirs of Granada, of Seville, and -Cordova, we rode on, amid varied scenery, where luxuriant creepers -almost veiled the granite rocks like natural curtains, where large -fields of maize surrounded ancient villages left ruined and roofless -in the late civil wars, where herds of half wild cattle browsed on -the green mountain slope; where the dead man's cross, the wayside -chapel, the groves of cork, of olive or orange trees bordered the -devious path, and the shattered atalaya that whilome watched the -frontiers of Mohammed of Cadiz, towered over all, a landmark to the -Guadalquiver. - -Charmed by the scenery, we allowed the reins to fall on the necks of -our horses, and careless as to whether or not we found quarters for -the night in an olive wood or in Trohniona, which we were now -approaching, and the little spire of which we saw peeping above its -bright green groves and tipped with a fiery gleam, we rode on slowly -until near a well which flowed into a stone basin, under a rude -representation of our Lady of Assistance--a wayside chapel, in -fact--a turn of the path brought us suddenly upon two armed -Spaniards, who were seated on the sward playing with cards in the -twilight, for the time was evening now. - -One of these, by his gay attire, his embroidered jacket with its -silver clasps, his sash of red and yellow stripes and his velvet hat, -as well as by the horse which stood near him, well laden with -packages, and having a long gun slung at its demipique saddle, I -perceived to be a professed smuggler; and on our nearer approach we -both recognised our old friend Pedro el Contrabandista, who supplied -our mess with cigars, and whose unlucky pursuit by the guarda costa -had been the source of so much travelling, turmoil, and inquiry to -Slingsby and to myself. - -There was no mistaking the other as a raterillo--that is, "a little -rat," or pickpocket, on whose cloth the regular armed bandit who robs -convoys, fights the carabineros, and burns a village occasionally, -looks down as the line do on the militia, or as the militia do on the -yeomanry. The only weapon of the raterillo is his knife, and perhaps -a concealed pistol. Polite almost to servility to the armed man, the -raterillo is usually a bully to the peaceable, and to those who are -too poor to carry that long musket which is the constant companion of -the provincial Spaniard. - -He doffed his threadbare sombrero and bowed with great humility as we -reined up beside them to greet honest Pedro, who received us with a -hearty shout of welcome. - -"Well, amigo mio," said I, "we were not aware that you did business -by land as well as by sea." - -"True, señor, I should have been a woman, for I am never constant to -anything; I am glad to meet two noble cavaliers of the garrison -travelling here--but why so far from Gibraltar, and without an -escort?" - -"All owing to you, Pedro, my valiant contrabandista, and your -troublesome affairs." - -"Pardon, señor, I do not comprehend." - -"That devilish shot from the Mole fort." - -"Oh, yes--ha, ha! it cut in two halves Don Hernan de Lucena, and -enabled me to run my little felucca safe into Gibraltar--eh." - -"Yes, but we had to visit the captain general at Seville, and to -explain the affair to him in person. So we are here." - -"On your way back." - -"Exactly so." - -"I owe you a thousand thanks for that little piece of attention from -the Mole fort, señores; but for that, I should now, perhaps, have -been chained to an oar in the Queen's galleys at Barcelona, for I was -as sure of being taken as there is a saint in heaven. Well, señores, -we shall sup together to-night at Trohniona--see, yonder is its spire -shining like a red star in the sunset; I have my guitar, and shall -sing to you the newest seguidilla and some jovial romances about the -Granadine Moors, the Castilian Caballeros, or the Carlists, and -enchanters; but, meantime, I must finish a game to which I was -challenged by this traveller, on whom I shall have, proper revenge, -for he has already won from me forty duros; and you the while will do -me the favour to accept some of my best cigars." - -There was no resisting this jolly contrabandista; so, as we had -before arranged to halt for the night at Trohniona, we were the -better for the companionship of another man, who knew the country, -and was doubtless a favourite with the people, and who, moreover, was -well armed, stout, and determined. We watched the game between him -and the raterillo, who won dollar after dollar with a facility that -soon left no doubt whatever in our minds that he was cheating poor -Pedro, so Jack and I exchanged frequent glances. - -"Whose cards are these?" I asked. - -"The señor travalero's," said Pedro, "and I begin to think he knows -the backs better than the fronts of them." - -The raterillo, whose quick eyes rolled in a restless manner, laughed -as he pocketed three other duros of Pedro, who began to lose all -patience and to flush, while a dark gleam shot over his eyes; and on -detecting in his adversary some real or suspected piece of foul play, -he dashed the cards full in his face, crying,-- - -"You are a rogue and a thief--a pitiful little rat, and if you do not -yield back every peseta you have won, 'por el nombre de Dios,' I will -be at you with my Albacete knife!" - -"Then the knife be it," retorted the raterillo, crushing his -well-worn hat over his eye-brows; "shall we have our feet tied -together?" - -"No, we shall fight it out on the grass, and I will have your black -blood and my hard-won dollars together," cried Pedro, who was choking -with sudden passion; and quick almost as thought, they confronted -each other, their dark faces contorted by ferocity, their eyes -flashing fire, their feet planted on the turf, their bodies bent -forward ready to spring, and their cuchillos held firmly in the right -hand, the thumb being pressed upon the blade in such a manner as to -enable them to stab or to cut with equal facility. - -Several blows had been given and skilfully eluded before Jack and I, -who had drawn our swords, could dismount and interfere; but just as -we pressed in between them, at the peril of our lives, we heard a -cheer like a yell ringing in the hollow, and saw a crowd of armed men -rushing down the sloping banks which bordered the road-way. - -"Ladrones--ladrones--fly, señores!" cried Pedro, as he leaped on his -horse and dashed at full speed towards Trohniona, followed by several -musket-bullets, while the raterillo vanished in the twilight as if -the earth had swallowed him up. - -In a moment we were surrounded by a crowd of armed banditti--oh, -there was no mistaking them!--I was collared and pinioned just as my -foot was in the stirrup, and poor Jack Slingsby was knocked off his -horse by the butt-end of a long Spanish gun; our swords and -revolvers, our watches, rings, purses, and cigar-cases; our horses -and valises, all in a moment became the spoil of the Egyptians, and -we found ourselves prisoners at the mercy of--Fabrique de Urquija! - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -LA RIO DE MUERTE. - -Dark-visaged and black-bearded, with long sable hair hanging over -their collars from under their battered sombreros, or gathered up in -net-work cauls, the robbers presented every picturesque variety of -Spanish costume. Some wore jackets of black or olive-coloured -velvet, richly covered with needlework on the breast and seams; their -waists were girt by bright-coloured sashes, and their legs encased in -velvet small-clothes and leathern gaiters; while others were sans -shirts and sans shoes; scantily attired in rough zamarras of -sheepskin, with tattered breeches--their brawny legs and muscular -chests being bare. All were well armed with muskets, Albacete -knives, and pistols, and all were ferocious, resolute, and reckless -alike in spirit and in aspect. A glance showed me all this, as we -were dragged by them through an olive thicket, where, upon the -prostrate column of some old Roman temple, we found their leader -seated. - -The moon had now risen brightly above the mountains, and in the -sashed and armed figure before me, with a jacket glittering with -embroidery, his carbine resting in the hollow of his right arm, I -recognised our former acquaintance whom we had met by the wayside -between Castellar and Estrelo, and with whom we were hobbing and -nobbing over a cigar and bota, when poor sister St. Veronica came to -ask alms of us. - -The cruelties of which, on that occasion, he had so freely avowed -himself guilty, and those other traits of character, such as the -affair of the camphine lamp and the neckcloth so pleasantly padded -with guncotton, occurred to us; and I must own, that when we found -ourselves bound as prisoners and confronting the cold, stern and -impassible visage of this celebrated Spanish outlaw, a restless -anxiety made our hearts throb with new and undefined emotions. In -all things his bearing and disposition were similar to those of his -friend* whom he betrayed in 1853, and whose atrocities have been -published, like his own, at length in the columns of the "Heraldo de -Madrid." Neither Slingsby nor I had ever been in such a desperate -predicament before, as the reader may easily conceive; thus we could -scarcely realise it, and, naturally enough, indignation was uppermost -in our minds. - - -* Francisco Manuel de Cordova. - - -The intellectual part of Fabrique's face, though exceedingly -handsome, was immovable as that of a statue, his two black eyes -remained fixedly regarding us, and even when his bearded mouth -relaxed into a grim smile, one-half of his face remained unmoved. He -seemed calm and pale in the white moon-light--but the cicatrised -wound which traversed his cheek was of a deep and dusky red. - -"Well, señor," said I, briskly, "are you fully prepared to answer for -the attack you have made upon us?" - -"Answer," he reiterated, with something between a frown and -disdainful smile; "to whom?" - -"The captain general of Andalusia." - -"I have so many things to answer for already to that illustrious -Caballero of Seville, that he will be very apt to forget your little -affair among others." - -"But the Governor of Her Brittanic Majesty's garrison at Gibraltar -will refresh both his memory and yours, rascal!" said poor Slingsby, -whose face was streaming with blood. - -"Stuff, señores. Our Lady Donna Isabella II. alone is Queen of -Gibraltar, whatever you may believe to the contrary." - -"Then there is our ambassador at Madrid," said I, swelling with -passion. - -"Let the Señor Embajador come hither to seek you, if he chooses," -replied Fabrique, with a scowl, while his band made the wooded hollow -ring with their laughter. - -"For what reason, and with what purpose, is this outrage committed -upon us?" asked Jack, more calmly. - -"The reason is here," said Fabrique, throwing up a heavy purse. -"From the noble Don Joaquim, Major in the service of the young king -Don Pedro V., I have received one thousand duros to intercept you----" - -"And the purpose?" - -"To avenge his brother's death." - -"In what manner?" - -"By taking your lives, that is all; blood for blood, you know; an eye -for an eye, a limb for a limb, and a life for a life, are law and -justice all the world over. If my friend the blind abagado of Jaen -were here, he could not explain the law better." - -Zumalacarregui, when giving a light from his own cigar to the Carlist -prisoners he was just about to shoot, could not have spoken more -coolly. - -"And so, fellow, you have received a thousand duros to murder us?" -said Jack, abruptly. - -"One thousand, señor," was the quiet reply. - -"Conduct us to the harbour of San Lucar, and I will give you my word -of honour that two thousand shall be sent to you." - -"You would not break your plighted word?" - -"I would rather die!" - -"Then bear in mind that I have pledged mine; and that I also would -rather die than break it. No, señores; all the gold in Madrid would -not save you." - -After a pause,-- - -"How came you to discover us so readily on this road?" I asked. - -"Easily. I had spies planted at every gate of Seville. A Franciscan -begged alms of you at the Puerto of the San Lucar road." - -"To whom I gave a peseta." - -"'T was I." - -"You! I wish that I had recognised you then." - -"Muchos gratias, señor--my own mother would not have known me. I -took care of that, and now I shall take care of you." - -"It is incredible that a companion so jovial as the Major de Lucena -could contemplate this intended atrocity," exclaimed Slingsby. - -"Have you not his sister's letter here?" asked Fabrique, displaying -that little document, of which his searchers had deprived me; "you -Inglesos would doubt the holy face of Jaen, even if it were placed -before you! I received a thousand dollars to shoot you down like -dogs or wild pigs, and here we are chattering away like so many -magpies. Vamos alla--to the mountains--cammarados, basta!" - -"We are not, then, to be shot?" I asked, as a gleam of hope -brightened before me. - -"No," said he, with an icy smile, as his dark fierce face came close -to mine, like that of a handsome spectre in the moonlight and as the -whole band began to move; "we will give you to drink of the Rio de -Muerte." - -The River of Death!--our blood ran cold at these words; but no time -was left us for expostulation, as we were hurried up the hills, over -wild and furzy banks, where the laurel, the vine, and the fair yellow -paunch of the gourd grew together in luxuriance; and among rocks, -where the nimble goat browsed, and the untamed porker flew before us, -squeaking from his lair, among the aromatic plants, the long reedy -grass, the giant fern, and the broad-leaved dock. Up, up we went, -alternately clambering, or being pushed and dragged, until we gained -the brow of a steep hill, from which we saw beneath us in the broad, -clear, liquid moonlight, the waters of the Guadalquiver winding away -between groves of the orange and the olive, to San Lucar, and in the -middle distance, but far down below us, the white houses of Trohniona -clustered round their little church. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -PEDRO THE CONTRABANDISTA. - -After a painful and anxious hour elapsed, and we had traversed about -two miles of a steep and craggy ascent, until we reached a part of -the mountain range which was entirely covered by a little forest of -laurels. Above us, in the dark blue sky, the moon was hanging like a -large silver globe, and the flood of clear cold light it diffused -over the distant landscape enabled us to distinguish objects with -great minuteness. Thus I could trace the gleaming course of the -Guadalquiver, as it wound down from Seville past Borminos, the mouth -of the Guadamar, and the hills that overhang Dos Hermanos; while -other sierras in the distance undulated afar off, like the waves of a -petrified sea, if such a simile may be allowed me. Light glinted at -times upon the river. It came from a passing steamer. Down there in -the valley was the civilisation of our own time; yet we were about to -perish by the hands of outlaws, whose bearing and character were -worthy of the middle ages, or the mistier time that lies beyond them. - -Jack Slingsby and I had scarcely spoken during our steep and rapid -clamber, but our thoughts were the same; anxiety--intense -anxiety--for our fate; repugnance for our captors, and a natural -horror of dying a barbarous death at their hands, on these remote and -lonely mountains; far from help, far from justice and from -civilisation; a death, of which our friends, our relations, and our -comrades would never hear--would never know; for our fate would -become a mystery, which all the captains general, the ambassadors, -the chargés des affaires, and even the correspondents of the "Times" -would be unable to clear up or unravel,--as it was the purpose of -these wretches, whose prey we had become, to hide for ever our -remains, and the very means of our death, as completely as if we had -been flung into Mount Etna. - -In this sequestered part of the mountain chain, hidden among the -thickly-twined laurels, the wild and straggling vines, and the -densely-matted jungle of gourds, and other luxuriant creepers, there -suddenly yawned a chasm in the granite rocks--a black profundity of -unknown depth. The gaping rent was about twenty feet broad by some -hundred in length, but its mouth was greatly diminished by the -bordering foliage and wild plants that overhung it. Far down, -perhaps five hundred feet below (for the bottom was unseen), there -rolled with a deep, hoarse, roaring sound the Rio de Muerte--the -River of Death--a subterranean tributary of the Guadalquiver; and its -strange and hollow voice as it gurgled, surged, and bellowed through -the clefts and fissures in the heart of the mountains, filled me with -a pang of horror. Here we paused, and our captors muttered one to -another under their thick beards, smoked their paper cigaritos, and -leaned leisurely on their short escapetas, or long-barrelled muskets, -and seemed to await the approach of Fabrique de Urquija, who was some -yards behind us, and came up very much at his ease. - -"My God!" said my friend, "if it be their purpose to--to----" - -"To throw us down there, you would say? My dear Slingsby, such seems -indeed to be their dreadful purpose, and I see here but little hope -of mercy or of charity, where bribes greater than those of that -infamous major have failed before a savage idea of honour and the -fulfilment of a villanous trust." - -"Heaven help us!" - -"If these are not your prayers, señores," said one fellow in Spanish, -with a slight Murcian accent, "you had better betake yourselves to -them, for in less than ten minutes you will be at the bottom of this -terrible place, and be swept through the bowels of the mountain -towards the Guadalquiver." - -The man spoke gently and with some emotion; it was evident that his -dreadful life had not yet obliterated every remnant of civilisation -and humanity. There was, moreover, something terribly impressive in -his words, when heard amid the hoarse rush of that deep and -subterranean torrent, whose waters came we knew not from where, and -traversed depths and caverns, of which we could have no conception, -in their way to the valley below. - -There was a refined cruelty in bringing us to such a place, and to -die such a death; for the mind "shrunk back upon itself and -trembled," when contemplating the dark profundity through which this -mysterious torrent poured. - -"Pray, good señores, pray," said this man, kindly again, as he -touched me on the shoulder, "down upon your knees, for here comes the -capitano, and he never tarries with his prisoners on the brink of the -Rio de Muerte, or the Cima de Cabra." - -"What does the fellow say?" asked poor Slingsby, who looked a little -pale, and whose nether lip was tightly clenched. - -"He bids us lose no time, but to pray." - -"Pray!" reiterated Jack, fiercely; "I pray to Heaven only that my -hands were loose for one moment, that I might strike a blow for life -or for revenge." - -"Threats are absurd, señor," said Fabrique de Urquija, throwing the -end of his cigar with perfect deliberation into the chasm that yawned -before us: "and bribes are alike useless----" - -"Can it be, brave Spaniards," said I, becoming desperate, and -encouraged by the evident sympathy of one to endeavour to soften the -rest; "can it be that you will prove so cruel and so merciless to two -unoffending strangers, who----" - -"Silence, señores!" exclaimed Fabrique, in a voice of thunder, while -drawing a pistol from his belt; "in attempting to tamper with my -followers you but anticipate your fate. Iago Pineda--Stephano el -Corcovado, over with them! dost thou hear me? presto! or by the -mother of God, this bullet shall see the brains of some of you." - -He ground his teeth; his eyes shot fire, and his broad nostrils -seemed to dilate as he gave this savage order. - -Stephano the humpbacked, and the other who was named Iago Pineda, and -who was no other than our sympathetic friend, threw down their -escopetas and grasped me. They were powerful and muscular men--aye, -men of iron frames and iron hearts, and a sickening emotion rose -within me as their hands were roughly laid upon my pinioned arms. -The moonlit mountains and the far-stretching Vega swam around me; the -forms of our murderers were multiplied a thousandfold; the -perspiration fell heavily from my brow, and a half-arrested cry to -Heaven for that pity which men denied us here, arose to my lips as -they were about to hurl me downward; when, lo! Pineda paused, looked -back, and listening, relinquished my right arm. - -"Do you think, do you dare to disobey?" cried Fabrique, as he -levelled a brass-barrelled pistol full at his head; "to work at once, -vile mutineer, or por vida del demonic----" - -"Hold--para--detenedos!" cried a breathless voice, and a man mounted -on horseback, and armed with a long gun, dashed his jennet at full -speed through the laurel bushes into the midst of the free company. - -"Who cries hold?" demanded Fabrique, almost choking with passion, -while turning his pistol against the intruder; and all his people -cocked or clubbed their muskets in high alarm. - -"I do--I, your brother Pedro the contrabandista." - -"Oho, and what seek you here?" - -"The safety of these two Caballeros, who at Gibraltar saved me from -the guarda costa of Hernan de Lucena in the first place, and from the -chain and the scourge in Her Majesty's galleys in the second place." - -"How! was it you, brother Pedro, whose felucca was concerned in this -business?" asked Fabrique, with an altered voice. - -"Yes, Fabrique, it was my little craft, La Buena Fortuna, which the -Lieutenant De Lucena pursued till a shot from the Mole fort shortened -him by two feet. I claim their lives, for they are my friends and -patrons, and would have supped with me to-night at Trohniona had not -your devilish fellows came upon us like a herd of wild cats, just -when I was kicking and cuffing yonder rascally raterillo, who has -made off with all my dollars. So I fled from the wayside-well, for I -knew not whose free company your lads had the honour to be, and -feared they might relieve me alike of life and all care for my -packages." - -Jack and I now began to breathe a little more freely; for as all this -took place in less time than I have taken to write it, there was some -difficulty in realising the conviction that we had been waylaid, -doomed to death and saved, with such rapidity: yet so it was, and so -ended the scene of that night to which I can never recur without a -chill of awe and horror, blended with a very decided sensation of -anger and just indignation. - -Notwithstanding the alleged solemnity with which his word was -plighted to the malevolent major of the sainted regiment of Lagos, -"in the kingdom of Algarve," Fabrique relinquished his cruel purpose, -unbound us at his brother's request, and restored to us our arms, -horses, and little baggage--everything, in short, not even excepting -the letter of poor Paulina. He gave us cigars, a hearty quaff from -his bota, and then a bow so low that his black velvet sombrero almost -swept the dewy sward. He then drew off with all his band towards the -Sierra de Honda, and in two hours afterwards we were comfortably -seated by the kitchen fire in the posada of Trohniona, at supper with -his brother the contrabandista, who was en route for San Lucar. - -For some time after, throughout the night in which these startling -events occurred, in fancy I saw before me the cold, stern visage and -fierce glaring eyes of Urquija, and above all other sounds I seemed -to hear the deep hoarse rush of the subterranean Rio de Muerte. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE SPANISH STEAMER. - -Whatever may have been the emotions with which we regarded the -formidable relative of our contrabandista, we spared him the -humiliation of listening to the just appreciation we had of the -character of Fabrique; and enlivened by those songs and stories with -which the honest fellow endeavoured to raise our spirits and efface -the terrible recollection of that hour upon the hills of Trohniona, -we supped upon a guisado and bottle of valdepenas. - -Now I may inform the uninitiated that the aforesaid guisado was a -stew, such as can only be made in a real Spanish pipkin. It -consisted of two chickens, a plump partridge, and a hare, well -seasoned with oil, garlic, pepper, and saffron all simmered together -When hot and steaming, the giblets, &c., are fished up from the -depths of the savoury pipkin, with just such a wooden spoon as -paunchy Sancho used, when diving therewith into his beloved -flesh-pots at the wedding of Camacho. - -Supper over, and a fresh bota ordered, Pedro assumed his guitar, and -while we cleaned and examined our swords and pistols, and all the -people of the posada, the patron and patrona, the waiteresses, the -stabler, and the little half-naked muchaco who cleaned the boots and -turned the spit, crowded near, he, the jovial contrabandista, turned -his dark eyes and well-bearded visage towards the dusky wooden -ceiling, and while his swarthy cheek glowed in the light of the -kitchen fire, struck up one of those lively seguidillas which are the -delight of the Spaniards, and skilfully he brushed the strings with -his finger-points in a manner which I believe is peculiar to the -Andalusians. - -A very amorous love ditty succeeded, and when the roguish eyes of -Pedro wandered knowingly from one person to another, the patrona -blushed with pleasure, and all the waiteresses simpered and spread -out their short but full-flounced skirts, or displayed their handsome -red stockings, to let their well-shaped legs be seen, as well as -their pretty zapatas; for the roving and romantic contrabandista, -whose habits are so full of life and energy, is ever a welcome guest -at the wayside inns of Spain, and to none more than their fairer -inmates. - -Now Pedro's gaudy brown jacket, all covered with silver bell-buttons, -bright silken lace, and spangles; his ample breeches of gay -velveteen; his brilliant sash and broad hat placed a little over the -right eye, made him a welcome visitor to all the women, while the -stories, news, or fibs which his incessant perambulations afforded -him ample means of collecting, made him equally acceptable to the -men; thus, like other bold contrabandistas, who by sea and land set -the laws of the Cortes at defiance, Pedro was always sure of the -brightest smiles, the oldest wine in the cellar, the best fowl in the -larder, the warmest corner by the kitchen fire, and the most snug -cama in the posada, while pretty hands stroked his docile jennet, and -readier ones removed his corded packages, and placed his guitar and -loaded gun by his bedside for the night. - -Pedro's songs, and the stories he told during the single night we -spent with him, would fill a volume; but the time passed rapidly -away; we were up betimes, mounted and armed to ride; and with -something of real satisfaction, Jack and I turned our backs on those -hated mountains, where a thicket of green laurels, diminished to a -black speck by the distance, indicated the locality of the Rio de -Muerte. - -Trotting pleasantly, we passed Isla-mayor, which lies about twelve -miles from the mouth of the Guadalquiver, and abounds in fruit-trees, -which were then in full blossom. - -By this time, Paulina, her dark eyes, and her witchery were alike -forgotten, and her little note on pink paper had been smoked away in -cigaritos. The keen interest taken in our affairs by the major had -completely cured me; so much for Spanish romance contrasted with -Spanish reality. - -"And you have decided on taking the steamer at San Lucar, señores?" -said Pedro. - -"Yes, and happy shall we be to find ourselves safe on board of her," -said I; "we have had too many devilish scrapes among you Spaniards to -wish for more travelling in the saddle. It is no joke to escape -being hanged as a spy by a blundering alcalde one day, and a terrible -death the next by drowning, at the hands of----" - -"My brother Fabrique," said he, good-humouredly, closing a sentence, -the termination of which might have proved unpleasant. "Well, -señores, my little felucca the 'Buena Fortuna'--you know her, with -her long brass gun and lateen sails--is lying concealed in a solitary -creek near Carbonera. I have run her in there, because a fleet--yes, -maldito--a whole fleet of guarda costas are at anchor in the harbour -of San Lucar; but we must put to sea to-morrow night, and if you will -so far honour me, Caballeros, as to accept a passage with me to -Gibraltar, the best valdepenas and the noblest Xeres that ever came -out of a madre-butt shall be at your service. Ah, you shake your -head, Señor Don Ricardo, and think you have had enough of me and my -poor little craft----" - -"Right, Pedro, and wish to have no more affairs with a guarda costa," -said Slingsby; "besides, if you were attacked and taken at sea, after -a fight, you would fight, of course----" - -"To the death, Señor, guerra al cuchillo, as the old guerillas say." - -"Well--what would be our fate?" - -"True, señor. If not killed, you would be sent to the galleys at -Barcelona, and so might as well have taken a dip in the Rio de -Muerte. Well, I will cease to urge you. Here is the gate of -Bonanza, which may be termed the port of Seville, though the city is -fifteen leagues distant; yonder is its castle, with the Spanish flag -flying, and here is the quay, where all large vessels laden with -goods discharge their cargoes, as the shallowness of the Guadalquiver -will not permit them to ascend higher--you understand, señores?" - -Here at this small town we bade farewell to Pedro, who promised to -visit us as soon as he came round to Gibraltar; and pushing on, after -a trot of a mile or two over a dreary and sandy waste, we found -ourselves amid the sunny and bustling streets of San Lucar de -Barameda, where we sought at once its harbour, the quays of which -were, as usual, piled chin deep with boxes of oranges, of raisins, -and of prunes, casks of salt, of wine, and of brandy; while the flags -of all nations--the stars and stripes of North America, the eagles -and tricolours of the South, the union jack and the crosses of -Scandinavia--were waving among a forest of masts; in short, we found -ourselves amid all the noise and lively stir of a Spanish seaport, -where the splash of the screw propeller furrowed the waters of the -Guadalquiver, and the steam, as it escaped at times, was like music -to us, who had just eluded the fangs of Fabrique's mountain wolves. - -We soon found the boat for Gibraltar, "Neustra Señora de -Assistencia," and embarked ourselves and our horses, which were taken -on board in stalls, that were slung from a whip at the yard-arm; and -in an hour after, muffled in our cloaks, with choice cubas to solace -us, we lounged on the paddle gangway as the vessel steamed out of the -harbour between the two castles of San Lucar--the same fortresses -which saluted the little fleet of Columbus, when departing in search -of a western world--and passed the roadstead and the dangerous -entrance, where the wild waves are ever beating in tumult; and thus -we left the port enveloped in a golden haze and diminishing astern, -as the sun set behind the mountain peaks of Seville. - -The bay of Cadiz soon opened on our larboard bow, and the city -itself, with all its lights and spires, and then the Isla de Leon -arose before us, white and glimmering in the moonlight. - -The silver waves seemed to toy with the golden sand, as their coy -riplets chafed the beach; but in other places the moonlit sea dashed -its spray like showers of diamonds and prisms against the abutting -rocks. - -Overhead, the dark blue sky was clear and cloudless, save where a -long black pennon of wavy smoke streamed far astern from the glowing -funnel of "Our Lady of Assistance," and all was still save the -ceaseless and monotonous dashing of the paddle-wheels, and the -measured clank of the engines, as we ploughed along the lovely -Spanish shore, and towards midnight saw that point of land on which -no Briton can gaze without an emotion of pride, the Cape of Trafalgar. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE CIRCASSIAN CAPTAIN. - -On board the steamer our attention had been repeatedly attracted, and -our interest--mine, at least--excited by a fellow-passenger, whose -manner, costume, and bearing were too remarkable to escape notice. - -His figure was tall and handsomely formed; his features, pale and -like marble, were cast in the most pure and severe model of classic -beauty; his nose was long and straight; his black eye-brows nearly -met over it in one unbroken line; a fierce mustache stuck out on each -side, giving great expression to a mouth, the lips of which were -generally compressed, and in expression stern. - -Altogether, his face had in it more of pure intellect and pictorial -manly beauty than any I had ever seen. His costume was a scarlet -forage cap, the tassel of which drooped on his right shoulder, and a -loose tunic of dark green cloth, the cuffs, collar, and skirts of -which were trimmed with sables; but this peculiar garment, like his -long military boots, seemed well worn, or as Jack said, "decidedly -shabby." - -He remained very much aloof from the passengers, and either sat or -walked apart, communing apparently with himself, and smoking a huge -pipe, the aspect of which was as foreign as his own. - -A figure so melo-dramatic on board of a steamer--even a Spanish -one--was too remarkable in the present day to escape notice, and I -repeatedly drew Slingsby's attention to him; but honest Jack had not -quite recovered the effect of the start given him last night on the -hills of Trohniona, and replied briefly,-- - -"An interesting foreigner, eh! that will sound very well to the ears -of a novel-reading miss at home; but such personages excite a very -different feeling in me. A seedy sharper! I am sick, Ramble, of -your interesting foreigners; they are invariably swindlers, refugees, -and all that sort of thing, unless we except the poor monkeys in the -Zoological gardens," and so Jack assumed a sulky air of reserve, -while our voyager in the furs and long boots smoked his huge -meerschaum to leeward, and all unconscious that he was an object of -remark or interest to any one. - -On visiting our horses in the stalls, we found that our -fellow-traveller had also a nag, and that this animal seemed the -object of all his cares; for he was by its side almost every half -hour, stroking its sleek coat and slender legs; tickling its square -nostrils and pointed ears, or wiping its fine liquid eyes with his -white handkerchief, and feeding it from the palm of his hands, which -were white and muscular, while he spoke caressingly in a barbarous -language, which the horse--a noble Arab-steed, with a magnificent -head, and limbs as slender as a girl's wrist--seemed to understand. -There was something so peculiar in all this, and especially in the -man's strong and tender regard for his horse, that Slingsby's John -Bullism began to relax, for the proverbial crustiness of his country -little became a frank fellow like him; so he ventured a few remarks -in English on horses in general, and this fine barb in particular. - -The foreigner shook his head, and smiled pleasantly, as he -articulated with difficulty that he scarcely knew a word of English; -whereupon Jack turned his remarks into very choice Spanish. - -Again the stranger smiled and bowed, showing under his close and -thick mustache that he had a set of teeth our brightest belles might -envy, as he said in the language of our allies,-- - -"I beg your pardon, sir, but I speak only French with my native -language; and it maybe a little--Russ." - -"Russ--indeed!" said I, with fresh interest; "are you a Cossack?" - -"No," said he, with a sudden air of haughty reserve, "do I look like -one?" - -"I cannot say," said Jack, "as I never saw one." - -He was about to withdraw, as if our notice was displeasing to him, -when it chanced that a puff of wind opened my cloak, and below it he -perceived the scarlet shell jacket, which was the undress of "Ours." -Then his bold dark eye lighted up with new animation, and raising his -forage cap, he said, smilingly, in French, which he spoke with great -fluency and a good accent,-- - -"Officers, I perceive, and, better than all, British officers! Would -that I had known this sooner, we might have had a pleasant evening -together; but now our voyage is nearly half over, as the captain has -just told me. I am so glad to meet you, gentlemen, for I, too, have -had the honour to wear a sword." - -"May I ask in what service?" said Jack. - -"The Russian, latterly." - -"Indeed!" - -"You are surprised," he said, with a sigh. - -"Rather." - -"It was the result of fate, or rather the fortune of war, that placed -me in their ranks. I was taken in battle, and had no alternative but -to serve in the imperial cavalry, or drag a chain over the snows of -Siberia; and thus I accepted the former, resolving to escape to my -own dear mountains on the first opportunity. I am a Circassian, and -fought under the heroic Schamyl, though latterly I held the rank of -captain in the Tenginski hussars; but tyranny and misfortune drove me -from the Russian ranks before a proper opportunity for escape had -come; and I have wandered over many lands with no companion save my -horse--my dear Zupi," he continued, caressing the Arab, which rubbed -its fine head upon his cheek, as if understanding the reference its -master had just made; "my beloved Zupi, who has shared with me many a -day of peril, and has thrice saved my life from Russian bullets and -from drowning; for there is no horse like thee, Zupi, between the -Kuban and the Caspian Sea." - -"He is quite a Mazeppa, this," said Jack, in English. - -"And you are now going to Gibraltar?" I asked. - -"Yes, gentlemen; but I merely make a visit there, and at Malta, on my -way home through Turkey; as I have a letter of introduction to an -officer of your garrison." - -"May I ask his name?" - -"It is here: John Slingsby, Esq., Lieutenant, H.M. --th Foot--perhaps -you know him?" - -"The deuce! It is for me; I am Slingsby of the --th," said Jack, in -astonishment, for he was puzzled to remember what friends he had -among the Tenginski hussars, or on the shores of the Caspian Sea; -"devilish odd, sir! I really don't know any one in Circassia, or any -one who ever was there, or likely to be so." - -"I received this letter in London," said the stranger, with a soft -smile; "at a clubhouse of the Guards, for the officers of the -Household Brigade were more than kind; being, indeed, as fathers to -me, and treating me as if I had been their own son, instead of what I -am--a poor waif, floating on the current of events." - -"I am the man," said Jack, tearing open the letter which the -Circassian produced from his breast-pocket, and delivered; but with -the slightest possible shade of anxiety on his fine but saddened -face. Poor fellow! he had doubtless been so often deceived and -misused, that he was learning to mistrust every one, and his eyes -were riveted on the face of Slingsby, who suddenly shook him by the -hand, saying,-- - -"This meeting is most remarkable; your letter of introduction to me -and to our mess is from my brother." - -"Bismillah, is it possible!" - -"From my brother, Sir Harry Slingsby, of the Grenadier Guards. I am -most happy to meet you, Captain Rioni, and with my friend, Captain -Ramble of "Ours," will do all in my power to assist you." - -Jack handed his brother's letter to me. It ran thus:-- - - -MY DEAR JACK,-- - -Allow me to introduce to you and to your brother officers of the old ---th Captain Osman Rioni (late of the--I am sorry to say it--Russian -service), who has been for some time in London teaching our Life -Guards the lance exercise, and who for the last three months has been -the lion of the club-houses. He arrived among us a staid and -respectable Mohammedan, very prone to sit cross-legged on the floor, -to dip his fingers in the gravy, and to grasp his knife if you gave -him a slice of ham with his fowl; but he leaves us much addicted to -balls, vingt un, champagne suppers, the polka, and the waltz. In -short, in one season, we have polished him up in good style, and -completed an education which had been somewhat neglected during his -rural life among the Caucasus. You, perhaps, know the history of -himself and his horse--for the morning papers get hold of everything. -Conyers of the Blues offered him £500 for the nag; but he won't sell -it for any known amount of the ready. Look at its legs and chest; I -never saw such an animal! The captain has been an honorary member of -our mess while in London--a hint this, for your fellows. He is now -on his way home to the Kuban (wherever the devil that may be), and so -you gentlemen of the Line in Gibraltar must look to the state of his -exchequer, and pass him on to the next station, as Conyers has given -him letters to some of the Rifles at Malta. I could easily have -procured him a troop in our new Turkish contingent; but home he must -and shall go, he says, and his own story will best let you know why. -To-morrow our battalion will change its quarters, and commence the -arduous march from St. John's Wood Barracks to those in -Portman-street, and from thence to Trafalgar-square, and I shall -follow in my cab; but you may see me ere long, for I am to sail with -the next draught of ours for the Crimea, where the shiny splendour -will be taken out of our Brahmins in the muddy trenches--ugh! Give -my remembrance to Dick Ramble--ask him what his next book is to be -about; and so, my dear Jack, - -I remain, &c., &c. - - -The wishes of Sir Henry, and the efforts he and his brother officers -of the Grenadier Guards (most of whom will remember the affair I -allude to) made it imperative upon "Ours" not to be behind them in -kindness to this stranger. - -Jack and I promised to leave nothing undone to serve him on our -arrival at Gibraltar, and assured him that we would see sufficient -funds raised to send him either to Malta, or by steamer straight to -Constantinople. His ignorance of English and Spanish had sadly -puzzled the brain of our poor Circassian, who had landed with his -horse and baggage at San Lucar, believing it to be Gibraltar, and had -thus lost several days, and, what was of more consequence, much of -his money; so that his mind was full of anxiety as to the future, and -how his horse--his Zupi--for they seemed one, like a centaur, were to -reach that mighty mountain range that lies between the Euxine and the -Cape of Alpcheron; and which, with all its black forests, wild rocks, -and snowy peaks was his beloved home; the altar of oriental -independence--the barrier of the Eastern world against the -encroaching Kuos. - -We supped together in the cabin; and while the Spanish passengers -were all smoking or asleep on the benches and lockers, we prevailed -upon the Circassian, over a bottle of good wine, to inform us how he -came to serve in the Russian cavalry, and why he declined Sir Harry's -apparently advantageous offer of a Captain's commission in our -Turkish contingent--a service for which he seemed so admirably -fitted, and in which he might have won honour and distinction; at -least such distinction as John Bull awards to those who are not on -the staff, and have no ministerial interest. - -He shook his head sadly, as I said something to this purpose, and -bowing, gave me a pleasant smile. - -"When you have heard me, you will understand more fully that the only -place for me is my native land--that home which is now so far off, -that when I trace upon a map the extent of sea and shore that lie -between its hills and me, my heart grows faint and sick; but patience -yet awhile, and one day I shall stand again an the black rugged -mountains of Kushaa, and see at my feet far down below, the fertile -plains of Georgia and Mingrelia. Zupi will snuff the pure air of -these Alpine peaks, and toss his proud mane on the wind; strong -warriors, in their shirts of mail, will be riding by my side; the -Albanian musket and the Tartar bow will be there, as we survey the -long dark lines that mark upon the green summer fields, or it may be -the winter snow, the columns of the Russian Emperor--columns that -advance but to defeat and death; for in thousands, yea, hundreds of -thousands, have they come to war against us, and to perish on the -Circassian hills, until the very soil has been drenched in their -blood, and fattened by the bones of men and horses! But my emotions -carry me away, gentlemen, and I am forgetting my own story." - -"Ah--yes, the story," said Jack, refilling the stranger's glass, and -pushing the decanters towards me, while our new friend began, as -nearly as I can remember, in the following words. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -OSMAN RIONI - -Bismillah! there is but one God, and Mohammed is His prophet; and on -earth He is the powerful hand of Him who moveth the stars, who giveth -light to the sun, and throweth darkness on the souls of the Russian -unbelievers. - -I am a Circassian, and, consequently, a Mohammedan, being a native of -those districts of the Caucasus which have waged a ceaseless war with -Russia--I mean that portion of our mountains which lies between -Tamrook and the strong fortress of Anapa, whose ramparts are washed -by the waves of the Euxine Sea. We are all soldiers from our birth; -thus, out of a population of three hundred thousand souls, our tribe -can at any time muster fifty thousand warriors, well mounted on fleet -Caucasian horses, and well armed, after our own fashion, in coats of -mail, with musket, bow and pistol, sabre, dagger, and cartridge box; -men, brave and handsome, and stubborn as their native rocks--men to -whom danger is a pastime, and death but the door to Paradise. - -Thus the mountaineers of the Caucasus, though mustering only about -two millions of souls, have never stooped before a conqueror; but, in -the face of all the world, have hurled back the legions of the -Russian Empire, and maintained against it a struggle for fifty -years--a struggle which, when our valour and disparity of numbers on -one side are contrasted with the ferocity and overwhelming force on -the other, has no parallel in the history of the modern world. The -Russians name us the Tcherkesses, which means literally "those who -bar the way;" for never did a foreign host leave their cursed -foot-prints, on the summits of the Caucasus. - -Our mountains have become the ramparts of Turkey and of Persia, as -our Declaration of Independence asserts; but they will become--unless -we are supported by Western Europe--the avenue to both! We -voluntarily submitted to the khans of the Crimea, and afterwards to -the sultans of Constantinople; but, alas! we have lost the chiefs, -whose banners could have summoned a hundred thousand warriors; yet -now are we all, as one man, united in a deep and undying hatred of -Russia! She has built forts on our territory, but dare her soldiers -venture a foot beyond their cannon? In short, sirs, Circassia is -free and independent; for neither the lying maps of Russia, which are -spread throughout the world, and which mark the Caucasus as her -territory, nor words, nor arts can enslave us. Arms may do it, but -the steel has never yet been forged, nor the cannon cast, that will -make the proud Circassian stoop his crest before the barbarous Russ! -Bismillah! The wild Tcherkesses are still free as the stormy wind -that sweeps from Azov down the Euxine. - -My father Mostapha was a chief; the head of one of those princely -houses which are of Kabardian descent; his will was a law to his -people; and the booty he took in his wars with the fierce Tartars and -faithless Muscovites was the reward of their fidelity. We were -Christians once--many ages ago--but it pleased God to open our eyes -to the blessed precepts of Islam, and now we turn our faces to the -Kaaba when we pray. Many nobles followed the banner of my father, -whose territories extended along the base of the mountain steppes, -from Marinskoi to the banks of the Kisselbash River; but one night, -in the year 1807, the Russian General Goudivitch, with ten thousand -cavalry, burst among us; stormed Anapa, and gave our men to the -sword, our roofs to the flames, and our children to the wolf and the -eagle. - -My father fought long and nobly; the war was desperate; the Russians -impaled their prisoners, and my father roasted his; but the tide of -battle turned against us. All our possessions became a prey to the -Russ, and our most beautiful damsels were given as wives or -handmaidens to those brutal Cossacks, whom the merciless Goudivitch -had brought from the banks of the Don. Azrael spread his dusky wings -over our beautiful country; all the land was burned up, and black as -night--being waste as a garden whose fruits have been gathered. - -Then the new chain of forts was built along the Kuban. These marked -the extended boundary of the Russian territory, and the land of my -father was lost for ever; his bones lay unburied, where he had -fallen, sword in hand, on the threshold of his own door, pierced by -the same bayonets that slew his faithful wife; and their three -children, myself and two brothers, sole heirs to his hopes and his -harvest of vengeance, received the bread of charity from another -Circassian tribe, the friendly Abassians, who dwell between the -mountains and the Euxine. - -Time rolled on, and from tending the flocks of the Abassians as -shepherd boys, my brothers Selim and Karolyi grew strong and hardy -men. The Abassians told us of our father's fate, and we longed to -avenge it, and to recover our lost patrimony. Day after day we spent -our time in acquiring the perfect use of arms, in talking of our -hopes, our projects, and desires; and often we looked with kindling -eyes towards those mountains, from whose summits the Muscovite -outposts were visible by the waters of the Kuban; for dear as war and -vengeance are the honour of his race and country to the proud and -free Tcherkesse. - -We could soon ride the wildest Arab steeds, and gallop them without -bridle or saddle along giddy rocks, and through the untrodden forest. -None surpassed us in the use of the sabre, the poniard, or the -pistol; few equalled Selim in handling the heavy Albanian musket; -while Karolyi was matchless in the use of the Circassian sling; and -in my hands, the bow was as unerring as the best Frankish rifle. I -was older than my brave brothers by a few years, and thus became, in -somewise, their preceptor. We were poor, but ardent and full of -enthusiasm; we worked, begged, and bartered--we were never satisfied -until each of us was possessor of a fleet and active barb, a bright -steel coat of mail; a helmet of tempered iron, such as our warriors -wear, and which covers all the face, except the eyes and nose; a -curved sabre of keen Damascus steel; an Albanian musket; breast cases -to receive our cartridges; a sharp Circassian dagger, and a Tartar -bow: and when thus accoutred, our hearts would swell with fierce -emotion, as we reined up our steeds upon the hills above Anapa, and -shook our lances in defiance at the Russian steamers and frigates in -the Euxine, while we longed for the time when the war-cry of Islam -would ring among the hills, and we should behold the Sangiac Sheerif, -the green banner of our confederated princes, with its three golden -arrows and twelve white stars, unfurled against the barbarous Emperor -Nicholas Romanoff. - -We loved each other strongly, dearly, and devotedly, my two brothers -and I, for we were alone in the world, the last of all our race. -Being the eldest, they frequently importuned me to marry, that I -might have children, and perpetuate our family; but I told them to -remember that it was the custom of our people for a prince to wed the -daughter of a prince; a noble to wed the daughter of a noble; a tocar -to wed the daughter of a tocar; and the poor serf to wed the daughter -of a serf. That I was neither prince nor tocar, noble nor serf, and -could not marry, being too poor to wed one in the rank of my father, -and too proud to stoop to a maiden beneath it. "Besides," I told -them, "we have other duties to perform than espousing wives, which -are ever a barrier to freedom of thought in peace, and bravery of -action in war; for the blessed Prophet said, that wives and children -were barriers to the performance of great deeds. God knoweth all -things, and will direct the heart of Osman. I will not marry yet -awhile, my brothers; for it is written that marriage disturbs a man -from his duty--the wedded care for the things of this world, even as -the unwedded care for those of heaven; and so we must watch and pray -for our country, to defend her from the infidel Russians, who, like -accursed locusts, blacken all the shores of the Kuban." Then my -brothers Selim and Karolyi kissed me on both cheeks, applauding my -resolution; and once more we shook our gauntletted hands in fierce -menace towards the ramparts of Anapa. - -But ere long there occurred circumstances which altered my -resolution; for before the eyes of a beautiful woman the strongest -heart is weak as water. - -One evening I was riding on the mountain slopes that overlook the -waters of the Euxine. The last rays of evening were lingering on -their peaks, and shedding a golden tint upon the waves that rolled -away towards the cliffs of the Crimea. At my feet lay Sundjik Bay, -glittering in the blaze of light that steeped sea, sky, and shore. -The snow-white walls of Anapa, which crown rocks a hundred feet in -height, were gleaming in the yellow sunshine, and grimly the black -iron cannon peered through the stone embrasures, or over the ramparts -of smoothly-shorn grass. - -The flat-capped Russian sentinels, muffled in their gray great-coats -walked to and fro upon their posts; and each time they turned I saw -their bayonets flash above the two square towers that guard the great -arched entrance. Over all was the white flag with the Muscovite -cross, but there was no wind to spread its folds upon the evening -sky, and it hung about the staff listlessly and still; not a blade of -grass stirred on the mighty plain of the Kuban, which spread far away -towards the north, silent as a land of the dead. Under my iron -helmet, grimly I surveyed Anapa and the rocks of Taman, and panted -for the time when the standard of the twelve confederated princes of -Circassia would be planted there, and when the black cross of the -God-abandoned Russ would be torn down and steeped in the blood of its -defenders. - -My heart was full of fierce and fiery thoughts, when suddenly the cry -of a woman, ringing upon the clear air of the hot summer eve, fell on -my ear, and I reined up my horse--the same winch I have now on board -with me--my noble Zuyi, to listen. - -"Yani, Yani!" cried a despairing voice, which in our language means -"mother, mother!" - -I spurred Zupi over a hillock, and perceived four Russian soldiers of -the Tenginski infantry, then garrisoning Anapa, dragging along a -Circassian woman, who made no resistance, but cried piteously for -mercy. - -Uttering a shout of anger and defiance, I lowered my lance, and -rushed upon them without a moment of hesitation. - -They immediately relinquished their prey, who sank senseless on the -ground, while they betook them to their muskets, crying,-- - -"Death to the Tcherkesse! down with the unbeliever!" and all four -fired upon me at once; but God, the common father of all mankind -(except the Russians) protected me. One bullet tore the plume from -my helmet, another was turned by the fluted pockets which (in lieu of -cartridge boxes) we wear across our breasts, the others whistled -harmlessly past me, and before one of these soldiers could reload or -club his weapon I was upon them. The first two I speared, and hurled -to the earth like ripe pumpkins; a third, I trampled under the hoofs -of Zupi; and afterwards slew at my leisure; the fourth sprung over a -ruined wall and escaped me, but for a few minutes only, as I pinned -him to the earth by an arrow, but he rose and staggered away. This -man was named Archipp Osepoff, of whom more anon. - -I now dismounted, and, throwing the bridle over the neck of my docile -Zupi, approached the insensible female I had rescued. - -She was attired in the richest fashion of our Circassian damsels. A -robe of costly silk open in front, and confined at her slender waist -by a glittering girdle of silver; trowsers of the finest pink muslin; -and the red slippers on her pretty feet were embroidered with gold; a -turban, composed of the most delicate shawl, fell in graceful folds -over her small and beautiful neck, and a large veil of lace entwined -with silver, enveloped her whole person, and floated like a white -mist about her. - -This I dared to draw aside that the air might play upon her face, and -so revive her. Oh, Mahmoud resoul allah! the beauty of our women is -proverbial, and as you know, gentlemen, the world acknowledges it; -but how shall I describe the loveliness of this Circassian damsel, -who proved to be the flower of the Abassian maids? Her complexion -was of the purest white, the result of excessive delicacy, and -perhaps of that seclusion which was necessary to conceal her from the -prying eyes of the Russian soldiers, or of the trading Turks; and -this paleness of skin, when contrasted with the blackness of her -massive braids of hair, was almost startling. Her eyes were also -dark, but beautiful and dove-like in expression, for a languishing -gentleness was in every feature, and over all her form. She was but -a girl; yet so full, round, and tall, that for the house of the -sultan I had seen many thousand piastres paid for an odalisque, who -was unfit to kiss even her slipper. Basilia was among the most -beautiful of our Circassian maids, or, as Schamyl calls them, the -daughters of the rocks and streams. - -She soon recovered on perceiving that she was free and that the -protecting arm of a Circassian was around her; but she tremblingly -drew the veil over her face, as I led her by the hand from the spot -where her late capturers lay dead on the sward, with their blood -congealing beneath them. - -"It pleased the Prophet to send me to your aid, fair damsel," said I; -"are there any other means by which I can serve you?" - -For a time she could only reply by incoherencies and with profuse -thanks, for her mind was bewildered by terror and agitation. - -"Fear nothing, maiden," said I, "for a strong hand and a stout heart -are at your service. I am Osman, whose people dwelt by the -Kisselbash River; you have heard of me, perhaps?" - -"Yes, Aga----" - -"Alas! no Aga am I; but a poor outcast, whose sword and bow are his -sole inheritance; yet you have heard of me?" - -"Yes, and of your two brothers, Selim and Karolyi, for to them and to -you the people look as leaders when war is made on the Muscovites." - -"As soon it must be, maiden; and then I hope to see the ramparts of -yonder fortress of Anapa flung into the Euxine. But may I ask your -name?" - -"Basilia," she replied, in a low voice, and drew her veil yet closer. - -"Basilia, the daughter of Abdallah ibn Obba, the rich merchant of -Soudjack Kaleh, who is said to be making pyramids of gold by trading -with Tartars of the Crimea, and exporting from Sampsoon the copper of -Tocat, and the silks and fruit of Amasia?" - -"I am the daughter of Abdallah, and, rich though he is, I assure you -he is yet poor in his own idea; for neither the Prophet nor the -santons can bound my father's idea of wealth; but convey me to him, -and for the good deed of to-day, he will reward you, noble Osman, by -the most gorgeous suit of armour, the richest weapons, and the -noblest horse a Tcherkesse warrior ever possessed." - -"I seek no reward; let the horse and armour be given to some poor -patriot who is without them; I seek no reward, Basilia," I continued, -with enthusiasm, "beyond your own approbation and the memory that I -have this day done a kind, and, it may be, a gallant deed, in -rescuing you from the fate which those sons of the devil had in store -for you; but how came you into their hands?" - -"We had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Santon Seozeres among -the mountains, when we fell in with these marauders; my father's aged -hands were unable to protect me; he was struck to the earth; his -reverend beard was spat on, and his turban torn off and flung in his -face, while I was dragged from the arms of my terrified attendants; -but see, Osman Rioni, they are now approaching us, and behold my -father." - -She uttered a cry of joy, and rushed to meet the old merchant -Abdallah ibn Obba, who now came forward on horseback, with rage, -alarm, and grief in his eyes, and his great turban awry. He -corroborated her story, saying, that having a large ship, which had -long been delayed on her voyage from Stamboul, he had paid a -propitiatory visit to the tomb of Seozeres, the most famous and -powerful of Circassian Santons, and the object of especial reverence -by all merchants, seamen, and dwellers on the coast; for the waves -and winds are reputed to be under his subjection, and the storm and -the thunderbolt are alike at his disposal; thus we celebrate his -festival in the early days of spring, and when on this mission had -Abdallah and his daughter fallen among the Russians. - -He gave me innumerable promises of remembrance and regard (which he -took especial care to forget), and made his horse curvet several -times over the dead Russians, which seemed to console him mightily, -and smoothing his ruffled beard, he muttered,-- - -"Death to them! death to them! the unbelievers, the dogs, the -infidels! They shall be destroyed like the wicked people of Noah and -of Lot, and like the army of Abraha, lord of the Elephant; and their -false gods and pretended saints of brass and of silver shall perish -with them! Unless a fear of the Russ prevent thee, Osman Rioni, I -shall be glad to see thee in Soudjack Kaleh, where a carpet and pipe, -with a cup of such coffee as Basilia alone can prepare, will be at -the service of her preserver; and so, God and Merissa take thee into -their holy keeping." - -With these words we separated; the old merchant and his daughter -remounted on her own horse, rode slowly away until they disappeared -in the deepening shades of evening; while I remained motionless, and -watching them, with a wild, sad beating in my heart, for the face of -Basilia seemed yet before me, and her voice was lingering in my ear. - -She was gone, but my soul went with her. - -Full, round, and red as a Tartar shield, the moon rose above the Isle -of Taman to light the waters of the Euxine; the mountains flung their -black shadows upon each other; the lurid glow-worm glittered on the -dewy grass, and the snakes began to hiss among the long reeds; while -the fierce vultures hovered in the starry sky, with their keen eyes -fixed on the grim banquet I had made for them; and I heard their -hoarse croak of impatience, for I lingered long on the spot where -Abdallah and his daughter had left me. - -Several days passed away. Men spoke much of the coming struggle with -the Russians; my brave brothers were as usual training their horses, -tempering their weapons, casting bullets, and pointing arrows; I -alone was silent, and full of soft, sad thoughts--melancholy, happy, -and anxious by turns; for my whole breast was filled by the image of -Basilia. - -I visited her father by stealth, for this old man was one who had -temporised with the Russians, and paid them a tribute that he might -dwell in peace under the cannon of Soudjack; but I found him gloomy, -thoughtful, and discontented; his ship had been stranded on the Isle -of Serpents, in the Black Sea, and sunk with all her crew, and what -was of more importance to Abdallah, with her rich bales of Indian -silks, of cashmere shawls, of amber pipes, and other valuables with -which she was freighted. This isle, the only one in the Euxine, is -infested by serpents of enormous size, say our voyagers. These guard -its boundless treasures and devour all who attempt to land; thus -Abdallah ibn Obba abandoned in grief all hope of recovering a vestige -of his property. - -He received me morosely, and after smoking a pipe and drinking with -him a cup of coffee, which we received from the white, gentle hands -of Basilia, who was enveloped as before in her veil of lace, I -departed, happy that I had seen but the tips of her dear fingers once -again; happy that I had been under the roof of her father, and happy -that for one brief hour I had shared a corner of his carpet, and -breathed the same atmosphere with one so beautiful and so -well-beloved as she. - -Again and again I came to visit Abdallah; for alas! I no longer -sighed for the unfurling of our green standard against the Russ; I -only counted the days and hours till again I should visit the house -of the merchant at Soudjack. - -Secluded as the old man kept Basilia--for he deemed her his last and -most valuable estate--a piece of property on which he could at any -time realise a thousand piastres in the Stamboul market--we had -nightly interviews; for what are the difficulties that love cannot -surmount? I had discovered that her chamber window opened into old -Abdallah's garden; its wall was easily crossed, and then three notes -on my lute were the signal which brought Basilia to me; but she was -beyond arm's length, and I never dared to climb, though, had the -wealth of Ormuz been mine, I had given it all to have kissed but once -her hand. Yet, until she was bestowed upon me by her father, what -hope had I of ever doing so? - -In the wild and half-civilised countries of the East, a lover invests -his mistress with a thousand imaginary attributes, such as a lover of -Europe or the West can never do. The seclusion in which we keep our -women, the danger and risk of approaching or even speaking of them to -their nearest relations, all enhance the charm, the secresy, and the -romance of an Oriental love; and thus, with such a heart as mine, it -became an all-absorbing and engrossing passion, in which to be -without hope was to be without life. Hourly I exclaimed to myself,-- - -"Bismillah! oh, Osman, happy thou to win a heart like hers!" for -Basilia responded as warmly as she dared, or as I could have desired. - -Nightly we conversed in whispers, and had our interchange of -love-letters; not that poor Basilia wrote, or that I then could -write; alas, no! Our letters were simply flowers, tied together with -a ribband, and in this symbolical language we conferred. It is a -language lovers easily learn, and the Circassian sooner than all. I -ransacked the bazaars of the Armenians and Muscovites for gaudy -trinkets and perfumes, as presents for Basilia; and fearless of the -Russ, I daily caracoled my horse--my Zupi--before her father's house, -that she might see me attired in the glittering arms and splendid -costume of a Circassian cavalier; and happy was I--oh, how happy! if -but once I saw the muslin-veiled form of my beautiful Basilia. At -her feet I laid the shawls of Cashmere and the beads of Bokhara. She -gave me a waist-belt embroidered by herself, and a morocco -breast-pocket to hold my cartridges, in return. - -Summoning up courage, I one day put on my most splendid habiliments; -my coat of mail, which shone like water in the sun; a helmet of -steel, damascened by my own hands; and I armed myself with weapons -which, like every Tcherkesse warrior, I had tempered and ornamented -with silver and precious stones, all by my own skill. Bathed, -perfumed, and anointed, I rode up to the door of Abdallah ibn Obba; -and while my heart trembled and died away within me, and my colour -came and went like that of a woman under the bowstring, I asked his -daughter in marriage. He heard me in ominous silence. - -"May God be with thee, Abdallah," said I. - -"With thee be God," said he, and paused again, on which I timidly -rehearsed all I had said. - -The old merchant, who was seated on a rich carpet, with his legs -folded under him, and a split reed, ink-horn, and piles of papers and -accounts on one side of him, and his fragrant narguillah on the -other, heard me without moving a muscle of his solemn visage; and -after smoking for some time, drew the yellow mouthpiece from his -mustachioed lips, and shaking his bushy beard, replied to me, -slowly,-- - -"May you be saluted, O Osman Rioni! No--no, Osman, this cannot be! -The son of a prince weds a prince's daughter, even as a slave weds -the daughter of a slave. Thus, the rich give their children in -marriage only to the rich, and thou, Osman, art very poor. Remember, -that this daughter may yet be a mine of wealth to me." - -I knew what the old wretch meant by these words--the market of -Stamboul--and my blood ran cold. - -"Her beauty," he resumed, "is a miracle, and her birth was also a -miracle; hence sho was born for great purposes, and may yet be a -source of delight to him who wears the sword of Omar, our Lord the -Sultan Abdul Medjid--who can tell? She was born of my first wife, -Tsha; when she was old, stricken in years, and hopelessly barren, on -seeing a hen feed her chickens one day, her heart was moved; she wept -and prayed the holy Prophet to give her a little child in her old -age, whereupon she had Basilia in the fulness of time; so thus I tell -thee, she was born for great things. Enough, enough, Osman Rioni, go -thy ways, for thou art very poor." - -"True, father," said I, while my heart became chilled with despair; -"I am poor, and my brothers Selim and Karolyi are also poor, for we -have no inheritance but the name of our father, and what we can -wrench in combat from the enemies of our country, and for every meal -of food we have to fight the convoys of the Russ on the mountain, or -the wild beasts in the forest; but a time is at hand when I shall -have all my father's patrimony again, when the forts of the Kuban -shall lie in ruins by its shore, while the wolf shall batten on the -bones of their defenders. A time shall come when I may ride from the -grassy steppes of Marinskoi to the reedy flow of the Kisselbash -River, lord of all the land my father bequeathed to me, with this -sword, when the Russian bayonets were clashing in his heart!" - -"God is great," replied the merchant, calmly; "when that time comes -return, and seek my daughter, but not till then." - -He replaced the amber tube of the narguillah in his mouth, waved his -hand to indicate that he wished to hear no more on the subject, and -dismissed me, with a heart swollen by grief and mortification. I -felt how low the son of Mostapha was fallen when a miserable trader -despised his alliance! God of Mohammed, had we come to this? - -As I rode slowly back to the poor village where with my brothers I -dwelt on the hills above Anapa, I revolved a thousand schemes of -daring and conquest; for Basilia was now to me a light--a star--a -guide; but between us I saw the dark battalions and the strong -ramparts of the abhorred Russians, and worse than all, the cunning -and the avarice of her selfish father. Could I repel one, or bound -the other? - -When riding slowly on I saw a raven in my path, and shuddering at the -bird of ill omen, turned aside, for I knew it was a sign of coming -evil; because there is an old tradition in the countries of the East, -that Cain, after committing fratricide, became sorely troubled in -mind, and bore about with him for many days the dead body of his -brother, until Heaven taught him how to bury it, by the example of a -raven, which after killing another in his presence dug a little pit -for it by beak and talon; and so scraping a hole with his hands, Cain -interred his brother at the foot of a palm, whose branches heretofore -erect drooped mournfully for ever after. Then the murderous raven -which had perched itself on a branch thereof flew away to Adam, and -croaked huskily in his ear that his youngest born was now slain and -buried, and from that hour the raven has been a bird of evil augury -to all the world. And now my heart became a prey to a thousand dark -and gloomy forebodings. The bird had not come to me for nought. - -I prayed Merissa, the mother of God, to take Basilia under her -protection, for, like the Christians, we believe in the intercession -of a woman, though, perhaps, her name is but a remnant of the faith -that was first preached to the Circassians before the banner of the -blessed Prophet swept the gods of error from the shores of the -Caspian Sea. - -Night was closing as I ascended the mountain, when suddenly from a -gorge there rose that wild and terrible yell which is the war-cry of -Circassia; and led by Schamyl, the conquering, the holy Murid -Schamyl, a host of mounted warriors, all clad in shirts of shining -steel and round helmets, armed with lance and musket, bow and sabre, -each with a bag of millet and bottle of skhou slung at his saddle for -service, dashed their fleet horses through the narrow way, and above -their heads waved the green standard of the confederated princes with -its three golden arrows and twelve white stars--the Sangiac -Sheerif--the sacred banner of our people, for green is the colour of -the Prophet. - -Selim and Karolyi were among them, and they sprang to my side with -joy and ardour. - -A vast Russian army of horse, foot, and artillery, they told me, had -just passed the shores of the Kuban, and entered among the mountains; -Schamyl, the holy murids who devote themselves to death, and all our -confederated princes, had summoned the land to battle, and every man -between the straits of Yenikale and the Mingrelian frontier was in -arms for Circassia Thus opened the Christian year 1840, so memorable -to us by the capture of all the frontier forts of the Russians by our -arms, but chiefly those of Mikhailov and Nikhailovska. - -The excitement, the glory, and the splendour of our mountain host -equipped for war, with the hopes of conquest and of triumph, filled -my soul with such ardour and exultation that my emotion nearly -overcame me. The hope of winning back in this war, if it was -successful, the land, the home, and the grave of my forefathers, and -with these the flower of the Abassian maids for my bride, made me -pant for the hour of battle with such ardour as never bridegroom -awaited the unveiling of his new-made wife. - -The great Dervish Mohammed Mansoor, from the misty land of Daghestan, -had foretold our triumph when he died at Anapa, and we never doubted -we should be victorious. - -Over my father's fugitive people a command was assigned me by the -confederated princes; my brothers, Selim and Karolyi, rode by my -side; all who followed us shared our ardour, and we were brave even -to ferocity: thus, pouring down from the snow-capped Alps of the -Caucasus towards the hosts of the Russ, then blackening and -desolating the banks of the Kuban, while their fleets of three -deckers and steamers scared the golden dolphins from our shores, we -commenced the desperate war of 1840. - -I was full of delicious hope, and the last words of Basilia, for I -had visited her in secret before we marched, were ever in my ears,-- - -"Hope for everything from Heaven, O Osman. The angels of Mohammed -will deliver you from the swords of the Russians, and like all, my -beloved, who fight against the spirit, they shall wither and perish!" - -Her prophetic words inspired me with new ardour. - -"Farewell, Basilia," I exclaimed, as I grasped the mane of Zupi; "we -go to teach those Muscovite liars who mark our country in their maps -that the Circassians have no masters save God and the Prophet." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE HUSSARS OF TENGINSKI - -How we swept the land of Kisliar, continued the Circassian captain; -how we baffled the foe beneath the towers of Dargo; how Schamyl the -Immortal did prodigies of valour at Unsorilla and destroyed the army -of Count Woronzoff, the Governor of New Russia, one hundred and fifty -thousand in number, whose bones yet lie in the forest of Itzkeri; how -we fought with desperation, neither asking nor giving quarter, and -how we hurled the Russians from the slopes of the Caucasus back upon -the shores of the Kuban, where they lay unburied save by the jaws of -the wolf and eagle, torn and disembowelled by hungry dogs, all Europe -knows full well; and how successive armies, full of barbarous pride -and military and religious enthusiasm, horsemen, artillery, and -infantry--hussars and Cossacks, Kurds and Tartar hordes, who had -stooped their necks to Russia's iron yoke, entered the valleys of -Circassia, valleys which seem but dark chasms or fissures where the -branches of the Koissons roar and leap from rock to rock in northern -Daghestan, and there they perished, too, beneath the bullet and the -arrow, the spear and sling of the unconquerable Tcherkesses. It was -my brother Selim who slew General Woinoff; it was Karolyi who stormed -the redoubts and spiked his cannon: and it was I who hewed off the -head of the gallant soldier Passek, and bore it for three days on my -spear. - -In this year of the Christians, 1840, I commanded that portion of the -Circassian troops which besieged the Russians in the fort of -Mikhailov. They defended themselves with the blind fury of men who -foresaw their doom was death! Selim pressed them with three thousand -men on one side; Karolyi, with the same number, pressed them on the -other; while I, with a chosen band of four thousand archers, -slingers, and musketeers, plied them from every quarter with -incessant missiles. Selim cut off the sluices which supplied them -with water, and Karolyi stormed their outworks, tore down their -stockades, and beheaded every defender whom they caught by the lasso. - -But Heaven has put much valour into the hearts of these infidels; -hence, though reduced to the verge of starvation (having picked the -bones of their last horse, and stewed their boot-tops and leather -shakoes), their commander, Ivan Carlovitch, colonel of the Tenginski -Hussars, resolved to make one gallant effort to escape, for his -soldiers had with them several old standards, which the Russians -regard as almost holy. - -His garrison was composed of the 37th or Tenginski Grenadiers; the -38th or Novoginski Regiment, which carried the famous banner of St. -George, the same that had been with their predecessors at the passage -of the Alps, and which waved on the field of Trebbia, where they -fought under Suvaroff. He had also two battalions of the Imperial -Guard, whose tattered and shot-riven standards had waved on many a -bloody plain, and been clenched in the dying grasp of many a gallant -man. - -Their desire of preserving these trophies was only second to the hope -of escape; for the standard is ever the palladium of a regiment, even -as the National Insignia are the palladium of a free people, and, as -such, should be preserved from degradation. - -Perceiving that, fearless of his cannon--those terrors of the simple -Circassians, who name them the great pistols of the Czar--I had made -every disposition for an assault, which must have been successful, -the valiant Ivan Carlovitch led out his shattered garrison among us, -sword in hand; and, favoured by a dark and tempestuous night, escaped -with a few, but a few only; for by sabre and by musket we made a -fearful slaughter among the soldiers of the Novoginski Regiment, and -taking their famous banner of St. George, tore it to fragments, and -spitting upon these, trampled them to the earth in blood and mire. - -Thanks to the Prophet and to my coat of mail, uncounted balls and -bayonets touched me without harm. Above the roar of that red -musketry which lit the darkness with its streaky gleams; above the -howling of the wind, which tore through every mountain gorge; above -the cheers of the desperate, and the shrieks of the dying, the wild, -shrill, and unearthly war-cry of the Circassians ascended to the -throne of Mohammed; and the approach to the breach was like the -bridge of hell, as we rushed through the battered gates to take -possession of the fortress; but at the moment that the 'enceinte,' or -interior wall which surrounded the place, and was composed of -bastions faced with brick, was crowded by our flushed and exulting -warriors, a tremendous explosion was heard the earth gaped, and -rocked, and rent; then it rose beneath our feet; a broad, hot, -scorching blaze of fire surrounded me, and blown up by a concealed -mine of powder, the whole fort of Mikhailov, with more than two -thousand Circassians, was torn from its foundations, and swept on the -whirlwind along the mountain slopes. - -Struck down by a stone in the moment of victory I became senseless, -and remember no more of that night of horrors! - -Heaven, I have said, has put great valour into the hearts of these -unbelievers. - -Archipp Ossepoff, the same grenadier of the Tenginski Regiment whom I -had wounded by an arrow and from whom I had rescued Basilia, -volunteered to remain behind his comrades; and in order to prevent -the fort from being of service to the confederated princes, laid his -hands solemnly on the standard of St. George, and promised to Ivan -Carlovitch, that he would fire the magazine--a noble act of -self-sacrifice and military enthusiasm. This man of course perished -with Mikhailov, and with our people; but in order to commemorate this -act of valour and devotion, the Emperor Nicholas ordained that his -name should be continued on the muster-roll of the Tenginski -Grenadiers; that it should be called daily on parade, and that on the -sergeant summoning "Archipp Ossepoff," the next grenadier on the list -should answer-- - -"Dead at Mikhailov for the glory of Russia!" - -When I recovered, I found myself lying on the hillside, many yards -from the fort, the site of which resembled the crater of the volcano; -for it seemed as if the powder had rent, torn, and blackened the -bosom of the earth, in its efforts to efface the fort for ever. The -free soft wind of the Caucasus was passing over the ruins; above me -the sky was bright, and blue, and sunny; the birds were twittering -among the mangled bodies of the slain; and about those ghastly heaps, -or between their piles of arms and limbered field-pieces, the Russian -soldiers (whom the flight of our people had left in possession of the -locality) were laughing and singing, as they drained their canteens -of sour quass, and prepared to cook their breakfasts, and to bury the -dead. - -Around us, the scenery was beautiful; there were summer woods in all -their heavy foliage; the terraced vineyards of lighter green, -screened by the dense and wiry pine; little cottages and pretty -mosques, with gilded minars shining in the sun; bright streams -dancing down the rocks; the sea, blue as the sky and rippling gently -in the wind; while in the back-ground of all, rose hills piled up on -hills, until their steeps reached Heaven, and every peak was capped -with pure white snow, or tipped by a golden gleam. - -Close by me a group of Russian officers were seated around one, who, -by his dark green uniform, his heavy silver epaulettes and -jack-boots; his varnished leather helmet surmounted by an eagle; his -enormous mustache and cruel expression of eye, I knew to be Ivan -Carlovitch; and I lay still and feigning death, believing that my -fate would be sealed, if life was discovered in me. - -They were loud in their praises of the Circassian leader--myself--and -expressed a great desire to capture me; others added their less -friendly hopes that I had perished in the explosion. - -"It is fortunate, however," said Carlovitch, "that we have taken his -two brothers, Selim and Karolyi; they, at least, have a long march -before them towards the north; and, believe me, that among the snows -there, with a chain to drag, and the occasional prick of a Cossack -lance in the rear, their hot rebellious blood will soon be cooled in -Siberia, and rendered mild as commissariat quass." - -Under their shaggy beards the officers laughed at this poor joke, -which made my heart almost die within me, for it acquainted me, that -my two brothers, Selim and Karolyi, were captives, and that Siberia -would be their doom. - -A soldier now approached to announce that the body of Archipp -Ossepoff had been found, shattered, scorched, and sorely mangled, but -still recognisable by the medals which he had won in the Polish war. - -"Then let him be buried apart from all the rest," said Carlovitch, -"with all honour, and let a cross mark the spot; but first, let us -put all these fellows who are lying about here under ground, before -the sun attains its noon-day heat." - -While lying there, receiving an occasional kick from the passing -soldiers, who had long since stripped me of my splendid arms, armour, -and ornaments, how terrible were my thoughts when the fierce, rough, -and merciless Cossacks proceeded to open a trench beside me, and dug -it deep to receive the dead. I endeavoured to stifle reflection, -believing that my last hour had come; and after praying--for prayer -is the pillar of religion, even as the sword is the true key of -paradise--I bent my thoughts upon Basilia, who was far away at -Soudjack Kaleh, and seated then perhaps in her rose garden, fanning -herself with feathers, and weeping for the poor Osman she would never -again behold on earth. - -At last the grave was finished, and one by one the dead were flung -therein, and laid in rows head and foot alternately; how heavily they -fell, with their lifeless limbs and clanking accoutrements! Suddenly -I felt myself seized by the neck and heels, and before I could utter -a sound, they flung me into that ghastly trench on the gashed and -bloody heap below, and then the shovelled earth flew fast over me. - -"Stop--halt!" cried Ivan Carlovitch, who was sitting on the sward -close by, smoking a magnificent pipe; "by St. George, that uppermost -Tcherkesse is alive yet!" - -"A matter easily repaired, my colonel!" said a Russian, raising his -shovel like a battle-axe to cleave my head. - -"Beware, I say!" thundered Carlovitch, and at his voice the bearded -soldiers cowered like slaves before a king; "fling him out, lay him -on the sward, and bring here a canteen of quass." - -This sharp, bitter draught revived me, and my native pride coming to -my aid, I stood erect, and boldly confronted the imperialist. - -"Who the devil are you?" he asked - -I replied, proudly,-- - -"Osman Rioni, the son of Mostapha. I might have concealed my rank, -but I scorn to lie, even unto a race of liars." - -Joy flashed in the cruel and cunning eyes of Carlovitch at this -announcement; his surprise and satisfaction at the importance of his -third prisoner were too great to leave space for anger at my speech. -He smiled, and said,-- - -"Tcherkesse, your wants and your wounds, if you have any, shall be -faithfully and kindly attended to; when in better humour I shall see -you again, having a little message to you from the emperor. Take him -away." - -I was conducted to an ancient tomb, under the dome of which I found a -Cossack guard, surrounding my two brothers Selim and Karolyi, with -several other Circassians, who were all suffering more or less from -wounds or scorches ha the explosion. All were dejected, and my -appearance among them increased their unhappiness. We communed in -whispers, and formed our plans for flight on the first opportunity. - -All that night we remained in the cold and dreary tomb, which before -morning some of our poor companions exchanged for an actual grave, -for they died of their undressed wounds; but about sunrise, we were -drawn out by the Cossacks, who truncheoned us with their lances, -driving us like a herd of cattle; and then their pioneers proceeded -to dig a grave under the dome, which was the resting-place of an -ancient king, a proceeding which we beheld with horror, for every -strict Mussulman deems sacred for ever the little spot of earth which -forms the last resting-place of a departed being. - -Then the sound of muffled drums rolled upon the wind and the wail of -the Muscovite dead march, as the funeral of Archipp Ossepoff -approached; the solemnity of the scene impressed us deeply, and we -forgot that it was by the mingled treachery and stern devotion of -this determined soldier we had lost Mikhailov and our liberty -together. - -Six grenadiers of the Tenginski Regiment bore on their shoulders the -coffin, the lid of which was off; a veil of fine linen covered the -body, which was dressed in uniform, with cross-belts, boots, gloves, -epaulettes of red worsted and copper medals. The head was borne -forward, not the feet, as in other countries. Then came four -soldiers, bearing the coffin lid, on which lay the leather helmet, -the musket, and knapsack of the deceased; then followed the regiment -of Tenginski Grenadiers, marching with their arms reversed, and -preceded by a grand military band of brass trumpets and muffled -drums. In front of all marched a priest of the Russian Greek Church, -attired in magnificent vestments of muslin, gold, and embroidery. -His aspect was venerable; his white beard was full and flowing; he -chaunted as he went, and sprinkled frankincense upon the path. - -A prayer, a roll upon the drums, and a flourish of instruments with -three volleys closed the ceremony, and there lies Archipp Ossepoff in -the tomb of a Circassian prince; but his memory as a brave grenadier -is still cherished, as I have related, by the orders of the emperor, -and in the traditions of his comrades. God rest that gallant spirit; -he died for his country, even as I would have died for mine. - -Pining for freedom and for the presence of Basilia, dreading I -scarcely knew what--but banishment to Siberia more than anything -else, for that had been but a living death and a separation for ever -from my country and my love--three dreary months rolled over me, and -with my two brothers I still found myself a prisoner with the Russian -army of the Caucasus, which marched along the left bank of the Kuban -towards the Sea of Azov, and consequently nearer to my home. - -One day Colonel Carlovitch sent for me, and again his face wore that -deep and cunning smile which so closely resembled a leer; for his -eyes were cold and snaky, even as his heart was stern and cruel. - -"I have sent for you, my valiant Tcherkesse," said he, politely, "to -make you a tempting offer from our beneficent father the emperor. It -is this. If you will enter the Russian service, all your father's -possessions from Marinskoi to the mouth of the Kisselbash River will -be restored to you, with the title of prince--neither of which can -you ever hope to regain by the impious sword you have drawn against -the house of Romanoff and the cause of Holy Russia." - -I rejected the offer with the scorn it merited, and reminded the -tempter, in the words of our "Declaration of Independence," how many -of our children had been stolen; how many of our princes had thus -been lured away; how many sons of nobles taken as hostages, and then -butchered in cold blood; how many noble houses had been reduced and -crushed by Russian treason and by Russian treachery; and lifting up -my hands, while I turned my face towards Mecca, I was about to take a -solemn vow, when interrupting me, he said, with an icy smile,-- - -"Enough, Osman Rioni--swear not--'t is needless! To-morrow you and -your brothers will commence the long, long march to Siberia." - -At these words my soul trembled, and my head fell upon my breast. -The Russian officer still smiled and continued to polish the eagle on -his helmet, with his leather glove, while whistling the popular waltz -of the Duchess Olga. - -Siberia! - -With that name, hope, love, liberty, my country and her cause sank, -and snow-covered wastes, with chains and stripes, despair and death, -rose up before me. - -If once I reached Siberia, I should live the life of the hopeless, -and die the death of the despairing; and my brothers--my poor -brothers! The alternative was terrible, but in the Russian service -we should daily have chances of escape to our native mountains; so I -accepted his offer in the name of myself, Selim, and Karolyi. - -"I knew that you would think better of it," said Carlovitch, sitting -down in his tent, and writing a memorandum; "thenceforward from this -day, you are a captain in the Tenginski Hussars, and your brothers -shall be the lieutenants of your troop. Allow me to present you with -a horse which was taken at Mikhailov. You shall fight against the -Tartars, not your own people; but to-morrow I have a piece of service -to propose to you. Come here after morning parade or at noon, and I -shall tell you all about it--meantime adieu." - -With a heart full of bitterness I left him, and careless of the -Cossacks, who still watched me, I took up a handful of gravel and -flung it towards his painted tent, spying, as Mohammed did at Bedr,-- - -"A curse upon thee, Muscovite--and a curse be on every hair of the -cur that begot thee! May thy face be confounded for ever!" - -Whichever way I turned, his cold smile seemed before me; but when I -reached the tent in which my brothers were confined, great was my -pleasure to find my favourite charger Zupi led up to the door by a -hussar, and I kissed and embraced my old friend, for we Mussulmen -deem the horse as the noblest of animals next to man; and the Koran -says, that the beasts which traverse earth and air are creatures like -ourselves--they are all written in the Book, and shall appear at the -last day; so when I die, I hope to take my faithful Zupi with me to -paradise, even as Ezra took his ass, after she had ceased to bray for -a hundred years. - -Like myself, at the first proposition of taking service under the -abhorred emperor, my brothers were full of fierce scorn; but when I -had calmly placed my views before them, showing that we had no -alternative but military service, with its chances of escape on one -hand, and perpetual slavery, with its stripes on the other, they -condescended to accept the lieutenantcies of my troop; and the next -day--oh, may it be accursed!--saw us attired in the green uniform of -the Tenginski Hussars, and on parade with Menschikoff's division of -the Caucasian army. - -In camp around us were bivouacked thousands of the Russian infantry -in their long great-coats and flat round caps; the Cossacks of the -Don with their fleet, rough, and active horses, and all armed with -long lances; the horse regiments of Tchernemorski glittering with -jewels and embroidery, and the Imperial Guard in their magnificent -uniform. Around us rang the clank of the armourer's anvil, the -springing of ramrods and fixing of flints; the limbering of artillery -and powder-waggons; the galloping of aides-de-camp; the hewing down -of palisades, and the plaiting up of fascines, all of which told us -of preparations making for the subjugation of our country, and we -were amid it all, attired in the Russian uniform! - -At noon I sought the tent of Carlovitch. - -"My colonel," said I, veiling my boiling hatred under a calm -exterior, as with a solemn salaam I raised a hand to the front of my -fur hussar cap; "you had a duty to propose to me?" - -"Yes, my stubborn Tcherkesse; I am glad to find that you have so -easily learned the task of obedience, as without it an army sinks -into a rabble. Well, the duty is this. There is an old fellow at -Soudjack Kaleh, who for some time past has traded with the Tartars in -various ways, and latterly with Turks in salted fish and pretty -women, both of which commodities he exports largely to Stamboul, to -the ancient city of Trebizonde, and to Sinope." - -My heart began to leap at these words. - -"You mean Abdallah ibn Obba." - -"The same; but you start--do you know him?" - -"Intimately," said I; "and your purpose, O son of a slave!" I had -almost added. - -"Well, Captain Rioni, this respectable old Tcherkesse is now -bargaining for the sale of a cargo of slave girls for the Turkish -market, and a small Stambouli craft, which has long baffled the -pursuit of our steam corvettes and the row-boats of our Kreposts, is -now concealed in some creek near Mezip. Unfortunately all our -vessels are over on the Crimean side, otherwise they would soon have -found those Turkish swine, who come to steal the subjects of our -father the emperor." - -Carlovitch gave another of his cold smiles, for he perceived how my -hot Circassian blood revolted on hearing my people called the -subjects of his emperor I asked haughtily,-- - -"Your orders, Colonel Carlovitch?" - -"You will select fifty of the Tenginski Hussars, and as you and your -brothers must know the country well, search every creek and cranny of -the coast until the Turkish ship is found. She will be safely -beached somewhere, and when discovered, burn her; cut the throats of -the Turks, and bring the cargo of girls here. You shall have a -couple of the prettiest for your trouble. The daughter of old -Abdallah is among them--Basilia, commonly known as the flower of the -Abassians. Archipp Ozepoff nearly brought me that girl once before, -but some rascal pierced him by an arrow. Take especial care of her, -for I am resolved that no great bison of a Turk shall ever call her -slave. No, no, her bright eyes will sparkle all the brighter among -the green uniforms and silver epaulettes of our Tenginski Hussars. -See to all this; you march in an hour, and till you return, farewell." - -Taking up a pen he resumed a dispatch which my arrival had -interrupted; and after standing for some time, overwhelmed by -confusion and the misery of my own thoughts, I withdrew to the foot -of a tree, and sat down to reflect on the strange duty I had to -perform, and the startling tidings I had just heard. - -The image of my beautiful Basilia--for I assure you, gentlemen, that -the Circassian maid is the most perfect and lovely creation of God--a -prisoner, a slave on board of a slave ship, and consigned a helpless -victim of the lust of the licentious Osmanli filled my soul with a -horror so great that I forgot my present situation in my anxiety to -discover this secret ship, to free her, and to put to the edge of the -sword all who were concerned in a transaction so infamous. I saw the -whole affair now. The loss of the rich argosy on the Isle of -Serpents had brought the difficulties of Abdallah to a crisis, and to -retrieve his broken fortune he had sold his only daughter to the -Turks! I invoked the curse of the Prophet, and of the twelve Imaums -on his avarice; and now my only fear was great that the Turks might -launch their boat and escape me: thus it was that with an ardour such -as I never thought to feel at the head of Russian troops, I rode from -the camp at the head of fifty hussars, with my two brothers by my -side; and we galloped along the sea-shore, with all our brilliant -appointments glittering in the splendour of the setting sun of Asia. - -"Basilia, my pure, my beautiful! this night may make thee mine," -thought I; "one stroke of a sabre may give what thy father would not -have sold to me, perhaps, for a million of piastres." - -I am ashamed to own that our Circassian beauties too often exchange -with joy the penury of their fathers' cottages and the hardships of -their frugal mountain homes, for the luxury and delight of the -Stambouli Kiosks and seraglios. From early childhood their ears are -filled, and their warm imaginations fired, with ideas of the riches -and pleasure of these places, and by the stories of their mothers, or -more generally their aunts, who have returned (when their Osmanli -lords grew weary of their faded charms) loaded with magnificent -jewels, with purses of sequins, and wardrobes of the richest stuffs -the world can produce, and with many a tale to tell of the -distinguished part they had played by their native superiority of -intellect over the ponderous and dreamy Asiatic. To purchase our -girls the Turkish vessels row by night along the shore, and seek some -wooded creek where they lie concealed from the steamers and cruisers -of the Russian Black Sea fleet, and from the squadrons of Cossack -row-boats attached to the Kreposts; then the bargain is concluded, -and the girls, who are always the most beautiful daughters of serfs -and freemen, are embarked, after a month, perhaps, has been spent in -bartering and chaffering between the merchants on one hand, and their -parents on the other.* - - -* It is calculated that one vessel out of six is taken. In the -winter of 1843-4, twenty-eight ships left the coast of Asia Minor for -Circassia, to purchase girls; twenty-three returned safely; three -only were burned by the Russians, and two were swallowed by the -waves.--WAGNER - - -As the distance increased between us and the Russian camp my brothers -looked with longing eyes towards our native hills, between whose -misty peaks a flood of golden light was falling on the waving woods -and on the rolling sea; and now they began to whisper and exchange -glances of intelligence. Their minds were full of the pledge we had -lately made to ourselves, that we would fly the hated yoke of Russia -on the first opportunity; but this was no easy task, believe me, -watched as we were by our own suspicious soldiers. At this time my -whole soul was full of Basilia, and in the hope of freeing, of -winning, and of loving her, even Circassia and her wrongs were -forgotten for a time--God of the Prophet, but only for a time! - -By a telescope I could see afar off the wild woods in which I had -wandered when a boy, and the familiar mountain peaks up which I had -clambered when fighting with the Muscovite riflemen, or hunting the -boar and jerboa. I could see the bright gleam of steel and the -flashing of chain armour between the shady oaks; for there armed -bands were hovering, and there the Tartar bow, the Albanian gun, the -Circassian lance, and the crooked sabre, awaited the Muscovite -invader; and there the holy banner of the twelve stars waved above -the tent of the glorious Schamyl. Watched as we were by the very men -we led, flight, as I have said, was hopeless; but then I had no -thought of flight even when within a cannon-shot of armed Circassian -bands which we could see with their camels laden with women, -children, and household goods, clambering up the hills to avoid the -Kalmuck scouts and Cossack foragers. - -As the night darkened we saw lurid flames shooting up between the -mountain clefts; and while our fierce hussars muttered in guttural -Russ and laughed under their matted beards, the hearts of my brothers -and myself grew sad, for we knew that the Tchernemorski lances were -spreading woe and desolation in the homes of our people. - -We searched every little bay, inlet, and river as we passed along the -beautiful coast from Anapa to Soudjack Kaleh, a fortress which was -then half in ruins, as General Williamoff had left it after storming -its defences at the head of fifteen thousand men. It seemed now so -lonely and so silent that no one could imagine the roar of war had -once awoke its echoes, for the flowers of the arbutus, the -rhododendron, and many other plants, most of them aromatic, filled -the air with perfume as they grew in luxuriance on its battered -walls, or twining round the old cannon's mouth as it lay half sunk -among the stones and grass, or wreathing the bare skulls and white -ribs of the dead on whose unburied bones, bleached by the sunshine -and the storm, devouring dogs and mountain wolves had battened. - -Evening had closed when we bivouacked near the beach, unbitted our -horses, lighted our pipes, and sent round our cups of quass to wash -down the black ration, bread and salt beef broiled among the embers -till it was encrusted with ashes and brine; and we were just -composing ourselves for the night, when my sergeant, a cunning and -active Cossack, who had crept a mile or two along the shore alone, -announced to me that he had seen some suspicious lights in a little -creek of the bay of Koutloutzi. "Mount and march," was the order, -and favoured by a brilliant moon, beneath whose light the Euxine -rolled like a flood of silver at the base of the steep Circassian -hills, we rode round the margin of this circular bay, and ascended -the beautiful vale of Mezip, towards where my sergeant asserted he -had seen the lights. - -Halting our party he and I dismounted, and, taking only our swords -and pistols, crept cautiously through a thicket towards where a river -entered the bay, and such a place we knew would be the most probable -rendezvous of the Turks with the slave merchant. The foliage was -dense and dark overhead, for in this district the sturdy oak, the -beech, and the chestnut grew to the water's edge, and the -cherry-tree, the fig, and the wild olive were all in full bloom. It -was a savage place. Toads croaked among the reeds, and rearing -serpents hissed among the sedges of the river, which brawled over a -ledge of rocks and fell into the bay, while the yellow-coated and -weasel-like suroke whistled on the branches of the pine, and the -fleet jerboa fled before us from its lair like an evil spirit. - -Suddenly we saw a gleam of light, and heard the sound of voices. A -few paces more brought us to the brow of a wooded bank, at the base -of which we saw a number of Turkish sailors seated round a fire, -smoking, drinking raki, and making merry, while one of their number, -a little humpbacked fellow, with a hooked nose and enormous beard, -sang to them, and twangled on a lute. They were sixteen in number (I -counted them carefully), and all fierce-looking fellows, with -enormous noses and mustachoes. Large trowsers, dirty red tarbooshes, -and red shawl-girdles stuck full of daggers and pistols. Most of -them had cuts and scars or patches on their dusky faces, and all had -a savage and sinister aspect, as the red gleams of the pinewood fire -fell on them. The captain was particularly happy; as he believed, -that if the Sultan Abdul-Medjid did but once see Basilia, the -fortunes of all who had a share in bringing such loveliness to -gladden his sublime eyes would be made for ever. - -In the back-ground, and drawn far up on the beach, lay their vessel, -with its large angular sail stowed on deck; the yard struck, and the -mast and rigging covered by green pine branches, the better to elude -the observation of scouts, and to blend its outline with the -surrounding trees, while heaps of branches, with dry leaves spread -over all, were piled against the sides. But over the gunnel we saw -several Circassian girls sitting very quietly, gazing at those rough -and noisy guardians, who were to convey them to that brilliant -Stamboul, which they had been taught to believe was an earthly -paradise. - -On that little deck, and apart from all the rest, sat one who did not -seem to share the placidity of her companions, or to share their -joyous anticipations. Her form was enveloped in her veil, and her -head was bowed upon her hands, her eyes were sad, and fixed on -vacancy. My breath came thick and fast. There was a swelling in my -throat, as if my heart was there, for I knew that lonely weeper was -Basilia. - -As thirty or forty girls are usually deemed a good cargo and only ten -were visible, it was evident to us that the Turks had no intention of -putting to sea for some days; thus my sergeant, who had frequently -been on expeditions of this kind, politely suggested--as we had -ridden a long way--the expedience of sleeping quietly for that night, -and slaughtering the Turks at our leisure in the morning; but my -impatience would brook of no delay. - -Again we mounted: I divided my party into two troops, and ascending -the valley of Mezip for a mile or so, descended from different points -towards the head of the Bay. - -"Spur and sabre!" was the cry. - -There was a brief but sharp discharge of pistols, a gleaming of -knives and flashing of sabres, and in five minutes the surrounded -Turks were all trampled under hoof, shot and headless beside the fire -which had lit the scene of their jollity, not one of them escaping -save their deformed messmate, who dashed his lute at the head of -Selim, sprung into the sea, and disappeared. The captain I sabred -with my own hand; but not before he gave me this wound by a pistol -shot, which grazed my left cheek like a hot iron. - -Inspired anew by love and triumph I sprang up the side of the vessel, -and sought the lonely figure--it was as my heart divined--Basilia. I -knelt before her, and took her hand in mine, trembling as I did so, -for never until that moment had I touched even the hem of her -garment. My soul was in my tongue, and weighed it down with words of -love and joy, but one alone found utterance,-- - -"Basilia!" - -She gave a cry of wonder, and as she gazed at me, her large black -eyes dilated and flashed with anger. - -"Basilia," said I, "do you not remember me?" - -"No," replied she, while trembling; "who are you?" - -"Osman, the son of Mostapha, your own Osman, who saved you at Anapa." - -"It is false," she answered, with eyes full of anger and sorrow; -"Osman was a brave Circassian warrior, and I loved him; oh! how -dearly and how well; but he fell in battle at Mikhailov. Thou art -either a base Muscovite, or some fiend in the shape of Osman; a ghoul -it may be, a son of Ifrit; begone, and leave me." - -I could have wept at these stinging words, which sank like poisoned -arrows in my heart, and I feared that grief had disordered her -intellects; but I did injustice to Basilia, for her language was the -first prompting of honest grief and indignation to find me in the -uniform of the Tenginski Hussars, and false, as she deemed, to my -country and to her. For so she told me, when more composed, and when -she heard my story, as we sat side by side under a broad chesnut tree -with the plunder of the Turkish ship around us, and the flames of its -burning timbers to light our little bivouac. When we fired it, with -all the branches and withered leaves that were piled over it, the -flames burned bravely, and shot above the copse-wood, as they licked -the mast and its well-tarred cordage. - -I sat at the feet of Basilia, my heart teemed with joy, half the -objects of existence seemed accomplished now, and I could no longer -believe that fortune had greater favours in store for me. - -In the language of our own beloved country, we formed innumerable -projects of happiness, or whispered plans of escape from the toils of -the Russians, and I had resolved in the night, if possible, to elude -my own sentinels, to mount Basilia on Zupi, and to depart by the vale -of Mezip towards the wilderness of mount Shapsucka, when my sergeant, -with a dark and singular expression in his eye, came to inform me -that my brother "the Lieutenant Selim was nowhere to be found." - -Karolyi, who was sitting beside us, looked up, and gave a deep smile -as the Cossack spoke. - -In short, after seeing the last Turk cut down, Selim, while our -dismounted hussars were overhauling the ship, had turned his horse's -head towards the mountains and escaped. - -I rejoiced at this for a time. - -"But brother Osman," said Karolyi, "Selim has done us a wrong in -this; we should all have fled together, for thou and I will now be -watched with double suspicion, and have our simplest actions -subjected to the severest scrutiny." - -"Remember, there is the maiden, whom I cannot leave behind; so let us -rejoice that Circassia has one brave warrior more." - -Karolyi made a gesture of impatience. - -"Circassia," said he, "has maidens enough and to spare; but for every -warrior on her hills, she requires at least a hundred. This is no -time for wedding or acting the lover, for twangling on the lute and -kneeling on the verge of a pretty maid's carpet." - -"These were my own words, Karolyi, when urged by you and Selim to wed -ere Schamyl rose in arms." - -"True, brother, true," replied Karolyi, "and in truth, this little -maiden is a miracle of beauty. My soul and sword are at her service, -command them; but in the name of Merissa think not of escape -to-night. Another and perhaps more favourable opportunity may soon -occur." - -The night passed quickly away. I watched Basilia while she slept in -my mantle. I was sleepless, but silent and happy, for my mind was -full of love and her. - -Next day I placed her on Zupi, and we set out for head-quarters amid -the maledictions of the ten rescued slaves, who saw all their -anticipated delights of a seraglio life suddenly cut short, and who -knew that fate would now consign them to high-cheeked Kalmucks, or -the rough, greasy Cossacks, in lieu of the wealthy Osmanlis, the -luxurious Pashas, and turbaned Agas, whom they had hoped to have as -masters; and they consoled themselves by reviling me as a renegade, -and invoking on my head all the ills that fell on the God-abandoned -Thamudites, and on the offspring of Saba, the son of Yarab. - -On arriving at head-quarters, I presented my prisoners, and the right -ears of fifteen Turks to Colonel Carlovitch. The ears he flung to -his dogs, and the ten girls, not finding favour in the sight of the -officers who crowded about them, were given to Cossacks, to make -wives or whatever they pleased of them, for such is the law of the -Russian military colonies on the Kuban; and to himself, despite my -prior claim by love and capture; despite my rage and grief, my -entreaties and ill-smothered threatenings--to himself--this accursed -Muscovite assigned Basilia as a hand-maiden! - -* * * * * - -(Here the Circassian, who had related this part of his narrative in -short and broken sentences, paused, and ground his teeth, while the -veins of his fine pale forehead swelled like rigid cords, and his -keen dark eyes became glazed with the ferocity, fire, and grief that -filled them.) - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -ZUPI. - -Ivan Carlovitch, he resumed, was a soldier insensible alike to pity -and to danger. His cold and rigid sternness had first brought him -under the notice of his imperial master, who raised him from the -humblest rank in the army. He had a strict and almost absurd idea of -the implicit obedience which should be rendered by the soldier to his -superior; and wild as I was then with passion and grief on finding -that I had only saved Basilia from one degrading condition to deliver -her over to one still more cruel and terrible--to be the mistress, -the plaything of a wretched Russian--I had sufficient tact to see -that resistance would only serve to destroy my own hopes of a -dreadful vengeance, and of achieving her freedom. On the first -symptom of disobedience, Carlovitch would have brought me before a -general court-martial. From this tribunal in Russia, the way to the -knout or the grave is short and rapid, especially to a poor Pole, or -a captive Tcherkesse warrior. - -It is related that early in life, Ivan Carlovitch, the son of Carl, a -porter of Moscow, was a soldier in General Ouchterlony's battalion of -the Imperial Guard, and was one day a sentinel on the private gate of -the palace at St. Petersburg, when a sudden inundation of the Neva -spread terror among the inmates of the edifice, and forced them to -retreat to the upper stories. - -The Empress Alexandrina was surveying the rising waters from a -balcony, when she perceived Carlovitch standing at his post -motionless, and mid leg in the water. In great alarm she desired him -to retire within doors. He "presented arms" when Her Majesty -addressed him, but respectfully declined. The flood increased. -Trees were swept away, railings and balustrades, vases of flowers, -dead cattle, boats, and logs of wood were surged and dashed against -the palace walls; again and again the Empress and her ladies called -in great agitation to the sentinel, desiring him to abandon a post so -perilous; but with admirable coolness he replied, that he "dared not -until properly relieved or withdrawn by an order from the captain of -the guard." That officer had by this time clambered to the roof of -the guard-house, from whence he sent the corporal, a good swimmer, to -bring off this obstinate sentinel, who was now up to his neck in -water. - -For this act of bravado or insensibility to danger, Carlovitch was -appointed a captain in the Infantry Regiment of Tenginski, and -marched with it against the Circassians. In due time he was -appointed colonel of the Tenginski Hussars (for there are two corps, -one of horse and the other of foot, so named), and as such I found -him when misfortune cast me in his way. - -He was a man without mercy, and often brought his bravest soldiers to -the knout for the most trivial fault; but he never broke into gusts -of passion, and though constantly using among the soldiers, the -serfs, and prisoners a heavy rattan, every blow of which brought away -a stripe of flesh, he always addressed them with a cold and cruel -smile, which filled those who knew him with fear and repugnance. - -Oh, how I loathe his memory and the recollection of that fiendish -leer, which I can picture so distinctly at this moment! - -But what of Basilia, you would ask me? - -Fain would I draw a veil over her fate; but a few words will relate -it. - -The insulting advances, the bold declarations of a love the most -repugnant to a heart so pure, the caresses and the presents of -Carlovitch she received with disdain. For three days and three -nights tears were her only protection; entreaties for mercy her only -weapon; but at last even they failed her. One night Carlovitch, -flushed with wine and fury on leaving a banquet given by Prince -Merischikoff, assailed her in his own tent, and to escape him, the -miserable Basilia pierced her throat with a poniard, and died at his -feet! - -Her pure, fair, beautiful form was wrapped in a horse-rug, and buried -by the rough hands of Cossack pioneers, at the foot of a rock on the -left bank of the Kuban. - -The grave of my love lay but a pistol shot distant from the tent of -her destroyer; yet his iron heart never smote him, and never -reproached him with his cruelty; he smoked, he drank the wine of the -Tcherkesses, and played at cards and chess, and with his brother -officers sang as merrily as ever, and no more regarded the death he -had caused and the misery he had wrought, than the ashes of his last -cigar. - -Where then was I? - -Forced to lead my troop against my own people, and watched by a -chosen few of my own soldiers, I had been sent towards Azov in -pursuit of fugitive Circassians. One whom we had tracked the -livelong day, riding over steep mountains, through pathless forests -and deep rivers, was taken at nightfall by his horse falling under -him. He was brought in, exhausted with fatigue and faint with -hunger, covered with blood, with scars, brambles, and heavily -fettered. The poor fugitive we had pursued so long, and taken at -last, proved to be my brother Selim, who had failed to reach the camp -of our confederated princes, and had wandered long on the Russian -side of Mount Shapsucka. - -I was filled with new dismay. It seemed that I required but this to -complete my misery. I rent my beard, and threw myself on the ground; -I cursed myself and Ivan Carlovitch in the same breath, and daringly -upbraided the Prophet with injustice to a Mussulman so devout as I. - -Poor Selim heard my words with terror. He raised me from the ground; -he kissed me on both cheeks, and besought me to be composed, and then -we were separated. I had to continue my march towards the shores of -the sea of Azov, while Selim, the miserable Selim, was dragged before -Carlovitch, who tried him as a deserter, had him degraded, and his -sword and commission trodden under foot; after which he was sentenced -to die--to die under the knout--"a terror to other Tcherkesses who -trifled with the service of their beneficent lord and father the -emperor." - -Three weeks afterwards I heard of his fate, and to nerve my soul for -the coming vengeance, I drank in the terrible description of the poor -boy's dying scene. I was told by my sergeant how the troops were -formed in a hollow square--ten thousand Russian slaves, misnamed as -soldiers, with bayonets fixed and colours flying; I was told how the -noble prisoner stood amid them, with the kingly air of a true -Circassian cavalier, though stripped of every article of attire, save -a pair of tattered drawers; how he was bound by the wrists, the neck, -and ancles, to a large gun-carriage, and how the executioner, a -gigantic Kalmuck, stood six feet distant to give his infernal weapon -a swing more full and heavy. I was told how Selim--for he was the -youngest of us--screamed in agony as each successive blow fell on his -bare and quivering shoulders, from which the flesh was torn in pieces -by every lash of the dreadful whip; how between every stroke this -giant Kalmuck dipped its bloody ends in brimstone, and how the victim -sank beneath the strokes, until at last their sound came dull and -dead, for poor Selim had expired with four words on his lips; they -were, "My brothers--my brothers." - -I did not shed a tear for him; a fiend seemed to possess me; a -devilish joy swelled within me, as I lay that night in the bivouac -beside the feet of Zupi, rolled in my mantle, with my sword and -pistols at my side. - -"Woe to thee, whining cur of the Czar, woe!" I repeated again and -again; "to-morrow I will see thee, Carlovitch--to-morrow shall thy -soul answer to heaven and to hell for these atrocities; and to-morrow -Mostapha's son shall cease to be the serf of this dog Emperor, -Nicholas Paulovitch!" - -The sunny morrow came, and loud and shrill rang the trumpets which -summoned the Hussars and Grenadiers of Tenginski to a general parade. -I examined my saddle girths, my bridle, and my arms, with scrupulous -exactness, for this would be the last parade I was ever to attend. I -threw away everything that might serve to encumber my motions or -overload my horse, and by my advice Karolyi did the same. - -We were now with that portion of the Russian army which had fallen -back from the Circassian Mountains to recruit and reform after their -defeats by Schamyl; and which, after recrossing the Don, was cantoned -principally in the Ukraine. The division to which we belonged -occupied Poltava, one of the richest and best parts of the adjoining -province for pasturing cavalry horses. - -On the very day after we halted at Poltava, a grand parade was formed -before Prince Menschikoff, and as I had marched with the baggage -guard, I saw Carlovitch for the first time since these atrocities had -cast a horror on my soul. The Prophet alone knows what were my -emotions at the sight of him. The voices of Basilia and of Selim -were rising from their graves--they were ever in my ears whispering -"vengeance," and I rode amid the troops like one in a stupor. The -parade was a magnificent one. - -There were present the Imperial Guard, under General Ouchterlony, a -Scotsman, and his three sons, all colonels of battalions; these men -were the flower of the Russian army; the six Grenadier battalions of -Prince Frederick of Hesse Phillipesthal; the veteran regiment of -Moscow, commanded by Prince Frederick of Mecklenburg; the Cuirassiers -of the Grand Duchess Olga, and the gorgeous Hussars of the Princess -Maria Paulowna (sister of the Emperor), whose trappings far eclipsed -those of the two Tenginski corps of Hussars and Infantry. But -Karolyi and I laughed at the splendour of these idolaters, and scorn -grew with hatred in our hearts; for it is of these, and such as -these--eaters of hogs'-flesh and drinkers of brandy--that our Prophet -spoke, when he said, "lo! they are like no other than brute cattle," -and they shall perish like the people of Irem, of Thamud, and those -who, as the Koran tells us, dwelt in al Rass. - -The review passed before me like a dream, for my mind was full of -other thoughts, and I saw only the mangled and bleeding body of Selim -bound to the field-piece, and the poor remains of Basilia asleep in -that uncouth grave where the Russian pioneers had buried her, when -suddenly my name resounded along the glittering ranks; Carlovitch -summoned me to the front, when all the cavalry were formed in line to -deliver a general salute. - -Something had gone wrong. I know not what, but I had neglected my -troop when deploying from close column into line, and Carlovitch, -usually so grave and impassible, was choking with passion. He called -me "a dog of a Tcherkesse," and smote me on the face with his rattan. - -The blow went straight to my heart! - -For a moment I felt as if a thunderbolt had struck me; but -transported with fury, I uttered the yell-like war cry of Circassia, -and buried my sharp sabre--the noble steel of far-away Damascus--in -his dastard heart! - -Again I thrust it to the hilt, as tottering he drooped upon his -holsters, dying and gushing of blood, and then I spurned the corpse -with my feet as it fell. I slew him on the spot, in the face of -fifty thousand men! May the curse of mankind fall upon the turf -which wraps the dog who begot him! - -I brandished my sabre, and shouted wildly to Karolyi,-- - -"To the hills--away, away! Tcherkesse! Tcherkesse!" - -Goring his horse with the spurs, he sprang from the ranks, as the -roar of a thousand voices ascended from them, on witnessing this act -of justice; together we dashed at a furious pace towards the nearest -mountains, and had already placed a deep and rapid torrent between us -and the Russians, before they had recovered from their astonishment, -or made proper arrangements for a pursuit. - -The most accomplished rider in Europe is acknowledged to sit his -horse like a clown when contrasted with a Circassian cavalier; and -fortunate it was for Karolyi and me, that we--both men and -horses--were bred and reared on the slopes of the Caucasus; as we -were hotly and fiercely pursued by relays of mounted men despatched -fresh and lightly accoutred from the innumerable military posts we -passed. The wild Tchernemorski Cossacks, with their long lances, and -wiry little horses; the Tenginski and Paulowna Hussars, and even the -heavy, helmeted, breast-plated and jack-booted Olga cuirassiers -spurred after us; but among the deep rocky gorges, the tangled -brakes, the shifting mosses, and the fordless rivers, we soon rid -ourselves of the latter, and most of the others, save the Cossacks, -who followed us like spirits of evil, unrelenting and unwearying, for -many a day and many a night. - -In desperate hope to reach the Prussian frontier, we had already -crossed the Dnieper, and traversed the palatinate of Minsk, where for -days we rode over a flat country, of which we were ignorant, and -where, in despair, we were frequently about to abandon the hope of -escape, when we found ourselves involved in the mazes of a wild -forest and dreary morass that lie on the banks of its rivers. But -our native hardihood preserved us; for a cleft in a rock, or the -branch of a tree with a sword for a pillow, is home enough at any -time for a Tcherkesse warrior. - -However, we now began to experience a serious difficulty in procuring -a knowledge of the route to be pursued. We knew little of the -language; our aspect was jaded, wan, and terrible; our uniform hung -about us in rags; our horses were sinking, and that we were deserters -was evident to every observer. And now the people of Lithuania -joined in the pursuit, and one evening, just as we were about to -cross a river named the Swislocz, our Tchernemorski Cossacks came -upon us, and their wild shout of joy at the termination of that -flight, which to them had been a long and exciting chase, rang in the -air above us, as they reined up their horses on the rocks that -overhung the stream, and brandished their spears. - -We were about to plunge in, when one more bold or more freshly -mounted than his comrades, wounded Karolyi by a lance thrust. - -"May demons defile thy beard, and their plagues fall on thee and -thine!" exclaimed my brother in a gust of fury; but now he had -dropped or broken every weapon save his dagger, so with that -quickness which is peculiar to the Circassian, he dismounted, rushed -upon the Cossack's horse, drove the weapon into its breast, and -bearing it back at the same time by the bridle, he hurled the -snorting steed over upon its rider, and crushed him to death in an -instant. - -Vaulting again into his own well-worn saddle, he plunged with me into -the stream, and gallantly we breasted it--while the carbines of the -Tchememorski Cossacks--the only soldiers in the Russian service who -can at all compete with our people--rang on every side, as they -commenced a simultaneous discharge upon us, and their bullets -flattened on the rocks, or raised incessant water-spouts around us. - -Suddenly I heard a low cry and a choking gurgle that filled my heart -with misery. I looked back; Karolyi, struck by a bullet, had sunk -from his saddle, and a spurred boot alone was visible, as horse and -rider was swept over a cataract, and borne away towards the Dnieper. - -So perished my second brother! - -Forcing Zupi up a bank where the reeds grew at least twelve feet -high, I still rode recklessly on; but brave as they were, not one of -the Cossacks dared to cross that foaming torrent in pursuit. Night -came down to shroud my flight; there was no moon. I reached a wood, -and flung myself down exhausted in mind and body. I was now dead to -the fear of discovery, and I cared not for wolves, or other wild -animals. - -The presence of Karolyi, his companionship and our brotherly love, -had alone sustained me thus far; now he was gone, and I was alone in -the world; but there was at least one consolation: he had died the -death of a warrior, with one hand on his bridle, and the other on his -weapon; he had fallen, like his father's son, in battle with the -enemies of his country, but he had found a tomb far from his father's -grave, and far from the banks of the Kisselbash River. - -Three days I lay without food, save a little wild honey, and without -repose in that Lithuanian forest, and careless whether I lived or -died; for want, misery, privation and mental agony had broken my -spirit, and destroyed alike every purpose, hope, and reflection. -There I prayed to the only Prophet of God, and remembered with -growing trust that in the blessed Koran, he enjoins us to seek aid -with perseverance; and I implored him to deliver me, even as the Lord -divided the sea of Kolzom with his hand to let his people pass, and -thereafter drowned the Egyptian host; and the Prophet heard me; for -even while I prayed with my bare head in the dust, there chanced to -pass that way a poor Tartar who dwelt on the skirts of the forest, -and who had come hither to cut wood. - -He heard me address the Prophet, and remembering the faith of his -fathers, felt his heart moved within him; so he had compassion upon -me, and took me to his hut, which, like all the Tartar dwellings, was -little better than a rabbit-hole, burrowed on the face of a hill, -with a rude verandah in front. Fortunately it lay in a wild and -secluded place; so I dwelt for some days in safety with this good -man, who guided me across the plains of Grodno, until I passed the -Prussian frontier, when I knelt with my face to the east, and gave -thanks to Heaven--thanks that I was safe from Russia, although eight -hundred miles lay between me and the hills of my beloved Circassia. - -Zupi, my horse, the noble animal which had borne me this incredible -distance, was my first care, and to procure new garments in lieu of -the tattered uniform of the Tenginski Hussars was the second; and -intent only on reaching Britain, which was about to declare war -against Russia, I travelled through part of Prussia by railway, a -mode of locomotion, which I there saw for the first time, and which -filled me with wonder and awe. - -On reaching that kingdom, I thought my troubles were at an end; but -there, alas! I found myself accused of a murder, stripped of the -little sum I had about me, separated from Zupi, cast into prison, and -in danger of being hanged; or what was worse, sent back to the -Russian General Todleben, who commanded at Grodno. It happened thus. - -I travelled towards Dantzig in a second-class carriage, in which the -only other passenger was a pale and careworn young man, whose -profusion of beard, braided coat, and small cap, with its square -peak, gave him somewhat the aspect of a student. Taciturn and -thoughtful, and being full of astonishment at the speed with which we -swept over plain and valley, across rivers and under -mountains--travelling as it were on the skirts of a whirlwind--I did -not address my companion, who after smoking a large pipe for some -time, covered his head with his cloak, and threw himself at full -length along the seat, where he lay, long, as I thought, asleep. A -jolt of the train threw him on the floor, and perceiving that he lay -motionless and still, I hastened to lift him; but how great was my -emotion, to find my hands covered with blood--for this silent -fellow-passenger was a suicide, who had cut his throat from ear to -ear, by a knife, which he grasped in his now rigid hand. - -I endeavoured to lower the windows, but I knew not the way; so I -dashed one to pieces, and cried aloud to the guards or drivers--I -know not which you name them; but I was unheeded, and still this -apparently infernal vehicle, in which I was enclosed with the bloody -corpse, swept on, screaming, whistling, jarring, clanking, smoking, -and whirling over wood and plain, over the roofs of towns, past the -weathercocks of churches, and the tops of lofty trees, with a speed -and din that would have carried terror and dismay to the hearts of a -Circassian host, and would have swept Kurds and Kalmucks to the -furthest confines of Asia. - -At Dantzig the train arrived in due time, and the doors were opened -by the conductors. I was found with "the murdered man;" my recent -cries were attributed to him; the broken windows to his dying -struggle, for my hands were cut and covered with blood! The Prussian -gallows threatened me on one hand and the Russian knout upon the -other. I was a poor unfriended foreigner, in a land of spies, -suspicion, and police agents; and in my own defence had not one word -to urge, for I was ignorant of the language. But fortunately next -day, a letter was found on the person of the deceased, who proved to -be a French artist, announcing his intention of destroying himself, -and adding, that "when he had no longer a sou, it was thus a -Frenchman should die--Vive la France! Vive le diable!" - -This relieved me, and explained the whole affair; but the Prussian -gens-d'armes kept my purse, as they said, to pay "all contingencies;" -and had not the captain of a large French ship taken pity upon me, -and brought me and my horse to London--the capital of Europe--I must -have begged for bread in the streets of Dantzig, and had to sell my -beloved Zupi to save the noble animal from starvation. - -Finding myself in the great city of London, I was likely to be in -greater distress than when in the vast forest of Lithuania; for in -London the whole population live in an atmosphere of snares, -suspicion, and mistrust, every man viewing his neighbour as one who -has a design upon him. Again I was starving, for the little sum with -which the French captain supplied me was spent upon Zupi, by whose -side I always slept at night in an old cart-shed. But remembering -that by birth and habit I was a soldier, I applied to the officers of -the Household Brigade; some of these smiled, and shook their heads -doubtfully, until Sir Henry Slingsby laid before them my commission -in the Tenginski Hussars; it was fringed with silver, and signed by -the Emperor Nicholas Paulovitch. Then they had a fellow feeling for -me, and treated me with a kindness, the memory of which fills my soul -with gratitude; for never, to the last hour of my life, shall I -forget it, or omit to pray for the good and brave Ingleez. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -WE REACH HEAD-QUARTERS. - -Such was the story of the Circassian captain, and it occupied the -greater part of the time during which the San Lucar packet steamed -along the south-west coast of Andalusia, passing Cape Plata, and -entering the Straits of Gibraltar, had rounded the promontory which -is crowned by towers and ramparts of Tarifa, after which a run of -seventeen miles brought us into the harbour of the great rock, where -the babble of Spaniards, Moors, Italians, French, and Gitanas was -ringing in our ears again, as we landed with our horses on the quay. - -Taking our new friend with us--for we could not but have a lively -interest in a brother patriot of the valiant Schamyl--the Washington -of the Caucasus, the Wallace of Circassia, we repaired at once to -headquarters, and related the success of our visit to Seville, -reserving future relations until we went to mess in the evening. - -We introduced Captain Osman Rioni to Morton, our colonel, who -immediately spoke to him of service in the Turkish Contingent, urging -it upon him the more vehemently, as there were then in the harbour -six transports full of French and British troops en route to -Sebastopol. But Osman thanked the good colonel, and shook his head, -saying,-- - -"Mohammed was the first Prophet of God, and the holy Murid Schamyl is -the second! Our destiny is written on our foreheads; may it be mine -to die in the ranks of war! Every man hath his part in life allotted -to him; may it be mine to fight for my country, and fight again I -shall! Is not her blood red on the Russian bayonets? I will carry a -lance under no flag but the green Sangiac Sheerif of Circassia. -Would to heaven I saw it now with the twelve stars of the -confederated tribes, for then I should see the Abassian peaks and the -wilds of Daghestan, the warriors in their mail of links, and the -linden trees that shade those cottage doors from which our women -bless us, and we ride to war against the Buss. Yes, yes; I will -return to Circassia on her shore alone to fight with Schamyl against -the foes of God, and to see once more the snowy rocks of Elbrus, -where the ark of Noah first rested before it lay on Ararat." - -His story, his peculiar language and bearing, his horse Zupi, and his -love for that gallant animal made him quite a seven days' wonder with -"Ours," and he was the lion of the mess table. Every one who had any -pretension to be a connoisseur in horse-flesh had visited, -criticised, and caressed Zupi, which was a long-bodied, wiry, and, to -our taste, somewhat short-legged nag, with small ears, a noble head, -full chest and flanks, compact and close. - -"A hundred times and more he has stood still as a stone wall, and -allowed me to fire my long Albanian gun between his ears, using his -head as a rest," said Osman; "courage, brave Zupi--courage! Ere long -thou shalt snuff the air in woody Daghestan, and drink of the foaming -Koissons." - -We raised a handsome subscription for him in one night at our mess -table, and procured him a passage in a French cavalry transport; so -he left us, with lips that quivered as he said "farewell," and a -heart that yearned with gratitude. He said that one day we should -hear of him when Schamyl and his host marched towards the shores of -the Sea of Azov. - -Whether Osman reached his own wild and war-like country we have yet -to learn; for since the day on which the "Napoleon III." steamed away -past the New Mole fort, with her deck crowded by Zouaves, and our -Circassian among them waving his red cap in adieu to us, we have -heard no more of him; for the tidings of the Caucasian strife that -reach Europe are meagre, doubtful, and vague, as those that came from -the Holy Land of old. - -Slingsby and I were complimented in garrison orders for the manner in -which we had accomplished our little diplomatic trip to Seville, and -were praised for the dangers we had encountered and escaped. - -Our adventures, with those of Osman Rioni, infected the mess with a -desire to "spin yarns," and the result was, that from being the most -matter-of-fact fellows in the world, every one of "Ours" had a -romantic story to tell. - -"Now, gentlemen," said the colonel, one evening when I had brought my -narrative down to the happy epoch of our embarkation on board the -steamer at San Lucar de Barameda, "how much more pleasant and -entertaining has all this been to us than the usual absurd chit-chat -which reigns supreme at a mess table; the everlasting quiz about the -curl of Ramble's mustachios; the banter about Bob's whiskers, or -Slingsby's bay mare, and how Shafton craned at the hedge in the -steeple-chase; the odds on the Derby; the last new singer; the latest -ballet importation, with the shape of her ancles, and so forth; the -last novel or polka, or belle, or piece of humbug; now is it not so?" - -Hereupon all those whose constant topics the colonel had just -enumerated, warmly assented that it was, and that the narrative had -proved immensely interesting. - -"Deuced instructive, too!" yawned the most stupid fellow at the table. - -"Might spin three volumes out of it, Ramble. 'Men and Manners in -Andalusia!'" said another. - -"No banter now, gentlemen!" said the colonel; "pass the bottles, -Shafton. Mr. Vice-President, another allowance of wine; I have a -proposal to make. We have been--that is, the most of us--have been -in all the quarters of the globe, and have seen life in all its -phases and varieties. Therefore, I beg to move that each of us who -has a story to tell should forthwith tell it for the amusement of the -mess, under the penalty of a dozen of wine." - -"Bravo," said every one. - -"I beg to second the motion," said Jack Slingsby. - -"With an amendment," added Shafton, "that the colonel should tell the -first story himself, the said amendment to be inserted in the minutes -of the mess committee." - -It was carried unanimously, amid much fun and laughter. - -Our colonel, who is a fine, frank, and brave-hearted old fellow, had -no idea that he was so suddenly to find himself in his own trap. He -laughed and reflected a little, as he stroked the wiry, grey mustache -which, in compliance with the late general order, he had just begun -to cultivate after forty years of close shaving; and then he smoothed -his thin white hair, for he was an old soldier, and (but for the -favouritism of the Horse Guards) would have been a general twenty -years ago, being one of the few survivors of that army which gave -battle to France on the shores of Aboukir, where, as he was wont to -say, "he had carried the colours of Geordie Moncrief's lambs--the old -Perthshire Greybreeks." He had also been through the whole -Peninsular war, and served in the Fifth Hussars, with Sir Colquhoun -Grant's brigade under Wellington in Flanders. - -"I have seen much in my time, gentlemen," said he, good humouredly, -as he tossed off a glass of claret, "but have no adventures of my own -to relate--at least none that are at all worth your attention. I -can, however, tell you the story of another, whose scrapes were -somewhat remarkable, and were in some respects--as far as Spanish -robbers were concerned--like those of Ramble and Jack Slingsby. They -were told me by a French officer, a gay fellow, but a regular -candle-snuffer at twelve paces, whom I met at Paris when the allies -were there; by this you will perceive that the affairs I refer to -happened many a year ago." - -The glasses were filled; the cracking of nuts ceased; the heavy -crystal decanters were slid noiselessly over the long smooth -mess-table, the well-polished surface of which reflected the red -coats around it, and all was hushed as our grave and gentle old -colonel began the following narrative, to which I beg leave to devote -my next three chapters. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -ST. FLORIDAN; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. - -The night was dark, and the lamps of the Rue du Temple had nearly all -been extinguished by a high wind; there was no moon visible. - -It was in the month after the capture of Paris, in 1815, that the -adventures I am about to relate occurred. - -The defeat at Waterloo, the rapid advance of the British troops, the -capture of Cambray by Sir Charles Colville, of Peronne, by the -Brigade of Guards under Major-General Maitland, and, last of all, the -seizure and military occupation of the great and glorious city of -Paris--the citadel of Napoleon--the heart of France, had exasperated -the French, and excited their animosity against us. Every citizen -greeted us with darkened brows and lowering eyes. - -No officer of the allied army could pass through the streets of Paris -in perfect safety without being armed, and few went abroad from their -billets or cantonments after nightfall, unless in small parties of -three or four, for mutual protection. On many occasions we were -openly insulted and severely maltreated in the more solitary streets -or meaner suburbs of the city; while in the taverns and restaurateurs -our quarrels were frequent with the old men of the Revolution, who -had witnessed the decapitation of Louis, and the demolition of the -Bastile; but still more so with the soldiers of Buonaparte, who were -swarming in every part of Paris, in plain clothes, or in the rags and -remnants of their uniform. - -Those French officers whom we met at the promenades, on the -Boulevards, in the Jardin des Plantes, at the theatres, or in the -salons and billiard rooms, sought quarrels with us quite as -frequently as their men; but these, of course, ended in hostile -rencontres, and for the first weak or two a morning seldom passed -without a French, or British, or Prussian officer being borne dead, -or wounded, through a mocking crowd at the barriers, from the Bois de -Boulogne. - -In all these wanton quarrels and street assaults the republicans -eminently distinguished themselves, and often vented their pitiful -spleen by spitting at us from the windows; by hissing and railing at -us in language that would have disgraced the denizens of the infamous -faubourg St. Antoine; but after a time, when it became generally -known that their great emperor had surrendered himself to Captain -Maitland, of the Bellerophon, and submitted to the clemency of -Britain, their virulence abated, and their manner became somewhat -changed towards us: though their hatred of the Russian troops, -sharpened by the bitter memories of the retreat from Moscow, was -undying and inextinguishable. - -It is an old story now; but Lord Wellington had taken every means to -insure the tranquillity of the city, and to repress any armed -outbreak, which must assuredly have ended in its utter destruction; -for the Black Eagle of Hapsburg soared above Montmartre, and the -Union of Britain waved over the splendid garden, the winding walks, -and leafy groves of the Champs Elysées; the brass cannon of Blucher -were planted at every barrier-gate, loaded with grape and canister, -to rake the streets at a moment's notice; while by night and by day, -his artillerists, in their blue great coats and bearskin caps, -remained by their guns, with swords drawn and matches lighted. A -regiment of Scottish Highlanders occupied the Tuileries; the Prussian -advanced guard was in position on the road to Orleans, cutting off -the remnant of the French army who had survived the 18th of June, and -still obeying the baton of Davoust, were lingering on the banks of -the Loire. Every approach to Paris was guarded by our infantry, and -a strong division of the Allies were encamped in the Wood of -Boulogne, and along the right bank of the Seine, so far as St. Ouen. - -Never was Paris, the glory of France, more completely humbled since -Henry of England unfurled his banner on its walls! - -My regiment, the Fifth Hussars, were in the third, or Sir Colquhoun -Grant's cavalry brigade. We were quartered at Ligny, a small town on -the Marne, about fifteen miles from Paris, where we occupied the -ancient Benedictine monastery, which had been founded in the eighth -century by St. Fursi, a Scot, as the old curé of the place informed -me; and there, with an irreverence for which the public utility, the -chances of war, and the orders of the quartermaster-general must -plead our excuse, we stabled our horses in the church, and stored our -rations and forage in the chapel of Our Lady of Compassion. - -It was while matters at Paris were in the state I have described, -that I obtained leave from parade one day, hooked on my pelisse and -sabre, and rode from Ligny to visit the city of sunshine and gaiety, -bustle and smoke, music and wine, intending to return to my billet, -which was in the house of the curé near the bridge over the Marne. - -I was in time to see the Russians reviewed by the Emperor Alexander, -and passed the day very agreeably, visiting the Champ de Mars, the -Tuileries, where the soldiers in the garb of old Gaul were keeping -guard, as in the days of the Ancient Alliance; the site of the -Bastile, the Hotel des Invalides, where many an old soldier of the -Empire saluted me with more of sternness than respect in their -aspect: the temple where the hapless Louis had been confined, and the -noble gallery of the Louvre, on the lofty walls of which were many a -blank where the officers of the Allied army had torn down and -conveyed away the artistic spoils of their several nations--spoils -wrested from every city in Europe by the invading armies of Napoleon. - -I dined at a restaurateur's on a beefsteak à l'Anglais and kickshaws, -a bottle of tent dashed with brandy, and walked forth to enjoy a -cigar on the Boulevards, where several of our bands from the Champs -Elysées, and those of the Austrians from Montmartre, were playing -divinely for the amusement of the thousands crowding those -magnificent promenades, which, as all the world knows, or ought to -know, encircle the good city of Paris, and were shaded by many a -stately plane and lime tree, that was levelled to form the barricades -of the last revolution. - -There were the officers of the Allies in all uniforms, the scarlet of -Britain, the white of Austria, the blue of Prussia, and the green of -Russia, with all the varieties of their different branches of -service, horse, foot, artillery, and rifles; Calmucks, Tartars, -Scots, Highlanders, and English guardsmen, jostling and mingling -among moustachioed students of l'Ecole de Medicine, French priests in -their long plain surtouts and white collars, and Parisian dandies in -their puckered trousers, short frock coats, and little hats; while -the ladies, seated on camp stools, formed each the centre of a -circle, in which revolved a little world of wit and chat and -laughter; and the vendors of cigars, of bon-bons, hot coffee, and -iced lemonade, pushed their way and a brisk trade through the crowd -together. - -I had tired of all this, and was thinking of my fifteen miles ride -back to Ligny, through a rural district to which I was a stranger, -though I had my sabre and pistols, and luckily the latter had been -loaded by my groom. Nine o'clock was tolling from the steeples of -Paris; the crowds on the Boulevards were dispersing; the bands had -all played the old Bourbon anthem, 'Vive Henri Quatre!' and with the -troops had repaired to their several cantonments. The trumpets of -the Austrians had pealed their last night call from Montmartre, and -the English drums from the Champs Elysées, and the shrill Scottish -pipes from the Tuileries had replied to them. The lighted portfires -of the Prussian artillery were beginning to gleam at the barriers. -The streets were becoming deserted and still. - -Turning down the Rue du Temple, as I have stated, from the Boulevard -St. Martin, I endeavoured to make my way to the stables of the hotel -where I had left my horse. - -The darkness had increased very much, and the oil lamps in the -thoroughfares were few and far between, and creaked mournfully in -concert with many a signboard as they swung to and fro to the full -extent of the cords by which they were suspended in the centre of the -way. - -Aware that the streets of Paris were then far from safe after -nightfall, and that the knife of the assassin was used as adroitly -within sound of the bells of Notre Dame as on the banks of the -Ebro--with my furred pelisse buttoned up, and my sabre under my arm, -I hurried on, anxious to avoid all rencontres with chevaliers -d'industrie and other vagrants, who from time to time, by the -occasional light of the swinging lanterns, I could perceive lurking -in the shadows of porches and projections of the ancient street. - -I soon became aware that two of these personages were dogging or -accompanying me, on the opposite side of the way; increasing their -pace if I quickened mine, and lingering when I halted or stepped -short. Anxious to avoid brawls, for on that point the orders of the -Duke of Wellington were alike stringent and severe, I continued to -walk briskly forward, keeping a sharp eye to my two acquaintances, -whose dusky figures seemed like shadows gliding along the opposite -wall, for the cold and high night-wind had extinguished so many of -the oil lanterns, that some of the streets branching off from the -Boulevard du Temple and the Rue St. Martin, were involved in absolute -darkness and gloom. - -I was somewhat perplexed after wandering for a considerable distance, -to find myself on the margin of the Seine, which jarred against its -quays, flowing on like a dark and waveless current, in which the -twinkling lights of the Quai de Bourbon, and the gigantic shadows of -the double towers of the church of Notre Dame were reflected. - -My followers had disappeared; but my uneasiness was no way -diminished, being well aware that the clank of my spurs might mark my -whereabouts; and I was conscious that the gorgeously-laced hussar -pelisse and jacket of the Fifth were more than enough to excite -cupidity. I shrunk back from the Seine, on thinking of the ghastly -Morgue (with its rows of naked corpses spread like fish on leaden -trays), and the five francs given by the police of Paris for every -body found in the river at daybreak. - -A low whistle made me start. - -I turned round, and at that moment received a blow from a bludgeon, -which would infallibly have fractured my left temple, had not my -thick fur cap, with its long scarlet kalpeck, saved me. I reeled, -and immediately found myself seized by four ruffians, who flung -themselves upon me, and endeavoured to pinion my arms, and wrench -from me my sabre, while they dragged me towards the edge of the Quai -de la Grève. - -Strong, young, active, and exasperated, I struggled with them -desperately, and succeeded in obtaining the hilt of my sabre, which I -immediately unsheathed, for the fellow who had been endeavouring to -drag it from my belt, grasped it by the sheath only; and an instant -sufficed to level him on the pavement, with his jaw cloven through, -and there he lay, yelling with rage and pain, and blaspheming in the -style of the Faubourg St. Antoine. Upon this his companions fled. - -Solitary as the quay had appeared, the cries of the wounded bravo -brought around me a swarm of vagrants from house stairs, from nooks -in the parapets of the Pont Notre Dame, and from all the various -holes and corners, where they had been nestling for the night, or -hiding from the patrols of the gensd'armes; and recognising me at -once as an officer of that detested Allied army, which had swept -their vast host from the plains of Waterloo, and prostrated the eagle -and tricolour, they assailed me with every epithet of opprobrium that -hatred and malice could suggest; and there was an almost universal -shout of "A la lanterne! à la lanterne!" in which, no doubt, my first -assailants joined; and immediately I saw a lamp descend, as the cord -was unfastened from the wall of the street, and lowered for my -especial behoof. - -Alarmed and exasperated by the danger and insult with which I was -menaced, I endeavoured to break through the press, by threateningly -brandishing my sabre, but though the circle around me widened, still -I was encompassed at every step, and made the mark at which a -pitiless shower of mud, stones, and abuse poured without a moment's -cessation. - -While some cried "à la lanterne!" others shouted for the gensd'armes -and accused me of murder. I could perceive, to my no small concern, -that the knave I had cut down lay motionless upon the pavement; and -most unpleasant ideas floated before me, that even if I escaped -immolation at the hands of these enraged Parisians, I might have to -encounter the greater humiliation and graver terrors of Monsieur le -Duc de Quiche--the Cour Royale de Paris--the Chamber of Appeals--the -Correctional Police, and heaven only knew what more. - -At this perplexing crisis, a young French officer, in the scarlet -uniform of the Garde du Corps of Louis XVIII., broke through the -crowd, exclaiming.-- - -"Halt! hold--in the name of the king--down with you, insolent -citizens! Is it thus you treat our allies? Nom d'un Pape! but I -will sabre the first that lays a finger upon him. Permit me--this -way, Monsieur Officier;" and he put his arm through mine. - -We were now in a low quarter of the city; the crowd of squalid -wretches was increasing around us every moment; lights flashed at the -opened windows of the neighbouring houses, and I could perceive the -glittering bayonets, and the great cocked hats of a sergeant and six -gensd'armes hurrying along the lighted quay, either to my rescue or -capture, but which was dubious, for the vagabond women and -rag-pickers continued to yell incessantly,-- - -"Arrest! arrest!--seize the English murderer! away with him to the -concierge!" - -My heart beat quick; but my new friend of the Garde du Corps seemed -to be quite 'au fait' in the management of such affairs, by the -admirable tact and decision he displayed. Calling lustily for the -gensd'armes, he suddenly grasped half-a-dozen of the foremost men in -succession, and rapidly--for he was a powerful fellow, threw them in -a heap over the wounded man, thus increasing the tumult, the rage, -and the confusion. - -Then seizing me by the hand, he said hurriedly, "Monsieur will pardon -me--but come this way, or you will be torn to pieces!" and half -leading, half dragging me, he conveyed me down a dark and narrow -street. "Nom d'un Pape! I could not see a brother of the epaulette -maltreated by these rascally citizens," he continued, laughing -heartily at the rage and confusion of the bourgeois. "Ha! ha! follow -me! I know how to escape. There are deuced few outlets, holes or -corners, byeways or sallyports in Paris, that I don't know. Ah -corboeuf! didn't they all tumble delightfully over like so many -ninepins? Ha! ha! but hark! they follow us. Hasten with me, -Monsieur Officier, and remember that a brawl in this neighbourhood -may prove infinitely more dangerous to you than to me." - -I was too well aware of that to resist his guidance and advice; and -having no ambition to suffer, like St. Stephen, at the hands of a -mob, or (escaping that) to figure next morning before the -correctional police, and in the evening endure a reprimand from -Wellington, I fairly turned, and, accompanying my guide, ran at full -speed along the dark alley, laughing heartily at the affair. -Gathering like a snowball, as it rolled along, the multitude came on, -puffing and shouting, and swearing and yelling behind us. - -"This way," cried my guide, who laughed uproariously, and seemed one -of the merriest fellows imaginable; "this way--Vive la joie! we are -all right now!" - -"Where are you leading me, in the name of all that is miraculous?" I -exclaimed, as my companion, laying violent hands upon my sash, almost -dragged me down a flight of steps, which apparently led into the -bowels of the earth. The appearance of the vast depth to which they -descended being increased by a few hazy oil lamps that twinkled at -the bottom. - -"Excuse me, Monsieur," said I; "what the mischief--'t is a strange -den this! I will go no further!" - -"Courage, mon brave! courage! why we have only descended about a -hundred steps or so;" replied the Frenchman, still continuing to -descend. "You will find this an old and odd place too; but if you -would escape an enraged rabble, the claws of the police, the maison -de force, the prison, and the devil, follow me, and trust to my -honour. I am Antoine St. Florian, Captain of the Garde du Corps, and -late of the 23rd Grenadiers under the Emperor. You are safe--I know -every nook in this subterranean world, for I have found a shelter in -its ample womb many a time before to-night." - -He still continued to speak as he descended, but the sound of his -voice became lost in the vast space of the hollow vaults; my -curiosity was excited: I still kept my sabre drawn, prepared for any -sudden surprise or act of treachery, and continued to descend some -hundred steps, to a depth which I afterwards ascertained to be 860 -feet. - -"This way, Monsieur; on--on yet!" exclaimed my conductor, hurrying me -forward through a gloomy vault, and at that moment I heard the uproar -of the multitude, and the buzz of their mingled voices resounding -afar off, and high above us at the mouth of the lofty staircase. - -The aspect of the place in which I so suddenly found myself was so -strange, so novel, so grotesquely horrible, that for some moments I -was unable to speak, and gazed about me in astonishment. The whole -place seemed hewn out of the solid rock, and the height of its roof -was about twelve feet from the floor, which was uniformly paved. In -every direction caverns were seen branching off lighted by lamps -which vanished away in long lines of perspective till they seemed to -twinkle and expire amid the noxious and foggy vapours of this -wonderful place, which appeared like a vast subterranean city, or the -work of enchantment. The atmosphere was cold as that of a winter -day, and I was sensible of the utmost difficulty of respiration. - -Myriads of human skulls, grim, bare, and fleshless, with grinning -jaws and eyeless sockets, piles of human bones, gaunt arms and -jointed thighs, basket-like ribs and ridgy vertebræ, were ranged in -frightful mockery along the sides of the vaulted alleys or avenues of -this subterranean city of Death. The ghastly taste of some grim -artist had arrayed all these poor emblems of mortality in the form of -columns with capitals and arcades of intertwisted arches, but from -every angle of which the bare jaws grinned, and the empty sockets -looked drearily down upon us, producing an effect that, when viewed -by the dim and uncertain light of the oil lamps, was alike wondrous -and terrible. I was now in the Catacombs of Paris, that place of -which I had heard so much. - -To me, who had but recently left the Peninsula, the appearance of -these remnants of the men of other years was less striking than it -would prove to visitors generally; for many a time and oft, I had -bivouacked where the dead of France and Britain lay unburied; and I -thought of Albuera and the plains of Salamanca, where we had encamped -within twelve months after battles had been fought there--and pitched -our tents and lighted our camp fires on ground strewn, for miles and -miles, with the half-buried skeletons of the brave who had fallen -there, producing an effect that was never to be effaced from the -memory. There the triumphs of death were calculated to impress the -mind with melancholy; but here it was too grotesquely grim and -horrible. - -Scraps of verses from Ovid, Virgil, and Anacreon, appeared over the -entrances of these caverns or crypts, in gilt letters that glimmered -through the gloom; while, with a strange incongruity, but in true -keeping with the morbid taste of the French, large red and yellow -bills, the advertisements of the theatres, the fashionable hotels, -concerts, and tailors, &c., appeared on different parts of the walls. - -At a little distance there bubbled up a sparkling fountain, the plash -of which rang hollowly in the vast vaults, as it fell into a large -basin, where a number of gold fish were swimming. Over it shone the -legend, in gilded letters-- - - "THIS IS THE WATER OF OBLIVION." - - -"They are strange and frightful places, these Catacombs, Monsieur St. -Florian," said I. - -"True, mon ami," he replied, pausing to take breath; "but famous for -the growth of asthmatic coughs, and all diseases of the lungs. -Peste! What an uproar these bourgeois make. The affair has quite -sobered me, for I was somewhat unsteady before. My face is -scratched, I think. Does it seem so?" - -"Rather." - -"Mille baionettes! do you say so? and I shall be for guard to-morrow -at the chateau--and with this swollen face. Morbleu! what will the -ladies think?" - -"I regret very much, Monsieur le Capitaine, that for me----" - -"Pho! my dear fellow, no apologies; I care not a sous about it," said -my new friend, whom I could now see to be a tall and handsome fellow, -whose scarlet uniform, faced and lapelled with blue, fitted him to -admiration. His face was prepossessing in its contour, and was very -much "set off," or enhanced, by his sparkling dark eyes, his jet -moustache, and smart red forage-cap; but he had quite the air of a -'roué,' and the unmistakable bearing of a man about town. "Ha! ha!" -he continued, "how messieurs the bourgeois were rolled over each -other; that was indeed a coup de grace--the trick of an old routier! -Ah! 't was poor Jacques Chataigneur taught me that." - -"How hollow our voices sound in these vaults," said I, after a pause; -for the Frenchman's merry tones and light remarks seemed strange to -me amid the deathlike stillness of a place so sad, so gloomy. "The -echoes seem to come from an amazing distance." - -"Oui: I will vouch for it, Monsieur never saw a place like this -before. The Parisian dead of a dozen centuries are piled about us, -and afford fine scope for philosophy and moralising. Diable! what an -uproar there will be among all these separated heads, legs, and arms, -when the last trumpet sounds; and many a hearty malediction will be -bestowed on Monsieur Lenoir, of the Correctional Police, who, to -please the morbid taste of the good bourgeoisie of Paris, made all -this ghastly display. Corboeuff! the skulls are all piled up like -cannon balls in the arsenal--there were more than two millions of -them at the last muster. But, hark!" - -At that moment we heard a distant cry of "A la lanterne! Death to -the Englishman!" and a rush of footsteps down the long staircase -followed. - -"We had better secure our retreat," said the French captain; "all the -avenues are closed, save that at the Val de Grace; and if messieurs -the gensd'armes possess themselves of it, we shall be captured like -mice in a trap. The lieutenant-general ordered all the other outlets -to be closed, because they afforded safe and sudden retreats for -chevaliers d'industrie, and other worthies, who, after nightfall, -become thick as locusts in the streets of this pious and good city of -Paris. Nombril de Belzebub! behold! our friends have been -reinforced." - -I looked back, and could see a party of about twenty gensd'armes -advancing, but at a great distance, and their fixed bayonets flashed -like stars in these misty caverns. The mob were in hundreds behind -them, and the clatter of their feet and their cries rang with a -thousand reverberations through the vast vacuity of these echoing -catacombs. We could see them all distinctly; for though a quarter of -a mile distant, the lamps burned brightly where they were passing. - -"I have my sabre, and will confront these rascals," I exclaimed, -becoming inflamed with sudden passion; "they dare not lay hands on -me, as a British officer." - -"Peste!" he replied, laughing; "I think you have seen whether they -will or not. 'T is better not to trust them; a bayonet stab I do not -mind, but think how unpleasant for a gentleman to be captured at the -instance of a few rascally citizens. 'T will never do! We are not -far now from the Val de Grace. This way, up the steps, and I will -lead you to a secret doorway, near a nice little house that I know -of, and where a pretty face will welcome us with smiles." - -By the hand he conducted me up several flights of steps, along an -excavated corridor, where the cold wind blew freely in my face, and -from thence by a doorway, the exact locality of which seemed well -known to him, ushered me into a dark and quiet street, in a part of -Paris quite unknown to me. - -"My friend, we are safe; that is the Val de Grace," said my frank -captain, pointing to a large mass of building; "there is the Rue -Marionette, and that large street still full of open shops, light, -and people, is the Rue du Faubourg St. Jacques, which leads straight -across the river. We can mingle with the crowd, and there all traces -of us will be lost." - -"Any way you please," I replied; "never having been in this part of -Paris before, I am quite bewildered. Lead on, if you please; it is a -dark place, this." - -"The Russians have probably been passing this way. It is well known -in Paris that these piggish Muscovites never return to their camp -from a ball or café without drinking up the contents of every lamp -within their reach; nor can all the alertness of the gend'armerie -prevent them." - -On gaining the main street of the faubourg, the blaze of the lighted -shops, the long lines of lamps, the gaiety and bustle which were seen -on every side, together with the free healthy breath of the upper -air, were a pleasant exchange for the dark and silent caverns we had -quitted, where breathing was almost impossible, and the mind was -oppressed by the gloom of surrounding objects. - -"Vive la joie!" exclaimed Captain St. Florian, almost dancing as he -took my arm; "how delightful is the free air of the streets after -leaving that pestilent pit. Ouf! I shall never trust myself down -there again. But now we must sup together at a restaurateur's. Come -to the Oriflamme; 'tis down the Rue de Bondy; Merci! there is a -pretty waiteress there--a perfect Hebe. Her smart lace cap and -braided apron--her red cheeks and roguish eyes will quite vanquish -you." - -"Well then, the Oriflamme be it." - -"You will behold teeth and eyes that some of our dames in the great -world of fashion would give fifty thousand francs to possess." - -Turning down the street, we entered a restaurateur's, on whose sign -the Eagle of Napoleon had lately given place to the ancient ensign of -the Bourbons. - -A very pretty girl who sat within the bar with a handkerchief over -her head, tied en marmotte, arose and welcomed us with a smile. - -"Ah, entrez Antoine St. Florian," said she, raising her arched -eyebrows with a true Parisian expression of pleasure and familiarity; -"entrez, Monsieur." - -St. Florian called her his 'belle Janette,' and saluted her cheek -with all the freedom of an old friend, as she ushered us along a -corridor, on each side of which were neat little chambers, or -cabinets, each having a single table and two chairs. - -That appropriated for us, had a lustre with two lights, and the walls -were decorated with coloured prints of Jena, Marengo, Leipsic, and -other hard-fought battles, on which St. Florian soon began to comment -with all the ardour and enthusiasm of a French soldier; and by his -sentiments soon revealed, that though poverty or policy had compelled -him to assume the scarlet trappings of King Louis' guards, his heart -was still with the fallen Emperor--the idol of a hundred thousand -soldiers. - -"And so your old regiment was the 23rd?" said I. - -"Ah, the 23rd of the Emperor," he replied with a sigh, while his eyes -lighted up at the name. - -"I remember that we charged your regiment at the passage of the Nive, -where I was on the very point of sabreing a young officer, before I -fortunately perceived that the poor fellow's sword arm was tied up in -a sling, and that he was quite defenceless." - -"Indeed, how singular! and you saved him from your troopers, and -conducted him out of the press----" - -"For which he gave me a draught of country wine from his canteen." - -"The same. Ah, monsieur, my friend, I am that officer, and I owe you -eternal thanks." - -We shook hands with ardour. - -"I had been severely wounded by the poniard of a villanous Spanish -peasant, and was still suffering from its effects. Ah, it was quite -a story, that affair; my evil eye brought it all about." - -"Your evil eye?" - -"Ah," he replied, laughing; "you would not think I had one, to look -at me--I seem so innocent; but so I have, or, at least, had when I -was in Spain; ha! ha! You have often heard the Spaniards speak of the -Evil Eye--the Malocchio of the Italians? and how the women will veil -themselves, cover up their children, and mutter a prayer if a -stranger but glances at them." - -"I have heard of that superstition, when on the borders of -Estremadura; but your affair--" - -"Listen, and fill your glass with the champagne--I call it 'The Evil -Eye.'--'T is a perfect romance, and was well known to many a brave -fellow of the 23rd, who has found his grave at the foot of Mont St. -Jean." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE WIDOW; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. - -"I was quartered with my company of grenadiers at El Puerto, a -wretched village in Andalusia; a poor place it was, that had been -rifled by our foragers a dozen times, and we very unwisely made it -still more miserable, by burning the best cottages before we were -ordered to quit it. - -"I quartered myself on the best casa in the village, a red-tiled hut, -that belonged to a strange-looking fellow, whose long visage and long -legs, great black eyes, yellow trunk breeches, green doublet, and -sugar-loaf hat, made him seem half muleteer, half gitano. I believe, -from his superstitious observances, that he was the latter wholly. -You will know, doubtless, how famous Andalusia is for its women and -horses. Ha! I wish you had seen the wife of my long-legged patron. -She had the beautiful eyes and olive skin of her native province, -with teeth like pearls, lips like cherries, and a face full of the -sweetness of the mildest Madonna. Ha! ha! I am growing quite -poetical! but wine or love always make me so. You will never see, -even on our Boulevards, and that is a bold assertion, a pair of more -superb ankles, than the short red petticoats of that Andalusian woman -revealed to the pure gaze of your most obedient servant. Peste! I -was quite enchanted with my pretty patrona, and determined on sending -her husband, tied across a mule, as a spy to the British lines, that -so I might be rid of him for a time, or for ever. - -"They had a child, too, a merry little brat, with which I often -played and toyed, to please its mother, whose heart was quite won by -the bonbons I gave it; while her tall ghostly don of a husband stood -sullenly aloof, smoking a paper cigar, and regarding me from beneath -his broad sombrero, with eyes full of jealousy and malice. Now, as -the devil would have it, the little brat had long been ailing, and -seemed very likely to die at the time we came to El Puerto; and as -she watched her sleeping infant, the mother's eyes were often -suffused with tears. This, you may be aware, served but to make the -charming Spaniard more interesting; for her melting black orbs seemed -to be ever steeped in the most delicious languor. - -"One evening I became very much aware of this; and after toying a -little with the sickly infant, by tickling its neck with a braid of -the mother's long black hair, while I lisped soft nothings from time -to time, I departed to look for Jean Graule, my sergeant, to hold a -consultation about the safe transmission of the señor patron to the -British lines, and with my compliments to the officer commanding the -nearest out-picquet. - -"The evening was rather gloomy; I missed my way, and strolled into -one of those underground vaults, bodegas, as they are called, where -the peasants keep their wine in Andalusia. There I amused myself -probing the pigskins with my sword, and imbibing the cool balmy wine -from the orifice, till, somehow, a heaviness stole over me, and I -fell fast asleep. - -"About midnight I awoke, and found myself alone in the dark bodega, -drenched with the wine that had flowed from the wounded skins; and -feeling very cold, with the agreeable accompaniments of an aching -head and sore bones. - -"By the moonlight which struggled through a grated window, I sought -my way out of the vault, up the stair, and gained the street of the -silent Puebla, where I stood still for some time to rally my -scattered faculties, and recollect where I was. While this passed, a -man, who had been concealed under the shadow of a vine trellis, -rushed upon me, and furiously struck at my breast with a knife or -dagger. My shoulder-belt saved me from the stroke; 't was lucky that -I had it on, otherwise I should not have been enjoying monsieur's -society, and this glorious wine, to-night. - -"'Ah, mouchard, vagabond!' I exclaimed, and closing in a desperate -struggle with the would-be assassin, succeeded in striking him to the -earth; where, holding my sword at his throat, I demanded his reasons -for assailing me thus. - -"'To have slain you!' he growled. - -"'For what, you base rascal?' - -"'To have revenged the loss of my child,' replied the fellow, whom I -now recognised to be no other than my worthy patron, the long-legged -paisano. - -"'Ouf!' said I. - -"'Dog of a Frenchman! on the day you first came into my poor cottage -the child was well and strong, for it was under the protection of the -Blessed Virgin; but you turned an evil eye upon it, and, lo! it -sickened; day by day it grew worse, and to-night it died: not even -romero at its neck, nor the agua bendita on its brow, could shield it -from your evil influence. Son of Satan, I spit upon you!' - -"'A pest upon your brat, you insolent madman,' said I, almost -laughing, for the wine of the bodega had still its influence over me: -'had you said that I cast evil eyes on your wife, there might have -been some truth in the matter; but your child--ha, ha!' and I laughed -till the street of the Puebla rang again. 'Halloo, Sergeant -Graule--quarter guard--ho, there!' and a dozen of my grenadiers -rushed from a tavern to my assistance. - -"To Jean Graule's care I recommended the señor, and in five minutes, -at the end of a tent cord, he swung from the chimney of a -neighbouring house. - -"'Now, señor rascal,' said I, making him a mock bow, on leaving him -in the grasp of the soldiers, 'I will go and console your pretty wife -for the loss of her child, and more particularly that of her amiable -spouse. Both are so easily replaced, that I would recommend you to -die in peace, my jovial pagan.' - -"'My wife, my wife!' said he, in a terrible voice, striking his -breast and looking upwards. 'El Santo de los Santos--Holy of Holies, -forgive me.' - -"'Console yourself, my friend,' said I, while Jean Graule and the -soldiers laughed till their belts nearly burst. 'Console yourself, -señor paisano, for your little wife shall laugh and be merry -to-night.' - -"'She waits you,' said he, with a frightful smile. Diable! methinks -I can see his white face, as he grinned, like a shark, in the -moonlight; 'She awaits you.' - -"Graule dragged him off. - -"I hurried to the cottage of the paisano; but, mon Dieu, what a sight -awaited me! - -"On her bed, a miserable mat, lay the beautiful Andalusian girl, -stone dead; stabbed by a poniard thrice in the neck, and her little -infant, also dead, lay in her arms, pressed to her crimson bosom. In -the first gust of my fury I rushed out to slay the jealous -perpetrator of this horror; but he had, as I have already said, paid -the debt of nature, and his dying form was wavering in the moonlight -from the gable-end of a neighbouring house. - -"Bah! there is always something in this reminiscence that makes me -dismal--but let me think no more of it." - -And draining his glass of champagne, the gay St. Florian began to hum -an old camp song, beating time with his fingers on the well-polished -table. Though this episode of his life rather decreased my -admiration for this gay fellow, still the jaunty manner in which he -related it somewhat amused me. - -With the pretty Janette he appeared to be an old-established friend; -and a great deal of flirting, and that kind of conversation which -consists of pretty trifles, ensued each time she appeared on the -ringing of the bell. But the ci-devant grenadier of Napoleon was -doubtless on the same easy footing with all the waiteresses and -shop-girls in every warehouse, cabaret, and café in and about Paris. - -As the night was rather chilly, I proposed that we should have some -mulled port, spiced with cloves and sugar, in a mode I had often had -it prepared at Madrid by an old patrona on whom I was billeted. - -St. Florian's countenance changed at the mention of the mulled wine, -and with ill-concealed disgust and precipitation he protested against -it, swearing by the head of the Pope, that although he never drank -water when anything better could be had, he would rather drink it out -of a ditch, after a brigade of horse had passed through it, than -taste mulled wine of any kind. - -"And why so?" I asked, astonished by his vehemence. - -"Sacre nom--'tis another long story; but Chataigneur, of the 23rd, -and I, were as nearly brought to the threshold of death as may be by -some muddy liquor called mulled port, and I never could look upon it, -or think of it, with any degree of patience. You will find the story -in all the French and Spanish newspapers. Ouf! it made a devil of a -noise in the army." - -"I should be glad to hear it," said I, touching the bell-rope; "but -in the meantime----" - -"We will have some more champagne. Yes, the champagne of the -Oriflamme is delicious. I have drunk a tun here, I believe--aye, in -this very room, with Jacques Chataigneur. There are some caricatures -of Monsieur Vellainton which he chalked on the wall. Poor Jacques! a -shot from that cursed Chateau of Hougomont passed through his heart, -when, sword in hand, he was leading on the grenadiers of the great -Emperor to conquest or to death. He fell within a yard of me, prone -over his horse's crupper, and his last words were--'To the charge, to -the charge! Vive l'Empereur!' If true courage and bravery are -rewarded in heaven--but, ma foi! I am growing quite pathetic. Where -is the wine? Janette," he cried, down the passage, "Janette, my -princess!" - -"Ah oui, monsieur--me voila!" replied the girl, running in. - -"My dear girl, let us have some champagne, a few more cigars, and a -nice little tray of grapes, or bon-bons; but let the wine be bright -as your own eyes, my wanton." - -The girl was tripping away. - -"But halt, Janette," he added, catching her by the skirt; "how long -is it since a rough moustache has been pressed to that pretty cheek -of yours?" - -"Monsieur St. Florian, you are pleased to be very rude." - -"Come, coquette, do not affect to mistake pure admiration for -rudeness. Now you owe one salute, my pretty Janette, for remember -how you fled from me last night on the Quai de la Conference." - -"Well, then, one only," said she, tendering her cheek, which was -slightly rouged. - -St. Florian stole three. - -"Ah treacherous!" exclaimed the girl, striking him playfully with her -hand, and skipping away. - -"Peste!" said the captain, twirling his moustache; "but your little -fingers smart, my pretty one." - -"Now for the other story, Monsieur St. Florian," said I, when the -bright wine sparkled in the tall glasses, and our fair attendant had -withdrawn. "I would fain learn why an old soldier dislikes any sort -of wine. I have often drank ditch-water on the line of march, and -have gladly filled my canteen from the ruts of the artillery -wheels----" - -"And so have I a thousand times, but my dislike to mulled port arises -from something more than mere prejudice--bah! this is worth an ocean -of a muddy drench, boiled in a kettle with sugar and cloves. See how -it sparkles when the glass is raised to the light. Ma foi! 't is -like a glass full of diamonds. We shall drink to the emperor." - -"I have no objection." - -"I hope the door is closed, though. Paris is such a city for -espionage, police, and informers: Ouf! but 'Vive l'Empereur -Napoleon!'" and he drained his long glass, while his dark eyes -flashed with enthusiasm. - -"Long life to him!" said I, with a frankness that won the Frenchman's -heart; "and now let me know the cause of this horror of mulled wine." - -"Perhaps you have already heard it. I well remember that it made a -deuced noise at the time it occurred, and, save the maid of -Zaragossa, there never was a woman so extolled by the Spaniards as -she of whom I am about to speak,-- - - "THE WIDOW OF MADRID;" - -for so he named the following story. - -"It was in the month of December, when the immortal emperor and the -victorious army of France captured Madrid, that Jacques Chataigneur, -four officers of the Imperial Guard, and myself, were quartered, or -rather, according to the unceremonious custom of war in the like -cases, took the liberty of quartering ourselves, on a house in one of -the most fashionable streets in the city. - -"Every place within the walls was full of our troops; horse and foot -were swarming in tens of thousands; the red rosette and the banner of -Castile and Leon had disappeared; the French eagle soared in triumph -over the capital of the Spaniards. Every house, from the great -palace of the Duke d'Ossuna to the poorest casa on the margin of the -Manzanares, was undergoing a strict investigation, to discover where -Messieurs the Spaniards had hid their doubloons and other valuables, -for which the pouches and haversacks of our soldiers were yawning. - -"Our fellows were rather riotous, especially about the cafés and -wine-houses, where every man drank his fill, without being at the -expense of a single sou. The city was involved in chaos and uproar. -Merci! 't was such a hubbub as you in all your service can never have -witnessed; for, what with disarming the men, and running after pretty -women, searching for wine, provisions, and plunder, our soldiers had -quite enough of business on their hands. - -"The house which we honoured with our presence, on this auspicious -occasion, was a handsome mansion, with broad balconies, and lofty -saloons, having gilded ceilings, tiled floors, and rich furniture; -and you may imagine how acceptable the splendid bed-chambers were to -us, who had been under canvas for months. - -"It belonged to Donna Elvira de Almeria, whose family had just been -reduced to one daughter, by the unexpected deaths of her husband and -three sons, who had fallen on the previous day sword in hand, as she -told us, like true cavaliers, defending the palace of the Betiro, -which had been breached by the cannon of the Marshal Duke of Belluno; -but the ghastly gap had been defended with admirable resolution and -bravery by the Spaniards; so the soldiers of the emperor, petulant at -all times, were somewhat exasperated in consequence. - -"We, ourselves, were ripe for mischief, and I cannot rehearse all the -fine things we did in our ramble through the city that night: I -beseech you to suppose them. - -"The household of the Donna Elvira were, as may be imagined, -overwhelmed with terror and grief by the misfortune which war had -brought upon them; and their condition was in no way soothed or -ameliorated by our appearance among them, blackened with powder and -smoke, and bespattered with blood and dust, for we had hewn our way -in by the breach at the Retiro. - -"The ladies were both handsome, but more especially the daughter -Virginia, a timid girl of about fifteen; and at these years a -Spaniard is almost a woman. Her tears, I blush to say, made little -impression on me, but her beauty had a great effect on as all. -However, drunk as we were, we remembered Chataigneur was our senior -officer, and that his pleasure must be known before the officer next -in rank presumed to open the trenches; or, in other words, address -the ladies in the language of gallantry. - -"Jacques was a child of the revolution, an iron-hearted soldier, -penetrable only to steel and lead--half fox, half wolf; to anything -soft or sentimental, he was immovable as a cannon-ball. It was said -in the 23rd, that he had done some terrible things in La Vendée, and -certainly his more recent campaigns in Holland and Italy had taught -him to view with the coolness of a stoic the blood of the bravest men -and the tears of the most beautiful women. - -"Peste! he was a true philosopher, and one might march from Dunkirk -to Damascus without meeting such another. He was never troubled with -any unpleasant qualms of conscience--not he, because, like most of -those fierce soldiers, who had been trained and nurtured amid the -horrors of the revolution, he believed in neither God nor devil, -heaven nor hell, and, consequently, cared not a straw for any of -them." - -"A pretty picture of your friend and comrade," said I, with a smile. - -"Peste! yes. He should have appointed me to write his epitaph. -Chataigneur was the man it was a pleasure to follow to the breach or -battle-field; for he cared as little for riding headlong on the -charged bayonets of a solid square, or manoeuvring his regiment under -a storm of grape-shot, as for handing his partner through the figures -of a quadrille. But, to return. The ladies, on perceiving us enter -their mansion uninvited, gave us a specimen of Spanish hauteur, by -retiring to a distant apartment, and leaving us to provide for -ourselves. - -"This we were not long in doing. The servants had fled; but -Chataigneur ordered three grenadiers of the 23rd, who were in -attendance upon us, to break down the doors of the cellars and other -repositories: thus, in the twinkling of an eye, we had the sherry, -the Malaga, and the Ciudad Real of the old beldame in abundance. - -"We installed ourselves in the finest saloon of the mansion, while -messieurs our servants possessed themselves of the kitchen, where -they stripped off their accoutrements and coats, piled half-a-dozen -shutters, a door, and a chair or two on the hearth; and so zealous -were they in preparing a repast for us, that the rascals nearly set -the house on fire. All the pantries were laid under contribution, -and large conscriptions were levied on the poultry-yard, and we were -soon as merry as magnificent quarters, a plenteous supper, and wine -ad libitum, without having a sou to pay for them all, could make us. -We drank deadly bumpers in honour of the emperor, to the success of -his armies, to ourselves, to the continuation of the war, to the -girls we had left behind us in beautiful France, and the devil alone -knows what more. Oh, the exquisite delights of living at free -quarters in an enemy's country! Vive la joie! I need not expatiate -upon them to you, for I heard of your pretty doings after Badajoz -fell." - -"They could not compare with yours at Madrid." - -"You shall hear. 'In the ardour of our attack upon the savoury -viands,' said the Chevalier de Vivancourt, a gay sub-lieutenant of -the guard, 'we are quite forgetting the ladies!' - -"'Mon Dieu! yes--what negligence!' said one or two ironically. - -"'I shall make amends for our ungallantry,' said Chataigneur, -starting up and staggering unsteadily; for he had enough of Ciudad -Real under his belt to have served even a German. 'Hola! Pierre, -Jean Graule, where are the ladies, just now--eh? the sour-visaged -madame and plump little mademoiselle?' - -"'Shall I have the honour of conducting them to the presence of -monsieur?' said our sergeant, giving his military salute. 'The -mother----' - -"'Oh the devil take the mother, or you may have her yourself, honest -Jean.' - -"The sergeant bowed, and grinned. - -"'But sabre de bois! 't is the little daughter I want,' said -Chataigneur. - -"'They are at prayer in their little oratory, I believe,' urged the -chevalier, who was the least wicked among us. - -"'Praying!' reiterated Jacques with intense disgust; 'I shall soon -change their cheer. Are there any guitars or mandolins here? The -girl--what's her name? Virginia shall bear us company in a merry -chorus, or shall ride the cheval de bois with a vengeance.' - -"'Let us have her by all means,' said one of the Imperial guardsmen; -'we must teach this young creature the first rudiments of love and -coquetry.' - -"'Will some of you lend a hand to undo the clasp of this infernal -sword-belt?' grumbled Jacques, who was very tipsy. 'Avaunt, Jean -Graule, thou art drunk, man! Vivancourt, most redoubtable chevalier -of the immortal legion of honour, lend me thine aid. Corboeuf! I am -swollen like a huge tortoise with Ciudal Real. Now, messieurs, -remember that I am the senior officer here, and that whoever follows -me does so at his peril.' - -"And half-dancing, half staggering, he swaggered out of the room -accompanied by Jean Graule. - -"We continued to enjoy ourselves with supreme nonchalance, for the -Imperial Guard and the 23rd Grenadiers were the most reckless -routiers in the army. Believe me, we were too much accustomed to -storming to trouble ourselves much about the little Spanish girl; but -I am forgetting that you are not a Frenchman; so, fearing to shock -your cold British prejudices, I will, as the novelists say, draw a -veil over what passed;" and M. de St. Florian smiled complacently as -he emptied and refilled his glass. - -"Is it possible!" I exclaimed, with something of incredulity in my -manner; "is it possible that brave soldiers, and gentlemen of -France--France, once so famous for its spirit of honour and -chivalry--could behave thus?" - -"Monsieur, my word is never doubted," replied the other -good-humouredly; "how could you expect us to behave like saints or -apostles, or perhaps like the cool stoics that compose a regiment of -kilts? - -"Chataigneur was absent with Jean Graule about an hour, during which -time we scarcely missed him, so closely did we pay court to the -glittering decanters and bloated pig-skins, which we laid under -contribution without mercy. The wax lights, were becoming double; -the saloon was beginning to swim around us; and we were in the very -midst of singing the carmagnole in full chorus, at the utmost pitch -of our lungs, each having his drawn sabre in his right hand, and a -mantling cup in his left, when the door was dashed open and Jacques -Chataigneur entered, with Donna Elvira supported on one arm, and her -daughter Donna Virginia on the other. - -"With a triumphant and scornful air, he led or rather half dragged -them in, and forced them to sit down at table with us. - -"Although being so tipsy that I could scarcely know whether my head -or heels were uppermost, I can still remember the terrible expression -depicted in the faces of these two ladies. The mother's wore the -fury and rage of a tigress; the blood seemed to boil in the swollen -veins of her temples, and her large black Spanish eyes shot fire from -time to time as she surveyed us. Her daughter's appeared the very -reverse, and her face expressed only the darkness of despair. - -"She was very beautiful; her long black hair was loosened from its -braids, and hung matted in disorder about her shoulders, and half -concealed her face, which was pale as death. Her eyes--you will -remember the splendid eyes of the Spanish girls--her eyes were -bloodshot and red with weeping; their expression was wild, wandering, -insane; and there was a chilling air of desolation and abandonment in -her grief that had, indeed, a very considerable effect on me (for I -am not altogether such a bad fellow as monsieur may suppose me), -although her utter despair had none on Chataigneur and my more -intoxicated companions. - -"Her lips were quivering, and her graceful Spanish dress, her long -veil particularly, was torn to ribands. - -"'Messieurs,' said Chataigneur, bowing with an air of mock -politeness; 'I am permitted to have the high honour of introducing -you to the notice of Donna Elvira de Almeria, widow of a very brave -Caballero y Procuradore of new Castile, and her daughter the -enchanting Virginia, whom, as I have two ladies who equally claim the -title of Madame la Colonel, I shall advance to the ancient Spanish -dignity of being my Barragano,* which will square all matters between -us, so Vive la joie! let us drink and be merry!' - - -* See "Essayo Historico Critico on the Ancient Legislation, &c., &c., -of Castile and Leon," 4to., Madrid, 1808, for this term. - - -"The eyes of the Spaniards absolutely glared as he spoke." - -"The scoundrel!" I exclaimed, becoming excited by this revolting -narrative. "Would to heaven that I had been there with a few of my -English hussars." - -"That would have availed little," replied St. Florian, pouring out -his wine with slow sang froid; "every street and house within the -trenches was swarming with our soldiers; and such scenes as that I -have described were innumerable." - -"Excuse me, Monsieur le Capitaine; but I must pronounce your comrade -to have been a finished rascal." - -"Peste!" muttered the Frenchman, half angrily; and then he continued, -while laughing and twirling his moustache, "Opinion is the queen of -the world--'t is a proverb we have, and a true one. But poor -Chataigneur is gone now, and I must not hear him abused. - -"But, to continue. The excitement of the preceding day's fighting, -and the quantity of wine we had drunk, rendered us insensible to the -distresses of these poor women; and with shame and sorrow I now -remember that we permitted Chataigneur, by dint of many a savage -threat, to compel them to assume their guitars and sing in -accompaniment, while we chaunted a bacchanalian ditty suited only for -the meridian of the lowest cabaret in the faubourg St. Antoine. - -"What they sang Heaven only knows, for, nom d'un Pape! my comrade, -the horrible catastrophe to this little supper has fairly driven all -minor incidents from my memory. And there they sat and sang to -us--sang with shame on their brows, and rage, and grief, and agony in -their hearts--while a husband and three sons, a father and three -brothers, were lying dead in their harness by the walls of the Retiro. - -"We drank bumpers to Virginia, and made the ceiling shake with our -mad laughter and revelry. In the midst of this, unluckily, the -Chevalier de Vivancourt called for a bumper of mulled port. What -fiend prompted a request so useless I cannot imagine: but we all -joined in his demand vociferously; and the old dame, who appeared to -have somewhat recovered her equanimity, desired her daughter to -prepare it. She spoke in Basque Spanish, which we did not -understand, but which should have been sufficient to kindle our -suspicions; and I could perceive that a wild and almost insane -expression flashed in the eyes of the little Donna Virginia as she -flung aside her guitar and rose to execute the order. - -"With some trouble she extricated herself from Chataigneur, whose arm -was round her waist. He was very angry, and growled like a bear at -the chevalier, swearing by the sabre de bois that he would put him -under arrest for the trouble he occasioned. - -"While he was yet speaking, Virginia returned with the prepared wine -in a crystal vase, from which, with her own fair hands, she filled -our long, carved glasses. We drank to her, draining them to the -dregs; and, with a grim smile on her pallid lips, our youthful -cupbearer replenished our glasses. The flavour of the wine was so -exquisite, that Chataigneur embraced Virginia with drunken ardour, -and desired her to bring us more. - -"'You will require no more!' she cried, with a shriek, as she flung -the vase from her hands, and it was dashed into a hundred pieces. - -"We rose in alarm, but instantly sank again on our seats; and at that -moment a peculiar and horrible sensation came over me. Sacre! -methinks I feel it yet. I looked upon my companions of the carousal, -but read in their faces an expression that yielded me anything but -comfort. Three had dropped their glasses, and reclined upon their -chairs, with open mouths and fixed eyes, which gleamed with the -vacant wildness of insanity. The Chevalier de Vivancourt sank -prostrate on the floor, while Chataigneur, who seemed also about to -sink, turned and stared with a powerless aspect of rage and alarm at -Donna Elvira. - -"Virginia had sunk upon her knees and hid her face in the skirt of -her torn dress; but her mother stood erect, and, with her arms -outstretched towards us, shrieked in a frightful voice between a moan -and a yell, while a murderous rage, alike fiendish and terrible, -caused her tall form to tremble, her proud nostrils to dilate, and -her large dark eyes to gleam like those of a rattlesnake. - -"'At last we have avenged ourselves! Perros y ladrones! Frenchmen, -dogs, and murderers, let me scream into your dying ears, that we are -Castilian women, and have avenged our wrongs! I have lost my brave -husband and his noble sons--by numbers you destroyed them, and side -by side they fell on the palace threshold of the kings of Castile. -Oh, bloodhounds--worse than devils in the form of men, ye murdered -them, and now--my daughter (her voice became choked), my innocent -little daughter--but we are revenged--revenged--revenged! Oh, Santa -Maria, Virgin, y Madre de Jesu! let us be forgiven--but, fiends, the -sure, cold hands of death are upon you--you are dying, for the wine -you have drunk is poisoned!' - -"Mon Dieu!" said St. Florian, pausing while the perspiration almost -suffused his forehead, "still the screech-owl voice of that -detestable hag seems to ring in my tingling ears! - -"Inspired by terror and rage, I made an effort to spring up, to draw -my sabre, to run her through the heart; but the moment my hand -touched the hilt, a deadly numbness crept over me; I staggered -backward, and while sleep and despair came over my soul, sank prone -and insensible on the corpses of my comrades!" - -St. Florian paused again for an instant, for he really seemed -considerably excited by the recollection of the adventure. - -"Parbleu! 'twas a most unpleasant denouement--a devil of a -winding-up. Next morning I found my self lying prostrate on the -chilly floor of the Church of the Conception, which, with many -others, had been converted into a temporary hospital for the sick and -wounded. I was sick for seventeen days, and my head ached as if it -had been crushed in a vice; while my miserable throat was skinned by -the stomach pump and other engines of the medical science, which the -staff surgeon had kept at work on me, as they afterwards said, for -two consecutive hours. - -"Poor Jacques Chataigneur was in the same wretched condition, and lay -opposite to me, kennelled on a bed of straw, under the gothic canopy -which covered the grave perhaps of some long-bearded hidalgo of old -Castile. - -"We alone recovered. - -"The gay Chevalier de Vivancourt and his three comrades of la Garde -Imperiale died; so did poor Jean Graule and all our servants; for the -little fury Virginia had administered part of her infernal potion to -them too. So to this hour, my friend, I entertain such a horror of -all kinds of prepared wine, that I may safely say, 'tis not in the -power of man, or even woman, with all her superlative cunning and -witchery, to make me taste a single drop that is not pure as when it -came from the wine-press." - -"And the ladies--what became of them?" - -"Donna Elvira," continued my garrulous friend, "disappeared from -Madrid on that very night, taking with her the unlucky Virginia, and -for a time we heard no more of them, save in the columns of the -'Moniteur' and 'El Espanol,' where, the Lord knows, our malheur made -more than noise enough! May mischief dog their heels as two -revengeful vixens. But I afterwards learned that the girl assumed -another name, and, bestowing her hand on a certain hidalgo of Alava, -actually had the happiness to give me shelter one night on the -retreat from Vittoria. My whiskers had grown, and she did not -recognise me; sacre bleu, if she had! I was never discovered, and -blessed my stars that I was sound, wind and limb, when I left her -mansion in the morning--Ouf! let me think no more of it, for -altogether 't is a story that makes me shudder." - -"Excuse me, Captain St. Florian," said I, when he had ceased; "but on -my honour, you make me blush for the army of France." - -"Morbleu!" said he; "they were only Spaniards." - -"But I have heard many an episode of horror blacker even than that of -Donna Elvira, for I was one of those who followed up the retreating -army of Massena, from the frontiers of Portuguese Estremadura, -through desert fields and desolate cities, marked by fire and blood, -and all that the wantonness and wickedness your devastators could -inflict on a poor, a prostrate, and a defenceless people. I am warm, -monsieur, but I pray you pardon me----" - -"Ah! he was a stern old routier, Massena, and handled the dons so -roughly, that the Emperor named him rightly the 'child of rapine.' I -care not for being his apologist, as I never either loved or admired -him, and once positively hated the old pagan, for reprimanding me in -general orders, because, on our retreat from the lines of Torres -Vedras, I neglected to destroy the house of a poor old hidalgo near -Santarem, who had been so kind to me, that I omitted him in the list -of devastations to be made by my foragers. Ouf! I got a lecture -that was printed in the 'Moniteur,' and read at the head of every -regiment in the division. But in revenge, that very night I affixed -a scroll to the door of the marshal's quarters, saying-- - -"'This is the residence of the mighty Massena, Prince of Essling and -Duke of Rivoli, who has made more noise in the world by beating the -drum than by beating the British!' - -"Corboeuf! what a frightful rage the old Turk was in, but he could -never discover the author of the pasquil, which made him the -laughing-stock of the whole army. But the sparing of that hidalgo's -mansion and family was a most fortunate circumstance for me, as it -was the means of saving my life three days after." - -"In what manner?" - -"He ransomed me for a hundred dollars from some rascally frontier -guerillas who had captured me, and were on the point of putting me to -death. Ouf! 'twas a devil of an adventure that. Shall I tell it -you?" - -"If you please," said I, lighting a fourth cigar. - -"Well, then, listen, though perhaps it is not so much my story as -that of a poor peasant whom the Estremadurans named Perez the Potter." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -PEREZ, THE POTTER; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. - -"When Massena retired before the impetuous advance of Lord -Wellington, and left behind the boasted lines of Torres Vedras, you -may remember that he selected the position of Santarem as one -admirably adapted to keep in check the advance of your troops through -the Portuguese frontier. While his division occupied their trenches -on the hill above the Tagus, I was one day despatched on duty to the -officer commanding the Cuirassier Brigade at Torres Novas, a town -five leagues from Santarem, situated in the middle of a beautiful -plain. It is surrounded by walls, and is overlooked by the castle -with the nine towers, from which it takes its name. - -"I rode without an orderly, or other followers, for the whole country -was covered with our troops, and I had no dread of molestation, -though desired by Marshal Massena to take with me a section of -dragoons, as part of the country through which I had to pass was -rendered very unsafe by the residence and outrages of a certain Don -Julian d'Aviero, a half-mad student of Alcala, who had gathered a -band of deserter guerillas, and become a captain of robbers in the -woods of Santarem. There his name had become terrible through all -the Spanish and Portuguese Estremaduras, Alentejo and Beira. His -midnight expeditions and attacks upon the detached houses and -solitary quintas of friend and foe were characterised by singular and -wanton cruelty; and in a state of warfare, where the country was -possessed by two hostile armies, the pretexts of treason and -espionage were never wanting. - -"A wild yell informed the inmates that their dwelling was surrounded -by the banditti of Don Julian; the doors were dashed in; the men, -half-starting from their beds, were hewn to pieces; their wives and -daughters were dragged away to suffer worse than death; the houses -were pillaged, and then reduced to ashes. And many of these -atrocities were doubtless attributed by us to you, and by you to us. -Captives were carried off daily, but they were generally ransomed; if -not, a shot from a carbine, or a stab from a poniard, and all was -over! - -"I thought of all these things as I pursued my solitary way by the -foot of the mountains that skirt the plain of Torres Novas; but it -was with less of alarm than pleasure. To me there seemed something -charming in the lonely and knight-errant-like fashion in which I had -thus ridden forth, in a strange country, among dangerous ways, and an -unscrupulous people, with neither friend nor ally save my sabre and -horse. - -"The sun was verging towards the darkening mountains of Alentejo; but -the atmosphere was still exceedingly close and sultry, for, hot and -bright, the rays of the western sun were poured from a clear and -cloudless sky, scorching with their warmth the waving corn, and the -myriads of wild flowers that covered the beautiful plain of Torres -Novas. - -"I was still far from the lines of Massena: the country seemed -desolate and depopulated. I had no guide, and became apprehensive of -losing my way, and wandering towards the British outposts. Once or -twice I questioned a passing peasant, but was provoked by their -sullenness and ignorance of their own locality. - -"'Señor,' said I, to a paisano, whom I met driving two mules -harnessed in a rude cart, which was simply composed of the rough stem -of a tree, from which two branches in the form of a fork rested, one -on each wheel, and formed the axle--'Señor, how many leagues is it -from this place to Santarem?' - -"'Three, señor Caballero,' replied the man, holding up three fingers. - -"'Bueno! are they long or short?' - -"'Short, señor.' - -"There is, I know not why, a difference in the length of the Spanish -leagues, as many a time and oft we found on the long line of march. -After riding four or five miles further, and, being still uncertain, -on meeting another peasant driving a borrico (an ass), laden with -kid-skins of the mountain-wine, I inquired of him the distance from -Santarem on the Tagus. - -"'Five long leagues, señor,' he replied, displaying four fingers and -a thumb. - -"'Diable!' I muttered, and spurred on, for the sun had now sunk -behind the blue waving line of the western Sierra. - -"Near a roadside fountain I passed the bodies of three or four French -soldiers, who had been wounded in a recent encounter with the outlaws -of Julian Aviero, and had crawled there to quench their thirst and -die. They had been completely stripped by the Spaniards, and their -gory but honourable scars were blackening in the heat of the sultry -day. - -"On the velvet turf that bordered the road I softly drew up my horse, -on observing behind the pedestal of the fountain a villanous son of -Israel practising dental surgery, by robbing the jaws of the dead; -for the soldiers being generally young men, their teeth brought a -good price in the dentist shops of Paris and Madrid. I had -frequently heard of this revolting practice, but never till that -moment had ocular proof that such existed. - -"The operator was a man about forty, lean and hollow-visaged, with -the brow of a villain, the eyes of a snake, the nose of an eagle, and -beard like a cossacque; he was enveloped in a loose blue gown, and -his head was surmounted by a steeple-crowned sombrero, that had long -lost every trace of its original colour. Near him lay a square -mahogany box, like a pedlar's wallet, in which he carried his -instruments and stock of dental wares. - -"He was so busy with the relaxed jaws of a young soldier that he did -not perceive my approach. - -"You know how jealous we soldiers are of the treatment given to the -remains of our dead comrades. Maladetto! my blood boiled. Dashing -spurs into my horse, I plunged him right upon the dog of an -Israelite; a kick from a hoof laid bare his skull, and stretched him -prostrate on the earth. As he fell backwards I obtained a glimpse of -his wallet, which bristled with poniards and pistols, from which I -concluded him to be a robber of the living as well as of the dead; -and I soon discovered my conclusions to be just. - -"This rencontre occurred near a great olive wood, which was known to -be the haunt of Aviero; and I rode as fast as possible to leave it -behind before nightfall; but I had not gone half-a-mile from the -fountain, when a sharp rifle shot whistled from a grove of olives on -my right. My horse gave a snort of agony, and fell heavily forward, -stone dead. A bullet had pierced his brain. I disengaged myself -from the stirrups, and drew my sabre, but ere I could strike one blow -in my defence, a hundred hands were upon me, and I was a prisoner, in -the power of a band of savage frontier guerillas--half soldiers, half -robbers, and wholly demons. Diable! my life hung by a hair. - -"Some wore broad hats, embroidered jackets, and yellow scarfs, with -plush breeches; others had little other garment than their olive -skins, and wore their flowing hair of the deepest black, gathered in -netted cauls; but all were armed with rifles, daggers, and pistols, -or with all manner of military weapons gathered from the fields of -those battles which were every day fought in their vicinity. - -"Oh, Monsieur! what a moment of misery was that when I found myself -so completely at the mercy of those ruffian Spaniards, whom I equally -despised and abhorred. - -"Many a knife was drawn and many a blow struck at me; but in their -very fury and anxiety to destroy me these wretches retarded, impeded, -and wounded each other. - -"'Down with him! down with the Frenchman! Death to the Buonapartist! -Maladetto!' was the cry on every side. - -"'Caramba!' cried one in a voice of thunder, 'I will blow out the -brains of the first that injures him. Frenchman and dog as he is, -our laws must be respected. Away with him to the mountains, for Don -Julian d'Aviero must decide his fate.' - -"Aviero! my heart sunk; I was then quite in the power of the devil. - -"Amid a storm of growling and swearing, and even fisticuffs, I was -conducted through the wood, which was almost pathless and covered the -face of the Sierra by which we ascended, to an old and ruined villa, -belonging to the Duke of Aviero. It stood on the edge of a precipice -that overhung the Tagus, and there Don Julian had for the present -established his head-quarters. A recent attempt had been made, by a -detachment of ours, under Jacques Chataigneur, to dislodge him; these -had been repulsed with great slaughter; and on approaching the villa, -I could discern vivid traces of the conflict--traces which its -amiable and philosophical inmates cared not to trouble themselves as -yet in removing. - -"This noble residence of Don Julian's ancestors, with its marble -vestibule and stately portico, its frescoed chambers and arcades of -columns, round which the vine and the rose were clambering, had been -no way improved by his occupation thereof. A balustraded terrace -encircled it, and within and around it the dead French and guerillas -were lying across each other in scores--many of them yet grasping -their adversaries, just as they had fallen, without their hold -relaxing, or the fierce expression which distorted their features at -the hour of death passing away. - -"Many of these men were my comrades, grenadiers of the 23rd, whom I -could recognise, notwithstanding the alteration of their features. - -"In the assault and defence, the doors and windows of this beautiful -villa had all been blown to pieces; the walls were studded with -bullets and spattered with blood, which appeared to have run like a -rivulet down the staircase, to mingle with the waters of a shattered -jet d'eau in the vestibule. At the head of the stair a barricade had -been formed by a sideboard, a piano, and other furniture, wedged with -bolsters and pillows, and books; and this point of assault had been -fought for, like any breach in the glacis of Badajoz. Everywhere the -bills and axes of the pioneers had been at work; but Chataigneur had -been repulsed, and Don Julian remained impregnable and triumphant. - -"In a noble apartment, the windows of which overlooked the Tagus and -the vast plain that spread in its beauty towards the castle and city -of Torres Novas, the ramparts of which were tipped with the last -gleam of the set sun, Don Julian, with several of his desperadoes, -sat over their cups of country wine, muffled in their mantles, and -enjoying paper cigars, while their feet rested on a great copper -brassero of charcoal that stood in the centre of the marble floor. - -"Don Julian, a remarkably handsome young man, but with a bold, -reckless, and ferocious cast of features, received me with a low bow, -which I could perceive to be partly ironical. His jacket of green -velvet was richly brocaded and fastened with silver clasps; his -breast was displayed by an open shirt, and had a crucifix engraven on -it by gunpowder. He wore yellow breeches girt by a sash, red -stockings and abarcas; but had no weapons save his sabre. - -"When he addressed me, I expected to hear but my death warrant; judge -how agreeably I was surprised by his saying,-- - -"'Señor, though you are a Frenchman, and I might this moment put you -to death as an invader of Spain, and as a revenge in some sort for -the recent attempt made by your ruthless marshal on my residence -here, I know you to be the officer who spared the mansion of old Don -Juan Lerma, when empowered by your orders to destroy it. Don Juan is -the only man for whom a lingering feeling of humanity has left in my -breast an atom of regard, for he loved the old cavalier, my father, -well. Being anxious to requite to you the kindness so lately done to -him, and to prove whether his gratitude surpasses that of a robber, I -request that you will write to him from this, my Villa of Aviero, and -beg the ransom of one hundred dollars to free you from my troop, as I -question very much if the state of Massena's commissariat will enable -you to have so much loose cash about you.' - -"'You are right, señor; a hundred dollars! Diable! I never had so -much money at any time. But what if the cavalier Lerma refuses?' - -"'You must die.' - -"'Morbleu!' said I, shrugging my shoulders. - -"'Such is the law of capture to which we have bound ourselves, by -such oaths as men seldom hear. You will be accommodated with writing -materials; address a letter to the Cavalier Don Juan Lerma, and one -of my people will convey it immediately to the city of Santarem.' - -"Upon this, I wrote a hurried but anxious note to the old hidalgo, -begging him to consider the kindness I had done him, the danger by -which I was menaced, and pledging my honour to repay the hundred -duros out of my first prize money. This system of kidnapping and -extortion had become so common that, being doubtful of the answer, I -saw the messenger depart with an anxiety which I laboured in vain to -conceal by folding my arms and planting my feet on the brassero, by -smoking a cigar, sipping the Lisbon vino, and joining in the half -frivolous and wholly ruffian chit-chat of Don Julian and his squalid -myrmidons. - -"In the midst of this I was a little startled to find my -acquaintance, the Jew dentist, enter, with his box under his arm, a -bloody cloth encircling his head and half concealing his basilisk -eyes, which bent on me a demoniacal scowl of recognition; and I -discovered to my consternation that this worthy, in virtue of being a -greater fiend than his fellows, was no other than the lieutenant of -Julian d'Aviero. But, without seeming to observe me, he advanced to -the side of the latter, and whispered a few words in his ear. - -"'Ha,' said Don Julian, 'is it so? then our hellish compact must be -observed. I am sorry for the little paisana, but there is no remedy. -Hold, there, cammarados! bring in the prisoners of Santarem--the -potter Perez and the girl who was captured with him last night by our -worthy Teniente Isacco Zendono.' - -"'The girl is his sister,' growled the Jew robber, in husky Spanish, -as he threw off his blue gown and revealed his gaudy Spanish dress, -and sash bristling with pistols and knives, 'and a fair sample of -mother Eve's flesh she is--Bueno!' - -"'Curses blast you! bring them in, or'--and Julian, who always -assumed the blustering ruffian to his own people, grasped a pistol. - -"The lieutenant quitted his presence; but almost immediately -returned, dragging in a stout peasant about three or four and twenty -years of age. He had all the lofty air, the well-knit and erect -figure of those peasantry on frontiers where the Portuguese are -improved by intermarriage with the Spaniards. He wore a brown vest -with loose sleeves, and breeches of bright yellow cotton, tied about -the middle by a red silk scarf. His long raven hair was gathered in -a wide silk netting, and hung in a heavy mass upon his neck. His -hands were tightly pinioned by a cord, but he gazed about him with an -air of reckless defiance, which, however, failed to intimidate the -thieves, or to encourage his sister, a pretty-looking girl of -sixteen, or thereabout, who clung to his arm in the utmost terror. - -"Her coal-black hair was plaited somewhat after the fashion of the -Basque women, in two gigantic braids, and reached below the flounces -of her yellow skirt, which was short enough to expose, half-way up to -the knee, her very handsome legs, encased in bright scarlet stockings -which were elaborately covered with white braiding. Her little feet -and ankles were equipped with open cut abarcas, interlaced with -thongs of morocco leather, like the hose of your Highland soldiers. -Her teeth and lips were a miracle, and her terror made her dark eyes -glitter like diamonds. Ah! merci, monsieur, she was excessively -captivating, that little paisana. - -"Though such a little beauty is not uncommon in Spain, the robbers of -Don Julian gazed upon her with gloating eyes of evil admiration and -longing; many of them licked their huge blubber lips with grim and -grotesque glee, as if anticipating kisses; while the poor sinking -girl shrunk from their bold and villainous gaze, as she would have -done from the eyes of so many serpents or fiends. - -"'Teresa, hold up your head, my dear girl; do not droop before these -base ladrones, stained as they are by a thousand atrocities. Dios! -should innocence quail before guilt?' said the young peasant with a -fearlessness that at once gained him my sympathy and admiration; and -for a time I forgot my own troubles in those of the strangers. 'Be -bold of heart, my sweet sister! We are possessed of that which can -touch even the hearts of these bad men, and unlock the doors of their -prison-house.' - -"'You are mistaken in this idea, Señor Perez el Cantarero,' said Don -Julian, with a quiet sneer, while his band crowded round with -lowering brows and gloating eyes. 'Quite mistaken, allow me to -inform you. Your honest uncle, the abagado (O most honest lawyer of -Santarem!) has refused to ransom you. Our messenger, the very -reverend rabbi, Isacco Zendono, has come back just now empty-handed.' - -"The girl shrieked and hid her face in the bosom of her brother, who -gazed around him with a look of rage, astonishment, and stupefaction. - -"Isacco, the Jew, burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, in -which Don Julian and his comrades joined. - -"'Out upon ye, villains,' exclaimed Perez the potter, shaking his -clenched hand at them. - -"'O Perez, por amor de mi,' urged his sister, in a breathless voice. - -"'Teresa, my poor Teresa,' muttered the brother through his hard-set -teeth, 'I had doubts, dreadful doubts; but I expected not this. -Answer, Señor Don Julian d'Aviero, does this black-hearted slave of -Mammon, this villain of an abagado, forget that he retains in his -repositories the inheritance left us by old Gil Perez, the alcalde of -Santarem?' - -"'In truth, most blustering señor, most valiant cavalier of crocks -and cans, your father's honest brother has not forgotten that -important fact,' replied Julian d'Aviero, in his cool, dry way. 'The -abagado will act true to his trade, by deceiving those who trust him. -His trade! May the great Devil confound it, for it has stripped me -of as fair an heritage as ever came from a miserly sire to a -spendthrift son. Well, Señor Perez, in short, to possess himself of -your two thousand dollars, and practise a little profitable -conveyancing, your relative the lawyer has stoutly declined to ransom -you, saith our messenger, swearing by the bones of St. James, he -would not yield the hundredth part of a pezzo to save you from the -jaws of hell.' - -"'Be it so,' muttered Perez, between his clenched teeth; 'in the -world that is to come, he will meet with his reward.' - -"'Were it but to provoke the abagado, I would willingly set you free, -Señor Potter; but the laws of this free community say nay.' - -"'But my sister----' - -"'Has found no more favour than yourself. Santos! You are a strange -fellow, Señor Perez. Who the devil ever expects to find an apostle -in the carcase of an abagado?' - -"'Madre de Dios! my poor Teresa!' said the young man, folding his -sister to his breast; while she responded by an agony of grief and -terror, such as I had never before witnessed. - -"On her knees she bent before Julian d'Aviero, imploring him to spare -her only brother, and to slay her, if he pleased; but her piteous -cries and supplications, rendered yet more plaintive by the beautiful -language of Spain, were drowned by the brutal jests, and whoops, and -yells of the Portuguese robbers. - -"When the hubbub subsided, 'Señor Cantarero,' said Don Julian, in his -wonted cold and sarcastic manner, 'I have said that your ransoms are -refused.' - -"'And what then, Señor Ladrone?' asked the paisano sternly. - -"You must die--that is all," replied the captain, quietly knocking -the ashes from his fragrant cuba. - -"'Die!' - -"'Si, morir, Micer Perez el Cantarero,' said he, with an ironical bow. - -"''T is hard to die thus, and unrevenged,' said the peasant, looking -round as if for a weapon; 'but I am content, so that you release my -sister, and swear upon the crucifix that she shall receive no harm.' - -"At this demand there was another horrid laugh; and the Jew, turning -up his eyes, swore something in Hebrew at a request so unreasonable. - -"'Keep your mind quite at ease, Perez, amigo mio,' said Julian -d'Aviero, whose potations were now affecting his brain, and imparting -to his manner a strange mixture of ferocity and jocose cruelty--'do -not be alarmed; your sister shall not die. Maladetto! dost think we -have no taste or discrimination?' - -"'The Holy Virgin thank you!' said the potter, with an odd mixture of -fervour and ferocity; 'my dearest Teresa, will----' - -"'Fall to the lot of the fortunate rascal to whom the happy dice -assigns her,' said the Jew lieutenant of the gang, pushing forward -and jostling me, with such insolence that I had some difficulty in -keeping my hands from his throat. - -"'Hark you, Master Potter,' he continued, in his husky Spanish, which -I cannot imitate. 'We cast lots for the women we capture, if they be -young and handsome. The men we poniard, if they cannot ransom their -heads and hides, and then we bury them honourably in the chasm of the -Tagus. The bones of some stout fellows are bleaching there, so you -will find yourself in good company, I promise you I owe you a grudge -for the stroke your 'cajado' dealt on my pate yesterday, and so claim -the first blow to-day. Arrojarse, camarados! fall on!' - -"He unsheathed his poniard and grasped the potter by the collar of -his buckram doublet; but the descending blow was arrested by the -uplifted arms of Teresa, who hung upon the villanous dog of Israel -with the determination, if not with the strength, of a tigress, and -poured forth a succession of cries and threats, which astonished even -the intended assassin; then, sinking upon her knees, the winning girl -pressed the murderer's hideous paw to her beautiful lips, beseeching -him, in those accents to which a woman in deadly terror can alone -give utterance, to spare her brother, her Perez, her dear and only -brother, and she would become the servant, the slave, of the robber -for her whole life. - -"'Oh, spare my brother; spare him! O Señor Judio; O Señor Don -Julian, Caballeros, gracias, bandidos, por Nuestra Señora Santissima!' - -"'My slave? Demonios!' chuckled the ruffian Jew; 'that you may be at -all events, or I may make short work with you, and so disappoint some -honest fellow here. Off, off with you!' and he shook her from him -with so much violence, that on sinking to the floor, the blood gushed -from her mouth and nostrils. - -"The Jew again raised his dagger, but Perez, filled with fury at the -treatment of his sister, snapped, as if it had been a straw, the cord -that bound him, and, grappling with the athletic ruffian, dashed him -on the floor where he placed a foot upon his breast, and trod him -down as one would do a serpent. The blood of the potter was up; -grasping another by the sash, he hurled him back with such force that -the bandit was instantly slain; for, on staggering, his head came so -violently in contact with an angle of the wall, that in a moment his -brains were dashed out, and he presented a dreadful spectacle as he -lay, breathless and quivering, with his battered skull empty, as if -struck by a grapeshot, and his blood and brains forming an oozy pool -beside him. - -"Even the banditti seemed struck with horror for a moment, and a -stillness ensued. They glared at their dead comrade and at each -other, heedless of the groans and struggles of the half-stifled -Zendono. The voice of the girl was again heard supplicating, for I -had raised her up; and she implored me to save her brother, for he -had done no wrong, but shed blood only in his own defence, and now -remained motionless and terrified at his own temerity. The faint and -half-articulate voice of Teresa recalled the band from the spell -which, as I have said, their comrade's death had cast around them; -and simultaneously they rushed with their knives upon the poor -potter, and, pierced at once by innumerable and reiterated wounds, he -sunk lifeless among their feet; and long after the last vital spark -had fled, they continued to stab and slash, and otherwise mutilate -the corpse until its bloody garments hung about it in tatters. - -"'Tonnere!' thought I, 'if my friend the hidalgo has neither the cash -nor the inclination to ransom me, I shall be in a bad way.' - -"By order of Don Julian, who had watched this scene of butchery with -folded arms and an immovable aspect, the body was tossed over the -window, from whence I heard it falling heavily from rock to rock -before it reached the deep, dark water of a tributary of the Tagus, -that struggled through a chasm in the cliffs, two hundred feet below. - -"While the half-drunken banditti cursed and yelled like fiends, they -cast the dead body of their comrade after that of the unfortunate -potter, then wiped and sheathed their poniards; and all traces of the -horrible occurrence disappeared, save the red blood gouts upon the -floor, which these European Thugs never thought of cleansing; but -trampled to and fro among that frightful puddle as heedlessly as if -it had been so much spring water spilt by accident. - -"Teresa had swooned, and hung on my arm in a happy state of -insensibility. - -"Isacco Zendono, who had suffered severely in the melée, during his -prostrate position on the floor, now scrambled up, his heart burning -with fury, and his body smarting with pain. He was plastered with -the gore of the slain men; and its dripping from his sable beard and -matted hair no way improved his personal appearance, or increased the -benevolence of his features. - -"Growling at the weight of his comrades' heels, he demanded in a -stentorian voice that lots should be cast for possession of the -Señora Teresa; a proposition at once acceded to. - -"Dice were produced, and the beetle-browed banditti crowded round a -table, where they rattled and threw the dice in succession. - -"The Jew uttered a yell. - -"He had won! - -"Diable! how like a victorious fiend he seemed, as, with a shout of -villanous joy, he snatched the poor insensible victim from my arms, -and with his poniard menacing any man who dared to follow, bore her -off, bent double over his left arm, as easily as he would have done a -folded mantle. - -"Poor Teresa! she was so slight and young. - -"Monsieur, I am not quite such a bad or wild fellow as, perhaps, you -may think me; and I do assure you that I then felt my impetuous blood -tingling in every vein. I sprang after the dog Zendono, but was -restrained by the powerful and perhaps friendly arm of Don Julian -d'Aviero. - -"'Señor!' he exclaimed, in a whisper, 'are you mad? Remember your -life is at stake, and ponder well on the helplessness of your -condition among us.' - -"The truth of this came bitterly home to my heart; I gave the speaker -a fierce and reproachful glance, and folded my arms in silence. - -"My heart bled for the unhappy girl. - -* * * * * * - -"Frequently in that long and dreary night, when the mountain blast -howled drearily through the shattered villa of Aviero, and moaned in -the gorge through which the Tagus wound, I heard the cries and -lamentations of the miserable girl, and the oaths and revelry of -those to whom she was now abandoned. - -"Ere daybreak her cries had ceased. Mille Baionettes! they nearly -drove me mad. - -"What became of her I know not, as I never saw her again. - -"Next day, an old Padre of Santarem came with a message from the -hidalgo Don Juan Lerma, whose mansion I had spared. The priest had -volunteered on this errand of mercy, as no other man in Santarem -would venture within the reach of the terrible Aviero, to whom he -paid two hundred pillared dollars, and I was conducted to within a -few toises of the advanced sentinels of our out-piquets, by Don -Julian in person, and we bade each other adieu with a very good -grace, but without either tears or regret on my side, as may be well -assumed; and so ended my mal-adventure in the wood of Santarem." - ----------- - -The Captain St. Florian concluded his story. - -"Parbleu!" said he, "how dry my throat is with speaking so long, and -I dare say I have tired you to death. But let us have one more -bottle of Janette's champagne, and then we shall decamp soberly to -look for more adventures. But I must be cautious, being for guard at -the chateau to-morrow. You cannot mean to return to Lagny to-night?" - -"I must; and 't is high time we were off, Captain St. Florian; -besides, I see Janette is decidedly sleepy." - -"Ah! poor girl, yes." - -"My horse is at an hotel in a street leading from the Champ Elysées." - -"Ouf! a devil of a way from this. There is a church clock striking -five. Nombril de Belzebub, 't is morning!" - -We hurriedly rose to depart. Janette had fallen fast asleep in the -bar, and St. Florian kissed her brow as he passed and deposited the -reckoning in her lap. The portière of the cabaret let us out, and we -sallied through the street to find my hotel. - -At the chateau, as the Parisians name the palace, I bade adieu to the -captain, and getting forth my horse, rode off. - -The trumpets of the Austrian cavalry and the English drums were -ringing on the early morning wind, as the reveille roused the -soldiers of the allied host in their several camps and cantonments. - -The patrols of the gensd'armes were retiring to their quarters; the -sun was coming up in his glory, and ruddily in his morning light, -amid the morning smoke of Paris, shone the huge façade of Notre Dame, -and the burnished dome of the Hotel des Invalides. - -Paris, with its tented parks and guarded barriers, was left behind; -and I dashed at full gallop along the dusty road that under the -shadow of many a vine trellis, and many an apple bower, led to my -cantonments at Lagny on the Marne. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE MAJOR'S STORY. - -On the Colonel concluding, there arose a contention between our -surgeon, Mac Leechy, and the senior major, as to who should tell his -story first; for "the steam" was now fairly up; but the matter was -adjusted by seniority, like choice of quarters, or having the best -bed in a billet, and the right of first mounting a breach, and other -little contingencies of a military life. - -"I was once nearly hanged by Wellington," said the Doctor to tempt us -to listen; "for when I first joined the service, it was as an ensign, -though I had my diploma of M.D." - -"Hanged?" said Slingsby; "then you proved a King's bad bargain, -Doctor?" - -"Not half so bad as you, Jack," retorted our old medico; "but I'll -tell you in a few words how it came to pass. When our troops were -falling back from Quatre Bras, upon the village of Waterloo, on that -stormy 17th of June, which preceded the great battle, I was sent -forward with sixteen men of the Scots Brigade to take possession of -the principal inn as quarters for the Great Duke and his staff, and -to save the house from being plundered or forcibly seized by any one -else. We entered the village double-quick: I soon found the inn, and -after posting my sentinels in front and rear, preceded to investigate -(from motives of personal interest) the contents of the pantry before -the Duke arrived. In twenty minutes afterwards we heard -musket-shots; I rushed out of the kitchen (where I had been consoling -the terrified landlady, and deviling a drumstick,) to find my fellows -firing at the French tirailleurs, who were now at the end of the -village where they had lined a stone wall. We peppered them briskly; -but four of my men had just fallen, when a Belgian officer, all -covered with stars and lace, galloped up to me, crying, as he took -the road to Brussels, - -"'Fall back--fall back--Waterloo is surrounded, and you will be cut -off!' - -"I drew out my men and left the village double quick. At the other -end of it, I passed a mounted general officer with his staff, who -were sitting quietly and composed in their saddles; but he called to -me with a loud voice,-- - -"'Halt, sir--halt your men, and come here!' - -"I obeyed, and lowered the point of my sword. Oh, there was no -mistaking the keen grey eagle eyes, the high nose and white -neckcloth; the little blue cloak and brass sabre of this personage. -It was Wellington himself. - -"'In God's name, sirrah,' said he, fiercely, 'why have you abandoned -your post?' - -"'The village is surrounded----' - -"'It is not surrounded--a few sharpshooters fired a shot or two at -our cavalry, but they have been all killed or taken.' - -"'A Belgian officer-- - -"'Cowardice--rank cowardice,' said Wellington. 'and at a time like -this! Provost Marshal--where are the Provost Marshal and his guard? -A rope--get a rope, and hang this young fellow from the nearest tree.' - -"I was in deadly terror, for I was then a raw lad, and did not -perceive that this was, perhaps, only to frighten me; but at that -moment Sir Denis Pack dashed up with some intelligence which was of -more importance to Europe than the hanging of Ensign Mac Leechy, so -Wellington troubled himself no more about me; I shrunk away to pick -my half-devilled bone and to rejoin the Scots Brigade, who were -bivouacked in a field near the Brussels road. - -"Soon after Waterloo, I exchanged my ensign's commission for a -medical one, and have never since been in terror of being hanged by a -Provost, or shot by a court martial." - -"Tush," said the major, "I was once nearer being hanged than you, -doctor; for I was tried, and sentenced, and, moreover, only escaped -one noose to be caught by another--for I got my wife by it." - -Our major was a jolly and cozy old fellow, who was addicted to a -little flirtation with married dames of mature age, and to making -downright love to widows (if his good lady was absent), and -invariably opened the trenches by affecting to consider them the -sisters of their handsome daughters. He was a great favorite with us -all; but, being married, he never dined at mess, unless when -specially invited by some one. Thus we warmly welcomed our old -major's story, which he began without further preamble. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -"ESTELLA." - -"I entered the service," quoth the Major, "when the Peninsular War -was at its height, and my commission was signed by the first -gentleman in Europe, then Prince Regent; truly we had queer ideas of -what constituted a gentleman in those days, - - "'In my hot youth, when George III. was king.' - - -"I joined our first battalion in Spain, and had more than enough of -marching, fighting, and starving in the desolate province of -Estremadura, where Marshal Macdonald and General Foy never gave us a -moment to spare. I was wounded at La Nava, and at the storming of -Almarez. When I scrambled over the palisades, with my sword-arm in a -sling, I remember a voltigeur officer rushing upon me with his sabre -uplifted; but, on perceiving my wound, he lowered his weapon -gracefully in salute, and passed on to encounter another. We took -the garrison prisoners, blew up the works, and threw the guns into -the Tagus. At night, when we buried the dead, by flinging them into -their own trenches, I was shocked to perceive my generous and gallant -voltigeur among them--cold and stiff--slain by a shot in his heart, -and with his right hand still grasping the hilt of the same sabre -with which he had threatened and so chivalrously spared me. I was at -the defence of Alba, and with the covering army at Badajoz, and I -fought at Victoria, where our colonel, the gallant Cadogan, was -killed, and where we put up a statue to his memory; but so unlike -him, that I am sure if the good man ever looks at it out of Heaven, -he will never recognise himself. - -"We had always hard fighting, for I belonged to the light troops; and -so far as the head was concerned in those days, I was very well -adapted for that branch of the service. - -"My regiment, the Highland Light Infantry, belonged to the first -brigade of the second division of infantry (Sir Rowland Hill's), and -at the time when this little narrative opens was quartered at -Aranjuez, a small town of Toledo, about twenty miles south of Madrid, -on the left bank of the Tagus. Though we had been for some months in -quarters of refreshment on the Portuguese frontier, and had there -received several supplies of clothing, &c., from Britain, in -consequence of the rapid movements of the army, which, by turning the -positions on the Ebro and Douro, had driven back the French under -Joseph and Jourdan, making them to traverse the whole length of Spain -in one short month, and the incessant activity of the light troops, -my uniform was reduced to a mere mass of rags. My cap, a kind of -Highland bonnet, checquered, but without feathers (like that still -retained by the 71st and 74th Regiments), was worn into many holes, -and the rain came through upon my head. My epaulettes, or wings, -were reduced to black wire; my coatee, turned to purple and black, -was, like my Tartan trews, patched with cloth of every hue; my sash -had shrunk to a remnant; the pipeclay had long disappeared from my -shoulder-belt, and the sheath of my claymore was worn away until six -inches of the bare blade stuck through it And such was the general -appearance of the officers of our regiment, as, with our canvas -haversacks, our blankets and cloaks slung in our sashes, and carrying -wooden canteens, similar to those of the privates, we marched into -Aranjuez, and defiled, with pipes playing and drums beating, towards -the great summer palace of Philip II., which occupies a little island -formed by the Tagus and the Xarama, and is surrounded by the most -beautiful pleasure-grounds. - -"In one hand I carried my sword, in the other a ham, which I had -picked up when overhauling a French caisson. My lieutenant had a -small wine-skin, and my ensign a round loaf under his arm; thus, we, -the officers of the 1st company, looked forward, to what we deemed, -in those hard times, a sumptuous repast, on halting in the quadrangle -of the vast and silent palace, from which Joseph and his court had -fled but a few hours before, leaving behind many a sign of their -hasty departure. Here lay Turkey carpets half torn up; there, velvet -hangings but half torn down; in one room were bales of furniture, -ornaments, and plate, packed but abandoned; in another lay the -remains of a sumptuous feast, the wine was yet in the half-emptied -glass; the fork remained in the breast of the turkey; the ashes of a -large fire yet smouldered in the vast kitchen, and in each apartment -of these long and magnificent suites, which traverse the whole palace -of Philip II., were splendid Parisian clocks, with their gilt -pendulums yet wagging under crystal shades, and all remaining in -statu quo, just as the French fugitives had left them, on the -approach of our advanced guard. - -"We chose our apartment, seized utensils, and, after a bath in the -sandy Xarama to refresh us after our long and dusty march, we sat -down to a supper on my ham, the ensign's loaf, and the lieutenant's -skin of the country wine. Fresh from the royal gardens we took fruit -in abundance; for the season was summer, and the purple grape, the -golden apple, and the ruddier orange, with the ripe pomegranate, were -all to be had at arm's length from the tall, painted windows. Nor -were cigars wanting: for, when investigating the contents of a -certain press, I found several boxes, from which we supplied -ourselves, and gave the remainder to the men of our company, who were -solacing themselves in the adjacent apartments, and lounging on the -velvet sofas, down ottomans, and satin fauteuils, on which the fair -demoiselles of the usurper's court had sat but the day before. - -"The quarter-guards were set; the out-pickets had been posted in the -direction of the enemy; in the palace court, our ten pipes had -sounded for the tatoo, and, wearied to excess, we lay down, some on -beds, and some on benches, but many more on the hard floor, where we -slept soundly, and heedless of the advancing, the marching, and -skirmishing of the morrow; for we light troops had always our full -share of the latter. - -"I was in this luxurious state--for dry quarters, and a sound sleep -after a hearty meal, are great luxuries to the campaigner--when I was -shaken by the shoulder, and I heard the devilish voice of our -sergeant-major saying-- - -"'I beg your pardon, Captain ----; the first officer for duty is -required to take convalescents to the rear They march an hour before -daylight, and the adjutant sent me to warn you, sir, and say, the -piper will blow the rouse in twenty minutes.' - -"He retired, having delivered his orders; and then, as a pleasant -sequel to them, I heard the rain--the heavy rain of Castile, where -every drop is the size of a walnut--pattering on the long range of -palace windows which faced the east. No man ever left a warm down -bed more unwillingly than did I the hard tiled floor of the sala. I -rolled up my cloak and blanket, slung them with my haversack and -canteen, and then groped about for a small portmanteau which -contained all my goods and gear; and, without disturbing my two -comrades to bid them 'good-bye'--for, poor fellows! after so long a -march as that of yesterday, to have done so would have been positive -inhumanity--with half-closed eyes, I hurried along, stumbling over -the sleeping soldiers, muskets, knapsacks, and broken furniture with -which the vast halls and suites of chambers were encumbered. After -losing myself for a time in that famous apartment of mirrors, where -Godoy and the Queen were wont to perform fandangos, I reached the -bridge of Toledo, as it is named from the road which crosses it; and -there I found the convalescents assembling, in the dark of a cold and -rainy morning, for daylight was yet an hour distant, and I heard the -heavy drops battering the tarred canvas covers of the wretched -caissons, wherein the sick and wounded lay. I heard the rain also -lashing on the parapets of the bridge, and raising bubbles on the -rapid stream which swept below its arches. - -"There were not less than thirty waggons or bullock-cars filled by -officers alone, many of them sick, or suffering from diseases -produced by hardship and starvation; others from wounds, and the -amputation of legs and arms, by the stupid apothecaries' boys, who -composed almost wholly our medical staff in the Peninsula. In rags -and misery, almost shirtless and shoeless, they lay closely packed in -the caissons among a little straw; and one--the weakest and most -reduced--was the famous Irish assistant-surgeon, Maurice Quill, of -the 31st Regiment. I had one officer of the 1st Dragoon Guards, who, -being mad as a March hare, had an entire waggon to himself, and I -heard him bellowing like a wild bull, above the rushing rain and the -howling wind as I approached this mournful assemblage on the old -bridge of Toledo. - -"I received the lists and commissariat papers, &c., in the dark, from -the brigade-major, who carried a lantern under his cloak, and, in -bidding me adieu, bade me beware of Barba Roxa, or Red-bearded -Sancho, a thief, whose exploits were then making some noise in Toledo -and La Mancha. The few soldiers who accompanied me were also -convalescents, on their way home to be discharged, and, consequently, -were barely able to carry their arms. I had a French troop horse, -captured in the scramble at Arroyo del Molino, and by my side rode -the only effective man in the detachment, my orderly dragoon; who, -for the good service he rendered me by his inborn bravery and -fidelity, I shall ever remember with gratitude, Darby Crogan, a -private of the 4th, or Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, and when I say he -was every inch a true Irish soldier, further comment is needless. - -"Though we had enough and to spare of fighting, I own that it was -with no ordinary feeling of dissatisfaction I departed on this duty, -leaving my comrades to push on towards the south, to fight and win -the great battle of Vittoria, and drive the French from Spain; while -I had the foreknowledge that there was never an instance known of an -officer leaving the army, in charge of convalescents, without being -involved in the most serious quarrels with the Spanish authorities, -both civil and military. But there was no alternative for me; so, -muffling myself in my cloak, after sharing with Darby Crogan a glass -of brandy from a certain convenient flask, which hung at my -waist-belt, and after a good deal of galloping to and fro, swearing -at muleteers and bullock-drivers, the cars were put in motion, and -the march began just as the first streak of dawn glimmered dimly -above the distant sierras. - -"A company of Les Chasseurs Brittaniques (who, though French -deserters and ragamuffins of every kind, wore the red British -uniform), under a Captain H----, marched also for Ciudad Real, and -nearly at the same time, but were ordered to pursue a route apart -from mine, by Santa Cruz de la Zarza, and down the other side of the -mountains, by Corral de Almuguer and Madridejos. - -"The morning had broken clear and cloudless, when, passing through an -open tract of country, we reached Yepes, and the summer sun of -Castile came up in all his burning glory. I generally rode about -fifty yards in front of my party to avoid the incessant complaints -and cries of the sick and wounded, whose ailments or sores were -exasperated by the increasing heat and pitiless jolting of the -bullock-cars, which had neither springs nor iron axles. The day was -cloudless and scorching; the plain hot, dry, and dusty, all -vegetation being burned out of it. No breeze came from the distant -mountains; but a vast swarm of black flies, which floated like a -vapour about us, gave incredible annoyance. - -"A poor young officer (lieutenant in an English light cavalry -regiment) expired under the pain of his mortifying wounds and -accumulated sufferings. This event caused a temporary halt. By the -side of the mule-track, which crossed that arid plain, we hastily -made a little grave, about a foot deep, and laid him down, yet warm, -in his uniform, and coffinless. A little of the blood-stained straw -from the waggons was spread over his face, and then we covered him -up, heaping the dry dusty soil over him by our feet, by the butts of -muskets, and blades of bayonets, to keep the wolves from disturbing -his rest. Near this lonely grave there flowed a little fountain from -a rude stone duct, which had been made in the days of old, 'en tiempo -antique,' as a mule-driver told me. In twenty minutes after, we were -all again en route, with the mule-bells jangling and the wheels -jarring, as if nothing had happened; but his place in the waggon was -soon supplied, as every hour some of my convalescent guard became -unable to endure the weight of their trappings, and had to be placed -among the sick. Thus our progress was so slow that night was closing -before we entered La Guardia, a small town, about sixteen miles from -Aranjuez. - -"As we clambered and toiled up the rocky ridge which it crowns, on -the right bank of the Cedron, Crogan and I, who rode in front, were -surprised to find the little town almost deserted, and that a few of -the inhabitants who had lingered until we were close at hand, were -retiring from it on the other side, some on foot and others on mules, -but all bearing away their goods and chattels, beds and furniture. -Entering, we found it empty; and as there were neither alcalde nor -alguazils to go through the farce of distributing billets, we -quartered ourselves wherever we best could. After conveying all the -wounded from the waggons into the great convent (I carried Dr. Quill -on my back, for he was weak as a child), there we laid them, in rows, -on the tiled floors; and, after filling their canteens with water, -left them to warm themselves the best way they could, for we were -wearied almost to death by the slow loitering march of the past day, -under a scorching Castilian sun. - -"La Guardia is surrounded by a strong but ruinous fortified wall, -which was built in the olden time to defend the district from the -incursions of the Moors; and at each end it had a gate, whereon I -posted a guard of a corporal and three men; for as the whole country -swarmed with thieves and guerilla deserters, I knew not what picaros -might be lurking in the old gypsum quarries near the Cedron. - -"Darby Crogan and I took possession of a deserted house in the main -street. He lighted a fire, and being scarce of fuel, made pretty -free use of the doors and shutters, chairs and tables; and we broiled -on a ramrod, or boiled in a camp-kettle, our poor ration beef, -sprinkling it with flour, and eating it without salt, for that was a -commodity extremely scarce among us in Spain; hence, the flavour of -our commissariat beef, after being carried in a canvas haversack, on -a long day's march, under a burning sun, would have driven Soyer or -his majesty of Oude into fits. - -"We had scarcely concluded this miserable meal, which we shared -fraternally--for on service, though discipline is never forgotten, -the officer and private are more blended together, as real soldierly -sentiment replaces empty etiquette--when we were startled by the -report of two or three muskets in our immediate vicinity. - -"'Hollo!' said Crogan, springing to the door of the house, 'the inimy -'ill be on us before we can say peas!' - -"'Some guerillas, or picaros, or perhaps, Barba Roxa,' said I, -setting down my flask of aguardiente, to listen. - -"'Darby Roxy!--sure it 'ill be pleasant to meet a namesake.' - -"'Not if he beats up our quarters, when we are in so poor a condition -to resist any who might attempt it; and the watches and rings, &c., -of so many sick officers are booty enough for a few enterprising -Spaniards, who might try to knock the guard on the head. Look to our -pistols, Crogan; bring up the horses, and we will ride forth to -reconnoitre.' - -"'Right, yer honour--I'm the man,' replied the active Irishman, as he -looked to the priming of our pistols, loaded his carbine, and hurried -to the shed close by, where our horses were chewing their rations of -chopped straw; he saddled, and brought them to the door; and thus, in -three minutes, we were both mounted. Meanwhile, the guards at each -gate of the little town had turned out; and, leaving word to get the -whole party under arms in the street, accompanied by Crogan, I rode -at a rapid trot towards that direction in which the flashes had been -seen by our sentinels. - -"La Guardia lay buried in obscurity; the night was dark, and a thin -vapour veiled the stars; but no moon was visible, though at times a -red meteor flashed across the sky. As the warm night-wind passed -over the vast tracts of waste and untilled land, it was laden with -the rich aroma of those innumerable little plants like mignionette, -which flourish by the wayside in all the wild parts of Spain. - -"'Soft ground, sir,' said Crogan, as his horse stumbled among the -dry-scorched soil; 'by the holy! this is just like still-hunting, -only the bog, bad luck to it! is as dhry as a bone.' - -"'Hush!' said I, reining in my horse; 'do you not hear something?' - -"'By my troth I do,'replied Darby; and as he spoke, a musket flashed -about a quarter of a mile distant; and then we heard a faint cry, -like a woman's. - -"'There are no French in this neighbourhood,' said I, surprised. - -"'But plinty of thaves and robbers, sir; and a nice meetin' it 'id be -for us.' - -"'Forward!' said I; 'we must just take them, like our wives, Crogan, -for better or worse.' - -"'And, like the wives, a sorry takin' it may be for some of us,' said -Darby, with a reckless laugh, as we rode on in the dark; and reaching -the skirt of a cork wood, found a large Spanish coach, drawn by two -mules--such a turn-out as one might have met in those days on the -prados of Seville or Madrid--being ransacked by five or six ruffians, -armed with pistols, knives, and carbines. A man lay dead among the -long grass, near the trees; the mules were kicking and plunging in -the traces; and while one ruffian dragged out two ladies, the others -were cutting open and emptying their portmanteaus. I drew my a word. - -"'Make your horse rear, sir, the moment we are fired at,' cried -Crogan, who was a practised trooper--' 'twas by not doing so that -Corporal Lanigan, of ours, got a ball in his chest, at Talavera--his -first battle too.' - -"'Forward!' cried I, 'cut them down!' - -"'Whoop--hubaboo! this baste ov mine 'ud clear the rock of Cashel at -one spring!' exclaimed Crogan, who uttered an Irish yell, as we fell -suddenly on the marauders; and though we were but two to six, routed -them in a moment. Three shots were fired at us: I cut one fellow -across the hand, and severed his fingers, which grasped the barrel of -his musket; Darby stretched another among the grass, and, whether -scared by his Irish shout, our sudden onset, or the dread that there -were more of us, I know not but in a twinkling they had vanished into -the wood, and we sprang from our horses to assist the ladies. - -"'Ay de mi! señor oficial!' cried the younger, grasping me by the -left arm; 'a thousand prayers and thanks.' - -"'Ay! mi señor Caballero, muchias gracias,' added the elder, making a -stately, but profound curtsy to Crogan. - -"'Why, mam, you make a regular Irish dip,' said he, raising his hand -to the peak of his helmet 'But, sure you've dhropped something,' he -added, picking up a flask. 'Oh, it can't be this, at all--aggadenty, -the thafe! Hurroo! it's like raal Cork, but out of a bran-new cask.' - -"The old lady now turned to me, perceiving that I was the officer, -and prayed 'el santo de las santos,' and all the saints in heaven -might bless us, for our courageous and timely succour. - -"'We are on our way to Ciudad Real from Madridejos, and were attacked -in the wood. My señor escudero was shot, our outriders fled; and the -ladrones would undoubtedly have maltreated me--not that I cared for -myself, señor, but my dear little goddaughter--la nina--the child--la -nina Estella. It was all for her that I trembled'--and so forth. - -"By the moon, which glinted for a time through the hazy clouds, I -could perceive that the speaker was a middle-aged lady, very dark -complexioned; and, though not handsome, possessing a tolerably good, -even stately presence; and that her goddaughter, whose features were -blanched by terror, had fine dark Spanish eyes, and a graceful -figure, though somewhat undersized. - -"I begged of them to be no longer alarmed. - -"'Señoras,' said I, 'my detachment is at La Guardia, close at hand; -allow me to offer my escort to you, so far as Ciudad Real, for that, -also, is my destination.' - -"'We owe you a thousand thanks, señor oficial,' replied the gentle -voice of la nina Estella, who seemed to be somewhere about eighteen. -'Oh, I shall never forget that fellow's red beard! Madre de Dios, -what a size and colour it was!' - -"'O ho! then our friend was Sancho himself.' - -"'Ah, señor,' said the old lady, 'how happily we will avail ourselves -of your kind offer.' - -"'Good--I shall have pleasant companions for the remainder of this -most unpleasant journey,' thought I, beginning to repack the -half-rifled mails. - -"'We are travelling in great haste,' said the señora. 'Is your -detachment composed of horse or foot, caballero?' - -"'It partakes of both, señora; being thirty waggons of sick and -wounded.' - -"'Sick and wounded! O madre de Dios! 'tis quite a travelling -hospital; thirty waggons--a lazarretto--and I have lost my priceless -relic of St. Margarida the Scot. Oh, señor valaroso, we owe you a -million of favours, but will rather proceed alone. And here is this -rogue, Pedro, come back with his mule. Ah, false coward, to leave -your young mistress in such peril. I will have you well beaten when -we reach Ciudad Real; I will, sir. What would have become of us, but -for the miraculous arrival of the señor oficial?' - -"While I assisted the trembling Pedro to restrap the portmanteaus, -and put the mules in order, a colloquy was proceeding between Darby -Crogan, and the Spaniard whom he had levelled when the fray first -began. - -"'Silence, now,' I heard him say, while striking the butt of his -carbine to shake the priming; 'it will soon be all over wid ye; so -die aisy--do, and don't be bothering me.' - -"'Ay, por amor de Dios, Señor Inglese,' implored the Spaniard on his -knees. - -"'Señor Inglese, indeed!' said Darby, testily, as the aquardiente -mounted into his brain; 'is it an Englishman you'd call me, you -rascally Spaniard, and I, praise God! a dacent Irishman, like my -father and mother before me?' - -"'Ay de mi, Señor Dragone----' - -"'Dragon, is it, now! I have a name, Mr. Spaniard, as good as your -own, for lack of a better, and that is Darby Crogan, ould Widda -Crogan's boy, at the four cross roads, near the bog of ----; but what -am I prating about? To make a long story short, prepare for your -wooden surtoo, and make a clane breast you spalpeen of the earth, -you!' - -"'Come, come, Darby,' said I, 'let him go; he is only a poor rascal -of a Murcian.' - -"'It's only makin' game of him I am, your honour; but sure I am that -his being, as you say, a marchent won't make him feel dyin' a bit -more,' replied Darby, uncocking his carbine with an air of -discontent. 'Richly he desarves to die, for he fired his pistols at -me twice; the curse of Cromwell be on him!' - -"'Away now,' said I, pointing to the wood; 'vayan usted con Dios, or -demonic, if it suits you better; and see, villain, that we meet no -more!' - -"With a dark gleam in his eye the disarmed robber slunk away, and I -saw that his face, where not streaked with blood from Darby's sword -cut, was ghastly pale with hate, fear, and fury. - -"We placed the ladies in their antique caravan-looking coach; buckled -their baggage on the pyramidal top thereof; furnished Pedro and -another servant with the arms and ammunition of the two robbers; -promised to see the unfortunate escudero interred, a promise which we -never performed; and after escorting them some miles beyond the cork -wood, bade them adieu, receiving a pressing invitation to visit them -at Ciudad Real, 'where every one knew Donna Emerenciana de -Alcala-de-los-Gazules,' which name I give myself no small credit for -remembering. We then returned to La Guardia, and for a time thought -no more of the affair. - -"I had ordered the drum to be beaten before daylight, but it was not -until two hours after it that the whole of the sick and wounded were -again stowed into their waggons, and en route; for in the back-garden -of the convent we had to bury those whom we found dead. - -"Then again began that melancholy chorus of groans and cries of pain, -mingled with curses in English and Spanish, the cracking of whips, -and jingle of bells, as the obstinate mules and lazy bullocks, which -drew the rude cars, were urged to motion; and over wretched roads we -departed from La Guardia, towards the mountains. - -"Passing over the ground of the last night's adventure, Crogan picked -up something which glittered amongst the grass; it proved to be the -portrait of a young lady, in a veil, flowing over a high comb; and in -her well-arched eyebrows, fine dark eyes, roguish mouth, and -fascinating smile, I recognised Donna Estella. - -"'Bravo! a delightful souvenir of La Guardia,' said I; and, after -admiring it for a time, consigned it to my breast-pocket. 'Darby, I -will owe you a dollar for this when I draw on the paymaster.' I -gazed at it frequently on the march, and every time I did so ray -interest in the original increased (but bah! do not think I was fool -enough to fall in love with a mere miniature), and I resolved that if -she was to be found in Ciudad Real I would certainly discover and -visit her. - -"Again a black cloud of flies covered the whole of us; several cars -broke down; and such was the terrible nature of the road that one -fell entirely over a precipice, bullocks, wounded, and all; and then -so great was the delay occasioned by the various casualties, that -evening came on before we reached Mora, which is only ten miles from -La Guardia. So the reader may have some idea of the tedium of our -progress. - -"Mora I found also abandoned by its inhabitants, who fled at our -approach, carrying with them all provisions and everything else which -could be borne away. Many of the houses appeared to have been -recently burned, for flames were yet smouldering in three of them, -and in another two men were lying dead; one shot, the other -bayoneted. Being certain that there were no French in the -neighbourhood, or nearer than Burgos and Navarre, I was at a loss to -comprehend the source of this terror and outrage: but, influenced by -anxiety to be nearer Ciudad Real, and to have my defenceless -detachment disposed of for that night, I pushed on, in hope of -reaching a small village, which, as my 'route' indicated, lay about -ten miles further off. - -"Descending from Mora, we traversed a plain which lies between two -sierras that terminate at Porzuna, in La Mancha: and if our progress -was slow by day, it was slower still by night. The heat was yet -excessive; a thick impalpable dust floated about us; the air was -close and still; there was not a breath of wind. Our thirst was -intense, and a murmur of satisfaction arose from my mournful -cavalcade when the blackened sky, and the croaking of the frogs, -announced rain; and when it did come, it came in torrents. Then, -raising the covers of the waggons, the wretched patients thrust out -their pallid faces and trembling hands to catch the heavy drops. The -dusty plain soon became transformed into a sea of mud, and the poor -convalescent guard sank above their ankles at every step, while, -deeper still, the mules went above their fetlocks. - -"Anxious and impatient, accompanied by my orderly, I rode forward a -few miles, but failed to discover the said village; the whole -district was desolate, and being without a guide, I feared that we -had lost the way. On returning I found matters still worse; for, -taking advantage of my absence, the villanous Spaniards, by a -preconcerted arrangement, had simultaneously cut the traces of their -mules and bullocks, and (though my guard shot a few of them in the -attempt) had fled, leaving the sick and wounded to die in the -wilderness. - -"I cannot say whether anger or despair was my prevailing emotion; but -to be left thus, with three or four-and-twenty waggons (for their -number was now reduced), full of sick and dying men, among the -mountains of Toledo, without provisions, and without a medical -officer, was not very pleasant. Though the rain was still falling, -as it falls only in Spain (like one ceaseless and tremendous -shower-bath), Crogan and I departed at a gallop after the runaways, -but could only overtake one; and, as he would neither halt nor obey -us, we fired at him with our pistols, and, breaking his leg, left him -in the same condition he had left so many of our comrades. - -"Aware that not a moment should be lost in procuring a fresh team, we -turned in the direction of Toledo, and ascended the sierra, half -blinded by the rain which lashed in our faces, and, by swelling the -streams from the hills, was fast making the valley between them a -sheet of water - -"'A fine thing it will be, your honour,' said Crogan--'for I'm just -in the mood to be savage--if we fall in with the Rapparees that -rummaged over the ould lady, last night, and sacked Mora and La -Guardia.' - -"'Never mind, Darby, my boy, you will die in the bed "of honour" -then.' - -"'Divil a one of me cares--though, by my sowl,' he added, as our -horses plashed fetlock-deep in water, 'I would like that same bed of -yer honour's to be a dhry one.' - -"'So would I, Darby, but remember-- - - "'Why should we be melancholy, boys, - Whose business 'tis to----die?' - - -"'By the hokey! that ditty sounds very like as if the man that made -it, sir, had been up to his neck in a bog at the time. But there are -lights!' - -"'And the rain is abating, too.' - -"To be brief. After a ten miles' ride, we reached Almonacid de -Zorita, a small town of New Castile, where we roused the alcalde from -his bed. He summoned his alguazils, and they, after an infinite deal -of trouble, collected by impress all the cattle in the place, -amounting to about twenty mules, and as many bullocks. The alcalde -assisted us with ill-concealed reluctance, and told me that he and -the alcalde of Mora had that morning transmitted to the commandant at -Ciudad Real an account of certain outrages, and lawless impressment -of mules, committed by a British detachment, at Mora and La Guardia.' - -"'You must mistake, Señor Alcalde,' said I, angrily, for I was -drenched to the skin at the time; 'the only plunderers of La Guardia, -if I may judge from personal experience, are true Castilians.' - -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz shall judge,' said the alcalde, showing -us to the door. 'Adieu, señores.' - -"'Good-bye, old gentleman, and bad manners to you,' said Crogan, as -we leaped on our horses, and, recrossing the sierra reached the -waggons about daybreak: and though sleepless and exhausted, I was but -too happy when the new team was traced to them, and the whole were -once more on their way towards La Mancha. - -"Slowly and wearily we toiled on by the banks of the Algador, and -again crossing the mountains, near a lake into which it flows, -reached Guadalerza, all but overcome by heat and fatigue. I remember -that near the lake (which was literally alive with adders and small -snakes) there stood a solitary convent; and as we passed its walls, -the fair recluses waved their handkerchiefs from their narrow -gratings, with many a cry of 'viva los Inglesos,' so long as we were -within hearing. From Guadalerza, fortunately, the inhabitants had -not fled, and they answered promptly and readily the piteous cries of -our sufferers for water, which was supplied to them in crocks and -jars, that were filled and emptied as if to quell a conflagration. - -"The village of Fuentelfresno, which overlooks those sands from -whence the Guadiana is supposed to spring, was our next -halting-place, but its miserable and impoverished inhabitants were -totally unable to afford us rations of any kind; and there several of -the wounded, whose sabre-cuts or gun-shot wounds, by the jolting of -the waggons, had broken out afresh, expired. There were two officers -and four soldiers, whom we buried in one hole (alas! I cannot call it -a grave), under an old orange-tree, near the Jarama. Finding that it -was useless to halt in a place where we were in danger of starving, -we went further on, and bivouacked nine miles beyond it. near a -little runnel of spring water, on a fine green plain. The soundest -sleep that ever closed my eyes was enjoyed there, on that soft grassy -sward, beside my horse's heels; but I cannot omit to mention the -terror by which it was broken. - -"My charger snorted, reared, and tried madly to break away from the -peg to which I had picketted him. - -"I raised myself on inv elbow, and looked around me. The waggons -were all closely drawn up side by side: the escort were sleeping -among their piled arms, and, muffled in their great-coats, our four -sentinels stood motionless, about three hundred yards distant. The -moonlight was clear and beautiful. Suddenly something reared its -head close beside me; I shrunk under my blanket, and, lo! a frightful -snake, nearly fifteen feet long, passed over the whole bivouac, -hissing and gliding; but, fortunately, without biting any one, it -disappeared into a little thicket of laurels and underwood which grew -near us. - -"'Och, this Spain!--snakes, too--divil mend it!' I heard Crogan -muttering in his sleep; 'more ov it yet! and I have never had a raal -good potato down my throat since I came into it.' - -"Next day, the sun-burnt plains of La Mancha lay before us; but ere -the intense heat of noon, we reached Fernancaballero, in the partida -of Piedrabueno; and there (so exhausted were my soldiers, and so -terrible the complaints of the wounded), though my route permitted me -to tarry but one night, I was compelled to halt for two additional -days, an indulgence which nearly cost me my life. In the early -morning, when visiting the quarters of the sick and wounded, to -render them any assistance in my power before marching, I became -aware that a person was following me through the dark, muddy, and -unpaved streets of the mountain Puebla. - -"As a soldier, habitually cautious, and, as a campaigner, aware of -the Spanish character, I grasped the hilt of my Highland sword, and -walked watchfully on. - -"This man, by whom I had certainly been dogged and followed for some -time, was now joined by two others, and the three accompanied my -steps, remaining close behind. Crogan was looking after our horses, -and I had no other orderly or attendant; but resolving that if their -intentions were bad to anticipate them, I halted, and confronting the -trio, said, as if without suspicion.-- - -"'Señores, que hora es?' - -"'Son los quatro, Caballero,' replied one, gaping at me with surprise -on being so suddenly accosted; but I saw the ominous gleam of two -knives, as they were secretly drawn from the broad worsted sashes of -his companions, who skilfully endeavoured to conceal the act. Quick -as lightning, drawing a pistol from my belt, I fired a bullet right -at the head of one, whose enormous red beard the flash revealed to -me. The hall tore open his cheek, and carried away his left ear. -His comrade rushed upon me, but I received him by thrusting the -muzzle into his mouth, and hurling him furiously back. On this they -all took to flight; but not before I perceived that the wounded man -had his left hand swathed in a bandage. - -"'O ho, Señor Sancho, la Barba Roxa!' said I, recognising the robber -whom I had maimed at La Guardia; 'I thought your voice was not -unfamiliar to me.' - -"I hurried to the muster-place, in a frame of mind that struggled -between wrath at my narrow escape, and triumph at the victory I had -won; but, in ten minutes after, the drum beat, and, replacing the -sick in the waggons, we moved off. - -"Our march of fifteen miles from Fernancaballero we got rapidly over; -for Crogan and I having found no less than twenty-five mules grazing -near the Alzuer, which there flows through a fertile, plain, many of -them bridled, as if just abandoned by their riders, we yoked them to -the waggons, and entering Ciudad Real, the capital of La Mancha, -passed at a rapid pace through its broad, straight, and well-paved -streets, to the great Plaza, or principal square. - -"'The Lord be praised!' thought I, as the train halted, and I gave in -my papers to the Spanish town-major, Don José Gonzales y Llano, a -field-officer of that regiment of Leon, which fled, en masse, from -the field of Vittoria. 'My duty and my troubles are over together.' - -"But I was grievously mistaken, as I might have augured from the -manner of the town-major, who curled his mustaches, and shifted from -one foot to the other, like a man who has something unpleasant to -say, but dares not. - -"While the occupants of the waggons were being conveyed to hospital -by fatigue-parties of Spanish soldiers, and my guard joined a -detachment of convalescents, who, under another officer, were on -their march towards the castle of Belem. I soon became aware that I -was an object of marked attention to the denizens of Ciudad Real. A -vast crowd had gathered in the Plaza, and I saw many men, -particularly paisanos, gesticulating violently, and pointing to me, -while the muttering gradually rose into shouts of 'Maldetto! mueran -los Inglesos! Perro! ladrone! bandido!' - -"'What the devil is the meaning of all this?' thought I; and -indignantly pushed my horse right through them. On this the cries -redoubled, and the crowd increased so fast, that I was fain to ride -at a trot towards the house of a guantero (a maker of those gloves -for which Ciudad Real is famous throughout Spain), on whom I had been -billeted. There I found Darby Crogan awaiting me, breathless, -exasperated, and carbine in hand, for he, too, had been followed in -the same manner by a mob, who shouted, yelled, threw mud, stones, and -rotten melons, with every missile which the uncleaned streets so -readily afforded. We were perfectly at a loss to comprehend the -cause of treatment so unusual and so unmerited. - -"'El guantero, our patron, is as cross as two sticks, or a bag of -ould nails, devil mend him! and unless your honour has a coin about -you, it's but a cowld supper we'll have,' said Crogan, as we entered -the sala, or principal apartment of the house. - -"'I have not had a peseta since we left Mora,' said I; 'but here is -the patron at supper, on a cold fowl, too! we are just in time.' - -"'Sure he'll ask us to ate wid him--Och! for the smallest taste in -life!' sighed poor Darby, for our food had been principally roasted -castanos during the two previous days, so miserably was the Spanish -commissariat conducted. The patron was certainly at supper; but, -instead of welcoming us to his house as the deliverers of Spain, who -had driven the usurper from Torres Vedras to the Douro, from the -Douro to the Ebro, and from thence towards the Pyrenees, he barely -bestowed a bow upon us, and desired his servant to conduct me to one -room and Crogan to another. Amazed at the coldness of this reception -within, which corresponded so exactly with the ungenerous treatment -of the mob without, a storm of indignation gathered in my heart; but -being aware that a strong Spanish garrison occupied the citadel, and -that the Dons were lads who did not stand on trifles, I pocketed my -wrath and turned away, resolving on the morrow to discover Donna -Emerenciana and la nina Estella. - -"'Blue blazes!' grumbled Darby; 'are we not to have a ration of -something to-night? Lord, sir, you don't know how hungry I am, for -the two insides o' me are sticking together. I wish we had hould of -that darling pullet.' - -"'So do I, Crogan, and that the old guantero had hold of the horns of -the moon.' - -"'Wid his fingers well greased, the ould thief! Never mind, sir, -wait till they're all asleep, and if I lave a place unransacked, I am -not the boy of ould Widdy Crogan, at the four cross-roads.' - -"The sulky looks of the glover were reflected by those of his wife -and servant, a buxom Basque woman, who wore her coal-black hair -plaited into one long tail, which overhung her thick woollen -petticoat of bright yellow. Her stockings were scarlet; and I saw -Crogan squinting at her well-turned ankles, cased in their neat -leather abarcas, as she tripped before us, up the steep wooden stair -that led to my apartment. The brown-cheeked Basque bade us -'good-night,' in bad Spanish, set down the light, and on being told -that one room would do for the soldier and myself, withdrew. Crogan -placed a few chairs against the door, and near them lay down on the -floor, with his carbine loaded and half-cocked. Without undressing, -I threw myself on the bed, with my drawn sword beside me, for the -uproar still continued in the street; but long before its din had -died away, we were both buried in profound sleep--the deep and -dreamless slumber of long weariness and toil. - -"From this happy state I was aroused about midnight by a loud noise. -Sword in hand, I sprang up, and Darby's promise to overhaul the -patron's pantry flashed upon my mind. But, lo! a lantern glared into -my eyes; and I saw the brown uniforms, red facings, silver -epaulettes, bronzed features, and enormous mustaches of several -Spanish officers, who surrounded me with drawn swords. Among them I -recognised Don José Gonzalez y Llano, the town-major, by whose orders -I was roughly seized and disarmed. The lantern was held rudely -before my face, then to my belt-plate and the buttons of my coat. - -"'The seventy-first regimento infanteria de Escotos,' said one. - -"'La division de Don Roland Hill,' said another. - -"'Señores, what is the meaning of this intrusion, and how dare you -lay hands thus upon me?' - -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz de la Zarza will tell you that,' said the -little major, insolently. - -"'Then where is the marquis?' asked I, furiously. - -"'At his palace, where he waits you, and requires your presence,' -said a young officer, who wore the cross of St. James and the -splendid uniform of an Ayudante de Campo. 'Come with us, señor,' he -added, politely. 'I beg to assure you that resistance is worse than -useless; so permit me, for the present, to receive your sword.' - -"I handed the young aide-de-camp my belt and scabbard. - -"'Gentlemen, I beg you to remember that I am an officer bearing his -Britannic Majesty's commission.' And without saying more, I -accompanied them from the house of the glover, under escort of four -Spanish soldiers, who surrounded me with fixed bayonets. In silence -we traversed various streets, which were buried in darkness and -obscurity; and I saw nothing of Crogan (for I had been seized while -he was on his exploring expedition); yet though anxious and -perplexed, I maintained a haughty silence, and disdained to question -my conductors. - -"The bell of the cathedral tolled midnight as we entered the great -Plaza, and saw before us the stately palace of the marquis -brilliantly illuminated, for he was giving a magnificent fete in -honour of his patron saint, whose festival had occurred on the day -that had passed. From the lofty latticed windows, four-and-twenty -lines of variously-coloured light fell across the great Plaza of the -bull-fights, and shed their prismatic hues on its plashing fountains. -A flight of marble steps led us to the vestibule, where a Spanish -guard of honour was under arms, with fixed bayonets; and, passing -between their ranks, we ascended to the grand saloon of the palace. - -"In that magnificent apartment, decorated in the florid and -profusely-gilded style of Charles the Fifth's time, filled with a -deluge of light from crystal chandeliers, and over a slippery floor -of clear and tesselated marble, I was led by my conductors through -the glittering crowd of guests. On every hand I saw the brown -uniforms, red facings, and silver epaulettes of the Spanish line, the -blue and silver of the Portuguese, the green of the Cazadores, and -the black velvet suits of old-fashioned cavaliers, wearing the -crosses of St. James and of Calatrava. The ladies wore, almost -uniformly, dresses of black or white, but with a profusion of the -richest lace. Many of them looked like beautiful black-eyed brides, -for their brows were wreathed with flowers, or they had one fresh red -rose among their dark glossy hair, placed just beside the comb, from -which fell that sweeping veil which like a gauzy mist floated about -their superb figures. For years I had not looked on such a scene. - -"'Madre de Dios! what an officer!' 'O! Santos! that a British -officer!' 'Morte de Dios! he a cavalier!' were the exclamations in -every varying tone. I was led along the saloon; the music ceased in -the gilded gallery; the dancers paused, mingled, and crowded about -us; then reflecting that I had come straight from the camp and field, -where my comrades were facing danger and death for these same -Spaniards, I thought the exhibition made of me by the Major Don José -Gonzalez, of the regiment of Leon, alike scurvy and ungrateful. Our -division of the army had not received a farthing of pay for six -months at that time, and many a brave fellow fell at Vittoria and the -Pyrenees without receiving his hard-won arrears, which, more than -probably, his relations never obtained either. - -"I was in the same plight in which I had marched from Aranjuez; my -wings worn to black wire; coat purple, and patched with grey and blue -at the elbows; my Tartan trews a mass of darns; scabbard, as I have -said, six inches too short for the claymore; shoes all gone at the -toes; and my last shirt all gone too, save the wrists and collar. -But I was weatherbeaten as a smuggler; and I looked more like a -soldier than the pomatumed Dons of the Spanish line, or the Cavaliers -of Calatrava, who turned up their mustaches and muttered 'basta!' as -I passed them, to where the Marquis stood, with a lady leaning on his -arm. - -"Don Christoval, of Santa Cruz, was a tall, gaunt man, with a long -Castilian visage, black lack-lustre eyes, and a solemn air of lofty -pomposity. His mustaches were curled up to his ears. He had an -enormous basket-hilted toledo depending from a sling-belt, and -carried his handkerchief stuffed into the hilt thereof. He wore the -uniform of a Spanish lieutenant-general, and had various little gold -and silver ornaments sparkling on his breast. I was aware that a -graceful and bright-eyed young girl, in white lace, with her head -wreathed by a superb tiara of brilliants, leaned on his arm; but so -solemnly severe was the brow of the Marquis and so brief his -greeting, though in the old style of Castilian courtesy, that he -riveted my whole attention. Besides, I was not a little indignant at -the unceremonious manner in which I had been brought before him, and -made a spectacle to his guests. - -"'Señor Don Christoval,' said I, 'for what am I brought--I may say -dragged--hither from my billet, after a tedious march, and after -having duly delivered over my detachment, according to my orders from -head-quarters?' - -"'Señor official,' replied the Marquis, with a look of grave -severity, 'you are charged with murdering two Spaniards, carrying off -twenty mules from La Guardia, and levying other contributions in the -partida.' - -"'Who dare to be my accusers?' I asked, thunder-struck at such a -charge. - -"'The alcalde of La Guardia, whose brother is one of the slain; and -Alonzo Perez, a master-muleteer of Fuentelfresno, whose mules you -carried off.' - -"'Marquis, on my honour as a British officer and gentleman, I deny -this.' - -"The Marquis smiled coldly, as he replied,-- - -"'To-morrow we will confront you with the worthy alcalde; and as for -the mules, the owner recognised them this morning, drawing your -waggons into Ciudad Real. Each animal has a private notch in its -ears.' - -"'Marquis, I beg to assure you----' - -"'Sir--no more. Here I cannot listen to explanations. I might place -a guard over you, but nevertheless consider yourself a prisoner, and -believe that any attempt to escape will be deemed but a proof of -guilt. Retain your sword--partake of our hospitality; and I hope, -señor, that the morrow will find you prepared to refute these dark -charges.' - -"He waved his hand with such an air as a Castilian noble could alone -assume, and with a lofty gait strode away: then in his daughter, who -swept on by his side, for the first time I recognised the young lady -I had rescued at La Guardia, the original of the portrait Darby had -found, and which at that moment I had upon my person. - -"Her large dark eyes dilated with astonishment, and then sparkled -with the recognition, which the punctilio of the place or her -father's pride and severity, together with my tatterdemalion aspect, -prevented her avowing; and thus, though I had saved her life--yea, -more than her life--at the risk of my own, this dazzling creature -passed away and left me, without a word of thanks or courtesy. - -"I do not remember that I felt either the alarm, horror, or -astonishment that might be supposed consequent to an accusation so -startling as murder and marauding. I can only account for this by -the deadness of feeling and of all sense of danger which results from -actual service and warfare. But there was one emotion which I felt -deeply--an angry pride; aware that I was an object of aversion and -suspicion to the gay guests of the Marquis, among whom the fat and -ferocious little town-major made himself very conspicuous in laying -down the Spanish military law on the enormities I had committed. The -hidalgos gazed at me indignantly through their eye-glasses; the -dark-eyed donnas peeped timidly through the openings of their veils, -and 'matador, borrachio, Inglese ladrone,' were the gentlest of the -epithets I heard muttered by many a pretty lip. My heart swelled -with rage, and instead of joining the dancers, or aiding in the -onslaught made upon the viands which covered the long tables of an -adjoining saloon, between lofty epergnes and vases of crystal and -silver, filled with summer flowers, I stood aloof with folded arms, -and felt the smarting of a wound received but a few months -before--and that wound was received for Spain, and on Spanish ground! - -"At a little distance I saw the Donna Estella whispering to her -father's aide-de-camp. A minute afterwards he approached me. - -"'Señor,' said he, 'if you will pardon the advice of a friend, I -beseech you to retire to your quarters, for all here view you with -hostile eyes; and, as a brave soldier, to whom my little cousin owes -(as she has told me) her life, I cannot afford to see you thus -misused. To-morrow, I hope, will see these clouds dispelled; -meantime, allow me to accompany you. I have here a spare apartment, -to which you are welcome.' - -"All places were alike to me; I accepted his offer with gratitude; -and, as we descended to the vestibule, the first person I met was -honest Darby Crogan, with his sword under his arm, and his keen grey -Irish eyes sparkling with rage; and he pushed the laced lacqueys -right and left. - -"'I have heard it all, sir,' said the brave fellow, who had been -anxious about me; 'and mighty hard it will go wid you. It was all -the doin' of that capthin of the Chaseers Britaneeks, who came out of -his own route into ours, ransacked La Guardia, and carried off the -mules (bad cess to them!). They were found with us, and the owner is -ready to swear by this and by that, and by everything else, that you -are the man, and these are his mules, as he knows by the holes -punched in their ears, and to these holes he is as ready to swear as -to his own two eyes.' - -"'True, Darby; but how is all this to be explained to these hostile -and obstinate Spaniards?' - -"'Kape your mind aisy, sir; there are four good hours till daybreak -yet, and if I don't astonish them thaving Dons, I am not Darby Crogan -of the 4th Dragoon Guards.' - -"On the terrace of the palace, which had anciently been the -head-quarters of that celebrated fraternity, the Santa Hermandad, -founded in 1249 for the suppression of robbers, I walked to and fro -for half an hour with the aide-de-camp, enjoying a cigar, talking of -the war, my own mishap, and longing to ask a few questions about his -dark-eyed cousin, with whom her miniature had made me so intimately -acquainted. The glorious moon was rolling through an unclouded -Spanish sky, pouring a flood of silver light into the Plaza and court -of the palace, on the towers of the great church, and the magnificent -hospital of Cardinal Lorenzana, the good and wise Archbishop of -Toledo. The gardens of the Marquis were all lighted up by the same -white radiance; the foliage of the citron trees was edged with silver -and laden with perfume; the rose-trees hung their dewy blossoms over -the marble fountains, the clear waters of which plashed and sparkled -in the moonlight. After a pause, I ventured to ask-- - -"'What is the name of the--the Marquis's daughter?' - -"'My cousin--la nina--Estella de la Zarza.' - -"'A pretty one enough; and she is about to change it, I presume?' - -"'Change it!' reiterated the Ayudante de Campo, who did not perceive -that I was fishing for a certain information. 'Oh! I see--marriage. -She is about to marry, Corpo de Baccho! yes, but our Spanish ladies -do not change their names when they marry.' - -"'And who is the happy man--yourself, señor?' - -"'Nay, nay--we Catholics cannot marry our cousins. Next week she is -to wed old Don José Gonzalez.' - -"'What! that old beer-barrel, the town-major?' - -"'Si, señor,' replied he, twirling his mustaches, with a doubtful -look: while I felt that I was beginning to abhor that town-major -immeasurably. - -"About eight o'clock next morning I saw sixteen Spanish officers in -full uniform, with their swords and belts, preceded by the said Don -José, marching in file through the court of the palace, at the -side-door of which they entered. A few minutes afterwards my friend, -the aide-de-camp, came to acquaint me, that "the court-martial, by -which I was to be tried, was constituted, and awaited me." Without -any futile protestation against the illegality and rapidity of this -measure, I followed him to a spacious apartment, having four large -windows, which opened clown to the floor, and overlooked a grass park -which lay behind the palace. The members of the court, over which -the town-major (who, from the first, had constituted himself my -deadly enemy) presided, were solemnly sworn across their swords; they -promised to administer justice according to the laws of war, and so -forth, and then the prosecution proceeded. - -"I was charged with murdering, or causing to be shot, two peasants; -robbery, in levying contributions; blasphemous sacrilege, in -destroying a statue of the Blessed Virgin. My horizon was now black -as it could be! I knew very little of the language. Save Crogan, -who remained beside me in court, I had not a friend or a comrade near -me; for the whole of my guard had marched for Belem four hours -before, while Maurice Quill, and the other sick officers, could -neither defend nor succour me. I perceived in a moment, that, as -Crogan said, I had been accused of outrages committed by les -Chasseurs Britanniques (who wore scarlet uniform); but I resolved, -that unless matters went hard with myself, not to criminate their -officer, who, by leaving his own proper route, and relaxing his -discipline, had become guilty of the acts for which I was that day to -suffer. The three principal witnesses against me were, the alcalde, -the muleteer, and a farmer from the partida of La Guardia. - -"The first--old, stupid, half-blind, and obstinate--swore to my face -that I was the officer who had ordered his dear brother Vincentio, -the abogado, to be shot on his own threshold, and another man to be -bayoneted. In vain I drew his attention to the Highland cap of the -71st, and to my tartan trews, assuring him that I was an Escoto. He -shook his head--I wore a red coat--I was the very man! - -"Then came the muleteer, a sturdy Catalonian, clad in a fur jacket -and yellow cotton breeches, wearing a broad sombrero, under which his -black hair hung in a red net. He, too, swore across his knife, that -I had carried off his train of mules, or at least, that at the -bayonet's point, my soldiers had done so, to travel more at their -ease. - -"'He did not see me, neither did he then see any waggons of sick, but -he knew his mules as well as if he had been the father of them, the -moment they appeared in the streets of la Ciudad Real.' - -"'You will swear to your mules, hombre?' - -"'By the marks in their ears, Don José, as readily as I would swear -to my own nose.' - -"'Lead forward some of those mules to the window, and let the witness -see them.' - -"An uproar of voices was heard in the park, and the witness, who went -to the window, uttered a cry of dismay. The ears of his twenty mules -had been shred off close by the bone! - -"'Morte de Dios!' growled the officers, twirling their mustaches; -'these Inglesos are devils!' - -"'It was murtherin cruel for the poor bastes,' whispered Darby -Crogan; 'but it was all to save your honour's life I cropped them; -and sure it is worth a bushel of mules' ears; for it was a good -bushel ov 'em I buried this blessed morning. The Lord reward Misther -Quill, for it was his best docthor's knife he lint me, to make -croppies of them all.' - -"The little Major Don José was bursting with wrath. - -"'Call the next witness,' he exclaimed, furiously. - -"A tall, powerfully-formed, and fair-complexioned man, who, contrary -to the Spanish custom, was closely shaven, now came forward, and -stated himself to be a farmer, or jardinero, at Mora and La Guardia. -He had a large patch on his cheek, and kept one hand constantly -thrust into the red and yellow sash which girt his waist. - -"Confronting me boldly and vindictively, with all the glare of hate a -cold grey eye can pour, he accused me of destroying for firewood a -statue of the Virgin at Mora, and swore to having seen the act -committed. A growl of anger followed his evidence; and I found that -shooting an alcalde's brother, and carrying off twenty mules, were -mere jokes, compared to this. I was startled by his voice, which, -assuredly, I had heard before--but where? What could be the origin -of a charge so false, so strange, as sacrilege? I turned to question -him, but he was at that moment ordered to withdraw. - -"'Señor Ayudante de Campo,' said Don José, 'read from the -RECOPILACION of the military penalties the first article.' - -"'El que blasfamare el santo nombre de Dios, de la Vergén ó de los -Santos, será immediamente preso y castigado por la primero vez con -la,' &c. - -"'Read the fourth article, concerning outrage to divine images, for -the prisoner has been alike sacrilegious and blasphemous.' - -"'El que con irreverencia y deliberation cannocida de desprecio ajare -de obra las sagradas imagenes, ornamentos ó cualquierro de las casas -dedicados al Divino culto, ó las hurtare, servá ahorcado,' &c. - -"'The plot thickens,' thought I. - -"In short, they sentenced me to be hanged. - -"The Marquis, as Governor of Ciudad Heal, dared to confirm this -unjust sentence, which he directed should be put in execution in the -Plaza, at eight o'clock on the following morning. - -"Far, far from aid and my comrades; wholly at the mercy of men, whose -hearts the cunning charge of the last witness had totally closed -against me; aware of the futility of denial and defiance, and the -hopelessness of rescue or escape, I sat in a grated room of the -public carcel, or gaol, of the town, almost stupefied by the -suddenness, the shame, and opprobrium of my impending fate. 'Poets -and painters,' says a certain writer, 'have ever made the estate of a -man condemned to die one of their favourite themes of comment or -description.' By heavens! I never met one of either which came -within a thousand degrees of the agony I endured that night at Ciudad -Real. I, a gentleman, a soldier, bearing on my person three wounds, -won on that accursed Spanish soil; innocent of all they alleged; -young, with a long life and rapid promotion before me, to be cut off -thus--strangled like a garotted villain--hanged like a dog, to glut -the noonday frenzy of a Spanish rabble! Horrible! I had often faced -death without shrinking; but now, like a coward's, my whole soul -shrunk from such a death as that which these Spaniards meted out to -me. - -"The night came on: I sat in darkness, revolving a myriad futile -plans of escape. I was to die to-morrow, and that conviction seemed -palpably before me. I heard it, saw it, felt it; there was a dull -sound humming in my ears--a tingling in my heart. I recollected, -with remorse and shame, how coldly, calmly, and unmoved I had seen -the provost-marshal's guard hang six soldiers on the retreat from -Burgos. I remembered their struggles, their agonies, and wondered -how they felt. I passed a hand over my throat, compressed it a -little, and shuddered. - -"And now, in the man who had accused me of sacrilege, I suddenly -remembered Barba Roxa, the robber, and the hand I had maimed was that -which he retained in his sash. - -"'Fool! fool! that I am,' I exclaimed, bitterly; 'where were my eyes, -my ears, my faculties, that knew him not before? This is his -revenge--his Spaniard's triumph.' - -"Even my friend, the aide-de-camp, seemed to have abandoned me; and -could it be that the pretty daughter of the Marquis had not pleaded, -or said one kind word to save the poor officer who had so freely -risked his life for hers? - -"All at once my stupor left me. I sprang to the bars of the window, -and from their solid sockets, madly strove to wrench them with a -tiger's strength. I felt every corner; the vast iron lock of the -door, the door itself moveless as a wall of adamant. Vain, vain! I -was to die to-morrow, and my swollen heart almost burst with emotion, -when I thought of my friends, my family, and my regiment, all -canvassing the various causes of a death so ignominious. - -"A face appeared suddenly at the window, which was raised. - -"'Don't be alarmed, yer honour, it's only me,' said a voice. - -"'Crogan--you!' I exclaimed, in the confusion of my thoughts; 'are -you not dead--in heaven?' - -"'In heaven--the Lord forbid! I'm here, standing on my two feet, not -that I think people there stand on their heads; but don't be spakin' -in that doleful way, sir, at all, for you must prepare to lave this -place in less than no time. Do you hear the knockin' of hammers? -It's them thavin' Spaniards puttin' up the dancin' post in the -Plaza--blazes take that same!' - -"'Leave this! Crogan; but how?' - -"'By the door, to be sure. It will be opened in ten minutes; and -horses are waitin' for the three of us, I hope, at the corner of the -sthreet.' - -"'The three of us, Darby?' - -"'Ay, sir, just the three of us; for isn't there a darlin' young lady -goin', too?--but I must be afther lookin' to the girths and straps of -our cattle.' - -"He was scarcely gone when the door of the room opened, and the -daughter of the Marquis stood before me, together with a man bearing -a light; and in that man I recognised the under carcelero, or turnkey. - -"'Oh! señora,' I exclaimed, my heart bounding with gratitude and joy, -'you have not forgotten me--or abandoned me to this cruel and -unmerited death.' - -"'Hush, señor; not a word of thanks or of transport, for that would -spoil all,' she replied, with calmness and decision. 'I do, indeed, -owe you a debt of gratitude; but the mention of that to my father, -and more than all to Don José----' - -"'Ah, you shudder at that name.' - -"'Would but accelerate your fate. I have bribed the carcelero,' she -whispered, 'and he will sleep sound. His deputy is about to join the -guerillas of the great Don Julian Sanchez, and for twenty dollars -will guide you to Madrid, sent by my cousin, the ayudante; your -horses are waiting at the corner of the Plaza. No more,' she added, -shortly, when I attempted to kiss her hand, which the thick folds of -her ample veil concealed. - -"In a minute we had left the detested prison-house, and crossed the -garden which lay between it and the Plaza. Again the glorious moon -was rolling in its silver splendour over Ciudad Heal; and as I gazed -on my fair companion, the interest I felt for her returned vividly, -and became stronger, as the moment approached when I should leave her -for ever. I saw her magnificent eyes sparkling through her veil. - -"'Señora,' said I, with hesitation, as our attendant, by hurrying on -before, had left us for one instant alone--'Señora,' I continued, -urged by a kind, a grateful, and a stronger impulse than I could at -that time analyse, 'though to remain here is remaining but to die, I -leave Ciudad Real with the most sincere sorrow.' - -"'And why?' - -"'Because I may never see you again.' - -"'But I also am going to Madrid--and this night, too.' - -"I remembered the words of Crogan; I knew alia Spanish love was -capable of; my heart leaped within me. - -"'Madrid!' I reiterated. - -"'With you and your brave dragoon. Ah, señor, do not refuse to -escort me. My father is bent on marrying me to Don José----' - -"'What!--that rascally old town-major? My dear señora, I beg you not -to think of it.' - -"'Ah! I have thought a great deal of it, and wept for it too.' - -"'Then,' said I, drawing my breath more freely, end seeing a prospect -of vengeance on the pot-bellied major, 'you do not love him?' - -"'Oh no; I hate, abhor, detest him; and to avoid him, am about to -retire to Madrid, where my aunt lives. She is reverend mother at our -Lady of Attocha. You know the great convent where the little Jesus -is that works the miracles, and looks so beautiful, a love of an -infant, on the altar of the Hundred Lamps. My aunt will save me from -this detested union if you, señor, will but afford me your escort. I -am friendless,' she continued, weeping; 'for such is the terror of my -father's name that there is not a man in Ciudad Real whom I can -trust. Yet I shall confide in your goodness; indeed I am sure--I -know--I think, I may. The British officer has a high sense of -chivalry 'and honour, but Ay de mi! el Espanol no tiene nada.' - -"'Madam,' said I, touched to the heart by the compliment, and her -confiding nature, 'trust to me, and while life remains, by heaven, -and that honour, I will see you safely to Madrid.' - -"Crogan, with three saddle-horses, stood at the gate. We mounted, -the fair Estella springing on her jennet, à la cavalier, in the -fashion of Old Castile. We left Ciudad Heal by the northern gate, -and then put our horses to their mettle, as we avoided the direct -route to Madrid, and struck off into the mountains towards Carrion de -Calatrava. - -"I might spin my story beyond the limits allotted to me, but surely -it requires no conjuror to guess the sequel! The interest begun by -the miniature, so fortunately found, the charming society, -confidence, and generous spirit of the original strengthened and -confirmed. In four days we reached Madrid, in four more we were -married in the convent chapel of Attocha. - -"The Marquis sent the Major Don José expressly to Wellington, -requesting him to hang and behead me. His grace declined to accede, -but the name of Captain ----, of Les Chasseurs Britanniques, was -struck out of the army-list. My head is still safe on my shoulders, -though somewhat powdered by time. Thanks to his Grace of Richmond, I -have got my medal with eight clasps, and La Señora Estella (now known -by another name) is, though somewhat old like myself, one of the -dearest and most affectionate wives in the world, and I crave a -bumper in her honour, gentlemen." - -Such was the story of our worthy major, whose toast I need scarcely -say was drunk with enthusiasm. - -Our doctor was the next, and like every one who has a story to tell -he had listened with considerable impatience to the adventures of the -major, and the moment his toast had been duly honoured and silence -was restored, he began his tale without further preface, and was then -followed by our rough old Highland quartermaster. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -A LEGEND OF FIFE. - -I can only give you an old Scottish story of the last century, with -the incidents of which I became familiar in my student days when -attending the ancient university of St. Andrew's, where I worked my -way manfully through the classes of chemistry, anatomy, and natural -philosophy; and felt as proud of my academic gown as I have done in -later years of my red coat and epaulettes, and perhaps as happy, too, -for some of the most joyous days, and certainly the most uproarious -nights of my past life, have been spent in the auld East Neuk of -Fife--God bless it! - -And now for my legend. - -It was a cold night in the March of the year 1708. The hour of ten -had tolled from the old Gothic collegiate church; beating on his -drum, the drummer in the livery of the burgh had proceeded from the -Market-cross to the ruins of St. David's Castle, and from thence to -the chapel of St. Rufus, and having made one long roll or flourish at -the point from whence his peregrination began, he adjourned to the -"Thane of Fife" to procure a dram, while the good folks of Crail -composed themselves for the night, and the barring of doors and -windows announced that those who were within had resolved to make -themselves comfortable and secure, while those unfortunate wights -that were without were likely to remain so. - -Hollowly the German Sea was booming on the rocks of the harbour; and -from its hazy surface a cold east wind swept over the flat, bleak -coast of Crail; a star peeped at times between the flying clouds, and -even the moon looked forth once, but immediately veiled her face -again, as if one glance at the iron shore and barren scenery, -unenlivened by hedge or tree, were quite enough to prevent her from -looking again. - -The town-drummer had received his dram and withdrawn, and Master -Spiggot, the gudeman or landlord of the Thane of Fife, the principal -tavern, and only inn or hostel in the burgh, was taking a last view -of the main street, and considering the propriety of closing for the -night. It was broad, spacious, and is still overlooked by many a -tall and gable-ended mansion, whose antique and massive aspect -announces that, like other Fifeshire burghs before the Union in the -preceding year, it had seen better days. Indeed, the house then -occupied by Master Spiggot himself, and from which his sign bearing -the panoplied Thane at full gallop on a caparisoned steed, swung -creaking in the night wind, was one of those ancient edifices, and in -former days had belonged to the provost of the adjoining kirk: but -this was (as Spiggot said), "in the auld-warld times o' the -Papistrie." - -The gudeman shook his white head solemnly and sadly, as he looked -down the empty thoroughfare. - -"There was a time," he muttered, and paused. - -Silent and desolate as any in the ruins of Thebes, the street was -half covered with weeds and rank grass that grew between the stones, -and Spiggot could see them waving in the dim starlight. - -Crail is an out-of-the-way place. It is without thoroughfare and -without trade; few leave it and still fewer think of going there, for -there one feels as if on the very verge of society; for even by day, -there reigns a monastic gloom, a desertion, a melancholy, a uniform -and voiceless silence, broken only by the croak of the gleds and the -cawing of the clamorous gulls nestling on the old church tower, while -the sea booms incessantly as it rolls on the rocky beach. - -But there was a time when it was otherwise; when the hum of commerce -rose around its sculptured cross, and there was a daily bustle in the -chambers of its Town-hall, for there a portly provost and bailies -with a battalion of seventeen corpulent councillors sat solemnly -deliberating on the affairs of the burgh, and swelling with a -municipal importance that was felt throughout the whole East Neuk of -Fife; for, in those days, the bearded Russ and red-haired Dane, the -Norwayer and the Hollander, laden with merchandise, furled their -sails in that deserted harbour where now scarcely a fisherboat is -seen; for on Crail, as on all its sister towns along the coast, fell -surely and heavily that decay of trade which succeeded the Union in -1707. - -On the sad changes a year had brought about, Spiggot pondered sadly, -and was only roused from his dreamy mood by the sudden apparition of -a traveller on horseback standing before him; for so long and so soft -was the grass of the street that his approach had been unheard by the -dreamer, whose mind was wandering after the departed glories of the -East Neuk. - -"A cold night, landlord, for such I take you to be," said the -stranger, in a bold and cheerful voice, as he dismounted. - -"A cauld night and a dreary too," sighed poor Boniface, as he bowed, -and hastened to seize the stranger's bridle, and buckled it to a ring -at tha door-cheek; "but the sicht of a visitor does gude to my heart; -step in, sir. A warm posset that was simmering in the parlour for -myself is at your service, and I'll set the stall-boy to corn your -beast and stable it." - -"I thank you, gudeman; but for unharnessing it matters not, as I must -ride onward; but I will take the posset with thanks, for I am chilled -to death by my long ride along this misty coast." - -Spiggot looked intently at the traveller as he stooped, and entering -the low-arched door which was surmounted by an old monastic legend, -trod into the bar with a heavy clanking stride, for he was accoutred -with jack boots and gilded spurs. His rocquelaure was of scarlet -cloth, warmly furred, and the long curls of his Ramilies wig flowed -over it. His beaver was looped upon three sides with something of a -military air, and one long white feather that adorned it, floated -down his back, for the dew was heavy on it. He was a handsome man, -about forty years of age, well sunburned, with a keen dark eye, and -close-clipped moustache, which indicated that he had served in -foreign wars. He threw his hat and long jewelled rapier aside, and -on removing his rocquelaure, discovered a white velvet coat more -richly covered with lace than any that Spiggot had seen even in the -palmiest days of Crail. - -According to the fashion of Queen Anne's courtiers, it was without a -collar, to display the long white cravat of point d'Espagne, without -cuffs, and edged from top to bottom with broad bars of lace, clasps -and buttons of silver the whole length; being compressed at the waist -by a very ornamental belt, fastened by a large gold buckle. - -"Your honour canna think of riding on to-night," urged Boniface; "and -if a Crail-capon done just to perfection, and a stoup of the best -wine, at least, siccan wine as we get by the east seas, since that -vile incorporating Union----" - -"Vile and damnable! say I," interrupted the stranger. - -"True for ye, sir," said Spiggot, with a kindling eye; "but if these -puir viands can induce ye to partake of the hospitality of my puir -hostel, that like our gude burrowtoun is no just what it has been----" - -"Gudeman, 'tis impossible, for I must ride so soon as I have imbibed -thy posset." - -"As ye please, sir--your honour's will be done. Our guests are now, -even as the visits of angels, unco few and far between; and thus, -when one comes, we are loath to part with him. There is a deep -pitfall, and an ugly gulleyhole where the burn crosses the road at -the town-head, and if ye miss the path, the rocks by the beach are -steep, and in a night like this----" - -"Host of mine," laughed the traveller, "I know right well every rood -of the way, and by keeping to the left near the Auldlees may avoid -both the blackpit and the sea-beach." - -"Your honour kens the country hereawa, then?" said Spiggot with -surprise. - -"Of old, perhaps, I knew it as well as thee." - -The gudeman of the Thane scrutinised the traveller's face keenly, but -failed to recognise him, and until this moment, he thought that no -man in the East Neuk was unknown to him; but here his inspection was -at fault. - -"And hast thou no visitors with thee now, friend host?" he asked of -Spiggot. - -"One only, gude sir, who came here on a brown horse about nightfall. -He is an unco' foreign-looking man, but has been asking the way to -the castle o' Balcomie." - -"Ha! and thou didst tell of this plaguey pitfall, I warrant." - -"Assuredly, your honour, in kindness I did but hint of it." - -"And thereupon he stayed. Balcomie--indeed! and what manner of man -is he?" - -"By the corslet which he wears under his coat, and the jaunty cock of -his beaver, I would say he had been a soldier." - -"Good again--give him my most humble commendations, and ask him to -share thy boasted posset of wine with me." - -"What name did you say, sir?" - -"Thou inquisitive varlet, I said no name," replied the gentleman, -with a smile. "In these times men do not lightly give their names to -each other, when the land is swarming with Jacobite plotters and -government spies, disguised Jesuits, and Presbyterian tyrants. I may -be the Devil or the Pope, for all thou knowest." - -"Might ye no be the Pretender?" said Spiggot, with a sour smile. - -"Nay, I have a better travelling name than that; but say to this -gentleman that the Major of Marshal Orkney's Dragoons requests the -pleasure of sharing a stoup of wine with him." - -"Sir, it mattereth little whether you give your name or no," replied -the host bitterly; "for we are a' nameless now. Twelve months ago, -we were true Scottish men, but now----" - -"Our king is an exile--our crown is buried for ever, and our brave -soldiers are banished to far and foreign wars, while the grass is -growing green in the streets of our capital--ay, green as it is at -this hour in your burgh of Crail; but, hence to the stranger; yet say -not," added the traveller, bitterly and proudly, "that in his warmth -the Scottish cavalier has betrayed himself." - -While the speaker amused himself with examining a printed -proclamation concerning the "Tiend Commissioners and Transplantation -off Paroch Kirkis," which was pasted over the stone mantlepiece of -the bar, the landlord returned with the foreign gentleman's thanks, -and an invitation to his chamber, whither the Major immediately -repaired; following the host up a narrow stone spiral stair to a -snugly-wainscotted room, against the well-grated windows of which a -sudden shower was now beginning to patter. - -The foreigner, who was supping on a Crail-capon (in other words a -broiled haddock) and stoup of Bourdeaux wine, arose at their -entrance, and bowed with an air that was undisguisedly continental. -He was a man above six feet, with a long straight nose, over which -his dark eyebrows met and formed one unbroken line. He wore a suit -of green Genoese velvet, so richly laced that little of the cloth was -visible; a full-bottomed wig, and a small corslet of the brightest -steel (over which hung the ends of his cravat), as well as a pair of -silver-mounted cavalry pistols that lay on the table, together with -his unmistakable bearing, decided the Major of Orkney's that the -stranger was a brother of the sword. - -"Fair sir, little introduction is necessary between us, as, I -believe, we have both followed the drum in our time," said the Major, -shaking the curls of his Ramilies wig with the air of a man who has -decided on what he says. - -"I have served, Monsieur," replied the foreigner, "under Marlborough -and Eugene." - -"Ah! in French Flanders? Landlord--gudeman, harkee; a double stoup -of this wine; I have found a comrade to-night--be quick and put my -horse to stall, I will not ride hence for an hour or so. What -regiment, sir?" - -"I was first under Grouvestein in the Horse of Driesberg." - -"Then you were on the left of the second column at Ramilies--on that -glorious 12th of May," said the Major, drawing the high-backed chair -which the host handed him, and spreading out his legs before the -fire, which burned merrily in the basket grate on the hearth, "and -latterly----" - -"Under Wandenberg." - -"Ah! an old tyrannical dog." - -A dark cloud gathered on the stranger's lofty brow. - -"I belonged to the Earl of Orkney's Grey Dragoons," said the Major; -"and remember old Wandenberg making a bold charge in that brilliant -onfall when we passed the lines of Monsieur le Mareschal Villars at -Pont-a-Vendin, and pushed on to the plains of Lens." - -"That was before we invested Doway and Fort-Escharpe, where old -Albergotti so ably commanded ten thousand well-beaten soldiers." - -"And then Villars drew off from his position at sunset and encamped -on the plain before Arras." - -"Thou forgettest, comrade, that previously he took up a position in -rear of Escharpe." - -"True; but now I am right into the very melée of those old affairs, -and the mind carries one on like a rocket. Your health, sir--by the -way, I am still ignorant of your name." - -"I have such very particular reasons for concealing it in this -neighbourhood, that----" - -"Do not think me inquisitive; in these times men should not pry too -closely." - -"Monsieur will pardon me, I hope." - -"No apology is necessary, save from myself, for now my curiosity is -thoroughly and most impertinently whetted, to find a Frenchman in -this part of the world, here in this out-o'-the-way place, where no -one comes to, and no one goes from, on a bleak promontory of the -German Sea, the East Neuk of Fife." - -"Monsieur will again excuse me; but I have most particular business -with a gentleman in this neighbourhood; and having travelled all the -way from Paris, expressly to have it settled, I beg that I may be -excused the pain of prevarication. The circumstance of my having -served under the great Duke of Marlborough against my own king and -countrymen is sufficiently explained when I acquaint you, that I was -then a French Protestant refugee; but now, without changing my -religion, I have King Louis' gracious pardon and kind protection -extended to me." - -"And so you were with Wandenberg when his troopers made that daring -onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, and drove back the horse picquets of -Villars," said the Major, to lead the conversation from a point which -evidently seemed unpleasant to the stranger. "'T was sharp, short, -and decisive, as all cavalry affairs should be. You will of course -remember that unpleasant affair of Wandenberg's troopers who were -accused of permitting a French prisoner to escape. It caused a great -excitement in the British camp, where some condemned the dragoons, -others Van Wandenberg, and not a few our great Marlborough himself." - -"I did hear something of it," said the stranger in a low voice. - -"The prisoner whose escape was permitted was, I believe, the father -of the youths who captured him, a circumstance which might at least -have won them mercy----" - -"From the Baron!" - -"I forgot me; he was indeed merciless." - -"But as I left his dragoons, and indeed the army about that time, I -shall be glad to hear your account of the affair." - -"It is a very unpleasant story; the more so as I was somewhat -concerned in it myself," said the Major, slowly filling his -long-stemmed glass, and watching the white worm in its stalk, so -intently as he recalled all the circumstances he was about to relate, -that he did not observe the face of the French gentleman, which was -pale as death; and after a short pause, he began as follows:-- - -"In the onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, it happened that two young Frenchmen -who served as gentlemen volunteers with you in the dragoon regiment -of Van Wandenberg, had permitted--how, or why, I pretend not to -say--the escape of a certain prisoner of distinction. Some said he -was no other than M. le Mareschal Villars himself. They claimed a -court-martial, but the old baron, who was a savage-hearted Dutchman, -insisted that they should be given up unconditionally to his own -mercy, and in an evil moment of heedlessness or haste, Marlborough -consented, and sent me (I was his aide-de-camp) with a written order -to that effect, addressed to Colonel the Baron Van Wandenberg, whose -regiment of horse I met 'en route' for St. Venant, about nightfall on -a cold and snowy evening in the month of November. - -"Snow covered the whole country, which was all a dead level, and a -cold, leaden-coloured sky met the white horizon in one unbroken line, -save where the leafless poplars of some far-off village stood up, the -landmarks of the plain. In broad flakes the snow fell fast, and -directing their march by a distant spire, the Dutch troopers rode -slowly over the deepening fields. They were all muffled in dark blue -cloaks, on the capes of which the snow was freezing, while the breath -of the men and horses curled like steam in the thickening and -darkening air. - -"Muffled to the nose in a well-furred rocquelaure, with my wig tied -to keep the snow from its curls, and my hat flapped over my face, I -rode as fast as the deep snow would permit, and passing the rear of -the column where, moody and disarmed, the two poor French volunteers -were riding under care of an escort I spurred to the baron who rode -in front near the kettle drums, and delivered my order; as I did so, -recalling with sadness the anxious and wistful glance given me by the -prisoners as I passed them. - -"Wandenberg, who had no more shape than a huge hogshead, received the -dispatch with a growl of satisfaction. He would have bowed, but his -neck was too short. I cannot but laugh when I remember his strange -aspect. In form he looked nearly as broad as he was long, being -nearly eight feet in girth, and completely enveloped in a rough blue -rocquelaure, which imparted to his figure the roundness of a ball. -His face, reddened by skiedam and the frost, was glowing like -crimson, while the broad beaver hat that overshadowed it, and the -feathers with which the beaver was edged, were encrusted with the -snow that was rapidly forming a pyramid on its crown, imparting to -his whole aspect a drollery at which I could have laughed heartily, -had not his well-known acuteness and ferocity awed me into a becoming -gravity of demeanour; and delivering my dispatch with a tolerably -good grace, I reined back my horse to await any reply he might be -pleased to send the Duke. - -"His dull Dutch eyes glared with sudden anger and triumph, as he -folded the document, and surveyed the manacled prisoners. Thereafter -he seized his speaking trumpet, and thundered out,-- - -"'Ruyters--halt! form open column of troops, trot!' - -"It was done as rapidly as heavily-armed Dutchmen on fat slow horses -knee deep among snow could perform it, and then wheeling them into -line, he gave the orders-- - -"'Forward the flanks, form circle, sling musquetoons! trumpeters ride -to the centre and dismount.' - -"By these unexpected manoeuvres, I suddenly found myself inclosed in -a hollow circle of the Dutch horsemen, and thus, as it were, -compelled to become a spectator of the scene that ensued, though I -had his Grace of Marlborough's urgent orders to rejoin him without -delay on the road to Aire." - -"And--and you saw----" - -"Such a specimen of discipline as neither the devil nor De Martinet -ever dreamed of; but thoroughly Dutch, I warrant you. - -"I have said it was intensely cold, and that the night was closing; -but the whiteness of the snow that covered the vast plain, with the -broad red circle of the half-obscured moon that glimmered through the -fast-falling flakes, as it rose behind a distant spire, cast a dim -light upon the place where the Dutchmen halted. But deeming that -insufficient, Van Wandenberg ordered half-a-dozen torches to be -lighted, for his troopers always had such things with them, being -useful by night for various purposes; and hissing and sputtering in -the falling snow flakes, their lurid and fitful glare was thrown on -the close array of the Dutch dragoons, on their great cumbrous hats, -on the steeple crowns of which, I have said, the snow was gathering -in cones, and the pale features of the two prisoners, altogether -imparting a wild, unearthly, and terrible effect to the scene about -to be enacted on that wide and desolate moor. - -"By order of Van Wandenberg, three halberts were fixed into the -frozen earth, with their points bound together by a thong, after -which the dismounted trumpeters layed hands on one of the young -Frenchmen, whom they proceeded to strip of his coat and vest. - -"Disarmed and surrounded, aware of the utter futility of resistance, -the unfortunate volunteer offered none, but gazed wistfully and -imploringly at me, and sure I am, that in my lowering brow and -kindling eyes, he must have seen the storm that was gathering in my -heart. - -"'Dieu vous bénisse, Officier,' cried the Frenchman in a mournful -voice, while shuddering with cold and horror as he was stripped to -his shirt; 'save me from this foul disgrace, and my prayers--yea, my -life--shall be for ever at your disposal.' - -"'Good comrade,' said I, 'entreat me not, for here I am powerless.' - -"'Baron,' he exclaimed; 'I am a gentleman--a gentleman of old France, -and I dare thee to lay thy damnable scourge upon me.' - -"'Ach Gott; dare--do you say dare? ve vill zee,' laughed Van -Wandenberg, as the prisoner was dragged forward and about to be -forcibly trussed to the halberts by the trumpeters, when, animated to -the very verge of insanity, he suddenly freed himself, and rushing -like a madman upon the Baron, struck him from his horse by one blow -of his clenched hand. The horse snorted, the Dutch troopers opened -their saucer eyes wider still, as the great and corpulent mass fell -heavily among the deepening snow, and in an instant the foot of the -Frenchman was pressed upon his throat, while he exclaimed-- - -"'If I slay thee, thou hireling dog, as I have often slain thy -clodpated countryman in other days,' and the Frenchman laughed -fiercely, 'by St. Denis! I shall have one foeman less on this side -of Hell.' - -"'Gott in Himmel! ach! mein tuyvel! mein Gott!' gasped the Dutchman, -as he floundered beneath the heel of the vengeful and infuriated -Frenchman, who was determined on destroying him, till a blow from the -baton of an officer stretched him almost senseless among the snow, -where he was immediately grasped by the trumpeters, disrobed of his -last remaining garment, and bound strongly to the halberts. - -"Meanwhile the other prisoner had been pinioned and resolutely held -by his escort, otherwise he would undoubtedly have fallen also upon -Van Wandenberg, who, choking with a tempest of passion that was too -great to find utterance in words, had gathered up his rotund figure, -and with an agility wonderful in a man of his years and vast obesity, -so heavily armed, in a buff coat and jack boots ribbed with iron, a -heavy sword and cloak, clambered on the back of his horse, as a clown -would climb up a wall: and with a visage alternating between purple -and blue, by the effects of rage and strangulation, he surveyed the -prisoner for a moment in silence, and there gleamed in his piggish -grey eyes an expression of fury and pain, bitterness and triumph -combined, and he was only able to articulate one word-- - -"'Flog!' - -"On the handsome young Frenchman's dark curly hair, glistening with -the whitening snow that fell upon it, and on his tender skin -reddening in the frosty atmosphere, on the swelling muscles of his -athletic form, on a half healed sabre-wound, and on the lineaments of -a face that then expressed the extremity of mental agony, fell full -the wavering light of the uplifted torches. The Dutch, accustomed to -every species of extra-judicial cruelty by sea and land, looked on -with the most grave stolidity and apathetic indifference; while I -felt an astonishment and indignation that rapidly gave place to -undisguised horror. - -"'Flog!' - -"The other prisoner uttered a groan that seemed to come from his very -heart, and then covered his ears and eyes with his hands. Wielded by -a muscular trumpeter, an immense scourge of many-knotted cords was -brought down with one fell sweep on the white back of the victim, and -nine livid bars, each red, as if seared by a hot iron, rose under the -infliction, and again the terrible instrument was reared by the -trumpeter at the full stretch of his sinewy arm. - -"Monsieur will be aware, that until the late Revolution of 1688, this -kind of punishment was unknown here and elsewhere, save in Holland; -and though I have seen soldiers run the gauntlet, ride the mare, and -beaten by the martinets, I shall never oh, no! never forget the -sensation of horror with which this (to me) new punishment of the -poor Frenchman inspired me; and, sure I am, that our great Duke of -Marlborough could in no way have anticipated it. - -"Accustomed, as I have said, to every kind of cruel severity, unmoved -and stoically the Dutch looked on, with their grey, lacklustre eyes, -dull, unmeaning, and passionless in their stolidity, contrasting -strongly with the expression of startled horror depicted in the -strained eyeballs and bent brows of the victim's brother, when after -a time he dared to look on this revolting punishment. Save an -ill-repressed sob, or half-muttered interjection from the suffering -man, no other sound broke the stillness of the place, where a -thousand horsemen stood in close order, but the sputtering of the -torches in the red light of which our breaths were ascending like -steam. Yes! there was one other sound, and it was a horrible -one--the monotonous whiz of the scourge, as it cut the keen frosty -air and descended on the lacerated back of the fainting prisoner. -Sir, I see that my story disturbs you. - -"A corpulent Provost Mareschal, with a pair of enormous moustaches, -amid which the mouth of his meerschaum was inserted, stood by, -smoking with admirable coolness, and marking the time with his cane, -while a drummer tapped on his kettledrum, and four trumpeters had, -each in succession, given their twenty-five lashes and withdrawn; -twice had the knotted scourge been coagulated with blood, and twice -had it been washed in the snow which now rose high around the feet of -our champing and impatient horses; and now the fifth torturer -approached, but still the compressed lips and clammy tongue of the -proud Frenchman refused to implore mercy. His head was bowed down on -his breast, his body hung pendant from the cords that encircled his -swollen and livid wrists; his back from neck to waist was one mass of -lacerated flesh, on which the feathery snowflakes were melting; for -the agony he endured must have been like unto a stream of molten lead -pouring over him; but no groan, no entreaty escaped him, and still -the barbarous punishment proceeded. - -"I have remarked that there is no event too horrible or too sad to be -without a little of the ridiculous in it, and this was discernible -here. - -"One trumpeter, who appeared to have more humanity, or perhaps less -skill than his predecessors, and did not exert himself sufficiently, -was soundly beaten by the rattan of the trumpet-major, while the -latter was castigated by the Provost Mareschal, who, in turn for -remissness of duty, received sundry blows from the speaking-trumpet -of the Baron; so they were all laying soundly on each other for a -time." - -"Morbleu!" said the Frenchman, with a grim smile, "'t was quite in -the Dutch taste, that." - -"The Provost Mareschal continued to mark the time with the listless -apathy of an automaton; the smoke curled from his meerschaum, the -drum continued to tap-tap-tap, until it seemed to sound like thunder -to my strained ears, for every sense was painfully excited. All -count had long been lost, but when several hundred lashes had been -given, Van Wandenberg and half his Dutchmen were asleep in their -saddles. - -"It was now snowing thick and fast, but still this hideous dream -continued, and still the scourging went on. - -"At last the altered sound of the lash and the terrible aspect of the -victim, who, after giving one or two convulsive shudders, threw back -his head with glazed eyes and jaw relaxed, caused the trumpeter to -recede a pace or two, and throw down his gory scourge, for some -lingering sentiment of humanity, which even the Dutch discipline of -King William had not extinguished, made him respect when dead the man -whom he had dishonoured when alive. - -"The young Frenchman was dead! - -"An exclamation of disgust and indignation that escaped me woke up -the Baron, who after drinking deeply from a great pewter flask of -skiedam that hung at his saddlebow, muttered "schelms" several times, -rubbed his eyes, and then bellowed through his trumpet to bind up the -other prisoner. Human endurance could stand this no more, and though -I deemed the offer vain, I proposed to give a hundred English guineas -as ransom. - -"'Ach Gott!' said the greedy Hollander immediately becoming -interested; "but vere you get zo mosh guilder?' - -"'Oh, readily, Mynheer Baron,' I replied, drawing forth my -pocket-book, 'I have here bills on his Grace the Duke of -Maryborough's paymaster and on the Bank of Amsterdam for much more -than that.' - -"'Bot I cannot led off de brisoner for zo little--hunder ponds--dat -ver small--zay two.' - -"If one is not enough, Mynheer Baron, I will refer to the decision of -his grace the captain-general.' - -"'Ach, der tuyvel! vill you?' said the Dutchman, with a savage gleam -in his little eyes which showed that he quite understood my hint, -'vell, me vont quarrel vid you; gib me de bills and de schelm is -yours.' - -"Resolving, nevertheless, to lay the whole affair before Marlborough, -the moment I reached our trenches at Aire, I gave a bill for the -required sum, and approaching the other Frenchman requested him to -remain beside me; but he seemed too much confused by grief, and cold, -and horror to comprehend what I said. Poor fellow! his whole soul -and sympathies seemed absorbed in the mangled corpse of his brother, -which was now unbound from the halberts and lay half sunk among the -new-fallen snow. While he stooped over it, and hastily, but -tenderly, proceeded to draw the half-frozen clothing upon the -stiffened form, the orders of Van Wandenberg were heard hoarsely -through his speaking-trumpet, as they rang over the desolate plain, -and his troopers wheeled back from a circle into line--from line into -open column of troops, and thereafter the torches were extinguished -and the march begun. Slowly and solemnly the dragoons glided away -into the darkness, each with a pyramid of snow rising from the -steeple crown and ample brims of his broad beaver hat. - -"It was now almost midnight; the red moon had waned, the snow-storm -was increasing, and there were I and the young Frenchman, with his -brother's corpse, left together on the wide plain, without a place to -shelter us." - -"Proceed, Monsieur," said the Frenchman, as the narrator paused; "for -I am well aware that your story ends not there." - -"It does not--you seem interested; but I have little more to relate, -save that I dismounted and assisted the poor Frenchman to raise the -body from the snow, and to tie it across the saddle of my horse, -taking the bridle in one hand, I supported him with the other, and -thus we proceeded to the nearest town." - -"To Amientieres on the Lys," exclaimed the Frenchman, seizing the -hands of the Major as the latter paused again; "to Armentieres, ten -miles west of Lisle, and there you left them, after adding to your -generosity by bestowing sufficient to inter his brother in the -Protestant church of that town, and to convey himself to his native -France. Oh! Monsieur, I am that Frenchman, and here, from my heart, -from my soul, I thank you," and half kneeling, the stranger kissed -the hand of the Major. - -"You!" exclaimed the latter; "by Jove I am right glad to see you. -Here at Crail, too, in the East Neuk o' Fife--'t is a strange chance; -and what in heaven's name seek ye here? 'T is a perilous time for a -foreigner--still more, a Frenchman, to tread on Scottish ground. The -war, the intrigues with St. Germains, the Popish plots, and the devil -only knows what more, make travelling here more than a little -dangerous." - -"Monsieur, I know all that; the days are changed since the Scot was -at home in France, and the Frenchman at home in Scotland, for so the -old laws of Stuart and Bourbon made them. A few words will tell who -I am, and what I seek here. Excuse my reluctance to reveal myself -before, for now you have a claim upon me. Oh! believe me, I knew not -that I addressed the generous chevalier who, in that hour of despair, -redeemed my life (and more than my life), my honour, from the -scourge, and enabled me to lay the head of my poor brother with -reverence in the grave. You have heard of M. Henri Lemercier?" - -"What! the great swordsman and fencer--that noble master of the -science of defence, with the fame of whose skill and valour all -Europe is ringing?" - -"I am he of whom Monsieur is pleased to speak so highly." - -"Your hand again, sir; zounds; but I dearly love this gallant science -myself, and have even won me a little name as a handler of the -rapier. There is but one man whom Europe calls your equal, Monsieur -Lemercier." - -"My superior, you mean, for I have many equals," replied the -Frenchman, modestly. "You, doubtless, mean----" - -"Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun." - -"Ah! Mon Dieu, yes, he has indeed a great name in Europe as a fencer -and master of arms, either with double or single falchion, case of -falchions, back-sword and dagger, pistol or quarter staff; and it is -the fame of his skill and prowess in these weapons, and the -reputation he has earned by his books on fencing, that hath brought -me to-day to this remote part of Scotland." - -"Zounds!" said the Major, shaking back the long powdered curls of his -Ramilies wig, and looking remarkably grave; "you cannot mean to have -a bout with Sir William. He hath a sure hand and a steady eye; I -would rather stand a platoon than be once covered by his pistol." - -"Monsieur, I have no enmity to this Sir William Hope, nor am I -envious of his great name as a fencer. Ma foi! the world is quite -wide enough for us both; but here lies my secret. I love -Mademoiselle Athalie, the niece of Madame de Livry----" - -"How--the old flame of the great Louis!" - -"Oui," said Lemercier, smiling; "and many say that Athalie bears a -somewhat suspicious resemblance to her aunt's royal lover; but that -is no business of mine; she loves me very dearly, and is very good -and amiable. Diable! I am well content to take her and her thirty -thousand louis-d'or without making any troublesome inquiries. It -would seem that my dear little Athalie is immensely vain of my -reputation as a master of fence, and having heard that this Scottish -Chevalier is esteemed the first man of the sword in Britain, and -further, that report asserts he slew her brother in the line of -battle at Blenheim, fighting bravely for a standard, she declared -that ere her hand was mine, I must measure swords with this Sir -William, and dip this, her handkerchief, in his blood in token of his -defeat, and of my conquest." - -"A very pretty idea of Mademoiselle Athalie, and I doubt not Hopetoun -will be overwhelmed by the obligation when he hears of it," said the -Major of Orkney's, whose face brightened with a broad laugh, "and so -much would I love to see two such brisk fellows as thou and he yoked -together, at cut-and-thrust, that if permitted, I will rejoice in -bearing the message of M. Lemercier to Sir William, whose Castle of -Balcomie is close by here." - -"Having no friend with me, I accept your offer with a thousand -thanks," said Lemercier. - -"Sir William did indeed slay an officer, as you have said, in that -charge at Blenheim, where the regiment of the Marquis de Livry were -cut to pieces by Orkney's Scots' Greys; but to be so good and -amiable, and to love you so much withal, Mademoiselle Athalie must be -a brisk dame to urge her favoured Chevalier on a venture so -desperate; for mark me, Monsieur Lemercier," said the Major, -impressively, "none can know better than I the skill--the long and -carefully-studied skill--of Sir William of Hopetoun, and permit me to -warn you----" - -"It matters not--I must fight him; love, honour, and rivalry, too, if -you will have it so, all spur me on, and no time must be lost." - -"Enough; I should have been in my stirrups an hour ago; and dark -though the night be, I will ride to Balcomie with your message." - -"A million of thanks--you will choose time and place for me." - -"Say, to-morrow, at sunrise; be thou at the Standing-stone of -Sauchope; 't is a tall, rough block, in the fields near the Castle of -Balcomie, and doubt not but Sir William will meet thee there." - -"Thanks, thanks," again said the Frenchman, pressing the hand of the -Major, who, apparently delighted at the prospect of witnessing such -an encounter between the two most renowned swordsmen in Europe, drank -off his stoup of wine, muffled himself in his rocquelaure, and with -his little cocked hat stuck jauntily on one side of the Ramilies wig, -left the apartment, and demanded his horse and the reckoning. - -"Then your honour will be fulehardy, and tempt Providence," said the -landlord. - -"Nay, gudeman, but you cannot tempt me to stay just now. I ride only -through the town to Balcomie, and will return anon. The Hopetoun -family are there, I believe?" - -"Yes; but saving my lady at the preachings, we see little o' them; -for Sir William has bidden at Edinburgh, or elsewhere, since his -English gold coft the auld tower from the Balcomies of that Ilk, the -year before the weary Union, devil mend it!" - -"Amen, say I; and what callest thou English gold?" - -"The doolfu' compensation, o' whilk men say he had his share." - -"Man, thou liest, and they who say so lie! for to the last moment his -voice was raised against that traitorous measure of Queensbury and -Stair, and now every energy of his soul is bent to its undoing!" -replied the Major, fiercely, as he put spurs to his horse, and rode -rapidly down the dark and then grassy street, at the end of which the -clank of his horse's hoofs died away, as he diverged upon the open -ground that lay northward of the town, and by which he had to -approach the tower of Balcomie. - -The Frenchman remained long buried in thought, and as he sipped his -wine, gazed dreamily on the changing embers that glowed on the -hearth, and cast a warm light on the blue delft lining of the -fireplace. The reminiscences of the war in Flanders had called up -many a sad and many a bitter recollection. - -"I would rather," thought he, "that the man I am to encounter -to-morrow was not a Scot, for the kindness of to-night, and of that -terrible night in the snow-clad plain of Arras, inspire me with a -warm love for all the people of this land. But my promise must be -redeemed, my adventure achieved, or thou, my dear, my rash Athalie, -art lost to me!" and he paused to gaze with earnestness upon a jewel -that glittered on his hand. It was a hair ring, bound with gold, and -a little shield bearing initials, clasped the small brown tress that -was so ingeniously woven round it. - -As he gazed on the trinket, his full dark eyes brightened for a -moment, as the mild memories of love and fondness rose in his heart, -and a bright smile played upon his haughty lip and lofty brow. Other -thoughts arose, and the eyebrows that almost met over the straight -Grecian nose of Lemercier, were knit as he recalled the ominous words -of his recent acquaintance-- - -"Mademoiselle Athalie must be a brisk dame to urge her favoured -Chevalier on a venture so desperate." - -One bitter pang shot through his heart, but he thrust the thought -aside, and pressed the ring to his lips. - -"Oh, Athalie," he said, in a low voice, "I were worse than a villain -to suspect thee." - -At that moment midnight tolled from the dull old bell of Crail, and -the strangeness of the sound brought keenly home to the lonely heart -of Lemercier that he was in a foreign land. - -The hour passed, but the Major did not return. - -Morning came. - -With gray dawn Lemercier was awake, and a few minutes found him -dressed and ready. He attired himself with particular care, putting -on a coat and vest, the embroidery of which presented as few -conspicuous marks as possible to an antagonist's eye. He clasped his -coat from the cravat to the waist, and compressed his embroidered -belt. He adjusted his white silk roll-up stockings with great -exactness; tied up the flowing curls of his wig with a white ribbon, -placed a scarlet feather in his hat, and then took his sword. The -edge and point of the blade, the shell and pommel, grasp and guard of -the hilt were all examined with scrupulous care for the last time; he -drew on his gloves with care, and giving to the landlord the -reckoning, which he might never return to pay, Lemercier called for -his horse and rode through the main street of Crail. - -Following the directions he had received from his host, he hastily -quitted the deserted and grass-grown street of the burgh (the very -aspect of which he feared would chill him), and proceeded towards the -ancient obelisk, still known as the "Standing Stone of Sauchope," -which had been named as the place of rendezvous by that messenger who -had not returned, and against whom M. Lemercier felt his anger a -little excited. - -It was a cool March morning, the sky was clear and blue, and the few -silver clouds that floated through it became edged with gold as the -sun rose from his bed in the eastern sea--that burnished sea from -which the cool fresh breeze swept over the level coast. The fields -were assuming a vernal greenness, the buds were swelling on hedge and -tree, and the vegetation of the summer that was to come--the summer -that Lemercier might never see--was springing from amid the brown -remains of the autumn that had gone, an autumn that he had passed -with Athalie amid the gaieties and gardens of Paris and Versailles. - -At the distance of a mile he saw the strong square tower of Balcomie, -the residence of his antagonist. One side was involved in shadow, -the other shone redly in the rising sun, and the morning smoke from -its broad chimneys curled in dusky columns into the blue sky. The -caw of the rooks that followed the plough, whose shining share turned -up the aromatic soil, the merry whistle of the bonneted plough-boys, -the voices of the blackbird and the mavis, made him sad, and pleased -was Lemercier to leave behind him all such sounds of life, and reach -the wild and solitary place where the obelisk stood--a grim and -time-worn relic of the Druid ages or the Danish wars. A rough -mis-shapen remnant of antiquity, it still remains to mark the scene -of this hostile meeting, which yet forms one of the most famous -traditions of the East Neuk. - -As Lemercier rode up, he perceived a gentleman standing near the -stone. His back was towards him, and he was apparently intent on -caressing his charger, whose reins he had thrown negligently over his -arm. - -Lemercier thought he recognised the hat, edged with white feathers, -the full-bottomed wig, and the peculiar lacing of the white velvet -coat, and on the stranger turning he immediately knew his friend of -the preceding night. - -"Bon jour, my dear sir," said Lemercier - -"A good morning." replied the other, and they politely raised their -little cocked hats. - -"I had some misgivings when monsieur did not return to me," said the -Frenchman. "Sir William has accepted my challenge?" - -"Yes, monsieur, and is now before you," replied the other, springing -on horseback. "I am Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun, and am here at -your service." - -"You!" exclaimed the Frenchman, in tones of blended astonishment and -grief. "Ah! unsay what you have said. I cannot point my sword -against the breast of my best benefactor--against him to whom I owe -both honour and life. Can I forget that night on the plains of -Arras? Ah, my God! what a mistake: what a misfortune. Ah, Athalie! -to what have you so unthinkingly urged me?" - -"Think of her only, and forget all of me, save that I am your -antagonist, your enemy, as I stand between thee and her. Come on, M. -Lemercier, do not forget your promise to mademoiselle; we will -sheathe our swords on the first blood drawn." - -"So be it then, if the first is thine," and unsheathing their long -and keen-edged rapiers, they put spurs to their horses, and closing -up hand to hand, engaged with admirable skill and address. - -The skill of one swordsman seemed equalled only by that of the other. - -Lemercier was the first fencer at the Court of France, where fencing -was an accomplishment known to all, and there was no man in Britain -equal to Sir William Hope, whose "Complete Fencing Master" was long -famous among the lovers of the noble science of defence. - -They rode round each other in circles. Warily and sternly they began -to watch each other's eyes, till they flashed in unison with their -blades; their hearts beat quicker as their passions became excited -and their rivalry roused; and their nerves became strung as the hope -of conquest was whetted. The wish of merely being wounded ended in a -desire to wound; and the desire to wound in a clamorous anxiety to -vanquish and destroy. Save the incessant clash of the notched -rapiers, as each deadly thrust was adroitly parried and furiously -repeated, the straining of stirrup-leathers, as each fencer swayed to -and fro in his saddle, their suppressed breathing, and the champing -of iron bits, Lemercier and his foe saw nothing but the gleam, and -heard nothing but the clash of each other's glittering swords. - -The sun came up in his glory from the shining ocean; the mavis soared -above them in the blue sky; the early flowers of spring were -unfolding their dewy cups to the growing warmth, but still man fought -with man, and the hatred in their hearts waxed fierce and strong. - -In many places their richly-laced coats were cut and torn. One lost -his hat, and had received a severe scar on the forehead, and the -other had one on his bridle hand. They often paused breathlessly, -and in weariness lowered the points of their weapons to glare upon -each other with a ferocity that could have no end but death--until at -the sixth encounter, when Lemercier became exhausted, and failing to -parry with sufficient force a fierce and furious thrust, was run -through the breast so near the heart, that he fell from his horse -gasping and weltering in blood. - -Sir William Hope flung away his rapier and sprang to his assistance, -but the unfortunate Frenchman could only draw from his finger the -ring of Athalie, and with her name on his lips expired--being -actually choked in his own blood. - -Such was the account of this combat given by the horrified Master -Spiggot, who, suspecting "that there was something wrong," had -followed his guest to the scene of the encounter, the memory of which -is still preserved in the noble house of Hopetoun, and the legends of -the burghers of Crail. - -So died Lemercier. - -Of what Sir William said or thought on the occasion, we have no -record. In the good old times he would have eased his conscience by -the endowment of an altar, or foundation of a yearly mass; but in the -year 1708 such things had long been a dead letter in the East Neuk; -and so in lieu thereof, he interred him honourably in the aisle of -the ancient kirk, where a marble tablet long marked the place of his -repose. - -Sir William did more; he carefully transmitted the ring of Lemercier -to the bereaved Athalie, but before its arrival in Paris she had -dried her tears for the poor chevalier, and wedded one of his -numerous rivals. Thus, she forgot him sooner than his conqueror, who -reached a good old age, and died at his castle of Balcomie, with his -last breath regretting the combat of that morning at the Standing -Stone of Sauchope. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT--THE QUARTERMASTER'S STORY. - -Though the continued march of intellect and education have nearly -obliterated from the mind of the Scots a belief in the marvellous, -still a love of the supernatural lingers among the more mountainous -districts of the northern kingdom; for "the Schoolmaster" finds it no -easy task, even when aided by all the light of science, to uproot the -prejudices of more than two thousand years. - -I was born in Strathnairn, about the year 1802, and, on the death of -my mother, was given, when an infant, to the wife of a cotter to -nurse. With these good people I remained for some years, and thus -became cognizant of the facts I am about to relate. - -There was a little romance connected with my old nurse Meinie and her -gudeman. - -In their younger days they had been lovers--lovers as a boy and -girl--but were separated by poverty, and then Ewen Mac Ewen enlisted -as a soldier, in the 26th or Cameronian Regiment, with which he saw -some sharp service in the West Indies and America. The light-hearted -young highlander became, in time, a grave, stern, and morose soldier, -with the most rigid ideas of religious deportment and propriety: for -this distinguished Scottish regiment was of Puritan origin, being one -of those raised among the Westland Covenanters, after the deposition -of king James VII. by the Estates of Scotland. England surrendered -to William of Orange without striking a blow; but the defence of -Dunkeld, and the victorious battle of Killycrankie, ended the -northern campaign, in which the noble Dundee was slain, and the army -of the cavaliers dispersed. The Cameronian Regiment introduced their -sectarian forms, their rigorous discipline, and plain mode of public -worship into their own ranks, and so strict was their code of morals, -that even the Non-jurors and Jacobins admitted the excellence and -stern propriety of their bearing. They left the Scottish Service for -the British, at the Union, in 1707, but still wear on their -appointments the five-pointed star, which was the armorial bearing of -the colonel who embodied them; and, moreover, retain the privilege of -supplying their own regimental Bibles. - -After many years of hard fighting in the old 26th, and after carrying -a halbert in the kilted regiment of the Isles, Ewen Mac Ewen returned -home to his native place, the great plain of Moray, a graver, and, in -bearing, a sadder man than when he left it. - -His first inquiry was for Meinie. - -She had married a rival of his, twenty years ago. - -"God's will be done," sighed Ewen, as he lifted his bonnet, and -looked upwards. - -He built himself a little cottage, in the old highland fashion, in -his native strath, at a sunny spot, where the Uisc Nairn--the Water -of Alders--flowed in front, and a wooded hill arose behind. He hung -his knapsack above the fireplace; deposited his old and sorely -thumbed regimental Bible (with the Cameronian star on its boards,) -and the tin case containing his colonel's letter recommending him to -the minister, and the discharge, which gave sixpence per diem as the -reward of sixteen battles--all on the shelf of the little window, -which contained three panes of glass, with a yoke in the centre of -each, and there he settled himself down in peace, to plant his own -kail, knit his own hose, and to make his own kilts, a grave and -thoughtful but contented old fellow, awaiting the time, as he said, -"when the Lord would call him away." - -Now it chanced that a poor widow, with several children, built -herself a little thatched house on the opposite side of the drove -road--an old Fingalian path--which ascended the pastoral glen; and -the ready-handed veteran lent his aid to thatch it, and to sling her -kail-pot on the cruicks, and was wont thereafter to drop in of an -evening to smoke his pipe, to tell old stories of the storming of -Ticonderago, and to ask her little ones the catechism and biblical -questions. Within a week or so, he discovered that the widow was -Meinie--the ripe, blooming Meinie of other years--an old, a faded, -and a sad-eyed woman now; and poor Ewen's lonely heart swelled within -him, as he thought of all that had passed since last they met, and as -he spake of what they were, and what they might have been, had fate -been kind, or fortune roved more true. - -We have heard much about the hidden and mysterious principle of -affinity, and more about the sympathy and sacredness that belong to a -first and early love; well, the heart of the tough old Cameronian -felt these gentle impulses, and Meinie was no stranger to them. They -were married, and for fifteen years, there was no happier couple on -the banks of the Nairn. Strange to say, they died on the same day, -and were interred in the ancient burying-ground of Dalcross, where -now they lie, near the ruined walls of the old vicarage kirk of the -Catholic times. God rest them in their humble highland graves! My -father, who was the minister of Croy, acted as chief mourner, and -gave the customary funeral prayer. But I am somewhat anticipating, -and losing the thread of my own story in telling theirs. - -In process of time the influx of French and English tourists who came -to visit the country of the clans, and to view the plain of Culloden, -after the publication of "Waverley" gave to all Britain, that which -we name in Scotland "the tartan fever," and caused the old path which -passed the cot of Ewen to become a turnpike road; a tollbar--that -most obnoxious of all impositions to a Celt--was placed across the -mouth of the little glen, barring the way directly to the -battle-field; and of this gate the old pensioner Ewen naturally -became keeper; and during the summer season, when, perhaps, a hundred -carriages per day rolled through, it became a source of revenue alike -to him, and to the Lord of Cawdor and the Laird of Kilravock, the -road trustees. And the chief pleasure of Ewen's existence was to sit -on a thatched seat by the gate, for then he felt conscious of being -in office--on duty--a species of sentinel; and it smacked of the old -time when the Generale was beaten in the morning, and the drums -rolled tattoo at night; when he had belts to pipeclay, and boots to -blackball; when there were wigs to frizzle and queues to tie, and to -be all trim and in order to meet Monseigneur le Marquis de Montcalm, -or General Washington "right early in the morning;" and there by the -new barrier of the glen Ewen sat the live-long day, with spectacles -on nose, and the Cameronian Bible on his knee, as he spelled his way -through Deuteronomy and the tribes of Judah. - -Slates in due time replaced the green thatch of his little cottage; -then a diminutive additional story, with two small dormer windows, -was added thereto, and the thrifty Meinie placed a paper in her -window informing shepherds, the chance wayfarers, and the wandering -deer-stalkers that she had a room to let; but summer passed away, the -sportsman forsook the brown scorched mountains, the gay tourist -ceased to come north, and the advertisement turned from white to -yellow, and from yellow to flyblown green in her window; the winter -snows descended on the hills, the pines stood in long and solemn -ranks by the white frozen Nairn, but "the room upstairs" still -remained without a tenant. - -Anon the snow passed away, the river again flowed free, the flowers -began to bloom; the young grass to sprout by the hedgerows, and the -mavis to sing on the fauld-dykes, for spring was come again, and -joyous summer soon would follow; and one night--it was the 26th of -April--Ewen was exhibiting his penmanship in large text-hand by -preparing the new announcement of "a room to let," when he paused, -and looked up as a peal of thunder rumbled across the sky; a red -gleam of lightning flashed in the darkness without, and then they -heard the roar of the deep broad Nairn, as its waters, usually so -sombre and so slow, swept down from the wilds of Badenoch, flooded -with the melting snows of the past winter. - -A dreadful storm of thunder, rain, and wind came on, and the little -cottage rocked on its foundations; frequently the turf-fire upon the -hearth was almost blown about the clay-floor, by the downward gusts -that bellowed in the chimney. The lightning gleamed incessantly, and -seemed to play about the hill of Urchany and the ruins of Caistel -Fionlah; the woods groaned and creaked, and the trees seemed to -shriek as their strong limbs were torn asunder by the gusts which in -some places laid side by side the green sapling of last summer, and -the old oak that had stood for a thousand years--that had seen -Macbeth and Duncan ride from Nairn, and had outlived the wars of the -Comyns and the Clanchattan. - -The swollen Nairn tore down its banks, and swept trees, rocks, and -stones in wild confusion to the sea, mingling the pines of Aberarder -with the old oaks of Cawdor; while the salt spray from the Moray -Firth was swept seven miles inland, where it encrusted with salt the -trees, the houses, and windows, and whatever it fell on as it mingled -with the ceaseless rain, while deep, hoarse, and loud the incessant -thunder rattled across the sky, "as if all the cannon on earth," -according to Ewen, "were exchanging salvoes between Urchany and the -Hill of Geddes." - -Meinie grew pale, and sat with a finger on her mouth, and a startled -expression in her eyes, listening to the uproar without; four -children, two of whom were Ewen's, and her last addition to the clan, -clung to her skirts. - -Ewen had just completed the invariable prayer and chapter for the -night, and was solemnly depositing his old regimental companion, with -"Baxter's Saints' Best," in a place of security, when a tremendous -knock--a knock that rang above the storm--shook the door of the -cottage. - -"Who can this be, and in such a night?" said Meinie. - -"The Lord knoweth," responded Ewen, gravely; "but he knocks both loud -and late." - -"Inquire before you open," urged Meinie, seizing her husband's arm, -as the impatient knock was renewed with treble violence. - -"Who comes there?" demanded Ewen, in a soldierly tone. - -"A friend," replied a strange voice without, and in the same manner. - -"What do you want?" - -"Fire and smoke!" cried the other, giving the door a tremendous kick; -"do you ask that in such a devil of a night as this? You have a room -to let, have you not?" - -"Yes." - -"Well: open the door, or blood and 'oons I'll bite your nose off!" - -Ewen hastened to undo the door; and then, all wet and dripping as if -he had just been fished up from the Moray Firth, there entered a -strange-looking old fellow in a red coat; he stumped vigorously on a -wooden leg, and carried on his shoulders a box, which he flung down -with a crash that shook the dwelling, saying,-- - -"There--dam you--I have made good my billet at last." - -"So it seems," said Ewen, reclosing the door in haste to exclude the -tempest, lest his house should be unroofed and torn asunder. - -"Harkee, comrade, what garrison or fortress is this," asked the -visitor, "that peaceable folks are to be challenged in this fashion, -and forced to give parole and countersign before they march in--eh?" - -"It is my house, comrade; and so you had better keep a civil tongue -in your head." - -"Civil tongue? Fire and smoke, you mangy cur! I can be as civil as -my neighbours; but get me a glass of grog, for I am as wet as we were -the night before Minden." - -"Where have you come from in such a storm as this?" - -"Where you'd not like to go--so never mind; but, grog, I tell -you--get me some grog, and a bit of tobacco; it is long since I -tasted either." - -Ewen hastened to get a large quaighful of stiff Glenlivat, which the -veteran drained to his health, and that of Meinie; but first he gave -them a most diabolical grin, and threw into the liquor some black -stuff, saying,-- - -"I always mix my grog with gunpowder--it's a good tonic; I learned -that of a comrade who fell at Minden on the glorious 1st of August, -'59. - -"You have been a soldier, then?" - -"Right! I was one of the 25th, or old Edinburgh Regiment; they -enlisted me, though an Englishman, I believe; for my good old dam was -a follower of the camp." - -"Our number was the 26th--the old Cameronian Regiment--so we were -near each other, you see, comrade." - -"Nearer than you would quite like, mayhap," said Wooden-leg, with -another grin and a dreadful oath. - -"And you have served in Germany?" asked Ewen. - -"Germany--aye, and marched over every foot of it, from Hanover to -Hell, and back again. I have fought in Flanders, too." - -"I wish you had come a wee while sooner," said Ewen gravely, for this -discourse startled his sense of propriety. - -"Sooner," snarled this shocking old fellow, who must have belonged to -that army, "which swore so terribly in Flanders," as good Uncle Toby -says; "sooner--for what?" - -"To have heard me read a chapter, and to have joined us in prayer." - -"Prayers be d--ned!" cried the other, with a shout of laughter, and a -face expressive of fiendish mockery, as he gave his wooden leg a -thundering blow on the floor; "fire and smoke--another glass of -grog--and then we'll settle about my billet upstairs." - -While getting another dram, which hospitality prevented him from -refusing, Ewen scrutinised this strange visitor, whose aspect and -attire were very remarkable; but wholly careless of what any one -thought, he sat by the hearth, wringing his wet wig, and drying it at -the fire. - -He was a little man, of a spare, but strong and active figure, which -indicated great age; his face resembled that of a rat; behind it hung -a long queue that waved about like a pendulum when he moved his head, -which was quite bald, and smooth as a cricket-ball, save where a long -and livid scar--evidently a sword cut--traversed it. This was -visible while he sat drying his wig; but as that process was somewhat -protracted, he uttered an oath, and thrust his cocked hat on one side -of his head, and very much over his left eye, which was covered by a -patch. This head-dress was the old military triple-cocked hat, bound -with yellow braid, and having on one side the hideous black leather -cockade of the House of Hanover, now happily disused in the British -army, and retained as a badge of service by liverymen alone. His -attire was an old threadbare red coat, faced with yellow, having -square tails and deep cuffs, with braided holes; he wore -knee-breeches on his spindle shanks, one of which terminated, as I -have said, in a wooden pin; he carried a large knotted stick; and, in -outline and aspect, very much resembled, as Ewen thought, Frederick -the Great of Prussia, or an old Chelsea pensioner, or the soldiers he -had seen delineated in antique prints of the Flemish wars. His -solitary orb possessed a most diabolical leer, and, whichever way you -turned, it seemed to regard you with the fixed glare of a basilisk. - -"You are a stranger hereabout, I presume?" said Ewen drily. - -"A stranger now, certainly; but I was pretty well known in this -locality once. There are some bones buried hereabout that may -remember me," he replied, with a grin that showed his fangless jaws. - -"Bones!" reiterated Ewen, aghast. - -"Yes, bones--Culloden Muir lies close by here, does it not?" - -"It does--then you have travelled this road before?" - -"Death and the Devil! I should think so, comrade; on this very night -sixty years ago I marched along this road, from Nairn to Culloden, -with the army of His Royal Highness, the Great Duke of Cumberland, -Captain-General of the British troops, in pursuit of the rebels under -the Popish Pretender----" - -"Under His Royal Highness Prince Charles, you mean, comrade," said -Ewen, in whose breast--Cameronian though he was--a tempest of -Highland wrath and loyalty swelled up at these words. - -"Prince--ha! ha! ha!" laughed the other; "had you said as much then, -the gallows had been your doom. Many a man I have shot, and many a -boy I have brained with the butt end of my musket, for no other crime -than wearing the tartan, even as you this night wear it." - -Ewen made a forward stride as if he would have taken the wicked -boaster by the throat; his anger was kindled to find himself in -presence of a veritable soldier of the infamous "German Butcher," -whose merciless massacre of the wounded clansmen and their -defenceless families will never be forgotten in Scotland while oral -tradition and written record exist; but Ewen paused, and said in his -quiet way,-- - -"Blessed be the Lord! these times and things have passed away from -the land, to return to it no more. We are both old men now; by your -own reckoning, you must at least have numbered four-score years, and -in that, you are by twenty my better man. You are my guest to-night, -moreover, so we must not quarrel, comrade. My father was killed at -Culloden." - -"On which side?" - -"The right one--for he fell by the side of old Keppoch, and his last -words were, 'Righ Hamish gu Bragh!'" - -"Fire and smoke!" laughed the old fellow, "I remember these things as -if they only happened yesterday--mix me some more grog and put it in -the bill--I was the company's butcher in those days--it suited my -taste--so when I was not stabbing and slashing the sheep and cattle -of the rascally commissary, I was cutting the throats of the Scots -and French, for there were plenty of them, and Irish too, who fought -against the king's troops in Flanders. We had hot work, that day at -Culloden--hotter than at Minden, where we fought in heavy marching -order, with our blankets, kettles, and provisions, on a broiling -noon, when the battle-field was cracking under a blazing sun, and the -whole country was sweltering like the oven of the Great Baker." - -"Who is he?" - -"What! you don't know him? Ha! ha! ha! Ho! ho! ho! come, that is -good." - -Ewen expostulated with the boisterous old fellow on this style of -conversation, which, as you may easily conceive, was very revolting -to the prejudices of a well-regulated Cameronian soldier. - -"Come, come, you old devilskin," cried the other, stirring up the -fire with his wooden leg, till the sparks flashed and gleamed like -his solitary eye; "you may as well sing psalms to a dead horse, as -preach to me. Hark how the thunder roars, like the great guns at -Carthagena! More grog--put it in the bill--or, halt, d--me! pay -yourself," and he dashed on the table a handful of silver of the -reigns of George II., and the Glencoe assassin, William of Orange. - -He obtained more whiskey, and drank it raw, seasoning it from time to -time with gunpowder, just as an Arab does his cold water with ginger. - -"Where did you lose your eye, comrade?" - -"At Culloden; but I found the fellow who pinked me, next day, as he -lay bleeding on the field; he was a Cameron, in a green velvet -jacket, all covered with silver; so I stripped off his lace, as I had -seen my mother do, and then I brained him with the butt-end of -brown-bess--and before his wife's eyes, too! What the deuce do you -growl at, comrade? Such things will happen in war, and you know that -orders must be obeyed. My eye was gone--but it was the left one, and -I was saved the trouble of closing it when taking aim. This slash on -the sconce I got at the battle of Preston Pans, from the Celt who -slew Colonel Gardiner." - -"That Celt was my father--the Miller of Invernahyle," said Meinie, -proudly. - -"Your father! fire and smoke! do you say so? His hand was a heavy -one!" cried Wooden-leg, while his eye glowed like the orb of a hyæna. - -"And your leg?" - -"I lost at Minden, in Kingsley's Brigade, comrade; aye, my -leg--d--n!--that was indeed a loss." - -"A warning to repentance, I would say." - -"Then you would say wrong. Ugh! I remember when the shot--a -twelve-pounder--took me just as we were rushing with charged bayonets -on the French cannoniers. Smash! my leg was gone, and I lay -sprawling and bleeding in a ploughed field near the Weser, while my -comrades swept over me with a wild hurrah! the colours waving, and -drums beating a charge." - -"And what did you do?" - -"I lay there and swore, believe me." - -"That would not restore your limb again." - -"No; but a few hearty oaths relieve the mind; and the mind relieves -the body; you understand me, comrade; so there I lay all night under -a storm of rain like this, bleeding and sinking; afraid of the knives -of the plundering death-hunters, for my mother had been one, and I -remembered well how she looked after the wounded, and cured them of -their agony." - -"Was your mother one of those infer----" began MacEwen. - -"Don't call her hard names now, comrade; she died on the day after -the defeat at Val; with the Provost Marshal's cord round her neck--a -cordon less ornamental than that of St. Louis." - -"And your father?" - -"Was one of Howard's Regiment; but which the devil only knows, for it -was a point on which the old lady, honest woman, had serious doubts -herself." - -"After the loss of your leg, of course you left the service?" - -"No, I became the company's butcher; but, fire and smoke, get me -another glass of grog; take a share yourself, and don't sit staring -at me like a Dutch Souterkin conceived of a winter night over a 'pot -de feu,' as all the world knows King William was. Dam! let us be -merry together--ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho! and I'll sing you a song of -the old whig times." - - "'O, brother Sandie, hear ye the news, - Lillibulero, bullen a la! - An army is coming sans breeches and shoes, - Lillibulero, bullen a la! - - "'To arms! to arms! brave boys to arms! - A true British cause for your courage doth ca'; - Country and city against a kilted banditti, - Lillibulero, bullen a la!'" - - -And while he continued to rant and sing the song (once so obnoxious -to the Scottish Cavaliers), he beat time with his wooden leg, and -endeavoured to outroar the stormy wind and the hiss of the drenching -rain. Even MacEwen, though he was an old soldier, felt some -uneasiness, and Meinie trembled in her heart, while the children -clung to her skirts and hid their little faces, as if this singing, -riot, and jollity were impious at such a time, when the awful thunder -was ringing its solemn peals across the midnight sky. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT.--THE UNCO' QUEST. - -Although this strange old man baffled or parried every inquiry of -Ewen as to whence he had come, and how and why he wore that -antiquated uniform, on his making a lucrative offer to take the upper -room of the little toll-house for a year--exactly a year--when Ewen -thought of his poor pension of six-pence per diem, of their numerous -family, and Meinie now becoming old and requiring many little -comforts, all scruples were overcome by the pressure of necessity, -and the mysterious old soldier was duly installed in the attic, with -his corded chest, scratch-wig, and wooden-leg; moreover, he paid the -first six months' rent in advance, dashing the money--which was all -coin of the first and second Georges, on the table with a bang and an -oath, swearing that he disliked being indebted to any man. - -The next morning was calm and serene; the green hills lifted their -heads into the blue and placid sky. There was no mist on the -mountains, nor rain in the valley. The flood in the Nairn had -subsided, though its waters were still muddy and perturbed; but save -this, and the broken branches that strewed the wayside--with an -uprooted tree, or a paling laid flat on the ground, there was no -trace of yesterday's hurricane, and Ewen heard Wooden-leg (he had no -other name for his new lodger) stumping about overhead, as the old -fellow left his bed betimes, and after trimming his queue and wig, -pipeclaying his yellow facings, and beating them well with the brush, -in a soldier-like way, he descended to breakfast, but, disdaining -porridge and milk, broiled salmon and bannocks of barley-meal, he -called for a can of stiff grog, mixed it with powder from his wide -waistcoat pocket, and drank it off at a draught. Then he imperiously -desired Ewen to take his bonnet and staff, and accompany him so far -as Culloden, "because," said he, "I have come a long, long way to see -the old place again." - -Wooden-leg seemed to gather--what was quite unnecessary to him--new -life, vigour, and energy--as they traversed the road that led to the -battle-field, and felt the pure breeze of the spring morning blowing -on their old and wrinkled faces. - -The atmosphere was charmingly clear and serene. In the distance lay -the spires of Inverness, and the shining waters of the Moray Firth, -studded with sails, and the ramparts of Fort George were seen jutting -out at the termination of a long and green peninsula. In the -foreground stood the castle of Dalcross, raising its square outline -above a wood, which terminates the eastern side of the landscape. -The pine-clad summit of Dun Daviot incloses the west, while on every -hand between, stretched the dreary moor of Drummossie--the Plain of -Culloden--whilome drenched in the blood of Scotland's bravest hearts. - -Amid the purple heath lie two or three grass-covered mounds. - -These are the graves of the dead--the graves of the loyal -Highlanders, who fell on that disastrous field, and of the wounded, -who were so mercilessly murdered next day by an order of Cumberland, -which he pencilled on the back of a card (the Nine of Diamonds); thus -they were dispatched by platoons, stabbed by bayonets, slashed by -swords and spontoons, or brained by the butt-end of musket and -carbine; officers and men were to be seen emulating each other in -this scene of cowardice and cold-blooded atrocity, which filled every -camp and barrack in Continental Europe with scorn at the name of an -English soldier. - -Ewen was a Highlander, and his heart filled with such thoughts as -these, when he stood by the grassy tombs where the fallen brave are -buried with the hopes of the house they died for; he took off his -bonnet and stood bare-headed, full of sad and silent contemplation; -while his garrulous companion viewed the field with his single eye, -that glowed like a hot coal, and pirouetted on his wooden pin in a -very remarkable manner, as he surveyed on every side the scene of -that terrible encounter, where, after enduring a long cannonade of -round shot and grape, the Highland swordsmen, chief and gillie, the -noble and the nameless, flung themselves with reckless valour on the -ranks of those whom they had already routed in two pitched battles. - -"It was an awful day," said Ewen, in a low voice, but with a gleam in -his grey Celtic eye; "yonder my father fell wounded; the bullet went -through his shield and pierced him here, just above the belt; he was -living next day, when my mother--a poor wailing woman with a babe at -her breast--found him; but an officer of Barrel's Regiment ran a -sword twice through his body and killed him; for the orders of the -German Duke were, 'that no quarter should be given.' This spring is -named MacGillivray's Well, because here they butchered the dying -chieftain who led the Macintoshes--aye bayonetted him, next day at -noon, in the arms of his bonnie young wife and his puir auld mother! -The inhuman monsters! I have been a soldier," continued Ewen, "and I -have fought for my country; but had I stood that day on this Moor of -Culloden, I would have shot the German Butcher, the coward who fled -from Flanders--I would, by the God who hears me, though that moment -had been my last!" - -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" rejoined his queer companion. "It seems -like yesterday since I was here; I don't see many changes, except -that the dead are all buried, whereas we left them to the crows, and -a carriage-road has been cut across the field, just where we seized -some women, who were looking among the dead for their husbands, and -who----" - -"Well?" - -Wooden-leg whistled, and gave Ewen a diabolical leer with his snaky -eye, as he resumed,-- - -"I see the ridge where the clans formed line--every tribe with its -chief in front, and his colours in the centre, when we, hopeless of -victory, and thinking only of defeat, approached them; and I can yet -see standing the old stone wall which covered their right flank. -Fire and smoke! it was against that wall we placed the wounded, when -we fired at them by platoons next day. I finished some twenty rebels -there myself." - -Ewen's hand almost caught the haft of his skene dhu, as he said, -hoarsely,-- - -"Old man, do not call them rebels in my hearing, and least of all by -the graves where they lie; they were good men and true; if they were -in error, they have long since answered to God for it, even as we one -day must answer; therefore let us treat their memory with respect, as -soldiers should ever treat their brothers in arms who fall in war." - -But Wooden-leg laughed with his strange eldritch yell, and then they -returned together to the tollhouse in the glen; but Ewen felt -strongly dissatisfied with his lodger, whose conversation was so -calculated to shock alike his Jacobitical and his religious -prejudices. Every day this sentiment grew stronger, and he soon -learned to deplore in his inmost heart having ever accepted the rent, -and longed for the time when he should be rid of him; but, at the end -of the six months, Wooden-leg produced the rent for the remainder of -the year, still in old silver of the two first Georges, with a few -Spanish dollars, and swore he would set the house on fire, if Ewen -made any more apologies about their inability to make him -sufficiently comfortable and so forth; for his host and hostess had -resorted to every pretence and expedient to rid themselves of him -handsomely. - -But Wooden-leg was inexorable. - -He had bargained for his billet for a year; he had paid for it; and a -year he would stay, though the Lord Justice General of Scotland -himself should say nay! - -Boisterous and authoritative, he awed every one by his terrible -gimlet eye and the volleys of oaths with which he overwhelmed them on -suffering the smallest contradiction; thus he became the terror of -all; and shepherds crossed the hills by the most unfrequented routes -rather than pass the toll-bar, where they vowed that his eye -bewitched their sheep and cattle. To every whispered and stealthy -inquiry as to where his lodger had come from, and how or why he had -thrust himself upon this lonely tollhouse, Ewen could only groan and -shrug his shoulders, or reply,-- - -"He came on the night of the hurricane, like a bird of evil omen; but -on the twenty-sixth of April we will be rid of him, please Heaven! -It is close at hand, and he shall march then, sure as my name is Ewen -Mac Ewen!" - -He seemed to be troubled in his conscience, too, or to have strange -visitors; for often in stormy nights he was heard swearing or -threatening, and expostulating; and once or twice, when listening at -the foot of the stair, Ewen heard him shouting and conversing from -his window with persons on the road, although the bar was shut, -locked, and there was no one visible there. - -On another windy night, Ewen and his wife were scared by hearing -Wooden-leg engaged in a furious altercation with some one overhead. - -"Dog, I'll blow out your brains!" yelled a strange voice. - -"Fire and smoke! blow out the candle first--ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho!" -cried Wooden-leg; then there ensued the explosion of a pistol, a -dreadful stamping of feet, with the sound of several men swearing and -fighting. To all this Ewen and his wife hearkened in fear and -perplexity; at last something fell heavily on the floor, and then all -became still, and not a sound was heard but the night wind sighing -down the glen. - -Betimes in the morning Ewen, weary and unslept, left his bed and -ascended to the door of this terrible lodger and tapped gently. - -"Come in; why the devil this fuss and ceremony, eh, comrade?" cried a -hoarse voice, and there was old Wooden-leg, not lying dead on the -floor as Ewen expected, or perhaps hoped; but stumping about in his -shirt sleeves, pipe-claying his facings, and whistling the "Point of -War." - -On being questioned about the most unearthly "row" of last night, he -only bade Ewen mind his own affairs, or uttered a volley of oaths, -some of which were Spanish, and mixing a can of gunpowder grog -drained it at a draught. - -He was very quarrelsome, dictatorial, and scandalously irreligious; -thus his military reminiscences were of so ferocious and -blood-thirsty a nature, that they were sufficient to scare any quiet -man out of his seven senses. But it was more particularly in -relating the butcheries, murders, and ravages of Cumberland in the -highlands, that he exulted, and there was always a terrible air of -probability in all he said. On Ewen once asking of him if he had -ever been punished for the many irregularities and cruelties he so -freely acknowledged having committed,-- - -"Punished? Fire and smoke, comrade, I should think so; I have been -flogged till the bones of my back stood through the quivering flesh; -I have been picquetted, tied neck and heels, or sent to ride the -wooden horse, and to endure other punishments which are now abolished -in the king's service. An officer once tied me neck and heels for -eight and forty hours--ay, damme, till I lost my senses; but he lost -his life soon after, a shot from the rear killed him; you understand -me, comrade; ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho! a shot from the rear." - -"You murdered him?" said Ewen, in a tone of horror. - -"I did not say so," cried Wooden-leg with an oath, as he dealt his -landlord a thwack across the shins with his stump; "but I'll tell you -how it happened. I was on the Carthagena expedition in '41, and -served amid all the horrors of that bombardment, which was rendered -unsuccessful by the quarrels of the general and admiral; then the -yellow fever broke out among the troops, who were crammed on board -the ships of war like figs in a cask, or like the cargo of a slaver, -so they died in scores--and in scores their putrid corpses lay round -the hawsers of the shipping, which raked them up every day as they -swung round with the tide; and from all the open gunports, where -their hammocks were hung, our sick men saw the ground sharks gorging -themselves on the dead, while they daily expected to follow. The air -was black with flies, and the scorching sun seemed to have leagued -with the infernal Spaniards against us. But, fire and smoke, mix me -some more grog, I am forgetting my story! - -"Our Grenadiers, with those of other regiments, under Colonel James -Grant of Carron, were landed on the Island of Tierrabomba, which lies -at the entrance of the harbour of Carthagena, where we stormed two -small forts which our ships had cannonaded on the previous day. - -"Grenadiers--open your pouches--handle grenades--blow your fuses!" -cried Grant, "forward." - -"And then we bayonetted the dons, or with the clubbed musket smashed -their heads like ripe pumpkins, while our fleet, anchored with -broadsides to the shore, threw shot and shell, grape, cannister, -carcasses, and hand-grenades in showers among the batteries, booms, -cables, chains, ships of war, gunboats, and the devil only knows what -more. - -"It was evening when we landed, and as the ramparts of San Luiz de -Bocca Chica were within musket shot of our left flank, the lieutenant -of our company was left with twelve grenadiers (of whom I was one) as -a species of out-picquet to watch the Spaniards there, and to -acquaint the officer in the captured forts if anything was essayed by -way of sortie. - -"About midnight I was posted as an advanced sentinel, and ordered to -face La Bocca Chica with all my ears and eyes open. The night was -close and sultry; there was not a breath of wind stirring on the land -or waveless sea; and all was still save the cries of the wild animals -that preyed upon the unburied dead, or the sullen splash caused by -some half-shrouded corpse, as it was launched from a gun-port, for -our ships were moored within pistol-shot of the place where I stood. - -"Towards the west the sky was a deep and lurid red, as if the -midnight sea was in flames at the horizon; and between me and this -fiery glow, I could see the black and opaque outline of the masts, -the yards, and the gigantic hulls of those floating charnel-houses -our line-of-battle ships, and the dark solid ramparts of San Luiz de -Bocca Chica. - -"Suddenly I saw before me the head of a Spanish column!" - -"I cocked my musket, they seemed to be halted in close order, for I -could see the white coats and black hats of a single company only. -So I fired at them point blank, and fell back on the picquet, which -stood to arms. - -"The lieutenant of our grenadiers came hurrying towards me. - -"Where are the dons?" said he. - -"In our front, sir," said I, pointing to the white line which seemed -to waver before us in the gloom under the walls of San Luiz, and then -it disappeared. - -"They are advancing," said I. - -"They have vanished, fellow," said the lieutenant, angrily. - -"Because they have marched down into a hollow." - -"In a moment after they re-appeared, upon which the lieutenant -brought up the picquet, and after firing three volleys retired -towards the principal fort where Colonel Grant had all the troops -under arms; but not a Spaniard approached us, and what, think you, -deceived me and caused this alarm? Only a grove of trees, fire and -smoke! yes, it was a grove of manchineel trees, which the Spaniards -had cut down or burned to within five feet of the ground; and as -their bark is white it resembled the Spanish uniform, while the black -burned tops easily passed for their grenadier caps to the -overstrained eyes of a poor anxious lad, who found himself under the -heavy responsibility of an advanced sentinel for the first time in -his life." - -"And was this the end of it?" asked Ewen. - -"Hell and Tommy?" roared the Wooden-leg, "no--but you shall hear. I -was batooned by the lieutenant; then I was tried at the drumhead for -causing a false alarm, and sentenced to be tied neck and heels, and -lest you may not know the fashion of this punishment I shall tell you -of it. I was placed on the ground; my firelock was put under my -hams, and another was placed over my neck; then the two were drawn -close together by two cartouch-box straps; and in this situation, -doubled up as round as a ball, I remained with my chin wedged between -my knees until the blood spouted out of my mouth, nose, and ears, and -I became insensible. When I recovered my senses the troops were -forming in column, preparatory to assaulting Fort San Lazare; and -though almost blind, and both weak and trembling, I was forced to -take my place in the ranks; and I ground my teeth as I handled my -musket and saw the lieutenant of our company, in lace-ruffles and -powdered wig, prepare to join the forlorn hope, which was composed of -six hundred chosen grenadiers, under Colonel Grant, a brave Scottish -officer. I loaded my piece with a charmed bullet, cast in a mould -given to me by an Indian warrior, and marched on with my section. -The assault failed. Of the forlorn hope I alone escaped, for Grant -and his Grenadiers perished to a man in the breach. There, too, lay -our lieutenant. A shot had pierced his head behind, just at the -queue. Queer, was it not? when I was his covering file?" - -As he said this, Wooden-leg gave Ewen another of those diabolical -leers, which always made his blood ran cold, and continued,-- - -"I passed him as he lay dead, with his sword in his hand, his fine -ruffled shirt and silk waistcoat drenched with blood--by the bye, -there was a pretty girl's miniature, with powdered hair peeping out -of it too. 'Ho, ho!' thought I, as I gave him a hearty kick; 'you -will never again have me tied neck-and-heels for not wearing -spectacles on sentry, or get me a hundred lashes, for not having my -queue dressed straight to the seam of my coat." - -"Horrible!" said Ewen. - -"I will wager my wooden leg against your two of flesh and bone, that -your officer would have been served in the same way, if he had given -you the same provocation." - -"Heaven forbid!" said Ewen. - -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" cried Wooden-leg. - -"You spoke of an Indian warrior," said Ewen, uneasily, as the -atrocious anecdotes of this hideous old man excited his anger and -repugnance; "then you have served, like myself, in the New World?" - -"Fire and smoke! I should think so, but long before your day." - -"Then you fought against the Cherokees?" - -"Yes." - -"At Warwomans Creek?" - -"Yes; I was killed there." - -"You were--what?" stammered Ewen. - -"Killed there." - -"Killed?" - -"Yes, scalped by the Cherokees; dam! don't I speak plain enough?" - -"He is mad," thought Ewen. - -"I am not mad," said Wooden-leg gruffly. - -"I never said so," urged Ewen. - -"Thunder and blazes! but you thought it, which is all the same." - -Ewen was petrified by this remark, and then Wooden-leg, while fixing -his hyæna-like eye upon him, and mixing a fresh can of his peculiar -grog, continued thus,-- - -"Yes, I served in the Warwomans Creek expedition in '60. In the -preceding year I had been taken prisoner at Fort Ninety-six, and was -carried off by the Indians. They took me into the heart of their own -country, where an old Sachem protected me, and adopted me in place of -a son he had lost in battle. Now this old devil of a Sachem had a -daughter--a graceful, pretty and gentle Indian girl, whom her tribe -named the Queen of the Beaver dams. She was kind to me, and loved to -call me her pale-faced brother. Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Fire and -smoke! do I now look like a man that could once attract a pretty -girl's eye,--now, with my wooden-leg, patched face and riddled -carcase? Well, she loved me, and I pretended to be in love too, -though I did not care for her the value of an old snapper. She was -graceful and round in every limb, as a beautiful statue. Her -features were almost regular--her eyes black and soft; her hair hung -nearly to her knees, while her smooth glossy skin, was no darker than -a Spanish brunette's. Her words were like notes of music, for the -language of the Cherokees, like that of the Iroquois, is full of the -softest vowels. This Indian girl treated me with love and kindness, -and I promised to become a Cherokee warrior, a thundering turtle and -scalp-hunter for her sake--just as I would have promised anything to -any other woman, and had done so a score of times before. I studied -her gentle character in all its weak and delicate points, as a -general views a fortress he is about to besiege, and I soon knew -every avenue to the heart of the place. I made my approaches with -modesty, for the mind of the Indian virgin was timid, and as pure as -the new fallen snow. I drew my parallels and pushed on the trenches -whenever the old Sachem was absent, smoking his pipe and drinking -fire-water at the council of the tribe; I soon reached the base of -the glacis and stormed the breastworks--dam! I did, comrade. - -"I promised her everything, if she would continue to love me, and -swore by the Great Spirit to lay at her feet the scalp-lock of the -white chief, General the Lord Amherst, K.C.B., and all that, with -every other protestation that occurred to me at the time; and so she -soon loved me--and me alone--as we wandered on the green slopes of -Tennessee, when the flowering forest-trees and the magnolias, the -crimson strawberries, and the flaming azalea made the scenery -beautiful; and where the shrill cry cf the hawk, and the carol of the -merry mocking-bird, filled the air with sounds of life and happiness. - -"We were married in the fantastic fashion of the tribe, and the -Indian girl was the happiest squaw in the Beaver dams. I hoed cotton -and planted rice; I cut rushes that she might plait mats and baskets; -I helped her to weave wampum, and built her a wigwam, but I longed to -be gone, for in six months I was wearied of her and the Cherokees -too. In short, one night, I knocked the old Sachem on the head, and -without perceiving that he still breathed, pocketted his valuables, -such as they were, two necklaces of amber beads and two of Spanish -dollars, and without informing my squaw of what I had done, I -prevailed upon her to guide me far into the forest, on the skirts of -which lay a British outpost, near the lower end of the vale, through -which flows the Tennessee River. She was unable to accompany me more -than a few miles, for she was weak, weary, and soon to become a -mother; so I gave her the slip in the forest, and, leaving her to -shift for herself, reached head-quarters, just as the celebrated -expedition from South Carolina was preparing to march against the -Cherokees. - -"Knowing well the localities, I offered myself as a guide, and was at -once accepted-- - -"Cruel and infamous!" exclaimed honest Ewen, whose chivalric Highland -spirit fired with indignation at these heartless avowals; "and the -poor girl you deceived----" - -"Bah! I thought the wild beasts would soon dispose of her." - -"But then the infamy of being a guide, even for your comrades, -against those who had fed and fostered, loved and protected you! By -my soul, this atrocity were worthy of King William and his Glencoe -assassins!" - -"Ho, ho, ho! fire and smoke! you shall hear. - -"Well, we marched from New York in the early part of 1760. There -were our regiment, with four hundred of the Scots Royals, and -Montgomery's Highlanders. We landed at Charleston, and marched up -the country to Fort Ninety-six on the frontier of the Cherokees. Our -route was long and arduous, for the ways were wild and rough, so it -was the first of June before we reached Twelve-mile River. I had -been so long unaccustomed to carry my knapsack, that its weight -rendered me savage and ferocious, and I cursed the service and my own -existence; for in addition to our muskets and accoutrements, our -sixty rounds of ball cartridge per man, we carried our own tents, -poles, pegs, and cooking utensils. Thunder and blazes! when we -halted, which we did in a pleasant valley, where the great shady -chestnuts and the flowering hickory made our camp alike cool and -beautiful, my back and shoulders were nearly skinned; for as you must -know well, comrade, the knapsack straps are passed so tightly under -the armpits, that they stop the circulation of the blood, and press -upon the lungs almost to suffocation. Scores of our men left the -ranks on the march, threw themselves down in despair, and were soon -tomahawked and scalped by the Indians. - -"We marched forward next day, but without perceiving the smallest -vestige of an Indian trail; thus we began to surmise that the -Cherokees knew not that we were among them; but just as the sun was -sinking behind the blue hills, we came upon a cluster of wigwams, -which I knew well; they were the Beaver dams, situated on a river, -among wild woods that never before had echoed to the drum or bugle. - -"Bad and wicked as I was, some strange emotions rose within me at -this moment. I thought of the Sachem's daughter--her beauty--her -love for me, and the child that was under her bosom when I abandoned -her in the vast forest through which we had just penetrated; but I -stifled all regret, and heard with pleasure the order to 'examine -flints and priming.' - -"Then the Cherokee warwhoop pierced the echoing sky; a scattered fire -was poured upon us from behind the rocks and trees; the sharp steel -tomahawks came flashing and whirling through the air; bullets and -arrows whistled, and rifles rung, and in a moment we found ourselves -surrounded by a living sea of dark-skinned and yelling Cherokees, -with plumes on their scalp locks, their fierce visages streaked with -war paint, and all their moccasins rattling. - -"Fire and fury, such a time it was! - -"We all fought like devils, but our men fell fast on every side; the -Royals lost two lieutenants, and several soldiers whose scalps were -torn from their bleeding skulls in a moment. Our regiment, though -steady under fire as a battalion of stone statues, now fell into -disorder, and the brown warriors, like fiends in aspect and activity, -pressed on with musket and war-club brandished, and with such yells -as never rang in mortal ears elsewhere. The day was lost, until the -Highlanders came up, and then the savages were routed in an instant, -and cut to pieces. 'Shoot and slash' was the order; and there ensued -such a scene of carnage as I had not witnessed since Culloden, where -His Royal Highness, the fat Duke of Cumberland, galloped about the -field, overseeing the wholesale butchery of the wounded. - -"We destroyed their magazines of powder and provisions; we laid the -wigwams in ashes, and shot or bayonetted every living thing, from the -babe on its mother's breast, to the hen that sat on the roost; for as -I had made our commander aware of all the avenues, there was no -escape for the poor devils of Cherokees. Had the pious, glorious, -and immortal King William been there, he would have thought we had -modelled the whole affair after his own exploit at Glencoe. - -"All was nearly over, and among the ashes of the smoking wigwams and -the gashed corpses of king's soldiers and Indian warriors, I sat down -beneath a great chestnut to wipe my musket, for butt, barrel, and -bayonet were clotted with blood and human hair--ouf, man, why do you -shudder? it was only Cherokee wool;--all was nearly over, I have -said, when a low fierce cry, like the hoarse hiss of a serpent, rang -in my ear; a brown and bony hand clutched my throat as the fangs of a -wolf would have done, and hurled me to the earth! A tomahawk flashed -above me, and an aged Indian's face, whose expression, was like that -of a fiend, came close to mine, and I felt his breath upon my cheek. -It was the visage of the sachem, but hollow with suffering and almost -green with fury, and he laughed like a hyæna, as he poised the -uplifted axe. - -"Another form intervened for a moment; it was that of the poor Indian -girl I had so heartlessly deceived; she sought to stay the avenging -hand of the frantic sachem; but he thrust her furiously aside, and in -the next moment the glittering tomahawk was quivering in my brain--a -knife swept round my head--my scalp was torn off, and I remember no -more." - -"A fortunate thing for you," said Ewen, drily; "memory such as yours -were worse than a knapsack to carry; and so you were killed there?" - -"Don't sneer, comrade," said Wooden-leg, with a diabolical gleam in -his eye: "prithee, don't sneet; I was killed there, and, moreover, -buried too, by the Scots Royals, when they interred the dead next -day." - -"Then how came you to be here?" said Ewen, not very much at ease, to -find himself in company with one he deemed a lunatic. - -"Here? that is my business--not yours," was the surly rejoinder. - -Ewen was silent, but reckoned over that now there were but thirty -days to run until the 26th of April, when the stipulated year would -expire. - -"Yes, comrade, just thirty days," said Wooden-leg, with an -affirmative nod, divining the thoughts of Ewen; "and then I shall be -off, bag and baggage, if my friends come." - -"If not?" - -"Then I shall remain where I am." - -"The Lord forbid!" thought Ewen; "but I can apply to the sheriff." - -"Death and fury! Thunder and blazes! I should like to see the -rascal of a sheriff who would dare to meddle with me!" growled the -old fellow, as his one eye shot fire, and, limping away, he ascended -the stairs grumbling and swearing, leaving poor Ewen terrified even -to think, on finding that his thoughts, although only half conceived, -were at once divined and responded to by this strange inmate of his -house. - -"His friends," thought Ewen, "who may they be?" - -Three heavy knocks rang on the floor overhead, as a reply. - -It was the wooden leg of the Cherokee invader. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT--THE MIDNIGHT MARCH. - -This queer old fellow (continued the quartermaster) was always in a -state of great excitement, and used an extra number of oaths, and -mixed his grog more thickly with gunpowder when a stray red coat -appeared far down the long green glen, which was crossed by Ewen's -lonely toll-bar. Then he would get into a prodigious fuss and -bustle, and was wont to pack and cord his trunk, to brush up his -well-worn and antique regimentals, and to adjust his queue and the -black cockade of his triple-cornered hat, as if preparing to depart. - -As the time of that person's wished-for departure drew nigh, Ewen -took courage, and shaking off the timidity with which the swearing -and boisterous fury of Wooden-leg had impressed him, he ventured to -expostulate a little on the folly and sin of his unmeaning oaths, and -the atrocity of the crimes he boasted of having committed. - -But the wicked old Wooden-leg laughed and swore more than ever, -saying that a "true soldier was never a religious one." - -"You are wrong, comrade," retorted the old Cameronian, taking fire at -such an assertion; "religion is the lightest burden a poor soldier -can carry; and, moreover, it hath upheld me on many a long day's -march, when almost sinking under hunger and fatigue, with my pack, -kettle, and sixty rounds of ball ammunition on my back. The duties -of a good and brave soldier are no way incompatible with those of a -Christian man; and I never lay down to rest on the wet bivouac or -bloody field, with my knapsack, or it might be a dead comrade, for a -pillow, without thanking God----" - -"Ha, ha, ha!" - -"--The God of Scotland's covenanted Kirk for the mercies he -vouchsafed to Ewen Mac Ewen, a poor grenadier of the 26th Regiment." - -"Ho, ho, ho!" - -The old Cameronian took off his bonnet and lifted up his eyes, as he -spoke fervently, and with the simple reverence of the olden time; but -Wooden-leg grinned and chuckled and gnashed his teeth as Ewen resumed. - -"A brave soldier may rush to the cannon's mouth, though it be loaded -with grape and cannister; or at a line of levelled bayonets--and rush -fearlessly too--and yet he may tremble, without shame, at the thought -of hell, or of offended Heaven. Is it not so, comrade? I shall -never forget the words of our chaplain before we stormed the Isles of -Saba and St. Martin from the Dutch, with Admiral Rodney, in '81." - -"Bah--that was after I was killed by the Cherokees. Well?" - -"The Cameronians were formed in line, mid leg in the salt water, with -bayonets fixed, the colours flying, the pipes playing and drums -beating 'Britons strike home,' and our chaplain, a reverend minister -of God's word, stood beside the colonel with the shot and shell from -the Dutch batteries flying about his old white head, but he was cool -and calm, for he was the grandson of Richard Cameron, the glorious -martyr of Airdsmoss. - -"'Fear not, my bairns,' cried he (he aye called us his bairns, having -ministered unto us for fifty years and more)--'fear not; but remember -that the eyes of the Lord are on every righteous soldier, and that -His hand will shield him in the day of battle!' - -"'Forward, my lads,' cried the colonel, waving his broad sword, while -the musket shot shaved the curls of his old brigadier wig; 'forward, -and at them with your bayonets;' and bravely we fell on--eight -hundred Scotsmen, shoulder to shoulder--and in half an hour the -British flag was waving over the Dutchman's Jack on the ramparts of -St. Martin." - -But to all Ewen's exordiums, the Wooden-leg replied by oaths, or -mockery, or his incessant laugh,-- - -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" - -At last came the long-wished for twenty-sixth of April! - -The day was dark and louring. The pine woods looked black, and the -slopes of the distant hills seemed close and near, and yet gloomy -withal. The sky was veiled by masses of hurrying clouds, which -seemed to chase each other across the Moray Firth. That estuary was -flecked with foam, and the ships were riding close under the lee of -the Highland shore, with topmasts struck, their boats secured, and -both anchors out, for everything betokened a coming storm. - -And with night it came in all its fury;--a storm similar to that of -the preceding year. - -The fierce and howling wind swept through the mountain gorges, and -levelled the lonely shielings, whirling their fragile roofs into the -air, and uprooting strong pines and sturdy beeches; the water was -swept up from the Loch of the Clans, and mingled with the rain which -drenched the woods around it. The green and yellow lightning played -in ghastly gleams about the black summit of Dun Daviot, and again the -rolling thunder bellowed over the graves of the dead on the bleak, -dark moor of Culloden. Attracted by the light in the windows of the -toll house, the red deer came down from the hills in herds and -cowered near the little dwelling; while the cries of the affrighted -partridges, blackcocks, and even those of the gannets from the Moray -Firth were heard at times, as they were swept past, with branches, -leaves, and stones, on the skirts of the hurrying blast. - -"It is just such a storm as we had this night twelvemonths ago," said -Meinie, whose cheek grew pale at the elemental uproar. - -"There will be no one coming up the glen to-night," replied Ewen; "so -I may as well secure the toll-bar, lest a gust should dash it to -pieces." - -It required no little skill or strength to achieve this in such a -tempest; the gate was strong and heavy, but it was fastened at last, -and Ewen retreated to his own fireside. Meanwhile, during all this -frightful storm without, Wooden-leg was heard singing and carolling -up-stairs, stumping about in the lulls of the tempest, and rolling, -pushing, and tumbling his chest from side to side; then he descended -to get a fresh can of grog--for "grog, grog, grog," was ever his cry. -His old withered face was flushed, and his excited eye shone like a -baleful star. He was conscious that a great event would ensue. - -Ewen felt happy in his soul that his humble home should no longer be -the resting-place of this evil bird whom the last tempest had blown -hither. - -"So you leave us to-morrow, comrade?" said he. - -"I'll march before daybreak," growled the other; "'twas our old -fashion in the days of Minden. Huske and Hawley always marched off -in the dark." - -"Before daybreak?" - -"Fire and smoke, I have said so, and you shall see; for my friends -are on the march already; but good night, for I shall have to parade -betimes. They come; though far, far off as yet." - -He retired with one of his diabolical leers, and Ewen and his wife -ensconced themselves in the recesses of their warm box-bed; Meinie -soon fell into a sound sleep, though the wind continued to howl, the -rain to lash against the trembling walls of the little mansion, and -the thunder to hurl peal after peal across the sky of that dark and -tempestuous night. - -The din of the elements and his own thoughts kept Ewen long awake; -but though the gleams of electric light came frequent as ever through -the little window, the glow of the "gathering peat" sank lower on the -hearth of hard-beaten clay, and the dull measured tick-tack of the -drowsy clock as it fell on the drum of his ear, about midnight, was -sending him to sleep, by the weariness of its intense monotony, when -from a dream that the fierce hawk eye of his malevolent lodger was -fixed upon him, he started suddenly to full consciousness. An uproar -of tongues now rose and fell upon the gusts of wind without; and he -heard an authoritative voice requiring the toll-bar to be opened. - -Overhead rang the stumping of the Wooden-lag, whose hoarse voice was -heard bellowing in reply from the upper window. - -"The Lord have a care of us!" muttered Mac Ewen, as he threw his kilt -and plaid round him, thrust on his bonnet and brogues, and hastened -to the door, which was almost blown in by the tempest as he opened it. - -The night was as dark, and the hurricane as furious as ever; but how -great was Ewen's surprise to see the advanced guard of a corps of -Grenadiers, halted at the toll-bar gate, which he hastened to unlock, -and the moment he did so, it was torn off its iron hooks and swept up -the glen like a leaf from a book, or a lady's handkerchief; as with -an unearthly howling the wind came tearing along in fitful and -tremendous gusts, which made the strongest forests stoop, and dashed -the struggling coasters on the rocks of the Firth--the Æstuarium -Vararis of the olden time. - -As the levin brands burst in lurid fury overhead, they seemed to -strike fire from the drenched rocks, the dripping trees, and the long -line of flooded roadway, that wound through the pastoral glen towards -Culloden. - -The advanced guard marched on in silence with arms slung; and Ewen, -to prevent himself from being swept away by the wind, clung with both -hands to a stone pillar of the bar-gate, that he might behold the -passage of this midnight regiment, which approached in firm and -silent order in sections of twelve files abreast, all with muskets -slung. The pioneers were in front, with their leather aprons, axes, -saws, bill-hooks, and hammers; the band was at the head of the -column; the drums, fifes, and colours were in the centre; the -captains were at the head of their companies; the subalterns on the -reverse flank, and the field-officers were all mounted on black -chargers, that curvetted and pranced like shadows, without a sound. - -Slowly they marched, but erect and upright, not a man of them seeming -to stoop against the wind or rain, while overhead the flashes of the -broad and blinding lightning were blazing like a ghastly torch, and -making every musket-barrel, every belt-plate, sword-blade, and -buckle, gleam as this mysterious corps filed through the barrier, -with who? Wooden-leg among them! - -By the incessant gleams Ewen could perceive that they were -Grenadiers, and wore the quaint old uniform of George II.'s time; the -sugar-loaf-shaped cap of red cloth embroidered with worsted; the -great square-tailed red coat with its heavy cuffs and close-cut -collar; the stockings rolled above the knee, and enormous -shoe-buckles. They carried grenade-pouches; the officers had -espontoons; the sergeants shouldered heavy halberds, and the coats of -the little drum-boys were covered with fantastic lace. - -It was not the quaint and antique aspect of this solemn battalion -that terrified Ewen, or chilled his heart; but the ghastly expression -of their faces, which were pale and hollow-eyed, being, to all -appearance, the visages of spectres; and they marched past like a -long and wavering panorama, without a sound; for though the wind was -loud, and the rain was drenching, neither could have concealed the -measured tread of so many mortal feet; but there was no footfall -heard on the roadway, nor the tramp of a charger's hoof; the regiment -defiled past, noiseless as a wreath of smoke. - -The pallor of their faces, and the stillness which accompanied their -march, were out of the course of nature; and the soul of Mac Ewen -died away within him; but his eyes were riveted upon the marching -phantoms--if phantoms, indeed, they were--as if by fascination; and, -like one in a terrible dream, he continued to gaze until the last -files were past; and with them rode a fat and full-faced officer, -wearing a three-cocked hat, and having a star and blue ribbon on his -breast. His face was ghastly like the rest, and dreadfully -distorted, as if by mental agony and remorse. Two aides-de-camps -accompanied him, and he rode a wild-looking black horse, whose eyes -shot fire. At the neck of the fat spectre--for a spectre he really -seemed--hung a card. - -It was the Nine of Diamonds! - -The whole of this silent and mysterious battalion passed in line of -march up the glen, with the gleams of lightning flashing about them. -One bolt more brilliant than the rest brought back the sudden flash -of steel. - -They had fixed bayonets, and shouldered arms! - -And on, and on they marched, diminishing in the darkness and the -distance, those ghastly Grenadiers, towards the flat bleak moor of -Culloden, with the green lightning playing about them, and gleaming -on the storm-swept waste. - -The Wooden-leg--Ewen's unco' guest--disappeared with them, and was -never heard of more in Strathnairn. - -He had come with a tempest, and gone with one. Neither was any trace -ever seen or heard of those strange and silent soldiers. No regiment -had left Nairn that night, and no regiment reached Inverness in the -morning; so unto this day the whole affair remains a mystery, and a -subject for ridicule with some, although Ewen, whose story of the -midnight march of a corps in time of war--caused his examination by -the authorities in the Castle of Inverness--stuck manfully to his -assertions, which were further corroborated by the evidence of his -wife and children. He made a solemn affidavit of the circumstances I -have related before the sheriff, whose court books will be found to -confirm them in every particular; if not, it is the aforesaid -sheriff's fault, and not mine. - -There were not a few (but these were generally old Jacobite ladies of -decayed Highland families, who form the gossiping tabbies and -wall-flowers of the Northern Meeting) who asserted that in their -young days they had heard of such a regiment marching by night, once -a year to the field of Culloden; for it is currently believed by the -most learned on such subjects in the vicinity of the "Clach na -Cudden," that on the anniversary of the sorrowful battle, a certain -place, which shall be nameless, opens, and that the restless souls of -the murderers of the wounded clansmen march in military array to the -green graves upon the purple heath, in yearly penance; and this story -was thought to receive full corroboration by the apparition of a fat -lubberly spectre with the nine of diamonds chained to his neck; as it -was on that card--since named the Curse of Scotland--the Duke of -Cumberland hastily pencilled the savage order to "show no quarter to -the wounded, but to slaughter all." - -Such was the story of our old Highland Quartermaster. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE LAST OF DON FABRIQUE. - -A week or two after our return from Seville to Gibraltar, Jack -Slingsby received a note from a Spanish officer, who commanded a -detachment of the Grenadiers of Jaen, to the effect that the famous -bandit Fabrique de Urquija had been taken, and was condemned to die -by the spirited Alcalde of San Roque; that his execution was to take -place on the day after to-morrow, and that if we wished to behold the -mode of punishing such criminals in Spain, it would afford him much -pleasure if we joined his party, which was ordered to assist in -guarding the scaffold. - -Though neither of us were animated by a love of cruelty or taste for -the morbid, we were somewhat curious to see how this romantic -vagabond, who so pitilessly had meted out death to so many others, -would encounter his own terrible doom, and availing ourselves of the -Spanish officer's polite offer, we procured a day's leave, rode over -to breakfast with him, and marched with his detachment to San Roque, -a little town, which lies, as I have elsewhere said, about six miles -from our garrison on the Spanish side. - -As we proceeded, the Spanish capitano told us the little episode of -Don Fabrique's capture. - -It happened thus. - -The Alcalde of San Roque was reputed to be immensely wealthy, and to -have in a secret place a strong box full of yellow doubloons and rich -silver duros, piled up in shining pillars to its brim, like the -treasure chests which the Moors are supposed to have hidden in all -the old castles and ruined atalayas in Spain, and all of which are -occasionally visible to those who have the fortune of being born on -Good Friday, as every Spaniard knows. - -The rumour of this wealth could not fail to reach the ears of Don -Fabrique, and to excite the cupidity of that enterprising gentleman; -but concealing his intentions from his band, whom he intended to -leave, as he proposed to himself a little trip to Paris or Peru, if -he relieved the Alcalde of those cares which are inseparable from the -possession of wealth, he reconnoitred the house, and found an -entrance to a room wherein he secreted himself beneath a bed, which -stood in an alcove off it. In this bed the portly alcalde and his -buxom wife were wont to take their repose; so Don Fabrique had not -been very long in this place of concealment, when the lady came in -with a lamp in her hand, and placing it on the toilet table, -proceeded to divest her charming person of her habiliments. - -She threw the fag end of her cigar into the brassero; hung her wig -upon a knob of the mirror, et cetera. She then dipped a finger into -the little font of holy water which hung at the head of her bed, and -stepped in, to await the coming of her worthy spouse, who was -lingering over the 'Heraldo' and a glass of Valdepenas in the -dining-room below. - -Now as the bed had a canvas bottom like a hammock, and the lady -therein was equal in size and weight to three ordinary women, Don -Fabrique, with natural consternation, reflected on what he should -have to endure, when the gorbellied alcalde was added to the -superincumbent load of the señora. - -"Demonio!" thought he, "what is to be done? I shall be suffocated -before that brute the señor patron is half asleep!" - -The panting robber stirred uneasily, and the stout lady above him -started. - -"Madre de Dios, what is that!" she whispered to herself. - -There was no response; but on Fabrique stirring again, the señora -fairly sprang in terror from her bed. Fabrique dared not breathe, -but with one hand on his stiletto and the other on his lips, he lay -still as death. The lady now obtained a glimpse of his foot. and -uttering one of those shrill cries, which most women can utter at any -time, she rushed from the chamber to seek her husband; but first she -took the precaution of double-locking the door. - -Finding himself discovered, and aware that all was over now, Fabrique -hastened to escape by his place of entrance, the window. Alas! it -was now secured by a shutter crossed by iron bars on the outside, and -these resisted all his efforts. There was no chimney; again he -rushed to the door. It was firm--fast as a rock, and he might as -well have rushed against the stone wall. He heard the clank of feet -and of halberts as the hastily-summoned alguazils came into the room -below; true, he had his dagger; but what would that avail him against -so many? The perspiration burst over his brow and he cursed the -avarice which brought him on such errand unassisted by that faithful -and determined band he was about to leave for ever. - -Fertile in expedients, he at last thought of one. - -He threw off all his clothes and popped into the bed of the señor -alcalde, and scarcely had he tucked himself cosily in when the door -was burst open, and in marched the portly patron, his eyes dilated -with vengeance, and his paunch swollen with official dignity and -purple valdepenas, while the grim alguazils with pointed halberts and -cocked trabujas came behind, and with them was the terrified lady in -her night-dress, holding a candle in one trembling hand, her rosary -and a case of reliques in the other. - -Fabrique gazed at them with well-feigned surprise, which was -reflected in the faces of all on beholding the place of his retreat, -though it soon turned to resentment in the wife of the alcalde; her -eyes flashed; her plump cheeks and bosom became crimson with anger. - -"How now, señor raterillo," thundered the alcalde; "what am I to -understand by all this?" - -"By what, most worthy señor," whined the robber, with affected -simplicity and shame. - -"Why--your being here--here, señor--in the bed of the señora--in my -bed?" continued the alcalde, gathering courage from the loudness of -his own voice; "speak, rascal--why are you here?" - -"Ask the señora, who invited me," replied Fabrique. with the coolest -assurance in the world. - -"Morte de Dios, what is this I hear?" muttered the overwhelmed -alcalde. - -"Yes, ask her, for I did not come here unexpected, believe me, most -worthy and much-injured Señor Patron," continued the cunning rogue as -he leaped out of bed, and assisted by the tittering alguazils, put on -his garments with all haste, while the wife of the poor alcalde gazed -upon him speechless with rage at the inference and his accusation, -while the magistrate himself was baffled and blanched by a new and -vague sense of shame and consternation. - -"My dear señora," said Fabrique, in a bland tone, as he tied on his -sash and assumed his sombrero, "I regret extremely that you are weary -of me--that my company is no longer pleasing to you, as of old; but -it is very cruel of you to bring the neck of a poor lover so faithful -as I into such deadly jeopardy, and I shall treasure this lesson of -female perfidy, revenge, and caprice to my latest hour. Muchas -gracias, señora, much good may your trick do you." - -The lady was choking with anger and unmerited shame, while the -cunning rogue continued,-- - -"Most worthy Señor Alcalde, most faithless and fickle señora, and -you, most paltry and pitiful señores alguazils, I have the honour to -wish you all a very good evening." - -With a low bow and a mocking smile, he was about to depart, when one -of the alguazils exclaimed,-- - -"Stop--seize him; by Santiago, 'tis Fabrique de Urquija!" - -The face of the robber became black with fury; he drew his stiletto -and rushed upon his discoverer, but was soon beaten down by the -halberts and clubbed blunderbusses of the officials, by whom he was -bound with cords and dragged to prison without delay. - -He was soon tried in due form, and though the whole town rang with -his terrible exploits, and the women praised his handsome figure, his -reckless courage, and the great tact and skill by which he had so -nearly eluded the pot-bellied Alcalde, he was sentenced "to be -garotted at twelve o'clock to-day." - -Such was the detail given to us by the Spanish officer. - -As we neared San Roque, we found great crowds from remote parts of -the judicial partido, all clad in the picturesque and antique -costumes of the province, ascending the mountain on which the town is -situated, and all anxious to behold the dying demeanour of the most -famous of Spanish bandits--the greatest since Manuel Francisco was -shot at Cordova two years ago. - -The mountain of San Roque stands at the head of a beautiful bay of -the same name; and on looking back as we ascended, we had a charming -view of the sea, with several large Xebecques floating like gigantic -white birds with wings outspread upon its shining azure surface. - -A clear and brilliant morning sun poured a flood of light athwart the -picturesque plaza of San Roque, into which, as one may easily -imagine, the whole male population of the town--about eight -thousand--were crowded. This plaza resembled a sea of human heads -covered with black or brown sombreros; though there were many who -wore only their own coarse black hair in netted cauls, and a few had -scarlet forage caps. Above this crowd glittered the bayonets and the -glazed shakoes of a battalion of Infantry of the Spanish line, from -the adjacent barracks. These surrounded the high wooden platform of -the garotte. Within their line were the poor old ecclesiastics of -the two suppressed convents and three hospitals of San Roque, wearing -the remarkable monastic costumes of a past age. - -The principal place was occupied by the commandant of the fortified -camp of San Roque, who, upon our appearing among the crowd in our -British uniform, sent his aide-de-camp, with a polite invitation for -us to join his staff, which we immediately accepted. - -On the centre of the platform, which was about twenty feet square, -and covered with black cloth, sat the fallen Fabrique de Urquija upon -a little wooden stool, with his back placed against the upright post -of the garotte, the iron collar of which encircled his brawny naked -neck. His broad low brow was black as a thunder cloud; his eyes were -fierce and keen, and with a lowering glance of scornful pride, he -surveyed the masses who crowded on every inch of space that afforded -footing. His ancles were chained to an eyebolt on the floor of the -platform. Near him stood the old confessor José de Torquemada of -Medina, barefooted; his cowl thrown back; in his wrinkled hands an -ivory crucifix, which ever and anon he placed to the quivering lips -of the doomed man in the interval of prayer. - -Poor Urquija! I forgot all his atrocities and the evil he would once -have done to Slingsby and myself; and now I felt only pity for his -terrible situation. - -"I saw your glance of commiseration," said Jack quietly, as he -prepared a cigarito; "but be assured, Ramble, you may as well feel -pity for a bruised wolf. I have not forgotten the Rio de Muerte, and -that night on the hills above Trohniona." - -"Noble Caballeros--buenos Christianos," said a venerable Franciscan, -placing before us the wooden platter on which he was receiving the -reals and pence of the faithful; "por neustra Señora Santissima, one -little medio for the sinful soul of Fabrique de Urquija." - -Jack and I--though believing but little in monk or mass--were taught -as soldiers to respect the religious prejudices of all men; thus we -were touched by the honest piety of these old pillars of a dying -creed---dying at least in Spain; and we each threw in a gold coin. -This raised an approving murmur among the people, and the prisoner -gave us a glance full of recognition and gratitude. We had paid -enough for fifty masses! - -The church bell now began to toll a passing knell. - -Then the alguazils, who wore the cavalier costume of other times--the -broad hat, the long locks, the white vandyke collar over a little -shoulder mantle, the short knee-breeches and buckled shoes, of the -days of Cervantes, advanced their halberts and ascended the scaffold, -accompanied by the executioner, who was dressed in the deepest black. -All present now murmured and looked round, and several officers drew -their swords, for rumours of a projected rescue were current in San -Roque and its vicinity. - -The confession was ended, and if all the horrors which rumour -ascribed to the unhappy Urquija were true, what a revelation it must -have been! What a volume it would have made! - -José Torquemada remained on his knees beside the penitent, who turned -to him ever and anon, anxiously and hurriedly to pour into his ear -some newly-remembered act of guilt, or perhaps to spin out the thread -of life a little--a very little longer. - -Meanwhile the solemn bell continued tolling; the people around the -scaffold were nearly all upon their knees, and the grasp of the -executioner was laid upon the iron wrench or screw of the garotte. -The face of the culprit flushed as he did so, and then grew pale as -marble. - -The hand of the church clock indicated the hour of noon; then a -cannon pealed from the fortifications of San Roque and the priest -pointed with his crucifix to Heaven, while the executioner, at that -instant, gave the screw a vigorous twist, and the head of Urquija -fell suddenly on his breast. It heaved a little, and all was over. - -A "viva" mingled with the prayers of the people; but the dead man -remained motionless and still, under that bright sunshine of noon; -and then rose the hum of many voices as if a load had been taken off -every breast; while the bayonets flashed and the sharp brass drums -beat merrily, as the Spanish Infantry wheeled from hollow square into -open column of companies, and marched by sections through the Plaza -to the fortified camp of San Roque; then the crowd, who, up to the -last moment had foretold and expected a rescue from the band of -Urquija, who were hovering and vowing vengeance on the Sierra de -Ronda, began to disperse. - -Such was the last act in the terrible career of Fabrique de Urquija, -the student of Alcala; and such was the last episode of Jack -Slingsby's Spanish adventures and mine. - -We dined with the Commandant at the fortified camp of San Roque, and -in the evening rode back to Gibraltar, where we found the garrison in -a buzz of excitement. - -"What is the matter?" I asked of a sentinel at the lower -fortifications as we rode in; "and for what reason was that heavy -cannon fired after sunset?" - -"The Himalaya has come in, sir, with Sir Henry Slingsby and a -detachment of the Guards on board; she is at anchor in the roads, and -your regiment is ordered to embark for the Crimea by gunfire -to-morrow." - -"Hurrah!" cried Jack, and we dashed at full speed to our barracks, -where the clusters of our soldiers in the square, laughing and -talking gaily, the colonel's orderly running after the adjutant, the -adjutant calling for the Serjeant major, and the evident excitement -and satisfaction visible in every face, corroborated the information -of the sentinel, and impressed upon us the necessity of immediately -packing our baggage; but before doing so, I dispatched at once to -press these little tales and episodes which have lightened and -beguiled our mess-table in old Gibraltar; and if they please my -readers, and win from them but half the praise they won from my light -hearted and brave brother officers, my task in collecting them will -be more than recompensed. - - - -WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65393 *** diff --git a/old/65393-h/65393-h.htm b/old/65393-h/65393-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index af6c67d..0000000 --- a/old/65393-h/65393-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,20362 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> - -<head> - -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> - -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> - -<title> -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Phantom Regiment, by James Grant -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> -body { color: black; - background: white; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-left: 10%; - font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; - text-align: justify } - -p {text-indent: 4% } - -p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } - -p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 200%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - text-align: center } - -p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 150%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - text-align: center } - -p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 100%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - text-align: center } - -p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center } - -p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 60%; - text-align: center } - -h1 { text-align: center } -h2 { text-align: center } -h3 { text-align: center } -h4 { text-align: center } -h5 { text-align: center } - -p.poem {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10%; } - -p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; - letter-spacing: 4em ; - text-align: center } - -p.letter {text-indent: 0%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; - font-size: 80%; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } - -p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 10% ; - margin-right: 10% } - -p.intro {font-size: 90% ; - text-indent: -5% ; - margin-left: 5% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -p.finis { font-size: larger ; - text-align: center ; - text-indent: 0% ; - margin-left: 0% ; - margin-right: 0% } - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> -<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65393 ***</div> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - THE<br /> - PHANTOM REGIMENT<br /> -</h1> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - OR<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - STORIES OF "OURS"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - JAMES GRANT<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF<br /> - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON<br /> - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS<br /> - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL<br /> - NEW YORK: 9 LAFAYETTE PLACE<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> - JAMES GRANT'S NOVELS,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - Two Shillings each, Fancy Boards.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - THE ROMANCE OF WAR<br /> - THE AIDE-DE-CAMP<br /> - THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER<br /> - BOTHWELL<br /> - JANE SETON; OR, THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE<br /> - PHILIP ROLLO<br /> - THE BLACK WATCH<br /> - MARY OF LORRAINE<br /> - OLIVER ELLIS; OR, THE FUSILIERS<br /> - LUCY ARDEN; OR, HOLLYWOOD HALL<br /> - FRANK HILTON; OR, THE QUEEN'S OWN<br /> - THE YELLOW FRIGATE<br /> - HARRY OGILVIE; OR, THE BLACK DRAGOONS<br /> - ARTHUR BLANE<br /> - LAURA EVERINGHAM; OR, THE HIGHLANDERS OF GLENORA<br /> - THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD<br /> - LETTY HYDE'S LOVERS<br /> - CAVALIERS OF FORTUNE<br /> - SECOND TO NONE<br /> - THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE<br /> - VIOLET JERMYN<br /> - THE PHANTOM REGIMENT<br /> - THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS<br /> - THE WHITE COCKADE<br /> - FIRST LOVE AND LAST LOVE<br /> - DICK RODNEY<br /> - THE GIRL HE MARRIED<br /> - LADY WEDDERBURN'S WISH<br /> - JACK MANLY<br /> - ONLY AN ENSIGN<br /> - THE ADVENTURES OF ROB ROY<br /> - UNDER THE RED DRAGON<br /> - THE QUEEN'S CADET<br /> - SHALL I WIN HER?<br /> - FAIRER THAN A FAIRY<br /> - ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED<br /> - MORLEY ASTON<br /> - DID SHE LOVE HIM?<br /> - THE ROSS-SHIRE BUFFS<br /> - SIX YEARS AGO<br /> - VERE OF OURS<br /> - THE LORD HERMITAGE<br /> - THE ROYAL REGIMENT<br /> - THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S HIGHLANDERS<br /> - THE CAMERONIANS<br /> - THE SCOTS BRIGADE<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - CONTENTS<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - I. <a href="#chap01">The Romance of a Month</a><br /> - II. <a href="#chap02">The Guarda Costa</a><br /> - III. <a href="#chap03">Jack Slingsby</a><br /> - IV. <a href="#chap04">The Venta</a><br /> - V. <a href="#chap05">The Regiment of San Antonio</a><br /> - VI. <a href="#chap06">La Posada del Cavallo</a><br /> - VII. <a href="#chap07">The Halt in a Cork Wood</a><br /> - VIII. <a href="#chap08">The Alcalde</a><br /> - IX. <a href="#chap09">The Tertulia</a><br /> - X. <a href="#chap10">Don Fabrique</a><br /> - XI. <a href="#chap11">The Raterillo</a><br /> - XII. <a href="#chap12">La Rio de Muerte</a><br /> - XIII. <a href="#chap13">Pedro the Contrabandista</a><br /> - XIV. <a href="#chap14">The Spanish Steamer</a><br /> - XV. <a href="#chap15">The Circassian Captain</a><br /> - XVI. <a href="#chap16">Osman Rioni</a><br /> - XVII. <a href="#chap17">The Hussars of Tenginski</a><br /> - XVIII. <a href="#chap18">Zupi</a><br /> - XIX. <a href="#chap19">We Reach Head-Quarters</a><br /> - XX. <a href="#chap20">St. Floridan; or, the Adventures of a Night</a><br /> - XXI. <a href="#chap21">The Widow; or, the Adventures of a Night</a><br /> - XXII. <a href="#chap22">Perez, the Potter; or, the Adventures of a Night</a><br /> - XXIII. <a href="#chap23">The Major's Story</a><br /> - XXIV. <a href="#chap24">"Estella"</a><br /> - XXV. <a href="#chap25">A Legend of Fife</a><br /> - XXVI. <a href="#chap26">The Phantom Regiment—The Quartermaster's Story</a><br /> - XXVII. <a href="#chap27">The Phantom Regiment—The Unco' Quest</a><br /> - XXVIII. <a href="#chap28">The Phantom Regiment—The Midnight March</a><br /> - XXIX. <a href="#chap29">The Last of Don Fabrique</a><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT; -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -OR, -</p> - -<p class="t2"> -STORIES OF "OURS." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -THE ROMANCE OF A MONTH. -</h3> - -<p> -"Adios, Señora Paulina—adios, mi Señora Dominga." -</p> - -<p> -"Adios, Señor Don Ricardo," replied a sweet voice -from the depths of the old Spanish coach. -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya usted con Dios, y que no haya novedad -Señoras," said I, making a vigorous effort with my -best Castilian; and with these words, and one bright -parting glance from two black Andalusian eyes, so -ended my little romance of a month, as the -old-fashioned coach, which was doubtless the production -of some cunning workman of Seville or Jaen, rolled -slowly, pompously, and heavily away towards the -Spanish lines, from the north gate of Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -And this farewell took place exactly this day twelve -months ago. -</p> - -<p> -The coach which bore away the old lady who -rejoiced in the euphonious cognomen of Donna -Dominga de Lucena y Colmenar de Orieja, and her -daughter the pretty Paulina, was a genuine old -Castilian contrivance of the true caravan species; and, -though still in use, in this our age of luxury and -invention, had been constructed, perhaps, before folding -steps were conceived; for a three-legged stool, to -facilitate ingress and egress, hung near the door. -The roof was shaped like the crust of an apple-pie, -and the lower carriage, like that portion of a -triumphal car. It was drawn by a pair of fat sleek mules, -which seemed to have grown old with the vehicle, and -with Pedrillo, the little postilion, who floundered -away on a demi-pique saddle, with a gigantic cocked -hat surmounting his dark visage; and his lean spindle -legs lost in two gigantic jack-boots, which belonged -to the beforesaid saddle rather than to his own person. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the antediluvian vehicle which bore away -the pompous old Donna and her daughter the -charming Paulina, who, for the past month (during -which she had resided in Gibraltar), had turned all -the heads of "Ours;" and was boasted by the -Spaniards as the fairest belle in las Cuatros Reinos—yes -in the three mighty little kingdoms of Seville, -Cordova, Jaen, and Granada, which are now -conglomerated into the beautiful province of Andalusia. -</p> - -<p> -And so, without other escort than the redoubtable -Pedrillo, who wore a trabujo or blunderbuss slung -across his back, and strong in their belief in the -virtues of the Santa Faz of Jaen, a picture of which -was hung in the back of their coach, these two Spanish -ladies, on the conclusion of their visit, departed -on their return to Seville, their native city; and from -the British fortifications, which frown in solid tiers -towards the Spanish lines, I watched the venerable -carrozzo as it rolled across the low sandy Isthmus, -which is known as the neutral ground; and it -disappeared just as the sun began to fade upon the -beautiful masses of the Serrania de Rondo, which -rose in piles against the golden clouds, and as the -evening gun pealed like thunder among the Moorish -peaks of Jebel Tarik; and then I turned away with -a sigh as I thought of the winning smile I should -never see again. -</p> - -<p> -"It's all over now, Ramble," said my friend Jack -Slingsby, who was the subaltern of my company, -and who had been my chum at Sandhurst; "it is all -over, Dick," he continued, with a laugh and one of -those rough slaps on the shoulder, which no one -ventures to give but an Englishman; "and so, instead -of airing your sorrows here, 'sighing to the evening -breeze' and all that sort of thing, you may as well -come with me and knock the balls about a little—or -join Shafton, the colonel, and some of "Ours" who -have proposed a pool to-night—and meanwhile solace -yourself with another of my 'very superior' cabanas." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps it is as well she is gone, Jack," said I, -endeavouring to imitate his light-hearted indifference; -"had she remained among us another week, I would -certainly have booked for her, and so have bedevilled -myself, as you said yesterday." -</p> - -<p> -"For Donna Paulina?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of course—had you any doubts as to which?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why—no. I certainly did not think that you -were in love with the mother." -</p> - -<p> -"Well," said I, impatiently. -</p> - -<p> -"Paulina is very beautiful, no doubt; she has those -Andalusian eyes and ancles which all the world talk -about, but which all the world must see to feel the -full effect of either. She has a charming manner—a -glorious 'espiêglerie'—yes, that's the word! full of -pretty repartee, and all that sort of thing—you -understand me, Dick, or Don Ricardo, as she called you; -but withal, I assure you, I should not like to enter -for a Spanish wife, of all women in the world; no, -no—what does the song say?" and as we reascended -to the higher parts of the fortress, this careless fellow -sang aloud a scrap of a popular mess-table song, -somewhat to this purpose:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "No fair fräulein or demoiselle, nor donna with her smile,<br /> - Shall ever teach me to forget the dear ones of our isle;<br /> - And when I seek a heart and hand among the fair and free,<br /> - Still constant in my faith, I'll say an English girl for me."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"That is the mark, Dick,— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "——an English girl for me!"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Besides, half of the young fellows in garrison here -ran after Paulina; and at every mess-table she was as -well known as the big drum, or the regimental -snuff-box, or that great ram's head with its devilish horns, -with which those highland fellows of the 92nd -decorate their table, after the cloth is removed. At every -jail, field-day, and tertulia—at church, and on the -promenade, a crowd of admirers surrounded her, like -flies round honey, and she seemed to be equally -delighted with all." -</p> - -<p> -"That was one of the peculiar charms of her -manner, Jack," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Peculiar, indeed!" said he, letting out a cloud of -smoke from his well-mustachioed lip. -</p> - -<p> -"In public, she distinguished none in particular, -but was alike gay with all." -</p> - -<p> -"And in private, who was said generally to be the -happy Lothario?" -</p> - -<p> -I made no reply, but knocked the ashes away from -the 'very superior' cabana, with which he had just -favoured me. -</p> - -<p> -"It was said to be a certain person known as Dick -Ramble of 'Ours'," continued Slingsby, in his -bantering way; "but I am deuced glad it is all over, like -any other flirtation, and you are 'free to win and free -to wed another;' I don't like Spaniards—and never -shall. In fact, I have hated them ever since that -unpleasant adventure I had at Malaga last year, and -about which I shall tell you some other time; but -here come Shafton, Morton, and some more of 'Ours,' -and as soon as we leave the mess, we shall adjourn to -the billiard table." -</p> - -<p> -What this 'unpleasant adventure,' to which Slingsby -referred—and to which I had often heard him -refer before—might have been I cared not then to -inquire; but walked on, more chilled than consoled by -his rattling manner and by that mess-room raillery, -which I have known to laugh many a wiser man than -your humble servant, out of an honest and sincere -passion; while it has also been the saving of many -an inflammable "Newcome," or unfledged, but -amatory ensign, from the lures of those passé garrison -belles, whose feathers are beginning to moult, and -whose brilliance is beginning to fade, after a long -career of close flirtation, round-dancing, supper-crushes, -cold fowl, ices, pink champagne, affectionate -farewells in the grey morning, when the drowsy -drum-boys beat reveillie, or when the route arrived, -and each lover—a lover alas! but for the time—departed -with his regiment to return no more. -</p> - -<p> -Of Paulina de Lucena (such a pretty name it is!) -I had seen much during her short residence in -Gibraltar, and had become—what shall I term it, for -'Ours' were not marrying men—charmed by her -sweetness of temper and piquant manner, as well as -by her acknowledged beauty. -</p> - -<p> -Jack Slingsby stigmatised this under the denomination -of "being spooney;" but as I have a proper -abhorrence of all that slang phraseology which is -peculiar to the university, the barrack, the clubhouse, -and the turf, I believe I shall quote honest Jack no -more, but proceed in my own fashion. -</p> - -<p> -She was the only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel -Don Ignacio de Lucena, a Knight of San Ferdinando, -an officer of Lancers in the service of the Queen of -Spain, in one of whose battles he was taken prisoner -by Cabrera, and shot in cold blood with fifty of his -soldiers: for this ferocious Carlist behaved with such -barbarity to the Constitutional Army that one of its -officers, who had been a prisoner, assured me that -at Valencia he and his comrades were subjected to -such cruelty by their captors, that after a thousand -sufferings, on being denied food, they were driven to -the dreadful necessity of devouring the body of a -fellow captive.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* A work published in Valencia positively asserts this. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The profession of her father, together with the -circumstance of one of her brothers being in the -Spanish sea service, and another in the army of -Portugal, caused her to view with a favourable eye all -who have the honour to live by the sword; and my -small smattering of Spanish, which I picked up in -those idle hours of a garrison life that otherwise -must have hung heavily over me, gave me every -facility for cultivating a friendship which had in it -everything that might serve to dazzle and charm a young -man; for with the idea of Andalusia and Spanish -beauty we are apt to conjure up so much of love -and of romance that the imagination gets the better -of the senses; besides, those rogues of travellers and -romancers have always given us such exaggerated -pictures of Spanish loveliness. -</p> - -<p> -In regularity of feature and fairness of complexion, -Donna Paulina was inferior to many a pretty girl I -have seen at home. Her most glorious attractions -were her dark glossy tresses and her black eloquent -eyes—brilliant, sad, subduing, ever varying, but ever -black, and under their long, long fringes, ever -melting. In beauty of form and grace of movement -she was unmatched out of her own province, and I -can assure the reader that the first time her very -striking figure appeared among the promenaders in -the Alameda of Gibraltar with her drapery of black -lace falling from a high pearl comb, her mantilla, -her close-fitting dress, her pretty feet in their -Cordovan slippers, and her large fan, the unhappy bones -of which were ever in a state of flutter and excitement, -and between which she shot her most dangerous -glances, it occasioned much marvel, curiosity, and -speculation at all the mess-tables of Her Majesty's -forces stationed on the rock. -</p> - -<p> -To such a companion imagine the charm of acting -cicerone about the fortifications of old Gibraltar; -imagine our evening rambles round Rosia Bay and -along the new mole, where the ships of the British -and Yankees, the French, Spaniards, Portuguese, -Italians, Turks, Greeks, Moors, Arabs, and Jews, -with all their varieties of ensigns, costume and rig, -are riding at anchor, and where many a grim mortar -and cannon gun frown over the new bastion; imagine -the transition from the sunny Alameda to the deep -cool galleries which are hewn in the heart of the -living rock, and which are now turned to such -war-like purposes as old Pomponius Mela, who first wrote -of them, could never have conceived, and where we -wandered for many an hour, the pretty donna forgetting -the starched customs of her country so far as -to grasp my arm with both her hands at times, for the -aspect of these places filled her with timidity and -awe. -</p> - -<p> -To these subterranean batteries there is admitted -but a dim and dubious light that steals through their -embrasures, glinting on the damp slime of their -walls and roof of rock; and on the heavy -ordnance—sixty-eight pounders some of them—which stand -on frames of metal, on piles of balls and bombs, and -on doors studded with iron, that lead to other and inner -vaults full of missiles and unknown terrors. -</p> - -<p> -On, on would we wander, through grim batteries, -gloomy magazines, and far-stretching galleries, that -seemed to be without end, obtaining at times through -the vaulted embrasures a glimpse of the town, then -basking in the glare of the noonday sun, or of the -sea, shining under a brilliance in which the vessels -on its bosom became lost, while we heard only the -sound of our own voices, the twang of a bugle, or -the sharp rat-tat of a drum in the barracks, the faint -boom of a breaker on the cliffs, or the fainter sound -of voices in the town, far, far down below, where all -the races of the world were mingling; for there, in -its streets, might be seen the smart Greek in his -scarlet fez and ample kilt; the hideous Afric Jew in his -black and white striped cowl; the slow and solemn -Turk; the bare-kneed Scottish soldier; the lively -Italian sailor, and the puffing, perspiring, and -grumbling John Bull. -</p> - -<p> -I saw Paulina daily, and garrison life became one -long and enchanting dream! -</p> - -<p> -In the batteries of the rock we promenaded often -when the heat became too great in the sunny -Alameda, and with such a companion, while wandering -through the subterranean and twilight shades of -Saint George's Hall, or the Windsor Gallery, how was -it possible to escape from loving her.—A coquettish -Andalusian, who, whenever I ventured to become a -little more tender than usual, would tap me over the -fingers with her fan, or give me one brilliant, flashing -and fascinating glance, as she closed her screen of -black lace, and threatened to leave me, while she -sang, with the most charming grace in the world, -"Pues por besarte Minguillo," the English of which -is somewhat to the following purpose:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Give me swiftly back, thou dear one,<br /> - Give the kiss I gave to you;<br /> - Give me back the kiss, for mother<br /> - Is impatient—prithee do!<br /> - Give me that, and take another,<br /> - For that one, thou shalt have two."<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -And where, the while, the reader may naturally -enquire, was the cautious, suspicious, and lynx-eyed -Spanish mother therein referred to? -</p> - -<p> -Now old Donna Dominga had conceived a vehement -friendship for me since the first evening on -which I had the pleasure of meeting her at the -residence of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief; -and where I supplied her with ices when she was -warm, adjusted her mantilla when she was cool, held -her fan, snuff-box, and poodle, and brought her a -cigarillo and orange-water dashed with the smallest -taste of brandy; and, discovering her sympathies and -antipathies, soon learned to anathematise Cabrera -and the Conde de Montmolin, to express a vague -belief in miracles in general, and the verity of the -Holy Face of Jaen in particular. I "turned" the -old lady's flank, and established myself safely under -the wing of her prejudices. -</p> - -<p> -She always accompanied Paulina and me in our -rambles; but I generally contrived, by a little -successful manoeuvring, to leave her to the care of -Dr. MacLeechy, our senior surgeon, after Jack Slingsby -had very disobligingly revolted against this duty; -and as the doctor and the Donna were either -somewhat pursy, or disposed to prose and linger, we -usually left them far in the rear and lost sight of them -altogether. -</p> - -<p> -Now the doctor, who quoted Kelaart as if he had -been his own father, and expatiated to the old lady -on geology (with mineralogy, botany, and Scottish -metaphysics), was so very particular in explaining the -leaves, fibres, and various properties of the <i>Iberus -Giberaltarica</i>, the only plant peculiar to the rock, -that the stout Donna Dominga, who deemed all this -but the language of the flowers, and viewed -everything through the medium of gallantry, became -troubled in spirit, and would occasionally blush behind -the sticks of her fan, or ogle and look unutterable -things at our poor unconscious medico. She would -sigh tenderly when he plucked the soft palmetto -which grows in the rocky crevices, or tremble over -the white polyanthus, and was ready to drop like a -ripe pumpkin into his arms, when he grew eloquent -upon the various species of the cacti. -</p> - -<p> -This was all very well while it lasted, for while the -ponderous old donna thought that our quiet, canny, -and discreet Galen, who signed himself M.D. of -St. Andrews, and F.E.C.S. of Edinburgh, was a lover of -her own, she forgot to look too narrowly after us; -and believed that she had found a most agreeable -mode of passing the month in Gibraltar, which, for -change of air, had been recommended by some -sangrado of Seville, as her health had become -somewhat impaired by ease and good living. -</p> - -<p> -I was so dazzled and delighted with the charming -Paulina, and her pretty little ways, that I had really -begun to prepare my mind for repelling the banter -of the mess, and for waiting with due solemnity -upon Donna Dominga to confer with her alone, -upon settlements and so forth, when a terrible -denouement took place! Having rashly boasted of -her imaginary conquest over our doctor, to a lady -whom she met at the house of a rich Spanish -merchant in the Alameda, there ensued between them -an immediate scene; for this unlucky communication -(given with all the coy triumph with which -the plump old lady could invest it) was made to no -other than the doctor's wife, who had just arrived -from Dublin; and as it had never entered the head -of Donna Dominga to inquire whether our -unsuspecting medico was a Benedick—bond or free, as -they say in Australia—a storm was the consequence. -</p> - -<p> -Now, Mrs. Leechy MacLeechy, our Scotch doctor's -better half, was a strong-minded Irish woman, who -wore a species of turban, and was the terror of the -regiment; on each of her fat wrists she wore a -bracelet of blood-encrusted medals, torn, as she said, -"off Rooshian breasts," and sent to her from -Sebastopol by her brother, who was "the matchor—the -saynior matchor—devil a less, or the foighting -eighty-ayth;" and so this lady, in her deep Galway -patois, poured on the Spaniard a broadside that -would have sunk the Santissima Trinidad. -</p> - -<p> -Finding her love affair at an end, the cruel donna -resolved to cut short mine. Within an hour after -this meeting, Pedrillo was summoned; the old -Spanish coach was brought forth; the baggage packed, -and her farewell cards—P.P.C.—dispatched to the -governor and his military secretary; to the aides-de-camp -and staff colonel; to the officers commanding -regiments, and all the great folks of the place. The -old lady and the pretty Paulina got into the depths -of the ponderous 'carrozza;' the three-legged stool -was strapped to the door; Pedrillo clambered into -his bucket-like boots, and muttered many 'carajos!' -as he applied his latigo to the sleek sides of the -dapple mules, and while their proprietrix was sulking -and fuming at Gibraltar and all the heretics who -dwelt therein, the huge conveyance crawled along -the narrow causeway which forms the communication -between the town and the isthmus, and, for the -present, thus ended, as I have said, my pleasant -little Spanish romance of a month. -</p> - -<p> -A recollection was all that remained to me of -Paulina, and of that flirtation which was fast -maturing into something of a better and more lasting -nature. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -THE GUARDA COSTA. -</h3> - -<p> -During the two preceding months we had been -daily expecting orders to embark for the Crimea, -and this expectation formed almost our sole topic at -mess; but days became weeks, and weeks became -months, yet we heard no more of it than what passed -among ourselves. -</p> - -<p> -Transports laden with troops—horse, foot, and -artillery—touched daily at the Rock, and steamed -on into the bright blue Mediterranean, with -spirit-stirring cheers rising from their crowded decks. -Regiments junior to ours were withdrawn from the -Rock and dispatched to that scene of bravery and -bloodshed, of mismanagement and disaster, towards -which all our thoughts, our hopes, and hearts were -turned; but the route never came for "Ours," and -we grew decidedly peevish, and found the dull -routine of duty among the endless batteries, bastions, -curtains, magazines, and casemates of that mighty -fortress which was so long boasted (before the days -of steam) as the key of "the great French lake," -sufficiently tedious; for we felt that we were merely -playing at soldiers like militiamen, while our -comrades of the line were engaged in desperate work, -and played the great game of war, with the eyes of -all the world upon them. -</p> - -<p> -One evening, about a week after the departure -of the ladies, I was captain of the guard at the New -Mole Fort, and Jack Slingsby was my subaltern. -We had just finished the dinner which had been -sent to us, hot and smoking, from the mess-house, -in a conveyance for the purpose; the windows of -the officers' guardroom were open, and with a box of -contraband cigars, a few periodicals from the -garrison library, a telescope to watch the passing ships, -and a bottle or two of very choice mess claret, we -were dozing the sunny evening of Andalusia very -comfortably away. -</p> - -<p> -The last dispatches from the Crimea had been -read and discussed by us; the last lists of killed, -wounded, frozen, or missing in the trenches had -been conned over for some familiar name, which -brought vividly before us some fine fellow we should -never see again; but whose sudden fate was the -more interesting to us, because it soon might be -our own. -</p> - -<p> -Whether it was the result of the good dinner, the -good wine, the sultry atmosphere, or our own thoughts -that oppressed us, I know not; but we sat long -silent, and gazing at the varied scenery and -glittering waters of the bay. -</p> - -<p> -My thoughts were still wandering after Paulina, -and I was endeavouring to imagine what she might -be about at that precise moment. -</p> - -<p> -Slingsby had lost a very heavy and very absurd -bet, on an interesting race run at Grand Cairo -between an Irish mare and an Arab horse belonging -to Halim Pasha, when the former beat the latter "all -to nothing," as Jack phrased it, and he had to hand -over 500<i>l.</i> to Morton, our colonel, for booking on -a horse which neither of them had ever seen. -The same race was offered for the last two years -against all England, for ten thousand sovereigns, -and, as all the sporting world know, the challenge -was not accepted. Blue-devilled by his loss, Jack -Slingsby sipped his claret in silence and made wise -resolutions which he never intended to keep, with -moral reflections which he never could practise, and -longed for the Crimea, insensible to the charms of -this delightful climate, where, even in January, the -narcissus-polyanthus hang in white clusters from the -rocks; where the purple lavender flowers in large -beds and parterres; where the palmetto spreads its -fan-like foliage to the sun; where the gigantic aloe -puts forth its leaves, and the prickly pear expands -its ponderous bunches, while the wild tulip and the -damascus-tree are in full blossom under the gloom -of the solemn pine, or the lighter foliage of the -cork-tree—and where all is verdure, fragrance, and joy! -Yet, amid all this, Jack Slingsby, like the rest of -"Ours," sighed for the frozen camp, the battered -trenches, and the misery of Sebastopol. -</p> - -<p> -"So you have not got the better of your Spanish -fancies, eh?" said he, for lack of something -better to talk about; "the charming Paulina—that -most rotund of elderly females, her mamma, and all -that sort of thing?" -</p> - -<p> -"What leads you to think so?" I asked languidly, -as I lay stretched at length on the Windsor chairs, -watching the smoke which ascended from my lips to -the ceiling. -</p> - -<p> -"It is quite plain, dear Don Ricardo." -</p> - -<p> -"You cannot mimic her, so don't attempt it, Jack; -but how is it plain, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"As clear as when the right is in front, the left is -the pivot." -</p> - -<p> -"A technical reply." -</p> - -<p> -"Dick Ramble, my boy, you are quite sad about -her, and there is no use in attempting to conceal it," -continued Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Not sad, exactly," said I, making an effort to -look brave; "never was I fool enough to be sad -about any woman yet; there are as good fish, &c., -and as for the Spanish girl—try another Cuba, the -box is beside you." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks—about this Spanish girl?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fill your glass, and push across the decanter; -has not that bottle been a little corked, think -you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps—about this Spanish girl?" continued -Jack doggedly. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, what the deuce about her?" -</p> - -<p> -"You were just on the point of remarking some -thing." -</p> - -<p> -"Only that her eyes were very fine, were they not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very, but I prefer blue— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'No fair fräulein nor dem——-'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"For heaven's sake, Jack, don't begin that -ever-lasting ditty!" said I, pettishly; "yes, Paulina's -eyes were beautiful; they seemed, as the Spaniards -say, to be in mourning for the murders they committed." -</p> - -<p> -"A stale compliment," was Jack's retort to my -interruption of a song with which he had favoured -the mess every night since we left Southampton, for -a small amount of vocal talent will go a long way -to charm a mess-table; "she murdered you, -however, with very little compunction; but to think of -the doctor's botanising with the mother being -mistaken for love-making—was it not glorious, Dick?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have sometimes thought of a month's leave, -just between musters," said I, without joining in -Jack's boisterous laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Leave! for what purpose?" -</p> - -<p> -"A ride into Spain—say, as far as Seville; what -do you think of it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Seventy miles or more to help you to continue -a flirtation begun in the casemates of Gibraltar. -Thank you, Ramble; I would rather hold myself -excused. I had a little adventure in Spain once -before, and its devilish concomitants quite cured me -of all taste for another; though if I had not lost this -unlucky 500<i>l.</i> perhaps—" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, why the deuce did you not let Halim -Pasha and his nag alone? What did their race -matter to you?" -</p> - -<p> -"But lend me the telescope—what is that puff—a -gun?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is a smuggler running right for the harbour, -pursued by a Spanish guarda costa; bang! there -goes another gun from the Don." -</p> - -<p> -"And right through the felucca's sail too!" -</p> - -<p> -"Hollo! they will be within gunshot of us ere -long," said I, springing up: "and this will be work -for us. Sentry, call the gunner of the guard." -</p> - -<p> -"Gunner of the guard!" reiterated the sentinel, -who stood, bayonet in hand, under a sunshade, at -the guard-house door. -</p> - -<p> -The solitary artilleryman, who was attached to my -guard, appeared in an instant with his sword by his -side, and a lintstock in his hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Get ready a gun," said I; "for there is a Spanish -guarda costa in pursuit of a smuggler, and we must -protect our friend." -</p> - -<p> -"An 18-pounder, or a 24, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, give him a twenty-four, and take a file of -the guard to assist you." -</p> - -<p> -While the smuggler, with her long sweeps out, -and every stitch of canvas crowded on her long and -tapering masts and whip-like yards, was straining -every nerve to escape from the Spanish cruiser, -which plied away with her bow guns, and bore after -her close-hauled, and rushing through the shining -waves till they seemed to smoke under her, it may -be necessary to inform the reader that the -manufacture and smuggling of tobacco and cigars at -Gibraltar is a never-failing and never-ending source -of angry discussion between the Governments of -Spain and Britain; for, by the former, tobacco has -long been reckoned a royal monopoly. Now, in -Gibraltar, almost every second house is a cigar-shop, -and more than two thousand men are daily employed -in the manufacture of these articles of luxury, -without which a Spaniard would be, as some one says. -like a steamer without a funnel. Three-fourths of -the British exports from Gibraltar to the three United -Kingdoms are also smuggled, and to such an extent -is the contraband trade carried, that the annual -importation of tobacco into that fortified town, says -Mr Porter, in his "Progress of the Nation," "amounts -to from six millions to eight millions of pounds, -nearly the whole of which is purchased by smugglers." -</p> - -<p> -The boats of the contrabandistas are generally -rigged as feluccas, and painted black; they are built -sharp as a pike-head, and carry a heavy brass gun, -which, in harbour, is usually concealed under a pile -of old boxes and casks, with a tarpaulin thrown over -it, while in cases of emergency, various pistols, pikes, -and cutlasses, make their appearance in the hands of -the brown-visaged, black-bearded, red-sashed, and -rather pictorial-looking ruffians, whose chief -occupation is to sleep and lounge about their decks by -day. -</p> - -<p> -To look out for these lads of the knife and pistol, -the Government of Her Most Catholic Majesty maintains -a number of fast-sailing revenue craft, called -guarda costas, commanded by brave and vigilant -officers. These are the abhorrence of the contrabandistas, -whose operations are greatly facilitated on -land by the concurrence of the corrupt Spanish officials; -and those guarda costas, in their zeal, had, of -late, been rash enough to pursue their prey into those -waters which are under the jurisdiction of the -Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar; and -in three instances had boarded them with pistol and -cutlass, shot the crews, or driven them overboard, -and thereafter cut the feluccas out from under the -very guns of Her Britannic Majesty's fortress. -</p> - -<p> -This, however, was not to be tolerated again, and -strict orders had been issued that every guarda costa -who ventured into troubled waters should be fired -on. John Bull is consistently absurd and unjust in -all things, and, with all his boasted justice, is the -most veritable bully in the world—except, perhaps, -his thriving son Jonathan; he would no doubt cut -his own smugglers out of any port in the world, and -in the same moment would deny the poor Spaniards -the right to do the same; for John is a man full of -honour and liberality, or a man of neither, just as -may suit his own particular purpose for the time; -but to return,— -</p> - -<p> -On came the felucca in question, running straight -for the anchorage, which was protected by the heavy -guns of the New Mole Fort where we were on guard. -and the parapet of which was lined by the soldiers, -all eager to witness the result of that most exciting -of all things, a chase—a struggle between a strong -party and a weak one. On came the guarda costa -in pursuit, plying her bow-chaser, cleaving asunder -the clouds of white smoke which ever and anon it -rolled ahead of her, and riding over the waves, then -shining in all the rosy brilliance of a Spanish -sunset, while astern waved the large ensign with the -red and yellow horizontal bars of Castile and Leon. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly the little felucca ran up British colours; -a sharp patter rang over the water, and a wreath of -smoke rose from her stern as the devil-may-care -contrabandistas gave the cruiser a dose of small -arms. -</p> - -<p> -Boom again! The don gave another shot from -his brass gun, and this time an angry shout arose -from our own vessels in the roadstead, for the ball -had crossed the forefoot of a Newcastle collier. -</p> - -<p> -"Ramble, this will never do," said Slingsby; "that -Spanish craft is too near by half—much nearer than -our standing orders permit." -</p> - -<p> -"Now, gunner, is that 24-pounder ready?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"All ready, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Then bang at her." -</p> - -<p> -We all watched the shot with breathless interest, -for to us, the whole affair was merely a race, a game -of hazard, like any other. The sullen roar of the -24-pounder shook the solid parapet of the New Mole -Fort, and pealed in repeated echoes round all the -shore to the extremity of Rosia Bay; and as the -cloud of light smoke curled away from before us, we -saw the shot whipping the water far astern of the -guarda costa, and a flush of annoyance spread over -the honest face of the artilleryman; for, as all our -eyes were bent upon his performance, he had been -most anxious to excel, and this very anxiety had -probably defeated its object. -</p> - -<p> -A muttered exclamation of impatience escaped him. -</p> - -<p> -"Run back the gun," said he to the guard. -</p> - -<p> -Back went the carronade, and home went the -sponge, as he set his teeth, and, with hasty -determination, proceeded to reload. -</p> - -<p> -"Quick, quick," said I; "for if she hauls her wind, -gunner, there will barely be time to give another -shot." -</p> - -<p> -"I'll toss you for it, Señor Capitano," said Slingsby; -"bet you a bottle of champagne that I will hit -the guarda costa." -</p> - -<p> -"Done," said I; "toss for the first fire." -</p> - -<p> -We tossed, and it fell to Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"Take care that you don't hit the felucca." -</p> - -<p> -"Miss the pigeon and hit the crow—eh, Dick?" he -said, while, laughing, he applied his eye to the sites -on the breech, and proceeded to adjust the screw, to -the evident annoyance of the gunner, who, while he -could not decline to relinquish his place to an officer, -was piqued on being deprived of a chance of retrieving -his name as a professional marksman; and now he -stood by, with his match lighted, in the earnest hope, -doubtless, that Jack Slingsby would send his shot as -wide of the mark as possible. Cigar in mouth, Jack -glanced coolly—almost carelessly—along the gun, -and on covering his object, cried—"fire!" -</p> - -<p> -Again the lintstock fell on the touch-hole; again -the gun-shot rolled along the echoing shore, and -pealed away to seaward; a large white splinter was -seen on the gunwale of the guarda costa; her sails -shivered and flapped in the wind, as the ball struck -her, and suddenly backing her mainyard, she lay to, -heaving like a wounded seabird, on the long glassy -ridges of the ground-swell, ere the burst of applause -with which our soldiers greeted Slingsby had died -away—for my friend Jack was one of their most -favourite officers. -</p> - -<p> -"You did for her, there, sir," said the gunner, -approvingly, as he rammed home the sponge. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but as you fired when she was much further -off, remember that I have the less credit in hitting," -replied Jack, as he gave the gunner a crown-piece to -console him. -</p> - -<p> -By this time the felucca, with a shout of derision -rising from her deck, ran into the harbour, ducking -her colours thrice to us in salute, as she passed the -New Mole Fort. -</p> - -<p> -I had not been looking for more than a minute -through the spy-glass at the guarda costa, when I -became assured that some one on board had been -wounded severely, either by the shot or its splinters. -The crew—all save the man at the wheel—were -grouped amidships; many were kneeling on the -deck, and, once or twice, clenched hands were fiercely -shaken in menace towards the battery; then we saw -a man borne carefully aft between several others. -</p> - -<p> -"Some one has evidently been killed or wounded -desperately," said I, handing the glass to Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Good Heaven! do you say so?" cried Jack; "well, -it would seem so—poor fellow—you know, Ramble, I -did not exactly anticipate such a thing—so it is—so -it is! There is a man stretched on the deck!" he -added, passing the telescope to our soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -"We have only obeyed a standing garrison order," -said I; "and the responsibility thereof, if any, does -not lie with us, but with those who issued it. Come -back to the guard-room, Jack, and my servant shall -go to the messman for that bottle of champagne you -have won so well." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! deuce take the champagne, and all that sort -of thing," said Jack, looking still at the guarda costa. -</p> - -<p> -For a time an evident confusion and indecision, -seemed to reign among her crew. She lay heaving -and tossing, rising and falling on the long and ridgy -rollers, with the setting sun glaring full upon her -white mainsail, which lay flat to the mast; the light -of day soon sank in the west, behind the upper peak -of the rocky mountain, from which a myriad rays -shot upward and played on the masses of floating -cloud; the strait was still bathed in the amber glory -of evening, and each glassy billow of the slow ground-swell -as it rolled away from west to east, rose like -a bank of gold from a plain of brilliant blue; and all -the amphitheatre of the town, which stretches along -the base of the rock, and rises gradually from the -shore in the most delightful manner—mingling in -picturesque confusion, the lofty and airy Spanish -caza, with its flat roof, verandah, and sun-shaded -windows, the close, compact English house, the solid -rampart, and the flimsy wooden storehouse—all were -bathed in the warmest tints, and every casement and -window flung back the gleams of radiance, as if they -had been illuminated by lamps of crimson and gold. -</p> - -<p> -Soon after the departed sun had shed its last ray -on the bare scalp of the sugar-loaf, the crew of the -guarda costa, as a protection probably, hoisted British -colours, and crept past us into the harbour, and -immediately on dropping her anchor, sent a boat ashore. -</p> - -<p> -We supposed that this visit could only be for the -purpose of lodging a complaint against the officer in -command at the New Mole Fort—to wit myself, a -complaint which we knew would be unavailing: but -we were mistaken; for my servant, on returning from -the barracks with the bottle of champagne and other -&c. requisite to enable Jack and me to pass the night -on guard agreeably, brought us the unpleasant -information that the shot had carried away both legs of -the unfortunate Spanish lieutenant who commanded -the guarda costa, and that doctor M'Leechy of "Ours" -had at once gone off to the vessel to succour the -patient, who—poor fellow!—had died under his -hands. -</p> - -<p> -This catastrophe proved a great damper to us, and -to Jack in particular, for he was one of the -best-hearted fellows in the service; so we had more -champagne brought from the mess-house, and we talked of -the guarda costa and her poor lieutenant almost till -the morning gun was fired; and the affair furnished -me with a special paragraph for that "column of -remarks" in the guard report which seldom contains -memoranda of greater importance than a notice of -"the cracked pane of glass, handed over by Captain -O'Brien of the 88th;" or, "the poker, handed over, -broken, by the last guard under Lieutenant Smith, -of the Buffs," and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -In the morning we found that the guarda costa had -sailed in the night, taking her dead commander with -her; and long before the end of the week we had -ceased even to speak of the circumstance at mess, -and I forgot the affair as the image of Paulina came -before me again, and thoughtless Jack Slingsby was -as gay as ever. -</p> - -<p> -But I must mention, that on being relieved from -guard at the New Mole Fort, I found waiting me, at -my quarters, Pedro de Urquija, a well-known -contrabandista, and king of the smugglers of Gibraltar, -who gave me a profusion of thanks "for saving his -little felucca, La Buena Fortuna, from that devil of -a guarda costa," saying it was the closest run he had -ever experienced in twenty years of arduous smuggling; -and he insisted upon my acceptance of several -boxes of prime Cubas and some dozen yards of -magnificent lace, worked by the nuns of Cadiz and the -poor sisters of Santa Theresa at Estrelo, and we -parted the best friends in the world: but a heavy rod -was in pickle for Jack and me; and the affair was -destined to cost us more danger, trouble, and anxiety, -than we could ever have calculated on risking. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -JACK SLINGSBY. -</h3> - -<p> -The killing of the Spanish lieutenant revived among -our diplomatic people the ever-rankling quarrel about -the contrabandistas, and the captain-general of -Andalusia wrote an angry letter to the governor of -Gibraltar, remonstrating with him on the conduct of -the officer in charge of the battery at the Mole Fort, -in daring to fire upon a Spanish government cruiser, -and requesting that the said Don Ricardo Ramble -should be given up to the Spanish authorities to be -sent to the galleys at Barcelona probably, or to be -otherwise disposed of. -</p> - -<p> -This absurd demand, however, the old general -commanding waived politely; but the correspondence -was prolonged until the military secretary became -bored to death on the subject, and lost all patience -at the very mention of it. Now as the Queen of -Spain designates herself sovereign lady of Gibraltar, -and as the alcalde of San Roque, a little town which -has sprung up within the last hundred and fifty -years, still styles himself in all official documents -Alcalde of San Roque and of Gibraltar, and holder of -supreme authority therein, the tone assumed by the -capitan-general, who was on a visit to Jaen, was -pompous, high, and mighty; for no explanation we could -give in writing could make the irritable old Castilian -hidalgo see that the lieutenant of the guarda costa -had been in the wrong. -</p> - -<p> -One evening, on entering the mess-room, I was -startled by Colonel Morton acquainting me that by -directions just arrived from the Foreign Secretary he -had been requested to send the two officers who were -on guard in the new Mole Fort into Spain. -</p> - -<p> -"Without hostage or guarantee—the devil!" said -I, shrugging my shoulders; "and to whom?" -</p> - -<p> -"To this obstinate old bore by habit, and boar by -nature, the captain-general." -</p> - -<p> -"As prisoners, colonel?" cried Slingsby, with an -astounded air from the other end of the table, and -pausing with his hand on a wine decanter; "you -don't mean to say as prisoners?" -</p> - -<p> -"Prisoners—not at all; how could you think of -such a thing?" said the colonel, laughing, for he was -a hearty old soldier, at whose name stood P.W. and -K.H., and C.B. in <i>Hart's Army List</i>; "you go -merely to explain the late affair in person; and it is -the more necessary for you both to go as the two -aides-de-camp of the governor are on the sick list. It -is only a ride of some seventy or eighty miles into -Spain—wish 't were I who had the duty to do." -</p> - -<p> -"And where does the captain-general live?" -</p> - -<p> -"At Seville, to which place he is now returning -from Jaen." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, indeed, Seville," said I, reviving, as I filled -my glass with Moselle, and Slingsby stuck his glass -in his remarkably knowing eye. -</p> - -<p> -"You'll take good horses; but be careful of -rogues, raterillos, and footpads by the way. I can -lend you a pair of pistols with spring bayonets." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, colonel, I have my revolver," said I, -laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"What! you smile, Ramble?" said the colonel; -"and believe me to have the bandittiphobia; but I -know Spain well, having marched over every foot of -the Peninsula under Lord Lyndedoch, and fought my -way from the Black Horse Square at Lisbon to the -banks of the Nive, so I know pretty well, that in -peace as in war armed desperadoes, whose hands are -against all men, are, as a certain traveller says, -'the very weeds of the Spanish soil.' Right well do -I know the land of Los Espagnols as we used to call -them in the old fighting 5th Hussars. I was in the -cavalry then, and had I not grown stiff in the joints, -and lost all relish for adventures by day, fleas by -night, and the resinous taste of vino out of a skin at -all times, I would have saved you the trouble of the -journey and gone myself; but my instructions from -home say that Captain Ramble and Lieutenant -Slingsby must go, so there is the end of it. Major, -Mr. Vice, another bottle of wine to drink 'bon -voyage' to Ramble and Slingsby." -</p> - -<p> -"With all my heart; sergeant Slopper, a fresh -allowance of wine," said the major. -</p> - -<p> -"Wish I were going with you," said Shafton, the -captain of our light company; "a ride to Seville! -the very name of the place conjures up a sunny -vision of orange trees and glowing grapes, of black -mantillas and taper ancles, and different duty from -trenching in the Crimea as we might have been, and -ought to have been by this time." -</p> - -<p> -"Aye," quoth M'Leechy the doctor, who although -married (as he knew to his cost) was dining that day -with the mess; "and a pleasant change after our -dull routine of garrison life, during which we have, -as 'Punch' says— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Contentedly eat ration beefs and muttons,<br /> - Contentedly drank ration rums and waters;<br /> - Darned our own socks, and sewed our own buttons,<br /> - Fried in summer, and froze in winter quarters."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"A fine upon the doctor," said Shafton; "colonel, -Mr. Vice, gentlemen, he vilely satirises Her Majesty's -service, a bottle of champagne from the doctor." -</p> - -<p> -"You will remember us all most affectionately -to Donna Dominga and to the bewitching Paulina—you -will see them of course," said some one from the -foot of the table. -</p> - -<p> -"The doctor must prepare some of the rarest -specimens of those remarkable cacti with which he -subdued the heart of the plump widow," said Slingsby, -taking up the chorus of banter, "and have them -ready by to-morrow; we start to-morrow, I presume, -colonel." -</p> - -<p> -"As early as you please," said Morton. -</p> - -<p> -"We shall have some glorious fun in Seville—eh, -Ramble? You'll envy us, gentlemen." -</p> - -<p> -"If the captain-general does not garotte you," -snarled the doctor; "or treat you as Don Ramon -Cabrera, the Conde de Morella, treated the husband -of Donna Dominga." -</p> - -<p> -"But for that gentle sigh, doctor, I would have -considered you quite a bear," said Slingsby, "but -pass the wine, M'Leechy." -</p> - -<p> -"If you find Seville dull," retorted the doctor, -"you had better play the same little prank you -played at Kilkenny when you were in the Sixth." -</p> - -<p> -"What did he do when in the Sixth?" inquired a -dozen voices at once. -</p> - -<p> -"What did he not do you should ask," continued -the doctor, while Jack smiled faintly and filled up his -glass. "Once when we marched into Kilkenny we -found there had been a quarrel between the Rapparees -of the district and the first battalion of Scots -Royals. It was in the time of high Repeal -enthusiasm, and nothing was thought of but an Irish -Republic, so the people looked darkly at the -redcoats. Now Slingsby had never been in Ireland -before, and as he received over the barrack-guard -from one of the Royals, with bayonets fixed and -drum beating, he asked how the inhabitants liked -the troops. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ill enough,' answered the Royal, 'since we -shot some of them in a tithe business near Roscrea: -they have been as cold as charity, and the devil a -dinner or ball have we had since last muster day, and -you be here till you are mouldy without seeing such -a thing as a waltz or white kids—ices and fowl, trifle -and champagne.' -</p> - -<p> -"Whereupon Mr. Jack Slingsby, being an Englishman, -and knowing no better, believed he might play -pranks upon the Irish; and seating himself in his -quarters next day, he assumed his pen and dispatched -the following card to every house in the town:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"'Lieutenant Slingsby, of H.M.'s 6th Foot, presents -his compliments to the ladies of Kilkenny, and -takes the earliest opportunity of announcing his -arrival. He begs to inform them that he can play -whist, casino, and every game on cards known in -Christendom; that he flirts to admiration, and can -polk, waltz, and dance the varsovienne ditto, that -generally he can accommodate himself to every -whim-wham of the charming sex, and is always to be -heard of at his residence in the infantry barracks.' -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Among others he rashly sent one of these precious -circulars to Mrs. Towler, the wife—I beg her -pardon—the lady of the major-general of the district, -who wickedly handed it to her husband at breakfast; -so poor Jack's production brought him before a -general court-martial. It went very hard with him, -for the irascible general deemed that his wife and -her ten highly-eligible daughters were grossly -insulted; but our hero escaped with a reprimand, and -the colonel was directed to watch his conduct in -future, but he became thereafter the lion of Kilkenny -and Carlow to boot, and all the district from Roscrea -to Clonmel. After that, an evening party without -Jack, would have been like a bell without a clapper." -</p> - -<p> -"But the general never forgave me for that prank," -said Jack, good-humouredly; "and he was always on -the watch for me afterwards." -</p> - -<p> -"You remember how nearly he had you booked -for another court-martial on a race day?" -</p> - -<p> -"And how nicely I outflanked and outwitted him! -It was the day of the principal races; I had a horse -to run, and more than half the regiment had made a -heavy book on him, and a great amount of paper -was expected to change owners on the issue. The -lord-lieutenant was to be there, and I was all anxiety -to be present at the race, when, as the devil or the -adjutant would have it, I found myself in orders the -day before—orders for guard! Everybody was going -to the course, and not a soul for love or money would -take my duty; so with a heavy heart I paraded in the -morning; and as the time for the start drew near I -saw all our fellows bowl out of barracks in drags and -cars attired in sporting mufti and in high spirits. -Then came old General Towler, commanding the -district, in his blue frogged coat, and with the sabre -which he had wielded at the passage of the Bidassoa, -Mrs. General Towler, several Misses Towler, all -demoiselles of mature age, and the A.D.C. Horatio -Towler, captain of a regiment which he never saw, -for he wisely preferred his mamma's drawing-room in -Kilkenny to broiling on Cape Coast. They all scampered -out, then the barrack gates were shut, and all -became very quiet and still. -</p> - -<p> -"No sound stirred in the empty parade-yard, for no -one was abroad; the sun was scorching and the -sentinels stood in their boxes. I thought of the buzz, -the glitter, the fun and frolic, the cold fowl, the iced -champagne, the brandy and soda-water, the flirtation -on the roof of a drag, on the rumble or the dickey—all -the excitement and enthusiasm of the races, and -more than all, I imagined how my nag would look -when the exulting grooms drew his cloths off, the -jockey in blue and white colours, and fancy painted -him scouring like a whirlwind round the smooth -green course, and beating Flying Dutchman, Lady -Fanny, Albert, and all the rest of them hollow. -As the time of the start drew nigh, my excitement -and longing increased, but I knew too well the danger -of absenting myself from a guard. I knew, moreover, -that old Towler, who spent half his life in laying -traps for subalterns (ensigns being his peculiar -aversion), was daily furnished with a card, whereon -were written the names of the officers on garrison -duty, and he had seen me on guard as he passed -out. The barracks are so empty, I'll never be missed, -thought I, and may steal to the course in the crowd. -So, as the distance was short, I hurried off on foot -and in full uniform just as I had paraded for duty, -with my sword, white belt, and shako. Lost amid -the wilderness of tents, stalls, thimblers, and rolypoly -men, carriages, gigs, cars, and vehicles of every kind, -I reached the grand stand, or rather its vicinity, and -was eagerly looking about for my horse as the bell -had rung at the starting-point, and the race had begun -long since, when I heard a tremendous cheer, and -saw my own jockey borne past me, shoulder high. -Blue and white had won! In my excitement and -confusion I forgot all about my uniform, and was -pushing, jostling, and fighting my way through the -delighted mob, when the basilisk expression of two -fierce grey eyes that peered from under their shaggy -brows arrested me. -</p> - -<p> -"Heavens and earth! I was close to the carriage of -old General Towler, and there he sat, sullen as Jove -upon his throne of thunder clouds, scanning me and -his card,—the fatal detail card, alternately. -</p> - -<p> -"'I am done for!' was my first thought; 'I have -won the race, but lost my commission; he has -nailed me at last!' and my heart sunk, as I thought -of the too probable consequences of a second -court-martial. -</p> - -<p> -"'To the barracks,' I heard him say imperiously, -and I knew in a moment that he was deliberately -driving off to turn out the main guard, and thus to -prove me absent therefrom. I felt that I was lost—that -my commission, the pride of my heart, was gone; -and had not a happy thought seized me, I should not -have been here to night. Just as the carriage turned -round, I sprang up behind it, and stood there -unseen, but stooping low, because the roof was open. -</p> - -<p> -"'You're sure it is that impertinent fellow, Slingsby, -of the Sixth?' said Mrs. Towler, with a smile of -malicious satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sure as you are beside me, my love,' growled the -general; 'bad example to the soldiers—very! subversive -of all discipline—I'll smash him now—absent -from guard—a general court-martial——' -</p> - -<p> -"'A saucy jackanapes,' said Miss Towler. -</p> - -<p> -"'Gross dereliction of duty!' -</p> - -<p> -"'He was most impertinent to Maria at the last -ball,' said Mrs. Towler. -</p> - -<p> -"'Violation of the articles of war,' growled the -Major General; 'but here we are close on the -barracks—now we shall have him!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Guard turn out!' cried the sentry, presenting -arms, and facing his post. -</p> - -<p> -"'Stop, coachman,' cried the general, as the carriage, -with wheels flashing and its steaming bays at full -gallop, dashed up to the guard house, where they -reared back on their haunches, as the guard formed -line, opened ranks, and the drum gave the single -customary ruffle, just as I dropped unseen from the -foot-board behind, drew my sword, and took my place -coolly at the head of my men. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sergeant,' roared the general; 'where's the -officer of the guard—where's that infernal—where is -Mr. Slingsby?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Here, general,' said the astonished noncommissioned -officer. -</p> - -<p> -"'I am here, sir,' said I, haughtily lowering the -point of my sword. -</p> - -<p> -"'Here—you!' he exclaimed with a glance of -astonishment and perplexity, as he fumbled with his -confounded detail card; 'what the deuce—I thought—that -will do, however; guard, turn in, sir; coachman, -drive on!' -</p> - -<p> -"And the carriage, with the general and all his -daughters, with their fringed parasols, rolled away. -Old Towler never discovered how I circumvented -him, though he assured his son, the aide-de-camp, -that he could have made his affidavit on seeing me -at the races, and in ten minutes after found me -at the head of my guard more than two miles -distant." -</p> - -<p> -Next day Slingsby and I left the garrison on our -mission to Seville. He accompanied me with some -reluctance, for he disliked the Spaniards, having been -frequently among them, and being one who possessed -a strange facility for getting into all kinds of scrapes -and broils. Before starting we received from the -military secretary all the papers connected with the -affair of the guarda costa; and, what was of more -importance to us, we received from the paymaster a -necessary portion of "the soul of Pedro Garcias," -and taking with us only our undress uniform and grey -great-coats, our swords and revolvers (for one might -as well travel without brains as without arms in Spain; -besides, Fabrique de Urquija, a devil of a fellow, -haunted the Sierra de Ronda), a valise with six shirts -each, a box of cubas, and a John Murray, we crossed -the isthmus, passed through the Spanish lines about -an hour after the morning gun was fired, and with the -gorgeous sunrise of a beautiful Spanish day took the -wild and lonely road into Andalusia, with well-filled -purses, good nags under us, light hearts and thoughtless -heads, and in such a frame of mind, that, in pursuit -of adventure, we would have faced anything, from a -black beetle to a mad bull. -</p> - -<p> -I thought of Donna Paulina (when did I not think -of her?) and as the strong ramparts of Gibraltar -lessened in our rear, I hummed "Pues por bisarte -Minguillo," her coquettish little song of "The Kiss." -</p> - -<p> -Poor Paulina! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -THE VENTA. -</h3> - -<p> -We had left the dull world of matter-of-fact behind -us, and were now in the land of romance, where, save -the invention of cigars and musket locks, all was -unchanged since the days of Charles V.; for while -all the world moves around her, Spain alone stands -still, torpid and unchanging as her unclouded sun and -mighty mountain Sierras. -</p> - -<p> -On reaching Castellar we expected to receive an -escort from the officer commanding a troop of cavalry -quartered there, a necessary protection against the -banditti of Fabrique de Urquija, whose name was now -a terror to Andalusia. -</p> - -<p> -It was a Spanish day; the air was clear, ambient, -and pure as light; the sky was cloudless, and -exhibited a deep immensity of blue, rendering the most -distant objects visible in the blaze of the soaring sun, -that whitened the rocks and the narrow horse path -we pursued; while the dark pine branches and -the light cork trees were unstirred by a breath of -wind. -</p> - -<p> -We passed through San Roque, a town of some -importance to Spain, since Sir George Rooke in 1704 -took Gibraltar, which was almost the only acquisition -of the English arms until the union with Scotland, -and consequent consolidation of the naval and military -resources of the two kingdoms. After leaving it, our -route lay through that beautiful forest of cork trees -which spreads over a great part of the country, and -borders on the bay of Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -At Venla we passed several strings of galley slaves, -who were chained together, and at work upon the -road. As we trotted past, they paused to glare at us, -and their dark sparkling eyes shone through the tangled -masses of their jetty hair, which was the sole covering -of their heads alike under the winter rain and the -scorching summer sun. -</p> - -<p> -At Castellar we were disappointed in our expected -escort, as the cavalry had marched to Seville, so we -halted at a venta, or inn, and were strongly advised by -the hostalero, or keeper, to tarry with him awhile, for -the approaching night at least, as several outrages had -lately been committed in the neighbourhood, and a -band of broken Carlist soldiers and runaway galley -slaves had hovered for some time in the Sierra de -Ronda, making themselves the terror of all the country -from Cortes to Vente Quemada. -</p> - -<p> -"Disparate," said I; "nonsense!" -</p> - -<p> -"A sly trick to get us to stay over night," said -Slingsby, as he took a long draught of Xeres and cold -water, and renewed his attack on the boiled fowl, -which was all the patron could as yet provide -for us. -</p> - -<p> -"Madre maria purissima!" said the latter, -turning up his glossy black eyes; "may you be -forgiven your incredulity; but, señores, did you not -remark the number of crosses by the wayside as you -came along?" -</p> - -<p> -"We did," said Jack; "and what then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Each one marks the scene of some 'novedad.'" -</p> - -<p> -"Novelty—a new term for a murder, Señor Patron?" -</p> - -<p> -"And the poles, with robbers' heads on them?" -</p> - -<p> -"I observed one," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"And singular to say, a bird had built its nest in -it," added Jack; "it was a mere skull." -</p> - -<p> -"One—madre de Dios—are there not a hundred? yet, -señores, you could not ride without an -escort, even so far as Alcala—the thing is not to be -thought of." -</p> - -<p> -"What think you of all this sort of thing, -Ramble?" asked Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -Before I could reply, a loud cracking of whips, the -creaking of ill-greased wheels, and the clamour of voices -were heard. On this the hostalero cried,— -</p> - -<p> -"It is the convoy already—the convoy from -Marbella to Medina—your graces will excuse me." -</p> - -<p> -He hurried away, and in a minute after came -breathlessly back with intelligence that it had -been fired on by Don Fabrique with at least fifty -thousand banditti, at Benelauria, near the foot of the -Sierra, and but for a case of reliques carried by a -padre of Medina, every soul must have perished; but -would not the noble señores come down stairs, and -count the bullet-holes in the pannels? -</p> - -<p> -"The bullet-holes!" -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove, this affair becomes interesting," said -Slingsby, and we descended to the inn-yard, where -we found ourselves amid a Babel of tongues and dire -confusion. Let the reader imagine four calessos, all -painted in bright stripes of red and yellow, the royal -colours of Spain, each with pannels full of glaring -flowers and absurd miraculous pictures, a body like a -cabriolet, supported on a ponderous under-carriage -with high wheels, all splashed with mud. Each calesso -was drawn by two mules, the collars and bridles of -which were covered with clear jangling bells. These -were each driven by a Jehu who wore all the brilliant -colours of the rainbow in his jacket, sash, breeches, and -embroidered leggings. These four calessos were full -of passengers. There were soap-boilers and potters -of Seville, sleek, well fed, and in easy circumstances; -the old padre, José Torquemada, the curate of Medina, -in a broad hat and long black cassock buttoned to the -throat; over his shoulders he wore a broad cape, and -in his hands were his beads, breviary, and the case of -reliques which had just been of such signal service. -There were several cotton manufacturers on their way -to Cadiz; but all—save a military man who wore a -green surtout and forage cap laced with gold—most -unwarlike personages to meet a party of robbers in a -Spanish sierra. -</p> - -<p> -The drivers, we were told, were singing merrily, -the bells were jangling, the passengers all smoking, -chatting, and laughing, as they entered a defile in -the hills, when suddenly the rocks and trees which -overhung the rough path were found to be manned— -</p> - -<p> -"Don Fabrique de Urquija!" was the cry, shots -were fired—maladito! and the escort, which consisted -of a sergeant and four dragoons of the Spanish army, -turned their horses and fled at full speed, leaving -the convoy to the mercy of the outlaws, who captured -the rear calesso, cut its springs, shot the driver, -and had retained it with all its contents and -passengers. The other four had escaped, and came -thundering down the narrow path to Castellar with -all their passengers shouting with terror, the mules -galloping, the bells jangling, and every vehicle -plunging like a ship in a storm. -</p> - -<p> -"Morte de Dios!" added the military personage, -whom they called Don Joaquim, and from whom we -had this account; "it was a narrow escape, for -Urquija is a very Tartar—a blood-drinker! You belong -to the British service, señores, I presume?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"To the garrison in Gibraltar, of course?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of course; we have no other garrison in Spain." -</p> - -<p> -"And you are on leave, señores?" -</p> - -<p> -"Si, señor, on leave, and going to Seville," said -I, conceiving that to tell our real object to this -inquisitive officer might not be conducive to the -cultivation of mutual good-will. -</p> - -<p> -"I also am an officer," said he, bowing; "and -belong to the Portuguese service—Major in the ancient -Regiment of St. Anthony." -</p> - -<p> -"But you are a Spaniard," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor is right; but my father was tied to a -post one fine morning, and shot by Don Ramon de -Cabrera; it gave me a disgust at Spain, for I saw it -done, so I entered the service of Portugal. Come, -hombres, I am glad to meet two brothers of the -sword; we shall have a fresh bota of Xeres, and be -comfortable for the night. After this devilish piece -of work, the convoy cannot proceed without an -escort; it must halt till morning, so let us all be happy -together. I shall be in Seville myself ere long, and -hope to have the pleasure of meeting you there." -</p> - -<p> -Don Joaquim seemed to be about thirty-five years -of age; in figure he was somewhat short and punchy, -his face was round and good-humoured, though at -times it became stern, sinister, and almost fierce, if -anything excited him. His hair was shorn short, -but his moustaches were long and lanky, and hung -over his mouth like black leeches, imparting to -his face an aspect not unlike the old portraits of -Philip II. His light-green military surtout, like his -scarlet trousers, was edged with gold lace, and he -wore an enormous sabre, which clattered in a -scabbard of polished brass. At a button-hole hung a -little order of merit; the bag, or end of his -forage-cap, drooped upon his right shoulder; his mouth -was never without one of those paper cigaritos of -which he was constantly employed in the manufacture -from a little paper book and tobacco bag; and -now I hope the reader sees before him, or her, Major -Don Joaquim of the Regiment of St. Anthony, otherwise -styled of Lagos. -</p> - -<p> -The hostalero was in high spirits at the arrival -of so much good company, and being assured of -their detention for at least a night or two before the -escort could join them, he bustled about, applauding, -vociferating, and directing, while getting their -baggage, portmanteaux, and bales under cover, ever and -anon pausing to count or draw attention to seven or -eight bullet perforations which had been made in the -calesso panels, to the great perturbation of the -"easy-going" soap-boilers and "well-to-do" cotton merchants, -who had no taste or predilection for such matters, and -could not see how or why Don Joaquim considered -it such "a capital joke," that one had received a -bullet through his hat; another had received one -through the collar of his coat; and that a third had -his cigar—demonio—the very cigar carried out of his -teeth! -</p> - -<p> -Soon we were all grouped together, some thirty or -so of us, in the large apartment of the venta, some -seated on stools, others on chairs, but many on piles -of baggage; bottles of vinto tinto, and skins of the -common wine, were set abroach; fresh cigars were -made up from those little pouches and paper books -which every Spaniard and Turk carry about with -him; Don Joaquim produced his guitar, and -favoured the company with a song. To my surprise -it was Paulina's—"Pues por bisarte Minguillo"—and -we all became merry and noisy. The soap-boiler -forgot the hole in his sombrero; the potter, -the dangerous mode in which he had lost his cigar, -even the old padre José relaxed his grim solemnity, -and slily relaxed the lower buttons of his long -cassock, to make more room for supper and the purple -contents of the thrice-blessed bota; while the -patrona, a buxom dame in a short skirt and scarlet -stockings, and wearing large silver ear-rings, -superintended the cooking of a vast dish of ham and -eggs—'huevos y tocino'—from which the fragrant steam -went hissing up the chimney, while the drivers in -their gaudy jackets sat near the glowing hearth, -chewing biscuits and bacalao, or roasting the sputtering -chestnuts, joining in our jokes and stories, while the -happy hostalero bustled about, superintending -everything and everybody. -</p> - -<p> -The company of the convoy soon recovered from -the terror of their late adventure, and anxious -speculations or terrible surmises as to the fate of their -captured friends, sobered down into hopes that they -would soon join us; but the ruddy evening deepened -on the beautiful mountains of the Ronda; the darkening -peaks threw their shadows on the vine-clad plains, -the stars began to gleam in the dark blue vault, and -the last slice of ham and egg had sent its fragrance -up he wide chimney, but no fugitive reached the now -closed and barricadoed gate of the venta at Castellar. -</p> - -<p> -As one may easily suppose, the late occurrence -caused the conversation to run very much upon -robbers and their exploits; thus we heard stories -of wanton cruelty sufficient to make the hair of a -well-regulated Briton stand erect on end; but as -these tales closely resembled the common stock of -robber narratives, especially such as we are told by -romancers, who have been smitten with what has -been termed the bandittiphobia, I will not attempt -to rehearse them all. One or two of these relations -struck me as having something peculiar in them. -</p> - -<p> -"I was once passing through Antequera," began -the venerable José Torquemada, "that city so famed -for robbers and picaros— -</p> - -<p> -"Ay de mi! señor padre," said a goatherd of Honda, -"it was once famed lor something better." -</p> - -<p> -"True, my child," replied the old priest, approvingly; -"for it was there Don Ferdinand the Just, -the valiant Infante of Castile, in the fifteenth century, -founded the noble order of the Jar of Lilies, in -honour of our Blessed Lady, by whose aid his good -and valiant knights stormed the city from the Moors, -and slew fifteen thousand of those God-abandoned -infidels. Ah mi hijo! it was something to be a -Spaniard then! But to return; I was once passing -through that same city of Antequera, when I had an -adventure with Don Fabrique— -</p> - -<p> -"With Fabrique de Urquija?" exclaimed all, -drawing nearer the padre and lowering their voices. -</p> - -<p> -"Ave Maria!" exclaimed Don Joaquim, "this -must indeed be something worth hearing." -</p> - -<p> -"The more so, as I realised a pretty round sum -by it," continued the priest. "You all know -Antequera, señores, a handsome town on the plain -between Granada and Seville, and situated in a land -that teems with oil and wine. One night when the -hour was late, and no moon had risen, I was passing -through the great street which leads to the old -Moorish castle, and counting ever and anon in the -pocket of my cassock three poor pistareens, which -were all I possessed, but which I was hastening to -bestow upon a poor widow. Her husband, a brave -guerilla, had been taken in a skirmish at the Pena -de los Enamorados (or Lover's Rock), which stands -a league from Antequera, and, after a brave -resistance, had been bound with cords, and shot that -morning in the Plaza—" -</p> - -<p> -"By the Count de Morella?" cried Don Joaquim. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, by Cabrera." -</p> - -<p> -"Bah—I thought so," said the major, grinding his -teeth; "proceed, reverend padre." -</p> - -<p> -"The little pistareens were all I had in the world, -and when I thought of the poor widow and her six -children weeping by the corpse of their unburied -father, and unable to buy masses for his sinful soul, -I paused to gaze at the old castle of the Moors, and -sighed to know the secret of the treasures that lay -hid among its ruins; and then I craved pardon of -Madonna for the thought, as all the gold of the -infidels is buried under the spell of such -enchantment as no man may break and live. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, señores, I was just thinking of these -strange things when a hand was laid heavily upon -my shoulder; I turned, and by the light of a shrine at -the corner of a street, saw a dark face and a tall figure -girdled by a scarlet sash full of daggers and pistols. -</p> - -<p> -"'Who are you,' I asked fearlessly. -</p> - -<p> -"'Fabrique de Urquija.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Go, go,' said I, feeling my heart leap at the -name; 'I am but a poor priest, and can give you -nought but my blessing.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Your blessing be hanged! señor padre, hand over -all you possess, or by the Holy Face of Jaen,'—and -grinding his teeth he grasped a poniard. -</p> - -<p> -"'As I live I possess nothing but my cassock and -these poor little pistareens which are for a widow and -her starving children.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Then off with the cassock, and give me the -pistareens to boot. Your garment I must have, for I -mean to play the priest to-night, and visit a dame -whom I may make a widow, too, some of these days.' -</p> - -<p> -"In vain I begged him to leave me the pistareens, -but this demon of avarice only laughed, and touching -his pistols said,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Quick, quick, and here take my jacket and -maldito, begone without looking behind you.' -</p> - -<p> -"The exchange was soon made; with a hoarse -laugh the robber thrust himself into my threadbare -cassock, and with loathing I drew on his old velvet -jacket, which was tattered and full of holes. He then -bade me farewell with mock solemnity; and glad to -escape so easily I hastened away, but had not gone -many yards when I heard the voice of the terrible -Urquija commanding me to 'stop;' and believing -that, repenting of his clemency, he only meant to -poniard me, I turned and fled with all the spaed of -my poor old legs, fervently invoking the saints, and -praying to Madonna that the vision of the sacrilegious -pursuer might be obscured, and that I might -escape. -</p> - -<p> -"'Come back, padre, come back, there is a mistake,' -I heard him crying; 'por vida del demonio, -stop, or it will be the worse for you!' -</p> - -<p> -"But, blessed be Heaven, I escaped and reached the -humble house of the widow, where her little ones -gathered round me, and sought to clutch as usual -the long skirts of my cassock; but, ay de mi, they -were gone, and with them my pistareens, so that I -was without the means of buying bread for the -children of the dead guerilla. -</p> - -<p> -"What shall I do!" thought I, and mechanically -felt the pocket of the jacket; it contained -something hard: what is this! I pulled it forth, and -Madre Maria! found the sudden cause of the robber's -oaths, pursuit, and vociferations, for by the exchange -of our apparel I had become the possessor of one -hundred golden pistoles! -</p> - -<p> -"I had never held so much money in my hands -before; find for a long time I was quite bewildered -how to dispose of such a treasure. First I made the -hearts of the widow and her little ones glad, and the -rest I bestowed on the poor old nuns of St. Theresa, -who had just been stripped of all they possessed in -the world, and were begging their bread in the public -streets of Antiquera—thanks to the liberal Government -of Spain." -</p> - -<p> -The idea of the robber so egregiously outwitting -himself occasioned great satisfaction among all the -listeners; the goatherd was so delighted that he -thrice flung his hat up to the ceiling, and aloud 'viva' -greeted the old padre as he finished his little story. -</p> - -<p> -"I once had a more narrow escape than yours, -Padre José," said the Major Don Joaquim, "and but -for the intervention of the blessed St. Anthony of -Portugal whose brother officer I have the felicity to -be, I had not had the happiness of addressing you -all to-night, or enjoying these roasted castanos, or the -most excellent vino tinto of the worthy señor patron." -</p> - -<p> -"Through the intervention of San Antonio," exclaimed -all present; "do tell us, señor oficial, all about -this." -</p> - -<p> -"You have heard of St. Anthony, señores?" said -the major to us. -</p> - -<p> -"One of the seven champions of Christendom, -who broke enchantments, fought with giants, and did -all that sort of thing," said Slingsby; "of course, -who has not heard of him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, who, indeed?" said the major. -</p> - -<p> -His words smacked of a miracle, and every one -present became at once interested. Lighting a fresh -cigar, and replenishing his wine-horn from the -big-bellied leathern bota, the major pushed his red -forage cap a little more on one side, fixed his dark -eyes on the glowing embers, and, with all the air -of a man who is rallying his forces to tell an -interesting narrative, began in the following words. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -THE REGIMENT OF SAN ANTONIO. -</h3> - -<p> -You must know, Señora patrona, and señores, my -friends, that Saint Anthony, the patron of Portugal -and patriarch of monks, though born at Heraclea in -Upper Egypt, on the borders of Acadia, so long ago -as the third century, is now a member of the -battalion in which I have the honour to hold the -commission of major; and that he has been many times -visible in its ranks, mounting guard, and always when -under fire, or engaged with the French or Spaniards. -Under Wellington in the last war he was frequently -seen among our men, clad in a cloak of white wool, -and wearing an inner garment of hair-cloth, with a -bell tied to his neck, and a pig trotting beside him, -for it was his favourite animal when he was hermit -near the village of Coma. When our esteemed regiment -was first embodied about a century and a half -ago at the city of Lagos, in the ancient kingdom of -Algarve, the blessed St. Anthony was enrolled in the -muster-book thereof, as a private soldier, that he might -be its especial patron and protector, even as he is the -patron of the whole Portuguese nation. -</p> - -<p> -He conducted himself with such fidelity, valour, and -distinction, that he soon passed through the ranks of -corporal and sergeant, and having restored, no one -exactly knows how, the colours of the regiment, after -they were lost at the battle of Almanza in 1706, he -was appointed captain, and his pay, together with four -marevedis from each soldier, were devoted to buy -masses for the souls of our comrades who die on -service—a very pretty perquisite, padre José, for mother -church. -</p> - -<p> -It would be a vain task in me to attempt enumerating -the miracles performed by St. Anthony during -the one hundred and eighty seven years he has -belonged to the valiant regiment of Lagos in the -kingdom of Algarve; for in danger, doubt, difficulty, -or death, his comrades have never sought his aid in -vain. -</p> - -<p> -Our colours have been thrice lost in battle, after -prodigious slaughter you may be sure—being Portugese -colours; and were thrice restored to us, being -found quietly in the colonel's tent the next morning, -with the naked footmarks of a man and a pig—the -blessed pig of course—impressed upon the turf! -At the passage of the Guadalquiver, our drum-major -was swept away and would have been drowned beyond -a doubt, had he not called upon St. Anthony; and -lo! an old man of most venerable aspect, clad in -skins like this shepherd beside us, but with a long -beard and leathern water-bottle hanging at his girdle, -suddenly appeared among the reeds by the river side, -and stretching out his crook, fished up the ponderous -Anibale Pintado lightly as a straw, though he was at -that moment in heavy marching order, with knapsack, -blanket, great-coat, sword and his canteen, which was -full of brandy. Then to think of the wounds that -have been closed, the bullets that have been extracted, -the bones that have been set, the sick made whole -and fit for service, by our soldiers merely thinking on, -or praying to, the glorious St. Anthony, would occupy -all the paper in the kingdom of Algarve; but his -crowning miracle was the birth of a child of the -regiment, for one of our soldiers' wives being in labour, -during the siege of Roses, and calling upon the saint -in her pain, to the astonishment of the whole allied -armies was delivered of a little drummer boy in the -uniform of the battalion of Lagos! I hope I have -now said enough to convince you that the regiment, -and every member of it, are under the peculiar -protection of the saint, and this, as I am about to have -the honour of telling you, I experienced myself, -although not a Portugese, but a native of the fair city -of Seville; and as a further proof of what I have -adduced, I will take the liberty of reading to you from -my pocket-book, the following certificate of the -military service performed by the saint—which -certificate I copied fairly from the books of the noble -regiment of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, being -the document which was forwarded by one of my -predecessors, then in command of the battalion, when -recommending the blessed saint to further promotion -from the rank of captain which he had held since the -year 1706. (With this long and pompous flourish, -the Spaniard opened his pocket-book, and read a -translation from the Portugese, which ran as follows.)* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See notes at end -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Don Herculeo Antonio Carlos Luiz, José Maria -de Albuquerque e Arajo de Magalhaens Homem, noble -of Her Majesty's household, cavalier of the sacred -order of St. John of Jerusalem, and of the most -illustrious the military order of Christ, lord of the -towns and partidos of Moncarapacho and Terragudo, -hereditary alcalde-mayor of the ancient city of Faro -by the sea, and Major of the Regiment of Infantry of -the noble city of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, -for her most faithful majesty, Donna Maria, Francesco -Isabella the first; whom God and the Blessed Virgin -long preserve, &c., &c., &c. -</p> - -<p> -"I hereby attest and certify to all who shall see -these presents, signed at the bottom with my sign-manual, -and the broad seal of my family arms a little -to the left thereof, that the Lord St. Anthony of -Lisbon (commonly and most falsely called of Padua) -has been enlisted, and has borne a place in this -regiment since the 24th of January, ever since the year of -our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ 1668. -</p> - -<p> -"I do further certify, upon my word of honour, as -a noble, a knight, and a good Catholic, what hereunder -followeth. -</p> - -<p> -"That on the said 24th of January, 1668, by order -of His Majesty Don Pedro II. (whom God hath in -glory), then Regent of the valiant kingdoms of -Portugal and Algarve for Don Alphonso VI.,—St. Anthony -was duly enlisted as a private soldier in this Infantry -Regiment of Lagos, when it was first formed by command -of the same illustrious prince; and of that holy -enlistment there is a register extant in vol. i. of the -records of the said regiment, page 143, wherein he gave -as security or caution for his good conduct, the queen of -angels, who became answerable to the colonel that he -would never desert his colours, but always behave as -became a good Portugese grenadier. Hence did the -saint continue to serve and do duty as a private until -the 12th of March, 1683, on which day the same Prince -Regent became King of Portugal by the death of his -brother Don Alphonso VI., when he was graciously -pleased to promote St. Anthony to the rank of Lieutenant -of Grenadiers in the said regiment, for having, -a short time before, valiantly put himself at the head, -of a detachment of the regiment which was marching -from Jurumenha to the garrison of Olivença, both in -the province of Alentizo, and beat off four times their -number of Castilians who had been lying in ambush -for them, with the intention of carrying them all -prisoners to the castle of Badajoz, the enemy having -obtained information by spies, of the march of the -said detachment, every soldier of which saw our -blessed patron, visibly, and to all appearance in the -body, and attended by his pig. -</p> - -<p> -"I do further certify, that in all the above-cited -registers, there is not any note of St. Anthony being -guilty of bad conduct, disorder, or drunkenness; -frequenting taverns, or other improper places; nor of -his ever having been flogged or sent to the guard-house -when a private: Thus during the whole time -he has been an officer, now about one hundred and -nine years, he has constantly done his duty with the -greatest alacrity, at the head of the grenadiers, upon -all occasions, in peace or war, conducting himself like -an officer and a gentleman of good breeding; on all -these accounts I hold him most worthy of being -promoted to the rank of aggregate-major to our noble -regiment of Lagos, with every other favour Her Majesty -may be graciously pleased to bestow upon him. In -testimony whereof, I have hereto affixed my name, at -the Castle of Belem, this 25th day of March, in the -year of our redemption, 1777. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"MAGALHAENS HOMEM." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -(Thus ended this wonderful certificate, the contents -of which, together with the pompous gravity of the -reader, made Jack and I almost choke with -suppressed laughter. The major then continued)— -</p> - -<p> -Hereupon Her Most Faithful Majesty, who reigned -at that time—now seventy-eight years ago—was pleased -to promote the saint to the rank prayed for, and he is -now our lieutenant-colonel by brevet. Once in each -year it is the custom to send an officer to Lisbon to -receive the pay and perquisites of St. Anthony from -the royal treasury, and in the course of last year this -most honourable duty devolved upon me. -</p> - -<p> -We were then quartered at Barbacena in the jurisdiction -of Elvas; and to this place I travelled alone -from Lisbon, with the pay of the saint, which was to -be given to the care of our chaplain. Being in -moidores, it was not very bulky, but its value was -great—its sanctity greater; and after traversing in -safety the whole province of Alentijo, it was with -some anxiety I saw the mountain Sierra, which lay -between me and my destination, rising in my front, -about sunset. The hope of being able to get across -those rocky hills before the approaching night set -fairly in never occurred to me. I found myself in a -solitary spot, without shelter near, or any place where -information of the right way could be gathered, and -my horse was growing weary. -</p> - -<p> -The sunlight died away behind me, and shed its -last rays on the white walls, the square campanile -and tall cypresses of a convent which crowned a -height on my left; and on the red round towers of -an old castle that topped a rock on my right; but -both were in ruins and desolate, as the wars of the -infidel Moors, ages ago, had left the first, and the -desolating retreat of Marshal Massena had left the -second. The older fragments of a Roman aqueduct -lay between, and half hidden among wild shrubs. -The pathway was rugged; untamed goats scrambled -about; snakes hissed in the long grass, and eagles -screamed in mid air. Ave Maria! it was impossible -to conceive a place more dreary and desolate; but the -way became still wilder, and as I progressed into the -gorge of the Sierra, even the ruined works of man -and the traces of his feet disappeared. I was in a -desert, and, save the faint crescent moon, without a -light or guide. -</p> - -<p> -As I rode slowly on, thinking of the bright golden -moidores of our Lord St. Anthony, with which my -pouch was blessed, and reflecting on the prize they -would be for any sacrilegious picaros who might be -hovering in this dark wilderness, ever and anon -humming a song, muttering an ave, and feeling the -percussion caps on my pistols, I suddenly met a strange -figure in the dim moonlight—a goat-herd, as he -seemed to me. -</p> - -<p> -He was clad in a zamarra of sheepskin, which he -wore with the wool outwards; his white hair hung in -tangled masses upon his shoulders; a bota was slung -at his girdle, and he carried a stout Portuguese cajado, -with a little cross stick nailed thereon, to give it more -the aspect of a pastoral staff, than a weapon of defence. -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya usted con Dios, Señor Major," said he. -</p> - -<p> -"God be with you," I reiterated, a little scared on -finding that this stranger knew my name; "you have -the advantage of me, Señor Pastor." -</p> - -<p> -"Hombre, do you think so? but do not be alarmed, -for I am an old Christian, without stain of Moor or Jew -in my veins. I am no enchanter——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ave Maria, I should hope not!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yet I know that you have in your pouch the pay -of St. Anthony of Lisbon, whom rogues and fools -style of Padua—what the devil should he have to do -with Padua?—in your left breast pocket, all in fair -round moidores of gold—eh, señor?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very true, pastor," said I, slipping a finger into -my near holster, and keeping my horse well in hand -and beyond the reach of his cajado; "but how came -you to know me?" -</p> - -<p> -"I know every officer and soldier in the regiment -of Lagos as well as if I had made them—and you -especially, Señor Major." -</p> - -<p> -"Well—and about the moidores," said I, uneasily; -"you know of them, and what then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Merely this, Señor Don Joaquim; that if you -would arrive at Barbacena to-morrow with the pay of -the patron of the regiment of Lagos——" -</p> - -<p> -"In the kingdom of Algarve," suggested Jack -Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Si, señor; and would hand it over safe and sound -to the reverend chaplain," continued the old man, in -a manner so impressive that a chill came over me, the -more so as I saw his sunken eyes shining in the dim -moonlight like two bits of green glass; "you will -beware, my son and comrade, how you taste the wine -of Xeres to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"The wine of Xeres, father pastor," said I, with a -loud laugh; "Heaven forgive you for the tempting -thought; I am not likely to taste aught to-night but -the chilling dew; yet if a good cup of Xeres did come -my way——" -</p> - -<p> -"Avoid it as you would poison, or by the soul of -St. Anthony you will repent it." -</p> - -<p> -At that name I raised my hand to my cap in salute, -like a good soldier of the regiment of Lagos; while -waving his hand authoritatively, the old man hobbled -up the slope of the mountain pass and disappeared. -As he did so I heard the tinkle of a bell, and for the -first time perceived a little pig trotting by his side as -he vanished in the shadow of the mountain and its -moonlit rocks. -</p> - -<p> -The scales fell from my eyes; por el Santo de los -Santos, he was no other than our Lord Saint -Anthony, whom I had seen. Who but he would have -termed me "son and comrade?" sinner and fool that -I was. The hair of my flesh stood up, as the -Scripture says, and with a prayer on my lips I gored my -poor nag with the spurs and dashed along the pass of -the Sierra for two leagues more until the poor animal -almost sank beneath me; but perceiving rest necessary -for him, I reined up at the door of a lonely wayside -inn, in a part of the country which was entirely -unknown to me, and which seemed to be overshadowed -by mountain peaks and masses of rock, the features -and outlines of which were strange, and to me gloomy -and fantastic. In my excitement, and the holy terror -under which I laboured, I had evidently lost the path, -and thus mistaking my way, had ridden, Heaven and -St. Anthony alone knew whither. -</p> - -<p> -Solitary, dark, and desolate as this posada seemed,—and -it was just the kind of place we so often read -of in romances as being a rendezvous for robbers, and -for having a landlord in their interest, with trap-doors -under the beds, stains of blood upon the floors, old -skeletons in the cellars, and a terrible reputation for -mysterious appearances and unaccountable -disappearances—it was a welcome halting-place for one so -weary, so thirsty, and anxious as I was then, and so -full of supernatural fear, as I never, for an instant, -doubted having seen the blessed patron of our -regiment, and to me at that time the human countenance -even of a robber had been thrice welcome. -</p> - -<p> -Though the hour was late the hostalero had not -gone to bed. He seemed a civil and respectable -man, and smiled with good-humour when he saw me, -with all the care of an old traveller and the suspicion -of a true Spaniard, transfer my pistols from their -holsters to my girdle, a movement which seemed to -fill with alarm the miserable and drabbish-looking -Maritornes, who seemed to be the sole assistant of the -patrona. Vague fancies and a sense of alarm were -floating uppermost in the current of my thoughts; -and being most anxious to start betimes when day -broke, I left the saddle on my horse, as I stabled -him in the lower apartment of the posada, for you -may know, señores, that the Portuguese inns are -constructed exactly like those among us here in Spain, -the lower story being entirely one vast and -clay-floored chamber, appropriated to the cattle and -baggage of travellers. I merely relaxed the -saddle-girth and curb-chain, but left my Andalusian jennet -all ready for marching, when the morning came, and -then ascended by a wooden trap-stair to the upper -story, where the patrona had a steaming supper of -ham and eggs, just such as we have had, well -seasoned with pepper and garlic, spread for me, with a -bunch of raisins and a choice flask of—ah, demonio! my -heart leaped when I saw it—the wine of Xeres de -la Frontierra. -</p> - -<p> -A prayer rose to my lips, I thought of St. Anthony, -but felt strong and composed, believing that I -was under the peculiar care of that blessed patron of -the regiment of Lagos. I would have left the little -venta and betaken myself once more to the road, but, -if any snare was really laid for me, such a movement -might only render me more liable to an open and -deliberate attack. -</p> - -<p> -"I will be wary," thought I; "let me watch well, -even as our holy patron watches me. Xeres! ouf, -I would rather drink the salt lake of Fuente de la -Piedra than touch a drop of it." -</p> - -<p> -I felt morally certain that it was poisoned or drugged -for some fatal purpose, and that in the tasting of it -lay the main part of my danger. I finished the rasher -of ham and the fragrant huevos; and to lull all -suspicion asked my host to join me in discussing the -bottle of Xeres as he uncorked it. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor would, perhaps, excuse him. Xeres -always made him ill, maldito—yes, and there was no -doctor nearer than Elvas or Abrantes; but he would -take a glass of aguadiente to my health and -successful journey." -</p> - -<p> -"Rascally picaro!" thought I; "you have other -reasons for declining the Xeres, but I shall mar them -yet." -</p> - -<p> -I might have forced him with my sword at his -throat to drink a cupful; but I dissembled, and filling -out a bumper from the leathern beta, raised it to my -lips, pretending to taste. I saw, then, the slow -stealthy eyes of the hostalero watching me keenly. -</p> - -<p> -"It has a peculiar flavour," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Flavour, señor?" he asked, anxiously. -</p> - -<p> -"But not unpleasant." -</p> - -<p> -"It is from the grapes of Puerto de Santa Maria, -like those of Tribujena, as the Señor Caballero will -perceive; they have a peculiar flavour—sharp, is it -not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but as I said before, not unpleasant," continued -I, placing my pistols on the table, and availing myself -of an opportunity to pour the whole of my bumper -back into the bota, and this I achieved unseen. Some -grounds which remained at the bottom of the crystal -glass assured me that the wine was drugged. -</p> - -<p> -"I have a pigskin full of wine from the grapes of -Don Carlos, or rather I should say of my Lord the -Marquis de Santa Cruz, who now owns the vineyard; -and if your grace——" -</p> - -<p> -"Many thanks," said I, pouring out a second -bumper, so that the wine frothed in the glass; "but be -assured I shall content myself with this most excellent -bottle of Xeres," and taking another opportunity, -while the patrona was telling her beads near the fire, -and the worthy patron was below pretending to groom -my horse—but no doubt to appraise its furniture which -he expected to possess before morning—I repeated the -manoeuvre, and poured the wine back into its leathern -receptacle; thus my deluded entertainers were led to -believe that I had taken enough to drug a regiment -of Asturians. -</p> - -<p> -I scrutinised my hostess; she was a swarthy and -dark-skinned Portuguese; her hair, which was coarse -and thick as the mane of a steed, she had knotted -in a coronet round her head, and over this she wore a -yellow shawl. Her features were square, massive, and -repulsive; and her arms and legs, which her scanty -garments fully displayed, were disgustingly powerful -and muscular. -</p> - -<p> -"Are you not somewhat lonely here, señora?" I -asked, when her orisons were over. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; but then we are never disturbed. Once, -indeed, some drunken contrabandistas, riding to -Gibraltar, made a noise at our door; but my husband -shot one with his escopeta, the rest fled, and we have -never been molested since. But erelong the new -railway from Lisbon to Abrantes will change -everything—for so the priests predict." -</p> - -<p> -"You talk of this little shooting affair with delightful -coolness," said I, "and just as if that devil of a -contrabandista had been a crow. Ah, and so he was -shot?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and buried about a mile beyond this," replied -the woman, over whose dark eyes there passed a -savage gleam; "perhaps, caballero, you observed the -cross as you came along?" -</p> - -<p> -"You forget that I came this morning from Montemor -o Novo, where I wish I had stayed with all my -heart." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, our caza is a very poor one, señor," growled -the host, with a glance at my glass and another at the -bota: "but none ever complain of it after they leave us." -</p> - -<p> -"I believe you, my lad," said I, with a glance at the -cuchillo in his sash; madre mia! it was at least twelve -inches long in the blade. He detected my expression -and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"I am always well armed, Señor Caballero, for my -little wife, our niece, and I, are the only inhabitants -here. They are apt to be timid at times; thus I -always keep my escopeta loaded, and six junkets of -lead in that old brass-mouthed trabujo over the -mantel-piece; so with my knife and strong bolts, bars -and shutters, we could stand a very good siege, even -if Don Fabrique de Urquija and all his band were -assailing us. One glass more of the Xeres before you -retire, señor—no?—well, how such a sober Caballero -belongs to the regiment of Lagos surpasses my—a -thousand pardons, señor; I meant no offence; but a -poor man must have his little joke as well as a rich -one, and I am sure a noble Caballero will excuse it. -So you won't take one glass more of the Xeres before -retiring, well, well—this way, señor, up this stair—take -care of the step, and now, señor, Bueno noches, -and may all good attend you." -</p> - -<p> -I was alone. I was in my sleeping apartment, a -miserable loft, to which I had ascended by means of -a trap-door and trap-stair. The bed was poor and -shabby; a thousand discolorations, the combined -result of damp and dirt covered the ill-plastered walls -and bare wooden floor. A small and ill-glazed -window opened to the dark mountains, behind which the -moon, a pale crescent, was just sinking, and to the -deep black gorge which yawned between their peaks -like some vast Titan's grave. There was not a sound -upon those solemn hills, or in that savage pass through -which the roadway wound; there was no sound in -the posada below me, and as I set down the candle -and listened, I heard only its sputtering and the -beating of my own heart. -</p> - -<p> -I knelt down, and drawing forth my beads and -crucifix, said my prayers like a good Catholic, and -solemnly invoked the protection of St. Anthony. -After this, apprehension almost vanished. -</p> - -<p> -If any attempt was made upon me in the night, I -had but one man to oppose—the hostalero, and surely -I was a match for him. But then there was his wife, -a powerful Asturian termagant, who had doubtless the -cunning of a fox with the strength of a bull. I looked -about for something wherewith to secure the trapdoor, -but found nothing; my bedstead was the only -piece of furniture, and it was too weighty for removal. -I might have lain down and slept above the trap; but -the idea did not then occur to me; and at times, as -my candle burned low, such is the weakness of the -human heart, that I began to mistrust even the -protection of my Lord St. Anthony, and think I was -unwise in not quitting this unblessed posada, instead of -retiring to a bed-chamber, as the hostalero might be -joined by others more ruffianly than himself, and -thus overpower me. -</p> - -<p> -"No, no," thought I; "no others will come; the -rascal trusts in his Xeres, and I shall soon see the -sequel." -</p> - -<p> -I drew off my boots and flung them heavily on the -floor, as one might do who was undressing; and -having thus, as I supposed, deceived any one who was -listening, drew them carefully on again; tightened -the buckle of my waist-belt, and loosened my good -Toledo sabre in its sheath. I then examined my -pistols; ay de mi! what were my emotions on finding -the percussion caps removed, and that my pouch, -with the remainder, was in my holsters below! -</p> - -<p> -My heart stood still on beholding this, and an -emotion of rage shook my heart, for I now -remembered having laid them on the table beside me in -case of accident, for I once had a friend who was -killed by a pistol exploding in his belt. The patrona, -while laying the supper table, or bustling about me, -had adroitly—but the saints alone know how—removed -the caps. -</p> - -<p> -Twenty times I searched every pocket, in the faint -and desperate hope of finding a stray one. Not -one—they were all below with my holsters. -</p> - -<p> -"Ass that I am!" thought I, replacing them with a -sigh in my belt; "this will be a lesson of prudence -that may cost me dear." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment the candle-end sank down in the -iron holder; it shot one red flush upwards on the -cobwebbed ceiling and damp, discoloured walls; on -the ill-jointed trap-door which led to the lower story, -and expired. I was in darkness at last, with no -companions but my Toledo and my own thoughts. -The first was silent—the second sufficiently -uncomfortable. -</p> - -<p> -Sleepless and watchful, I lay on the miserable -pallet for more than an hour, till the silence began -to oppress me, and in spite of myself, my eyes were -closing. Could it be the drug—could it be the wine -that slowly was sealing them up? Nonsense; I had -but put it to my lips, and I struggled to shake off -the coming sleep. Yet, I must have closed my eyes -for a moment, for I started suddenly, like one who -dreams he is on the brink of a precipice. A strange -shivering—a minute, pricking sensation ran all over -me from head to foot, and from a state of drowsiness, -I sprang all at once to the sharpest wakefulness, and -grasped the hilt of my drawn sabre. -</p> - -<p> -A dim light was now ascending from the floor of -the apartment, and I perceived the trap-door was -lifted up, and the round bullet-head of the hostalero -appeared, with his deep-set stealthy eyes, scanning -the bed and its occupant, myself, who affected to be -sound asleep. Up, up he came, step by step, until -he stood by my side, with one hand grasping his long -cuchillo, and a finger on his coarse, blubber-like lips, -as if he would impose silence on himself, and still -his very breathing. -</p> - -<p> -Mueran del Demonio, what a moment it was! I -would not endure it again for a million of reals. He -came close to the bed; he stooped over me, the knife -was lifted up, and I saw its baleful gleam; but at the -same instant there was an upward flash, as I swept -my sabre round me, and one stroke cut off three of -the robber's fingers, and cleft a fair slice off his right -temple—a stroke which stretched him without a cry -at my feet. Desperate and furious as a wild beast—half -blinded with his own blood, he sprang upon me -and we grappled in the dark; but as his wife, that -diabolical Asturian, rushed up the trap-stair, armed -with a ponderous cajado, to his aid, I flung him on -the bed, for he was weak as a child now. Seeing a -figure struggling on the miserable pallet, the woman, -who was as furious as an enraged tigress, and who, in -the uncertain light, believed that figure to be mine, -whirled round her head the cajado—which is the -favourite staff of the Portuguese, and is usually seven -feet long, with a leaden knob at one end of it—and -by one blow dashed out her husband's brains as -completely as a cannon-ball would have done. -</p> - -<p> -Madre mia, some of that frightful mess flew over -me, and that blow ended the matter, for I uttered a -cry of horror, and plunging down the trap-stair, threw -myself on my horse, and galloped away. On, on I -rode, with no wish but to leave that scene of crime -behind me, and at the very place where I was met -by that venerable shepherd, whom, until my dying -hour, I will maintain to be no other than our blessed -St. Anthony, but for whose warning I had drunk that -poisoned Xeres, and perished—I overtook a troop of -the Carbineros of Alentejo, to whom I told my late -adventure. -</p> - -<p> -A party was sent to the little inn, where they found -the hostalero brained, as I have said, in that miserable -loft, and the hostess almost bereft of her senses, such -as they were. But the dragoons placed her on a -troop horse, and brought her before the Alcalde of -Vimiero, which is the nearest town, and before the -next day's noon, she had been garotted and buried -by the wayside; and you may still see her grave, one -mile beyond the gates, on the side of the way that -leads towards Estremoz and the mountains. -</p> - -<p> -Two days after, I reached Barbacena, our headquarters, -in safety, and paid over to our Father Chaplain, -the purse of moidores, containing the pay of -our extra Lieutenant-Colonel, the blessed St. Anthony. -Only a month ago, we marched through the -pass of the Sierra, and I found the old posada roofless -by the roadside, for it is shunned like that place -of horror, the Rio de Muerte; the grass has grown -on its floor, and the wild vine overtops its chimney; -the merriest muleteer becomes silent as he passes -the place, and whips his lagging team down the -mountain side, without looking once behind him. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -————— -</p> - -<p> -The major of the noble Regiment of Lagos now -paused, and looked round with the air of a man who -thinks his story has rather made an impression; for -he had told it well, and with much gesture and -spirit, and completely succeeded in arresting the -attention of all in the venta; but of none more than -my matter-of-fact friend Jack Slingsby, who had -listened to the narrative with a degree of attention -which I thought unusual in one so volatile and heedless. -</p> - -<p> -"Your story, major, has had a peculiar interest for -me by its striking and close resemblance to an -adventure of my own," said Jack, "an adventure to which -I can never recur without an emotion of horror." -</p> - -<p> -"Is this the Spanish story you so often refer to, -Jack?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"The story our mess could never get out of me?—yes." -</p> - -<p> -"And shall we hear it now?" -</p> - -<p> -"With pleasure; because it will interest all here, -whereas among our own bantering fellows at Gibraltar -it would only have subjected me, perhaps, to jibes and -jokes, and all that sort of thing, from those who were, -perhaps, more thoughtless than myself. Señora -patrona, please to have the wine replenished; give us -more cigars, and stir up the fire, Ramble, while I -prepare to tell you a story—aye, a marvel of a story, in -which I had the misfortune to be a principal actor not -very long ago." -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo!" muttered every one. -</p> - -<p> -All were provided with a fresh supply of wine, new -cigars were lighted, and Jack found himself the centre -of a circle of dark, gleaming, and intelligent eyes, -while every ear was waiting for the promised narrative; -for among the romantic, adventurous, and marvel-loving -Spaniards, as among the wandering Arabs, a story-teller -is at all times the principal person in company. -</p> - -<p> -It would be scarcely possible to find a scene more -remarkable, or a group more picturesque, than the -great apartment presented, in which we were all -congregated. -</p> - -<p> -A large fire blazed on its broad hearth, and shed a -ruddy glow upon the rough architecture and ill-squared -beams of the chamber, from the roof of which hung -innumerable bunches of raisins, strings of the garlic -onion, pigskins of wine, hams, baskets, and other -etcetera. The flood of steady red light that gushed -from the hearth glared on the striking forms and -foreign faces of the listening group, among whom -were the well-conditioned potters and soap-boilers of -Seville in their black velvet jackets and gaudy sashes; -our patrona, a plump and pretty paisana of Valverde, -in her provincial costume, a dark blue skirt, the -scantiness of which displayed her well-turned legs and -handsome feet encased in little shoes of untanned -leather, while the gathered masses of her smooth -black hair shone in the glow of light; there, too, sat -the old padre José of Medina in his sable cape and -long cassock, and a grisly goatherd of the Honda clad -from neck to knee in sheepskins, with a weatherbeaten -sombrero slouched over his sallow visage; a knife and -bota, castanets and flute, at his girdle, to which descended -his snow-white beard, giving him the aspect of -St. Anthony in the major's story; then there was the -major himself in his light green frock-coat, scarlet -cap and trowsers, with a cigar glowing like a hot coal -in the centre of his heavy thick mustache; then there -was an old unhoused Franciscan, begging for that -subsistence of which the new Government had deprived -his order; a charming young Gitana, tall and beautiful -in form, with a clear olive complexion and magnificent -eyes; and by her side sat a free, jolly Catalan reaper, -whom in defiance of all gypsy rule and immemorial -custom she had taken as her spouse; so it must be -acknowledged that if Jack's audience was not select, it -had at least the merit of being so remarkable in -costume and character, that a painter or novelist would -have been delighted with the whole group, its -background, and accessories. -</p> - -<p> -"In many of its features," said Slingsby, "my story -is so similar to the one just related by the major, that -I am assured you cannot fail to be struck with the -resemblance. The adventure made a deep impression -upon me; and though several months have passed -since it occurred, the whole affair is as fresh in my -mind as if it had happened only yesterday. On -leaving the 6th Regiment," continued Jack, turning to -me, "I went for a few months into the Highlanders, -but, being an Englishman, I never felt at home in the -kilt, so I exchanged into our present corps, which will -account for my being in the Mediterranean at the time -referred to.—So now for the story." -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo, señor!" said the major of the regiment -of Lagos; "you speak Spanish like a good Christian. -We are all attention." -</p> - -<p> -Jack bowed, stuck his glass in his eye, tipped the -ashes off his cigar with the nail of his forefinger, and -began the following story, which deserves an entire -chapter devoted to itself. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI -<br /><br /> -LA POSADA DEL CAVALLO. -</h3> - -<p> -In the summer of last year, I was proceeding home to -Britain on leave of absence from my regiment, the —th -Highlanders, which were then, and are still, lying in -garrison at Malta. Favoured by the friendship of her -commander, and my good friend and old school-fellow, -Lieutenant John Hall, I had a passage given to me in -Her Majesty's Sloop Blonde, of twenty-six guns; and -after a pleasant run for a few days, a smart breeze, -which we encountered off Almuneçar, when sailing -along the coast of Spain, brought down some of our -top hamper, and we ran in to Malaga to repair the -damage. -</p> - -<p> -It was a beautiful and sunny evening when our -anchor plunged into the shining waters of that deep -bay which presents so superb a line of coast, and the -background of which is formed by the undulating -line of the Sierra de Mija towering into the pure blue -sky of Spain, and bounding, in the distance, the flat -and fertile Vega. -</p> - -<p> -From the quarter-deck of the Blonde, we had a -magnificent prospect of Malaga, with its stately -mansions, its domes, its spires and snowy kiosks, bathed -in a warm yellow tint as the sun's rays faded along -the Vega, and the shadows deepened on its hills, -clothed with vineyards and plantations of orange, -almond, lemon and olive trees. The gaudy Spanish -flag descended from the dark ramparts of the old -Moorish fortress of Gibral-Faro as the evening gun -was fired from the guard-ship; and then, as the sun -set behind tha mountains, the bells tolled for vespers -in the lofty steeple of the square Cathedral, and a -red lambent light began to glimmer on the tall brick -chimneys of that extensive iron-foundry, which (alas -for romance!) a thoroughly practical Scotsman has -built in Malaga, where it finds food and work for -hundreds, in smelting the ore of the adjacent hills, while -it pollutes the cerulean sky of Granada. -</p> - -<p> -Bent upon a ramble or adventure, the second-lieutenant -(Jack Hall) and I took our fowling-pieces, -and, leaving our swords behind us—at least I took -only my regimental dirk—were pulled ashore in the -dingy, which landed us at one of those piers that -project from the city into the sea, forming part of that -noble mole which measures seven hundred yards in -length. -</p> - -<p> -Leaving our guns and shooting apparatus at our -hotel, we wandered about the town; visited the -Alcazaba, which must once have been a fortress of vast -strength; then the old Roman Cathedral and Bishop's -Palace; but we lingered longest in the Alameda—that -beautiful promenade—which is eighty feet wide, -and is bordered by rows of orange and oleander trees, -and in the centre of which a magnificent marble -fountain was tossing its sparkling waters into the -starry sky. -</p> - -<p> -Here we saw some bright-eyed Spanish women in -their dark mantillas and veils, and not a few in tha -homely and assuredly less graceful bonnet and shawl -of London and Paris, whose fashions are gradually, -and, I think, unfortunately, superseding the more -captivating dress of old Spain; we saw too, -ferocious-looking soldiers in dark dresses, weaving yellow -sashes, red forage caps, and enormous moustaches; -old priests gliding stealthily along, with an aspect of -meekness, and apparently crushed in spirit; for the -Government presses with a heavy hand on the -ecclesiastics; citizens clad in light stuffs of bright -colours, with red sashes and low-crowned hats, having -black silk tufts at each side; queer-looking Caballeros -in large brown cloaks like that of Don Diego de -Mendoza's "Poor Hidalgo," and wearing hats 'à la -Kossuth.' As every man was smoking as if his salvation -depended upon his doing so with vigour, the whole -air was redolent of cigars. -</p> - -<p> -I had on my undress, a forage cap, and plain red -jacket, with tartan trews, my sash and dirk; for I -have found that the British uniform always ensures the -wearer attention and respect in every part of the globe. -</p> - -<p> -We wandered long in that lovely Alameda, until -the last of its fair promenaders had withdrawn; and -then we returned to our hotel rather disappointed, -that of all the black eyes we had seen flashing under -veils of Madeira lace, not one had given us a glance -of encouragement; that of all the pretty lips, which -had been lisping dulcet Spanish mixed with the Arabic -of Granada, none had invited us to follow; that of -all the sombre cavaliers, not one appeared to be an -assassin or a Grand Inquisitor; and that, of all the -hideous old duennas whom we had seen cruising -about us, not one had approached, and with finger on -her lip, and an impressive glance in her eye, placed a -mysterious note into either of our hands, and -"disappeared in the crowd." -</p> - -<p> -Nothing remarkable happened, save that Hall had -his pocket picked of his handkerchief and cigar-case, -and we returned like other men to our hotel, where -we supped on devilled turkey and the wine of the -district, Tierno and Malaga; after which we turned -into bed, warning the waiter to summon us early, and -have a guide to lead us toward the neighbouring hills, -where we intended to make some havock among the -game next day. -</p> - -<p> -Punctually at five o'clock in the morning the mozo-de-cafe -roused us, and, after coffee, we shouldered our -double-barrelled rifles, and accompanied by a young -'gamin' named Pedrillo, for whose fidelity the -waiter pledged his "honour," we departed on our -ramble. -</p> - -<p> -If ever you saw the Spanish beggar-boys, as -depicted by Murillo in his famous picture, which is -now in Dulwich College, they will know perfectly the -aspect of Pedrillo, our little guide. -</p> - -<p> -He was about twelve years old; but, hardened by -indigence and sharpened by privation, his perceptive -faculties were keener than those of many a man. His -sallow little visage was stamped with more of the -animal than the intellectual being; his eyes were -black, glossy, and glittered alternately with cunning -and intelligence. His sole attire consisted of a -dilapidated shirt, a pair of knee-breeches, and a cowl, -which confined his luxuriant black hair; he had zinc -rings in his ears, and bore altogether the aspect of a -little Lazzarone. -</p> - -<p> -He was intelligent withal, and he told us a vast -number of anecdotes, which increased in wonder and -ferocity as we paid him one peseta after another; but -he dwelt particularly on the achievements of a certain -Juan Roa, otherwise styled de Antequera, who was -then prowling in that savage range of mountains, from -whence he descended sometimes alone, sometimes -with many followers, especially when the Solano blew -from Africa, to commit outrages among the quiet -quintas and villages of the fertile Vega, where he was -said to be in league with every posada-keeper for forty -miles around Malaga. -</p> - -<p> -About mid-day we rested under the cool shadow of -a cork wood, about ten miles from the city; it was a -beautiful place, where the sward was soft as velvet, -and where a thick border of blushing rose-trees, and -wild hydrangias flourished near us. Here we shared -our provisions with a paisano and two armed -contrabandistas whom we met, and who shared with us their -wine in return. The two smugglers had strong and -active horses, and carried blunderbusses and pistols to -guard their bales of chocolate, soap, tobacco, and -cigars; they were fine, merry fellows, gaudily dressed, -and full of fun and anecdote; for in Spain the -contrabandista is a species of travelling newspaper. Now -all their news were of the last feat or outrage of Juan -Roa. -</p> - -<p> -"I would give a guinea to meet this interesting -vagabond; the interview would tell famously in -some of the monthlies," said Hall, with a heedless -laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"I think I should know him," said I; "for we saw -at least twenty coloured prints of him in the shops on -the Alameda, last night. He is a ferocious-looking -dog!" -</p> - -<p> -The contrabandistas looked round with alarm, and -then laughed immoderately. -</p> - -<p> -"Ferocious? Indeed, señor?" said the paisano; -"I beg to differ from you, having myself seen Juan -of Antequera face to face; and so think him quite -like other men." -</p> - -<p> -I gazed at the speaker, whom, by his green velvet -jacket, adorned by four dozen of brass buttons, his -sombrero, with its broad yellow ribband, his black -plush breeches, red scarf and shoe-buckles, I -supposed to be the substantial farmer of one of the -adjacent quintas. He had a fine dark face, a powerful -figure, and two black eyes that seemed to be always -looking through me. Over one eyebrow, he had a -large black patch. He carried a riding switch, had a -knife in his girdle; and altogether, as he lolled on -the sward, smoking a paper cigar and sipping red -wine, I thought he would make a fine and striking -sketch, and equal to any by Pinelli. -</p> - -<p> -"Juan Roa," said he, "has committed great -outrages in the Vega of Granada. The Duke of -Wellington has there an estate, having on it about three -hundred tenants, who yield some fifteen thousand -dollars of rental; but Juan has thrice drawn every -duro of it from the old abagado, who acts as steward -to the duke." -</p> - -<p> -The contrabandistas again laughed at this immoderately. -</p> - -<p> -"You have seen this Juan of Antequera, have you -not?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Face to face—often, señor." -</p> - -<p> -"And so have I," said little Pedrillo. -</p> - -<p> -"You! and when was this, my little fellow?" said -Jack Hall. -</p> - -<p> -"On the night old Barradas, the muleteer, was -murdered." -</p> - -<p> -The Spaniard with the patch knit his brows. -</p> - -<p> -"Caramba!" said he; "ah! I remember that." -</p> - -<p> -"Tell us about this murder," said Hall. -</p> - -<p> -"You must know, señors," said Pedrillo, "that at -the foot of the Sierra de Mija, about five miles from -this, there stands a wayside inn, called La Posada -del Cavallo, for the keeper, Martin Secco, had a great -horse painted on his signboard. This man is the -uncle of Juan Roa, or of Antequera. He has a -wife, and had two daughters. The place is lonely; -and it often happens, that those who put up there for -the night forget the right path; for they are lost -among the mountains, or fall into the sand-pits—at -least, they are seldom heard of after. You -understand, señors?" -</p> - -<p> -The Spaniard with the patch smiled grimly, and -played with his knife. -</p> - -<p> -"One night last year, I guided Pedro Barradas, the -Cordovan muleteer, to the posada, when it was dark -as pitch. Pedro was very old, and half blind, and -had never been that way before. A storm came on, -and he desired me to remain with him, saying he -would pay me well; old Barradas was rich; he had -made money in the war of independence, and in the -last civil war between the Carlists and Christines; -and had given three silver images to the church of -his native puebla in Jaen. -</p> - -<p> -"We supped on baccallao, raisins, and plain bread, -for the season was Lent. While we were at supper, -in the common hall of the posada, I heard the rain -pattering on the wooden shutters (there is not a glass -window in the house); I heard the thunder grumbling -among the hills, and the wind howling as it swept -over the fields and vineyards of the Vega. It was a -lonely place for a poor boy who had neither father -nor mother, señors; but, then, I was not worth -killing, though many fears flitted through my mind; for -Martin's wife—an ugly and wicked-looking Basque -provincial—put some very alarming questions to old -Pedro Barradas. She told him that the neighbourhood -was infested by bandidos and contrabandistas; -and asked if he was a heavy sleeper. -</p> - -<p> -"'No,' said Barradas, 'in the war against Joseph -Buonaparte I learned the art of sleeping lightly.' -</p> - -<p> -"'But what will you do if attacked?' -</p> - -<p> -"'That is as may be; but I have only twenty -duros, and so shall sleep soundly enough.' -</p> - -<p> -"These questions alarmed me very much; visions -of murder and slaughter came before me. I crept close -to Barradas, who, as I have said, was very old and -very frail; but his presence seemed a protection to -me for a time. -</p> - -<p> -"When the hour for bed arrived, we, who were the -only guests, were somewhat imperatively requested to -retire to our rooms by the wife of Martin Secco. -</p> - -<p> -"Barradas saw, perhaps, his danger, and said that -I should sleep in the same room with him. -</p> - -<p> -"But Inez Secco told him roughly that he must be -content to sleep alone. Then the poor old man was -half-led and half-dragged away. As for me, I was but -a boy; so they thrust me into a dark closet, where -some straw lay on the floor, and, desiring me to sleep -there and be thankful, left me. -</p> - -<p> -"I lay down on the straw, and finding it wet, arose -in horror, fearing that it was blood; and so I -remained in the dark, praying to our Lady of the Seven -Sorrows, and trembling and listening to the howling -of the storm for more than an hour, when all the -other sounds in that terrible posada died away. -</p> - -<p> -"I was just beginning to dose when a ray of light -streamed through the keyhole of my door; I heard it -opened, and lo! Martin's wife, Inez Secco, appeared -with a long and sharp cuchillo in her hand. A man -accompanied her. He was Juan Roa de Antequera! -Terror paralysed me; and she believed me to be -asleep, for she felt all over my clothes—that is, my -poor shirt and breeches-pockets, from which she -took two quarter-duros—all I possessed in this world; -and then, passing the light thrice across my face, to -assure herself that I slept, the hag went away -muttering— -</p> - -<p> -"'Caramba! only a half-duro; this little wretch is -neither worth lodging nor killing.' -</p> - -<p> -"Immediately after this I heard them whispering -with Martin Secco; and then they knocked at the -door of old Pedro Barradas, who, like a cautious man, -had fastened it on the inside. -</p> - -<p> -"'Get up,' said they, 'Señor Barradas—get up—you -are wanted.' -</p> - -<p> -"But old Barradas either slept like a top, or he was -too wary to open; for he heeded them not. -</p> - -<p> -"Then I heard Juan and Martin muttering curses -as they deliberately forced open the door; next there -came a terrible cry of— -</p> - -<p> -"'Help! Pedrillo, help! Ayuda, por amor de -neustra Señora Santissima!' -</p> - -<p> -"This was followed by sounds like those made by -a sheep when the knife of the carnicero is in its -throat; and, in the meantime, Martin's two daughters -were singing as loud as they could, and dancing a -bolero in the passage, to conceal these terrible sounds, -which froze the blood within me." -</p> - -<p> -Here Pedrillo paused. -</p> - -<p> -"Go on," said Jack Hall, impatiently; "and how -did you escape?" -</p> - -<p> -"If the noble señors would help me to refresh my -memory——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, I comprehend," said I, tossing a peseta to -him; "now fire away, Pedrillo." -</p> - -<p> -"You should not encourage this young picaro, -Señor Caballero," said the Spaniard, whose face was -now darkened by a terrible frown; "for it is my -belief that he was the mere decoy, who led poor old -Pedro Barradas to that villanous posada." -</p> - -<p> -Instead of being angry, Pedrillo lifted up his -hands, and prayed that Heaven and our Lady of the -Seven Sorrows would forgive the speaker for his vile -suspicions. -</p> - -<p> -"I never closed an eye that night. In the morning -I was told by Inez the Patrona, that old Barradas had -departed across the hills of Antequera without me. -Martin Secco asked me how I had slept? I said, -like a dormouse; and as soon as I was free, I ran -like a hare back to Malaga; and to make up for the -loss of my last night's rest, slept like a torpedo under -the trees of the Alameda." -</p> - -<p> -"You acquainted the magistrates—the alguazils, -of course," said Hall, knocking the ashes from his -third cigar. -</p> - -<p> -"I was only a poor, ragged, little picaro," -replied Pedrillo, in a whining voice; "and who would -believe me? Besides, old Barradas was a stranger -from Cordova or Jaen; and a man, more or less, is -nothing in Granada; but since that time Martin's two -daughters have been sent to the galleys at Barcelona, -by the captain-general of the kingdom, for intriguing -in many ways with the contrabandistas of Jaen. -Now, señors, the noon is past; and if it please you, -'t is time we were moving, if you wish to reach the -Sierra." -</p> - -<p> -While we were placing fresh caps on our rifles, -and preparing to start, the Spaniard with the patch, -who had listened to Pedrillo's story with great -impatience, now seized that young gamin by the arm, -and grasping it like a vice, gave him a savage scowl, -and said something in Spanish; but so rapidly, that -I could only make out that he was reprehending him -severely for telling us "a succession of falsehoods." -</p> - -<p> -So I thought at that time; afterwards I was -enabled to put a different construction upon his -indignation, at which Pedrillo seemed to be -considerably alarmed. -</p> - -<p> -Bidding adieu to him and the contrabandistas, we -departed under Pedrillo's guidance, and (sans leave) -shot all along the sides of the mountain range, on -the slope of which stands the small but ancient city -of Antequera, so noted for the revolt of the Moors in -the sixteenth century; and had some narrow escapes -from falling into those remarkable pits, where the -water settles in the low places, and is formed into -salt by the mere heat of the sun. -</p> - -<p> -We did not see much game, but knocked over -a few brace of birds, and with these, and two red -foxes, our little guide Pedrillo was quite laden. So -he seemed to think; for, taking advantage of the -concealment afforded him by some olive groves, and -the scattered remnants of an abandoned vineyard, -among which we had become entangled, the young -rogue slipped away with our game and made off, -either towards Malaga or Antequera; at least we saw -no more of him, or of his burden at that time. -</p> - -<p> -This was just about the close of the day, when -Hall and I were draining the last drop of our flask, -and surveying from the mountain slope the magnificent -prospect of the verdant Vega, spreading at our -feet like a brightly-tinted map, having that warm and -roseate glow, which well might win it the name of -Tierra Caliente. Malaga, the ancient bulwark of -Spain against Africa, was shining in the distance, -with its towers and gates, its flat-roofed houses, and -vast cathedral; its Moorish castles and gothic spires, -all bathed in a warm and sunny yellow; while beyond -lay the broad blue Mediterranean, dotted by sails, -and changing from gold to purple and to blue. -</p> - -<p> -This was all very fine: but our pleasure was -lessened by the conviction that our little rascal -Pedrillo was absconding with our game; and we -knew that it would never do to relate to the gun-room -mess how we had been outwitted, on returning to the -Blonde next day. -</p> - -<p> -The foreground of this beautiful panorama was -broken by innumerable small hillocks and clumps of -wood of many kinds; but principally olive, pine, and -cork trees, that grew on the slope of the great -Sierra; and though the sky and landscape darkened -fast after the sun set, we instituted a strict and angry -search for Pedrillo, shouting and whistling as we -stumbled on, we knew not very well whither, looking -for our lost spoils—two foxes, with gallant brushes, -and eight brace of birds. -</p> - -<p> -No moon had risen: the wind began to whistle -among the groves and hollows; the night was very -dark. -</p> - -<p> -"What, if we should meet Master Juan of Antequera?" -said I. -</p> - -<p> -"If he had our game, I should be very well -pleased," replied Hall; "but I wish that Pedrillo -had been with old Scratch when we hired him -yesterday. If I had the little lubber on board the -Blonde, I would show him the maintop." -</p> - -<p> -"Spain is a land of mishaps and events," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Yesterday we were wishing for an adventure." -</p> - -<p> -"And to-night we have one with a vengeance!" -said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Belay; I see some one moving in that hollow. -Let us jump down—ahoy below there!" -</p> - -<p> -"But we may lose the track," I urged. -</p> - -<p> -"True; so do you remain where you are, while I -go down into the hollow. Hollo now and then, to let -me know your whereabouts." -</p> - -<p> -With his rifle in his hand, Hall, who was a fine -active fellow, sprang down into a ravine that -suddenly yawned before us, and I remained with my -rifle cocked, and stooped low to watch what might -follow. Hall disappeared in the obscurity below. I -halloed; but the night wind tossed back my own -shout upon me. Then I thought I heard his voice, -and sprang after him; but fell upon a point of rock, -and sank, completely stunned, to the earth. -</p> - -<p> -There I lay for nearly a quarter of an hour, unable -to move, or rally my senses. When I arose, I found -myself at the bottom of the hollow, and upon a -narrow mule track; the moon was rising brightly at -the south end of the ravine, silvering the masses of -rocks, tufts of laurel-trees, and wild vines that grew -in the clefts of the basalt. I shouted, but received -no reply; and after a long and fruitless search could -discover no trace of Hall in any direction. -</p> - -<p> -Considerably alarmed for his safety as well as my -own—for to lie at night upon those hills of Antequera, -with the devilish stories of Pedrillo and the -contrabandistas haunting one's memory, was anything but -pleasant—I tried the charges of my rifle, looked again -to the percussion-caps, and set off in that direction -where, by the rising of the moon, I knew that Malaga -must lie; but frequently paused to hollo for Jack -Hall, and received no reply save the echoes of the -rocks. -</p> - -<p> -The ravine descended and grew more open. Again -I saw the Vega sleeping at my feet in the haze; and, -on turning an angle of the road, found myself close -to an inn or taberna, which I approached with joy, -concluding that my friend Jack must have gone that -way, and would probably be there. -</p> - -<p> -Like all Spanish inns, it was a large and mis-shapen -edifice, the lower story of which was nothing better -than a great open shed, for mules and vehicles; and, -ascending from thence by a stair, I reached a gallery, -at the door of which I was received by the host, who -carried in his hand a stable lantern. -</p> - -<p> -"Entrar," said he, bowing profoundly; "entrar, -señor." -</p> - -<p> -"I have been shooting on the mountains," said I, -"and have lost my companion, a British naval officer. -Has he passed this way?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, señor," replied the host, (whose face I could -not yet see,) as he led me up another stair. -</p> - -<p> -"Then get supper prepared; for he must soon be -here, as I have no doubt he knows pretty well the -direction of Malaga. And now," said I, drawing a -long breath, as I seated myself, "what place is this?" -</p> - -<p> -"La Posada del Cavallo." (!) -</p> - -<p> -"Eh! ah—and you?" I asked, in a thick voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Martin Secco, at your service, Señor Caballero!" -</p> - -<p> -"Here was a dénouement! -</p> - -<p> -"Good Heavens!" thought I, mechanically resuming -my rifle; "if the stories of Pedrillo should be -true." -</p> - -<p> -I scrutinised my host and hostess. -</p> - -<p> -Martin had a broad and open visage, with keen eyes, -and a black beard as thick as a horse-brush; a wide -mouth, that frequently expanded in grins; but in those -grins no radiance ever lit up his glassy eyes. The -mouth laughed; but they remained immovable—invariably -a bad sign. His forehead receded, and his -ears were placed high upon his head. At the first -glance, I concluded that my señor patron was an -unmitigated brute. His figure was somewhat portly, -and encased in a brown jacket, brown knee-breeches, -and black stockings; he wore his hair confined in a -caul, and had a yellow sash round his waist. -</p> - -<p> -His wife was, as Pedrillo had described Inez Secco, -a Basque, for her Spanish was almost unintelligible; -and her coarse black hair was plaited in one thick tail, -which reached to her heels. Her gown was of rough -red cloth, with tight sleeves and a short skirt, -displaying a pair of yellow worsted stockings and leather -sandals, fastened by thongs above the ancle. Her face -was coarse and bloated; but the expression of her eye -was terrible. It hovered between the bright ferocious -glare of a snake, and the glazed orb of an arrant sot. -She scanned me closely; and I thought the old devil -(she was a Spanish woman, and past forty,) was -accurately appraising the value of all I had on. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, señora patrona," said I, "what can I have -for supper?" -</p> - -<p> -"The señor has come at a bad time, for we have -little or no provisions in our larder." (The larder of -every Spanish inn has been in the same condition -since the days of Cervantes and Gongora.) "For -now this road between Malaga and Antequera is but -little frequented after noon-day, owing to the terrible -robberies and the four assassinations committed by -Juan Roa, during the last Solano. Caramba! 't is -very hard that we should suffer for him." -</p> - -<p> -"What can I have, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"A roasted galina, dressed with a few beans," said -the patrona. -</p> - -<p> -"And a glass of good aquadiente," added the host; -"our Tierno has soured in the wine-skins." -</p> - -<p> -"'T is poor fare this, for hungry men. I have said -that I expect my friend's arrival momently." -</p> - -<p> -The host gave a cold smile, and said, "We have -had nothing ourselves, for a week past, but Indian -corn and boiled garbanzos (beans); but the best we -have is at the disposal of the señor caballero." -</p> - -<p> -The inn was old and crazy; the wind came in at -one cranny, and whistled out by another. The roof, -walls, and floor of the large apartment in which we -three were seated, consisted of a multitude of beams -and boards, placed horizontally and diagonally, -without skill and without regard to design or appearance. -There was but one candle in the house (as the host -assured me), and it was rapidly guttering down in the -currents of air. The patrona transferred it from the -lantern to an iron holder, and it was placed on the -table to light the room and my supper. -</p> - -<p> -An ostler, or nondescript servant, wearing fustian -knee-breeches, without braces, with a muleteer's -embroidered shirt, and having a yellow handkerchief -tied round his head, spread a (not over-clean) cloth on -the table; knives, forks, and covers were laid for two, -with a cold fowl, a loaf of white bread, a dish of -beans, garlic, and a bottle of aquadiente. -</p> - -<p> -I observed this wild-looking waiter frequently -glancing at my rifle, and the jewelled dirk that dangled -at my waist-belt; I became suspicious of everything. -</p> - -<p> -"You are well armed, señor," said he. -</p> - -<p> -"It is natural; for arms are my profession," said I. -</p> - -<p> -I looked at my watch: the hands indicated eleven -o'clock! Two hours had elapsed since Hall and I -had separated; still there was no appearance of him. -Twenty times I opened the shutters of the unglazed -windows, and listened intently; but the night wind -that swept down the dark ravine in the Sierra, brought -neither shout nor footstep; so I resolved to sup, go -to bed, and trust to daylight for discovering Jack, if -he did not arrive at the posada before morning. -</p> - -<p> -I had just concluded supper, when the last remains -of the last candle in this solitary inn, sank into its -iron socket, and left us in darkness; at least with no -other light than the red wavering glow that came -from the hearth, where a few roots of pine and -corkwood smouldered beside the brown puchero, in which -the amiable patrona had boiled the beans for my repast. -</p> - -<p> -"Here is a pretty piece of business!" said Martin -Secco; "we have not another candle were it to light -a blessed altar; and the señor Caballero must go to -bed in the dark." -</p> - -<p> -"Heed not that, señor patron," said I; "for I am -a soldier, as you may see, and am used to discomfort." -</p> - -<p> -"'T is well; for I am sure that the señor has -experienced nothing but discomfort in our poor posada. -When I am rich enough, señor, I hope to have an -hotel in the Alameda; and then should the Caballero -ever come to Malaga again, he will remember Martin -Secco." -</p> - -<p> -At this remark, I heard the patrona utter a low -chuckling laugh; but whether at the prospect of the -fine hotel, or the doubtful chances of my ever again -visiting Malaga, I could not say. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, señor patron," said I, rising and taking up -my rifle, "I should like to reach the town betimes -to-morrow; so show me to my chamber, and should my -friend arrive, fail not to call me." -</p> - -<p> -"Will you not leave your gun here?" suggested -the host. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you—no," said I, while my undefined -suspicions grew stronger within me. "Do you lead -the way, señor, and I shall follow. Good night, -señora patrona." -</p> - -<p> -"Bueno noche, señor," said she, stirring up the -embers; and we separated. -</p> - -<p> -To follow Martin was perhaps the most unpleasant -part that I had yet acted; for I had to grope my way -after him along a dark passage, about forty feet long, -at the end of which he ushered me into a room, -where there was no other light than that given by the -moon, which shone through a small window glazed -with little panes of coarse glass. Here he bade me -"Bueno noche;" and, after many apologies for my -miserable accommodation, left me. -</p> - -<p> -The apartment was small. In one corner stood a -French bed, having light-coloured curtains; this, with -a basin-stand, two chairs and a mirror, made up the -furniture. Like a true soldier, I turned to secure the -door. -</p> - -<p> -Destitute of lock or bolt: it had only a small -thumb-latch! -</p> - -<p> -Dismounting the ewer and basin, I placed the stand -end-wise between the bed and the door, firmly fixing -it, and thus forming a barricade, which none could -force without awaking me. To make all sure, I again -dropped the ramrod into each barrel of my rifle, -passed a finger over the caps, unbuckled the belt at -which my dirk dangled; and, without undressing, for -every moment I expected to hear Jack Hall hallooing -outside the house; in short, to be prepared for -anything, I threw myself down on the coverlet, and -weary and worn by a long day's ramble among the -mountains, prepared to sleep. -</p> - -<p> -For a long time a species of painful wakefulness -possessed me; the moans of the passing wind, the -flapping of a loose board in the external gallery, the -wavering shadows thrown by the moonlight on the -damp and discoloured walls; even the ticking of my -watch disturbed me, and kept me constantly thinking -of poor Hall's unaccountable absence, with many a -fear that he might have fallen into the hands of Juan -of Antequera, and not a few reproaches for my having -perhaps too easily relinquished my search for him. -</p> - -<p> -These thoughts completely obliterated any sense of -my own immediate danger; but I was about to drop -asleep when something moist that oozed over my -neck and face aroused me. I started, fully awake in -a moment; and, passing a hand across my cheek, -looked at it in the moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -"Blood!" said I, springing off the bed, while a -thrill ran through me. I had not been wounded or -cut by my fall; then from whence came this terrible -moisture? I examined the pillow, and found the -lower part of it quite wet; I turned it, and lo! it was -saturated with blood! -</p> - -<p> -This was the reason, that Martin Secco had -declined to give me a candle. My heart beat thick and -fast; apprehension of something horrible came over -me, and I remembered the stories of Pedrillo. I -also recollected that I had some excellent Spanish -cigar fusees, and tearing three or four blank leaves -from my note book, I twisted them together, lit them, -and surveyed the dingy chamber. The boards in -front of the bed were marked by recent spots of -blood; I raised the little fringe or curtain, and, -guided by some terrible instinct, looked below, and -saw—what? -</p> - -<p> -Poor Jack Hall lying there in his naval uniform, -with his epaulette torn off, and his throat literally -cut from ear to ear! -</p> - -<p> -He had found his way here before me, and been -assassinated. -</p> - -<p> -Almost paralysed, I continued for half a minute to -gaze at this terrible spectacle, till the paper burned -down to my fingers and expired. I heard my heart -beating; and my head spun round as I tightened my -belt and grasped my loaded rifle. Before I could -adopt any plan of operations, I heard a rustling and -whispering in the passage near my door; and, looking -through a crack in the panels, saw, within a yard -of me, Martin Secco, bearing in one hand the rifle of -my poor friend, and in the other a lighted candle, -although he had made to me so many apologies, -about two hours before, for not having another in the -house. As he approached, he handed it to a boy, in -whom I discovered Pedrillo; and then the light -flashed upon two other men, in one of whom I recognised -the ostler, and in the other, our acquaintance -of the noon, with the patch on his face, and wearing -the green velvet jacket and sombrero. This worthy -had a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. -The patrona was also there, with her wolfish eyes -and enormous Basque queue. -</p> - -<p> -Outrage and assassination were impressed on the -hard lines of all their cruel and savage visages; and -I perceived at once that without a vigorous effort I -was lost—that my life was forfeited; and all the -anticipations of newspaper paragraphs; "a mysterious -disappearance" in the "Times" and "Military Gazette," -flashed upon my mind. I had youth, a noble -profession, many kind friends, my regiment, and -home, with "the best of expectations," as old -dowagers say, on one hand; a horrible and sudden death—a -lonely scene of unknown butchery, on the other! -</p> - -<p> -I cocked the locks of my rifle, and resolutely -removed the barricade from the door. -</p> - -<p> -"Take time, Juan Roa," said the patrona. -</p> - -<p> -"Hold your tongue, old perra; I know well enough -what I am doing," growled the personage in green, -whom I now knew to be that terrible outlaw, who -since the Carlist war, had laughed at the carabineros -and alguazils, and kept all Malaga, the Sierra de -Mija, and the Vega of Granada astir and in -terror. -</p> - -<p> -Including the patrona, and the treacherous young -rascal Pedrillo, I had five desperate enemies, and only -two bullets at their service. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us prove whether the Inglese is asleep, before -we enter," said the patron, knocking at the door -gently, and placing the candle behind him. -</p> - -<p> -"No answer—he is certainly asleep," whispered -the patrona. -</p> - -<p> -"Knock again," growled Juan Roa. -</p> - -<p> -A smart blow was then given; but still I made no -reply. Then the patron applied his hand to the -latch; but before he could open the door, I fired -right through the slender panels, and shot him dead -by one bullet, knocking over the ostler by the other, -which he received through his neck and shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -Clubbing my rifle, I then rushed out; and charging -them in the smoke and confusion, dealt Juan Roa a -tremendous blow with the butt end, which levelled -him beside the two ruffians who lay bleeding in the -narrow passage. Escaping a pistol shot from Juan, -but receiving two desperate cuts from the termagant -patrona and the wasp Pedrillo, I reached the end of -the passage, sprang through the common hall, and -found the outer door fastened. By main strength I -tore it open, and reached the external gallery, over -which I dropped, though it was fully twelve feet from -the ground; and, just as I did so, the boy Pedrillo -fired one of Juan's pistols after me; but I escaped -it, and ran down the mountain slope, loading my -rifle as I went, and driving a bullet home into each -barrel. -</p> - -<p> -Grey morning was spreading along the east, and -the red flush of the coming sun was brightening -behind the dark towers of Gibral-Faro, and sparkling -on the lattices of Malaga. The aromatic plants were -putting forth their sweetest perfume, and the light -foliage of the sugar-cane, the cotton plant, and the -citron tree, were shaking off the heavy dews of night. -The air was clear and cool; after the toils of the -past day, the sleepless night and its terrors, the -fresh dewy atmosphere revived me, and, dashing down -the lonely mountain-side, I reached a little puebla, -and reported the whole affair to the officer who there -commanded a party of the carabineros of Antequera. -</p> - -<p> -A sergeant and twenty troopers galloped away to -the posada, which they found completely deserted by -all its living tenants; but they hung the body of the -patron upon a tree, burned the house to the ground, -and conveyed the mangled remains of poor Jack Hall -to Malaga, where they were interred next day, with -all the honours of war, in that corner of the Campo -Santo which is appropriated for the burial of -strangers; and there the marines of the Blonde fired -three volleys over the grave, where as noble a heart -as Her Majesty's service possessed was committed to -the earth of Spain. -</p> - -<p> -An hour's examination before a magistrate, who -swore me across my sword as to the particulars, was -all the judicial inquiry ever made; we sailed next day, -and reached Portsmouth, after a fine run, and without -any other mishaps; but I shall never forget that -terrible night among the mountains of Antequera, -Martin Secco, his wife's tail, and the horrors of La -Posada del Cavallo. -</p> - -<p> -Jack's adventure elicited a burst of applause, and -was voted the story of the evening, notwithstanding -the great spice of the miraculous and holy, which -had seasoned the narrative of the Major Don Joaquim. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII -<br /><br /> -THE HALT IN A CORK WOOD -</h3> - -<p> -Next morning betimes we left the venta of Castellar -where, overnight, we had spent so many pleasant -hours. The Major Don Joaquim was very curious to -know the object of our mission to Seville, of which -he announced himself a well-known citizen; but we -declined to state the reason of our visit in uniform -to that far-famed city; neither did we mention that -our business lay with no less a personage than the -captain-general of Los Cuatros Reinos. -</p> - -<p> -In a country like Spain, where the people are so -jealous of their national honour and so revengeful, -we did not conceive that it would be conducive to our -safety to state that we were the identical officers -whose affair with the guarda costa had caused so -much heartburning for some weeks past, and so much -correspondence between our governor and the -minister Espartero; so, somewhat piqued by our -reserve, the major gave us a formal bow, and clambered -into the vehicle which was to convey him to Medina. -We separated, the convoy of calessos got into motion -after much noise and vociferation on the part of the -drivers, the stable-boys, the hostalero, and the -passengers, who were all gabbling at once in full-toned -Spanish as they rolled away under the escort of a -party of very ill-appointed dragoons in the service of -Donna Isabella la Catolica, while we rode off in the -opposite direction towards Alcala de los Gazules, a -small town, which lies on the Seville road, and through -which we passed soon after. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us push on," said I, to interrupt Jack, who -had been rallying me pretty smartly about Donna -Paulina, and vowing that all this affair of a trip to -Seville had been foreseen and preconcerted by me for -the purpose of meeting her again and continuing a -flirtation which was a source of great merriment to -the regiment. "Let us push on, Jack, for I feel very -anxious——" -</p> - -<p> -"To reach Seville, of course; but it won't run -away; we shall find it in its proper place on the left -bank of the Guadalquiver." -</p> - -<p> -"You mistake me. I was thinking how awkward -it would be for us if the Himalaya was to come round -during our absence; and if on our return we should -find the whole regiment embarked and steaming -away for the Crimea." -</p> - -<p> -"Awkward! I should think so, rather; but it is not -likely they can decamp in such a hurry. After all -we heard last night about the restless habits of the -good people in these mountains, and their vague or -peculiar ideas regarding property, together with the -eccentricities of this Don Fabrique, do we not run a -little risk in proceeding without an escort?" -</p> - -<p> -"There is risk, certainly; but our return is not to -be thought of till the duty is done." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course not—what would the regiment say?" -</p> - -<p> -"And what should we think of ourselves?" -</p> - -<p> -"We are, I hope, a match for any six Spaniards, -with our swords and revolvers, in fighting; and with -these good nags under us I should think we are more -than a match for them in flying. But the noon is -becoming so hot that I propose we should halt under -that grove of cork-trees and there take a siesta." -</p> - -<p> -We halted accordingly at the base of a steep -mountain chain, between the cleft peaks of which a -noonday-flood of yellow light was gushing. Sterile, -abrupt, and bare above us rose the ridgy rocks: the -little valley at the base was teeming with verdure and -fertility, but it was silent and solitary, for not a sound -was heard save the murmur of a stream which bubbled -from a fissure in a vine-covered cliff. It -meandered between meadows of aromatic plants, and -sought deep pools over which the oleander and the -bay threw their branches, and the cool shady thickets -of the dark wood of olive and cork-trees. -</p> - -<p> -Just where we dismounted, we found a personage -lounging on the grass. He was smoking a cigar, and -had a long gun beside him. Without rising for a -minute nearly, he scrutinised us and our horses with -marked curiosity. His costume was somewhat gay, -being in the highest style of the bull-ring, or that of -a majo or dandified Spanish ladrone, whose free -aspect and gallant air make him the admiration of the -dark-eyed paisanas and the envy of their more -peaceful male relatives; for the majo is the bravo of -our own time. -</p> - -<p> -This personage wore an ample brown cloak, which -hung loosely about his shoulders, a black velvet -sombrero, with a large tuft of black plush on one side -thereof, and under its deep rim his coal-black hair -fell in heavy locks, and his flashing eyes watched all -our motions, with an indescribable expression of -stealth and suspicion. A long knife and a pair of -brass-butted pistols were in his gaudy sash; he wore -leathern gaiters, and was playing with the blade of a -navaja, or clasp-knife, about ten inches long—a deadly -instrument, which the Spaniard is never without, for -therewith he cuts his 'carne' and bread, or his -bacallao in Lent, slices his melon in summer, and slashes -the face of any person with whom he may chance to -differ in opinion. Indeed, the visage of this lounger -bore the very unmistakable mark of a long slash -which had once laid it open from eye to chin. -Beside him stood a beautiful Andalusian jennet, high -of head, and bold in chest; its gaily-fringed bridle -was thrown over the branch of an olive tree, and -it was accoutred with a high-peaked saddle of antique -form, covered by a piece of white sheepskin, which -was spread also over a pair of holsters. -</p> - -<p> -"Buenos dias, señor," said I; "a good morning—I -fear we are disturbing you." -</p> - -<p> -"Not at all, señores—the greensward, the shadow -of those trees, and the waters of this stream, flowing -from yonder sierra, belong to us all in common. Sit -down, señores, and halter your horses, as you see I -have haltered mine. You belong to the Gibraltar -garrison, I presume—right—you are Inglesos." -</p> - -<p> -"No, Brittanicos," said I, with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -"And whither go ye?" -</p> - -<p> -"To Seville." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, would I were going with you: it is a place of -joy and merriment, Seville. The sun shines on it once -every day of the year; yet I go there but seldom. -Allow me to make you each a cigarillo." -</p> - -<p> -"With pleasure." -</p> - -<p> -To have declined would have been an affront as -great as to refuse a proffered snuff-mull in the -country of the clans. Our Spaniard produced one of -those little books of soft blank paper (almost the only -volumes used in Spain), and tore out three leaves; he -then took tobacco from his silk pouch and made up -three little cigars very neatly and adroitly; but twice -during the operation I detected his stealthy eyes -scanning us from under his bushy eyebrows. -</p> - -<p> -My little box of patent lights excited his wonder -and admiration, as he was about to exert his patience -by having recourse to the antiquated flint and steel. -Then Jack Slingsby produced his travelling flask; I -brought forth mine, and the Spaniard had a capacious -bota of wine, a drinking cup of leather, a piece of -bacallao and biscuits; and we were just proceeding -to lunch, when his Andalusian jennet pricked up its -ears and neighed uneasily. -</p> - -<p> -"Maldito!" said our companion, as a scowl came -over his visage and his hand fell mechanically on the -lock of his gun; "some one approaches." -</p> - -<p> -"An old woman on a donkey, and nothing more," -said Slingsby, carelessly; "amigo mio, you look as -much alarmed as if you expected the terrible -Fabrique de Urquija, or Juan Roa of Antequera." -</p> - -<p> -The keen eyes of the Spaniard flashed, and he -looked at Jack as if he would have pierced him -through. -</p> - -<p> -"I fear neither Don Fabrique nor any other man," -said he gruffly; "a woman on a burro—oh—it must -be poor Sister Santa Veronica, of Estrelo, a town -about a league distant." -</p> - -<p> -"How is she named so?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"After the blessed Santa Veronica who wiped the -pale face of our Lord, when dying upon his cross," -replied the Spaniard, lowering his head; "and as she -did so, on her kerchief there became impressed the -most wondrous of religious miracles—the Santa -Faz—the holy countenance of Jaen, where it is still -preserved in our cathedral, and from which the portraits -of our Saviour are all taken; hence it is that his sad -and upturned face, with its crown of bloody thorns -and curling heard, and the long yellow hair parted -over the smooth pale brow, are so well known over -all the Christian world." -</p> - -<p> -As he spoke, an elderly woman, habited like a nun, -in a coarse and well-patched dress of black serge, -with a hood of spotless white linen folded across her -brow and chin, and having its long ends drooping -lappetwise down her withered cheeks, rode up to us -on a donkey, which displayed—what one seldom sees -in a Spanish ass—evident signs of being ill-fed and -ill-groomed. The nun, who had a careworn, grave, and, -though stern, not unpleasing expression of face, -carried a covered basket on her arm. Our companion -sprang to his feet, and, doffing his sombrero, hastened -to meet her and to hold the bridle of her animal. -</p> - -<p> -She was abroad, as she told us, begging alms and -food for the sisters of her convent—ten ladies—all of -whom were of noble rank, but the most of whose -kinsmen had fallen in battle under Don Ramon de -Cabrera, and thus left them friendless. They were -now, by the confiscation of the ecclesiastical revenues, -and the seizure of those sums which they had paid -as a dowry into the convent treasury, reduced to -extreme penury in their old age, and were driven from -their pleasant convent in the beautiful vega of Jaen; -since then they had endeavoured to perform the duties -of their order, and to serve God, in a poor and -half-ruined house, which belonged to a noble, charitable. -and religious lady, Donna Dominga de Lucena, y -Colmenar de Orieja, at Estrelo; and now would not -the noble Caballeros give something to the poor -ladies of Santa Theresa, however small, for the love -of God and of blessed charity? -</p> - -<p> -All this, which she prettily told, was addressed to -us, rather than to the stranger, at whom she glanced -uneasily from time to time, although he stood -bare-headed, with the deepest respect, and holding her -burro by the bridle. -</p> - -<p> -The circumstance of the sisterhood being -befriended by the mother of Donna Paulina would -have sufficed to interest us, if the wrong done them -by the present Government of Spain had failed to do -so. Our purses were at once produced, and we -respectfully raised our caps on presenting the poor nun -with a few pillared dollars, which no doubt she little -expected from two heretical Brittanicos. -</p> - -<p> -They had been robbed of everything, she continued—at -least, all save their cases of reliques and -the bones of Santa Theresa, which they had borne on -their shoulders in sad procession from Jaen to -Estrelo; and, moreover, they had lost the wonderful -portrait of their patroness, which had been seized -and sold by those hijos de Luiz Philipe, the men of -the new administration; but it was no fault of the -present Queen of Spain, for poor Isabella la Catolica -had wept her eyes out in the cause of the poor monks -and nuns. The señores had, no doubt, heard of the -wonderful portrait of the blessed Theresa? -</p> - -<p> -In great sorrow we professed our ignorance thereof. -</p> - -<p> -"Madre Mia! It was said to be an Alonzo Cano, -and had narrowly escaped the clutches of the -Marshals Soult and Massena, when they swept away the -golden moidores of the Portuguese and the divine -Murillos of the Spaniards. It belonged to the chapel -in which the saint was baptized, and was quite as -veritable and wonderful as the holy countenance of -Jaen, and was usually placed over the great altar; -but one day when the chapel was undergoing repair, -it was placed at the porch, where it was seen by a -certain ruined gamester—a savage and desperate -fellow, worse than Juan Roa or Don Fabrique, as he came -past that way. In a fit of mad despair, having just -lost everything, he struck his dagger into the bosom -of the picture, from which there immediately gushed -out a torrent of blood in the sight of the terrified -people; while a faint cry was heard in the air, as of -one in pain afar off." -</p> - -<p> -"And the gamester?" -</p> - -<p> -"Went raving mad and died, chained like a wild -beast in the Gaza de Locos of Jaen." -</p> - -<p> -To our gift, our companion added a doubloon, a -present so valuable that it excited our surprise and -kindled the fear of the poor nun, who accepted it with -reluctance, and, with abundance of genuflections -and thanks, whipped up her burro, which trotted -away. -</p> - -<p> -"Shall I not have the honour of escorting you to -Estrelo, reverend señora?" cried our friend, hurrying -after her. -</p> - -<p> -"Muchos gratias—no, no! a thousand thanks, -señor," she replied, hurriedly; "no one will molest a -poor sister of Santa Theresa." -</p> - -<p> -Her ill-concealed repugnance to receive his alms -evidently impressed the Spaniard, who seated himself -in silence, and smoked with a sullen expression, as if -somewhat depressed by the whole affair; but Jack -Slingsby, who hated silence more than anything in the -world, began to make some casual inquiries as to -whether or not the famous Urquija had been heard of -hereabout, and where he was generally to be found. -</p> - -<p> -"Found," reiterated the Spaniard, with a frown of -surprise; "he is often found by those who least like -such a discovery." -</p> - -<p> -"So it seems," replied Jack, "and by the accounts -we heard of him at the—how do you name it?—the -venta last night, he seems to be ripe fruit for the -gallows." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed," said the Spaniard, quietly making up -another cigarillo, "you are very loud, Señor Viajador, -(traveller), in condemning this poor son of Andalusia, -this Don Fabrique; but you do so simply because -you know nothing about him; being, like most Englishmen, -totally ignorant of every country except your own -portion of Britain, and, believing that whatever is not -English must be radically, physically, and morally -wrong, you have come among us predisposed to -ridicule and to condemn." -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce!" said Jack, with an air of pique; "I -beg to assure you, my fine fellow, that I could tell you -a story of a posada——" -</p> - -<p> -"Enough, señor," replied the other, waving his hand -with great dignity of manner, while a savage gleam -shot over his stealthy eyes; "but allow me to inform -you that a bandit—I do not mean a pitiful picaro who -steals purses and pocket-handkerchiefs on the prado, -or a swindling raterillo who cheats at cards, but an -armed robber (and here his hand struck the butt of -his escopeta)—is a modern Spanish hero, and the -pretty paisana and the bluff muleteer sing of his -exploits in the same breath with those of Rodrigo de -Bivar, the Cid Campeador, Hernando de Cordova, and -the chiefs of the war of Independence, when we saw -the fields of Vimiero, of Talavera and Rorica; lend a -new lustre to the names of Mina, of Murillo, and of -Wellington!" -</p> - -<p> -"Very likely; but this Don Fabrique commits such -devilish atrocities, and all that sort of thing," urged -Jack, closing with his incessant phrase. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you know why poor Fabrique took his gun -and stiletto, and went to the mountains?" -</p> - -<p> -"Shall I tell you?" -</p> - -<p> -"If you please." -</p> - -<p> -"Listen. There was an abogado, a lawyer of Jaen, -named Jacop el Escribano, who married the aunt of -Fabrique—an aunt who had been a mother to him -after his own died, or rather was murdered by the -Chapelgorri's. She tended him, reared him, loved -and educated him at Alcala, and he was to be her -heir, for she was rich, and had mines of quicksilver -and cinnabar on the confines of Murcia; and her -heir he had every right to be, for other kindred she -had none. Well, this good aunt fell sick; those who -were more than usually acute, or more than usually -evil-minded, said that the abogado had poisoned her -mentally and bodily. At all events he wrote out her -will, which bequeathed all her property to himself, -whom failing, to a certain Gil Jacop, his son by a former -marriage, and to poor Fabrique, the son of her dead -brother, not a peseta, not a pistareen! This limb of -Satan and the law, succeeding in all his ends and -objects, poisoned her ears against the poor student of -Alcala. Well, the aunt died. Full of sorrow Fabrique -hastened to his home to find the door of it shut in -his face, and the malicious abogado in possession of -everything, even to his aunt's snuff-box and armed -chair. Our poor student rushed to the Alcalde, who -heard him with a smile of incredulity—why? because -he was the cousin of the abogado, and he, too, shut his -door in the face of Fabrique. Bursting with indignation -he sought the corregidor, to pour out anew the -story of his wrongs; but, ay de mi! the corregidor, a -Commander of the Knights of Calatrava, was to dine -that day with the abogado, who had invited half the -city to feast, and weekly gave a magnificent tertulia in -the house of the dead woman. -</p> - -<p> -"Fabrique lost all patience and, swore a dreadful -vow of vengeance, so the wise, just, and most illustrious -corregidor expelled him from the city, and by the alguazils -he was driven forth by the Audujar gate. His last -money was in his pocket; so he bought a dagger and -musket, and shaking the dust off his feet at the puerta -de Audujar, he gathered together a band of gallant -spirits who had followed Juan Roa, and betook -himself to the mountains, leaving the abogado in -possession of his aunt's house and her mines upon the -Murcian frontier." -</p> - -<p> -"And did he enjoy them long?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -The Spaniard smiled grimly, and took a long quaff -of the bota. -</p> - -<p> -"You wish to know, señor?' -</p> - -<p> -"Exceedingly." -</p> - -<p> -"Listen. A week after these events our abogado -disappeared from Jaen, and no man knew whence he -had gone, and few cared. A month after, a poor -wretch, half crazed and in rags, emaciated, pale and -hollow-cheeked by hunger, illness, agony, and -wandering, and whose vision had been destroyed by the -simple application of a red-hot ramrod, was found -near a village of the Sierra de Ronda. It was Jacop -el Escribano—whose scribbling was at an end, and -whose eyes were closed on the world for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"And his son, Gil Jacop?" -</p> - -<p> -"Was found shot one fine morning at the corner -of that road, just where you see a rough wooden cross, -erected by the curate in memory of the affair, and to -beg a prayer of every passer-by for the dead man's -sinful soul. The corregidor has thrice been robbed of -all he possessed—his rents, fees, and the revenue of -his commanderie; and the alcalde has quite as often -been beaten to the very verge of death. Evil-disposed -people lay those things to the charge of Don -Fabrique; but I say nothing, having no opinion on -the subject." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you are afraid of him?" said Jack, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"Afraid—ha, ha!" said the Spaniard, taking up his -long gun; "no—not so much as you were afraid of -Juan Roa and Martin Secco, on that night in the -'Posada del Cavallo' at Malaga. -</p> - -<p> -"How know you of that affair?" asked Jack, -starting to his feet. -</p> - -<p> -"Did I not hear it told at full length last night in -the venta at Castellar?" -</p> - -<p> -"Were you there?" I inquired, with surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"You saw a goatherd present—an old fellow with -a sheep-skin dress, a long beard, a crook, and bota." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"'T was I. Last night I was a goatherd, because it -suited my purpose to appear so, and to laugh at the -terror of those miserable soap-boilers on hearing the -whistle of bullets in the Sierra; to-day I am -Fabrique de Urquija, the friend of poor Juan Roa; and -had you been less kind to that poor nun than you -were, it was my intention to have shot and robbed -you both, which I could easily have done, despite your -swords and revolvers, your English impudence and -cool assurance. Vaya usted con Dios, and may you -have a pleasant ride to Seville; but attend more to -the rules of common politeness when next you speak -of Urquija beyond the security of your own lines at -Gibraltar. I am not a bad fellow, señores, at times, -though more apt to take the advice of a curer of fish -than a curer of souls in Lent." -</p> - -<p> -With these words he leaped on his horse, and -slinging his long gun by his right leg, galloped into -the cork wood, and disappeared. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><br /> -THE ALCALDE. -</h3> - -<p> -This rencontre, by illustrating the danger of lingering -and of making chance acquaintance—dangers for -which no credit would be given by the Horse Guards, -and against which we found no hints afforded by our -"John Murray"—caused us to hasten through Estrelo -without paying a visit to the nuns of Santa Theresa, -which (on the base of our acquaintance with Sister -Veronica) we had proposed to do; and a ride of ten -miles further, through a fruitful and beautiful district, -brought us to the ancient ducal town of Medina -Sidonia, where the Spanish commandant invited us -to dinner, and where, finding ourselves in safe -quarters, we spent a pleasant evening, and with cigars -and Ciudad Real, Tresillo and Monte, whiled away the -hours until we retired to our posada, where we slept -undisturbed by rats or robbers, as quietly as if we -had been in the best hotel in London. -</p> - -<p> -We crossed a stream next day, and arrived at Arcos -de la Frontierra, a picturesque little town, situated -upon a lofty rock, almost insulated by the Guadalete, -and so difficult of access on the south and west that -we had some trouble in discovering an entrance to it -anywhere. -</p> - -<p> -The aspect of the place, with all its flat-roofed or -red-tiled houses clustering on the summit of a steep -and abrupt rock; its two large parish churches, with -the square campanile of Santa Maria, and the façade -of the palace of the reverend the vicar-general to the -metropolitan of Seville, all lit up by the flush of a -Spanish setting sun, and throwing a huge broad -shadow across the girdling Guadalete, and that rich -undulating country which stretches far away beyond -it, pleased me so much that, dismounting at the foot -of the eminence, I seated myself among some fallen -walls and prostrate columns—doubtless fragments of -the ancient Arcobriga—to make a little sketch of the -place. -</p> - -<p> -Reclined against a mass of vine-covered ruin, Slingsby -of "Ours" had fallen fast asleep with his horse's -bridle buckled over his left arm, and both he and the -nag occupied a prominent place in the foreground of -my view, and a wayside cross, covered with rich -creepers, and having a sulky-looking raven seated on -its summit, was in the middle distance. My labours -proceeded rapidly and greatly to my own satisfaction -when they were suddenly interrupted by a heavy hand -being roughly laid on my shoulder. I looked up. -Four men, muffled in the inevitable, invariable, and -eternal dirty brown cloak, in which we always see -the mysterious characters stride, swagger, and swell -on the boards of minor theatres, and which a -Spaniard is never without, under any circumstances, -appeared beside me. Two had drawn swords, and -two cocked blunderbusses. -</p> - -<p> -"The señores will understand that they are our -prisoners?" said one. -</p> - -<p> -"Who the deuce are you—comrades of Don -Fabrique, I suppose?" -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven forbid! we are honest men—alguazils of -Arcos, and the Caballeros must both come before the -señor alcalde." -</p> - -<p> -"For what purpose?" I demanded hastily. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor will soon be informed," said one. -</p> - -<p> -"To his cost, perhaps," added a second. -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya, come along," growled a third, "or it may -be the worse for you." -</p> - -<p> -Finding expostulation vain, I roused Jack, who -after revolving in his own mind whether or not he -ought to revolve them—for his pistol had six barrels, -we took our horses by their bridles, and accompanied -the bravo-like alguazils, whose good-will we sought -to cultivate by being liberal with our cases of -cheroots. -</p> - -<p> -The alcalde, a bustling little manufacturer of Cordovan -leather, received us in his office, stuck his -barnacles on his nose, summoned his escribano, and -opened the case with an air of awful pomp and chilling -consequence; but he seemed to be about as well -qualified for the office of lawgiver as Mr. Justice -Shallow. -</p> - -<p> -"The señores, who seemed to be British officers -belonging to the garrison of Gibraltar, of which her -Most Catholic Majesty Donna Isabella is sovereign, -whatever Queen Victoria may assert to the contrary, -were found making a sketch—a military sketch, no -doubt—of her ancient city of Arcos, in the province -of Andalusia; and the señores, of course, knew the -law framed by the Cortes on that point." -</p> - -<p> -"Of sketching the city of Arcos?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"What then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Any city," returned the fussy little alcalde. -</p> - -<p> -"But this is not a fortified town." -</p> - -<p> -"But it might be fortified." -</p> - -<p> -"No doubt—but it is not fortified at the present -moment." -</p> - -<p> -"Tonto de mi! what does that matter?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why you stupid old——" Jack Slingsby was -beginning, but I placed a hand upon his mouth, and -the irritable little alcalde continued. -</p> - -<p> -"For what purpose was the sketch—this sketch -made?—answer me that, señor." -</p> - -<p> -"To please myself and to show my friends." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course, a likely story truly," he sneered, as he -deliberately tore my poor production into several -pieces, threw them into the brassero of charcoal -which glowed in the centre of the apartment, and -watched until every fragment was entirely consumed. -I gazed at him in silence, but feeling an emotion of -considerable disgust; for although well aware that to -sketch any fortified place or garrison town, barrack, -or citadel, was strictly forbidden, it never occurred to -me that the restriction could apply to the miserable -conglomeration of Spanish huts and crumbling -Moorish hovels which clustered round the churches -on the rock of Arcos; but in their ignorance of the -arts the Spaniards, like the Turks, cannot see a -difference between a little artistic sketch and a regular -plan drawn for the most desperate military purposes. -</p> - -<p> -"So we are suspected of being spies," said Slingsby; -"I am glad that sketching was omitted in my -education, and that I never could draw aught but a -cork or a bill in my life." -</p> - -<p> -"But this may prove no matter for laughter, Jack," -said I, as the alcalde, with awful gravity, after duly -entering our names and designations in a huge tome, -turned to another part thereof, wiped his spectacles -and addressed us. I must own to feeling some -uneasiness, having once had a brother officer who went -on sick leave to Cadiz, where he was shot as a -Christino priest; he was our senior lieutenant, poor Bob -Rasper, and was as much like a priest as the great -Mogul. I had an uncle who was very near being -strangled by an alcalde, who was persuaded he was -Don Carlos; and we all know that Lord Carnarvon -was well nigh murdered in mistake for Don Miguel, -while Captain Widrington was about to be garotted -by another official, who thought he might be an -agent of Marshal Baldomero Espartero, now first -minister of Donna Isabella II. These instances of -Spanish justice, clearness, and legal acumen were -floating before me when the little ruffian of an -alcalde curled up his mustachios and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"The señores will have passports, no doubt?" -</p> - -<p> -"No passports," I replied. -</p> - -<p> -"Demonio!" ejaculated this Andalusian Solon, -while the alguazils (having finished their cheroots) -began to clank their sabres and cock their ominous-looking -trabujos. "Then you must both be sent to -prison in irons, and kept under guard until we -communicate with Espartero." -</p> - -<p> -We lost alike our patience and temper at this piece -of intelligence. -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, señor alcalde," said I, "for the very -person you have named may send you to the galleys for -this insolent interference. We are two British officers -going on public duty to Seville, and being passed -through the Spanish lines by the officer commanding -there, require no other passports than our swords and -our uniform, which you had better respect, or we may -play a mischief with you. Our ambassador at -Madrid——" -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya usted a los infernos!" exclaimed the alcalde, -in a towering fit of official indignation; "I shall show -you how we treat those who enter our city of Arcos -without proper credentials, and I verily believe you -to be a couple of pitiful raterillos. Search and secure -them!" -</p> - -<p> -How this affair might have ended, I have no means -of knowing; but nothing saved us from much trouble -and perhaps danger, but the sudden discovery of a -letter, which was found by one of the alguazils who -rudely plunged a hand into one of my pockets. It -was addressed in high-flowing terms to the most -illustrious señor, the captain general of Andalusia, -and bore the great official seal of the Governor of Her -Britannic Majesty's garrison of Gibraltar. On -beholding this, the countenance of the alcalde fell. This -human bladder, which was inflated by so much wrath -and Jack-in-office pride, suddenly collapsed. His -manner changed at once; he was profuse in his -apologies, and on a wave of his hand, those alguazils who, -a moment before, were ready to drag us to some foul -prison and rudely too, like ruffians as they doubtless -were, slunk aside and withdrew; and in five minutes -after we were mounted, clear of Arcos, and trotting -along the road which ascended from the banks of the -Guadalete. -</p> - -<p> -"Those Spaniards will never change," said Jack; -"they will ever be bullies or cravens; so cudgels -or cannon shot are the only means of argument with -them." -</p> - -<p> -We then laughed at the whole affair—at the absurd -pomposity of the alcalde, and the idea of our being -arrested as spies. -</p> - -<p> -At a trot we traversed the little town of Alcantarilla. -It lies not far from the Guadalquiver, a stream that -wanders through a fertile hollow, which in the days -of the Cæsars was a hopeless march. We crossed -the bridge which was built by the hands of the -Romans, who placed a tower at each end for defence. -Slingsby, with a waggish smile, recommended me to -make a sketch of these interesting remains; but a -wholesome terror of the alcalde of Arcos was yet too -fresh in my mind, so we pushed on towards Los -Palacies, in company with a long train of mules from -the seaport of San Lucar de Barameda. Their drivers -were gaily attired, and were all sturdy and hearty -fellows, who beguiled the way with stories, laughter, and -songs of love and wine, or legends of the Avalos, the -Moors of Ronda, and of Bravonnel the Moor of -Zaragozza and his ladylove Guadalara, while they sung -to the cracking of their whips, the merry jangle of the -mule-bells, and the thrum of a guitar. With all this, -they were prepared for every emergency, having -poniards, blunderbusses, and other weapons—being -armed to the teeth, in fact; and with them we travelled -until Seville rose before us, with the fretted spires -and gothic pinnacles of its cathedral and Alcazar, -and the gigantic tower of La Giralda, rising above -the domes of the Mohammedan times and the befrays -of the Christians; and all steeped in the unclouded -blaze of an Andalusian sunset, with the Guadalquiver -winding through a low valley in the foreground, -bordered by groves of the orange and citron, and the -green undulating ridges of the Sierra towering in the -distance, with a golden vapour resting on the -mellowed peaks, which bound a landscape that, in the -days of Alfonso the Wise, was studded by a hundred -thousand cottages and oil-mills. -</p> - -<p> -But the Guadalquiver seemed as muddy as the -Thames, where it approaches the ancient fane of St. John -of Alfarache, and there its turgid tide was lashed -and beaten by the steamers from San Lucar; and we -could see them ploughing their way (with red lights -hanging at their fore cross-trees) into the evening haze -that settled over Seville. -</p> - -<p> -Our passports were demanded by the officer commanding -an ill-accoutered guard at the gate: but our -letter addressed to the captain general freed us from -further question, and he politely directed us to an -hotel. -</p> - -<p> -We rode through the grass-grown streets of the -lazy Sevillanos, I reflecting on stories of Pedro the -Cruel and the past glories of the Arab city—Jack -Slingsby reflecting on the thoroughfares, which he -said "were remarkably dingy, devilish dirty, and all -that sort of thing," until we discovered the hotel de -la Reyna near the Lonja, or Exchange, and close to -the far-famed cathedral church. There we took up -our quarters for the night. -</p> - -<p> -"At last we are in Seville!" said I, as I threw myself -into a down fauteuil, after tossing off a glass of -iced Valdepenas, and flung aside the last week's -Madrid papers, the 'Heraldo' and 'España;' "in -Seville, where Trajan, Adrian, and Theodosius were -born, and where——" -</p> - -<p> -"You shall flirt with the pretty Paulina to-morrow," -said Jack; "pass over the decanter; thanks; -I can take you off your stilts in a twinkling, my boy." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX. -<br /><br /> -THE TERTULIA. -</h3> - -<p> -In the morning, after coffee, a devilled bone and a -cigar, we sallied forth to deliver the dispatch of our -Governor to the captain general, and resolved, soon -after, to bid farewell to Seville; for Jack was full of fears -that the whole corps would be off, bag and baggage, to -fight the Russians before we could return. The hour -was somewhat early, so we rambled about the beautiful -city; but I do not mean to inflict upon the reader -a description of all we saw—of the gay crowds who -thronged the Plaza de Toros and the Alameda, with -fan and mantilla, sombrero and mantle; of the -cathedral of Santa Maria, with its carved buttresses and -stupendous spires; of the Alcazar or palace of the -Moorish kings, with all its arabesques and oval arches; -of the Lonja and the huge tobacco factory. I beg -my reader to imagine them all, for I could easily -devote five several chapters to describing these five -several edifices. It is enough that the Sevillanos have -an ancient proverb, that he who never saw Seville has -never seen a wonder; to wit— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Que en no ha visto Sevilla,<br /> - Ne ha visto Maravilla."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -As we issued from the cathedral, Jack's loquacity -was somewhat stilled by the grandeur of that stupendous -pile and its dark Murillos, the chief of which -is the adoration of the Saviour by St. Anthony of -Padua—I beg pardon—of Lisbon and of Lagos—and -full of thoughts, which were rather solemn for -such fellows as we are, we walked slowly on with our -eyes fixed on the far-famed tower of the weathercock—the -Giralda—which rises at the north-east angle of -the church, when a personage, whose eyes were raised -to the same altitude, came somewhat violently against -us, and then we poured forth mutual apologies. -</p> - -<p> -"Maldito—come esta, señores; well met." -</p> - -<p> -"Come esta, señor major—who would have thought -of meeting you here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why so?" asked Don Joaquim, for he proved to -be our friend of the noble regiment of Lagos; "I -think that I mentioned Seville as my native city—so -you have reached the end of your journey?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and mean to leave this to-morrow," said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"So early! Maldito—a short visit. Is your -business so soon concluded?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is not yet begun; we have a dispatch for the -captain general." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" said he, with wonder in his face. -</p> - -<p> -"Where is his palace? We were just about to -inquire the way." -</p> - -<p> -"You must pass the Lonja, our famous Exchange, -a triumph of the genius of Juan de Herrera—the -architect of the Escurial; well, you must pass it, and -cross the Plaza de Toros; but allow me to have the -pleasure of escorting you." -</p> - -<p> -"Many thanks." -</p> - -<p> -"None are necessary, señores—hut this dispatch -for the captain general—Maldito! I am bursting -with irrepressible curiosity to know what it is about. -Are we going to war with Russia too?" -</p> - -<p> -"Then, señor," said I, "we may as well inform -you that it concerns the killing of a man on board of -a Spanish government guarda costa, by a chance shot -from the Mole Fort at Gibraltar." -</p> - -<p> -"He was in pursuit of a contrabandista, I presume?" -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly so." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, those rascally contrabandistas! It is too bad -of your Government to protect them—quite as bad as -making war on the Chinese because they would not -poison themselves with opium. I heard that some -of your people had shot at a guarda costa, and killed -some one on hoard. It has excited considerable -animosity, and been much spoken of." -</p> - -<p> -He led us through several dark and narrow streets, -so narrow, indeed, that people could easily have shaken -hands from the windows on each side of these quaint -old Moorish thoroughfares. Issuing suddenly into -the full Haze of the scorching Spanish sunshine, we -found ourselves before a handsome palace decorated -by Corinthian pilasters, and having its lofty windows -covered by external shades of brilliant red and white -striped stuff. Two sentinels of the line stood at the -portal under sunshades, with their muskets "ordered;" -and they stared at our uniform with black and -lacklustre eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"The palace of the captain general," said Don -Joaquim, bowing; "he has just returned from -Jaen, having gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy -Face." -</p> - -<p> -"We must have the pleasure of meeting you again," -said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Our hotel is the Queen's—de la Reyna—near the -Exchange," added Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I know the place very well," replied the Don, -producing his card, a token of civilisation little known -in Spain; "my mother gives a tertulia to-night, and -we shall be delighted to see you—her reception hour -is eight—Donna Dominga de Lucena—Calle del -Alcazar." -</p> - -<p> -"You are the son of Donna Dominga, whom we -had the pleasure of knowing in Gibraltar?" -</p> - -<p> -"The same, señores. Are you the gentlemen who -were so kind and attentive to her? It is quite a little -romance this meeting. How odd, to think that we -sat a whole night in the venta of Castellar and knew -nothing about this! Then, doubtless, one of you -must be that accomplished cavalier, Don Leja Mag -Leja, concerning whom she wrote me so many letters -when I was at Lagos." -</p> - -<p> -With some laughter, we professed that neither of -us was the portly Leechy Mac Leechy, to whose -name the Donna had given somewhat of a Castilian -character in her epistles to the major. -</p> - -<p> -"But about the tertulia? we have no full uniform," -urged Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"Full uniform—bagatella!—stuff—come just as -you are; but as your business here is about that -unlucky guarda costa, 'tis as well my brother Hernan -has not arrived; for he is in our naval service, and -might feel piqued on the subject. Well, addio—I -shall see you at eight to-night—don't forget, the -street of the Alcazar," and with a salute he left us. -</p> - -<p> -The sentinels at the door "handled" their arms as -we ascended the flight of marble steps which led to -the door of the captain general's palace. -</p> - -<p> -"The last general officer with whom I had the -honour of an interview was old Towler, of the Kilkenny -district," said Slingsby; "I have no idea what -manner of man our Spaniard may be." -</p> - -<p> -As the interview with the captain-general and all -the various pros and cons thereanent—as a Scotsman -would say—may have appeared already among the -public intelligence of "our own correspondent," who -most likely was not in Seville, and knew nothing -about the matter, I will only state that we were -received with great urbanity and politeness by the -Spanish officer who held the important post of -Governor of the four kingdoms. He was a fine old -cavalier, and in earlier years had served in the -Peninsular war; he told us that he had commanded a -regiment under Cuesta; a brigade of Cazadores under -Hill, and a division under Murillo; that he had been -wounded at Vittoria in attacking the heights of La -Puebla, and had received the Grand Cross of the -Bath from the hand of the Duke of Wellington, and -latterly the Order of Carlos III., which devoted him -"to the pure conception of the blessed Virgin Mary," -from the Queen and the Patriarch of the Indies, at -the solemn chapter held in 1853. The old fellow's -eyes kindled with pleasure as he invited us to -lunch, and to share with him a bottle of choice -Valdepenas, saying that he loved the sight of the -red coat for the memory of the olden time that -would never come again—the poor red coats—he had -often seen them lying thick enough on many a Spanish -plain, and in many a crumbling breach and trench—at -Badajoz, at Ciudad Rodrigo, San Sebastian and -Tarifa. -</p> - -<p> -Here, at least, was one noble old Spanish soldier—one -true cavalier—whose lively recollection of those -great campaigns (which are second to none the world -has seen) and whose sense of what his country owed -to ours, formed a strong contrast to that cold -ingratitude which desecrated the tomb of the Scottish hero -of Corunna, and ploughed up the graves of our brave -men, who were buried in the little field beneath the -ramparts of Tarifa; and for the repose of whose -bones our Government had to pay a sum to Spain. -</p> - -<p> -We received from him a letter to the Governor of -Gibraltar, stating that our explanations of the affair of -the guarda costa had perfectly satisfied him; and on -our rising to retire he made us an offer of a cavalry -escort as far as San Roque, which lies within a few -miles of our garrison; but being aware that we should -be obliged to maintain both the horses and the men, -and to make them a handsome donation at parting, I -declined, saying that we had an idea of returning by -San Lucar de Barameda, and would there take the -steamer for Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -"But remember there is that restless gentleman, -Don Fabrique de Urquija," said the general, smiling; -"he makes the roads very unsafe, and does not hesitate -to commit such outrages as have not been known in -the land since Marshal Massena marched through it." -</p> - -<p> -We assured him of our being without fear in the -matter; on which he laughed, saying that he knew -"los Brittanicos, of old, and that, like our fathers -who fought under Wellington, Hill, and Grahame, we -also were without fear," and we parted, highly -flattered and delighted by our interview with this old -Castilian hidalgo. -</p> - -<p> -We lounged long in the Alameda, where the notice -our uniform attracted was rather an annoyance. -After dining at the hotel and making the most of -our costume that our light marching order would -admit, we appeared at the door of Donna Dominga's -residence in the Calle del Alcazar, just as the -cathedral clock struck eight; for the Spaniards are too -well bred to esteem any one the more for being late -at a conversazione, for such is a tertulia in fact and in -effect. -</p> - -<p> -A number of sedans, borne by servants in livery, -were standing about the steps of the mansion; and -the links and torches flared on the coats of arms that -decorated the panels and the collars of Santiago -and Calatrava which surrounded them. Various -long-visaged and spindle-shanked representatives of -the pure did blood of los Cuatros Reinos, untainted -by the stain of Moor, or Jew, or heretic, were -stalking through the vestibule with due gravity and -grandeur. -</p> - -<p> -We were ushered forward by one servant, and -were announced by another on entering the saloon, -where our old friend Donna Dominga sat with fan -and snuff-box in hand receiving her guests; and as -her son had prepared her for our visit, she was in a -prodigious flutter, with her fat round face forming -the apex of a pyramid of black satin and black Cadiz -lace; for her veil, which was of the finest texture, -fell over all her person. -</p> - -<p> -By her side sat the pretty Paulina on a rich low -tabourette, gracefully as a Spanish lady sits at mass, -or a Moorish maiden on her little carpet, for it is -from their Arabian conquerors that the low seats of -the Spanish dames are borrowed. -</p> - -<p> -The major, who wore the blue uniform and massive -silver epaulettes of "the noble Regiment of -St. Anthony," and who had the order of St. John of -Portugal on his breast, hurried forward to meet and -to present us. Then the younger donna blushed -crimson, while the elder wished very much to do so -too, and dropping her eyelids, fanned herself, and -affected to be much agitated. We bowed very low -and then stepped back, as it is not the custom in -Spain to shake hands. After a few of those -complimentary remarks and those commonplaces, which -are customary in every country, we should have withdrawn -a little to make way for other tertulianos, had -not Donna Dominga especially invited us to remain -beside her; and while the presentation continued, -and all that were noble (being rich or beautiful went -for nought in Seville) appeared in succession, and -while caballeros and grave and solemn hidalgos, with -the red cross of Calatrava, and the little sword of -San Jago dangling at their button-holes, advanced -slowly, and with a faint smile and courtly bow laid a -hand on their heart and lisped the usual and invariable -"A los pies de usted, señoras" (I am at your -feet, ladies), and then retired; I was chatting gaily -with Paulina, who had now become more assured, -and who overwhelmed me with a thousand inquiries -about Gibraltar and her friends. Meantime that -rogue Jack Slingsby poured into her mother's ear -pretended messages from MacLeechy, our doctor—messages -so tender and so pitiful that the old lady -relented and forgave him being married, saying it -was "his misfortune, not his fault, poor man;" Jack -asserted his belief that the doctor was quite of her -opinion; and then the bulbous-shaped fair one made -a vigorous use of her fan and snuff-box, as she -conjured up the image of the "gay deceiver." -</p> - -<p> -The saloon was a large apartment; the floor was -of polished oak, and was varnished until it shone -like glass; the ceiling was of cedar, and divided into -deep, dark panels; the walls were painted white, and -were hung with several dusky pictures, principally of -religious subjects; one of these was by Roelas; -another by Murillo, and both had narrowly escaped -abstraction by the French, during the War of -Independence, for Messrs. Soult, Suchet, and Co., made -everything march over the Pyrenees that was neither -too hot nor too heavy. -</p> - -<p> -Our garrison evening parties in Gibraltar had -shown Donna Dominga that considerable improvements -might be made upon the solemn gravity of -the Spanish tertulia; thus the company were pressed -to stay longer than usual in honour of us; we had -a few airs on the piano—a very antique instrument, -said to have been found among Joseph's baggage at -Vittoria, and in no way calculated to give full effect -to the compositions of Donizetti, Verdi, or Orsini, -which Paulina and her companions attempted to -give us; but then they had their guitars, and the -lively songs of old Spain, and legendary ballads of -the brave Avalos of the Ronda, which if destitute -of science, had at least the merit of being full of -music and melody. -</p> - -<p> -Every sound was hushed as Paulina sang the song -which was wont to turn the heads of half Her Majesty's -garrison. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Since for kissing thee, Minguillo,<br /> - Mother's ever scolding me;<br /> - Give me swiftly back, O dear one,<br /> - Give the kiss I gave to thee!"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Either by chance, or an irresistible inclination, -our eyes met just as she sang these very tender -and pointed words, and a soft tinge shot over her -pure white cheek. My own heart filled with a tumult -of emotion, for the aspect of this noble Spanish -girl, as she sat on the low tabourette, in an attitude -full of grace, with her high proud head and the long -veil of black lace that fell from it over her back and -shoulders, was so bewildering, that I felt convinced -my peace of mind would require an explanation with -her before my bantering mentor and I turned our -horses' heads once more towards Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -We had now a little waltzing, and a quadrille or -two, with plenty of groseille and fleur d'orange. -</p> - -<p> -I had a thousand things to tell Paulina; but -when she was the centre of almost every eye in the -room, it was no easy matter to be tender; besides, -whenever I looked round, the comical eye of Jack -Slingsby, with a glass stuck in it, was sure to meet -mine; for whatever he was about, in the waltz, the -quadrille, in a quiet two-handed flirtation (which, by -the way, made the old hidalgos of Seville, who are -not wont to tolerate such things, shrug their shoulders -and elevate their eyebrows) in the middle of a tender -speech, when handing fleur d'orange, restoring a -fallen fan, or reclasping a bracelet, he seemed to -watch all my proceedings with a species of amused -interest—so that nothing passed between Paulina and -me but the merest commonplaces. -</p> - -<p> -"The moment so ardently wished for has arrived -at last," thought I; "she is beside me, and I have -not one word of interest for her." -</p> - -<p> -"And you leave Seville to-morrow?" said she, to -break an awkward pause. -</p> - -<p> -"No, señora, in two days." -</p> - -<p> -"A short visit—there are so many things to see -here. There is the great tower of Cabildo with its -enchanted weathercock, a Pallas with a standard which -always indicates the quarter from which an enemy is -approaching Seville." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah—yes; I remember in the adventure of Don -Quixotte with the Knight of the Wood, the latter -boasts, that among other deeds done in honour of his -mistress, he 'had challenged the famous fighting -giantess, La Giralda of Seville, who is strong and -undaunted as one who is made of brass.'" -</p> - -<p> -"And who without changing place is the most -inconstant woman in the world. Oh, Don Quixotte, he -is charming! And then in Seville we have the letters -of Francisco Pizzaro, of Columbus and the valiant -Hernan Cortes; and more than all, we have the cathedral -with its Puerta de Perdon, which was the work -of a Moorish necromancer, and was all built by a spell -between the night and morning. In two days you -can never see all these things." -</p> - -<p> -"Your own presence, Donna Paulina, is more than -enough to detain me here for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"Then why go so soon?" she asked, with her pretty -Spanish lisp, while her long lashes drooped. -</p> - -<p> -"Go I must, señora, for, being a soldier, I have -nothing to urge; but——" -</p> - -<p> -"But what?" -</p> - -<p> -"The stern necessity of obedience." -</p> - -<p> -"Ay de mi!" said she, gazing fully and honestly at -me; "I am so sorry to hear all this." -</p> - -<p> -"I am full of gratitude to hear you say so, señora; -but there is no remedy." -</p> - -<p> -"Señor," said she, smiling, "para todo hay remedio -sino para la muerte." -</p> - -<p> -"True, there is a remedy for everything but death, -it is a good old Spanish proverb," said I; "but is not -absence from those we love but a living death? so -when I am far from Seville I shall have but the memory -of one most beautiful face, and one bright happy -night." -</p> - -<p> -"Take this rose," said she, disengaging one from -her bouquet; "it will be a memento, though a small -one." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, señora; but the rose will wither and fade." -</p> - -<p> -"So will the memory of the beautiful face and the -one happy night," said she, with a winning smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Never, never Paulina—you are so charming—so -gentle and so good, that——" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, Dios Mio! the people are observing us, -and—but ave Maria purissima! what is the matter -with my mother?" -</p> - -<p> -During this brief conversation, the servant Pedrillo -had delivered a note to Donna Dominga, who, on -hurriedly glancing at its contents, uttered a faint cry and -fell upon the sofa, where all the ladies crowded in an -excited manner round her. Don Joaquim snatched -up the letter and read it with flaming eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"What, in Heaven's name, is the matter?" I asked, -pressing forward. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter has come from the captain of the guarda -costa, stating that the son of Donna Dominga, his -lieutenant, had been killed by a shot from the garrison of -Gibraltar," said Slingsby, in a rapid whisper. "The -absence of the captain general at Jaen prevented the -Sevillanos from learning that the person slain was a -townsman. I find we are in a mess here, and think -we had better be off, my boy." -</p> - -<p> -Though Spain had a post-office in those days when -James III. of Scotland was fighting the battles of the -people against his traitorous nobility, and when the -brutal Henry of England was murdering his wives -and burning Catholics and Protestants together at -Smithfield, she has so far receded in the arts of peace -that this unfortunate letter had been all these many -weeks in finding its way from the sea port of Malaga -to Seville. -</p> - -<p> -Don Joaquim now said something to Paulina, who -turned upon us with eyes full of grief and dismay. -</p> - -<p> -"'T is my brother Hernan you have slain," she -exclaimed, in tones that went through me like a sword; -"O madre mia, madre mia! they have murdered our -dear, dear Hernan!" and she threw herself beside her -mother. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, señores," said Don Joaquim, folding up the -letter with an air of sombre ferocity; "her accusation -is right, you have heard her; 't is my brother Don -Hernan who was killed by your accursed shot from -the mole fort of Gibraltar,—Hernan, lieutenant of the -guarda costa, and this letter is from his captain, -detailing the circumstances of that outrage on the Spanish -flag—an outrage of which I have heard so much since -I left Portugal; but which I little thought—O Dios -Mio! how little indeed, that it would bring such sorrow -to my own house, and to hearts to me so dear. My -poor boy brother, Hernan! So, señores, you it is, -who were the perpetrators of this foul act? Fit men -you were, and proper too, to detail it to our blockhead -of a captain general, who was worshipping an old rag -at Jaen, when he should have been seeking vengeance -at Madrid. But look ye, señores, I'll have it, sure and -deep, and as certainly as there is a saint in heaven, -sure as my name is Joaquim de Lucena of the regiment -of Lagos!" -</p> - -<p> -"Mueran los gabachos—death to the miscreants!" -growled a number of voices, and I laid a hand on -my sword. It was a natural impulse. -</p> - -<p> -The ladies clustered like a brood of terrified doves -round Donna Dominga and her daughter; the gentlemen -drew round her son; Slingsby and I were left -together in the middle of the large saloon. -</p> - -<p> -"A pleasant predicament this!" said Jack, shrugging -his shoulders: "Ramble, I think we had better -retire." -</p> - -<p> -"To remain is useless, for these people are alike -past listening to explanation or apology," I replied; -and with an emotion of mortification and sorrow, which -the reader may easily imagine, we took up our -swords, made a profound bow to this ungracious -company (none of whom responded), and quitted the -house. -</p> - -<p> -"Awful business this," said Jack, "is it not, Dick -Ramble?—speak—have you lost your tongue?" -</p> - -<p> -"A strange combination of unfortunate circumstances! -To find ourselves the honoured guests of -the very woman whose son we slew! In what light -will Paulina view us, and Don Joaquim too?" -</p> - -<p> -"As an officer he ought to be aware that we did -but our duty," urged poor Jack, who felt himself the -most guilty party; "but I did not half like the -expression of his eyes as we left the saloon." -</p> - -<p> -"How?" -</p> - -<p> -"I read in them more of hatred and malice, than -of horror for the event, or natural grief for his brother's -fate." -</p> - -<p> -"You think so?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am sure of it!" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, the man is a Spaniard." -</p> - -<p> -"And being so, will not let us off easily." -</p> - -<p> -"We shall have a message from him in the morning, -challenging us both to fight, you think?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Not at all; your Spaniards don't fight duels; he -will lay some desperate snare for us between this and -San Roque; so, depend upon it, the sooner we make -ourselves scarce in Seville the better. But here is -the hotel—for Heaven's sake let us have some iced -champagne, for this horrid business has made me as -thirsty as if I had crossed a whole county in the -hottest hunting season." -</p> - -<p> -I must own that though I was pretty well assured -of the truth of Jack's surmises and suspicions, fear -for my own safety was quite a secondary emotion to -my sincere sorrow for the bereavement we had -occasioned to poor old Donna Dominga and the lively -Paulina. As for that stormy fellow Joaquim, I felt no -compunction for him in the least; his grief was too -noisy, and his sudden hostility too deep to leave much -room for natural sorrow; and so, while surmising, -considering, revolving, and talking the matter -threadbare, we finished several bottles of champagne; -through the medium of these we easily came to the -conclusion that we were the most injured parties; -that we had been grossly insulted somehow, over -night—that the usual satisfaction was necessary; and -then we retired to bed in a state of just and proper -indignation at the malevolent threats of Don Joaquim -and his friends, to whom the affair formed a notable -subject for discussion at those morning meetings, -which are so dearly prized by the Spaniards, who then -debate everything from a ballet girl's ancle to a rising -in Catalonia; and for these gossips, the place of -rendezvous in Seville is the Plaza de San Domingo. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X. -<br /><br /> -DON FABRIQUE. -</h3> - -<p> -We were awake betimes in the morning, and breakfasted -early, in the true Spanish style, on good stiff -chocolate with fried eggs, purple wine, and -snow-white bread; but no hostile message came from Don -Joaquim. The hours stole on, and the sunlit streets -threw the shadows of their picturesque façades -against each other. The events of the last night, -and their probable consequences, had given us a decided -distaste for prowling about the streets of Seville. -We were both somewhat thoughtful, and said little, -or conferred only on the nearest route by which we -could reach Gibraltar, in coming from which, we had -made somewhat of a détour; and Jack hinted that we -should probably have some more brawls with alcaldes, -rows at posadas, skirmishes with banditos, and other -pleasant adventures, before we reported ourselves "as -just arrived" at head quarters. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter for El Señor Capitano Don Ricardo," -said the waiter, approaching. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter for you, Dick," said Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"So it has come at last," said I, breaking the seal. -</p> - -<p> -"Will it be an affair of knives or pistols?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush!" said I, as the waiter retired. -</p> - -<p> -"Slugs in a saw-pit, and all that sort of thing—a -triangular duel, eh? But an officer should have -brought it." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, had it been that for which you seem so very -anxious." -</p> - -<p> -"Anxious! not I, believe me." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, this is from a lady." -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce—you quite interest me. I can perceive -that it is penned on pink paper, a little -flourished, but without signature. It is from Paulina, -poor girl! I can imagine her writing it, and as -Byron says— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'How tremulously gentle, her small hand—'"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"How can you run on thus?" I asked, imploringly. -"Fie upon you, Jack, after all the misery we have -wrought to these poor people." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, perhaps you are right and I am wrong. I -beg pardon; but the letter—what is it about?" -</p> - -<p> -"Only the safety of our lives." -</p> - -<p> -"Our lives—indeed—how so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Read it." -</p> - -<p> -The note ran thus:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"SENOR DON RICARDO. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"In the name of the Blessed Mother of God, I -implore you and your friend to leave Seville on receipt -of this, and to take the nearest road for San Lucar -de Barameda, where you can reach a steamer, which -sails direct for Gibraltar. Don Joaquim vows to -have a terrible revenge for the death of our dear -brother Hernan; and, last night, was seen in -conference with Fabrique de Urquija on the old Alameda. -The road you came will be beset—his band are, -doubtless, now in hire to waylay you. El santo de -los Santos, forgive you the misery you have caused to -those who never wronged you, and may it deliver -you from the snares of death that lie in your -homeward path." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"More melodramatic than pleasant," said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"It is from Paulina, no doubt.—how considerate!" -</p> - -<p> -"Kind and gentle too," added Jack. "Well, all -things duly considered, I think we should take her -advice—mount, and be off." -</p> - -<p> -"Poor—poor Paulina!" -</p> - -<p> -"Deuce take it, Dick, don't be faint-hearted. -'T will be all one when the route comes for the -Crimea, and sell or sail is the word." -</p> - -<p> -"Not among "Ours," I hope." -</p> - -<p> -"The San Lucar road be it." -</p> - -<p> -"Then the sooner we leave the better, for we have -much to lose and nothing to gain by lingering here." -</p> - -<p> -"For there is neither law, justice, nor honour -among these Spaniards," said Slingsby, making a -smart application to the bell-rope. -</p> - -<p> -"What! you say so in the face of this charming -letter?" -</p> - -<p> -"Charming, indeed, to be told that a captain of -robbers—a picturesque ruffian in a steeple-crowned -hat and red garters, has been bribed to cut your -throat—to 'do' for you in the flower of your youth -for a hundred pistoles." -</p> - -<p> -The letter raised a glow of sad, of kind, and -regretful emotions within me; but I stifled them all, -and, calling for the bill, settled with the landlord -in person. -</p> - -<p> -"What manner of magistrates have you here in -Seville?" asked the unwary Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"How, señor?" -</p> - -<p> -"When they permit thieves to prowl about your -streets at night." -</p> - -<p> -"Thieves, señor—Ave Maria!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, thieves, señor patron. Fabrique de Urquija -was on the old Alameda last night with a -well-known bravo from Portugal." -</p> - -<p> -"Don Fabrique," reiterated our host, aghast at the -name; "ah, he is too great a man to be easily -arrested, señor." -</p> - -<p> -"Is he not a mere ladrone?" -</p> - -<p> -"True, Caballero; but then his band is numerous. -Yes, señor; Ave Maria purissima!—tiene con -exercito de 10,000 hombres—all determined men, and -armed to the teeth." -</p> - -<p> -"Ten thousand men—nonsense! A hundred, -more probably." -</p> - -<p> -The host felt his veracity impugned, and he called -upon all the saints in the calendar to witness the -truth of his assertions; and while we had a decanter -of wine before starting, he told us a vast number of -anecdotes, descriptive of the cruel and unscrupulous -character of the so-called Don Fabrique. Two of -these occurred to me as being peculiarly diabolical in -their nature. -</p> - -<p> -On one occasion he plundered the house of a -wealthy merchant near Estephana, a town on the -Grenada coast; and because the unfortunate -proprietor would not yield up the alleged treasures of -his strong box, and sign bills on his bankers in -Seville, Fabrique snatched up a camphine lamp from -a marble side-table, and, with a dreadful oath, poured -the contents over the hair and whiskers of his -prisoner. He then deliberately applied a lighted candle -thereto, and in a moment the whole face and head of -the miserable man were enveloped in flames. His -skull was roasted like a large castano, and he died in -great misery—his head being literally burned off! -</p> - -<p> -Another amiable little trait of Don Fabrique was -the strange way he took to remove his predecessor -from the command of the troop. This was a rough -old guerilla, who in his youth had fought in the -campaigns of Wellington, under Don Julian Sanchez, -the famous Captain Harelip, as our soldiers named -him, and latterly in the service of the Carlists, under -the banished Conde de Morella. -</p> - -<p> -The robber captain—Gomes el Guerilla—having -incurred the animosity of Fabrique, that worthy -procured some gun-cotton (which our patron believed to -be a preparation by the devil himself), from a -drug-chest, when investigating the shop of a botarico -(apothecary) at Castellar; and some of this he placed -in the folds of Gomes' neckcloth in the night, and for -three days the old and unsuspecting sinner wore this -dreadful thing under his well-bearded chin. On -the third, Fabrique, who began to lose patience, and -vow to have vengeance on the botarico, said, "Come, -señor, let us make up a little cigar;" so the cigar -was made, and they proceeded to smoke, until some -sparks fell on the breast of the old guerilla; and -then, Madre de Dios! there was a dreadful flash and -explosion like that of a cannon; and to the consternation -of all his band, the head of Gomes was blown -right off his shoulders, and not a vestige of it was -ever seen again. -</p> - -<p> -"The noble Caballeros," continued our host, "have -no doubt heard of the great robber-chief, Manuel de -Cordova, who in January, 1853, killed the commandant -of the civic guard of Bute?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"He was betrayed by Don Fabrique, and shot to -death by a platoon of infantry, in the Plaza of -Cordova. Oh, señor, the saints deliver us from the -devil and Don Fabrique!" -</p> - -<p> -"So say I," added Jack, as the landlord left us, and -thus, being impressed alike by these communications -and that of Donna Paulina, we resolved to change -our route and avoid this formidable personage who -took such an interest in our proceedings. -</p> - -<p> -To deceive any person who might be watching -about the hotel, or be bribed by Fabrique, or the -major, we made particular inquiries of the patron, -the waiters, and stable-boys concerning the road to -Gibraltar by the way of Puerto Serrano; and having, -as Jack said, "completely thrown dust in their eyes," -we took the route to San Lucar and left Seville at a -rapid trot about an hour after noon, pausing only to -give a peseta to a poor Franciscan who begged from -us at the city gate. -</p> - -<p> -I looked back to Seville as we galloped away. -</p> - -<p> -The tower of La Giralda and all its spires were -sinking in the sunny haze and lessening in the -distance. -</p> - -<p> -"So ends an intimacy that might have ripened into -something better," thought I. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI. -<br /><br /> -THE RATERILLO. -</h3> - -<p> -Passing Coria del Rio, a little province and partido, -after a twenty miles' ride we halted to dine at -Lebrija, which is so famed for its oil of olives, and -there we got some prime Xeres, which bore the -private mark of the señores Gonzalez and Dubose, the -famous wine merchants; and now we enjoyed the -hope that our acquaintance Fabrique de Urquija and -his "ten thousand hombres" (or whatever their -number might be) were sunning themselves on the -mountains, and lying in wait for us on the dusty road by -Puerto Serrano; and any anxiety we might have felt -to reach the coast unmolested began to lessen when -we set forth again, while the evening sun was verging -towards the western sierras of the province, and -pursuing an old and narrow path, so old that perhaps -the Christian knights of King Ferdinand might have -traversed it to battle with the Emirs of Granada, of -Seville, and Cordova, we rode on, amid varied scenery, -where luxuriant creepers almost veiled the granite -rocks like natural curtains, where large fields of maize -surrounded ancient villages left ruined and roofless in -the late civil wars, where herds of half wild cattle -browsed on the green mountain slope; where the -dead man's cross, the wayside chapel, the groves of -cork, of olive or orange trees bordered the devious -path, and the shattered atalaya that whilome watched -the frontiers of Mohammed of Cadiz, towered over all, -a landmark to the Guadalquiver. -</p> - -<p> -Charmed by the scenery, we allowed the reins to -fall on the necks of our horses, and careless as to -whether or not we found quarters for the night in an -olive wood or in Trohniona, which we were now -approaching, and the little spire of which we saw -peeping above its bright green groves and tipped with a -fiery gleam, we rode on slowly until near a well -which flowed into a stone basin, under a rude -representation of our Lady of Assistance—a wayside -chapel, in fact—a turn of the path brought us -suddenly upon two armed Spaniards, who were seated on -the sward playing with cards in the twilight, for the -time was evening now. -</p> - -<p> -One of these, by his gay attire, his embroidered -jacket with its silver clasps, his sash of red and -yellow stripes and his velvet hat, as well as by the -horse which stood near him, well laden with packages, -and having a long gun slung at its demipique -saddle, I perceived to be a professed smuggler; and -on our nearer approach we both recognised our old -friend Pedro el Contrabandista, who supplied our -mess with cigars, and whose unlucky pursuit by the -guarda costa had been the source of so much -travelling, turmoil, and inquiry to Slingsby and to -myself. -</p> - -<p> -There was no mistaking the other as a raterillo—that -is, "a little rat," or pickpocket, on whose -cloth the regular armed bandit who robs convoys, -fights the carabineros, and burns a village -occasionally, looks down as the line do on the militia, or -as the militia do on the yeomanry. The only weapon -of the raterillo is his knife, and perhaps a concealed -pistol. Polite almost to servility to the armed man, -the raterillo is usually a bully to the peaceable, and -to those who are too poor to carry that long musket -which is the constant companion of the provincial -Spaniard. -</p> - -<p> -He doffed his threadbare sombrero and bowed with -great humility as we reined up beside them to greet -honest Pedro, who received us with a hearty shout of -welcome. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, amigo mio," said I, "we were not aware -that you did business by land as well as by sea." -</p> - -<p> -"True, señor, I should have been a woman, for I -am never constant to anything; I am glad to meet -two noble cavaliers of the garrison travelling here—but -why so far from Gibraltar, and without an escort?" -</p> - -<p> -"All owing to you, Pedro, my valiant contrabandista, -and your troublesome affairs." -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon, señor, I do not comprehend." -</p> - -<p> -"That devilish shot from the Mole fort." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes—ha, ha! it cut in two halves Don -Hernan de Lucena, and enabled me to run my little -felucca safe into Gibraltar—eh." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but we had to visit the captain general at -Seville, and to explain the affair to him in person. So -we are here." -</p> - -<p> -"On your way back." -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly so." -</p> - -<p> -"I owe you a thousand thanks for that little piece -of attention from the Mole fort, señores; but for -that, I should now, perhaps, have been chained to an -oar in the Queen's galleys at Barcelona, for I was as -sure of being taken as there is a saint in heaven. -Well, señores, we shall sup together to-night at -Trohniona—see, yonder is its spire shining like a red -star in the sunset; I have my guitar, and shall sing -to you the newest seguidilla and some jovial romances -about the Granadine Moors, the Castilian Caballeros, -or the Carlists, and enchanters; but, meantime, I -must finish a game to which I was challenged by this -traveller, on whom I shall have, proper revenge, for -he has already won from me forty duros; and you -the while will do me the favour to accept some of my -best cigars." -</p> - -<p> -There was no resisting this jolly contrabandista; -so, as we had before arranged to halt for the night -at Trohniona, we were the better for the companionship -of another man, who knew the country, and was -doubtless a favourite with the people, and who, -moreover, was well armed, stout, and determined. -We watched the game between him and the raterillo, -who won dollar after dollar with a facility that soon -left no doubt whatever in our minds that he was -cheating poor Pedro, so Jack and I exchanged -frequent glances. -</p> - -<p> -"Whose cards are these?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor travalero's," said Pedro, "and I begin -to think he knows the backs better than the fronts of -them." -</p> - -<p> -The raterillo, whose quick eyes rolled in a restless -manner, laughed as he pocketed three other duros of -Pedro, who began to lose all patience and to flush, -while a dark gleam shot over his eyes; and on -detecting in his adversary some real or suspected -piece of foul play, he dashed the cards full in his -face, crying,— -</p> - -<p> -"You are a rogue and a thief—a pitiful little rat, -and if you do not yield back every peseta you have -won, 'por el nombre de Dios,' I will be at you with -my Albacete knife!" -</p> - -<p> -"Then the knife be it," retorted the raterillo, -crushing his well-worn hat over his eye-brows; "shall -we have our feet tied together?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, we shall fight it out on the grass, and I will -have your black blood and my hard-won dollars -together," cried Pedro, who was choking with sudden -passion; and quick almost as thought, they confronted -each other, their dark faces contorted by ferocity, their -eyes flashing fire, their feet planted on the turf, their -bodies bent forward ready to spring, and their cuchillos -held firmly in the right hand, the thumb being pressed -upon the blade in such a manner as to enable them -to stab or to cut with equal facility. -</p> - -<p> -Several blows had been given and skilfully eluded -before Jack and I, who had drawn our swords, could -dismount and interfere; but just as we pressed in -between them, at the peril of our lives, we heard a cheer -like a yell ringing in the hollow, and saw a crowd of -armed men rushing down the sloping banks which -bordered the road-way. -</p> - -<p> -"Ladrones—ladrones—fly, señores!" cried Pedro, -as he leaped on his horse and dashed at full speed -towards Trohniona, followed by several musket-bullets, -while the raterillo vanished in the twilight as -if the earth had swallowed him up. -</p> - -<p> -In a moment we were surrounded by a crowd of -armed banditti—oh, there was no mistaking them!—I -was collared and pinioned just as my foot was in -the stirrup, and poor Jack Slingsby was knocked off -his horse by the butt-end of a long Spanish gun; -our swords and revolvers, our watches, rings, purses, -and cigar-cases; our horses and valises, all in a -moment became the spoil of the Egyptians, and we found -ourselves prisoners at the mercy of—Fabrique de -Urquija! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII. -<br /><br /> -LA RIO DE MUERTE. -</h3> - -<p> -Dark-visaged and black-bearded, with long sable hair -hanging over their collars from under their battered -sombreros, or gathered up in net-work cauls, the -robbers presented every picturesque variety of Spanish -costume. Some wore jackets of black or olive-coloured -velvet, richly covered with needlework on the breast -and seams; their waists were girt by bright-coloured -sashes, and their legs encased in velvet small-clothes -and leathern gaiters; while others were sans shirts -and sans shoes; scantily attired in rough zamarras -of sheepskin, with tattered breeches—their brawny -legs and muscular chests being bare. All were well -armed with muskets, Albacete knives, and pistols, and -all were ferocious, resolute, and reckless alike in spirit -and in aspect. A glance showed me all this, as we -were dragged by them through an olive thicket, where, -upon the prostrate column of some old Roman -temple, we found their leader seated. -</p> - -<p> -The moon had now risen brightly above the mountains, -and in the sashed and armed figure before me, -with a jacket glittering with embroidery, his carbine -resting in the hollow of his right arm, I recognised -our former acquaintance whom we had met by the -wayside between Castellar and Estrelo, and with whom -we were hobbing and nobbing over a cigar and bota, -when poor sister St. Veronica came to ask alms of us. -</p> - -<p> -The cruelties of which, on that occasion, he had so -freely avowed himself guilty, and those other traits -of character, such as the affair of the camphine lamp -and the neckcloth so pleasantly padded with guncotton, -occurred to us; and I must own, that when we -found ourselves bound as prisoners and confronting -the cold, stern and impassible visage of this celebrated -Spanish outlaw, a restless anxiety made our hearts -throb with new and undefined emotions. In all -things his bearing and disposition were similar to -those of his friend* whom he betrayed in 1853, and -whose atrocities have been published, like his own, at -length in the columns of the "Heraldo de Madrid." Neither -Slingsby nor I had ever been in such a desperate -predicament before, as the reader may easily -conceive; thus we could scarcely realise it, and, -naturally enough, indignation was uppermost in our -minds. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Francisco Manuel de Cordova. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The intellectual part of Fabrique's face, though -exceedingly handsome, was immovable as that of a -statue, his two black eyes remained fixedly regarding -us, and even when his bearded mouth relaxed into a -grim smile, one-half of his face remained unmoved. -He seemed calm and pale in the white moon-light—but -the cicatrised wound which traversed his cheek -was of a deep and dusky red. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, señor," said I, briskly, "are you fully -prepared to answer for the attack you have made -upon us?" -</p> - -<p> -"Answer," he reiterated, with something between a -frown and disdainful smile; "to whom?" -</p> - -<p> -"The captain general of Andalusia." -</p> - -<p> -"I have so many things to answer for already to -that illustrious Caballero of Seville, that he will -be very apt to forget your little affair among others." -</p> - -<p> -"But the Governor of Her Brittanic Majesty's -garrison at Gibraltar will refresh both his memory -and yours, rascal!" said poor Slingsby, whose face -was streaming with blood. -</p> - -<p> -"Stuff, señores. Our Lady Donna Isabella II. alone -is Queen of Gibraltar, whatever you may believe -to the contrary." -</p> - -<p> -"Then there is our ambassador at Madrid," said I, -swelling with passion. -</p> - -<p> -"Let the Señor Embajador come hither to seek -you, if he chooses," replied Fabrique, with a scowl, -while his band made the wooded hollow ring with -their laughter. -</p> - -<p> -"For what reason, and with what purpose, is this -outrage committed upon us?" asked Jack, more -calmly. -</p> - -<p> -"The reason is here," said Fabrique, throwing -up a heavy purse. "From the noble Don Joaquim, -Major in the service of the young king Don Pedro -V., I have received one thousand duros to intercept -you——" -</p> - -<p> -"And the purpose?" -</p> - -<p> -"To avenge his brother's death." -</p> - -<p> -"In what manner?" -</p> - -<p> -"By taking your lives, that is all; blood for blood, -you know; an eye for an eye, a limb for a limb, and -a life for a life, are law and justice all the world over. -If my friend the blind abagado of Jaen were here, -he could not explain the law better." -</p> - -<p> -Zumalacarregui, when giving a light from his own -cigar to the Carlist prisoners he was just about to -shoot, could not have spoken more coolly. -</p> - -<p> -"And so, fellow, you have received a thousand -duros to murder us?" said Jack, abruptly. -</p> - -<p> -"One thousand, señor," was the quiet reply. -</p> - -<p> -"Conduct us to the harbour of San Lucar, and I -will give you my word of honour that two thousand -shall be sent to you." -</p> - -<p> -"You would not break your plighted word?" -</p> - -<p> -"I would rather die!" -</p> - -<p> -"Then bear in mind that I have pledged mine; -and that I also would rather die than break it. No, -señores; all the gold in Madrid would not save you." -</p> - -<p> -After a pause,— -</p> - -<p> -"How came you to discover us so readily on this -road?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"Easily. I had spies planted at every gate of -Seville. A Franciscan begged alms of you at the -Puerto of the San Lucar road." -</p> - -<p> -"To whom I gave a peseta." -</p> - -<p> -"'T was I." -</p> - -<p> -"You! I wish that I had recognised you then." -</p> - -<p> -"Muchos gratias, señor—my own mother would -not have known me. I took care of that, and now I -shall take care of you." -</p> - -<p> -"It is incredible that a companion so jovial as the -Major de Lucena could contemplate this intended -atrocity," exclaimed Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Have you not his sister's letter here?" asked -Fabrique, displaying that little document, of which -his searchers had deprived me; "you Inglesos would -doubt the holy face of Jaen, even if it were placed -before you! I received a thousand dollars to shoot -you down like dogs or wild pigs, and here we are -chattering away like so many magpies. Vamos -alla—to the mountains—cammarados, basta!" -</p> - -<p> -"We are not, then, to be shot?" I asked, as a -gleam of hope brightened before me. -</p> - -<p> -"No," said he, with an icy smile, as his dark fierce -face came close to mine, like that of a handsome -spectre in the moonlight and as the whole band -began to move; "we will give you to drink of the -Rio de Muerte." -</p> - -<p> -The River of Death!—our blood ran cold at these -words; but no time was left us for expostulation, as -we were hurried up the hills, over wild and furzy -banks, where the laurel, the vine, and the fair yellow -paunch of the gourd grew together in luxuriance; -and among rocks, where the nimble goat browsed, -and the untamed porker flew before us, squeaking -from his lair, among the aromatic plants, the long -reedy grass, the giant fern, and the broad-leaved dock. -Up, up we went, alternately clambering, or being -pushed and dragged, until we gained the brow of a -steep hill, from which we saw beneath us in the -broad, clear, liquid moonlight, the waters of the -Guadalquiver winding away between groves of the -orange and the olive, to San Lucar, and in the -middle distance, but far down below us, the white -houses of Trohniona clustered round their little -church. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII. -<br /><br /> -PEDRO THE CONTRABANDISTA. -</h3> - -<p> -After a painful and anxious hour elapsed, and we -had traversed about two miles of a steep and craggy -ascent, until we reached a part of the mountain -range which was entirely covered by a little forest of -laurels. Above us, in the dark blue sky, the moon -was hanging like a large silver globe, and the flood of -clear cold light it diffused over the distant landscape -enabled us to distinguish objects with great -minuteness. Thus I could trace the gleaming course of the -Guadalquiver, as it wound down from Seville past -Borminos, the mouth of the Guadamar, and the hills -that overhang Dos Hermanos; while other sierras in -the distance undulated afar off, like the waves of a -petrified sea, if such a simile may be allowed me. -Light glinted at times upon the river. It came from -a passing steamer. Down there in the valley was the -civilisation of our own time; yet we were about to -perish by the hands of outlaws, whose bearing and -character were worthy of the middle ages, or the -mistier time that lies beyond them. -</p> - -<p> -Jack Slingsby and I had scarcely spoken during -our steep and rapid clamber, but our thoughts were -the same; anxiety—intense anxiety—for our fate; -repugnance for our captors, and a natural horror -of dying a barbarous death at their hands, on these -remote and lonely mountains; far from help, far -from justice and from civilisation; a death, of which -our friends, our relations, and our comrades would -never hear—would never know; for our fate would -become a mystery, which all the captains general, the -ambassadors, the chargés des affaires, and even the -correspondents of the "Times" would be unable to -clear up or unravel,—as it was the purpose of these -wretches, whose prey we had become, to hide for -ever our remains, and the very means of our death, -as completely as if we had been flung into Mount -Etna. -</p> - -<p> -In this sequestered part of the mountain chain, -hidden among the thickly-twined laurels, the wild -and straggling vines, and the densely-matted jungle -of gourds, and other luxuriant creepers, there -suddenly yawned a chasm in the granite rocks—a black -profundity of unknown depth. The gaping rent was -about twenty feet broad by some hundred in length, -but its mouth was greatly diminished by the bordering -foliage and wild plants that overhung it. Far down, -perhaps five hundred feet below (for the bottom was -unseen), there rolled with a deep, hoarse, roaring -sound the Rio de Muerte—the River of Death—a -subterranean tributary of the Guadalquiver; and its -strange and hollow voice as it gurgled, surged, and -bellowed through the clefts and fissures in the heart -of the mountains, filled me with a pang of horror. -Here we paused, and our captors muttered one to -another under their thick beards, smoked their paper -cigaritos, and leaned leisurely on their short -escapetas, or long-barrelled muskets, and seemed to await -the approach of Fabrique de Urquija, who was some -yards behind us, and came up very much at his ease. -</p> - -<p> -"My God!" said my friend, "if it be their -purpose to—to——" -</p> - -<p> -"To throw us down there, you would say? My -dear Slingsby, such seems indeed to be their -dreadful purpose, and I see here but little hope of -mercy or of charity, where bribes greater than those -of that infamous major have failed before a savage -idea of honour and the fulfilment of a villanous trust." -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven help us!" -</p> - -<p> -"If these are not your prayers, señores," said one -fellow in Spanish, with a slight Murcian accent, -"you had better betake yourselves to them, for in -less than ten minutes you will be at the bottom of -this terrible place, and be swept through the bowels -of the mountain towards the Guadalquiver." -</p> - -<p> -The man spoke gently and with some emotion; it -was evident that his dreadful life had not yet -obliterated every remnant of civilisation and humanity. -There was, moreover, something terribly impressive -in his words, when heard amid the hoarse rush of -that deep and subterranean torrent, whose waters -came we knew not from where, and traversed depths -and caverns, of which we could have no conception, -in their way to the valley below. -</p> - -<p> -There was a refined cruelty in bringing us to such -a place, and to die such a death; for the mind -"shrunk back upon itself and trembled," when -contemplating the dark profundity through which this -mysterious torrent poured. -</p> - -<p> -"Pray, good señores, pray," said this man, kindly -again, as he touched me on the shoulder, "down -upon your knees, for here comes the capitano, and -he never tarries with his prisoners on the brink -of the Rio de Muerte, or the Cima de Cabra." -</p> - -<p> -"What does the fellow say?" asked poor Slingsby, -who looked a little pale, and whose nether lip was -tightly clenched. -</p> - -<p> -"He bids us lose no time, but to pray." -</p> - -<p> -"Pray!" reiterated Jack, fiercely; "I pray to -Heaven only that my hands were loose for one -moment, that I might strike a blow for life or for -revenge." -</p> - -<p> -"Threats are absurd, señor," said Fabrique de -Urquija, throwing the end of his cigar with perfect -deliberation into the chasm that yawned before us: -"and bribes are alike useless——" -</p> - -<p> -"Can it be, brave Spaniards," said I, becoming -desperate, and encouraged by the evident sympathy -of one to endeavour to soften the rest; "can it be -that you will prove so cruel and so merciless to two -unoffending strangers, who——" -</p> - -<p> -"Silence, señores!" exclaimed Fabrique, in a voice -of thunder, while drawing a pistol from his belt; -"in attempting to tamper with my followers you but -anticipate your fate. Iago Pineda—Stephano el -Corcovado, over with them! dost thou hear me? presto! or -by the mother of God, this bullet shall see -the brains of some of you." -</p> - -<p> -He ground his teeth; his eyes shot fire, and his -broad nostrils seemed to dilate as he gave this savage -order. -</p> - -<p> -Stephano the humpbacked, and the other who -was named Iago Pineda, and who was no other than -our sympathetic friend, threw down their escopetas -and grasped me. They were powerful and muscular -men—aye, men of iron frames and iron hearts, and -a sickening emotion rose within me as their hands -were roughly laid upon my pinioned arms. The -moonlit mountains and the far-stretching Vega swam -around me; the forms of our murderers were multiplied -a thousandfold; the perspiration fell heavily -from my brow, and a half-arrested cry to Heaven for -that pity which men denied us here, arose to my lips -as they were about to hurl me downward; when, lo! -Pineda paused, looked back, and listening, -relinquished my right arm. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you think, do you dare to disobey?" cried -Fabrique, as he levelled a brass-barrelled pistol full -at his head; "to work at once, vile mutineer, or por -vida del demonic——" -</p> - -<p> -"Hold—para—detenedos!" cried a breathless -voice, and a man mounted on horseback, and armed -with a long gun, dashed his jennet at full speed -through the laurel bushes into the midst of the free -company. -</p> - -<p> -"Who cries hold?" demanded Fabrique, almost -choking with passion, while turning his pistol against -the intruder; and all his people cocked or clubbed -their muskets in high alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"I do—I, your brother Pedro the contrabandista." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho, and what seek you here?" -</p> - -<p> -"The safety of these two Caballeros, who at -Gibraltar saved me from the guarda costa of Hernan -de Lucena in the first place, and from the chain and -the scourge in Her Majesty's galleys in the second -place." -</p> - -<p> -"How! was it you, brother Pedro, whose felucca -was concerned in this business?" asked Fabrique, -with an altered voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Fabrique, it was my little craft, La Buena -Fortuna, which the Lieutenant De Lucena pursued -till a shot from the Mole fort shortened him by two -feet. I claim their lives, for they are my friends -and patrons, and would have supped with me to-night -at Trohniona had not your devilish fellows -came upon us like a herd of wild cats, just when I -was kicking and cuffing yonder rascally raterillo, who -has made off with all my dollars. So I fled from the -wayside-well, for I knew not whose free company -your lads had the honour to be, and feared they -might relieve me alike of life and all care for my -packages." -</p> - -<p> -Jack and I now began to breathe a little more -freely; for as all this took place in less time than I -have taken to write it, there was some difficulty in -realising the conviction that we had been waylaid, -doomed to death and saved, with such rapidity: yet -so it was, and so ended the scene of that night to -which I can never recur without a chill of awe and -horror, blended with a very decided sensation of -anger and just indignation. -</p> - -<p> -Notwithstanding the alleged solemnity with which -his word was plighted to the malevolent major of the -sainted regiment of Lagos, "in the kingdom of -Algarve," Fabrique relinquished his cruel purpose, -unbound us at his brother's request, and restored to -us our arms, horses, and little baggage—everything, -in short, not even excepting the letter of poor -Paulina. He gave us cigars, a hearty quaff from his bota, -and then a bow so low that his black velvet sombrero -almost swept the dewy sward. He then drew off -with all his band towards the Sierra de Honda, and -in two hours afterwards we were comfortably seated -by the kitchen fire in the posada of Trohniona, at -supper with his brother the contrabandista, who was -en route for San Lucar. -</p> - -<p> -For some time after, throughout the night in which -these startling events occurred, in fancy I saw before -me the cold, stern visage and fierce glaring eyes of -Urquija, and above all other sounds I seemed to hear -the deep hoarse rush of the subterranean Rio de -Muerte. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIV. -<br /><br /> -THE SPANISH STEAMER. -</h3> - -<p> -Whatever may have been the emotions with which -we regarded the formidable relative of our contrabandista, -we spared him the humiliation of listening -to the just appreciation we had of the character of -Fabrique; and enlivened by those songs and stories -with which the honest fellow endeavoured to raise -our spirits and efface the terrible recollection of that -hour upon the hills of Trohniona, we supped upon a -guisado and bottle of valdepenas. -</p> - -<p> -Now I may inform the uninitiated that the aforesaid -guisado was a stew, such as can only be made in -a real Spanish pipkin. It consisted of two chickens, -a plump partridge, and a hare, well seasoned with oil, -garlic, pepper, and saffron all simmered together -When hot and steaming, the giblets, &c., are fished -up from the depths of the savoury pipkin, with just -such a wooden spoon as paunchy Sancho used, when -diving therewith into his beloved flesh-pots at the -wedding of Camacho. -</p> - -<p> -Supper over, and a fresh bota ordered, Pedro -assumed his guitar, and while we cleaned and examined -our swords and pistols, and all the people of the -posada, the patron and patrona, the waiteresses, the -stabler, and the little half-naked muchaco who cleaned -the boots and turned the spit, crowded near, he, the -jovial contrabandista, turned his dark eyes and -well-bearded visage towards the dusky wooden ceiling, -and while his swarthy cheek glowed in the light of -the kitchen fire, struck up one of those lively seguidillas -which are the delight of the Spaniards, and skilfully -he brushed the strings with his finger-points in -a manner which I believe is peculiar to the Andalusians. -</p> - -<p> -A very amorous love ditty succeeded, and when -the roguish eyes of Pedro wandered knowingly from -one person to another, the patrona blushed with -pleasure, and all the waiteresses simpered and spread out -their short but full-flounced skirts, or displayed their -handsome red stockings, to let their well-shaped legs -be seen, as well as their pretty zapatas; for the roving -and romantic contrabandista, whose habits are so -full of life and energy, is ever a welcome guest at the -wayside inns of Spain, and to none more than their -fairer inmates. -</p> - -<p> -Now Pedro's gaudy brown jacket, all covered with -silver bell-buttons, bright silken lace, and spangles; -his ample breeches of gay velveteen; his brilliant -sash and broad hat placed a little over the right eye, -made him a welcome visitor to all the women, while -the stories, news, or fibs which his incessant -perambulations afforded him ample means of collecting, -made him equally acceptable to the men; thus, like -other bold contrabandistas, who by sea and land set -the laws of the Cortes at defiance, Pedro was always -sure of the brightest smiles, the oldest wine in the -cellar, the best fowl in the larder, the warmest corner -by the kitchen fire, and the most snug cama in the -posada, while pretty hands stroked his docile jennet, -and readier ones removed his corded packages, and -placed his guitar and loaded gun by his bedside for -the night. -</p> - -<p> -Pedro's songs, and the stories he told during the -single night we spent with him, would fill a volume; -but the time passed rapidly away; we were up -betimes, mounted and armed to ride; and with -something of real satisfaction, Jack and I turned our -backs on those hated mountains, where a thicket of -green laurels, diminished to a black speck by the -distance, indicated the locality of the Rio de Muerte. -</p> - -<p> -Trotting pleasantly, we passed Isla-mayor, which -lies about twelve miles from the mouth of the -Guadalquiver, and abounds in fruit-trees, which were -then in full blossom. -</p> - -<p> -By this time, Paulina, her dark eyes, and her -witchery were alike forgotten, and her little note on -pink paper had been smoked away in cigaritos. The -keen interest taken in our affairs by the major had -completely cured me; so much for Spanish romance -contrasted with Spanish reality. -</p> - -<p> -"And you have decided on taking the steamer at -San Lucar, señores?" said Pedro. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and happy shall we be to find ourselves safe -on board of her," said I; "we have had too many -devilish scrapes among you Spaniards to wish for -more travelling in the saddle. It is no joke to escape -being hanged as a spy by a blundering alcalde one -day, and a terrible death the next by drowning, at -the hands of——" -</p> - -<p> -"My brother Fabrique," said he, good-humouredly, -closing a sentence, the termination of which might -have proved unpleasant. "Well, señores, my little -felucca the 'Buena Fortuna'—you know her, with -her long brass gun and lateen sails—is lying -concealed in a solitary creek near Carbonera. I have -run her in there, because a fleet—yes, maldito—a -whole fleet of guarda costas are at anchor in the -harbour of San Lucar; but we must put to sea -to-morrow night, and if you will so far honour me, -Caballeros, as to accept a passage with me to -Gibraltar, the best valdepenas and the noblest Xeres -that ever came out of a madre-butt shall be at your -service. Ah, you shake your head, Señor Don -Ricardo, and think you have had enough of me and -my poor little craft——" -</p> - -<p> -"Right, Pedro, and wish to have no more affairs with -a guarda costa," said Slingsby; "besides, if you were -attacked and taken at sea, after a fight, you would -fight, of course——" -</p> - -<p> -"To the death, Señor, guerra al cuchillo, as the -old guerillas say." -</p> - -<p> -"Well—what would be our fate?" -</p> - -<p> -"True, señor. If not killed, you would be sent to -the galleys at Barcelona, and so might as well have -taken a dip in the Rio de Muerte. Well, I will cease -to urge you. Here is the gate of Bonanza, which -may be termed the port of Seville, though the city is -fifteen leagues distant; yonder is its castle, with the -Spanish flag flying, and here is the quay, where all -large vessels laden with goods discharge their cargoes, -as the shallowness of the Guadalquiver will not permit -them to ascend higher—you understand, señores?" -</p> - -<p> -Here at this small town we bade farewell to Pedro, -who promised to visit us as soon as he came round to -Gibraltar; and pushing on, after a trot of a mile or -two over a dreary and sandy waste, we found -ourselves amid the sunny and bustling streets of San -Lucar de Barameda, where we sought at once its -harbour, the quays of which were, as usual, piled -chin deep with boxes of oranges, of raisins, and of -prunes, casks of salt, of wine, and of brandy; while -the flags of all nations—the stars and stripes of North -America, the eagles and tricolours of the South, the -union jack and the crosses of Scandinavia—were -waving among a forest of masts; in short, we found -ourselves amid all the noise and lively stir of a -Spanish seaport, where the splash of the screw -propeller furrowed the waters of the Guadalquiver, and -the steam, as it escaped at times, was like music to -us, who had just eluded the fangs of Fabrique's -mountain wolves. -</p> - -<p> -We soon found the boat for Gibraltar, "Neustra -Señora de Assistencia," and embarked ourselves and -our horses, which were taken on board in stalls, that -were slung from a whip at the yard-arm; and in an -hour after, muffled in our cloaks, with choice cubas to -solace us, we lounged on the paddle gangway as the -vessel steamed out of the harbour between the two -castles of San Lucar—the same fortresses which -saluted the little fleet of Columbus, when departing -in search of a western world—and passed the -roadstead and the dangerous entrance, where the wild -waves are ever beating in tumult; and thus we left -the port enveloped in a golden haze and diminishing -astern, as the sun set behind the mountain peaks of -Seville. -</p> - -<p> -The bay of Cadiz soon opened on our larboard -bow, and the city itself, with all its lights and spires, -and then the Isla de Leon arose before us, white and -glimmering in the moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -The silver waves seemed to toy with the golden -sand, as their coy riplets chafed the beach; but in -other places the moonlit sea dashed its spray like -showers of diamonds and prisms against the abutting -rocks. -</p> - -<p> -Overhead, the dark blue sky was clear and cloudless, -save where a long black pennon of wavy smoke -streamed far astern from the glowing funnel of "Our -Lady of Assistance," and all was still save the -ceaseless and monotonous dashing of the paddle-wheels, -and the measured clank of the engines, as we ploughed -along the lovely Spanish shore, and towards midnight -saw that point of land on which no Briton can gaze -without an emotion of pride, the Cape of Trafalgar. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XV. -<br /><br /> -THE CIRCASSIAN CAPTAIN. -</h3> - -<p> -On board the steamer our attention had been -repeatedly attracted, and our interest—mine, at -least—excited by a fellow-passenger, whose manner, -costume, and bearing were too remarkable to escape notice. -</p> - -<p> -His figure was tall and handsomely formed; his -features, pale and like marble, were cast in the most -pure and severe model of classic beauty; his nose -was long and straight; his black eye-brows nearly met -over it in one unbroken line; a fierce mustache stuck -out on each side, giving great expression to a mouth, -the lips of which were generally compressed, and in -expression stern. -</p> - -<p> -Altogether, his face had in it more of pure intellect -and pictorial manly beauty than any I had ever seen. -His costume was a scarlet forage cap, the tassel of -which drooped on his right shoulder, and a loose -tunic of dark green cloth, the cuffs, collar, and skirts -of which were trimmed with sables; but this peculiar -garment, like his long military boots, seemed well -worn, or as Jack said, "decidedly shabby." -</p> - -<p> -He remained very much aloof from the passengers, -and either sat or walked apart, communing apparently -with himself, and smoking a huge pipe, the aspect of -which was as foreign as his own. -</p> - -<p> -A figure so melo-dramatic on board of a steamer—even -a Spanish one—was too remarkable in the present -day to escape notice, and I repeatedly drew Slingsby's -attention to him; but honest Jack had not quite -recovered the effect of the start given him last night on -the hills of Trohniona, and replied briefly,— -</p> - -<p> -"An interesting foreigner, eh! that will sound very -well to the ears of a novel-reading miss at home; but -such personages excite a very different feeling in me. -A seedy sharper! I am sick, Ramble, of your interesting -foreigners; they are invariably swindlers, refugees, -and all that sort of thing, unless we except the poor -monkeys in the Zoological gardens," and so Jack -assumed a sulky air of reserve, while our voyager in -the furs and long boots smoked his huge meerschaum -to leeward, and all unconscious that he was an object -of remark or interest to any one. -</p> - -<p> -On visiting our horses in the stalls, we found that -our fellow-traveller had also a nag, and that this -animal seemed the object of all his cares; for he was -by its side almost every half hour, stroking its sleek -coat and slender legs; tickling its square nostrils and -pointed ears, or wiping its fine liquid eyes with his -white handkerchief, and feeding it from the palm of -his hands, which were white and muscular, while he -spoke caressingly in a barbarous language, which the -horse—a noble Arab-steed, with a magnificent head, -and limbs as slender as a girl's wrist—seemed to -understand. There was something so peculiar in all this, -and especially in the man's strong and tender regard -for his horse, that Slingsby's John Bullism began to -relax, for the proverbial crustiness of his country -little became a frank fellow like him; so he ventured -a few remarks in English on horses in general, and -this fine barb in particular. -</p> - -<p> -The foreigner shook his head, and smiled pleasantly, -as he articulated with difficulty that he scarcely knew -a word of English; whereupon Jack turned his remarks -into very choice Spanish. -</p> - -<p> -Again the stranger smiled and bowed, showing under -his close and thick mustache that he had a set of -teeth our brightest belles might envy, as he said in -the language of our allies,— -</p> - -<p> -"I beg your pardon, sir, but I speak only French -with my native language; and it maybe a little—Russ." -</p> - -<p> -"Russ—indeed!" said I, with fresh interest; "are -you a Cossack?" -</p> - -<p> -"No," said he, with a sudden air of haughty reserve, -"do I look like one?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say," said Jack, "as I never saw one." -</p> - -<p> -He was about to withdraw, as if our notice was -displeasing to him, when it chanced that a puff of wind -opened my cloak, and below it he perceived the -scarlet shell jacket, which was the undress of "Ours." Then -his bold dark eye lighted up with new animation, -and raising his forage cap, he said, smilingly, in -French, which he spoke with great fluency and a good -accent,— -</p> - -<p> -"Officers, I perceive, and, better than all, British -officers! Would that I had known this sooner, we -might have had a pleasant evening together; but now -our voyage is nearly half over, as the captain has just -told me. I am so glad to meet you, gentlemen, for I, -too, have had the honour to wear a sword." -</p> - -<p> -"May I ask in what service?" said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"The Russian, latterly." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" -</p> - -<p> -"You are surprised," he said, with a sigh. -</p> - -<p> -"Rather." -</p> - -<p> -"It was the result of fate, or rather the fortune of -war, that placed me in their ranks. I was taken in -battle, and had no alternative but to serve in the -imperial cavalry, or drag a chain over the snows of -Siberia; and thus I accepted the former, resolving to -escape to my own dear mountains on the first -opportunity. I am a Circassian, and fought under the -heroic Schamyl, though latterly I held the rank of -captain in the Tenginski hussars; but tyranny and -misfortune drove me from the Russian ranks before a -proper opportunity for escape had come; and I have -wandered over many lands with no companion save -my horse—my dear Zupi," he continued, caressing the -Arab, which rubbed its fine head upon his cheek, as if -understanding the reference its master had just made; -"my beloved Zupi, who has shared with me many a -day of peril, and has thrice saved my life from -Russian bullets and from drowning; for there is no horse -like thee, Zupi, between the Kuban and the Caspian -Sea." -</p> - -<p> -"He is quite a Mazeppa, this," said Jack, in English. -</p> - -<p> -"And you are now going to Gibraltar?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, gentlemen; but I merely make a visit there, -and at Malta, on my way home through Turkey; as -I have a letter of introduction to an officer of your -garrison." -</p> - -<p> -"May I ask his name?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is here: John Slingsby, Esq., Lieutenant, -H.M. —th Foot—perhaps you know him?" -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce! It is for me; I am Slingsby of -the —th," said Jack, in astonishment, for he was -puzzled to remember what friends he had among the -Tenginski hussars, or on the shores of the Caspian Sea; -"devilish odd, sir! I really don't know any one in -Circassia, or any one who ever was there, or likely to -be so." -</p> - -<p> -"I received this letter in London," said the stranger, -with a soft smile; "at a clubhouse of the Guards, for -the officers of the Household Brigade were more than -kind; being, indeed, as fathers to me, and treating me -as if I had been their own son, instead of what I -am—a poor waif, floating on the current of events." -</p> - -<p> -"I am the man," said Jack, tearing open the letter -which the Circassian produced from his breast-pocket, -and delivered; but with the slightest possible shade -of anxiety on his fine but saddened face. Poor -fellow! he had doubtless been so often deceived and -misused, that he was learning to mistrust every one, -and his eyes were riveted on the face of Slingsby, -who suddenly shook him by the hand, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"This meeting is most remarkable; your letter -of introduction to me and to our mess is from my -brother." -</p> - -<p> -"Bismillah, is it possible!" -</p> - -<p> -"From my brother, Sir Harry Slingsby, of the -Grenadier Guards. I am most happy to meet you, -Captain Rioni, and with my friend, Captain Ramble -of "Ours," will do all in my power to assist you." -</p> - -<p> -Jack handed his brother's letter to me. It ran -thus:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -MY DEAR JACK,— -</p> - -<p> -Allow me to introduce to you and to your -brother officers of the old —th Captain Osman Rioni -(late of the—I am sorry to say it—Russian service), -who has been for some time in London teaching our -Life Guards the lance exercise, and who for the last -three months has been the lion of the club-houses. He -arrived among us a staid and respectable Mohammedan, -very prone to sit cross-legged on the floor, to dip -his fingers in the gravy, and to grasp his knife if you -gave him a slice of ham with his fowl; but he leaves us -much addicted to balls, vingt un, champagne suppers, -the polka, and the waltz. In short, in one season, we -have polished him up in good style, and completed -an education which had been somewhat neglected -during his rural life among the Caucasus. You, -perhaps, know the history of himself and his horse—for -the morning papers get hold of everything. Conyers -of the Blues offered him £500 for the nag; but he -won't sell it for any known amount of the ready. -Look at its legs and chest; I never saw such an -animal! The captain has been an honorary member -of our mess while in London—a hint this, for your -fellows. He is now on his way home to the Kuban -(wherever the devil that may be), and so you gentlemen -of the Line in Gibraltar must look to the state -of his exchequer, and pass him on to the next station, -as Conyers has given him letters to some of the Rifles -at Malta. I could easily have procured him a troop -in our new Turkish contingent; but home he must -and shall go, he says, and his own story will best let -you know why. To-morrow our battalion will change -its quarters, and commence the arduous march from -St. John's Wood Barracks to those in Portman-street, -and from thence to Trafalgar-square, and I shall -follow in my cab; but you may see me ere long, for I -am to sail with the next draught of ours for the -Crimea, where the shiny splendour will be taken out -of our Brahmins in the muddy trenches—ugh! Give -my remembrance to Dick Ramble—ask him what his -next book is to be about; and so, my dear Jack, -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -I remain, &c., &c. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The wishes of Sir Henry, and the efforts he and -his brother officers of the Grenadier Guards (most of -whom will remember the affair I allude to) made it -imperative upon "Ours" not to be behind them in -kindness to this stranger. -</p> - -<p> -Jack and I promised to leave nothing undone to -serve him on our arrival at Gibraltar, and assured him -that we would see sufficient funds raised to send him -either to Malta, or by steamer straight to -Constantinople. His ignorance of English and Spanish had -sadly puzzled the brain of our poor Circassian, who -had landed with his horse and baggage at San Lucar, -believing it to be Gibraltar, and had thus lost several -days, and, what was of more consequence, much of -his money; so that his mind was full of anxiety as -to the future, and how his horse—his Zupi—for they -seemed one, like a centaur, were to reach that mighty -mountain range that lies between the Euxine and the -Cape of Alpcheron; and which, with all its black -forests, wild rocks, and snowy peaks was his beloved -home; the altar of oriental independence—the -barrier of the Eastern world against the encroaching -Kuos. -</p> - -<p> -We supped together in the cabin; and while the -Spanish passengers were all smoking or asleep on -the benches and lockers, we prevailed upon the -Circassian, over a bottle of good wine, to inform us how -he came to serve in the Russian cavalry, and why -he declined Sir Harry's apparently advantageous offer -of a Captain's commission in our Turkish contingent—a -service for which he seemed so admirably fitted, -and in which he might have won honour and distinction; -at least such distinction as John Bull awards -to those who are not on the staff, and have no -ministerial interest. -</p> - -<p> -He shook his head sadly, as I said something -to this purpose, and bowing, gave me a pleasant -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"When you have heard me, you will understand -more fully that the only place for me is my native -land—that home which is now so far off, that when I -trace upon a map the extent of sea and shore that lie -between its hills and me, my heart grows faint and -sick; but patience yet awhile, and one day I shall -stand again an the black rugged mountains of Kushaa, -and see at my feet far down below, the fertile plains of -Georgia and Mingrelia. Zupi will snuff the pure -air of these Alpine peaks, and toss his proud mane -on the wind; strong warriors, in their shirts of mail, -will be riding by my side; the Albanian musket and -the Tartar bow will be there, as we survey the long -dark lines that mark upon the green summer fields, -or it may be the winter snow, the columns of the -Russian Emperor—columns that advance but to -defeat and death; for in thousands, yea, hundreds of -thousands, have they come to war against us, and to -perish on the Circassian hills, until the very soil has -been drenched in their blood, and fattened by the -bones of men and horses! But my emotions carry -me away, gentlemen, and I am forgetting my own -story." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah—yes, the story," said Jack, refilling the -stranger's glass, and pushing the decanters towards -me, while our new friend began, as nearly as I can -remember, in the following words. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVI. -<br /><br /> -OSMAN RIONI -</h3> - -<p> -Bismillah! there is but one God, and Mohammed is -His prophet; and on earth He is the powerful hand -of Him who moveth the stars, who giveth light to the -sun, and throweth darkness on the souls of the -Russian unbelievers. -</p> - -<p> -I am a Circassian, and, consequently, a Mohammedan, -being a native of those districts of the Caucasus -which have waged a ceaseless war with Russia—I -mean that portion of our mountains which lies -between Tamrook and the strong fortress of Anapa, -whose ramparts are washed by the waves of the -Euxine Sea. We are all soldiers from our birth; thus, -out of a population of three hundred thousand souls, -our tribe can at any time muster fifty thousand -warriors, well mounted on fleet Caucasian horses, and -well armed, after our own fashion, in coats of mail, -with musket, bow and pistol, sabre, dagger, and -cartridge box; men, brave and handsome, and stubborn -as their native rocks—men to whom danger is a -pastime, and death but the door to Paradise. -</p> - -<p> -Thus the mountaineers of the Caucasus, though -mustering only about two millions of souls, have -never stooped before a conqueror; but, in the face of -all the world, have hurled back the legions of the -Russian Empire, and maintained against it a struggle -for fifty years—a struggle which, when our valour and -disparity of numbers on one side are contrasted with -the ferocity and overwhelming force on the other, -has no parallel in the history of the modern world. -The Russians name us the Tcherkesses, which means -literally "those who bar the way;" for never did -a foreign host leave their cursed foot-prints, on the -summits of the Caucasus. -</p> - -<p> -Our mountains have become the ramparts of -Turkey and of Persia, as our Declaration of -Independence asserts; but they will become—unless we -are supported by Western Europe—the avenue to -both! We voluntarily submitted to the khans of the -Crimea, and afterwards to the sultans of Constantinople; -but, alas! we have lost the chiefs, whose -banners could have summoned a hundred thousand -warriors; yet now are we all, as one man, united in a -deep and undying hatred of Russia! She has built -forts on our territory, but dare her soldiers venture -a foot beyond their cannon? In short, sirs, Circassia -is free and independent; for neither the lying -maps of Russia, which are spread throughout the -world, and which mark the Caucasus as her territory, -nor words, nor arts can enslave us. Arms may do -it, but the steel has never yet been forged, nor the -cannon cast, that will make the proud Circassian -stoop his crest before the barbarous Russ! -Bismillah! The wild Tcherkesses are still free as the -stormy wind that sweeps from Azov down the -Euxine. -</p> - -<p> -My father Mostapha was a chief; the head of one -of those princely houses which are of Kabardian -descent; his will was a law to his people; and the -booty he took in his wars with the fierce Tartars and -faithless Muscovites was the reward of their fidelity. -We were Christians once—many ages ago—but it -pleased God to open our eyes to the blessed precepts -of Islam, and now we turn our faces to the Kaaba -when we pray. Many nobles followed the banner of -my father, whose territories extended along the base -of the mountain steppes, from Marinskoi to the banks -of the Kisselbash River; but one night, in the year -1807, the Russian General Goudivitch, with ten -thousand cavalry, burst among us; stormed Anapa, -and gave our men to the sword, our roofs to the -flames, and our children to the wolf and the eagle. -</p> - -<p> -My father fought long and nobly; the war was -desperate; the Russians impaled their prisoners, and -my father roasted his; but the tide of battle turned -against us. All our possessions became a prey to the -Russ, and our most beautiful damsels were given as -wives or handmaidens to those brutal Cossacks, -whom the merciless Goudivitch had brought from the -banks of the Don. Azrael spread his dusky wings -over our beautiful country; all the land was burned -up, and black as night—being waste as a garden -whose fruits have been gathered. -</p> - -<p> -Then the new chain of forts was built along the -Kuban. These marked the extended boundary of -the Russian territory, and the land of my father was -lost for ever; his bones lay unburied, where he had -fallen, sword in hand, on the threshold of his own -door, pierced by the same bayonets that slew his -faithful wife; and their three children, myself and -two brothers, sole heirs to his hopes and his harvest -of vengeance, received the bread of charity from -another Circassian tribe, the friendly Abassians, who -dwell between the mountains and the Euxine. -</p> - -<p> -Time rolled on, and from tending the flocks of the -Abassians as shepherd boys, my brothers Selim and -Karolyi grew strong and hardy men. The Abassians -told us of our father's fate, and we longed to avenge -it, and to recover our lost patrimony. Day after day -we spent our time in acquiring the perfect use -of arms, in talking of our hopes, our projects, and -desires; and often we looked with kindling eyes -towards those mountains, from whose summits the -Muscovite outposts were visible by the waters of the -Kuban; for dear as war and vengeance are the honour -of his race and country to the proud and free -Tcherkesse. -</p> - -<p> -We could soon ride the wildest Arab steeds, and -gallop them without bridle or saddle along giddy -rocks, and through the untrodden forest. None surpassed -us in the use of the sabre, the poniard, or the -pistol; few equalled Selim in handling the heavy -Albanian musket; while Karolyi was matchless in the -use of the Circassian sling; and in my hands, the -bow was as unerring as the best Frankish rifle. I -was older than my brave brothers by a few years, and -thus became, in somewise, their preceptor. We were -poor, but ardent and full of enthusiasm; we worked, -begged, and bartered—we were never satisfied until -each of us was possessor of a fleet and active barb, -a bright steel coat of mail; a helmet of tempered iron, -such as our warriors wear, and which covers all the face, -except the eyes and nose; a curved sabre of keen -Damascus steel; an Albanian musket; breast cases -to receive our cartridges; a sharp Circassian dagger, -and a Tartar bow: and when thus accoutred, our -hearts would swell with fierce emotion, as we reined -up our steeds upon the hills above Anapa, and shook -our lances in defiance at the Russian steamers and -frigates in the Euxine, while we longed for the time -when the war-cry of Islam would ring among the -hills, and we should behold the Sangiac Sheerif, the -green banner of our confederated princes, with its -three golden arrows and twelve white stars, unfurled -against the barbarous Emperor Nicholas Romanoff. -</p> - -<p> -We loved each other strongly, dearly, and devotedly, -my two brothers and I, for we were alone in the world, -the last of all our race. Being the eldest, they -frequently importuned me to marry, that I might have -children, and perpetuate our family; but I told them -to remember that it was the custom of our people for -a prince to wed the daughter of a prince; a noble to -wed the daughter of a noble; a tocar to wed the -daughter of a tocar; and the poor serf to wed the -daughter of a serf. That I was neither prince nor -tocar, noble nor serf, and could not marry, being too -poor to wed one in the rank of my father, and too -proud to stoop to a maiden beneath it. "Besides," -I told them, "we have other duties to perform than -espousing wives, which are ever a barrier to freedom -of thought in peace, and bravery of action in war; -for the blessed Prophet said, that wives and children -were barriers to the performance of great deeds. -God knoweth all things, and will direct the heart of -Osman. I will not marry yet awhile, my brothers; -for it is written that marriage disturbs a man from his -duty—the wedded care for the things of this world, -even as the unwedded care for those of heaven; and -so we must watch and pray for our country, to defend -her from the infidel Russians, who, like accursed -locusts, blacken all the shores of the Kuban." Then -my brothers Selim and Karolyi kissed me on both -cheeks, applauding my resolution; and once more -we shook our gauntletted hands in fierce menace -towards the ramparts of Anapa. -</p> - -<p> -But ere long there occurred circumstances which -altered my resolution; for before the eyes of a -beautiful woman the strongest heart is weak as -water. -</p> - -<p> -One evening I was riding on the mountain slopes -that overlook the waters of the Euxine. The last -rays of evening were lingering on their peaks, and -shedding a golden tint upon the waves that rolled -away towards the cliffs of the Crimea. At my feet -lay Sundjik Bay, glittering in the blaze of light that -steeped sea, sky, and shore. The snow-white walls -of Anapa, which crown rocks a hundred feet in -height, were gleaming in the yellow sunshine, and -grimly the black iron cannon peered through the -stone embrasures, or over the ramparts of -smoothly-shorn grass. -</p> - -<p> -The flat-capped Russian sentinels, muffled in their -gray great-coats walked to and fro upon their posts; -and each time they turned I saw their bayonets flash -above the two square towers that guard the great -arched entrance. Over all was the white flag with -the Muscovite cross, but there was no wind to spread -its folds upon the evening sky, and it hung about the -staff listlessly and still; not a blade of grass stirred -on the mighty plain of the Kuban, which spread far -away towards the north, silent as a land of the dead. -Under my iron helmet, grimly I surveyed Anapa and -the rocks of Taman, and panted for the time when -the standard of the twelve confederated princes of -Circassia would be planted there, and when the -black cross of the God-abandoned Russ would be -torn down and steeped in the blood of its defenders. -</p> - -<p> -My heart was full of fierce and fiery thoughts, when -suddenly the cry of a woman, ringing upon the clear -air of the hot summer eve, fell on my ear, and I reined -up my horse—the same winch I have now on board -with me—my noble Zuyi, to listen. -</p> - -<p> -"Yani, Yani!" cried a despairing voice, which in -our language means "mother, mother!" -</p> - -<p> -I spurred Zupi over a hillock, and perceived four -Russian soldiers of the Tenginski infantry, then -garrisoning Anapa, dragging along a Circassian woman, -who made no resistance, but cried piteously for -mercy. -</p> - -<p> -Uttering a shout of anger and defiance, I lowered -my lance, and rushed upon them without a moment of -hesitation. -</p> - -<p> -They immediately relinquished their prey, who sank -senseless on the ground, while they betook them to -their muskets, crying,— -</p> - -<p> -"Death to the Tcherkesse! down with the unbeliever!" -and all four fired upon me at once; but God, -the common father of all mankind (except the -Russians) protected me. One bullet tore the plume from -my helmet, another was turned by the fluted pockets -which (in lieu of cartridge boxes) we wear across our -breasts, the others whistled harmlessly past me, and -before one of these soldiers could reload or club his -weapon I was upon them. The first two I speared, -and hurled to the earth like ripe pumpkins; a third, -I trampled under the hoofs of Zupi; and afterwards -slew at my leisure; the fourth sprung over a ruined -wall and escaped me, but for a few minutes only, as I -pinned him to the earth by an arrow, but he rose and -staggered away. This man was named Archipp -Osepoff, of whom more anon. -</p> - -<p> -I now dismounted, and, throwing the bridle over -the neck of my docile Zupi, approached the insensible -female I had rescued. -</p> - -<p> -She was attired in the richest fashion of our Circassian -damsels. A robe of costly silk open in front, -and confined at her slender waist by a glittering -girdle of silver; trowsers of the finest pink muslin; -and the red slippers on her pretty feet were -embroidered with gold; a turban, composed of the most -delicate shawl, fell in graceful folds over her small -and beautiful neck, and a large veil of lace entwined -with silver, enveloped her whole person, and floated -like a white mist about her. -</p> - -<p> -This I dared to draw aside that the air might play -upon her face, and so revive her. Oh, Mahmoud -resoul allah! the beauty of our women is proverbial, -and as you know, gentlemen, the world acknowledges -it; but how shall I describe the loveliness of this -Circassian damsel, who proved to be the flower of the -Abassian maids? Her complexion was of the purest -white, the result of excessive delicacy, and perhaps of -that seclusion which was necessary to conceal her from -the prying eyes of the Russian soldiers, or of the -trading Turks; and this paleness of skin, when -contrasted with the blackness of her massive braids of -hair, was almost startling. Her eyes were also dark, -but beautiful and dove-like in expression, for a -languishing gentleness was in every feature, and over all -her form. She was but a girl; yet so full, round, and -tall, that for the house of the sultan I had seen many -thousand piastres paid for an odalisque, who was -unfit to kiss even her slipper. Basilia was among -the most beautiful of our Circassian maids, or, as -Schamyl calls them, the daughters of the rocks and -streams. -</p> - -<p> -She soon recovered on perceiving that she was free -and that the protecting arm of a Circassian was -around her; but she tremblingly drew the veil over -her face, as I led her by the hand from the spot where -her late capturers lay dead on the sward, with their -blood congealing beneath them. -</p> - -<p> -"It pleased the Prophet to send me to your aid, -fair damsel," said I; "are there any other means by -which I can serve you?" -</p> - -<p> -For a time she could only reply by incoherencies -and with profuse thanks, for her mind was bewildered -by terror and agitation. -</p> - -<p> -"Fear nothing, maiden," said I, "for a strong hand -and a stout heart are at your service. I am Osman, -whose people dwelt by the Kisselbash River; you have -heard of me, perhaps?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Aga——" -</p> - -<p> -"Alas! no Aga am I; but a poor outcast, whose -sword and bow are his sole inheritance; yet you have -heard of me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and of your two brothers, Selim and Karolyi, -for to them and to you the people look as leaders when -war is made on the Muscovites." -</p> - -<p> -"As soon it must be, maiden; and then I hope -to see the ramparts of yonder fortress of Anapa -flung into the Euxine. But may I ask your -name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia," she replied, in a low voice, and drew her -veil yet closer. -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia, the daughter of Abdallah ibn Obba, the -rich merchant of Soudjack Kaleh, who is said to be -making pyramids of gold by trading with Tartars of -the Crimea, and exporting from Sampsoon the copper -of Tocat, and the silks and fruit of Amasia?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am the daughter of Abdallah, and, rich though -he is, I assure you he is yet poor in his own idea; for -neither the Prophet nor the santons can bound my -father's idea of wealth; but convey me to him, and -for the good deed of to-day, he will reward you, noble -Osman, by the most gorgeous suit of armour, the -richest weapons, and the noblest horse a Tcherkesse -warrior ever possessed." -</p> - -<p> -"I seek no reward; let the horse and armour be -given to some poor patriot who is without them; I -seek no reward, Basilia," I continued, with enthusiasm, -"beyond your own approbation and the memory that -I have this day done a kind, and, it may be, a gallant -deed, in rescuing you from the fate which those sons -of the devil had in store for you; but how came you -into their hands?" -</p> - -<p> -"We had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the -Santon Seozeres among the mountains, when we fell -in with these marauders; my father's aged hands were -unable to protect me; he was struck to the earth; -his reverend beard was spat on, and his turban torn -off and flung in his face, while I was dragged from -the arms of my terrified attendants; but see, Osman -Rioni, they are now approaching us, and behold my -father." -</p> - -<p> -She uttered a cry of joy, and rushed to meet the -old merchant Abdallah ibn Obba, who now came forward -on horseback, with rage, alarm, and grief in his -eyes, and his great turban awry. He corroborated -her story, saying, that having a large ship, which had -long been delayed on her voyage from Stamboul, he -had paid a propitiatory visit to the tomb of Seozeres, -the most famous and powerful of Circassian Santons, -and the object of especial reverence by all merchants, -seamen, and dwellers on the coast; for the waves and -winds are reputed to be under his subjection, and the -storm and the thunderbolt are alike at his disposal; -thus we celebrate his festival in the early days of -spring, and when on this mission had Abdallah and -his daughter fallen among the Russians. -</p> - -<p> -He gave me innumerable promises of remembrance -and regard (which he took especial care to forget), -and made his horse curvet several times over the dead -Russians, which seemed to console him mightily, and -smoothing his ruffled beard, he muttered,— -</p> - -<p> -"Death to them! death to them! the unbelievers, -the dogs, the infidels! They shall be destroyed like -the wicked people of Noah and of Lot, and like the -army of Abraha, lord of the Elephant; and their -false gods and pretended saints of brass and of silver -shall perish with them! Unless a fear of the Russ -prevent thee, Osman Rioni, I shall be glad to see -thee in Soudjack Kaleh, where a carpet and pipe, -with a cup of such coffee as Basilia alone can -prepare, will be at the service of her preserver; and -so, God and Merissa take thee into their holy keeping." -</p> - -<p> -With these words we separated; the old merchant -and his daughter remounted on her own horse, rode -slowly away until they disappeared in the deepening -shades of evening; while I remained motionless, and -watching them, with a wild, sad beating in my heart, -for the face of Basilia seemed yet before me, and her -voice was lingering in my ear. -</p> - -<p> -She was gone, but my soul went with her. -</p> - -<p> -Full, round, and red as a Tartar shield, the moon -rose above the Isle of Taman to light the waters of -the Euxine; the mountains flung their black shadows -upon each other; the lurid glow-worm glittered on -the dewy grass, and the snakes began to hiss among -the long reeds; while the fierce vultures hovered in -the starry sky, with their keen eyes fixed on the grim -banquet I had made for them; and I heard their -hoarse croak of impatience, for I lingered long on the -spot where Abdallah and his daughter had left me. -</p> - -<p> -Several days passed away. Men spoke much of -the coming struggle with the Russians; my brave -brothers were as usual training their horses, -tempering their weapons, casting bullets, and pointing -arrows; I alone was silent, and full of soft, sad -thoughts—melancholy, happy, and anxious by turns; -for my whole breast was filled by the image of Basilia. -</p> - -<p> -I visited her father by stealth, for this old man was -one who had temporised with the Russians, and paid -them a tribute that he might dwell in peace under -the cannon of Soudjack; but I found him gloomy, -thoughtful, and discontented; his ship had been -stranded on the Isle of Serpents, in the Black Sea, -and sunk with all her crew, and what was of more -importance to Abdallah, with her rich bales of Indian -silks, of cashmere shawls, of amber pipes, and other -valuables with which she was freighted. This isle, -the only one in the Euxine, is infested by serpents of -enormous size, say our voyagers. These guard its -boundless treasures and devour all who attempt to -land; thus Abdallah ibn Obba abandoned in grief all -hope of recovering a vestige of his property. -</p> - -<p> -He received me morosely, and after smoking a pipe -and drinking with him a cup of coffee, which we -received from the white, gentle hands of Basilia, who -was enveloped as before in her veil of lace, I departed, -happy that I had seen but the tips of her dear fingers -once again; happy that I had been under the roof of -her father, and happy that for one brief hour I had -shared a corner of his carpet, and breathed the same -atmosphere with one so beautiful and so well-beloved -as she. -</p> - -<p> -Again and again I came to visit Abdallah; for -alas! I no longer sighed for the unfurling of our -green standard against the Russ; I only counted the -days and hours till again I should visit the house of -the merchant at Soudjack. -</p> - -<p> -Secluded as the old man kept Basilia—for he -deemed her his last and most valuable estate—a piece -of property on which he could at any time realise a -thousand piastres in the Stamboul market—we had -nightly interviews; for what are the difficulties that -love cannot surmount? I had discovered that her -chamber window opened into old Abdallah's garden; -its wall was easily crossed, and then three notes on my -lute were the signal which brought Basilia to me; -but she was beyond arm's length, and I never dared -to climb, though, had the wealth of Ormuz been mine, -I had given it all to have kissed but once her hand. -Yet, until she was bestowed upon me by her father, -what hope had I of ever doing so? -</p> - -<p> -In the wild and half-civilised countries of the East, -a lover invests his mistress with a thousand imaginary -attributes, such as a lover of Europe or the West can -never do. The seclusion in which we keep our -women, the danger and risk of approaching or even -speaking of them to their nearest relations, all -enhance the charm, the secresy, and the romance of an -Oriental love; and thus, with such a heart as mine, it -became an all-absorbing and engrossing passion, in -which to be without hope was to be without life. -Hourly I exclaimed to myself,— -</p> - -<p> -"Bismillah! oh, Osman, happy thou to win a heart -like hers!" for Basilia responded as warmly as she -dared, or as I could have desired. -</p> - -<p> -Nightly we conversed in whispers, and had our -interchange of love-letters; not that poor Basilia wrote, -or that I then could write; alas, no! Our letters -were simply flowers, tied together with a ribband, -and in this symbolical language we conferred. It is a -language lovers easily learn, and the Circassian sooner -than all. I ransacked the bazaars of the Armenians -and Muscovites for gaudy trinkets and perfumes, as -presents for Basilia; and fearless of the Russ, I daily -caracoled my horse—my Zupi—before her father's -house, that she might see me attired in the glittering -arms and splendid costume of a Circassian cavalier; -and happy was I—oh, how happy! if but once I saw -the muslin-veiled form of my beautiful Basilia. At -her feet I laid the shawls of Cashmere and the beads -of Bokhara. She gave me a waist-belt embroidered -by herself, and a morocco breast-pocket to hold my -cartridges, in return. -</p> - -<p> -Summoning up courage, I one day put on my most -splendid habiliments; my coat of mail, which shone -like water in the sun; a helmet of steel, damascened -by my own hands; and I armed myself with weapons -which, like every Tcherkesse warrior, I had tempered -and ornamented with silver and precious stones, all -by my own skill. Bathed, perfumed, and anointed, -I rode up to the door of Abdallah ibn Obba; and -while my heart trembled and died away within me, -and my colour came and went like that of a woman -under the bowstring, I asked his daughter in -marriage. He heard me in ominous silence. -</p> - -<p> -"May God be with thee, Abdallah," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"With thee be God," said he, and paused again, -on which I timidly rehearsed all I had said. -</p> - -<p> -The old merchant, who was seated on a rich carpet, -with his legs folded under him, and a split reed, -ink-horn, and piles of papers and accounts on one side -of him, and his fragrant narguillah on the other, -heard me without moving a muscle of his solemn -visage; and after smoking for some time, drew the -yellow mouthpiece from his mustachioed lips, and -shaking his bushy beard, replied to me, slowly,— -</p> - -<p> -"May you be saluted, O Osman Rioni! No—no, -Osman, this cannot be! The son of a prince weds a -prince's daughter, even as a slave weds the daughter -of a slave. Thus, the rich give their children in -marriage only to the rich, and thou, Osman, art very -poor. Remember, that this daughter may yet be a -mine of wealth to me." -</p> - -<p> -I knew what the old wretch meant by these -words—the market of Stamboul—and my blood ran cold. -</p> - -<p> -"Her beauty," he resumed, "is a miracle, and her -birth was also a miracle; hence sho was born for -great purposes, and may yet be a source of delight to -him who wears the sword of Omar, our Lord the -Sultan Abdul Medjid—who can tell? She was born -of my first wife, Tsha; when she was old, stricken in -years, and hopelessly barren, on seeing a hen feed her -chickens one day, her heart was moved; she wept and -prayed the holy Prophet to give her a little child in -her old age, whereupon she had Basilia in the fulness -of time; so thus I tell thee, she was born for great -things. Enough, enough, Osman Rioni, go thy ways, -for thou art very poor." -</p> - -<p> -"True, father," said I, while my heart became -chilled with despair; "I am poor, and my brothers -Selim and Karolyi are also poor, for we have no -inheritance but the name of our father, and what we -can wrench in combat from the enemies of our -country, and for every meal of food we have to fight -the convoys of the Russ on the mountain, or the wild -beasts in the forest; but a time is at hand when I -shall have all my father's patrimony again, when the -forts of the Kuban shall lie in ruins by its shore, -while the wolf shall batten on the bones of their -defenders. A time shall come when I may ride from -the grassy steppes of Marinskoi to the reedy flow of -the Kisselbash River, lord of all the land my father -bequeathed to me, with this sword, when the Russian -bayonets were clashing in his heart!" -</p> - -<p> -"God is great," replied the merchant, calmly; -"when that time comes return, and seek my -daughter, but not till then." -</p> - -<p> -He replaced the amber tube of the narguillah in -his mouth, waved his hand to indicate that he wished -to hear no more on the subject, and dismissed me, -with a heart swollen by grief and mortification. I -felt how low the son of Mostapha was fallen when a -miserable trader despised his alliance! God of -Mohammed, had we come to this? -</p> - -<p> -As I rode slowly back to the poor village where -with my brothers I dwelt on the hills above Anapa, -I revolved a thousand schemes of daring and conquest; -for Basilia was now to me a light—a star—a -guide; but between us I saw the dark battalions -and the strong ramparts of the abhorred Russians, -and worse than all, the cunning and the avarice of her -selfish father. Could I repel one, or bound the -other? -</p> - -<p> -When riding slowly on I saw a raven in my path, -and shuddering at the bird of ill omen, turned aside, -for I knew it was a sign of coming evil; because -there is an old tradition in the countries of the East, -that Cain, after committing fratricide, became sorely -troubled in mind, and bore about with him for many -days the dead body of his brother, until Heaven -taught him how to bury it, by the example of a raven, -which after killing another in his presence dug a little -pit for it by beak and talon; and so scraping a hole -with his hands, Cain interred his brother at the foot -of a palm, whose branches heretofore erect drooped -mournfully for ever after. Then the murderous -raven which had perched itself on a branch thereof -flew away to Adam, and croaked huskily in his ear -that his youngest born was now slain and buried, and -from that hour the raven has been a bird of evil -augury to all the world. And now my heart became -a prey to a thousand dark and gloomy forebodings. -The bird had not come to me for nought. -</p> - -<p> -I prayed Merissa, the mother of God, to take Basilia -under her protection, for, like the Christians, we -believe in the intercession of a woman, though, -perhaps, her name is but a remnant of the faith that was -first preached to the Circassians before the banner -of the blessed Prophet swept the gods of error from -the shores of the Caspian Sea. -</p> - -<p> -Night was closing as I ascended the mountain, -when suddenly from a gorge there rose that wild and -terrible yell which is the war-cry of Circassia; and -led by Schamyl, the conquering, the holy Murid -Schamyl, a host of mounted warriors, all clad in -shirts of shining steel and round helmets, armed -with lance and musket, bow and sabre, each with a -bag of millet and bottle of skhou slung at his saddle -for service, dashed their fleet horses through the -narrow way, and above their heads waved the green -standard of the confederated princes with its three -golden arrows and twelve white stars—the Sangiac -Sheerif—the sacred banner of our people, for green -is the colour of the Prophet. -</p> - -<p> -Selim and Karolyi were among them, and they -sprang to my side with joy and ardour. -</p> - -<p> -A vast Russian army of horse, foot, and artillery, -they told me, had just passed the shores of the -Kuban, and entered among the mountains; Schamyl, -the holy murids who devote themselves to death, and -all our confederated princes, had summoned the land to -battle, and every man between the straits of Yenikale -and the Mingrelian frontier was in arms for Circassia -Thus opened the Christian year 1840, so memorable -to us by the capture of all the frontier forts of the -Russians by our arms, but chiefly those of Mikhailov -and Nikhailovska. -</p> - -<p> -The excitement, the glory, and the splendour of -our mountain host equipped for war, with the hopes of -conquest and of triumph, filled my soul with such -ardour and exultation that my emotion nearly overcame -me. The hope of winning back in this war, if -it was successful, the land, the home, and the grave -of my forefathers, and with these the flower of the -Abassian maids for my bride, made me pant for the -hour of battle with such ardour as never bridegroom -awaited the unveiling of his new-made wife. -</p> - -<p> -The great Dervish Mohammed Mansoor, from the -misty land of Daghestan, had foretold our triumph -when he died at Anapa, and we never doubted we -should be victorious. -</p> - -<p> -Over my father's fugitive people a command was -assigned me by the confederated princes; my -brothers, Selim and Karolyi, rode by my side; all who -followed us shared our ardour, and we were brave -even to ferocity: thus, pouring down from the -snow-capped Alps of the Caucasus towards the hosts of the -Russ, then blackening and desolating the banks of -the Kuban, while their fleets of three deckers and -steamers scared the golden dolphins from our shores, -we commenced the desperate war of 1840. -</p> - -<p> -I was full of delicious hope, and the last words of -Basilia, for I had visited her in secret before we -marched, were ever in my ears,— -</p> - -<p> -"Hope for everything from Heaven, O Osman. -The angels of Mohammed will deliver you from the -swords of the Russians, and like all, my beloved, -who fight against the spirit, they shall wither and -perish!" -</p> - -<p> -Her prophetic words inspired me with new ardour. -</p> - -<p> -"Farewell, Basilia," I exclaimed, as I grasped the -mane of Zupi; "we go to teach those Muscovite -liars who mark our country in their maps that the -Circassians have no masters save God and the -Prophet." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVII. -<br /><br /> -THE HUSSARS OF TENGINSKI -</h3> - -<p> -How we swept the land of Kisliar, continued the -Circassian captain; how we baffled the foe beneath -the towers of Dargo; how Schamyl the Immortal did -prodigies of valour at Unsorilla and destroyed the -army of Count Woronzoff, the Governor of New -Russia, one hundred and fifty thousand in number, -whose bones yet lie in the forest of Itzkeri; how we -fought with desperation, neither asking nor giving -quarter, and how we hurled the Russians from the -slopes of the Caucasus back upon the shores of the -Kuban, where they lay unburied save by the jaws of -the wolf and eagle, torn and disembowelled by -hungry dogs, all Europe knows full well; and how -successive armies, full of barbarous pride and military -and religious enthusiasm, horsemen, artillery, and -infantry—hussars and Cossacks, Kurds and Tartar -hordes, who had stooped their necks to Russia's iron -yoke, entered the valleys of Circassia, valleys which -seem but dark chasms or fissures where the branches -of the Koissons roar and leap from rock to rock -in northern Daghestan, and there they perished, too, -beneath the bullet and the arrow, the spear and sling -of the unconquerable Tcherkesses. It was my -brother Selim who slew General Woinoff; it was -Karolyi who stormed the redoubts and spiked his cannon: -and it was I who hewed off the head of the gallant -soldier Passek, and bore it for three days on my -spear. -</p> - -<p> -In this year of the Christians, 1840, I commanded -that portion of the Circassian troops which besieged -the Russians in the fort of Mikhailov. They -defended themselves with the blind fury of men who -foresaw their doom was death! Selim pressed them -with three thousand men on one side; Karolyi, with -the same number, pressed them on the other; while -I, with a chosen band of four thousand archers, -slingers, and musketeers, plied them from every -quarter with incessant missiles. Selim cut off the -sluices which supplied them with water, and Karolyi -stormed their outworks, tore down their stockades, and -beheaded every defender whom they caught by the -lasso. -</p> - -<p> -But Heaven has put much valour into the hearts of -these infidels; hence, though reduced to the verge of -starvation (having picked the bones of their last horse, -and stewed their boot-tops and leather shakoes), their -commander, Ivan Carlovitch, colonel of the Tenginski -Hussars, resolved to make one gallant effort to -escape, for his soldiers had with them several old -standards, which the Russians regard as almost holy. -</p> - -<p> -His garrison was composed of the 37th or Tenginski -Grenadiers; the 38th or Novoginski Regiment, -which carried the famous banner of St. George, the -same that had been with their predecessors at the -passage of the Alps, and which waved on the field of -Trebbia, where they fought under Suvaroff. He -had also two battalions of the Imperial Guard, whose -tattered and shot-riven standards had waved on many -a bloody plain, and been clenched in the dying grasp -of many a gallant man. -</p> - -<p> -Their desire of preserving these trophies was only -second to the hope of escape; for the standard is -ever the palladium of a regiment, even as the -National Insignia are the palladium of a free people, -and, as such, should be preserved from degradation. -</p> - -<p> -Perceiving that, fearless of his cannon—those -terrors of the simple Circassians, who name them the -great pistols of the Czar—I had made every disposition -for an assault, which must have been successful, -the valiant Ivan Carlovitch led out his shattered -garrison among us, sword in hand; and, favoured by a -dark and tempestuous night, escaped with a few, but -a few only; for by sabre and by musket we made a -fearful slaughter among the soldiers of the Novoginski -Regiment, and taking their famous banner of -St. George, tore it to fragments, and spitting upon -these, trampled them to the earth in blood and mire. -</p> - -<p> -Thanks to the Prophet and to my coat of mail, -uncounted balls and bayonets touched me without harm. -Above the roar of that red musketry which lit the -darkness with its streaky gleams; above the howling -of the wind, which tore through every mountain -gorge; above the cheers of the desperate, and the -shrieks of the dying, the wild, shrill, and unearthly -war-cry of the Circassians ascended to the throne of -Mohammed; and the approach to the breach was like -the bridge of hell, as we rushed through the battered -gates to take possession of the fortress; but at the -moment that the 'enceinte,' or interior wall which -surrounded the place, and was composed of bastions -faced with brick, was crowded by our flushed and -exulting warriors, a tremendous explosion was heard -the earth gaped, and rocked, and rent; then it rose -beneath our feet; a broad, hot, scorching blaze of fire -surrounded me, and blown up by a concealed mine of -powder, the whole fort of Mikhailov, with more than -two thousand Circassians, was torn from its -foundations, and swept on the whirlwind along the -mountain slopes. -</p> - -<p> -Struck down by a stone in the moment of victory -I became senseless, and remember no more of that -night of horrors! -</p> - -<p> -Heaven, I have said, has put great valour into the -hearts of these unbelievers. -</p> - -<p> -Archipp Ossepoff, the same grenadier of the -Tenginski Regiment whom I had wounded by an arrow -and from whom I had rescued Basilia, volunteered to -remain behind his comrades; and in order to prevent -the fort from being of service to the confederated -princes, laid his hands solemnly on the standard of -St. George, and promised to Ivan Carlovitch, that he -would fire the magazine—a noble act of self-sacrifice -and military enthusiasm. This man of course perished -with Mikhailov, and with our people; but in order to -commemorate this act of valour and devotion, the -Emperor Nicholas ordained that his name should be -continued on the muster-roll of the Tenginski -Grenadiers; that it should be called daily on parade, and -that on the sergeant summoning "Archipp Ossepoff," -the next grenadier on the list should answer— -</p> - -<p> -"Dead at Mikhailov for the glory of Russia!" -</p> - -<p> -When I recovered, I found myself lying on the hillside, -many yards from the fort, the site of which -resembled the crater of the volcano; for it seemed as if -the powder had rent, torn, and blackened the bosom -of the earth, in its efforts to efface the fort for ever. -The free soft wind of the Caucasus was passing over -the ruins; above me the sky was bright, and blue, and -sunny; the birds were twittering among the mangled -bodies of the slain; and about those ghastly heaps, -or between their piles of arms and limbered -field-pieces, the Russian soldiers (whom the flight of our -people had left in possession of the locality) were -laughing and singing, as they drained their canteens -of sour quass, and prepared to cook their breakfasts, -and to bury the dead. -</p> - -<p> -Around us, the scenery was beautiful; there were -summer woods in all their heavy foliage; the terraced -vineyards of lighter green, screened by the dense and -wiry pine; little cottages and pretty mosques, with -gilded minars shining in the sun; bright streams -dancing down the rocks; the sea, blue as the sky and -rippling gently in the wind; while in the back-ground -of all, rose hills piled up on hills, until their steeps -reached Heaven, and every peak was capped with -pure white snow, or tipped by a golden gleam. -</p> - -<p> -Close by me a group of Russian officers were -seated around one, who, by his dark green uniform, -his heavy silver epaulettes and jack-boots; his -varnished leather helmet surmounted by an eagle; his -enormous mustache and cruel expression of eye, I -knew to be Ivan Carlovitch; and I lay still and feigning -death, believing that my fate would be sealed, if -life was discovered in me. -</p> - -<p> -They were loud in their praises of the Circassian -leader—myself—and expressed a great desire to capture -me; others added their less friendly hopes that I -had perished in the explosion. -</p> - -<p> -"It is fortunate, however," said Carlovitch, "that -we have taken his two brothers, Selim and Karolyi; -they, at least, have a long march before them towards -the north; and, believe me, that among the snows -there, with a chain to drag, and the occasional prick -of a Cossack lance in the rear, their hot rebellious -blood will soon be cooled in Siberia, and rendered -mild as commissariat quass." -</p> - -<p> -Under their shaggy beards the officers laughed at -this poor joke, which made my heart almost die -within me, for it acquainted me, that my two brothers, -Selim and Karolyi, were captives, and that Siberia -would be their doom. -</p> - -<p> -A soldier now approached to announce that the -body of Archipp Ossepoff had been found, shattered, -scorched, and sorely mangled, but still recognisable -by the medals which he had won in the Polish war. -</p> - -<p> -"Then let him be buried apart from all the rest," -said Carlovitch, "with all honour, and let a cross -mark the spot; but first, let us put all these fellows -who are lying about here under ground, before the -sun attains its noon-day heat." -</p> - -<p> -While lying there, receiving an occasional kick -from the passing soldiers, who had long since stripped -me of my splendid arms, armour, and ornaments, how -terrible were my thoughts when the fierce, rough, -and merciless Cossacks proceeded to open a trench -beside me, and dug it deep to receive the dead. I -endeavoured to stifle reflection, believing that my last -hour had come; and after praying—for prayer is the -pillar of religion, even as the sword is the true key -of paradise—I bent my thoughts upon Basilia, who -was far away at Soudjack Kaleh, and seated then -perhaps in her rose garden, fanning herself with -feathers, and weeping for the poor Osman she would -never again behold on earth. -</p> - -<p> -At last the grave was finished, and one by one the -dead were flung therein, and laid in rows head and -foot alternately; how heavily they fell, with their -lifeless limbs and clanking accoutrements! Suddenly I -felt myself seized by the neck and heels, and before -I could utter a sound, they flung me into that ghastly -trench on the gashed and bloody heap below, and -then the shovelled earth flew fast over me. -</p> - -<p> -"Stop—halt!" cried Ivan Carlovitch, who was -sitting on the sward close by, smoking a magnificent -pipe; "by St. George, that uppermost Tcherkesse is -alive yet!" -</p> - -<p> -"A matter easily repaired, my colonel!" said a -Russian, raising his shovel like a battle-axe to cleave -my head. -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, I say!" thundered Carlovitch, and at his -voice the bearded soldiers cowered like slaves before -a king; "fling him out, lay him on the sward, and -bring here a canteen of quass." -</p> - -<p> -This sharp, bitter draught revived me, and my -native pride coming to my aid, I stood erect, and -boldly confronted the imperialist. -</p> - -<p> -"Who the devil are you?" he asked -</p> - -<p> -I replied, proudly,— -</p> - -<p> -"Osman Rioni, the son of Mostapha. I might -have concealed my rank, but I scorn to lie, even unto -a race of liars." -</p> - -<p> -Joy flashed in the cruel and cunning eyes of Carlovitch -at this announcement; his surprise and satisfaction -at the importance of his third prisoner were -too great to leave space for anger at my speech. He -smiled, and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"Tcherkesse, your wants and your wounds, if you -have any, shall be faithfully and kindly attended to; -when in better humour I shall see you again, having -a little message to you from the emperor. Take him -away." -</p> - -<p> -I was conducted to an ancient tomb, under the dome -of which I found a Cossack guard, surrounding my -two brothers Selim and Karolyi, with several other -Circassians, who were all suffering more or less from -wounds or scorches ha the explosion. All were -dejected, and my appearance among them increased -their unhappiness. We communed in whispers, and -formed our plans for flight on the first opportunity. -</p> - -<p> -All that night we remained in the cold and dreary -tomb, which before morning some of our poor companions -exchanged for an actual grave, for they died -of their undressed wounds; but about sunrise, we -were drawn out by the Cossacks, who truncheoned us -with their lances, driving us like a herd of cattle; and -then their pioneers proceeded to dig a grave under -the dome, which was the resting-place of an ancient -king, a proceeding which we beheld with horror, for -every strict Mussulman deems sacred for ever the -little spot of earth which forms the last resting-place -of a departed being. -</p> - -<p> -Then the sound of muffled drums rolled upon the -wind and the wail of the Muscovite dead march, as -the funeral of Archipp Ossepoff approached; the -solemnity of the scene impressed us deeply, and we -forgot that it was by the mingled treachery and stern -devotion of this determined soldier we had lost -Mikhailov and our liberty together. -</p> - -<p> -Six grenadiers of the Tenginski Regiment bore on -their shoulders the coffin, the lid of which was off; -a veil of fine linen covered the body, which was -dressed in uniform, with cross-belts, boots, gloves, -epaulettes of red worsted and copper medals. The -head was borne forward, not the feet, as in other -countries. Then came four soldiers, bearing the -coffin lid, on which lay the leather helmet, the musket, -and knapsack of the deceased; then followed the -regiment of Tenginski Grenadiers, marching with -their arms reversed, and preceded by a grand military -band of brass trumpets and muffled drums. In front -of all marched a priest of the Russian Greek Church, -attired in magnificent vestments of muslin, gold, and -embroidery. His aspect was venerable; his white -beard was full and flowing; he chaunted as he went, -and sprinkled frankincense upon the path. -</p> - -<p> -A prayer, a roll upon the drums, and a flourish of -instruments with three volleys closed the ceremony, -and there lies Archipp Ossepoff in the tomb of a -Circassian prince; but his memory as a brave grenadier -is still cherished, as I have related, by the orders of -the emperor, and in the traditions of his comrades. -God rest that gallant spirit; he died for his country, -even as I would have died for mine. -</p> - -<p> -Pining for freedom and for the presence of Basilia, -dreading I scarcely knew what—but banishment to -Siberia more than anything else, for that had been -but a living death and a separation for ever from my -country and my love—three dreary months rolled -over me, and with my two brothers I still found -myself a prisoner with the Russian army of the Caucasus, -which marched along the left bank of the Kuban -towards the Sea of Azov, and consequently nearer to -my home. -</p> - -<p> -One day Colonel Carlovitch sent for me, and again -his face wore that deep and cunning smile which so -closely resembled a leer; for his eyes were cold and -snaky, even as his heart was stern and cruel. -</p> - -<p> -"I have sent for you, my valiant Tcherkesse," said -he, politely, "to make you a tempting offer from our -beneficent father the emperor. It is this. If you -will enter the Russian service, all your father's -possessions from Marinskoi to the mouth of the Kisselbash -River will be restored to you, with the title of -prince—neither of which can you ever hope to regain by the -impious sword you have drawn against the house of -Romanoff and the cause of Holy Russia." -</p> - -<p> -I rejected the offer with the scorn it merited, and -reminded the tempter, in the words of our "Declaration -of Independence," how many of our children had -been stolen; how many of our princes had thus been -lured away; how many sons of nobles taken as -hostages, and then butchered in cold blood; how -many noble houses had been reduced and crushed by -Russian treason and by Russian treachery; and lifting -up my hands, while I turned my face towards Mecca, -I was about to take a solemn vow, when interrupting -me, he said, with an icy smile,— -</p> - -<p> -"Enough, Osman Rioni—swear not—'t is needless! -To-morrow you and your brothers will commence the -long, long march to Siberia." -</p> - -<p> -At these words my soul trembled, and my head fell -upon my breast. The Russian officer still smiled and -continued to polish the eagle on his helmet, with his -leather glove, while whistling the popular waltz of the -Duchess Olga. -</p> - -<p> -Siberia! -</p> - -<p> -With that name, hope, love, liberty, my country -and her cause sank, and snow-covered wastes, with -chains and stripes, despair and death, rose up before -me. -</p> - -<p> -If once I reached Siberia, I should live the life of -the hopeless, and die the death of the despairing; -and my brothers—my poor brothers! The alternative -was terrible, but in the Russian service we should -daily have chances of escape to our native mountains; -so I accepted his offer in the name of myself, Selim, -and Karolyi. -</p> - -<p> -"I knew that you would think better of it," said -Carlovitch, sitting down in his tent, and writing a -memorandum; "thenceforward from this day, you are -a captain in the Tenginski Hussars, and your brothers -shall be the lieutenants of your troop. Allow me to -present you with a horse which was taken at -Mikhailov. You shall fight against the Tartars, not your -own people; but to-morrow I have a piece of service -to propose to you. Come here after morning parade -or at noon, and I shall tell you all about it—meantime -adieu." -</p> - -<p> -With a heart full of bitterness I left him, and careless -of the Cossacks, who still watched me, I took up -a handful of gravel and flung it towards his painted -tent, spying, as Mohammed did at Bedr,— -</p> - -<p> -"A curse upon thee, Muscovite—and a curse be on -every hair of the cur that begot thee! May thy face -be confounded for ever!" -</p> - -<p> -Whichever way I turned, his cold smile seemed -before me; but when I reached the tent in which my -brothers were confined, great was my pleasure to find -my favourite charger Zupi led up to the door by a -hussar, and I kissed and embraced my old friend, for -we Mussulmen deem the horse as the noblest of -animals next to man; and the Koran says, that the -beasts which traverse earth and air are creatures like -ourselves—they are all written in the Book, and shall -appear at the last day; so when I die, I hope to take -my faithful Zupi with me to paradise, even as Ezra -took his ass, after she had ceased to bray for a -hundred years. -</p> - -<p> -Like myself, at the first proposition of taking -service under the abhorred emperor, my brothers were -full of fierce scorn; but when I had calmly placed my -views before them, showing that we had no alternative -but military service, with its chances of escape on one -hand, and perpetual slavery, with its stripes on the -other, they condescended to accept the lieutenantcies -of my troop; and the next day—oh, may it be -accursed!—saw us attired in the green uniform of the -Tenginski Hussars, and on parade with Menschikoff's -division of the Caucasian army. -</p> - -<p> -In camp around us were bivouacked thousands of -the Russian infantry in their long great-coats and -flat round caps; the Cossacks of the Don with their -fleet, rough, and active horses, and all armed with long -lances; the horse regiments of Tchernemorski glittering -with jewels and embroidery, and the Imperial -Guard in their magnificent uniform. Around us rang -the clank of the armourer's anvil, the springing of -ramrods and fixing of flints; the limbering of -artillery and powder-waggons; the galloping of aides-de-camp; -the hewing down of palisades, and the plaiting -up of fascines, all of which told us of preparations -making for the subjugation of our country, and -we were amid it all, attired in the Russian uniform! -</p> - -<p> -At noon I sought the tent of Carlovitch. -</p> - -<p> -"My colonel," said I, veiling my boiling hatred -under a calm exterior, as with a solemn salaam I -raised a hand to the front of my fur hussar cap; -"you had a duty to propose to me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, my stubborn Tcherkesse; I am glad to find -that you have so easily learned the task of obedience, -as without it an army sinks into a rabble. Well, the -duty is this. There is an old fellow at Soudjack -Kaleh, who for some time past has traded with the -Tartars in various ways, and latterly with Turks in -salted fish and pretty women, both of which commodities -he exports largely to Stamboul, to the ancient -city of Trebizonde, and to Sinope." -</p> - -<p> -My heart began to leap at these words. -</p> - -<p> -"You mean Abdallah ibn Obba." -</p> - -<p> -"The same; but you start—do you know him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Intimately," said I; "and your purpose, O son of -a slave!" I had almost added. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Captain Rioni, this respectable old Tcherkesse -is now bargaining for the sale of a cargo of -slave girls for the Turkish market, and a small -Stambouli craft, which has long baffled the pursuit of our -steam corvettes and the row-boats of our Kreposts, is -now concealed in some creek near Mezip. Unfortunately -all our vessels are over on the Crimean side, -otherwise they would soon have found those Turkish -swine, who come to steal the subjects of our father -the emperor." -</p> - -<p> -Carlovitch gave another of his cold smiles, for he -perceived how my hot Circassian blood revolted on -hearing my people called the subjects of his emperor -I asked haughtily,— -</p> - -<p> -"Your orders, Colonel Carlovitch?" -</p> - -<p> -"You will select fifty of the Tenginski Hussars, and -as you and your brothers must know the country well, -search every creek and cranny of the coast until the -Turkish ship is found. She will be safely beached -somewhere, and when discovered, burn her; cut the -throats of the Turks, and bring the cargo of girls -here. You shall have a couple of the prettiest for -your trouble. The daughter of old Abdallah is -among them—Basilia, commonly known as the flower -of the Abassians. Archipp Ozepoff nearly brought me -that girl once before, but some rascal pierced him by -an arrow. Take especial care of her, for I am -resolved that no great bison of a Turk shall ever call -her slave. No, no, her bright eyes will sparkle all -the brighter among the green uniforms and silver -epaulettes of our Tenginski Hussars. See to all this; -you march in an hour, and till you return, farewell." -</p> - -<p> -Taking up a pen he resumed a dispatch which my -arrival had interrupted; and after standing for some -time, overwhelmed by confusion and the misery of -my own thoughts, I withdrew to the foot of a tree, -and sat down to reflect on the strange duty I had to -perform, and the startling tidings I had just heard. -</p> - -<p> -The image of my beautiful Basilia—for I assure -you, gentlemen, that the Circassian maid is the most -perfect and lovely creation of God—a prisoner, a -slave on board of a slave ship, and consigned a helpless -victim of the lust of the licentious Osmanli filled -my soul with a horror so great that I forgot my -present situation in my anxiety to discover this secret -ship, to free her, and to put to the edge of the sword -all who were concerned in a transaction so infamous. -I saw the whole affair now. The loss of the rich -argosy on the Isle of Serpents had brought the -difficulties of Abdallah to a crisis, and to retrieve his -broken fortune he had sold his only daughter to the -Turks! I invoked the curse of the Prophet, and of -the twelve Imaums on his avarice; and now my only -fear was great that the Turks might launch their -boat and escape me: thus it was that with an ardour -such as I never thought to feel at the head of Russian -troops, I rode from the camp at the head of fifty -hussars, with my two brothers by my side; and we -galloped along the sea-shore, with all our brilliant -appointments glittering in the splendour of the setting -sun of Asia. -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia, my pure, my beautiful! this night may -make thee mine," thought I; "one stroke of a sabre -may give what thy father would not have sold to me, -perhaps, for a million of piastres." -</p> - -<p> -I am ashamed to own that our Circassian beauties -too often exchange with joy the penury of their -fathers' cottages and the hardships of their frugal -mountain homes, for the luxury and delight of the -Stambouli Kiosks and seraglios. From early childhood -their ears are filled, and their warm imaginations -fired, with ideas of the riches and pleasure of these -places, and by the stories of their mothers, or more -generally their aunts, who have returned (when their -Osmanli lords grew weary of their faded charms) -loaded with magnificent jewels, with purses of sequins, -and wardrobes of the richest stuffs the world can -produce, and with many a tale to tell of the -distinguished part they had played by their native -superiority of intellect over the ponderous and dreamy -Asiatic. To purchase our girls the Turkish vessels -row by night along the shore, and seek some wooded -creek where they lie concealed from the steamers and -cruisers of the Russian Black Sea fleet, and from the -squadrons of Cossack row-boats attached to the -Kreposts; then the bargain is concluded, and the girls, -who are always the most beautiful daughters of serfs -and freemen, are embarked, after a month, perhaps, -has been spent in bartering and chaffering between -the merchants on one hand, and their parents on the -other.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* It is calculated that one vessel out of six is taken. In the -winter of 1843-4, twenty-eight ships left the coast of Asia -Minor for Circassia, to purchase girls; twenty-three returned -safely; three only were burned by the Russians, and two were -swallowed by the waves.—WAGNER -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -As the distance increased between us and the -Russian camp my brothers looked with longing eyes -towards our native hills, between whose misty peaks -a flood of golden light was falling on the waving -woods and on the rolling sea; and now they began to -whisper and exchange glances of intelligence. Their -minds were full of the pledge we had lately made to -ourselves, that we would fly the hated yoke of -Russia on the first opportunity; but this was no easy -task, believe me, watched as we were by our own -suspicious soldiers. At this time my whole soul was -full of Basilia, and in the hope of freeing, of winning, -and of loving her, even Circassia and her wrongs -were forgotten for a time—God of the Prophet, but -only for a time! -</p> - -<p> -By a telescope I could see afar off the wild woods -in which I had wandered when a boy, and the familiar -mountain peaks up which I had clambered when -fighting with the Muscovite riflemen, or hunting the -boar and jerboa. I could see the bright gleam of -steel and the flashing of chain armour between the -shady oaks; for there armed bands were hovering, and -there the Tartar bow, the Albanian gun, the Circassian -lance, and the crooked sabre, awaited the Muscovite -invader; and there the holy banner of the twelve -stars waved above the tent of the glorious Schamyl. -Watched as we were by the very men we led, flight, as -I have said, was hopeless; but then I had no thought of -flight even when within a cannon-shot of armed -Circassian bands which we could see with their camels -laden with women, children, and household goods, -clambering up the hills to avoid the Kalmuck scouts -and Cossack foragers. -</p> - -<p> -As the night darkened we saw lurid flames shooting -up between the mountain clefts; and while our fierce -hussars muttered in guttural Russ and laughed under -their matted beards, the hearts of my brothers and -myself grew sad, for we knew that the Tchernemorski -lances were spreading woe and desolation in the -homes of our people. -</p> - -<p> -We searched every little bay, inlet, and river as we -passed along the beautiful coast from Anapa to Soudjack -Kaleh, a fortress which was then half in ruins, as -General Williamoff had left it after storming its defences -at the head of fifteen thousand men. It seemed now -so lonely and so silent that no one could imagine the -roar of war had once awoke its echoes, for the flowers -of the arbutus, the rhododendron, and many other -plants, most of them aromatic, filled the air with -perfume as they grew in luxuriance on its battered walls, -or twining round the old cannon's mouth as it lay -half sunk among the stones and grass, or wreathing -the bare skulls and white ribs of the dead on whose -unburied bones, bleached by the sunshine and the -storm, devouring dogs and mountain wolves had -battened. -</p> - -<p> -Evening had closed when we bivouacked near the -beach, unbitted our horses, lighted our pipes, and sent -round our cups of quass to wash down the black ration, -bread and salt beef broiled among the embers till it -was encrusted with ashes and brine; and we were -just composing ourselves for the night, when my -sergeant, a cunning and active Cossack, who had crept -a mile or two along the shore alone, announced to -me that he had seen some suspicious lights in a little -creek of the bay of Koutloutzi. "Mount and march," -was the order, and favoured by a brilliant moon, -beneath whose light the Euxine rolled like a flood of -silver at the base of the steep Circassian hills, we rode -round the margin of this circular bay, and ascended -the beautiful vale of Mezip, towards where my -sergeant asserted he had seen the lights. -</p> - -<p> -Halting our party he and I dismounted, and, taking -only our swords and pistols, crept cautiously through -a thicket towards where a river entered the bay, and -such a place we knew would be the most probable -rendezvous of the Turks with the slave merchant. -The foliage was dense and dark overhead, for in -this district the sturdy oak, the beech, and the -chestnut grew to the water's edge, and the cherry-tree, -the fig, and the wild olive were all in full -bloom. It was a savage place. Toads croaked -among the reeds, and rearing serpents hissed among -the sedges of the river, which brawled over a ledge -of rocks and fell into the bay, while the -yellow-coated and weasel-like suroke whistled on the -branches of the pine, and the fleet jerboa fled -before us from its lair like an evil spirit. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly we saw a gleam of light, and heard the -sound of voices. A few paces more brought us to -the brow of a wooded bank, at the base of which we -saw a number of Turkish sailors seated round a fire, -smoking, drinking raki, and making merry, while one -of their number, a little humpbacked fellow, with a -hooked nose and enormous beard, sang to them, and -twangled on a lute. They were sixteen in number -(I counted them carefully), and all fierce-looking -fellows, with enormous noses and mustachoes. Large -trowsers, dirty red tarbooshes, and red shawl-girdles -stuck full of daggers and pistols. Most of them had -cuts and scars or patches on their dusky faces, and all -had a savage and sinister aspect, as the red gleams of -the pinewood fire fell on them. The captain was -particularly happy; as he believed, that if the Sultan -Abdul-Medjid did but once see Basilia, the fortunes of -all who had a share in bringing such loveliness -to gladden his sublime eyes would be made for ever. -</p> - -<p> -In the back-ground, and drawn far up on the beach, -lay their vessel, with its large angular sail stowed on -deck; the yard struck, and the mast and rigging -covered by green pine branches, the better to elude -the observation of scouts, and to blend its outline -with the surrounding trees, while heaps of branches, -with dry leaves spread over all, were piled against the -sides. But over the gunnel we saw several Circassian -girls sitting very quietly, gazing at those rough and -noisy guardians, who were to convey them to that -brilliant Stamboul, which they had been taught to -believe was an earthly paradise. -</p> - -<p> -On that little deck, and apart from all the rest, sat -one who did not seem to share the placidity of her -companions, or to share their joyous anticipations. -Her form was enveloped in her veil, and her head -was bowed upon her hands, her eyes were sad, and -fixed on vacancy. My breath came thick and fast. -There was a swelling in my throat, as if my heart -was there, for I knew that lonely weeper was Basilia. -</p> - -<p> -As thirty or forty girls are usually deemed a good -cargo and only ten were visible, it was evident to us -that the Turks had no intention of putting to sea for -some days; thus my sergeant, who had frequently -been on expeditions of this kind, politely -suggested—as we had ridden a long way—the expedience of -sleeping quietly for that night, and slaughtering the -Turks at our leisure in the morning; but my -impatience would brook of no delay. -</p> - -<p> -Again we mounted: I divided my party into two -troops, and ascending the valley of Mezip for a mile -or so, descended from different points towards the -head of the Bay. -</p> - -<p> -"Spur and sabre!" was the cry. -</p> - -<p> -There was a brief but sharp discharge of pistols, a -gleaming of knives and flashing of sabres, and in five -minutes the surrounded Turks were all trampled -under hoof, shot and headless beside the fire which -had lit the scene of their jollity, not one of them -escaping save their deformed messmate, who dashed -his lute at the head of Selim, sprung into the sea, and -disappeared. The captain I sabred with my own -hand; but not before he gave me this wound by a -pistol shot, which grazed my left cheek like a hot -iron. -</p> - -<p> -Inspired anew by love and triumph I sprang up -the side of the vessel, and sought the lonely figure—it -was as my heart divined—Basilia. I knelt before -her, and took her hand in mine, trembling as I did so, -for never until that moment had I touched even the -hem of her garment. My soul was in my tongue, and -weighed it down with words of love and joy, but one -alone found utterance,— -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia!" -</p> - -<p> -She gave a cry of wonder, and as she gazed at me, -her large black eyes dilated and flashed with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia," said I, "do you not remember me?" -</p> - -<p> -"No," replied she, while trembling; "who are you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Osman, the son of Mostapha, your own Osman, -who saved you at Anapa." -</p> - -<p> -"It is false," she answered, with eyes full of anger -and sorrow; "Osman was a brave Circassian warrior, -and I loved him; oh! how dearly and how well; but -he fell in battle at Mikhailov. Thou art either a -base Muscovite, or some fiend in the shape of -Osman; a ghoul it may be, a son of Ifrit; begone, and -leave me." -</p> - -<p> -I could have wept at these stinging words, which -sank like poisoned arrows in my heart, and I feared -that grief had disordered her intellects; but I did -injustice to Basilia, for her language was the first -prompting of honest grief and indignation to find me in the -uniform of the Tenginski Hussars, and false, as she -deemed, to my country and to her. For so she told -me, when more composed, and when she heard my -story, as we sat side by side under a broad chesnut -tree with the plunder of the Turkish ship around us, -and the flames of its burning timbers to light our -little bivouac. When we fired it, with all the -branches and withered leaves that were piled over it, -the flames burned bravely, and shot above the copse-wood, -as they licked the mast and its well-tarred cordage. -</p> - -<p> -I sat at the feet of Basilia, my heart teemed with -joy, half the objects of existence seemed accomplished -now, and I could no longer believe that fortune had -greater favours in store for me. -</p> - -<p> -In the language of our own beloved country, we -formed innumerable projects of happiness, or whispered -plans of escape from the toils of the Russians, -and I had resolved in the night, if possible, to elude -my own sentinels, to mount Basilia on Zupi, and to -depart by the vale of Mezip towards the wilderness -of mount Shapsucka, when my sergeant, with a dark -and singular expression in his eye, came to inform -me that my brother "the Lieutenant Selim was -nowhere to be found." -</p> - -<p> -Karolyi, who was sitting beside us, looked up, and -gave a deep smile as the Cossack spoke. -</p> - -<p> -In short, after seeing the last Turk cut down, Selim, -while our dismounted hussars were overhauling the -ship, had turned his horse's head towards the mountains -and escaped. -</p> - -<p> -I rejoiced at this for a time. -</p> - -<p> -"But brother Osman," said Karolyi, "Selim has -done us a wrong in this; we should all have fled -together, for thou and I will now be watched with -double suspicion, and have our simplest actions -subjected to the severest scrutiny." -</p> - -<p> -"Remember, there is the maiden, whom I cannot -leave behind; so let us rejoice that Circassia has one -brave warrior more." -</p> - -<p> -Karolyi made a gesture of impatience. -</p> - -<p> -"Circassia," said he, "has maidens enough and to -spare; but for every warrior on her hills, she requires -at least a hundred. This is no time for wedding or -acting the lover, for twangling on the lute and -kneeling on the verge of a pretty maid's carpet." -</p> - -<p> -"These were my own words, Karolyi, when urged -by you and Selim to wed ere Schamyl rose in arms." -</p> - -<p> -"True, brother, true," replied Karolyi, "and in -truth, this little maiden is a miracle of beauty. My -soul and sword are at her service, command them; -but in the name of Merissa think not of escape -to-night. Another and perhaps more favourable -opportunity may soon occur." -</p> - -<p> -The night passed quickly away. I watched Basilia -while she slept in my mantle. I was sleepless, but -silent and happy, for my mind was full of love and -her. -</p> - -<p> -Next day I placed her on Zupi, and we set out for -head-quarters amid the maledictions of the ten rescued -slaves, who saw all their anticipated delights of a -seraglio life suddenly cut short, and who knew that -fate would now consign them to high-cheeked Kalmucks, -or the rough, greasy Cossacks, in lieu of the -wealthy Osmanlis, the luxurious Pashas, and turbaned -Agas, whom they had hoped to have as masters; and -they consoled themselves by reviling me as a renegade, -and invoking on my head all the ills that fell on the -God-abandoned Thamudites, and on the offspring of -Saba, the son of Yarab. -</p> - -<p> -On arriving at head-quarters, I presented my -prisoners, and the right ears of fifteen Turks to Colonel -Carlovitch. The ears he flung to his dogs, and the -ten girls, not finding favour in the sight of the officers -who crowded about them, were given to Cossacks, to -make wives or whatever they pleased of them, for -such is the law of the Russian military colonies on -the Kuban; and to himself, despite my prior claim by -love and capture; despite my rage and grief, my -entreaties and ill-smothered threatenings—to -himself—this accursed Muscovite assigned Basilia as a -hand-maiden! -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -(Here the Circassian, who had related this part of -his narrative in short and broken sentences, paused, -and ground his teeth, while the veins of his fine pale -forehead swelled like rigid cords, and his keen dark -eyes became glazed with the ferocity, fire, and grief -that filled them.) -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVIII. -<br /><br /> -ZUPI. -</h3> - -<p> -Ivan Carlovitch, he resumed, was a soldier -insensible alike to pity and to danger. His cold and -rigid sternness had first brought him under the notice -of his imperial master, who raised him from the -humblest rank in the army. He had a strict and -almost absurd idea of the implicit obedience which -should be rendered by the soldier to his superior; -and wild as I was then with passion and grief on -finding that I had only saved Basilia from one -degrading condition to deliver her over to one still more -cruel and terrible—to be the mistress, the plaything -of a wretched Russian—I had sufficient tact to see -that resistance would only serve to destroy my own -hopes of a dreadful vengeance, and of achieving her -freedom. On the first symptom of disobedience, -Carlovitch would have brought me before a general -court-martial. From this tribunal in Russia, the way -to the knout or the grave is short and rapid, -especially to a poor Pole, or a captive Tcherkesse warrior. -</p> - -<p> -It is related that early in life, Ivan Carlovitch, the -son of Carl, a porter of Moscow, was a soldier in -General Ouchterlony's battalion of the Imperial -Guard, and was one day a sentinel on the private -gate of the palace at St. Petersburg, when a sudden -inundation of the Neva spread terror among the -inmates of the edifice, and forced them to retreat to the -upper stories. -</p> - -<p> -The Empress Alexandrina was surveying the rising -waters from a balcony, when she perceived Carlovitch -standing at his post motionless, and mid leg in the -water. In great alarm she desired him to retire -within doors. He "presented arms" when Her -Majesty addressed him, but respectfully declined. The -flood increased. Trees were swept away, railings -and balustrades, vases of flowers, dead cattle, boats, -and logs of wood were surged and dashed against the -palace walls; again and again the Empress and her -ladies called in great agitation to the sentinel, -desiring him to abandon a post so perilous; but with -admirable coolness he replied, that he "dared not until -properly relieved or withdrawn by an order from the -captain of the guard." That officer had by this time -clambered to the roof of the guard-house, from -whence he sent the corporal, a good swimmer, to -bring off this obstinate sentinel, who was now up to -his neck in water. -</p> - -<p> -For this act of bravado or insensibility to danger, -Carlovitch was appointed a captain in the Infantry -Regiment of Tenginski, and marched with it against -the Circassians. In due time he was appointed -colonel of the Tenginski Hussars (for there are two -corps, one of horse and the other of foot, so named), -and as such I found him when misfortune cast me in -his way. -</p> - -<p> -He was a man without mercy, and often brought -his bravest soldiers to the knout for the most trivial -fault; but he never broke into gusts of passion, and -though constantly using among the soldiers, the serfs, -and prisoners a heavy rattan, every blow of which -brought away a stripe of flesh, he always addressed -them with a cold and cruel smile, which filled those -who knew him with fear and repugnance. -</p> - -<p> -Oh, how I loathe his memory and the recollection -of that fiendish leer, which I can picture so distinctly -at this moment! -</p> - -<p> -But what of Basilia, you would ask me? -</p> - -<p> -Fain would I draw a veil over her fate; but a few -words will relate it. -</p> - -<p> -The insulting advances, the bold declarations of a -love the most repugnant to a heart so pure, the -caresses and the presents of Carlovitch she received -with disdain. For three days and three nights tears -were her only protection; entreaties for mercy her -only weapon; but at last even they failed her. One -night Carlovitch, flushed with wine and fury on leaving -a banquet given by Prince Merischikoff, assailed -her in his own tent, and to escape him, the miserable -Basilia pierced her throat with a poniard, and died -at his feet! -</p> - -<p> -Her pure, fair, beautiful form was wrapped in a -horse-rug, and buried by the rough hands of Cossack -pioneers, at the foot of a rock on the left bank of the -Kuban. -</p> - -<p> -The grave of my love lay but a pistol shot distant -from the tent of her destroyer; yet his iron heart -never smote him, and never reproached him with his -cruelty; he smoked, he drank the wine of the -Tcherkesses, and played at cards and chess, and with his -brother officers sang as merrily as ever, and no more -regarded the death he had caused and the misery he -had wrought, than the ashes of his last cigar. -</p> - -<p> -Where then was I? -</p> - -<p> -Forced to lead my troop against my own people, -and watched by a chosen few of my own soldiers, I -had been sent towards Azov in pursuit of fugitive -Circassians. One whom we had tracked the livelong -day, riding over steep mountains, through pathless -forests and deep rivers, was taken at nightfall by his -horse falling under him. He was brought in, exhausted -with fatigue and faint with hunger, covered with blood, -with scars, brambles, and heavily fettered. The poor -fugitive we had pursued so long, and taken at last, -proved to be my brother Selim, who had failed to -reach the camp of our confederated princes, and had -wandered long on the Russian side of Mount Shapsucka. -</p> - -<p> -I was filled with new dismay. It seemed that I -required but this to complete my misery. I rent my -beard, and threw myself on the ground; I cursed -myself and Ivan Carlovitch in the same breath, and -daringly upbraided the Prophet with injustice to a -Mussulman so devout as I. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Selim heard my words with terror. He raised -me from the ground; he kissed me on both cheeks, -and besought me to be composed, and then we were -separated. I had to continue my march towards the -shores of the sea of Azov, while Selim, the miserable -Selim, was dragged before Carlovitch, who tried him -as a deserter, had him degraded, and his sword and -commission trodden under foot; after which he was -sentenced to die—to die under the knout—"a terror -to other Tcherkesses who trifled with the service of -their beneficent lord and father the emperor." -</p> - -<p> -Three weeks afterwards I heard of his fate, and to -nerve my soul for the coming vengeance, I drank in -the terrible description of the poor boy's dying scene. -I was told by my sergeant how the troops were -formed in a hollow square—ten thousand Russian -slaves, misnamed as soldiers, with bayonets fixed and -colours flying; I was told how the noble prisoner -stood amid them, with the kingly air of a true -Circassian cavalier, though stripped of every article of -attire, save a pair of tattered drawers; how he was -bound by the wrists, the neck, and ancles, to a large -gun-carriage, and how the executioner, a gigantic -Kalmuck, stood six feet distant to give his infernal -weapon a swing more full and heavy. I was told how -Selim—for he was the youngest of us—screamed in -agony as each successive blow fell on his bare and -quivering shoulders, from which the flesh was torn in -pieces by every lash of the dreadful whip; how -between every stroke this giant Kalmuck dipped its -bloody ends in brimstone, and how the victim sank -beneath the strokes, until at last their sound came -dull and dead, for poor Selim had expired with four -words on his lips; they were, "My brothers—my -brothers." -</p> - -<p> -I did not shed a tear for him; a fiend seemed to -possess me; a devilish joy swelled within me, as I -lay that night in the bivouac beside the feet of Zupi, -rolled in my mantle, with my sword and pistols at -my side. -</p> - -<p> -"Woe to thee, whining cur of the Czar, woe!" I -repeated again and again; "to-morrow I will see -thee, Carlovitch—to-morrow shall thy soul answer to -heaven and to hell for these atrocities; and to-morrow -Mostapha's son shall cease to be the serf of this dog -Emperor, Nicholas Paulovitch!" -</p> - -<p> -The sunny morrow came, and loud and shrill rang -the trumpets which summoned the Hussars and -Grenadiers of Tenginski to a general parade. I -examined my saddle girths, my bridle, and my arms, -with scrupulous exactness, for this would be the last -parade I was ever to attend. I threw away everything -that might serve to encumber my motions or -overload my horse, and by my advice Karolyi did the -same. -</p> - -<p> -We were now with that portion of the Russian -army which had fallen back from the Circassian -Mountains to recruit and reform after their defeats -by Schamyl; and which, after recrossing the Don, -was cantoned principally in the Ukraine. The -division to which we belonged occupied Poltava, one of -the richest and best parts of the adjoining province -for pasturing cavalry horses. -</p> - -<p> -On the very day after we halted at Poltava, a grand -parade was formed before Prince Menschikoff, and as -I had marched with the baggage guard, I saw Carlovitch -for the first time since these atrocities had cast -a horror on my soul. The Prophet alone knows -what were my emotions at the sight of him. The -voices of Basilia and of Selim were rising from their -graves—they were ever in my ears whispering -"vengeance," and I rode amid the troops like one in a -stupor. The parade was a magnificent one. -</p> - -<p> -There were present the Imperial Guard, under -General Ouchterlony, a Scotsman, and his three sons, -all colonels of battalions; these men were the flower -of the Russian army; the six Grenadier battalions of -Prince Frederick of Hesse Phillipesthal; the veteran -regiment of Moscow, commanded by Prince Frederick -of Mecklenburg; the Cuirassiers of the Grand -Duchess Olga, and the gorgeous Hussars of the -Princess Maria Paulowna (sister of the Emperor), -whose trappings far eclipsed those of the two Tenginski -corps of Hussars and Infantry. But Karolyi and -I laughed at the splendour of these idolaters, and -scorn grew with hatred in our hearts; for it is of -these, and such as these—eaters of hogs'-flesh and -drinkers of brandy—that our Prophet spoke, when he -said, "lo! they are like no other than brute cattle," -and they shall perish like the people of Irem, of -Thamud, and those who, as the Koran tells us, dwelt -in al Rass. -</p> - -<p> -The review passed before me like a dream, for my -mind was full of other thoughts, and I saw only the -mangled and bleeding body of Selim bound to the -field-piece, and the poor remains of Basilia asleep in -that uncouth grave where the Russian pioneers had -buried her, when suddenly my name resounded along -the glittering ranks; Carlovitch summoned me to the -front, when all the cavalry were formed in line to -deliver a general salute. -</p> - -<p> -Something had gone wrong. I know not what, but -I had neglected my troop when deploying from close -column into line, and Carlovitch, usually so grave and -impassible, was choking with passion. He called me -"a dog of a Tcherkesse," and smote me on the face -with his rattan. -</p> - -<p> -The blow went straight to my heart! -</p> - -<p> -For a moment I felt as if a thunderbolt had struck -me; but transported with fury, I uttered the yell-like -war cry of Circassia, and buried my sharp sabre—the -noble steel of far-away Damascus—in his dastard -heart! -</p> - -<p> -Again I thrust it to the hilt, as tottering he drooped -upon his holsters, dying and gushing of blood, and -then I spurned the corpse with my feet as it fell. I -slew him on the spot, in the face of fifty thousand -men! May the curse of mankind fall upon the turf -which wraps the dog who begot him! -</p> - -<p> -I brandished my sabre, and shouted wildly to -Karolyi,— -</p> - -<p> -"To the hills—away, away! Tcherkesse! Tcherkesse!" -</p> - -<p> -Goring his horse with the spurs, he sprang from -the ranks, as the roar of a thousand voices ascended -from them, on witnessing this act of justice; together -we dashed at a furious pace towards the nearest -mountains, and had already placed a deep and rapid -torrent between us and the Russians, before they had -recovered from their astonishment, or made proper -arrangements for a pursuit. -</p> - -<p> -The most accomplished rider in Europe is acknowledged -to sit his horse like a clown when contrasted -with a Circassian cavalier; and fortunate it was for -Karolyi and me, that we—both men and horses—were -bred and reared on the slopes of the Caucasus; as -we were hotly and fiercely pursued by relays of -mounted men despatched fresh and lightly accoutred -from the innumerable military posts we passed. The -wild Tchernemorski Cossacks, with their long lances, -and wiry little horses; the Tenginski and Paulowna -Hussars, and even the heavy, helmeted, breast-plated -and jack-booted Olga cuirassiers spurred after us; but -among the deep rocky gorges, the tangled brakes, the -shifting mosses, and the fordless rivers, we soon rid -ourselves of the latter, and most of the others, save -the Cossacks, who followed us like spirits of evil, -unrelenting and unwearying, for many a day and many -a night. -</p> - -<p> -In desperate hope to reach the Prussian frontier, we -had already crossed the Dnieper, and traversed the -palatinate of Minsk, where for days we rode over a -flat country, of which we were ignorant, and where, -in despair, we were frequently about to abandon the -hope of escape, when we found ourselves involved in -the mazes of a wild forest and dreary morass that lie -on the banks of its rivers. But our native hardihood -preserved us; for a cleft in a rock, or the branch of a -tree with a sword for a pillow, is home enough at any -time for a Tcherkesse warrior. -</p> - -<p> -However, we now began to experience a serious -difficulty in procuring a knowledge of the route to be -pursued. We knew little of the language; our aspect -was jaded, wan, and terrible; our uniform hung about -us in rags; our horses were sinking, and that we -were deserters was evident to every observer. And -now the people of Lithuania joined in the pursuit, -and one evening, just as we were about to cross a -river named the Swislocz, our Tchernemorski Cossacks -came upon us, and their wild shout of joy at the -termination of that flight, which to them had been a -long and exciting chase, rang in the air above us, -as they reined up their horses on the rocks that -overhung the stream, and brandished their spears. -</p> - -<p> -We were about to plunge in, when one more bold -or more freshly mounted than his comrades, wounded -Karolyi by a lance thrust. -</p> - -<p> -"May demons defile thy beard, and their plagues -fall on thee and thine!" exclaimed my brother in a -gust of fury; but now he had dropped or broken every -weapon save his dagger, so with that quickness which -is peculiar to the Circassian, he dismounted, rushed -upon the Cossack's horse, drove the weapon into its -breast, and bearing it back at the same time by the -bridle, he hurled the snorting steed over upon its -rider, and crushed him to death in an instant. -</p> - -<p> -Vaulting again into his own well-worn saddle, he -plunged with me into the stream, and gallantly we -breasted it—while the carbines of the Tchememorski -Cossacks—the only soldiers in the Russian service -who can at all compete with our people—rang on -every side, as they commenced a simultaneous -discharge upon us, and their bullets flattened on the -rocks, or raised incessant water-spouts around us. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly I heard a low cry and a choking gurgle -that filled my heart with misery. I looked back; -Karolyi, struck by a bullet, had sunk from his saddle, -and a spurred boot alone was visible, as horse and -rider was swept over a cataract, and borne away -towards the Dnieper. -</p> - -<p> -So perished my second brother! -</p> - -<p> -Forcing Zupi up a bank where the reeds grew at -least twelve feet high, I still rode recklessly on; but -brave as they were, not one of the Cossacks dared to -cross that foaming torrent in pursuit. Night came -down to shroud my flight; there was no moon. I -reached a wood, and flung myself down exhausted in -mind and body. I was now dead to the fear of -discovery, and I cared not for wolves, or other wild -animals. -</p> - -<p> -The presence of Karolyi, his companionship and -our brotherly love, had alone sustained me thus far; -now he was gone, and I was alone in the world; but -there was at least one consolation: he had died the -death of a warrior, with one hand on his bridle, and -the other on his weapon; he had fallen, like his -father's son, in battle with the enemies of his country, -but he had found a tomb far from his father's grave, -and far from the banks of the Kisselbash River. -</p> - -<p> -Three days I lay without food, save a little wild -honey, and without repose in that Lithuanian forest, -and careless whether I lived or died; for want, misery, -privation and mental agony had broken my spirit, and -destroyed alike every purpose, hope, and reflection. -There I prayed to the only Prophet of God, and -remembered with growing trust that in the blessed -Koran, he enjoins us to seek aid with perseverance; -and I implored him to deliver me, even as the Lord -divided the sea of Kolzom with his hand to let his -people pass, and thereafter drowned the Egyptian -host; and the Prophet heard me; for even while I -prayed with my bare head in the dust, there chanced -to pass that way a poor Tartar who dwelt on the -skirts of the forest, and who had come hither to cut -wood. -</p> - -<p> -He heard me address the Prophet, and remembering -the faith of his fathers, felt his heart moved within -him; so he had compassion upon me, and took me -to his hut, which, like all the Tartar dwellings, was -little better than a rabbit-hole, burrowed on the face -of a hill, with a rude verandah in front. Fortunately -it lay in a wild and secluded place; so I dwelt for -some days in safety with this good man, who guided -me across the plains of Grodno, until I passed the -Prussian frontier, when I knelt with my face to the -east, and gave thanks to Heaven—thanks that I was -safe from Russia, although eight hundred miles lay -between me and the hills of my beloved Circassia. -</p> - -<p> -Zupi, my horse, the noble animal which had borne -me this incredible distance, was my first care, and to -procure new garments in lieu of the tattered uniform -of the Tenginski Hussars was the second; and -intent only on reaching Britain, which was about to -declare war against Russia, I travelled through part -of Prussia by railway, a mode of locomotion, which I -there saw for the first time, and which filled me with -wonder and awe. -</p> - -<p> -On reaching that kingdom, I thought my troubles -were at an end; but there, alas! I found myself -accused of a murder, stripped of the little sum I had -about me, separated from Zupi, cast into prison, and -in danger of being hanged; or what was worse, sent -back to the Russian General Todleben, who -commanded at Grodno. It happened thus. -</p> - -<p> -I travelled towards Dantzig in a second-class -carriage, in which the only other passenger was a pale -and careworn young man, whose profusion of beard, -braided coat, and small cap, with its square peak, gave -him somewhat the aspect of a student. Taciturn and -thoughtful, and being full of astonishment at the -speed with which we swept over plain and valley, -across rivers and under mountains—travelling as it -were on the skirts of a whirlwind—I did not address -my companion, who after smoking a large pipe for -some time, covered his head with his cloak, and threw -himself at full length along the seat, where he lay, -long, as I thought, asleep. A jolt of the train threw -him on the floor, and perceiving that he lay motionless -and still, I hastened to lift him; but how great -was my emotion, to find my hands covered with blood—for -this silent fellow-passenger was a suicide, who -had cut his throat from ear to ear, by a knife, which -he grasped in his now rigid hand. -</p> - -<p> -I endeavoured to lower the windows, but I knew -not the way; so I dashed one to pieces, and cried -aloud to the guards or drivers—I know not which you -name them; but I was unheeded, and still this -apparently infernal vehicle, in which I was enclosed -with the bloody corpse, swept on, screaming, whistling, -jarring, clanking, smoking, and whirling over -wood and plain, over the roofs of towns, past the -weathercocks of churches, and the tops of lofty trees, -with a speed and din that would have carried terror -and dismay to the hearts of a Circassian host, and -would have swept Kurds and Kalmucks to the furthest -confines of Asia. -</p> - -<p> -At Dantzig the train arrived in due time, and the -doors were opened by the conductors. I was found -with "the murdered man;" my recent cries were -attributed to him; the broken windows to his dying -struggle, for my hands were cut and covered with -blood! The Prussian gallows threatened me on one -hand and the Russian knout upon the other. I was -a poor unfriended foreigner, in a land of spies, -suspicion, and police agents; and in my own defence -had not one word to urge, for I was ignorant of the -language. But fortunately next day, a letter was -found on the person of the deceased, who proved to -be a French artist, announcing his intention of -destroying himself, and adding, that "when he had no -longer a sou, it was thus a Frenchman should -die—Vive la France! Vive le diable!" -</p> - -<p> -This relieved me, and explained the whole affair; -but the Prussian gens-d'armes kept my purse, as they -said, to pay "all contingencies;" and had not the -captain of a large French ship taken pity upon me, and -brought me and my horse to London—the capital of -Europe—I must have begged for bread in the streets -of Dantzig, and had to sell my beloved Zupi to save -the noble animal from starvation. -</p> - -<p> -Finding myself in the great city of London, I was -likely to be in greater distress than when in the vast -forest of Lithuania; for in London the whole population -live in an atmosphere of snares, suspicion, and -mistrust, every man viewing his neighbour as one who -has a design upon him. Again I was starving, for -the little sum with which the French captain supplied -me was spent upon Zupi, by whose side I always -slept at night in an old cart-shed. But remembering -that by birth and habit I was a soldier, I applied to -the officers of the Household Brigade; some of these -smiled, and shook their heads doubtfully, until Sir -Henry Slingsby laid before them my commission in -the Tenginski Hussars; it was fringed with silver, -and signed by the Emperor Nicholas Paulovitch. -Then they had a fellow feeling for me, and treated -me with a kindness, the memory of which fills my -soul with gratitude; for never, to the last hour of my -life, shall I forget it, or omit to pray for the good and -brave Ingleez. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIX -<br /><br /> -WE REACH HEAD-QUARTERS. -</h3> - -<p> -Such was the story of the Circassian captain, and it -occupied the greater part of the time during which -the San Lucar packet steamed along the south-west -coast of Andalusia, passing Cape Plata, and entering -the Straits of Gibraltar, had rounded the promontory -which is crowned by towers and ramparts of Tarifa, -after which a run of seventeen miles brought us into -the harbour of the great rock, where the babble of -Spaniards, Moors, Italians, French, and Gitanas was -ringing in our ears again, as we landed with our -horses on the quay. -</p> - -<p> -Taking our new friend with us—for we could not -but have a lively interest in a brother patriot of the -valiant Schamyl—the Washington of the Caucasus, -the Wallace of Circassia, we repaired at once to -headquarters, and related the success of our visit to Seville, -reserving future relations until we went to mess in -the evening. -</p> - -<p> -We introduced Captain Osman Rioni to Morton, -our colonel, who immediately spoke to him of service -in the Turkish Contingent, urging it upon him the -more vehemently, as there were then in the harbour -six transports full of French and British troops en -route to Sebastopol. But Osman thanked the good -colonel, and shook his head, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"Mohammed was the first Prophet of God, and -the holy Murid Schamyl is the second! Our destiny -is written on our foreheads; may it be mine to die in -the ranks of war! Every man hath his part in life -allotted to him; may it be mine to fight for my -country, and fight again I shall! Is not her blood -red on the Russian bayonets? I will carry a lance -under no flag but the green Sangiac Sheerif of -Circassia. Would to heaven I saw it now with the twelve -stars of the confederated tribes, for then I should see -the Abassian peaks and the wilds of Daghestan, the -warriors in their mail of links, and the linden trees -that shade those cottage doors from which our women -bless us, and we ride to war against the Buss. Yes, -yes; I will return to Circassia on her shore alone to -fight with Schamyl against the foes of God, and to -see once more the snowy rocks of Elbrus, where -the ark of Noah first rested before it lay on Ararat." -</p> - -<p> -His story, his peculiar language and bearing, his -horse Zupi, and his love for that gallant animal made -him quite a seven days' wonder with "Ours," and he -was the lion of the mess table. Every one who had -any pretension to be a connoisseur in horse-flesh had -visited, criticised, and caressed Zupi, which was a -long-bodied, wiry, and, to our taste, somewhat short-legged -nag, with small ears, a noble head, full chest -and flanks, compact and close. -</p> - -<p> -"A hundred times and more he has stood still as -a stone wall, and allowed me to fire my long Albanian -gun between his ears, using his head as a rest," said -Osman; "courage, brave Zupi—courage! Ere long -thou shalt snuff the air in woody Daghestan, and -drink of the foaming Koissons." -</p> - -<p> -We raised a handsome subscription for him in one -night at our mess table, and procured him a passage -in a French cavalry transport; so he left us, with lips -that quivered as he said "farewell," and a heart that -yearned with gratitude. He said that one day -we should hear of him when Schamyl and his -host marched towards the shores of the Sea of -Azov. -</p> - -<p> -Whether Osman reached his own wild and war-like -country we have yet to learn; for since the day -on which the "Napoleon III." steamed away past the -New Mole fort, with her deck crowded by Zouaves, -and our Circassian among them waving his red cap -in adieu to us, we have heard no more of him; for -the tidings of the Caucasian strife that reach Europe -are meagre, doubtful, and vague, as those that came -from the Holy Land of old. -</p> - -<p> -Slingsby and I were complimented in garrison -orders for the manner in which we had accomplished -our little diplomatic trip to Seville, and were praised -for the dangers we had encountered and escaped. -</p> - -<p> -Our adventures, with those of Osman Rioni, -infected the mess with a desire to "spin yarns," and -the result was, that from being the most matter-of-fact -fellows in the world, every one of "Ours" had a -romantic story to tell. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, gentlemen," said the colonel, one evening -when I had brought my narrative down to the happy -epoch of our embarkation on board the steamer at -San Lucar de Barameda, "how much more pleasant -and entertaining has all this been to us than the -usual absurd chit-chat which reigns supreme at a -mess table; the everlasting quiz about the curl of -Ramble's mustachios; the banter about Bob's whiskers, -or Slingsby's bay mare, and how Shafton craned -at the hedge in the steeple-chase; the odds on the -Derby; the last new singer; the latest ballet -importation, with the shape of her ancles, and so forth; -the last novel or polka, or belle, or piece of humbug; -now is it not so?" -</p> - -<p> -Hereupon all those whose constant topics the -colonel had just enumerated, warmly assented that it -was, and that the narrative had proved immensely -interesting. -</p> - -<p> -"Deuced instructive, too!" yawned the most stupid -fellow at the table. -</p> - -<p> -"Might spin three volumes out of it, Ramble. -'Men and Manners in Andalusia!'" said another. -</p> - -<p> -"No banter now, gentlemen!" said the colonel; -"pass the bottles, Shafton. Mr. Vice-President, another -allowance of wine; I have a proposal to make. We -have been—that is, the most of us—have been in all -the quarters of the globe, and have seen life in all its -phases and varieties. Therefore, I beg to move that -each of us who has a story to tell should forthwith -tell it for the amusement of the mess, under the -penalty of a dozen of wine." -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo," said every one. -</p> - -<p> -"I beg to second the motion," said Jack Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"With an amendment," added Shafton, "that the -colonel should tell the first story himself, the said -amendment to be inserted in the minutes of the mess -committee." -</p> - -<p> -It was carried unanimously, amid much fun and -laughter. -</p> - -<p> -Our colonel, who is a fine, frank, and brave-hearted -old fellow, had no idea that he was so suddenly to find -himself in his own trap. He laughed and reflected a -little, as he stroked the wiry, grey mustache which, in -compliance with the late general order, he had just -begun to cultivate after forty years of close shaving; -and then he smoothed his thin white hair, for he was -an old soldier, and (but for the favouritism of the -Horse Guards) would have been a general twenty -years ago, being one of the few survivors of that army -which gave battle to France on the shores of Aboukir, -where, as he was wont to say, "he had carried the -colours of Geordie Moncrief's lambs—the old -Perthshire Greybreeks." He had also been through the -whole Peninsular war, and served in the Fifth Hussars, -with Sir Colquhoun Grant's brigade under Wellington -in Flanders. -</p> - -<p> -"I have seen much in my time, gentlemen," said -he, good humouredly, as he tossed off a glass of -claret, "but have no adventures of my own to relate—at -least none that are at all worth your attention. I -can, however, tell you the story of another, whose -scrapes were somewhat remarkable, and were in some -respects—as far as Spanish robbers were concerned—like -those of Ramble and Jack Slingsby. They were -told me by a French officer, a gay fellow, but a -regular candle-snuffer at twelve paces, whom I met at -Paris when the allies were there; by this you will -perceive that the affairs I refer to happened many a -year ago." -</p> - -<p> -The glasses were filled; the cracking of nuts -ceased; the heavy crystal decanters were slid -noiselessly over the long smooth mess-table, the -well-polished surface of which reflected the red coats -around it, and all was hushed as our grave and -gentle old colonel began the following narrative, to -which I beg leave to devote my next three chapters. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XX. -<br /><br /> -ST. FLORIDAN; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -The night was dark, and the lamps of the Rue du -Temple had nearly all been extinguished by a high -wind; there was no moon visible. -</p> - -<p> -It was in the month after the capture of Paris, in -1815, that the adventures I am about to relate -occurred. -</p> - -<p> -The defeat at Waterloo, the rapid advance of the -British troops, the capture of Cambray by Sir Charles -Colville, of Peronne, by the Brigade of Guards under -Major-General Maitland, and, last of all, the seizure -and military occupation of the great and glorious city -of Paris—the citadel of Napoleon—the heart of -France, had exasperated the French, and excited -their animosity against us. Every citizen greeted us -with darkened brows and lowering eyes. -</p> - -<p> -No officer of the allied army could pass through -the streets of Paris in perfect safety without being -armed, and few went abroad from their billets or -cantonments after nightfall, unless in small parties -of three or four, for mutual protection. On many -occasions we were openly insulted and severely -maltreated in the more solitary streets or meaner suburbs -of the city; while in the taverns and restaurateurs -our quarrels were frequent with the old men of the -Revolution, who had witnessed the decapitation of -Louis, and the demolition of the Bastile; but still -more so with the soldiers of Buonaparte, who were -swarming in every part of Paris, in plain clothes, or -in the rags and remnants of their uniform. -</p> - -<p> -Those French officers whom we met at the promenades, -on the Boulevards, in the Jardin des Plantes, -at the theatres, or in the salons and billiard rooms, -sought quarrels with us quite as frequently as their -men; but these, of course, ended in hostile -rencontres, and for the first weak or two a morning -seldom passed without a French, or British, or -Prussian officer being borne dead, or wounded, -through a mocking crowd at the barriers, from the -Bois de Boulogne. -</p> - -<p> -In all these wanton quarrels and street assaults the -republicans eminently distinguished themselves, and -often vented their pitiful spleen by spitting at us -from the windows; by hissing and railing at us -in language that would have disgraced the denizens -of the infamous faubourg St. Antoine; but after -a time, when it became generally known that their -great emperor had surrendered himself to Captain -Maitland, of the Bellerophon, and submitted to the -clemency of Britain, their virulence abated, and their -manner became somewhat changed towards us: -though their hatred of the Russian troops, sharpened -by the bitter memories of the retreat from Moscow, -was undying and inextinguishable. -</p> - -<p> -It is an old story now; but Lord Wellington had -taken every means to insure the tranquillity of the -city, and to repress any armed outbreak, which must -assuredly have ended in its utter destruction; for the -Black Eagle of Hapsburg soared above Montmartre, -and the Union of Britain waved over the splendid -garden, the winding walks, and leafy groves of the -Champs Elysées; the brass cannon of Blucher were -planted at every barrier-gate, loaded with grape and -canister, to rake the streets at a moment's notice; -while by night and by day, his artillerists, in their -blue great coats and bearskin caps, remained by their -guns, with swords drawn and matches lighted. A -regiment of Scottish Highlanders occupied the -Tuileries; the Prussian advanced guard was in -position on the road to Orleans, cutting off the -remnant of the French army who had survived the -18th of June, and still obeying the baton of Davoust, -were lingering on the banks of the Loire. Every -approach to Paris was guarded by our infantry, and a -strong division of the Allies were encamped in the -Wood of Boulogne, and along the right bank of the -Seine, so far as St. Ouen. -</p> - -<p> -Never was Paris, the glory of France, more -completely humbled since Henry of England unfurled -his banner on its walls! -</p> - -<p> -My regiment, the Fifth Hussars, were in the third, -or Sir Colquhoun Grant's cavalry brigade. We were -quartered at Ligny, a small town on the Marne, about -fifteen miles from Paris, where we occupied the -ancient Benedictine monastery, which had been -founded in the eighth century by St. Fursi, a Scot, as -the old curé of the place informed me; and there, -with an irreverence for which the public utility, the -chances of war, and the orders of the quartermaster-general -must plead our excuse, we stabled our horses -in the church, and stored our rations and forage in -the chapel of Our Lady of Compassion. -</p> - -<p> -It was while matters at Paris were in the state -I have described, that I obtained leave from parade -one day, hooked on my pelisse and sabre, and rode -from Ligny to visit the city of sunshine and gaiety, -bustle and smoke, music and wine, intending to -return to my billet, which was in the house of the -curé near the bridge over the Marne. -</p> - -<p> -I was in time to see the Russians reviewed by the -Emperor Alexander, and passed the day very agreeably, -visiting the Champ de Mars, the Tuileries, where -the soldiers in the garb of old Gaul were keeping -guard, as in the days of the Ancient Alliance; the -site of the Bastile, the Hotel des Invalides, where -many an old soldier of the Empire saluted me with -more of sternness than respect in their aspect: the -temple where the hapless Louis had been confined, -and the noble gallery of the Louvre, on the lofty -walls of which were many a blank where the officers -of the Allied army had torn down and conveyed -away the artistic spoils of their several nations—spoils -wrested from every city in Europe by the -invading armies of Napoleon. -</p> - -<p> -I dined at a restaurateur's on a beefsteak à l'Anglais -and kickshaws, a bottle of tent dashed with brandy, -and walked forth to enjoy a cigar on the Boulevards, -where several of our bands from the Champs Elysées, -and those of the Austrians from Montmartre, were -playing divinely for the amusement of the thousands -crowding those magnificent promenades, which, as all -the world knows, or ought to know, encircle the good -city of Paris, and were shaded by many a stately -plane and lime tree, that was levelled to form the -barricades of the last revolution. -</p> - -<p> -There were the officers of the Allies in all uniforms, -the scarlet of Britain, the white of Austria, the blue -of Prussia, and the green of Russia, with all the -varieties of their different branches of service, horse, -foot, artillery, and rifles; Calmucks, Tartars, Scots, -Highlanders, and English guardsmen, jostling and -mingling among moustachioed students of l'Ecole de -Medicine, French priests in their long plain surtouts -and white collars, and Parisian dandies in their puckered -trousers, short frock coats, and little hats; while -the ladies, seated on camp stools, formed each the -centre of a circle, in which revolved a little world of -wit and chat and laughter; and the vendors of cigars, -of bon-bons, hot coffee, and iced lemonade, pushed -their way and a brisk trade through the crowd -together. -</p> - -<p> -I had tired of all this, and was thinking of my -fifteen miles ride back to Ligny, through a rural -district to which I was a stranger, though I had my -sabre and pistols, and luckily the latter had been -loaded by my groom. Nine o'clock was tolling from -the steeples of Paris; the crowds on the Boulevards -were dispersing; the bands had all played the old -Bourbon anthem, 'Vive Henri Quatre!' and with the -troops had repaired to their several cantonments. -The trumpets of the Austrians had pealed their last -night call from Montmartre, and the English drums -from the Champs Elysées, and the shrill Scottish -pipes from the Tuileries had replied to them. The -lighted portfires of the Prussian artillery were -beginning to gleam at the barriers. The streets were -becoming deserted and still. -</p> - -<p> -Turning down the Rue du Temple, as I have -stated, from the Boulevard St. Martin, I endeavoured -to make my way to the stables of the hotel where I -had left my horse. -</p> - -<p> -The darkness had increased very much, and the oil -lamps in the thoroughfares were few and far between, -and creaked mournfully in concert with many a -signboard as they swung to and fro to the full extent of -the cords by which they were suspended in the -centre of the way. -</p> - -<p> -Aware that the streets of Paris were then far from -safe after nightfall, and that the knife of the assassin -was used as adroitly within sound of the bells of -Notre Dame as on the banks of the Ebro—with my -furred pelisse buttoned up, and my sabre under my -arm, I hurried on, anxious to avoid all rencontres -with chevaliers d'industrie and other vagrants, who -from time to time, by the occasional light of the -swinging lanterns, I could perceive lurking in the -shadows of porches and projections of the ancient -street. -</p> - -<p> -I soon became aware that two of these personages -were dogging or accompanying me, on the opposite -side of the way; increasing their pace if I quickened -mine, and lingering when I halted or stepped short. -Anxious to avoid brawls, for on that point the orders -of the Duke of Wellington were alike stringent and -severe, I continued to walk briskly forward, keeping a -sharp eye to my two acquaintances, whose dusky -figures seemed like shadows gliding along the opposite -wall, for the cold and high night-wind had extinguished -so many of the oil lanterns, that some of the -streets branching off from the Boulevard du Temple -and the Rue St. Martin, were involved in absolute -darkness and gloom. -</p> - -<p> -I was somewhat perplexed after wandering for -a considerable distance, to find myself on the margin -of the Seine, which jarred against its quays, flowing -on like a dark and waveless current, in which the -twinkling lights of the Quai de Bourbon, and the -gigantic shadows of the double towers of the church -of Notre Dame were reflected. -</p> - -<p> -My followers had disappeared; but my uneasiness -was no way diminished, being well aware that the -clank of my spurs might mark my whereabouts; -and I was conscious that the gorgeously-laced hussar -pelisse and jacket of the Fifth were more than -enough to excite cupidity. I shrunk back from the -Seine, on thinking of the ghastly Morgue (with its -rows of naked corpses spread like fish on leaden -trays), and the five francs given by the police of -Paris for every body found in the river at daybreak. -</p> - -<p> -A low whistle made me start. -</p> - -<p> -I turned round, and at that moment received a -blow from a bludgeon, which would infallibly have -fractured my left temple, had not my thick fur cap, -with its long scarlet kalpeck, saved me. I reeled, and -immediately found myself seized by four ruffians, -who flung themselves upon me, and endeavoured -to pinion my arms, and wrench from me my sabre, -while they dragged me towards the edge of the Quai -de la Grève. -</p> - -<p> -Strong, young, active, and exasperated, I struggled -with them desperately, and succeeded in obtaining -the hilt of my sabre, which I immediately unsheathed, -for the fellow who had been endeavouring to drag it -from my belt, grasped it by the sheath only; and an -instant sufficed to level him on the pavement, with -his jaw cloven through, and there he lay, yelling with -rage and pain, and blaspheming in the style of the -Faubourg St. Antoine. Upon this his companions -fled. -</p> - -<p> -Solitary as the quay had appeared, the cries of the -wounded bravo brought around me a swarm of vagrants -from house stairs, from nooks in the parapets -of the Pont Notre Dame, and from all the various -holes and corners, where they had been nestling for -the night, or hiding from the patrols of the -gensd'armes; and recognising me at once as an officer of -that detested Allied army, which had swept their -vast host from the plains of Waterloo, and prostrated -the eagle and tricolour, they assailed me with every -epithet of opprobrium that hatred and malice could -suggest; and there was an almost universal shout of -"A la lanterne! à la lanterne!" in which, no doubt, -my first assailants joined; and immediately I saw a -lamp descend, as the cord was unfastened from the -wall of the street, and lowered for my especial -behoof. -</p> - -<p> -Alarmed and exasperated by the danger and insult -with which I was menaced, I endeavoured to break -through the press, by threateningly brandishing my -sabre, but though the circle around me widened, still -I was encompassed at every step, and made the -mark at which a pitiless shower of mud, stones, and -abuse poured without a moment's cessation. -</p> - -<p> -While some cried "à la lanterne!" others shouted -for the gensd'armes and accused me of murder. I -could perceive, to my no small concern, that the -knave I had cut down lay motionless upon the -pavement; and most unpleasant ideas floated before me, -that even if I escaped immolation at the hands of -these enraged Parisians, I might have to encounter -the greater humiliation and graver terrors of -Monsieur le Duc de Quiche—the Cour Royale de Paris—the -Chamber of Appeals—the Correctional Police, -and heaven only knew what more. -</p> - -<p> -At this perplexing crisis, a young French officer, -in the scarlet uniform of the Garde du Corps of -Louis XVIII., broke through the crowd, exclaiming.— -</p> - -<p> -"Halt! hold—in the name of the king—down -with you, insolent citizens! Is it thus you treat our -allies? Nom d'un Pape! but I will sabre the first -that lays a finger upon him. Permit me—this way, -Monsieur Officier;" and he put his arm through mine. -</p> - -<p> -We were now in a low quarter of the city; the -crowd of squalid wretches was increasing around us -every moment; lights flashed at the opened windows -of the neighbouring houses, and I could perceive the -glittering bayonets, and the great cocked hats of a -sergeant and six gensd'armes hurrying along the -lighted quay, either to my rescue or capture, but -which was dubious, for the vagabond women and -rag-pickers continued to yell incessantly,— -</p> - -<p> -"Arrest! arrest!—seize the English murderer! away -with him to the concierge!" -</p> - -<p> -My heart beat quick; but my new friend of the -Garde du Corps seemed to be quite 'au fait' in -the management of such affairs, by the admirable -tact and decision he displayed. Calling lustily for -the gensd'armes, he suddenly grasped half-a-dozen -of the foremost men in succession, and rapidly—for -he was a powerful fellow, threw them in a heap over -the wounded man, thus increasing the tumult, the -rage, and the confusion. -</p> - -<p> -Then seizing me by the hand, he said hurriedly, -"Monsieur will pardon me—but come this way, or -you will be torn to pieces!" and half leading, half -dragging me, he conveyed me down a dark and -narrow street. "Nom d'un Pape! I could not see -a brother of the epaulette maltreated by these rascally -citizens," he continued, laughing heartily at the rage -and confusion of the bourgeois. "Ha! ha! follow -me! I know how to escape. There are deuced few -outlets, holes or corners, byeways or sallyports in -Paris, that I don't know. Ah corboeuf! didn't they -all tumble delightfully over like so many ninepins? -Ha! ha! but hark! they follow us. Hasten with -me, Monsieur Officier, and remember that a brawl in -this neighbourhood may prove infinitely more -dangerous to you than to me." -</p> - -<p> -I was too well aware of that to resist his guidance -and advice; and having no ambition to suffer, like -St. Stephen, at the hands of a mob, or (escaping -that) to figure next morning before the correctional -police, and in the evening endure a reprimand from -Wellington, I fairly turned, and, accompanying my -guide, ran at full speed along the dark alley, -laughing heartily at the affair. Gathering like a -snowball, as it rolled along, the multitude came on, -puffing and shouting, and swearing and yelling -behind us. -</p> - -<p> -"This way," cried my guide, who laughed -uproariously, and seemed one of the merriest fellows -imaginable; "this way—Vive la joie! we are all -right now!" -</p> - -<p> -"Where are you leading me, in the name of all -that is miraculous?" I exclaimed, as my companion, -laying violent hands upon my sash, almost dragged -me down a flight of steps, which apparently led into -the bowels of the earth. The appearance of the -vast depth to which they descended being increased -by a few hazy oil lamps that twinkled at the bottom. -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, Monsieur," said I; "what the mischief—'t -is a strange den this! I will go no further!" -</p> - -<p> -"Courage, mon brave! courage! why we have -only descended about a hundred steps or so;" -replied the Frenchman, still continuing to descend. -"You will find this an old and odd place too; but -if you would escape an enraged rabble, the claws of -the police, the maison de force, the prison, and the -devil, follow me, and trust to my honour. I am -Antoine St. Florian, Captain of the Garde du Corps, -and late of the 23rd Grenadiers under the Emperor. -You are safe—I know every nook in this subterranean -world, for I have found a shelter in its ample -womb many a time before to-night." -</p> - -<p> -He still continued to speak as he descended, but -the sound of his voice became lost in the vast space -of the hollow vaults; my curiosity was excited: I -still kept my sabre drawn, prepared for any sudden -surprise or act of treachery, and continued to descend -some hundred steps, to a depth which I afterwards -ascertained to be 860 feet. -</p> - -<p> -"This way, Monsieur; on—on yet!" exclaimed -my conductor, hurrying me forward through a gloomy -vault, and at that moment I heard the uproar of the -multitude, and the buzz of their mingled voices -resounding afar off, and high above us at the mouth of -the lofty staircase. -</p> - -<p> -The aspect of the place in which I so suddenly -found myself was so strange, so novel, so grotesquely -horrible, that for some moments I was unable to -speak, and gazed about me in astonishment. The -whole place seemed hewn out of the solid rock, and -the height of its roof was about twelve feet from the -floor, which was uniformly paved. In every direction -caverns were seen branching off lighted by lamps -which vanished away in long lines of perspective -till they seemed to twinkle and expire amid the -noxious and foggy vapours of this wonderful place, -which appeared like a vast subterranean city, or the -work of enchantment. The atmosphere was cold as -that of a winter day, and I was sensible of the utmost -difficulty of respiration. -</p> - -<p> -Myriads of human skulls, grim, bare, and fleshless, -with grinning jaws and eyeless sockets, piles -of human bones, gaunt arms and jointed thighs, -basket-like ribs and ridgy vertebræ, were ranged in -frightful mockery along the sides of the vaulted -alleys or avenues of this subterranean city of Death. -The ghastly taste of some grim artist had arrayed all -these poor emblems of mortality in the form of -columns with capitals and arcades of intertwisted -arches, but from every angle of which the bare jaws -grinned, and the empty sockets looked drearily down -upon us, producing an effect that, when viewed by -the dim and uncertain light of the oil lamps, was -alike wondrous and terrible. I was now in the -Catacombs of Paris, that place of which I had heard so -much. -</p> - -<p> -To me, who had but recently left the Peninsula, -the appearance of these remnants of the men of other -years was less striking than it would prove to -visitors generally; for many a time and oft, I had -bivouacked where the dead of France and Britain lay -unburied; and I thought of Albuera and the plains -of Salamanca, where we had encamped within twelve -months after battles had been fought there—and -pitched our tents and lighted our camp fires on -ground strewn, for miles and miles, with the -half-buried skeletons of the brave who had fallen there, -producing an effect that was never to be effaced from -the memory. There the triumphs of death were -calculated to impress the mind with melancholy; but -here it was too grotesquely grim and horrible. -</p> - -<p> -Scraps of verses from Ovid, Virgil, and Anacreon, -appeared over the entrances of these caverns or -crypts, in gilt letters that glimmered through the -gloom; while, with a strange incongruity, but in true -keeping with the morbid taste of the French, large -red and yellow bills, the advertisements of the -theatres, the fashionable hotels, concerts, and tailors, -&c., appeared on different parts of the walls. -</p> - -<p> -At a little distance there bubbled up a sparkling -fountain, the plash of which rang hollowly in the -vast vaults, as it fell into a large basin, where a -number of gold fish were swimming. Over it shone -the legend, in gilded letters— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "THIS IS THE WATER OF OBLIVION."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"They are strange and frightful places, these -Catacombs, Monsieur St. Florian," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"True, mon ami," he replied, pausing to take -breath; "but famous for the growth of asthmatic -coughs, and all diseases of the lungs. Peste! What -an uproar these bourgeois make. The affair has -quite sobered me, for I was somewhat unsteady -before. My face is scratched, I think. Does it -seem so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Rather." -</p> - -<p> -"Mille baionettes! do you say so? and I shall -be for guard to-morrow at the chateau—and with -this swollen face. Morbleu! what will the ladies -think?" -</p> - -<p> -"I regret very much, Monsieur le Capitaine, that -for me——" -</p> - -<p> -"Pho! my dear fellow, no apologies; I care not -a sous about it," said my new friend, whom I could -now see to be a tall and handsome fellow, whose -scarlet uniform, faced and lapelled with blue, fitted -him to admiration. His face was prepossessing in -its contour, and was very much "set off," or -enhanced, by his sparkling dark eyes, his jet -moustache, and smart red forage-cap; but he had quite -the air of a 'roué,' and the unmistakable bearing of -a man about town. "Ha! ha!" he continued, "how -messieurs the bourgeois were rolled over each other; -that was indeed a coup de grace—the trick of an -old routier! Ah! 't was poor Jacques Chataigneur -taught me that." -</p> - -<p> -"How hollow our voices sound in these vaults," -said I, after a pause; for the Frenchman's merry -tones and light remarks seemed strange to me amid -the deathlike stillness of a place so sad, so gloomy. -"The echoes seem to come from an amazing distance." -</p> - -<p> -"Oui: I will vouch for it, Monsieur never saw a -place like this before. The Parisian dead of a dozen -centuries are piled about us, and afford fine scope for -philosophy and moralising. Diable! what an uproar -there will be among all these separated heads, legs, -and arms, when the last trumpet sounds; and many -a hearty malediction will be bestowed on Monsieur -Lenoir, of the Correctional Police, who, to please the -morbid taste of the good bourgeoisie of Paris, made -all this ghastly display. Corboeuff! the skulls are all -piled up like cannon balls in the arsenal—there were -more than two millions of them at the last muster. -But, hark!" -</p> - -<p> -At that moment we heard a distant cry of "A la -lanterne! Death to the Englishman!" and a rush -of footsteps down the long staircase followed. -</p> - -<p> -"We had better secure our retreat," said the French -captain; "all the avenues are closed, save that at the -Val de Grace; and if messieurs the gensd'armes -possess themselves of it, we shall be captured like mice -in a trap. The lieutenant-general ordered all the -other outlets to be closed, because they afforded safe -and sudden retreats for chevaliers d'industrie, and -other worthies, who, after nightfall, become thick as -locusts in the streets of this pious and good city of -Paris. Nombril de Belzebub! behold! our friends -have been reinforced." -</p> - -<p> -I looked back, and could see a party of about -twenty gensd'armes advancing, but at a great distance, -and their fixed bayonets flashed like stars in these -misty caverns. The mob were in hundreds behind -them, and the clatter of their feet and their cries rang -with a thousand reverberations through the vast -vacuity of these echoing catacombs. We could see -them all distinctly; for though a quarter of a mile -distant, the lamps burned brightly where they were -passing. -</p> - -<p> -"I have my sabre, and will confront these rascals," -I exclaimed, becoming inflamed with sudden passion; -"they dare not lay hands on me, as a British officer." -</p> - -<p> -"Peste!" he replied, laughing; "I think you have -seen whether they will or not. 'T is better not to trust -them; a bayonet stab I do not mind, but think how -unpleasant for a gentleman to be captured at the -instance of a few rascally citizens. 'T will never do! -We are not far now from the Val de Grace. This -way, up the steps, and I will lead you to a secret -doorway, near a nice little house that I know of, and where -a pretty face will welcome us with smiles." -</p> - -<p> -By the hand he conducted me up several flights of -steps, along an excavated corridor, where the cold -wind blew freely in my face, and from thence by a -doorway, the exact locality of which seemed well -known to him, ushered me into a dark and quiet -street, in a part of Paris quite unknown to me. -</p> - -<p> -"My friend, we are safe; that is the Val de Grace," -said my frank captain, pointing to a large mass of -building; "there is the Rue Marionette, and that -large street still full of open shops, light, and people, -is the Rue du Faubourg St. Jacques, which leads -straight across the river. We can mingle with the -crowd, and there all traces of us will be lost." -</p> - -<p> -"Any way you please," I replied; "never having -been in this part of Paris before, I am quite -bewildered. Lead on, if you please; it is a dark place, -this." -</p> - -<p> -"The Russians have probably been passing this -way. It is well known in Paris that these piggish -Muscovites never return to their camp from a ball or -café without drinking up the contents of every lamp -within their reach; nor can all the alertness of the -gend'armerie prevent them." -</p> - -<p> -On gaining the main street of the faubourg, the -blaze of the lighted shops, the long lines of lamps, -the gaiety and bustle which were seen on every side, -together with the free healthy breath of the upper air, -were a pleasant exchange for the dark and silent -caverns we had quitted, where breathing was almost -impossible, and the mind was oppressed by the gloom -of surrounding objects. -</p> - -<p> -"Vive la joie!" exclaimed Captain St. Florian, -almost dancing as he took my arm; "how delightful is -the free air of the streets after leaving that pestilent -pit. Ouf! I shall never trust myself down there again. -But now we must sup together at a restaurateur's. -Come to the Oriflamme; 'tis down the Rue de -Bondy; Merci! there is a pretty waiteress there—a -perfect Hebe. Her smart lace cap and braided apron—her -red cheeks and roguish eyes will quite vanquish -you." -</p> - -<p> -"Well then, the Oriflamme be it." -</p> - -<p> -"You will behold teeth and eyes that some of our -dames in the great world of fashion would give fifty -thousand francs to possess." -</p> - -<p> -Turning down the street, we entered a restaurateur's, -on whose sign the Eagle of Napoleon had -lately given place to the ancient ensign of the Bourbons. -</p> - -<p> -A very pretty girl who sat within the bar with a -handkerchief over her head, tied en marmotte, arose -and welcomed us with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, entrez Antoine St. Florian," said she, raising -her arched eyebrows with a true Parisian expression -of pleasure and familiarity; "entrez, Monsieur." -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian called her his 'belle Janette,' and -saluted her cheek with all the freedom of an old -friend, as she ushered us along a corridor, on each -side of which were neat little chambers, or cabinets, -each having a single table and two chairs. -</p> - -<p> -That appropriated for us, had a lustre with two -lights, and the walls were decorated with coloured -prints of Jena, Marengo, Leipsic, and other -hard-fought battles, on which St. Florian soon began to -comment with all the ardour and enthusiasm of a -French soldier; and by his sentiments soon revealed, -that though poverty or policy had compelled him to -assume the scarlet trappings of King Louis' guards, -his heart was still with the fallen Emperor—the idol -of a hundred thousand soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -"And so your old regiment was the 23rd?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, the 23rd of the Emperor," he replied with a -sigh, while his eyes lighted up at the name. -</p> - -<p> -"I remember that we charged your regiment at -the passage of the Nive, where I was on the very -point of sabreing a young officer, before I fortunately -perceived that the poor fellow's sword arm was tied -up in a sling, and that he was quite defenceless." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed, how singular! and you saved him from -your troopers, and conducted him out of the press——" -</p> - -<p> -"For which he gave me a draught of country wine -from his canteen." -</p> - -<p> -"The same. Ah, monsieur, my friend, I am that -officer, and I owe you eternal thanks." -</p> - -<p> -We shook hands with ardour. -</p> - -<p> -"I had been severely wounded by the poniard of a -villanous Spanish peasant, and was still suffering -from its effects. Ah, it was quite a story, that affair; -my evil eye brought it all about." -</p> - -<p> -"Your evil eye?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah," he replied, laughing; "you would not -think I had one, to look at me—I seem so innocent; -but so I have, or, at least, had when I was in Spain; -ha! ha! You have often heard the Spaniards speak -of the Evil Eye—the Malocchio of the Italians? and -how the women will veil themselves, cover up their -children, and mutter a prayer if a stranger but glances -at them." -</p> - -<p> -"I have heard of that superstition, when on the -borders of Estremadura; but your affair—" -</p> - -<p> -"Listen, and fill your glass with the champagne—I -call it 'The Evil Eye.'—'T is a perfect romance, -and was well known to many a brave fellow of the -23rd, who has found his grave at the foot of Mont St. Jean." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXI. -<br /><br /> -THE WIDOW; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -"I was quartered with my company of grenadiers at -El Puerto, a wretched village in Andalusia; a poor -place it was, that had been rifled by our foragers a -dozen times, and we very unwisely made it still more -miserable, by burning the best cottages before we -were ordered to quit it. -</p> - -<p> -"I quartered myself on the best casa in the village, -a red-tiled hut, that belonged to a strange-looking -fellow, whose long visage and long legs, great black -eyes, yellow trunk breeches, green doublet, and -sugar-loaf hat, made him seem half muleteer, half gitano. -I believe, from his superstitious observances, that he -was the latter wholly. You will know, doubtless, how -famous Andalusia is for its women and horses. Ha! -I wish you had seen the wife of my long-legged -patron. She had the beautiful eyes and olive skin -of her native province, with teeth like pearls, lips -like cherries, and a face full of the sweetness of the -mildest Madonna. Ha! ha! I am growing quite -poetical! but wine or love always make me so. -You will never see, even on our Boulevards, and that -is a bold assertion, a pair of more superb ankles, -than the short red petticoats of that Andalusian -woman revealed to the pure gaze of your most -obedient servant. Peste! I was quite enchanted with -my pretty patrona, and determined on sending her -husband, tied across a mule, as a spy to the British -lines, that so I might be rid of him for a time, or for -ever. -</p> - -<p> -"They had a child, too, a merry little brat, with -which I often played and toyed, to please its mother, -whose heart was quite won by the bonbons I gave it; -while her tall ghostly don of a husband stood sullenly -aloof, smoking a paper cigar, and regarding me from -beneath his broad sombrero, with eyes full of jealousy -and malice. Now, as the devil would have it, the -little brat had long been ailing, and seemed very -likely to die at the time we came to El Puerto; and -as she watched her sleeping infant, the mother's eyes -were often suffused with tears. This, you may be -aware, served but to make the charming Spaniard -more interesting; for her melting black orbs seemed -to be ever steeped in the most delicious languor. -</p> - -<p> -"One evening I became very much aware of this; -and after toying a little with the sickly infant, by -tickling its neck with a braid of the mother's long -black hair, while I lisped soft nothings from time to -time, I departed to look for Jean Graule, my sergeant, -to hold a consultation about the safe transmission of -the señor patron to the British lines, and with my -compliments to the officer commanding the nearest -out-picquet. -</p> - -<p> -"The evening was rather gloomy; I missed my -way, and strolled into one of those underground -vaults, bodegas, as they are called, where the peasants -keep their wine in Andalusia. There I amused -myself probing the pigskins with my sword, and -imbibing the cool balmy wine from the orifice, till, -somehow, a heaviness stole over me, and I fell fast asleep. -</p> - -<p> -"About midnight I awoke, and found myself alone -in the dark bodega, drenched with the wine that had -flowed from the wounded skins; and feeling very -cold, with the agreeable accompaniments of an -aching head and sore bones. -</p> - -<p> -"By the moonlight which struggled through a -grated window, I sought my way out of the vault, -up the stair, and gained the street of the silent -Puebla, where I stood still for some time to rally my -scattered faculties, and recollect where I was. While -this passed, a man, who had been concealed under -the shadow of a vine trellis, rushed upon me, and -furiously struck at my breast with a knife or dagger. -My shoulder-belt saved me from the stroke; 't was -lucky that I had it on, otherwise I should not have -been enjoying monsieur's society, and this glorious -wine, to-night. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah, mouchard, vagabond!' I exclaimed, and -closing in a desperate struggle with the would-be -assassin, succeeded in striking him to the earth; -where, holding my sword at his throat, I demanded -his reasons for assailing me thus. -</p> - -<p> -"'To have slain you!' he growled. -</p> - -<p> -"'For what, you base rascal?' -</p> - -<p> -"'To have revenged the loss of my child,' replied -the fellow, whom I now recognised to be no other -than my worthy patron, the long-legged paisano. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ouf!' said I. -</p> - -<p> -"'Dog of a Frenchman! on the day you first came -into my poor cottage the child was well and strong, -for it was under the protection of the Blessed Virgin; -but you turned an evil eye upon it, and, lo! it -sickened; day by day it grew worse, and to-night it died: -not even romero at its neck, nor the agua bendita on -its brow, could shield it from your evil influence. Son -of Satan, I spit upon you!' -</p> - -<p> -"'A pest upon your brat, you insolent madman,' -said I, almost laughing, for the wine of the bodega -had still its influence over me: 'had you said that I -cast evil eyes on your wife, there might have been -some truth in the matter; but your child—ha, ha!' -and I laughed till the street of the Puebla rang again. -'Halloo, Sergeant Graule—quarter guard—ho, there!' -and a dozen of my grenadiers rushed from a tavern -to my assistance. -</p> - -<p> -"To Jean Graule's care I recommended the señor, -and in five minutes, at the end of a tent cord, he -swung from the chimney of a neighbouring house. -</p> - -<p> -"'Now, señor rascal,' said I, making him a mock -bow, on leaving him in the grasp of the soldiers, 'I -will go and console your pretty wife for the loss of -her child, and more particularly that of her amiable -spouse. Both are so easily replaced, that I would -recommend you to die in peace, my jovial pagan.' -</p> - -<p> -"'My wife, my wife!' said he, in a terrible voice, -striking his breast and looking upwards. 'El Santo -de los Santos—Holy of Holies, forgive me.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Console yourself, my friend,' said I, while Jean -Graule and the soldiers laughed till their belts nearly -burst. 'Console yourself, señor paisano, for your -little wife shall laugh and be merry to-night.' -</p> - -<p> -"'She waits you,' said he, with a frightful smile. -Diable! methinks I can see his white face, as he -grinned, like a shark, in the moonlight; 'She awaits -you.' -</p> - -<p> -"Graule dragged him off. -</p> - -<p> -"I hurried to the cottage of the paisano; but, -mon Dieu, what a sight awaited me! -</p> - -<p> -"On her bed, a miserable mat, lay the beautiful -Andalusian girl, stone dead; stabbed by a poniard -thrice in the neck, and her little infant, also dead, lay -in her arms, pressed to her crimson bosom. In the -first gust of my fury I rushed out to slay the jealous -perpetrator of this horror; but he had, as I have -already said, paid the debt of nature, and his dying -form was wavering in the moonlight from the -gable-end of a neighbouring house. -</p> - -<p> -"Bah! there is always something in this reminiscence -that makes me dismal—but let me think no -more of it." -</p> - -<p> -And draining his glass of champagne, the gay -St. Florian began to hum an old camp song, beating time -with his fingers on the well-polished table. Though -this episode of his life rather decreased my admiration -for this gay fellow, still the jaunty manner in -which he related it somewhat amused me. -</p> - -<p> -With the pretty Janette he appeared to be an -old-established friend; and a great deal of flirting, and -that kind of conversation which consists of pretty -trifles, ensued each time she appeared on the ringing -of the bell. But the ci-devant grenadier of Napoleon -was doubtless on the same easy footing with all the -waiteresses and shop-girls in every warehouse, cabaret, -and café in and about Paris. -</p> - -<p> -As the night was rather chilly, I proposed that we -should have some mulled port, spiced with cloves and -sugar, in a mode I had often had it prepared at Madrid -by an old patrona on whom I was billeted. -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian's countenance changed at the mention -of the mulled wine, and with ill-concealed disgust -and precipitation he protested against it, swearing by -the head of the Pope, that although he never drank -water when anything better could be had, he would -rather drink it out of a ditch, after a brigade of horse -had passed through it, than taste mulled wine of any -kind. -</p> - -<p> -"And why so?" I asked, astonished by his vehemence. -</p> - -<p> -"Sacre nom—'tis another long story; but Chataigneur, -of the 23rd, and I, were as nearly brought -to the threshold of death as may be by some muddy -liquor called mulled port, and I never could look -upon it, or think of it, with any degree of patience. -You will find the story in all the French and Spanish -newspapers. Ouf! it made a devil of a noise in the -army." -</p> - -<p> -"I should be glad to hear it," said I, touching the -bell-rope; "but in the meantime——" -</p> - -<p> -"We will have some more champagne. Yes, the -champagne of the Oriflamme is delicious. I have -drunk a tun here, I believe—aye, in this very room, -with Jacques Chataigneur. There are some -caricatures of Monsieur Vellainton which he chalked on -the wall. Poor Jacques! a shot from that cursed -Chateau of Hougomont passed through his heart, -when, sword in hand, he was leading on the -grenadiers of the great Emperor to conquest or to death. -He fell within a yard of me, prone over his horse's -crupper, and his last words were—'To the charge, to -the charge! Vive l'Empereur!' If true courage and -bravery are rewarded in heaven—but, ma foi! I am -growing quite pathetic. Where is the wine? Janette," -he cried, down the passage, "Janette, my princess!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah oui, monsieur—me voila!" replied the girl, -running in. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear girl, let us have some champagne, a few -more cigars, and a nice little tray of grapes, or -bon-bons; but let the wine be bright as your own eyes, -my wanton." -</p> - -<p> -The girl was tripping away. -</p> - -<p> -"But halt, Janette," he added, catching her by the -skirt; "how long is it since a rough moustache has -been pressed to that pretty cheek of yours?" -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur St. Florian, you are pleased to be very -rude." -</p> - -<p> -"Come, coquette, do not affect to mistake pure -admiration for rudeness. Now you owe one salute, -my pretty Janette, for remember how you fled from -me last night on the Quai de la Conference." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, one only," said she, tendering her -cheek, which was slightly rouged. -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian stole three. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah treacherous!" exclaimed the girl, striking him -playfully with her hand, and skipping away. -</p> - -<p> -"Peste!" said the captain, twirling his moustache; -"but your little fingers smart, my pretty one." -</p> - -<p> -"Now for the other story, Monsieur St. Florian," -said I, when the bright wine sparkled in the tall -glasses, and our fair attendant had withdrawn. "I -would fain learn why an old soldier dislikes any sort -of wine. I have often drank ditch-water on the line -of march, and have gladly filled my canteen from the -ruts of the artillery wheels——" -</p> - -<p> -"And so have I a thousand times, but my dislike -to mulled port arises from something more than mere -prejudice—bah! this is worth an ocean of a muddy -drench, boiled in a kettle with sugar and cloves. See -how it sparkles when the glass is raised to the light. -Ma foi! 't is like a glass full of diamonds. We shall -drink to the emperor." -</p> - -<p> -"I have no objection." -</p> - -<p> -"I hope the door is closed, though. Paris is such -a city for espionage, police, and informers: Ouf! but -'Vive l'Empereur Napoleon!'" and he drained his -long glass, while his dark eyes flashed with -enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -"Long life to him!" said I, with a frankness that -won the Frenchman's heart; "and now let me know -the cause of this horror of mulled wine." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps you have already heard it. I well -remember that it made a deuced noise at the time it -occurred, and, save the maid of Zaragossa, there -never was a woman so extolled by the Spaniards as -she of whom I am about to speak,— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "THE WIDOW OF MADRID;"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -for so he named the following story. -</p> - -<p> -"It was in the month of December, when the -immortal emperor and the victorious army of France -captured Madrid, that Jacques Chataigneur, four officers -of the Imperial Guard, and myself, were quartered, -or rather, according to the unceremonious custom of -war in the like cases, took the liberty of quartering -ourselves, on a house in one of the most fashionable -streets in the city. -</p> - -<p> -"Every place within the walls was full of our -troops; horse and foot were swarming in tens of -thousands; the red rosette and the banner of Castile -and Leon had disappeared; the French eagle soared -in triumph over the capital of the Spaniards. Every -house, from the great palace of the Duke d'Ossuna -to the poorest casa on the margin of the Manzanares, -was undergoing a strict investigation, to discover -where Messieurs the Spaniards had hid their doubloons -and other valuables, for which the pouches and -haversacks of our soldiers were yawning. -</p> - -<p> -"Our fellows were rather riotous, especially about -the cafés and wine-houses, where every man drank -his fill, without being at the expense of a single sou. -The city was involved in chaos and uproar. Merci! 't -was such a hubbub as you in all your service can -never have witnessed; for, what with disarming the -men, and running after pretty women, searching for -wine, provisions, and plunder, our soldiers had quite -enough of business on their hands. -</p> - -<p> -"The house which we honoured with our presence, -on this auspicious occasion, was a handsome mansion, -with broad balconies, and lofty saloons, having gilded -ceilings, tiled floors, and rich furniture; and you may -imagine how acceptable the splendid bed-chambers -were to us, who had been under canvas for months. -</p> - -<p> -"It belonged to Donna Elvira de Almeria, whose -family had just been reduced to one daughter, by the -unexpected deaths of her husband and three sons, -who had fallen on the previous day sword in hand, as -she told us, like true cavaliers, defending the palace -of the Betiro, which had been breached by the cannon -of the Marshal Duke of Belluno; but the ghastly -gap had been defended with admirable resolution and -bravery by the Spaniards; so the soldiers of the -emperor, petulant at all times, were somewhat -exasperated in consequence. -</p> - -<p> -"We, ourselves, were ripe for mischief, and I cannot -rehearse all the fine things we did in our ramble -through the city that night: I beseech you to suppose them. -</p> - -<p> -"The household of the Donna Elvira were, as -may be imagined, overwhelmed with terror and grief -by the misfortune which war had brought upon them; -and their condition was in no way soothed or -ameliorated by our appearance among them, blackened with -powder and smoke, and bespattered with blood and -dust, for we had hewn our way in by the breach at -the Retiro. -</p> - -<p> -"The ladies were both handsome, but more especially -the daughter Virginia, a timid girl of about -fifteen; and at these years a Spaniard is almost a -woman. Her tears, I blush to say, made little -impression on me, but her beauty had a great effect on -as all. However, drunk as we were, we remembered -Chataigneur was our senior officer, and that his -pleasure must be known before the officer next in -rank presumed to open the trenches; or, in other -words, address the ladies in the language of gallantry. -</p> - -<p> -"Jacques was a child of the revolution, an -iron-hearted soldier, penetrable only to steel and -lead—half fox, half wolf; to anything soft or sentimental, -he was immovable as a cannon-ball. It was said in -the 23rd, that he had done some terrible things in La -Vendée, and certainly his more recent campaigns in -Holland and Italy had taught him to view with the -coolness of a stoic the blood of the bravest men and -the tears of the most beautiful women. -</p> - -<p> -"Peste! he was a true philosopher, and one might -march from Dunkirk to Damascus without meeting -such another. He was never troubled with any -unpleasant qualms of conscience—not he, because, like -most of those fierce soldiers, who had been trained -and nurtured amid the horrors of the revolution, he -believed in neither God nor devil, heaven nor hell, -and, consequently, cared not a straw for any of -them." -</p> - -<p> -"A pretty picture of your friend and comrade," -said I, with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Peste! yes. He should have appointed me to -write his epitaph. Chataigneur was the man it was -a pleasure to follow to the breach or battle-field; for -he cared as little for riding headlong on the charged -bayonets of a solid square, or manoeuvring his -regiment under a storm of grape-shot, as for handing his -partner through the figures of a quadrille. But, to -return. The ladies, on perceiving us enter their -mansion uninvited, gave us a specimen of Spanish -hauteur, by retiring to a distant apartment, and -leaving us to provide for ourselves. -</p> - -<p> -"This we were not long in doing. The servants -had fled; but Chataigneur ordered three grenadiers -of the 23rd, who were in attendance upon us, to break -down the doors of the cellars and other repositories: -thus, in the twinkling of an eye, we had the sherry, -the Malaga, and the Ciudad Real of the old beldame -in abundance. -</p> - -<p> -"We installed ourselves in the finest saloon of the -mansion, while messieurs our servants possessed -themselves of the kitchen, where they stripped off -their accoutrements and coats, piled half-a-dozen -shutters, a door, and a chair or two on the hearth; -and so zealous were they in preparing a repast for us, -that the rascals nearly set the house on fire. All the -pantries were laid under contribution, and large -conscriptions were levied on the poultry-yard, and we -were soon as merry as magnificent quarters, a -plenteous supper, and wine ad libitum, without having a -sou to pay for them all, could make us. We drank -deadly bumpers in honour of the emperor, to the -success of his armies, to ourselves, to the continuation of -the war, to the girls we had left behind us in -beautiful France, and the devil alone knows what more. -Oh, the exquisite delights of living at free quarters in -an enemy's country! Vive la joie! I need not -expatiate upon them to you, for I heard of your pretty -doings after Badajoz fell." -</p> - -<p> -"They could not compare with yours at Madrid." -</p> - -<p> -"You shall hear. 'In the ardour of our attack -upon the savoury viands,' said the Chevalier de -Vivancourt, a gay sub-lieutenant of the guard, 'we are -quite forgetting the ladies!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Mon Dieu! yes—what negligence!' said one -or two ironically. -</p> - -<p> -"'I shall make amends for our ungallantry,' said -Chataigneur, starting up and staggering unsteadily; -for he had enough of Ciudad Real under his belt to -have served even a German. 'Hola! Pierre, Jean -Graule, where are the ladies, just now—eh? the -sour-visaged madame and plump little mademoiselle?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Shall I have the honour of conducting them to -the presence of monsieur?' said our sergeant, giving -his military salute. 'The mother——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh the devil take the mother, or you may have -her yourself, honest Jean.' -</p> - -<p> -"The sergeant bowed, and grinned. -</p> - -<p> -"'But sabre de bois! 't is the little daughter I -want,' said Chataigneur. -</p> - -<p> -"'They are at prayer in their little oratory, I -believe,' urged the chevalier, who was the least wicked -among us. -</p> - -<p> -"'Praying!' reiterated Jacques with intense -disgust; 'I shall soon change their cheer. Are there -any guitars or mandolins here? The girl—what's -her name? Virginia shall bear us company in a -merry chorus, or shall ride the cheval de bois with a -vengeance.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Let us have her by all means,' said one of the -Imperial guardsmen; 'we must teach this young -creature the first rudiments of love and coquetry.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Will some of you lend a hand to undo the clasp -of this infernal sword-belt?' grumbled Jacques, who -was very tipsy. 'Avaunt, Jean Graule, thou art -drunk, man! Vivancourt, most redoubtable chevalier -of the immortal legion of honour, lend me thine aid. -Corboeuf! I am swollen like a huge tortoise with -Ciudal Real. Now, messieurs, remember that I am -the senior officer here, and that whoever follows me -does so at his peril.' -</p> - -<p> -"And half-dancing, half staggering, he swaggered -out of the room accompanied by Jean Graule. -</p> - -<p> -"We continued to enjoy ourselves with supreme -nonchalance, for the Imperial Guard and the 23rd -Grenadiers were the most reckless routiers in the -army. Believe me, we were too much accustomed to -storming to trouble ourselves much about the little -Spanish girl; but I am forgetting that you are not a -Frenchman; so, fearing to shock your cold British -prejudices, I will, as the novelists say, draw a veil -over what passed;" and M. de St. Florian smiled -complacently as he emptied and refilled his glass. -</p> - -<p> -"Is it possible!" I exclaimed, with something of -incredulity in my manner; "is it possible that brave -soldiers, and gentlemen of France—France, once so -famous for its spirit of honour and chivalry—could -behave thus?" -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, my word is never doubted," replied -the other good-humouredly; "how could you expect -us to behave like saints or apostles, or perhaps -like the cool stoics that compose a regiment of -kilts? -</p> - -<p> -"Chataigneur was absent with Jean Graule about -an hour, during which time we scarcely missed him, -so closely did we pay court to the glittering decanters -and bloated pig-skins, which we laid under contribution -without mercy. The wax lights, were becoming -double; the saloon was beginning to swim around us; -and we were in the very midst of singing the carmagnole -in full chorus, at the utmost pitch of our lungs, -each having his drawn sabre in his right hand, and a -mantling cup in his left, when the door was dashed -open and Jacques Chataigneur entered, with Donna -Elvira supported on one arm, and her daughter -Donna Virginia on the other. -</p> - -<p> -"With a triumphant and scornful air, he led or -rather half dragged them in, and forced them to sit -down at table with us. -</p> - -<p> -"Although being so tipsy that I could scarcely -know whether my head or heels were uppermost, I -can still remember the terrible expression depicted in -the faces of these two ladies. The mother's wore the -fury and rage of a tigress; the blood seemed to boil -in the swollen veins of her temples, and her large -black Spanish eyes shot fire from time to time as she -surveyed us. Her daughter's appeared the very -reverse, and her face expressed only the darkness of -despair. -</p> - -<p> -"She was very beautiful; her long black hair was -loosened from its braids, and hung matted in -disorder about her shoulders, and half concealed her -face, which was pale as death. Her eyes—you will -remember the splendid eyes of the Spanish girls—her -eyes were bloodshot and red with weeping; their -expression was wild, wandering, insane; and there -was a chilling air of desolation and abandonment in -her grief that had, indeed, a very considerable effect -on me (for I am not altogether such a bad fellow as -monsieur may suppose me), although her utter despair -had none on Chataigneur and my more intoxicated -companions. -</p> - -<p> -"Her lips were quivering, and her graceful Spanish -dress, her long veil particularly, was torn to ribands. -</p> - -<p> -"'Messieurs,' said Chataigneur, bowing with an -air of mock politeness; 'I am permitted to have the -high honour of introducing you to the notice of -Donna Elvira de Almeria, widow of a very brave -Caballero y Procuradore of new Castile, and her -daughter the enchanting Virginia, whom, as I have -two ladies who equally claim the title of Madame la -Colonel, I shall advance to the ancient Spanish -dignity of being my Barragano,* which will square all -matters between us, so Vive la joie! let us drink and -be merry!' -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See "Essayo Historico Critico on the Ancient Legislation, -&c., &c., of Castile and Leon," 4to., Madrid, 1808, for this term. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"The eyes of the Spaniards absolutely glared as -he spoke." -</p> - -<p> -"The scoundrel!" I exclaimed, becoming excited -by this revolting narrative. "Would to heaven that -I had been there with a few of my English hussars." -</p> - -<p> -"That would have availed little," replied St. Florian, -pouring out his wine with slow sang froid; -"every street and house within the trenches was -swarming with our soldiers; and such scenes as that -I have described were innumerable." -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, Monsieur le Capitaine; but I must -pronounce your comrade to have been a finished -rascal." -</p> - -<p> -"Peste!" muttered the Frenchman, half angrily; -and then he continued, while laughing and twirling -his moustache, "Opinion is the queen of the world—'t -is a proverb we have, and a true one. But poor -Chataigneur is gone now, and I must not hear him -abused. -</p> - -<p> -"But, to continue. The excitement of the -preceding day's fighting, and the quantity of wine we -had drunk, rendered us insensible to the distresses of -these poor women; and with shame and sorrow I -now remember that we permitted Chataigneur, by -dint of many a savage threat, to compel them to -assume their guitars and sing in accompaniment, -while we chaunted a bacchanalian ditty suited only -for the meridian of the lowest cabaret in the faubourg -St. Antoine. -</p> - -<p> -"What they sang Heaven only knows, for, nom -d'un Pape! my comrade, the horrible catastrophe to -this little supper has fairly driven all minor incidents -from my memory. And there they sat and sang to -us—sang with shame on their brows, and rage, and -grief, and agony in their hearts—while a husband -and three sons, a father and three brothers, were -lying dead in their harness by the walls of the Retiro. -</p> - -<p> -"We drank bumpers to Virginia, and made the -ceiling shake with our mad laughter and revelry. In -the midst of this, unluckily, the Chevalier de -Vivancourt called for a bumper of mulled port. What -fiend prompted a request so useless I cannot imagine: -but we all joined in his demand vociferously; and the -old dame, who appeared to have somewhat recovered -her equanimity, desired her daughter to prepare it. -She spoke in Basque Spanish, which we did not -understand, but which should have been sufficient to -kindle our suspicions; and I could perceive that a -wild and almost insane expression flashed in the eyes -of the little Donna Virginia as she flung aside her -guitar and rose to execute the order. -</p> - -<p> -"With some trouble she extricated herself from -Chataigneur, whose arm was round her waist. He -was very angry, and growled like a bear at the -chevalier, swearing by the sabre de bois that he would -put him under arrest for the trouble he occasioned. -</p> - -<p> -"While he was yet speaking, Virginia returned -with the prepared wine in a crystal vase, from which, -with her own fair hands, she filled our long, carved -glasses. We drank to her, draining them to the -dregs; and, with a grim smile on her pallid lips, our -youthful cupbearer replenished our glasses. The -flavour of the wine was so exquisite, that Chataigneur -embraced Virginia with drunken ardour, and desired -her to bring us more. -</p> - -<p> -"'You will require no more!' she cried, with a -shriek, as she flung the vase from her hands, and it -was dashed into a hundred pieces. -</p> - -<p> -"We rose in alarm, but instantly sank again on -our seats; and at that moment a peculiar and horrible -sensation came over me. Sacre! methinks I feel it -yet. I looked upon my companions of the carousal, -but read in their faces an expression that yielded me -anything but comfort. Three had dropped their -glasses, and reclined upon their chairs, with open -mouths and fixed eyes, which gleamed with the vacant -wildness of insanity. The Chevalier de Vivancourt -sank prostrate on the floor, while Chataigneur, who -seemed also about to sink, turned and stared with a -powerless aspect of rage and alarm at Donna Elvira. -</p> - -<p> -"Virginia had sunk upon her knees and hid her -face in the skirt of her torn dress; but her mother -stood erect, and, with her arms outstretched towards -us, shrieked in a frightful voice between a moan and -a yell, while a murderous rage, alike fiendish and -terrible, caused her tall form to tremble, her proud -nostrils to dilate, and her large dark eyes to gleam -like those of a rattlesnake. -</p> - -<p> -"'At last we have avenged ourselves! Perros y -ladrones! Frenchmen, dogs, and murderers, let me -scream into your dying ears, that we are Castilian -women, and have avenged our wrongs! I have lost -my brave husband and his noble sons—by numbers -you destroyed them, and side by side they fell on the -palace threshold of the kings of Castile. Oh, -bloodhounds—worse than devils in the form of men, ye -murdered them, and now—my daughter (her voice -became choked), my innocent little daughter—but we -are revenged—revenged—revenged! Oh, Santa -Maria, Virgin, y Madre de Jesu! let us be forgiven—but, -fiends, the sure, cold hands of death are upon -you—you are dying, for the wine you have drunk is -poisoned!' -</p> - -<p> -"Mon Dieu!" said St. Florian, pausing while the -perspiration almost suffused his forehead, "still the -screech-owl voice of that detestable hag seems to ring -in my tingling ears! -</p> - -<p> -"Inspired by terror and rage, I made an effort to -spring up, to draw my sabre, to run her through the -heart; but the moment my hand touched the hilt, a -deadly numbness crept over me; I staggered -backward, and while sleep and despair came over my -soul, sank prone and insensible on the corpses of my -comrades!" -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian paused again for an instant, for he -really seemed considerably excited by the -recollection of the adventure. -</p> - -<p> -"Parbleu! 'twas a most unpleasant denouement—a -devil of a winding-up. Next morning I found my -self lying prostrate on the chilly floor of the Church -of the Conception, which, with many others, had -been converted into a temporary hospital for the sick -and wounded. I was sick for seventeen days, and -my head ached as if it had been crushed in a vice; -while my miserable throat was skinned by the stomach -pump and other engines of the medical science, which -the staff surgeon had kept at work on me, as they -afterwards said, for two consecutive hours. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Jacques Chataigneur was in the same -wretched condition, and lay opposite to me, kennelled -on a bed of straw, under the gothic canopy which -covered the grave perhaps of some long-bearded -hidalgo of old Castile. -</p> - -<p> -"We alone recovered. -</p> - -<p> -"The gay Chevalier de Vivancourt and his three -comrades of la Garde Imperiale died; so did poor -Jean Graule and all our servants; for the little fury -Virginia had administered part of her infernal potion -to them too. So to this hour, my friend, I entertain -such a horror of all kinds of prepared wine, that I -may safely say, 'tis not in the power of man, or even -woman, with all her superlative cunning and witchery, -to make me taste a single drop that is not pure as -when it came from the wine-press." -</p> - -<p> -"And the ladies—what became of them?" -</p> - -<p> -"Donna Elvira," continued my garrulous friend, -"disappeared from Madrid on that very night, taking -with her the unlucky Virginia, and for a time we -heard no more of them, save in the columns of the -'Moniteur' and 'El Espanol,' where, the Lord knows, -our malheur made more than noise enough! May -mischief dog their heels as two revengeful vixens. -But I afterwards learned that the girl assumed another -name, and, bestowing her hand on a certain hidalgo -of Alava, actually had the happiness to give me shelter -one night on the retreat from Vittoria. My whiskers -had grown, and she did not recognise me; sacre bleu, -if she had! I was never discovered, and blessed -my stars that I was sound, wind and limb, when I -left her mansion in the morning—Ouf! let me think -no more of it, for altogether 't is a story that makes -me shudder." -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, Captain St. Florian," said I, when he -had ceased; "but on my honour, you make me blush -for the army of France." -</p> - -<p> -"Morbleu!" said he; "they were only Spaniards." -</p> - -<p> -"But I have heard many an episode of horror -blacker even than that of Donna Elvira, for I was -one of those who followed up the retreating army of -Massena, from the frontiers of Portuguese Estremadura, -through desert fields and desolate cities, -marked by fire and blood, and all that the wantonness -and wickedness your devastators could inflict -on a poor, a prostrate, and a defenceless people. I -am warm, monsieur, but I pray you pardon me——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! he was a stern old routier, Massena, and -handled the dons so roughly, that the Emperor named -him rightly the 'child of rapine.' I care not for being -his apologist, as I never either loved or admired him, -and once positively hated the old pagan, for -reprimanding me in general orders, because, on our -retreat from the lines of Torres Vedras, I neglected to -destroy the house of a poor old hidalgo near -Santarem, who had been so kind to me, that I omitted -him in the list of devastations to be made by my -foragers. Ouf! I got a lecture that was printed in -the 'Moniteur,' and read at the head of every -regiment in the division. But in revenge, that very -night I affixed a scroll to the door of the marshal's -quarters, saying— -</p> - -<p> -"'This is the residence of the mighty Massena, -Prince of Essling and Duke of Rivoli, who has made -more noise in the world by beating the drum than -by beating the British!' -</p> - -<p> -"Corboeuf! what a frightful rage the old Turk was -in, but he could never discover the author of the -pasquil, which made him the laughing-stock of the -whole army. But the sparing of that hidalgo's -mansion and family was a most fortunate circumstance -for me, as it was the means of saving my life three -days after." -</p> - -<p> -"In what manner?" -</p> - -<p> -"He ransomed me for a hundred dollars from -some rascally frontier guerillas who had captured -me, and were on the point of putting me to death. -Ouf! 'twas a devil of an adventure that. Shall I tell -it you?" -</p> - -<p> -"If you please," said I, lighting a fourth cigar. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, listen, though perhaps it is not so -much my story as that of a poor peasant whom the -Estremadurans named Perez the Potter." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXII. -<br /><br /> -PEREZ, THE POTTER; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -"When Massena retired before the impetuous -advance of Lord Wellington, and left behind the -boasted lines of Torres Vedras, you may remember -that he selected the position of Santarem as one -admirably adapted to keep in check the advance of -your troops through the Portuguese frontier. While -his division occupied their trenches on the hill above -the Tagus, I was one day despatched on duty to the -officer commanding the Cuirassier Brigade at Torres -Novas, a town five leagues from Santarem, situated in -the middle of a beautiful plain. It is surrounded by -walls, and is overlooked by the castle with the nine -towers, from which it takes its name. -</p> - -<p> -"I rode without an orderly, or other followers, for -the whole country was covered with our troops, and I -had no dread of molestation, though desired by -Marshal Massena to take with me a section of -dragoons, as part of the country through which I had to -pass was rendered very unsafe by the residence and -outrages of a certain Don Julian d'Aviero, a half-mad -student of Alcala, who had gathered a band of -deserter guerillas, and become a captain of robbers -in the woods of Santarem. There his name had -become terrible through all the Spanish and -Portuguese Estremaduras, Alentejo and Beira. His -midnight expeditions and attacks upon the detached -houses and solitary quintas of friend and foe were -characterised by singular and wanton cruelty; and in -a state of warfare, where the country was possessed -by two hostile armies, the pretexts of treason and -espionage were never wanting. -</p> - -<p> -"A wild yell informed the inmates that their -dwelling was surrounded by the banditti of Don -Julian; the doors were dashed in; the men, half-starting -from their beds, were hewn to pieces; their -wives and daughters were dragged away to suffer -worse than death; the houses were pillaged, and -then reduced to ashes. And many of these atrocities -were doubtless attributed by us to you, and by you to -us. Captives were carried off daily, but they were -generally ransomed; if not, a shot from a carbine, -or a stab from a poniard, and all was over! -</p> - -<p> -"I thought of all these things as I pursued my -solitary way by the foot of the mountains that skirt -the plain of Torres Novas; but it was with less of -alarm than pleasure. To me there seemed something -charming in the lonely and knight-errant-like -fashion in which I had thus ridden forth, in a strange -country, among dangerous ways, and an unscrupulous -people, with neither friend nor ally save my sabre -and horse. -</p> - -<p> -"The sun was verging towards the darkening -mountains of Alentejo; but the atmosphere was still -exceedingly close and sultry, for, hot and bright, the -rays of the western sun were poured from a clear -and cloudless sky, scorching with their warmth the -waving corn, and the myriads of wild flowers that -covered the beautiful plain of Torres Novas. -</p> - -<p> -"I was still far from the lines of Massena: the -country seemed desolate and depopulated. I had no -guide, and became apprehensive of losing my way, -and wandering towards the British outposts. Once -or twice I questioned a passing peasant, but was -provoked by their sullenness and ignorance of their -own locality. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor,' said I, to a paisano, whom I met driving -two mules harnessed in a rude cart, which was simply -composed of the rough stem of a tree, from which -two branches in the form of a fork rested, one on -each wheel, and formed the axle—'Señor, how many -leagues is it from this place to Santarem?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Three, señor Caballero,' replied the man, -holding up three fingers. -</p> - -<p> -"'Bueno! are they long or short?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Short, señor.' -</p> - -<p> -"There is, I know not why, a difference in the -length of the Spanish leagues, as many a time and -oft we found on the long line of march. After riding -four or five miles further, and, being still uncertain, -on meeting another peasant driving a borrico (an ass), -laden with kid-skins of the mountain-wine, I inquired -of him the distance from Santarem on the Tagus. -</p> - -<p> -"'Five long leagues, señor,' he replied, displaying -four fingers and a thumb. -</p> - -<p> -"'Diable!' I muttered, and spurred on, for the -sun had now sunk behind the blue waving line of the -western Sierra. -</p> - -<p> -"Near a roadside fountain I passed the bodies of -three or four French soldiers, who had been wounded -in a recent encounter with the outlaws of Julian -Aviero, and had crawled there to quench their thirst -and die. They had been completely stripped by the -Spaniards, and their gory but honourable scars were -blackening in the heat of the sultry day. -</p> - -<p> -"On the velvet turf that bordered the road I softly -drew up my horse, on observing behind the pedestal -of the fountain a villanous son of Israel practising -dental surgery, by robbing the jaws of the dead; for -the soldiers being generally young men, their teeth -brought a good price in the dentist shops of Paris -and Madrid. I had frequently heard of this revolting -practice, but never till that moment had ocular proof -that such existed. -</p> - -<p> -"The operator was a man about forty, lean and -hollow-visaged, with the brow of a villain, the eyes of -a snake, the nose of an eagle, and beard like a -cossacque; he was enveloped in a loose blue gown, and -his head was surmounted by a steeple-crowned -sombrero, that had long lost every trace of its original -colour. Near him lay a square mahogany box, like a -pedlar's wallet, in which he carried his instruments -and stock of dental wares. -</p> - -<p> -"He was so busy with the relaxed jaws of a -young soldier that he did not perceive my approach. -</p> - -<p> -"You know how jealous we soldiers are of the -treatment given to the remains of our dead comrades. -Maladetto! my blood boiled. Dashing spurs -into my horse, I plunged him right upon the dog of -an Israelite; a kick from a hoof laid bare his skull, -and stretched him prostrate on the earth. As he fell -backwards I obtained a glimpse of his wallet, which -bristled with poniards and pistols, from which I -concluded him to be a robber of the living as well as of -the dead; and I soon discovered my conclusions to -be just. -</p> - -<p> -"This rencontre occurred near a great olive wood, -which was known to be the haunt of Aviero; and I -rode as fast as possible to leave it behind before -nightfall; but I had not gone half-a-mile from the -fountain, when a sharp rifle shot whistled from a -grove of olives on my right. My horse gave a snort -of agony, and fell heavily forward, stone dead. A -bullet had pierced his brain. I disengaged myself -from the stirrups, and drew my sabre, but ere I -could strike one blow in my defence, a hundred -hands were upon me, and I was a prisoner, in the -power of a band of savage frontier guerillas—half -soldiers, half robbers, and wholly demons. Diable! my -life hung by a hair. -</p> - -<p> -"Some wore broad hats, embroidered jackets, and -yellow scarfs, with plush breeches; others had little -other garment than their olive skins, and wore their -flowing hair of the deepest black, gathered in netted -cauls; but all were armed with rifles, daggers, and -pistols, or with all manner of military weapons -gathered from the fields of those battles which were -every day fought in their vicinity. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Monsieur! what a moment of misery was -that when I found myself so completely at the mercy -of those ruffian Spaniards, whom I equally despised -and abhorred. -</p> - -<p> -"Many a knife was drawn and many a blow -struck at me; but in their very fury and anxiety -to destroy me these wretches retarded, impeded, and -wounded each other. -</p> - -<p> -"'Down with him! down with the Frenchman! -Death to the Buonapartist! Maladetto!' was the -cry on every side. -</p> - -<p> -"'Caramba!' cried one in a voice of thunder, -'I will blow out the brains of the first that injures -him. Frenchman and dog as he is, our laws must -be respected. Away with him to the mountains, for -Don Julian d'Aviero must decide his fate.' -</p> - -<p> -"Aviero! my heart sunk; I was then quite in the -power of the devil. -</p> - -<p> -"Amid a storm of growling and swearing, and -even fisticuffs, I was conducted through the wood, -which was almost pathless and covered the face of -the Sierra by which we ascended, to an old and ruined -villa, belonging to the Duke of Aviero. It stood on -the edge of a precipice that overhung the Tagus, and -there Don Julian had for the present established his -head-quarters. A recent attempt had been made, by -a detachment of ours, under Jacques Chataigneur, to -dislodge him; these had been repulsed with great -slaughter; and on approaching the villa, I could -discern vivid traces of the conflict—traces which its -amiable and philosophical inmates cared not to -trouble themselves as yet in removing. -</p> - -<p> -"This noble residence of Don Julian's ancestors, -with its marble vestibule and stately portico, its -frescoed chambers and arcades of columns, round which -the vine and the rose were clambering, had been -no way improved by his occupation thereof. A -balustraded terrace encircled it, and within and around it -the dead French and guerillas were lying across each -other in scores—many of them yet grasping their -adversaries, just as they had fallen, without their -hold relaxing, or the fierce expression which -distorted their features at the hour of death passing -away. -</p> - -<p> -"Many of these men were my comrades, grenadiers -of the 23rd, whom I could recognise, notwithstanding -the alteration of their features. -</p> - -<p> -"In the assault and defence, the doors and windows -of this beautiful villa had all been blown to -pieces; the walls were studded with bullets and -spattered with blood, which appeared to have run -like a rivulet down the staircase, to mingle with the -waters of a shattered jet d'eau in the vestibule. At -the head of the stair a barricade had been formed by -a sideboard, a piano, and other furniture, wedged with -bolsters and pillows, and books; and this point of -assault had been fought for, like any breach in the glacis -of Badajoz. Everywhere the bills and axes of the -pioneers had been at work; but Chataigneur had -been repulsed, and Don Julian remained impregnable -and triumphant. -</p> - -<p> -"In a noble apartment, the windows of which -overlooked the Tagus and the vast plain that spread -in its beauty towards the castle and city of Torres -Novas, the ramparts of which were tipped with the -last gleam of the set sun, Don Julian, with several -of his desperadoes, sat over their cups of country -wine, muffled in their mantles, and enjoying paper -cigars, while their feet rested on a great copper -brassero of charcoal that stood in the centre of the -marble floor. -</p> - -<p> -"Don Julian, a remarkably handsome young man, -but with a bold, reckless, and ferocious cast of -features, received me with a low bow, which I could -perceive to be partly ironical. His jacket of green -velvet was richly brocaded and fastened with silver -clasps; his breast was displayed by an open shirt, -and had a crucifix engraven on it by gunpowder. He -wore yellow breeches girt by a sash, red stockings -and abarcas; but had no weapons save his sabre. -</p> - -<p> -"When he addressed me, I expected to hear but -my death warrant; judge how agreeably I was -surprised by his saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor, though you are a Frenchman, and I -might this moment put you to death as an invader -of Spain, and as a revenge in some sort for the recent -attempt made by your ruthless marshal on my -residence here, I know you to be the officer who spared -the mansion of old Don Juan Lerma, when -empowered by your orders to destroy it. Don Juan is -the only man for whom a lingering feeling of -humanity has left in my breast an atom of regard, for -he loved the old cavalier, my father, well. Being -anxious to requite to you the kindness so lately done -to him, and to prove whether his gratitude surpasses -that of a robber, I request that you will write to him -from this, my Villa of Aviero, and beg the ransom of -one hundred dollars to free you from my troop, as I -question very much if the state of Massena's -commissariat will enable you to have so much loose cash -about you.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You are right, señor; a hundred dollars! -Diable! I never had so much money at any time. But -what if the cavalier Lerma refuses?' -</p> - -<p> -"'You must die.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Morbleu!' said I, shrugging my shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -"'Such is the law of capture to which we have -bound ourselves, by such oaths as men seldom hear. -You will be accommodated with writing materials; -address a letter to the Cavalier Don Juan Lerma, -and one of my people will convey it immediately to -the city of Santarem.' -</p> - -<p> -"Upon this, I wrote a hurried but anxious note to -the old hidalgo, begging him to consider the -kindness I had done him, the danger by which I was -menaced, and pledging my honour to repay the -hundred duros out of my first prize money. This -system of kidnapping and extortion had become so -common that, being doubtful of the answer, I saw -the messenger depart with an anxiety which I -laboured in vain to conceal by folding my arms and -planting my feet on the brassero, by smoking a cigar, -sipping the Lisbon vino, and joining in the half -frivolous and wholly ruffian chit-chat of Don Julian -and his squalid myrmidons. -</p> - -<p> -"In the midst of this I was a little startled to find -my acquaintance, the Jew dentist, enter, with his -box under his arm, a bloody cloth encircling his -head and half concealing his basilisk eyes, which -bent on me a demoniacal scowl of recognition; and -I discovered to my consternation that this worthy, in -virtue of being a greater fiend than his fellows, was -no other than the lieutenant of Julian d'Aviero. But, -without seeming to observe me, he advanced to the -side of the latter, and whispered a few words in his -ear. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ha,' said Don Julian, 'is it so? then our -hellish compact must be observed. I am sorry for -the little paisana, but there is no remedy. Hold, -there, cammarados! bring in the prisoners of -Santarem—the potter Perez and the girl who was -captured with him last night by our worthy Teniente -Isacco Zendono.' -</p> - -<p> -"'The girl is his sister,' growled the Jew robber, -in husky Spanish, as he threw off his blue gown and -revealed his gaudy Spanish dress, and sash bristling -with pistols and knives, 'and a fair sample of mother -Eve's flesh she is—Bueno!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Curses blast you! bring them in, or'—and -Julian, who always assumed the blustering ruffian to -his own people, grasped a pistol. -</p> - -<p> -"The lieutenant quitted his presence; but almost -immediately returned, dragging in a stout peasant -about three or four and twenty years of age. He had -all the lofty air, the well-knit and erect figure of those -peasantry on frontiers where the Portuguese are -improved by intermarriage with the Spaniards. He -wore a brown vest with loose sleeves, and breeches of -bright yellow cotton, tied about the middle by a red -silk scarf. His long raven hair was gathered in a -wide silk netting, and hung in a heavy mass upon his -neck. His hands were tightly pinioned by a cord, -but he gazed about him with an air of reckless defiance, -which, however, failed to intimidate the thieves, -or to encourage his sister, a pretty-looking girl of -sixteen, or thereabout, who clung to his arm in the -utmost terror. -</p> - -<p> -"Her coal-black hair was plaited somewhat after -the fashion of the Basque women, in two gigantic -braids, and reached below the flounces of her yellow -skirt, which was short enough to expose, half-way up -to the knee, her very handsome legs, encased in -bright scarlet stockings which were elaborately -covered with white braiding. Her little feet and -ankles were equipped with open cut abarcas, -interlaced with thongs of morocco leather, like the hose -of your Highland soldiers. Her teeth and lips were -a miracle, and her terror made her dark eyes glitter -like diamonds. Ah! merci, monsieur, she was -excessively captivating, that little paisana. -</p> - -<p> -"Though such a little beauty is not uncommon in -Spain, the robbers of Don Julian gazed upon her -with gloating eyes of evil admiration and longing; -many of them licked their huge blubber lips with -grim and grotesque glee, as if anticipating kisses; -while the poor sinking girl shrunk from their bold -and villainous gaze, as she would have done from the -eyes of so many serpents or fiends. -</p> - -<p> -"'Teresa, hold up your head, my dear girl; do not -droop before these base ladrones, stained as they are -by a thousand atrocities. Dios! should innocence -quail before guilt?' said the young peasant with a -fearlessness that at once gained him my sympathy -and admiration; and for a time I forgot my own -troubles in those of the strangers. 'Be bold of heart, -my sweet sister! We are possessed of that which can -touch even the hearts of these bad men, and unlock -the doors of their prison-house.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You are mistaken in this idea, Señor Perez el -Cantarero,' said Don Julian, with a quiet sneer, while -his band crowded round with lowering brows and -gloating eyes. 'Quite mistaken, allow me to inform -you. Your honest uncle, the abagado (O most honest -lawyer of Santarem!) has refused to ransom you. Our -messenger, the very reverend rabbi, Isacco Zendono, -has come back just now empty-handed.' -</p> - -<p> -"The girl shrieked and hid her face in the bosom -of her brother, who gazed around him with a look of -rage, astonishment, and stupefaction. -</p> - -<p> -"Isacco, the Jew, burst into an uncontrollable fit -of laughter, in which Don Julian and his comrades -joined. -</p> - -<p> -"'Out upon ye, villains,' exclaimed Perez the potter, -shaking his clenched hand at them. -</p> - -<p> -"'O Perez, por amor de mi,' urged his sister, in a -breathless voice. -</p> - -<p> -"'Teresa, my poor Teresa,' muttered the brother -through his hard-set teeth, 'I had doubts, dreadful -doubts; but I expected not this. Answer, Señor Don -Julian d'Aviero, does this black-hearted slave of -Mammon, this villain of an abagado, forget that he -retains in his repositories the inheritance left us by -old Gil Perez, the alcalde of Santarem?' -</p> - -<p> -"'In truth, most blustering señor, most valiant -cavalier of crocks and cans, your father's honest -brother has not forgotten that important fact,' replied -Julian d'Aviero, in his cool, dry way. 'The abagado -will act true to his trade, by deceiving those who trust -him. His trade! May the great Devil confound it, -for it has stripped me of as fair an heritage as ever -came from a miserly sire to a spendthrift son. Well, -Señor Perez, in short, to possess himself of your two -thousand dollars, and practise a little profitable -conveyancing, your relative the lawyer has stoutly -declined to ransom you, saith our messenger, swearing -by the bones of St. James, he would not yield the -hundredth part of a pezzo to save you from the jaws -of hell.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Be it so,' muttered Perez, between his clenched -teeth; 'in the world that is to come, he will meet with -his reward.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Were it but to provoke the abagado, I would -willingly set you free, Señor Potter; but the laws of -this free community say nay.' -</p> - -<p> -"'But my sister——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Has found no more favour than yourself. Santos! -You are a strange fellow, Señor Perez. Who the -devil ever expects to find an apostle in the carcase of -an abagado?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Madre de Dios! my poor Teresa!' said the -young man, folding his sister to his breast; while she -responded by an agony of grief and terror, such as I -had never before witnessed. -</p> - -<p> -"On her knees she bent before Julian d'Aviero, -imploring him to spare her only brother, and to slay -her, if he pleased; but her piteous cries and -supplications, rendered yet more plaintive by the beautiful -language of Spain, were drowned by the brutal -jests, and whoops, and yells of the Portuguese robbers. -</p> - -<p> -"When the hubbub subsided, 'Señor Cantarero,' -said Don Julian, in his wonted cold and sarcastic -manner, 'I have said that your ransoms are -refused.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And what then, Señor Ladrone?' asked the -paisano sternly. -</p> - -<p> -"You must die—that is all," replied the captain, -quietly knocking the ashes from his fragrant cuba. -</p> - -<p> -"'Die!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Si, morir, Micer Perez el Cantarero,' said he, -with an ironical bow. -</p> - -<p> -"''T is hard to die thus, and unrevenged,' said the -peasant, looking round as if for a weapon; 'but I am -content, so that you release my sister, and swear upon -the crucifix that she shall receive no harm.' -</p> - -<p> -"At this demand there was another horrid laugh; -and the Jew, turning up his eyes, swore something in -Hebrew at a request so unreasonable. -</p> - -<p> -"'Keep your mind quite at ease, Perez, amigo -mio,' said Julian d'Aviero, whose potations were now -affecting his brain, and imparting to his manner a -strange mixture of ferocity and jocose cruelty—'do -not be alarmed; your sister shall not die. Maladetto! dost -think we have no taste or discrimination?' -</p> - -<p> -"'The Holy Virgin thank you!' said the potter, -with an odd mixture of fervour and ferocity; 'my -dearest Teresa, will——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Fall to the lot of the fortunate rascal to whom -the happy dice assigns her,' said the Jew lieutenant of -the gang, pushing forward and jostling me, with such -insolence that I had some difficulty in keeping my -hands from his throat. -</p> - -<p> -"'Hark you, Master Potter,' he continued, in his -husky Spanish, which I cannot imitate. 'We cast -lots for the women we capture, if they be young and -handsome. The men we poniard, if they cannot -ransom their heads and hides, and then we bury them -honourably in the chasm of the Tagus. The bones -of some stout fellows are bleaching there, so you will -find yourself in good company, I promise you I owe -you a grudge for the stroke your 'cajado' dealt on my -pate yesterday, and so claim the first blow to-day. -Arrojarse, camarados! fall on!' -</p> - -<p> -"He unsheathed his poniard and grasped the potter -by the collar of his buckram doublet; but the -descending blow was arrested by the uplifted arms of -Teresa, who hung upon the villanous dog of Israel -with the determination, if not with the strength, of a -tigress, and poured forth a succession of cries and -threats, which astonished even the intended assassin; -then, sinking upon her knees, the winning girl -pressed the murderer's hideous paw to her beautiful -lips, beseeching him, in those accents to which a -woman in deadly terror can alone give utterance, to -spare her brother, her Perez, her dear and only -brother, and she would become the servant, the slave, -of the robber for her whole life. -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh, spare my brother; spare him! O Señor -Judio; O Señor Don Julian, Caballeros, gracias, -bandidos, por Nuestra Señora Santissima!' -</p> - -<p> -"'My slave? Demonios!' chuckled the ruffian -Jew; 'that you may be at all events, or I may make -short work with you, and so disappoint some honest -fellow here. Off, off with you!' and he shook her -from him with so much violence, that on sinking -to the floor, the blood gushed from her mouth and -nostrils. -</p> - -<p> -"The Jew again raised his dagger, but Perez, filled -with fury at the treatment of his sister, snapped, as if -it had been a straw, the cord that bound him, and, -grappling with the athletic ruffian, dashed him on the -floor where he placed a foot upon his breast, and trod -him down as one would do a serpent. The blood of -the potter was up; grasping another by the sash, he -hurled him back with such force that the bandit was -instantly slain; for, on staggering, his head came so -violently in contact with an angle of the wall, that in -a moment his brains were dashed out, and he presented -a dreadful spectacle as he lay, breathless and -quivering, with his battered skull empty, as if struck -by a grapeshot, and his blood and brains forming an -oozy pool beside him. -</p> - -<p> -"Even the banditti seemed struck with horror for -a moment, and a stillness ensued. They glared at -their dead comrade and at each other, heedless of the -groans and struggles of the half-stifled Zendono. -The voice of the girl was again heard supplicating, -for I had raised her up; and she implored me to save -her brother, for he had done no wrong, but shed -blood only in his own defence, and now remained -motionless and terrified at his own temerity. The -faint and half-articulate voice of Teresa recalled the -band from the spell which, as I have said, their -comrade's death had cast around them; and -simultaneously they rushed with their knives upon the poor -potter, and, pierced at once by innumerable and -reiterated wounds, he sunk lifeless among their feet; -and long after the last vital spark had fled, they -continued to stab and slash, and otherwise mutilate -the corpse until its bloody garments hung about it -in tatters. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tonnere!' thought I, 'if my friend the hidalgo -has neither the cash nor the inclination to ransom -me, I shall be in a bad way.' -</p> - -<p> -"By order of Don Julian, who had watched this -scene of butchery with folded arms and an immovable -aspect, the body was tossed over the window, -from whence I heard it falling heavily from rock to -rock before it reached the deep, dark water of a -tributary of the Tagus, that struggled through a -chasm in the cliffs, two hundred feet below. -</p> - -<p> -"While the half-drunken banditti cursed and -yelled like fiends, they cast the dead body of their -comrade after that of the unfortunate potter, then -wiped and sheathed their poniards; and all traces of -the horrible occurrence disappeared, save the red -blood gouts upon the floor, which these European -Thugs never thought of cleansing; but trampled to -and fro among that frightful puddle as heedlessly -as if it had been so much spring water spilt by -accident. -</p> - -<p> -"Teresa had swooned, and hung on my arm in a -happy state of insensibility. -</p> - -<p> -"Isacco Zendono, who had suffered severely in -the melée, during his prostrate position on the floor, -now scrambled up, his heart burning with fury, and -his body smarting with pain. He was plastered -with the gore of the slain men; and its dripping -from his sable beard and matted hair no way -improved his personal appearance, or increased the -benevolence of his features. -</p> - -<p> -"Growling at the weight of his comrades' heels, -he demanded in a stentorian voice that lots should -be cast for possession of the Señora Teresa; a -proposition at once acceded to. -</p> - -<p> -"Dice were produced, and the beetle-browed banditti -crowded round a table, where they rattled and -threw the dice in succession. -</p> - -<p> -"The Jew uttered a yell. -</p> - -<p> -"He had won! -</p> - -<p> -"Diable! how like a victorious fiend he seemed, -as, with a shout of villanous joy, he snatched the -poor insensible victim from my arms, and with his -poniard menacing any man who dared to follow, -bore her off, bent double over his left arm, as easily -as he would have done a folded mantle. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Teresa! she was so slight and young. -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, I am not quite such a bad or wild -fellow as, perhaps, you may think me; and I do assure -you that I then felt my impetuous blood tingling in -every vein. I sprang after the dog Zendono, but -was restrained by the powerful and perhaps friendly -arm of Don Julian d'Aviero. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor!' he exclaimed, in a whisper, 'are you -mad? Remember your life is at stake, and ponder -well on the helplessness of your condition among -us.' -</p> - -<p> -"The truth of this came bitterly home to my -heart; I gave the speaker a fierce and reproachful -glance, and folded my arms in silence. -</p> - -<p> -"My heart bled for the unhappy girl. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * * -</p> - -<p> -"Frequently in that long and dreary night, when -the mountain blast howled drearily through the -shattered villa of Aviero, and moaned in the gorge -through which the Tagus wound, I heard the cries -and lamentations of the miserable girl, and the -oaths and revelry of those to whom she was now -abandoned. -</p> - -<p> -"Ere daybreak her cries had ceased. Mille -Baionettes! they nearly drove me mad. -</p> - -<p> -"What became of her I know not, as I never saw -her again. -</p> - -<p> -"Next day, an old Padre of Santarem came with -a message from the hidalgo Don Juan Lerma, whose -mansion I had spared. The priest had volunteered -on this errand of mercy, as no other man in -Santarem would venture within the reach of the terrible -Aviero, to whom he paid two hundred pillared -dollars, and I was conducted to within a few toises of -the advanced sentinels of our out-piquets, by Don -Julian in person, and we bade each other adieu with -a very good grace, but without either tears or regret -on my side, as may be well assumed; and so ended -my mal-adventure in the wood of Santarem." -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -————— -</p> - -<p> -The Captain St. Florian concluded his story. -</p> - -<p> -"Parbleu!" said he, "how dry my throat is with -speaking so long, and I dare say I have tired you to -death. But let us have one more bottle of Janette's -champagne, and then we shall decamp soberly to -look for more adventures. But I must be cautious, -being for guard at the chateau to-morrow. You -cannot mean to return to Lagny to-night?" -</p> - -<p> -"I must; and 't is high time we were off, Captain -St. Florian; besides, I see Janette is decidedly -sleepy." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! poor girl, yes." -</p> - -<p> -"My horse is at an hotel in a street leading from -the Champ Elysées." -</p> - -<p> -"Ouf! a devil of a way from this. There is a -church clock striking five. Nombril de Belzebub, -'t is morning!" -</p> - -<p> -We hurriedly rose to depart. Janette had fallen -fast asleep in the bar, and St. Florian kissed her -brow as he passed and deposited the reckoning in -her lap. The portière of the cabaret let us out, and -we sallied through the street to find my hotel. -</p> - -<p> -At the chateau, as the Parisians name the palace, -I bade adieu to the captain, and getting forth my -horse, rode off. -</p> - -<p> -The trumpets of the Austrian cavalry and the English -drums were ringing on the early morning wind, -as the reveille roused the soldiers of the allied host -in their several camps and cantonments. -</p> - -<p> -The patrols of the gensd'armes were retiring to -their quarters; the sun was coming up in his glory, -and ruddily in his morning light, amid the morning -smoke of Paris, shone the huge façade of Notre -Dame, and the burnished dome of the Hotel des -Invalides. -</p> - -<p> -Paris, with its tented parks and guarded barriers, -was left behind; and I dashed at full gallop along the -dusty road that under the shadow of many a vine -trellis, and many an apple bower, led to my -cantonments at Lagny on the Marne. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap23"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIII -<br /><br /> -THE MAJOR'S STORY. -</h3> - -<p> -On the Colonel concluding, there arose a contention -between our surgeon, Mac Leechy, and the senior -major, as to who should tell his story first; for "the -steam" was now fairly up; but the matter was adjusted -by seniority, like choice of quarters, or having -the best bed in a billet, and the right of first -mounting a breach, and other little contingencies of a -military life. -</p> - -<p> -"I was once nearly hanged by Wellington," said -the Doctor to tempt us to listen; "for when I first -joined the service, it was as an ensign, though I had -my diploma of M.D." -</p> - -<p> -"Hanged?" said Slingsby; "then you proved a -King's bad bargain, Doctor?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not half so bad as you, Jack," retorted our old -medico; "but I'll tell you in a few words how it -came to pass. When our troops were falling back -from Quatre Bras, upon the village of Waterloo, on -that stormy 17th of June, which preceded the great -battle, I was sent forward with sixteen men of the -Scots Brigade to take possession of the principal inn -as quarters for the Great Duke and his staff, and -to save the house from being plundered or forcibly -seized by any one else. We entered the village -double-quick: I soon found the inn, and after -posting my sentinels in front and rear, preceded to -investigate (from motives of personal interest) the -contents of the pantry before the Duke arrived. In -twenty minutes afterwards we heard musket-shots; -I rushed out of the kitchen (where I had been -consoling the terrified landlady, and deviling a -drumstick,) to find my fellows firing at the French -tirailleurs, who were now at the end of the village where -they had lined a stone wall. We peppered them -briskly; but four of my men had just fallen, when -a Belgian officer, all covered with stars and lace, -galloped up to me, crying, as he took the road to Brussels, -</p> - -<p> -"'Fall back—fall back—Waterloo is surrounded, -and you will be cut off!' -</p> - -<p> -"I drew out my men and left the village double -quick. At the other end of it, I passed a mounted -general officer with his staff, who were sitting quietly -and composed in their saddles; but he called to me -with a loud voice,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Halt, sir—halt your men, and come here!' -</p> - -<p> -"I obeyed, and lowered the point of my sword. -Oh, there was no mistaking the keen grey eagle eyes, -the high nose and white neckcloth; the little blue -cloak and brass sabre of this personage. It was -Wellington himself. -</p> - -<p> -"'In God's name, sirrah,' said he, fiercely, 'why -have you abandoned your post?' -</p> - -<p> -"'The village is surrounded——' -</p> - -<p> -"'It is not surrounded—a few sharpshooters fired -a shot or two at our cavalry, but they have been all -killed or taken.' -</p> - -<p> -"'A Belgian officer— -</p> - -<p> -"'Cowardice—rank cowardice,' said Wellington. -'and at a time like this! Provost Marshal—where -are the Provost Marshal and his guard? A rope—get -a rope, and hang this young fellow from the -nearest tree.' -</p> - -<p> -"I was in deadly terror, for I was then a raw lad, -and did not perceive that this was, perhaps, only to -frighten me; but at that moment Sir Denis Pack -dashed up with some intelligence which was of more -importance to Europe than the hanging of Ensign -Mac Leechy, so Wellington troubled himself no -more about me; I shrunk away to pick my -half-devilled bone and to rejoin the Scots Brigade, who -were bivouacked in a field near the Brussels road. -</p> - -<p> -"Soon after Waterloo, I exchanged my ensign's -commission for a medical one, and have never since been -in terror of being hanged by a Provost, or shot by a -court martial." -</p> - -<p> -"Tush," said the major, "I was once nearer being -hanged than you, doctor; for I was tried, and -sentenced, and, moreover, only escaped one noose to be -caught by another—for I got my wife by it." -</p> - -<p> -Our major was a jolly and cozy old fellow, who was -addicted to a little flirtation with married dames of -mature age, and to making downright love to widows -(if his good lady was absent), and invariably opened -the trenches by affecting to consider them the sisters -of their handsome daughters. He was a great -favorite with us all; but, being married, he never dined -at mess, unless when specially invited by some one. -Thus we warmly welcomed our old major's story, -which he began without further preamble. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap24"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIV. -<br /><br /> -"ESTELLA." -</h3> - -<p> -"I entered the service," quoth the Major, "when -the Peninsular War was at its height, and my -commission was signed by the first gentleman in Europe, -then Prince Regent; truly we had queer ideas of -what constituted a gentleman in those days, -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "'In my hot youth, when George III. was king.'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"I joined our first battalion in Spain, and had more -than enough of marching, fighting, and starving in -the desolate province of Estremadura, where Marshal -Macdonald and General Foy never gave us a moment -to spare. I was wounded at La Nava, and at the -storming of Almarez. When I scrambled over the -palisades, with my sword-arm in a sling, I remember -a voltigeur officer rushing upon me with his sabre -uplifted; but, on perceiving my wound, he lowered -his weapon gracefully in salute, and passed on to -encounter another. We took the garrison prisoners, -blew up the works, and threw the guns into the -Tagus. At night, when we buried the dead, by -flinging them into their own trenches, I was shocked -to perceive my generous and gallant voltigeur among -them—cold and stiff—slain by a shot in his heart, -and with his right hand still grasping the hilt of the -same sabre with which he had threatened and so -chivalrously spared me. I was at the defence of -Alba, and with the covering army at Badajoz, and I -fought at Victoria, where our colonel, the gallant -Cadogan, was killed, and where we put up a statue to -his memory; but so unlike him, that I am sure if -the good man ever looks at it out of Heaven, he will -never recognise himself. -</p> - -<p> -"We had always hard fighting, for I belonged to -the light troops; and so far as the head was -concerned in those days, I was very well adapted for -that branch of the service. -</p> - -<p> -"My regiment, the Highland Light Infantry, belonged -to the first brigade of the second division of infantry -(Sir Rowland Hill's), and at the time when this little -narrative opens was quartered at Aranjuez, a small -town of Toledo, about twenty miles south of Madrid, -on the left bank of the Tagus. Though we had -been for some months in quarters of refreshment on -the Portuguese frontier, and had there received -several supplies of clothing, &c., from Britain, in -consequence of the rapid movements of the army, -which, by turning the positions on the Ebro and -Douro, had driven back the French under Joseph -and Jourdan, making them to traverse the whole -length of Spain in one short month, and the -incessant activity of the light troops, my uniform was -reduced to a mere mass of rags. My cap, a kind of -Highland bonnet, checquered, but without feathers -(like that still retained by the 71st and 74th -Regiments), was worn into many holes, and the rain came -through upon my head. My epaulettes, or wings, -were reduced to black wire; my coatee, turned to -purple and black, was, like my Tartan trews, patched -with cloth of every hue; my sash had shrunk to -a remnant; the pipeclay had long disappeared from -my shoulder-belt, and the sheath of my claymore was -worn away until six inches of the bare blade stuck -through it And such was the general appearance of -the officers of our regiment, as, with our canvas -haversacks, our blankets and cloaks slung in our -sashes, and carrying wooden canteens, similar to -those of the privates, we marched into Aranjuez, and -defiled, with pipes playing and drums beating, -towards the great summer palace of Philip II., which -occupies a little island formed by the Tagus and -the Xarama, and is surrounded by the most beautiful -pleasure-grounds. -</p> - -<p> -"In one hand I carried my sword, in the other -a ham, which I had picked up when overhauling -a French caisson. My lieutenant had a small -wine-skin, and my ensign a round loaf under his arm; -thus, we, the officers of the 1st company, looked -forward, to what we deemed, in those hard times, a -sumptuous repast, on halting in the quadrangle of -the vast and silent palace, from which Joseph and his -court had fled but a few hours before, leaving behind -many a sign of their hasty departure. Here lay -Turkey carpets half torn up; there, velvet hangings -but half torn down; in one room were bales of -furniture, ornaments, and plate, packed but abandoned; -in another lay the remains of a sumptuous feast, -the wine was yet in the half-emptied glass; the fork -remained in the breast of the turkey; the ashes -of a large fire yet smouldered in the vast kitchen, -and in each apartment of these long and magnificent -suites, which traverse the whole palace of -Philip II., were splendid Parisian clocks, with their -gilt pendulums yet wagging under crystal shades, -and all remaining in statu quo, just as the French -fugitives had left them, on the approach of our -advanced guard. -</p> - -<p> -"We chose our apartment, seized utensils, and, after -a bath in the sandy Xarama to refresh us after our -long and dusty march, we sat down to a supper on -my ham, the ensign's loaf, and the lieutenant's skin -of the country wine. Fresh from the royal gardens -we took fruit in abundance; for the season was -summer, and the purple grape, the golden apple, and the -ruddier orange, with the ripe pomegranate, were all -to be had at arm's length from the tall, painted -windows. Nor were cigars wanting: for, when -investigating the contents of a certain press, I found -several boxes, from which we supplied ourselves, and -gave the remainder to the men of our company, who -were solacing themselves in the adjacent apartments, -and lounging on the velvet sofas, down ottomans, and -satin fauteuils, on which the fair demoiselles of the -usurper's court had sat but the day before. -</p> - -<p> -"The quarter-guards were set; the out-pickets had -been posted in the direction of the enemy; in the -palace court, our ten pipes had sounded for the tatoo, -and, wearied to excess, we lay down, some on beds, -and some on benches, but many more on the hard -floor, where we slept soundly, and heedless of the -advancing, the marching, and skirmishing of the -morrow; for we light troops had always our full share of -the latter. -</p> - -<p> -"I was in this luxurious state—for dry quarters, -and a sound sleep after a hearty meal, are great -luxuries to the campaigner—when I was shaken by the -shoulder, and I heard the devilish voice of our -sergeant-major saying— -</p> - -<p> -"'I beg your pardon, Captain ——; the first officer -for duty is required to take convalescents to the rear -They march an hour before daylight, and the adjutant -sent me to warn you, sir, and say, the piper will blow -the rouse in twenty minutes.' -</p> - -<p> -"He retired, having delivered his orders; and then, -as a pleasant sequel to them, I heard the rain—the -heavy rain of Castile, where every drop is the size of -a walnut—pattering on the long range of palace -windows which faced the east. No man ever left a warm -down bed more unwillingly than did I the hard tiled -floor of the sala. I rolled up my cloak and blanket, -slung them with my haversack and canteen, and then -groped about for a small portmanteau which contained -all my goods and gear; and, without disturbing my -two comrades to bid them 'good-bye'—for, poor -fellows! after so long a march as that of yesterday, to -have done so would have been positive inhumanity—with -half-closed eyes, I hurried along, stumbling -over the sleeping soldiers, muskets, knapsacks, and -broken furniture with which the vast halls and suites -of chambers were encumbered. After losing myself -for a time in that famous apartment of mirrors, where -Godoy and the Queen were wont to perform fandangos, -I reached the bridge of Toledo, as it is named -from the road which crosses it; and there I found -the convalescents assembling, in the dark of a cold -and rainy morning, for daylight was yet an hour -distant, and I heard the heavy drops battering the tarred -canvas covers of the wretched caissons, wherein the -sick and wounded lay. I heard the rain also lashing -on the parapets of the bridge, and raising bubbles on -the rapid stream which swept below its arches. -</p> - -<p> -"There were not less than thirty waggons or bullock-cars -filled by officers alone, many of them sick, or -suffering from diseases produced by hardship and -starvation; others from wounds, and the amputation -of legs and arms, by the stupid apothecaries' boys, -who composed almost wholly our medical staff in the -Peninsula. In rags and misery, almost shirtless and -shoeless, they lay closely packed in the caissons -among a little straw; and one—the weakest and -most reduced—was the famous Irish assistant-surgeon, -Maurice Quill, of the 31st Regiment. I had -one officer of the 1st Dragoon Guards, who, being mad -as a March hare, had an entire waggon to himself, and -I heard him bellowing like a wild bull, above the -rushing rain and the howling wind as I approached -this mournful assemblage on the old bridge of Toledo. -</p> - -<p> -"I received the lists and commissariat papers, &c., -in the dark, from the brigade-major, who carried a -lantern under his cloak, and, in bidding me adieu, -bade me beware of Barba Roxa, or Red-bearded -Sancho, a thief, whose exploits were then making some -noise in Toledo and La Mancha. The few soldiers -who accompanied me were also convalescents, on -their way home to be discharged, and, consequently, -were barely able to carry their arms. I had a French -troop horse, captured in the scramble at Arroyo del -Molino, and by my side rode the only effective man -in the detachment, my orderly dragoon; who, for the -good service he rendered me by his inborn bravery -and fidelity, I shall ever remember with gratitude, -Darby Crogan, a private of the 4th, or Royal Irish -Dragoon Guards, and when I say he was every inch -a true Irish soldier, further comment is needless. -</p> - -<p> -"Though we had enough and to spare of fighting, I -own that it was with no ordinary feeling of dissatisfaction -I departed on this duty, leaving my comrades -to push on towards the south, to fight and win the -great battle of Vittoria, and drive the French from -Spain; while I had the foreknowledge that there was -never an instance known of an officer leaving the -army, in charge of convalescents, without being -involved in the most serious quarrels with the Spanish -authorities, both civil and military. But there was -no alternative for me; so, muffling myself in my -cloak, after sharing with Darby Crogan a glass of -brandy from a certain convenient flask, which hung -at my waist-belt, and after a good deal of galloping -to and fro, swearing at muleteers and bullock-drivers, -the cars were put in motion, and the march began -just as the first streak of dawn glimmered dimly -above the distant sierras. -</p> - -<p> -"A company of Les Chasseurs Brittaniques (who, -though French deserters and ragamuffins of every -kind, wore the red British uniform), under a Captain -H——, marched also for Ciudad Real, and nearly at -the same time, but were ordered to pursue a route -apart from mine, by Santa Cruz de la Zarza, and down -the other side of the mountains, by Corral de -Almuguer and Madridejos. -</p> - -<p> -"The morning had broken clear and cloudless, -when, passing through an open tract of country, we -reached Yepes, and the summer sun of Castile came -up in all his burning glory. I generally rode about -fifty yards in front of my party to avoid the incessant -complaints and cries of the sick and wounded, whose -ailments or sores were exasperated by the increasing -heat and pitiless jolting of the bullock-cars, which -had neither springs nor iron axles. The day was -cloudless and scorching; the plain hot, dry, and -dusty, all vegetation being burned out of it. No -breeze came from the distant mountains; but a vast -swarm of black flies, which floated like a vapour -about us, gave incredible annoyance. -</p> - -<p> -"A poor young officer (lieutenant in an English -light cavalry regiment) expired under the pain of his -mortifying wounds and accumulated sufferings. This -event caused a temporary halt. By the side of the -mule-track, which crossed that arid plain, we hastily -made a little grave, about a foot deep, and laid him -down, yet warm, in his uniform, and coffinless. A -little of the blood-stained straw from the waggons was -spread over his face, and then we covered him up, -heaping the dry dusty soil over him by our feet, by -the butts of muskets, and blades of bayonets, to keep -the wolves from disturbing his rest. Near this lonely -grave there flowed a little fountain from a rude stone -duct, which had been made in the days of old, 'en -tiempo antique,' as a mule-driver told me. In twenty -minutes after, we were all again en route, with the -mule-bells jangling and the wheels jarring, as if -nothing had happened; but his place in the waggon -was soon supplied, as every hour some of my -convalescent guard became unable to endure the weight of -their trappings, and had to be placed among the sick. -Thus our progress was so slow that night was closing -before we entered La Guardia, a small town, about -sixteen miles from Aranjuez. -</p> - -<p> -"As we clambered and toiled up the rocky ridge -which it crowns, on the right bank of the Cedron, -Crogan and I, who rode in front, were surprised to -find the little town almost deserted, and that a few of -the inhabitants who had lingered until we were close -at hand, were retiring from it on the other side, some -on foot and others on mules, but all bearing away -their goods and chattels, beds and furniture. -Entering, we found it empty; and as there were neither -alcalde nor alguazils to go through the farce of -distributing billets, we quartered ourselves wherever we -best could. After conveying all the wounded from -the waggons into the great convent (I carried Dr. Quill -on my back, for he was weak as a child), there we -laid them, in rows, on the tiled floors; and, after -filling their canteens with water, left them to warm -themselves the best way they could, for we were -wearied almost to death by the slow loitering march -of the past day, under a scorching Castilian sun. -</p> - -<p> -"La Guardia is surrounded by a strong but ruinous -fortified wall, which was built in the olden time to -defend the district from the incursions of the Moors; -and at each end it had a gate, whereon I posted a -guard of a corporal and three men; for as the whole -country swarmed with thieves and guerilla deserters, -I knew not what picaros might be lurking in the old -gypsum quarries near the Cedron. -</p> - -<p> -"Darby Crogan and I took possession of a deserted -house in the main street. He lighted a fire, and -being scarce of fuel, made pretty free use of the -doors and shutters, chairs and tables; and we broiled -on a ramrod, or boiled in a camp-kettle, our poor -ration beef, sprinkling it with flour, and eating it -without salt, for that was a commodity extremely -scarce among us in Spain; hence, the flavour of our -commissariat beef, after being carried in a canvas -haversack, on a long day's march, under a burning -sun, would have driven Soyer or his majesty of Oude -into fits. -</p> - -<p> -"We had scarcely concluded this miserable meal, -which we shared fraternally—for on service, though -discipline is never forgotten, the officer and private -are more blended together, as real soldierly sentiment -replaces empty etiquette—when we were startled -by the report of two or three muskets in our -immediate vicinity. -</p> - -<p> -"'Hollo!' said Crogan, springing to the door -of the house, 'the inimy 'ill be on us before we can -say peas!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Some guerillas, or picaros, or perhaps, Barba -Roxa,' said I, setting down my flask of aguardiente, -to listen. -</p> - -<p> -"'Darby Roxy!—sure it 'ill be pleasant to meet a -namesake.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Not if he beats up our quarters, when we are in -so poor a condition to resist any who might attempt -it; and the watches and rings, &c., of so many sick -officers are booty enough for a few enterprising -Spaniards, who might try to knock the guard on the -head. Look to our pistols, Crogan; bring up the -horses, and we will ride forth to reconnoitre.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Right, yer honour—I'm the man,' replied the -active Irishman, as he looked to the priming of our -pistols, loaded his carbine, and hurried to the shed -close by, where our horses were chewing their -rations of chopped straw; he saddled, and brought -them to the door; and thus, in three minutes, we -were both mounted. Meanwhile, the guards at each -gate of the little town had turned out; and, leaving -word to get the whole party under arms in the street, -accompanied by Crogan, I rode at a rapid trot -towards that direction in which the flashes had been -seen by our sentinels. -</p> - -<p> -"La Guardia lay buried in obscurity; the night was -dark, and a thin vapour veiled the stars; but no -moon was visible, though at times a red meteor -flashed across the sky. As the warm night-wind -passed over the vast tracts of waste and untilled -land, it was laden with the rich aroma of those -innumerable little plants like mignionette, which -flourish by the wayside in all the wild parts of -Spain. -</p> - -<p> -"'Soft ground, sir,' said Crogan, as his horse -stumbled among the dry-scorched soil; 'by the -holy! this is just like still-hunting, only the bog, bad -luck to it! is as dhry as a bone.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Hush!' said I, reining in my horse; 'do you -not hear something?' -</p> - -<p> -"'By my troth I do,'replied Darby; and as he -spoke, a musket flashed about a quarter of a mile -distant; and then we heard a faint cry, like a -woman's. -</p> - -<p> -"'There are no French in this neighbourhood,' -said I, surprised. -</p> - -<p> -"'But plinty of thaves and robbers, sir; and a nice -meetin' it 'id be for us.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward!' said I; 'we must just take them, like -our wives, Crogan, for better or worse.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And, like the wives, a sorry takin' it may be for -some of us,' said Darby, with a reckless laugh, as we -rode on in the dark; and reaching the skirt of a -cork wood, found a large Spanish coach, drawn by two -mules—such a turn-out as one might have met in -those days on the prados of Seville or Madrid—being -ransacked by five or six ruffians, armed with -pistols, knives, and carbines. A man lay dead among -the long grass, near the trees; the mules were kicking -and plunging in the traces; and while one -ruffian dragged out two ladies, the others were cutting -open and emptying their portmanteaus. I drew my -a word. -</p> - -<p> -"'Make your horse rear, sir, the moment we are -fired at,' cried Crogan, who was a practised trooper—' -'twas by not doing so that Corporal Lanigan, of -ours, got a ball in his chest, at Talavera—his first -battle too.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward!' cried I, 'cut them down!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Whoop—hubaboo! this baste ov mine 'ud clear -the rock of Cashel at one spring!' exclaimed Crogan, -who uttered an Irish yell, as we fell suddenly on the -marauders; and though we were but two to six, -routed them in a moment. Three shots were fired -at us: I cut one fellow across the hand, and severed -his fingers, which grasped the barrel of his musket; -Darby stretched another among the grass, and, -whether scared by his Irish shout, our sudden onset, -or the dread that there were more of us, I know not -but in a twinkling they had vanished into the wood, -and we sprang from our horses to assist the ladies. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay de mi! señor oficial!' cried the younger, -grasping me by the left arm; 'a thousand prayers -and thanks.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay! mi señor Caballero, muchias gracias,' added -the elder, making a stately, but profound curtsy to -Crogan. -</p> - -<p> -"'Why, mam, you make a regular Irish dip,' said -he, raising his hand to the peak of his helmet -'But, sure you've dhropped something,' he added, -picking up a flask. 'Oh, it can't be this, at -all—aggadenty, the thafe! Hurroo! it's like raal Cork, -but out of a bran-new cask.' -</p> - -<p> -"The old lady now turned to me, perceiving that -I was the officer, and prayed 'el santo de las santos,' -and all the saints in heaven might bless us, for -our courageous and timely succour. -</p> - -<p> -"'We are on our way to Ciudad Real from -Madridejos, and were attacked in the wood. My señor -escudero was shot, our outriders fled; and the -ladrones would undoubtedly have maltreated me—not -that I cared for myself, señor, but my dear little -goddaughter—la nina—the child—la nina Estella. -It was all for her that I trembled'—and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -"By the moon, which glinted for a time through -the hazy clouds, I could perceive that the speaker -was a middle-aged lady, very dark complexioned; and, -though not handsome, possessing a tolerably good, -even stately presence; and that her goddaughter, -whose features were blanched by terror, had fine -dark Spanish eyes, and a graceful figure, though -somewhat undersized. -</p> - -<p> -"I begged of them to be no longer alarmed. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señoras,' said I, 'my detachment is at La -Guardia, close at hand; allow me to offer my escort -to you, so far as Ciudad Real, for that, also, is my -destination.' -</p> - -<p> -"'We owe you a thousand thanks, señor oficial,' -replied the gentle voice of la nina Estella, who -seemed to be somewhere about eighteen. 'Oh, I -shall never forget that fellow's red beard! Madre de -Dios, what a size and colour it was!' -</p> - -<p> -"'O ho! then our friend was Sancho himself.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah, señor,' said the old lady, 'how happily we -will avail ourselves of your kind offer.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Good—I shall have pleasant companions for -the remainder of this most unpleasant journey,' -thought I, beginning to repack the half-rifled mails. -</p> - -<p> -"'We are travelling in great haste,' said the señora. -'Is your detachment composed of horse or foot, -caballero?' -</p> - -<p> -"'It partakes of both, señora; being thirty -waggons of sick and wounded.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sick and wounded! O madre de Dios! 'tis -quite a travelling hospital; thirty waggons—a -lazarretto—and I have lost my priceless relic of -St. Margarida the Scot. Oh, señor valaroso, we owe -you a million of favours, but will rather proceed -alone. And here is this rogue, Pedro, come back -with his mule. Ah, false coward, to leave your -young mistress in such peril. I will have you well -beaten when we reach Ciudad Real; I will, sir. -What would have become of us, but for the -miraculous arrival of the señor oficial?' -</p> - -<p> -"While I assisted the trembling Pedro to restrap -the portmanteaus, and put the mules in order, a -colloquy was proceeding between Darby Crogan, and -the Spaniard whom he had levelled when the fray -first began. -</p> - -<p> -"'Silence, now,' I heard him say, while striking -the butt of his carbine to shake the priming; 'it -will soon be all over wid ye; so die aisy—do, and -don't be bothering me.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay, por amor de Dios, Señor Inglese,' implored -the Spaniard on his knees. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor Inglese, indeed!' said Darby, testily, as -the aquardiente mounted into his brain; 'is it an -Englishman you'd call me, you rascally Spaniard, -and I, praise God! a dacent Irishman, like my -father and mother before me?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay de mi, Señor Dragone——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Dragon, is it, now! I have a name, Mr. Spaniard, -as good as your own, for lack of a better, and that is -Darby Crogan, ould Widda Crogan's boy, at the four -cross roads, near the bog of ——; but what am I -prating about? To make a long story short, -prepare for your wooden surtoo, and make a clane -breast you spalpeen of the earth, you!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Come, come, Darby,' said I, 'let him go; he is -only a poor rascal of a Murcian.' -</p> - -<p> -"'It's only makin' game of him I am, your -honour; but sure I am that his being, as you say, a -marchent won't make him feel dyin' a bit more,' -replied Darby, uncocking his carbine with an air of -discontent. 'Richly he desarves to die, for he fired -his pistols at me twice; the curse of Cromwell be -on him!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Away now,' said I, pointing to the wood; -'vayan usted con Dios, or demonic, if it suits you -better; and see, villain, that we meet no more!' -</p> - -<p> -"With a dark gleam in his eye the disarmed robber -slunk away, and I saw that his face, where not streaked -with blood from Darby's sword cut, was ghastly pale -with hate, fear, and fury. -</p> - -<p> -"We placed the ladies in their antique caravan-looking -coach; buckled their baggage on the pyramidal -top thereof; furnished Pedro and another servant -with the arms and ammunition of the two robbers; -promised to see the unfortunate escudero interred, a -promise which we never performed; and after escorting -them some miles beyond the cork wood, bade -them adieu, receiving a pressing invitation to visit -them at Ciudad Real, 'where every one knew Donna -Emerenciana de Alcala-de-los-Gazules,' which name I -give myself no small credit for remembering. We -then returned to La Guardia, and for a time thought -no more of the affair. -</p> - -<p> -"I had ordered the drum to be beaten before daylight, -but it was not until two hours after it that the -whole of the sick and wounded were again stowed -into their waggons, and en route; for in the -back-garden of the convent we had to bury those whom -we found dead. -</p> - -<p> -"Then again began that melancholy chorus of -groans and cries of pain, mingled with curses in -English and Spanish, the cracking of whips, and -jingle of bells, as the obstinate mules and lazy -bullocks, which drew the rude cars, were urged to motion; -and over wretched roads we departed from La Guardia, -towards the mountains. -</p> - -<p> -"Passing over the ground of the last night's -adventure, Crogan picked up something which glittered -amongst the grass; it proved to be the portrait of a -young lady, in a veil, flowing over a high comb; and -in her well-arched eyebrows, fine dark eyes, roguish -mouth, and fascinating smile, I recognised Donna -Estella. -</p> - -<p> -"'Bravo! a delightful souvenir of La Guardia,' -said I; and, after admiring it for a time, consigned it -to my breast-pocket. 'Darby, I will owe you a dollar -for this when I draw on the paymaster.' I gazed at -it frequently on the march, and every time I did so -ray interest in the original increased (but bah! do -not think I was fool enough to fall in love with a -mere miniature), and I resolved that if she was to be -found in Ciudad Real I would certainly discover and -visit her. -</p> - -<p> -"Again a black cloud of flies covered the whole of -us; several cars broke down; and such was the terrible -nature of the road that one fell entirely over a -precipice, bullocks, wounded, and all; and then so -great was the delay occasioned by the various -casualties, that evening came on before we reached Mora, -which is only ten miles from La Guardia. So the -reader may have some idea of the tedium of our progress. -</p> - -<p> -"Mora I found also abandoned by its inhabitants, -who fled at our approach, carrying with them all -provisions and everything else which could be borne -away. Many of the houses appeared to have been -recently burned, for flames were yet smouldering in -three of them, and in another two men were lying -dead; one shot, the other bayoneted. Being certain -that there were no French in the neighbourhood, or -nearer than Burgos and Navarre, I was at a loss to -comprehend the source of this terror and outrage: -but, influenced by anxiety to be nearer Ciudad Real, -and to have my defenceless detachment disposed of -for that night, I pushed on, in hope of reaching a -small village, which, as my 'route' indicated, lay -about ten miles further off. -</p> - -<p> -"Descending from Mora, we traversed a plain which -lies between two sierras that terminate at Porzuna, in -La Mancha: and if our progress was slow by day, it -was slower still by night. The heat was yet -excessive; a thick impalpable dust floated about us; the -air was close and still; there was not a breath of -wind. Our thirst was intense, and a murmur of -satisfaction arose from my mournful cavalcade when the -blackened sky, and the croaking of the frogs, -announced rain; and when it did come, it came in -torrents. Then, raising the covers of the waggons, the -wretched patients thrust out their pallid faces and -trembling hands to catch the heavy drops. The -dusty plain soon became transformed into a sea of -mud, and the poor convalescent guard sank above -their ankles at every step, while, deeper still, the -mules went above their fetlocks. -</p> - -<p> -"Anxious and impatient, accompanied by my orderly, -I rode forward a few miles, but failed to discover -the said village; the whole district was desolate, -and being without a guide, I feared that we had -lost the way. On returning I found matters still -worse; for, taking advantage of my absence, the -villanous Spaniards, by a preconcerted arrangement, -had simultaneously cut the traces of their mules and -bullocks, and (though my guard shot a few of them -in the attempt) had fled, leaving the sick and wounded -to die in the wilderness. -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say whether anger or despair was my -prevailing emotion; but to be left thus, with three -or four-and-twenty waggons (for their number was -now reduced), full of sick and dying men, among the -mountains of Toledo, without provisions, and without -a medical officer, was not very pleasant. Though -the rain was still falling, as it falls only in Spain -(like one ceaseless and tremendous shower-bath), -Crogan and I departed at a gallop after the runaways, -but could only overtake one; and, as he would -neither halt nor obey us, we fired at him with our -pistols, and, breaking his leg, left him in the same -condition he had left so many of our comrades. -</p> - -<p> -"Aware that not a moment should be lost in -procuring a fresh team, we turned in the direction of -Toledo, and ascended the sierra, half blinded by the -rain which lashed in our faces, and, by swelling the -streams from the hills, was fast making the valley -between them a sheet of water -</p> - -<p> -"'A fine thing it will be, your honour,' said -Crogan—'for I'm just in the mood to be savage—if we -fall in with the Rapparees that rummaged over the -ould lady, last night, and sacked Mora and La -Guardia.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Never mind, Darby, my boy, you will die in the -bed "of honour" then.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Divil a one of me cares—though, by my sowl,' -he added, as our horses plashed fetlock-deep in -water, 'I would like that same bed of yer honour's -to be a dhry one.' -</p> - -<p> -"'So would I, Darby, but remember— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'Why should we be melancholy, boys,<br /> - Whose business 'tis to——die?'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"'By the hokey! that ditty sounds very like as if -the man that made it, sir, had been up to his neck in -a bog at the time. But there are lights!' -</p> - -<p> -"'And the rain is abating, too.' -</p> - -<p> -"To be brief. After a ten miles' ride, we reached -Almonacid de Zorita, a small town of New Castile, -where we roused the alcalde from his bed. He -summoned his alguazils, and they, after an infinite deal -of trouble, collected by impress all the cattle in the -place, amounting to about twenty mules, and as -many bullocks. The alcalde assisted us with -ill-concealed reluctance, and told me that he and the -alcalde of Mora had that morning transmitted to the -commandant at Ciudad Real an account of certain -outrages, and lawless impressment of mules, -committed by a British detachment, at Mora and La -Guardia.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You must mistake, Señor Alcalde,' said I, -angrily, for I was drenched to the skin at the time; -'the only plunderers of La Guardia, if I may judge -from personal experience, are true Castilians.' -</p> - -<p> -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz shall judge,' said -the alcalde, showing us to the door. 'Adieu, -señores.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Good-bye, old gentleman, and bad manners to -you,' said Crogan, as we leaped on our horses, and, -recrossing the sierra reached the waggons about -daybreak: and though sleepless and exhausted, I was -but too happy when the new team was traced to them, -and the whole were once more on their way towards -La Mancha. -</p> - -<p> -"Slowly and wearily we toiled on by the banks of -the Algador, and again crossing the mountains, near -a lake into which it flows, reached Guadalerza, all -but overcome by heat and fatigue. I remember that -near the lake (which was literally alive with adders -and small snakes) there stood a solitary convent; -and as we passed its walls, the fair recluses waved -their handkerchiefs from their narrow gratings, with -many a cry of 'viva los Inglesos,' so long as we were -within hearing. From Guadalerza, fortunately, the -inhabitants had not fled, and they answered promptly -and readily the piteous cries of our sufferers for -water, which was supplied to them in crocks and -jars, that were filled and emptied as if to quell a -conflagration. -</p> - -<p> -"The village of Fuentelfresno, which overlooks -those sands from whence the Guadiana is supposed -to spring, was our next halting-place, but its -miserable and impoverished inhabitants were totally -unable to afford us rations of any kind; and there -several of the wounded, whose sabre-cuts or -gun-shot wounds, by the jolting of the waggons, had -broken out afresh, expired. There were two officers -and four soldiers, whom we buried in one hole (alas! I -cannot call it a grave), under an old orange-tree, near -the Jarama. Finding that it was useless to halt in a -place where we were in danger of starving, we went -further on, and bivouacked nine miles beyond it. -near a little runnel of spring water, on a fine green -plain. The soundest sleep that ever closed my eyes -was enjoyed there, on that soft grassy sward, beside -my horse's heels; but I cannot omit to mention the -terror by which it was broken. -</p> - -<p> -"My charger snorted, reared, and tried madly to -break away from the peg to which I had picketted him. -</p> - -<p> -"I raised myself on inv elbow, and looked around -me. The waggons were all closely drawn up side by -side: the escort were sleeping among their piled -arms, and, muffled in their great-coats, our four -sentinels stood motionless, about three hundred yards -distant. The moonlight was clear and beautiful. -Suddenly something reared its head close beside me; -I shrunk under my blanket, and, lo! a frightful -snake, nearly fifteen feet long, passed over the whole -bivouac, hissing and gliding; but, fortunately, without -biting any one, it disappeared into a little thicket -of laurels and underwood which grew near us. -</p> - -<p> -"'Och, this Spain!—snakes, too—divil mend it!' -I heard Crogan muttering in his sleep; 'more ov it -yet! and I have never had a raal good potato down -my throat since I came into it.' -</p> - -<p> -"Next day, the sun-burnt plains of La Mancha lay -before us; but ere the intense heat of noon, we -reached Fernancaballero, in the partida of -Piedrabueno; and there (so exhausted were my soldiers, -and so terrible the complaints of the wounded), -though my route permitted me to tarry but one night, -I was compelled to halt for two additional days, an -indulgence which nearly cost me my life. In the -early morning, when visiting the quarters of the sick -and wounded, to render them any assistance in my -power before marching, I became aware that a person -was following me through the dark, muddy, and -unpaved streets of the mountain Puebla. -</p> - -<p> -"As a soldier, habitually cautious, and, as a -campaigner, aware of the Spanish character, I grasped -the hilt of my Highland sword, and walked watchfully on. -</p> - -<p> -"This man, by whom I had certainly been dogged -and followed for some time, was now joined by two -others, and the three accompanied my steps, remaining -close behind. Crogan was looking after our -horses, and I had no other orderly or attendant; but -resolving that if their intentions were bad to anticipate -them, I halted, and confronting the trio, said, as -if without suspicion.— -</p> - -<p> -"'Señores, que hora es?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Son los quatro, Caballero,' replied one, gaping at -me with surprise on being so suddenly accosted; but -I saw the ominous gleam of two knives, as they were -secretly drawn from the broad worsted sashes of his -companions, who skilfully endeavoured to conceal the -act. Quick as lightning, drawing a pistol from my -belt, I fired a bullet right at the head of one, whose -enormous red beard the flash revealed to me. The -hall tore open his cheek, and carried away his left -ear. His comrade rushed upon me, but I received -him by thrusting the muzzle into his mouth, and -hurling him furiously back. On this they all took to -flight; but not before I perceived that the wounded -man had his left hand swathed in a bandage. -</p> - -<p> -"'O ho, Señor Sancho, la Barba Roxa!' said I, -recognising the robber whom I had maimed at La -Guardia; 'I thought your voice was not unfamiliar -to me.' -</p> - -<p> -"I hurried to the muster-place, in a frame of mind -that struggled between wrath at my narrow escape, -and triumph at the victory I had won; but, in ten -minutes after, the drum beat, and, replacing the sick -in the waggons, we moved off. -</p> - -<p> -"Our march of fifteen miles from Fernancaballero -we got rapidly over; for Crogan and I having found -no less than twenty-five mules grazing near the -Alzuer, which there flows through a fertile, plain, -many of them bridled, as if just abandoned by their -riders, we yoked them to the waggons, and entering -Ciudad Real, the capital of La Mancha, passed at a -rapid pace through its broad, straight, and well-paved -streets, to the great Plaza, or principal square. -</p> - -<p> -"'The Lord be praised!' thought I, as the train -halted, and I gave in my papers to the Spanish -town-major, Don José Gonzales y Llano, a field-officer of -that regiment of Leon, which fled, en masse, from the -field of Vittoria. 'My duty and my troubles are -over together.' -</p> - -<p> -"But I was grievously mistaken, as I might have -augured from the manner of the town-major, who -curled his mustaches, and shifted from one foot -to the other, like a man who has something -unpleasant to say, but dares not. -</p> - -<p> -"While the occupants of the waggons were being -conveyed to hospital by fatigue-parties of Spanish -soldiers, and my guard joined a detachment of -convalescents, who, under another officer, were on their -march towards the castle of Belem. I soon became -aware that I was an object of marked attention to -the denizens of Ciudad Real. A vast crowd had -gathered in the Plaza, and I saw many men, particularly -paisanos, gesticulating violently, and pointing -to me, while the muttering gradually rose into shouts -of 'Maldetto! mueran los Inglesos! Perro! ladrone! bandido!' -</p> - -<p> -"'What the devil is the meaning of all this?' -thought I; and indignantly pushed my horse right -through them. On this the cries redoubled, and the -crowd increased so fast, that I was fain to ride at a -trot towards the house of a guantero (a maker of -those gloves for which Ciudad Real is famous -throughout Spain), on whom I had been billeted. There I -found Darby Crogan awaiting me, breathless, exasperated, -and carbine in hand, for he, too, had been -followed in the same manner by a mob, who shouted, -yelled, threw mud, stones, and rotten melons, with -every missile which the uncleaned streets so readily -afforded. We were perfectly at a loss to comprehend -the cause of treatment so unusual and so unmerited. -</p> - -<p> -"'El guantero, our patron, is as cross as two -sticks, or a bag of ould nails, devil mend him! and -unless your honour has a coin about you, it's but a -cowld supper we'll have,' said Crogan, as we entered -the sala, or principal apartment of the house. -</p> - -<p> -"'I have not had a peseta since we left Mora,' said -I; 'but here is the patron at supper, on a cold fowl, -too! we are just in time.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sure he'll ask us to ate wid him—Och! for the -smallest taste in life!' sighed poor Darby, for our -food had been principally roasted castanos during -the two previous days, so miserably was the Spanish -commissariat conducted. The patron was certainly -at supper; but, instead of welcoming us to his house -as the deliverers of Spain, who had driven the -usurper from Torres Vedras to the Douro, from the -Douro to the Ebro, and from thence towards the -Pyrenees, he barely bestowed a bow upon us, and -desired his servant to conduct me to one room and -Crogan to another. Amazed at the coldness of this -reception within, which corresponded so exactly with -the ungenerous treatment of the mob without, a -storm of indignation gathered in my heart; but -being aware that a strong Spanish garrison occupied -the citadel, and that the Dons were lads who did not -stand on trifles, I pocketed my wrath and turned -away, resolving on the morrow to discover Donna -Emerenciana and la nina Estella. -</p> - -<p> -"'Blue blazes!' grumbled Darby; 'are we not to -have a ration of something to-night? Lord, sir, you -don't know how hungry I am, for the two insides o' -me are sticking together. I wish we had hould of -that darling pullet.' -</p> - -<p> -"'So do I, Crogan, and that the old guantero had -hold of the horns of the moon.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Wid his fingers well greased, the ould thief! -Never mind, sir, wait till they're all asleep, and if I -lave a place unransacked, I am not the boy of ould -Widdy Crogan, at the four cross-roads.' -</p> - -<p> -"The sulky looks of the glover were reflected by -those of his wife and servant, a buxom Basque -woman, who wore her coal-black hair plaited into one -long tail, which overhung her thick woollen petticoat -of bright yellow. Her stockings were scarlet; and I -saw Crogan squinting at her well-turned ankles, -cased in their neat leather abarcas, as she tripped -before us, up the steep wooden stair that led to my -apartment. The brown-cheeked Basque bade us -'good-night,' in bad Spanish, set down the light, -and on being told that one room would do for the -soldier and myself, withdrew. Crogan placed a few -chairs against the door, and near them lay down on -the floor, with his carbine loaded and half-cocked. -Without undressing, I threw myself on the bed, with -my drawn sword beside me, for the uproar still -continued in the street; but long before its din had died -away, we were both buried in profound sleep—the -deep and dreamless slumber of long weariness and -toil. -</p> - -<p> -"From this happy state I was aroused about midnight -by a loud noise. Sword in hand, I sprang up, -and Darby's promise to overhaul the patron's pantry -flashed upon my mind. But, lo! a lantern glared -into my eyes; and I saw the brown uniforms, red -facings, silver epaulettes, bronzed features, and -enormous mustaches of several Spanish officers, who -surrounded me with drawn swords. Among them I -recognised Don José Gonzalez y Llano, the town-major, -by whose orders I was roughly seized and disarmed. -The lantern was held rudely before my face, -then to my belt-plate and the buttons of my coat. -</p> - -<p> -"'The seventy-first regimento infanteria de Escotos,' -said one. -</p> - -<p> -"'La division de Don Roland Hill,' said another. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señores, what is the meaning of this intrusion, -and how dare you lay hands thus upon me?' -</p> - -<p> -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz de la Zarza will tell -you that,' said the little major, insolently. -</p> - -<p> -"'Then where is the marquis?' asked I, furiously. -</p> - -<p> -"'At his palace, where he waits you, and requires -your presence,' said a young officer, who wore the -cross of St. James and the splendid uniform of an -Ayudante de Campo. 'Come with us, señor,' he -added, politely. 'I beg to assure you that resistance -is worse than useless; so permit me, for the present, -to receive your sword.' -</p> - -<p> -"I handed the young aide-de-camp my belt and -scabbard. -</p> - -<p> -"'Gentlemen, I beg you to remember that I am -an officer bearing his Britannic Majesty's -commission.' And without saying more, I accompanied -them from the house of the glover, under escort of -four Spanish soldiers, who surrounded me with fixed -bayonets. In silence we traversed various streets, -which were buried in darkness and obscurity; and I -saw nothing of Crogan (for I had been seized while -he was on his exploring expedition); yet though -anxious and perplexed, I maintained a haughty -silence, and disdained to question my conductors. -</p> - -<p> -"The bell of the cathedral tolled midnight as we -entered the great Plaza, and saw before us the stately -palace of the marquis brilliantly illuminated, for he -was giving a magnificent fete in honour of his patron -saint, whose festival had occurred on the day that -had passed. From the lofty latticed windows, -four-and-twenty lines of variously-coloured light fell across -the great Plaza of the bull-fights, and shed their -prismatic hues on its plashing fountains. A flight of -marble steps led us to the vestibule, where a Spanish -guard of honour was under arms, with fixed bayonets; -and, passing between their ranks, we ascended -to the grand saloon of the palace. -</p> - -<p> -"In that magnificent apartment, decorated in the -florid and profusely-gilded style of Charles the Fifth's -time, filled with a deluge of light from crystal -chandeliers, and over a slippery floor of clear and -tesselated marble, I was led by my conductors through the -glittering crowd of guests. On every hand I saw the -brown uniforms, red facings, and silver epaulettes of -the Spanish line, the blue and silver of the -Portuguese, the green of the Cazadores, and the black -velvet suits of old-fashioned cavaliers, wearing the -crosses of St. James and of Calatrava. The ladies -wore, almost uniformly, dresses of black or white, but -with a profusion of the richest lace. Many of them -looked like beautiful black-eyed brides, for their -brows were wreathed with flowers, or they had one -fresh red rose among their dark glossy hair, placed -just beside the comb, from which fell that sweeping -veil which like a gauzy mist floated about their superb -figures. For years I had not looked on such a -scene. -</p> - -<p> -"'Madre de Dios! what an officer!' 'O! Santos! that -a British officer!' 'Morte de Dios! he a cavalier!' -were the exclamations in every varying tone. -I was led along the saloon; the music ceased in the -gilded gallery; the dancers paused, mingled, and -crowded about us; then reflecting that I had come -straight from the camp and field, where my -comrades were facing danger and death for these same -Spaniards, I thought the exhibition made of me by -the Major Don José Gonzalez, of the regiment of -Leon, alike scurvy and ungrateful. Our division of -the army had not received a farthing of pay for six -months at that time, and many a brave fellow fell at -Vittoria and the Pyrenees without receiving his -hard-won arrears, which, more than probably, his relations -never obtained either. -</p> - -<p> -"I was in the same plight in which I had marched -from Aranjuez; my wings worn to black wire; coat -purple, and patched with grey and blue at the elbows; -my Tartan trews a mass of darns; scabbard, as I -have said, six inches too short for the claymore; shoes -all gone at the toes; and my last shirt all gone too, -save the wrists and collar. But I was weatherbeaten -as a smuggler; and I looked more like a soldier -than the pomatumed Dons of the Spanish line, or -the Cavaliers of Calatrava, who turned up their -mustaches and muttered 'basta!' as I passed them, to -where the Marquis stood, with a lady leaning on his arm. -</p> - -<p> -"Don Christoval, of Santa Cruz, was a tall, gaunt -man, with a long Castilian visage, black lack-lustre -eyes, and a solemn air of lofty pomposity. His -mustaches were curled up to his ears. He had an -enormous basket-hilted toledo depending from a -sling-belt, and carried his handkerchief stuffed into -the hilt thereof. He wore the uniform of a Spanish -lieutenant-general, and had various little gold and -silver ornaments sparkling on his breast. I was -aware that a graceful and bright-eyed young girl, in -white lace, with her head wreathed by a superb tiara -of brilliants, leaned on his arm; but so solemnly -severe was the brow of the Marquis and so brief his -greeting, though in the old style of Castilian courtesy, -that he riveted my whole attention. Besides, I was -not a little indignant at the unceremonious manner -in which I had been brought before him, and made -a spectacle to his guests. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor Don Christoval,' said I, 'for what am I -brought—I may say dragged—hither from my billet, -after a tedious march, and after having duly delivered -over my detachment, according to my orders from -head-quarters?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor official,' replied the Marquis, with a look -of grave severity, 'you are charged with murdering -two Spaniards, carrying off twenty mules from La -Guardia, and levying other contributions in the -partida.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Who dare to be my accusers?' I asked, thunder-struck -at such a charge. -</p> - -<p> -"'The alcalde of La Guardia, whose brother is one -of the slain; and Alonzo Perez, a master-muleteer of -Fuentelfresno, whose mules you carried off.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Marquis, on my honour as a British officer and -gentleman, I deny this.' -</p> - -<p> -"The Marquis smiled coldly, as he replied,— -</p> - -<p> -"'To-morrow we will confront you with the worthy -alcalde; and as for the mules, the owner recognised -them this morning, drawing your waggons into Ciudad -Real. Each animal has a private notch in its ears.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Marquis, I beg to assure you——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sir—no more. Here I cannot listen to explanations. -I might place a guard over you, but nevertheless -consider yourself a prisoner, and believe that -any attempt to escape will be deemed but a proof of -guilt. Retain your sword—partake of our hospitality; -and I hope, señor, that the morrow will find -you prepared to refute these dark charges.' -</p> - -<p> -"He waved his hand with such an air as a Castilian -noble could alone assume, and with a lofty gait strode -away: then in his daughter, who swept on by his -side, for the first time I recognised the young lady -I had rescued at La Guardia, the original of the -portrait Darby had found, and which at that moment I -had upon my person. -</p> - -<p> -"Her large dark eyes dilated with astonishment, and -then sparkled with the recognition, which the -punctilio of the place or her father's pride and severity, -together with my tatterdemalion aspect, prevented her -avowing; and thus, though I had saved her life—yea, -more than her life—at the risk of my own, this -dazzling creature passed away and left me, without a -word of thanks or courtesy. -</p> - -<p> -"I do not remember that I felt either the alarm, -horror, or astonishment that might be supposed -consequent to an accusation so startling as murder and -marauding. I can only account for this by the -deadness of feeling and of all sense of danger which -results from actual service and warfare. But there was -one emotion which I felt deeply—an angry pride; -aware that I was an object of aversion and suspicion -to the gay guests of the Marquis, among whom the -fat and ferocious little town-major made himself very -conspicuous in laying down the Spanish military law -on the enormities I had committed. The hidalgos -gazed at me indignantly through their eye-glasses; -the dark-eyed donnas peeped timidly through the -openings of their veils, and 'matador, borrachio, -Inglese ladrone,' were the gentlest of the epithets I -heard muttered by many a pretty lip. My heart -swelled with rage, and instead of joining the dancers, -or aiding in the onslaught made upon the viands -which covered the long tables of an adjoining saloon, -between lofty epergnes and vases of crystal and -silver, filled with summer flowers, I stood aloof with -folded arms, and felt the smarting of a wound -received but a few months before—and that wound -was received for Spain, and on Spanish ground! -</p> - -<p> -"At a little distance I saw the Donna Estella -whispering to her father's aide-de-camp. A minute -afterwards he approached me. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor,' said he, 'if you will pardon the advice -of a friend, I beseech you to retire to your quarters, -for all here view you with hostile eyes; and, as a -brave soldier, to whom my little cousin owes (as she -has told me) her life, I cannot afford to see you thus -misused. To-morrow, I hope, will see these clouds -dispelled; meantime, allow me to accompany you. -I have here a spare apartment, to which you are -welcome.' -</p> - -<p> -"All places were alike to me; I accepted his offer -with gratitude; and, as we descended to the vestibule, -the first person I met was honest Darby Crogan, -with his sword under his arm, and his keen grey -Irish eyes sparkling with rage; and he pushed the -laced lacqueys right and left. -</p> - -<p> -"'I have heard it all, sir,' said the brave fellow, -who had been anxious about me; 'and mighty hard -it will go wid you. It was all the doin' of that -capthin of the Chaseers Britaneeks, who came out of -his own route into ours, ransacked La Guardia, and -carried off the mules (bad cess to them!). They were -found with us, and the owner is ready to swear by -this and by that, and by everything else, that you -are the man, and these are his mules, as he knows -by the holes punched in their ears, and to these -holes he is as ready to swear as to his own two eyes.' -</p> - -<p> -"'True, Darby; but how is all this to be explained -to these hostile and obstinate Spaniards?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Kape your mind aisy, sir; there are four good -hours till daybreak yet, and if I don't astonish them -thaving Dons, I am not Darby Crogan of the 4th -Dragoon Guards.' -</p> - -<p> -"On the terrace of the palace, which had anciently -been the head-quarters of that celebrated fraternity, -the Santa Hermandad, founded in 1249 for the -suppression of robbers, I walked to and fro for half an -hour with the aide-de-camp, enjoying a cigar, talking -of the war, my own mishap, and longing to ask a -few questions about his dark-eyed cousin, with whom -her miniature had made me so intimately acquainted. -The glorious moon was rolling through an unclouded -Spanish sky, pouring a flood of silver light into the -Plaza and court of the palace, on the towers of the -great church, and the magnificent hospital of -Cardinal Lorenzana, the good and wise Archbishop of -Toledo. The gardens of the Marquis were all lighted -up by the same white radiance; the foliage of the -citron trees was edged with silver and laden with -perfume; the rose-trees hung their dewy blossoms -over the marble fountains, the clear waters of which -plashed and sparkled in the moonlight. After a -pause, I ventured to ask— -</p> - -<p> -"'What is the name of the—the Marquis's daughter?' -</p> - -<p> -"'My cousin—la nina—Estella de la Zarza.' -</p> - -<p> -"'A pretty one enough; and she is about to change -it, I presume?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Change it!' reiterated the Ayudante de Campo, -who did not perceive that I was fishing for a certain -information. 'Oh! I see—marriage. She is about -to marry, Corpo de Baccho! yes, but our Spanish -ladies do not change their names when they marry.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And who is the happy man—yourself, señor?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Nay, nay—we Catholics cannot marry our cousins. -Next week she is to wed old Don José Gonzalez.' -</p> - -<p> -"'What! that old beer-barrel, the town-major?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Si, señor,' replied he, twirling his mustaches, -with a doubtful look: while I felt that I was -beginning to abhor that town-major immeasurably. -</p> - -<p> -"About eight o'clock next morning I saw sixteen -Spanish officers in full uniform, with their swords -and belts, preceded by the said Don José, marching -in file through the court of the palace, at the -side-door of which they entered. A few minutes -afterwards my friend, the aide-de-camp, came to acquaint -me, that "the court-martial, by which I was to be -tried, was constituted, and awaited me." Without -any futile protestation against the illegality and -rapidity of this measure, I followed him to a spacious -apartment, having four large windows, which opened -clown to the floor, and overlooked a grass park which -lay behind the palace. The members of the court, -over which the town-major (who, from the first, had -constituted himself my deadly enemy) presided, were -solemnly sworn across their swords; they promised -to administer justice according to the laws of war, and -so forth, and then the prosecution proceeded. -</p> - -<p> -"I was charged with murdering, or causing to be -shot, two peasants; robbery, in levying contributions; -blasphemous sacrilege, in destroying a statue of the -Blessed Virgin. My horizon was now black as it -could be! I knew very little of the language. Save -Crogan, who remained beside me in court, I had not -a friend or a comrade near me; for the whole of my -guard had marched for Belem four hours before, -while Maurice Quill, and the other sick officers, could -neither defend nor succour me. I perceived in a -moment, that, as Crogan said, I had been accused of -outrages committed by les Chasseurs Britanniques (who -wore scarlet uniform); but I resolved, that unless -matters went hard with myself, not to criminate their -officer, who, by leaving his own proper route, and -relaxing his discipline, had become guilty of the -acts for which I was that day to suffer. The three -principal witnesses against me were, the alcalde, the -muleteer, and a farmer from the partida of La -Guardia. -</p> - -<p> -"The first—old, stupid, half-blind, and obstinate—swore -to my face that I was the officer who had -ordered his dear brother Vincentio, the abogado, to be -shot on his own threshold, and another man to be -bayoneted. In vain I drew his attention to the Highland -cap of the 71st, and to my tartan trews, assuring -him that I was an Escoto. He shook his head—I -wore a red coat—I was the very man! -</p> - -<p> -"Then came the muleteer, a sturdy Catalonian, clad -in a fur jacket and yellow cotton breeches, wearing a -broad sombrero, under which his black hair hung in -a red net. He, too, swore across his knife, that I had -carried off his train of mules, or at least, that at the -bayonet's point, my soldiers had done so, to travel -more at their ease. -</p> - -<p> -"'He did not see me, neither did he then see any -waggons of sick, but he knew his mules as well as if -he had been the father of them, the moment they -appeared in the streets of la Ciudad Real.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You will swear to your mules, hombre?' -</p> - -<p> -"'By the marks in their ears, Don José, as readily -as I would swear to my own nose.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Lead forward some of those mules to the window, -and let the witness see them.' -</p> - -<p> -"An uproar of voices was heard in the park, and the -witness, who went to the window, uttered a cry of -dismay. The ears of his twenty mules had been -shred off close by the bone! -</p> - -<p> -"'Morte de Dios!' growled the officers, twirling -their mustaches; 'these Inglesos are devils!' -</p> - -<p> -"'It was murtherin cruel for the poor bastes,' -whispered Darby Crogan; 'but it was all to save your -honour's life I cropped them; and sure it is worth a -bushel of mules' ears; for it was a good bushel ov -'em I buried this blessed morning. The Lord reward -Misther Quill, for it was his best docthor's knife he -lint me, to make croppies of them all.' -</p> - -<p> -"The little Major Don José was bursting with wrath. -</p> - -<p> -"'Call the next witness,' he exclaimed, furiously. -</p> - -<p> -"A tall, powerfully-formed, and fair-complexioned -man, who, contrary to the Spanish custom, was closely -shaven, now came forward, and stated himself to be a -farmer, or jardinero, at Mora and La Guardia. He -had a large patch on his cheek, and kept one hand -constantly thrust into the red and yellow sash which -girt his waist. -</p> - -<p> -"Confronting me boldly and vindictively, with all -the glare of hate a cold grey eye can pour, he accused -me of destroying for firewood a statue of the Virgin -at Mora, and swore to having seen the act committed. -A growl of anger followed his evidence; and I found -that shooting an alcalde's brother, and carrying off -twenty mules, were mere jokes, compared to this. I -was startled by his voice, which, assuredly, I had -heard before—but where? What could be the origin -of a charge so false, so strange, as sacrilege? I -turned to question him, but he was at that moment -ordered to withdraw. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor Ayudante de Campo,' said Don José, -'read from the RECOPILACION of the military -penalties the first article.' -</p> - -<p> -"'El que blasfamare el santo nombre de Dios, de la -Vergén ó de los Santos, será immediamente preso y -castigado por la primero vez con la,' &c. -</p> - -<p> -"'Read the fourth article, concerning outrage to -divine images, for the prisoner has been alike -sacrilegious and blasphemous.' -</p> - -<p> -"'El que con irreverencia y deliberation cannocida -de desprecio ajare de obra las sagradas imagenes, -ornamentos ó cualquierro de las casas dedicados al -Divino culto, ó las hurtare, servá ahorcado,' &c. -</p> - -<p> -"'The plot thickens,' thought I. -</p> - -<p> -"In short, they sentenced me to be hanged. -</p> - -<p> -"The Marquis, as Governor of Ciudad Heal, dared -to confirm this unjust sentence, which he directed -should be put in execution in the Plaza, at eight -o'clock on the following morning. -</p> - -<p> -"Far, far from aid and my comrades; wholly at the -mercy of men, whose hearts the cunning charge of -the last witness had totally closed against me; aware -of the futility of denial and defiance, and the -hopelessness of rescue or escape, I sat in a grated room -of the public carcel, or gaol, of the town, almost -stupefied by the suddenness, the shame, and -opprobrium of my impending fate. 'Poets and painters,' -says a certain writer, 'have ever made the estate of a -man condemned to die one of their favourite themes -of comment or description.' By heavens! I never -met one of either which came within a thousand -degrees of the agony I endured that night at Ciudad -Real. I, a gentleman, a soldier, bearing on my -person three wounds, won on that accursed Spanish -soil; innocent of all they alleged; young, with a long -life and rapid promotion before me, to be cut off -thus—strangled like a garotted villain—hanged like a -dog, to glut the noonday frenzy of a Spanish rabble! -Horrible! I had often faced death without shrinking; -but now, like a coward's, my whole soul shrunk from -such a death as that which these Spaniards meted -out to me. -</p> - -<p> -"The night came on: I sat in darkness, revolving a -myriad futile plans of escape. I was to die to-morrow, -and that conviction seemed palpably before me. I -heard it, saw it, felt it; there was a dull sound -humming in my ears—a tingling in my heart. I -recollected, with remorse and shame, how coldly, calmly, -and unmoved I had seen the provost-marshal's guard -hang six soldiers on the retreat from Burgos. I -remembered their struggles, their agonies, and -wondered how they felt. I passed a hand over my throat, -compressed it a little, and shuddered. -</p> - -<p> -"And now, in the man who had accused me of -sacrilege, I suddenly remembered Barba Roxa, the -robber, and the hand I had maimed was that which -he retained in his sash. -</p> - -<p> -"'Fool! fool! that I am,' I exclaimed, bitterly; -'where were my eyes, my ears, my faculties, that -knew him not before? This is his revenge—his -Spaniard's triumph.' -</p> - -<p> -"Even my friend, the aide-de-camp, seemed to have -abandoned me; and could it be that the pretty -daughter of the Marquis had not pleaded, or said one -kind word to save the poor officer who had so freely -risked his life for hers? -</p> - -<p> -"All at once my stupor left me. I sprang to the -bars of the window, and from their solid sockets, -madly strove to wrench them with a tiger's strength. -I felt every corner; the vast iron lock of the door, -the door itself moveless as a wall of adamant. Vain, -vain! I was to die to-morrow, and my swollen heart -almost burst with emotion, when I thought of my -friends, my family, and my regiment, all canvassing -the various causes of a death so ignominious. -</p> - -<p> -"A face appeared suddenly at the window, which -was raised. -</p> - -<p> -"'Don't be alarmed, yer honour, it's only me,' -said a voice. -</p> - -<p> -"'Crogan—you!' I exclaimed, in the confusion of -my thoughts; 'are you not dead—in heaven?' -</p> - -<p> -"'In heaven—the Lord forbid! I'm here, standing -on my two feet, not that I think people there stand -on their heads; but don't be spakin' in that doleful -way, sir, at all, for you must prepare to lave this place -in less than no time. Do you hear the knockin' of -hammers? It's them thavin' Spaniards puttin' up -the dancin' post in the Plaza—blazes take that -same!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Leave this! Crogan; but how?' -</p> - -<p> -"'By the door, to be sure. It will be opened in -ten minutes; and horses are waitin' for the three of -us, I hope, at the corner of the sthreet.' -</p> - -<p> -"'The three of us, Darby?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay, sir, just the three of us; for isn't there a -darlin' young lady goin', too?—but I must be afther -lookin' to the girths and straps of our cattle.' -</p> - -<p> -"He was scarcely gone when the door of the room -opened, and the daughter of the Marquis stood -before me, together with a man bearing a light; and in -that man I recognised the under carcelero, or turnkey. -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh! señora,' I exclaimed, my heart bounding -with gratitude and joy, 'you have not forgotten -me—or abandoned me to this cruel and unmerited death.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Hush, señor; not a word of thanks or of transport, -for that would spoil all,' she replied, with -calmness and decision. 'I do, indeed, owe you a -debt of gratitude; but the mention of that to my -father, and more than all to Don José——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah, you shudder at that name.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Would but accelerate your fate. I have bribed -the carcelero,' she whispered, 'and he will sleep -sound. His deputy is about to join the guerillas of -the great Don Julian Sanchez, and for twenty dollars -will guide you to Madrid, sent by my cousin, the -ayudante; your horses are waiting at the corner of -the Plaza. No more,' she added, shortly, when I -attempted to kiss her hand, which the thick folds of -her ample veil concealed. -</p> - -<p> -"In a minute we had left the detested prison-house, -and crossed the garden which lay between it and the -Plaza. Again the glorious moon was rolling in its -silver splendour over Ciudad Heal; and as I gazed -on my fair companion, the interest I felt for her -returned vividly, and became stronger, as the moment -approached when I should leave her for ever. I saw -her magnificent eyes sparkling through her veil. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señora,' said I, with hesitation, as our attendant, -by hurrying on before, had left us for one instant -alone—'Señora,' I continued, urged by a kind, a -grateful, and a stronger impulse than I could at that -time analyse, 'though to remain here is remaining -but to die, I leave Ciudad Real with the most sincere -sorrow.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And why?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Because I may never see you again.' -</p> - -<p> -"'But I also am going to Madrid—and this night, too.' -</p> - -<p> -"I remembered the words of Crogan; I knew alia -Spanish love was capable of; my heart leaped within me. -</p> - -<p> -"'Madrid!' I reiterated. -</p> - -<p> -"'With you and your brave dragoon. Ah, señor, -do not refuse to escort me. My father is bent on -marrying me to Don José——' -</p> - -<p> -"'What!—that rascally old town-major? My dear -señora, I beg you not to think of it.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah! I have thought a great deal of it, and wept -for it too.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Then,' said I, drawing my breath more freely, -end seeing a prospect of vengeance on the -pot-bellied major, 'you do not love him?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh no; I hate, abhor, detest him; and to avoid -him, am about to retire to Madrid, where my aunt -lives. She is reverend mother at our Lady of Attocha. -You know the great convent where the little Jesus is -that works the miracles, and looks so beautiful, a -love of an infant, on the altar of the Hundred Lamps. -My aunt will save me from this detested union if you, -señor, will but afford me your escort. I am friendless,' -she continued, weeping; 'for such is the terror of -my father's name that there is not a man in Ciudad -Real whom I can trust. Yet I shall confide in your -goodness; indeed I am sure—I know—I think, I -may. The British officer has a high sense of chivalry -'and honour, but Ay de mi! el Espanol no tiene -nada.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Madam,' said I, touched to the heart by the -compliment, and her confiding nature, 'trust to me, -and while life remains, by heaven, and that honour, -I will see you safely to Madrid.' -</p> - -<p> -"Crogan, with three saddle-horses, stood at the gate. -We mounted, the fair Estella springing on her jennet, -à la cavalier, in the fashion of Old Castile. We left -Ciudad Heal by the northern gate, and then put our -horses to their mettle, as we avoided the direct route -to Madrid, and struck off into the mountains towards -Carrion de Calatrava. -</p> - -<p> -"I might spin my story beyond the limits allotted to -me, but surely it requires no conjuror to guess the -sequel! The interest begun by the miniature, so -fortunately found, the charming society, confidence, -and generous spirit of the original strengthened and -confirmed. In four days we reached Madrid, in four -more we were married in the convent chapel of -Attocha. -</p> - -<p> -"The Marquis sent the Major Don José expressly -to Wellington, requesting him to hang and behead -me. His grace declined to accede, but the name of -Captain ——, of Les Chasseurs Britanniques, was -struck out of the army-list. My head is still safe on -my shoulders, though somewhat powdered by time. -Thanks to his Grace of Richmond, I have got my -medal with eight clasps, and La Señora Estella (now -known by another name) is, though somewhat old like -myself, one of the dearest and most affectionate wives -in the world, and I crave a bumper in her honour, -gentlemen." -</p> - -<p> -Such was the story of our worthy major, whose -toast I need scarcely say was drunk with enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -Our doctor was the next, and like every one who -has a story to tell he had listened with considerable -impatience to the adventures of the major, and the -moment his toast had been duly honoured and -silence was restored, he began his tale without further -preface, and was then followed by our rough old -Highland quartermaster. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap25"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXV. -<br /><br /> -A LEGEND OF FIFE. -</h3> - -<p> -I can only give you an old Scottish story of the last -century, with the incidents of which I became -familiar in my student days when attending the ancient -university of St. Andrew's, where I worked my -way manfully through the classes of chemistry, -anatomy, and natural philosophy; and felt as proud of -my academic gown as I have done in later years of -my red coat and epaulettes, and perhaps as happy, -too, for some of the most joyous days, and certainly -the most uproarious nights of my past life, have been -spent in the auld East Neuk of Fife—God bless it! -</p> - -<p> -And now for my legend. -</p> - -<p> -It was a cold night in the March of the year 1708. -The hour of ten had tolled from the old Gothic -collegiate church; beating on his drum, the -drummer in the livery of the burgh had proceeded from -the Market-cross to the ruins of St. David's Castle, -and from thence to the chapel of St. Rufus, and -having made one long roll or flourish at the point -from whence his peregrination began, he adjourned -to the "Thane of Fife" to procure a dram, while the -good folks of Crail composed themselves for the -night, and the barring of doors and windows -announced that those who were within had resolved to -make themselves comfortable and secure, while those -unfortunate wights that were without were likely to -remain so. -</p> - -<p> -Hollowly the German Sea was booming on the -rocks of the harbour; and from its hazy surface a -cold east wind swept over the flat, bleak coast of -Crail; a star peeped at times between the flying -clouds, and even the moon looked forth once, but -immediately veiled her face again, as if one glance -at the iron shore and barren scenery, unenlivened by -hedge or tree, were quite enough to prevent her from -looking again. -</p> - -<p> -The town-drummer had received his dram and -withdrawn, and Master Spiggot, the gudeman or -landlord of the Thane of Fife, the principal tavern, -and only inn or hostel in the burgh, was taking a -last view of the main street, and considering the -propriety of closing for the night. It was broad, -spacious, and is still overlooked by many a tall and -gable-ended mansion, whose antique and massive -aspect announces that, like other Fifeshire burghs -before the Union in the preceding year, it had seen -better days. Indeed, the house then occupied by -Master Spiggot himself, and from which his sign -bearing the panoplied Thane at full gallop on a -caparisoned steed, swung creaking in the night wind, -was one of those ancient edifices, and in former days -had belonged to the provost of the adjoining kirk: -but this was (as Spiggot said), "in the auld-warld times -o' the Papistrie." -</p> - -<p> -The gudeman shook his white head solemnly and -sadly, as he looked down the empty thoroughfare. -</p> - -<p> -"There was a time," he muttered, and paused. -</p> - -<p> -Silent and desolate as any in the ruins of Thebes, -the street was half covered with weeds and rank -grass that grew between the stones, and Spiggot -could see them waving in the dim starlight. -</p> - -<p> -Crail is an out-of-the-way place. It is without -thoroughfare and without trade; few leave it and still -fewer think of going there, for there one feels as if -on the very verge of society; for even by day, there -reigns a monastic gloom, a desertion, a melancholy, -a uniform and voiceless silence, broken only by the -croak of the gleds and the cawing of the clamorous -gulls nestling on the old church tower, while the sea -booms incessantly as it rolls on the rocky beach. -</p> - -<p> -But there was a time when it was otherwise; when -the hum of commerce rose around its sculptured -cross, and there was a daily bustle in the chambers -of its Town-hall, for there a portly provost and bailies -with a battalion of seventeen corpulent councillors -sat solemnly deliberating on the affairs of the burgh, -and swelling with a municipal importance that was -felt throughout the whole East Neuk of Fife; for, in -those days, the bearded Russ and red-haired Dane, -the Norwayer and the Hollander, laden with -merchandise, furled their sails in that deserted harbour -where now scarcely a fisherboat is seen; for on -Crail, as on all its sister towns along the coast, fell -surely and heavily that decay of trade which -succeeded the Union in 1707. -</p> - -<p> -On the sad changes a year had brought about, -Spiggot pondered sadly, and was only roused from -his dreamy mood by the sudden apparition of a -traveller on horseback standing before him; for so long -and so soft was the grass of the street that his -approach had been unheard by the dreamer, whose -mind was wandering after the departed glories of the -East Neuk. -</p> - -<p> -"A cold night, landlord, for such I take you to -be," said the stranger, in a bold and cheerful voice, -as he dismounted. -</p> - -<p> -"A cauld night and a dreary too," sighed poor -Boniface, as he bowed, and hastened to seize the -stranger's bridle, and buckled it to a ring at tha -door-cheek; "but the sicht of a visitor does gude to -my heart; step in, sir. A warm posset that was -simmering in the parlour for myself is at your service, -and I'll set the stall-boy to corn your beast and -stable it." -</p> - -<p> -"I thank you, gudeman; but for unharnessing it -matters not, as I must ride onward; but I will take -the posset with thanks, for I am chilled to death by -my long ride along this misty coast." -</p> - -<p> -Spiggot looked intently at the traveller as he -stooped, and entering the low-arched door which -was surmounted by an old monastic legend, trod -into the bar with a heavy clanking stride, for he was -accoutred with jack boots and gilded spurs. His -rocquelaure was of scarlet cloth, warmly furred, and -the long curls of his Ramilies wig flowed over it. -His beaver was looped upon three sides with -something of a military air, and one long white feather -that adorned it, floated down his back, for the dew -was heavy on it. He was a handsome man, about -forty years of age, well sunburned, with a keen dark -eye, and close-clipped moustache, which indicated -that he had served in foreign wars. He threw his -hat and long jewelled rapier aside, and on removing -his rocquelaure, discovered a white velvet coat more -richly covered with lace than any that Spiggot had -seen even in the palmiest days of Crail. -</p> - -<p> -According to the fashion of Queen Anne's courtiers, -it was without a collar, to display the long -white cravat of point d'Espagne, without cuffs, and -edged from top to bottom with broad bars of lace, -clasps and buttons of silver the whole length; being -compressed at the waist by a very ornamental belt, -fastened by a large gold buckle. -</p> - -<p> -"Your honour canna think of riding on to-night," -urged Boniface; "and if a Crail-capon done just to -perfection, and a stoup of the best wine, at least, -siccan wine as we get by the east seas, since that -vile incorporating Union——" -</p> - -<p> -"Vile and damnable! say I," interrupted the -stranger. -</p> - -<p> -"True for ye, sir," said Spiggot, with a kindling -eye; "but if these puir viands can induce ye to partake -of the hospitality of my puir hostel, that like our -gude burrowtoun is no just what it has been——" -</p> - -<p> -"Gudeman, 'tis impossible, for I must ride so -soon as I have imbibed thy posset." -</p> - -<p> -"As ye please, sir—your honour's will be done. -Our guests are now, even as the visits of angels, -unco few and far between; and thus, when one -comes, we are loath to part with him. There is a -deep pitfall, and an ugly gulleyhole where the burn -crosses the road at the town-head, and if ye miss -the path, the rocks by the beach are steep, and in a -night like this——" -</p> - -<p> -"Host of mine," laughed the traveller, "I know -right well every rood of the way, and by keeping to -the left near the Auldlees may avoid both the blackpit -and the sea-beach." -</p> - -<p> -"Your honour kens the country hereawa, then?" -said Spiggot with surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"Of old, perhaps, I knew it as well as thee." -</p> - -<p> -The gudeman of the Thane scrutinised the traveller's -face keenly, but failed to recognise him, and -until this moment, he thought that no man in the -East Neuk was unknown to him; but here his -inspection was at fault. -</p> - -<p> -"And hast thou no visitors with thee now, friend -host?" he asked of Spiggot. -</p> - -<p> -"One only, gude sir, who came here on a brown -horse about nightfall. He is an unco' foreign-looking -man, but has been asking the way to the castle -o' Balcomie." -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! and thou didst tell of this plaguey pitfall, I -warrant." -</p> - -<p> -"Assuredly, your honour, in kindness I did but -hint of it." -</p> - -<p> -"And thereupon he stayed. Balcomie—indeed! and -what manner of man is he?" -</p> - -<p> -"By the corslet which he wears under his coat, -and the jaunty cock of his beaver, I would say he -had been a soldier." -</p> - -<p> -"Good again—give him my most humble commendations, -and ask him to share thy boasted posset -of wine with me." -</p> - -<p> -"What name did you say, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou inquisitive varlet, I said no name," replied -the gentleman, with a smile. "In these times men -do not lightly give their names to each other, when -the land is swarming with Jacobite plotters and -government spies, disguised Jesuits, and Presbyterian -tyrants. I may be the Devil or the Pope, for -all thou knowest." -</p> - -<p> -"Might ye no be the Pretender?" said Spiggot, -with a sour smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I have a better travelling name than that; -but say to this gentleman that the Major of Marshal -Orkney's Dragoons requests the pleasure of sharing -a stoup of wine with him." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, it mattereth little whether you give your -name or no," replied the host bitterly; "for we are -a' nameless now. Twelve months ago, we were true -Scottish men, but now——" -</p> - -<p> -"Our king is an exile—our crown is buried for -ever, and our brave soldiers are banished to far and -foreign wars, while the grass is growing green in the -streets of our capital—ay, green as it is at this hour -in your burgh of Crail; but, hence to the stranger; -yet say not," added the traveller, bitterly and proudly, -"that in his warmth the Scottish cavalier has -betrayed himself." -</p> - -<p> -While the speaker amused himself with examining -a printed proclamation concerning the "Tiend -Commissioners and Transplantation off Paroch Kirkis," -which was pasted over the stone mantlepiece of the -bar, the landlord returned with the foreign -gentleman's thanks, and an invitation to his chamber, -whither the Major immediately repaired; following -the host up a narrow stone spiral stair to a -snugly-wainscotted room, against the well-grated windows -of which a sudden shower was now beginning to -patter. -</p> - -<p> -The foreigner, who was supping on a Crail-capon -(in other words a broiled haddock) and stoup of -Bourdeaux wine, arose at their entrance, and bowed -with an air that was undisguisedly continental. He -was a man above six feet, with a long straight nose, -over which his dark eyebrows met and formed one -unbroken line. He wore a suit of green Genoese -velvet, so richly laced that little of the cloth was -visible; a full-bottomed wig, and a small corslet of -the brightest steel (over which hung the ends of his -cravat), as well as a pair of silver-mounted cavalry -pistols that lay on the table, together with his -unmistakable bearing, decided the Major of Orkney's -that the stranger was a brother of the sword. -</p> - -<p> -"Fair sir, little introduction is necessary between -us, as, I believe, we have both followed the drum in -our time," said the Major, shaking the curls of his -Ramilies wig with the air of a man who has decided -on what he says. -</p> - -<p> -"I have served, Monsieur," replied the foreigner, -"under Marlborough and Eugene." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! in French Flanders? Landlord—gudeman, -harkee; a double stoup of this wine; I have found -a comrade to-night—be quick and put my horse to -stall, I will not ride hence for an hour or so. What -regiment, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"I was first under Grouvestein in the Horse of -Driesberg." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you were on the left of the second column -at Ramilies—on that glorious 12th of May," said the -Major, drawing the high-backed chair which the host -handed him, and spreading out his legs before the -fire, which burned merrily in the basket grate on the -hearth, "and latterly——" -</p> - -<p> -"Under Wandenberg." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! an old tyrannical dog." -</p> - -<p> -A dark cloud gathered on the stranger's lofty -brow. -</p> - -<p> -"I belonged to the Earl of Orkney's Grey -Dragoons," said the Major; "and remember old -Wandenberg making a bold charge in that brilliant -onfall when we passed the lines of Monsieur le -Mareschal Villars at Pont-a-Vendin, and pushed on to the -plains of Lens." -</p> - -<p> -"That was before we invested Doway and Fort-Escharpe, -where old Albergotti so ably commanded -ten thousand well-beaten soldiers." -</p> - -<p> -"And then Villars drew off from his position at -sunset and encamped on the plain before Arras." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou forgettest, comrade, that previously he took -up a position in rear of Escharpe." -</p> - -<p> -"True; but now I am right into the very melée -of those old affairs, and the mind carries one on like -a rocket. Your health, sir—by the way, I am still -ignorant of your name." -</p> - -<p> -"I have such very particular reasons for concealing -it in this neighbourhood, that——" -</p> - -<p> -"Do not think me inquisitive; in these times men -should not pry too closely." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur will pardon me, I hope." -</p> - -<p> -"No apology is necessary, save from myself, for -now my curiosity is thoroughly and most impertinently -whetted, to find a Frenchman in this part of -the world, here in this out-o'-the-way place, where -no one comes to, and no one goes from, on a bleak -promontory of the German Sea, the East Neuk of -Fife." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur will again excuse me; but I have most -particular business with a gentleman in this -neighbourhood; and having travelled all the way from -Paris, expressly to have it settled, I beg that I may be -excused the pain of prevarication. The circumstance -of my having served under the great Duke of Marlborough -against my own king and countrymen is sufficiently -explained when I acquaint you, that I was -then a French Protestant refugee; but now, without -changing my religion, I have King Louis' gracious -pardon and kind protection extended to me." -</p> - -<p> -"And so you were with Wandenberg when his -troopers made that daring onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, -and drove back the horse picquets of Villars," said -the Major, to lead the conversation from a point -which evidently seemed unpleasant to the stranger. -"'T was sharp, short, and decisive, as all cavalry -affairs should be. You will of course remember that -unpleasant affair of Wandenberg's troopers who were -accused of permitting a French prisoner to escape. -It caused a great excitement in the British camp, -where some condemned the dragoons, others Van -Wandenberg, and not a few our great Marlborough -himself." -</p> - -<p> -"I did hear something of it," said the stranger in -a low voice. -</p> - -<p> -"The prisoner whose escape was permitted was, I -believe, the father of the youths who captured him, a -circumstance which might at least have won them -mercy——" -</p> - -<p> -"From the Baron!" -</p> - -<p> -"I forgot me; he was indeed merciless." -</p> - -<p> -"But as I left his dragoons, and indeed the army -about that time, I shall be glad to hear your account -of the affair." -</p> - -<p> -"It is a very unpleasant story; the more so as I -was somewhat concerned in it myself," said the Major, -slowly filling his long-stemmed glass, and watching -the white worm in its stalk, so intently as he recalled -all the circumstances he was about to relate, that he -did not observe the face of the French gentleman, -which was pale as death; and after a short pause, he -began as follows:— -</p> - -<p> -"In the onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, it happened that -two young Frenchmen who served as gentlemen -volunteers with you in the dragoon regiment of Van -Wandenberg, had permitted—how, or why, I pretend -not to say—the escape of a certain prisoner of -distinction. Some said he was no other than M. le -Mareschal Villars himself. They claimed a court-martial, -but the old baron, who was a savage-hearted -Dutchman, insisted that they should be given up -unconditionally to his own mercy, and in an evil -moment of heedlessness or haste, Marlborough consented, -and sent me (I was his aide-de-camp) with a written -order to that effect, addressed to Colonel the Baron -Van Wandenberg, whose regiment of horse I met -'en route' for St. Venant, about nightfall on a cold -and snowy evening in the month of November. -</p> - -<p> -"Snow covered the whole country, which was all a -dead level, and a cold, leaden-coloured sky met the -white horizon in one unbroken line, save where the -leafless poplars of some far-off village stood up, the -landmarks of the plain. In broad flakes the snow fell -fast, and directing their march by a distant spire, the -Dutch troopers rode slowly over the deepening fields. -They were all muffled in dark blue cloaks, on the -capes of which the snow was freezing, while the breath -of the men and horses curled like steam in the -thickening and darkening air. -</p> - -<p> -"Muffled to the nose in a well-furred rocquelaure, -with my wig tied to keep the snow from its curls, and -my hat flapped over my face, I rode as fast as the deep -snow would permit, and passing the rear of the -column where, moody and disarmed, the two poor -French volunteers were riding under care of an escort -I spurred to the baron who rode in front near the -kettle drums, and delivered my order; as I did so, -recalling with sadness the anxious and wistful glance -given me by the prisoners as I passed them. -</p> - -<p> -"Wandenberg, who had no more shape than a huge -hogshead, received the dispatch with a growl of -satisfaction. He would have bowed, but his neck was too -short. I cannot but laugh when I remember his -strange aspect. In form he looked nearly as broad -as he was long, being nearly eight feet in girth, and -completely enveloped in a rough blue rocquelaure, -which imparted to his figure the roundness of a ball. -His face, reddened by skiedam and the frost, was -glowing like crimson, while the broad beaver hat that -overshadowed it, and the feathers with which the -beaver was edged, were encrusted with the snow that -was rapidly forming a pyramid on its crown, imparting -to his whole aspect a drollery at which I could -have laughed heartily, had not his well-known acuteness -and ferocity awed me into a becoming gravity of -demeanour; and delivering my dispatch with a tolerably -good grace, I reined back my horse to await any -reply he might be pleased to send the Duke. -</p> - -<p> -"His dull Dutch eyes glared with sudden anger -and triumph, as he folded the document, and -surveyed the manacled prisoners. Thereafter he seized -his speaking trumpet, and thundered out,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Ruyters—halt! form open column of troops, trot!' -</p> - -<p> -"It was done as rapidly as heavily-armed Dutchmen -on fat slow horses knee deep among snow could -perform it, and then wheeling them into line, he gave -the orders— -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward the flanks, form circle, sling -musquetoons! trumpeters ride to the centre and dismount.' -</p> - -<p> -"By these unexpected manoeuvres, I suddenly found -myself inclosed in a hollow circle of the Dutch -horsemen, and thus, as it were, compelled to become a -spectator of the scene that ensued, though I had his -Grace of Marlborough's urgent orders to rejoin him -without delay on the road to Aire." -</p> - -<p> -"And—and you saw——" -</p> - -<p> -"Such a specimen of discipline as neither the devil -nor De Martinet ever dreamed of; but thoroughly -Dutch, I warrant you. -</p> - -<p> -"I have said it was intensely cold, and that the -night was closing; but the whiteness of the snow -that covered the vast plain, with the broad red circle -of the half-obscured moon that glimmered through -the fast-falling flakes, as it rose behind a distant spire, -cast a dim light upon the place where the Dutchmen -halted. But deeming that insufficient, Van -Wandenberg ordered half-a-dozen torches to be lighted, for -his troopers always had such things with them, being -useful by night for various purposes; and hissing and -sputtering in the falling snow flakes, their lurid and -fitful glare was thrown on the close array of the -Dutch dragoons, on their great cumbrous hats, on the -steeple crowns of which, I have said, the snow was -gathering in cones, and the pale features of the two -prisoners, altogether imparting a wild, unearthly, and -terrible effect to the scene about to be enacted on -that wide and desolate moor. -</p> - -<p> -"By order of Van Wandenberg, three halberts -were fixed into the frozen earth, with their points -bound together by a thong, after which the -dismounted trumpeters layed hands on one of the -young Frenchmen, whom they proceeded to strip of -his coat and vest. -</p> - -<p> -"Disarmed and surrounded, aware of the utter -futility of resistance, the unfortunate volunteer -offered none, but gazed wistfully and imploringly at -me, and sure I am, that in my lowering brow and -kindling eyes, he must have seen the storm that was -gathering in my heart. -</p> - -<p> -"'Dieu vous bénisse, Officier,' cried the Frenchman -in a mournful voice, while shuddering with cold -and horror as he was stripped to his shirt; 'save me -from this foul disgrace, and my prayers—yea, my -life—shall be for ever at your disposal.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Good comrade,' said I, 'entreat me not, for here -I am powerless.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Baron,' he exclaimed; 'I am a gentleman—a -gentleman of old France, and I dare thee to lay thy -damnable scourge upon me.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ach Gott; dare—do you say dare? ve vill zee,' -laughed Van Wandenberg, as the prisoner was dragged -forward and about to be forcibly trussed to the -halberts by the trumpeters, when, animated to the very -verge of insanity, he suddenly freed himself, and -rushing like a madman upon the Baron, struck him -from his horse by one blow of his clenched hand. -The horse snorted, the Dutch troopers opened their -saucer eyes wider still, as the great and corpulent -mass fell heavily among the deepening snow, and in -an instant the foot of the Frenchman was pressed -upon his throat, while he exclaimed— -</p> - -<p> -"'If I slay thee, thou hireling dog, as I have often -slain thy clodpated countryman in other days,' and -the Frenchman laughed fiercely, 'by St. Denis! I -shall have one foeman less on this side of Hell.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Gott in Himmel! ach! mein tuyvel! mein -Gott!' gasped the Dutchman, as he floundered -beneath the heel of the vengeful and infuriated -Frenchman, who was determined on destroying him, till a -blow from the baton of an officer stretched him -almost senseless among the snow, where he was -immediately grasped by the trumpeters, disrobed of his -last remaining garment, and bound strongly to the -halberts. -</p> - -<p> -"Meanwhile the other prisoner had been pinioned -and resolutely held by his escort, otherwise he would -undoubtedly have fallen also upon Van Wandenberg, -who, choking with a tempest of passion that was too -great to find utterance in words, had gathered up his -rotund figure, and with an agility wonderful in a man -of his years and vast obesity, so heavily armed, in a -buff coat and jack boots ribbed with iron, a heavy -sword and cloak, clambered on the back of his horse, -as a clown would climb up a wall: and with a visage -alternating between purple and blue, by the effects -of rage and strangulation, he surveyed the prisoner -for a moment in silence, and there gleamed in his -piggish grey eyes an expression of fury and pain, -bitterness and triumph combined, and he was only -able to articulate one word— -</p> - -<p> -"'Flog!' -</p> - -<p> -"On the handsome young Frenchman's dark curly -hair, glistening with the whitening snow that fell -upon it, and on his tender skin reddening in the -frosty atmosphere, on the swelling muscles of his -athletic form, on a half healed sabre-wound, and on -the lineaments of a face that then expressed the -extremity of mental agony, fell full the wavering light -of the uplifted torches. The Dutch, accustomed to -every species of extra-judicial cruelty by sea and land, -looked on with the most grave stolidity and apathetic -indifference; while I felt an astonishment and indignation -that rapidly gave place to undisguised horror. -</p> - -<p> -"'Flog!' -</p> - -<p> -"The other prisoner uttered a groan that seemed -to come from his very heart, and then covered his -ears and eyes with his hands. Wielded by a muscular -trumpeter, an immense scourge of many-knotted -cords was brought down with one fell sweep on the -white back of the victim, and nine livid bars, each -red, as if seared by a hot iron, rose under the -infliction, and again the terrible instrument was reared -by the trumpeter at the full stretch of his sinewy -arm. -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur will be aware, that until the late -Revolution of 1688, this kind of punishment was -unknown here and elsewhere, save in Holland; and -though I have seen soldiers run the gauntlet, ride -the mare, and beaten by the martinets, I shall never -oh, no! never forget the sensation of horror with -which this (to me) new punishment of the poor -Frenchman inspired me; and, sure I am, that our -great Duke of Marlborough could in no way have -anticipated it. -</p> - -<p> -"Accustomed, as I have said, to every kind of cruel -severity, unmoved and stoically the Dutch looked on, -with their grey, lacklustre eyes, dull, unmeaning, and -passionless in their stolidity, contrasting strongly -with the expression of startled horror depicted in -the strained eyeballs and bent brows of the victim's -brother, when after a time he dared to look on this -revolting punishment. Save an ill-repressed sob, or -half-muttered interjection from the suffering man, no -other sound broke the stillness of the place, where -a thousand horsemen stood in close order, but the -sputtering of the torches in the red light of which -our breaths were ascending like steam. Yes! there -was one other sound, and it was a horrible one—the -monotonous whiz of the scourge, as it cut the keen -frosty air and descended on the lacerated back of the -fainting prisoner. Sir, I see that my story disturbs -you. -</p> - -<p> -"A corpulent Provost Mareschal, with a pair of -enormous moustaches, amid which the mouth of his -meerschaum was inserted, stood by, smoking with -admirable coolness, and marking the time with his -cane, while a drummer tapped on his kettledrum, -and four trumpeters had, each in succession, given -their twenty-five lashes and withdrawn; twice had -the knotted scourge been coagulated with blood, and -twice had it been washed in the snow which now rose -high around the feet of our champing and impatient -horses; and now the fifth torturer approached, but -still the compressed lips and clammy tongue of the -proud Frenchman refused to implore mercy. His -head was bowed down on his breast, his body hung -pendant from the cords that encircled his swollen -and livid wrists; his back from neck to waist was one -mass of lacerated flesh, on which the feathery -snowflakes were melting; for the agony he endured must -have been like unto a stream of molten lead pouring -over him; but no groan, no entreaty escaped him, -and still the barbarous punishment proceeded. -</p> - -<p> -"I have remarked that there is no event too horrible -or too sad to be without a little of the ridiculous -in it, and this was discernible here. -</p> - -<p> -"One trumpeter, who appeared to have more -humanity, or perhaps less skill than his predecessors, -and did not exert himself sufficiently, was soundly -beaten by the rattan of the trumpet-major, while the -latter was castigated by the Provost Mareschal, who, -in turn for remissness of duty, received sundry blows -from the speaking-trumpet of the Baron; so they -were all laying soundly on each other for a time." -</p> - -<p> -"Morbleu!" said the Frenchman, with a grim -smile, "'t was quite in the Dutch taste, that." -</p> - -<p> -"The Provost Mareschal continued to mark the -time with the listless apathy of an automaton; the -smoke curled from his meerschaum, the drum continued -to tap-tap-tap, until it seemed to sound like -thunder to my strained ears, for every sense was -painfully excited. All count had long been lost, but -when several hundred lashes had been given, Van -Wandenberg and half his Dutchmen were asleep in -their saddles. -</p> - -<p> -"It was now snowing thick and fast, but still this -hideous dream continued, and still the scourging -went on. -</p> - -<p> -"At last the altered sound of the lash and the -terrible aspect of the victim, who, after giving one or -two convulsive shudders, threw back his head with -glazed eyes and jaw relaxed, caused the trumpeter to -recede a pace or two, and throw down his gory -scourge, for some lingering sentiment of humanity, -which even the Dutch discipline of King William -had not extinguished, made him respect when dead -the man whom he had dishonoured when alive. -</p> - -<p> -"The young Frenchman was dead! -</p> - -<p> -"An exclamation of disgust and indignation that -escaped me woke up the Baron, who after drinking -deeply from a great pewter flask of skiedam that -hung at his saddlebow, muttered "schelms" several -times, rubbed his eyes, and then bellowed through -his trumpet to bind up the other prisoner. Human -endurance could stand this no more, and though I -deemed the offer vain, I proposed to give a hundred -English guineas as ransom. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ach Gott!' said the greedy Hollander immediately -becoming interested; "but vere you get zo mosh -guilder?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh, readily, Mynheer Baron,' I replied, drawing -forth my pocket-book, 'I have here bills on his Grace -the Duke of Maryborough's paymaster and on the -Bank of Amsterdam for much more than that.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Bot I cannot led off de brisoner for zo -little—hunder ponds—dat ver small—zay two.' -</p> - -<p> -"If one is not enough, Mynheer Baron, I will -refer to the decision of his grace the captain-general.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ach, der tuyvel! vill you?' said the Dutchman, -with a savage gleam in his little eyes which showed -that he quite understood my hint, 'vell, me vont -quarrel vid you; gib me de bills and de schelm is -yours.' -</p> - -<p> -"Resolving, nevertheless, to lay the whole affair -before Marlborough, the moment I reached our -trenches at Aire, I gave a bill for the required sum, -and approaching the other Frenchman requested him -to remain beside me; but he seemed too much -confused by grief, and cold, and horror to comprehend -what I said. Poor fellow! his whole soul and -sympathies seemed absorbed in the mangled corpse of his -brother, which was now unbound from the halberts -and lay half sunk among the new-fallen snow. While -he stooped over it, and hastily, but tenderly, proceeded -to draw the half-frozen clothing upon the stiffened -form, the orders of Van Wandenberg were heard -hoarsely through his speaking-trumpet, as they rang -over the desolate plain, and his troopers wheeled -back from a circle into line—from line into open -column of troops, and thereafter the torches were -extinguished and the march begun. Slowly and -solemnly the dragoons glided away into the darkness, -each with a pyramid of snow rising from the steeple -crown and ample brims of his broad beaver hat. -</p> - -<p> -"It was now almost midnight; the red moon had -waned, the snow-storm was increasing, and there -were I and the young Frenchman, with his brother's -corpse, left together on the wide plain, without a -place to shelter us." -</p> - -<p> -"Proceed, Monsieur," said the Frenchman, as the -narrator paused; "for I am well aware that your story -ends not there." -</p> - -<p> -"It does not—you seem interested; but I have -little more to relate, save that I dismounted and -assisted the poor Frenchman to raise the body from the -snow, and to tie it across the saddle of my horse, -taking the bridle in one hand, I supported him with -the other, and thus we proceeded to the nearest town." -</p> - -<p> -"To Amientieres on the Lys," exclaimed the -Frenchman, seizing the hands of the Major as the -latter paused again; "to Armentieres, ten miles west -of Lisle, and there you left them, after adding to your -generosity by bestowing sufficient to inter his brother -in the Protestant church of that town, and to convey -himself to his native France. Oh! Monsieur, I am -that Frenchman, and here, from my heart, from my -soul, I thank you," and half kneeling, the stranger -kissed the hand of the Major. -</p> - -<p> -"You!" exclaimed the latter; "by Jove I am -right glad to see you. Here at Crail, too, in the East -Neuk o' Fife—'t is a strange chance; and what in -heaven's name seek ye here? 'T is a perilous time -for a foreigner—still more, a Frenchman, to tread on -Scottish ground. The war, the intrigues with -St. Germains, the Popish plots, and the devil only knows -what more, make travelling here more than a little -dangerous." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, I know all that; the days are changed -since the Scot was at home in France, and the -Frenchman at home in Scotland, for so the old laws of -Stuart and Bourbon made them. A few words -will tell who I am, and what I seek here. Excuse my -reluctance to reveal myself before, for now you have -a claim upon me. Oh! believe me, I knew not that -I addressed the generous chevalier who, in that hour -of despair, redeemed my life (and more than my life), -my honour, from the scourge, and enabled me to lay -the head of my poor brother with reverence in the -grave. You have heard of M. Henri Lemercier?" -</p> - -<p> -"What! the great swordsman and fencer—that -noble master of the science of defence, with the fame -of whose skill and valour all Europe is ringing?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am he of whom Monsieur is pleased to speak -so highly." -</p> - -<p> -"Your hand again, sir; zounds; but I dearly love -this gallant science myself, and have even won me a -little name as a handler of the rapier. There is but -one man whom Europe calls your equal, Monsieur -Lemercier." -</p> - -<p> -"My superior, you mean, for I have many equals," -replied the Frenchman, modestly. "You, doubtless, -mean——" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Mon Dieu, yes, he has indeed a great name -in Europe as a fencer and master of arms, either with -double or single falchion, case of falchions, -back-sword and dagger, pistol or quarter staff; and it is -the fame of his skill and prowess in these weapons, -and the reputation he has earned by his books on -fencing, that hath brought me to-day to this remote -part of Scotland." -</p> - -<p> -"Zounds!" said the Major, shaking back the long -powdered curls of his Ramilies wig, and looking -remarkably grave; "you cannot mean to have a bout -with Sir William. He hath a sure hand and a steady -eye; I would rather stand a platoon than be once -covered by his pistol." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, I have no enmity to this Sir William -Hope, nor am I envious of his great name as a -fencer. Ma foi! the world is quite wide enough for -us both; but here lies my secret. I love Mademoiselle -Athalie, the niece of Madame de Livry——" -</p> - -<p> -"How—the old flame of the great Louis!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oui," said Lemercier, smiling; "and many say -that Athalie bears a somewhat suspicious resemblance -to her aunt's royal lover; but that is no business of -mine; she loves me very dearly, and is very good and -amiable. Diable! I am well content to take her and -her thirty thousand louis-d'or without making any -troublesome inquiries. It would seem that my dear -little Athalie is immensely vain of my reputation as a -master of fence, and having heard that this Scottish -Chevalier is esteemed the first man of the sword in -Britain, and further, that report asserts he slew her -brother in the line of battle at Blenheim, fighting -bravely for a standard, she declared that ere her hand -was mine, I must measure swords with this Sir -William, and dip this, her handkerchief, in his blood -in token of his defeat, and of my conquest." -</p> - -<p> -"A very pretty idea of Mademoiselle Athalie, and -I doubt not Hopetoun will be overwhelmed by the -obligation when he hears of it," said the Major of -Orkney's, whose face brightened with a broad laugh, -"and so much would I love to see two such brisk -fellows as thou and he yoked together, at cut-and-thrust, -that if permitted, I will rejoice in bearing the -message of M. Lemercier to Sir William, whose -Castle of Balcomie is close by here." -</p> - -<p> -"Having no friend with me, I accept your offer -with a thousand thanks," said Lemercier. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir William did indeed slay an officer, as you -have said, in that charge at Blenheim, where the -regiment of the Marquis de Livry were cut to pieces by -Orkney's Scots' Greys; but to be so good and amiable, -and to love you so much withal, Mademoiselle Athalie -must be a brisk dame to urge her favoured Chevalier -on a venture so desperate; for mark me, Monsieur -Lemercier," said the Major, impressively, "none can -know better than I the skill—the long and -carefully-studied skill—of Sir William of Hopetoun, and -permit me to warn you——" -</p> - -<p> -"It matters not—I must fight him; love, honour, -and rivalry, too, if you will have it so, all spur me on, -and no time must be lost." -</p> - -<p> -"Enough; I should have been in my stirrups an -hour ago; and dark though the night be, I will ride to -Balcomie with your message." -</p> - -<p> -"A million of thanks—you will choose time and -place for me." -</p> - -<p> -"Say, to-morrow, at sunrise; be thou at the -Standing-stone of Sauchope; 't is a tall, rough block, -in the fields near the Castle of Balcomie, and doubt -not but Sir William will meet thee there." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, thanks," again said the Frenchman, -pressing the hand of the Major, who, apparently -delighted at the prospect of witnessing such an -encounter between the two most renowned swordsmen -in Europe, drank off his stoup of wine, muffled himself -in his rocquelaure, and with his little cocked hat -stuck jauntily on one side of the Ramilies wig, left the -apartment, and demanded his horse and the reckoning. -</p> - -<p> -"Then your honour will be fulehardy, and tempt -Providence," said the landlord. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, gudeman, but you cannot tempt me to stay -just now. I ride only through the town to Balcomie, -and will return anon. The Hopetoun family are -there, I believe?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; but saving my lady at the preachings, we -see little o' them; for Sir William has bidden at -Edinburgh, or elsewhere, since his English gold coft -the auld tower from the Balcomies of that Ilk, the year -before the weary Union, devil mend it!" -</p> - -<p> -"Amen, say I; and what callest thou English gold?" -</p> - -<p> -"The doolfu' compensation, o' whilk men say he -had his share." -</p> - -<p> -"Man, thou liest, and they who say so lie! for to -the last moment his voice was raised against that -traitorous measure of Queensbury and Stair, and now -every energy of his soul is bent to its undoing!" -replied the Major, fiercely, as he put spurs to his horse, -and rode rapidly down the dark and then grassy -street, at the end of which the clank of his horse's -hoofs died away, as he diverged upon the open ground -that lay northward of the town, and by which he had -to approach the tower of Balcomie. -</p> - -<p> -The Frenchman remained long buried in thought, -and as he sipped his wine, gazed dreamily on the -changing embers that glowed on the hearth, and cast -a warm light on the blue delft lining of the fireplace. -The reminiscences of the war in Flanders had called -up many a sad and many a bitter recollection. -</p> - -<p> -"I would rather," thought he, "that the man I am -to encounter to-morrow was not a Scot, for the -kindness of to-night, and of that terrible night in the -snow-clad plain of Arras, inspire me with a warm love -for all the people of this land. But my promise must -be redeemed, my adventure achieved, or thou, my -dear, my rash Athalie, art lost to me!" and he paused -to gaze with earnestness upon a jewel that glittered -on his hand. It was a hair ring, bound with gold, -and a little shield bearing initials, clasped the small -brown tress that was so ingeniously woven round it. -</p> - -<p> -As he gazed on the trinket, his full dark eyes -brightened for a moment, as the mild memories of -love and fondness rose in his heart, and a bright -smile played upon his haughty lip and lofty brow. -Other thoughts arose, and the eyebrows that almost -met over the straight Grecian nose of Lemercier, -were knit as he recalled the ominous words of his -recent acquaintance— -</p> - -<p> -"Mademoiselle Athalie must be a brisk dame to -urge her favoured Chevalier on a venture so -desperate." -</p> - -<p> -One bitter pang shot through his heart, but he -thrust the thought aside, and pressed the ring to his -lips. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Athalie," he said, in a low voice, "I were -worse than a villain to suspect thee." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment midnight tolled from the dull old -bell of Crail, and the strangeness of the sound -brought keenly home to the lonely heart of Lemercier -that he was in a foreign land. -</p> - -<p> -The hour passed, but the Major did not return. -</p> - -<p> -Morning came. -</p> - -<p> -With gray dawn Lemercier was awake, and a few -minutes found him dressed and ready. He attired -himself with particular care, putting on a coat and -vest, the embroidery of which presented as few -conspicuous marks as possible to an antagonist's eye. -He clasped his coat from the cravat to the waist, and -compressed his embroidered belt. He adjusted his -white silk roll-up stockings with great exactness; -tied up the flowing curls of his wig with a white -ribbon, placed a scarlet feather in his hat, and then took -his sword. The edge and point of the blade, the -shell and pommel, grasp and guard of the hilt were -all examined with scrupulous care for the last time; -he drew on his gloves with care, and giving to the -landlord the reckoning, which he might never -return to pay, Lemercier called for his horse and rode -through the main street of Crail. -</p> - -<p> -Following the directions he had received from his -host, he hastily quitted the deserted and grass-grown -street of the burgh (the very aspect of which he -feared would chill him), and proceeded towards the -ancient obelisk, still known as the "Standing Stone -of Sauchope," which had been named as the place of -rendezvous by that messenger who had not returned, -and against whom M. Lemercier felt his anger a little -excited. -</p> - -<p> -It was a cool March morning, the sky was clear -and blue, and the few silver clouds that floated -through it became edged with gold as the sun rose -from his bed in the eastern sea—that burnished sea -from which the cool fresh breeze swept over the level -coast. The fields were assuming a vernal greenness, -the buds were swelling on hedge and tree, and the -vegetation of the summer that was to come—the -summer that Lemercier might never see—was springing -from amid the brown remains of the autumn -that had gone, an autumn that he had passed with -Athalie amid the gaieties and gardens of Paris and -Versailles. -</p> - -<p> -At the distance of a mile he saw the strong square -tower of Balcomie, the residence of his antagonist. -One side was involved in shadow, the other shone -redly in the rising sun, and the morning smoke from -its broad chimneys curled in dusky columns into the -blue sky. The caw of the rooks that followed the -plough, whose shining share turned up the aromatic -soil, the merry whistle of the bonneted plough-boys, -the voices of the blackbird and the mavis, made him -sad, and pleased was Lemercier to leave behind him -all such sounds of life, and reach the wild and -solitary place where the obelisk stood—a grim and -time-worn relic of the Druid ages or the Danish wars. A -rough mis-shapen remnant of antiquity, it still remains -to mark the scene of this hostile meeting, which yet -forms one of the most famous traditions of the East -Neuk. -</p> - -<p> -As Lemercier rode up, he perceived a gentleman -standing near the stone. His back was towards him, -and he was apparently intent on caressing his charger, -whose reins he had thrown negligently over his arm. -</p> - -<p> -Lemercier thought he recognised the hat, edged -with white feathers, the full-bottomed wig, and the -peculiar lacing of the white velvet coat, and on the -stranger turning he immediately knew his friend of -the preceding night. -</p> - -<p> -"Bon jour, my dear sir," said Lemercier -</p> - -<p> -"A good morning." replied the other, and they -politely raised their little cocked hats. -</p> - -<p> -"I had some misgivings when monsieur did not -return to me," said the Frenchman. "Sir William -has accepted my challenge?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, monsieur, and is now before you," replied -the other, springing on horseback. "I am Sir -William Hope, of Hopetoun, and am here at your -service." -</p> - -<p> -"You!" exclaimed the Frenchman, in tones of -blended astonishment and grief. "Ah! unsay what -you have said. I cannot point my sword against the -breast of my best benefactor—against him to whom -I owe both honour and life. Can I forget that night -on the plains of Arras? Ah, my God! what a mistake: -what a misfortune. Ah, Athalie! to what have -you so unthinkingly urged me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Think of her only, and forget all of me, save that -I am your antagonist, your enemy, as I stand between -thee and her. Come on, M. Lemercier, do not forget -your promise to mademoiselle; we will sheathe our -swords on the first blood drawn." -</p> - -<p> -"So be it then, if the first is thine," and -unsheathing their long and keen-edged rapiers, they put -spurs to their horses, and closing up hand to hand, -engaged with admirable skill and address. -</p> - -<p> -The skill of one swordsman seemed equalled only -by that of the other. -</p> - -<p> -Lemercier was the first fencer at the Court of -France, where fencing was an accomplishment known -to all, and there was no man in Britain equal to Sir -William Hope, whose "Complete Fencing Master" -was long famous among the lovers of the noble science -of defence. -</p> - -<p> -They rode round each other in circles. Warily and -sternly they began to watch each other's eyes, till -they flashed in unison with their blades; their hearts -beat quicker as their passions became excited and -their rivalry roused; and their nerves became strung -as the hope of conquest was whetted. The wish of -merely being wounded ended in a desire to wound; -and the desire to wound in a clamorous anxiety to -vanquish and destroy. Save the incessant clash of -the notched rapiers, as each deadly thrust was -adroitly parried and furiously repeated, the straining -of stirrup-leathers, as each fencer swayed to and fro -in his saddle, their suppressed breathing, and the -champing of iron bits, Lemercier and his foe saw -nothing but the gleam, and heard nothing but the -clash of each other's glittering swords. -</p> - -<p> -The sun came up in his glory from the shining -ocean; the mavis soared above them in the blue sky; -the early flowers of spring were unfolding their dewy -cups to the growing warmth, but still man fought -with man, and the hatred in their hearts waxed fierce -and strong. -</p> - -<p> -In many places their richly-laced coats were cut -and torn. One lost his hat, and had received a -severe scar on the forehead, and the other had one on -his bridle hand. They often paused breathlessly, -and in weariness lowered the points of their weapons -to glare upon each other with a ferocity that could -have no end but death—until at the sixth encounter, -when Lemercier became exhausted, and failing to -parry with sufficient force a fierce and furious thrust, -was run through the breast so near the heart, that he -fell from his horse gasping and weltering in blood. -</p> - -<p> -Sir William Hope flung away his rapier and sprang -to his assistance, but the unfortunate Frenchman -could only draw from his finger the ring of Athalie, -and with her name on his lips expired—being actually -choked in his own blood. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the account of this combat given by the -horrified Master Spiggot, who, suspecting "that there -was something wrong," had followed his guest to the -scene of the encounter, the memory of which is still -preserved in the noble house of Hopetoun, and the -legends of the burghers of Crail. -</p> - -<p> -So died Lemercier. -</p> - -<p> -Of what Sir William said or thought on the occasion, -we have no record. In the good old times he -would have eased his conscience by the endowment -of an altar, or foundation of a yearly mass; but in -the year 1708 such things had long been a dead -letter in the East Neuk; and so in lieu thereof, he -interred him honourably in the aisle of the ancient -kirk, where a marble tablet long marked the place of -his repose. -</p> - -<p> -Sir William did more; he carefully transmitted -the ring of Lemercier to the bereaved Athalie, but -before its arrival in Paris she had dried her tears for -the poor chevalier, and wedded one of his numerous -rivals. Thus, she forgot him sooner than his -conqueror, who reached a good old age, and died at his -castle of Balcomie, with his last breath regretting -the combat of that morning at the Standing Stone of -Sauchope. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap26"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVI. -<br /><br /> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT—THE QUARTERMASTER'S STORY. -</h3> - -<p> -Though the continued march of intellect and -education have nearly obliterated from the mind of the -Scots a belief in the marvellous, still a love of the -supernatural lingers among the more mountainous -districts of the northern kingdom; for "the Schoolmaster" -finds it no easy task, even when aided by -all the light of science, to uproot the prejudices of -more than two thousand years. -</p> - -<p> -I was born in Strathnairn, about the year 1802, and, -on the death of my mother, was given, when an -infant, to the wife of a cotter to nurse. With these good -people I remained for some years, and thus became -cognizant of the facts I am about to relate. -</p> - -<p> -There was a little romance connected with my old -nurse Meinie and her gudeman. -</p> - -<p> -In their younger days they had been lovers—lovers -as a boy and girl—but were separated by poverty, -and then Ewen Mac Ewen enlisted as a soldier, in -the 26th or Cameronian Regiment, with which he saw -some sharp service in the West Indies and America. -The light-hearted young highlander became, in time, -a grave, stern, and morose soldier, with the most -rigid ideas of religious deportment and propriety: -for this distinguished Scottish regiment was of -Puritan origin, being one of those raised among the -Westland Covenanters, after the deposition of king -James VII. by the Estates of Scotland. England -surrendered to William of Orange without striking a -blow; but the defence of Dunkeld, and the victorious -battle of Killycrankie, ended the northern campaign, -in which the noble Dundee was slain, and the army -of the cavaliers dispersed. The Cameronian Regiment -introduced their sectarian forms, their rigorous -discipline, and plain mode of public worship into -their own ranks, and so strict was their code of morals, -that even the Non-jurors and Jacobins admitted the -excellence and stern propriety of their bearing. -They left the Scottish Service for the British, at the -Union, in 1707, but still wear on their appointments -the five-pointed star, which was the armorial bearing -of the colonel who embodied them; and, moreover, -retain the privilege of supplying their own -regimental Bibles. -</p> - -<p> -After many years of hard fighting in the old 26th, -and after carrying a halbert in the kilted regiment -of the Isles, Ewen Mac Ewen returned home to his -native place, the great plain of Moray, a graver, and, -in bearing, a sadder man than when he left it. -</p> - -<p> -His first inquiry was for Meinie. -</p> - -<p> -She had married a rival of his, twenty years ago. -</p> - -<p> -"God's will be done," sighed Ewen, as he lifted -his bonnet, and looked upwards. -</p> - -<p> -He built himself a little cottage, in the old highland -fashion, in his native strath, at a sunny spot, -where the Uisc Nairn—the Water of Alders—flowed in -front, and a wooded hill arose behind. He hung his -knapsack above the fireplace; deposited his old and -sorely thumbed regimental Bible (with the Cameronian -star on its boards,) and the tin case containing his -colonel's letter recommending him to the minister, -and the discharge, which gave sixpence per diem as -the reward of sixteen battles—all on the shelf of the -little window, which contained three panes of glass, -with a yoke in the centre of each, and there he -settled himself down in peace, to plant his own kail, -knit his own hose, and to make his own kilts, a grave -and thoughtful but contented old fellow, awaiting the -time, as he said, "when the Lord would call him away." -</p> - -<p> -Now it chanced that a poor widow, with several -children, built herself a little thatched house on the -opposite side of the drove road—an old Fingalian -path—which ascended the pastoral glen; and the -ready-handed veteran lent his aid to thatch it, and -to sling her kail-pot on the cruicks, and was wont -thereafter to drop in of an evening to smoke his pipe, -to tell old stories of the storming of Ticonderago, and -to ask her little ones the catechism and biblical -questions. Within a week or so, he discovered that the -widow was Meinie—the ripe, blooming Meinie of -other years—an old, a faded, and a sad-eyed woman -now; and poor Ewen's lonely heart swelled within -him, as he thought of all that had passed since last -they met, and as he spake of what they were, and what -they might have been, had fate been kind, or fortune -roved more true. -</p> - -<p> -We have heard much about the hidden and mysterious -principle of affinity, and more about the -sympathy and sacredness that belong to a first and -early love; well, the heart of the tough old Cameronian -felt these gentle impulses, and Meinie was no -stranger to them. They were married, and for fifteen -years, there was no happier couple on the banks of -the Nairn. Strange to say, they died on the same -day, and were interred in the ancient burying-ground -of Dalcross, where now they lie, near the ruined walls -of the old vicarage kirk of the Catholic times. God -rest them in their humble highland graves! My father, -who was the minister of Croy, acted as chief -mourner, and gave the customary funeral prayer. -But I am somewhat anticipating, and losing the -thread of my own story in telling theirs. -</p> - -<p> -In process of time the influx of French and -English tourists who came to visit the country of the -clans, and to view the plain of Culloden, after the -publication of "Waverley" gave to all Britain, that -which we name in Scotland "the tartan fever," and -caused the old path which passed the cot of Ewen to -become a turnpike road; a tollbar—that most -obnoxious of all impositions to a Celt—was placed -across the mouth of the little glen, barring the way -directly to the battle-field; and of this gate the old -pensioner Ewen naturally became keeper; and during -the summer season, when, perhaps, a hundred -carriages per day rolled through, it became a source of -revenue alike to him, and to the Lord of Cawdor -and the Laird of Kilravock, the road trustees. And -the chief pleasure of Ewen's existence was to sit on -a thatched seat by the gate, for then he felt -conscious of being in office—on duty—a species of -sentinel; and it smacked of the old time when the -Generale was beaten in the morning, and the drums -rolled tattoo at night; when he had belts to -pipeclay, and boots to blackball; when there were wigs -to frizzle and queues to tie, and to be all trim and in -order to meet Monseigneur le Marquis de Montcalm, -or General Washington "right early in the morning;" -and there by the new barrier of the glen -Ewen sat the live-long day, with spectacles on nose, -and the Cameronian Bible on his knee, as he spelled his -way through Deuteronomy and the tribes of Judah. -</p> - -<p> -Slates in due time replaced the green thatch of his -little cottage; then a diminutive additional story, -with two small dormer windows, was added thereto, -and the thrifty Meinie placed a paper in her window -informing shepherds, the chance wayfarers, and the -wandering deer-stalkers that she had a room to let; -but summer passed away, the sportsman forsook the -brown scorched mountains, the gay tourist ceased to -come north, and the advertisement turned from white -to yellow, and from yellow to flyblown green in her -window; the winter snows descended on the hills, -the pines stood in long and solemn ranks by the white -frozen Nairn, but "the room upstairs" still -remained without a tenant. -</p> - -<p> -Anon the snow passed away, the river again flowed -free, the flowers began to bloom; the young grass -to sprout by the hedgerows, and the mavis to sing on -the fauld-dykes, for spring was come again, and -joyous summer soon would follow; and one night—it -was the 26th of April—Ewen was exhibiting his -penmanship in large text-hand by preparing the new -announcement of "a room to let," when he paused, -and looked up as a peal of thunder rumbled across -the sky; a red gleam of lightning flashed in the -darkness without, and then they heard the roar of -the deep broad Nairn, as its waters, usually so sombre -and so slow, swept down from the wilds of Badenoch, -flooded with the melting snows of the past winter. -</p> - -<p> -A dreadful storm of thunder, rain, and wind came -on, and the little cottage rocked on its foundations; -frequently the turf-fire upon the hearth was almost -blown about the clay-floor, by the downward gusts -that bellowed in the chimney. The lightning -gleamed incessantly, and seemed to play about the -hill of Urchany and the ruins of Caistel Fionlah; the -woods groaned and creaked, and the trees seemed to -shriek as their strong limbs were torn asunder by -the gusts which in some places laid side by side the -green sapling of last summer, and the old oak that -had stood for a thousand years—that had seen -Macbeth and Duncan ride from Nairn, and had outlived -the wars of the Comyns and the Clanchattan. -</p> - -<p> -The swollen Nairn tore down its banks, and swept -trees, rocks, and stones in wild confusion to -the sea, mingling the pines of Aberarder with -the old oaks of Cawdor; while the salt spray -from the Moray Firth was swept seven miles -inland, where it encrusted with salt the trees, the -houses, and windows, and whatever it fell on -as it mingled with the ceaseless rain, while deep, -hoarse, and loud the incessant thunder rattled across -the sky, "as if all the cannon on earth," according -to Ewen, "were exchanging salvoes between Urchany -and the Hill of Geddes." -</p> - -<p> -Meinie grew pale, and sat with a finger on her -mouth, and a startled expression in her eyes, listening -to the uproar without; four children, two of whom -were Ewen's, and her last addition to the clan, clung -to her skirts. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen had just completed the invariable prayer -and chapter for the night, and was solemnly depositing -his old regimental companion, with "Baxter's -Saints' Best," in a place of security, when a -tremendous knock—a knock that rang above the -storm—shook the door of the cottage. -</p> - -<p> -"Who can this be, and in such a night?" said -Meinie. -</p> - -<p> -"The Lord knoweth," responded Ewen, gravely; -"but he knocks both loud and late." -</p> - -<p> -"Inquire before you open," urged Meinie, seizing -her husband's arm, as the impatient knock was -renewed with treble violence. -</p> - -<p> -"Who comes there?" demanded Ewen, in a -soldierly tone. -</p> - -<p> -"A friend," replied a strange voice without, and in -the same manner. -</p> - -<p> -"What do you want?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke!" cried the other, giving the -door a tremendous kick; "do you ask that in such a -devil of a night as this? You have a room to let, -have you not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Well: open the door, or blood and 'oons I'll bite -your nose off!" -</p> - -<p> -Ewen hastened to undo the door; and then, all -wet and dripping as if he had just been fished up -from the Moray Firth, there entered a strange-looking -old fellow in a red coat; he stumped vigorously on a -wooden leg, and carried on his shoulders a box, which -he flung down with a crash that shook the dwelling, -saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"There—dam you—I have made good my billet at last." -</p> - -<p> -"So it seems," said Ewen, reclosing the door in -haste to exclude the tempest, lest his house should -be unroofed and torn asunder. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkee, comrade, what garrison or fortress is -this," asked the visitor, "that peaceable folks are to -be challenged in this fashion, and forced to give -parole and countersign before they march in—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is my house, comrade; and so you had better -keep a civil tongue in your head." -</p> - -<p> -"Civil tongue? Fire and smoke, you mangy cur! -I can be as civil as my neighbours; but get me a -glass of grog, for I am as wet as we were the night -before Minden." -</p> - -<p> -"Where have you come from in such a storm as this?" -</p> - -<p> -"Where you'd not like to go—so never mind; but, -grog, I tell you—get me some grog, and a bit of -tobacco; it is long since I tasted either." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen hastened to get a large quaighful of stiff -Glenlivat, which the veteran drained to his health, -and that of Meinie; but first he gave them a most -diabolical grin, and threw into the liquor some black -stuff, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"I always mix my grog with gunpowder—it's a -good tonic; I learned that of a comrade who fell at -Minden on the glorious 1st of August, '59. -</p> - -<p> -"You have been a soldier, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Right! I was one of the 25th, or old -Edinburgh Regiment; they enlisted me, though an -Englishman, I believe; for my good old dam was a -follower of the camp." -</p> - -<p> -"Our number was the 26th—the old Cameronian -Regiment—so we were near each other, you see, -comrade." -</p> - -<p> -"Nearer than you would quite like, mayhap," said -Wooden-leg, with another grin and a dreadful oath. -</p> - -<p> -"And you have served in Germany?" asked Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Germany—aye, and marched over every foot of -it, from Hanover to Hell, and back again. I have -fought in Flanders, too." -</p> - -<p> -"I wish you had come a wee while sooner," said -Ewen gravely, for this discourse startled his sense -of propriety. -</p> - -<p> -"Sooner," snarled this shocking old fellow, who -must have belonged to that army, "which swore so -terribly in Flanders," as good Uncle Toby says; -"sooner—for what?" -</p> - -<p> -"To have heard me read a chapter, and to have -joined us in prayer." -</p> - -<p> -"Prayers be d—ned!" cried the other, with a shout -of laughter, and a face expressive of fiendish mockery, -as he gave his wooden leg a thundering blow on -the floor; "fire and smoke—another glass of grog—and -then we'll settle about my billet upstairs." -</p> - -<p> -While getting another dram, which hospitality -prevented him from refusing, Ewen scrutinised this -strange visitor, whose aspect and attire were very -remarkable; but wholly careless of what any one -thought, he sat by the hearth, wringing his wet wig, -and drying it at the fire. -</p> - -<p> -He was a little man, of a spare, but strong and -active figure, which indicated great age; his face -resembled that of a rat; behind it hung a long -queue that waved about like a pendulum when he -moved his head, which was quite bald, and smooth -as a cricket-ball, save where a long and livid -scar—evidently a sword cut—traversed it. This was -visible while he sat drying his wig; but as that process -was somewhat protracted, he uttered an oath, and -thrust his cocked hat on one side of his head, and -very much over his left eye, which was covered by a -patch. This head-dress was the old military -triple-cocked hat, bound with yellow braid, and having on -one side the hideous black leather cockade of the -House of Hanover, now happily disused in the -British army, and retained as a badge of service by -liverymen alone. His attire was an old threadbare -red coat, faced with yellow, having square tails and -deep cuffs, with braided holes; he wore knee-breeches -on his spindle shanks, one of which terminated, -as I have said, in a wooden pin; he carried -a large knotted stick; and, in outline and aspect, -very much resembled, as Ewen thought, Frederick -the Great of Prussia, or an old Chelsea pensioner, -or the soldiers he had seen delineated in antique -prints of the Flemish wars. His solitary orb -possessed a most diabolical leer, and, whichever way -you turned, it seemed to regard you with the fixed -glare of a basilisk. -</p> - -<p> -"You are a stranger hereabout, I presume?" said -Ewen drily. -</p> - -<p> -"A stranger now, certainly; but I was pretty -well known in this locality once. There are some -bones buried hereabout that may remember me," -he replied, with a grin that showed his fangless -jaws. -</p> - -<p> -"Bones!" reiterated Ewen, aghast. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, bones—Culloden Muir lies close by here, -does it not?" -</p> - -<p> -"It does—then you have travelled this road -before?" -</p> - -<p> -"Death and the Devil! I should think so, -comrade; on this very night sixty years ago I marched -along this road, from Nairn to Culloden, with the -army of His Royal Highness, the Great Duke of -Cumberland, Captain-General of the British troops, -in pursuit of the rebels under the Popish Pretender——" -</p> - -<p> -"Under His Royal Highness Prince Charles, you -mean, comrade," said Ewen, in whose breast—Cameronian -though he was—a tempest of Highland -wrath and loyalty swelled up at these words. -</p> - -<p> -"Prince—ha! ha! ha!" laughed the other; "had -you said as much then, the gallows had been your -doom. Many a man I have shot, and many a boy -I have brained with the butt end of my musket, for -no other crime than wearing the tartan, even as you -this night wear it." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen made a forward stride as if he would have -taken the wicked boaster by the throat; his anger -was kindled to find himself in presence of a -veritable soldier of the infamous "German Butcher," -whose merciless massacre of the wounded clansmen -and their defenceless families will never be -forgotten in Scotland while oral tradition and written -record exist; but Ewen paused, and said in his quiet -way,— -</p> - -<p> -"Blessed be the Lord! these times and things -have passed away from the land, to return to it no -more. We are both old men now; by your own -reckoning, you must at least have numbered four-score -years, and in that, you are by twenty my better -man. You are my guest to-night, moreover, so we -must not quarrel, comrade. My father was killed at -Culloden." -</p> - -<p> -"On which side?" -</p> - -<p> -"The right one—for he fell by the side of old -Keppoch, and his last words were, 'Righ Hamish -gu Bragh!'" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke!" laughed the old fellow, "I -remember these things as if they only happened -yesterday—mix me some more grog and put it in -the bill—I was the company's butcher in those days—it -suited my taste—so when I was not stabbing and -slashing the sheep and cattle of the rascally -commissary, I was cutting the throats of the Scots and -French, for there were plenty of them, and Irish -too, who fought against the king's troops in -Flanders. We had hot work, that day at Culloden—hotter -than at Minden, where we fought in heavy -marching order, with our blankets, kettles, and -provisions, on a broiling noon, when the battle-field was -cracking under a blazing sun, and the whole country -was sweltering like the oven of the Great Baker." -</p> - -<p> -"Who is he?" -</p> - -<p> -"What! you don't know him? Ha! ha! ha! -Ho! ho! ho! come, that is good." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen expostulated with the boisterous old fellow -on this style of conversation, which, as you may -easily conceive, was very revolting to the prejudices -of a well-regulated Cameronian soldier. -</p> - -<p> -"Come, come, you old devilskin," cried the other, -stirring up the fire with his wooden leg, till the -sparks flashed and gleamed like his solitary eye; "you -may as well sing psalms to a dead horse, as preach -to me. Hark how the thunder roars, like the great -guns at Carthagena! More grog—put it in the -bill—or, halt, d—me! pay yourself," and he dashed on -the table a handful of silver of the reigns of George -II., and the Glencoe assassin, William of Orange. -</p> - -<p> -He obtained more whiskey, and drank it raw, -seasoning it from time to time with gunpowder, -just as an Arab does his cold water with ginger. -</p> - -<p> -"Where did you lose your eye, comrade?" -</p> - -<p> -"At Culloden; but I found the fellow who pinked -me, next day, as he lay bleeding on the field; he -was a Cameron, in a green velvet jacket, all covered -with silver; so I stripped off his lace, as I had seen -my mother do, and then I brained him with the -butt-end of brown-bess—and before his wife's eyes, -too! What the deuce do you growl at, comrade? -Such things will happen in war, and you know that -orders must be obeyed. My eye was gone—but it -was the left one, and I was saved the trouble of -closing it when taking aim. This slash on the -sconce I got at the battle of Preston Pans, from the -Celt who slew Colonel Gardiner." -</p> - -<p> -"That Celt was my father—the Miller of -Invernahyle," said Meinie, proudly. -</p> - -<p> -"Your father! fire and smoke! do you say so? -His hand was a heavy one!" cried Wooden-leg, -while his eye glowed like the orb of a hyæna. -</p> - -<p> -"And your leg?" -</p> - -<p> -"I lost at Minden, in Kingsley's Brigade, -comrade; aye, my leg—d—n!—that was indeed a loss." -</p> - -<p> -"A warning to repentance, I would say." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you would say wrong. Ugh! I remember -when the shot—a twelve-pounder—took me -just as we were rushing with charged bayonets on -the French cannoniers. Smash! my leg was gone, -and I lay sprawling and bleeding in a ploughed -field near the Weser, while my comrades swept over -me with a wild hurrah! the colours waving, and -drums beating a charge." -</p> - -<p> -"And what did you do?" -</p> - -<p> -"I lay there and swore, believe me." -</p> - -<p> -"That would not restore your limb again." -</p> - -<p> -"No; but a few hearty oaths relieve the mind; -and the mind relieves the body; you understand -me, comrade; so there I lay all night under a storm -of rain like this, bleeding and sinking; afraid of -the knives of the plundering death-hunters, for my -mother had been one, and I remembered well how -she looked after the wounded, and cured them of -their agony." -</p> - -<p> -"Was your mother one of those infer——" began -MacEwen. -</p> - -<p> -"Don't call her hard names now, comrade; she died -on the day after the defeat at Val; with the Provost -Marshal's cord round her neck—a cordon less -ornamental than that of St. Louis." -</p> - -<p> -"And your father?" -</p> - -<p> -"Was one of Howard's Regiment; but which the -devil only knows, for it was a point on which the -old lady, honest woman, had serious doubts herself." -</p> - -<p> -"After the loss of your leg, of course you left the -service?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, I became the company's butcher; but, fire -and smoke, get me another glass of grog; take a -share yourself, and don't sit staring at me like a Dutch -Souterkin conceived of a winter night over a 'pot de -feu,' as all the world knows King William was. Dam! let -us be merry together—ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho! and -I'll sing you a song of the old whig times." -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'O, brother Sandie, hear ye the news,<br /> - Lillibulero, bullen a la!<br /> - An army is coming sans breeches and shoes,<br /> - Lillibulero, bullen a la!<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'To arms! to arms! brave boys to arms!<br /> - A true British cause for your courage doth ca';<br /> - Country and city against a kilted banditti,<br /> - Lillibulero, bullen a la!'"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -And while he continued to rant and sing the song -(once so obnoxious to the Scottish Cavaliers), he beat -time with his wooden leg, and endeavoured to outroar -the stormy wind and the hiss of the drenching rain. -Even MacEwen, though he was an old soldier, felt -some uneasiness, and Meinie trembled in her heart, -while the children clung to her skirts and hid their -little faces, as if this singing, riot, and jollity were -impious at such a time, when the awful thunder -was ringing its solemn peals across the midnight sky. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap27"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVII. -<br /><br /> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT.—THE UNCO' QUEST. -</h3> - -<p> -Although this strange old man baffled or parried -every inquiry of Ewen as to whence he had come, -and how and why he wore that antiquated uniform, -on his making a lucrative offer to take the upper -room of the little toll-house for a year—exactly a -year—when Ewen thought of his poor pension of -six-pence per diem, of their numerous family, and Meinie -now becoming old and requiring many little comforts, -all scruples were overcome by the pressure of -necessity, and the mysterious old soldier was duly -installed in the attic, with his corded chest, scratch-wig, -and wooden-leg; moreover, he paid the first six -months' rent in advance, dashing the money—which -was all coin of the first and second Georges, on the -table with a bang and an oath, swearing that he -disliked being indebted to any man. -</p> - -<p> -The next morning was calm and serene; the green -hills lifted their heads into the blue and placid sky. -There was no mist on the mountains, nor rain in the -valley. The flood in the Nairn had subsided, though -its waters were still muddy and perturbed; but save -this, and the broken branches that strewed the -wayside—with an uprooted tree, or a paling laid flat on -the ground, there was no trace of yesterday's -hurricane, and Ewen heard Wooden-leg (he had no other -name for his new lodger) stumping about overhead, -as the old fellow left his bed betimes, and after -trimming his queue and wig, pipeclaying his yellow -facings, and beating them well with the brush, in a -soldier-like way, he descended to breakfast, but, -disdaining porridge and milk, broiled salmon and -bannocks of barley-meal, he called for a can of stiff grog, -mixed it with powder from his wide waistcoat pocket, -and drank it off at a draught. Then he imperiously -desired Ewen to take his bonnet and staff, and -accompany him so far as Culloden, "because," said he, -"I have come a long, long way to see the old place -again." -</p> - -<p> -Wooden-leg seemed to gather—what was quite -unnecessary to him—new life, vigour, and energy—as -they traversed the road that led to the battle-field, -and felt the pure breeze of the spring morning -blowing on their old and wrinkled faces. -</p> - -<p> -The atmosphere was charmingly clear and serene. -In the distance lay the spires of Inverness, and the -shining waters of the Moray Firth, studded with sails, -and the ramparts of Fort George were seen jutting -out at the termination of a long and green peninsula. -In the foreground stood the castle of Dalcross, -raising its square outline above a wood, which terminates -the eastern side of the landscape. The pine-clad -summit of Dun Daviot incloses the west, while on every -hand between, stretched the dreary moor of -Drummossie—the Plain of Culloden—whilome drenched in -the blood of Scotland's bravest hearts. -</p> - -<p> -Amid the purple heath lie two or three grass-covered -mounds. -</p> - -<p> -These are the graves of the dead—the graves of -the loyal Highlanders, who fell on that disastrous -field, and of the wounded, who were so mercilessly -murdered next day by an order of Cumberland, which -he pencilled on the back of a card (the Nine of -Diamonds); thus they were dispatched by platoons, -stabbed by bayonets, slashed by swords and -spontoons, or brained by the butt-end of musket and -carbine; officers and men were to be seen emulating -each other in this scene of cowardice and cold-blooded -atrocity, which filled every camp and barrack -in Continental Europe with scorn at the name of an -English soldier. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen was a Highlander, and his heart filled with -such thoughts as these, when he stood by the grassy -tombs where the fallen brave are buried with the -hopes of the house they died for; he took off his -bonnet and stood bare-headed, full of sad and silent -contemplation; while his garrulous companion -viewed the field with his single eye, that glowed like -a hot coal, and pirouetted on his wooden pin in a very -remarkable manner, as he surveyed on every side the -scene of that terrible encounter, where, after -enduring a long cannonade of round shot and grape, the -Highland swordsmen, chief and gillie, the noble and -the nameless, flung themselves with reckless valour -on the ranks of those whom they had already routed -in two pitched battles. -</p> - -<p> -"It was an awful day," said Ewen, in a low voice, but -with a gleam in his grey Celtic eye; "yonder my -father fell wounded; the bullet went through his shield -and pierced him here, just above the belt; he was -living next day, when my mother—a poor wailing -woman with a babe at her breast—found him; but an -officer of Barrel's Regiment ran a sword twice through -his body and killed him; for the orders of the -German Duke were, 'that no quarter should be given.' This -spring is named MacGillivray's Well, because -here they butchered the dying chieftain who led the -Macintoshes—aye bayonetted him, next day at noon, -in the arms of his bonnie young wife and his puir -auld mother! The inhuman monsters! I have been -a soldier," continued Ewen, "and I have fought for -my country; but had I stood that day on this Moor -of Culloden, I would have shot the German Butcher, the -coward who fled from Flanders—I would, by the God -who hears me, though that moment had been my last!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" rejoined his queer -companion. "It seems like yesterday since I was -here; I don't see many changes, except that the -dead are all buried, whereas we left them to the -crows, and a carriage-road has been cut across the -field, just where we seized some women, who were -looking among the dead for their husbands, and -who——" -</p> - -<p> -"Well?" -</p> - -<p> -Wooden-leg whistled, and gave Ewen a diabolical -leer with his snaky eye, as he resumed,— -</p> - -<p> -"I see the ridge where the clans formed line—every -tribe with its chief in front, and his colours in -the centre, when we, hopeless of victory, and thinking -only of defeat, approached them; and I can yet -see standing the old stone wall which covered their -right flank. Fire and smoke! it was against that -wall we placed the wounded, when we fired at them -by platoons next day. I finished some twenty rebels -there myself." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen's hand almost caught the haft of his skene -dhu, as he said, hoarsely,— -</p> - -<p> -"Old man, do not call them rebels in my hearing, -and least of all by the graves where they lie; they -were good men and true; if they were in error, they -have long since answered to God for it, even as we -one day must answer; therefore let us treat their -memory with respect, as soldiers should ever treat -their brothers in arms who fall in war." -</p> - -<p> -But Wooden-leg laughed with his strange eldritch -yell, and then they returned together to the tollhouse -in the glen; but Ewen felt strongly dissatisfied with -his lodger, whose conversation was so calculated to -shock alike his Jacobitical and his religious -prejudices. Every day this sentiment grew stronger, and -he soon learned to deplore in his inmost heart having -ever accepted the rent, and longed for the time when -he should be rid of him; but, at the end of the six -months, Wooden-leg produced the rent for the -remainder of the year, still in old silver of the two -first Georges, with a few Spanish dollars, and swore -he would set the house on fire, if Ewen made any -more apologies about their inability to make him -sufficiently comfortable and so forth; for his host -and hostess had resorted to every pretence and -expedient to rid themselves of him handsomely. -</p> - -<p> -But Wooden-leg was inexorable. -</p> - -<p> -He had bargained for his billet for a year; he had -paid for it; and a year he would stay, though the -Lord Justice General of Scotland himself should -say nay! -</p> - -<p> -Boisterous and authoritative, he awed every one by -his terrible gimlet eye and the volleys of oaths -with which he overwhelmed them on suffering the -smallest contradiction; thus he became the terror of -all; and shepherds crossed the hills by the most -unfrequented routes rather than pass the toll-bar, -where they vowed that his eye bewitched their sheep -and cattle. To every whispered and stealthy inquiry -as to where his lodger had come from, and how or -why he had thrust himself upon this lonely tollhouse, -Ewen could only groan and shrug his shoulders, or -reply,— -</p> - -<p> -"He came on the night of the hurricane, like -a bird of evil omen; but on the twenty-sixth of -April we will be rid of him, please Heaven! It is -close at hand, and he shall march then, sure as my -name is Ewen Mac Ewen!" -</p> - -<p> -He seemed to be troubled in his conscience, too, or -to have strange visitors; for often in stormy nights -he was heard swearing or threatening, and expostulating; -and once or twice, when listening at the foot -of the stair, Ewen heard him shouting and conversing -from his window with persons on the road, although -the bar was shut, locked, and there was no one -visible there. -</p> - -<p> -On another windy night, Ewen and his wife were -scared by hearing Wooden-leg engaged in a furious -altercation with some one overhead. -</p> - -<p> -"Dog, I'll blow out your brains!" yelled a strange -voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke! blow out the candle first—ha, -ha, ha! ho, ho, ho!" cried Wooden-leg; then there -ensued the explosion of a pistol, a dreadful stamping -of feet, with the sound of several men swearing and -fighting. To all this Ewen and his wife hearkened -in fear and perplexity; at last something fell heavily -on the floor, and then all became still, and not a -sound was heard but the night wind sighing down -the glen. -</p> - -<p> -Betimes in the morning Ewen, weary and unslept, -left his bed and ascended to the door of this terrible -lodger and tapped gently. -</p> - -<p> -"Come in; why the devil this fuss and ceremony, -eh, comrade?" cried a hoarse voice, and there was -old Wooden-leg, not lying dead on the floor as Ewen -expected, or perhaps hoped; but stumping about in his -shirt sleeves, pipe-claying his facings, and whistling -the "Point of War." -</p> - -<p> -On being questioned about the most unearthly -"row" of last night, he only bade Ewen mind his -own affairs, or uttered a volley of oaths, some of -which were Spanish, and mixing a can of gunpowder -grog drained it at a draught. -</p> - -<p> -He was very quarrelsome, dictatorial, and scandalously -irreligious; thus his military reminiscences -were of so ferocious and blood-thirsty a nature, that -they were sufficient to scare any quiet man out of his -seven senses. But it was more particularly in -relating the butcheries, murders, and ravages of -Cumberland in the highlands, that he exulted, and there -was always a terrible air of probability in all he said. -On Ewen once asking of him if he had ever been -punished for the many irregularities and cruelties -he so freely acknowledged having committed,— -</p> - -<p> -"Punished? Fire and smoke, comrade, I should -think so; I have been flogged till the bones of my -back stood through the quivering flesh; I have been -picquetted, tied neck and heels, or sent to ride the -wooden horse, and to endure other punishments which -are now abolished in the king's service. An officer -once tied me neck and heels for eight and forty -hours—ay, damme, till I lost my senses; but he lost -his life soon after, a shot from the rear killed him; -you understand me, comrade; ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, -ho! a shot from the rear." -</p> - -<p> -"You murdered him?" said Ewen, in a tone of horror. -</p> - -<p> -"I did not say so," cried Wooden-leg with an -oath, as he dealt his landlord a thwack across the -shins with his stump; "but I'll tell you how it -happened. I was on the Carthagena expedition in -'41, and served amid all the horrors of that -bombardment, which was rendered unsuccessful by the -quarrels of the general and admiral; then the yellow -fever broke out among the troops, who were crammed -on board the ships of war like figs in a cask, or like -the cargo of a slaver, so they died in scores—and -in scores their putrid corpses lay round the hawsers -of the shipping, which raked them up every day as -they swung round with the tide; and from all the -open gunports, where their hammocks were hung, -our sick men saw the ground sharks gorging -themselves on the dead, while they daily expected to -follow. The air was black with flies, and the -scorching sun seemed to have leagued with the infernal -Spaniards against us. But, fire and smoke, mix me -some more grog, I am forgetting my story! -</p> - -<p> -"Our Grenadiers, with those of other regiments, -under Colonel James Grant of Carron, were landed -on the Island of Tierrabomba, which lies at the -entrance of the harbour of Carthagena, where we -stormed two small forts which our ships had -cannonaded on the previous day. -</p> - -<p> -"Grenadiers—open your pouches—handle grenades—blow -your fuses!" cried Grant, "forward." -</p> - -<p> -"And then we bayonetted the dons, or with the -clubbed musket smashed their heads like ripe -pumpkins, while our fleet, anchored with broadsides to -the shore, threw shot and shell, grape, cannister, -carcasses, and hand-grenades in showers among the -batteries, booms, cables, chains, ships of war, -gunboats, and the devil only knows what more. -</p> - -<p> -"It was evening when we landed, and as the -ramparts of San Luiz de Bocca Chica were within -musket shot of our left flank, the lieutenant of our -company was left with twelve grenadiers (of whom I -was one) as a species of out-picquet to watch the -Spaniards there, and to acquaint the officer in the -captured forts if anything was essayed by way of sortie. -</p> - -<p> -"About midnight I was posted as an advanced -sentinel, and ordered to face La Bocca Chica with -all my ears and eyes open. The night was close and -sultry; there was not a breath of wind stirring on -the land or waveless sea; and all was still save the -cries of the wild animals that preyed upon the -unburied dead, or the sullen splash caused by some -half-shrouded corpse, as it was launched from a -gun-port, for our ships were moored within pistol-shot -of the place where I stood. -</p> - -<p> -"Towards the west the sky was a deep and lurid -red, as if the midnight sea was in flames at the -horizon; and between me and this fiery glow, I could -see the black and opaque outline of the masts, the -yards, and the gigantic hulls of those floating -charnel-houses our line-of-battle ships, and the dark -solid ramparts of San Luiz de Bocca Chica. -</p> - -<p> -"Suddenly I saw before me the head of a Spanish -column!" -</p> - -<p> -"I cocked my musket, they seemed to be halted -in close order, for I could see the white coats and -black hats of a single company only. So I fired at -them point blank, and fell back on the picquet, which -stood to arms. -</p> - -<p> -"The lieutenant of our grenadiers came hurrying -towards me. -</p> - -<p> -"Where are the dons?" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"In our front, sir," said I, pointing to the white -line which seemed to waver before us in the gloom -under the walls of San Luiz, and then it disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -"They are advancing," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"They have vanished, fellow," said the lieutenant, -angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"Because they have marched down into a hollow." -</p> - -<p> -"In a moment after they re-appeared, upon which -the lieutenant brought up the picquet, and after -firing three volleys retired towards the principal fort -where Colonel Grant had all the troops under arms; -but not a Spaniard approached us, and what, think -you, deceived me and caused this alarm? Only a -grove of trees, fire and smoke! yes, it was a grove -of manchineel trees, which the Spaniards had cut -down or burned to within five feet of the ground; -and as their bark is white it resembled the Spanish -uniform, while the black burned tops easily passed -for their grenadier caps to the overstrained eyes of a -poor anxious lad, who found himself under the heavy -responsibility of an advanced sentinel for the first -time in his life." -</p> - -<p> -"And was this the end of it?" asked Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Hell and Tommy?" roared the Wooden-leg, "no—but -you shall hear. I was batooned by the lieutenant; -then I was tried at the drumhead for causing -a false alarm, and sentenced to be tied neck and -heels, and lest you may not know the fashion of this -punishment I shall tell you of it. I was placed on -the ground; my firelock was put under my hams, -and another was placed over my neck; then the two -were drawn close together by two cartouch-box -straps; and in this situation, doubled up as round -as a ball, I remained with my chin wedged between -my knees until the blood spouted out of my mouth, -nose, and ears, and I became insensible. When I -recovered my senses the troops were forming in -column, preparatory to assaulting Fort San Lazare; -and though almost blind, and both weak and -trembling, I was forced to take my place in the ranks; -and I ground my teeth as I handled my musket and -saw the lieutenant of our company, in lace-ruffles -and powdered wig, prepare to join the forlorn hope, -which was composed of six hundred chosen grenadiers, -under Colonel Grant, a brave Scottish officer. -I loaded my piece with a charmed bullet, cast in a -mould given to me by an Indian warrior, and marched -on with my section. The assault failed. Of the -forlorn hope I alone escaped, for Grant and his -Grenadiers perished to a man in the breach. There, -too, lay our lieutenant. A shot had pierced his head -behind, just at the queue. Queer, was it not? when -I was his covering file?" -</p> - -<p> -As he said this, Wooden-leg gave Ewen another of -those diabolical leers, which always made his blood -ran cold, and continued,— -</p> - -<p> -"I passed him as he lay dead, with his sword in -his hand, his fine ruffled shirt and silk waistcoat -drenched with blood—by the bye, there was a pretty -girl's miniature, with powdered hair peeping out of it -too. 'Ho, ho!' thought I, as I gave him a hearty -kick; 'you will never again have me tied neck-and-heels -for not wearing spectacles on sentry, or get me -a hundred lashes, for not having my queue dressed -straight to the seam of my coat." -</p> - -<p> -"Horrible!" said Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"I will wager my wooden leg against your two of -flesh and bone, that your officer would have been -served in the same way, if he had given you the same -provocation." -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven forbid!" said Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" cried Wooden-leg. -</p> - -<p> -"You spoke of an Indian warrior," said Ewen, -uneasily, as the atrocious anecdotes of this hideous -old man excited his anger and repugnance; "then -you have served, like myself, in the New World?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke! I should think so, but long -before your day." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you fought against the Cherokees?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"At Warwomans Creek?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; I was killed there." -</p> - -<p> -"You were—what?" stammered Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Killed there." -</p> - -<p> -"Killed?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, scalped by the Cherokees; dam! don't I -speak plain enough?" -</p> - -<p> -"He is mad," thought Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"I am not mad," said Wooden-leg gruffly. -</p> - -<p> -"I never said so," urged Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Thunder and blazes! but you thought it, which -is all the same." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen was petrified by this remark, and then -Wooden-leg, while fixing his hyæna-like eye upon -him, and mixing a fresh can of his peculiar grog, -continued thus,— -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I served in the Warwomans Creek expedition -in '60. In the preceding year I had been taken -prisoner at Fort Ninety-six, and was carried off by -the Indians. They took me into the heart of their -own country, where an old Sachem protected me, -and adopted me in place of a son he had lost in -battle. Now this old devil of a Sachem had a -daughter—a graceful, pretty and gentle Indian girl, whom -her tribe named the Queen of the Beaver dams. She -was kind to me, and loved to call me her pale-faced -brother. Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Fire and -smoke! do I now look like a man that could once -attract a pretty girl's eye,—now, with my wooden-leg, -patched face and riddled carcase? Well, she -loved me, and I pretended to be in love too, though -I did not care for her the value of an old snapper. -She was graceful and round in every limb, as a -beautiful statue. Her features were almost regular—her -eyes black and soft; her hair hung nearly to her -knees, while her smooth glossy skin, was no darker -than a Spanish brunette's. Her words were like -notes of music, for the language of the Cherokees, -like that of the Iroquois, is full of the softest vowels. -This Indian girl treated me with love and kindness, -and I promised to become a Cherokee warrior, a -thundering turtle and scalp-hunter for her sake—just -as I would have promised anything to any other -woman, and had done so a score of times before. -I studied her gentle character in all its weak and -delicate points, as a general views a fortress he is -about to besiege, and I soon knew every avenue to -the heart of the place. I made my approaches with -modesty, for the mind of the Indian virgin was timid, -and as pure as the new fallen snow. I drew my -parallels and pushed on the trenches whenever the -old Sachem was absent, smoking his pipe and -drinking fire-water at the council of the tribe; I soon -reached the base of the glacis and stormed the -breastworks—dam! I did, comrade. -</p> - -<p> -"I promised her everything, if she would continue -to love me, and swore by the Great Spirit to lay at -her feet the scalp-lock of the white chief, General the -Lord Amherst, K.C.B., and all that, with every other -protestation that occurred to me at the time; and so -she soon loved me—and me alone—as we wandered -on the green slopes of Tennessee, when the flowering -forest-trees and the magnolias, the crimson strawberries, -and the flaming azalea made the scenery beautiful; -and where the shrill cry cf the hawk, and the -carol of the merry mocking-bird, filled the air with -sounds of life and happiness. -</p> - -<p> -"We were married in the fantastic fashion of the -tribe, and the Indian girl was the happiest squaw in -the Beaver dams. I hoed cotton and planted rice; -I cut rushes that she might plait mats and baskets; I -helped her to weave wampum, and built her a -wigwam, but I longed to be gone, for in six months I -was wearied of her and the Cherokees too. In short, -one night, I knocked the old Sachem on the head, -and without perceiving that he still breathed, pocketted -his valuables, such as they were, two necklaces of -amber beads and two of Spanish dollars, and without -informing my squaw of what I had done, I prevailed -upon her to guide me far into the forest, on the skirts -of which lay a British outpost, near the lower end of -the vale, through which flows the Tennessee River. -She was unable to accompany me more than a few -miles, for she was weak, weary, and soon to become a -mother; so I gave her the slip in the forest, and, -leaving her to shift for herself, reached head-quarters, -just as the celebrated expedition from South -Carolina was preparing to march against the Cherokees. -</p> - -<p> -"Knowing well the localities, I offered myself as a -guide, and was at once accepted— -</p> - -<p> -"Cruel and infamous!" exclaimed honest Ewen, -whose chivalric Highland spirit fired with indignation -at these heartless avowals; "and the poor girl -you deceived——" -</p> - -<p> -"Bah! I thought the wild beasts would soon -dispose of her." -</p> - -<p> -"But then the infamy of being a guide, even for -your comrades, against those who had fed and -fostered, loved and protected you! By my soul, this -atrocity were worthy of King William and his Glencoe -assassins!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ho, ho, ho! fire and smoke! you shall hear. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, we marched from New York in the early -part of 1760. There were our regiment, with four -hundred of the Scots Royals, and Montgomery's -Highlanders. We landed at Charleston, and marched -up the country to Fort Ninety-six on the frontier of -the Cherokees. Our route was long and arduous, for -the ways were wild and rough, so it was the first of -June before we reached Twelve-mile River. I had -been so long unaccustomed to carry my knapsack, -that its weight rendered me savage and ferocious, and -I cursed the service and my own existence; for in -addition to our muskets and accoutrements, our sixty -rounds of ball cartridge per man, we carried our own -tents, poles, pegs, and cooking utensils. Thunder -and blazes! when we halted, which we did in a -pleasant valley, where the great shady chestnuts and the -flowering hickory made our camp alike cool and -beautiful, my back and shoulders were nearly skinned; -for as you must know well, comrade, the knapsack -straps are passed so tightly under the armpits, that -they stop the circulation of the blood, and press upon -the lungs almost to suffocation. Scores of our men -left the ranks on the march, threw themselves down -in despair, and were soon tomahawked and scalped -by the Indians. -</p> - -<p> -"We marched forward next day, but without perceiving -the smallest vestige of an Indian trail; thus -we began to surmise that the Cherokees knew not -that we were among them; but just as the sun was -sinking behind the blue hills, we came upon a cluster -of wigwams, which I knew well; they were the -Beaver dams, situated on a river, among wild woods -that never before had echoed to the drum or bugle. -</p> - -<p> -"Bad and wicked as I was, some strange emotions -rose within me at this moment. I thought of the -Sachem's daughter—her beauty—her love for me, and -the child that was under her bosom when I abandoned -her in the vast forest through which we had -just penetrated; but I stifled all regret, and heard -with pleasure the order to 'examine flints and -priming.' -</p> - -<p> -"Then the Cherokee warwhoop pierced the echoing -sky; a scattered fire was poured upon us from -behind the rocks and trees; the sharp steel -tomahawks came flashing and whirling through the air; -bullets and arrows whistled, and rifles rung, and in a -moment we found ourselves surrounded by a living -sea of dark-skinned and yelling Cherokees, with -plumes on their scalp locks, their fierce visages -streaked with war paint, and all their moccasins -rattling. -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and fury, such a time it was! -</p> - -<p> -"We all fought like devils, but our men fell fast on -every side; the Royals lost two lieutenants, and several -soldiers whose scalps were torn from their bleeding -skulls in a moment. Our regiment, though steady -under fire as a battalion of stone statues, now fell into -disorder, and the brown warriors, like fiends in aspect -and activity, pressed on with musket and war-club -brandished, and with such yells as never rang in mortal -ears elsewhere. The day was lost, until the -Highlanders came up, and then the savages were routed -in an instant, and cut to pieces. 'Shoot and slash' -was the order; and there ensued such a scene of -carnage as I had not witnessed since Culloden, where -His Royal Highness, the fat Duke of Cumberland, -galloped about the field, overseeing the wholesale -butchery of the wounded. -</p> - -<p> -"We destroyed their magazines of powder and -provisions; we laid the wigwams in ashes, and shot or -bayonetted every living thing, from the babe on its -mother's breast, to the hen that sat on the roost; for -as I had made our commander aware of all the avenues, -there was no escape for the poor devils of Cherokees. -Had the pious, glorious, and immortal King William -been there, he would have thought we had modelled -the whole affair after his own exploit at Glencoe. -</p> - -<p> -"All was nearly over, and among the ashes of the -smoking wigwams and the gashed corpses of king's -soldiers and Indian warriors, I sat down beneath a -great chestnut to wipe my musket, for butt, barrel, and -bayonet were clotted with blood and human hair—ouf, -man, why do you shudder? it was only Cherokee -wool;—all was nearly over, I have said, when a low -fierce cry, like the hoarse hiss of a serpent, rang in -my ear; a brown and bony hand clutched my throat -as the fangs of a wolf would have done, and hurled -me to the earth! A tomahawk flashed above me, and -an aged Indian's face, whose expression, was like -that of a fiend, came close to mine, and I felt his -breath upon my cheek. It was the visage of the -sachem, but hollow with suffering and almost green -with fury, and he laughed like a hyæna, as he poised -the uplifted axe. -</p> - -<p> -"Another form intervened for a moment; it -was that of the poor Indian girl I had so heartlessly -deceived; she sought to stay the avenging hand of -the frantic sachem; but he thrust her furiously -aside, and in the next moment the glittering -tomahawk was quivering in my brain—a knife swept -round my head—my scalp was torn off, and I -remember no more." -</p> - -<p> -"A fortunate thing for you," said Ewen, drily; -"memory such as yours were worse than a -knapsack to carry; and so you were killed there?" -</p> - -<p> -"Don't sneer, comrade," said Wooden-leg, with a -diabolical gleam in his eye: "prithee, don't sneet; -I was killed there, and, moreover, buried too, by the -Scots Royals, when they interred the dead next day." -</p> - -<p> -"Then how came you to be here?" said Ewen, -not very much at ease, to find himself in company -with one he deemed a lunatic. -</p> - -<p> -"Here? that is my business—not yours," was the -surly rejoinder. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen was silent, but reckoned over that now -there were but thirty days to run until the 26th of -April, when the stipulated year would expire. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, comrade, just thirty days," said Wooden-leg, -with an affirmative nod, divining the thoughts of -Ewen; "and then I shall be off, bag and baggage, -if my friends come." -</p> - -<p> -"If not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Then I shall remain where I am." -</p> - -<p> -"The Lord forbid!" thought Ewen; "but I can -apply to the sheriff." -</p> - -<p> -"Death and fury! Thunder and blazes! I should -like to see the rascal of a sheriff who would dare to -meddle with me!" growled the old fellow, as his one -eye shot fire, and, limping away, he ascended the -stairs grumbling and swearing, leaving poor Ewen -terrified even to think, on finding that his thoughts, -although only half conceived, were at once divined -and responded to by this strange inmate of his -house. -</p> - -<p> -"His friends," thought Ewen, "who may they be?" -</p> - -<p> -Three heavy knocks rang on the floor overhead, -as a reply. -</p> - -<p> -It was the wooden leg of the Cherokee invader. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap28"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT—THE MIDNIGHT MARCH. -</h3> - -<p> -This queer old fellow (continued the quartermaster) -was always in a state of great excitement, -and used an extra number of oaths, and mixed his -grog more thickly with gunpowder when a stray -red coat appeared far down the long green glen, -which was crossed by Ewen's lonely toll-bar. Then -he would get into a prodigious fuss and bustle, and -was wont to pack and cord his trunk, to brush up -his well-worn and antique regimentals, and to -adjust his queue and the black cockade of his -triple-cornered hat, as if preparing to depart. -</p> - -<p> -As the time of that person's wished-for departure -drew nigh, Ewen took courage, and shaking off the -timidity with which the swearing and boisterous -fury of Wooden-leg had impressed him, he ventured -to expostulate a little on the folly and sin of his -unmeaning oaths, and the atrocity of the crimes he -boasted of having committed. -</p> - -<p> -But the wicked old Wooden-leg laughed and swore -more than ever, saying that a "true soldier was -never a religious one." -</p> - -<p> -"You are wrong, comrade," retorted the old -Cameronian, taking fire at such an assertion; -"religion is the lightest burden a poor soldier can -carry; and, moreover, it hath upheld me on many a -long day's march, when almost sinking under hunger -and fatigue, with my pack, kettle, and sixty rounds -of ball ammunition on my back. The duties of a -good and brave soldier are no way incompatible with -those of a Christian man; and I never lay down to -rest on the wet bivouac or bloody field, with my -knapsack, or it might be a dead comrade, for a -pillow, without thanking God——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha!" -</p> - -<p> -"—The God of Scotland's covenanted Kirk for -the mercies he vouchsafed to Ewen Mac Ewen, a -poor grenadier of the 26th Regiment." -</p> - -<p> -"Ho, ho, ho!" -</p> - -<p> -The old Cameronian took off his bonnet and lifted -up his eyes, as he spoke fervently, and with the -simple reverence of the olden time; but Wooden-leg -grinned and chuckled and gnashed his teeth as Ewen -resumed. -</p> - -<p> -"A brave soldier may rush to the cannon's mouth, -though it be loaded with grape and cannister; or at -a line of levelled bayonets—and rush fearlessly -too—and yet he may tremble, without shame, at the thought -of hell, or of offended Heaven. Is it not so, -comrade? I shall never forget the words of our chaplain -before we stormed the Isles of Saba and St. Martin -from the Dutch, with Admiral Rodney, in '81." -</p> - -<p> -"Bah—that was after I was killed by the Cherokees. Well?" -</p> - -<p> -"The Cameronians were formed in line, mid leg -in the salt water, with bayonets fixed, the colours -flying, the pipes playing and drums beating 'Britons -strike home,' and our chaplain, a reverend minister -of God's word, stood beside the colonel with the -shot and shell from the Dutch batteries flying about -his old white head, but he was cool and calm, for he -was the grandson of Richard Cameron, the glorious -martyr of Airdsmoss. -</p> - -<p> -"'Fear not, my bairns,' cried he (he aye called us -his bairns, having ministered unto us for fifty years -and more)—'fear not; but remember that the eyes -of the Lord are on every righteous soldier, and that -His hand will shield him in the day of battle!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward, my lads,' cried the colonel, waving his -broad sword, while the musket shot shaved the curls -of his old brigadier wig; 'forward, and at them with -your bayonets;' and bravely we fell on—eight -hundred Scotsmen, shoulder to shoulder—and in half -an hour the British flag was waving over the -Dutchman's Jack on the ramparts of St. Martin." -</p> - -<p> -But to all Ewen's exordiums, the Wooden-leg replied -by oaths, or mockery, or his incessant laugh,— -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" -</p> - -<p> -At last came the long-wished for twenty-sixth of -April! -</p> - -<p> -The day was dark and louring. The pine woods -looked black, and the slopes of the distant hills -seemed close and near, and yet gloomy withal. The -sky was veiled by masses of hurrying clouds, which -seemed to chase each other across the Moray Firth. -That estuary was flecked with foam, and the ships -were riding close under the lee of the Highland -shore, with topmasts struck, their boats secured, and -both anchors out, for everything betokened a coming -storm. -</p> - -<p> -And with night it came in all its fury;—a storm -similar to that of the preceding year. -</p> - -<p> -The fierce and howling wind swept through the -mountain gorges, and levelled the lonely shielings, -whirling their fragile roofs into the air, and -uprooting strong pines and sturdy beeches; the water was -swept up from the Loch of the Clans, and mingled -with the rain which drenched the woods around it. -The green and yellow lightning played in ghastly -gleams about the black summit of Dun Daviot, and -again the rolling thunder bellowed over the graves of -the dead on the bleak, dark moor of Culloden. -Attracted by the light in the windows of the toll house, -the red deer came down from the hills in herds and -cowered near the little dwelling; while the cries of -the affrighted partridges, blackcocks, and even those -of the gannets from the Moray Firth were heard at -times, as they were swept past, with branches, leaves, -and stones, on the skirts of the hurrying blast. -</p> - -<p> -"It is just such a storm as we had this night -twelvemonths ago," said Meinie, whose cheek grew -pale at the elemental uproar. -</p> - -<p> -"There will be no one coming up the glen to-night," -replied Ewen; "so I may as well secure the -toll-bar, lest a gust should dash it to pieces." -</p> - -<p> -It required no little skill or strength to achieve -this in such a tempest; the gate was strong and -heavy, but it was fastened at last, and Ewen -retreated to his own fireside. Meanwhile, during all -this frightful storm without, Wooden-leg was heard -singing and carolling up-stairs, stumping about in -the lulls of the tempest, and rolling, pushing, and -tumbling his chest from side to side; then he -descended to get a fresh can of grog—for "grog, -grog, grog," was ever his cry. His old withered face -was flushed, and his excited eye shone like a baleful -star. He was conscious that a great event would -ensue. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen felt happy in his soul that his humble home -should no longer be the resting-place of this evil -bird whom the last tempest had blown hither. -</p> - -<p> -"So you leave us to-morrow, comrade?" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll march before daybreak," growled the other; -"'twas our old fashion in the days of Minden. Huske -and Hawley always marched off in the dark." -</p> - -<p> -"Before daybreak?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke, I have said so, and you shall -see; for my friends are on the march already; but -good night, for I shall have to parade betimes. They -come; though far, far off as yet." -</p> - -<p> -He retired with one of his diabolical leers, and -Ewen and his wife ensconced themselves in the -recesses of their warm box-bed; Meinie soon fell into -a sound sleep, though the wind continued to howl, -the rain to lash against the trembling walls of the -little mansion, and the thunder to hurl peal after peal -across the sky of that dark and tempestuous night. -</p> - -<p> -The din of the elements and his own thoughts -kept Ewen long awake; but though the gleams of -electric light came frequent as ever through the little -window, the glow of the "gathering peat" sank lower -on the hearth of hard-beaten clay, and the dull -measured tick-tack of the drowsy clock as it fell on the -drum of his ear, about midnight, was sending him to -sleep, by the weariness of its intense monotony, when -from a dream that the fierce hawk eye of his malevolent -lodger was fixed upon him, he started suddenly -to full consciousness. An uproar of tongues now rose -and fell upon the gusts of wind without; and he -heard an authoritative voice requiring the toll-bar to -be opened. -</p> - -<p> -Overhead rang the stumping of the Wooden-lag, -whose hoarse voice was heard bellowing in reply from -the upper window. -</p> - -<p> -"The Lord have a care of us!" muttered Mac -Ewen, as he threw his kilt and plaid round him, -thrust on his bonnet and brogues, and hastened to -the door, which was almost blown in by the tempest -as he opened it. -</p> - -<p> -The night was as dark, and the hurricane as -furious as ever; but how great was Ewen's surprise -to see the advanced guard of a corps of Grenadiers, -halted at the toll-bar gate, which he hastened to -unlock, and the moment he did so, it was torn off -its iron hooks and swept up the glen like a leaf from -a book, or a lady's handkerchief; as with an unearthly -howling the wind came tearing along in fitful -and tremendous gusts, which made the strongest -forests stoop, and dashed the struggling coasters on -the rocks of the Firth—the Æstuarium Vararis of -the olden time. -</p> - -<p> -As the levin brands burst in lurid fury overhead, -they seemed to strike fire from the drenched rocks, -the dripping trees, and the long line of flooded -roadway, that wound through the pastoral glen towards -Culloden. -</p> - -<p> -The advanced guard marched on in silence with -arms slung; and Ewen, to prevent himself from -being swept away by the wind, clung with both -hands to a stone pillar of the bar-gate, that he might -behold the passage of this midnight regiment, which -approached in firm and silent order in sections of -twelve files abreast, all with muskets slung. The -pioneers were in front, with their leather aprons, -axes, saws, bill-hooks, and hammers; the band was -at the head of the column; the drums, fifes, and -colours were in the centre; the captains were at the -head of their companies; the subalterns on the -reverse flank, and the field-officers were all mounted -on black chargers, that curvetted and pranced like -shadows, without a sound. -</p> - -<p> -Slowly they marched, but erect and upright, not a -man of them seeming to stoop against the wind or -rain, while overhead the flashes of the broad and -blinding lightning were blazing like a ghastly torch, -and making every musket-barrel, every belt-plate, -sword-blade, and buckle, gleam as this mysterious -corps filed through the barrier, with who? -Wooden-leg among them! -</p> - -<p> -By the incessant gleams Ewen could perceive -that they were Grenadiers, and wore the quaint old -uniform of George II.'s time; the sugar-loaf-shaped -cap of red cloth embroidered with worsted; the great -square-tailed red coat with its heavy cuffs and -close-cut collar; the stockings rolled above the knee, -and enormous shoe-buckles. They carried grenade-pouches; -the officers had espontoons; the sergeants -shouldered heavy halberds, and the coats of the little -drum-boys were covered with fantastic lace. -</p> - -<p> -It was not the quaint and antique aspect of this -solemn battalion that terrified Ewen, or chilled his -heart; but the ghastly expression of their faces, -which were pale and hollow-eyed, being, to all -appearance, the visages of spectres; and they marched -past like a long and wavering panorama, without a -sound; for though the wind was loud, and the rain -was drenching, neither could have concealed the -measured tread of so many mortal feet; but there -was no footfall heard on the roadway, nor the tramp -of a charger's hoof; the regiment defiled past, -noiseless as a wreath of smoke. -</p> - -<p> -The pallor of their faces, and the stillness which -accompanied their march, were out of the course of -nature; and the soul of Mac Ewen died away within -him; but his eyes were riveted upon the marching -phantoms—if phantoms, indeed, they were—as if by -fascination; and, like one in a terrible dream, he -continued to gaze until the last files were past; and -with them rode a fat and full-faced officer, wearing a -three-cocked hat, and having a star and blue ribbon -on his breast. His face was ghastly like the rest, -and dreadfully distorted, as if by mental agony and -remorse. Two aides-de-camps accompanied him, and -he rode a wild-looking black horse, whose eyes shot -fire. At the neck of the fat spectre—for a spectre he -really seemed—hung a card. -</p> - -<p> -It was the Nine of Diamonds! -</p> - -<p> -The whole of this silent and mysterious battalion -passed in line of march up the glen, with the gleams of -lightning flashing about them. One bolt more brilliant -than the rest brought back the sudden flash of steel. -</p> - -<p> -They had fixed bayonets, and shouldered arms! -</p> - -<p> -And on, and on they marched, diminishing in -the darkness and the distance, those ghastly Grenadiers, -towards the flat bleak moor of Culloden, with -the green lightning playing about them, and -gleaming on the storm-swept waste. -</p> - -<p> -The Wooden-leg—Ewen's unco' guest—disappeared -with them, and was never heard of more in -Strathnairn. -</p> - -<p> -He had come with a tempest, and gone with one. -Neither was any trace ever seen or heard of those -strange and silent soldiers. No regiment had left -Nairn that night, and no regiment reached Inverness -in the morning; so unto this day the whole affair -remains a mystery, and a subject for ridicule with -some, although Ewen, whose story of the midnight -march of a corps in time of war—caused his examination -by the authorities in the Castle of Inverness—stuck -manfully to his assertions, which were further -corroborated by the evidence of his wife and children. -He made a solemn affidavit of the circumstances I -have related before the sheriff, whose court books -will be found to confirm them in every particular; -if not, it is the aforesaid sheriff's fault, and not mine. -</p> - -<p> -There were not a few (but these were generally old -Jacobite ladies of decayed Highland families, who -form the gossiping tabbies and wall-flowers of the -Northern Meeting) who asserted that in their young -days they had heard of such a regiment marching by -night, once a year to the field of Culloden; for it is -currently believed by the most learned on such subjects -in the vicinity of the "Clach na Cudden," that on -the anniversary of the sorrowful battle, a certain place, -which shall be nameless, opens, and that the restless -souls of the murderers of the wounded clansmen -march in military array to the green graves upon the -purple heath, in yearly penance; and this story was -thought to receive full corroboration by the apparition -of a fat lubberly spectre with the nine of diamonds -chained to his neck; as it was on that card—since -named the Curse of Scotland—the Duke of Cumberland -hastily pencilled the savage order to "show no -quarter to the wounded, but to slaughter all." -</p> - -<p> -Such was the story of our old Highland Quartermaster. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap29"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIX. -<br /><br /> -THE LAST OF DON FABRIQUE. -</h3> - -<p> -A week or two after our return from Seville to -Gibraltar, Jack Slingsby received a note from a -Spanish officer, who commanded a detachment of the -Grenadiers of Jaen, to the effect that the famous -bandit Fabrique de Urquija had been taken, and was -condemned to die by the spirited Alcalde of San -Roque; that his execution was to take place on the -day after to-morrow, and that if we wished to behold -the mode of punishing such criminals in Spain, it -would afford him much pleasure if we joined his party, -which was ordered to assist in guarding the scaffold. -</p> - -<p> -Though neither of us were animated by a love of -cruelty or taste for the morbid, we were somewhat -curious to see how this romantic vagabond, who so -pitilessly had meted out death to so many others, -would encounter his own terrible doom, and availing -ourselves of the Spanish officer's polite offer, we -procured a day's leave, rode over to breakfast with him, -and marched with his detachment to San Roque, a -little town, which lies, as I have elsewhere said, about -six miles from our garrison on the Spanish side. -</p> - -<p> -As we proceeded, the Spanish capitano told us the -little episode of Don Fabrique's capture. -</p> - -<p> -It happened thus. -</p> - -<p> -The Alcalde of San Roque was reputed to be -immensely wealthy, and to have in a secret place a -strong box full of yellow doubloons and rich silver -duros, piled up in shining pillars to its brim, like the -treasure chests which the Moors are supposed to have -hidden in all the old castles and ruined atalayas in -Spain, and all of which are occasionally visible to -those who have the fortune of being born on Good -Friday, as every Spaniard knows. -</p> - -<p> -The rumour of this wealth could not fail to reach -the ears of Don Fabrique, and to excite the cupidity -of that enterprising gentleman; but concealing his -intentions from his band, whom he intended to leave, -as he proposed to himself a little trip to Paris or -Peru, if he relieved the Alcalde of those cares which -are inseparable from the possession of wealth, he -reconnoitred the house, and found an entrance to a -room wherein he secreted himself beneath a bed, -which stood in an alcove off it. In this bed the -portly alcalde and his buxom wife were wont to take -their repose; so Don Fabrique had not been very long -in this place of concealment, when the lady came in -with a lamp in her hand, and placing it on the toilet -table, proceeded to divest her charming person of her -habiliments. -</p> - -<p> -She threw the fag end of her cigar into the brassero; -hung her wig upon a knob of the mirror, et cetera. -She then dipped a finger into the little font of holy -water which hung at the head of her bed, and stepped -in, to await the coming of her worthy spouse, who -was lingering over the 'Heraldo' and a glass of -Valdepenas in the dining-room below. -</p> - -<p> -Now as the bed had a canvas bottom like a -hammock, and the lady therein was equal in size and -weight to three ordinary women, Don Fabrique, with -natural consternation, reflected on what he should -have to endure, when the gorbellied alcalde was added -to the superincumbent load of the señora. -</p> - -<p> -"Demonio!" thought he, "what is to be done? I -shall be suffocated before that brute the señor patron -is half asleep!" -</p> - -<p> -The panting robber stirred uneasily, and the stout -lady above him started. -</p> - -<p> -"Madre de Dios, what is that!" she whispered to -herself. -</p> - -<p> -There was no response; but on Fabrique stirring -again, the señora fairly sprang in terror from her -bed. Fabrique dared not breathe, but with one hand -on his stiletto and the other on his lips, he lay still -as death. The lady now obtained a glimpse of his foot. -and uttering one of those shrill cries, which most -women can utter at any time, she rushed from the -chamber to seek her husband; but first she took the -precaution of double-locking the door. -</p> - -<p> -Finding himself discovered, and aware that all was -over now, Fabrique hastened to escape by his place of -entrance, the window. Alas! it was now secured by -a shutter crossed by iron bars on the outside, and -these resisted all his efforts. There was no chimney; -again he rushed to the door. It was firm—fast -as a rock, and he might as well have rushed against -the stone wall. He heard the clank of feet and of -halberts as the hastily-summoned alguazils came into -the room below; true, he had his dagger; but what -would that avail him against so many? The perspiration -burst over his brow and he cursed the avarice -which brought him on such errand unassisted by that -faithful and determined band he was about to leave -for ever. -</p> - -<p> -Fertile in expedients, he at last thought of one. -</p> - -<p> -He threw off all his clothes and popped into the -bed of the señor alcalde, and scarcely had he tucked -himself cosily in when the door was burst open, and -in marched the portly patron, his eyes dilated with -vengeance, and his paunch swollen with official -dignity and purple valdepenas, while the grim alguazils -with pointed halberts and cocked trabujas came -behind, and with them was the terrified lady in her -night-dress, holding a candle in one trembling hand, -her rosary and a case of reliques in the other. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrique gazed at them with well-feigned surprise, -which was reflected in the faces of all on beholding -the place of his retreat, though it soon turned to -resentment in the wife of the alcalde; her eyes -flashed; her plump cheeks and bosom became -crimson with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"How now, señor raterillo," thundered the alcalde; -"what am I to understand by all this?" -</p> - -<p> -"By what, most worthy señor," whined the robber, -with affected simplicity and shame. -</p> - -<p> -"Why—your being here—here, señor—in the bed -of the señora—in my bed?" continued the alcalde, -gathering courage from the loudness of his own -voice; "speak, rascal—why are you here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ask the señora, who invited me," replied Fabrique. -with the coolest assurance in the world. -</p> - -<p> -"Morte de Dios, what is this I hear?" muttered -the overwhelmed alcalde. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, ask her, for I did not come here unexpected, -believe me, most worthy and much-injured Señor -Patron," continued the cunning rogue as he leaped -out of bed, and assisted by the tittering alguazils, -put on his garments with all haste, while the wife of -the poor alcalde gazed upon him speechless with rage -at the inference and his accusation, while the -magistrate himself was baffled and blanched by a new and -vague sense of shame and consternation. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear señora," said Fabrique, in a bland tone, -as he tied on his sash and assumed his sombrero, -"I regret extremely that you are weary of me—that -my company is no longer pleasing to you, as of old; -but it is very cruel of you to bring the neck of a poor -lover so faithful as I into such deadly jeopardy, and I -shall treasure this lesson of female perfidy, revenge, -and caprice to my latest hour. Muchas gracias, -señora, much good may your trick do you." -</p> - -<p> -The lady was choking with anger and unmerited -shame, while the cunning rogue continued,— -</p> - -<p> -"Most worthy Señor Alcalde, most faithless and -fickle señora, and you, most paltry and pitiful señores -alguazils, I have the honour to wish you all a very -good evening." -</p> - -<p> -With a low bow and a mocking smile, he was about -to depart, when one of the alguazils exclaimed,— -</p> - -<p> -"Stop—seize him; by Santiago, 'tis Fabrique de -Urquija!" -</p> - -<p> -The face of the robber became black with fury; he -drew his stiletto and rushed upon his discoverer, but -was soon beaten down by the halberts and clubbed -blunderbusses of the officials, by whom he was bound -with cords and dragged to prison without delay. -</p> - -<p> -He was soon tried in due form, and though the -whole town rang with his terrible exploits, and the -women praised his handsome figure, his reckless -courage, and the great tact and skill by which he had -so nearly eluded the pot-bellied Alcalde, he was -sentenced "to be garotted at twelve o'clock to-day." -</p> - -<p> -Such was the detail given to us by the Spanish -officer. -</p> - -<p> -As we neared San Roque, we found great crowds -from remote parts of the judicial partido, all clad in -the picturesque and antique costumes of the province, -ascending the mountain on which the town is situated, -and all anxious to behold the dying demeanour of the -most famous of Spanish bandits—the greatest since -Manuel Francisco was shot at Cordova two years ago. -</p> - -<p> -The mountain of San Roque stands at the head of -a beautiful bay of the same name; and on looking -back as we ascended, we had a charming view of the -sea, with several large Xebecques floating like gigantic -white birds with wings outspread upon its shining -azure surface. -</p> - -<p> -A clear and brilliant morning sun poured a flood -of light athwart the picturesque plaza of San Roque, -into which, as one may easily imagine, the whole male -population of the town—about eight thousand—were -crowded. This plaza resembled a sea of human heads -covered with black or brown sombreros; though there -were many who wore only their own coarse black hair -in netted cauls, and a few had scarlet forage caps. -Above this crowd glittered the bayonets and the -glazed shakoes of a battalion of Infantry of the -Spanish line, from the adjacent barracks. These -surrounded the high wooden platform of the garotte. -Within their line were the poor old ecclesiastics of -the two suppressed convents and three hospitals of -San Roque, wearing the remarkable monastic -costumes of a past age. -</p> - -<p> -The principal place was occupied by the commandant -of the fortified camp of San Roque, who, upon -our appearing among the crowd in our British uniform, -sent his aide-de-camp, with a polite invitation for us -to join his staff, which we immediately accepted. -</p> - -<p> -On the centre of the platform, which was about -twenty feet square, and covered with black cloth, sat -the fallen Fabrique de Urquija upon a little wooden -stool, with his back placed against the upright post -of the garotte, the iron collar of which encircled his -brawny naked neck. His broad low brow was black -as a thunder cloud; his eyes were fierce and keen, -and with a lowering glance of scornful pride, he -surveyed the masses who crowded on every inch of space -that afforded footing. His ancles were chained to an -eyebolt on the floor of the platform. Near him stood -the old confessor José de Torquemada of Medina, -barefooted; his cowl thrown back; in his wrinkled -hands an ivory crucifix, which ever and anon he -placed to the quivering lips of the doomed man in -the interval of prayer. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Urquija! I forgot all his atrocities and the -evil he would once have done to Slingsby and myself; -and now I felt only pity for his terrible situation. -</p> - -<p> -"I saw your glance of commiseration," said Jack -quietly, as he prepared a cigarito; "but be assured, -Ramble, you may as well feel pity for a bruised wolf. -I have not forgotten the Rio de Muerte, and that -night on the hills above Trohniona." -</p> - -<p> -"Noble Caballeros—buenos Christianos," said a -venerable Franciscan, placing before us the wooden -platter on which he was receiving the reals and pence -of the faithful; "por neustra Señora Santissima, one -little medio for the sinful soul of Fabrique de -Urquija." -</p> - -<p> -Jack and I—though believing but little in monk -or mass—were taught as soldiers to respect the -religious prejudices of all men; thus we were touched -by the honest piety of these old pillars of a dying -creed—-dying at least in Spain; and we each threw in -a gold coin. This raised an approving murmur -among the people, and the prisoner gave us a glance -full of recognition and gratitude. We had paid -enough for fifty masses! -</p> - -<p> -The church bell now began to toll a passing knell. -</p> - -<p> -Then the alguazils, who wore the cavalier costume -of other times—the broad hat, the long locks, the -white vandyke collar over a little shoulder mantle, -the short knee-breeches and buckled shoes, of the -days of Cervantes, advanced their halberts and -ascended the scaffold, accompanied by the executioner, -who was dressed in the deepest black. All -present now murmured and looked round, and several -officers drew their swords, for rumours of a projected -rescue were current in San Roque and its vicinity. -</p> - -<p> -The confession was ended, and if all the horrors -which rumour ascribed to the unhappy Urquija were -true, what a revelation it must have been! What a -volume it would have made! -</p> - -<p> -José Torquemada remained on his knees beside the -penitent, who turned to him ever and anon, anxiously -and hurriedly to pour into his ear some newly-remembered -act of guilt, or perhaps to spin out the -thread of life a little—a very little longer. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile the solemn bell continued tolling; the -people around the scaffold were nearly all upon their -knees, and the grasp of the executioner was laid upon -the iron wrench or screw of the garotte. The face -of the culprit flushed as he did so, and then grew -pale as marble. -</p> - -<p> -The hand of the church clock indicated the hour -of noon; then a cannon pealed from the fortifications -of San Roque and the priest pointed with his -crucifix to Heaven, while the executioner, at that -instant, gave the screw a vigorous twist, and the head -of Urquija fell suddenly on his breast. It heaved a -little, and all was over. -</p> - -<p> -A "viva" mingled with the prayers of the people; -but the dead man remained motionless and still, -under that bright sunshine of noon; and then rose -the hum of many voices as if a load had been taken -off every breast; while the bayonets flashed and the -sharp brass drums beat merrily, as the Spanish -Infantry wheeled from hollow square into open -column of companies, and marched by sections through -the Plaza to the fortified camp of San Roque; then -the crowd, who, up to the last moment had foretold -and expected a rescue from the band of Urquija, who -were hovering and vowing vengeance on the Sierra -de Ronda, began to disperse. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the last act in the terrible career of -Fabrique de Urquija, the student of Alcala; and such was -the last episode of Jack Slingsby's Spanish -adventures and mine. -</p> - -<p> -We dined with the Commandant at the fortified -camp of San Roque, and in the evening rode back to -Gibraltar, where we found the garrison in a buzz of -excitement. -</p> - -<p> -"What is the matter?" I asked of a sentinel at -the lower fortifications as we rode in; "and for what -reason was that heavy cannon fired after sunset?" -</p> - -<p> -"The Himalaya has come in, sir, with Sir Henry -Slingsby and a detachment of the Guards on board; -she is at anchor in the roads, and your regiment is -ordered to embark for the Crimea by gunfire to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"Hurrah!" cried Jack, and we dashed at full speed -to our barracks, where the clusters of our soldiers in -the square, laughing and talking gaily, the colonel's -orderly running after the adjutant, the adjutant calling -for the Serjeant major, and the evident excitement -and satisfaction visible in every face, corroborated -the information of the sentinel, and impressed upon -us the necessity of immediately packing our -baggage; but before doing so, I dispatched at once to -press these little tales and episodes which have -lightened and beguiled our mess-table in old -Gibraltar; and if they please my readers, and win from -them but half the praise they won from my light -hearted and brave brother officers, my task in -collecting them will be more than recompensed. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> -WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65393 ***</div> -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/65393-h/images/img-cover.jpg b/old/65393-h/images/img-cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a0ed4bc..0000000 --- a/old/65393-h/images/img-cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/old/65393-0.txt b/old/old/65393-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3bb17f0..0000000 --- a/old/old/65393-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13262 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Phantom Regiment, by James Grant - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Phantom Regiment - or, Stories of "Ours" - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: May 20, 2021 [eBook #65393] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM REGIMENT *** - - - - - THE - - PHANTOM REGIMENT - - - OR - - STORIES OF "OURS" - - - BY - - JAMES GRANT - - AUTHOR OF - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR" - - - - LONDON - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL - NEW YORK: 9 LAFAYETTE PLACE - - - - - JAMES GRANT'S NOVELS, - - Two Shillings each, Fancy Boards. - - THE ROMANCE OF WAR - THE AIDE-DE-CAMP - THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER - BOTHWELL - JANE SETON; OR, THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE - PHILIP ROLLO - THE BLACK WATCH - MARY OF LORRAINE - OLIVER ELLIS; OR, THE FUSILIERS - LUCY ARDEN; OR, HOLLYWOOD HALL - FRANK HILTON; OR, THE QUEEN'S OWN - THE YELLOW FRIGATE - HARRY OGILVIE; OR, THE BLACK DRAGOONS - ARTHUR BLANE - LAURA EVERINGHAM; OR, THE HIGHLANDERS OF GLENORA - THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD - LETTY HYDE'S LOVERS - CAVALIERS OF FORTUNE - SECOND TO NONE - THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE - VIOLET JERMYN - THE PHANTOM REGIMENT - THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS - THE WHITE COCKADE - FIRST LOVE AND LAST LOVE - DICK RODNEY - THE GIRL HE MARRIED - LADY WEDDERBURN'S WISH - JACK MANLY - ONLY AN ENSIGN - THE ADVENTURES OF ROB ROY - UNDER THE RED DRAGON - THE QUEEN'S CADET - SHALL I WIN HER? - FAIRER THAN A FAIRY - ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED - MORLEY ASTON - DID SHE LOVE HIM? - THE ROSS-SHIRE BUFFS - SIX YEARS AGO - VERE OF OURS - THE LORD HERMITAGE - THE ROYAL REGIMENT - THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S HIGHLANDERS - THE CAMERONIANS - THE SCOTS BRIGADE - - - - - CONTENTS - - I. The Romance of a Month - II. The Guarda Costa - III. Jack Slingsby - IV. The Venta - V. The Regiment of San Antonio - VI. La Posada del Cavallo - VII. The Halt in a Cork Wood - VIII. The Alcalde - IX. The Tertulia - X. Don Fabrique - XI. The Raterillo - XII. La Rio de Muerte - XIII. Pedro the Contrabandista - XIV. The Spanish Steamer - XV. The Circassian Captain - XVI. Osman Rioni - XVII. The Hussars of Tenginski - XVIII. Zupi - XIX. We Reach Head-Quarters - XX. St. Floridan; or, the Adventures of a Night - XXI. The Widow; or, the Adventures of a Night - XXII. Perez, the Potter; or, the Adventures of a Night - XXIII. The Major's Story - XXIV. "Estella" - XXV. A Legend of Fife - XXVI. The Phantom Regiment--The Quartermaster's Story - XXVII. The Phantom Regiment--The Unco' Quest - XXVIII. The Phantom Regiment--The Midnight March - XXIX. The Last of Don Fabrique - - - - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT; - -OR, - -STORIES OF "OURS." - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE ROMANCE OF A MONTH. - -"Adios, Señora Paulina--adios, mi Señora Dominga." - -"Adios, Señor Don Ricardo," replied a sweet voice from the depths of -the old Spanish coach. - -"Vaya usted con Dios, y que no haya novedad Señoras," said I, making -a vigorous effort with my best Castilian; and with these words, and -one bright parting glance from two black Andalusian eyes, so ended my -little romance of a month, as the old-fashioned coach, which was -doubtless the production of some cunning workman of Seville or Jaen, -rolled slowly, pompously, and heavily away towards the Spanish lines, -from the north gate of Gibraltar. - -And this farewell took place exactly this day twelve months ago. - -The coach which bore away the old lady who rejoiced in the euphonious -cognomen of Donna Dominga de Lucena y Colmenar de Orieja, and her -daughter the pretty Paulina, was a genuine old Castilian contrivance -of the true caravan species; and, though still in use, in this our -age of luxury and invention, had been constructed, perhaps, before -folding steps were conceived; for a three-legged stool, to facilitate -ingress and egress, hung near the door. The roof was shaped like the -crust of an apple-pie, and the lower carriage, like that portion of a -triumphal car. It was drawn by a pair of fat sleek mules, which -seemed to have grown old with the vehicle, and with Pedrillo, the -little postilion, who floundered away on a demi-pique saddle, with a -gigantic cocked hat surmounting his dark visage; and his lean spindle -legs lost in two gigantic jack-boots, which belonged to the -beforesaid saddle rather than to his own person. - -Such was the antediluvian vehicle which bore away the pompous old -Donna and her daughter the charming Paulina, who, for the past month -(during which she had resided in Gibraltar), had turned all the heads -of "Ours;" and was boasted by the Spaniards as the fairest belle in -las Cuatros Reinos--yes in the three mighty little kingdoms of -Seville, Cordova, Jaen, and Granada, which are now conglomerated into -the beautiful province of Andalusia. - -And so, without other escort than the redoubtable Pedrillo, who wore -a trabujo or blunderbuss slung across his back, and strong in their -belief in the virtues of the Santa Faz of Jaen, a picture of which -was hung in the back of their coach, these two Spanish ladies, on the -conclusion of their visit, departed on their return to Seville, their -native city; and from the British fortifications, which frown in -solid tiers towards the Spanish lines, I watched the venerable -carrozzo as it rolled across the low sandy Isthmus, which is known as -the neutral ground; and it disappeared just as the sun began to fade -upon the beautiful masses of the Serrania de Rondo, which rose in -piles against the golden clouds, and as the evening gun pealed like -thunder among the Moorish peaks of Jebel Tarik; and then I turned -away with a sigh as I thought of the winning smile I should never see -again. - -"It's all over now, Ramble," said my friend Jack Slingsby, who was -the subaltern of my company, and who had been my chum at Sandhurst; -"it is all over, Dick," he continued, with a laugh and one of those -rough slaps on the shoulder, which no one ventures to give but an -Englishman; "and so, instead of airing your sorrows here, 'sighing to -the evening breeze' and all that sort of thing, you may as well come -with me and knock the balls about a little--or join Shafton, the -colonel, and some of "Ours" who have proposed a pool to-night--and -meanwhile solace yourself with another of my 'very superior' cabanas." - -"Perhaps it is as well she is gone, Jack," said I, endeavouring to -imitate his light-hearted indifference; "had she remained among us -another week, I would certainly have booked for her, and so have -bedevilled myself, as you said yesterday." - -"For Donna Paulina?" - -"Of course--had you any doubts as to which?" - -"Why--no. I certainly did not think that you were in love with the -mother." - -"Well," said I, impatiently. - -"Paulina is very beautiful, no doubt; she has those Andalusian eyes -and ancles which all the world talk about, but which all the world -must see to feel the full effect of either. She has a charming -manner--a glorious 'espiêglerie'--yes, that's the word! full of -pretty repartee, and all that sort of thing--you understand me, Dick, -or Don Ricardo, as she called you; but withal, I assure you, I should -not like to enter for a Spanish wife, of all women in the world; no, -no--what does the song say?" and as we reascended to the higher parts -of the fortress, this careless fellow sang aloud a scrap of a popular -mess-table song, somewhat to this purpose:-- - - "No fair fräulein or demoiselle, nor donna with her smile, - Shall ever teach me to forget the dear ones of our isle; - And when I seek a heart and hand among the fair and free, - Still constant in my faith, I'll say an English girl for me." - - -"That is the mark, Dick,-- - - "----an English girl for me!" - -Besides, half of the young fellows in garrison here ran after -Paulina; and at every mess-table she was as well known as the big -drum, or the regimental snuff-box, or that great ram's head with its -devilish horns, with which those highland fellows of the 92nd -decorate their table, after the cloth is removed. At every jail, -field-day, and tertulia--at church, and on the promenade, a crowd of -admirers surrounded her, like flies round honey, and she seemed to be -equally delighted with all." - -"That was one of the peculiar charms of her manner, Jack," said I. - -"Peculiar, indeed!" said he, letting out a cloud of smoke from his -well-mustachioed lip. - -"In public, she distinguished none in particular, but was alike gay -with all." - -"And in private, who was said generally to be the happy Lothario?" - -I made no reply, but knocked the ashes away from the 'very superior' -cabana, with which he had just favoured me. - -"It was said to be a certain person known as Dick Ramble of 'Ours'," -continued Slingsby, in his bantering way; "but I am deuced glad it is -all over, like any other flirtation, and you are 'free to win and -free to wed another;' I don't like Spaniards--and never shall. In -fact, I have hated them ever since that unpleasant adventure I had at -Malaga last year, and about which I shall tell you some other time; -but here come Shafton, Morton, and some more of 'Ours,' and as soon -as we leave the mess, we shall adjourn to the billiard table." - -What this 'unpleasant adventure,' to which Slingsby referred--and to -which I had often heard him refer before--might have been I cared not -then to inquire; but walked on, more chilled than consoled by his -rattling manner and by that mess-room raillery, which I have known to -laugh many a wiser man than your humble servant, out of an honest and -sincere passion; while it has also been the saving of many an -inflammable "Newcome," or unfledged, but amatory ensign, from the -lures of those passé garrison belles, whose feathers are beginning to -moult, and whose brilliance is beginning to fade, after a long career -of close flirtation, round-dancing, supper-crushes, cold fowl, ices, -pink champagne, affectionate farewells in the grey morning, when the -drowsy drum-boys beat reveillie, or when the route arrived, and each -lover--a lover alas! but for the time--departed with his regiment to -return no more. - -Of Paulina de Lucena (such a pretty name it is!) I had seen much -during her short residence in Gibraltar, and had become--what shall I -term it, for 'Ours' were not marrying men--charmed by her sweetness -of temper and piquant manner, as well as by her acknowledged beauty. - -Jack Slingsby stigmatised this under the denomination of "being -spooney;" but as I have a proper abhorrence of all that slang -phraseology which is peculiar to the university, the barrack, the -clubhouse, and the turf, I believe I shall quote honest Jack no more, -but proceed in my own fashion. - -She was the only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Don Ignacio de -Lucena, a Knight of San Ferdinando, an officer of Lancers in the -service of the Queen of Spain, in one of whose battles he was taken -prisoner by Cabrera, and shot in cold blood with fifty of his -soldiers: for this ferocious Carlist behaved with such barbarity to -the Constitutional Army that one of its officers, who had been a -prisoner, assured me that at Valencia he and his comrades were -subjected to such cruelty by their captors, that after a thousand -sufferings, on being denied food, they were driven to the dreadful -necessity of devouring the body of a fellow captive.* - - -* A work published in Valencia positively asserts this. - - -The profession of her father, together with the circumstance of one -of her brothers being in the Spanish sea service, and another in the -army of Portugal, caused her to view with a favourable eye all who -have the honour to live by the sword; and my small smattering of -Spanish, which I picked up in those idle hours of a garrison life -that otherwise must have hung heavily over me, gave me every facility -for cultivating a friendship which had in it everything that might -serve to dazzle and charm a young man; for with the idea of Andalusia -and Spanish beauty we are apt to conjure up so much of love and of -romance that the imagination gets the better of the senses; besides, -those rogues of travellers and romancers have always given us such -exaggerated pictures of Spanish loveliness. - -In regularity of feature and fairness of complexion, Donna Paulina -was inferior to many a pretty girl I have seen at home. Her most -glorious attractions were her dark glossy tresses and her black -eloquent eyes--brilliant, sad, subduing, ever varying, but ever -black, and under their long, long fringes, ever melting. In beauty -of form and grace of movement she was unmatched out of her own -province, and I can assure the reader that the first time her very -striking figure appeared among the promenaders in the Alameda of -Gibraltar with her drapery of black lace falling from a high pearl -comb, her mantilla, her close-fitting dress, her pretty feet in their -Cordovan slippers, and her large fan, the unhappy bones of which were -ever in a state of flutter and excitement, and between which she shot -her most dangerous glances, it occasioned much marvel, curiosity, and -speculation at all the mess-tables of Her Majesty's forces stationed -on the rock. - -To such a companion imagine the charm of acting cicerone about the -fortifications of old Gibraltar; imagine our evening rambles round -Rosia Bay and along the new mole, where the ships of the British and -Yankees, the French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Turks, Greeks, -Moors, Arabs, and Jews, with all their varieties of ensigns, costume -and rig, are riding at anchor, and where many a grim mortar and -cannon gun frown over the new bastion; imagine the transition from -the sunny Alameda to the deep cool galleries which are hewn in the -heart of the living rock, and which are now turned to such war-like -purposes as old Pomponius Mela, who first wrote of them, could never -have conceived, and where we wandered for many an hour, the pretty -donna forgetting the starched customs of her country so far as to -grasp my arm with both her hands at times, for the aspect of these -places filled her with timidity and awe. - -To these subterranean batteries there is admitted but a dim and -dubious light that steals through their embrasures, glinting on the -damp slime of their walls and roof of rock; and on the heavy -ordnance--sixty-eight pounders some of them--which stand on frames of -metal, on piles of balls and bombs, and on doors studded with iron, -that lead to other and inner vaults full of missiles and unknown -terrors. - -On, on would we wander, through grim batteries, gloomy magazines, and -far-stretching galleries, that seemed to be without end, obtaining at -times through the vaulted embrasures a glimpse of the town, then -basking in the glare of the noonday sun, or of the sea, shining under -a brilliance in which the vessels on its bosom became lost, while we -heard only the sound of our own voices, the twang of a bugle, or the -sharp rat-tat of a drum in the barracks, the faint boom of a breaker -on the cliffs, or the fainter sound of voices in the town, far, far -down below, where all the races of the world were mingling; for -there, in its streets, might be seen the smart Greek in his scarlet -fez and ample kilt; the hideous Afric Jew in his black and white -striped cowl; the slow and solemn Turk; the bare-kneed Scottish -soldier; the lively Italian sailor, and the puffing, perspiring, and -grumbling John Bull. - -I saw Paulina daily, and garrison life became one long and enchanting -dream! - -In the batteries of the rock we promenaded often when the heat became -too great in the sunny Alameda, and with such a companion, while -wandering through the subterranean and twilight shades of Saint -George's Hall, or the Windsor Gallery, how was it possible to escape -from loving her.--A coquettish Andalusian, who, whenever I ventured -to become a little more tender than usual, would tap me over the -fingers with her fan, or give me one brilliant, flashing and -fascinating glance, as she closed her screen of black lace, and -threatened to leave me, while she sang, with the most charming grace -in the world, "Pues por besarte Minguillo," the English of which is -somewhat to the following purpose:-- - - "Give me swiftly back, thou dear one, - Give the kiss I gave to you; - Give me back the kiss, for mother - Is impatient--prithee do! - Give me that, and take another, - For that one, thou shalt have two." - -And where, the while, the reader may naturally enquire, was the -cautious, suspicious, and lynx-eyed Spanish mother therein referred -to? - -Now old Donna Dominga had conceived a vehement friendship for me -since the first evening on which I had the pleasure of meeting her at -the residence of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief; and where I -supplied her with ices when she was warm, adjusted her mantilla when -she was cool, held her fan, snuff-box, and poodle, and brought her a -cigarillo and orange-water dashed with the smallest taste of brandy; -and, discovering her sympathies and antipathies, soon learned to -anathematise Cabrera and the Conde de Montmolin, to express a vague -belief in miracles in general, and the verity of the Holy Face of -Jaen in particular. I "turned" the old lady's flank, and established -myself safely under the wing of her prejudices. - -She always accompanied Paulina and me in our rambles; but I generally -contrived, by a little successful manoeuvring, to leave her to the -care of Dr. MacLeechy, our senior surgeon, after Jack Slingsby had -very disobligingly revolted against this duty; and as the doctor and -the Donna were either somewhat pursy, or disposed to prose and -linger, we usually left them far in the rear and lost sight of them -altogether. - -Now the doctor, who quoted Kelaart as if he had been his own father, -and expatiated to the old lady on geology (with mineralogy, botany, -and Scottish metaphysics), was so very particular in explaining the -leaves, fibres, and various properties of the _Iberus Giberaltarica_, -the only plant peculiar to the rock, that the stout Donna Dominga, -who deemed all this but the language of the flowers, and viewed -everything through the medium of gallantry, became troubled in -spirit, and would occasionally blush behind the sticks of her fan, or -ogle and look unutterable things at our poor unconscious medico. She -would sigh tenderly when he plucked the soft palmetto which grows in -the rocky crevices, or tremble over the white polyanthus, and was -ready to drop like a ripe pumpkin into his arms, when he grew -eloquent upon the various species of the cacti. - -This was all very well while it lasted, for while the ponderous old -donna thought that our quiet, canny, and discreet Galen, who signed -himself M.D. of St. Andrews, and F.E.C.S. of Edinburgh, was a lover -of her own, she forgot to look too narrowly after us; and believed -that she had found a most agreeable mode of passing the month in -Gibraltar, which, for change of air, had been recommended by some -sangrado of Seville, as her health had become somewhat impaired by -ease and good living. - -I was so dazzled and delighted with the charming Paulina, and her -pretty little ways, that I had really begun to prepare my mind for -repelling the banter of the mess, and for waiting with due solemnity -upon Donna Dominga to confer with her alone, upon settlements and so -forth, when a terrible denouement took place! Having rashly boasted -of her imaginary conquest over our doctor, to a lady whom she met at -the house of a rich Spanish merchant in the Alameda, there ensued -between them an immediate scene; for this unlucky communication -(given with all the coy triumph with which the plump old lady could -invest it) was made to no other than the doctor's wife, who had just -arrived from Dublin; and as it had never entered the head of Donna -Dominga to inquire whether our unsuspecting medico was a -Benedick--bond or free, as they say in Australia--a storm was the -consequence. - -Now, Mrs. Leechy MacLeechy, our Scotch doctor's better half, was a -strong-minded Irish woman, who wore a species of turban, and was the -terror of the regiment; on each of her fat wrists she wore a bracelet -of blood-encrusted medals, torn, as she said, "off Rooshian breasts," -and sent to her from Sebastopol by her brother, who was "the -matchor--the saynior matchor--devil a less, or the foighting -eighty-ayth;" and so this lady, in her deep Galway patois, poured on -the Spaniard a broadside that would have sunk the Santissima Trinidad. - -Finding her love affair at an end, the cruel donna resolved to cut -short mine. Within an hour after this meeting, Pedrillo was -summoned; the old Spanish coach was brought forth; the baggage -packed, and her farewell cards--P.P.C.--dispatched to the governor -and his military secretary; to the aides-de-camp and staff colonel; -to the officers commanding regiments, and all the great folks of the -place. The old lady and the pretty Paulina got into the depths of -the ponderous 'carrozza;' the three-legged stool was strapped to the -door; Pedrillo clambered into his bucket-like boots, and muttered -many 'carajos!' as he applied his latigo to the sleek sides of the -dapple mules, and while their proprietrix was sulking and fuming at -Gibraltar and all the heretics who dwelt therein, the huge conveyance -crawled along the narrow causeway which forms the communication -between the town and the isthmus, and, for the present, thus ended, -as I have said, my pleasant little Spanish romance of a month. - -A recollection was all that remained to me of Paulina, and of that -flirtation which was fast maturing into something of a better and -more lasting nature. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE GUARDA COSTA. - -During the two preceding months we had been daily expecting orders to -embark for the Crimea, and this expectation formed almost our sole -topic at mess; but days became weeks, and weeks became months, yet we -heard no more of it than what passed among ourselves. - -Transports laden with troops--horse, foot, and artillery--touched -daily at the Rock, and steamed on into the bright blue Mediterranean, -with spirit-stirring cheers rising from their crowded decks. -Regiments junior to ours were withdrawn from the Rock and dispatched -to that scene of bravery and bloodshed, of mismanagement and -disaster, towards which all our thoughts, our hopes, and hearts were -turned; but the route never came for "Ours," and we grew decidedly -peevish, and found the dull routine of duty among the endless -batteries, bastions, curtains, magazines, and casemates of that -mighty fortress which was so long boasted (before the days of steam) -as the key of "the great French lake," sufficiently tedious; for we -felt that we were merely playing at soldiers like militiamen, while -our comrades of the line were engaged in desperate work, and played -the great game of war, with the eyes of all the world upon them. - -One evening, about a week after the departure of the ladies, I was -captain of the guard at the New Mole Fort, and Jack Slingsby was my -subaltern. We had just finished the dinner which had been sent to -us, hot and smoking, from the mess-house, in a conveyance for the -purpose; the windows of the officers' guardroom were open, and with a -box of contraband cigars, a few periodicals from the garrison -library, a telescope to watch the passing ships, and a bottle or two -of very choice mess claret, we were dozing the sunny evening of -Andalusia very comfortably away. - -The last dispatches from the Crimea had been read and discussed by -us; the last lists of killed, wounded, frozen, or missing in the -trenches had been conned over for some familiar name, which brought -vividly before us some fine fellow we should never see again; but -whose sudden fate was the more interesting to us, because it soon -might be our own. - -Whether it was the result of the good dinner, the good wine, the -sultry atmosphere, or our own thoughts that oppressed us, I know not; -but we sat long silent, and gazing at the varied scenery and -glittering waters of the bay. - -My thoughts were still wandering after Paulina, and I was -endeavouring to imagine what she might be about at that precise -moment. - -Slingsby had lost a very heavy and very absurd bet, on an interesting -race run at Grand Cairo between an Irish mare and an Arab horse -belonging to Halim Pasha, when the former beat the latter "all to -nothing," as Jack phrased it, and he had to hand over 500_l._ to -Morton, our colonel, for booking on a horse which neither of them had -ever seen. The same race was offered for the last two years against -all England, for ten thousand sovereigns, and, as all the sporting -world know, the challenge was not accepted. Blue-devilled by his -loss, Jack Slingsby sipped his claret in silence and made wise -resolutions which he never intended to keep, with moral reflections -which he never could practise, and longed for the Crimea, insensible -to the charms of this delightful climate, where, even in January, the -narcissus-polyanthus hang in white clusters from the rocks; where the -purple lavender flowers in large beds and parterres; where the -palmetto spreads its fan-like foliage to the sun; where the gigantic -aloe puts forth its leaves, and the prickly pear expands its -ponderous bunches, while the wild tulip and the damascus-tree are in -full blossom under the gloom of the solemn pine, or the lighter -foliage of the cork-tree--and where all is verdure, fragrance, and -joy! Yet, amid all this, Jack Slingsby, like the rest of "Ours," -sighed for the frozen camp, the battered trenches, and the misery of -Sebastopol. - -"So you have not got the better of your Spanish fancies, eh?" said -he, for lack of something better to talk about; "the charming -Paulina--that most rotund of elderly females, her mamma, and all that -sort of thing?" - -"What leads you to think so?" I asked languidly, as I lay stretched -at length on the Windsor chairs, watching the smoke which ascended -from my lips to the ceiling. - -"It is quite plain, dear Don Ricardo." - -"You cannot mimic her, so don't attempt it, Jack; but how is it -plain, eh?" - -"As clear as when the right is in front, the left is the pivot." - -"A technical reply." - -"Dick Ramble, my boy, you are quite sad about her, and there is no -use in attempting to conceal it," continued Slingsby. - -"Not sad, exactly," said I, making an effort to look brave; "never -was I fool enough to be sad about any woman yet; there are as good -fish, &c., and as for the Spanish girl--try another Cuba, the box is -beside you." - -"Thanks--about this Spanish girl?" - -"Fill your glass, and push across the decanter; has not that bottle -been a little corked, think you?" - -"Perhaps--about this Spanish girl?" continued Jack doggedly. - -"Well, what the deuce about her?" - -"You were just on the point of remarking some thing." - -"Only that her eyes were very fine, were they not?" - -"Very, but I prefer blue-- - - "'No fair fräulein nor dem-----' - - -"For heaven's sake, Jack, don't begin that ever-lasting ditty!" said -I, pettishly; "yes, Paulina's eyes were beautiful; they seemed, as -the Spaniards say, to be in mourning for the murders they committed." - -"A stale compliment," was Jack's retort to my interruption of a song -with which he had favoured the mess every night since we left -Southampton, for a small amount of vocal talent will go a long way to -charm a mess-table; "she murdered you, however, with very little -compunction; but to think of the doctor's botanising with the mother -being mistaken for love-making--was it not glorious, Dick?" - -"I have sometimes thought of a month's leave, just between musters," -said I, without joining in Jack's boisterous laugh. - -"Leave! for what purpose?" - -"A ride into Spain--say, as far as Seville; what do you think of it?" - -"Seventy miles or more to help you to continue a flirtation begun in -the casemates of Gibraltar. Thank you, Ramble; I would rather hold -myself excused. I had a little adventure in Spain once before, and -its devilish concomitants quite cured me of all taste for another; -though if I had not lost this unlucky 500_l._ perhaps--" - -"Well, why the deuce did you not let Halim Pasha and his nag alone? -What did their race matter to you?" - -"But lend me the telescope--what is that puff--a gun?" - -"It is a smuggler running right for the harbour, pursued by a Spanish -guarda costa; bang! there goes another gun from the Don." - -"And right through the felucca's sail too!" - -"Hollo! they will be within gunshot of us ere long," said I, -springing up: "and this will be work for us. Sentry, call the gunner -of the guard." - -"Gunner of the guard!" reiterated the sentinel, who stood, bayonet in -hand, under a sunshade, at the guard-house door. - -The solitary artilleryman, who was attached to my guard, appeared in -an instant with his sword by his side, and a lintstock in his hand. - -"Get ready a gun," said I; "for there is a Spanish guarda costa in -pursuit of a smuggler, and we must protect our friend." - -"An 18-pounder, or a 24, sir?" - -"Oh, give him a twenty-four, and take a file of the guard to assist -you." - -While the smuggler, with her long sweeps out, and every stitch of -canvas crowded on her long and tapering masts and whip-like yards, -was straining every nerve to escape from the Spanish cruiser, which -plied away with her bow guns, and bore after her close-hauled, and -rushing through the shining waves till they seemed to smoke under -her, it may be necessary to inform the reader that the manufacture -and smuggling of tobacco and cigars at Gibraltar is a never-failing -and never-ending source of angry discussion between the Governments -of Spain and Britain; for, by the former, tobacco has long been -reckoned a royal monopoly. Now, in Gibraltar, almost every second -house is a cigar-shop, and more than two thousand men are daily -employed in the manufacture of these articles of luxury, without -which a Spaniard would be, as some one says. like a steamer without -a funnel. Three-fourths of the British exports from Gibraltar to the -three United Kingdoms are also smuggled, and to such an extent is the -contraband trade carried, that the annual importation of tobacco into -that fortified town, says Mr Porter, in his "Progress of the Nation," -"amounts to from six millions to eight millions of pounds, nearly the -whole of which is purchased by smugglers." - -The boats of the contrabandistas are generally rigged as feluccas, -and painted black; they are built sharp as a pike-head, and carry a -heavy brass gun, which, in harbour, is usually concealed under a pile -of old boxes and casks, with a tarpaulin thrown over it, while in -cases of emergency, various pistols, pikes, and cutlasses, make their -appearance in the hands of the brown-visaged, black-bearded, -red-sashed, and rather pictorial-looking ruffians, whose chief -occupation is to sleep and lounge about their decks by day. - -To look out for these lads of the knife and pistol, the Government of -Her Most Catholic Majesty maintains a number of fast-sailing revenue -craft, called guarda costas, commanded by brave and vigilant -officers. These are the abhorrence of the contrabandistas, whose -operations are greatly facilitated on land by the concurrence of the -corrupt Spanish officials; and those guarda costas, in their zeal, -had, of late, been rash enough to pursue their prey into those waters -which are under the jurisdiction of the Governor and -Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar; and in three instances had boarded -them with pistol and cutlass, shot the crews, or driven them -overboard, and thereafter cut the feluccas out from under the very -guns of Her Britannic Majesty's fortress. - -This, however, was not to be tolerated again, and strict orders had -been issued that every guarda costa who ventured into troubled waters -should be fired on. John Bull is consistently absurd and unjust in -all things, and, with all his boasted justice, is the most veritable -bully in the world--except, perhaps, his thriving son Jonathan; he -would no doubt cut his own smugglers out of any port in the world, -and in the same moment would deny the poor Spaniards the right to do -the same; for John is a man full of honour and liberality, or a man -of neither, just as may suit his own particular purpose for the time; -but to return,-- - -On came the felucca in question, running straight for the anchorage, -which was protected by the heavy guns of the New Mole Fort where we -were on guard. and the parapet of which was lined by the soldiers, -all eager to witness the result of that most exciting of all things, -a chase--a struggle between a strong party and a weak one. On came -the guarda costa in pursuit, plying her bow-chaser, cleaving asunder -the clouds of white smoke which ever and anon it rolled ahead of her, -and riding over the waves, then shining in all the rosy brilliance of -a Spanish sunset, while astern waved the large ensign with the red -and yellow horizontal bars of Castile and Leon. - -Suddenly the little felucca ran up British colours; a sharp patter -rang over the water, and a wreath of smoke rose from her stern as the -devil-may-care contrabandistas gave the cruiser a dose of small arms. - -Boom again! The don gave another shot from his brass gun, and this -time an angry shout arose from our own vessels in the roadstead, for -the ball had crossed the forefoot of a Newcastle collier. - -"Ramble, this will never do," said Slingsby; "that Spanish craft is -too near by half--much nearer than our standing orders permit." - -"Now, gunner, is that 24-pounder ready?" said I. - -"All ready, sir." - -"Then bang at her." - -We all watched the shot with breathless interest, for to us, the -whole affair was merely a race, a game of hazard, like any other. -The sullen roar of the 24-pounder shook the solid parapet of the New -Mole Fort, and pealed in repeated echoes round all the shore to the -extremity of Rosia Bay; and as the cloud of light smoke curled away -from before us, we saw the shot whipping the water far astern of the -guarda costa, and a flush of annoyance spread over the honest face of -the artilleryman; for, as all our eyes were bent upon his -performance, he had been most anxious to excel, and this very anxiety -had probably defeated its object. - -A muttered exclamation of impatience escaped him. - -"Run back the gun," said he to the guard. - -Back went the carronade, and home went the sponge, as he set his -teeth, and, with hasty determination, proceeded to reload. - -"Quick, quick," said I; "for if she hauls her wind, gunner, there -will barely be time to give another shot." - -"I'll toss you for it, Señor Capitano," said Slingsby; "bet you a -bottle of champagne that I will hit the guarda costa." - -"Done," said I; "toss for the first fire." - -We tossed, and it fell to Jack. - -"Take care that you don't hit the felucca." - -"Miss the pigeon and hit the crow--eh, Dick?" he said, while, -laughing, he applied his eye to the sites on the breech, and -proceeded to adjust the screw, to the evident annoyance of the -gunner, who, while he could not decline to relinquish his place to an -officer, was piqued on being deprived of a chance of retrieving his -name as a professional marksman; and now he stood by, with his match -lighted, in the earnest hope, doubtless, that Jack Slingsby would -send his shot as wide of the mark as possible. Cigar in mouth, Jack -glanced coolly--almost carelessly--along the gun, and on covering his -object, cried--"fire!" - -Again the lintstock fell on the touch-hole; again the gun-shot rolled -along the echoing shore, and pealed away to seaward; a large white -splinter was seen on the gunwale of the guarda costa; her sails -shivered and flapped in the wind, as the ball struck her, and -suddenly backing her mainyard, she lay to, heaving like a wounded -seabird, on the long glassy ridges of the ground-swell, ere the burst -of applause with which our soldiers greeted Slingsby had died -away--for my friend Jack was one of their most favourite officers. - -"You did for her, there, sir," said the gunner, approvingly, as he -rammed home the sponge. - -"Yes, but as you fired when she was much further off, remember that I -have the less credit in hitting," replied Jack, as he gave the gunner -a crown-piece to console him. - -By this time the felucca, with a shout of derision rising from her -deck, ran into the harbour, ducking her colours thrice to us in -salute, as she passed the New Mole Fort. - -I had not been looking for more than a minute through the spy-glass -at the guarda costa, when I became assured that some one on board had -been wounded severely, either by the shot or its splinters. The -crew--all save the man at the wheel--were grouped amidships; many -were kneeling on the deck, and, once or twice, clenched hands were -fiercely shaken in menace towards the battery; then we saw a man -borne carefully aft between several others. - -"Some one has evidently been killed or wounded desperately," said I, -handing the glass to Slingsby. - -"Good Heaven! do you say so?" cried Jack; "well, it would seem -so--poor fellow--you know, Ramble, I did not exactly anticipate such -a thing--so it is--so it is! There is a man stretched on the deck!" -he added, passing the telescope to our soldiers. - -"We have only obeyed a standing garrison order," said I; "and the -responsibility thereof, if any, does not lie with us, but with those -who issued it. Come back to the guard-room, Jack, and my servant -shall go to the messman for that bottle of champagne you have won so -well." - -"Oh! deuce take the champagne, and all that sort of thing," said -Jack, looking still at the guarda costa. - -For a time an evident confusion and indecision, seemed to reign among -her crew. She lay heaving and tossing, rising and falling on the -long and ridgy rollers, with the setting sun glaring full upon her -white mainsail, which lay flat to the mast; the light of day soon -sank in the west, behind the upper peak of the rocky mountain, from -which a myriad rays shot upward and played on the masses of floating -cloud; the strait was still bathed in the amber glory of evening, and -each glassy billow of the slow ground-swell as it rolled away from -west to east, rose like a bank of gold from a plain of brilliant -blue; and all the amphitheatre of the town, which stretches along the -base of the rock, and rises gradually from the shore in the most -delightful manner--mingling in picturesque confusion, the lofty and -airy Spanish caza, with its flat roof, verandah, and sun-shaded -windows, the close, compact English house, the solid rampart, and the -flimsy wooden storehouse--all were bathed in the warmest tints, and -every casement and window flung back the gleams of radiance, as if -they had been illuminated by lamps of crimson and gold. - -Soon after the departed sun had shed its last ray on the bare scalp -of the sugar-loaf, the crew of the guarda costa, as a protection -probably, hoisted British colours, and crept past us into the -harbour, and immediately on dropping her anchor, sent a boat ashore. - -We supposed that this visit could only be for the purpose of lodging -a complaint against the officer in command at the New Mole Fort--to -wit myself, a complaint which we knew would be unavailing: but we -were mistaken; for my servant, on returning from the barracks with -the bottle of champagne and other &c. requisite to enable Jack and me -to pass the night on guard agreeably, brought us the unpleasant -information that the shot had carried away both legs of the -unfortunate Spanish lieutenant who commanded the guarda costa, and -that doctor M'Leechy of "Ours" had at once gone off to the vessel to -succour the patient, who--poor fellow!--had died under his hands. - -This catastrophe proved a great damper to us, and to Jack in -particular, for he was one of the best-hearted fellows in the -service; so we had more champagne brought from the mess-house, and we -talked of the guarda costa and her poor lieutenant almost till the -morning gun was fired; and the affair furnished me with a special -paragraph for that "column of remarks" in the guard report which -seldom contains memoranda of greater importance than a notice of "the -cracked pane of glass, handed over by Captain O'Brien of the 88th;" -or, "the poker, handed over, broken, by the last guard under -Lieutenant Smith, of the Buffs," and so forth. - -In the morning we found that the guarda costa had sailed in the -night, taking her dead commander with her; and long before the end of -the week we had ceased even to speak of the circumstance at mess, and -I forgot the affair as the image of Paulina came before me again, and -thoughtless Jack Slingsby was as gay as ever. - -But I must mention, that on being relieved from guard at the New Mole -Fort, I found waiting me, at my quarters, Pedro de Urquija, a -well-known contrabandista, and king of the smugglers of Gibraltar, -who gave me a profusion of thanks "for saving his little felucca, La -Buena Fortuna, from that devil of a guarda costa," saying it was the -closest run he had ever experienced in twenty years of arduous -smuggling; and he insisted upon my acceptance of several boxes of -prime Cubas and some dozen yards of magnificent lace, worked by the -nuns of Cadiz and the poor sisters of Santa Theresa at Estrelo, and -we parted the best friends in the world: but a heavy rod was in -pickle for Jack and me; and the affair was destined to cost us more -danger, trouble, and anxiety, than we could ever have calculated on -risking. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -JACK SLINGSBY. - -The killing of the Spanish lieutenant revived among our diplomatic -people the ever-rankling quarrel about the contrabandistas, and the -captain-general of Andalusia wrote an angry letter to the governor of -Gibraltar, remonstrating with him on the conduct of the officer in -charge of the battery at the Mole Fort, in daring to fire upon a -Spanish government cruiser, and requesting that the said Don Ricardo -Ramble should be given up to the Spanish authorities to be sent to -the galleys at Barcelona probably, or to be otherwise disposed of. - -This absurd demand, however, the old general commanding waived -politely; but the correspondence was prolonged until the military -secretary became bored to death on the subject, and lost all patience -at the very mention of it. Now as the Queen of Spain designates -herself sovereign lady of Gibraltar, and as the alcalde of San Roque, -a little town which has sprung up within the last hundred and fifty -years, still styles himself in all official documents Alcalde of San -Roque and of Gibraltar, and holder of supreme authority therein, the -tone assumed by the capitan-general, who was on a visit to Jaen, was -pompous, high, and mighty; for no explanation we could give in -writing could make the irritable old Castilian hidalgo see that the -lieutenant of the guarda costa had been in the wrong. - -One evening, on entering the mess-room, I was startled by Colonel -Morton acquainting me that by directions just arrived from the -Foreign Secretary he had been requested to send the two officers who -were on guard in the new Mole Fort into Spain. - -"Without hostage or guarantee--the devil!" said I, shrugging my -shoulders; "and to whom?" - -"To this obstinate old bore by habit, and boar by nature, the -captain-general." - -"As prisoners, colonel?" cried Slingsby, with an astounded air from -the other end of the table, and pausing with his hand on a wine -decanter; "you don't mean to say as prisoners?" - -"Prisoners--not at all; how could you think of such a thing?" said -the colonel, laughing, for he was a hearty old soldier, at whose name -stood P.W. and K.H., and C.B. in _Hart's Army List_; "you go merely -to explain the late affair in person; and it is the more necessary -for you both to go as the two aides-de-camp of the governor are on -the sick list. It is only a ride of some seventy or eighty miles -into Spain--wish 't were I who had the duty to do." - -"And where does the captain-general live?" - -"At Seville, to which place he is now returning from Jaen." - -"Ah, indeed, Seville," said I, reviving, as I filled my glass with -Moselle, and Slingsby stuck his glass in his remarkably knowing eye. - -"You'll take good horses; but be careful of rogues, raterillos, and -footpads by the way. I can lend you a pair of pistols with spring -bayonets." - -"Thank you, colonel, I have my revolver," said I, laughing. - -"What! you smile, Ramble?" said the colonel; "and believe me to have -the bandittiphobia; but I know Spain well, having marched over every -foot of the Peninsula under Lord Lyndedoch, and fought my way from -the Black Horse Square at Lisbon to the banks of the Nive, so I know -pretty well, that in peace as in war armed desperadoes, whose hands -are against all men, are, as a certain traveller says, 'the very -weeds of the Spanish soil.' Right well do I know the land of Los -Espagnols as we used to call them in the old fighting 5th Hussars. I -was in the cavalry then, and had I not grown stiff in the joints, and -lost all relish for adventures by day, fleas by night, and the -resinous taste of vino out of a skin at all times, I would have saved -you the trouble of the journey and gone myself; but my instructions -from home say that Captain Ramble and Lieutenant Slingsby must go, so -there is the end of it. Major, Mr. Vice, another bottle of wine to -drink 'bon voyage' to Ramble and Slingsby." - -"With all my heart; sergeant Slopper, a fresh allowance of wine," -said the major. - -"Wish I were going with you," said Shafton, the captain of our light -company; "a ride to Seville! the very name of the place conjures up -a sunny vision of orange trees and glowing grapes, of black mantillas -and taper ancles, and different duty from trenching in the Crimea as -we might have been, and ought to have been by this time." - -"Aye," quoth M'Leechy the doctor, who although married (as he knew to -his cost) was dining that day with the mess; "and a pleasant change -after our dull routine of garrison life, during which we have, as -'Punch' says-- - - "Contentedly eat ration beefs and muttons, - Contentedly drank ration rums and waters; - Darned our own socks, and sewed our own buttons, - Fried in summer, and froze in winter quarters." - - -"A fine upon the doctor," said Shafton; "colonel, Mr. Vice, -gentlemen, he vilely satirises Her Majesty's service, a bottle of -champagne from the doctor." - -"You will remember us all most affectionately to Donna Dominga and to -the bewitching Paulina--you will see them of course," said some one -from the foot of the table. - -"The doctor must prepare some of the rarest specimens of those -remarkable cacti with which he subdued the heart of the plump widow," -said Slingsby, taking up the chorus of banter, "and have them ready -by to-morrow; we start to-morrow, I presume, colonel." - -"As early as you please," said Morton. - -"We shall have some glorious fun in Seville--eh, Ramble? You'll envy -us, gentlemen." - -"If the captain-general does not garotte you," snarled the doctor; -"or treat you as Don Ramon Cabrera, the Conde de Morella, treated the -husband of Donna Dominga." - -"But for that gentle sigh, doctor, I would have considered you quite -a bear," said Slingsby, "but pass the wine, M'Leechy." - -"If you find Seville dull," retorted the doctor, "you had better play -the same little prank you played at Kilkenny when you were in the -Sixth." - -"What did he do when in the Sixth?" inquired a dozen voices at once. - -"What did he not do you should ask," continued the doctor, while Jack -smiled faintly and filled up his glass. "Once when we marched into -Kilkenny we found there had been a quarrel between the Rapparees of -the district and the first battalion of Scots Royals. It was in the -time of high Repeal enthusiasm, and nothing was thought of but an -Irish Republic, so the people looked darkly at the redcoats. Now -Slingsby had never been in Ireland before, and as he received over -the barrack-guard from one of the Royals, with bayonets fixed and -drum beating, he asked how the inhabitants liked the troops. - -"'Ill enough,' answered the Royal, 'since we shot some of them in a -tithe business near Roscrea: they have been as cold as charity, and -the devil a dinner or ball have we had since last muster day, and you -be here till you are mouldy without seeing such a thing as a waltz or -white kids--ices and fowl, trifle and champagne.' - -"Whereupon Mr. Jack Slingsby, being an Englishman, and knowing no -better, believed he might play pranks upon the Irish; and seating -himself in his quarters next day, he assumed his pen and dispatched -the following card to every house in the town:-- - - -"'Lieutenant Slingsby, of H.M.'s 6th Foot, presents his compliments -to the ladies of Kilkenny, and takes the earliest opportunity of -announcing his arrival. He begs to inform them that he can play -whist, casino, and every game on cards known in Christendom; that he -flirts to admiration, and can polk, waltz, and dance the varsovienne -ditto, that generally he can accommodate himself to every whim-wham -of the charming sex, and is always to be heard of at his residence in -the infantry barracks.' - - -"Among others he rashly sent one of these precious circulars to Mrs. -Towler, the wife--I beg her pardon--the lady of the major-general of -the district, who wickedly handed it to her husband at breakfast; so -poor Jack's production brought him before a general court-martial. -It went very hard with him, for the irascible general deemed that his -wife and her ten highly-eligible daughters were grossly insulted; but -our hero escaped with a reprimand, and the colonel was directed to -watch his conduct in future, but he became thereafter the lion of -Kilkenny and Carlow to boot, and all the district from Roscrea to -Clonmel. After that, an evening party without Jack, would have been -like a bell without a clapper." - -"But the general never forgave me for that prank," said Jack, -good-humouredly; "and he was always on the watch for me afterwards." - -"You remember how nearly he had you booked for another court-martial -on a race day?" - -"And how nicely I outflanked and outwitted him! It was the day of -the principal races; I had a horse to run, and more than half the -regiment had made a heavy book on him, and a great amount of paper -was expected to change owners on the issue. The lord-lieutenant was -to be there, and I was all anxiety to be present at the race, when, -as the devil or the adjutant would have it, I found myself in orders -the day before--orders for guard! Everybody was going to the course, -and not a soul for love or money would take my duty; so with a heavy -heart I paraded in the morning; and as the time for the start drew -near I saw all our fellows bowl out of barracks in drags and cars -attired in sporting mufti and in high spirits. Then came old General -Towler, commanding the district, in his blue frogged coat, and with -the sabre which he had wielded at the passage of the Bidassoa, Mrs. -General Towler, several Misses Towler, all demoiselles of mature age, -and the A.D.C. Horatio Towler, captain of a regiment which he never -saw, for he wisely preferred his mamma's drawing-room in Kilkenny to -broiling on Cape Coast. They all scampered out, then the barrack -gates were shut, and all became very quiet and still. - -"No sound stirred in the empty parade-yard, for no one was abroad; -the sun was scorching and the sentinels stood in their boxes. I -thought of the buzz, the glitter, the fun and frolic, the cold fowl, -the iced champagne, the brandy and soda-water, the flirtation on the -roof of a drag, on the rumble or the dickey--all the excitement and -enthusiasm of the races, and more than all, I imagined how my nag -would look when the exulting grooms drew his cloths off, the jockey -in blue and white colours, and fancy painted him scouring like a -whirlwind round the smooth green course, and beating Flying Dutchman, -Lady Fanny, Albert, and all the rest of them hollow. As the time of -the start drew nigh, my excitement and longing increased, but I knew -too well the danger of absenting myself from a guard. I knew, -moreover, that old Towler, who spent half his life in laying traps -for subalterns (ensigns being his peculiar aversion), was daily -furnished with a card, whereon were written the names of the officers -on garrison duty, and he had seen me on guard as he passed out. The -barracks are so empty, I'll never be missed, thought I, and may steal -to the course in the crowd. So, as the distance was short, I hurried -off on foot and in full uniform just as I had paraded for duty, with -my sword, white belt, and shako. Lost amid the wilderness of tents, -stalls, thimblers, and rolypoly men, carriages, gigs, cars, and -vehicles of every kind, I reached the grand stand, or rather its -vicinity, and was eagerly looking about for my horse as the bell had -rung at the starting-point, and the race had begun long since, when I -heard a tremendous cheer, and saw my own jockey borne past me, -shoulder high. Blue and white had won! In my excitement and -confusion I forgot all about my uniform, and was pushing, jostling, -and fighting my way through the delighted mob, when the basilisk -expression of two fierce grey eyes that peered from under their -shaggy brows arrested me. - -"Heavens and earth! I was close to the carriage of old General -Towler, and there he sat, sullen as Jove upon his throne of thunder -clouds, scanning me and his card,--the fatal detail card, alternately. - -"'I am done for!' was my first thought; 'I have won the race, but -lost my commission; he has nailed me at last!' and my heart sunk, as -I thought of the too probable consequences of a second court-martial. - -"'To the barracks,' I heard him say imperiously, and I knew in a -moment that he was deliberately driving off to turn out the main -guard, and thus to prove me absent therefrom. I felt that I was -lost--that my commission, the pride of my heart, was gone; and had -not a happy thought seized me, I should not have been here to night. -Just as the carriage turned round, I sprang up behind it, and stood -there unseen, but stooping low, because the roof was open. - -"'You're sure it is that impertinent fellow, Slingsby, of the Sixth?' -said Mrs. Towler, with a smile of malicious satisfaction. - -"'Sure as you are beside me, my love,' growled the general; 'bad -example to the soldiers--very! subversive of all discipline--I'll -smash him now--absent from guard--a general court-martial----' - -"'A saucy jackanapes,' said Miss Towler. - -"'Gross dereliction of duty!' - -"'He was most impertinent to Maria at the last ball,' said Mrs. -Towler. - -"'Violation of the articles of war,' growled the Major General; 'but -here we are close on the barracks--now we shall have him!' - -"'Guard turn out!' cried the sentry, presenting arms, and facing his -post. - -"'Stop, coachman,' cried the general, as the carriage, with wheels -flashing and its steaming bays at full gallop, dashed up to the guard -house, where they reared back on their haunches, as the guard formed -line, opened ranks, and the drum gave the single customary ruffle, -just as I dropped unseen from the foot-board behind, drew my sword, -and took my place coolly at the head of my men. - -"'Sergeant,' roared the general; 'where's the officer of the -guard--where's that infernal--where is Mr. Slingsby?' - -"'Here, general,' said the astonished noncommissioned officer. - -"'I am here, sir,' said I, haughtily lowering the point of my sword. - -"'Here--you!' he exclaimed with a glance of astonishment and -perplexity, as he fumbled with his confounded detail card; 'what the -deuce--I thought--that will do, however; guard, turn in, sir; -coachman, drive on!' - -"And the carriage, with the general and all his daughters, with their -fringed parasols, rolled away. Old Towler never discovered how I -circumvented him, though he assured his son, the aide-de-camp, that -he could have made his affidavit on seeing me at the races, and in -ten minutes after found me at the head of my guard more than two -miles distant." - -Next day Slingsby and I left the garrison on our mission to Seville. -He accompanied me with some reluctance, for he disliked the -Spaniards, having been frequently among them, and being one who -possessed a strange facility for getting into all kinds of scrapes -and broils. Before starting we received from the military secretary -all the papers connected with the affair of the guarda costa; and, -what was of more importance to us, we received from the paymaster a -necessary portion of "the soul of Pedro Garcias," and taking with us -only our undress uniform and grey great-coats, our swords and -revolvers (for one might as well travel without brains as without -arms in Spain; besides, Fabrique de Urquija, a devil of a fellow, -haunted the Sierra de Ronda), a valise with six shirts each, a box of -cubas, and a John Murray, we crossed the isthmus, passed through the -Spanish lines about an hour after the morning gun was fired, and with -the gorgeous sunrise of a beautiful Spanish day took the wild and -lonely road into Andalusia, with well-filled purses, good nags under -us, light hearts and thoughtless heads, and in such a frame of mind, -that, in pursuit of adventure, we would have faced anything, from a -black beetle to a mad bull. - -I thought of Donna Paulina (when did I not think of her?) and as the -strong ramparts of Gibraltar lessened in our rear, I hummed "Pues por -bisarte Minguillo," her coquettish little song of "The Kiss." - -Poor Paulina! - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE VENTA. - -We had left the dull world of matter-of-fact behind us, and were now -in the land of romance, where, save the invention of cigars and -musket locks, all was unchanged since the days of Charles V.; for -while all the world moves around her, Spain alone stands still, -torpid and unchanging as her unclouded sun and mighty mountain -Sierras. - -On reaching Castellar we expected to receive an escort from the -officer commanding a troop of cavalry quartered there, a necessary -protection against the banditti of Fabrique de Urquija, whose name -was now a terror to Andalusia. - -It was a Spanish day; the air was clear, ambient, and pure as light; -the sky was cloudless, and exhibited a deep immensity of blue, -rendering the most distant objects visible in the blaze of the -soaring sun, that whitened the rocks and the narrow horse path we -pursued; while the dark pine branches and the light cork trees were -unstirred by a breath of wind. - -We passed through San Roque, a town of some importance to Spain, -since Sir George Rooke in 1704 took Gibraltar, which was almost the -only acquisition of the English arms until the union with Scotland, -and consequent consolidation of the naval and military resources of -the two kingdoms. After leaving it, our route lay through that -beautiful forest of cork trees which spreads over a great part of the -country, and borders on the bay of Gibraltar. - -At Venla we passed several strings of galley slaves, who were chained -together, and at work upon the road. As we trotted past, they paused -to glare at us, and their dark sparkling eyes shone through the -tangled masses of their jetty hair, which was the sole covering of -their heads alike under the winter rain and the scorching summer sun. - -At Castellar we were disappointed in our expected escort, as the -cavalry had marched to Seville, so we halted at a venta, or inn, and -were strongly advised by the hostalero, or keeper, to tarry with him -awhile, for the approaching night at least, as several outrages had -lately been committed in the neighbourhood, and a band of broken -Carlist soldiers and runaway galley slaves had hovered for some time -in the Sierra de Ronda, making themselves the terror of all the -country from Cortes to Vente Quemada. - -"Disparate," said I; "nonsense!" - -"A sly trick to get us to stay over night," said Slingsby, as he took -a long draught of Xeres and cold water, and renewed his attack on the -boiled fowl, which was all the patron could as yet provide for us. - -"Madre maria purissima!" said the latter, turning up his glossy black -eyes; "may you be forgiven your incredulity; but, señores, did you -not remark the number of crosses by the wayside as you came along?" - -"We did," said Jack; "and what then?" - -"Each one marks the scene of some 'novedad.'" - -"Novelty--a new term for a murder, Señor Patron?" - -"And the poles, with robbers' heads on them?" - -"I observed one," said I. - -"And singular to say, a bird had built its nest in it," added Jack; -"it was a mere skull." - -"One--madre de Dios--are there not a hundred? yet, señores, you could -not ride without an escort, even so far as Alcala--the thing is not -to be thought of." - -"What think you of all this sort of thing, Ramble?" asked Slingsby. - -Before I could reply, a loud cracking of whips, the creaking of -ill-greased wheels, and the clamour of voices were heard. On this -the hostalero cried,-- - -"It is the convoy already--the convoy from Marbella to Medina--your -graces will excuse me." - -He hurried away, and in a minute after came breathlessly back with -intelligence that it had been fired on by Don Fabrique with at least -fifty thousand banditti, at Benelauria, near the foot of the Sierra, -and but for a case of reliques carried by a padre of Medina, every -soul must have perished; but would not the noble señores come down -stairs, and count the bullet-holes in the pannels? - -"The bullet-holes!" - -"By Jove, this affair becomes interesting," said Slingsby, and we -descended to the inn-yard, where we found ourselves amid a Babel of -tongues and dire confusion. Let the reader imagine four calessos, -all painted in bright stripes of red and yellow, the royal colours of -Spain, each with pannels full of glaring flowers and absurd -miraculous pictures, a body like a cabriolet, supported on a -ponderous under-carriage with high wheels, all splashed with mud. -Each calesso was drawn by two mules, the collars and bridles of which -were covered with clear jangling bells. These were each driven by a -Jehu who wore all the brilliant colours of the rainbow in his jacket, -sash, breeches, and embroidered leggings. These four calessos were -full of passengers. There were soap-boilers and potters of Seville, -sleek, well fed, and in easy circumstances; the old padre, José -Torquemada, the curate of Medina, in a broad hat and long black -cassock buttoned to the throat; over his shoulders he wore a broad -cape, and in his hands were his beads, breviary, and the case of -reliques which had just been of such signal service. There were -several cotton manufacturers on their way to Cadiz; but all--save a -military man who wore a green surtout and forage cap laced with -gold--most unwarlike personages to meet a party of robbers in a -Spanish sierra. - -The drivers, we were told, were singing merrily, the bells were -jangling, the passengers all smoking, chatting, and laughing, as they -entered a defile in the hills, when suddenly the rocks and trees -which overhung the rough path were found to be manned-- - -"Don Fabrique de Urquija!" was the cry, shots were fired--maladito! -and the escort, which consisted of a sergeant and four dragoons of -the Spanish army, turned their horses and fled at full speed, leaving -the convoy to the mercy of the outlaws, who captured the rear -calesso, cut its springs, shot the driver, and had retained it with -all its contents and passengers. The other four had escaped, and -came thundering down the narrow path to Castellar with all their -passengers shouting with terror, the mules galloping, the bells -jangling, and every vehicle plunging like a ship in a storm. - -"Morte de Dios!" added the military personage, whom they called Don -Joaquim, and from whom we had this account; "it was a narrow escape, -for Urquija is a very Tartar--a blood-drinker! You belong to the -British service, señores, I presume?" - -"Yes," said I. - -"To the garrison in Gibraltar, of course?" - -"Of course; we have no other garrison in Spain." - -"And you are on leave, señores?" - -"Si, señor, on leave, and going to Seville," said I, conceiving that -to tell our real object to this inquisitive officer might not be -conducive to the cultivation of mutual good-will. - -"I also am an officer," said he, bowing; "and belong to the -Portuguese service--Major in the ancient Regiment of St. Anthony." - -"But you are a Spaniard," said I. - -"The señor is right; but my father was tied to a post one fine -morning, and shot by Don Ramon de Cabrera; it gave me a disgust at -Spain, for I saw it done, so I entered the service of Portugal. -Come, hombres, I am glad to meet two brothers of the sword; we shall -have a fresh bota of Xeres, and be comfortable for the night. After -this devilish piece of work, the convoy cannot proceed without an -escort; it must halt till morning, so let us all be happy together. -I shall be in Seville myself ere long, and hope to have the pleasure -of meeting you there." - -Don Joaquim seemed to be about thirty-five years of age; in figure he -was somewhat short and punchy, his face was round and good-humoured, -though at times it became stern, sinister, and almost fierce, if -anything excited him. His hair was shorn short, but his moustaches -were long and lanky, and hung over his mouth like black leeches, -imparting to his face an aspect not unlike the old portraits of -Philip II. His light-green military surtout, like his scarlet -trousers, was edged with gold lace, and he wore an enormous sabre, -which clattered in a scabbard of polished brass. At a button-hole -hung a little order of merit; the bag, or end of his forage-cap, -drooped upon his right shoulder; his mouth was never without one of -those paper cigaritos of which he was constantly employed in the -manufacture from a little paper book and tobacco bag; and now I hope -the reader sees before him, or her, Major Don Joaquim of the Regiment -of St. Anthony, otherwise styled of Lagos. - -The hostalero was in high spirits at the arrival of so much good -company, and being assured of their detention for at least a night or -two before the escort could join them, he bustled about, applauding, -vociferating, and directing, while getting their baggage, -portmanteaux, and bales under cover, ever and anon pausing to count -or draw attention to seven or eight bullet perforations which had -been made in the calesso panels, to the great perturbation of the -"easy-going" soap-boilers and "well-to-do" cotton merchants, who had -no taste or predilection for such matters, and could not see how or -why Don Joaquim considered it such "a capital joke," that one had -received a bullet through his hat; another had received one through -the collar of his coat; and that a third had his cigar--demonio--the -very cigar carried out of his teeth! - -Soon we were all grouped together, some thirty or so of us, in the -large apartment of the venta, some seated on stools, others on -chairs, but many on piles of baggage; bottles of vinto tinto, and -skins of the common wine, were set abroach; fresh cigars were made up -from those little pouches and paper books which every Spaniard and -Turk carry about with him; Don Joaquim produced his guitar, and -favoured the company with a song. To my surprise it was -Paulina's--"Pues por bisarte Minguillo"--and we all became merry and -noisy. The soap-boiler forgot the hole in his sombrero; the potter, -the dangerous mode in which he had lost his cigar, even the old padre -José relaxed his grim solemnity, and slily relaxed the lower buttons -of his long cassock, to make more room for supper and the purple -contents of the thrice-blessed bota; while the patrona, a buxom dame -in a short skirt and scarlet stockings, and wearing large silver -ear-rings, superintended the cooking of a vast dish of ham and -eggs--'huevos y tocino'--from which the fragrant steam went hissing -up the chimney, while the drivers in their gaudy jackets sat near the -glowing hearth, chewing biscuits and bacalao, or roasting the -sputtering chestnuts, joining in our jokes and stories, while the -happy hostalero bustled about, superintending everything and -everybody. - -The company of the convoy soon recovered from the terror of their -late adventure, and anxious speculations or terrible surmises as to -the fate of their captured friends, sobered down into hopes that they -would soon join us; but the ruddy evening deepened on the beautiful -mountains of the Ronda; the darkening peaks threw their shadows on -the vine-clad plains, the stars began to gleam in the dark blue -vault, and the last slice of ham and egg had sent its fragrance up he -wide chimney, but no fugitive reached the now closed and barricadoed -gate of the venta at Castellar. - -As one may easily suppose, the late occurrence caused the -conversation to run very much upon robbers and their exploits; thus -we heard stories of wanton cruelty sufficient to make the hair of a -well-regulated Briton stand erect on end; but as these tales closely -resembled the common stock of robber narratives, especially such as -we are told by romancers, who have been smitten with what has been -termed the bandittiphobia, I will not attempt to rehearse them all. -One or two of these relations struck me as having something peculiar -in them. - -"I was once passing through Antequera," began the venerable José -Torquemada, "that city so famed for robbers and picaros-- - -"Ay de mi! señor padre," said a goatherd of Honda, "it was once famed -lor something better." - -"True, my child," replied the old priest, approvingly; "for it was -there Don Ferdinand the Just, the valiant Infante of Castile, in the -fifteenth century, founded the noble order of the Jar of Lilies, in -honour of our Blessed Lady, by whose aid his good and valiant knights -stormed the city from the Moors, and slew fifteen thousand of those -God-abandoned infidels. Ah mi hijo! it was something to be a -Spaniard then! But to return; I was once passing through that same -city of Antequera, when I had an adventure with Don Fabrique-- - -"With Fabrique de Urquija?" exclaimed all, drawing nearer the padre -and lowering their voices. - -"Ave Maria!" exclaimed Don Joaquim, "this must indeed be something -worth hearing." - -"The more so, as I realised a pretty round sum by it," continued the -priest. "You all know Antequera, señores, a handsome town on the -plain between Granada and Seville, and situated in a land that teems -with oil and wine. One night when the hour was late, and no moon had -risen, I was passing through the great street which leads to the old -Moorish castle, and counting ever and anon in the pocket of my -cassock three poor pistareens, which were all I possessed, but which -I was hastening to bestow upon a poor widow. Her husband, a brave -guerilla, had been taken in a skirmish at the Pena de los Enamorados -(or Lover's Rock), which stands a league from Antequera, and, after a -brave resistance, had been bound with cords, and shot that morning in -the Plaza--" - -"By the Count de Morella?" cried Don Joaquim. - -"Yes, by Cabrera." - -"Bah--I thought so," said the major, grinding his teeth; "proceed, -reverend padre." - -"The little pistareens were all I had in the world, and when I -thought of the poor widow and her six children weeping by the corpse -of their unburied father, and unable to buy masses for his sinful -soul, I paused to gaze at the old castle of the Moors, and sighed to -know the secret of the treasures that lay hid among its ruins; and -then I craved pardon of Madonna for the thought, as all the gold of -the infidels is buried under the spell of such enchantment as no man -may break and live. - -"Well, señores, I was just thinking of these strange things when a -hand was laid heavily upon my shoulder; I turned, and by the light of -a shrine at the corner of a street, saw a dark face and a tall figure -girdled by a scarlet sash full of daggers and pistols. - -"'Who are you,' I asked fearlessly. - -"'Fabrique de Urquija.' - -"'Go, go,' said I, feeling my heart leap at the name; 'I am but a -poor priest, and can give you nought but my blessing.' - -"'Your blessing be hanged! señor padre, hand over all you possess, or -by the Holy Face of Jaen,'--and grinding his teeth he grasped a -poniard. - -"'As I live I possess nothing but my cassock and these poor little -pistareens which are for a widow and her starving children.' - -"'Then off with the cassock, and give me the pistareens to boot. -Your garment I must have, for I mean to play the priest to-night, and -visit a dame whom I may make a widow, too, some of these days.' - -"In vain I begged him to leave me the pistareens, but this demon of -avarice only laughed, and touching his pistols said,-- - -"'Quick, quick, and here take my jacket and maldito, begone without -looking behind you.' - -"The exchange was soon made; with a hoarse laugh the robber thrust -himself into my threadbare cassock, and with loathing I drew on his -old velvet jacket, which was tattered and full of holes. He then -bade me farewell with mock solemnity; and glad to escape so easily I -hastened away, but had not gone many yards when I heard the voice of -the terrible Urquija commanding me to 'stop;' and believing that, -repenting of his clemency, he only meant to poniard me, I turned and -fled with all the spaed of my poor old legs, fervently invoking the -saints, and praying to Madonna that the vision of the sacrilegious -pursuer might be obscured, and that I might escape. - -"'Come back, padre, come back, there is a mistake,' I heard him -crying; 'por vida del demonio, stop, or it will be the worse for you!' - -"But, blessed be Heaven, I escaped and reached the humble house of -the widow, where her little ones gathered round me, and sought to -clutch as usual the long skirts of my cassock; but, ay de mi, they -were gone, and with them my pistareens, so that I was without the -means of buying bread for the children of the dead guerilla. - -"What shall I do!" thought I, and mechanically felt the pocket of the -jacket; it contained something hard: what is this! I pulled it -forth, and Madre Maria! found the sudden cause of the robber's oaths, -pursuit, and vociferations, for by the exchange of our apparel I had -become the possessor of one hundred golden pistoles! - -"I had never held so much money in my hands before; find for a long -time I was quite bewildered how to dispose of such a treasure. First -I made the hearts of the widow and her little ones glad, and the rest -I bestowed on the poor old nuns of St. Theresa, who had just been -stripped of all they possessed in the world, and were begging their -bread in the public streets of Antiquera--thanks to the liberal -Government of Spain." - -The idea of the robber so egregiously outwitting himself occasioned -great satisfaction among all the listeners; the goatherd was so -delighted that he thrice flung his hat up to the ceiling, and aloud -'viva' greeted the old padre as he finished his little story. - -"I once had a more narrow escape than yours, Padre José," said the -Major Don Joaquim, "and but for the intervention of the blessed St. -Anthony of Portugal whose brother officer I have the felicity to be, -I had not had the happiness of addressing you all to-night, or -enjoying these roasted castanos, or the most excellent vino tinto of -the worthy señor patron." - -"Through the intervention of San Antonio," exclaimed all present; "do -tell us, señor oficial, all about this." - -"You have heard of St. Anthony, señores?" said the major to us. - -"One of the seven champions of Christendom, who broke enchantments, -fought with giants, and did all that sort of thing," said Slingsby; -"of course, who has not heard of him?" - -"Ah, who, indeed?" said the major. - -His words smacked of a miracle, and every one present became at once -interested. Lighting a fresh cigar, and replenishing his wine-horn -from the big-bellied leathern bota, the major pushed his red forage -cap a little more on one side, fixed his dark eyes on the glowing -embers, and, with all the air of a man who is rallying his forces to -tell an interesting narrative, began in the following words. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE REGIMENT OF SAN ANTONIO. - -You must know, Señora patrona, and señores, my friends, that Saint -Anthony, the patron of Portugal and patriarch of monks, though born -at Heraclea in Upper Egypt, on the borders of Acadia, so long ago as -the third century, is now a member of the battalion in which I have -the honour to hold the commission of major; and that he has been many -times visible in its ranks, mounting guard, and always when under -fire, or engaged with the French or Spaniards. Under Wellington in -the last war he was frequently seen among our men, clad in a cloak of -white wool, and wearing an inner garment of hair-cloth, with a bell -tied to his neck, and a pig trotting beside him, for it was his -favourite animal when he was hermit near the village of Coma. When -our esteemed regiment was first embodied about a century and a half -ago at the city of Lagos, in the ancient kingdom of Algarve, the -blessed St. Anthony was enrolled in the muster-book thereof, as a -private soldier, that he might be its especial patron and protector, -even as he is the patron of the whole Portuguese nation. - -He conducted himself with such fidelity, valour, and distinction, -that he soon passed through the ranks of corporal and sergeant, and -having restored, no one exactly knows how, the colours of the -regiment, after they were lost at the battle of Almanza in 1706, he -was appointed captain, and his pay, together with four marevedis from -each soldier, were devoted to buy masses for the souls of our -comrades who die on service--a very pretty perquisite, padre José, -for mother church. - -It would be a vain task in me to attempt enumerating the miracles -performed by St. Anthony during the one hundred and eighty seven -years he has belonged to the valiant regiment of Lagos in the kingdom -of Algarve; for in danger, doubt, difficulty, or death, his comrades -have never sought his aid in vain. - -Our colours have been thrice lost in battle, after prodigious -slaughter you may be sure--being Portugese colours; and were thrice -restored to us, being found quietly in the colonel's tent the next -morning, with the naked footmarks of a man and a pig--the blessed pig -of course--impressed upon the turf! At the passage of the -Guadalquiver, our drum-major was swept away and would have been -drowned beyond a doubt, had he not called upon St. Anthony; and lo! -an old man of most venerable aspect, clad in skins like this shepherd -beside us, but with a long beard and leathern water-bottle hanging at -his girdle, suddenly appeared among the reeds by the river side, and -stretching out his crook, fished up the ponderous Anibale Pintado -lightly as a straw, though he was at that moment in heavy marching -order, with knapsack, blanket, great-coat, sword and his canteen, -which was full of brandy. Then to think of the wounds that have been -closed, the bullets that have been extracted, the bones that have -been set, the sick made whole and fit for service, by our soldiers -merely thinking on, or praying to, the glorious St. Anthony, would -occupy all the paper in the kingdom of Algarve; but his crowning -miracle was the birth of a child of the regiment, for one of our -soldiers' wives being in labour, during the siege of Roses, and -calling upon the saint in her pain, to the astonishment of the whole -allied armies was delivered of a little drummer boy in the uniform of -the battalion of Lagos! I hope I have now said enough to convince -you that the regiment, and every member of it, are under the peculiar -protection of the saint, and this, as I am about to have the honour -of telling you, I experienced myself, although not a Portugese, but a -native of the fair city of Seville; and as a further proof of what I -have adduced, I will take the liberty of reading to you from my -pocket-book, the following certificate of the military service -performed by the saint--which certificate I copied fairly from the -books of the noble regiment of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, being -the document which was forwarded by one of my predecessors, then in -command of the battalion, when recommending the blessed saint to -further promotion from the rank of captain which he had held since -the year 1706. (With this long and pompous flourish, the Spaniard -opened his pocket-book, and read a translation from the Portugese, -which ran as follows.)* - - -* See notes at end - - -"Don Herculeo Antonio Carlos Luiz, José Maria de Albuquerque e Arajo -de Magalhaens Homem, noble of Her Majesty's household, cavalier of -the sacred order of St. John of Jerusalem, and of the most -illustrious the military order of Christ, lord of the towns and -partidos of Moncarapacho and Terragudo, hereditary alcalde-mayor of -the ancient city of Faro by the sea, and Major of the Regiment of -Infantry of the noble city of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, for -her most faithful majesty, Donna Maria, Francesco Isabella the first; -whom God and the Blessed Virgin long preserve, &c., &c., &c. - -"I hereby attest and certify to all who shall see these presents, -signed at the bottom with my sign-manual, and the broad seal of my -family arms a little to the left thereof, that the Lord St. Anthony -of Lisbon (commonly and most falsely called of Padua) has been -enlisted, and has borne a place in this regiment since the 24th of -January, ever since the year of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ 1668. - -"I do further certify, upon my word of honour, as a noble, a knight, -and a good Catholic, what hereunder followeth. - -"That on the said 24th of January, 1668, by order of His Majesty Don -Pedro II. (whom God hath in glory), then Regent of the valiant -kingdoms of Portugal and Algarve for Don Alphonso VI.,--St. Anthony -was duly enlisted as a private soldier in this Infantry Regiment of -Lagos, when it was first formed by command of the same illustrious -prince; and of that holy enlistment there is a register extant in -vol. i. of the records of the said regiment, page 143, wherein he -gave as security or caution for his good conduct, the queen of -angels, who became answerable to the colonel that he would never -desert his colours, but always behave as became a good Portugese -grenadier. Hence did the saint continue to serve and do duty as a -private until the 12th of March, 1683, on which day the same Prince -Regent became King of Portugal by the death of his brother Don -Alphonso VI., when he was graciously pleased to promote St. Anthony -to the rank of Lieutenant of Grenadiers in the said regiment, for -having, a short time before, valiantly put himself at the head, of a -detachment of the regiment which was marching from Jurumenha to the -garrison of Olivença, both in the province of Alentizo, and beat off -four times their number of Castilians who had been lying in ambush -for them, with the intention of carrying them all prisoners to the -castle of Badajoz, the enemy having obtained information by spies, of -the march of the said detachment, every soldier of which saw our -blessed patron, visibly, and to all appearance in the body, and -attended by his pig. - -"I do further certify, that in all the above-cited registers, there -is not any note of St. Anthony being guilty of bad conduct, disorder, -or drunkenness; frequenting taverns, or other improper places; nor of -his ever having been flogged or sent to the guard-house when a -private: Thus during the whole time he has been an officer, now about -one hundred and nine years, he has constantly done his duty with the -greatest alacrity, at the head of the grenadiers, upon all occasions, -in peace or war, conducting himself like an officer and a gentleman -of good breeding; on all these accounts I hold him most worthy of -being promoted to the rank of aggregate-major to our noble regiment -of Lagos, with every other favour Her Majesty may be graciously -pleased to bestow upon him. In testimony whereof, I have hereto -affixed my name, at the Castle of Belem, this 25th day of March, in -the year of our redemption, 1777. - -"MAGALHAENS HOMEM." - - -(Thus ended this wonderful certificate, the contents of which, -together with the pompous gravity of the reader, made Jack and I -almost choke with suppressed laughter. The major then continued)-- - -Hereupon Her Most Faithful Majesty, who reigned at that time--now -seventy-eight years ago--was pleased to promote the saint to the rank -prayed for, and he is now our lieutenant-colonel by brevet. Once in -each year it is the custom to send an officer to Lisbon to receive -the pay and perquisites of St. Anthony from the royal treasury, and -in the course of last year this most honourable duty devolved upon me. - -We were then quartered at Barbacena in the jurisdiction of Elvas; and -to this place I travelled alone from Lisbon, with the pay of the -saint, which was to be given to the care of our chaplain. Being in -moidores, it was not very bulky, but its value was great--its -sanctity greater; and after traversing in safety the whole province -of Alentijo, it was with some anxiety I saw the mountain Sierra, -which lay between me and my destination, rising in my front, about -sunset. The hope of being able to get across those rocky hills -before the approaching night set fairly in never occurred to me. I -found myself in a solitary spot, without shelter near, or any place -where information of the right way could be gathered, and my horse -was growing weary. - -The sunlight died away behind me, and shed its last rays on the white -walls, the square campanile and tall cypresses of a convent which -crowned a height on my left; and on the red round towers of an old -castle that topped a rock on my right; but both were in ruins and -desolate, as the wars of the infidel Moors, ages ago, had left the -first, and the desolating retreat of Marshal Massena had left the -second. The older fragments of a Roman aqueduct lay between, and -half hidden among wild shrubs. The pathway was rugged; untamed goats -scrambled about; snakes hissed in the long grass, and eagles screamed -in mid air. Ave Maria! it was impossible to conceive a place more -dreary and desolate; but the way became still wilder, and as I -progressed into the gorge of the Sierra, even the ruined works of man -and the traces of his feet disappeared. I was in a desert, and, save -the faint crescent moon, without a light or guide. - -As I rode slowly on, thinking of the bright golden moidores of our -Lord St. Anthony, with which my pouch was blessed, and reflecting on -the prize they would be for any sacrilegious picaros who might be -hovering in this dark wilderness, ever and anon humming a song, -muttering an ave, and feeling the percussion caps on my pistols, I -suddenly met a strange figure in the dim moonlight--a goat-herd, as -he seemed to me. - -He was clad in a zamarra of sheepskin, which he wore with the wool -outwards; his white hair hung in tangled masses upon his shoulders; a -bota was slung at his girdle, and he carried a stout Portuguese -cajado, with a little cross stick nailed thereon, to give it more the -aspect of a pastoral staff, than a weapon of defence. - -"Vaya usted con Dios, Señor Major," said he. - -"God be with you," I reiterated, a little scared on finding that this -stranger knew my name; "you have the advantage of me, Señor Pastor." - -"Hombre, do you think so? but do not be alarmed, for I am an old -Christian, without stain of Moor or Jew in my veins. I am no -enchanter----" - -"Ave Maria, I should hope not!" - -"Yet I know that you have in your pouch the pay of St. Anthony of -Lisbon, whom rogues and fools style of Padua--what the devil should -he have to do with Padua?--in your left breast pocket, all in fair -round moidores of gold--eh, señor?" - -"Very true, pastor," said I, slipping a finger into my near holster, -and keeping my horse well in hand and beyond the reach of his cajado; -"but how came you to know me?" - -"I know every officer and soldier in the regiment of Lagos as well as -if I had made them--and you especially, Señor Major." - -"Well--and about the moidores," said I, uneasily; "you know of them, -and what then?" - -"Merely this, Señor Don Joaquim; that if you would arrive at -Barbacena to-morrow with the pay of the patron of the regiment of -Lagos----" - -"In the kingdom of Algarve," suggested Jack Slingsby. - -"Si, señor; and would hand it over safe and sound to the reverend -chaplain," continued the old man, in a manner so impressive that a -chill came over me, the more so as I saw his sunken eyes shining in -the dim moonlight like two bits of green glass; "you will beware, my -son and comrade, how you taste the wine of Xeres to-night." - -"The wine of Xeres, father pastor," said I, with a loud laugh; -"Heaven forgive you for the tempting thought; I am not likely to -taste aught to-night but the chilling dew; yet if a good cup of Xeres -did come my way----" - -"Avoid it as you would poison, or by the soul of St. Anthony you will -repent it." - -At that name I raised my hand to my cap in salute, like a good -soldier of the regiment of Lagos; while waving his hand -authoritatively, the old man hobbled up the slope of the mountain -pass and disappeared. As he did so I heard the tinkle of a bell, and -for the first time perceived a little pig trotting by his side as he -vanished in the shadow of the mountain and its moonlit rocks. - -The scales fell from my eyes; por el Santo de los Santos, he was no -other than our Lord Saint Anthony, whom I had seen. Who but he would -have termed me "son and comrade?" sinner and fool that I was. The -hair of my flesh stood up, as the Scripture says, and with a prayer -on my lips I gored my poor nag with the spurs and dashed along the -pass of the Sierra for two leagues more until the poor animal almost -sank beneath me; but perceiving rest necessary for him, I reined up -at the door of a lonely wayside inn, in a part of the country which -was entirely unknown to me, and which seemed to be overshadowed by -mountain peaks and masses of rock, the features and outlines of which -were strange, and to me gloomy and fantastic. In my excitement, and -the holy terror under which I laboured, I had evidently lost the -path, and thus mistaking my way, had ridden, Heaven and St. Anthony -alone knew whither. - -Solitary, dark, and desolate as this posada seemed,--and it was just -the kind of place we so often read of in romances as being a -rendezvous for robbers, and for having a landlord in their interest, -with trap-doors under the beds, stains of blood upon the floors, old -skeletons in the cellars, and a terrible reputation for mysterious -appearances and unaccountable disappearances--it was a welcome -halting-place for one so weary, so thirsty, and anxious as I was -then, and so full of supernatural fear, as I never, for an instant, -doubted having seen the blessed patron of our regiment, and to me at -that time the human countenance even of a robber had been thrice -welcome. - -Though the hour was late the hostalero had not gone to bed. He -seemed a civil and respectable man, and smiled with good-humour when -he saw me, with all the care of an old traveller and the suspicion of -a true Spaniard, transfer my pistols from their holsters to my -girdle, a movement which seemed to fill with alarm the miserable and -drabbish-looking Maritornes, who seemed to be the sole assistant of -the patrona. Vague fancies and a sense of alarm were floating -uppermost in the current of my thoughts; and being most anxious to -start betimes when day broke, I left the saddle on my horse, as I -stabled him in the lower apartment of the posada, for you may know, -señores, that the Portuguese inns are constructed exactly like those -among us here in Spain, the lower story being entirely one vast and -clay-floored chamber, appropriated to the cattle and baggage of -travellers. I merely relaxed the saddle-girth and curb-chain, but -left my Andalusian jennet all ready for marching, when the morning -came, and then ascended by a wooden trap-stair to the upper story, -where the patrona had a steaming supper of ham and eggs, just such as -we have had, well seasoned with pepper and garlic, spread for me, -with a bunch of raisins and a choice flask of--ah, demonio! my heart -leaped when I saw it--the wine of Xeres de la Frontierra. - -A prayer rose to my lips, I thought of St. Anthony, but felt strong -and composed, believing that I was under the peculiar care of that -blessed patron of the regiment of Lagos. I would have left the -little venta and betaken myself once more to the road, but, if any -snare was really laid for me, such a movement might only render me -more liable to an open and deliberate attack. - -"I will be wary," thought I; "let me watch well, even as our holy -patron watches me. Xeres! ouf, I would rather drink the salt lake of -Fuente de la Piedra than touch a drop of it." - -I felt morally certain that it was poisoned or drugged for some fatal -purpose, and that in the tasting of it lay the main part of my -danger. I finished the rasher of ham and the fragrant huevos; and to -lull all suspicion asked my host to join me in discussing the bottle -of Xeres as he uncorked it. - -"The señor would, perhaps, excuse him. Xeres always made him ill, -maldito--yes, and there was no doctor nearer than Elvas or Abrantes; -but he would take a glass of aguadiente to my health and successful -journey." - -"Rascally picaro!" thought I; "you have other reasons for declining -the Xeres, but I shall mar them yet." - -I might have forced him with my sword at his throat to drink a -cupful; but I dissembled, and filling out a bumper from the leathern -beta, raised it to my lips, pretending to taste. I saw, then, the -slow stealthy eyes of the hostalero watching me keenly. - -"It has a peculiar flavour," said I. - -"Flavour, señor?" he asked, anxiously. - -"But not unpleasant." - -"It is from the grapes of Puerto de Santa Maria, like those of -Tribujena, as the Señor Caballero will perceive; they have a peculiar -flavour--sharp, is it not?" - -"Yes, but as I said before, not unpleasant," continued I, placing my -pistols on the table, and availing myself of an opportunity to pour -the whole of my bumper back into the bota, and this I achieved -unseen. Some grounds which remained at the bottom of the crystal -glass assured me that the wine was drugged. - -"I have a pigskin full of wine from the grapes of Don Carlos, or -rather I should say of my Lord the Marquis de Santa Cruz, who now -owns the vineyard; and if your grace----" - -"Many thanks," said I, pouring out a second bumper, so that the wine -frothed in the glass; "but be assured I shall content myself with -this most excellent bottle of Xeres," and taking another opportunity, -while the patrona was telling her beads near the fire, and the worthy -patron was below pretending to groom my horse--but no doubt to -appraise its furniture which he expected to possess before morning--I -repeated the manoeuvre, and poured the wine back into its leathern -receptacle; thus my deluded entertainers were led to believe that I -had taken enough to drug a regiment of Asturians. - -I scrutinised my hostess; she was a swarthy and dark-skinned -Portuguese; her hair, which was coarse and thick as the mane of a -steed, she had knotted in a coronet round her head, and over this she -wore a yellow shawl. Her features were square, massive, and -repulsive; and her arms and legs, which her scanty garments fully -displayed, were disgustingly powerful and muscular. - -"Are you not somewhat lonely here, señora?" I asked, when her orisons -were over. - -"Yes; but then we are never disturbed. Once, indeed, some drunken -contrabandistas, riding to Gibraltar, made a noise at our door; but -my husband shot one with his escopeta, the rest fled, and we have -never been molested since. But erelong the new railway from Lisbon -to Abrantes will change everything--for so the priests predict." - -"You talk of this little shooting affair with delightful coolness," -said I, "and just as if that devil of a contrabandista had been a -crow. Ah, and so he was shot?" - -"Yes, and buried about a mile beyond this," replied the woman, over -whose dark eyes there passed a savage gleam; "perhaps, caballero, you -observed the cross as you came along?" - -"You forget that I came this morning from Montemor o Novo, where I -wish I had stayed with all my heart." - -"Ah, our caza is a very poor one, señor," growled the host, with a -glance at my glass and another at the bota: "but none ever complain -of it after they leave us." - -"I believe you, my lad," said I, with a glance at the cuchillo in his -sash; madre mia! it was at least twelve inches long in the blade. He -detected my expression and said,-- - -"I am always well armed, Señor Caballero, for my little wife, our -niece, and I, are the only inhabitants here. They are apt to be -timid at times; thus I always keep my escopeta loaded, and six -junkets of lead in that old brass-mouthed trabujo over the -mantel-piece; so with my knife and strong bolts, bars and shutters, -we could stand a very good siege, even if Don Fabrique de Urquija and -all his band were assailing us. One glass more of the Xeres before -you retire, señor--no?--well, how such a sober Caballero belongs to -the regiment of Lagos surpasses my--a thousand pardons, señor; I -meant no offence; but a poor man must have his little joke as well as -a rich one, and I am sure a noble Caballero will excuse it. So you -won't take one glass more of the Xeres before retiring, well, -well--this way, señor, up this stair--take care of the step, and now, -señor, Bueno noches, and may all good attend you." - -I was alone. I was in my sleeping apartment, a miserable loft, to -which I had ascended by means of a trap-door and trap-stair. The bed -was poor and shabby; a thousand discolorations, the combined result -of damp and dirt covered the ill-plastered walls and bare wooden -floor. A small and ill-glazed window opened to the dark mountains, -behind which the moon, a pale crescent, was just sinking, and to the -deep black gorge which yawned between their peaks like some vast -Titan's grave. There was not a sound upon those solemn hills, or in -that savage pass through which the roadway wound; there was no sound -in the posada below me, and as I set down the candle and listened, I -heard only its sputtering and the beating of my own heart. - -I knelt down, and drawing forth my beads and crucifix, said my -prayers like a good Catholic, and solemnly invoked the protection of -St. Anthony. After this, apprehension almost vanished. - -If any attempt was made upon me in the night, I had but one man to -oppose--the hostalero, and surely I was a match for him. But then -there was his wife, a powerful Asturian termagant, who had doubtless -the cunning of a fox with the strength of a bull. I looked about for -something wherewith to secure the trapdoor, but found nothing; my -bedstead was the only piece of furniture, and it was too weighty for -removal. I might have lain down and slept above the trap; but the -idea did not then occur to me; and at times, as my candle burned low, -such is the weakness of the human heart, that I began to mistrust -even the protection of my Lord St. Anthony, and think I was unwise in -not quitting this unblessed posada, instead of retiring to a -bed-chamber, as the hostalero might be joined by others more -ruffianly than himself, and thus overpower me. - -"No, no," thought I; "no others will come; the rascal trusts in his -Xeres, and I shall soon see the sequel." - -I drew off my boots and flung them heavily on the floor, as one might -do who was undressing; and having thus, as I supposed, deceived any -one who was listening, drew them carefully on again; tightened the -buckle of my waist-belt, and loosened my good Toledo sabre in its -sheath. I then examined my pistols; ay de mi! what were my emotions -on finding the percussion caps removed, and that my pouch, with the -remainder, was in my holsters below! - -My heart stood still on beholding this, and an emotion of rage shook -my heart, for I now remembered having laid them on the table beside -me in case of accident, for I once had a friend who was killed by a -pistol exploding in his belt. The patrona, while laying the supper -table, or bustling about me, had adroitly--but the saints alone know -how--removed the caps. - -Twenty times I searched every pocket, in the faint and desperate hope -of finding a stray one. Not one--they were all below with my -holsters. - -"Ass that I am!" thought I, replacing them with a sigh in my belt; -"this will be a lesson of prudence that may cost me dear." - -At that moment the candle-end sank down in the iron holder; it shot -one red flush upwards on the cobwebbed ceiling and damp, discoloured -walls; on the ill-jointed trap-door which led to the lower story, and -expired. I was in darkness at last, with no companions but my Toledo -and my own thoughts. The first was silent--the second sufficiently -uncomfortable. - -Sleepless and watchful, I lay on the miserable pallet for more than -an hour, till the silence began to oppress me, and in spite of -myself, my eyes were closing. Could it be the drug--could it be the -wine that slowly was sealing them up? Nonsense; I had but put it to -my lips, and I struggled to shake off the coming sleep. Yet, I must -have closed my eyes for a moment, for I started suddenly, like one -who dreams he is on the brink of a precipice. A strange shivering--a -minute, pricking sensation ran all over me from head to foot, and -from a state of drowsiness, I sprang all at once to the sharpest -wakefulness, and grasped the hilt of my drawn sabre. - -A dim light was now ascending from the floor of the apartment, and I -perceived the trap-door was lifted up, and the round bullet-head of -the hostalero appeared, with his deep-set stealthy eyes, scanning the -bed and its occupant, myself, who affected to be sound asleep. Up, -up he came, step by step, until he stood by my side, with one hand -grasping his long cuchillo, and a finger on his coarse, blubber-like -lips, as if he would impose silence on himself, and still his very -breathing. - -Mueran del Demonio, what a moment it was! I would not endure it -again for a million of reals. He came close to the bed; he stooped -over me, the knife was lifted up, and I saw its baleful gleam; but at -the same instant there was an upward flash, as I swept my sabre round -me, and one stroke cut off three of the robber's fingers, and cleft a -fair slice off his right temple--a stroke which stretched him without -a cry at my feet. Desperate and furious as a wild beast--half -blinded with his own blood, he sprang upon me and we grappled in the -dark; but as his wife, that diabolical Asturian, rushed up the -trap-stair, armed with a ponderous cajado, to his aid, I flung him on -the bed, for he was weak as a child now. Seeing a figure struggling -on the miserable pallet, the woman, who was as furious as an enraged -tigress, and who, in the uncertain light, believed that figure to be -mine, whirled round her head the cajado--which is the favourite staff -of the Portuguese, and is usually seven feet long, with a leaden knob -at one end of it--and by one blow dashed out her husband's brains as -completely as a cannon-ball would have done. - -Madre mia, some of that frightful mess flew over me, and that blow -ended the matter, for I uttered a cry of horror, and plunging down -the trap-stair, threw myself on my horse, and galloped away. On, on -I rode, with no wish but to leave that scene of crime behind me, and -at the very place where I was met by that venerable shepherd, whom, -until my dying hour, I will maintain to be no other than our blessed -St. Anthony, but for whose warning I had drunk that poisoned Xeres, -and perished--I overtook a troop of the Carbineros of Alentejo, to -whom I told my late adventure. - -A party was sent to the little inn, where they found the hostalero -brained, as I have said, in that miserable loft, and the hostess -almost bereft of her senses, such as they were. But the dragoons -placed her on a troop horse, and brought her before the Alcalde of -Vimiero, which is the nearest town, and before the next day's noon, -she had been garotted and buried by the wayside; and you may still -see her grave, one mile beyond the gates, on the side of the way that -leads towards Estremoz and the mountains. - -Two days after, I reached Barbacena, our headquarters, in safety, and -paid over to our Father Chaplain, the purse of moidores, containing -the pay of our extra Lieutenant-Colonel, the blessed St. Anthony. -Only a month ago, we marched through the pass of the Sierra, and I -found the old posada roofless by the roadside, for it is shunned like -that place of horror, the Rio de Muerte; the grass has grown on its -floor, and the wild vine overtops its chimney; the merriest muleteer -becomes silent as he passes the place, and whips his lagging team -down the mountain side, without looking once behind him. - ----------- - -The major of the noble Regiment of Lagos now paused, and looked round -with the air of a man who thinks his story has rather made an -impression; for he had told it well, and with much gesture and -spirit, and completely succeeded in arresting the attention of all in -the venta; but of none more than my matter-of-fact friend Jack -Slingsby, who had listened to the narrative with a degree of -attention which I thought unusual in one so volatile and heedless. - -"Your story, major, has had a peculiar interest for me by its -striking and close resemblance to an adventure of my own," said Jack, -"an adventure to which I can never recur without an emotion of -horror." - -"Is this the Spanish story you so often refer to, Jack?" said I. - -"The story our mess could never get out of me?--yes." - -"And shall we hear it now?" - -"With pleasure; because it will interest all here, whereas among our -own bantering fellows at Gibraltar it would only have subjected me, -perhaps, to jibes and jokes, and all that sort of thing, from those -who were, perhaps, more thoughtless than myself. Señora patrona, -please to have the wine replenished; give us more cigars, and stir up -the fire, Ramble, while I prepare to tell you a story--aye, a marvel -of a story, in which I had the misfortune to be a principal actor not -very long ago." - -"Bravo!" muttered every one. - -All were provided with a fresh supply of wine, new cigars were -lighted, and Jack found himself the centre of a circle of dark, -gleaming, and intelligent eyes, while every ear was waiting for the -promised narrative; for among the romantic, adventurous, and -marvel-loving Spaniards, as among the wandering Arabs, a story-teller -is at all times the principal person in company. - -It would be scarcely possible to find a scene more remarkable, or a -group more picturesque, than the great apartment presented, in which -we were all congregated. - -A large fire blazed on its broad hearth, and shed a ruddy glow upon -the rough architecture and ill-squared beams of the chamber, from the -roof of which hung innumerable bunches of raisins, strings of the -garlic onion, pigskins of wine, hams, baskets, and other etcetera. -The flood of steady red light that gushed from the hearth glared on -the striking forms and foreign faces of the listening group, among -whom were the well-conditioned potters and soap-boilers of Seville in -their black velvet jackets and gaudy sashes; our patrona, a plump and -pretty paisana of Valverde, in her provincial costume, a dark blue -skirt, the scantiness of which displayed her well-turned legs and -handsome feet encased in little shoes of untanned leather, while the -gathered masses of her smooth black hair shone in the glow of light; -there, too, sat the old padre José of Medina in his sable cape and -long cassock, and a grisly goatherd of the Honda clad from neck to -knee in sheepskins, with a weatherbeaten sombrero slouched over his -sallow visage; a knife and bota, castanets and flute, at his girdle, -to which descended his snow-white beard, giving him the aspect of St. -Anthony in the major's story; then there was the major himself in his -light green frock-coat, scarlet cap and trowsers, with a cigar -glowing like a hot coal in the centre of his heavy thick mustache; -then there was an old unhoused Franciscan, begging for that -subsistence of which the new Government had deprived his order; a -charming young Gitana, tall and beautiful in form, with a clear olive -complexion and magnificent eyes; and by her side sat a free, jolly -Catalan reaper, whom in defiance of all gypsy rule and immemorial -custom she had taken as her spouse; so it must be acknowledged that -if Jack's audience was not select, it had at least the merit of being -so remarkable in costume and character, that a painter or novelist -would have been delighted with the whole group, its background, and -accessories. - -"In many of its features," said Slingsby, "my story is so similar to -the one just related by the major, that I am assured you cannot fail -to be struck with the resemblance. The adventure made a deep -impression upon me; and though several months have passed since it -occurred, the whole affair is as fresh in my mind as if it had -happened only yesterday. On leaving the 6th Regiment," continued -Jack, turning to me, "I went for a few months into the Highlanders, -but, being an Englishman, I never felt at home in the kilt, so I -exchanged into our present corps, which will account for my being in -the Mediterranean at the time referred to.--So now for the story." - -"Bravo, señor!" said the major of the regiment of Lagos; "you speak -Spanish like a good Christian. We are all attention." - -Jack bowed, stuck his glass in his eye, tipped the ashes off his -cigar with the nail of his forefinger, and began the following story, -which deserves an entire chapter devoted to itself. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -LA POSADA DEL CAVALLO. - -In the summer of last year, I was proceeding home to Britain on leave -of absence from my regiment, the --th Highlanders, which were then, -and are still, lying in garrison at Malta. Favoured by the -friendship of her commander, and my good friend and old -school-fellow, Lieutenant John Hall, I had a passage given to me in -Her Majesty's Sloop Blonde, of twenty-six guns; and after a pleasant -run for a few days, a smart breeze, which we encountered off -Almuneçar, when sailing along the coast of Spain, brought down some -of our top hamper, and we ran in to Malaga to repair the damage. - -It was a beautiful and sunny evening when our anchor plunged into the -shining waters of that deep bay which presents so superb a line of -coast, and the background of which is formed by the undulating line -of the Sierra de Mija towering into the pure blue sky of Spain, and -bounding, in the distance, the flat and fertile Vega. - -From the quarter-deck of the Blonde, we had a magnificent prospect of -Malaga, with its stately mansions, its domes, its spires and snowy -kiosks, bathed in a warm yellow tint as the sun's rays faded along -the Vega, and the shadows deepened on its hills, clothed with -vineyards and plantations of orange, almond, lemon and olive trees. -The gaudy Spanish flag descended from the dark ramparts of the old -Moorish fortress of Gibral-Faro as the evening gun was fired from the -guard-ship; and then, as the sun set behind tha mountains, the bells -tolled for vespers in the lofty steeple of the square Cathedral, and -a red lambent light began to glimmer on the tall brick chimneys of -that extensive iron-foundry, which (alas for romance!) a thoroughly -practical Scotsman has built in Malaga, where it finds food and work -for hundreds, in smelting the ore of the adjacent hills, while it -pollutes the cerulean sky of Granada. - -Bent upon a ramble or adventure, the second-lieutenant (Jack Hall) -and I took our fowling-pieces, and, leaving our swords behind us--at -least I took only my regimental dirk--were pulled ashore in the -dingy, which landed us at one of those piers that project from the -city into the sea, forming part of that noble mole which measures -seven hundred yards in length. - -Leaving our guns and shooting apparatus at our hotel, we wandered -about the town; visited the Alcazaba, which must once have been a -fortress of vast strength; then the old Roman Cathedral and Bishop's -Palace; but we lingered longest in the Alameda--that beautiful -promenade--which is eighty feet wide, and is bordered by rows of -orange and oleander trees, and in the centre of which a magnificent -marble fountain was tossing its sparkling waters into the starry sky. - -Here we saw some bright-eyed Spanish women in their dark mantillas -and veils, and not a few in tha homely and assuredly less graceful -bonnet and shawl of London and Paris, whose fashions are gradually, -and, I think, unfortunately, superseding the more captivating dress -of old Spain; we saw too, ferocious-looking soldiers in dark dresses, -weaving yellow sashes, red forage caps, and enormous moustaches; old -priests gliding stealthily along, with an aspect of meekness, and -apparently crushed in spirit; for the Government presses with a heavy -hand on the ecclesiastics; citizens clad in light stuffs of bright -colours, with red sashes and low-crowned hats, having black silk -tufts at each side; queer-looking Caballeros in large brown cloaks -like that of Don Diego de Mendoza's "Poor Hidalgo," and wearing hats -'à la Kossuth.' As every man was smoking as if his salvation -depended upon his doing so with vigour, the whole air was redolent of -cigars. - -I had on my undress, a forage cap, and plain red jacket, with tartan -trews, my sash and dirk; for I have found that the British uniform -always ensures the wearer attention and respect in every part of the -globe. - -We wandered long in that lovely Alameda, until the last of its fair -promenaders had withdrawn; and then we returned to our hotel rather -disappointed, that of all the black eyes we had seen flashing under -veils of Madeira lace, not one had given us a glance of -encouragement; that of all the pretty lips, which had been lisping -dulcet Spanish mixed with the Arabic of Granada, none had invited us -to follow; that of all the sombre cavaliers, not one appeared to be -an assassin or a Grand Inquisitor; and that, of all the hideous old -duennas whom we had seen cruising about us, not one had approached, -and with finger on her lip, and an impressive glance in her eye, -placed a mysterious note into either of our hands, and "disappeared -in the crowd." - -Nothing remarkable happened, save that Hall had his pocket picked of -his handkerchief and cigar-case, and we returned like other men to -our hotel, where we supped on devilled turkey and the wine of the -district, Tierno and Malaga; after which we turned into bed, warning -the waiter to summon us early, and have a guide to lead us toward the -neighbouring hills, where we intended to make some havock among the -game next day. - -Punctually at five o'clock in the morning the mozo-de-cafe roused us, -and, after coffee, we shouldered our double-barrelled rifles, and -accompanied by a young 'gamin' named Pedrillo, for whose fidelity the -waiter pledged his "honour," we departed on our ramble. - -If ever you saw the Spanish beggar-boys, as depicted by Murillo in -his famous picture, which is now in Dulwich College, they will know -perfectly the aspect of Pedrillo, our little guide. - -He was about twelve years old; but, hardened by indigence and -sharpened by privation, his perceptive faculties were keener than -those of many a man. His sallow little visage was stamped with more -of the animal than the intellectual being; his eyes were black, -glossy, and glittered alternately with cunning and intelligence. His -sole attire consisted of a dilapidated shirt, a pair of -knee-breeches, and a cowl, which confined his luxuriant black hair; -he had zinc rings in his ears, and bore altogether the aspect of a -little Lazzarone. - -He was intelligent withal, and he told us a vast number of anecdotes, -which increased in wonder and ferocity as we paid him one peseta -after another; but he dwelt particularly on the achievements of a -certain Juan Roa, otherwise styled de Antequera, who was then -prowling in that savage range of mountains, from whence he descended -sometimes alone, sometimes with many followers, especially when the -Solano blew from Africa, to commit outrages among the quiet quintas -and villages of the fertile Vega, where he was said to be in league -with every posada-keeper for forty miles around Malaga. - -About mid-day we rested under the cool shadow of a cork wood, about -ten miles from the city; it was a beautiful place, where the sward -was soft as velvet, and where a thick border of blushing rose-trees, -and wild hydrangias flourished near us. Here we shared our -provisions with a paisano and two armed contrabandistas whom we met, -and who shared with us their wine in return. The two smugglers had -strong and active horses, and carried blunderbusses and pistols to -guard their bales of chocolate, soap, tobacco, and cigars; they were -fine, merry fellows, gaudily dressed, and full of fun and anecdote; -for in Spain the contrabandista is a species of travelling newspaper. -Now all their news were of the last feat or outrage of Juan Roa. - -"I would give a guinea to meet this interesting vagabond; the -interview would tell famously in some of the monthlies," said Hall, -with a heedless laugh. - -"I think I should know him," said I; "for we saw at least twenty -coloured prints of him in the shops on the Alameda, last night. He -is a ferocious-looking dog!" - -The contrabandistas looked round with alarm, and then laughed -immoderately. - -"Ferocious? Indeed, señor?" said the paisano; "I beg to differ from -you, having myself seen Juan of Antequera face to face; and so think -him quite like other men." - -I gazed at the speaker, whom, by his green velvet jacket, adorned by -four dozen of brass buttons, his sombrero, with its broad yellow -ribband, his black plush breeches, red scarf and shoe-buckles, I -supposed to be the substantial farmer of one of the adjacent quintas. -He had a fine dark face, a powerful figure, and two black eyes that -seemed to be always looking through me. Over one eyebrow, he had a -large black patch. He carried a riding switch, had a knife in his -girdle; and altogether, as he lolled on the sward, smoking a paper -cigar and sipping red wine, I thought he would make a fine and -striking sketch, and equal to any by Pinelli. - -"Juan Roa," said he, "has committed great outrages in the Vega of -Granada. The Duke of Wellington has there an estate, having on it -about three hundred tenants, who yield some fifteen thousand dollars -of rental; but Juan has thrice drawn every duro of it from the old -abagado, who acts as steward to the duke." - -The contrabandistas again laughed at this immoderately. - -"You have seen this Juan of Antequera, have you not?" said I. - -"Face to face--often, señor." - -"And so have I," said little Pedrillo. - -"You! and when was this, my little fellow?" said Jack Hall. - -"On the night old Barradas, the muleteer, was murdered." - -The Spaniard with the patch knit his brows. - -"Caramba!" said he; "ah! I remember that." - -"Tell us about this murder," said Hall. - -"You must know, señors," said Pedrillo, "that at the foot of the -Sierra de Mija, about five miles from this, there stands a wayside -inn, called La Posada del Cavallo, for the keeper, Martin Secco, had -a great horse painted on his signboard. This man is the uncle of -Juan Roa, or of Antequera. He has a wife, and had two daughters. -The place is lonely; and it often happens, that those who put up -there for the night forget the right path; for they are lost among -the mountains, or fall into the sand-pits--at least, they are seldom -heard of after. You understand, señors?" - -The Spaniard with the patch smiled grimly, and played with his knife. - -"One night last year, I guided Pedro Barradas, the Cordovan muleteer, -to the posada, when it was dark as pitch. Pedro was very old, and -half blind, and had never been that way before. A storm came on, and -he desired me to remain with him, saying he would pay me well; old -Barradas was rich; he had made money in the war of independence, and -in the last civil war between the Carlists and Christines; and had -given three silver images to the church of his native puebla in Jaen. - -"We supped on baccallao, raisins, and plain bread, for the season was -Lent. While we were at supper, in the common hall of the posada, I -heard the rain pattering on the wooden shutters (there is not a glass -window in the house); I heard the thunder grumbling among the hills, -and the wind howling as it swept over the fields and vineyards of the -Vega. It was a lonely place for a poor boy who had neither father -nor mother, señors; but, then, I was not worth killing, though many -fears flitted through my mind; for Martin's wife--an ugly and -wicked-looking Basque provincial--put some very alarming questions to -old Pedro Barradas. She told him that the neighbourhood was infested -by bandidos and contrabandistas; and asked if he was a heavy sleeper. - -"'No,' said Barradas, 'in the war against Joseph Buonaparte I learned -the art of sleeping lightly.' - -"'But what will you do if attacked?' - -"'That is as may be; but I have only twenty duros, and so shall sleep -soundly enough.' - -"These questions alarmed me very much; visions of murder and -slaughter came before me. I crept close to Barradas, who, as I have -said, was very old and very frail; but his presence seemed a -protection to me for a time. - -"When the hour for bed arrived, we, who were the only guests, were -somewhat imperatively requested to retire to our rooms by the wife of -Martin Secco. - -"Barradas saw, perhaps, his danger, and said that I should sleep in -the same room with him. - -"But Inez Secco told him roughly that he must be content to sleep -alone. Then the poor old man was half-led and half-dragged away. As -for me, I was but a boy; so they thrust me into a dark closet, where -some straw lay on the floor, and, desiring me to sleep there and be -thankful, left me. - -"I lay down on the straw, and finding it wet, arose in horror, -fearing that it was blood; and so I remained in the dark, praying to -our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, and trembling and listening to the -howling of the storm for more than an hour, when all the other sounds -in that terrible posada died away. - -"I was just beginning to dose when a ray of light streamed through -the keyhole of my door; I heard it opened, and lo! Martin's wife, -Inez Secco, appeared with a long and sharp cuchillo in her hand. A -man accompanied her. He was Juan Roa de Antequera! Terror paralysed -me; and she believed me to be asleep, for she felt all over my -clothes--that is, my poor shirt and breeches-pockets, from which she -took two quarter-duros--all I possessed in this world; and then, -passing the light thrice across my face, to assure herself that I -slept, the hag went away muttering-- - -"'Caramba! only a half-duro; this little wretch is neither worth -lodging nor killing.' - -"Immediately after this I heard them whispering with Martin Secco; -and then they knocked at the door of old Pedro Barradas, who, like a -cautious man, had fastened it on the inside. - -"'Get up,' said they, 'Señor Barradas--get up--you are wanted.' - -"But old Barradas either slept like a top, or he was too wary to -open; for he heeded them not. - -"Then I heard Juan and Martin muttering curses as they deliberately -forced open the door; next there came a terrible cry of-- - -"'Help! Pedrillo, help! Ayuda, por amor de neustra Señora -Santissima!' - -"This was followed by sounds like those made by a sheep when the -knife of the carnicero is in its throat; and, in the meantime, -Martin's two daughters were singing as loud as they could, and -dancing a bolero in the passage, to conceal these terrible sounds, -which froze the blood within me." - -Here Pedrillo paused. - -"Go on," said Jack Hall, impatiently; "and how did you escape?" - -"If the noble señors would help me to refresh my memory----" - -"Ah, I comprehend," said I, tossing a peseta to him; "now fire away, -Pedrillo." - -"You should not encourage this young picaro, Señor Caballero," said -the Spaniard, whose face was now darkened by a terrible frown; "for -it is my belief that he was the mere decoy, who led poor old Pedro -Barradas to that villanous posada." - -Instead of being angry, Pedrillo lifted up his hands, and prayed that -Heaven and our Lady of the Seven Sorrows would forgive the speaker -for his vile suspicions. - -"I never closed an eye that night. In the morning I was told by Inez -the Patrona, that old Barradas had departed across the hills of -Antequera without me. Martin Secco asked me how I had slept? I -said, like a dormouse; and as soon as I was free, I ran like a hare -back to Malaga; and to make up for the loss of my last night's rest, -slept like a torpedo under the trees of the Alameda." - -"You acquainted the magistrates--the alguazils, of course," said -Hall, knocking the ashes from his third cigar. - -"I was only a poor, ragged, little picaro," replied Pedrillo, in a -whining voice; "and who would believe me? Besides, old Barradas was -a stranger from Cordova or Jaen; and a man, more or less, is nothing -in Granada; but since that time Martin's two daughters have been sent -to the galleys at Barcelona, by the captain-general of the kingdom, -for intriguing in many ways with the contrabandistas of Jaen. Now, -señors, the noon is past; and if it please you, 't is time we were -moving, if you wish to reach the Sierra." - -While we were placing fresh caps on our rifles, and preparing to -start, the Spaniard with the patch, who had listened to Pedrillo's -story with great impatience, now seized that young gamin by the arm, -and grasping it like a vice, gave him a savage scowl, and said -something in Spanish; but so rapidly, that I could only make out that -he was reprehending him severely for telling us "a succession of -falsehoods." - -So I thought at that time; afterwards I was enabled to put a -different construction upon his indignation, at which Pedrillo seemed -to be considerably alarmed. - -Bidding adieu to him and the contrabandistas, we departed under -Pedrillo's guidance, and (sans leave) shot all along the sides of the -mountain range, on the slope of which stands the small but ancient -city of Antequera, so noted for the revolt of the Moors in the -sixteenth century; and had some narrow escapes from falling into -those remarkable pits, where the water settles in the low places, and -is formed into salt by the mere heat of the sun. - -We did not see much game, but knocked over a few brace of birds, and -with these, and two red foxes, our little guide Pedrillo was quite -laden. So he seemed to think; for, taking advantage of the -concealment afforded him by some olive groves, and the scattered -remnants of an abandoned vineyard, among which we had become -entangled, the young rogue slipped away with our game and made off, -either towards Malaga or Antequera; at least we saw no more of him, -or of his burden at that time. - -This was just about the close of the day, when Hall and I were -draining the last drop of our flask, and surveying from the mountain -slope the magnificent prospect of the verdant Vega, spreading at our -feet like a brightly-tinted map, having that warm and roseate glow, -which well might win it the name of Tierra Caliente. Malaga, the -ancient bulwark of Spain against Africa, was shining in the distance, -with its towers and gates, its flat-roofed houses, and vast -cathedral; its Moorish castles and gothic spires, all bathed in a -warm and sunny yellow; while beyond lay the broad blue Mediterranean, -dotted by sails, and changing from gold to purple and to blue. - -This was all very fine: but our pleasure was lessened by the -conviction that our little rascal Pedrillo was absconding with our -game; and we knew that it would never do to relate to the gun-room -mess how we had been outwitted, on returning to the Blonde next day. - -The foreground of this beautiful panorama was broken by innumerable -small hillocks and clumps of wood of many kinds; but principally -olive, pine, and cork trees, that grew on the slope of the great -Sierra; and though the sky and landscape darkened fast after the sun -set, we instituted a strict and angry search for Pedrillo, shouting -and whistling as we stumbled on, we knew not very well whither, -looking for our lost spoils--two foxes, with gallant brushes, and -eight brace of birds. - -No moon had risen: the wind began to whistle among the groves and -hollows; the night was very dark. - -"What, if we should meet Master Juan of Antequera?" said I. - -"If he had our game, I should be very well pleased," replied Hall; -"but I wish that Pedrillo had been with old Scratch when we hired him -yesterday. If I had the little lubber on board the Blonde, I would -show him the maintop." - -"Spain is a land of mishaps and events," said I. - -"Yesterday we were wishing for an adventure." - -"And to-night we have one with a vengeance!" said I. - -"Belay; I see some one moving in that hollow. Let us jump down--ahoy -below there!" - -"But we may lose the track," I urged. - -"True; so do you remain where you are, while I go down into the -hollow. Hollo now and then, to let me know your whereabouts." - -With his rifle in his hand, Hall, who was a fine active fellow, -sprang down into a ravine that suddenly yawned before us, and I -remained with my rifle cocked, and stooped low to watch what might -follow. Hall disappeared in the obscurity below. I halloed; but the -night wind tossed back my own shout upon me. Then I thought I heard -his voice, and sprang after him; but fell upon a point of rock, and -sank, completely stunned, to the earth. - -There I lay for nearly a quarter of an hour, unable to move, or rally -my senses. When I arose, I found myself at the bottom of the hollow, -and upon a narrow mule track; the moon was rising brightly at the -south end of the ravine, silvering the masses of rocks, tufts of -laurel-trees, and wild vines that grew in the clefts of the basalt. -I shouted, but received no reply; and after a long and fruitless -search could discover no trace of Hall in any direction. - -Considerably alarmed for his safety as well as my own--for to lie at -night upon those hills of Antequera, with the devilish stories of -Pedrillo and the contrabandistas haunting one's memory, was anything -but pleasant--I tried the charges of my rifle, looked again to the -percussion-caps, and set off in that direction where, by the rising -of the moon, I knew that Malaga must lie; but frequently paused to -hollo for Jack Hall, and received no reply save the echoes of the -rocks. - -The ravine descended and grew more open. Again I saw the Vega -sleeping at my feet in the haze; and, on turning an angle of the -road, found myself close to an inn or taberna, which I approached -with joy, concluding that my friend Jack must have gone that way, and -would probably be there. - -Like all Spanish inns, it was a large and mis-shapen edifice, the -lower story of which was nothing better than a great open shed, for -mules and vehicles; and, ascending from thence by a stair, I reached -a gallery, at the door of which I was received by the host, who -carried in his hand a stable lantern. - -"Entrar," said he, bowing profoundly; "entrar, señor." - -"I have been shooting on the mountains," said I, "and have lost my -companion, a British naval officer. Has he passed this way?" - -"No, señor," replied the host, (whose face I could not yet see,) as -he led me up another stair. - -"Then get supper prepared; for he must soon be here, as I have no -doubt he knows pretty well the direction of Malaga. And now," said -I, drawing a long breath, as I seated myself, "what place is this?" - -"La Posada del Cavallo." (!) - -"Eh! ah--and you?" I asked, in a thick voice. - -"Martin Secco, at your service, Señor Caballero!" - -"Here was a dénouement! - -"Good Heavens!" thought I, mechanically resuming my rifle; "if the -stories of Pedrillo should be true." - -I scrutinised my host and hostess. - -Martin had a broad and open visage, with keen eyes, and a black beard -as thick as a horse-brush; a wide mouth, that frequently expanded in -grins; but in those grins no radiance ever lit up his glassy eyes. -The mouth laughed; but they remained immovable--invariably a bad -sign. His forehead receded, and his ears were placed high upon his -head. At the first glance, I concluded that my señor patron was an -unmitigated brute. His figure was somewhat portly, and encased in a -brown jacket, brown knee-breeches, and black stockings; he wore his -hair confined in a caul, and had a yellow sash round his waist. - -His wife was, as Pedrillo had described Inez Secco, a Basque, for her -Spanish was almost unintelligible; and her coarse black hair was -plaited in one thick tail, which reached to her heels. Her gown was -of rough red cloth, with tight sleeves and a short skirt, displaying -a pair of yellow worsted stockings and leather sandals, fastened by -thongs above the ancle. Her face was coarse and bloated; but the -expression of her eye was terrible. It hovered between the bright -ferocious glare of a snake, and the glazed orb of an arrant sot. She -scanned me closely; and I thought the old devil (she was a Spanish -woman, and past forty,) was accurately appraising the value of all I -had on. - -"Well, señora patrona," said I, "what can I have for supper?" - -"The señor has come at a bad time, for we have little or no -provisions in our larder." (The larder of every Spanish inn has been -in the same condition since the days of Cervantes and Gongora.) "For -now this road between Malaga and Antequera is but little frequented -after noon-day, owing to the terrible robberies and the four -assassinations committed by Juan Roa, during the last Solano. -Caramba! 't is very hard that we should suffer for him." - -"What can I have, then?" - -"A roasted galina, dressed with a few beans," said the patrona. - -"And a glass of good aquadiente," added the host; "our Tierno has -soured in the wine-skins." - -"'T is poor fare this, for hungry men. I have said that I expect my -friend's arrival momently." - -The host gave a cold smile, and said, "We have had nothing ourselves, -for a week past, but Indian corn and boiled garbanzos (beans); but -the best we have is at the disposal of the señor caballero." - -The inn was old and crazy; the wind came in at one cranny, and -whistled out by another. The roof, walls, and floor of the large -apartment in which we three were seated, consisted of a multitude of -beams and boards, placed horizontally and diagonally, without skill -and without regard to design or appearance. There was but one candle -in the house (as the host assured me), and it was rapidly guttering -down in the currents of air. The patrona transferred it from the -lantern to an iron holder, and it was placed on the table to light -the room and my supper. - -An ostler, or nondescript servant, wearing fustian knee-breeches, -without braces, with a muleteer's embroidered shirt, and having a -yellow handkerchief tied round his head, spread a (not over-clean) -cloth on the table; knives, forks, and covers were laid for two, with -a cold fowl, a loaf of white bread, a dish of beans, garlic, and a -bottle of aquadiente. - -I observed this wild-looking waiter frequently glancing at my rifle, -and the jewelled dirk that dangled at my waist-belt; I became -suspicious of everything. - -"You are well armed, señor," said he. - -"It is natural; for arms are my profession," said I. - -I looked at my watch: the hands indicated eleven o'clock! Two hours -had elapsed since Hall and I had separated; still there was no -appearance of him. Twenty times I opened the shutters of the -unglazed windows, and listened intently; but the night wind that -swept down the dark ravine in the Sierra, brought neither shout nor -footstep; so I resolved to sup, go to bed, and trust to daylight for -discovering Jack, if he did not arrive at the posada before morning. - -I had just concluded supper, when the last remains of the last candle -in this solitary inn, sank into its iron socket, and left us in -darkness; at least with no other light than the red wavering glow -that came from the hearth, where a few roots of pine and corkwood -smouldered beside the brown puchero, in which the amiable patrona had -boiled the beans for my repast. - -"Here is a pretty piece of business!" said Martin Secco; "we have not -another candle were it to light a blessed altar; and the señor -Caballero must go to bed in the dark." - -"Heed not that, señor patron," said I; "for I am a soldier, as you -may see, and am used to discomfort." - -"'T is well; for I am sure that the señor has experienced nothing but -discomfort in our poor posada. When I am rich enough, señor, I hope -to have an hotel in the Alameda; and then should the Caballero ever -come to Malaga again, he will remember Martin Secco." - -At this remark, I heard the patrona utter a low chuckling laugh; but -whether at the prospect of the fine hotel, or the doubtful chances of -my ever again visiting Malaga, I could not say. - -"Now, señor patron," said I, rising and taking up my rifle, "I should -like to reach the town betimes to-morrow; so show me to my chamber, -and should my friend arrive, fail not to call me." - -"Will you not leave your gun here?" suggested the host. - -"Thank you--no," said I, while my undefined suspicions grew stronger -within me. "Do you lead the way, señor, and I shall follow. Good -night, señora patrona." - -"Bueno noche, señor," said she, stirring up the embers; and we -separated. - -To follow Martin was perhaps the most unpleasant part that I had yet -acted; for I had to grope my way after him along a dark passage, -about forty feet long, at the end of which he ushered me into a room, -where there was no other light than that given by the moon, which -shone through a small window glazed with little panes of coarse -glass. Here he bade me "Bueno noche;" and, after many apologies for -my miserable accommodation, left me. - -The apartment was small. In one corner stood a French bed, having -light-coloured curtains; this, with a basin-stand, two chairs and a -mirror, made up the furniture. Like a true soldier, I turned to -secure the door. - -Destitute of lock or bolt: it had only a small thumb-latch! - -Dismounting the ewer and basin, I placed the stand end-wise between -the bed and the door, firmly fixing it, and thus forming a barricade, -which none could force without awaking me. To make all sure, I again -dropped the ramrod into each barrel of my rifle, passed a finger over -the caps, unbuckled the belt at which my dirk dangled; and, without -undressing, for every moment I expected to hear Jack Hall hallooing -outside the house; in short, to be prepared for anything, I threw -myself down on the coverlet, and weary and worn by a long day's -ramble among the mountains, prepared to sleep. - -For a long time a species of painful wakefulness possessed me; the -moans of the passing wind, the flapping of a loose board in the -external gallery, the wavering shadows thrown by the moonlight on the -damp and discoloured walls; even the ticking of my watch disturbed -me, and kept me constantly thinking of poor Hall's unaccountable -absence, with many a fear that he might have fallen into the hands of -Juan of Antequera, and not a few reproaches for my having perhaps too -easily relinquished my search for him. - -These thoughts completely obliterated any sense of my own immediate -danger; but I was about to drop asleep when something moist that -oozed over my neck and face aroused me. I started, fully awake in a -moment; and, passing a hand across my cheek, looked at it in the -moonlight. - -"Blood!" said I, springing off the bed, while a thrill ran through -me. I had not been wounded or cut by my fall; then from whence came -this terrible moisture? I examined the pillow, and found the lower -part of it quite wet; I turned it, and lo! it was saturated with -blood! - -This was the reason, that Martin Secco had declined to give me a -candle. My heart beat thick and fast; apprehension of something -horrible came over me, and I remembered the stories of Pedrillo. I -also recollected that I had some excellent Spanish cigar fusees, and -tearing three or four blank leaves from my note book, I twisted them -together, lit them, and surveyed the dingy chamber. The boards in -front of the bed were marked by recent spots of blood; I raised the -little fringe or curtain, and, guided by some terrible instinct, -looked below, and saw--what? - -Poor Jack Hall lying there in his naval uniform, with his epaulette -torn off, and his throat literally cut from ear to ear! - -He had found his way here before me, and been assassinated. - -Almost paralysed, I continued for half a minute to gaze at this -terrible spectacle, till the paper burned down to my fingers and -expired. I heard my heart beating; and my head spun round as I -tightened my belt and grasped my loaded rifle. Before I could adopt -any plan of operations, I heard a rustling and whispering in the -passage near my door; and, looking through a crack in the panels, -saw, within a yard of me, Martin Secco, bearing in one hand the rifle -of my poor friend, and in the other a lighted candle, although he had -made to me so many apologies, about two hours before, for not having -another in the house. As he approached, he handed it to a boy, in -whom I discovered Pedrillo; and then the light flashed upon two other -men, in one of whom I recognised the ostler, and in the other, our -acquaintance of the noon, with the patch on his face, and wearing the -green velvet jacket and sombrero. This worthy had a pistol in one -hand and a knife in the other. The patrona was also there, with her -wolfish eyes and enormous Basque queue. - -Outrage and assassination were impressed on the hard lines of all -their cruel and savage visages; and I perceived at once that without -a vigorous effort I was lost--that my life was forfeited; and all the -anticipations of newspaper paragraphs; "a mysterious disappearance" -in the "Times" and "Military Gazette," flashed upon my mind. I had -youth, a noble profession, many kind friends, my regiment, and home, -with "the best of expectations," as old dowagers say, on one hand; a -horrible and sudden death--a lonely scene of unknown butchery, on the -other! - -I cocked the locks of my rifle, and resolutely removed the barricade -from the door. - -"Take time, Juan Roa," said the patrona. - -"Hold your tongue, old perra; I know well enough what I am doing," -growled the personage in green, whom I now knew to be that terrible -outlaw, who since the Carlist war, had laughed at the carabineros and -alguazils, and kept all Malaga, the Sierra de Mija, and the Vega of -Granada astir and in terror. - -Including the patrona, and the treacherous young rascal Pedrillo, I -had five desperate enemies, and only two bullets at their service. - -"Let us prove whether the Inglese is asleep, before we enter," said -the patron, knocking at the door gently, and placing the candle -behind him. - -"No answer--he is certainly asleep," whispered the patrona. - -"Knock again," growled Juan Roa. - -A smart blow was then given; but still I made no reply. Then the -patron applied his hand to the latch; but before he could open the -door, I fired right through the slender panels, and shot him dead by -one bullet, knocking over the ostler by the other, which he received -through his neck and shoulder. - -Clubbing my rifle, I then rushed out; and charging them in the smoke -and confusion, dealt Juan Roa a tremendous blow with the butt end, -which levelled him beside the two ruffians who lay bleeding in the -narrow passage. Escaping a pistol shot from Juan, but receiving two -desperate cuts from the termagant patrona and the wasp Pedrillo, I -reached the end of the passage, sprang through the common hall, and -found the outer door fastened. By main strength I tore it open, and -reached the external gallery, over which I dropped, though it was -fully twelve feet from the ground; and, just as I did so, the boy -Pedrillo fired one of Juan's pistols after me; but I escaped it, and -ran down the mountain slope, loading my rifle as I went, and driving -a bullet home into each barrel. - -Grey morning was spreading along the east, and the red flush of the -coming sun was brightening behind the dark towers of Gibral-Faro, and -sparkling on the lattices of Malaga. The aromatic plants were -putting forth their sweetest perfume, and the light foliage of the -sugar-cane, the cotton plant, and the citron tree, were shaking off -the heavy dews of night. The air was clear and cool; after the toils -of the past day, the sleepless night and its terrors, the fresh dewy -atmosphere revived me, and, dashing down the lonely mountain-side, I -reached a little puebla, and reported the whole affair to the officer -who there commanded a party of the carabineros of Antequera. - -A sergeant and twenty troopers galloped away to the posada, which -they found completely deserted by all its living tenants; but they -hung the body of the patron upon a tree, burned the house to the -ground, and conveyed the mangled remains of poor Jack Hall to Malaga, -where they were interred next day, with all the honours of war, in -that corner of the Campo Santo which is appropriated for the burial -of strangers; and there the marines of the Blonde fired three volleys -over the grave, where as noble a heart as Her Majesty's service -possessed was committed to the earth of Spain. - -An hour's examination before a magistrate, who swore me across my -sword as to the particulars, was all the judicial inquiry ever made; -we sailed next day, and reached Portsmouth, after a fine run, and -without any other mishaps; but I shall never forget that terrible -night among the mountains of Antequera, Martin Secco, his wife's -tail, and the horrors of La Posada del Cavallo. - -Jack's adventure elicited a burst of applause, and was voted the -story of the evening, notwithstanding the great spice of the -miraculous and holy, which had seasoned the narrative of the Major -Don Joaquim. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE HALT IN A CORK WOOD - -Next morning betimes we left the venta of Castellar where, overnight, -we had spent so many pleasant hours. The Major Don Joaquim was very -curious to know the object of our mission to Seville, of which he -announced himself a well-known citizen; but we declined to state the -reason of our visit in uniform to that far-famed city; neither did we -mention that our business lay with no less a personage than the -captain-general of Los Cuatros Reinos. - -In a country like Spain, where the people are so jealous of their -national honour and so revengeful, we did not conceive that it would -be conducive to our safety to state that we were the identical -officers whose affair with the guarda costa had caused so much -heartburning for some weeks past, and so much correspondence between -our governor and the minister Espartero; so, somewhat piqued by our -reserve, the major gave us a formal bow, and clambered into the -vehicle which was to convey him to Medina. We separated, the convoy -of calessos got into motion after much noise and vociferation on the -part of the drivers, the stable-boys, the hostalero, and the -passengers, who were all gabbling at once in full-toned Spanish as -they rolled away under the escort of a party of very ill-appointed -dragoons in the service of Donna Isabella la Catolica, while we rode -off in the opposite direction towards Alcala de los Gazules, a small -town, which lies on the Seville road, and through which we passed -soon after. - -"Let us push on," said I, to interrupt Jack, who had been rallying me -pretty smartly about Donna Paulina, and vowing that all this affair -of a trip to Seville had been foreseen and preconcerted by me for the -purpose of meeting her again and continuing a flirtation which was a -source of great merriment to the regiment. "Let us push on, Jack, -for I feel very anxious----" - -"To reach Seville, of course; but it won't run away; we shall find it -in its proper place on the left bank of the Guadalquiver." - -"You mistake me. I was thinking how awkward it would be for us if -the Himalaya was to come round during our absence; and if on our -return we should find the whole regiment embarked and steaming away -for the Crimea." - -"Awkward! I should think so, rather; but it is not likely they can -decamp in such a hurry. After all we heard last night about the -restless habits of the good people in these mountains, and their -vague or peculiar ideas regarding property, together with the -eccentricities of this Don Fabrique, do we not run a little risk in -proceeding without an escort?" - -"There is risk, certainly; but our return is not to be thought of -till the duty is done." - -"Of course not--what would the regiment say?" - -"And what should we think of ourselves?" - -"We are, I hope, a match for any six Spaniards, with our swords and -revolvers, in fighting; and with these good nags under us I should -think we are more than a match for them in flying. But the noon is -becoming so hot that I propose we should halt under that grove of -cork-trees and there take a siesta." - -We halted accordingly at the base of a steep mountain chain, between -the cleft peaks of which a noonday-flood of yellow light was gushing. -Sterile, abrupt, and bare above us rose the ridgy rocks: the little -valley at the base was teeming with verdure and fertility, but it was -silent and solitary, for not a sound was heard save the murmur of a -stream which bubbled from a fissure in a vine-covered cliff. It -meandered between meadows of aromatic plants, and sought deep pools -over which the oleander and the bay threw their branches, and the -cool shady thickets of the dark wood of olive and cork-trees. - -Just where we dismounted, we found a personage lounging on the grass. -He was smoking a cigar, and had a long gun beside him. Without -rising for a minute nearly, he scrutinised us and our horses with -marked curiosity. His costume was somewhat gay, being in the highest -style of the bull-ring, or that of a majo or dandified Spanish -ladrone, whose free aspect and gallant air make him the admiration of -the dark-eyed paisanas and the envy of their more peaceful male -relatives; for the majo is the bravo of our own time. - -This personage wore an ample brown cloak, which hung loosely about -his shoulders, a black velvet sombrero, with a large tuft of black -plush on one side thereof, and under its deep rim his coal-black hair -fell in heavy locks, and his flashing eyes watched all our motions, -with an indescribable expression of stealth and suspicion. A long -knife and a pair of brass-butted pistols were in his gaudy sash; he -wore leathern gaiters, and was playing with the blade of a navaja, or -clasp-knife, about ten inches long--a deadly instrument, which the -Spaniard is never without, for therewith he cuts his 'carne' and -bread, or his bacallao in Lent, slices his melon in summer, and -slashes the face of any person with whom he may chance to differ in -opinion. Indeed, the visage of this lounger bore the very -unmistakable mark of a long slash which had once laid it open from -eye to chin. Beside him stood a beautiful Andalusian jennet, high of -head, and bold in chest; its gaily-fringed bridle was thrown over the -branch of an olive tree, and it was accoutred with a high-peaked -saddle of antique form, covered by a piece of white sheepskin, which -was spread also over a pair of holsters. - -"Buenos dias, señor," said I; "a good morning--I fear we are -disturbing you." - -"Not at all, señores--the greensward, the shadow of those trees, and -the waters of this stream, flowing from yonder sierra, belong to us -all in common. Sit down, señores, and halter your horses, as you see -I have haltered mine. You belong to the Gibraltar garrison, I -presume--right--you are Inglesos." - -"No, Brittanicos," said I, with a smile. - -"And whither go ye?" - -"To Seville." - -"Ah, would I were going with you: it is a place of joy and merriment, -Seville. The sun shines on it once every day of the year; yet I go -there but seldom. Allow me to make you each a cigarillo." - -"With pleasure." - -To have declined would have been an affront as great as to refuse a -proffered snuff-mull in the country of the clans. Our Spaniard -produced one of those little books of soft blank paper (almost the -only volumes used in Spain), and tore out three leaves; he then took -tobacco from his silk pouch and made up three little cigars very -neatly and adroitly; but twice during the operation I detected his -stealthy eyes scanning us from under his bushy eyebrows. - -My little box of patent lights excited his wonder and admiration, as -he was about to exert his patience by having recourse to the -antiquated flint and steel. Then Jack Slingsby produced his -travelling flask; I brought forth mine, and the Spaniard had a -capacious bota of wine, a drinking cup of leather, a piece of -bacallao and biscuits; and we were just proceeding to lunch, when his -Andalusian jennet pricked up its ears and neighed uneasily. - -"Maldito!" said our companion, as a scowl came over his visage and -his hand fell mechanically on the lock of his gun; "some one -approaches." - -"An old woman on a donkey, and nothing more," said Slingsby, -carelessly; "amigo mio, you look as much alarmed as if you expected -the terrible Fabrique de Urquija, or Juan Roa of Antequera." - -The keen eyes of the Spaniard flashed, and he looked at Jack as if he -would have pierced him through. - -"I fear neither Don Fabrique nor any other man," said he gruffly; "a -woman on a burro--oh--it must be poor Sister Santa Veronica, of -Estrelo, a town about a league distant." - -"How is she named so?" I asked. - -"After the blessed Santa Veronica who wiped the pale face of our -Lord, when dying upon his cross," replied the Spaniard, lowering his -head; "and as she did so, on her kerchief there became impressed the -most wondrous of religious miracles--the Santa Faz--the holy -countenance of Jaen, where it is still preserved in our cathedral, -and from which the portraits of our Saviour are all taken; hence it -is that his sad and upturned face, with its crown of bloody thorns -and curling heard, and the long yellow hair parted over the smooth -pale brow, are so well known over all the Christian world." - -As he spoke, an elderly woman, habited like a nun, in a coarse and -well-patched dress of black serge, with a hood of spotless white -linen folded across her brow and chin, and having its long ends -drooping lappetwise down her withered cheeks, rode up to us on a -donkey, which displayed--what one seldom sees in a Spanish -ass--evident signs of being ill-fed and ill-groomed. The nun, who -had a careworn, grave, and, though stern, not unpleasing expression -of face, carried a covered basket on her arm. Our companion sprang -to his feet, and, doffing his sombrero, hastened to meet her and to -hold the bridle of her animal. - -She was abroad, as she told us, begging alms and food for the sisters -of her convent--ten ladies--all of whom were of noble rank, but the -most of whose kinsmen had fallen in battle under Don Ramon de -Cabrera, and thus left them friendless. They were now, by the -confiscation of the ecclesiastical revenues, and the seizure of those -sums which they had paid as a dowry into the convent treasury, -reduced to extreme penury in their old age, and were driven from -their pleasant convent in the beautiful vega of Jaen; since then they -had endeavoured to perform the duties of their order, and to serve -God, in a poor and half-ruined house, which belonged to a noble, -charitable. and religious lady, Donna Dominga de Lucena, y Colmenar -de Orieja, at Estrelo; and now would not the noble Caballeros give -something to the poor ladies of Santa Theresa, however small, for the -love of God and of blessed charity? - -All this, which she prettily told, was addressed to us, rather than -to the stranger, at whom she glanced uneasily from time to time, -although he stood bare-headed, with the deepest respect, and holding -her burro by the bridle. - -The circumstance of the sisterhood being befriended by the mother of -Donna Paulina would have sufficed to interest us, if the wrong done -them by the present Government of Spain had failed to do so. Our -purses were at once produced, and we respectfully raised our caps on -presenting the poor nun with a few pillared dollars, which no doubt -she little expected from two heretical Brittanicos. - -They had been robbed of everything, she continued--at least, all save -their cases of reliques and the bones of Santa Theresa, which they -had borne on their shoulders in sad procession from Jaen to Estrelo; -and, moreover, they had lost the wonderful portrait of their -patroness, which had been seized and sold by those hijos de Luiz -Philipe, the men of the new administration; but it was no fault of -the present Queen of Spain, for poor Isabella la Catolica had wept -her eyes out in the cause of the poor monks and nuns. The señores -had, no doubt, heard of the wonderful portrait of the blessed Theresa? - -In great sorrow we professed our ignorance thereof. - -"Madre Mia! It was said to be an Alonzo Cano, and had narrowly -escaped the clutches of the Marshals Soult and Massena, when they -swept away the golden moidores of the Portuguese and the divine -Murillos of the Spaniards. It belonged to the chapel in which the -saint was baptized, and was quite as veritable and wonderful as the -holy countenance of Jaen, and was usually placed over the great -altar; but one day when the chapel was undergoing repair, it was -placed at the porch, where it was seen by a certain ruined -gamester--a savage and desperate fellow, worse than Juan Roa or Don -Fabrique, as he came past that way. In a fit of mad despair, having -just lost everything, he struck his dagger into the bosom of the -picture, from which there immediately gushed out a torrent of blood -in the sight of the terrified people; while a faint cry was heard in -the air, as of one in pain afar off." - -"And the gamester?" - -"Went raving mad and died, chained like a wild beast in the Gaza de -Locos of Jaen." - -To our gift, our companion added a doubloon, a present so valuable -that it excited our surprise and kindled the fear of the poor nun, -who accepted it with reluctance, and, with abundance of genuflections -and thanks, whipped up her burro, which trotted away. - -"Shall I not have the honour of escorting you to Estrelo, reverend -señora?" cried our friend, hurrying after her. - -"Muchos gratias--no, no! a thousand thanks, señor," she replied, -hurriedly; "no one will molest a poor sister of Santa Theresa." - -Her ill-concealed repugnance to receive his alms evidently impressed -the Spaniard, who seated himself in silence, and smoked with a sullen -expression, as if somewhat depressed by the whole affair; but Jack -Slingsby, who hated silence more than anything in the world, began to -make some casual inquiries as to whether or not the famous Urquija -had been heard of hereabout, and where he was generally to be found. - -"Found," reiterated the Spaniard, with a frown of surprise; "he is -often found by those who least like such a discovery." - -"So it seems," replied Jack, "and by the accounts we heard of him at -the--how do you name it?--the venta last night, he seems to be ripe -fruit for the gallows." - -"Indeed," said the Spaniard, quietly making up another cigarillo, -"you are very loud, Señor Viajador, (traveller), in condemning this -poor son of Andalusia, this Don Fabrique; but you do so simply -because you know nothing about him; being, like most Englishmen, -totally ignorant of every country except your own portion of Britain, -and, believing that whatever is not English must be radically, -physically, and morally wrong, you have come among us predisposed to -ridicule and to condemn." - -"The deuce!" said Jack, with an air of pique; "I beg to assure you, -my fine fellow, that I could tell you a story of a posada----" - -"Enough, señor," replied the other, waving his hand with great -dignity of manner, while a savage gleam shot over his stealthy eyes; -"but allow me to inform you that a bandit--I do not mean a pitiful -picaro who steals purses and pocket-handkerchiefs on the prado, or a -swindling raterillo who cheats at cards, but an armed robber (and -here his hand struck the butt of his escopeta)--is a modern Spanish -hero, and the pretty paisana and the bluff muleteer sing of his -exploits in the same breath with those of Rodrigo de Bivar, the Cid -Campeador, Hernando de Cordova, and the chiefs of the war of -Independence, when we saw the fields of Vimiero, of Talavera and -Rorica; lend a new lustre to the names of Mina, of Murillo, and of -Wellington!" - -"Very likely; but this Don Fabrique commits such devilish atrocities, -and all that sort of thing," urged Jack, closing with his incessant -phrase. - -"Do you know why poor Fabrique took his gun and stiletto, and went to -the mountains?" - -"Shall I tell you?" - -"If you please." - -"Listen. There was an abogado, a lawyer of Jaen, named Jacop el -Escribano, who married the aunt of Fabrique--an aunt who had been a -mother to him after his own died, or rather was murdered by the -Chapelgorri's. She tended him, reared him, loved and educated him at -Alcala, and he was to be her heir, for she was rich, and had mines of -quicksilver and cinnabar on the confines of Murcia; and her heir he -had every right to be, for other kindred she had none. Well, this -good aunt fell sick; those who were more than usually acute, or more -than usually evil-minded, said that the abogado had poisoned her -mentally and bodily. At all events he wrote out her will, which -bequeathed all her property to himself, whom failing, to a certain -Gil Jacop, his son by a former marriage, and to poor Fabrique, the -son of her dead brother, not a peseta, not a pistareen! This limb of -Satan and the law, succeeding in all his ends and objects, poisoned -her ears against the poor student of Alcala. Well, the aunt died. -Full of sorrow Fabrique hastened to his home to find the door of it -shut in his face, and the malicious abogado in possession of -everything, even to his aunt's snuff-box and armed chair. Our poor -student rushed to the Alcalde, who heard him with a smile of -incredulity--why? because he was the cousin of the abogado, and he, -too, shut his door in the face of Fabrique. Bursting with -indignation he sought the corregidor, to pour out anew the story of -his wrongs; but, ay de mi! the corregidor, a Commander of the Knights -of Calatrava, was to dine that day with the abogado, who had invited -half the city to feast, and weekly gave a magnificent tertulia in the -house of the dead woman. - -"Fabrique lost all patience and, swore a dreadful vow of vengeance, -so the wise, just, and most illustrious corregidor expelled him from -the city, and by the alguazils he was driven forth by the Audujar -gate. His last money was in his pocket; so he bought a dagger and -musket, and shaking the dust off his feet at the puerta de Audujar, -he gathered together a band of gallant spirits who had followed Juan -Roa, and betook himself to the mountains, leaving the abogado in -possession of his aunt's house and her mines upon the Murcian -frontier." - -"And did he enjoy them long?" I asked. - -The Spaniard smiled grimly, and took a long quaff of the bota. - -"You wish to know, señor?' - -"Exceedingly." - -"Listen. A week after these events our abogado disappeared from -Jaen, and no man knew whence he had gone, and few cared. A month -after, a poor wretch, half crazed and in rags, emaciated, pale and -hollow-cheeked by hunger, illness, agony, and wandering, and whose -vision had been destroyed by the simple application of a red-hot -ramrod, was found near a village of the Sierra de Ronda. It was -Jacop el Escribano--whose scribbling was at an end, and whose eyes -were closed on the world for ever." - -"And his son, Gil Jacop?" - -"Was found shot one fine morning at the corner of that road, just -where you see a rough wooden cross, erected by the curate in memory -of the affair, and to beg a prayer of every passer-by for the dead -man's sinful soul. The corregidor has thrice been robbed of all he -possessed--his rents, fees, and the revenue of his commanderie; and -the alcalde has quite as often been beaten to the very verge of -death. Evil-disposed people lay those things to the charge of Don -Fabrique; but I say nothing, having no opinion on the subject." - -"Then you are afraid of him?" said Jack, laughing. - -"Afraid--ha, ha!" said the Spaniard, taking up his long gun; "no--not -so much as you were afraid of Juan Roa and Martin Secco, on that -night in the 'Posada del Cavallo' at Malaga. - -"How know you of that affair?" asked Jack, starting to his feet. - -"Did I not hear it told at full length last night in the venta at -Castellar?" - -"Were you there?" I inquired, with surprise. - -"You saw a goatherd present--an old fellow with a sheep-skin dress, a -long beard, a crook, and bota." - -"Yes." - -"'T was I. Last night I was a goatherd, because it suited my purpose -to appear so, and to laugh at the terror of those miserable -soap-boilers on hearing the whistle of bullets in the Sierra; to-day -I am Fabrique de Urquija, the friend of poor Juan Roa; and had you -been less kind to that poor nun than you were, it was my intention to -have shot and robbed you both, which I could easily have done, -despite your swords and revolvers, your English impudence and cool -assurance. Vaya usted con Dios, and may you have a pleasant ride to -Seville; but attend more to the rules of common politeness when next -you speak of Urquija beyond the security of your own lines at -Gibraltar. I am not a bad fellow, señores, at times, though more apt -to take the advice of a curer of fish than a curer of souls in Lent." - -With these words he leaped on his horse, and slinging his long gun by -his right leg, galloped into the cork wood, and disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE ALCALDE. - -This rencontre, by illustrating the danger of lingering and of making -chance acquaintance--dangers for which no credit would be given by -the Horse Guards, and against which we found no hints afforded by our -"John Murray"--caused us to hasten through Estrelo without paying a -visit to the nuns of Santa Theresa, which (on the base of our -acquaintance with Sister Veronica) we had proposed to do; and a ride -of ten miles further, through a fruitful and beautiful district, -brought us to the ancient ducal town of Medina Sidonia, where the -Spanish commandant invited us to dinner, and where, finding ourselves -in safe quarters, we spent a pleasant evening, and with cigars and -Ciudad Real, Tresillo and Monte, whiled away the hours until we -retired to our posada, where we slept undisturbed by rats or robbers, -as quietly as if we had been in the best hotel in London. - -We crossed a stream next day, and arrived at Arcos de la Frontierra, -a picturesque little town, situated upon a lofty rock, almost -insulated by the Guadalete, and so difficult of access on the south -and west that we had some trouble in discovering an entrance to it -anywhere. - -The aspect of the place, with all its flat-roofed or red-tiled houses -clustering on the summit of a steep and abrupt rock; its two large -parish churches, with the square campanile of Santa Maria, and the -façade of the palace of the reverend the vicar-general to the -metropolitan of Seville, all lit up by the flush of a Spanish setting -sun, and throwing a huge broad shadow across the girdling Guadalete, -and that rich undulating country which stretches far away beyond it, -pleased me so much that, dismounting at the foot of the eminence, I -seated myself among some fallen walls and prostrate -columns--doubtless fragments of the ancient Arcobriga--to make a -little sketch of the place. - -Reclined against a mass of vine-covered ruin, Slingsby of "Ours" had -fallen fast asleep with his horse's bridle buckled over his left arm, -and both he and the nag occupied a prominent place in the foreground -of my view, and a wayside cross, covered with rich creepers, and -having a sulky-looking raven seated on its summit, was in the middle -distance. My labours proceeded rapidly and greatly to my own -satisfaction when they were suddenly interrupted by a heavy hand -being roughly laid on my shoulder. I looked up. Four men, muffled -in the inevitable, invariable, and eternal dirty brown cloak, in -which we always see the mysterious characters stride, swagger, and -swell on the boards of minor theatres, and which a Spaniard is never -without, under any circumstances, appeared beside me. Two had drawn -swords, and two cocked blunderbusses. - -"The señores will understand that they are our prisoners?" said one. - -"Who the deuce are you--comrades of Don Fabrique, I suppose?" - -"Heaven forbid! we are honest men--alguazils of Arcos, and the -Caballeros must both come before the señor alcalde." - -"For what purpose?" I demanded hastily. - -"The señor will soon be informed," said one. - -"To his cost, perhaps," added a second. - -"Vaya, come along," growled a third, "or it may be the worse for you." - -Finding expostulation vain, I roused Jack, who after revolving in his -own mind whether or not he ought to revolve them--for his pistol had -six barrels, we took our horses by their bridles, and accompanied the -bravo-like alguazils, whose good-will we sought to cultivate by being -liberal with our cases of cheroots. - -The alcalde, a bustling little manufacturer of Cordovan leather, -received us in his office, stuck his barnacles on his nose, summoned -his escribano, and opened the case with an air of awful pomp and -chilling consequence; but he seemed to be about as well qualified for -the office of lawgiver as Mr. Justice Shallow. - -"The señores, who seemed to be British officers belonging to the -garrison of Gibraltar, of which her Most Catholic Majesty Donna -Isabella is sovereign, whatever Queen Victoria may assert to the -contrary, were found making a sketch--a military sketch, no doubt--of -her ancient city of Arcos, in the province of Andalusia; and the -señores, of course, knew the law framed by the Cortes on that point." - -"Of sketching the city of Arcos?" - -"No." - -"What then?" - -"Any city," returned the fussy little alcalde. - -"But this is not a fortified town." - -"But it might be fortified." - -"No doubt--but it is not fortified at the present moment." - -"Tonto de mi! what does that matter?" - -"Why you stupid old----" Jack Slingsby was beginning, but I placed a -hand upon his mouth, and the irritable little alcalde continued. - -"For what purpose was the sketch--this sketch made?--answer me that, -señor." - -"To please myself and to show my friends." - -"Of course, a likely story truly," he sneered, as he deliberately -tore my poor production into several pieces, threw them into the -brassero of charcoal which glowed in the centre of the apartment, and -watched until every fragment was entirely consumed. I gazed at him -in silence, but feeling an emotion of considerable disgust; for -although well aware that to sketch any fortified place or garrison -town, barrack, or citadel, was strictly forbidden, it never occurred -to me that the restriction could apply to the miserable -conglomeration of Spanish huts and crumbling Moorish hovels which -clustered round the churches on the rock of Arcos; but in their -ignorance of the arts the Spaniards, like the Turks, cannot see a -difference between a little artistic sketch and a regular plan drawn -for the most desperate military purposes. - -"So we are suspected of being spies," said Slingsby; "I am glad that -sketching was omitted in my education, and that I never could draw -aught but a cork or a bill in my life." - -"But this may prove no matter for laughter, Jack," said I, as the -alcalde, with awful gravity, after duly entering our names and -designations in a huge tome, turned to another part thereof, wiped -his spectacles and addressed us. I must own to feeling some -uneasiness, having once had a brother officer who went on sick leave -to Cadiz, where he was shot as a Christino priest; he was our senior -lieutenant, poor Bob Rasper, and was as much like a priest as the -great Mogul. I had an uncle who was very near being strangled by an -alcalde, who was persuaded he was Don Carlos; and we all know that -Lord Carnarvon was well nigh murdered in mistake for Don Miguel, -while Captain Widrington was about to be garotted by another -official, who thought he might be an agent of Marshal Baldomero -Espartero, now first minister of Donna Isabella II. These instances -of Spanish justice, clearness, and legal acumen were floating before -me when the little ruffian of an alcalde curled up his mustachios and -said,-- - -"The señores will have passports, no doubt?" - -"No passports," I replied. - -"Demonio!" ejaculated this Andalusian Solon, while the alguazils -(having finished their cheroots) began to clank their sabres and cock -their ominous-looking trabujos. "Then you must both be sent to -prison in irons, and kept under guard until we communicate with -Espartero." - -We lost alike our patience and temper at this piece of intelligence. - -"Beware, señor alcalde," said I, "for the very person you have named -may send you to the galleys for this insolent interference. We are -two British officers going on public duty to Seville, and being -passed through the Spanish lines by the officer commanding there, -require no other passports than our swords and our uniform, which you -had better respect, or we may play a mischief with you. Our -ambassador at Madrid----" - -"Vaya usted a los infernos!" exclaimed the alcalde, in a towering fit -of official indignation; "I shall show you how we treat those who -enter our city of Arcos without proper credentials, and I verily -believe you to be a couple of pitiful raterillos. Search and secure -them!" - -How this affair might have ended, I have no means of knowing; but -nothing saved us from much trouble and perhaps danger, but the sudden -discovery of a letter, which was found by one of the alguazils who -rudely plunged a hand into one of my pockets. It was addressed in -high-flowing terms to the most illustrious señor, the captain general -of Andalusia, and bore the great official seal of the Governor of Her -Britannic Majesty's garrison of Gibraltar. On beholding this, the -countenance of the alcalde fell. This human bladder, which was -inflated by so much wrath and Jack-in-office pride, suddenly -collapsed. His manner changed at once; he was profuse in his -apologies, and on a wave of his hand, those alguazils who, a moment -before, were ready to drag us to some foul prison and rudely too, -like ruffians as they doubtless were, slunk aside and withdrew; and -in five minutes after we were mounted, clear of Arcos, and trotting -along the road which ascended from the banks of the Guadalete. - -"Those Spaniards will never change," said Jack; "they will ever be -bullies or cravens; so cudgels or cannon shot are the only means of -argument with them." - -We then laughed at the whole affair--at the absurd pomposity of the -alcalde, and the idea of our being arrested as spies. - -At a trot we traversed the little town of Alcantarilla. It lies not -far from the Guadalquiver, a stream that wanders through a fertile -hollow, which in the days of the Cæsars was a hopeless march. We -crossed the bridge which was built by the hands of the Romans, who -placed a tower at each end for defence. Slingsby, with a waggish -smile, recommended me to make a sketch of these interesting remains; -but a wholesome terror of the alcalde of Arcos was yet too fresh in -my mind, so we pushed on towards Los Palacies, in company with a long -train of mules from the seaport of San Lucar de Barameda. Their -drivers were gaily attired, and were all sturdy and hearty fellows, -who beguiled the way with stories, laughter, and songs of love and -wine, or legends of the Avalos, the Moors of Ronda, and of Bravonnel -the Moor of Zaragozza and his ladylove Guadalara, while they sung to -the cracking of their whips, the merry jangle of the mule-bells, and -the thrum of a guitar. With all this, they were prepared for every -emergency, having poniards, blunderbusses, and other weapons--being -armed to the teeth, in fact; and with them we travelled until Seville -rose before us, with the fretted spires and gothic pinnacles of its -cathedral and Alcazar, and the gigantic tower of La Giralda, rising -above the domes of the Mohammedan times and the befrays of the -Christians; and all steeped in the unclouded blaze of an Andalusian -sunset, with the Guadalquiver winding through a low valley in the -foreground, bordered by groves of the orange and citron, and the -green undulating ridges of the Sierra towering in the distance, with -a golden vapour resting on the mellowed peaks, which bound a -landscape that, in the days of Alfonso the Wise, was studded by a -hundred thousand cottages and oil-mills. - -But the Guadalquiver seemed as muddy as the Thames, where it -approaches the ancient fane of St. John of Alfarache, and there its -turgid tide was lashed and beaten by the steamers from San Lucar; and -we could see them ploughing their way (with red lights hanging at -their fore cross-trees) into the evening haze that settled over -Seville. - -Our passports were demanded by the officer commanding an -ill-accoutered guard at the gate: but our letter addressed to the -captain general freed us from further question, and he politely -directed us to an hotel. - -We rode through the grass-grown streets of the lazy Sevillanos, I -reflecting on stories of Pedro the Cruel and the past glories of the -Arab city--Jack Slingsby reflecting on the thoroughfares, which he -said "were remarkably dingy, devilish dirty, and all that sort of -thing," until we discovered the hotel de la Reyna near the Lonja, or -Exchange, and close to the far-famed cathedral church. There we took -up our quarters for the night. - -"At last we are in Seville!" said I, as I threw myself into a down -fauteuil, after tossing off a glass of iced Valdepenas, and flung -aside the last week's Madrid papers, the 'Heraldo' and 'España;' "in -Seville, where Trajan, Adrian, and Theodosius were born, and -where----" - -"You shall flirt with the pretty Paulina to-morrow," said Jack; "pass -over the decanter; thanks; I can take you off your stilts in a -twinkling, my boy." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE TERTULIA. - -In the morning, after coffee, a devilled bone and a cigar, we sallied -forth to deliver the dispatch of our Governor to the captain general, -and resolved, soon after, to bid farewell to Seville; for Jack was -full of fears that the whole corps would be off, bag and baggage, to -fight the Russians before we could return. The hour was somewhat -early, so we rambled about the beautiful city; but I do not mean to -inflict upon the reader a description of all we saw--of the gay -crowds who thronged the Plaza de Toros and the Alameda, with fan and -mantilla, sombrero and mantle; of the cathedral of Santa Maria, with -its carved buttresses and stupendous spires; of the Alcazar or palace -of the Moorish kings, with all its arabesques and oval arches; of the -Lonja and the huge tobacco factory. I beg my reader to imagine them -all, for I could easily devote five several chapters to describing -these five several edifices. It is enough that the Sevillanos have -an ancient proverb, that he who never saw Seville has never seen a -wonder; to wit-- - - "Que en no ha visto Sevilla, - Ne ha visto Maravilla." - - -As we issued from the cathedral, Jack's loquacity was somewhat -stilled by the grandeur of that stupendous pile and its dark -Murillos, the chief of which is the adoration of the Saviour by St. -Anthony of Padua--I beg pardon--of Lisbon and of Lagos--and full of -thoughts, which were rather solemn for such fellows as we are, we -walked slowly on with our eyes fixed on the far-famed tower of the -weathercock--the Giralda--which rises at the north-east angle of the -church, when a personage, whose eyes were raised to the same -altitude, came somewhat violently against us, and then we poured -forth mutual apologies. - -"Maldito--come esta, señores; well met." - -"Come esta, señor major--who would have thought of meeting you here?" - -"Why so?" asked Don Joaquim, for he proved to be our friend of the -noble regiment of Lagos; "I think that I mentioned Seville as my -native city--so you have reached the end of your journey?" - -"Yes, and mean to leave this to-morrow," said Jack. - -"So early! Maldito--a short visit. Is your business so soon -concluded?" - -"It is not yet begun; we have a dispatch for the captain general." - -"Indeed!" said he, with wonder in his face. - -"Where is his palace? We were just about to inquire the way." - -"You must pass the Lonja, our famous Exchange, a triumph of the -genius of Juan de Herrera--the architect of the Escurial; well, you -must pass it, and cross the Plaza de Toros; but allow me to have the -pleasure of escorting you." - -"Many thanks." - -"None are necessary, señores--hut this dispatch for the captain -general--Maldito! I am bursting with irrepressible curiosity to know -what it is about. Are we going to war with Russia too?" - -"Then, señor," said I, "we may as well inform you that it concerns -the killing of a man on board of a Spanish government guarda costa, -by a chance shot from the Mole Fort at Gibraltar." - -"He was in pursuit of a contrabandista, I presume?" - -"Exactly so." - -"Ah, those rascally contrabandistas! It is too bad of your -Government to protect them--quite as bad as making war on the Chinese -because they would not poison themselves with opium. I heard that -some of your people had shot at a guarda costa, and killed some one -on hoard. It has excited considerable animosity, and been much -spoken of." - -He led us through several dark and narrow streets, so narrow, indeed, -that people could easily have shaken hands from the windows on each -side of these quaint old Moorish thoroughfares. Issuing suddenly -into the full Haze of the scorching Spanish sunshine, we found -ourselves before a handsome palace decorated by Corinthian pilasters, -and having its lofty windows covered by external shades of brilliant -red and white striped stuff. Two sentinels of the line stood at the -portal under sunshades, with their muskets "ordered;" and they stared -at our uniform with black and lacklustre eyes. - -"The palace of the captain general," said Don Joaquim, bowing; "he -has just returned from Jaen, having gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy -Face." - -"We must have the pleasure of meeting you again," said I. - -"Our hotel is the Queen's--de la Reyna--near the Exchange," added -Slingsby. - -"Oh, I know the place very well," replied the Don, producing his -card, a token of civilisation little known in Spain; "my mother gives -a tertulia to-night, and we shall be delighted to see you--her -reception hour is eight--Donna Dominga de Lucena--Calle del Alcazar." - -"You are the son of Donna Dominga, whom we had the pleasure of -knowing in Gibraltar?" - -"The same, señores. Are you the gentlemen who were so kind and -attentive to her? It is quite a little romance this meeting. How -odd, to think that we sat a whole night in the venta of Castellar and -knew nothing about this! Then, doubtless, one of you must be that -accomplished cavalier, Don Leja Mag Leja, concerning whom she wrote -me so many letters when I was at Lagos." - -With some laughter, we professed that neither of us was the portly -Leechy Mac Leechy, to whose name the Donna had given somewhat of a -Castilian character in her epistles to the major. - -"But about the tertulia? we have no full uniform," urged Jack. - -"Full uniform--bagatella!--stuff--come just as you are; but as your -business here is about that unlucky guarda costa, 'tis as well my -brother Hernan has not arrived; for he is in our naval service, and -might feel piqued on the subject. Well, addio--I shall see you at -eight to-night--don't forget, the street of the Alcazar," and with a -salute he left us. - -The sentinels at the door "handled" their arms as we ascended the -flight of marble steps which led to the door of the captain general's -palace. - -"The last general officer with whom I had the honour of an interview -was old Towler, of the Kilkenny district," said Slingsby; "I have no -idea what manner of man our Spaniard may be." - -As the interview with the captain-general and all the various pros -and cons thereanent--as a Scotsman would say--may have appeared -already among the public intelligence of "our own correspondent," who -most likely was not in Seville, and knew nothing about the matter, I -will only state that we were received with great urbanity and -politeness by the Spanish officer who held the important post of -Governor of the four kingdoms. He was a fine old cavalier, and in -earlier years had served in the Peninsular war; he told us that he -had commanded a regiment under Cuesta; a brigade of Cazadores under -Hill, and a division under Murillo; that he had been wounded at -Vittoria in attacking the heights of La Puebla, and had received the -Grand Cross of the Bath from the hand of the Duke of Wellington, and -latterly the Order of Carlos III., which devoted him "to the pure -conception of the blessed Virgin Mary," from the Queen and the -Patriarch of the Indies, at the solemn chapter held in 1853. The old -fellow's eyes kindled with pleasure as he invited us to lunch, and to -share with him a bottle of choice Valdepenas, saying that he loved -the sight of the red coat for the memory of the olden time that would -never come again--the poor red coats--he had often seen them lying -thick enough on many a Spanish plain, and in many a crumbling breach -and trench--at Badajoz, at Ciudad Rodrigo, San Sebastian and Tarifa. - -Here, at least, was one noble old Spanish soldier--one true -cavalier--whose lively recollection of those great campaigns (which -are second to none the world has seen) and whose sense of what his -country owed to ours, formed a strong contrast to that cold -ingratitude which desecrated the tomb of the Scottish hero of -Corunna, and ploughed up the graves of our brave men, who were buried -in the little field beneath the ramparts of Tarifa; and for the -repose of whose bones our Government had to pay a sum to Spain. - -We received from him a letter to the Governor of Gibraltar, stating -that our explanations of the affair of the guarda costa had perfectly -satisfied him; and on our rising to retire he made us an offer of a -cavalry escort as far as San Roque, which lies within a few miles of -our garrison; but being aware that we should be obliged to maintain -both the horses and the men, and to make them a handsome donation at -parting, I declined, saying that we had an idea of returning by San -Lucar de Barameda, and would there take the steamer for Gibraltar. - -"But remember there is that restless gentleman, Don Fabrique de -Urquija," said the general, smiling; "he makes the roads very unsafe, -and does not hesitate to commit such outrages as have not been known -in the land since Marshal Massena marched through it." - -We assured him of our being without fear in the matter; on which he -laughed, saying that he knew "los Brittanicos, of old, and that, like -our fathers who fought under Wellington, Hill, and Grahame, we also -were without fear," and we parted, highly flattered and delighted by -our interview with this old Castilian hidalgo. - -We lounged long in the Alameda, where the notice our uniform -attracted was rather an annoyance. After dining at the hotel and -making the most of our costume that our light marching order would -admit, we appeared at the door of Donna Dominga's residence in the -Calle del Alcazar, just as the cathedral clock struck eight; for the -Spaniards are too well bred to esteem any one the more for being late -at a conversazione, for such is a tertulia in fact and in effect. - -A number of sedans, borne by servants in livery, were standing about -the steps of the mansion; and the links and torches flared on the -coats of arms that decorated the panels and the collars of Santiago -and Calatrava which surrounded them. Various long-visaged and -spindle-shanked representatives of the pure did blood of los Cuatros -Reinos, untainted by the stain of Moor, or Jew, or heretic, were -stalking through the vestibule with due gravity and grandeur. - -We were ushered forward by one servant, and were announced by another -on entering the saloon, where our old friend Donna Dominga sat with -fan and snuff-box in hand receiving her guests; and as her son had -prepared her for our visit, she was in a prodigious flutter, with her -fat round face forming the apex of a pyramid of black satin and black -Cadiz lace; for her veil, which was of the finest texture, fell over -all her person. - -By her side sat the pretty Paulina on a rich low tabourette, -gracefully as a Spanish lady sits at mass, or a Moorish maiden on her -little carpet, for it is from their Arabian conquerors that the low -seats of the Spanish dames are borrowed. - -The major, who wore the blue uniform and massive silver epaulettes of -"the noble Regiment of St. Anthony," and who had the order of St. -John of Portugal on his breast, hurried forward to meet and to -present us. Then the younger donna blushed crimson, while the elder -wished very much to do so too, and dropping her eyelids, fanned -herself, and affected to be much agitated. We bowed very low and -then stepped back, as it is not the custom in Spain to shake hands. -After a few of those complimentary remarks and those commonplaces, -which are customary in every country, we should have withdrawn a -little to make way for other tertulianos, had not Donna Dominga -especially invited us to remain beside her; and while the -presentation continued, and all that were noble (being rich or -beautiful went for nought in Seville) appeared in succession, and -while caballeros and grave and solemn hidalgos, with the red cross of -Calatrava, and the little sword of San Jago dangling at their -button-holes, advanced slowly, and with a faint smile and courtly bow -laid a hand on their heart and lisped the usual and invariable "A los -pies de usted, señoras" (I am at your feet, ladies), and then -retired; I was chatting gaily with Paulina, who had now become more -assured, and who overwhelmed me with a thousand inquiries about -Gibraltar and her friends. Meantime that rogue Jack Slingsby poured -into her mother's ear pretended messages from MacLeechy, our -doctor--messages so tender and so pitiful that the old lady relented -and forgave him being married, saying it was "his misfortune, not his -fault, poor man;" Jack asserted his belief that the doctor was quite -of her opinion; and then the bulbous-shaped fair one made a vigorous -use of her fan and snuff-box, as she conjured up the image of the -"gay deceiver." - -The saloon was a large apartment; the floor was of polished oak, and -was varnished until it shone like glass; the ceiling was of cedar, -and divided into deep, dark panels; the walls were painted white, and -were hung with several dusky pictures, principally of religious -subjects; one of these was by Roelas; another by Murillo, and both -had narrowly escaped abstraction by the French, during the War of -Independence, for Messrs. Soult, Suchet, and Co., made everything -march over the Pyrenees that was neither too hot nor too heavy. - -Our garrison evening parties in Gibraltar had shown Donna Dominga -that considerable improvements might be made upon the solemn gravity -of the Spanish tertulia; thus the company were pressed to stay longer -than usual in honour of us; we had a few airs on the piano--a very -antique instrument, said to have been found among Joseph's baggage at -Vittoria, and in no way calculated to give full effect to the -compositions of Donizetti, Verdi, or Orsini, which Paulina and her -companions attempted to give us; but then they had their guitars, and -the lively songs of old Spain, and legendary ballads of the brave -Avalos of the Ronda, which if destitute of science, had at least the -merit of being full of music and melody. - -Every sound was hushed as Paulina sang the song which was wont to -turn the heads of half Her Majesty's garrison. - - "Since for kissing thee, Minguillo, - Mother's ever scolding me; - Give me swiftly back, O dear one, - Give the kiss I gave to thee!" - - -Either by chance, or an irresistible inclination, our eyes met just -as she sang these very tender and pointed words, and a soft tinge -shot over her pure white cheek. My own heart filled with a tumult of -emotion, for the aspect of this noble Spanish girl, as she sat on the -low tabourette, in an attitude full of grace, with her high proud -head and the long veil of black lace that fell from it over her back -and shoulders, was so bewildering, that I felt convinced my peace of -mind would require an explanation with her before my bantering mentor -and I turned our horses' heads once more towards Gibraltar. - -We had now a little waltzing, and a quadrille or two, with plenty of -groseille and fleur d'orange. - -I had a thousand things to tell Paulina; but when she was the centre -of almost every eye in the room, it was no easy matter to be tender; -besides, whenever I looked round, the comical eye of Jack Slingsby, -with a glass stuck in it, was sure to meet mine; for whatever he was -about, in the waltz, the quadrille, in a quiet two-handed flirtation -(which, by the way, made the old hidalgos of Seville, who are not -wont to tolerate such things, shrug their shoulders and elevate their -eyebrows) in the middle of a tender speech, when handing fleur -d'orange, restoring a fallen fan, or reclasping a bracelet, he seemed -to watch all my proceedings with a species of amused interest--so -that nothing passed between Paulina and me but the merest -commonplaces. - -"The moment so ardently wished for has arrived at last," thought I; -"she is beside me, and I have not one word of interest for her." - -"And you leave Seville to-morrow?" said she, to break an awkward -pause. - -"No, señora, in two days." - -"A short visit--there are so many things to see here. There is the -great tower of Cabildo with its enchanted weathercock, a Pallas with -a standard which always indicates the quarter from which an enemy is -approaching Seville." - -"Ah--yes; I remember in the adventure of Don Quixotte with the Knight -of the Wood, the latter boasts, that among other deeds done in honour -of his mistress, he 'had challenged the famous fighting giantess, La -Giralda of Seville, who is strong and undaunted as one who is made of -brass.'" - -"And who without changing place is the most inconstant woman in the -world. Oh, Don Quixotte, he is charming! And then in Seville we -have the letters of Francisco Pizzaro, of Columbus and the valiant -Hernan Cortes; and more than all, we have the cathedral with its -Puerta de Perdon, which was the work of a Moorish necromancer, and -was all built by a spell between the night and morning. In two days -you can never see all these things." - -"Your own presence, Donna Paulina, is more than enough to detain me -here for ever." - -"Then why go so soon?" she asked, with her pretty Spanish lisp, while -her long lashes drooped. - -"Go I must, señora, for, being a soldier, I have nothing to urge; -but----" - -"But what?" - -"The stern necessity of obedience." - -"Ay de mi!" said she, gazing fully and honestly at me; "I am so sorry -to hear all this." - -"I am full of gratitude to hear you say so, señora; but there is no -remedy." - -"Señor," said she, smiling, "para todo hay remedio sino para la -muerte." - -"True, there is a remedy for everything but death, it is a good old -Spanish proverb," said I; "but is not absence from those we love but -a living death? so when I am far from Seville I shall have but the -memory of one most beautiful face, and one bright happy night." - -"Take this rose," said she, disengaging one from her bouquet; "it -will be a memento, though a small one." - -"Thanks, señora; but the rose will wither and fade." - -"So will the memory of the beautiful face and the one happy night," -said she, with a winning smile. - -"Never, never Paulina--you are so charming--so gentle and so good, -that----" - -"Hush, Dios Mio! the people are observing us, and--but ave Maria -purissima! what is the matter with my mother?" - -During this brief conversation, the servant Pedrillo had delivered a -note to Donna Dominga, who, on hurriedly glancing at its contents, -uttered a faint cry and fell upon the sofa, where all the ladies -crowded in an excited manner round her. Don Joaquim snatched up the -letter and read it with flaming eyes. - -"What, in Heaven's name, is the matter?" I asked, pressing forward. - -"A letter has come from the captain of the guarda costa, stating that -the son of Donna Dominga, his lieutenant, had been killed by a shot -from the garrison of Gibraltar," said Slingsby, in a rapid whisper. -"The absence of the captain general at Jaen prevented the Sevillanos -from learning that the person slain was a townsman. I find we are in -a mess here, and think we had better be off, my boy." - -Though Spain had a post-office in those days when James III. of -Scotland was fighting the battles of the people against his -traitorous nobility, and when the brutal Henry of England was -murdering his wives and burning Catholics and Protestants together at -Smithfield, she has so far receded in the arts of peace that this -unfortunate letter had been all these many weeks in finding its way -from the sea port of Malaga to Seville. - -Don Joaquim now said something to Paulina, who turned upon us with -eyes full of grief and dismay. - -"'T is my brother Hernan you have slain," she exclaimed, in tones -that went through me like a sword; "O madre mia, madre mia! they have -murdered our dear, dear Hernan!" and she threw herself beside her -mother. - -"Yes, señores," said Don Joaquim, folding up the letter with an air -of sombre ferocity; "her accusation is right, you have heard her; 't -is my brother Don Hernan who was killed by your accursed shot from -the mole fort of Gibraltar,--Hernan, lieutenant of the guarda costa, -and this letter is from his captain, detailing the circumstances of -that outrage on the Spanish flag--an outrage of which I have heard so -much since I left Portugal; but which I little thought--O Dios Mio! -how little indeed, that it would bring such sorrow to my own house, -and to hearts to me so dear. My poor boy brother, Hernan! So, -señores, you it is, who were the perpetrators of this foul act? Fit -men you were, and proper too, to detail it to our blockhead of a -captain general, who was worshipping an old rag at Jaen, when he -should have been seeking vengeance at Madrid. But look ye, señores, -I'll have it, sure and deep, and as certainly as there is a saint in -heaven, sure as my name is Joaquim de Lucena of the regiment of -Lagos!" - -"Mueran los gabachos--death to the miscreants!" growled a number of -voices, and I laid a hand on my sword. It was a natural impulse. - -The ladies clustered like a brood of terrified doves round Donna -Dominga and her daughter; the gentlemen drew round her son; Slingsby -and I were left together in the middle of the large saloon. - -"A pleasant predicament this!" said Jack, shrugging his shoulders: -"Ramble, I think we had better retire." - -"To remain is useless, for these people are alike past listening to -explanation or apology," I replied; and with an emotion of -mortification and sorrow, which the reader may easily imagine, we -took up our swords, made a profound bow to this ungracious company -(none of whom responded), and quitted the house. - -"Awful business this," said Jack, "is it not, Dick -Ramble?--speak--have you lost your tongue?" - -"A strange combination of unfortunate circumstances! To find -ourselves the honoured guests of the very woman whose son we slew! -In what light will Paulina view us, and Don Joaquim too?" - -"As an officer he ought to be aware that we did but our duty," urged -poor Jack, who felt himself the most guilty party; "but I did not -half like the expression of his eyes as we left the saloon." - -"How?" - -"I read in them more of hatred and malice, than of horror for the -event, or natural grief for his brother's fate." - -"You think so?" - -"I am sure of it!" - -"Well, the man is a Spaniard." - -"And being so, will not let us off easily." - -"We shall have a message from him in the morning, challenging us both -to fight, you think?" said I. - -"Not at all; your Spaniards don't fight duels; he will lay some -desperate snare for us between this and San Roque; so, depend upon -it, the sooner we make ourselves scarce in Seville the better. But -here is the hotel--for Heaven's sake let us have some iced champagne, -for this horrid business has made me as thirsty as if I had crossed a -whole county in the hottest hunting season." - -I must own that though I was pretty well assured of the truth of -Jack's surmises and suspicions, fear for my own safety was quite a -secondary emotion to my sincere sorrow for the bereavement we had -occasioned to poor old Donna Dominga and the lively Paulina. As for -that stormy fellow Joaquim, I felt no compunction for him in the -least; his grief was too noisy, and his sudden hostility too deep to -leave much room for natural sorrow; and so, while surmising, -considering, revolving, and talking the matter threadbare, we -finished several bottles of champagne; through the medium of these we -easily came to the conclusion that we were the most injured parties; -that we had been grossly insulted somehow, over night--that the usual -satisfaction was necessary; and then we retired to bed in a state of -just and proper indignation at the malevolent threats of Don Joaquim -and his friends, to whom the affair formed a notable subject for -discussion at those morning meetings, which are so dearly prized by -the Spaniards, who then debate everything from a ballet girl's ancle -to a rising in Catalonia; and for these gossips, the place of -rendezvous in Seville is the Plaza de San Domingo. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -DON FABRIQUE. - -We were awake betimes in the morning, and breakfasted early, in the -true Spanish style, on good stiff chocolate with fried eggs, purple -wine, and snow-white bread; but no hostile message came from Don -Joaquim. The hours stole on, and the sunlit streets threw the -shadows of their picturesque façades against each other. The events -of the last night, and their probable consequences, had given us a -decided distaste for prowling about the streets of Seville. We were -both somewhat thoughtful, and said little, or conferred only on the -nearest route by which we could reach Gibraltar, in coming from -which, we had made somewhat of a détour; and Jack hinted that we -should probably have some more brawls with alcaldes, rows at posadas, -skirmishes with banditos, and other pleasant adventures, before we -reported ourselves "as just arrived" at head quarters. - -"A letter for El Señor Capitano Don Ricardo," said the waiter, -approaching. - -"A letter for you, Dick," said Slingsby. - -"So it has come at last," said I, breaking the seal. - -"Will it be an affair of knives or pistols?" - -"Hush!" said I, as the waiter retired. - -"Slugs in a saw-pit, and all that sort of thing--a triangular duel, -eh? But an officer should have brought it." - -"Yes, had it been that for which you seem so very anxious." - -"Anxious! not I, believe me." - -"Well, this is from a lady." - -"The deuce--you quite interest me. I can perceive that it is penned -on pink paper, a little flourished, but without signature. It is -from Paulina, poor girl! I can imagine her writing it, and as Byron -says-- - - "'How tremulously gentle, her small hand--'" - - -"How can you run on thus?" I asked, imploringly. "Fie upon you, -Jack, after all the misery we have wrought to these poor people." - -"Well, perhaps you are right and I am wrong. I beg pardon; but the -letter--what is it about?" - -"Only the safety of our lives." - -"Our lives--indeed--how so?" - -"Read it." - -The note ran thus:-- - - -"SENOR DON RICARDO. - -"In the name of the Blessed Mother of God, I implore you and your -friend to leave Seville on receipt of this, and to take the nearest -road for San Lucar de Barameda, where you can reach a steamer, which -sails direct for Gibraltar. Don Joaquim vows to have a terrible -revenge for the death of our dear brother Hernan; and, last night, -was seen in conference with Fabrique de Urquija on the old Alameda. -The road you came will be beset--his band are, doubtless, now in hire -to waylay you. El santo de los Santos, forgive you the misery you -have caused to those who never wronged you, and may it deliver you -from the snares of death that lie in your homeward path." - - -"More melodramatic than pleasant," said Jack. - -"It is from Paulina, no doubt.--how considerate!" - -"Kind and gentle too," added Jack. "Well, all things duly -considered, I think we should take her advice--mount, and be off." - -"Poor--poor Paulina!" - -"Deuce take it, Dick, don't be faint-hearted. 'T will be all one -when the route comes for the Crimea, and sell or sail is the word." - -"Not among "Ours," I hope." - -"The San Lucar road be it." - -"Then the sooner we leave the better, for we have much to lose and -nothing to gain by lingering here." - -"For there is neither law, justice, nor honour among these -Spaniards," said Slingsby, making a smart application to the -bell-rope. - -"What! you say so in the face of this charming letter?" - -"Charming, indeed, to be told that a captain of robbers--a -picturesque ruffian in a steeple-crowned hat and red garters, has -been bribed to cut your throat--to 'do' for you in the flower of your -youth for a hundred pistoles." - -The letter raised a glow of sad, of kind, and regretful emotions -within me; but I stifled them all, and, calling for the bill, settled -with the landlord in person. - -"What manner of magistrates have you here in Seville?" asked the -unwary Jack. - -"How, señor?" - -"When they permit thieves to prowl about your streets at night." - -"Thieves, señor--Ave Maria!" - -"Yes, thieves, señor patron. Fabrique de Urquija was on the old -Alameda last night with a well-known bravo from Portugal." - -"Don Fabrique," reiterated our host, aghast at the name; "ah, he is -too great a man to be easily arrested, señor." - -"Is he not a mere ladrone?" - -"True, Caballero; but then his band is numerous. Yes, señor; Ave -Maria purissima!--tiene con exercito de 10,000 hombres--all -determined men, and armed to the teeth." - -"Ten thousand men--nonsense! A hundred, more probably." - -The host felt his veracity impugned, and he called upon all the -saints in the calendar to witness the truth of his assertions; and -while we had a decanter of wine before starting, he told us a vast -number of anecdotes, descriptive of the cruel and unscrupulous -character of the so-called Don Fabrique. Two of these occurred to me -as being peculiarly diabolical in their nature. - -On one occasion he plundered the house of a wealthy merchant near -Estephana, a town on the Grenada coast; and because the unfortunate -proprietor would not yield up the alleged treasures of his strong -box, and sign bills on his bankers in Seville, Fabrique snatched up a -camphine lamp from a marble side-table, and, with a dreadful oath, -poured the contents over the hair and whiskers of his prisoner. He -then deliberately applied a lighted candle thereto, and in a moment -the whole face and head of the miserable man were enveloped in -flames. His skull was roasted like a large castano, and he died in -great misery--his head being literally burned off! - -Another amiable little trait of Don Fabrique was the strange way he -took to remove his predecessor from the command of the troop. This -was a rough old guerilla, who in his youth had fought in the -campaigns of Wellington, under Don Julian Sanchez, the famous Captain -Harelip, as our soldiers named him, and latterly in the service of -the Carlists, under the banished Conde de Morella. - -The robber captain--Gomes el Guerilla--having incurred the animosity -of Fabrique, that worthy procured some gun-cotton (which our patron -believed to be a preparation by the devil himself), from a -drug-chest, when investigating the shop of a botarico (apothecary) at -Castellar; and some of this he placed in the folds of Gomes' -neckcloth in the night, and for three days the old and unsuspecting -sinner wore this dreadful thing under his well-bearded chin. On the -third, Fabrique, who began to lose patience, and vow to have -vengeance on the botarico, said, "Come, señor, let us make up a -little cigar;" so the cigar was made, and they proceeded to smoke, -until some sparks fell on the breast of the old guerilla; and then, -Madre de Dios! there was a dreadful flash and explosion like that of -a cannon; and to the consternation of all his band, the head of Gomes -was blown right off his shoulders, and not a vestige of it was ever -seen again. - -"The noble Caballeros," continued our host, "have no doubt heard of -the great robber-chief, Manuel de Cordova, who in January, 1853, -killed the commandant of the civic guard of Bute?" - -"No." - -"He was betrayed by Don Fabrique, and shot to death by a platoon of -infantry, in the Plaza of Cordova. Oh, señor, the saints deliver us -from the devil and Don Fabrique!" - -"So say I," added Jack, as the landlord left us, and thus, being -impressed alike by these communications and that of Donna Paulina, we -resolved to change our route and avoid this formidable personage who -took such an interest in our proceedings. - -To deceive any person who might be watching about the hotel, or be -bribed by Fabrique, or the major, we made particular inquiries of the -patron, the waiters, and stable-boys concerning the road to Gibraltar -by the way of Puerto Serrano; and having, as Jack said, "completely -thrown dust in their eyes," we took the route to San Lucar and left -Seville at a rapid trot about an hour after noon, pausing only to -give a peseta to a poor Franciscan who begged from us at the city -gate. - -I looked back to Seville as we galloped away. - -The tower of La Giralda and all its spires were sinking in the sunny -haze and lessening in the distance. - -"So ends an intimacy that might have ripened into something better," -thought I. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE RATERILLO. - -Passing Coria del Rio, a little province and partido, after a twenty -miles' ride we halted to dine at Lebrija, which is so famed for its -oil of olives, and there we got some prime Xeres, which bore the -private mark of the señores Gonzalez and Dubose, the famous wine -merchants; and now we enjoyed the hope that our acquaintance Fabrique -de Urquija and his "ten thousand hombres" (or whatever their number -might be) were sunning themselves on the mountains, and lying in wait -for us on the dusty road by Puerto Serrano; and any anxiety we might -have felt to reach the coast unmolested began to lessen when we set -forth again, while the evening sun was verging towards the western -sierras of the province, and pursuing an old and narrow path, so old -that perhaps the Christian knights of King Ferdinand might have -traversed it to battle with the Emirs of Granada, of Seville, and -Cordova, we rode on, amid varied scenery, where luxuriant creepers -almost veiled the granite rocks like natural curtains, where large -fields of maize surrounded ancient villages left ruined and roofless -in the late civil wars, where herds of half wild cattle browsed on -the green mountain slope; where the dead man's cross, the wayside -chapel, the groves of cork, of olive or orange trees bordered the -devious path, and the shattered atalaya that whilome watched the -frontiers of Mohammed of Cadiz, towered over all, a landmark to the -Guadalquiver. - -Charmed by the scenery, we allowed the reins to fall on the necks of -our horses, and careless as to whether or not we found quarters for -the night in an olive wood or in Trohniona, which we were now -approaching, and the little spire of which we saw peeping above its -bright green groves and tipped with a fiery gleam, we rode on slowly -until near a well which flowed into a stone basin, under a rude -representation of our Lady of Assistance--a wayside chapel, in -fact--a turn of the path brought us suddenly upon two armed -Spaniards, who were seated on the sward playing with cards in the -twilight, for the time was evening now. - -One of these, by his gay attire, his embroidered jacket with its -silver clasps, his sash of red and yellow stripes and his velvet hat, -as well as by the horse which stood near him, well laden with -packages, and having a long gun slung at its demipique saddle, I -perceived to be a professed smuggler; and on our nearer approach we -both recognised our old friend Pedro el Contrabandista, who supplied -our mess with cigars, and whose unlucky pursuit by the guarda costa -had been the source of so much travelling, turmoil, and inquiry to -Slingsby and to myself. - -There was no mistaking the other as a raterillo--that is, "a little -rat," or pickpocket, on whose cloth the regular armed bandit who robs -convoys, fights the carabineros, and burns a village occasionally, -looks down as the line do on the militia, or as the militia do on the -yeomanry. The only weapon of the raterillo is his knife, and perhaps -a concealed pistol. Polite almost to servility to the armed man, the -raterillo is usually a bully to the peaceable, and to those who are -too poor to carry that long musket which is the constant companion of -the provincial Spaniard. - -He doffed his threadbare sombrero and bowed with great humility as we -reined up beside them to greet honest Pedro, who received us with a -hearty shout of welcome. - -"Well, amigo mio," said I, "we were not aware that you did business -by land as well as by sea." - -"True, señor, I should have been a woman, for I am never constant to -anything; I am glad to meet two noble cavaliers of the garrison -travelling here--but why so far from Gibraltar, and without an -escort?" - -"All owing to you, Pedro, my valiant contrabandista, and your -troublesome affairs." - -"Pardon, señor, I do not comprehend." - -"That devilish shot from the Mole fort." - -"Oh, yes--ha, ha! it cut in two halves Don Hernan de Lucena, and -enabled me to run my little felucca safe into Gibraltar--eh." - -"Yes, but we had to visit the captain general at Seville, and to -explain the affair to him in person. So we are here." - -"On your way back." - -"Exactly so." - -"I owe you a thousand thanks for that little piece of attention from -the Mole fort, señores; but for that, I should now, perhaps, have -been chained to an oar in the Queen's galleys at Barcelona, for I was -as sure of being taken as there is a saint in heaven. Well, señores, -we shall sup together to-night at Trohniona--see, yonder is its spire -shining like a red star in the sunset; I have my guitar, and shall -sing to you the newest seguidilla and some jovial romances about the -Granadine Moors, the Castilian Caballeros, or the Carlists, and -enchanters; but, meantime, I must finish a game to which I was -challenged by this traveller, on whom I shall have, proper revenge, -for he has already won from me forty duros; and you the while will do -me the favour to accept some of my best cigars." - -There was no resisting this jolly contrabandista; so, as we had -before arranged to halt for the night at Trohniona, we were the -better for the companionship of another man, who knew the country, -and was doubtless a favourite with the people, and who, moreover, was -well armed, stout, and determined. We watched the game between him -and the raterillo, who won dollar after dollar with a facility that -soon left no doubt whatever in our minds that he was cheating poor -Pedro, so Jack and I exchanged frequent glances. - -"Whose cards are these?" I asked. - -"The señor travalero's," said Pedro, "and I begin to think he knows -the backs better than the fronts of them." - -The raterillo, whose quick eyes rolled in a restless manner, laughed -as he pocketed three other duros of Pedro, who began to lose all -patience and to flush, while a dark gleam shot over his eyes; and on -detecting in his adversary some real or suspected piece of foul play, -he dashed the cards full in his face, crying,-- - -"You are a rogue and a thief--a pitiful little rat, and if you do not -yield back every peseta you have won, 'por el nombre de Dios,' I will -be at you with my Albacete knife!" - -"Then the knife be it," retorted the raterillo, crushing his -well-worn hat over his eye-brows; "shall we have our feet tied -together?" - -"No, we shall fight it out on the grass, and I will have your black -blood and my hard-won dollars together," cried Pedro, who was choking -with sudden passion; and quick almost as thought, they confronted -each other, their dark faces contorted by ferocity, their eyes -flashing fire, their feet planted on the turf, their bodies bent -forward ready to spring, and their cuchillos held firmly in the right -hand, the thumb being pressed upon the blade in such a manner as to -enable them to stab or to cut with equal facility. - -Several blows had been given and skilfully eluded before Jack and I, -who had drawn our swords, could dismount and interfere; but just as -we pressed in between them, at the peril of our lives, we heard a -cheer like a yell ringing in the hollow, and saw a crowd of armed men -rushing down the sloping banks which bordered the road-way. - -"Ladrones--ladrones--fly, señores!" cried Pedro, as he leaped on his -horse and dashed at full speed towards Trohniona, followed by several -musket-bullets, while the raterillo vanished in the twilight as if -the earth had swallowed him up. - -In a moment we were surrounded by a crowd of armed banditti--oh, -there was no mistaking them!--I was collared and pinioned just as my -foot was in the stirrup, and poor Jack Slingsby was knocked off his -horse by the butt-end of a long Spanish gun; our swords and -revolvers, our watches, rings, purses, and cigar-cases; our horses -and valises, all in a moment became the spoil of the Egyptians, and -we found ourselves prisoners at the mercy of--Fabrique de Urquija! - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -LA RIO DE MUERTE. - -Dark-visaged and black-bearded, with long sable hair hanging over -their collars from under their battered sombreros, or gathered up in -net-work cauls, the robbers presented every picturesque variety of -Spanish costume. Some wore jackets of black or olive-coloured -velvet, richly covered with needlework on the breast and seams; their -waists were girt by bright-coloured sashes, and their legs encased in -velvet small-clothes and leathern gaiters; while others were sans -shirts and sans shoes; scantily attired in rough zamarras of -sheepskin, with tattered breeches--their brawny legs and muscular -chests being bare. All were well armed with muskets, Albacete -knives, and pistols, and all were ferocious, resolute, and reckless -alike in spirit and in aspect. A glance showed me all this, as we -were dragged by them through an olive thicket, where, upon the -prostrate column of some old Roman temple, we found their leader -seated. - -The moon had now risen brightly above the mountains, and in the -sashed and armed figure before me, with a jacket glittering with -embroidery, his carbine resting in the hollow of his right arm, I -recognised our former acquaintance whom we had met by the wayside -between Castellar and Estrelo, and with whom we were hobbing and -nobbing over a cigar and bota, when poor sister St. Veronica came to -ask alms of us. - -The cruelties of which, on that occasion, he had so freely avowed -himself guilty, and those other traits of character, such as the -affair of the camphine lamp and the neckcloth so pleasantly padded -with guncotton, occurred to us; and I must own, that when we found -ourselves bound as prisoners and confronting the cold, stern and -impassible visage of this celebrated Spanish outlaw, a restless -anxiety made our hearts throb with new and undefined emotions. In -all things his bearing and disposition were similar to those of his -friend* whom he betrayed in 1853, and whose atrocities have been -published, like his own, at length in the columns of the "Heraldo de -Madrid." Neither Slingsby nor I had ever been in such a desperate -predicament before, as the reader may easily conceive; thus we could -scarcely realise it, and, naturally enough, indignation was uppermost -in our minds. - - -* Francisco Manuel de Cordova. - - -The intellectual part of Fabrique's face, though exceedingly -handsome, was immovable as that of a statue, his two black eyes -remained fixedly regarding us, and even when his bearded mouth -relaxed into a grim smile, one-half of his face remained unmoved. He -seemed calm and pale in the white moon-light--but the cicatrised -wound which traversed his cheek was of a deep and dusky red. - -"Well, señor," said I, briskly, "are you fully prepared to answer for -the attack you have made upon us?" - -"Answer," he reiterated, with something between a frown and -disdainful smile; "to whom?" - -"The captain general of Andalusia." - -"I have so many things to answer for already to that illustrious -Caballero of Seville, that he will be very apt to forget your little -affair among others." - -"But the Governor of Her Brittanic Majesty's garrison at Gibraltar -will refresh both his memory and yours, rascal!" said poor Slingsby, -whose face was streaming with blood. - -"Stuff, señores. Our Lady Donna Isabella II. alone is Queen of -Gibraltar, whatever you may believe to the contrary." - -"Then there is our ambassador at Madrid," said I, swelling with -passion. - -"Let the Señor Embajador come hither to seek you, if he chooses," -replied Fabrique, with a scowl, while his band made the wooded hollow -ring with their laughter. - -"For what reason, and with what purpose, is this outrage committed -upon us?" asked Jack, more calmly. - -"The reason is here," said Fabrique, throwing up a heavy purse. -"From the noble Don Joaquim, Major in the service of the young king -Don Pedro V., I have received one thousand duros to intercept you----" - -"And the purpose?" - -"To avenge his brother's death." - -"In what manner?" - -"By taking your lives, that is all; blood for blood, you know; an eye -for an eye, a limb for a limb, and a life for a life, are law and -justice all the world over. If my friend the blind abagado of Jaen -were here, he could not explain the law better." - -Zumalacarregui, when giving a light from his own cigar to the Carlist -prisoners he was just about to shoot, could not have spoken more -coolly. - -"And so, fellow, you have received a thousand duros to murder us?" -said Jack, abruptly. - -"One thousand, señor," was the quiet reply. - -"Conduct us to the harbour of San Lucar, and I will give you my word -of honour that two thousand shall be sent to you." - -"You would not break your plighted word?" - -"I would rather die!" - -"Then bear in mind that I have pledged mine; and that I also would -rather die than break it. No, señores; all the gold in Madrid would -not save you." - -After a pause,-- - -"How came you to discover us so readily on this road?" I asked. - -"Easily. I had spies planted at every gate of Seville. A Franciscan -begged alms of you at the Puerto of the San Lucar road." - -"To whom I gave a peseta." - -"'T was I." - -"You! I wish that I had recognised you then." - -"Muchos gratias, señor--my own mother would not have known me. I -took care of that, and now I shall take care of you." - -"It is incredible that a companion so jovial as the Major de Lucena -could contemplate this intended atrocity," exclaimed Slingsby. - -"Have you not his sister's letter here?" asked Fabrique, displaying -that little document, of which his searchers had deprived me; "you -Inglesos would doubt the holy face of Jaen, even if it were placed -before you! I received a thousand dollars to shoot you down like -dogs or wild pigs, and here we are chattering away like so many -magpies. Vamos alla--to the mountains--cammarados, basta!" - -"We are not, then, to be shot?" I asked, as a gleam of hope -brightened before me. - -"No," said he, with an icy smile, as his dark fierce face came close -to mine, like that of a handsome spectre in the moonlight and as the -whole band began to move; "we will give you to drink of the Rio de -Muerte." - -The River of Death!--our blood ran cold at these words; but no time -was left us for expostulation, as we were hurried up the hills, over -wild and furzy banks, where the laurel, the vine, and the fair yellow -paunch of the gourd grew together in luxuriance; and among rocks, -where the nimble goat browsed, and the untamed porker flew before us, -squeaking from his lair, among the aromatic plants, the long reedy -grass, the giant fern, and the broad-leaved dock. Up, up we went, -alternately clambering, or being pushed and dragged, until we gained -the brow of a steep hill, from which we saw beneath us in the broad, -clear, liquid moonlight, the waters of the Guadalquiver winding away -between groves of the orange and the olive, to San Lucar, and in the -middle distance, but far down below us, the white houses of Trohniona -clustered round their little church. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -PEDRO THE CONTRABANDISTA. - -After a painful and anxious hour elapsed, and we had traversed about -two miles of a steep and craggy ascent, until we reached a part of -the mountain range which was entirely covered by a little forest of -laurels. Above us, in the dark blue sky, the moon was hanging like a -large silver globe, and the flood of clear cold light it diffused -over the distant landscape enabled us to distinguish objects with -great minuteness. Thus I could trace the gleaming course of the -Guadalquiver, as it wound down from Seville past Borminos, the mouth -of the Guadamar, and the hills that overhang Dos Hermanos; while -other sierras in the distance undulated afar off, like the waves of a -petrified sea, if such a simile may be allowed me. Light glinted at -times upon the river. It came from a passing steamer. Down there in -the valley was the civilisation of our own time; yet we were about to -perish by the hands of outlaws, whose bearing and character were -worthy of the middle ages, or the mistier time that lies beyond them. - -Jack Slingsby and I had scarcely spoken during our steep and rapid -clamber, but our thoughts were the same; anxiety--intense -anxiety--for our fate; repugnance for our captors, and a natural -horror of dying a barbarous death at their hands, on these remote and -lonely mountains; far from help, far from justice and from -civilisation; a death, of which our friends, our relations, and our -comrades would never hear--would never know; for our fate would -become a mystery, which all the captains general, the ambassadors, -the chargés des affaires, and even the correspondents of the "Times" -would be unable to clear up or unravel,--as it was the purpose of -these wretches, whose prey we had become, to hide for ever our -remains, and the very means of our death, as completely as if we had -been flung into Mount Etna. - -In this sequestered part of the mountain chain, hidden among the -thickly-twined laurels, the wild and straggling vines, and the -densely-matted jungle of gourds, and other luxuriant creepers, there -suddenly yawned a chasm in the granite rocks--a black profundity of -unknown depth. The gaping rent was about twenty feet broad by some -hundred in length, but its mouth was greatly diminished by the -bordering foliage and wild plants that overhung it. Far down, -perhaps five hundred feet below (for the bottom was unseen), there -rolled with a deep, hoarse, roaring sound the Rio de Muerte--the -River of Death--a subterranean tributary of the Guadalquiver; and its -strange and hollow voice as it gurgled, surged, and bellowed through -the clefts and fissures in the heart of the mountains, filled me with -a pang of horror. Here we paused, and our captors muttered one to -another under their thick beards, smoked their paper cigaritos, and -leaned leisurely on their short escapetas, or long-barrelled muskets, -and seemed to await the approach of Fabrique de Urquija, who was some -yards behind us, and came up very much at his ease. - -"My God!" said my friend, "if it be their purpose to--to----" - -"To throw us down there, you would say? My dear Slingsby, such seems -indeed to be their dreadful purpose, and I see here but little hope -of mercy or of charity, where bribes greater than those of that -infamous major have failed before a savage idea of honour and the -fulfilment of a villanous trust." - -"Heaven help us!" - -"If these are not your prayers, señores," said one fellow in Spanish, -with a slight Murcian accent, "you had better betake yourselves to -them, for in less than ten minutes you will be at the bottom of this -terrible place, and be swept through the bowels of the mountain -towards the Guadalquiver." - -The man spoke gently and with some emotion; it was evident that his -dreadful life had not yet obliterated every remnant of civilisation -and humanity. There was, moreover, something terribly impressive in -his words, when heard amid the hoarse rush of that deep and -subterranean torrent, whose waters came we knew not from where, and -traversed depths and caverns, of which we could have no conception, -in their way to the valley below. - -There was a refined cruelty in bringing us to such a place, and to -die such a death; for the mind "shrunk back upon itself and -trembled," when contemplating the dark profundity through which this -mysterious torrent poured. - -"Pray, good señores, pray," said this man, kindly again, as he -touched me on the shoulder, "down upon your knees, for here comes the -capitano, and he never tarries with his prisoners on the brink of the -Rio de Muerte, or the Cima de Cabra." - -"What does the fellow say?" asked poor Slingsby, who looked a little -pale, and whose nether lip was tightly clenched. - -"He bids us lose no time, but to pray." - -"Pray!" reiterated Jack, fiercely; "I pray to Heaven only that my -hands were loose for one moment, that I might strike a blow for life -or for revenge." - -"Threats are absurd, señor," said Fabrique de Urquija, throwing the -end of his cigar with perfect deliberation into the chasm that yawned -before us: "and bribes are alike useless----" - -"Can it be, brave Spaniards," said I, becoming desperate, and -encouraged by the evident sympathy of one to endeavour to soften the -rest; "can it be that you will prove so cruel and so merciless to two -unoffending strangers, who----" - -"Silence, señores!" exclaimed Fabrique, in a voice of thunder, while -drawing a pistol from his belt; "in attempting to tamper with my -followers you but anticipate your fate. Iago Pineda--Stephano el -Corcovado, over with them! dost thou hear me? presto! or by the -mother of God, this bullet shall see the brains of some of you." - -He ground his teeth; his eyes shot fire, and his broad nostrils -seemed to dilate as he gave this savage order. - -Stephano the humpbacked, and the other who was named Iago Pineda, and -who was no other than our sympathetic friend, threw down their -escopetas and grasped me. They were powerful and muscular men--aye, -men of iron frames and iron hearts, and a sickening emotion rose -within me as their hands were roughly laid upon my pinioned arms. -The moonlit mountains and the far-stretching Vega swam around me; the -forms of our murderers were multiplied a thousandfold; the -perspiration fell heavily from my brow, and a half-arrested cry to -Heaven for that pity which men denied us here, arose to my lips as -they were about to hurl me downward; when, lo! Pineda paused, looked -back, and listening, relinquished my right arm. - -"Do you think, do you dare to disobey?" cried Fabrique, as he -levelled a brass-barrelled pistol full at his head; "to work at once, -vile mutineer, or por vida del demonic----" - -"Hold--para--detenedos!" cried a breathless voice, and a man mounted -on horseback, and armed with a long gun, dashed his jennet at full -speed through the laurel bushes into the midst of the free company. - -"Who cries hold?" demanded Fabrique, almost choking with passion, -while turning his pistol against the intruder; and all his people -cocked or clubbed their muskets in high alarm. - -"I do--I, your brother Pedro the contrabandista." - -"Oho, and what seek you here?" - -"The safety of these two Caballeros, who at Gibraltar saved me from -the guarda costa of Hernan de Lucena in the first place, and from the -chain and the scourge in Her Majesty's galleys in the second place." - -"How! was it you, brother Pedro, whose felucca was concerned in this -business?" asked Fabrique, with an altered voice. - -"Yes, Fabrique, it was my little craft, La Buena Fortuna, which the -Lieutenant De Lucena pursued till a shot from the Mole fort shortened -him by two feet. I claim their lives, for they are my friends and -patrons, and would have supped with me to-night at Trohniona had not -your devilish fellows came upon us like a herd of wild cats, just -when I was kicking and cuffing yonder rascally raterillo, who has -made off with all my dollars. So I fled from the wayside-well, for I -knew not whose free company your lads had the honour to be, and -feared they might relieve me alike of life and all care for my -packages." - -Jack and I now began to breathe a little more freely; for as all this -took place in less time than I have taken to write it, there was some -difficulty in realising the conviction that we had been waylaid, -doomed to death and saved, with such rapidity: yet so it was, and so -ended the scene of that night to which I can never recur without a -chill of awe and horror, blended with a very decided sensation of -anger and just indignation. - -Notwithstanding the alleged solemnity with which his word was -plighted to the malevolent major of the sainted regiment of Lagos, -"in the kingdom of Algarve," Fabrique relinquished his cruel purpose, -unbound us at his brother's request, and restored to us our arms, -horses, and little baggage--everything, in short, not even excepting -the letter of poor Paulina. He gave us cigars, a hearty quaff from -his bota, and then a bow so low that his black velvet sombrero almost -swept the dewy sward. He then drew off with all his band towards the -Sierra de Honda, and in two hours afterwards we were comfortably -seated by the kitchen fire in the posada of Trohniona, at supper with -his brother the contrabandista, who was en route for San Lucar. - -For some time after, throughout the night in which these startling -events occurred, in fancy I saw before me the cold, stern visage and -fierce glaring eyes of Urquija, and above all other sounds I seemed -to hear the deep hoarse rush of the subterranean Rio de Muerte. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -THE SPANISH STEAMER. - -Whatever may have been the emotions with which we regarded the -formidable relative of our contrabandista, we spared him the -humiliation of listening to the just appreciation we had of the -character of Fabrique; and enlivened by those songs and stories with -which the honest fellow endeavoured to raise our spirits and efface -the terrible recollection of that hour upon the hills of Trohniona, -we supped upon a guisado and bottle of valdepenas. - -Now I may inform the uninitiated that the aforesaid guisado was a -stew, such as can only be made in a real Spanish pipkin. It -consisted of two chickens, a plump partridge, and a hare, well -seasoned with oil, garlic, pepper, and saffron all simmered together -When hot and steaming, the giblets, &c., are fished up from the -depths of the savoury pipkin, with just such a wooden spoon as -paunchy Sancho used, when diving therewith into his beloved -flesh-pots at the wedding of Camacho. - -Supper over, and a fresh bota ordered, Pedro assumed his guitar, and -while we cleaned and examined our swords and pistols, and all the -people of the posada, the patron and patrona, the waiteresses, the -stabler, and the little half-naked muchaco who cleaned the boots and -turned the spit, crowded near, he, the jovial contrabandista, turned -his dark eyes and well-bearded visage towards the dusky wooden -ceiling, and while his swarthy cheek glowed in the light of the -kitchen fire, struck up one of those lively seguidillas which are the -delight of the Spaniards, and skilfully he brushed the strings with -his finger-points in a manner which I believe is peculiar to the -Andalusians. - -A very amorous love ditty succeeded, and when the roguish eyes of -Pedro wandered knowingly from one person to another, the patrona -blushed with pleasure, and all the waiteresses simpered and spread -out their short but full-flounced skirts, or displayed their handsome -red stockings, to let their well-shaped legs be seen, as well as -their pretty zapatas; for the roving and romantic contrabandista, -whose habits are so full of life and energy, is ever a welcome guest -at the wayside inns of Spain, and to none more than their fairer -inmates. - -Now Pedro's gaudy brown jacket, all covered with silver bell-buttons, -bright silken lace, and spangles; his ample breeches of gay -velveteen; his brilliant sash and broad hat placed a little over the -right eye, made him a welcome visitor to all the women, while the -stories, news, or fibs which his incessant perambulations afforded -him ample means of collecting, made him equally acceptable to the -men; thus, like other bold contrabandistas, who by sea and land set -the laws of the Cortes at defiance, Pedro was always sure of the -brightest smiles, the oldest wine in the cellar, the best fowl in the -larder, the warmest corner by the kitchen fire, and the most snug -cama in the posada, while pretty hands stroked his docile jennet, and -readier ones removed his corded packages, and placed his guitar and -loaded gun by his bedside for the night. - -Pedro's songs, and the stories he told during the single night we -spent with him, would fill a volume; but the time passed rapidly -away; we were up betimes, mounted and armed to ride; and with -something of real satisfaction, Jack and I turned our backs on those -hated mountains, where a thicket of green laurels, diminished to a -black speck by the distance, indicated the locality of the Rio de -Muerte. - -Trotting pleasantly, we passed Isla-mayor, which lies about twelve -miles from the mouth of the Guadalquiver, and abounds in fruit-trees, -which were then in full blossom. - -By this time, Paulina, her dark eyes, and her witchery were alike -forgotten, and her little note on pink paper had been smoked away in -cigaritos. The keen interest taken in our affairs by the major had -completely cured me; so much for Spanish romance contrasted with -Spanish reality. - -"And you have decided on taking the steamer at San Lucar, señores?" -said Pedro. - -"Yes, and happy shall we be to find ourselves safe on board of her," -said I; "we have had too many devilish scrapes among you Spaniards to -wish for more travelling in the saddle. It is no joke to escape -being hanged as a spy by a blundering alcalde one day, and a terrible -death the next by drowning, at the hands of----" - -"My brother Fabrique," said he, good-humouredly, closing a sentence, -the termination of which might have proved unpleasant. "Well, -señores, my little felucca the 'Buena Fortuna'--you know her, with -her long brass gun and lateen sails--is lying concealed in a solitary -creek near Carbonera. I have run her in there, because a fleet--yes, -maldito--a whole fleet of guarda costas are at anchor in the harbour -of San Lucar; but we must put to sea to-morrow night, and if you will -so far honour me, Caballeros, as to accept a passage with me to -Gibraltar, the best valdepenas and the noblest Xeres that ever came -out of a madre-butt shall be at your service. Ah, you shake your -head, Señor Don Ricardo, and think you have had enough of me and my -poor little craft----" - -"Right, Pedro, and wish to have no more affairs with a guarda costa," -said Slingsby; "besides, if you were attacked and taken at sea, after -a fight, you would fight, of course----" - -"To the death, Señor, guerra al cuchillo, as the old guerillas say." - -"Well--what would be our fate?" - -"True, señor. If not killed, you would be sent to the galleys at -Barcelona, and so might as well have taken a dip in the Rio de -Muerte. Well, I will cease to urge you. Here is the gate of -Bonanza, which may be termed the port of Seville, though the city is -fifteen leagues distant; yonder is its castle, with the Spanish flag -flying, and here is the quay, where all large vessels laden with -goods discharge their cargoes, as the shallowness of the Guadalquiver -will not permit them to ascend higher--you understand, señores?" - -Here at this small town we bade farewell to Pedro, who promised to -visit us as soon as he came round to Gibraltar; and pushing on, after -a trot of a mile or two over a dreary and sandy waste, we found -ourselves amid the sunny and bustling streets of San Lucar de -Barameda, where we sought at once its harbour, the quays of which -were, as usual, piled chin deep with boxes of oranges, of raisins, -and of prunes, casks of salt, of wine, and of brandy; while the flags -of all nations--the stars and stripes of North America, the eagles -and tricolours of the South, the union jack and the crosses of -Scandinavia--were waving among a forest of masts; in short, we found -ourselves amid all the noise and lively stir of a Spanish seaport, -where the splash of the screw propeller furrowed the waters of the -Guadalquiver, and the steam, as it escaped at times, was like music -to us, who had just eluded the fangs of Fabrique's mountain wolves. - -We soon found the boat for Gibraltar, "Neustra Señora de -Assistencia," and embarked ourselves and our horses, which were taken -on board in stalls, that were slung from a whip at the yard-arm; and -in an hour after, muffled in our cloaks, with choice cubas to solace -us, we lounged on the paddle gangway as the vessel steamed out of the -harbour between the two castles of San Lucar--the same fortresses -which saluted the little fleet of Columbus, when departing in search -of a western world--and passed the roadstead and the dangerous -entrance, where the wild waves are ever beating in tumult; and thus -we left the port enveloped in a golden haze and diminishing astern, -as the sun set behind the mountain peaks of Seville. - -The bay of Cadiz soon opened on our larboard bow, and the city -itself, with all its lights and spires, and then the Isla de Leon -arose before us, white and glimmering in the moonlight. - -The silver waves seemed to toy with the golden sand, as their coy -riplets chafed the beach; but in other places the moonlit sea dashed -its spray like showers of diamonds and prisms against the abutting -rocks. - -Overhead, the dark blue sky was clear and cloudless, save where a -long black pennon of wavy smoke streamed far astern from the glowing -funnel of "Our Lady of Assistance," and all was still save the -ceaseless and monotonous dashing of the paddle-wheels, and the -measured clank of the engines, as we ploughed along the lovely -Spanish shore, and towards midnight saw that point of land on which -no Briton can gaze without an emotion of pride, the Cape of Trafalgar. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE CIRCASSIAN CAPTAIN. - -On board the steamer our attention had been repeatedly attracted, and -our interest--mine, at least--excited by a fellow-passenger, whose -manner, costume, and bearing were too remarkable to escape notice. - -His figure was tall and handsomely formed; his features, pale and -like marble, were cast in the most pure and severe model of classic -beauty; his nose was long and straight; his black eye-brows nearly -met over it in one unbroken line; a fierce mustache stuck out on each -side, giving great expression to a mouth, the lips of which were -generally compressed, and in expression stern. - -Altogether, his face had in it more of pure intellect and pictorial -manly beauty than any I had ever seen. His costume was a scarlet -forage cap, the tassel of which drooped on his right shoulder, and a -loose tunic of dark green cloth, the cuffs, collar, and skirts of -which were trimmed with sables; but this peculiar garment, like his -long military boots, seemed well worn, or as Jack said, "decidedly -shabby." - -He remained very much aloof from the passengers, and either sat or -walked apart, communing apparently with himself, and smoking a huge -pipe, the aspect of which was as foreign as his own. - -A figure so melo-dramatic on board of a steamer--even a Spanish -one--was too remarkable in the present day to escape notice, and I -repeatedly drew Slingsby's attention to him; but honest Jack had not -quite recovered the effect of the start given him last night on the -hills of Trohniona, and replied briefly,-- - -"An interesting foreigner, eh! that will sound very well to the ears -of a novel-reading miss at home; but such personages excite a very -different feeling in me. A seedy sharper! I am sick, Ramble, of -your interesting foreigners; they are invariably swindlers, refugees, -and all that sort of thing, unless we except the poor monkeys in the -Zoological gardens," and so Jack assumed a sulky air of reserve, -while our voyager in the furs and long boots smoked his huge -meerschaum to leeward, and all unconscious that he was an object of -remark or interest to any one. - -On visiting our horses in the stalls, we found that our -fellow-traveller had also a nag, and that this animal seemed the -object of all his cares; for he was by its side almost every half -hour, stroking its sleek coat and slender legs; tickling its square -nostrils and pointed ears, or wiping its fine liquid eyes with his -white handkerchief, and feeding it from the palm of his hands, which -were white and muscular, while he spoke caressingly in a barbarous -language, which the horse--a noble Arab-steed, with a magnificent -head, and limbs as slender as a girl's wrist--seemed to understand. -There was something so peculiar in all this, and especially in the -man's strong and tender regard for his horse, that Slingsby's John -Bullism began to relax, for the proverbial crustiness of his country -little became a frank fellow like him; so he ventured a few remarks -in English on horses in general, and this fine barb in particular. - -The foreigner shook his head, and smiled pleasantly, as he -articulated with difficulty that he scarcely knew a word of English; -whereupon Jack turned his remarks into very choice Spanish. - -Again the stranger smiled and bowed, showing under his close and -thick mustache that he had a set of teeth our brightest belles might -envy, as he said in the language of our allies,-- - -"I beg your pardon, sir, but I speak only French with my native -language; and it maybe a little--Russ." - -"Russ--indeed!" said I, with fresh interest; "are you a Cossack?" - -"No," said he, with a sudden air of haughty reserve, "do I look like -one?" - -"I cannot say," said Jack, "as I never saw one." - -He was about to withdraw, as if our notice was displeasing to him, -when it chanced that a puff of wind opened my cloak, and below it he -perceived the scarlet shell jacket, which was the undress of "Ours." -Then his bold dark eye lighted up with new animation, and raising his -forage cap, he said, smilingly, in French, which he spoke with great -fluency and a good accent,-- - -"Officers, I perceive, and, better than all, British officers! Would -that I had known this sooner, we might have had a pleasant evening -together; but now our voyage is nearly half over, as the captain has -just told me. I am so glad to meet you, gentlemen, for I, too, have -had the honour to wear a sword." - -"May I ask in what service?" said Jack. - -"The Russian, latterly." - -"Indeed!" - -"You are surprised," he said, with a sigh. - -"Rather." - -"It was the result of fate, or rather the fortune of war, that placed -me in their ranks. I was taken in battle, and had no alternative but -to serve in the imperial cavalry, or drag a chain over the snows of -Siberia; and thus I accepted the former, resolving to escape to my -own dear mountains on the first opportunity. I am a Circassian, and -fought under the heroic Schamyl, though latterly I held the rank of -captain in the Tenginski hussars; but tyranny and misfortune drove me -from the Russian ranks before a proper opportunity for escape had -come; and I have wandered over many lands with no companion save my -horse--my dear Zupi," he continued, caressing the Arab, which rubbed -its fine head upon his cheek, as if understanding the reference its -master had just made; "my beloved Zupi, who has shared with me many a -day of peril, and has thrice saved my life from Russian bullets and -from drowning; for there is no horse like thee, Zupi, between the -Kuban and the Caspian Sea." - -"He is quite a Mazeppa, this," said Jack, in English. - -"And you are now going to Gibraltar?" I asked. - -"Yes, gentlemen; but I merely make a visit there, and at Malta, on my -way home through Turkey; as I have a letter of introduction to an -officer of your garrison." - -"May I ask his name?" - -"It is here: John Slingsby, Esq., Lieutenant, H.M. --th Foot--perhaps -you know him?" - -"The deuce! It is for me; I am Slingsby of the --th," said Jack, in -astonishment, for he was puzzled to remember what friends he had -among the Tenginski hussars, or on the shores of the Caspian Sea; -"devilish odd, sir! I really don't know any one in Circassia, or any -one who ever was there, or likely to be so." - -"I received this letter in London," said the stranger, with a soft -smile; "at a clubhouse of the Guards, for the officers of the -Household Brigade were more than kind; being, indeed, as fathers to -me, and treating me as if I had been their own son, instead of what I -am--a poor waif, floating on the current of events." - -"I am the man," said Jack, tearing open the letter which the -Circassian produced from his breast-pocket, and delivered; but with -the slightest possible shade of anxiety on his fine but saddened -face. Poor fellow! he had doubtless been so often deceived and -misused, that he was learning to mistrust every one, and his eyes -were riveted on the face of Slingsby, who suddenly shook him by the -hand, saying,-- - -"This meeting is most remarkable; your letter of introduction to me -and to our mess is from my brother." - -"Bismillah, is it possible!" - -"From my brother, Sir Harry Slingsby, of the Grenadier Guards. I am -most happy to meet you, Captain Rioni, and with my friend, Captain -Ramble of "Ours," will do all in my power to assist you." - -Jack handed his brother's letter to me. It ran thus:-- - - -MY DEAR JACK,-- - -Allow me to introduce to you and to your brother officers of the old ---th Captain Osman Rioni (late of the--I am sorry to say it--Russian -service), who has been for some time in London teaching our Life -Guards the lance exercise, and who for the last three months has been -the lion of the club-houses. He arrived among us a staid and -respectable Mohammedan, very prone to sit cross-legged on the floor, -to dip his fingers in the gravy, and to grasp his knife if you gave -him a slice of ham with his fowl; but he leaves us much addicted to -balls, vingt un, champagne suppers, the polka, and the waltz. In -short, in one season, we have polished him up in good style, and -completed an education which had been somewhat neglected during his -rural life among the Caucasus. You, perhaps, know the history of -himself and his horse--for the morning papers get hold of everything. -Conyers of the Blues offered him £500 for the nag; but he won't sell -it for any known amount of the ready. Look at its legs and chest; I -never saw such an animal! The captain has been an honorary member of -our mess while in London--a hint this, for your fellows. He is now -on his way home to the Kuban (wherever the devil that may be), and so -you gentlemen of the Line in Gibraltar must look to the state of his -exchequer, and pass him on to the next station, as Conyers has given -him letters to some of the Rifles at Malta. I could easily have -procured him a troop in our new Turkish contingent; but home he must -and shall go, he says, and his own story will best let you know why. -To-morrow our battalion will change its quarters, and commence the -arduous march from St. John's Wood Barracks to those in -Portman-street, and from thence to Trafalgar-square, and I shall -follow in my cab; but you may see me ere long, for I am to sail with -the next draught of ours for the Crimea, where the shiny splendour -will be taken out of our Brahmins in the muddy trenches--ugh! Give -my remembrance to Dick Ramble--ask him what his next book is to be -about; and so, my dear Jack, - -I remain, &c., &c. - - -The wishes of Sir Henry, and the efforts he and his brother officers -of the Grenadier Guards (most of whom will remember the affair I -allude to) made it imperative upon "Ours" not to be behind them in -kindness to this stranger. - -Jack and I promised to leave nothing undone to serve him on our -arrival at Gibraltar, and assured him that we would see sufficient -funds raised to send him either to Malta, or by steamer straight to -Constantinople. His ignorance of English and Spanish had sadly -puzzled the brain of our poor Circassian, who had landed with his -horse and baggage at San Lucar, believing it to be Gibraltar, and had -thus lost several days, and, what was of more consequence, much of -his money; so that his mind was full of anxiety as to the future, and -how his horse--his Zupi--for they seemed one, like a centaur, were to -reach that mighty mountain range that lies between the Euxine and the -Cape of Alpcheron; and which, with all its black forests, wild rocks, -and snowy peaks was his beloved home; the altar of oriental -independence--the barrier of the Eastern world against the -encroaching Kuos. - -We supped together in the cabin; and while the Spanish passengers -were all smoking or asleep on the benches and lockers, we prevailed -upon the Circassian, over a bottle of good wine, to inform us how he -came to serve in the Russian cavalry, and why he declined Sir Harry's -apparently advantageous offer of a Captain's commission in our -Turkish contingent--a service for which he seemed so admirably -fitted, and in which he might have won honour and distinction; at -least such distinction as John Bull awards to those who are not on -the staff, and have no ministerial interest. - -He shook his head sadly, as I said something to this purpose, and -bowing, gave me a pleasant smile. - -"When you have heard me, you will understand more fully that the only -place for me is my native land--that home which is now so far off, -that when I trace upon a map the extent of sea and shore that lie -between its hills and me, my heart grows faint and sick; but patience -yet awhile, and one day I shall stand again an the black rugged -mountains of Kushaa, and see at my feet far down below, the fertile -plains of Georgia and Mingrelia. Zupi will snuff the pure air of -these Alpine peaks, and toss his proud mane on the wind; strong -warriors, in their shirts of mail, will be riding by my side; the -Albanian musket and the Tartar bow will be there, as we survey the -long dark lines that mark upon the green summer fields, or it may be -the winter snow, the columns of the Russian Emperor--columns that -advance but to defeat and death; for in thousands, yea, hundreds of -thousands, have they come to war against us, and to perish on the -Circassian hills, until the very soil has been drenched in their -blood, and fattened by the bones of men and horses! But my emotions -carry me away, gentlemen, and I am forgetting my own story." - -"Ah--yes, the story," said Jack, refilling the stranger's glass, and -pushing the decanters towards me, while our new friend began, as -nearly as I can remember, in the following words. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -OSMAN RIONI - -Bismillah! there is but one God, and Mohammed is His prophet; and on -earth He is the powerful hand of Him who moveth the stars, who giveth -light to the sun, and throweth darkness on the souls of the Russian -unbelievers. - -I am a Circassian, and, consequently, a Mohammedan, being a native of -those districts of the Caucasus which have waged a ceaseless war with -Russia--I mean that portion of our mountains which lies between -Tamrook and the strong fortress of Anapa, whose ramparts are washed -by the waves of the Euxine Sea. We are all soldiers from our birth; -thus, out of a population of three hundred thousand souls, our tribe -can at any time muster fifty thousand warriors, well mounted on fleet -Caucasian horses, and well armed, after our own fashion, in coats of -mail, with musket, bow and pistol, sabre, dagger, and cartridge box; -men, brave and handsome, and stubborn as their native rocks--men to -whom danger is a pastime, and death but the door to Paradise. - -Thus the mountaineers of the Caucasus, though mustering only about -two millions of souls, have never stooped before a conqueror; but, in -the face of all the world, have hurled back the legions of the -Russian Empire, and maintained against it a struggle for fifty -years--a struggle which, when our valour and disparity of numbers on -one side are contrasted with the ferocity and overwhelming force on -the other, has no parallel in the history of the modern world. The -Russians name us the Tcherkesses, which means literally "those who -bar the way;" for never did a foreign host leave their cursed -foot-prints, on the summits of the Caucasus. - -Our mountains have become the ramparts of Turkey and of Persia, as -our Declaration of Independence asserts; but they will become--unless -we are supported by Western Europe--the avenue to both! We -voluntarily submitted to the khans of the Crimea, and afterwards to -the sultans of Constantinople; but, alas! we have lost the chiefs, -whose banners could have summoned a hundred thousand warriors; yet -now are we all, as one man, united in a deep and undying hatred of -Russia! She has built forts on our territory, but dare her soldiers -venture a foot beyond their cannon? In short, sirs, Circassia is -free and independent; for neither the lying maps of Russia, which are -spread throughout the world, and which mark the Caucasus as her -territory, nor words, nor arts can enslave us. Arms may do it, but -the steel has never yet been forged, nor the cannon cast, that will -make the proud Circassian stoop his crest before the barbarous Russ! -Bismillah! The wild Tcherkesses are still free as the stormy wind -that sweeps from Azov down the Euxine. - -My father Mostapha was a chief; the head of one of those princely -houses which are of Kabardian descent; his will was a law to his -people; and the booty he took in his wars with the fierce Tartars and -faithless Muscovites was the reward of their fidelity. We were -Christians once--many ages ago--but it pleased God to open our eyes -to the blessed precepts of Islam, and now we turn our faces to the -Kaaba when we pray. Many nobles followed the banner of my father, -whose territories extended along the base of the mountain steppes, -from Marinskoi to the banks of the Kisselbash River; but one night, -in the year 1807, the Russian General Goudivitch, with ten thousand -cavalry, burst among us; stormed Anapa, and gave our men to the -sword, our roofs to the flames, and our children to the wolf and the -eagle. - -My father fought long and nobly; the war was desperate; the Russians -impaled their prisoners, and my father roasted his; but the tide of -battle turned against us. All our possessions became a prey to the -Russ, and our most beautiful damsels were given as wives or -handmaidens to those brutal Cossacks, whom the merciless Goudivitch -had brought from the banks of the Don. Azrael spread his dusky wings -over our beautiful country; all the land was burned up, and black as -night--being waste as a garden whose fruits have been gathered. - -Then the new chain of forts was built along the Kuban. These marked -the extended boundary of the Russian territory, and the land of my -father was lost for ever; his bones lay unburied, where he had -fallen, sword in hand, on the threshold of his own door, pierced by -the same bayonets that slew his faithful wife; and their three -children, myself and two brothers, sole heirs to his hopes and his -harvest of vengeance, received the bread of charity from another -Circassian tribe, the friendly Abassians, who dwell between the -mountains and the Euxine. - -Time rolled on, and from tending the flocks of the Abassians as -shepherd boys, my brothers Selim and Karolyi grew strong and hardy -men. The Abassians told us of our father's fate, and we longed to -avenge it, and to recover our lost patrimony. Day after day we spent -our time in acquiring the perfect use of arms, in talking of our -hopes, our projects, and desires; and often we looked with kindling -eyes towards those mountains, from whose summits the Muscovite -outposts were visible by the waters of the Kuban; for dear as war and -vengeance are the honour of his race and country to the proud and -free Tcherkesse. - -We could soon ride the wildest Arab steeds, and gallop them without -bridle or saddle along giddy rocks, and through the untrodden forest. -None surpassed us in the use of the sabre, the poniard, or the -pistol; few equalled Selim in handling the heavy Albanian musket; -while Karolyi was matchless in the use of the Circassian sling; and -in my hands, the bow was as unerring as the best Frankish rifle. I -was older than my brave brothers by a few years, and thus became, in -somewise, their preceptor. We were poor, but ardent and full of -enthusiasm; we worked, begged, and bartered--we were never satisfied -until each of us was possessor of a fleet and active barb, a bright -steel coat of mail; a helmet of tempered iron, such as our warriors -wear, and which covers all the face, except the eyes and nose; a -curved sabre of keen Damascus steel; an Albanian musket; breast cases -to receive our cartridges; a sharp Circassian dagger, and a Tartar -bow: and when thus accoutred, our hearts would swell with fierce -emotion, as we reined up our steeds upon the hills above Anapa, and -shook our lances in defiance at the Russian steamers and frigates in -the Euxine, while we longed for the time when the war-cry of Islam -would ring among the hills, and we should behold the Sangiac Sheerif, -the green banner of our confederated princes, with its three golden -arrows and twelve white stars, unfurled against the barbarous Emperor -Nicholas Romanoff. - -We loved each other strongly, dearly, and devotedly, my two brothers -and I, for we were alone in the world, the last of all our race. -Being the eldest, they frequently importuned me to marry, that I -might have children, and perpetuate our family; but I told them to -remember that it was the custom of our people for a prince to wed the -daughter of a prince; a noble to wed the daughter of a noble; a tocar -to wed the daughter of a tocar; and the poor serf to wed the daughter -of a serf. That I was neither prince nor tocar, noble nor serf, and -could not marry, being too poor to wed one in the rank of my father, -and too proud to stoop to a maiden beneath it. "Besides," I told -them, "we have other duties to perform than espousing wives, which -are ever a barrier to freedom of thought in peace, and bravery of -action in war; for the blessed Prophet said, that wives and children -were barriers to the performance of great deeds. God knoweth all -things, and will direct the heart of Osman. I will not marry yet -awhile, my brothers; for it is written that marriage disturbs a man -from his duty--the wedded care for the things of this world, even as -the unwedded care for those of heaven; and so we must watch and pray -for our country, to defend her from the infidel Russians, who, like -accursed locusts, blacken all the shores of the Kuban." Then my -brothers Selim and Karolyi kissed me on both cheeks, applauding my -resolution; and once more we shook our gauntletted hands in fierce -menace towards the ramparts of Anapa. - -But ere long there occurred circumstances which altered my -resolution; for before the eyes of a beautiful woman the strongest -heart is weak as water. - -One evening I was riding on the mountain slopes that overlook the -waters of the Euxine. The last rays of evening were lingering on -their peaks, and shedding a golden tint upon the waves that rolled -away towards the cliffs of the Crimea. At my feet lay Sundjik Bay, -glittering in the blaze of light that steeped sea, sky, and shore. -The snow-white walls of Anapa, which crown rocks a hundred feet in -height, were gleaming in the yellow sunshine, and grimly the black -iron cannon peered through the stone embrasures, or over the ramparts -of smoothly-shorn grass. - -The flat-capped Russian sentinels, muffled in their gray great-coats -walked to and fro upon their posts; and each time they turned I saw -their bayonets flash above the two square towers that guard the great -arched entrance. Over all was the white flag with the Muscovite -cross, but there was no wind to spread its folds upon the evening -sky, and it hung about the staff listlessly and still; not a blade of -grass stirred on the mighty plain of the Kuban, which spread far away -towards the north, silent as a land of the dead. Under my iron -helmet, grimly I surveyed Anapa and the rocks of Taman, and panted -for the time when the standard of the twelve confederated princes of -Circassia would be planted there, and when the black cross of the -God-abandoned Russ would be torn down and steeped in the blood of its -defenders. - -My heart was full of fierce and fiery thoughts, when suddenly the cry -of a woman, ringing upon the clear air of the hot summer eve, fell on -my ear, and I reined up my horse--the same winch I have now on board -with me--my noble Zuyi, to listen. - -"Yani, Yani!" cried a despairing voice, which in our language means -"mother, mother!" - -I spurred Zupi over a hillock, and perceived four Russian soldiers of -the Tenginski infantry, then garrisoning Anapa, dragging along a -Circassian woman, who made no resistance, but cried piteously for -mercy. - -Uttering a shout of anger and defiance, I lowered my lance, and -rushed upon them without a moment of hesitation. - -They immediately relinquished their prey, who sank senseless on the -ground, while they betook them to their muskets, crying,-- - -"Death to the Tcherkesse! down with the unbeliever!" and all four -fired upon me at once; but God, the common father of all mankind -(except the Russians) protected me. One bullet tore the plume from -my helmet, another was turned by the fluted pockets which (in lieu of -cartridge boxes) we wear across our breasts, the others whistled -harmlessly past me, and before one of these soldiers could reload or -club his weapon I was upon them. The first two I speared, and hurled -to the earth like ripe pumpkins; a third, I trampled under the hoofs -of Zupi; and afterwards slew at my leisure; the fourth sprung over a -ruined wall and escaped me, but for a few minutes only, as I pinned -him to the earth by an arrow, but he rose and staggered away. This -man was named Archipp Osepoff, of whom more anon. - -I now dismounted, and, throwing the bridle over the neck of my docile -Zupi, approached the insensible female I had rescued. - -She was attired in the richest fashion of our Circassian damsels. A -robe of costly silk open in front, and confined at her slender waist -by a glittering girdle of silver; trowsers of the finest pink muslin; -and the red slippers on her pretty feet were embroidered with gold; a -turban, composed of the most delicate shawl, fell in graceful folds -over her small and beautiful neck, and a large veil of lace entwined -with silver, enveloped her whole person, and floated like a white -mist about her. - -This I dared to draw aside that the air might play upon her face, and -so revive her. Oh, Mahmoud resoul allah! the beauty of our women is -proverbial, and as you know, gentlemen, the world acknowledges it; -but how shall I describe the loveliness of this Circassian damsel, -who proved to be the flower of the Abassian maids? Her complexion -was of the purest white, the result of excessive delicacy, and -perhaps of that seclusion which was necessary to conceal her from the -prying eyes of the Russian soldiers, or of the trading Turks; and -this paleness of skin, when contrasted with the blackness of her -massive braids of hair, was almost startling. Her eyes were also -dark, but beautiful and dove-like in expression, for a languishing -gentleness was in every feature, and over all her form. She was but -a girl; yet so full, round, and tall, that for the house of the -sultan I had seen many thousand piastres paid for an odalisque, who -was unfit to kiss even her slipper. Basilia was among the most -beautiful of our Circassian maids, or, as Schamyl calls them, the -daughters of the rocks and streams. - -She soon recovered on perceiving that she was free and that the -protecting arm of a Circassian was around her; but she tremblingly -drew the veil over her face, as I led her by the hand from the spot -where her late capturers lay dead on the sward, with their blood -congealing beneath them. - -"It pleased the Prophet to send me to your aid, fair damsel," said I; -"are there any other means by which I can serve you?" - -For a time she could only reply by incoherencies and with profuse -thanks, for her mind was bewildered by terror and agitation. - -"Fear nothing, maiden," said I, "for a strong hand and a stout heart -are at your service. I am Osman, whose people dwelt by the -Kisselbash River; you have heard of me, perhaps?" - -"Yes, Aga----" - -"Alas! no Aga am I; but a poor outcast, whose sword and bow are his -sole inheritance; yet you have heard of me?" - -"Yes, and of your two brothers, Selim and Karolyi, for to them and to -you the people look as leaders when war is made on the Muscovites." - -"As soon it must be, maiden; and then I hope to see the ramparts of -yonder fortress of Anapa flung into the Euxine. But may I ask your -name?" - -"Basilia," she replied, in a low voice, and drew her veil yet closer. - -"Basilia, the daughter of Abdallah ibn Obba, the rich merchant of -Soudjack Kaleh, who is said to be making pyramids of gold by trading -with Tartars of the Crimea, and exporting from Sampsoon the copper of -Tocat, and the silks and fruit of Amasia?" - -"I am the daughter of Abdallah, and, rich though he is, I assure you -he is yet poor in his own idea; for neither the Prophet nor the -santons can bound my father's idea of wealth; but convey me to him, -and for the good deed of to-day, he will reward you, noble Osman, by -the most gorgeous suit of armour, the richest weapons, and the -noblest horse a Tcherkesse warrior ever possessed." - -"I seek no reward; let the horse and armour be given to some poor -patriot who is without them; I seek no reward, Basilia," I continued, -with enthusiasm, "beyond your own approbation and the memory that I -have this day done a kind, and, it may be, a gallant deed, in -rescuing you from the fate which those sons of the devil had in store -for you; but how came you into their hands?" - -"We had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Santon Seozeres among -the mountains, when we fell in with these marauders; my father's aged -hands were unable to protect me; he was struck to the earth; his -reverend beard was spat on, and his turban torn off and flung in his -face, while I was dragged from the arms of my terrified attendants; -but see, Osman Rioni, they are now approaching us, and behold my -father." - -She uttered a cry of joy, and rushed to meet the old merchant -Abdallah ibn Obba, who now came forward on horseback, with rage, -alarm, and grief in his eyes, and his great turban awry. He -corroborated her story, saying, that having a large ship, which had -long been delayed on her voyage from Stamboul, he had paid a -propitiatory visit to the tomb of Seozeres, the most famous and -powerful of Circassian Santons, and the object of especial reverence -by all merchants, seamen, and dwellers on the coast; for the waves -and winds are reputed to be under his subjection, and the storm and -the thunderbolt are alike at his disposal; thus we celebrate his -festival in the early days of spring, and when on this mission had -Abdallah and his daughter fallen among the Russians. - -He gave me innumerable promises of remembrance and regard (which he -took especial care to forget), and made his horse curvet several -times over the dead Russians, which seemed to console him mightily, -and smoothing his ruffled beard, he muttered,-- - -"Death to them! death to them! the unbelievers, the dogs, the -infidels! They shall be destroyed like the wicked people of Noah and -of Lot, and like the army of Abraha, lord of the Elephant; and their -false gods and pretended saints of brass and of silver shall perish -with them! Unless a fear of the Russ prevent thee, Osman Rioni, I -shall be glad to see thee in Soudjack Kaleh, where a carpet and pipe, -with a cup of such coffee as Basilia alone can prepare, will be at -the service of her preserver; and so, God and Merissa take thee into -their holy keeping." - -With these words we separated; the old merchant and his daughter -remounted on her own horse, rode slowly away until they disappeared -in the deepening shades of evening; while I remained motionless, and -watching them, with a wild, sad beating in my heart, for the face of -Basilia seemed yet before me, and her voice was lingering in my ear. - -She was gone, but my soul went with her. - -Full, round, and red as a Tartar shield, the moon rose above the Isle -of Taman to light the waters of the Euxine; the mountains flung their -black shadows upon each other; the lurid glow-worm glittered on the -dewy grass, and the snakes began to hiss among the long reeds; while -the fierce vultures hovered in the starry sky, with their keen eyes -fixed on the grim banquet I had made for them; and I heard their -hoarse croak of impatience, for I lingered long on the spot where -Abdallah and his daughter had left me. - -Several days passed away. Men spoke much of the coming struggle with -the Russians; my brave brothers were as usual training their horses, -tempering their weapons, casting bullets, and pointing arrows; I -alone was silent, and full of soft, sad thoughts--melancholy, happy, -and anxious by turns; for my whole breast was filled by the image of -Basilia. - -I visited her father by stealth, for this old man was one who had -temporised with the Russians, and paid them a tribute that he might -dwell in peace under the cannon of Soudjack; but I found him gloomy, -thoughtful, and discontented; his ship had been stranded on the Isle -of Serpents, in the Black Sea, and sunk with all her crew, and what -was of more importance to Abdallah, with her rich bales of Indian -silks, of cashmere shawls, of amber pipes, and other valuables with -which she was freighted. This isle, the only one in the Euxine, is -infested by serpents of enormous size, say our voyagers. These guard -its boundless treasures and devour all who attempt to land; thus -Abdallah ibn Obba abandoned in grief all hope of recovering a vestige -of his property. - -He received me morosely, and after smoking a pipe and drinking with -him a cup of coffee, which we received from the white, gentle hands -of Basilia, who was enveloped as before in her veil of lace, I -departed, happy that I had seen but the tips of her dear fingers once -again; happy that I had been under the roof of her father, and happy -that for one brief hour I had shared a corner of his carpet, and -breathed the same atmosphere with one so beautiful and so -well-beloved as she. - -Again and again I came to visit Abdallah; for alas! I no longer -sighed for the unfurling of our green standard against the Russ; I -only counted the days and hours till again I should visit the house -of the merchant at Soudjack. - -Secluded as the old man kept Basilia--for he deemed her his last and -most valuable estate--a piece of property on which he could at any -time realise a thousand piastres in the Stamboul market--we had -nightly interviews; for what are the difficulties that love cannot -surmount? I had discovered that her chamber window opened into old -Abdallah's garden; its wall was easily crossed, and then three notes -on my lute were the signal which brought Basilia to me; but she was -beyond arm's length, and I never dared to climb, though, had the -wealth of Ormuz been mine, I had given it all to have kissed but once -her hand. Yet, until she was bestowed upon me by her father, what -hope had I of ever doing so? - -In the wild and half-civilised countries of the East, a lover invests -his mistress with a thousand imaginary attributes, such as a lover of -Europe or the West can never do. The seclusion in which we keep our -women, the danger and risk of approaching or even speaking of them to -their nearest relations, all enhance the charm, the secresy, and the -romance of an Oriental love; and thus, with such a heart as mine, it -became an all-absorbing and engrossing passion, in which to be -without hope was to be without life. Hourly I exclaimed to myself,-- - -"Bismillah! oh, Osman, happy thou to win a heart like hers!" for -Basilia responded as warmly as she dared, or as I could have desired. - -Nightly we conversed in whispers, and had our interchange of -love-letters; not that poor Basilia wrote, or that I then could -write; alas, no! Our letters were simply flowers, tied together with -a ribband, and in this symbolical language we conferred. It is a -language lovers easily learn, and the Circassian sooner than all. I -ransacked the bazaars of the Armenians and Muscovites for gaudy -trinkets and perfumes, as presents for Basilia; and fearless of the -Russ, I daily caracoled my horse--my Zupi--before her father's house, -that she might see me attired in the glittering arms and splendid -costume of a Circassian cavalier; and happy was I--oh, how happy! if -but once I saw the muslin-veiled form of my beautiful Basilia. At -her feet I laid the shawls of Cashmere and the beads of Bokhara. She -gave me a waist-belt embroidered by herself, and a morocco -breast-pocket to hold my cartridges, in return. - -Summoning up courage, I one day put on my most splendid habiliments; -my coat of mail, which shone like water in the sun; a helmet of -steel, damascened by my own hands; and I armed myself with weapons -which, like every Tcherkesse warrior, I had tempered and ornamented -with silver and precious stones, all by my own skill. Bathed, -perfumed, and anointed, I rode up to the door of Abdallah ibn Obba; -and while my heart trembled and died away within me, and my colour -came and went like that of a woman under the bowstring, I asked his -daughter in marriage. He heard me in ominous silence. - -"May God be with thee, Abdallah," said I. - -"With thee be God," said he, and paused again, on which I timidly -rehearsed all I had said. - -The old merchant, who was seated on a rich carpet, with his legs -folded under him, and a split reed, ink-horn, and piles of papers and -accounts on one side of him, and his fragrant narguillah on the -other, heard me without moving a muscle of his solemn visage; and -after smoking for some time, drew the yellow mouthpiece from his -mustachioed lips, and shaking his bushy beard, replied to me, -slowly,-- - -"May you be saluted, O Osman Rioni! No--no, Osman, this cannot be! -The son of a prince weds a prince's daughter, even as a slave weds -the daughter of a slave. Thus, the rich give their children in -marriage only to the rich, and thou, Osman, art very poor. Remember, -that this daughter may yet be a mine of wealth to me." - -I knew what the old wretch meant by these words--the market of -Stamboul--and my blood ran cold. - -"Her beauty," he resumed, "is a miracle, and her birth was also a -miracle; hence sho was born for great purposes, and may yet be a -source of delight to him who wears the sword of Omar, our Lord the -Sultan Abdul Medjid--who can tell? She was born of my first wife, -Tsha; when she was old, stricken in years, and hopelessly barren, on -seeing a hen feed her chickens one day, her heart was moved; she wept -and prayed the holy Prophet to give her a little child in her old -age, whereupon she had Basilia in the fulness of time; so thus I tell -thee, she was born for great things. Enough, enough, Osman Rioni, go -thy ways, for thou art very poor." - -"True, father," said I, while my heart became chilled with despair; -"I am poor, and my brothers Selim and Karolyi are also poor, for we -have no inheritance but the name of our father, and what we can -wrench in combat from the enemies of our country, and for every meal -of food we have to fight the convoys of the Russ on the mountain, or -the wild beasts in the forest; but a time is at hand when I shall -have all my father's patrimony again, when the forts of the Kuban -shall lie in ruins by its shore, while the wolf shall batten on the -bones of their defenders. A time shall come when I may ride from the -grassy steppes of Marinskoi to the reedy flow of the Kisselbash -River, lord of all the land my father bequeathed to me, with this -sword, when the Russian bayonets were clashing in his heart!" - -"God is great," replied the merchant, calmly; "when that time comes -return, and seek my daughter, but not till then." - -He replaced the amber tube of the narguillah in his mouth, waved his -hand to indicate that he wished to hear no more on the subject, and -dismissed me, with a heart swollen by grief and mortification. I -felt how low the son of Mostapha was fallen when a miserable trader -despised his alliance! God of Mohammed, had we come to this? - -As I rode slowly back to the poor village where with my brothers I -dwelt on the hills above Anapa, I revolved a thousand schemes of -daring and conquest; for Basilia was now to me a light--a star--a -guide; but between us I saw the dark battalions and the strong -ramparts of the abhorred Russians, and worse than all, the cunning -and the avarice of her selfish father. Could I repel one, or bound -the other? - -When riding slowly on I saw a raven in my path, and shuddering at the -bird of ill omen, turned aside, for I knew it was a sign of coming -evil; because there is an old tradition in the countries of the East, -that Cain, after committing fratricide, became sorely troubled in -mind, and bore about with him for many days the dead body of his -brother, until Heaven taught him how to bury it, by the example of a -raven, which after killing another in his presence dug a little pit -for it by beak and talon; and so scraping a hole with his hands, Cain -interred his brother at the foot of a palm, whose branches heretofore -erect drooped mournfully for ever after. Then the murderous raven -which had perched itself on a branch thereof flew away to Adam, and -croaked huskily in his ear that his youngest born was now slain and -buried, and from that hour the raven has been a bird of evil augury -to all the world. And now my heart became a prey to a thousand dark -and gloomy forebodings. The bird had not come to me for nought. - -I prayed Merissa, the mother of God, to take Basilia under her -protection, for, like the Christians, we believe in the intercession -of a woman, though, perhaps, her name is but a remnant of the faith -that was first preached to the Circassians before the banner of the -blessed Prophet swept the gods of error from the shores of the -Caspian Sea. - -Night was closing as I ascended the mountain, when suddenly from a -gorge there rose that wild and terrible yell which is the war-cry of -Circassia; and led by Schamyl, the conquering, the holy Murid -Schamyl, a host of mounted warriors, all clad in shirts of shining -steel and round helmets, armed with lance and musket, bow and sabre, -each with a bag of millet and bottle of skhou slung at his saddle for -service, dashed their fleet horses through the narrow way, and above -their heads waved the green standard of the confederated princes with -its three golden arrows and twelve white stars--the Sangiac -Sheerif--the sacred banner of our people, for green is the colour of -the Prophet. - -Selim and Karolyi were among them, and they sprang to my side with -joy and ardour. - -A vast Russian army of horse, foot, and artillery, they told me, had -just passed the shores of the Kuban, and entered among the mountains; -Schamyl, the holy murids who devote themselves to death, and all our -confederated princes, had summoned the land to battle, and every man -between the straits of Yenikale and the Mingrelian frontier was in -arms for Circassia Thus opened the Christian year 1840, so memorable -to us by the capture of all the frontier forts of the Russians by our -arms, but chiefly those of Mikhailov and Nikhailovska. - -The excitement, the glory, and the splendour of our mountain host -equipped for war, with the hopes of conquest and of triumph, filled -my soul with such ardour and exultation that my emotion nearly -overcame me. The hope of winning back in this war, if it was -successful, the land, the home, and the grave of my forefathers, and -with these the flower of the Abassian maids for my bride, made me -pant for the hour of battle with such ardour as never bridegroom -awaited the unveiling of his new-made wife. - -The great Dervish Mohammed Mansoor, from the misty land of Daghestan, -had foretold our triumph when he died at Anapa, and we never doubted -we should be victorious. - -Over my father's fugitive people a command was assigned me by the -confederated princes; my brothers, Selim and Karolyi, rode by my -side; all who followed us shared our ardour, and we were brave even -to ferocity: thus, pouring down from the snow-capped Alps of the -Caucasus towards the hosts of the Russ, then blackening and -desolating the banks of the Kuban, while their fleets of three -deckers and steamers scared the golden dolphins from our shores, we -commenced the desperate war of 1840. - -I was full of delicious hope, and the last words of Basilia, for I -had visited her in secret before we marched, were ever in my ears,-- - -"Hope for everything from Heaven, O Osman. The angels of Mohammed -will deliver you from the swords of the Russians, and like all, my -beloved, who fight against the spirit, they shall wither and perish!" - -Her prophetic words inspired me with new ardour. - -"Farewell, Basilia," I exclaimed, as I grasped the mane of Zupi; "we -go to teach those Muscovite liars who mark our country in their maps -that the Circassians have no masters save God and the Prophet." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE HUSSARS OF TENGINSKI - -How we swept the land of Kisliar, continued the Circassian captain; -how we baffled the foe beneath the towers of Dargo; how Schamyl the -Immortal did prodigies of valour at Unsorilla and destroyed the army -of Count Woronzoff, the Governor of New Russia, one hundred and fifty -thousand in number, whose bones yet lie in the forest of Itzkeri; how -we fought with desperation, neither asking nor giving quarter, and -how we hurled the Russians from the slopes of the Caucasus back upon -the shores of the Kuban, where they lay unburied save by the jaws of -the wolf and eagle, torn and disembowelled by hungry dogs, all Europe -knows full well; and how successive armies, full of barbarous pride -and military and religious enthusiasm, horsemen, artillery, and -infantry--hussars and Cossacks, Kurds and Tartar hordes, who had -stooped their necks to Russia's iron yoke, entered the valleys of -Circassia, valleys which seem but dark chasms or fissures where the -branches of the Koissons roar and leap from rock to rock in northern -Daghestan, and there they perished, too, beneath the bullet and the -arrow, the spear and sling of the unconquerable Tcherkesses. It was -my brother Selim who slew General Woinoff; it was Karolyi who stormed -the redoubts and spiked his cannon: and it was I who hewed off the -head of the gallant soldier Passek, and bore it for three days on my -spear. - -In this year of the Christians, 1840, I commanded that portion of the -Circassian troops which besieged the Russians in the fort of -Mikhailov. They defended themselves with the blind fury of men who -foresaw their doom was death! Selim pressed them with three thousand -men on one side; Karolyi, with the same number, pressed them on the -other; while I, with a chosen band of four thousand archers, -slingers, and musketeers, plied them from every quarter with -incessant missiles. Selim cut off the sluices which supplied them -with water, and Karolyi stormed their outworks, tore down their -stockades, and beheaded every defender whom they caught by the lasso. - -But Heaven has put much valour into the hearts of these infidels; -hence, though reduced to the verge of starvation (having picked the -bones of their last horse, and stewed their boot-tops and leather -shakoes), their commander, Ivan Carlovitch, colonel of the Tenginski -Hussars, resolved to make one gallant effort to escape, for his -soldiers had with them several old standards, which the Russians -regard as almost holy. - -His garrison was composed of the 37th or Tenginski Grenadiers; the -38th or Novoginski Regiment, which carried the famous banner of St. -George, the same that had been with their predecessors at the passage -of the Alps, and which waved on the field of Trebbia, where they -fought under Suvaroff. He had also two battalions of the Imperial -Guard, whose tattered and shot-riven standards had waved on many a -bloody plain, and been clenched in the dying grasp of many a gallant -man. - -Their desire of preserving these trophies was only second to the hope -of escape; for the standard is ever the palladium of a regiment, even -as the National Insignia are the palladium of a free people, and, as -such, should be preserved from degradation. - -Perceiving that, fearless of his cannon--those terrors of the simple -Circassians, who name them the great pistols of the Czar--I had made -every disposition for an assault, which must have been successful, -the valiant Ivan Carlovitch led out his shattered garrison among us, -sword in hand; and, favoured by a dark and tempestuous night, escaped -with a few, but a few only; for by sabre and by musket we made a -fearful slaughter among the soldiers of the Novoginski Regiment, and -taking their famous banner of St. George, tore it to fragments, and -spitting upon these, trampled them to the earth in blood and mire. - -Thanks to the Prophet and to my coat of mail, uncounted balls and -bayonets touched me without harm. Above the roar of that red -musketry which lit the darkness with its streaky gleams; above the -howling of the wind, which tore through every mountain gorge; above -the cheers of the desperate, and the shrieks of the dying, the wild, -shrill, and unearthly war-cry of the Circassians ascended to the -throne of Mohammed; and the approach to the breach was like the -bridge of hell, as we rushed through the battered gates to take -possession of the fortress; but at the moment that the 'enceinte,' or -interior wall which surrounded the place, and was composed of -bastions faced with brick, was crowded by our flushed and exulting -warriors, a tremendous explosion was heard the earth gaped, and -rocked, and rent; then it rose beneath our feet; a broad, hot, -scorching blaze of fire surrounded me, and blown up by a concealed -mine of powder, the whole fort of Mikhailov, with more than two -thousand Circassians, was torn from its foundations, and swept on the -whirlwind along the mountain slopes. - -Struck down by a stone in the moment of victory I became senseless, -and remember no more of that night of horrors! - -Heaven, I have said, has put great valour into the hearts of these -unbelievers. - -Archipp Ossepoff, the same grenadier of the Tenginski Regiment whom I -had wounded by an arrow and from whom I had rescued Basilia, -volunteered to remain behind his comrades; and in order to prevent -the fort from being of service to the confederated princes, laid his -hands solemnly on the standard of St. George, and promised to Ivan -Carlovitch, that he would fire the magazine--a noble act of -self-sacrifice and military enthusiasm. This man of course perished -with Mikhailov, and with our people; but in order to commemorate this -act of valour and devotion, the Emperor Nicholas ordained that his -name should be continued on the muster-roll of the Tenginski -Grenadiers; that it should be called daily on parade, and that on the -sergeant summoning "Archipp Ossepoff," the next grenadier on the list -should answer-- - -"Dead at Mikhailov for the glory of Russia!" - -When I recovered, I found myself lying on the hillside, many yards -from the fort, the site of which resembled the crater of the volcano; -for it seemed as if the powder had rent, torn, and blackened the -bosom of the earth, in its efforts to efface the fort for ever. The -free soft wind of the Caucasus was passing over the ruins; above me -the sky was bright, and blue, and sunny; the birds were twittering -among the mangled bodies of the slain; and about those ghastly heaps, -or between their piles of arms and limbered field-pieces, the Russian -soldiers (whom the flight of our people had left in possession of the -locality) were laughing and singing, as they drained their canteens -of sour quass, and prepared to cook their breakfasts, and to bury the -dead. - -Around us, the scenery was beautiful; there were summer woods in all -their heavy foliage; the terraced vineyards of lighter green, -screened by the dense and wiry pine; little cottages and pretty -mosques, with gilded minars shining in the sun; bright streams -dancing down the rocks; the sea, blue as the sky and rippling gently -in the wind; while in the back-ground of all, rose hills piled up on -hills, until their steeps reached Heaven, and every peak was capped -with pure white snow, or tipped by a golden gleam. - -Close by me a group of Russian officers were seated around one, who, -by his dark green uniform, his heavy silver epaulettes and -jack-boots; his varnished leather helmet surmounted by an eagle; his -enormous mustache and cruel expression of eye, I knew to be Ivan -Carlovitch; and I lay still and feigning death, believing that my -fate would be sealed, if life was discovered in me. - -They were loud in their praises of the Circassian leader--myself--and -expressed a great desire to capture me; others added their less -friendly hopes that I had perished in the explosion. - -"It is fortunate, however," said Carlovitch, "that we have taken his -two brothers, Selim and Karolyi; they, at least, have a long march -before them towards the north; and, believe me, that among the snows -there, with a chain to drag, and the occasional prick of a Cossack -lance in the rear, their hot rebellious blood will soon be cooled in -Siberia, and rendered mild as commissariat quass." - -Under their shaggy beards the officers laughed at this poor joke, -which made my heart almost die within me, for it acquainted me, that -my two brothers, Selim and Karolyi, were captives, and that Siberia -would be their doom. - -A soldier now approached to announce that the body of Archipp -Ossepoff had been found, shattered, scorched, and sorely mangled, but -still recognisable by the medals which he had won in the Polish war. - -"Then let him be buried apart from all the rest," said Carlovitch, -"with all honour, and let a cross mark the spot; but first, let us -put all these fellows who are lying about here under ground, before -the sun attains its noon-day heat." - -While lying there, receiving an occasional kick from the passing -soldiers, who had long since stripped me of my splendid arms, armour, -and ornaments, how terrible were my thoughts when the fierce, rough, -and merciless Cossacks proceeded to open a trench beside me, and dug -it deep to receive the dead. I endeavoured to stifle reflection, -believing that my last hour had come; and after praying--for prayer -is the pillar of religion, even as the sword is the true key of -paradise--I bent my thoughts upon Basilia, who was far away at -Soudjack Kaleh, and seated then perhaps in her rose garden, fanning -herself with feathers, and weeping for the poor Osman she would never -again behold on earth. - -At last the grave was finished, and one by one the dead were flung -therein, and laid in rows head and foot alternately; how heavily they -fell, with their lifeless limbs and clanking accoutrements! Suddenly -I felt myself seized by the neck and heels, and before I could utter -a sound, they flung me into that ghastly trench on the gashed and -bloody heap below, and then the shovelled earth flew fast over me. - -"Stop--halt!" cried Ivan Carlovitch, who was sitting on the sward -close by, smoking a magnificent pipe; "by St. George, that uppermost -Tcherkesse is alive yet!" - -"A matter easily repaired, my colonel!" said a Russian, raising his -shovel like a battle-axe to cleave my head. - -"Beware, I say!" thundered Carlovitch, and at his voice the bearded -soldiers cowered like slaves before a king; "fling him out, lay him -on the sward, and bring here a canteen of quass." - -This sharp, bitter draught revived me, and my native pride coming to -my aid, I stood erect, and boldly confronted the imperialist. - -"Who the devil are you?" he asked - -I replied, proudly,-- - -"Osman Rioni, the son of Mostapha. I might have concealed my rank, -but I scorn to lie, even unto a race of liars." - -Joy flashed in the cruel and cunning eyes of Carlovitch at this -announcement; his surprise and satisfaction at the importance of his -third prisoner were too great to leave space for anger at my speech. -He smiled, and said,-- - -"Tcherkesse, your wants and your wounds, if you have any, shall be -faithfully and kindly attended to; when in better humour I shall see -you again, having a little message to you from the emperor. Take him -away." - -I was conducted to an ancient tomb, under the dome of which I found a -Cossack guard, surrounding my two brothers Selim and Karolyi, with -several other Circassians, who were all suffering more or less from -wounds or scorches ha the explosion. All were dejected, and my -appearance among them increased their unhappiness. We communed in -whispers, and formed our plans for flight on the first opportunity. - -All that night we remained in the cold and dreary tomb, which before -morning some of our poor companions exchanged for an actual grave, -for they died of their undressed wounds; but about sunrise, we were -drawn out by the Cossacks, who truncheoned us with their lances, -driving us like a herd of cattle; and then their pioneers proceeded -to dig a grave under the dome, which was the resting-place of an -ancient king, a proceeding which we beheld with horror, for every -strict Mussulman deems sacred for ever the little spot of earth which -forms the last resting-place of a departed being. - -Then the sound of muffled drums rolled upon the wind and the wail of -the Muscovite dead march, as the funeral of Archipp Ossepoff -approached; the solemnity of the scene impressed us deeply, and we -forgot that it was by the mingled treachery and stern devotion of -this determined soldier we had lost Mikhailov and our liberty -together. - -Six grenadiers of the Tenginski Regiment bore on their shoulders the -coffin, the lid of which was off; a veil of fine linen covered the -body, which was dressed in uniform, with cross-belts, boots, gloves, -epaulettes of red worsted and copper medals. The head was borne -forward, not the feet, as in other countries. Then came four -soldiers, bearing the coffin lid, on which lay the leather helmet, -the musket, and knapsack of the deceased; then followed the regiment -of Tenginski Grenadiers, marching with their arms reversed, and -preceded by a grand military band of brass trumpets and muffled -drums. In front of all marched a priest of the Russian Greek Church, -attired in magnificent vestments of muslin, gold, and embroidery. -His aspect was venerable; his white beard was full and flowing; he -chaunted as he went, and sprinkled frankincense upon the path. - -A prayer, a roll upon the drums, and a flourish of instruments with -three volleys closed the ceremony, and there lies Archipp Ossepoff in -the tomb of a Circassian prince; but his memory as a brave grenadier -is still cherished, as I have related, by the orders of the emperor, -and in the traditions of his comrades. God rest that gallant spirit; -he died for his country, even as I would have died for mine. - -Pining for freedom and for the presence of Basilia, dreading I -scarcely knew what--but banishment to Siberia more than anything -else, for that had been but a living death and a separation for ever -from my country and my love--three dreary months rolled over me, and -with my two brothers I still found myself a prisoner with the Russian -army of the Caucasus, which marched along the left bank of the Kuban -towards the Sea of Azov, and consequently nearer to my home. - -One day Colonel Carlovitch sent for me, and again his face wore that -deep and cunning smile which so closely resembled a leer; for his -eyes were cold and snaky, even as his heart was stern and cruel. - -"I have sent for you, my valiant Tcherkesse," said he, politely, "to -make you a tempting offer from our beneficent father the emperor. It -is this. If you will enter the Russian service, all your father's -possessions from Marinskoi to the mouth of the Kisselbash River will -be restored to you, with the title of prince--neither of which can -you ever hope to regain by the impious sword you have drawn against -the house of Romanoff and the cause of Holy Russia." - -I rejected the offer with the scorn it merited, and reminded the -tempter, in the words of our "Declaration of Independence," how many -of our children had been stolen; how many of our princes had thus -been lured away; how many sons of nobles taken as hostages, and then -butchered in cold blood; how many noble houses had been reduced and -crushed by Russian treason and by Russian treachery; and lifting up -my hands, while I turned my face towards Mecca, I was about to take a -solemn vow, when interrupting me, he said, with an icy smile,-- - -"Enough, Osman Rioni--swear not--'t is needless! To-morrow you and -your brothers will commence the long, long march to Siberia." - -At these words my soul trembled, and my head fell upon my breast. -The Russian officer still smiled and continued to polish the eagle on -his helmet, with his leather glove, while whistling the popular waltz -of the Duchess Olga. - -Siberia! - -With that name, hope, love, liberty, my country and her cause sank, -and snow-covered wastes, with chains and stripes, despair and death, -rose up before me. - -If once I reached Siberia, I should live the life of the hopeless, -and die the death of the despairing; and my brothers--my poor -brothers! The alternative was terrible, but in the Russian service -we should daily have chances of escape to our native mountains; so I -accepted his offer in the name of myself, Selim, and Karolyi. - -"I knew that you would think better of it," said Carlovitch, sitting -down in his tent, and writing a memorandum; "thenceforward from this -day, you are a captain in the Tenginski Hussars, and your brothers -shall be the lieutenants of your troop. Allow me to present you with -a horse which was taken at Mikhailov. You shall fight against the -Tartars, not your own people; but to-morrow I have a piece of service -to propose to you. Come here after morning parade or at noon, and I -shall tell you all about it--meantime adieu." - -With a heart full of bitterness I left him, and careless of the -Cossacks, who still watched me, I took up a handful of gravel and -flung it towards his painted tent, spying, as Mohammed did at Bedr,-- - -"A curse upon thee, Muscovite--and a curse be on every hair of the -cur that begot thee! May thy face be confounded for ever!" - -Whichever way I turned, his cold smile seemed before me; but when I -reached the tent in which my brothers were confined, great was my -pleasure to find my favourite charger Zupi led up to the door by a -hussar, and I kissed and embraced my old friend, for we Mussulmen -deem the horse as the noblest of animals next to man; and the Koran -says, that the beasts which traverse earth and air are creatures like -ourselves--they are all written in the Book, and shall appear at the -last day; so when I die, I hope to take my faithful Zupi with me to -paradise, even as Ezra took his ass, after she had ceased to bray for -a hundred years. - -Like myself, at the first proposition of taking service under the -abhorred emperor, my brothers were full of fierce scorn; but when I -had calmly placed my views before them, showing that we had no -alternative but military service, with its chances of escape on one -hand, and perpetual slavery, with its stripes on the other, they -condescended to accept the lieutenantcies of my troop; and the next -day--oh, may it be accursed!--saw us attired in the green uniform of -the Tenginski Hussars, and on parade with Menschikoff's division of -the Caucasian army. - -In camp around us were bivouacked thousands of the Russian infantry -in their long great-coats and flat round caps; the Cossacks of the -Don with their fleet, rough, and active horses, and all armed with -long lances; the horse regiments of Tchernemorski glittering with -jewels and embroidery, and the Imperial Guard in their magnificent -uniform. Around us rang the clank of the armourer's anvil, the -springing of ramrods and fixing of flints; the limbering of artillery -and powder-waggons; the galloping of aides-de-camp; the hewing down -of palisades, and the plaiting up of fascines, all of which told us -of preparations making for the subjugation of our country, and we -were amid it all, attired in the Russian uniform! - -At noon I sought the tent of Carlovitch. - -"My colonel," said I, veiling my boiling hatred under a calm -exterior, as with a solemn salaam I raised a hand to the front of my -fur hussar cap; "you had a duty to propose to me?" - -"Yes, my stubborn Tcherkesse; I am glad to find that you have so -easily learned the task of obedience, as without it an army sinks -into a rabble. Well, the duty is this. There is an old fellow at -Soudjack Kaleh, who for some time past has traded with the Tartars in -various ways, and latterly with Turks in salted fish and pretty -women, both of which commodities he exports largely to Stamboul, to -the ancient city of Trebizonde, and to Sinope." - -My heart began to leap at these words. - -"You mean Abdallah ibn Obba." - -"The same; but you start--do you know him?" - -"Intimately," said I; "and your purpose, O son of a slave!" I had -almost added. - -"Well, Captain Rioni, this respectable old Tcherkesse is now -bargaining for the sale of a cargo of slave girls for the Turkish -market, and a small Stambouli craft, which has long baffled the -pursuit of our steam corvettes and the row-boats of our Kreposts, is -now concealed in some creek near Mezip. Unfortunately all our -vessels are over on the Crimean side, otherwise they would soon have -found those Turkish swine, who come to steal the subjects of our -father the emperor." - -Carlovitch gave another of his cold smiles, for he perceived how my -hot Circassian blood revolted on hearing my people called the -subjects of his emperor I asked haughtily,-- - -"Your orders, Colonel Carlovitch?" - -"You will select fifty of the Tenginski Hussars, and as you and your -brothers must know the country well, search every creek and cranny of -the coast until the Turkish ship is found. She will be safely -beached somewhere, and when discovered, burn her; cut the throats of -the Turks, and bring the cargo of girls here. You shall have a -couple of the prettiest for your trouble. The daughter of old -Abdallah is among them--Basilia, commonly known as the flower of the -Abassians. Archipp Ozepoff nearly brought me that girl once before, -but some rascal pierced him by an arrow. Take especial care of her, -for I am resolved that no great bison of a Turk shall ever call her -slave. No, no, her bright eyes will sparkle all the brighter among -the green uniforms and silver epaulettes of our Tenginski Hussars. -See to all this; you march in an hour, and till you return, farewell." - -Taking up a pen he resumed a dispatch which my arrival had -interrupted; and after standing for some time, overwhelmed by -confusion and the misery of my own thoughts, I withdrew to the foot -of a tree, and sat down to reflect on the strange duty I had to -perform, and the startling tidings I had just heard. - -The image of my beautiful Basilia--for I assure you, gentlemen, that -the Circassian maid is the most perfect and lovely creation of God--a -prisoner, a slave on board of a slave ship, and consigned a helpless -victim of the lust of the licentious Osmanli filled my soul with a -horror so great that I forgot my present situation in my anxiety to -discover this secret ship, to free her, and to put to the edge of the -sword all who were concerned in a transaction so infamous. I saw the -whole affair now. The loss of the rich argosy on the Isle of -Serpents had brought the difficulties of Abdallah to a crisis, and to -retrieve his broken fortune he had sold his only daughter to the -Turks! I invoked the curse of the Prophet, and of the twelve Imaums -on his avarice; and now my only fear was great that the Turks might -launch their boat and escape me: thus it was that with an ardour such -as I never thought to feel at the head of Russian troops, I rode from -the camp at the head of fifty hussars, with my two brothers by my -side; and we galloped along the sea-shore, with all our brilliant -appointments glittering in the splendour of the setting sun of Asia. - -"Basilia, my pure, my beautiful! this night may make thee mine," -thought I; "one stroke of a sabre may give what thy father would not -have sold to me, perhaps, for a million of piastres." - -I am ashamed to own that our Circassian beauties too often exchange -with joy the penury of their fathers' cottages and the hardships of -their frugal mountain homes, for the luxury and delight of the -Stambouli Kiosks and seraglios. From early childhood their ears are -filled, and their warm imaginations fired, with ideas of the riches -and pleasure of these places, and by the stories of their mothers, or -more generally their aunts, who have returned (when their Osmanli -lords grew weary of their faded charms) loaded with magnificent -jewels, with purses of sequins, and wardrobes of the richest stuffs -the world can produce, and with many a tale to tell of the -distinguished part they had played by their native superiority of -intellect over the ponderous and dreamy Asiatic. To purchase our -girls the Turkish vessels row by night along the shore, and seek some -wooded creek where they lie concealed from the steamers and cruisers -of the Russian Black Sea fleet, and from the squadrons of Cossack -row-boats attached to the Kreposts; then the bargain is concluded, -and the girls, who are always the most beautiful daughters of serfs -and freemen, are embarked, after a month, perhaps, has been spent in -bartering and chaffering between the merchants on one hand, and their -parents on the other.* - - -* It is calculated that one vessel out of six is taken. In the -winter of 1843-4, twenty-eight ships left the coast of Asia Minor for -Circassia, to purchase girls; twenty-three returned safely; three -only were burned by the Russians, and two were swallowed by the -waves.--WAGNER - - -As the distance increased between us and the Russian camp my brothers -looked with longing eyes towards our native hills, between whose -misty peaks a flood of golden light was falling on the waving woods -and on the rolling sea; and now they began to whisper and exchange -glances of intelligence. Their minds were full of the pledge we had -lately made to ourselves, that we would fly the hated yoke of Russia -on the first opportunity; but this was no easy task, believe me, -watched as we were by our own suspicious soldiers. At this time my -whole soul was full of Basilia, and in the hope of freeing, of -winning, and of loving her, even Circassia and her wrongs were -forgotten for a time--God of the Prophet, but only for a time! - -By a telescope I could see afar off the wild woods in which I had -wandered when a boy, and the familiar mountain peaks up which I had -clambered when fighting with the Muscovite riflemen, or hunting the -boar and jerboa. I could see the bright gleam of steel and the -flashing of chain armour between the shady oaks; for there armed -bands were hovering, and there the Tartar bow, the Albanian gun, the -Circassian lance, and the crooked sabre, awaited the Muscovite -invader; and there the holy banner of the twelve stars waved above -the tent of the glorious Schamyl. Watched as we were by the very men -we led, flight, as I have said, was hopeless; but then I had no -thought of flight even when within a cannon-shot of armed Circassian -bands which we could see with their camels laden with women, -children, and household goods, clambering up the hills to avoid the -Kalmuck scouts and Cossack foragers. - -As the night darkened we saw lurid flames shooting up between the -mountain clefts; and while our fierce hussars muttered in guttural -Russ and laughed under their matted beards, the hearts of my brothers -and myself grew sad, for we knew that the Tchernemorski lances were -spreading woe and desolation in the homes of our people. - -We searched every little bay, inlet, and river as we passed along the -beautiful coast from Anapa to Soudjack Kaleh, a fortress which was -then half in ruins, as General Williamoff had left it after storming -its defences at the head of fifteen thousand men. It seemed now so -lonely and so silent that no one could imagine the roar of war had -once awoke its echoes, for the flowers of the arbutus, the -rhododendron, and many other plants, most of them aromatic, filled -the air with perfume as they grew in luxuriance on its battered -walls, or twining round the old cannon's mouth as it lay half sunk -among the stones and grass, or wreathing the bare skulls and white -ribs of the dead on whose unburied bones, bleached by the sunshine -and the storm, devouring dogs and mountain wolves had battened. - -Evening had closed when we bivouacked near the beach, unbitted our -horses, lighted our pipes, and sent round our cups of quass to wash -down the black ration, bread and salt beef broiled among the embers -till it was encrusted with ashes and brine; and we were just -composing ourselves for the night, when my sergeant, a cunning and -active Cossack, who had crept a mile or two along the shore alone, -announced to me that he had seen some suspicious lights in a little -creek of the bay of Koutloutzi. "Mount and march," was the order, -and favoured by a brilliant moon, beneath whose light the Euxine -rolled like a flood of silver at the base of the steep Circassian -hills, we rode round the margin of this circular bay, and ascended -the beautiful vale of Mezip, towards where my sergeant asserted he -had seen the lights. - -Halting our party he and I dismounted, and, taking only our swords -and pistols, crept cautiously through a thicket towards where a river -entered the bay, and such a place we knew would be the most probable -rendezvous of the Turks with the slave merchant. The foliage was -dense and dark overhead, for in this district the sturdy oak, the -beech, and the chestnut grew to the water's edge, and the -cherry-tree, the fig, and the wild olive were all in full bloom. It -was a savage place. Toads croaked among the reeds, and rearing -serpents hissed among the sedges of the river, which brawled over a -ledge of rocks and fell into the bay, while the yellow-coated and -weasel-like suroke whistled on the branches of the pine, and the -fleet jerboa fled before us from its lair like an evil spirit. - -Suddenly we saw a gleam of light, and heard the sound of voices. A -few paces more brought us to the brow of a wooded bank, at the base -of which we saw a number of Turkish sailors seated round a fire, -smoking, drinking raki, and making merry, while one of their number, -a little humpbacked fellow, with a hooked nose and enormous beard, -sang to them, and twangled on a lute. They were sixteen in number (I -counted them carefully), and all fierce-looking fellows, with -enormous noses and mustachoes. Large trowsers, dirty red tarbooshes, -and red shawl-girdles stuck full of daggers and pistols. Most of -them had cuts and scars or patches on their dusky faces, and all had -a savage and sinister aspect, as the red gleams of the pinewood fire -fell on them. The captain was particularly happy; as he believed, -that if the Sultan Abdul-Medjid did but once see Basilia, the -fortunes of all who had a share in bringing such loveliness to -gladden his sublime eyes would be made for ever. - -In the back-ground, and drawn far up on the beach, lay their vessel, -with its large angular sail stowed on deck; the yard struck, and the -mast and rigging covered by green pine branches, the better to elude -the observation of scouts, and to blend its outline with the -surrounding trees, while heaps of branches, with dry leaves spread -over all, were piled against the sides. But over the gunnel we saw -several Circassian girls sitting very quietly, gazing at those rough -and noisy guardians, who were to convey them to that brilliant -Stamboul, which they had been taught to believe was an earthly -paradise. - -On that little deck, and apart from all the rest, sat one who did not -seem to share the placidity of her companions, or to share their -joyous anticipations. Her form was enveloped in her veil, and her -head was bowed upon her hands, her eyes were sad, and fixed on -vacancy. My breath came thick and fast. There was a swelling in my -throat, as if my heart was there, for I knew that lonely weeper was -Basilia. - -As thirty or forty girls are usually deemed a good cargo and only ten -were visible, it was evident to us that the Turks had no intention of -putting to sea for some days; thus my sergeant, who had frequently -been on expeditions of this kind, politely suggested--as we had -ridden a long way--the expedience of sleeping quietly for that night, -and slaughtering the Turks at our leisure in the morning; but my -impatience would brook of no delay. - -Again we mounted: I divided my party into two troops, and ascending -the valley of Mezip for a mile or so, descended from different points -towards the head of the Bay. - -"Spur and sabre!" was the cry. - -There was a brief but sharp discharge of pistols, a gleaming of -knives and flashing of sabres, and in five minutes the surrounded -Turks were all trampled under hoof, shot and headless beside the fire -which had lit the scene of their jollity, not one of them escaping -save their deformed messmate, who dashed his lute at the head of -Selim, sprung into the sea, and disappeared. The captain I sabred -with my own hand; but not before he gave me this wound by a pistol -shot, which grazed my left cheek like a hot iron. - -Inspired anew by love and triumph I sprang up the side of the vessel, -and sought the lonely figure--it was as my heart divined--Basilia. I -knelt before her, and took her hand in mine, trembling as I did so, -for never until that moment had I touched even the hem of her -garment. My soul was in my tongue, and weighed it down with words of -love and joy, but one alone found utterance,-- - -"Basilia!" - -She gave a cry of wonder, and as she gazed at me, her large black -eyes dilated and flashed with anger. - -"Basilia," said I, "do you not remember me?" - -"No," replied she, while trembling; "who are you?" - -"Osman, the son of Mostapha, your own Osman, who saved you at Anapa." - -"It is false," she answered, with eyes full of anger and sorrow; -"Osman was a brave Circassian warrior, and I loved him; oh! how -dearly and how well; but he fell in battle at Mikhailov. Thou art -either a base Muscovite, or some fiend in the shape of Osman; a ghoul -it may be, a son of Ifrit; begone, and leave me." - -I could have wept at these stinging words, which sank like poisoned -arrows in my heart, and I feared that grief had disordered her -intellects; but I did injustice to Basilia, for her language was the -first prompting of honest grief and indignation to find me in the -uniform of the Tenginski Hussars, and false, as she deemed, to my -country and to her. For so she told me, when more composed, and when -she heard my story, as we sat side by side under a broad chesnut tree -with the plunder of the Turkish ship around us, and the flames of its -burning timbers to light our little bivouac. When we fired it, with -all the branches and withered leaves that were piled over it, the -flames burned bravely, and shot above the copse-wood, as they licked -the mast and its well-tarred cordage. - -I sat at the feet of Basilia, my heart teemed with joy, half the -objects of existence seemed accomplished now, and I could no longer -believe that fortune had greater favours in store for me. - -In the language of our own beloved country, we formed innumerable -projects of happiness, or whispered plans of escape from the toils of -the Russians, and I had resolved in the night, if possible, to elude -my own sentinels, to mount Basilia on Zupi, and to depart by the vale -of Mezip towards the wilderness of mount Shapsucka, when my sergeant, -with a dark and singular expression in his eye, came to inform me -that my brother "the Lieutenant Selim was nowhere to be found." - -Karolyi, who was sitting beside us, looked up, and gave a deep smile -as the Cossack spoke. - -In short, after seeing the last Turk cut down, Selim, while our -dismounted hussars were overhauling the ship, had turned his horse's -head towards the mountains and escaped. - -I rejoiced at this for a time. - -"But brother Osman," said Karolyi, "Selim has done us a wrong in -this; we should all have fled together, for thou and I will now be -watched with double suspicion, and have our simplest actions -subjected to the severest scrutiny." - -"Remember, there is the maiden, whom I cannot leave behind; so let us -rejoice that Circassia has one brave warrior more." - -Karolyi made a gesture of impatience. - -"Circassia," said he, "has maidens enough and to spare; but for every -warrior on her hills, she requires at least a hundred. This is no -time for wedding or acting the lover, for twangling on the lute and -kneeling on the verge of a pretty maid's carpet." - -"These were my own words, Karolyi, when urged by you and Selim to wed -ere Schamyl rose in arms." - -"True, brother, true," replied Karolyi, "and in truth, this little -maiden is a miracle of beauty. My soul and sword are at her service, -command them; but in the name of Merissa think not of escape -to-night. Another and perhaps more favourable opportunity may soon -occur." - -The night passed quickly away. I watched Basilia while she slept in -my mantle. I was sleepless, but silent and happy, for my mind was -full of love and her. - -Next day I placed her on Zupi, and we set out for head-quarters amid -the maledictions of the ten rescued slaves, who saw all their -anticipated delights of a seraglio life suddenly cut short, and who -knew that fate would now consign them to high-cheeked Kalmucks, or -the rough, greasy Cossacks, in lieu of the wealthy Osmanlis, the -luxurious Pashas, and turbaned Agas, whom they had hoped to have as -masters; and they consoled themselves by reviling me as a renegade, -and invoking on my head all the ills that fell on the God-abandoned -Thamudites, and on the offspring of Saba, the son of Yarab. - -On arriving at head-quarters, I presented my prisoners, and the right -ears of fifteen Turks to Colonel Carlovitch. The ears he flung to -his dogs, and the ten girls, not finding favour in the sight of the -officers who crowded about them, were given to Cossacks, to make -wives or whatever they pleased of them, for such is the law of the -Russian military colonies on the Kuban; and to himself, despite my -prior claim by love and capture; despite my rage and grief, my -entreaties and ill-smothered threatenings--to himself--this accursed -Muscovite assigned Basilia as a hand-maiden! - -* * * * * - -(Here the Circassian, who had related this part of his narrative in -short and broken sentences, paused, and ground his teeth, while the -veins of his fine pale forehead swelled like rigid cords, and his -keen dark eyes became glazed with the ferocity, fire, and grief that -filled them.) - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -ZUPI. - -Ivan Carlovitch, he resumed, was a soldier insensible alike to pity -and to danger. His cold and rigid sternness had first brought him -under the notice of his imperial master, who raised him from the -humblest rank in the army. He had a strict and almost absurd idea of -the implicit obedience which should be rendered by the soldier to his -superior; and wild as I was then with passion and grief on finding -that I had only saved Basilia from one degrading condition to deliver -her over to one still more cruel and terrible--to be the mistress, -the plaything of a wretched Russian--I had sufficient tact to see -that resistance would only serve to destroy my own hopes of a -dreadful vengeance, and of achieving her freedom. On the first -symptom of disobedience, Carlovitch would have brought me before a -general court-martial. From this tribunal in Russia, the way to the -knout or the grave is short and rapid, especially to a poor Pole, or -a captive Tcherkesse warrior. - -It is related that early in life, Ivan Carlovitch, the son of Carl, a -porter of Moscow, was a soldier in General Ouchterlony's battalion of -the Imperial Guard, and was one day a sentinel on the private gate of -the palace at St. Petersburg, when a sudden inundation of the Neva -spread terror among the inmates of the edifice, and forced them to -retreat to the upper stories. - -The Empress Alexandrina was surveying the rising waters from a -balcony, when she perceived Carlovitch standing at his post -motionless, and mid leg in the water. In great alarm she desired him -to retire within doors. He "presented arms" when Her Majesty -addressed him, but respectfully declined. The flood increased. -Trees were swept away, railings and balustrades, vases of flowers, -dead cattle, boats, and logs of wood were surged and dashed against -the palace walls; again and again the Empress and her ladies called -in great agitation to the sentinel, desiring him to abandon a post so -perilous; but with admirable coolness he replied, that he "dared not -until properly relieved or withdrawn by an order from the captain of -the guard." That officer had by this time clambered to the roof of -the guard-house, from whence he sent the corporal, a good swimmer, to -bring off this obstinate sentinel, who was now up to his neck in -water. - -For this act of bravado or insensibility to danger, Carlovitch was -appointed a captain in the Infantry Regiment of Tenginski, and -marched with it against the Circassians. In due time he was -appointed colonel of the Tenginski Hussars (for there are two corps, -one of horse and the other of foot, so named), and as such I found -him when misfortune cast me in his way. - -He was a man without mercy, and often brought his bravest soldiers to -the knout for the most trivial fault; but he never broke into gusts -of passion, and though constantly using among the soldiers, the -serfs, and prisoners a heavy rattan, every blow of which brought away -a stripe of flesh, he always addressed them with a cold and cruel -smile, which filled those who knew him with fear and repugnance. - -Oh, how I loathe his memory and the recollection of that fiendish -leer, which I can picture so distinctly at this moment! - -But what of Basilia, you would ask me? - -Fain would I draw a veil over her fate; but a few words will relate -it. - -The insulting advances, the bold declarations of a love the most -repugnant to a heart so pure, the caresses and the presents of -Carlovitch she received with disdain. For three days and three -nights tears were her only protection; entreaties for mercy her only -weapon; but at last even they failed her. One night Carlovitch, -flushed with wine and fury on leaving a banquet given by Prince -Merischikoff, assailed her in his own tent, and to escape him, the -miserable Basilia pierced her throat with a poniard, and died at his -feet! - -Her pure, fair, beautiful form was wrapped in a horse-rug, and buried -by the rough hands of Cossack pioneers, at the foot of a rock on the -left bank of the Kuban. - -The grave of my love lay but a pistol shot distant from the tent of -her destroyer; yet his iron heart never smote him, and never -reproached him with his cruelty; he smoked, he drank the wine of the -Tcherkesses, and played at cards and chess, and with his brother -officers sang as merrily as ever, and no more regarded the death he -had caused and the misery he had wrought, than the ashes of his last -cigar. - -Where then was I? - -Forced to lead my troop against my own people, and watched by a -chosen few of my own soldiers, I had been sent towards Azov in -pursuit of fugitive Circassians. One whom we had tracked the -livelong day, riding over steep mountains, through pathless forests -and deep rivers, was taken at nightfall by his horse falling under -him. He was brought in, exhausted with fatigue and faint with -hunger, covered with blood, with scars, brambles, and heavily -fettered. The poor fugitive we had pursued so long, and taken at -last, proved to be my brother Selim, who had failed to reach the camp -of our confederated princes, and had wandered long on the Russian -side of Mount Shapsucka. - -I was filled with new dismay. It seemed that I required but this to -complete my misery. I rent my beard, and threw myself on the ground; -I cursed myself and Ivan Carlovitch in the same breath, and daringly -upbraided the Prophet with injustice to a Mussulman so devout as I. - -Poor Selim heard my words with terror. He raised me from the ground; -he kissed me on both cheeks, and besought me to be composed, and then -we were separated. I had to continue my march towards the shores of -the sea of Azov, while Selim, the miserable Selim, was dragged before -Carlovitch, who tried him as a deserter, had him degraded, and his -sword and commission trodden under foot; after which he was sentenced -to die--to die under the knout--"a terror to other Tcherkesses who -trifled with the service of their beneficent lord and father the -emperor." - -Three weeks afterwards I heard of his fate, and to nerve my soul for -the coming vengeance, I drank in the terrible description of the poor -boy's dying scene. I was told by my sergeant how the troops were -formed in a hollow square--ten thousand Russian slaves, misnamed as -soldiers, with bayonets fixed and colours flying; I was told how the -noble prisoner stood amid them, with the kingly air of a true -Circassian cavalier, though stripped of every article of attire, save -a pair of tattered drawers; how he was bound by the wrists, the neck, -and ancles, to a large gun-carriage, and how the executioner, a -gigantic Kalmuck, stood six feet distant to give his infernal weapon -a swing more full and heavy. I was told how Selim--for he was the -youngest of us--screamed in agony as each successive blow fell on his -bare and quivering shoulders, from which the flesh was torn in pieces -by every lash of the dreadful whip; how between every stroke this -giant Kalmuck dipped its bloody ends in brimstone, and how the victim -sank beneath the strokes, until at last their sound came dull and -dead, for poor Selim had expired with four words on his lips; they -were, "My brothers--my brothers." - -I did not shed a tear for him; a fiend seemed to possess me; a -devilish joy swelled within me, as I lay that night in the bivouac -beside the feet of Zupi, rolled in my mantle, with my sword and -pistols at my side. - -"Woe to thee, whining cur of the Czar, woe!" I repeated again and -again; "to-morrow I will see thee, Carlovitch--to-morrow shall thy -soul answer to heaven and to hell for these atrocities; and to-morrow -Mostapha's son shall cease to be the serf of this dog Emperor, -Nicholas Paulovitch!" - -The sunny morrow came, and loud and shrill rang the trumpets which -summoned the Hussars and Grenadiers of Tenginski to a general parade. -I examined my saddle girths, my bridle, and my arms, with scrupulous -exactness, for this would be the last parade I was ever to attend. I -threw away everything that might serve to encumber my motions or -overload my horse, and by my advice Karolyi did the same. - -We were now with that portion of the Russian army which had fallen -back from the Circassian Mountains to recruit and reform after their -defeats by Schamyl; and which, after recrossing the Don, was cantoned -principally in the Ukraine. The division to which we belonged -occupied Poltava, one of the richest and best parts of the adjoining -province for pasturing cavalry horses. - -On the very day after we halted at Poltava, a grand parade was formed -before Prince Menschikoff, and as I had marched with the baggage -guard, I saw Carlovitch for the first time since these atrocities had -cast a horror on my soul. The Prophet alone knows what were my -emotions at the sight of him. The voices of Basilia and of Selim -were rising from their graves--they were ever in my ears whispering -"vengeance," and I rode amid the troops like one in a stupor. The -parade was a magnificent one. - -There were present the Imperial Guard, under General Ouchterlony, a -Scotsman, and his three sons, all colonels of battalions; these men -were the flower of the Russian army; the six Grenadier battalions of -Prince Frederick of Hesse Phillipesthal; the veteran regiment of -Moscow, commanded by Prince Frederick of Mecklenburg; the Cuirassiers -of the Grand Duchess Olga, and the gorgeous Hussars of the Princess -Maria Paulowna (sister of the Emperor), whose trappings far eclipsed -those of the two Tenginski corps of Hussars and Infantry. But -Karolyi and I laughed at the splendour of these idolaters, and scorn -grew with hatred in our hearts; for it is of these, and such as -these--eaters of hogs'-flesh and drinkers of brandy--that our Prophet -spoke, when he said, "lo! they are like no other than brute cattle," -and they shall perish like the people of Irem, of Thamud, and those -who, as the Koran tells us, dwelt in al Rass. - -The review passed before me like a dream, for my mind was full of -other thoughts, and I saw only the mangled and bleeding body of Selim -bound to the field-piece, and the poor remains of Basilia asleep in -that uncouth grave where the Russian pioneers had buried her, when -suddenly my name resounded along the glittering ranks; Carlovitch -summoned me to the front, when all the cavalry were formed in line to -deliver a general salute. - -Something had gone wrong. I know not what, but I had neglected my -troop when deploying from close column into line, and Carlovitch, -usually so grave and impassible, was choking with passion. He called -me "a dog of a Tcherkesse," and smote me on the face with his rattan. - -The blow went straight to my heart! - -For a moment I felt as if a thunderbolt had struck me; but -transported with fury, I uttered the yell-like war cry of Circassia, -and buried my sharp sabre--the noble steel of far-away Damascus--in -his dastard heart! - -Again I thrust it to the hilt, as tottering he drooped upon his -holsters, dying and gushing of blood, and then I spurned the corpse -with my feet as it fell. I slew him on the spot, in the face of -fifty thousand men! May the curse of mankind fall upon the turf -which wraps the dog who begot him! - -I brandished my sabre, and shouted wildly to Karolyi,-- - -"To the hills--away, away! Tcherkesse! Tcherkesse!" - -Goring his horse with the spurs, he sprang from the ranks, as the -roar of a thousand voices ascended from them, on witnessing this act -of justice; together we dashed at a furious pace towards the nearest -mountains, and had already placed a deep and rapid torrent between us -and the Russians, before they had recovered from their astonishment, -or made proper arrangements for a pursuit. - -The most accomplished rider in Europe is acknowledged to sit his -horse like a clown when contrasted with a Circassian cavalier; and -fortunate it was for Karolyi and me, that we--both men and -horses--were bred and reared on the slopes of the Caucasus; as we -were hotly and fiercely pursued by relays of mounted men despatched -fresh and lightly accoutred from the innumerable military posts we -passed. The wild Tchernemorski Cossacks, with their long lances, and -wiry little horses; the Tenginski and Paulowna Hussars, and even the -heavy, helmeted, breast-plated and jack-booted Olga cuirassiers -spurred after us; but among the deep rocky gorges, the tangled -brakes, the shifting mosses, and the fordless rivers, we soon rid -ourselves of the latter, and most of the others, save the Cossacks, -who followed us like spirits of evil, unrelenting and unwearying, for -many a day and many a night. - -In desperate hope to reach the Prussian frontier, we had already -crossed the Dnieper, and traversed the palatinate of Minsk, where for -days we rode over a flat country, of which we were ignorant, and -where, in despair, we were frequently about to abandon the hope of -escape, when we found ourselves involved in the mazes of a wild -forest and dreary morass that lie on the banks of its rivers. But -our native hardihood preserved us; for a cleft in a rock, or the -branch of a tree with a sword for a pillow, is home enough at any -time for a Tcherkesse warrior. - -However, we now began to experience a serious difficulty in procuring -a knowledge of the route to be pursued. We knew little of the -language; our aspect was jaded, wan, and terrible; our uniform hung -about us in rags; our horses were sinking, and that we were deserters -was evident to every observer. And now the people of Lithuania -joined in the pursuit, and one evening, just as we were about to -cross a river named the Swislocz, our Tchernemorski Cossacks came -upon us, and their wild shout of joy at the termination of that -flight, which to them had been a long and exciting chase, rang in the -air above us, as they reined up their horses on the rocks that -overhung the stream, and brandished their spears. - -We were about to plunge in, when one more bold or more freshly -mounted than his comrades, wounded Karolyi by a lance thrust. - -"May demons defile thy beard, and their plagues fall on thee and -thine!" exclaimed my brother in a gust of fury; but now he had -dropped or broken every weapon save his dagger, so with that -quickness which is peculiar to the Circassian, he dismounted, rushed -upon the Cossack's horse, drove the weapon into its breast, and -bearing it back at the same time by the bridle, he hurled the -snorting steed over upon its rider, and crushed him to death in an -instant. - -Vaulting again into his own well-worn saddle, he plunged with me into -the stream, and gallantly we breasted it--while the carbines of the -Tchememorski Cossacks--the only soldiers in the Russian service who -can at all compete with our people--rang on every side, as they -commenced a simultaneous discharge upon us, and their bullets -flattened on the rocks, or raised incessant water-spouts around us. - -Suddenly I heard a low cry and a choking gurgle that filled my heart -with misery. I looked back; Karolyi, struck by a bullet, had sunk -from his saddle, and a spurred boot alone was visible, as horse and -rider was swept over a cataract, and borne away towards the Dnieper. - -So perished my second brother! - -Forcing Zupi up a bank where the reeds grew at least twelve feet -high, I still rode recklessly on; but brave as they were, not one of -the Cossacks dared to cross that foaming torrent in pursuit. Night -came down to shroud my flight; there was no moon. I reached a wood, -and flung myself down exhausted in mind and body. I was now dead to -the fear of discovery, and I cared not for wolves, or other wild -animals. - -The presence of Karolyi, his companionship and our brotherly love, -had alone sustained me thus far; now he was gone, and I was alone in -the world; but there was at least one consolation: he had died the -death of a warrior, with one hand on his bridle, and the other on his -weapon; he had fallen, like his father's son, in battle with the -enemies of his country, but he had found a tomb far from his father's -grave, and far from the banks of the Kisselbash River. - -Three days I lay without food, save a little wild honey, and without -repose in that Lithuanian forest, and careless whether I lived or -died; for want, misery, privation and mental agony had broken my -spirit, and destroyed alike every purpose, hope, and reflection. -There I prayed to the only Prophet of God, and remembered with -growing trust that in the blessed Koran, he enjoins us to seek aid -with perseverance; and I implored him to deliver me, even as the Lord -divided the sea of Kolzom with his hand to let his people pass, and -thereafter drowned the Egyptian host; and the Prophet heard me; for -even while I prayed with my bare head in the dust, there chanced to -pass that way a poor Tartar who dwelt on the skirts of the forest, -and who had come hither to cut wood. - -He heard me address the Prophet, and remembering the faith of his -fathers, felt his heart moved within him; so he had compassion upon -me, and took me to his hut, which, like all the Tartar dwellings, was -little better than a rabbit-hole, burrowed on the face of a hill, -with a rude verandah in front. Fortunately it lay in a wild and -secluded place; so I dwelt for some days in safety with this good -man, who guided me across the plains of Grodno, until I passed the -Prussian frontier, when I knelt with my face to the east, and gave -thanks to Heaven--thanks that I was safe from Russia, although eight -hundred miles lay between me and the hills of my beloved Circassia. - -Zupi, my horse, the noble animal which had borne me this incredible -distance, was my first care, and to procure new garments in lieu of -the tattered uniform of the Tenginski Hussars was the second; and -intent only on reaching Britain, which was about to declare war -against Russia, I travelled through part of Prussia by railway, a -mode of locomotion, which I there saw for the first time, and which -filled me with wonder and awe. - -On reaching that kingdom, I thought my troubles were at an end; but -there, alas! I found myself accused of a murder, stripped of the -little sum I had about me, separated from Zupi, cast into prison, and -in danger of being hanged; or what was worse, sent back to the -Russian General Todleben, who commanded at Grodno. It happened thus. - -I travelled towards Dantzig in a second-class carriage, in which the -only other passenger was a pale and careworn young man, whose -profusion of beard, braided coat, and small cap, with its square -peak, gave him somewhat the aspect of a student. Taciturn and -thoughtful, and being full of astonishment at the speed with which we -swept over plain and valley, across rivers and under -mountains--travelling as it were on the skirts of a whirlwind--I did -not address my companion, who after smoking a large pipe for some -time, covered his head with his cloak, and threw himself at full -length along the seat, where he lay, long, as I thought, asleep. A -jolt of the train threw him on the floor, and perceiving that he lay -motionless and still, I hastened to lift him; but how great was my -emotion, to find my hands covered with blood--for this silent -fellow-passenger was a suicide, who had cut his throat from ear to -ear, by a knife, which he grasped in his now rigid hand. - -I endeavoured to lower the windows, but I knew not the way; so I -dashed one to pieces, and cried aloud to the guards or drivers--I -know not which you name them; but I was unheeded, and still this -apparently infernal vehicle, in which I was enclosed with the bloody -corpse, swept on, screaming, whistling, jarring, clanking, smoking, -and whirling over wood and plain, over the roofs of towns, past the -weathercocks of churches, and the tops of lofty trees, with a speed -and din that would have carried terror and dismay to the hearts of a -Circassian host, and would have swept Kurds and Kalmucks to the -furthest confines of Asia. - -At Dantzig the train arrived in due time, and the doors were opened -by the conductors. I was found with "the murdered man;" my recent -cries were attributed to him; the broken windows to his dying -struggle, for my hands were cut and covered with blood! The Prussian -gallows threatened me on one hand and the Russian knout upon the -other. I was a poor unfriended foreigner, in a land of spies, -suspicion, and police agents; and in my own defence had not one word -to urge, for I was ignorant of the language. But fortunately next -day, a letter was found on the person of the deceased, who proved to -be a French artist, announcing his intention of destroying himself, -and adding, that "when he had no longer a sou, it was thus a -Frenchman should die--Vive la France! Vive le diable!" - -This relieved me, and explained the whole affair; but the Prussian -gens-d'armes kept my purse, as they said, to pay "all contingencies;" -and had not the captain of a large French ship taken pity upon me, -and brought me and my horse to London--the capital of Europe--I must -have begged for bread in the streets of Dantzig, and had to sell my -beloved Zupi to save the noble animal from starvation. - -Finding myself in the great city of London, I was likely to be in -greater distress than when in the vast forest of Lithuania; for in -London the whole population live in an atmosphere of snares, -suspicion, and mistrust, every man viewing his neighbour as one who -has a design upon him. Again I was starving, for the little sum with -which the French captain supplied me was spent upon Zupi, by whose -side I always slept at night in an old cart-shed. But remembering -that by birth and habit I was a soldier, I applied to the officers of -the Household Brigade; some of these smiled, and shook their heads -doubtfully, until Sir Henry Slingsby laid before them my commission -in the Tenginski Hussars; it was fringed with silver, and signed by -the Emperor Nicholas Paulovitch. Then they had a fellow feeling for -me, and treated me with a kindness, the memory of which fills my soul -with gratitude; for never, to the last hour of my life, shall I -forget it, or omit to pray for the good and brave Ingleez. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -WE REACH HEAD-QUARTERS. - -Such was the story of the Circassian captain, and it occupied the -greater part of the time during which the San Lucar packet steamed -along the south-west coast of Andalusia, passing Cape Plata, and -entering the Straits of Gibraltar, had rounded the promontory which -is crowned by towers and ramparts of Tarifa, after which a run of -seventeen miles brought us into the harbour of the great rock, where -the babble of Spaniards, Moors, Italians, French, and Gitanas was -ringing in our ears again, as we landed with our horses on the quay. - -Taking our new friend with us--for we could not but have a lively -interest in a brother patriot of the valiant Schamyl--the Washington -of the Caucasus, the Wallace of Circassia, we repaired at once to -headquarters, and related the success of our visit to Seville, -reserving future relations until we went to mess in the evening. - -We introduced Captain Osman Rioni to Morton, our colonel, who -immediately spoke to him of service in the Turkish Contingent, urging -it upon him the more vehemently, as there were then in the harbour -six transports full of French and British troops en route to -Sebastopol. But Osman thanked the good colonel, and shook his head, -saying,-- - -"Mohammed was the first Prophet of God, and the holy Murid Schamyl is -the second! Our destiny is written on our foreheads; may it be mine -to die in the ranks of war! Every man hath his part in life allotted -to him; may it be mine to fight for my country, and fight again I -shall! Is not her blood red on the Russian bayonets? I will carry a -lance under no flag but the green Sangiac Sheerif of Circassia. -Would to heaven I saw it now with the twelve stars of the -confederated tribes, for then I should see the Abassian peaks and the -wilds of Daghestan, the warriors in their mail of links, and the -linden trees that shade those cottage doors from which our women -bless us, and we ride to war against the Buss. Yes, yes; I will -return to Circassia on her shore alone to fight with Schamyl against -the foes of God, and to see once more the snowy rocks of Elbrus, -where the ark of Noah first rested before it lay on Ararat." - -His story, his peculiar language and bearing, his horse Zupi, and his -love for that gallant animal made him quite a seven days' wonder with -"Ours," and he was the lion of the mess table. Every one who had any -pretension to be a connoisseur in horse-flesh had visited, -criticised, and caressed Zupi, which was a long-bodied, wiry, and, to -our taste, somewhat short-legged nag, with small ears, a noble head, -full chest and flanks, compact and close. - -"A hundred times and more he has stood still as a stone wall, and -allowed me to fire my long Albanian gun between his ears, using his -head as a rest," said Osman; "courage, brave Zupi--courage! Ere long -thou shalt snuff the air in woody Daghestan, and drink of the foaming -Koissons." - -We raised a handsome subscription for him in one night at our mess -table, and procured him a passage in a French cavalry transport; so -he left us, with lips that quivered as he said "farewell," and a -heart that yearned with gratitude. He said that one day we should -hear of him when Schamyl and his host marched towards the shores of -the Sea of Azov. - -Whether Osman reached his own wild and war-like country we have yet -to learn; for since the day on which the "Napoleon III." steamed away -past the New Mole fort, with her deck crowded by Zouaves, and our -Circassian among them waving his red cap in adieu to us, we have -heard no more of him; for the tidings of the Caucasian strife that -reach Europe are meagre, doubtful, and vague, as those that came from -the Holy Land of old. - -Slingsby and I were complimented in garrison orders for the manner in -which we had accomplished our little diplomatic trip to Seville, and -were praised for the dangers we had encountered and escaped. - -Our adventures, with those of Osman Rioni, infected the mess with a -desire to "spin yarns," and the result was, that from being the most -matter-of-fact fellows in the world, every one of "Ours" had a -romantic story to tell. - -"Now, gentlemen," said the colonel, one evening when I had brought my -narrative down to the happy epoch of our embarkation on board the -steamer at San Lucar de Barameda, "how much more pleasant and -entertaining has all this been to us than the usual absurd chit-chat -which reigns supreme at a mess table; the everlasting quiz about the -curl of Ramble's mustachios; the banter about Bob's whiskers, or -Slingsby's bay mare, and how Shafton craned at the hedge in the -steeple-chase; the odds on the Derby; the last new singer; the latest -ballet importation, with the shape of her ancles, and so forth; the -last novel or polka, or belle, or piece of humbug; now is it not so?" - -Hereupon all those whose constant topics the colonel had just -enumerated, warmly assented that it was, and that the narrative had -proved immensely interesting. - -"Deuced instructive, too!" yawned the most stupid fellow at the table. - -"Might spin three volumes out of it, Ramble. 'Men and Manners in -Andalusia!'" said another. - -"No banter now, gentlemen!" said the colonel; "pass the bottles, -Shafton. Mr. Vice-President, another allowance of wine; I have a -proposal to make. We have been--that is, the most of us--have been -in all the quarters of the globe, and have seen life in all its -phases and varieties. Therefore, I beg to move that each of us who -has a story to tell should forthwith tell it for the amusement of the -mess, under the penalty of a dozen of wine." - -"Bravo," said every one. - -"I beg to second the motion," said Jack Slingsby. - -"With an amendment," added Shafton, "that the colonel should tell the -first story himself, the said amendment to be inserted in the minutes -of the mess committee." - -It was carried unanimously, amid much fun and laughter. - -Our colonel, who is a fine, frank, and brave-hearted old fellow, had -no idea that he was so suddenly to find himself in his own trap. He -laughed and reflected a little, as he stroked the wiry, grey mustache -which, in compliance with the late general order, he had just begun -to cultivate after forty years of close shaving; and then he smoothed -his thin white hair, for he was an old soldier, and (but for the -favouritism of the Horse Guards) would have been a general twenty -years ago, being one of the few survivors of that army which gave -battle to France on the shores of Aboukir, where, as he was wont to -say, "he had carried the colours of Geordie Moncrief's lambs--the old -Perthshire Greybreeks." He had also been through the whole -Peninsular war, and served in the Fifth Hussars, with Sir Colquhoun -Grant's brigade under Wellington in Flanders. - -"I have seen much in my time, gentlemen," said he, good humouredly, -as he tossed off a glass of claret, "but have no adventures of my own -to relate--at least none that are at all worth your attention. I -can, however, tell you the story of another, whose scrapes were -somewhat remarkable, and were in some respects--as far as Spanish -robbers were concerned--like those of Ramble and Jack Slingsby. They -were told me by a French officer, a gay fellow, but a regular -candle-snuffer at twelve paces, whom I met at Paris when the allies -were there; by this you will perceive that the affairs I refer to -happened many a year ago." - -The glasses were filled; the cracking of nuts ceased; the heavy -crystal decanters were slid noiselessly over the long smooth -mess-table, the well-polished surface of which reflected the red -coats around it, and all was hushed as our grave and gentle old -colonel began the following narrative, to which I beg leave to devote -my next three chapters. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -ST. FLORIDAN; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. - -The night was dark, and the lamps of the Rue du Temple had nearly all -been extinguished by a high wind; there was no moon visible. - -It was in the month after the capture of Paris, in 1815, that the -adventures I am about to relate occurred. - -The defeat at Waterloo, the rapid advance of the British troops, the -capture of Cambray by Sir Charles Colville, of Peronne, by the -Brigade of Guards under Major-General Maitland, and, last of all, the -seizure and military occupation of the great and glorious city of -Paris--the citadel of Napoleon--the heart of France, had exasperated -the French, and excited their animosity against us. Every citizen -greeted us with darkened brows and lowering eyes. - -No officer of the allied army could pass through the streets of Paris -in perfect safety without being armed, and few went abroad from their -billets or cantonments after nightfall, unless in small parties of -three or four, for mutual protection. On many occasions we were -openly insulted and severely maltreated in the more solitary streets -or meaner suburbs of the city; while in the taverns and restaurateurs -our quarrels were frequent with the old men of the Revolution, who -had witnessed the decapitation of Louis, and the demolition of the -Bastile; but still more so with the soldiers of Buonaparte, who were -swarming in every part of Paris, in plain clothes, or in the rags and -remnants of their uniform. - -Those French officers whom we met at the promenades, on the -Boulevards, in the Jardin des Plantes, at the theatres, or in the -salons and billiard rooms, sought quarrels with us quite as -frequently as their men; but these, of course, ended in hostile -rencontres, and for the first weak or two a morning seldom passed -without a French, or British, or Prussian officer being borne dead, -or wounded, through a mocking crowd at the barriers, from the Bois de -Boulogne. - -In all these wanton quarrels and street assaults the republicans -eminently distinguished themselves, and often vented their pitiful -spleen by spitting at us from the windows; by hissing and railing at -us in language that would have disgraced the denizens of the infamous -faubourg St. Antoine; but after a time, when it became generally -known that their great emperor had surrendered himself to Captain -Maitland, of the Bellerophon, and submitted to the clemency of -Britain, their virulence abated, and their manner became somewhat -changed towards us: though their hatred of the Russian troops, -sharpened by the bitter memories of the retreat from Moscow, was -undying and inextinguishable. - -It is an old story now; but Lord Wellington had taken every means to -insure the tranquillity of the city, and to repress any armed -outbreak, which must assuredly have ended in its utter destruction; -for the Black Eagle of Hapsburg soared above Montmartre, and the -Union of Britain waved over the splendid garden, the winding walks, -and leafy groves of the Champs Elysées; the brass cannon of Blucher -were planted at every barrier-gate, loaded with grape and canister, -to rake the streets at a moment's notice; while by night and by day, -his artillerists, in their blue great coats and bearskin caps, -remained by their guns, with swords drawn and matches lighted. A -regiment of Scottish Highlanders occupied the Tuileries; the Prussian -advanced guard was in position on the road to Orleans, cutting off -the remnant of the French army who had survived the 18th of June, and -still obeying the baton of Davoust, were lingering on the banks of -the Loire. Every approach to Paris was guarded by our infantry, and -a strong division of the Allies were encamped in the Wood of -Boulogne, and along the right bank of the Seine, so far as St. Ouen. - -Never was Paris, the glory of France, more completely humbled since -Henry of England unfurled his banner on its walls! - -My regiment, the Fifth Hussars, were in the third, or Sir Colquhoun -Grant's cavalry brigade. We were quartered at Ligny, a small town on -the Marne, about fifteen miles from Paris, where we occupied the -ancient Benedictine monastery, which had been founded in the eighth -century by St. Fursi, a Scot, as the old curé of the place informed -me; and there, with an irreverence for which the public utility, the -chances of war, and the orders of the quartermaster-general must -plead our excuse, we stabled our horses in the church, and stored our -rations and forage in the chapel of Our Lady of Compassion. - -It was while matters at Paris were in the state I have described, -that I obtained leave from parade one day, hooked on my pelisse and -sabre, and rode from Ligny to visit the city of sunshine and gaiety, -bustle and smoke, music and wine, intending to return to my billet, -which was in the house of the curé near the bridge over the Marne. - -I was in time to see the Russians reviewed by the Emperor Alexander, -and passed the day very agreeably, visiting the Champ de Mars, the -Tuileries, where the soldiers in the garb of old Gaul were keeping -guard, as in the days of the Ancient Alliance; the site of the -Bastile, the Hotel des Invalides, where many an old soldier of the -Empire saluted me with more of sternness than respect in their -aspect: the temple where the hapless Louis had been confined, and the -noble gallery of the Louvre, on the lofty walls of which were many a -blank where the officers of the Allied army had torn down and -conveyed away the artistic spoils of their several nations--spoils -wrested from every city in Europe by the invading armies of Napoleon. - -I dined at a restaurateur's on a beefsteak à l'Anglais and kickshaws, -a bottle of tent dashed with brandy, and walked forth to enjoy a -cigar on the Boulevards, where several of our bands from the Champs -Elysées, and those of the Austrians from Montmartre, were playing -divinely for the amusement of the thousands crowding those -magnificent promenades, which, as all the world knows, or ought to -know, encircle the good city of Paris, and were shaded by many a -stately plane and lime tree, that was levelled to form the barricades -of the last revolution. - -There were the officers of the Allies in all uniforms, the scarlet of -Britain, the white of Austria, the blue of Prussia, and the green of -Russia, with all the varieties of their different branches of -service, horse, foot, artillery, and rifles; Calmucks, Tartars, -Scots, Highlanders, and English guardsmen, jostling and mingling -among moustachioed students of l'Ecole de Medicine, French priests in -their long plain surtouts and white collars, and Parisian dandies in -their puckered trousers, short frock coats, and little hats; while -the ladies, seated on camp stools, formed each the centre of a -circle, in which revolved a little world of wit and chat and -laughter; and the vendors of cigars, of bon-bons, hot coffee, and -iced lemonade, pushed their way and a brisk trade through the crowd -together. - -I had tired of all this, and was thinking of my fifteen miles ride -back to Ligny, through a rural district to which I was a stranger, -though I had my sabre and pistols, and luckily the latter had been -loaded by my groom. Nine o'clock was tolling from the steeples of -Paris; the crowds on the Boulevards were dispersing; the bands had -all played the old Bourbon anthem, 'Vive Henri Quatre!' and with the -troops had repaired to their several cantonments. The trumpets of -the Austrians had pealed their last night call from Montmartre, and -the English drums from the Champs Elysées, and the shrill Scottish -pipes from the Tuileries had replied to them. The lighted portfires -of the Prussian artillery were beginning to gleam at the barriers. -The streets were becoming deserted and still. - -Turning down the Rue du Temple, as I have stated, from the Boulevard -St. Martin, I endeavoured to make my way to the stables of the hotel -where I had left my horse. - -The darkness had increased very much, and the oil lamps in the -thoroughfares were few and far between, and creaked mournfully in -concert with many a signboard as they swung to and fro to the full -extent of the cords by which they were suspended in the centre of the -way. - -Aware that the streets of Paris were then far from safe after -nightfall, and that the knife of the assassin was used as adroitly -within sound of the bells of Notre Dame as on the banks of the -Ebro--with my furred pelisse buttoned up, and my sabre under my arm, -I hurried on, anxious to avoid all rencontres with chevaliers -d'industrie and other vagrants, who from time to time, by the -occasional light of the swinging lanterns, I could perceive lurking -in the shadows of porches and projections of the ancient street. - -I soon became aware that two of these personages were dogging or -accompanying me, on the opposite side of the way; increasing their -pace if I quickened mine, and lingering when I halted or stepped -short. Anxious to avoid brawls, for on that point the orders of the -Duke of Wellington were alike stringent and severe, I continued to -walk briskly forward, keeping a sharp eye to my two acquaintances, -whose dusky figures seemed like shadows gliding along the opposite -wall, for the cold and high night-wind had extinguished so many of -the oil lanterns, that some of the streets branching off from the -Boulevard du Temple and the Rue St. Martin, were involved in absolute -darkness and gloom. - -I was somewhat perplexed after wandering for a considerable distance, -to find myself on the margin of the Seine, which jarred against its -quays, flowing on like a dark and waveless current, in which the -twinkling lights of the Quai de Bourbon, and the gigantic shadows of -the double towers of the church of Notre Dame were reflected. - -My followers had disappeared; but my uneasiness was no way -diminished, being well aware that the clank of my spurs might mark my -whereabouts; and I was conscious that the gorgeously-laced hussar -pelisse and jacket of the Fifth were more than enough to excite -cupidity. I shrunk back from the Seine, on thinking of the ghastly -Morgue (with its rows of naked corpses spread like fish on leaden -trays), and the five francs given by the police of Paris for every -body found in the river at daybreak. - -A low whistle made me start. - -I turned round, and at that moment received a blow from a bludgeon, -which would infallibly have fractured my left temple, had not my -thick fur cap, with its long scarlet kalpeck, saved me. I reeled, -and immediately found myself seized by four ruffians, who flung -themselves upon me, and endeavoured to pinion my arms, and wrench -from me my sabre, while they dragged me towards the edge of the Quai -de la Grève. - -Strong, young, active, and exasperated, I struggled with them -desperately, and succeeded in obtaining the hilt of my sabre, which I -immediately unsheathed, for the fellow who had been endeavouring to -drag it from my belt, grasped it by the sheath only; and an instant -sufficed to level him on the pavement, with his jaw cloven through, -and there he lay, yelling with rage and pain, and blaspheming in the -style of the Faubourg St. Antoine. Upon this his companions fled. - -Solitary as the quay had appeared, the cries of the wounded bravo -brought around me a swarm of vagrants from house stairs, from nooks -in the parapets of the Pont Notre Dame, and from all the various -holes and corners, where they had been nestling for the night, or -hiding from the patrols of the gensd'armes; and recognising me at -once as an officer of that detested Allied army, which had swept -their vast host from the plains of Waterloo, and prostrated the eagle -and tricolour, they assailed me with every epithet of opprobrium that -hatred and malice could suggest; and there was an almost universal -shout of "A la lanterne! à la lanterne!" in which, no doubt, my first -assailants joined; and immediately I saw a lamp descend, as the cord -was unfastened from the wall of the street, and lowered for my -especial behoof. - -Alarmed and exasperated by the danger and insult with which I was -menaced, I endeavoured to break through the press, by threateningly -brandishing my sabre, but though the circle around me widened, still -I was encompassed at every step, and made the mark at which a -pitiless shower of mud, stones, and abuse poured without a moment's -cessation. - -While some cried "à la lanterne!" others shouted for the gensd'armes -and accused me of murder. I could perceive, to my no small concern, -that the knave I had cut down lay motionless upon the pavement; and -most unpleasant ideas floated before me, that even if I escaped -immolation at the hands of these enraged Parisians, I might have to -encounter the greater humiliation and graver terrors of Monsieur le -Duc de Quiche--the Cour Royale de Paris--the Chamber of Appeals--the -Correctional Police, and heaven only knew what more. - -At this perplexing crisis, a young French officer, in the scarlet -uniform of the Garde du Corps of Louis XVIII., broke through the -crowd, exclaiming.-- - -"Halt! hold--in the name of the king--down with you, insolent -citizens! Is it thus you treat our allies? Nom d'un Pape! but I -will sabre the first that lays a finger upon him. Permit me--this -way, Monsieur Officier;" and he put his arm through mine. - -We were now in a low quarter of the city; the crowd of squalid -wretches was increasing around us every moment; lights flashed at the -opened windows of the neighbouring houses, and I could perceive the -glittering bayonets, and the great cocked hats of a sergeant and six -gensd'armes hurrying along the lighted quay, either to my rescue or -capture, but which was dubious, for the vagabond women and -rag-pickers continued to yell incessantly,-- - -"Arrest! arrest!--seize the English murderer! away with him to the -concierge!" - -My heart beat quick; but my new friend of the Garde du Corps seemed -to be quite 'au fait' in the management of such affairs, by the -admirable tact and decision he displayed. Calling lustily for the -gensd'armes, he suddenly grasped half-a-dozen of the foremost men in -succession, and rapidly--for he was a powerful fellow, threw them in -a heap over the wounded man, thus increasing the tumult, the rage, -and the confusion. - -Then seizing me by the hand, he said hurriedly, "Monsieur will pardon -me--but come this way, or you will be torn to pieces!" and half -leading, half dragging me, he conveyed me down a dark and narrow -street. "Nom d'un Pape! I could not see a brother of the epaulette -maltreated by these rascally citizens," he continued, laughing -heartily at the rage and confusion of the bourgeois. "Ha! ha! follow -me! I know how to escape. There are deuced few outlets, holes or -corners, byeways or sallyports in Paris, that I don't know. Ah -corboeuf! didn't they all tumble delightfully over like so many -ninepins? Ha! ha! but hark! they follow us. Hasten with me, -Monsieur Officier, and remember that a brawl in this neighbourhood -may prove infinitely more dangerous to you than to me." - -I was too well aware of that to resist his guidance and advice; and -having no ambition to suffer, like St. Stephen, at the hands of a -mob, or (escaping that) to figure next morning before the -correctional police, and in the evening endure a reprimand from -Wellington, I fairly turned, and, accompanying my guide, ran at full -speed along the dark alley, laughing heartily at the affair. -Gathering like a snowball, as it rolled along, the multitude came on, -puffing and shouting, and swearing and yelling behind us. - -"This way," cried my guide, who laughed uproariously, and seemed one -of the merriest fellows imaginable; "this way--Vive la joie! we are -all right now!" - -"Where are you leading me, in the name of all that is miraculous?" I -exclaimed, as my companion, laying violent hands upon my sash, almost -dragged me down a flight of steps, which apparently led into the -bowels of the earth. The appearance of the vast depth to which they -descended being increased by a few hazy oil lamps that twinkled at -the bottom. - -"Excuse me, Monsieur," said I; "what the mischief--'t is a strange -den this! I will go no further!" - -"Courage, mon brave! courage! why we have only descended about a -hundred steps or so;" replied the Frenchman, still continuing to -descend. "You will find this an old and odd place too; but if you -would escape an enraged rabble, the claws of the police, the maison -de force, the prison, and the devil, follow me, and trust to my -honour. I am Antoine St. Florian, Captain of the Garde du Corps, and -late of the 23rd Grenadiers under the Emperor. You are safe--I know -every nook in this subterranean world, for I have found a shelter in -its ample womb many a time before to-night." - -He still continued to speak as he descended, but the sound of his -voice became lost in the vast space of the hollow vaults; my -curiosity was excited: I still kept my sabre drawn, prepared for any -sudden surprise or act of treachery, and continued to descend some -hundred steps, to a depth which I afterwards ascertained to be 860 -feet. - -"This way, Monsieur; on--on yet!" exclaimed my conductor, hurrying me -forward through a gloomy vault, and at that moment I heard the uproar -of the multitude, and the buzz of their mingled voices resounding -afar off, and high above us at the mouth of the lofty staircase. - -The aspect of the place in which I so suddenly found myself was so -strange, so novel, so grotesquely horrible, that for some moments I -was unable to speak, and gazed about me in astonishment. The whole -place seemed hewn out of the solid rock, and the height of its roof -was about twelve feet from the floor, which was uniformly paved. In -every direction caverns were seen branching off lighted by lamps -which vanished away in long lines of perspective till they seemed to -twinkle and expire amid the noxious and foggy vapours of this -wonderful place, which appeared like a vast subterranean city, or the -work of enchantment. The atmosphere was cold as that of a winter -day, and I was sensible of the utmost difficulty of respiration. - -Myriads of human skulls, grim, bare, and fleshless, with grinning -jaws and eyeless sockets, piles of human bones, gaunt arms and -jointed thighs, basket-like ribs and ridgy vertebræ, were ranged in -frightful mockery along the sides of the vaulted alleys or avenues of -this subterranean city of Death. The ghastly taste of some grim -artist had arrayed all these poor emblems of mortality in the form of -columns with capitals and arcades of intertwisted arches, but from -every angle of which the bare jaws grinned, and the empty sockets -looked drearily down upon us, producing an effect that, when viewed -by the dim and uncertain light of the oil lamps, was alike wondrous -and terrible. I was now in the Catacombs of Paris, that place of -which I had heard so much. - -To me, who had but recently left the Peninsula, the appearance of -these remnants of the men of other years was less striking than it -would prove to visitors generally; for many a time and oft, I had -bivouacked where the dead of France and Britain lay unburied; and I -thought of Albuera and the plains of Salamanca, where we had encamped -within twelve months after battles had been fought there--and pitched -our tents and lighted our camp fires on ground strewn, for miles and -miles, with the half-buried skeletons of the brave who had fallen -there, producing an effect that was never to be effaced from the -memory. There the triumphs of death were calculated to impress the -mind with melancholy; but here it was too grotesquely grim and -horrible. - -Scraps of verses from Ovid, Virgil, and Anacreon, appeared over the -entrances of these caverns or crypts, in gilt letters that glimmered -through the gloom; while, with a strange incongruity, but in true -keeping with the morbid taste of the French, large red and yellow -bills, the advertisements of the theatres, the fashionable hotels, -concerts, and tailors, &c., appeared on different parts of the walls. - -At a little distance there bubbled up a sparkling fountain, the plash -of which rang hollowly in the vast vaults, as it fell into a large -basin, where a number of gold fish were swimming. Over it shone the -legend, in gilded letters-- - - "THIS IS THE WATER OF OBLIVION." - - -"They are strange and frightful places, these Catacombs, Monsieur St. -Florian," said I. - -"True, mon ami," he replied, pausing to take breath; "but famous for -the growth of asthmatic coughs, and all diseases of the lungs. -Peste! What an uproar these bourgeois make. The affair has quite -sobered me, for I was somewhat unsteady before. My face is -scratched, I think. Does it seem so?" - -"Rather." - -"Mille baionettes! do you say so? and I shall be for guard to-morrow -at the chateau--and with this swollen face. Morbleu! what will the -ladies think?" - -"I regret very much, Monsieur le Capitaine, that for me----" - -"Pho! my dear fellow, no apologies; I care not a sous about it," said -my new friend, whom I could now see to be a tall and handsome fellow, -whose scarlet uniform, faced and lapelled with blue, fitted him to -admiration. His face was prepossessing in its contour, and was very -much "set off," or enhanced, by his sparkling dark eyes, his jet -moustache, and smart red forage-cap; but he had quite the air of a -'roué,' and the unmistakable bearing of a man about town. "Ha! ha!" -he continued, "how messieurs the bourgeois were rolled over each -other; that was indeed a coup de grace--the trick of an old routier! -Ah! 't was poor Jacques Chataigneur taught me that." - -"How hollow our voices sound in these vaults," said I, after a pause; -for the Frenchman's merry tones and light remarks seemed strange to -me amid the deathlike stillness of a place so sad, so gloomy. "The -echoes seem to come from an amazing distance." - -"Oui: I will vouch for it, Monsieur never saw a place like this -before. The Parisian dead of a dozen centuries are piled about us, -and afford fine scope for philosophy and moralising. Diable! what an -uproar there will be among all these separated heads, legs, and arms, -when the last trumpet sounds; and many a hearty malediction will be -bestowed on Monsieur Lenoir, of the Correctional Police, who, to -please the morbid taste of the good bourgeoisie of Paris, made all -this ghastly display. Corboeuff! the skulls are all piled up like -cannon balls in the arsenal--there were more than two millions of -them at the last muster. But, hark!" - -At that moment we heard a distant cry of "A la lanterne! Death to -the Englishman!" and a rush of footsteps down the long staircase -followed. - -"We had better secure our retreat," said the French captain; "all the -avenues are closed, save that at the Val de Grace; and if messieurs -the gensd'armes possess themselves of it, we shall be captured like -mice in a trap. The lieutenant-general ordered all the other outlets -to be closed, because they afforded safe and sudden retreats for -chevaliers d'industrie, and other worthies, who, after nightfall, -become thick as locusts in the streets of this pious and good city of -Paris. Nombril de Belzebub! behold! our friends have been -reinforced." - -I looked back, and could see a party of about twenty gensd'armes -advancing, but at a great distance, and their fixed bayonets flashed -like stars in these misty caverns. The mob were in hundreds behind -them, and the clatter of their feet and their cries rang with a -thousand reverberations through the vast vacuity of these echoing -catacombs. We could see them all distinctly; for though a quarter of -a mile distant, the lamps burned brightly where they were passing. - -"I have my sabre, and will confront these rascals," I exclaimed, -becoming inflamed with sudden passion; "they dare not lay hands on -me, as a British officer." - -"Peste!" he replied, laughing; "I think you have seen whether they -will or not. 'T is better not to trust them; a bayonet stab I do not -mind, but think how unpleasant for a gentleman to be captured at the -instance of a few rascally citizens. 'T will never do! We are not -far now from the Val de Grace. This way, up the steps, and I will -lead you to a secret doorway, near a nice little house that I know -of, and where a pretty face will welcome us with smiles." - -By the hand he conducted me up several flights of steps, along an -excavated corridor, where the cold wind blew freely in my face, and -from thence by a doorway, the exact locality of which seemed well -known to him, ushered me into a dark and quiet street, in a part of -Paris quite unknown to me. - -"My friend, we are safe; that is the Val de Grace," said my frank -captain, pointing to a large mass of building; "there is the Rue -Marionette, and that large street still full of open shops, light, -and people, is the Rue du Faubourg St. Jacques, which leads straight -across the river. We can mingle with the crowd, and there all traces -of us will be lost." - -"Any way you please," I replied; "never having been in this part of -Paris before, I am quite bewildered. Lead on, if you please; it is a -dark place, this." - -"The Russians have probably been passing this way. It is well known -in Paris that these piggish Muscovites never return to their camp -from a ball or café without drinking up the contents of every lamp -within their reach; nor can all the alertness of the gend'armerie -prevent them." - -On gaining the main street of the faubourg, the blaze of the lighted -shops, the long lines of lamps, the gaiety and bustle which were seen -on every side, together with the free healthy breath of the upper -air, were a pleasant exchange for the dark and silent caverns we had -quitted, where breathing was almost impossible, and the mind was -oppressed by the gloom of surrounding objects. - -"Vive la joie!" exclaimed Captain St. Florian, almost dancing as he -took my arm; "how delightful is the free air of the streets after -leaving that pestilent pit. Ouf! I shall never trust myself down -there again. But now we must sup together at a restaurateur's. Come -to the Oriflamme; 'tis down the Rue de Bondy; Merci! there is a -pretty waiteress there--a perfect Hebe. Her smart lace cap and -braided apron--her red cheeks and roguish eyes will quite vanquish -you." - -"Well then, the Oriflamme be it." - -"You will behold teeth and eyes that some of our dames in the great -world of fashion would give fifty thousand francs to possess." - -Turning down the street, we entered a restaurateur's, on whose sign -the Eagle of Napoleon had lately given place to the ancient ensign of -the Bourbons. - -A very pretty girl who sat within the bar with a handkerchief over -her head, tied en marmotte, arose and welcomed us with a smile. - -"Ah, entrez Antoine St. Florian," said she, raising her arched -eyebrows with a true Parisian expression of pleasure and familiarity; -"entrez, Monsieur." - -St. Florian called her his 'belle Janette,' and saluted her cheek -with all the freedom of an old friend, as she ushered us along a -corridor, on each side of which were neat little chambers, or -cabinets, each having a single table and two chairs. - -That appropriated for us, had a lustre with two lights, and the walls -were decorated with coloured prints of Jena, Marengo, Leipsic, and -other hard-fought battles, on which St. Florian soon began to comment -with all the ardour and enthusiasm of a French soldier; and by his -sentiments soon revealed, that though poverty or policy had compelled -him to assume the scarlet trappings of King Louis' guards, his heart -was still with the fallen Emperor--the idol of a hundred thousand -soldiers. - -"And so your old regiment was the 23rd?" said I. - -"Ah, the 23rd of the Emperor," he replied with a sigh, while his eyes -lighted up at the name. - -"I remember that we charged your regiment at the passage of the Nive, -where I was on the very point of sabreing a young officer, before I -fortunately perceived that the poor fellow's sword arm was tied up in -a sling, and that he was quite defenceless." - -"Indeed, how singular! and you saved him from your troopers, and -conducted him out of the press----" - -"For which he gave me a draught of country wine from his canteen." - -"The same. Ah, monsieur, my friend, I am that officer, and I owe you -eternal thanks." - -We shook hands with ardour. - -"I had been severely wounded by the poniard of a villanous Spanish -peasant, and was still suffering from its effects. Ah, it was quite -a story, that affair; my evil eye brought it all about." - -"Your evil eye?" - -"Ah," he replied, laughing; "you would not think I had one, to look -at me--I seem so innocent; but so I have, or, at least, had when I -was in Spain; ha! ha! You have often heard the Spaniards speak of the -Evil Eye--the Malocchio of the Italians? and how the women will veil -themselves, cover up their children, and mutter a prayer if a -stranger but glances at them." - -"I have heard of that superstition, when on the borders of -Estremadura; but your affair--" - -"Listen, and fill your glass with the champagne--I call it 'The Evil -Eye.'--'T is a perfect romance, and was well known to many a brave -fellow of the 23rd, who has found his grave at the foot of Mont St. -Jean." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE WIDOW; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. - -"I was quartered with my company of grenadiers at El Puerto, a -wretched village in Andalusia; a poor place it was, that had been -rifled by our foragers a dozen times, and we very unwisely made it -still more miserable, by burning the best cottages before we were -ordered to quit it. - -"I quartered myself on the best casa in the village, a red-tiled hut, -that belonged to a strange-looking fellow, whose long visage and long -legs, great black eyes, yellow trunk breeches, green doublet, and -sugar-loaf hat, made him seem half muleteer, half gitano. I believe, -from his superstitious observances, that he was the latter wholly. -You will know, doubtless, how famous Andalusia is for its women and -horses. Ha! I wish you had seen the wife of my long-legged patron. -She had the beautiful eyes and olive skin of her native province, -with teeth like pearls, lips like cherries, and a face full of the -sweetness of the mildest Madonna. Ha! ha! I am growing quite -poetical! but wine or love always make me so. You will never see, -even on our Boulevards, and that is a bold assertion, a pair of more -superb ankles, than the short red petticoats of that Andalusian woman -revealed to the pure gaze of your most obedient servant. Peste! I -was quite enchanted with my pretty patrona, and determined on sending -her husband, tied across a mule, as a spy to the British lines, that -so I might be rid of him for a time, or for ever. - -"They had a child, too, a merry little brat, with which I often -played and toyed, to please its mother, whose heart was quite won by -the bonbons I gave it; while her tall ghostly don of a husband stood -sullenly aloof, smoking a paper cigar, and regarding me from beneath -his broad sombrero, with eyes full of jealousy and malice. Now, as -the devil would have it, the little brat had long been ailing, and -seemed very likely to die at the time we came to El Puerto; and as -she watched her sleeping infant, the mother's eyes were often -suffused with tears. This, you may be aware, served but to make the -charming Spaniard more interesting; for her melting black orbs seemed -to be ever steeped in the most delicious languor. - -"One evening I became very much aware of this; and after toying a -little with the sickly infant, by tickling its neck with a braid of -the mother's long black hair, while I lisped soft nothings from time -to time, I departed to look for Jean Graule, my sergeant, to hold a -consultation about the safe transmission of the señor patron to the -British lines, and with my compliments to the officer commanding the -nearest out-picquet. - -"The evening was rather gloomy; I missed my way, and strolled into -one of those underground vaults, bodegas, as they are called, where -the peasants keep their wine in Andalusia. There I amused myself -probing the pigskins with my sword, and imbibing the cool balmy wine -from the orifice, till, somehow, a heaviness stole over me, and I -fell fast asleep. - -"About midnight I awoke, and found myself alone in the dark bodega, -drenched with the wine that had flowed from the wounded skins; and -feeling very cold, with the agreeable accompaniments of an aching -head and sore bones. - -"By the moonlight which struggled through a grated window, I sought -my way out of the vault, up the stair, and gained the street of the -silent Puebla, where I stood still for some time to rally my -scattered faculties, and recollect where I was. While this passed, a -man, who had been concealed under the shadow of a vine trellis, -rushed upon me, and furiously struck at my breast with a knife or -dagger. My shoulder-belt saved me from the stroke; 't was lucky that -I had it on, otherwise I should not have been enjoying monsieur's -society, and this glorious wine, to-night. - -"'Ah, mouchard, vagabond!' I exclaimed, and closing in a desperate -struggle with the would-be assassin, succeeded in striking him to the -earth; where, holding my sword at his throat, I demanded his reasons -for assailing me thus. - -"'To have slain you!' he growled. - -"'For what, you base rascal?' - -"'To have revenged the loss of my child,' replied the fellow, whom I -now recognised to be no other than my worthy patron, the long-legged -paisano. - -"'Ouf!' said I. - -"'Dog of a Frenchman! on the day you first came into my poor cottage -the child was well and strong, for it was under the protection of the -Blessed Virgin; but you turned an evil eye upon it, and, lo! it -sickened; day by day it grew worse, and to-night it died: not even -romero at its neck, nor the agua bendita on its brow, could shield it -from your evil influence. Son of Satan, I spit upon you!' - -"'A pest upon your brat, you insolent madman,' said I, almost -laughing, for the wine of the bodega had still its influence over me: -'had you said that I cast evil eyes on your wife, there might have -been some truth in the matter; but your child--ha, ha!' and I laughed -till the street of the Puebla rang again. 'Halloo, Sergeant -Graule--quarter guard--ho, there!' and a dozen of my grenadiers -rushed from a tavern to my assistance. - -"To Jean Graule's care I recommended the señor, and in five minutes, -at the end of a tent cord, he swung from the chimney of a -neighbouring house. - -"'Now, señor rascal,' said I, making him a mock bow, on leaving him -in the grasp of the soldiers, 'I will go and console your pretty wife -for the loss of her child, and more particularly that of her amiable -spouse. Both are so easily replaced, that I would recommend you to -die in peace, my jovial pagan.' - -"'My wife, my wife!' said he, in a terrible voice, striking his -breast and looking upwards. 'El Santo de los Santos--Holy of Holies, -forgive me.' - -"'Console yourself, my friend,' said I, while Jean Graule and the -soldiers laughed till their belts nearly burst. 'Console yourself, -señor paisano, for your little wife shall laugh and be merry -to-night.' - -"'She waits you,' said he, with a frightful smile. Diable! methinks -I can see his white face, as he grinned, like a shark, in the -moonlight; 'She awaits you.' - -"Graule dragged him off. - -"I hurried to the cottage of the paisano; but, mon Dieu, what a sight -awaited me! - -"On her bed, a miserable mat, lay the beautiful Andalusian girl, -stone dead; stabbed by a poniard thrice in the neck, and her little -infant, also dead, lay in her arms, pressed to her crimson bosom. In -the first gust of my fury I rushed out to slay the jealous -perpetrator of this horror; but he had, as I have already said, paid -the debt of nature, and his dying form was wavering in the moonlight -from the gable-end of a neighbouring house. - -"Bah! there is always something in this reminiscence that makes me -dismal--but let me think no more of it." - -And draining his glass of champagne, the gay St. Florian began to hum -an old camp song, beating time with his fingers on the well-polished -table. Though this episode of his life rather decreased my -admiration for this gay fellow, still the jaunty manner in which he -related it somewhat amused me. - -With the pretty Janette he appeared to be an old-established friend; -and a great deal of flirting, and that kind of conversation which -consists of pretty trifles, ensued each time she appeared on the -ringing of the bell. But the ci-devant grenadier of Napoleon was -doubtless on the same easy footing with all the waiteresses and -shop-girls in every warehouse, cabaret, and café in and about Paris. - -As the night was rather chilly, I proposed that we should have some -mulled port, spiced with cloves and sugar, in a mode I had often had -it prepared at Madrid by an old patrona on whom I was billeted. - -St. Florian's countenance changed at the mention of the mulled wine, -and with ill-concealed disgust and precipitation he protested against -it, swearing by the head of the Pope, that although he never drank -water when anything better could be had, he would rather drink it out -of a ditch, after a brigade of horse had passed through it, than -taste mulled wine of any kind. - -"And why so?" I asked, astonished by his vehemence. - -"Sacre nom--'tis another long story; but Chataigneur, of the 23rd, -and I, were as nearly brought to the threshold of death as may be by -some muddy liquor called mulled port, and I never could look upon it, -or think of it, with any degree of patience. You will find the story -in all the French and Spanish newspapers. Ouf! it made a devil of a -noise in the army." - -"I should be glad to hear it," said I, touching the bell-rope; "but -in the meantime----" - -"We will have some more champagne. Yes, the champagne of the -Oriflamme is delicious. I have drunk a tun here, I believe--aye, in -this very room, with Jacques Chataigneur. There are some caricatures -of Monsieur Vellainton which he chalked on the wall. Poor Jacques! a -shot from that cursed Chateau of Hougomont passed through his heart, -when, sword in hand, he was leading on the grenadiers of the great -Emperor to conquest or to death. He fell within a yard of me, prone -over his horse's crupper, and his last words were--'To the charge, to -the charge! Vive l'Empereur!' If true courage and bravery are -rewarded in heaven--but, ma foi! I am growing quite pathetic. Where -is the wine? Janette," he cried, down the passage, "Janette, my -princess!" - -"Ah oui, monsieur--me voila!" replied the girl, running in. - -"My dear girl, let us have some champagne, a few more cigars, and a -nice little tray of grapes, or bon-bons; but let the wine be bright -as your own eyes, my wanton." - -The girl was tripping away. - -"But halt, Janette," he added, catching her by the skirt; "how long -is it since a rough moustache has been pressed to that pretty cheek -of yours?" - -"Monsieur St. Florian, you are pleased to be very rude." - -"Come, coquette, do not affect to mistake pure admiration for -rudeness. Now you owe one salute, my pretty Janette, for remember -how you fled from me last night on the Quai de la Conference." - -"Well, then, one only," said she, tendering her cheek, which was -slightly rouged. - -St. Florian stole three. - -"Ah treacherous!" exclaimed the girl, striking him playfully with her -hand, and skipping away. - -"Peste!" said the captain, twirling his moustache; "but your little -fingers smart, my pretty one." - -"Now for the other story, Monsieur St. Florian," said I, when the -bright wine sparkled in the tall glasses, and our fair attendant had -withdrawn. "I would fain learn why an old soldier dislikes any sort -of wine. I have often drank ditch-water on the line of march, and -have gladly filled my canteen from the ruts of the artillery -wheels----" - -"And so have I a thousand times, but my dislike to mulled port arises -from something more than mere prejudice--bah! this is worth an ocean -of a muddy drench, boiled in a kettle with sugar and cloves. See how -it sparkles when the glass is raised to the light. Ma foi! 't is -like a glass full of diamonds. We shall drink to the emperor." - -"I have no objection." - -"I hope the door is closed, though. Paris is such a city for -espionage, police, and informers: Ouf! but 'Vive l'Empereur -Napoleon!'" and he drained his long glass, while his dark eyes -flashed with enthusiasm. - -"Long life to him!" said I, with a frankness that won the Frenchman's -heart; "and now let me know the cause of this horror of mulled wine." - -"Perhaps you have already heard it. I well remember that it made a -deuced noise at the time it occurred, and, save the maid of -Zaragossa, there never was a woman so extolled by the Spaniards as -she of whom I am about to speak,-- - - "THE WIDOW OF MADRID;" - -for so he named the following story. - -"It was in the month of December, when the immortal emperor and the -victorious army of France captured Madrid, that Jacques Chataigneur, -four officers of the Imperial Guard, and myself, were quartered, or -rather, according to the unceremonious custom of war in the like -cases, took the liberty of quartering ourselves, on a house in one of -the most fashionable streets in the city. - -"Every place within the walls was full of our troops; horse and foot -were swarming in tens of thousands; the red rosette and the banner of -Castile and Leon had disappeared; the French eagle soared in triumph -over the capital of the Spaniards. Every house, from the great -palace of the Duke d'Ossuna to the poorest casa on the margin of the -Manzanares, was undergoing a strict investigation, to discover where -Messieurs the Spaniards had hid their doubloons and other valuables, -for which the pouches and haversacks of our soldiers were yawning. - -"Our fellows were rather riotous, especially about the cafés and -wine-houses, where every man drank his fill, without being at the -expense of a single sou. The city was involved in chaos and uproar. -Merci! 't was such a hubbub as you in all your service can never have -witnessed; for, what with disarming the men, and running after pretty -women, searching for wine, provisions, and plunder, our soldiers had -quite enough of business on their hands. - -"The house which we honoured with our presence, on this auspicious -occasion, was a handsome mansion, with broad balconies, and lofty -saloons, having gilded ceilings, tiled floors, and rich furniture; -and you may imagine how acceptable the splendid bed-chambers were to -us, who had been under canvas for months. - -"It belonged to Donna Elvira de Almeria, whose family had just been -reduced to one daughter, by the unexpected deaths of her husband and -three sons, who had fallen on the previous day sword in hand, as she -told us, like true cavaliers, defending the palace of the Betiro, -which had been breached by the cannon of the Marshal Duke of Belluno; -but the ghastly gap had been defended with admirable resolution and -bravery by the Spaniards; so the soldiers of the emperor, petulant at -all times, were somewhat exasperated in consequence. - -"We, ourselves, were ripe for mischief, and I cannot rehearse all the -fine things we did in our ramble through the city that night: I -beseech you to suppose them. - -"The household of the Donna Elvira were, as may be imagined, -overwhelmed with terror and grief by the misfortune which war had -brought upon them; and their condition was in no way soothed or -ameliorated by our appearance among them, blackened with powder and -smoke, and bespattered with blood and dust, for we had hewn our way -in by the breach at the Retiro. - -"The ladies were both handsome, but more especially the daughter -Virginia, a timid girl of about fifteen; and at these years a -Spaniard is almost a woman. Her tears, I blush to say, made little -impression on me, but her beauty had a great effect on as all. -However, drunk as we were, we remembered Chataigneur was our senior -officer, and that his pleasure must be known before the officer next -in rank presumed to open the trenches; or, in other words, address -the ladies in the language of gallantry. - -"Jacques was a child of the revolution, an iron-hearted soldier, -penetrable only to steel and lead--half fox, half wolf; to anything -soft or sentimental, he was immovable as a cannon-ball. It was said -in the 23rd, that he had done some terrible things in La Vendée, and -certainly his more recent campaigns in Holland and Italy had taught -him to view with the coolness of a stoic the blood of the bravest men -and the tears of the most beautiful women. - -"Peste! he was a true philosopher, and one might march from Dunkirk -to Damascus without meeting such another. He was never troubled with -any unpleasant qualms of conscience--not he, because, like most of -those fierce soldiers, who had been trained and nurtured amid the -horrors of the revolution, he believed in neither God nor devil, -heaven nor hell, and, consequently, cared not a straw for any of -them." - -"A pretty picture of your friend and comrade," said I, with a smile. - -"Peste! yes. He should have appointed me to write his epitaph. -Chataigneur was the man it was a pleasure to follow to the breach or -battle-field; for he cared as little for riding headlong on the -charged bayonets of a solid square, or manoeuvring his regiment under -a storm of grape-shot, as for handing his partner through the figures -of a quadrille. But, to return. The ladies, on perceiving us enter -their mansion uninvited, gave us a specimen of Spanish hauteur, by -retiring to a distant apartment, and leaving us to provide for -ourselves. - -"This we were not long in doing. The servants had fled; but -Chataigneur ordered three grenadiers of the 23rd, who were in -attendance upon us, to break down the doors of the cellars and other -repositories: thus, in the twinkling of an eye, we had the sherry, -the Malaga, and the Ciudad Real of the old beldame in abundance. - -"We installed ourselves in the finest saloon of the mansion, while -messieurs our servants possessed themselves of the kitchen, where -they stripped off their accoutrements and coats, piled half-a-dozen -shutters, a door, and a chair or two on the hearth; and so zealous -were they in preparing a repast for us, that the rascals nearly set -the house on fire. All the pantries were laid under contribution, -and large conscriptions were levied on the poultry-yard, and we were -soon as merry as magnificent quarters, a plenteous supper, and wine -ad libitum, without having a sou to pay for them all, could make us. -We drank deadly bumpers in honour of the emperor, to the success of -his armies, to ourselves, to the continuation of the war, to the -girls we had left behind us in beautiful France, and the devil alone -knows what more. Oh, the exquisite delights of living at free -quarters in an enemy's country! Vive la joie! I need not expatiate -upon them to you, for I heard of your pretty doings after Badajoz -fell." - -"They could not compare with yours at Madrid." - -"You shall hear. 'In the ardour of our attack upon the savoury -viands,' said the Chevalier de Vivancourt, a gay sub-lieutenant of -the guard, 'we are quite forgetting the ladies!' - -"'Mon Dieu! yes--what negligence!' said one or two ironically. - -"'I shall make amends for our ungallantry,' said Chataigneur, -starting up and staggering unsteadily; for he had enough of Ciudad -Real under his belt to have served even a German. 'Hola! Pierre, -Jean Graule, where are the ladies, just now--eh? the sour-visaged -madame and plump little mademoiselle?' - -"'Shall I have the honour of conducting them to the presence of -monsieur?' said our sergeant, giving his military salute. 'The -mother----' - -"'Oh the devil take the mother, or you may have her yourself, honest -Jean.' - -"The sergeant bowed, and grinned. - -"'But sabre de bois! 't is the little daughter I want,' said -Chataigneur. - -"'They are at prayer in their little oratory, I believe,' urged the -chevalier, who was the least wicked among us. - -"'Praying!' reiterated Jacques with intense disgust; 'I shall soon -change their cheer. Are there any guitars or mandolins here? The -girl--what's her name? Virginia shall bear us company in a merry -chorus, or shall ride the cheval de bois with a vengeance.' - -"'Let us have her by all means,' said one of the Imperial guardsmen; -'we must teach this young creature the first rudiments of love and -coquetry.' - -"'Will some of you lend a hand to undo the clasp of this infernal -sword-belt?' grumbled Jacques, who was very tipsy. 'Avaunt, Jean -Graule, thou art drunk, man! Vivancourt, most redoubtable chevalier -of the immortal legion of honour, lend me thine aid. Corboeuf! I am -swollen like a huge tortoise with Ciudal Real. Now, messieurs, -remember that I am the senior officer here, and that whoever follows -me does so at his peril.' - -"And half-dancing, half staggering, he swaggered out of the room -accompanied by Jean Graule. - -"We continued to enjoy ourselves with supreme nonchalance, for the -Imperial Guard and the 23rd Grenadiers were the most reckless -routiers in the army. Believe me, we were too much accustomed to -storming to trouble ourselves much about the little Spanish girl; but -I am forgetting that you are not a Frenchman; so, fearing to shock -your cold British prejudices, I will, as the novelists say, draw a -veil over what passed;" and M. de St. Florian smiled complacently as -he emptied and refilled his glass. - -"Is it possible!" I exclaimed, with something of incredulity in my -manner; "is it possible that brave soldiers, and gentlemen of -France--France, once so famous for its spirit of honour and -chivalry--could behave thus?" - -"Monsieur, my word is never doubted," replied the other -good-humouredly; "how could you expect us to behave like saints or -apostles, or perhaps like the cool stoics that compose a regiment of -kilts? - -"Chataigneur was absent with Jean Graule about an hour, during which -time we scarcely missed him, so closely did we pay court to the -glittering decanters and bloated pig-skins, which we laid under -contribution without mercy. The wax lights, were becoming double; -the saloon was beginning to swim around us; and we were in the very -midst of singing the carmagnole in full chorus, at the utmost pitch -of our lungs, each having his drawn sabre in his right hand, and a -mantling cup in his left, when the door was dashed open and Jacques -Chataigneur entered, with Donna Elvira supported on one arm, and her -daughter Donna Virginia on the other. - -"With a triumphant and scornful air, he led or rather half dragged -them in, and forced them to sit down at table with us. - -"Although being so tipsy that I could scarcely know whether my head -or heels were uppermost, I can still remember the terrible expression -depicted in the faces of these two ladies. The mother's wore the -fury and rage of a tigress; the blood seemed to boil in the swollen -veins of her temples, and her large black Spanish eyes shot fire from -time to time as she surveyed us. Her daughter's appeared the very -reverse, and her face expressed only the darkness of despair. - -"She was very beautiful; her long black hair was loosened from its -braids, and hung matted in disorder about her shoulders, and half -concealed her face, which was pale as death. Her eyes--you will -remember the splendid eyes of the Spanish girls--her eyes were -bloodshot and red with weeping; their expression was wild, wandering, -insane; and there was a chilling air of desolation and abandonment in -her grief that had, indeed, a very considerable effect on me (for I -am not altogether such a bad fellow as monsieur may suppose me), -although her utter despair had none on Chataigneur and my more -intoxicated companions. - -"Her lips were quivering, and her graceful Spanish dress, her long -veil particularly, was torn to ribands. - -"'Messieurs,' said Chataigneur, bowing with an air of mock -politeness; 'I am permitted to have the high honour of introducing -you to the notice of Donna Elvira de Almeria, widow of a very brave -Caballero y Procuradore of new Castile, and her daughter the -enchanting Virginia, whom, as I have two ladies who equally claim the -title of Madame la Colonel, I shall advance to the ancient Spanish -dignity of being my Barragano,* which will square all matters between -us, so Vive la joie! let us drink and be merry!' - - -* See "Essayo Historico Critico on the Ancient Legislation, &c., &c., -of Castile and Leon," 4to., Madrid, 1808, for this term. - - -"The eyes of the Spaniards absolutely glared as he spoke." - -"The scoundrel!" I exclaimed, becoming excited by this revolting -narrative. "Would to heaven that I had been there with a few of my -English hussars." - -"That would have availed little," replied St. Florian, pouring out -his wine with slow sang froid; "every street and house within the -trenches was swarming with our soldiers; and such scenes as that I -have described were innumerable." - -"Excuse me, Monsieur le Capitaine; but I must pronounce your comrade -to have been a finished rascal." - -"Peste!" muttered the Frenchman, half angrily; and then he continued, -while laughing and twirling his moustache, "Opinion is the queen of -the world--'t is a proverb we have, and a true one. But poor -Chataigneur is gone now, and I must not hear him abused. - -"But, to continue. The excitement of the preceding day's fighting, -and the quantity of wine we had drunk, rendered us insensible to the -distresses of these poor women; and with shame and sorrow I now -remember that we permitted Chataigneur, by dint of many a savage -threat, to compel them to assume their guitars and sing in -accompaniment, while we chaunted a bacchanalian ditty suited only for -the meridian of the lowest cabaret in the faubourg St. Antoine. - -"What they sang Heaven only knows, for, nom d'un Pape! my comrade, -the horrible catastrophe to this little supper has fairly driven all -minor incidents from my memory. And there they sat and sang to -us--sang with shame on their brows, and rage, and grief, and agony in -their hearts--while a husband and three sons, a father and three -brothers, were lying dead in their harness by the walls of the Retiro. - -"We drank bumpers to Virginia, and made the ceiling shake with our -mad laughter and revelry. In the midst of this, unluckily, the -Chevalier de Vivancourt called for a bumper of mulled port. What -fiend prompted a request so useless I cannot imagine: but we all -joined in his demand vociferously; and the old dame, who appeared to -have somewhat recovered her equanimity, desired her daughter to -prepare it. She spoke in Basque Spanish, which we did not -understand, but which should have been sufficient to kindle our -suspicions; and I could perceive that a wild and almost insane -expression flashed in the eyes of the little Donna Virginia as she -flung aside her guitar and rose to execute the order. - -"With some trouble she extricated herself from Chataigneur, whose arm -was round her waist. He was very angry, and growled like a bear at -the chevalier, swearing by the sabre de bois that he would put him -under arrest for the trouble he occasioned. - -"While he was yet speaking, Virginia returned with the prepared wine -in a crystal vase, from which, with her own fair hands, she filled -our long, carved glasses. We drank to her, draining them to the -dregs; and, with a grim smile on her pallid lips, our youthful -cupbearer replenished our glasses. The flavour of the wine was so -exquisite, that Chataigneur embraced Virginia with drunken ardour, -and desired her to bring us more. - -"'You will require no more!' she cried, with a shriek, as she flung -the vase from her hands, and it was dashed into a hundred pieces. - -"We rose in alarm, but instantly sank again on our seats; and at that -moment a peculiar and horrible sensation came over me. Sacre! -methinks I feel it yet. I looked upon my companions of the carousal, -but read in their faces an expression that yielded me anything but -comfort. Three had dropped their glasses, and reclined upon their -chairs, with open mouths and fixed eyes, which gleamed with the -vacant wildness of insanity. The Chevalier de Vivancourt sank -prostrate on the floor, while Chataigneur, who seemed also about to -sink, turned and stared with a powerless aspect of rage and alarm at -Donna Elvira. - -"Virginia had sunk upon her knees and hid her face in the skirt of -her torn dress; but her mother stood erect, and, with her arms -outstretched towards us, shrieked in a frightful voice between a moan -and a yell, while a murderous rage, alike fiendish and terrible, -caused her tall form to tremble, her proud nostrils to dilate, and -her large dark eyes to gleam like those of a rattlesnake. - -"'At last we have avenged ourselves! Perros y ladrones! Frenchmen, -dogs, and murderers, let me scream into your dying ears, that we are -Castilian women, and have avenged our wrongs! I have lost my brave -husband and his noble sons--by numbers you destroyed them, and side -by side they fell on the palace threshold of the kings of Castile. -Oh, bloodhounds--worse than devils in the form of men, ye murdered -them, and now--my daughter (her voice became choked), my innocent -little daughter--but we are revenged--revenged--revenged! Oh, Santa -Maria, Virgin, y Madre de Jesu! let us be forgiven--but, fiends, the -sure, cold hands of death are upon you--you are dying, for the wine -you have drunk is poisoned!' - -"Mon Dieu!" said St. Florian, pausing while the perspiration almost -suffused his forehead, "still the screech-owl voice of that -detestable hag seems to ring in my tingling ears! - -"Inspired by terror and rage, I made an effort to spring up, to draw -my sabre, to run her through the heart; but the moment my hand -touched the hilt, a deadly numbness crept over me; I staggered -backward, and while sleep and despair came over my soul, sank prone -and insensible on the corpses of my comrades!" - -St. Florian paused again for an instant, for he really seemed -considerably excited by the recollection of the adventure. - -"Parbleu! 'twas a most unpleasant denouement--a devil of a -winding-up. Next morning I found my self lying prostrate on the -chilly floor of the Church of the Conception, which, with many -others, had been converted into a temporary hospital for the sick and -wounded. I was sick for seventeen days, and my head ached as if it -had been crushed in a vice; while my miserable throat was skinned by -the stomach pump and other engines of the medical science, which the -staff surgeon had kept at work on me, as they afterwards said, for -two consecutive hours. - -"Poor Jacques Chataigneur was in the same wretched condition, and lay -opposite to me, kennelled on a bed of straw, under the gothic canopy -which covered the grave perhaps of some long-bearded hidalgo of old -Castile. - -"We alone recovered. - -"The gay Chevalier de Vivancourt and his three comrades of la Garde -Imperiale died; so did poor Jean Graule and all our servants; for the -little fury Virginia had administered part of her infernal potion to -them too. So to this hour, my friend, I entertain such a horror of -all kinds of prepared wine, that I may safely say, 'tis not in the -power of man, or even woman, with all her superlative cunning and -witchery, to make me taste a single drop that is not pure as when it -came from the wine-press." - -"And the ladies--what became of them?" - -"Donna Elvira," continued my garrulous friend, "disappeared from -Madrid on that very night, taking with her the unlucky Virginia, and -for a time we heard no more of them, save in the columns of the -'Moniteur' and 'El Espanol,' where, the Lord knows, our malheur made -more than noise enough! May mischief dog their heels as two -revengeful vixens. But I afterwards learned that the girl assumed -another name, and, bestowing her hand on a certain hidalgo of Alava, -actually had the happiness to give me shelter one night on the -retreat from Vittoria. My whiskers had grown, and she did not -recognise me; sacre bleu, if she had! I was never discovered, and -blessed my stars that I was sound, wind and limb, when I left her -mansion in the morning--Ouf! let me think no more of it, for -altogether 't is a story that makes me shudder." - -"Excuse me, Captain St. Florian," said I, when he had ceased; "but on -my honour, you make me blush for the army of France." - -"Morbleu!" said he; "they were only Spaniards." - -"But I have heard many an episode of horror blacker even than that of -Donna Elvira, for I was one of those who followed up the retreating -army of Massena, from the frontiers of Portuguese Estremadura, -through desert fields and desolate cities, marked by fire and blood, -and all that the wantonness and wickedness your devastators could -inflict on a poor, a prostrate, and a defenceless people. I am warm, -monsieur, but I pray you pardon me----" - -"Ah! he was a stern old routier, Massena, and handled the dons so -roughly, that the Emperor named him rightly the 'child of rapine.' I -care not for being his apologist, as I never either loved or admired -him, and once positively hated the old pagan, for reprimanding me in -general orders, because, on our retreat from the lines of Torres -Vedras, I neglected to destroy the house of a poor old hidalgo near -Santarem, who had been so kind to me, that I omitted him in the list -of devastations to be made by my foragers. Ouf! I got a lecture -that was printed in the 'Moniteur,' and read at the head of every -regiment in the division. But in revenge, that very night I affixed -a scroll to the door of the marshal's quarters, saying-- - -"'This is the residence of the mighty Massena, Prince of Essling and -Duke of Rivoli, who has made more noise in the world by beating the -drum than by beating the British!' - -"Corboeuf! what a frightful rage the old Turk was in, but he could -never discover the author of the pasquil, which made him the -laughing-stock of the whole army. But the sparing of that hidalgo's -mansion and family was a most fortunate circumstance for me, as it -was the means of saving my life three days after." - -"In what manner?" - -"He ransomed me for a hundred dollars from some rascally frontier -guerillas who had captured me, and were on the point of putting me to -death. Ouf! 'twas a devil of an adventure that. Shall I tell it -you?" - -"If you please," said I, lighting a fourth cigar. - -"Well, then, listen, though perhaps it is not so much my story as -that of a poor peasant whom the Estremadurans named Perez the Potter." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -PEREZ, THE POTTER; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. - -"When Massena retired before the impetuous advance of Lord -Wellington, and left behind the boasted lines of Torres Vedras, you -may remember that he selected the position of Santarem as one -admirably adapted to keep in check the advance of your troops through -the Portuguese frontier. While his division occupied their trenches -on the hill above the Tagus, I was one day despatched on duty to the -officer commanding the Cuirassier Brigade at Torres Novas, a town -five leagues from Santarem, situated in the middle of a beautiful -plain. It is surrounded by walls, and is overlooked by the castle -with the nine towers, from which it takes its name. - -"I rode without an orderly, or other followers, for the whole country -was covered with our troops, and I had no dread of molestation, -though desired by Marshal Massena to take with me a section of -dragoons, as part of the country through which I had to pass was -rendered very unsafe by the residence and outrages of a certain Don -Julian d'Aviero, a half-mad student of Alcala, who had gathered a -band of deserter guerillas, and become a captain of robbers in the -woods of Santarem. There his name had become terrible through all -the Spanish and Portuguese Estremaduras, Alentejo and Beira. His -midnight expeditions and attacks upon the detached houses and -solitary quintas of friend and foe were characterised by singular and -wanton cruelty; and in a state of warfare, where the country was -possessed by two hostile armies, the pretexts of treason and -espionage were never wanting. - -"A wild yell informed the inmates that their dwelling was surrounded -by the banditti of Don Julian; the doors were dashed in; the men, -half-starting from their beds, were hewn to pieces; their wives and -daughters were dragged away to suffer worse than death; the houses -were pillaged, and then reduced to ashes. And many of these -atrocities were doubtless attributed by us to you, and by you to us. -Captives were carried off daily, but they were generally ransomed; if -not, a shot from a carbine, or a stab from a poniard, and all was -over! - -"I thought of all these things as I pursued my solitary way by the -foot of the mountains that skirt the plain of Torres Novas; but it -was with less of alarm than pleasure. To me there seemed something -charming in the lonely and knight-errant-like fashion in which I had -thus ridden forth, in a strange country, among dangerous ways, and an -unscrupulous people, with neither friend nor ally save my sabre and -horse. - -"The sun was verging towards the darkening mountains of Alentejo; but -the atmosphere was still exceedingly close and sultry, for, hot and -bright, the rays of the western sun were poured from a clear and -cloudless sky, scorching with their warmth the waving corn, and the -myriads of wild flowers that covered the beautiful plain of Torres -Novas. - -"I was still far from the lines of Massena: the country seemed -desolate and depopulated. I had no guide, and became apprehensive of -losing my way, and wandering towards the British outposts. Once or -twice I questioned a passing peasant, but was provoked by their -sullenness and ignorance of their own locality. - -"'Señor,' said I, to a paisano, whom I met driving two mules -harnessed in a rude cart, which was simply composed of the rough stem -of a tree, from which two branches in the form of a fork rested, one -on each wheel, and formed the axle--'Señor, how many leagues is it -from this place to Santarem?' - -"'Three, señor Caballero,' replied the man, holding up three fingers. - -"'Bueno! are they long or short?' - -"'Short, señor.' - -"There is, I know not why, a difference in the length of the Spanish -leagues, as many a time and oft we found on the long line of march. -After riding four or five miles further, and, being still uncertain, -on meeting another peasant driving a borrico (an ass), laden with -kid-skins of the mountain-wine, I inquired of him the distance from -Santarem on the Tagus. - -"'Five long leagues, señor,' he replied, displaying four fingers and -a thumb. - -"'Diable!' I muttered, and spurred on, for the sun had now sunk -behind the blue waving line of the western Sierra. - -"Near a roadside fountain I passed the bodies of three or four French -soldiers, who had been wounded in a recent encounter with the outlaws -of Julian Aviero, and had crawled there to quench their thirst and -die. They had been completely stripped by the Spaniards, and their -gory but honourable scars were blackening in the heat of the sultry -day. - -"On the velvet turf that bordered the road I softly drew up my horse, -on observing behind the pedestal of the fountain a villanous son of -Israel practising dental surgery, by robbing the jaws of the dead; -for the soldiers being generally young men, their teeth brought a -good price in the dentist shops of Paris and Madrid. I had -frequently heard of this revolting practice, but never till that -moment had ocular proof that such existed. - -"The operator was a man about forty, lean and hollow-visaged, with -the brow of a villain, the eyes of a snake, the nose of an eagle, and -beard like a cossacque; he was enveloped in a loose blue gown, and -his head was surmounted by a steeple-crowned sombrero, that had long -lost every trace of its original colour. Near him lay a square -mahogany box, like a pedlar's wallet, in which he carried his -instruments and stock of dental wares. - -"He was so busy with the relaxed jaws of a young soldier that he did -not perceive my approach. - -"You know how jealous we soldiers are of the treatment given to the -remains of our dead comrades. Maladetto! my blood boiled. Dashing -spurs into my horse, I plunged him right upon the dog of an -Israelite; a kick from a hoof laid bare his skull, and stretched him -prostrate on the earth. As he fell backwards I obtained a glimpse of -his wallet, which bristled with poniards and pistols, from which I -concluded him to be a robber of the living as well as of the dead; -and I soon discovered my conclusions to be just. - -"This rencontre occurred near a great olive wood, which was known to -be the haunt of Aviero; and I rode as fast as possible to leave it -behind before nightfall; but I had not gone half-a-mile from the -fountain, when a sharp rifle shot whistled from a grove of olives on -my right. My horse gave a snort of agony, and fell heavily forward, -stone dead. A bullet had pierced his brain. I disengaged myself -from the stirrups, and drew my sabre, but ere I could strike one blow -in my defence, a hundred hands were upon me, and I was a prisoner, in -the power of a band of savage frontier guerillas--half soldiers, half -robbers, and wholly demons. Diable! my life hung by a hair. - -"Some wore broad hats, embroidered jackets, and yellow scarfs, with -plush breeches; others had little other garment than their olive -skins, and wore their flowing hair of the deepest black, gathered in -netted cauls; but all were armed with rifles, daggers, and pistols, -or with all manner of military weapons gathered from the fields of -those battles which were every day fought in their vicinity. - -"Oh, Monsieur! what a moment of misery was that when I found myself -so completely at the mercy of those ruffian Spaniards, whom I equally -despised and abhorred. - -"Many a knife was drawn and many a blow struck at me; but in their -very fury and anxiety to destroy me these wretches retarded, impeded, -and wounded each other. - -"'Down with him! down with the Frenchman! Death to the Buonapartist! -Maladetto!' was the cry on every side. - -"'Caramba!' cried one in a voice of thunder, 'I will blow out the -brains of the first that injures him. Frenchman and dog as he is, -our laws must be respected. Away with him to the mountains, for Don -Julian d'Aviero must decide his fate.' - -"Aviero! my heart sunk; I was then quite in the power of the devil. - -"Amid a storm of growling and swearing, and even fisticuffs, I was -conducted through the wood, which was almost pathless and covered the -face of the Sierra by which we ascended, to an old and ruined villa, -belonging to the Duke of Aviero. It stood on the edge of a precipice -that overhung the Tagus, and there Don Julian had for the present -established his head-quarters. A recent attempt had been made, by a -detachment of ours, under Jacques Chataigneur, to dislodge him; these -had been repulsed with great slaughter; and on approaching the villa, -I could discern vivid traces of the conflict--traces which its -amiable and philosophical inmates cared not to trouble themselves as -yet in removing. - -"This noble residence of Don Julian's ancestors, with its marble -vestibule and stately portico, its frescoed chambers and arcades of -columns, round which the vine and the rose were clambering, had been -no way improved by his occupation thereof. A balustraded terrace -encircled it, and within and around it the dead French and guerillas -were lying across each other in scores--many of them yet grasping -their adversaries, just as they had fallen, without their hold -relaxing, or the fierce expression which distorted their features at -the hour of death passing away. - -"Many of these men were my comrades, grenadiers of the 23rd, whom I -could recognise, notwithstanding the alteration of their features. - -"In the assault and defence, the doors and windows of this beautiful -villa had all been blown to pieces; the walls were studded with -bullets and spattered with blood, which appeared to have run like a -rivulet down the staircase, to mingle with the waters of a shattered -jet d'eau in the vestibule. At the head of the stair a barricade had -been formed by a sideboard, a piano, and other furniture, wedged with -bolsters and pillows, and books; and this point of assault had been -fought for, like any breach in the glacis of Badajoz. Everywhere the -bills and axes of the pioneers had been at work; but Chataigneur had -been repulsed, and Don Julian remained impregnable and triumphant. - -"In a noble apartment, the windows of which overlooked the Tagus and -the vast plain that spread in its beauty towards the castle and city -of Torres Novas, the ramparts of which were tipped with the last -gleam of the set sun, Don Julian, with several of his desperadoes, -sat over their cups of country wine, muffled in their mantles, and -enjoying paper cigars, while their feet rested on a great copper -brassero of charcoal that stood in the centre of the marble floor. - -"Don Julian, a remarkably handsome young man, but with a bold, -reckless, and ferocious cast of features, received me with a low bow, -which I could perceive to be partly ironical. His jacket of green -velvet was richly brocaded and fastened with silver clasps; his -breast was displayed by an open shirt, and had a crucifix engraven on -it by gunpowder. He wore yellow breeches girt by a sash, red -stockings and abarcas; but had no weapons save his sabre. - -"When he addressed me, I expected to hear but my death warrant; judge -how agreeably I was surprised by his saying,-- - -"'Señor, though you are a Frenchman, and I might this moment put you -to death as an invader of Spain, and as a revenge in some sort for -the recent attempt made by your ruthless marshal on my residence -here, I know you to be the officer who spared the mansion of old Don -Juan Lerma, when empowered by your orders to destroy it. Don Juan is -the only man for whom a lingering feeling of humanity has left in my -breast an atom of regard, for he loved the old cavalier, my father, -well. Being anxious to requite to you the kindness so lately done to -him, and to prove whether his gratitude surpasses that of a robber, I -request that you will write to him from this, my Villa of Aviero, and -beg the ransom of one hundred dollars to free you from my troop, as I -question very much if the state of Massena's commissariat will enable -you to have so much loose cash about you.' - -"'You are right, señor; a hundred dollars! Diable! I never had so -much money at any time. But what if the cavalier Lerma refuses?' - -"'You must die.' - -"'Morbleu!' said I, shrugging my shoulders. - -"'Such is the law of capture to which we have bound ourselves, by -such oaths as men seldom hear. You will be accommodated with writing -materials; address a letter to the Cavalier Don Juan Lerma, and one -of my people will convey it immediately to the city of Santarem.' - -"Upon this, I wrote a hurried but anxious note to the old hidalgo, -begging him to consider the kindness I had done him, the danger by -which I was menaced, and pledging my honour to repay the hundred -duros out of my first prize money. This system of kidnapping and -extortion had become so common that, being doubtful of the answer, I -saw the messenger depart with an anxiety which I laboured in vain to -conceal by folding my arms and planting my feet on the brassero, by -smoking a cigar, sipping the Lisbon vino, and joining in the half -frivolous and wholly ruffian chit-chat of Don Julian and his squalid -myrmidons. - -"In the midst of this I was a little startled to find my -acquaintance, the Jew dentist, enter, with his box under his arm, a -bloody cloth encircling his head and half concealing his basilisk -eyes, which bent on me a demoniacal scowl of recognition; and I -discovered to my consternation that this worthy, in virtue of being a -greater fiend than his fellows, was no other than the lieutenant of -Julian d'Aviero. But, without seeming to observe me, he advanced to -the side of the latter, and whispered a few words in his ear. - -"'Ha,' said Don Julian, 'is it so? then our hellish compact must be -observed. I am sorry for the little paisana, but there is no remedy. -Hold, there, cammarados! bring in the prisoners of Santarem--the -potter Perez and the girl who was captured with him last night by our -worthy Teniente Isacco Zendono.' - -"'The girl is his sister,' growled the Jew robber, in husky Spanish, -as he threw off his blue gown and revealed his gaudy Spanish dress, -and sash bristling with pistols and knives, 'and a fair sample of -mother Eve's flesh she is--Bueno!' - -"'Curses blast you! bring them in, or'--and Julian, who always -assumed the blustering ruffian to his own people, grasped a pistol. - -"The lieutenant quitted his presence; but almost immediately -returned, dragging in a stout peasant about three or four and twenty -years of age. He had all the lofty air, the well-knit and erect -figure of those peasantry on frontiers where the Portuguese are -improved by intermarriage with the Spaniards. He wore a brown vest -with loose sleeves, and breeches of bright yellow cotton, tied about -the middle by a red silk scarf. His long raven hair was gathered in -a wide silk netting, and hung in a heavy mass upon his neck. His -hands were tightly pinioned by a cord, but he gazed about him with an -air of reckless defiance, which, however, failed to intimidate the -thieves, or to encourage his sister, a pretty-looking girl of -sixteen, or thereabout, who clung to his arm in the utmost terror. - -"Her coal-black hair was plaited somewhat after the fashion of the -Basque women, in two gigantic braids, and reached below the flounces -of her yellow skirt, which was short enough to expose, half-way up to -the knee, her very handsome legs, encased in bright scarlet stockings -which were elaborately covered with white braiding. Her little feet -and ankles were equipped with open cut abarcas, interlaced with -thongs of morocco leather, like the hose of your Highland soldiers. -Her teeth and lips were a miracle, and her terror made her dark eyes -glitter like diamonds. Ah! merci, monsieur, she was excessively -captivating, that little paisana. - -"Though such a little beauty is not uncommon in Spain, the robbers of -Don Julian gazed upon her with gloating eyes of evil admiration and -longing; many of them licked their huge blubber lips with grim and -grotesque glee, as if anticipating kisses; while the poor sinking -girl shrunk from their bold and villainous gaze, as she would have -done from the eyes of so many serpents or fiends. - -"'Teresa, hold up your head, my dear girl; do not droop before these -base ladrones, stained as they are by a thousand atrocities. Dios! -should innocence quail before guilt?' said the young peasant with a -fearlessness that at once gained him my sympathy and admiration; and -for a time I forgot my own troubles in those of the strangers. 'Be -bold of heart, my sweet sister! We are possessed of that which can -touch even the hearts of these bad men, and unlock the doors of their -prison-house.' - -"'You are mistaken in this idea, Señor Perez el Cantarero,' said Don -Julian, with a quiet sneer, while his band crowded round with -lowering brows and gloating eyes. 'Quite mistaken, allow me to -inform you. Your honest uncle, the abagado (O most honest lawyer of -Santarem!) has refused to ransom you. Our messenger, the very -reverend rabbi, Isacco Zendono, has come back just now empty-handed.' - -"The girl shrieked and hid her face in the bosom of her brother, who -gazed around him with a look of rage, astonishment, and stupefaction. - -"Isacco, the Jew, burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, in -which Don Julian and his comrades joined. - -"'Out upon ye, villains,' exclaimed Perez the potter, shaking his -clenched hand at them. - -"'O Perez, por amor de mi,' urged his sister, in a breathless voice. - -"'Teresa, my poor Teresa,' muttered the brother through his hard-set -teeth, 'I had doubts, dreadful doubts; but I expected not this. -Answer, Señor Don Julian d'Aviero, does this black-hearted slave of -Mammon, this villain of an abagado, forget that he retains in his -repositories the inheritance left us by old Gil Perez, the alcalde of -Santarem?' - -"'In truth, most blustering señor, most valiant cavalier of crocks -and cans, your father's honest brother has not forgotten that -important fact,' replied Julian d'Aviero, in his cool, dry way. 'The -abagado will act true to his trade, by deceiving those who trust him. -His trade! May the great Devil confound it, for it has stripped me -of as fair an heritage as ever came from a miserly sire to a -spendthrift son. Well, Señor Perez, in short, to possess himself of -your two thousand dollars, and practise a little profitable -conveyancing, your relative the lawyer has stoutly declined to ransom -you, saith our messenger, swearing by the bones of St. James, he -would not yield the hundredth part of a pezzo to save you from the -jaws of hell.' - -"'Be it so,' muttered Perez, between his clenched teeth; 'in the -world that is to come, he will meet with his reward.' - -"'Were it but to provoke the abagado, I would willingly set you free, -Señor Potter; but the laws of this free community say nay.' - -"'But my sister----' - -"'Has found no more favour than yourself. Santos! You are a strange -fellow, Señor Perez. Who the devil ever expects to find an apostle -in the carcase of an abagado?' - -"'Madre de Dios! my poor Teresa!' said the young man, folding his -sister to his breast; while she responded by an agony of grief and -terror, such as I had never before witnessed. - -"On her knees she bent before Julian d'Aviero, imploring him to spare -her only brother, and to slay her, if he pleased; but her piteous -cries and supplications, rendered yet more plaintive by the beautiful -language of Spain, were drowned by the brutal jests, and whoops, and -yells of the Portuguese robbers. - -"When the hubbub subsided, 'Señor Cantarero,' said Don Julian, in his -wonted cold and sarcastic manner, 'I have said that your ransoms are -refused.' - -"'And what then, Señor Ladrone?' asked the paisano sternly. - -"You must die--that is all," replied the captain, quietly knocking -the ashes from his fragrant cuba. - -"'Die!' - -"'Si, morir, Micer Perez el Cantarero,' said he, with an ironical bow. - -"''T is hard to die thus, and unrevenged,' said the peasant, looking -round as if for a weapon; 'but I am content, so that you release my -sister, and swear upon the crucifix that she shall receive no harm.' - -"At this demand there was another horrid laugh; and the Jew, turning -up his eyes, swore something in Hebrew at a request so unreasonable. - -"'Keep your mind quite at ease, Perez, amigo mio,' said Julian -d'Aviero, whose potations were now affecting his brain, and imparting -to his manner a strange mixture of ferocity and jocose cruelty--'do -not be alarmed; your sister shall not die. Maladetto! dost think we -have no taste or discrimination?' - -"'The Holy Virgin thank you!' said the potter, with an odd mixture of -fervour and ferocity; 'my dearest Teresa, will----' - -"'Fall to the lot of the fortunate rascal to whom the happy dice -assigns her,' said the Jew lieutenant of the gang, pushing forward -and jostling me, with such insolence that I had some difficulty in -keeping my hands from his throat. - -"'Hark you, Master Potter,' he continued, in his husky Spanish, which -I cannot imitate. 'We cast lots for the women we capture, if they be -young and handsome. The men we poniard, if they cannot ransom their -heads and hides, and then we bury them honourably in the chasm of the -Tagus. The bones of some stout fellows are bleaching there, so you -will find yourself in good company, I promise you I owe you a grudge -for the stroke your 'cajado' dealt on my pate yesterday, and so claim -the first blow to-day. Arrojarse, camarados! fall on!' - -"He unsheathed his poniard and grasped the potter by the collar of -his buckram doublet; but the descending blow was arrested by the -uplifted arms of Teresa, who hung upon the villanous dog of Israel -with the determination, if not with the strength, of a tigress, and -poured forth a succession of cries and threats, which astonished even -the intended assassin; then, sinking upon her knees, the winning girl -pressed the murderer's hideous paw to her beautiful lips, beseeching -him, in those accents to which a woman in deadly terror can alone -give utterance, to spare her brother, her Perez, her dear and only -brother, and she would become the servant, the slave, of the robber -for her whole life. - -"'Oh, spare my brother; spare him! O Señor Judio; O Señor Don -Julian, Caballeros, gracias, bandidos, por Nuestra Señora Santissima!' - -"'My slave? Demonios!' chuckled the ruffian Jew; 'that you may be at -all events, or I may make short work with you, and so disappoint some -honest fellow here. Off, off with you!' and he shook her from him -with so much violence, that on sinking to the floor, the blood gushed -from her mouth and nostrils. - -"The Jew again raised his dagger, but Perez, filled with fury at the -treatment of his sister, snapped, as if it had been a straw, the cord -that bound him, and, grappling with the athletic ruffian, dashed him -on the floor where he placed a foot upon his breast, and trod him -down as one would do a serpent. The blood of the potter was up; -grasping another by the sash, he hurled him back with such force that -the bandit was instantly slain; for, on staggering, his head came so -violently in contact with an angle of the wall, that in a moment his -brains were dashed out, and he presented a dreadful spectacle as he -lay, breathless and quivering, with his battered skull empty, as if -struck by a grapeshot, and his blood and brains forming an oozy pool -beside him. - -"Even the banditti seemed struck with horror for a moment, and a -stillness ensued. They glared at their dead comrade and at each -other, heedless of the groans and struggles of the half-stifled -Zendono. The voice of the girl was again heard supplicating, for I -had raised her up; and she implored me to save her brother, for he -had done no wrong, but shed blood only in his own defence, and now -remained motionless and terrified at his own temerity. The faint and -half-articulate voice of Teresa recalled the band from the spell -which, as I have said, their comrade's death had cast around them; -and simultaneously they rushed with their knives upon the poor -potter, and, pierced at once by innumerable and reiterated wounds, he -sunk lifeless among their feet; and long after the last vital spark -had fled, they continued to stab and slash, and otherwise mutilate -the corpse until its bloody garments hung about it in tatters. - -"'Tonnere!' thought I, 'if my friend the hidalgo has neither the cash -nor the inclination to ransom me, I shall be in a bad way.' - -"By order of Don Julian, who had watched this scene of butchery with -folded arms and an immovable aspect, the body was tossed over the -window, from whence I heard it falling heavily from rock to rock -before it reached the deep, dark water of a tributary of the Tagus, -that struggled through a chasm in the cliffs, two hundred feet below. - -"While the half-drunken banditti cursed and yelled like fiends, they -cast the dead body of their comrade after that of the unfortunate -potter, then wiped and sheathed their poniards; and all traces of the -horrible occurrence disappeared, save the red blood gouts upon the -floor, which these European Thugs never thought of cleansing; but -trampled to and fro among that frightful puddle as heedlessly as if -it had been so much spring water spilt by accident. - -"Teresa had swooned, and hung on my arm in a happy state of -insensibility. - -"Isacco Zendono, who had suffered severely in the melée, during his -prostrate position on the floor, now scrambled up, his heart burning -with fury, and his body smarting with pain. He was plastered with -the gore of the slain men; and its dripping from his sable beard and -matted hair no way improved his personal appearance, or increased the -benevolence of his features. - -"Growling at the weight of his comrades' heels, he demanded in a -stentorian voice that lots should be cast for possession of the -Señora Teresa; a proposition at once acceded to. - -"Dice were produced, and the beetle-browed banditti crowded round a -table, where they rattled and threw the dice in succession. - -"The Jew uttered a yell. - -"He had won! - -"Diable! how like a victorious fiend he seemed, as, with a shout of -villanous joy, he snatched the poor insensible victim from my arms, -and with his poniard menacing any man who dared to follow, bore her -off, bent double over his left arm, as easily as he would have done a -folded mantle. - -"Poor Teresa! she was so slight and young. - -"Monsieur, I am not quite such a bad or wild fellow as, perhaps, you -may think me; and I do assure you that I then felt my impetuous blood -tingling in every vein. I sprang after the dog Zendono, but was -restrained by the powerful and perhaps friendly arm of Don Julian -d'Aviero. - -"'Señor!' he exclaimed, in a whisper, 'are you mad? Remember your -life is at stake, and ponder well on the helplessness of your -condition among us.' - -"The truth of this came bitterly home to my heart; I gave the speaker -a fierce and reproachful glance, and folded my arms in silence. - -"My heart bled for the unhappy girl. - -* * * * * * - -"Frequently in that long and dreary night, when the mountain blast -howled drearily through the shattered villa of Aviero, and moaned in -the gorge through which the Tagus wound, I heard the cries and -lamentations of the miserable girl, and the oaths and revelry of -those to whom she was now abandoned. - -"Ere daybreak her cries had ceased. Mille Baionettes! they nearly -drove me mad. - -"What became of her I know not, as I never saw her again. - -"Next day, an old Padre of Santarem came with a message from the -hidalgo Don Juan Lerma, whose mansion I had spared. The priest had -volunteered on this errand of mercy, as no other man in Santarem -would venture within the reach of the terrible Aviero, to whom he -paid two hundred pillared dollars, and I was conducted to within a -few toises of the advanced sentinels of our out-piquets, by Don -Julian in person, and we bade each other adieu with a very good -grace, but without either tears or regret on my side, as may be well -assumed; and so ended my mal-adventure in the wood of Santarem." - ----------- - -The Captain St. Florian concluded his story. - -"Parbleu!" said he, "how dry my throat is with speaking so long, and -I dare say I have tired you to death. But let us have one more -bottle of Janette's champagne, and then we shall decamp soberly to -look for more adventures. But I must be cautious, being for guard at -the chateau to-morrow. You cannot mean to return to Lagny to-night?" - -"I must; and 't is high time we were off, Captain St. Florian; -besides, I see Janette is decidedly sleepy." - -"Ah! poor girl, yes." - -"My horse is at an hotel in a street leading from the Champ Elysées." - -"Ouf! a devil of a way from this. There is a church clock striking -five. Nombril de Belzebub, 't is morning!" - -We hurriedly rose to depart. Janette had fallen fast asleep in the -bar, and St. Florian kissed her brow as he passed and deposited the -reckoning in her lap. The portière of the cabaret let us out, and we -sallied through the street to find my hotel. - -At the chateau, as the Parisians name the palace, I bade adieu to the -captain, and getting forth my horse, rode off. - -The trumpets of the Austrian cavalry and the English drums were -ringing on the early morning wind, as the reveille roused the -soldiers of the allied host in their several camps and cantonments. - -The patrols of the gensd'armes were retiring to their quarters; the -sun was coming up in his glory, and ruddily in his morning light, -amid the morning smoke of Paris, shone the huge façade of Notre Dame, -and the burnished dome of the Hotel des Invalides. - -Paris, with its tented parks and guarded barriers, was left behind; -and I dashed at full gallop along the dusty road that under the -shadow of many a vine trellis, and many an apple bower, led to my -cantonments at Lagny on the Marne. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE MAJOR'S STORY. - -On the Colonel concluding, there arose a contention between our -surgeon, Mac Leechy, and the senior major, as to who should tell his -story first; for "the steam" was now fairly up; but the matter was -adjusted by seniority, like choice of quarters, or having the best -bed in a billet, and the right of first mounting a breach, and other -little contingencies of a military life. - -"I was once nearly hanged by Wellington," said the Doctor to tempt us -to listen; "for when I first joined the service, it was as an ensign, -though I had my diploma of M.D." - -"Hanged?" said Slingsby; "then you proved a King's bad bargain, -Doctor?" - -"Not half so bad as you, Jack," retorted our old medico; "but I'll -tell you in a few words how it came to pass. When our troops were -falling back from Quatre Bras, upon the village of Waterloo, on that -stormy 17th of June, which preceded the great battle, I was sent -forward with sixteen men of the Scots Brigade to take possession of -the principal inn as quarters for the Great Duke and his staff, and -to save the house from being plundered or forcibly seized by any one -else. We entered the village double-quick: I soon found the inn, and -after posting my sentinels in front and rear, preceded to investigate -(from motives of personal interest) the contents of the pantry before -the Duke arrived. In twenty minutes afterwards we heard -musket-shots; I rushed out of the kitchen (where I had been consoling -the terrified landlady, and deviling a drumstick,) to find my fellows -firing at the French tirailleurs, who were now at the end of the -village where they had lined a stone wall. We peppered them briskly; -but four of my men had just fallen, when a Belgian officer, all -covered with stars and lace, galloped up to me, crying, as he took -the road to Brussels, - -"'Fall back--fall back--Waterloo is surrounded, and you will be cut -off!' - -"I drew out my men and left the village double quick. At the other -end of it, I passed a mounted general officer with his staff, who -were sitting quietly and composed in their saddles; but he called to -me with a loud voice,-- - -"'Halt, sir--halt your men, and come here!' - -"I obeyed, and lowered the point of my sword. Oh, there was no -mistaking the keen grey eagle eyes, the high nose and white -neckcloth; the little blue cloak and brass sabre of this personage. -It was Wellington himself. - -"'In God's name, sirrah,' said he, fiercely, 'why have you abandoned -your post?' - -"'The village is surrounded----' - -"'It is not surrounded--a few sharpshooters fired a shot or two at -our cavalry, but they have been all killed or taken.' - -"'A Belgian officer-- - -"'Cowardice--rank cowardice,' said Wellington. 'and at a time like -this! Provost Marshal--where are the Provost Marshal and his guard? -A rope--get a rope, and hang this young fellow from the nearest tree.' - -"I was in deadly terror, for I was then a raw lad, and did not -perceive that this was, perhaps, only to frighten me; but at that -moment Sir Denis Pack dashed up with some intelligence which was of -more importance to Europe than the hanging of Ensign Mac Leechy, so -Wellington troubled himself no more about me; I shrunk away to pick -my half-devilled bone and to rejoin the Scots Brigade, who were -bivouacked in a field near the Brussels road. - -"Soon after Waterloo, I exchanged my ensign's commission for a -medical one, and have never since been in terror of being hanged by a -Provost, or shot by a court martial." - -"Tush," said the major, "I was once nearer being hanged than you, -doctor; for I was tried, and sentenced, and, moreover, only escaped -one noose to be caught by another--for I got my wife by it." - -Our major was a jolly and cozy old fellow, who was addicted to a -little flirtation with married dames of mature age, and to making -downright love to widows (if his good lady was absent), and -invariably opened the trenches by affecting to consider them the -sisters of their handsome daughters. He was a great favorite with us -all; but, being married, he never dined at mess, unless when -specially invited by some one. Thus we warmly welcomed our old -major's story, which he began without further preamble. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -"ESTELLA." - -"I entered the service," quoth the Major, "when the Peninsular War -was at its height, and my commission was signed by the first -gentleman in Europe, then Prince Regent; truly we had queer ideas of -what constituted a gentleman in those days, - - "'In my hot youth, when George III. was king.' - - -"I joined our first battalion in Spain, and had more than enough of -marching, fighting, and starving in the desolate province of -Estremadura, where Marshal Macdonald and General Foy never gave us a -moment to spare. I was wounded at La Nava, and at the storming of -Almarez. When I scrambled over the palisades, with my sword-arm in a -sling, I remember a voltigeur officer rushing upon me with his sabre -uplifted; but, on perceiving my wound, he lowered his weapon -gracefully in salute, and passed on to encounter another. We took -the garrison prisoners, blew up the works, and threw the guns into -the Tagus. At night, when we buried the dead, by flinging them into -their own trenches, I was shocked to perceive my generous and gallant -voltigeur among them--cold and stiff--slain by a shot in his heart, -and with his right hand still grasping the hilt of the same sabre -with which he had threatened and so chivalrously spared me. I was at -the defence of Alba, and with the covering army at Badajoz, and I -fought at Victoria, where our colonel, the gallant Cadogan, was -killed, and where we put up a statue to his memory; but so unlike -him, that I am sure if the good man ever looks at it out of Heaven, -he will never recognise himself. - -"We had always hard fighting, for I belonged to the light troops; and -so far as the head was concerned in those days, I was very well -adapted for that branch of the service. - -"My regiment, the Highland Light Infantry, belonged to the first -brigade of the second division of infantry (Sir Rowland Hill's), and -at the time when this little narrative opens was quartered at -Aranjuez, a small town of Toledo, about twenty miles south of Madrid, -on the left bank of the Tagus. Though we had been for some months in -quarters of refreshment on the Portuguese frontier, and had there -received several supplies of clothing, &c., from Britain, in -consequence of the rapid movements of the army, which, by turning the -positions on the Ebro and Douro, had driven back the French under -Joseph and Jourdan, making them to traverse the whole length of Spain -in one short month, and the incessant activity of the light troops, -my uniform was reduced to a mere mass of rags. My cap, a kind of -Highland bonnet, checquered, but without feathers (like that still -retained by the 71st and 74th Regiments), was worn into many holes, -and the rain came through upon my head. My epaulettes, or wings, -were reduced to black wire; my coatee, turned to purple and black, -was, like my Tartan trews, patched with cloth of every hue; my sash -had shrunk to a remnant; the pipeclay had long disappeared from my -shoulder-belt, and the sheath of my claymore was worn away until six -inches of the bare blade stuck through it And such was the general -appearance of the officers of our regiment, as, with our canvas -haversacks, our blankets and cloaks slung in our sashes, and carrying -wooden canteens, similar to those of the privates, we marched into -Aranjuez, and defiled, with pipes playing and drums beating, towards -the great summer palace of Philip II., which occupies a little island -formed by the Tagus and the Xarama, and is surrounded by the most -beautiful pleasure-grounds. - -"In one hand I carried my sword, in the other a ham, which I had -picked up when overhauling a French caisson. My lieutenant had a -small wine-skin, and my ensign a round loaf under his arm; thus, we, -the officers of the 1st company, looked forward, to what we deemed, -in those hard times, a sumptuous repast, on halting in the quadrangle -of the vast and silent palace, from which Joseph and his court had -fled but a few hours before, leaving behind many a sign of their -hasty departure. Here lay Turkey carpets half torn up; there, velvet -hangings but half torn down; in one room were bales of furniture, -ornaments, and plate, packed but abandoned; in another lay the -remains of a sumptuous feast, the wine was yet in the half-emptied -glass; the fork remained in the breast of the turkey; the ashes of a -large fire yet smouldered in the vast kitchen, and in each apartment -of these long and magnificent suites, which traverse the whole palace -of Philip II., were splendid Parisian clocks, with their gilt -pendulums yet wagging under crystal shades, and all remaining in -statu quo, just as the French fugitives had left them, on the -approach of our advanced guard. - -"We chose our apartment, seized utensils, and, after a bath in the -sandy Xarama to refresh us after our long and dusty march, we sat -down to a supper on my ham, the ensign's loaf, and the lieutenant's -skin of the country wine. Fresh from the royal gardens we took fruit -in abundance; for the season was summer, and the purple grape, the -golden apple, and the ruddier orange, with the ripe pomegranate, were -all to be had at arm's length from the tall, painted windows. Nor -were cigars wanting: for, when investigating the contents of a -certain press, I found several boxes, from which we supplied -ourselves, and gave the remainder to the men of our company, who were -solacing themselves in the adjacent apartments, and lounging on the -velvet sofas, down ottomans, and satin fauteuils, on which the fair -demoiselles of the usurper's court had sat but the day before. - -"The quarter-guards were set; the out-pickets had been posted in the -direction of the enemy; in the palace court, our ten pipes had -sounded for the tatoo, and, wearied to excess, we lay down, some on -beds, and some on benches, but many more on the hard floor, where we -slept soundly, and heedless of the advancing, the marching, and -skirmishing of the morrow; for we light troops had always our full -share of the latter. - -"I was in this luxurious state--for dry quarters, and a sound sleep -after a hearty meal, are great luxuries to the campaigner--when I was -shaken by the shoulder, and I heard the devilish voice of our -sergeant-major saying-- - -"'I beg your pardon, Captain ----; the first officer for duty is -required to take convalescents to the rear They march an hour before -daylight, and the adjutant sent me to warn you, sir, and say, the -piper will blow the rouse in twenty minutes.' - -"He retired, having delivered his orders; and then, as a pleasant -sequel to them, I heard the rain--the heavy rain of Castile, where -every drop is the size of a walnut--pattering on the long range of -palace windows which faced the east. No man ever left a warm down -bed more unwillingly than did I the hard tiled floor of the sala. I -rolled up my cloak and blanket, slung them with my haversack and -canteen, and then groped about for a small portmanteau which -contained all my goods and gear; and, without disturbing my two -comrades to bid them 'good-bye'--for, poor fellows! after so long a -march as that of yesterday, to have done so would have been positive -inhumanity--with half-closed eyes, I hurried along, stumbling over -the sleeping soldiers, muskets, knapsacks, and broken furniture with -which the vast halls and suites of chambers were encumbered. After -losing myself for a time in that famous apartment of mirrors, where -Godoy and the Queen were wont to perform fandangos, I reached the -bridge of Toledo, as it is named from the road which crosses it; and -there I found the convalescents assembling, in the dark of a cold and -rainy morning, for daylight was yet an hour distant, and I heard the -heavy drops battering the tarred canvas covers of the wretched -caissons, wherein the sick and wounded lay. I heard the rain also -lashing on the parapets of the bridge, and raising bubbles on the -rapid stream which swept below its arches. - -"There were not less than thirty waggons or bullock-cars filled by -officers alone, many of them sick, or suffering from diseases -produced by hardship and starvation; others from wounds, and the -amputation of legs and arms, by the stupid apothecaries' boys, who -composed almost wholly our medical staff in the Peninsula. In rags -and misery, almost shirtless and shoeless, they lay closely packed in -the caissons among a little straw; and one--the weakest and most -reduced--was the famous Irish assistant-surgeon, Maurice Quill, of -the 31st Regiment. I had one officer of the 1st Dragoon Guards, who, -being mad as a March hare, had an entire waggon to himself, and I -heard him bellowing like a wild bull, above the rushing rain and the -howling wind as I approached this mournful assemblage on the old -bridge of Toledo. - -"I received the lists and commissariat papers, &c., in the dark, from -the brigade-major, who carried a lantern under his cloak, and, in -bidding me adieu, bade me beware of Barba Roxa, or Red-bearded -Sancho, a thief, whose exploits were then making some noise in Toledo -and La Mancha. The few soldiers who accompanied me were also -convalescents, on their way home to be discharged, and, consequently, -were barely able to carry their arms. I had a French troop horse, -captured in the scramble at Arroyo del Molino, and by my side rode -the only effective man in the detachment, my orderly dragoon; who, -for the good service he rendered me by his inborn bravery and -fidelity, I shall ever remember with gratitude, Darby Crogan, a -private of the 4th, or Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, and when I say he -was every inch a true Irish soldier, further comment is needless. - -"Though we had enough and to spare of fighting, I own that it was -with no ordinary feeling of dissatisfaction I departed on this duty, -leaving my comrades to push on towards the south, to fight and win -the great battle of Vittoria, and drive the French from Spain; while -I had the foreknowledge that there was never an instance known of an -officer leaving the army, in charge of convalescents, without being -involved in the most serious quarrels with the Spanish authorities, -both civil and military. But there was no alternative for me; so, -muffling myself in my cloak, after sharing with Darby Crogan a glass -of brandy from a certain convenient flask, which hung at my -waist-belt, and after a good deal of galloping to and fro, swearing -at muleteers and bullock-drivers, the cars were put in motion, and -the march began just as the first streak of dawn glimmered dimly -above the distant sierras. - -"A company of Les Chasseurs Brittaniques (who, though French -deserters and ragamuffins of every kind, wore the red British -uniform), under a Captain H----, marched also for Ciudad Real, and -nearly at the same time, but were ordered to pursue a route apart -from mine, by Santa Cruz de la Zarza, and down the other side of the -mountains, by Corral de Almuguer and Madridejos. - -"The morning had broken clear and cloudless, when, passing through an -open tract of country, we reached Yepes, and the summer sun of -Castile came up in all his burning glory. I generally rode about -fifty yards in front of my party to avoid the incessant complaints -and cries of the sick and wounded, whose ailments or sores were -exasperated by the increasing heat and pitiless jolting of the -bullock-cars, which had neither springs nor iron axles. The day was -cloudless and scorching; the plain hot, dry, and dusty, all -vegetation being burned out of it. No breeze came from the distant -mountains; but a vast swarm of black flies, which floated like a -vapour about us, gave incredible annoyance. - -"A poor young officer (lieutenant in an English light cavalry -regiment) expired under the pain of his mortifying wounds and -accumulated sufferings. This event caused a temporary halt. By the -side of the mule-track, which crossed that arid plain, we hastily -made a little grave, about a foot deep, and laid him down, yet warm, -in his uniform, and coffinless. A little of the blood-stained straw -from the waggons was spread over his face, and then we covered him -up, heaping the dry dusty soil over him by our feet, by the butts of -muskets, and blades of bayonets, to keep the wolves from disturbing -his rest. Near this lonely grave there flowed a little fountain from -a rude stone duct, which had been made in the days of old, 'en tiempo -antique,' as a mule-driver told me. In twenty minutes after, we were -all again en route, with the mule-bells jangling and the wheels -jarring, as if nothing had happened; but his place in the waggon was -soon supplied, as every hour some of my convalescent guard became -unable to endure the weight of their trappings, and had to be placed -among the sick. Thus our progress was so slow that night was closing -before we entered La Guardia, a small town, about sixteen miles from -Aranjuez. - -"As we clambered and toiled up the rocky ridge which it crowns, on -the right bank of the Cedron, Crogan and I, who rode in front, were -surprised to find the little town almost deserted, and that a few of -the inhabitants who had lingered until we were close at hand, were -retiring from it on the other side, some on foot and others on mules, -but all bearing away their goods and chattels, beds and furniture. -Entering, we found it empty; and as there were neither alcalde nor -alguazils to go through the farce of distributing billets, we -quartered ourselves wherever we best could. After conveying all the -wounded from the waggons into the great convent (I carried Dr. Quill -on my back, for he was weak as a child), there we laid them, in rows, -on the tiled floors; and, after filling their canteens with water, -left them to warm themselves the best way they could, for we were -wearied almost to death by the slow loitering march of the past day, -under a scorching Castilian sun. - -"La Guardia is surrounded by a strong but ruinous fortified wall, -which was built in the olden time to defend the district from the -incursions of the Moors; and at each end it had a gate, whereon I -posted a guard of a corporal and three men; for as the whole country -swarmed with thieves and guerilla deserters, I knew not what picaros -might be lurking in the old gypsum quarries near the Cedron. - -"Darby Crogan and I took possession of a deserted house in the main -street. He lighted a fire, and being scarce of fuel, made pretty -free use of the doors and shutters, chairs and tables; and we broiled -on a ramrod, or boiled in a camp-kettle, our poor ration beef, -sprinkling it with flour, and eating it without salt, for that was a -commodity extremely scarce among us in Spain; hence, the flavour of -our commissariat beef, after being carried in a canvas haversack, on -a long day's march, under a burning sun, would have driven Soyer or -his majesty of Oude into fits. - -"We had scarcely concluded this miserable meal, which we shared -fraternally--for on service, though discipline is never forgotten, -the officer and private are more blended together, as real soldierly -sentiment replaces empty etiquette--when we were startled by the -report of two or three muskets in our immediate vicinity. - -"'Hollo!' said Crogan, springing to the door of the house, 'the inimy -'ill be on us before we can say peas!' - -"'Some guerillas, or picaros, or perhaps, Barba Roxa,' said I, -setting down my flask of aguardiente, to listen. - -"'Darby Roxy!--sure it 'ill be pleasant to meet a namesake.' - -"'Not if he beats up our quarters, when we are in so poor a condition -to resist any who might attempt it; and the watches and rings, &c., -of so many sick officers are booty enough for a few enterprising -Spaniards, who might try to knock the guard on the head. Look to our -pistols, Crogan; bring up the horses, and we will ride forth to -reconnoitre.' - -"'Right, yer honour--I'm the man,' replied the active Irishman, as he -looked to the priming of our pistols, loaded his carbine, and hurried -to the shed close by, where our horses were chewing their rations of -chopped straw; he saddled, and brought them to the door; and thus, in -three minutes, we were both mounted. Meanwhile, the guards at each -gate of the little town had turned out; and, leaving word to get the -whole party under arms in the street, accompanied by Crogan, I rode -at a rapid trot towards that direction in which the flashes had been -seen by our sentinels. - -"La Guardia lay buried in obscurity; the night was dark, and a thin -vapour veiled the stars; but no moon was visible, though at times a -red meteor flashed across the sky. As the warm night-wind passed -over the vast tracts of waste and untilled land, it was laden with -the rich aroma of those innumerable little plants like mignionette, -which flourish by the wayside in all the wild parts of Spain. - -"'Soft ground, sir,' said Crogan, as his horse stumbled among the -dry-scorched soil; 'by the holy! this is just like still-hunting, -only the bog, bad luck to it! is as dhry as a bone.' - -"'Hush!' said I, reining in my horse; 'do you not hear something?' - -"'By my troth I do,'replied Darby; and as he spoke, a musket flashed -about a quarter of a mile distant; and then we heard a faint cry, -like a woman's. - -"'There are no French in this neighbourhood,' said I, surprised. - -"'But plinty of thaves and robbers, sir; and a nice meetin' it 'id be -for us.' - -"'Forward!' said I; 'we must just take them, like our wives, Crogan, -for better or worse.' - -"'And, like the wives, a sorry takin' it may be for some of us,' said -Darby, with a reckless laugh, as we rode on in the dark; and reaching -the skirt of a cork wood, found a large Spanish coach, drawn by two -mules--such a turn-out as one might have met in those days on the -prados of Seville or Madrid--being ransacked by five or six ruffians, -armed with pistols, knives, and carbines. A man lay dead among the -long grass, near the trees; the mules were kicking and plunging in -the traces; and while one ruffian dragged out two ladies, the others -were cutting open and emptying their portmanteaus. I drew my a word. - -"'Make your horse rear, sir, the moment we are fired at,' cried -Crogan, who was a practised trooper--' 'twas by not doing so that -Corporal Lanigan, of ours, got a ball in his chest, at Talavera--his -first battle too.' - -"'Forward!' cried I, 'cut them down!' - -"'Whoop--hubaboo! this baste ov mine 'ud clear the rock of Cashel at -one spring!' exclaimed Crogan, who uttered an Irish yell, as we fell -suddenly on the marauders; and though we were but two to six, routed -them in a moment. Three shots were fired at us: I cut one fellow -across the hand, and severed his fingers, which grasped the barrel of -his musket; Darby stretched another among the grass, and, whether -scared by his Irish shout, our sudden onset, or the dread that there -were more of us, I know not but in a twinkling they had vanished into -the wood, and we sprang from our horses to assist the ladies. - -"'Ay de mi! señor oficial!' cried the younger, grasping me by the -left arm; 'a thousand prayers and thanks.' - -"'Ay! mi señor Caballero, muchias gracias,' added the elder, making a -stately, but profound curtsy to Crogan. - -"'Why, mam, you make a regular Irish dip,' said he, raising his hand -to the peak of his helmet 'But, sure you've dhropped something,' he -added, picking up a flask. 'Oh, it can't be this, at all--aggadenty, -the thafe! Hurroo! it's like raal Cork, but out of a bran-new cask.' - -"The old lady now turned to me, perceiving that I was the officer, -and prayed 'el santo de las santos,' and all the saints in heaven -might bless us, for our courageous and timely succour. - -"'We are on our way to Ciudad Real from Madridejos, and were attacked -in the wood. My señor escudero was shot, our outriders fled; and the -ladrones would undoubtedly have maltreated me--not that I cared for -myself, señor, but my dear little goddaughter--la nina--the child--la -nina Estella. It was all for her that I trembled'--and so forth. - -"By the moon, which glinted for a time through the hazy clouds, I -could perceive that the speaker was a middle-aged lady, very dark -complexioned; and, though not handsome, possessing a tolerably good, -even stately presence; and that her goddaughter, whose features were -blanched by terror, had fine dark Spanish eyes, and a graceful -figure, though somewhat undersized. - -"I begged of them to be no longer alarmed. - -"'Señoras,' said I, 'my detachment is at La Guardia, close at hand; -allow me to offer my escort to you, so far as Ciudad Real, for that, -also, is my destination.' - -"'We owe you a thousand thanks, señor oficial,' replied the gentle -voice of la nina Estella, who seemed to be somewhere about eighteen. -'Oh, I shall never forget that fellow's red beard! Madre de Dios, -what a size and colour it was!' - -"'O ho! then our friend was Sancho himself.' - -"'Ah, señor,' said the old lady, 'how happily we will avail ourselves -of your kind offer.' - -"'Good--I shall have pleasant companions for the remainder of this -most unpleasant journey,' thought I, beginning to repack the -half-rifled mails. - -"'We are travelling in great haste,' said the señora. 'Is your -detachment composed of horse or foot, caballero?' - -"'It partakes of both, señora; being thirty waggons of sick and -wounded.' - -"'Sick and wounded! O madre de Dios! 'tis quite a travelling -hospital; thirty waggons--a lazarretto--and I have lost my priceless -relic of St. Margarida the Scot. Oh, señor valaroso, we owe you a -million of favours, but will rather proceed alone. And here is this -rogue, Pedro, come back with his mule. Ah, false coward, to leave -your young mistress in such peril. I will have you well beaten when -we reach Ciudad Real; I will, sir. What would have become of us, but -for the miraculous arrival of the señor oficial?' - -"While I assisted the trembling Pedro to restrap the portmanteaus, -and put the mules in order, a colloquy was proceeding between Darby -Crogan, and the Spaniard whom he had levelled when the fray first -began. - -"'Silence, now,' I heard him say, while striking the butt of his -carbine to shake the priming; 'it will soon be all over wid ye; so -die aisy--do, and don't be bothering me.' - -"'Ay, por amor de Dios, Señor Inglese,' implored the Spaniard on his -knees. - -"'Señor Inglese, indeed!' said Darby, testily, as the aquardiente -mounted into his brain; 'is it an Englishman you'd call me, you -rascally Spaniard, and I, praise God! a dacent Irishman, like my -father and mother before me?' - -"'Ay de mi, Señor Dragone----' - -"'Dragon, is it, now! I have a name, Mr. Spaniard, as good as your -own, for lack of a better, and that is Darby Crogan, ould Widda -Crogan's boy, at the four cross roads, near the bog of ----; but what -am I prating about? To make a long story short, prepare for your -wooden surtoo, and make a clane breast you spalpeen of the earth, -you!' - -"'Come, come, Darby,' said I, 'let him go; he is only a poor rascal -of a Murcian.' - -"'It's only makin' game of him I am, your honour; but sure I am that -his being, as you say, a marchent won't make him feel dyin' a bit -more,' replied Darby, uncocking his carbine with an air of -discontent. 'Richly he desarves to die, for he fired his pistols at -me twice; the curse of Cromwell be on him!' - -"'Away now,' said I, pointing to the wood; 'vayan usted con Dios, or -demonic, if it suits you better; and see, villain, that we meet no -more!' - -"With a dark gleam in his eye the disarmed robber slunk away, and I -saw that his face, where not streaked with blood from Darby's sword -cut, was ghastly pale with hate, fear, and fury. - -"We placed the ladies in their antique caravan-looking coach; buckled -their baggage on the pyramidal top thereof; furnished Pedro and -another servant with the arms and ammunition of the two robbers; -promised to see the unfortunate escudero interred, a promise which we -never performed; and after escorting them some miles beyond the cork -wood, bade them adieu, receiving a pressing invitation to visit them -at Ciudad Real, 'where every one knew Donna Emerenciana de -Alcala-de-los-Gazules,' which name I give myself no small credit for -remembering. We then returned to La Guardia, and for a time thought -no more of the affair. - -"I had ordered the drum to be beaten before daylight, but it was not -until two hours after it that the whole of the sick and wounded were -again stowed into their waggons, and en route; for in the back-garden -of the convent we had to bury those whom we found dead. - -"Then again began that melancholy chorus of groans and cries of pain, -mingled with curses in English and Spanish, the cracking of whips, -and jingle of bells, as the obstinate mules and lazy bullocks, which -drew the rude cars, were urged to motion; and over wretched roads we -departed from La Guardia, towards the mountains. - -"Passing over the ground of the last night's adventure, Crogan picked -up something which glittered amongst the grass; it proved to be the -portrait of a young lady, in a veil, flowing over a high comb; and in -her well-arched eyebrows, fine dark eyes, roguish mouth, and -fascinating smile, I recognised Donna Estella. - -"'Bravo! a delightful souvenir of La Guardia,' said I; and, after -admiring it for a time, consigned it to my breast-pocket. 'Darby, I -will owe you a dollar for this when I draw on the paymaster.' I -gazed at it frequently on the march, and every time I did so ray -interest in the original increased (but bah! do not think I was fool -enough to fall in love with a mere miniature), and I resolved that if -she was to be found in Ciudad Real I would certainly discover and -visit her. - -"Again a black cloud of flies covered the whole of us; several cars -broke down; and such was the terrible nature of the road that one -fell entirely over a precipice, bullocks, wounded, and all; and then -so great was the delay occasioned by the various casualties, that -evening came on before we reached Mora, which is only ten miles from -La Guardia. So the reader may have some idea of the tedium of our -progress. - -"Mora I found also abandoned by its inhabitants, who fled at our -approach, carrying with them all provisions and everything else which -could be borne away. Many of the houses appeared to have been -recently burned, for flames were yet smouldering in three of them, -and in another two men were lying dead; one shot, the other -bayoneted. Being certain that there were no French in the -neighbourhood, or nearer than Burgos and Navarre, I was at a loss to -comprehend the source of this terror and outrage: but, influenced by -anxiety to be nearer Ciudad Real, and to have my defenceless -detachment disposed of for that night, I pushed on, in hope of -reaching a small village, which, as my 'route' indicated, lay about -ten miles further off. - -"Descending from Mora, we traversed a plain which lies between two -sierras that terminate at Porzuna, in La Mancha: and if our progress -was slow by day, it was slower still by night. The heat was yet -excessive; a thick impalpable dust floated about us; the air was -close and still; there was not a breath of wind. Our thirst was -intense, and a murmur of satisfaction arose from my mournful -cavalcade when the blackened sky, and the croaking of the frogs, -announced rain; and when it did come, it came in torrents. Then, -raising the covers of the waggons, the wretched patients thrust out -their pallid faces and trembling hands to catch the heavy drops. The -dusty plain soon became transformed into a sea of mud, and the poor -convalescent guard sank above their ankles at every step, while, -deeper still, the mules went above their fetlocks. - -"Anxious and impatient, accompanied by my orderly, I rode forward a -few miles, but failed to discover the said village; the whole -district was desolate, and being without a guide, I feared that we -had lost the way. On returning I found matters still worse; for, -taking advantage of my absence, the villanous Spaniards, by a -preconcerted arrangement, had simultaneously cut the traces of their -mules and bullocks, and (though my guard shot a few of them in the -attempt) had fled, leaving the sick and wounded to die in the -wilderness. - -"I cannot say whether anger or despair was my prevailing emotion; but -to be left thus, with three or four-and-twenty waggons (for their -number was now reduced), full of sick and dying men, among the -mountains of Toledo, without provisions, and without a medical -officer, was not very pleasant. Though the rain was still falling, -as it falls only in Spain (like one ceaseless and tremendous -shower-bath), Crogan and I departed at a gallop after the runaways, -but could only overtake one; and, as he would neither halt nor obey -us, we fired at him with our pistols, and, breaking his leg, left him -in the same condition he had left so many of our comrades. - -"Aware that not a moment should be lost in procuring a fresh team, we -turned in the direction of Toledo, and ascended the sierra, half -blinded by the rain which lashed in our faces, and, by swelling the -streams from the hills, was fast making the valley between them a -sheet of water - -"'A fine thing it will be, your honour,' said Crogan--'for I'm just -in the mood to be savage--if we fall in with the Rapparees that -rummaged over the ould lady, last night, and sacked Mora and La -Guardia.' - -"'Never mind, Darby, my boy, you will die in the bed "of honour" -then.' - -"'Divil a one of me cares--though, by my sowl,' he added, as our -horses plashed fetlock-deep in water, 'I would like that same bed of -yer honour's to be a dhry one.' - -"'So would I, Darby, but remember-- - - "'Why should we be melancholy, boys, - Whose business 'tis to----die?' - - -"'By the hokey! that ditty sounds very like as if the man that made -it, sir, had been up to his neck in a bog at the time. But there are -lights!' - -"'And the rain is abating, too.' - -"To be brief. After a ten miles' ride, we reached Almonacid de -Zorita, a small town of New Castile, where we roused the alcalde from -his bed. He summoned his alguazils, and they, after an infinite deal -of trouble, collected by impress all the cattle in the place, -amounting to about twenty mules, and as many bullocks. The alcalde -assisted us with ill-concealed reluctance, and told me that he and -the alcalde of Mora had that morning transmitted to the commandant at -Ciudad Real an account of certain outrages, and lawless impressment -of mules, committed by a British detachment, at Mora and La Guardia.' - -"'You must mistake, Señor Alcalde,' said I, angrily, for I was -drenched to the skin at the time; 'the only plunderers of La Guardia, -if I may judge from personal experience, are true Castilians.' - -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz shall judge,' said the alcalde, showing -us to the door. 'Adieu, señores.' - -"'Good-bye, old gentleman, and bad manners to you,' said Crogan, as -we leaped on our horses, and, recrossing the sierra reached the -waggons about daybreak: and though sleepless and exhausted, I was but -too happy when the new team was traced to them, and the whole were -once more on their way towards La Mancha. - -"Slowly and wearily we toiled on by the banks of the Algador, and -again crossing the mountains, near a lake into which it flows, -reached Guadalerza, all but overcome by heat and fatigue. I remember -that near the lake (which was literally alive with adders and small -snakes) there stood a solitary convent; and as we passed its walls, -the fair recluses waved their handkerchiefs from their narrow -gratings, with many a cry of 'viva los Inglesos,' so long as we were -within hearing. From Guadalerza, fortunately, the inhabitants had -not fled, and they answered promptly and readily the piteous cries of -our sufferers for water, which was supplied to them in crocks and -jars, that were filled and emptied as if to quell a conflagration. - -"The village of Fuentelfresno, which overlooks those sands from -whence the Guadiana is supposed to spring, was our next -halting-place, but its miserable and impoverished inhabitants were -totally unable to afford us rations of any kind; and there several of -the wounded, whose sabre-cuts or gun-shot wounds, by the jolting of -the waggons, had broken out afresh, expired. There were two officers -and four soldiers, whom we buried in one hole (alas! I cannot call it -a grave), under an old orange-tree, near the Jarama. Finding that it -was useless to halt in a place where we were in danger of starving, -we went further on, and bivouacked nine miles beyond it. near a -little runnel of spring water, on a fine green plain. The soundest -sleep that ever closed my eyes was enjoyed there, on that soft grassy -sward, beside my horse's heels; but I cannot omit to mention the -terror by which it was broken. - -"My charger snorted, reared, and tried madly to break away from the -peg to which I had picketted him. - -"I raised myself on inv elbow, and looked around me. The waggons -were all closely drawn up side by side: the escort were sleeping -among their piled arms, and, muffled in their great-coats, our four -sentinels stood motionless, about three hundred yards distant. The -moonlight was clear and beautiful. Suddenly something reared its -head close beside me; I shrunk under my blanket, and, lo! a frightful -snake, nearly fifteen feet long, passed over the whole bivouac, -hissing and gliding; but, fortunately, without biting any one, it -disappeared into a little thicket of laurels and underwood which grew -near us. - -"'Och, this Spain!--snakes, too--divil mend it!' I heard Crogan -muttering in his sleep; 'more ov it yet! and I have never had a raal -good potato down my throat since I came into it.' - -"Next day, the sun-burnt plains of La Mancha lay before us; but ere -the intense heat of noon, we reached Fernancaballero, in the partida -of Piedrabueno; and there (so exhausted were my soldiers, and so -terrible the complaints of the wounded), though my route permitted me -to tarry but one night, I was compelled to halt for two additional -days, an indulgence which nearly cost me my life. In the early -morning, when visiting the quarters of the sick and wounded, to -render them any assistance in my power before marching, I became -aware that a person was following me through the dark, muddy, and -unpaved streets of the mountain Puebla. - -"As a soldier, habitually cautious, and, as a campaigner, aware of -the Spanish character, I grasped the hilt of my Highland sword, and -walked watchfully on. - -"This man, by whom I had certainly been dogged and followed for some -time, was now joined by two others, and the three accompanied my -steps, remaining close behind. Crogan was looking after our horses, -and I had no other orderly or attendant; but resolving that if their -intentions were bad to anticipate them, I halted, and confronting the -trio, said, as if without suspicion.-- - -"'Señores, que hora es?' - -"'Son los quatro, Caballero,' replied one, gaping at me with surprise -on being so suddenly accosted; but I saw the ominous gleam of two -knives, as they were secretly drawn from the broad worsted sashes of -his companions, who skilfully endeavoured to conceal the act. Quick -as lightning, drawing a pistol from my belt, I fired a bullet right -at the head of one, whose enormous red beard the flash revealed to -me. The hall tore open his cheek, and carried away his left ear. -His comrade rushed upon me, but I received him by thrusting the -muzzle into his mouth, and hurling him furiously back. On this they -all took to flight; but not before I perceived that the wounded man -had his left hand swathed in a bandage. - -"'O ho, Señor Sancho, la Barba Roxa!' said I, recognising the robber -whom I had maimed at La Guardia; 'I thought your voice was not -unfamiliar to me.' - -"I hurried to the muster-place, in a frame of mind that struggled -between wrath at my narrow escape, and triumph at the victory I had -won; but, in ten minutes after, the drum beat, and, replacing the -sick in the waggons, we moved off. - -"Our march of fifteen miles from Fernancaballero we got rapidly over; -for Crogan and I having found no less than twenty-five mules grazing -near the Alzuer, which there flows through a fertile, plain, many of -them bridled, as if just abandoned by their riders, we yoked them to -the waggons, and entering Ciudad Real, the capital of La Mancha, -passed at a rapid pace through its broad, straight, and well-paved -streets, to the great Plaza, or principal square. - -"'The Lord be praised!' thought I, as the train halted, and I gave in -my papers to the Spanish town-major, Don José Gonzales y Llano, a -field-officer of that regiment of Leon, which fled, en masse, from -the field of Vittoria. 'My duty and my troubles are over together.' - -"But I was grievously mistaken, as I might have augured from the -manner of the town-major, who curled his mustaches, and shifted from -one foot to the other, like a man who has something unpleasant to -say, but dares not. - -"While the occupants of the waggons were being conveyed to hospital -by fatigue-parties of Spanish soldiers, and my guard joined a -detachment of convalescents, who, under another officer, were on -their march towards the castle of Belem. I soon became aware that I -was an object of marked attention to the denizens of Ciudad Real. A -vast crowd had gathered in the Plaza, and I saw many men, -particularly paisanos, gesticulating violently, and pointing to me, -while the muttering gradually rose into shouts of 'Maldetto! mueran -los Inglesos! Perro! ladrone! bandido!' - -"'What the devil is the meaning of all this?' thought I; and -indignantly pushed my horse right through them. On this the cries -redoubled, and the crowd increased so fast, that I was fain to ride -at a trot towards the house of a guantero (a maker of those gloves -for which Ciudad Real is famous throughout Spain), on whom I had been -billeted. There I found Darby Crogan awaiting me, breathless, -exasperated, and carbine in hand, for he, too, had been followed in -the same manner by a mob, who shouted, yelled, threw mud, stones, and -rotten melons, with every missile which the uncleaned streets so -readily afforded. We were perfectly at a loss to comprehend the -cause of treatment so unusual and so unmerited. - -"'El guantero, our patron, is as cross as two sticks, or a bag of -ould nails, devil mend him! and unless your honour has a coin about -you, it's but a cowld supper we'll have,' said Crogan, as we entered -the sala, or principal apartment of the house. - -"'I have not had a peseta since we left Mora,' said I; 'but here is -the patron at supper, on a cold fowl, too! we are just in time.' - -"'Sure he'll ask us to ate wid him--Och! for the smallest taste in -life!' sighed poor Darby, for our food had been principally roasted -castanos during the two previous days, so miserably was the Spanish -commissariat conducted. The patron was certainly at supper; but, -instead of welcoming us to his house as the deliverers of Spain, who -had driven the usurper from Torres Vedras to the Douro, from the -Douro to the Ebro, and from thence towards the Pyrenees, he barely -bestowed a bow upon us, and desired his servant to conduct me to one -room and Crogan to another. Amazed at the coldness of this reception -within, which corresponded so exactly with the ungenerous treatment -of the mob without, a storm of indignation gathered in my heart; but -being aware that a strong Spanish garrison occupied the citadel, and -that the Dons were lads who did not stand on trifles, I pocketed my -wrath and turned away, resolving on the morrow to discover Donna -Emerenciana and la nina Estella. - -"'Blue blazes!' grumbled Darby; 'are we not to have a ration of -something to-night? Lord, sir, you don't know how hungry I am, for -the two insides o' me are sticking together. I wish we had hould of -that darling pullet.' - -"'So do I, Crogan, and that the old guantero had hold of the horns of -the moon.' - -"'Wid his fingers well greased, the ould thief! Never mind, sir, -wait till they're all asleep, and if I lave a place unransacked, I am -not the boy of ould Widdy Crogan, at the four cross-roads.' - -"The sulky looks of the glover were reflected by those of his wife -and servant, a buxom Basque woman, who wore her coal-black hair -plaited into one long tail, which overhung her thick woollen -petticoat of bright yellow. Her stockings were scarlet; and I saw -Crogan squinting at her well-turned ankles, cased in their neat -leather abarcas, as she tripped before us, up the steep wooden stair -that led to my apartment. The brown-cheeked Basque bade us -'good-night,' in bad Spanish, set down the light, and on being told -that one room would do for the soldier and myself, withdrew. Crogan -placed a few chairs against the door, and near them lay down on the -floor, with his carbine loaded and half-cocked. Without undressing, -I threw myself on the bed, with my drawn sword beside me, for the -uproar still continued in the street; but long before its din had -died away, we were both buried in profound sleep--the deep and -dreamless slumber of long weariness and toil. - -"From this happy state I was aroused about midnight by a loud noise. -Sword in hand, I sprang up, and Darby's promise to overhaul the -patron's pantry flashed upon my mind. But, lo! a lantern glared into -my eyes; and I saw the brown uniforms, red facings, silver -epaulettes, bronzed features, and enormous mustaches of several -Spanish officers, who surrounded me with drawn swords. Among them I -recognised Don José Gonzalez y Llano, the town-major, by whose orders -I was roughly seized and disarmed. The lantern was held rudely -before my face, then to my belt-plate and the buttons of my coat. - -"'The seventy-first regimento infanteria de Escotos,' said one. - -"'La division de Don Roland Hill,' said another. - -"'Señores, what is the meaning of this intrusion, and how dare you -lay hands thus upon me?' - -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz de la Zarza will tell you that,' said the -little major, insolently. - -"'Then where is the marquis?' asked I, furiously. - -"'At his palace, where he waits you, and requires your presence,' -said a young officer, who wore the cross of St. James and the -splendid uniform of an Ayudante de Campo. 'Come with us, señor,' he -added, politely. 'I beg to assure you that resistance is worse than -useless; so permit me, for the present, to receive your sword.' - -"I handed the young aide-de-camp my belt and scabbard. - -"'Gentlemen, I beg you to remember that I am an officer bearing his -Britannic Majesty's commission.' And without saying more, I -accompanied them from the house of the glover, under escort of four -Spanish soldiers, who surrounded me with fixed bayonets. In silence -we traversed various streets, which were buried in darkness and -obscurity; and I saw nothing of Crogan (for I had been seized while -he was on his exploring expedition); yet though anxious and -perplexed, I maintained a haughty silence, and disdained to question -my conductors. - -"The bell of the cathedral tolled midnight as we entered the great -Plaza, and saw before us the stately palace of the marquis -brilliantly illuminated, for he was giving a magnificent fete in -honour of his patron saint, whose festival had occurred on the day -that had passed. From the lofty latticed windows, four-and-twenty -lines of variously-coloured light fell across the great Plaza of the -bull-fights, and shed their prismatic hues on its plashing fountains. -A flight of marble steps led us to the vestibule, where a Spanish -guard of honour was under arms, with fixed bayonets; and, passing -between their ranks, we ascended to the grand saloon of the palace. - -"In that magnificent apartment, decorated in the florid and -profusely-gilded style of Charles the Fifth's time, filled with a -deluge of light from crystal chandeliers, and over a slippery floor -of clear and tesselated marble, I was led by my conductors through -the glittering crowd of guests. On every hand I saw the brown -uniforms, red facings, and silver epaulettes of the Spanish line, the -blue and silver of the Portuguese, the green of the Cazadores, and -the black velvet suits of old-fashioned cavaliers, wearing the -crosses of St. James and of Calatrava. The ladies wore, almost -uniformly, dresses of black or white, but with a profusion of the -richest lace. Many of them looked like beautiful black-eyed brides, -for their brows were wreathed with flowers, or they had one fresh red -rose among their dark glossy hair, placed just beside the comb, from -which fell that sweeping veil which like a gauzy mist floated about -their superb figures. For years I had not looked on such a scene. - -"'Madre de Dios! what an officer!' 'O! Santos! that a British -officer!' 'Morte de Dios! he a cavalier!' were the exclamations in -every varying tone. I was led along the saloon; the music ceased in -the gilded gallery; the dancers paused, mingled, and crowded about -us; then reflecting that I had come straight from the camp and field, -where my comrades were facing danger and death for these same -Spaniards, I thought the exhibition made of me by the Major Don José -Gonzalez, of the regiment of Leon, alike scurvy and ungrateful. Our -division of the army had not received a farthing of pay for six -months at that time, and many a brave fellow fell at Vittoria and the -Pyrenees without receiving his hard-won arrears, which, more than -probably, his relations never obtained either. - -"I was in the same plight in which I had marched from Aranjuez; my -wings worn to black wire; coat purple, and patched with grey and blue -at the elbows; my Tartan trews a mass of darns; scabbard, as I have -said, six inches too short for the claymore; shoes all gone at the -toes; and my last shirt all gone too, save the wrists and collar. -But I was weatherbeaten as a smuggler; and I looked more like a -soldier than the pomatumed Dons of the Spanish line, or the Cavaliers -of Calatrava, who turned up their mustaches and muttered 'basta!' as -I passed them, to where the Marquis stood, with a lady leaning on his -arm. - -"Don Christoval, of Santa Cruz, was a tall, gaunt man, with a long -Castilian visage, black lack-lustre eyes, and a solemn air of lofty -pomposity. His mustaches were curled up to his ears. He had an -enormous basket-hilted toledo depending from a sling-belt, and -carried his handkerchief stuffed into the hilt thereof. He wore the -uniform of a Spanish lieutenant-general, and had various little gold -and silver ornaments sparkling on his breast. I was aware that a -graceful and bright-eyed young girl, in white lace, with her head -wreathed by a superb tiara of brilliants, leaned on his arm; but so -solemnly severe was the brow of the Marquis and so brief his -greeting, though in the old style of Castilian courtesy, that he -riveted my whole attention. Besides, I was not a little indignant at -the unceremonious manner in which I had been brought before him, and -made a spectacle to his guests. - -"'Señor Don Christoval,' said I, 'for what am I brought--I may say -dragged--hither from my billet, after a tedious march, and after -having duly delivered over my detachment, according to my orders from -head-quarters?' - -"'Señor official,' replied the Marquis, with a look of grave -severity, 'you are charged with murdering two Spaniards, carrying off -twenty mules from La Guardia, and levying other contributions in the -partida.' - -"'Who dare to be my accusers?' I asked, thunder-struck at such a -charge. - -"'The alcalde of La Guardia, whose brother is one of the slain; and -Alonzo Perez, a master-muleteer of Fuentelfresno, whose mules you -carried off.' - -"'Marquis, on my honour as a British officer and gentleman, I deny -this.' - -"The Marquis smiled coldly, as he replied,-- - -"'To-morrow we will confront you with the worthy alcalde; and as for -the mules, the owner recognised them this morning, drawing your -waggons into Ciudad Real. Each animal has a private notch in its -ears.' - -"'Marquis, I beg to assure you----' - -"'Sir--no more. Here I cannot listen to explanations. I might place -a guard over you, but nevertheless consider yourself a prisoner, and -believe that any attempt to escape will be deemed but a proof of -guilt. Retain your sword--partake of our hospitality; and I hope, -señor, that the morrow will find you prepared to refute these dark -charges.' - -"He waved his hand with such an air as a Castilian noble could alone -assume, and with a lofty gait strode away: then in his daughter, who -swept on by his side, for the first time I recognised the young lady -I had rescued at La Guardia, the original of the portrait Darby had -found, and which at that moment I had upon my person. - -"Her large dark eyes dilated with astonishment, and then sparkled -with the recognition, which the punctilio of the place or her -father's pride and severity, together with my tatterdemalion aspect, -prevented her avowing; and thus, though I had saved her life--yea, -more than her life--at the risk of my own, this dazzling creature -passed away and left me, without a word of thanks or courtesy. - -"I do not remember that I felt either the alarm, horror, or -astonishment that might be supposed consequent to an accusation so -startling as murder and marauding. I can only account for this by -the deadness of feeling and of all sense of danger which results from -actual service and warfare. But there was one emotion which I felt -deeply--an angry pride; aware that I was an object of aversion and -suspicion to the gay guests of the Marquis, among whom the fat and -ferocious little town-major made himself very conspicuous in laying -down the Spanish military law on the enormities I had committed. The -hidalgos gazed at me indignantly through their eye-glasses; the -dark-eyed donnas peeped timidly through the openings of their veils, -and 'matador, borrachio, Inglese ladrone,' were the gentlest of the -epithets I heard muttered by many a pretty lip. My heart swelled -with rage, and instead of joining the dancers, or aiding in the -onslaught made upon the viands which covered the long tables of an -adjoining saloon, between lofty epergnes and vases of crystal and -silver, filled with summer flowers, I stood aloof with folded arms, -and felt the smarting of a wound received but a few months -before--and that wound was received for Spain, and on Spanish ground! - -"At a little distance I saw the Donna Estella whispering to her -father's aide-de-camp. A minute afterwards he approached me. - -"'Señor,' said he, 'if you will pardon the advice of a friend, I -beseech you to retire to your quarters, for all here view you with -hostile eyes; and, as a brave soldier, to whom my little cousin owes -(as she has told me) her life, I cannot afford to see you thus -misused. To-morrow, I hope, will see these clouds dispelled; -meantime, allow me to accompany you. I have here a spare apartment, -to which you are welcome.' - -"All places were alike to me; I accepted his offer with gratitude; -and, as we descended to the vestibule, the first person I met was -honest Darby Crogan, with his sword under his arm, and his keen grey -Irish eyes sparkling with rage; and he pushed the laced lacqueys -right and left. - -"'I have heard it all, sir,' said the brave fellow, who had been -anxious about me; 'and mighty hard it will go wid you. It was all -the doin' of that capthin of the Chaseers Britaneeks, who came out of -his own route into ours, ransacked La Guardia, and carried off the -mules (bad cess to them!). They were found with us, and the owner is -ready to swear by this and by that, and by everything else, that you -are the man, and these are his mules, as he knows by the holes -punched in their ears, and to these holes he is as ready to swear as -to his own two eyes.' - -"'True, Darby; but how is all this to be explained to these hostile -and obstinate Spaniards?' - -"'Kape your mind aisy, sir; there are four good hours till daybreak -yet, and if I don't astonish them thaving Dons, I am not Darby Crogan -of the 4th Dragoon Guards.' - -"On the terrace of the palace, which had anciently been the -head-quarters of that celebrated fraternity, the Santa Hermandad, -founded in 1249 for the suppression of robbers, I walked to and fro -for half an hour with the aide-de-camp, enjoying a cigar, talking of -the war, my own mishap, and longing to ask a few questions about his -dark-eyed cousin, with whom her miniature had made me so intimately -acquainted. The glorious moon was rolling through an unclouded -Spanish sky, pouring a flood of silver light into the Plaza and court -of the palace, on the towers of the great church, and the magnificent -hospital of Cardinal Lorenzana, the good and wise Archbishop of -Toledo. The gardens of the Marquis were all lighted up by the same -white radiance; the foliage of the citron trees was edged with silver -and laden with perfume; the rose-trees hung their dewy blossoms over -the marble fountains, the clear waters of which plashed and sparkled -in the moonlight. After a pause, I ventured to ask-- - -"'What is the name of the--the Marquis's daughter?' - -"'My cousin--la nina--Estella de la Zarza.' - -"'A pretty one enough; and she is about to change it, I presume?' - -"'Change it!' reiterated the Ayudante de Campo, who did not perceive -that I was fishing for a certain information. 'Oh! I see--marriage. -She is about to marry, Corpo de Baccho! yes, but our Spanish ladies -do not change their names when they marry.' - -"'And who is the happy man--yourself, señor?' - -"'Nay, nay--we Catholics cannot marry our cousins. Next week she is -to wed old Don José Gonzalez.' - -"'What! that old beer-barrel, the town-major?' - -"'Si, señor,' replied he, twirling his mustaches, with a doubtful -look: while I felt that I was beginning to abhor that town-major -immeasurably. - -"About eight o'clock next morning I saw sixteen Spanish officers in -full uniform, with their swords and belts, preceded by the said Don -José, marching in file through the court of the palace, at the -side-door of which they entered. A few minutes afterwards my friend, -the aide-de-camp, came to acquaint me, that "the court-martial, by -which I was to be tried, was constituted, and awaited me." Without -any futile protestation against the illegality and rapidity of this -measure, I followed him to a spacious apartment, having four large -windows, which opened clown to the floor, and overlooked a grass park -which lay behind the palace. The members of the court, over which -the town-major (who, from the first, had constituted himself my -deadly enemy) presided, were solemnly sworn across their swords; they -promised to administer justice according to the laws of war, and so -forth, and then the prosecution proceeded. - -"I was charged with murdering, or causing to be shot, two peasants; -robbery, in levying contributions; blasphemous sacrilege, in -destroying a statue of the Blessed Virgin. My horizon was now black -as it could be! I knew very little of the language. Save Crogan, -who remained beside me in court, I had not a friend or a comrade near -me; for the whole of my guard had marched for Belem four hours -before, while Maurice Quill, and the other sick officers, could -neither defend nor succour me. I perceived in a moment, that, as -Crogan said, I had been accused of outrages committed by les -Chasseurs Britanniques (who wore scarlet uniform); but I resolved, -that unless matters went hard with myself, not to criminate their -officer, who, by leaving his own proper route, and relaxing his -discipline, had become guilty of the acts for which I was that day to -suffer. The three principal witnesses against me were, the alcalde, -the muleteer, and a farmer from the partida of La Guardia. - -"The first--old, stupid, half-blind, and obstinate--swore to my face -that I was the officer who had ordered his dear brother Vincentio, -the abogado, to be shot on his own threshold, and another man to be -bayoneted. In vain I drew his attention to the Highland cap of the -71st, and to my tartan trews, assuring him that I was an Escoto. He -shook his head--I wore a red coat--I was the very man! - -"Then came the muleteer, a sturdy Catalonian, clad in a fur jacket -and yellow cotton breeches, wearing a broad sombrero, under which his -black hair hung in a red net. He, too, swore across his knife, that -I had carried off his train of mules, or at least, that at the -bayonet's point, my soldiers had done so, to travel more at their -ease. - -"'He did not see me, neither did he then see any waggons of sick, but -he knew his mules as well as if he had been the father of them, the -moment they appeared in the streets of la Ciudad Real.' - -"'You will swear to your mules, hombre?' - -"'By the marks in their ears, Don José, as readily as I would swear -to my own nose.' - -"'Lead forward some of those mules to the window, and let the witness -see them.' - -"An uproar of voices was heard in the park, and the witness, who went -to the window, uttered a cry of dismay. The ears of his twenty mules -had been shred off close by the bone! - -"'Morte de Dios!' growled the officers, twirling their mustaches; -'these Inglesos are devils!' - -"'It was murtherin cruel for the poor bastes,' whispered Darby -Crogan; 'but it was all to save your honour's life I cropped them; -and sure it is worth a bushel of mules' ears; for it was a good -bushel ov 'em I buried this blessed morning. The Lord reward Misther -Quill, for it was his best docthor's knife he lint me, to make -croppies of them all.' - -"The little Major Don José was bursting with wrath. - -"'Call the next witness,' he exclaimed, furiously. - -"A tall, powerfully-formed, and fair-complexioned man, who, contrary -to the Spanish custom, was closely shaven, now came forward, and -stated himself to be a farmer, or jardinero, at Mora and La Guardia. -He had a large patch on his cheek, and kept one hand constantly -thrust into the red and yellow sash which girt his waist. - -"Confronting me boldly and vindictively, with all the glare of hate a -cold grey eye can pour, he accused me of destroying for firewood a -statue of the Virgin at Mora, and swore to having seen the act -committed. A growl of anger followed his evidence; and I found that -shooting an alcalde's brother, and carrying off twenty mules, were -mere jokes, compared to this. I was startled by his voice, which, -assuredly, I had heard before--but where? What could be the origin -of a charge so false, so strange, as sacrilege? I turned to question -him, but he was at that moment ordered to withdraw. - -"'Señor Ayudante de Campo,' said Don José, 'read from the -RECOPILACION of the military penalties the first article.' - -"'El que blasfamare el santo nombre de Dios, de la Vergén ó de los -Santos, será immediamente preso y castigado por la primero vez con -la,' &c. - -"'Read the fourth article, concerning outrage to divine images, for -the prisoner has been alike sacrilegious and blasphemous.' - -"'El que con irreverencia y deliberation cannocida de desprecio ajare -de obra las sagradas imagenes, ornamentos ó cualquierro de las casas -dedicados al Divino culto, ó las hurtare, servá ahorcado,' &c. - -"'The plot thickens,' thought I. - -"In short, they sentenced me to be hanged. - -"The Marquis, as Governor of Ciudad Heal, dared to confirm this -unjust sentence, which he directed should be put in execution in the -Plaza, at eight o'clock on the following morning. - -"Far, far from aid and my comrades; wholly at the mercy of men, whose -hearts the cunning charge of the last witness had totally closed -against me; aware of the futility of denial and defiance, and the -hopelessness of rescue or escape, I sat in a grated room of the -public carcel, or gaol, of the town, almost stupefied by the -suddenness, the shame, and opprobrium of my impending fate. 'Poets -and painters,' says a certain writer, 'have ever made the estate of a -man condemned to die one of their favourite themes of comment or -description.' By heavens! I never met one of either which came -within a thousand degrees of the agony I endured that night at Ciudad -Real. I, a gentleman, a soldier, bearing on my person three wounds, -won on that accursed Spanish soil; innocent of all they alleged; -young, with a long life and rapid promotion before me, to be cut off -thus--strangled like a garotted villain--hanged like a dog, to glut -the noonday frenzy of a Spanish rabble! Horrible! I had often faced -death without shrinking; but now, like a coward's, my whole soul -shrunk from such a death as that which these Spaniards meted out to -me. - -"The night came on: I sat in darkness, revolving a myriad futile -plans of escape. I was to die to-morrow, and that conviction seemed -palpably before me. I heard it, saw it, felt it; there was a dull -sound humming in my ears--a tingling in my heart. I recollected, -with remorse and shame, how coldly, calmly, and unmoved I had seen -the provost-marshal's guard hang six soldiers on the retreat from -Burgos. I remembered their struggles, their agonies, and wondered -how they felt. I passed a hand over my throat, compressed it a -little, and shuddered. - -"And now, in the man who had accused me of sacrilege, I suddenly -remembered Barba Roxa, the robber, and the hand I had maimed was that -which he retained in his sash. - -"'Fool! fool! that I am,' I exclaimed, bitterly; 'where were my eyes, -my ears, my faculties, that knew him not before? This is his -revenge--his Spaniard's triumph.' - -"Even my friend, the aide-de-camp, seemed to have abandoned me; and -could it be that the pretty daughter of the Marquis had not pleaded, -or said one kind word to save the poor officer who had so freely -risked his life for hers? - -"All at once my stupor left me. I sprang to the bars of the window, -and from their solid sockets, madly strove to wrench them with a -tiger's strength. I felt every corner; the vast iron lock of the -door, the door itself moveless as a wall of adamant. Vain, vain! I -was to die to-morrow, and my swollen heart almost burst with emotion, -when I thought of my friends, my family, and my regiment, all -canvassing the various causes of a death so ignominious. - -"A face appeared suddenly at the window, which was raised. - -"'Don't be alarmed, yer honour, it's only me,' said a voice. - -"'Crogan--you!' I exclaimed, in the confusion of my thoughts; 'are -you not dead--in heaven?' - -"'In heaven--the Lord forbid! I'm here, standing on my two feet, not -that I think people there stand on their heads; but don't be spakin' -in that doleful way, sir, at all, for you must prepare to lave this -place in less than no time. Do you hear the knockin' of hammers? -It's them thavin' Spaniards puttin' up the dancin' post in the -Plaza--blazes take that same!' - -"'Leave this! Crogan; but how?' - -"'By the door, to be sure. It will be opened in ten minutes; and -horses are waitin' for the three of us, I hope, at the corner of the -sthreet.' - -"'The three of us, Darby?' - -"'Ay, sir, just the three of us; for isn't there a darlin' young lady -goin', too?--but I must be afther lookin' to the girths and straps of -our cattle.' - -"He was scarcely gone when the door of the room opened, and the -daughter of the Marquis stood before me, together with a man bearing -a light; and in that man I recognised the under carcelero, or turnkey. - -"'Oh! señora,' I exclaimed, my heart bounding with gratitude and joy, -'you have not forgotten me--or abandoned me to this cruel and -unmerited death.' - -"'Hush, señor; not a word of thanks or of transport, for that would -spoil all,' she replied, with calmness and decision. 'I do, indeed, -owe you a debt of gratitude; but the mention of that to my father, -and more than all to Don José----' - -"'Ah, you shudder at that name.' - -"'Would but accelerate your fate. I have bribed the carcelero,' she -whispered, 'and he will sleep sound. His deputy is about to join the -guerillas of the great Don Julian Sanchez, and for twenty dollars -will guide you to Madrid, sent by my cousin, the ayudante; your -horses are waiting at the corner of the Plaza. No more,' she added, -shortly, when I attempted to kiss her hand, which the thick folds of -her ample veil concealed. - -"In a minute we had left the detested prison-house, and crossed the -garden which lay between it and the Plaza. Again the glorious moon -was rolling in its silver splendour over Ciudad Heal; and as I gazed -on my fair companion, the interest I felt for her returned vividly, -and became stronger, as the moment approached when I should leave her -for ever. I saw her magnificent eyes sparkling through her veil. - -"'Señora,' said I, with hesitation, as our attendant, by hurrying on -before, had left us for one instant alone--'Señora,' I continued, -urged by a kind, a grateful, and a stronger impulse than I could at -that time analyse, 'though to remain here is remaining but to die, I -leave Ciudad Real with the most sincere sorrow.' - -"'And why?' - -"'Because I may never see you again.' - -"'But I also am going to Madrid--and this night, too.' - -"I remembered the words of Crogan; I knew alia Spanish love was -capable of; my heart leaped within me. - -"'Madrid!' I reiterated. - -"'With you and your brave dragoon. Ah, señor, do not refuse to -escort me. My father is bent on marrying me to Don José----' - -"'What!--that rascally old town-major? My dear señora, I beg you not -to think of it.' - -"'Ah! I have thought a great deal of it, and wept for it too.' - -"'Then,' said I, drawing my breath more freely, end seeing a prospect -of vengeance on the pot-bellied major, 'you do not love him?' - -"'Oh no; I hate, abhor, detest him; and to avoid him, am about to -retire to Madrid, where my aunt lives. She is reverend mother at our -Lady of Attocha. You know the great convent where the little Jesus -is that works the miracles, and looks so beautiful, a love of an -infant, on the altar of the Hundred Lamps. My aunt will save me from -this detested union if you, señor, will but afford me your escort. I -am friendless,' she continued, weeping; 'for such is the terror of my -father's name that there is not a man in Ciudad Real whom I can -trust. Yet I shall confide in your goodness; indeed I am sure--I -know--I think, I may. The British officer has a high sense of -chivalry 'and honour, but Ay de mi! el Espanol no tiene nada.' - -"'Madam,' said I, touched to the heart by the compliment, and her -confiding nature, 'trust to me, and while life remains, by heaven, -and that honour, I will see you safely to Madrid.' - -"Crogan, with three saddle-horses, stood at the gate. We mounted, -the fair Estella springing on her jennet, à la cavalier, in the -fashion of Old Castile. We left Ciudad Heal by the northern gate, -and then put our horses to their mettle, as we avoided the direct -route to Madrid, and struck off into the mountains towards Carrion de -Calatrava. - -"I might spin my story beyond the limits allotted to me, but surely -it requires no conjuror to guess the sequel! The interest begun by -the miniature, so fortunately found, the charming society, -confidence, and generous spirit of the original strengthened and -confirmed. In four days we reached Madrid, in four more we were -married in the convent chapel of Attocha. - -"The Marquis sent the Major Don José expressly to Wellington, -requesting him to hang and behead me. His grace declined to accede, -but the name of Captain ----, of Les Chasseurs Britanniques, was -struck out of the army-list. My head is still safe on my shoulders, -though somewhat powdered by time. Thanks to his Grace of Richmond, I -have got my medal with eight clasps, and La Señora Estella (now known -by another name) is, though somewhat old like myself, one of the -dearest and most affectionate wives in the world, and I crave a -bumper in her honour, gentlemen." - -Such was the story of our worthy major, whose toast I need scarcely -say was drunk with enthusiasm. - -Our doctor was the next, and like every one who has a story to tell -he had listened with considerable impatience to the adventures of the -major, and the moment his toast had been duly honoured and silence -was restored, he began his tale without further preface, and was then -followed by our rough old Highland quartermaster. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -A LEGEND OF FIFE. - -I can only give you an old Scottish story of the last century, with -the incidents of which I became familiar in my student days when -attending the ancient university of St. Andrew's, where I worked my -way manfully through the classes of chemistry, anatomy, and natural -philosophy; and felt as proud of my academic gown as I have done in -later years of my red coat and epaulettes, and perhaps as happy, too, -for some of the most joyous days, and certainly the most uproarious -nights of my past life, have been spent in the auld East Neuk of -Fife--God bless it! - -And now for my legend. - -It was a cold night in the March of the year 1708. The hour of ten -had tolled from the old Gothic collegiate church; beating on his -drum, the drummer in the livery of the burgh had proceeded from the -Market-cross to the ruins of St. David's Castle, and from thence to -the chapel of St. Rufus, and having made one long roll or flourish at -the point from whence his peregrination began, he adjourned to the -"Thane of Fife" to procure a dram, while the good folks of Crail -composed themselves for the night, and the barring of doors and -windows announced that those who were within had resolved to make -themselves comfortable and secure, while those unfortunate wights -that were without were likely to remain so. - -Hollowly the German Sea was booming on the rocks of the harbour; and -from its hazy surface a cold east wind swept over the flat, bleak -coast of Crail; a star peeped at times between the flying clouds, and -even the moon looked forth once, but immediately veiled her face -again, as if one glance at the iron shore and barren scenery, -unenlivened by hedge or tree, were quite enough to prevent her from -looking again. - -The town-drummer had received his dram and withdrawn, and Master -Spiggot, the gudeman or landlord of the Thane of Fife, the principal -tavern, and only inn or hostel in the burgh, was taking a last view -of the main street, and considering the propriety of closing for the -night. It was broad, spacious, and is still overlooked by many a -tall and gable-ended mansion, whose antique and massive aspect -announces that, like other Fifeshire burghs before the Union in the -preceding year, it had seen better days. Indeed, the house then -occupied by Master Spiggot himself, and from which his sign bearing -the panoplied Thane at full gallop on a caparisoned steed, swung -creaking in the night wind, was one of those ancient edifices, and in -former days had belonged to the provost of the adjoining kirk: but -this was (as Spiggot said), "in the auld-warld times o' the -Papistrie." - -The gudeman shook his white head solemnly and sadly, as he looked -down the empty thoroughfare. - -"There was a time," he muttered, and paused. - -Silent and desolate as any in the ruins of Thebes, the street was -half covered with weeds and rank grass that grew between the stones, -and Spiggot could see them waving in the dim starlight. - -Crail is an out-of-the-way place. It is without thoroughfare and -without trade; few leave it and still fewer think of going there, for -there one feels as if on the very verge of society; for even by day, -there reigns a monastic gloom, a desertion, a melancholy, a uniform -and voiceless silence, broken only by the croak of the gleds and the -cawing of the clamorous gulls nestling on the old church tower, while -the sea booms incessantly as it rolls on the rocky beach. - -But there was a time when it was otherwise; when the hum of commerce -rose around its sculptured cross, and there was a daily bustle in the -chambers of its Town-hall, for there a portly provost and bailies -with a battalion of seventeen corpulent councillors sat solemnly -deliberating on the affairs of the burgh, and swelling with a -municipal importance that was felt throughout the whole East Neuk of -Fife; for, in those days, the bearded Russ and red-haired Dane, the -Norwayer and the Hollander, laden with merchandise, furled their -sails in that deserted harbour where now scarcely a fisherboat is -seen; for on Crail, as on all its sister towns along the coast, fell -surely and heavily that decay of trade which succeeded the Union in -1707. - -On the sad changes a year had brought about, Spiggot pondered sadly, -and was only roused from his dreamy mood by the sudden apparition of -a traveller on horseback standing before him; for so long and so soft -was the grass of the street that his approach had been unheard by the -dreamer, whose mind was wandering after the departed glories of the -East Neuk. - -"A cold night, landlord, for such I take you to be," said the -stranger, in a bold and cheerful voice, as he dismounted. - -"A cauld night and a dreary too," sighed poor Boniface, as he bowed, -and hastened to seize the stranger's bridle, and buckled it to a ring -at tha door-cheek; "but the sicht of a visitor does gude to my heart; -step in, sir. A warm posset that was simmering in the parlour for -myself is at your service, and I'll set the stall-boy to corn your -beast and stable it." - -"I thank you, gudeman; but for unharnessing it matters not, as I must -ride onward; but I will take the posset with thanks, for I am chilled -to death by my long ride along this misty coast." - -Spiggot looked intently at the traveller as he stooped, and entering -the low-arched door which was surmounted by an old monastic legend, -trod into the bar with a heavy clanking stride, for he was accoutred -with jack boots and gilded spurs. His rocquelaure was of scarlet -cloth, warmly furred, and the long curls of his Ramilies wig flowed -over it. His beaver was looped upon three sides with something of a -military air, and one long white feather that adorned it, floated -down his back, for the dew was heavy on it. He was a handsome man, -about forty years of age, well sunburned, with a keen dark eye, and -close-clipped moustache, which indicated that he had served in -foreign wars. He threw his hat and long jewelled rapier aside, and -on removing his rocquelaure, discovered a white velvet coat more -richly covered with lace than any that Spiggot had seen even in the -palmiest days of Crail. - -According to the fashion of Queen Anne's courtiers, it was without a -collar, to display the long white cravat of point d'Espagne, without -cuffs, and edged from top to bottom with broad bars of lace, clasps -and buttons of silver the whole length; being compressed at the waist -by a very ornamental belt, fastened by a large gold buckle. - -"Your honour canna think of riding on to-night," urged Boniface; "and -if a Crail-capon done just to perfection, and a stoup of the best -wine, at least, siccan wine as we get by the east seas, since that -vile incorporating Union----" - -"Vile and damnable! say I," interrupted the stranger. - -"True for ye, sir," said Spiggot, with a kindling eye; "but if these -puir viands can induce ye to partake of the hospitality of my puir -hostel, that like our gude burrowtoun is no just what it has been----" - -"Gudeman, 'tis impossible, for I must ride so soon as I have imbibed -thy posset." - -"As ye please, sir--your honour's will be done. Our guests are now, -even as the visits of angels, unco few and far between; and thus, -when one comes, we are loath to part with him. There is a deep -pitfall, and an ugly gulleyhole where the burn crosses the road at -the town-head, and if ye miss the path, the rocks by the beach are -steep, and in a night like this----" - -"Host of mine," laughed the traveller, "I know right well every rood -of the way, and by keeping to the left near the Auldlees may avoid -both the blackpit and the sea-beach." - -"Your honour kens the country hereawa, then?" said Spiggot with -surprise. - -"Of old, perhaps, I knew it as well as thee." - -The gudeman of the Thane scrutinised the traveller's face keenly, but -failed to recognise him, and until this moment, he thought that no -man in the East Neuk was unknown to him; but here his inspection was -at fault. - -"And hast thou no visitors with thee now, friend host?" he asked of -Spiggot. - -"One only, gude sir, who came here on a brown horse about nightfall. -He is an unco' foreign-looking man, but has been asking the way to -the castle o' Balcomie." - -"Ha! and thou didst tell of this plaguey pitfall, I warrant." - -"Assuredly, your honour, in kindness I did but hint of it." - -"And thereupon he stayed. Balcomie--indeed! and what manner of man -is he?" - -"By the corslet which he wears under his coat, and the jaunty cock of -his beaver, I would say he had been a soldier." - -"Good again--give him my most humble commendations, and ask him to -share thy boasted posset of wine with me." - -"What name did you say, sir?" - -"Thou inquisitive varlet, I said no name," replied the gentleman, -with a smile. "In these times men do not lightly give their names to -each other, when the land is swarming with Jacobite plotters and -government spies, disguised Jesuits, and Presbyterian tyrants. I may -be the Devil or the Pope, for all thou knowest." - -"Might ye no be the Pretender?" said Spiggot, with a sour smile. - -"Nay, I have a better travelling name than that; but say to this -gentleman that the Major of Marshal Orkney's Dragoons requests the -pleasure of sharing a stoup of wine with him." - -"Sir, it mattereth little whether you give your name or no," replied -the host bitterly; "for we are a' nameless now. Twelve months ago, -we were true Scottish men, but now----" - -"Our king is an exile--our crown is buried for ever, and our brave -soldiers are banished to far and foreign wars, while the grass is -growing green in the streets of our capital--ay, green as it is at -this hour in your burgh of Crail; but, hence to the stranger; yet say -not," added the traveller, bitterly and proudly, "that in his warmth -the Scottish cavalier has betrayed himself." - -While the speaker amused himself with examining a printed -proclamation concerning the "Tiend Commissioners and Transplantation -off Paroch Kirkis," which was pasted over the stone mantlepiece of -the bar, the landlord returned with the foreign gentleman's thanks, -and an invitation to his chamber, whither the Major immediately -repaired; following the host up a narrow stone spiral stair to a -snugly-wainscotted room, against the well-grated windows of which a -sudden shower was now beginning to patter. - -The foreigner, who was supping on a Crail-capon (in other words a -broiled haddock) and stoup of Bourdeaux wine, arose at their -entrance, and bowed with an air that was undisguisedly continental. -He was a man above six feet, with a long straight nose, over which -his dark eyebrows met and formed one unbroken line. He wore a suit -of green Genoese velvet, so richly laced that little of the cloth was -visible; a full-bottomed wig, and a small corslet of the brightest -steel (over which hung the ends of his cravat), as well as a pair of -silver-mounted cavalry pistols that lay on the table, together with -his unmistakable bearing, decided the Major of Orkney's that the -stranger was a brother of the sword. - -"Fair sir, little introduction is necessary between us, as, I -believe, we have both followed the drum in our time," said the Major, -shaking the curls of his Ramilies wig with the air of a man who has -decided on what he says. - -"I have served, Monsieur," replied the foreigner, "under Marlborough -and Eugene." - -"Ah! in French Flanders? Landlord--gudeman, harkee; a double stoup -of this wine; I have found a comrade to-night--be quick and put my -horse to stall, I will not ride hence for an hour or so. What -regiment, sir?" - -"I was first under Grouvestein in the Horse of Driesberg." - -"Then you were on the left of the second column at Ramilies--on that -glorious 12th of May," said the Major, drawing the high-backed chair -which the host handed him, and spreading out his legs before the -fire, which burned merrily in the basket grate on the hearth, "and -latterly----" - -"Under Wandenberg." - -"Ah! an old tyrannical dog." - -A dark cloud gathered on the stranger's lofty brow. - -"I belonged to the Earl of Orkney's Grey Dragoons," said the Major; -"and remember old Wandenberg making a bold charge in that brilliant -onfall when we passed the lines of Monsieur le Mareschal Villars at -Pont-a-Vendin, and pushed on to the plains of Lens." - -"That was before we invested Doway and Fort-Escharpe, where old -Albergotti so ably commanded ten thousand well-beaten soldiers." - -"And then Villars drew off from his position at sunset and encamped -on the plain before Arras." - -"Thou forgettest, comrade, that previously he took up a position in -rear of Escharpe." - -"True; but now I am right into the very melée of those old affairs, -and the mind carries one on like a rocket. Your health, sir--by the -way, I am still ignorant of your name." - -"I have such very particular reasons for concealing it in this -neighbourhood, that----" - -"Do not think me inquisitive; in these times men should not pry too -closely." - -"Monsieur will pardon me, I hope." - -"No apology is necessary, save from myself, for now my curiosity is -thoroughly and most impertinently whetted, to find a Frenchman in -this part of the world, here in this out-o'-the-way place, where no -one comes to, and no one goes from, on a bleak promontory of the -German Sea, the East Neuk of Fife." - -"Monsieur will again excuse me; but I have most particular business -with a gentleman in this neighbourhood; and having travelled all the -way from Paris, expressly to have it settled, I beg that I may be -excused the pain of prevarication. The circumstance of my having -served under the great Duke of Marlborough against my own king and -countrymen is sufficiently explained when I acquaint you, that I was -then a French Protestant refugee; but now, without changing my -religion, I have King Louis' gracious pardon and kind protection -extended to me." - -"And so you were with Wandenberg when his troopers made that daring -onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, and drove back the horse picquets of -Villars," said the Major, to lead the conversation from a point which -evidently seemed unpleasant to the stranger. "'T was sharp, short, -and decisive, as all cavalry affairs should be. You will of course -remember that unpleasant affair of Wandenberg's troopers who were -accused of permitting a French prisoner to escape. It caused a great -excitement in the British camp, where some condemned the dragoons, -others Van Wandenberg, and not a few our great Marlborough himself." - -"I did hear something of it," said the stranger in a low voice. - -"The prisoner whose escape was permitted was, I believe, the father -of the youths who captured him, a circumstance which might at least -have won them mercy----" - -"From the Baron!" - -"I forgot me; he was indeed merciless." - -"But as I left his dragoons, and indeed the army about that time, I -shall be glad to hear your account of the affair." - -"It is a very unpleasant story; the more so as I was somewhat -concerned in it myself," said the Major, slowly filling his -long-stemmed glass, and watching the white worm in its stalk, so -intently as he recalled all the circumstances he was about to relate, -that he did not observe the face of the French gentleman, which was -pale as death; and after a short pause, he began as follows:-- - -"In the onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, it happened that two young Frenchmen -who served as gentlemen volunteers with you in the dragoon regiment -of Van Wandenberg, had permitted--how, or why, I pretend not to -say--the escape of a certain prisoner of distinction. Some said he -was no other than M. le Mareschal Villars himself. They claimed a -court-martial, but the old baron, who was a savage-hearted Dutchman, -insisted that they should be given up unconditionally to his own -mercy, and in an evil moment of heedlessness or haste, Marlborough -consented, and sent me (I was his aide-de-camp) with a written order -to that effect, addressed to Colonel the Baron Van Wandenberg, whose -regiment of horse I met 'en route' for St. Venant, about nightfall on -a cold and snowy evening in the month of November. - -"Snow covered the whole country, which was all a dead level, and a -cold, leaden-coloured sky met the white horizon in one unbroken line, -save where the leafless poplars of some far-off village stood up, the -landmarks of the plain. In broad flakes the snow fell fast, and -directing their march by a distant spire, the Dutch troopers rode -slowly over the deepening fields. They were all muffled in dark blue -cloaks, on the capes of which the snow was freezing, while the breath -of the men and horses curled like steam in the thickening and -darkening air. - -"Muffled to the nose in a well-furred rocquelaure, with my wig tied -to keep the snow from its curls, and my hat flapped over my face, I -rode as fast as the deep snow would permit, and passing the rear of -the column where, moody and disarmed, the two poor French volunteers -were riding under care of an escort I spurred to the baron who rode -in front near the kettle drums, and delivered my order; as I did so, -recalling with sadness the anxious and wistful glance given me by the -prisoners as I passed them. - -"Wandenberg, who had no more shape than a huge hogshead, received the -dispatch with a growl of satisfaction. He would have bowed, but his -neck was too short. I cannot but laugh when I remember his strange -aspect. In form he looked nearly as broad as he was long, being -nearly eight feet in girth, and completely enveloped in a rough blue -rocquelaure, which imparted to his figure the roundness of a ball. -His face, reddened by skiedam and the frost, was glowing like -crimson, while the broad beaver hat that overshadowed it, and the -feathers with which the beaver was edged, were encrusted with the -snow that was rapidly forming a pyramid on its crown, imparting to -his whole aspect a drollery at which I could have laughed heartily, -had not his well-known acuteness and ferocity awed me into a becoming -gravity of demeanour; and delivering my dispatch with a tolerably -good grace, I reined back my horse to await any reply he might be -pleased to send the Duke. - -"His dull Dutch eyes glared with sudden anger and triumph, as he -folded the document, and surveyed the manacled prisoners. Thereafter -he seized his speaking trumpet, and thundered out,-- - -"'Ruyters--halt! form open column of troops, trot!' - -"It was done as rapidly as heavily-armed Dutchmen on fat slow horses -knee deep among snow could perform it, and then wheeling them into -line, he gave the orders-- - -"'Forward the flanks, form circle, sling musquetoons! trumpeters ride -to the centre and dismount.' - -"By these unexpected manoeuvres, I suddenly found myself inclosed in -a hollow circle of the Dutch horsemen, and thus, as it were, -compelled to become a spectator of the scene that ensued, though I -had his Grace of Marlborough's urgent orders to rejoin him without -delay on the road to Aire." - -"And--and you saw----" - -"Such a specimen of discipline as neither the devil nor De Martinet -ever dreamed of; but thoroughly Dutch, I warrant you. - -"I have said it was intensely cold, and that the night was closing; -but the whiteness of the snow that covered the vast plain, with the -broad red circle of the half-obscured moon that glimmered through the -fast-falling flakes, as it rose behind a distant spire, cast a dim -light upon the place where the Dutchmen halted. But deeming that -insufficient, Van Wandenberg ordered half-a-dozen torches to be -lighted, for his troopers always had such things with them, being -useful by night for various purposes; and hissing and sputtering in -the falling snow flakes, their lurid and fitful glare was thrown on -the close array of the Dutch dragoons, on their great cumbrous hats, -on the steeple crowns of which, I have said, the snow was gathering -in cones, and the pale features of the two prisoners, altogether -imparting a wild, unearthly, and terrible effect to the scene about -to be enacted on that wide and desolate moor. - -"By order of Van Wandenberg, three halberts were fixed into the -frozen earth, with their points bound together by a thong, after -which the dismounted trumpeters layed hands on one of the young -Frenchmen, whom they proceeded to strip of his coat and vest. - -"Disarmed and surrounded, aware of the utter futility of resistance, -the unfortunate volunteer offered none, but gazed wistfully and -imploringly at me, and sure I am, that in my lowering brow and -kindling eyes, he must have seen the storm that was gathering in my -heart. - -"'Dieu vous bénisse, Officier,' cried the Frenchman in a mournful -voice, while shuddering with cold and horror as he was stripped to -his shirt; 'save me from this foul disgrace, and my prayers--yea, my -life--shall be for ever at your disposal.' - -"'Good comrade,' said I, 'entreat me not, for here I am powerless.' - -"'Baron,' he exclaimed; 'I am a gentleman--a gentleman of old France, -and I dare thee to lay thy damnable scourge upon me.' - -"'Ach Gott; dare--do you say dare? ve vill zee,' laughed Van -Wandenberg, as the prisoner was dragged forward and about to be -forcibly trussed to the halberts by the trumpeters, when, animated to -the very verge of insanity, he suddenly freed himself, and rushing -like a madman upon the Baron, struck him from his horse by one blow -of his clenched hand. The horse snorted, the Dutch troopers opened -their saucer eyes wider still, as the great and corpulent mass fell -heavily among the deepening snow, and in an instant the foot of the -Frenchman was pressed upon his throat, while he exclaimed-- - -"'If I slay thee, thou hireling dog, as I have often slain thy -clodpated countryman in other days,' and the Frenchman laughed -fiercely, 'by St. Denis! I shall have one foeman less on this side -of Hell.' - -"'Gott in Himmel! ach! mein tuyvel! mein Gott!' gasped the Dutchman, -as he floundered beneath the heel of the vengeful and infuriated -Frenchman, who was determined on destroying him, till a blow from the -baton of an officer stretched him almost senseless among the snow, -where he was immediately grasped by the trumpeters, disrobed of his -last remaining garment, and bound strongly to the halberts. - -"Meanwhile the other prisoner had been pinioned and resolutely held -by his escort, otherwise he would undoubtedly have fallen also upon -Van Wandenberg, who, choking with a tempest of passion that was too -great to find utterance in words, had gathered up his rotund figure, -and with an agility wonderful in a man of his years and vast obesity, -so heavily armed, in a buff coat and jack boots ribbed with iron, a -heavy sword and cloak, clambered on the back of his horse, as a clown -would climb up a wall: and with a visage alternating between purple -and blue, by the effects of rage and strangulation, he surveyed the -prisoner for a moment in silence, and there gleamed in his piggish -grey eyes an expression of fury and pain, bitterness and triumph -combined, and he was only able to articulate one word-- - -"'Flog!' - -"On the handsome young Frenchman's dark curly hair, glistening with -the whitening snow that fell upon it, and on his tender skin -reddening in the frosty atmosphere, on the swelling muscles of his -athletic form, on a half healed sabre-wound, and on the lineaments of -a face that then expressed the extremity of mental agony, fell full -the wavering light of the uplifted torches. The Dutch, accustomed to -every species of extra-judicial cruelty by sea and land, looked on -with the most grave stolidity and apathetic indifference; while I -felt an astonishment and indignation that rapidly gave place to -undisguised horror. - -"'Flog!' - -"The other prisoner uttered a groan that seemed to come from his very -heart, and then covered his ears and eyes with his hands. Wielded by -a muscular trumpeter, an immense scourge of many-knotted cords was -brought down with one fell sweep on the white back of the victim, and -nine livid bars, each red, as if seared by a hot iron, rose under the -infliction, and again the terrible instrument was reared by the -trumpeter at the full stretch of his sinewy arm. - -"Monsieur will be aware, that until the late Revolution of 1688, this -kind of punishment was unknown here and elsewhere, save in Holland; -and though I have seen soldiers run the gauntlet, ride the mare, and -beaten by the martinets, I shall never oh, no! never forget the -sensation of horror with which this (to me) new punishment of the -poor Frenchman inspired me; and, sure I am, that our great Duke of -Marlborough could in no way have anticipated it. - -"Accustomed, as I have said, to every kind of cruel severity, unmoved -and stoically the Dutch looked on, with their grey, lacklustre eyes, -dull, unmeaning, and passionless in their stolidity, contrasting -strongly with the expression of startled horror depicted in the -strained eyeballs and bent brows of the victim's brother, when after -a time he dared to look on this revolting punishment. Save an -ill-repressed sob, or half-muttered interjection from the suffering -man, no other sound broke the stillness of the place, where a -thousand horsemen stood in close order, but the sputtering of the -torches in the red light of which our breaths were ascending like -steam. Yes! there was one other sound, and it was a horrible -one--the monotonous whiz of the scourge, as it cut the keen frosty -air and descended on the lacerated back of the fainting prisoner. -Sir, I see that my story disturbs you. - -"A corpulent Provost Mareschal, with a pair of enormous moustaches, -amid which the mouth of his meerschaum was inserted, stood by, -smoking with admirable coolness, and marking the time with his cane, -while a drummer tapped on his kettledrum, and four trumpeters had, -each in succession, given their twenty-five lashes and withdrawn; -twice had the knotted scourge been coagulated with blood, and twice -had it been washed in the snow which now rose high around the feet of -our champing and impatient horses; and now the fifth torturer -approached, but still the compressed lips and clammy tongue of the -proud Frenchman refused to implore mercy. His head was bowed down on -his breast, his body hung pendant from the cords that encircled his -swollen and livid wrists; his back from neck to waist was one mass of -lacerated flesh, on which the feathery snowflakes were melting; for -the agony he endured must have been like unto a stream of molten lead -pouring over him; but no groan, no entreaty escaped him, and still -the barbarous punishment proceeded. - -"I have remarked that there is no event too horrible or too sad to be -without a little of the ridiculous in it, and this was discernible -here. - -"One trumpeter, who appeared to have more humanity, or perhaps less -skill than his predecessors, and did not exert himself sufficiently, -was soundly beaten by the rattan of the trumpet-major, while the -latter was castigated by the Provost Mareschal, who, in turn for -remissness of duty, received sundry blows from the speaking-trumpet -of the Baron; so they were all laying soundly on each other for a -time." - -"Morbleu!" said the Frenchman, with a grim smile, "'t was quite in -the Dutch taste, that." - -"The Provost Mareschal continued to mark the time with the listless -apathy of an automaton; the smoke curled from his meerschaum, the -drum continued to tap-tap-tap, until it seemed to sound like thunder -to my strained ears, for every sense was painfully excited. All -count had long been lost, but when several hundred lashes had been -given, Van Wandenberg and half his Dutchmen were asleep in their -saddles. - -"It was now snowing thick and fast, but still this hideous dream -continued, and still the scourging went on. - -"At last the altered sound of the lash and the terrible aspect of the -victim, who, after giving one or two convulsive shudders, threw back -his head with glazed eyes and jaw relaxed, caused the trumpeter to -recede a pace or two, and throw down his gory scourge, for some -lingering sentiment of humanity, which even the Dutch discipline of -King William had not extinguished, made him respect when dead the man -whom he had dishonoured when alive. - -"The young Frenchman was dead! - -"An exclamation of disgust and indignation that escaped me woke up -the Baron, who after drinking deeply from a great pewter flask of -skiedam that hung at his saddlebow, muttered "schelms" several times, -rubbed his eyes, and then bellowed through his trumpet to bind up the -other prisoner. Human endurance could stand this no more, and though -I deemed the offer vain, I proposed to give a hundred English guineas -as ransom. - -"'Ach Gott!' said the greedy Hollander immediately becoming -interested; "but vere you get zo mosh guilder?' - -"'Oh, readily, Mynheer Baron,' I replied, drawing forth my -pocket-book, 'I have here bills on his Grace the Duke of -Maryborough's paymaster and on the Bank of Amsterdam for much more -than that.' - -"'Bot I cannot led off de brisoner for zo little--hunder ponds--dat -ver small--zay two.' - -"If one is not enough, Mynheer Baron, I will refer to the decision of -his grace the captain-general.' - -"'Ach, der tuyvel! vill you?' said the Dutchman, with a savage gleam -in his little eyes which showed that he quite understood my hint, -'vell, me vont quarrel vid you; gib me de bills and de schelm is -yours.' - -"Resolving, nevertheless, to lay the whole affair before Marlborough, -the moment I reached our trenches at Aire, I gave a bill for the -required sum, and approaching the other Frenchman requested him to -remain beside me; but he seemed too much confused by grief, and cold, -and horror to comprehend what I said. Poor fellow! his whole soul -and sympathies seemed absorbed in the mangled corpse of his brother, -which was now unbound from the halberts and lay half sunk among the -new-fallen snow. While he stooped over it, and hastily, but -tenderly, proceeded to draw the half-frozen clothing upon the -stiffened form, the orders of Van Wandenberg were heard hoarsely -through his speaking-trumpet, as they rang over the desolate plain, -and his troopers wheeled back from a circle into line--from line into -open column of troops, and thereafter the torches were extinguished -and the march begun. Slowly and solemnly the dragoons glided away -into the darkness, each with a pyramid of snow rising from the -steeple crown and ample brims of his broad beaver hat. - -"It was now almost midnight; the red moon had waned, the snow-storm -was increasing, and there were I and the young Frenchman, with his -brother's corpse, left together on the wide plain, without a place to -shelter us." - -"Proceed, Monsieur," said the Frenchman, as the narrator paused; "for -I am well aware that your story ends not there." - -"It does not--you seem interested; but I have little more to relate, -save that I dismounted and assisted the poor Frenchman to raise the -body from the snow, and to tie it across the saddle of my horse, -taking the bridle in one hand, I supported him with the other, and -thus we proceeded to the nearest town." - -"To Amientieres on the Lys," exclaimed the Frenchman, seizing the -hands of the Major as the latter paused again; "to Armentieres, ten -miles west of Lisle, and there you left them, after adding to your -generosity by bestowing sufficient to inter his brother in the -Protestant church of that town, and to convey himself to his native -France. Oh! Monsieur, I am that Frenchman, and here, from my heart, -from my soul, I thank you," and half kneeling, the stranger kissed -the hand of the Major. - -"You!" exclaimed the latter; "by Jove I am right glad to see you. -Here at Crail, too, in the East Neuk o' Fife--'t is a strange chance; -and what in heaven's name seek ye here? 'T is a perilous time for a -foreigner--still more, a Frenchman, to tread on Scottish ground. The -war, the intrigues with St. Germains, the Popish plots, and the devil -only knows what more, make travelling here more than a little -dangerous." - -"Monsieur, I know all that; the days are changed since the Scot was -at home in France, and the Frenchman at home in Scotland, for so the -old laws of Stuart and Bourbon made them. A few words will tell who -I am, and what I seek here. Excuse my reluctance to reveal myself -before, for now you have a claim upon me. Oh! believe me, I knew not -that I addressed the generous chevalier who, in that hour of despair, -redeemed my life (and more than my life), my honour, from the -scourge, and enabled me to lay the head of my poor brother with -reverence in the grave. You have heard of M. Henri Lemercier?" - -"What! the great swordsman and fencer--that noble master of the -science of defence, with the fame of whose skill and valour all -Europe is ringing?" - -"I am he of whom Monsieur is pleased to speak so highly." - -"Your hand again, sir; zounds; but I dearly love this gallant science -myself, and have even won me a little name as a handler of the -rapier. There is but one man whom Europe calls your equal, Monsieur -Lemercier." - -"My superior, you mean, for I have many equals," replied the -Frenchman, modestly. "You, doubtless, mean----" - -"Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun." - -"Ah! Mon Dieu, yes, he has indeed a great name in Europe as a fencer -and master of arms, either with double or single falchion, case of -falchions, back-sword and dagger, pistol or quarter staff; and it is -the fame of his skill and prowess in these weapons, and the -reputation he has earned by his books on fencing, that hath brought -me to-day to this remote part of Scotland." - -"Zounds!" said the Major, shaking back the long powdered curls of his -Ramilies wig, and looking remarkably grave; "you cannot mean to have -a bout with Sir William. He hath a sure hand and a steady eye; I -would rather stand a platoon than be once covered by his pistol." - -"Monsieur, I have no enmity to this Sir William Hope, nor am I -envious of his great name as a fencer. Ma foi! the world is quite -wide enough for us both; but here lies my secret. I love -Mademoiselle Athalie, the niece of Madame de Livry----" - -"How--the old flame of the great Louis!" - -"Oui," said Lemercier, smiling; "and many say that Athalie bears a -somewhat suspicious resemblance to her aunt's royal lover; but that -is no business of mine; she loves me very dearly, and is very good -and amiable. Diable! I am well content to take her and her thirty -thousand louis-d'or without making any troublesome inquiries. It -would seem that my dear little Athalie is immensely vain of my -reputation as a master of fence, and having heard that this Scottish -Chevalier is esteemed the first man of the sword in Britain, and -further, that report asserts he slew her brother in the line of -battle at Blenheim, fighting bravely for a standard, she declared -that ere her hand was mine, I must measure swords with this Sir -William, and dip this, her handkerchief, in his blood in token of his -defeat, and of my conquest." - -"A very pretty idea of Mademoiselle Athalie, and I doubt not Hopetoun -will be overwhelmed by the obligation when he hears of it," said the -Major of Orkney's, whose face brightened with a broad laugh, "and so -much would I love to see two such brisk fellows as thou and he yoked -together, at cut-and-thrust, that if permitted, I will rejoice in -bearing the message of M. Lemercier to Sir William, whose Castle of -Balcomie is close by here." - -"Having no friend with me, I accept your offer with a thousand -thanks," said Lemercier. - -"Sir William did indeed slay an officer, as you have said, in that -charge at Blenheim, where the regiment of the Marquis de Livry were -cut to pieces by Orkney's Scots' Greys; but to be so good and -amiable, and to love you so much withal, Mademoiselle Athalie must be -a brisk dame to urge her favoured Chevalier on a venture so -desperate; for mark me, Monsieur Lemercier," said the Major, -impressively, "none can know better than I the skill--the long and -carefully-studied skill--of Sir William of Hopetoun, and permit me to -warn you----" - -"It matters not--I must fight him; love, honour, and rivalry, too, if -you will have it so, all spur me on, and no time must be lost." - -"Enough; I should have been in my stirrups an hour ago; and dark -though the night be, I will ride to Balcomie with your message." - -"A million of thanks--you will choose time and place for me." - -"Say, to-morrow, at sunrise; be thou at the Standing-stone of -Sauchope; 't is a tall, rough block, in the fields near the Castle of -Balcomie, and doubt not but Sir William will meet thee there." - -"Thanks, thanks," again said the Frenchman, pressing the hand of the -Major, who, apparently delighted at the prospect of witnessing such -an encounter between the two most renowned swordsmen in Europe, drank -off his stoup of wine, muffled himself in his rocquelaure, and with -his little cocked hat stuck jauntily on one side of the Ramilies wig, -left the apartment, and demanded his horse and the reckoning. - -"Then your honour will be fulehardy, and tempt Providence," said the -landlord. - -"Nay, gudeman, but you cannot tempt me to stay just now. I ride only -through the town to Balcomie, and will return anon. The Hopetoun -family are there, I believe?" - -"Yes; but saving my lady at the preachings, we see little o' them; -for Sir William has bidden at Edinburgh, or elsewhere, since his -English gold coft the auld tower from the Balcomies of that Ilk, the -year before the weary Union, devil mend it!" - -"Amen, say I; and what callest thou English gold?" - -"The doolfu' compensation, o' whilk men say he had his share." - -"Man, thou liest, and they who say so lie! for to the last moment his -voice was raised against that traitorous measure of Queensbury and -Stair, and now every energy of his soul is bent to its undoing!" -replied the Major, fiercely, as he put spurs to his horse, and rode -rapidly down the dark and then grassy street, at the end of which the -clank of his horse's hoofs died away, as he diverged upon the open -ground that lay northward of the town, and by which he had to -approach the tower of Balcomie. - -The Frenchman remained long buried in thought, and as he sipped his -wine, gazed dreamily on the changing embers that glowed on the -hearth, and cast a warm light on the blue delft lining of the -fireplace. The reminiscences of the war in Flanders had called up -many a sad and many a bitter recollection. - -"I would rather," thought he, "that the man I am to encounter -to-morrow was not a Scot, for the kindness of to-night, and of that -terrible night in the snow-clad plain of Arras, inspire me with a -warm love for all the people of this land. But my promise must be -redeemed, my adventure achieved, or thou, my dear, my rash Athalie, -art lost to me!" and he paused to gaze with earnestness upon a jewel -that glittered on his hand. It was a hair ring, bound with gold, and -a little shield bearing initials, clasped the small brown tress that -was so ingeniously woven round it. - -As he gazed on the trinket, his full dark eyes brightened for a -moment, as the mild memories of love and fondness rose in his heart, -and a bright smile played upon his haughty lip and lofty brow. Other -thoughts arose, and the eyebrows that almost met over the straight -Grecian nose of Lemercier, were knit as he recalled the ominous words -of his recent acquaintance-- - -"Mademoiselle Athalie must be a brisk dame to urge her favoured -Chevalier on a venture so desperate." - -One bitter pang shot through his heart, but he thrust the thought -aside, and pressed the ring to his lips. - -"Oh, Athalie," he said, in a low voice, "I were worse than a villain -to suspect thee." - -At that moment midnight tolled from the dull old bell of Crail, and -the strangeness of the sound brought keenly home to the lonely heart -of Lemercier that he was in a foreign land. - -The hour passed, but the Major did not return. - -Morning came. - -With gray dawn Lemercier was awake, and a few minutes found him -dressed and ready. He attired himself with particular care, putting -on a coat and vest, the embroidery of which presented as few -conspicuous marks as possible to an antagonist's eye. He clasped his -coat from the cravat to the waist, and compressed his embroidered -belt. He adjusted his white silk roll-up stockings with great -exactness; tied up the flowing curls of his wig with a white ribbon, -placed a scarlet feather in his hat, and then took his sword. The -edge and point of the blade, the shell and pommel, grasp and guard of -the hilt were all examined with scrupulous care for the last time; he -drew on his gloves with care, and giving to the landlord the -reckoning, which he might never return to pay, Lemercier called for -his horse and rode through the main street of Crail. - -Following the directions he had received from his host, he hastily -quitted the deserted and grass-grown street of the burgh (the very -aspect of which he feared would chill him), and proceeded towards the -ancient obelisk, still known as the "Standing Stone of Sauchope," -which had been named as the place of rendezvous by that messenger who -had not returned, and against whom M. Lemercier felt his anger a -little excited. - -It was a cool March morning, the sky was clear and blue, and the few -silver clouds that floated through it became edged with gold as the -sun rose from his bed in the eastern sea--that burnished sea from -which the cool fresh breeze swept over the level coast. The fields -were assuming a vernal greenness, the buds were swelling on hedge and -tree, and the vegetation of the summer that was to come--the summer -that Lemercier might never see--was springing from amid the brown -remains of the autumn that had gone, an autumn that he had passed -with Athalie amid the gaieties and gardens of Paris and Versailles. - -At the distance of a mile he saw the strong square tower of Balcomie, -the residence of his antagonist. One side was involved in shadow, -the other shone redly in the rising sun, and the morning smoke from -its broad chimneys curled in dusky columns into the blue sky. The -caw of the rooks that followed the plough, whose shining share turned -up the aromatic soil, the merry whistle of the bonneted plough-boys, -the voices of the blackbird and the mavis, made him sad, and pleased -was Lemercier to leave behind him all such sounds of life, and reach -the wild and solitary place where the obelisk stood--a grim and -time-worn relic of the Druid ages or the Danish wars. A rough -mis-shapen remnant of antiquity, it still remains to mark the scene -of this hostile meeting, which yet forms one of the most famous -traditions of the East Neuk. - -As Lemercier rode up, he perceived a gentleman standing near the -stone. His back was towards him, and he was apparently intent on -caressing his charger, whose reins he had thrown negligently over his -arm. - -Lemercier thought he recognised the hat, edged with white feathers, -the full-bottomed wig, and the peculiar lacing of the white velvet -coat, and on the stranger turning he immediately knew his friend of -the preceding night. - -"Bon jour, my dear sir," said Lemercier - -"A good morning." replied the other, and they politely raised their -little cocked hats. - -"I had some misgivings when monsieur did not return to me," said the -Frenchman. "Sir William has accepted my challenge?" - -"Yes, monsieur, and is now before you," replied the other, springing -on horseback. "I am Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun, and am here at -your service." - -"You!" exclaimed the Frenchman, in tones of blended astonishment and -grief. "Ah! unsay what you have said. I cannot point my sword -against the breast of my best benefactor--against him to whom I owe -both honour and life. Can I forget that night on the plains of -Arras? Ah, my God! what a mistake: what a misfortune. Ah, Athalie! -to what have you so unthinkingly urged me?" - -"Think of her only, and forget all of me, save that I am your -antagonist, your enemy, as I stand between thee and her. Come on, M. -Lemercier, do not forget your promise to mademoiselle; we will -sheathe our swords on the first blood drawn." - -"So be it then, if the first is thine," and unsheathing their long -and keen-edged rapiers, they put spurs to their horses, and closing -up hand to hand, engaged with admirable skill and address. - -The skill of one swordsman seemed equalled only by that of the other. - -Lemercier was the first fencer at the Court of France, where fencing -was an accomplishment known to all, and there was no man in Britain -equal to Sir William Hope, whose "Complete Fencing Master" was long -famous among the lovers of the noble science of defence. - -They rode round each other in circles. Warily and sternly they began -to watch each other's eyes, till they flashed in unison with their -blades; their hearts beat quicker as their passions became excited -and their rivalry roused; and their nerves became strung as the hope -of conquest was whetted. The wish of merely being wounded ended in a -desire to wound; and the desire to wound in a clamorous anxiety to -vanquish and destroy. Save the incessant clash of the notched -rapiers, as each deadly thrust was adroitly parried and furiously -repeated, the straining of stirrup-leathers, as each fencer swayed to -and fro in his saddle, their suppressed breathing, and the champing -of iron bits, Lemercier and his foe saw nothing but the gleam, and -heard nothing but the clash of each other's glittering swords. - -The sun came up in his glory from the shining ocean; the mavis soared -above them in the blue sky; the early flowers of spring were -unfolding their dewy cups to the growing warmth, but still man fought -with man, and the hatred in their hearts waxed fierce and strong. - -In many places their richly-laced coats were cut and torn. One lost -his hat, and had received a severe scar on the forehead, and the -other had one on his bridle hand. They often paused breathlessly, -and in weariness lowered the points of their weapons to glare upon -each other with a ferocity that could have no end but death--until at -the sixth encounter, when Lemercier became exhausted, and failing to -parry with sufficient force a fierce and furious thrust, was run -through the breast so near the heart, that he fell from his horse -gasping and weltering in blood. - -Sir William Hope flung away his rapier and sprang to his assistance, -but the unfortunate Frenchman could only draw from his finger the -ring of Athalie, and with her name on his lips expired--being -actually choked in his own blood. - -Such was the account of this combat given by the horrified Master -Spiggot, who, suspecting "that there was something wrong," had -followed his guest to the scene of the encounter, the memory of which -is still preserved in the noble house of Hopetoun, and the legends of -the burghers of Crail. - -So died Lemercier. - -Of what Sir William said or thought on the occasion, we have no -record. In the good old times he would have eased his conscience by -the endowment of an altar, or foundation of a yearly mass; but in the -year 1708 such things had long been a dead letter in the East Neuk; -and so in lieu thereof, he interred him honourably in the aisle of -the ancient kirk, where a marble tablet long marked the place of his -repose. - -Sir William did more; he carefully transmitted the ring of Lemercier -to the bereaved Athalie, but before its arrival in Paris she had -dried her tears for the poor chevalier, and wedded one of his -numerous rivals. Thus, she forgot him sooner than his conqueror, who -reached a good old age, and died at his castle of Balcomie, with his -last breath regretting the combat of that morning at the Standing -Stone of Sauchope. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT--THE QUARTERMASTER'S STORY. - -Though the continued march of intellect and education have nearly -obliterated from the mind of the Scots a belief in the marvellous, -still a love of the supernatural lingers among the more mountainous -districts of the northern kingdom; for "the Schoolmaster" finds it no -easy task, even when aided by all the light of science, to uproot the -prejudices of more than two thousand years. - -I was born in Strathnairn, about the year 1802, and, on the death of -my mother, was given, when an infant, to the wife of a cotter to -nurse. With these good people I remained for some years, and thus -became cognizant of the facts I am about to relate. - -There was a little romance connected with my old nurse Meinie and her -gudeman. - -In their younger days they had been lovers--lovers as a boy and -girl--but were separated by poverty, and then Ewen Mac Ewen enlisted -as a soldier, in the 26th or Cameronian Regiment, with which he saw -some sharp service in the West Indies and America. The light-hearted -young highlander became, in time, a grave, stern, and morose soldier, -with the most rigid ideas of religious deportment and propriety: for -this distinguished Scottish regiment was of Puritan origin, being one -of those raised among the Westland Covenanters, after the deposition -of king James VII. by the Estates of Scotland. England surrendered -to William of Orange without striking a blow; but the defence of -Dunkeld, and the victorious battle of Killycrankie, ended the -northern campaign, in which the noble Dundee was slain, and the army -of the cavaliers dispersed. The Cameronian Regiment introduced their -sectarian forms, their rigorous discipline, and plain mode of public -worship into their own ranks, and so strict was their code of morals, -that even the Non-jurors and Jacobins admitted the excellence and -stern propriety of their bearing. They left the Scottish Service for -the British, at the Union, in 1707, but still wear on their -appointments the five-pointed star, which was the armorial bearing of -the colonel who embodied them; and, moreover, retain the privilege of -supplying their own regimental Bibles. - -After many years of hard fighting in the old 26th, and after carrying -a halbert in the kilted regiment of the Isles, Ewen Mac Ewen returned -home to his native place, the great plain of Moray, a graver, and, in -bearing, a sadder man than when he left it. - -His first inquiry was for Meinie. - -She had married a rival of his, twenty years ago. - -"God's will be done," sighed Ewen, as he lifted his bonnet, and -looked upwards. - -He built himself a little cottage, in the old highland fashion, in -his native strath, at a sunny spot, where the Uisc Nairn--the Water -of Alders--flowed in front, and a wooded hill arose behind. He hung -his knapsack above the fireplace; deposited his old and sorely -thumbed regimental Bible (with the Cameronian star on its boards,) -and the tin case containing his colonel's letter recommending him to -the minister, and the discharge, which gave sixpence per diem as the -reward of sixteen battles--all on the shelf of the little window, -which contained three panes of glass, with a yoke in the centre of -each, and there he settled himself down in peace, to plant his own -kail, knit his own hose, and to make his own kilts, a grave and -thoughtful but contented old fellow, awaiting the time, as he said, -"when the Lord would call him away." - -Now it chanced that a poor widow, with several children, built -herself a little thatched house on the opposite side of the drove -road--an old Fingalian path--which ascended the pastoral glen; and -the ready-handed veteran lent his aid to thatch it, and to sling her -kail-pot on the cruicks, and was wont thereafter to drop in of an -evening to smoke his pipe, to tell old stories of the storming of -Ticonderago, and to ask her little ones the catechism and biblical -questions. Within a week or so, he discovered that the widow was -Meinie--the ripe, blooming Meinie of other years--an old, a faded, -and a sad-eyed woman now; and poor Ewen's lonely heart swelled within -him, as he thought of all that had passed since last they met, and as -he spake of what they were, and what they might have been, had fate -been kind, or fortune roved more true. - -We have heard much about the hidden and mysterious principle of -affinity, and more about the sympathy and sacredness that belong to a -first and early love; well, the heart of the tough old Cameronian -felt these gentle impulses, and Meinie was no stranger to them. They -were married, and for fifteen years, there was no happier couple on -the banks of the Nairn. Strange to say, they died on the same day, -and were interred in the ancient burying-ground of Dalcross, where -now they lie, near the ruined walls of the old vicarage kirk of the -Catholic times. God rest them in their humble highland graves! My -father, who was the minister of Croy, acted as chief mourner, and -gave the customary funeral prayer. But I am somewhat anticipating, -and losing the thread of my own story in telling theirs. - -In process of time the influx of French and English tourists who came -to visit the country of the clans, and to view the plain of Culloden, -after the publication of "Waverley" gave to all Britain, that which -we name in Scotland "the tartan fever," and caused the old path which -passed the cot of Ewen to become a turnpike road; a tollbar--that -most obnoxious of all impositions to a Celt--was placed across the -mouth of the little glen, barring the way directly to the -battle-field; and of this gate the old pensioner Ewen naturally -became keeper; and during the summer season, when, perhaps, a hundred -carriages per day rolled through, it became a source of revenue alike -to him, and to the Lord of Cawdor and the Laird of Kilravock, the -road trustees. And the chief pleasure of Ewen's existence was to sit -on a thatched seat by the gate, for then he felt conscious of being -in office--on duty--a species of sentinel; and it smacked of the old -time when the Generale was beaten in the morning, and the drums -rolled tattoo at night; when he had belts to pipeclay, and boots to -blackball; when there were wigs to frizzle and queues to tie, and to -be all trim and in order to meet Monseigneur le Marquis de Montcalm, -or General Washington "right early in the morning;" and there by the -new barrier of the glen Ewen sat the live-long day, with spectacles -on nose, and the Cameronian Bible on his knee, as he spelled his way -through Deuteronomy and the tribes of Judah. - -Slates in due time replaced the green thatch of his little cottage; -then a diminutive additional story, with two small dormer windows, -was added thereto, and the thrifty Meinie placed a paper in her -window informing shepherds, the chance wayfarers, and the wandering -deer-stalkers that she had a room to let; but summer passed away, the -sportsman forsook the brown scorched mountains, the gay tourist -ceased to come north, and the advertisement turned from white to -yellow, and from yellow to flyblown green in her window; the winter -snows descended on the hills, the pines stood in long and solemn -ranks by the white frozen Nairn, but "the room upstairs" still -remained without a tenant. - -Anon the snow passed away, the river again flowed free, the flowers -began to bloom; the young grass to sprout by the hedgerows, and the -mavis to sing on the fauld-dykes, for spring was come again, and -joyous summer soon would follow; and one night--it was the 26th of -April--Ewen was exhibiting his penmanship in large text-hand by -preparing the new announcement of "a room to let," when he paused, -and looked up as a peal of thunder rumbled across the sky; a red -gleam of lightning flashed in the darkness without, and then they -heard the roar of the deep broad Nairn, as its waters, usually so -sombre and so slow, swept down from the wilds of Badenoch, flooded -with the melting snows of the past winter. - -A dreadful storm of thunder, rain, and wind came on, and the little -cottage rocked on its foundations; frequently the turf-fire upon the -hearth was almost blown about the clay-floor, by the downward gusts -that bellowed in the chimney. The lightning gleamed incessantly, and -seemed to play about the hill of Urchany and the ruins of Caistel -Fionlah; the woods groaned and creaked, and the trees seemed to -shriek as their strong limbs were torn asunder by the gusts which in -some places laid side by side the green sapling of last summer, and -the old oak that had stood for a thousand years--that had seen -Macbeth and Duncan ride from Nairn, and had outlived the wars of the -Comyns and the Clanchattan. - -The swollen Nairn tore down its banks, and swept trees, rocks, and -stones in wild confusion to the sea, mingling the pines of Aberarder -with the old oaks of Cawdor; while the salt spray from the Moray -Firth was swept seven miles inland, where it encrusted with salt the -trees, the houses, and windows, and whatever it fell on as it mingled -with the ceaseless rain, while deep, hoarse, and loud the incessant -thunder rattled across the sky, "as if all the cannon on earth," -according to Ewen, "were exchanging salvoes between Urchany and the -Hill of Geddes." - -Meinie grew pale, and sat with a finger on her mouth, and a startled -expression in her eyes, listening to the uproar without; four -children, two of whom were Ewen's, and her last addition to the clan, -clung to her skirts. - -Ewen had just completed the invariable prayer and chapter for the -night, and was solemnly depositing his old regimental companion, with -"Baxter's Saints' Best," in a place of security, when a tremendous -knock--a knock that rang above the storm--shook the door of the -cottage. - -"Who can this be, and in such a night?" said Meinie. - -"The Lord knoweth," responded Ewen, gravely; "but he knocks both loud -and late." - -"Inquire before you open," urged Meinie, seizing her husband's arm, -as the impatient knock was renewed with treble violence. - -"Who comes there?" demanded Ewen, in a soldierly tone. - -"A friend," replied a strange voice without, and in the same manner. - -"What do you want?" - -"Fire and smoke!" cried the other, giving the door a tremendous kick; -"do you ask that in such a devil of a night as this? You have a room -to let, have you not?" - -"Yes." - -"Well: open the door, or blood and 'oons I'll bite your nose off!" - -Ewen hastened to undo the door; and then, all wet and dripping as if -he had just been fished up from the Moray Firth, there entered a -strange-looking old fellow in a red coat; he stumped vigorously on a -wooden leg, and carried on his shoulders a box, which he flung down -with a crash that shook the dwelling, saying,-- - -"There--dam you--I have made good my billet at last." - -"So it seems," said Ewen, reclosing the door in haste to exclude the -tempest, lest his house should be unroofed and torn asunder. - -"Harkee, comrade, what garrison or fortress is this," asked the -visitor, "that peaceable folks are to be challenged in this fashion, -and forced to give parole and countersign before they march in--eh?" - -"It is my house, comrade; and so you had better keep a civil tongue -in your head." - -"Civil tongue? Fire and smoke, you mangy cur! I can be as civil as -my neighbours; but get me a glass of grog, for I am as wet as we were -the night before Minden." - -"Where have you come from in such a storm as this?" - -"Where you'd not like to go--so never mind; but, grog, I tell -you--get me some grog, and a bit of tobacco; it is long since I -tasted either." - -Ewen hastened to get a large quaighful of stiff Glenlivat, which the -veteran drained to his health, and that of Meinie; but first he gave -them a most diabolical grin, and threw into the liquor some black -stuff, saying,-- - -"I always mix my grog with gunpowder--it's a good tonic; I learned -that of a comrade who fell at Minden on the glorious 1st of August, -'59. - -"You have been a soldier, then?" - -"Right! I was one of the 25th, or old Edinburgh Regiment; they -enlisted me, though an Englishman, I believe; for my good old dam was -a follower of the camp." - -"Our number was the 26th--the old Cameronian Regiment--so we were -near each other, you see, comrade." - -"Nearer than you would quite like, mayhap," said Wooden-leg, with -another grin and a dreadful oath. - -"And you have served in Germany?" asked Ewen. - -"Germany--aye, and marched over every foot of it, from Hanover to -Hell, and back again. I have fought in Flanders, too." - -"I wish you had come a wee while sooner," said Ewen gravely, for this -discourse startled his sense of propriety. - -"Sooner," snarled this shocking old fellow, who must have belonged to -that army, "which swore so terribly in Flanders," as good Uncle Toby -says; "sooner--for what?" - -"To have heard me read a chapter, and to have joined us in prayer." - -"Prayers be d--ned!" cried the other, with a shout of laughter, and a -face expressive of fiendish mockery, as he gave his wooden leg a -thundering blow on the floor; "fire and smoke--another glass of -grog--and then we'll settle about my billet upstairs." - -While getting another dram, which hospitality prevented him from -refusing, Ewen scrutinised this strange visitor, whose aspect and -attire were very remarkable; but wholly careless of what any one -thought, he sat by the hearth, wringing his wet wig, and drying it at -the fire. - -He was a little man, of a spare, but strong and active figure, which -indicated great age; his face resembled that of a rat; behind it hung -a long queue that waved about like a pendulum when he moved his head, -which was quite bald, and smooth as a cricket-ball, save where a long -and livid scar--evidently a sword cut--traversed it. This was -visible while he sat drying his wig; but as that process was somewhat -protracted, he uttered an oath, and thrust his cocked hat on one side -of his head, and very much over his left eye, which was covered by a -patch. This head-dress was the old military triple-cocked hat, bound -with yellow braid, and having on one side the hideous black leather -cockade of the House of Hanover, now happily disused in the British -army, and retained as a badge of service by liverymen alone. His -attire was an old threadbare red coat, faced with yellow, having -square tails and deep cuffs, with braided holes; he wore -knee-breeches on his spindle shanks, one of which terminated, as I -have said, in a wooden pin; he carried a large knotted stick; and, in -outline and aspect, very much resembled, as Ewen thought, Frederick -the Great of Prussia, or an old Chelsea pensioner, or the soldiers he -had seen delineated in antique prints of the Flemish wars. His -solitary orb possessed a most diabolical leer, and, whichever way you -turned, it seemed to regard you with the fixed glare of a basilisk. - -"You are a stranger hereabout, I presume?" said Ewen drily. - -"A stranger now, certainly; but I was pretty well known in this -locality once. There are some bones buried hereabout that may -remember me," he replied, with a grin that showed his fangless jaws. - -"Bones!" reiterated Ewen, aghast. - -"Yes, bones--Culloden Muir lies close by here, does it not?" - -"It does--then you have travelled this road before?" - -"Death and the Devil! I should think so, comrade; on this very night -sixty years ago I marched along this road, from Nairn to Culloden, -with the army of His Royal Highness, the Great Duke of Cumberland, -Captain-General of the British troops, in pursuit of the rebels under -the Popish Pretender----" - -"Under His Royal Highness Prince Charles, you mean, comrade," said -Ewen, in whose breast--Cameronian though he was--a tempest of -Highland wrath and loyalty swelled up at these words. - -"Prince--ha! ha! ha!" laughed the other; "had you said as much then, -the gallows had been your doom. Many a man I have shot, and many a -boy I have brained with the butt end of my musket, for no other crime -than wearing the tartan, even as you this night wear it." - -Ewen made a forward stride as if he would have taken the wicked -boaster by the throat; his anger was kindled to find himself in -presence of a veritable soldier of the infamous "German Butcher," -whose merciless massacre of the wounded clansmen and their -defenceless families will never be forgotten in Scotland while oral -tradition and written record exist; but Ewen paused, and said in his -quiet way,-- - -"Blessed be the Lord! these times and things have passed away from -the land, to return to it no more. We are both old men now; by your -own reckoning, you must at least have numbered four-score years, and -in that, you are by twenty my better man. You are my guest to-night, -moreover, so we must not quarrel, comrade. My father was killed at -Culloden." - -"On which side?" - -"The right one--for he fell by the side of old Keppoch, and his last -words were, 'Righ Hamish gu Bragh!'" - -"Fire and smoke!" laughed the old fellow, "I remember these things as -if they only happened yesterday--mix me some more grog and put it in -the bill--I was the company's butcher in those days--it suited my -taste--so when I was not stabbing and slashing the sheep and cattle -of the rascally commissary, I was cutting the throats of the Scots -and French, for there were plenty of them, and Irish too, who fought -against the king's troops in Flanders. We had hot work, that day at -Culloden--hotter than at Minden, where we fought in heavy marching -order, with our blankets, kettles, and provisions, on a broiling -noon, when the battle-field was cracking under a blazing sun, and the -whole country was sweltering like the oven of the Great Baker." - -"Who is he?" - -"What! you don't know him? Ha! ha! ha! Ho! ho! ho! come, that is -good." - -Ewen expostulated with the boisterous old fellow on this style of -conversation, which, as you may easily conceive, was very revolting -to the prejudices of a well-regulated Cameronian soldier. - -"Come, come, you old devilskin," cried the other, stirring up the -fire with his wooden leg, till the sparks flashed and gleamed like -his solitary eye; "you may as well sing psalms to a dead horse, as -preach to me. Hark how the thunder roars, like the great guns at -Carthagena! More grog--put it in the bill--or, halt, d--me! pay -yourself," and he dashed on the table a handful of silver of the -reigns of George II., and the Glencoe assassin, William of Orange. - -He obtained more whiskey, and drank it raw, seasoning it from time to -time with gunpowder, just as an Arab does his cold water with ginger. - -"Where did you lose your eye, comrade?" - -"At Culloden; but I found the fellow who pinked me, next day, as he -lay bleeding on the field; he was a Cameron, in a green velvet -jacket, all covered with silver; so I stripped off his lace, as I had -seen my mother do, and then I brained him with the butt-end of -brown-bess--and before his wife's eyes, too! What the deuce do you -growl at, comrade? Such things will happen in war, and you know that -orders must be obeyed. My eye was gone--but it was the left one, and -I was saved the trouble of closing it when taking aim. This slash on -the sconce I got at the battle of Preston Pans, from the Celt who -slew Colonel Gardiner." - -"That Celt was my father--the Miller of Invernahyle," said Meinie, -proudly. - -"Your father! fire and smoke! do you say so? His hand was a heavy -one!" cried Wooden-leg, while his eye glowed like the orb of a hyæna. - -"And your leg?" - -"I lost at Minden, in Kingsley's Brigade, comrade; aye, my -leg--d--n!--that was indeed a loss." - -"A warning to repentance, I would say." - -"Then you would say wrong. Ugh! I remember when the shot--a -twelve-pounder--took me just as we were rushing with charged bayonets -on the French cannoniers. Smash! my leg was gone, and I lay -sprawling and bleeding in a ploughed field near the Weser, while my -comrades swept over me with a wild hurrah! the colours waving, and -drums beating a charge." - -"And what did you do?" - -"I lay there and swore, believe me." - -"That would not restore your limb again." - -"No; but a few hearty oaths relieve the mind; and the mind relieves -the body; you understand me, comrade; so there I lay all night under -a storm of rain like this, bleeding and sinking; afraid of the knives -of the plundering death-hunters, for my mother had been one, and I -remembered well how she looked after the wounded, and cured them of -their agony." - -"Was your mother one of those infer----" began MacEwen. - -"Don't call her hard names now, comrade; she died on the day after -the defeat at Val; with the Provost Marshal's cord round her neck--a -cordon less ornamental than that of St. Louis." - -"And your father?" - -"Was one of Howard's Regiment; but which the devil only knows, for it -was a point on which the old lady, honest woman, had serious doubts -herself." - -"After the loss of your leg, of course you left the service?" - -"No, I became the company's butcher; but, fire and smoke, get me -another glass of grog; take a share yourself, and don't sit staring -at me like a Dutch Souterkin conceived of a winter night over a 'pot -de feu,' as all the world knows King William was. Dam! let us be -merry together--ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho! and I'll sing you a song of -the old whig times." - - "'O, brother Sandie, hear ye the news, - Lillibulero, bullen a la! - An army is coming sans breeches and shoes, - Lillibulero, bullen a la! - - "'To arms! to arms! brave boys to arms! - A true British cause for your courage doth ca'; - Country and city against a kilted banditti, - Lillibulero, bullen a la!'" - - -And while he continued to rant and sing the song (once so obnoxious -to the Scottish Cavaliers), he beat time with his wooden leg, and -endeavoured to outroar the stormy wind and the hiss of the drenching -rain. Even MacEwen, though he was an old soldier, felt some -uneasiness, and Meinie trembled in her heart, while the children -clung to her skirts and hid their little faces, as if this singing, -riot, and jollity were impious at such a time, when the awful thunder -was ringing its solemn peals across the midnight sky. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT.--THE UNCO' QUEST. - -Although this strange old man baffled or parried every inquiry of -Ewen as to whence he had come, and how and why he wore that -antiquated uniform, on his making a lucrative offer to take the upper -room of the little toll-house for a year--exactly a year--when Ewen -thought of his poor pension of six-pence per diem, of their numerous -family, and Meinie now becoming old and requiring many little -comforts, all scruples were overcome by the pressure of necessity, -and the mysterious old soldier was duly installed in the attic, with -his corded chest, scratch-wig, and wooden-leg; moreover, he paid the -first six months' rent in advance, dashing the money--which was all -coin of the first and second Georges, on the table with a bang and an -oath, swearing that he disliked being indebted to any man. - -The next morning was calm and serene; the green hills lifted their -heads into the blue and placid sky. There was no mist on the -mountains, nor rain in the valley. The flood in the Nairn had -subsided, though its waters were still muddy and perturbed; but save -this, and the broken branches that strewed the wayside--with an -uprooted tree, or a paling laid flat on the ground, there was no -trace of yesterday's hurricane, and Ewen heard Wooden-leg (he had no -other name for his new lodger) stumping about overhead, as the old -fellow left his bed betimes, and after trimming his queue and wig, -pipeclaying his yellow facings, and beating them well with the brush, -in a soldier-like way, he descended to breakfast, but, disdaining -porridge and milk, broiled salmon and bannocks of barley-meal, he -called for a can of stiff grog, mixed it with powder from his wide -waistcoat pocket, and drank it off at a draught. Then he imperiously -desired Ewen to take his bonnet and staff, and accompany him so far -as Culloden, "because," said he, "I have come a long, long way to see -the old place again." - -Wooden-leg seemed to gather--what was quite unnecessary to him--new -life, vigour, and energy--as they traversed the road that led to the -battle-field, and felt the pure breeze of the spring morning blowing -on their old and wrinkled faces. - -The atmosphere was charmingly clear and serene. In the distance lay -the spires of Inverness, and the shining waters of the Moray Firth, -studded with sails, and the ramparts of Fort George were seen jutting -out at the termination of a long and green peninsula. In the -foreground stood the castle of Dalcross, raising its square outline -above a wood, which terminates the eastern side of the landscape. -The pine-clad summit of Dun Daviot incloses the west, while on every -hand between, stretched the dreary moor of Drummossie--the Plain of -Culloden--whilome drenched in the blood of Scotland's bravest hearts. - -Amid the purple heath lie two or three grass-covered mounds. - -These are the graves of the dead--the graves of the loyal -Highlanders, who fell on that disastrous field, and of the wounded, -who were so mercilessly murdered next day by an order of Cumberland, -which he pencilled on the back of a card (the Nine of Diamonds); thus -they were dispatched by platoons, stabbed by bayonets, slashed by -swords and spontoons, or brained by the butt-end of musket and -carbine; officers and men were to be seen emulating each other in -this scene of cowardice and cold-blooded atrocity, which filled every -camp and barrack in Continental Europe with scorn at the name of an -English soldier. - -Ewen was a Highlander, and his heart filled with such thoughts as -these, when he stood by the grassy tombs where the fallen brave are -buried with the hopes of the house they died for; he took off his -bonnet and stood bare-headed, full of sad and silent contemplation; -while his garrulous companion viewed the field with his single eye, -that glowed like a hot coal, and pirouetted on his wooden pin in a -very remarkable manner, as he surveyed on every side the scene of -that terrible encounter, where, after enduring a long cannonade of -round shot and grape, the Highland swordsmen, chief and gillie, the -noble and the nameless, flung themselves with reckless valour on the -ranks of those whom they had already routed in two pitched battles. - -"It was an awful day," said Ewen, in a low voice, but with a gleam in -his grey Celtic eye; "yonder my father fell wounded; the bullet went -through his shield and pierced him here, just above the belt; he was -living next day, when my mother--a poor wailing woman with a babe at -her breast--found him; but an officer of Barrel's Regiment ran a -sword twice through his body and killed him; for the orders of the -German Duke were, 'that no quarter should be given.' This spring is -named MacGillivray's Well, because here they butchered the dying -chieftain who led the Macintoshes--aye bayonetted him, next day at -noon, in the arms of his bonnie young wife and his puir auld mother! -The inhuman monsters! I have been a soldier," continued Ewen, "and I -have fought for my country; but had I stood that day on this Moor of -Culloden, I would have shot the German Butcher, the coward who fled -from Flanders--I would, by the God who hears me, though that moment -had been my last!" - -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" rejoined his queer companion. "It seems -like yesterday since I was here; I don't see many changes, except -that the dead are all buried, whereas we left them to the crows, and -a carriage-road has been cut across the field, just where we seized -some women, who were looking among the dead for their husbands, and -who----" - -"Well?" - -Wooden-leg whistled, and gave Ewen a diabolical leer with his snaky -eye, as he resumed,-- - -"I see the ridge where the clans formed line--every tribe with its -chief in front, and his colours in the centre, when we, hopeless of -victory, and thinking only of defeat, approached them; and I can yet -see standing the old stone wall which covered their right flank. -Fire and smoke! it was against that wall we placed the wounded, when -we fired at them by platoons next day. I finished some twenty rebels -there myself." - -Ewen's hand almost caught the haft of his skene dhu, as he said, -hoarsely,-- - -"Old man, do not call them rebels in my hearing, and least of all by -the graves where they lie; they were good men and true; if they were -in error, they have long since answered to God for it, even as we one -day must answer; therefore let us treat their memory with respect, as -soldiers should ever treat their brothers in arms who fall in war." - -But Wooden-leg laughed with his strange eldritch yell, and then they -returned together to the tollhouse in the glen; but Ewen felt -strongly dissatisfied with his lodger, whose conversation was so -calculated to shock alike his Jacobitical and his religious -prejudices. Every day this sentiment grew stronger, and he soon -learned to deplore in his inmost heart having ever accepted the rent, -and longed for the time when he should be rid of him; but, at the end -of the six months, Wooden-leg produced the rent for the remainder of -the year, still in old silver of the two first Georges, with a few -Spanish dollars, and swore he would set the house on fire, if Ewen -made any more apologies about their inability to make him -sufficiently comfortable and so forth; for his host and hostess had -resorted to every pretence and expedient to rid themselves of him -handsomely. - -But Wooden-leg was inexorable. - -He had bargained for his billet for a year; he had paid for it; and a -year he would stay, though the Lord Justice General of Scotland -himself should say nay! - -Boisterous and authoritative, he awed every one by his terrible -gimlet eye and the volleys of oaths with which he overwhelmed them on -suffering the smallest contradiction; thus he became the terror of -all; and shepherds crossed the hills by the most unfrequented routes -rather than pass the toll-bar, where they vowed that his eye -bewitched their sheep and cattle. To every whispered and stealthy -inquiry as to where his lodger had come from, and how or why he had -thrust himself upon this lonely tollhouse, Ewen could only groan and -shrug his shoulders, or reply,-- - -"He came on the night of the hurricane, like a bird of evil omen; but -on the twenty-sixth of April we will be rid of him, please Heaven! -It is close at hand, and he shall march then, sure as my name is Ewen -Mac Ewen!" - -He seemed to be troubled in his conscience, too, or to have strange -visitors; for often in stormy nights he was heard swearing or -threatening, and expostulating; and once or twice, when listening at -the foot of the stair, Ewen heard him shouting and conversing from -his window with persons on the road, although the bar was shut, -locked, and there was no one visible there. - -On another windy night, Ewen and his wife were scared by hearing -Wooden-leg engaged in a furious altercation with some one overhead. - -"Dog, I'll blow out your brains!" yelled a strange voice. - -"Fire and smoke! blow out the candle first--ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho!" -cried Wooden-leg; then there ensued the explosion of a pistol, a -dreadful stamping of feet, with the sound of several men swearing and -fighting. To all this Ewen and his wife hearkened in fear and -perplexity; at last something fell heavily on the floor, and then all -became still, and not a sound was heard but the night wind sighing -down the glen. - -Betimes in the morning Ewen, weary and unslept, left his bed and -ascended to the door of this terrible lodger and tapped gently. - -"Come in; why the devil this fuss and ceremony, eh, comrade?" cried a -hoarse voice, and there was old Wooden-leg, not lying dead on the -floor as Ewen expected, or perhaps hoped; but stumping about in his -shirt sleeves, pipe-claying his facings, and whistling the "Point of -War." - -On being questioned about the most unearthly "row" of last night, he -only bade Ewen mind his own affairs, or uttered a volley of oaths, -some of which were Spanish, and mixing a can of gunpowder grog -drained it at a draught. - -He was very quarrelsome, dictatorial, and scandalously irreligious; -thus his military reminiscences were of so ferocious and -blood-thirsty a nature, that they were sufficient to scare any quiet -man out of his seven senses. But it was more particularly in -relating the butcheries, murders, and ravages of Cumberland in the -highlands, that he exulted, and there was always a terrible air of -probability in all he said. On Ewen once asking of him if he had -ever been punished for the many irregularities and cruelties he so -freely acknowledged having committed,-- - -"Punished? Fire and smoke, comrade, I should think so; I have been -flogged till the bones of my back stood through the quivering flesh; -I have been picquetted, tied neck and heels, or sent to ride the -wooden horse, and to endure other punishments which are now abolished -in the king's service. An officer once tied me neck and heels for -eight and forty hours--ay, damme, till I lost my senses; but he lost -his life soon after, a shot from the rear killed him; you understand -me, comrade; ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho! a shot from the rear." - -"You murdered him?" said Ewen, in a tone of horror. - -"I did not say so," cried Wooden-leg with an oath, as he dealt his -landlord a thwack across the shins with his stump; "but I'll tell you -how it happened. I was on the Carthagena expedition in '41, and -served amid all the horrors of that bombardment, which was rendered -unsuccessful by the quarrels of the general and admiral; then the -yellow fever broke out among the troops, who were crammed on board -the ships of war like figs in a cask, or like the cargo of a slaver, -so they died in scores--and in scores their putrid corpses lay round -the hawsers of the shipping, which raked them up every day as they -swung round with the tide; and from all the open gunports, where -their hammocks were hung, our sick men saw the ground sharks gorging -themselves on the dead, while they daily expected to follow. The air -was black with flies, and the scorching sun seemed to have leagued -with the infernal Spaniards against us. But, fire and smoke, mix me -some more grog, I am forgetting my story! - -"Our Grenadiers, with those of other regiments, under Colonel James -Grant of Carron, were landed on the Island of Tierrabomba, which lies -at the entrance of the harbour of Carthagena, where we stormed two -small forts which our ships had cannonaded on the previous day. - -"Grenadiers--open your pouches--handle grenades--blow your fuses!" -cried Grant, "forward." - -"And then we bayonetted the dons, or with the clubbed musket smashed -their heads like ripe pumpkins, while our fleet, anchored with -broadsides to the shore, threw shot and shell, grape, cannister, -carcasses, and hand-grenades in showers among the batteries, booms, -cables, chains, ships of war, gunboats, and the devil only knows what -more. - -"It was evening when we landed, and as the ramparts of San Luiz de -Bocca Chica were within musket shot of our left flank, the lieutenant -of our company was left with twelve grenadiers (of whom I was one) as -a species of out-picquet to watch the Spaniards there, and to -acquaint the officer in the captured forts if anything was essayed by -way of sortie. - -"About midnight I was posted as an advanced sentinel, and ordered to -face La Bocca Chica with all my ears and eyes open. The night was -close and sultry; there was not a breath of wind stirring on the land -or waveless sea; and all was still save the cries of the wild animals -that preyed upon the unburied dead, or the sullen splash caused by -some half-shrouded corpse, as it was launched from a gun-port, for -our ships were moored within pistol-shot of the place where I stood. - -"Towards the west the sky was a deep and lurid red, as if the -midnight sea was in flames at the horizon; and between me and this -fiery glow, I could see the black and opaque outline of the masts, -the yards, and the gigantic hulls of those floating charnel-houses -our line-of-battle ships, and the dark solid ramparts of San Luiz de -Bocca Chica. - -"Suddenly I saw before me the head of a Spanish column!" - -"I cocked my musket, they seemed to be halted in close order, for I -could see the white coats and black hats of a single company only. -So I fired at them point blank, and fell back on the picquet, which -stood to arms. - -"The lieutenant of our grenadiers came hurrying towards me. - -"Where are the dons?" said he. - -"In our front, sir," said I, pointing to the white line which seemed -to waver before us in the gloom under the walls of San Luiz, and then -it disappeared. - -"They are advancing," said I. - -"They have vanished, fellow," said the lieutenant, angrily. - -"Because they have marched down into a hollow." - -"In a moment after they re-appeared, upon which the lieutenant -brought up the picquet, and after firing three volleys retired -towards the principal fort where Colonel Grant had all the troops -under arms; but not a Spaniard approached us, and what, think you, -deceived me and caused this alarm? Only a grove of trees, fire and -smoke! yes, it was a grove of manchineel trees, which the Spaniards -had cut down or burned to within five feet of the ground; and as -their bark is white it resembled the Spanish uniform, while the black -burned tops easily passed for their grenadier caps to the -overstrained eyes of a poor anxious lad, who found himself under the -heavy responsibility of an advanced sentinel for the first time in -his life." - -"And was this the end of it?" asked Ewen. - -"Hell and Tommy?" roared the Wooden-leg, "no--but you shall hear. I -was batooned by the lieutenant; then I was tried at the drumhead for -causing a false alarm, and sentenced to be tied neck and heels, and -lest you may not know the fashion of this punishment I shall tell you -of it. I was placed on the ground; my firelock was put under my -hams, and another was placed over my neck; then the two were drawn -close together by two cartouch-box straps; and in this situation, -doubled up as round as a ball, I remained with my chin wedged between -my knees until the blood spouted out of my mouth, nose, and ears, and -I became insensible. When I recovered my senses the troops were -forming in column, preparatory to assaulting Fort San Lazare; and -though almost blind, and both weak and trembling, I was forced to -take my place in the ranks; and I ground my teeth as I handled my -musket and saw the lieutenant of our company, in lace-ruffles and -powdered wig, prepare to join the forlorn hope, which was composed of -six hundred chosen grenadiers, under Colonel Grant, a brave Scottish -officer. I loaded my piece with a charmed bullet, cast in a mould -given to me by an Indian warrior, and marched on with my section. -The assault failed. Of the forlorn hope I alone escaped, for Grant -and his Grenadiers perished to a man in the breach. There, too, lay -our lieutenant. A shot had pierced his head behind, just at the -queue. Queer, was it not? when I was his covering file?" - -As he said this, Wooden-leg gave Ewen another of those diabolical -leers, which always made his blood ran cold, and continued,-- - -"I passed him as he lay dead, with his sword in his hand, his fine -ruffled shirt and silk waistcoat drenched with blood--by the bye, -there was a pretty girl's miniature, with powdered hair peeping out -of it too. 'Ho, ho!' thought I, as I gave him a hearty kick; 'you -will never again have me tied neck-and-heels for not wearing -spectacles on sentry, or get me a hundred lashes, for not having my -queue dressed straight to the seam of my coat." - -"Horrible!" said Ewen. - -"I will wager my wooden leg against your two of flesh and bone, that -your officer would have been served in the same way, if he had given -you the same provocation." - -"Heaven forbid!" said Ewen. - -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" cried Wooden-leg. - -"You spoke of an Indian warrior," said Ewen, uneasily, as the -atrocious anecdotes of this hideous old man excited his anger and -repugnance; "then you have served, like myself, in the New World?" - -"Fire and smoke! I should think so, but long before your day." - -"Then you fought against the Cherokees?" - -"Yes." - -"At Warwomans Creek?" - -"Yes; I was killed there." - -"You were--what?" stammered Ewen. - -"Killed there." - -"Killed?" - -"Yes, scalped by the Cherokees; dam! don't I speak plain enough?" - -"He is mad," thought Ewen. - -"I am not mad," said Wooden-leg gruffly. - -"I never said so," urged Ewen. - -"Thunder and blazes! but you thought it, which is all the same." - -Ewen was petrified by this remark, and then Wooden-leg, while fixing -his hyæna-like eye upon him, and mixing a fresh can of his peculiar -grog, continued thus,-- - -"Yes, I served in the Warwomans Creek expedition in '60. In the -preceding year I had been taken prisoner at Fort Ninety-six, and was -carried off by the Indians. They took me into the heart of their own -country, where an old Sachem protected me, and adopted me in place of -a son he had lost in battle. Now this old devil of a Sachem had a -daughter--a graceful, pretty and gentle Indian girl, whom her tribe -named the Queen of the Beaver dams. She was kind to me, and loved to -call me her pale-faced brother. Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Fire and -smoke! do I now look like a man that could once attract a pretty -girl's eye,--now, with my wooden-leg, patched face and riddled -carcase? Well, she loved me, and I pretended to be in love too, -though I did not care for her the value of an old snapper. She was -graceful and round in every limb, as a beautiful statue. Her -features were almost regular--her eyes black and soft; her hair hung -nearly to her knees, while her smooth glossy skin, was no darker than -a Spanish brunette's. Her words were like notes of music, for the -language of the Cherokees, like that of the Iroquois, is full of the -softest vowels. This Indian girl treated me with love and kindness, -and I promised to become a Cherokee warrior, a thundering turtle and -scalp-hunter for her sake--just as I would have promised anything to -any other woman, and had done so a score of times before. I studied -her gentle character in all its weak and delicate points, as a -general views a fortress he is about to besiege, and I soon knew -every avenue to the heart of the place. I made my approaches with -modesty, for the mind of the Indian virgin was timid, and as pure as -the new fallen snow. I drew my parallels and pushed on the trenches -whenever the old Sachem was absent, smoking his pipe and drinking -fire-water at the council of the tribe; I soon reached the base of -the glacis and stormed the breastworks--dam! I did, comrade. - -"I promised her everything, if she would continue to love me, and -swore by the Great Spirit to lay at her feet the scalp-lock of the -white chief, General the Lord Amherst, K.C.B., and all that, with -every other protestation that occurred to me at the time; and so she -soon loved me--and me alone--as we wandered on the green slopes of -Tennessee, when the flowering forest-trees and the magnolias, the -crimson strawberries, and the flaming azalea made the scenery -beautiful; and where the shrill cry cf the hawk, and the carol of the -merry mocking-bird, filled the air with sounds of life and happiness. - -"We were married in the fantastic fashion of the tribe, and the -Indian girl was the happiest squaw in the Beaver dams. I hoed cotton -and planted rice; I cut rushes that she might plait mats and baskets; -I helped her to weave wampum, and built her a wigwam, but I longed to -be gone, for in six months I was wearied of her and the Cherokees -too. In short, one night, I knocked the old Sachem on the head, and -without perceiving that he still breathed, pocketted his valuables, -such as they were, two necklaces of amber beads and two of Spanish -dollars, and without informing my squaw of what I had done, I -prevailed upon her to guide me far into the forest, on the skirts of -which lay a British outpost, near the lower end of the vale, through -which flows the Tennessee River. She was unable to accompany me more -than a few miles, for she was weak, weary, and soon to become a -mother; so I gave her the slip in the forest, and, leaving her to -shift for herself, reached head-quarters, just as the celebrated -expedition from South Carolina was preparing to march against the -Cherokees. - -"Knowing well the localities, I offered myself as a guide, and was at -once accepted-- - -"Cruel and infamous!" exclaimed honest Ewen, whose chivalric Highland -spirit fired with indignation at these heartless avowals; "and the -poor girl you deceived----" - -"Bah! I thought the wild beasts would soon dispose of her." - -"But then the infamy of being a guide, even for your comrades, -against those who had fed and fostered, loved and protected you! By -my soul, this atrocity were worthy of King William and his Glencoe -assassins!" - -"Ho, ho, ho! fire and smoke! you shall hear. - -"Well, we marched from New York in the early part of 1760. There -were our regiment, with four hundred of the Scots Royals, and -Montgomery's Highlanders. We landed at Charleston, and marched up -the country to Fort Ninety-six on the frontier of the Cherokees. Our -route was long and arduous, for the ways were wild and rough, so it -was the first of June before we reached Twelve-mile River. I had -been so long unaccustomed to carry my knapsack, that its weight -rendered me savage and ferocious, and I cursed the service and my own -existence; for in addition to our muskets and accoutrements, our -sixty rounds of ball cartridge per man, we carried our own tents, -poles, pegs, and cooking utensils. Thunder and blazes! when we -halted, which we did in a pleasant valley, where the great shady -chestnuts and the flowering hickory made our camp alike cool and -beautiful, my back and shoulders were nearly skinned; for as you must -know well, comrade, the knapsack straps are passed so tightly under -the armpits, that they stop the circulation of the blood, and press -upon the lungs almost to suffocation. Scores of our men left the -ranks on the march, threw themselves down in despair, and were soon -tomahawked and scalped by the Indians. - -"We marched forward next day, but without perceiving the smallest -vestige of an Indian trail; thus we began to surmise that the -Cherokees knew not that we were among them; but just as the sun was -sinking behind the blue hills, we came upon a cluster of wigwams, -which I knew well; they were the Beaver dams, situated on a river, -among wild woods that never before had echoed to the drum or bugle. - -"Bad and wicked as I was, some strange emotions rose within me at -this moment. I thought of the Sachem's daughter--her beauty--her -love for me, and the child that was under her bosom when I abandoned -her in the vast forest through which we had just penetrated; but I -stifled all regret, and heard with pleasure the order to 'examine -flints and priming.' - -"Then the Cherokee warwhoop pierced the echoing sky; a scattered fire -was poured upon us from behind the rocks and trees; the sharp steel -tomahawks came flashing and whirling through the air; bullets and -arrows whistled, and rifles rung, and in a moment we found ourselves -surrounded by a living sea of dark-skinned and yelling Cherokees, -with plumes on their scalp locks, their fierce visages streaked with -war paint, and all their moccasins rattling. - -"Fire and fury, such a time it was! - -"We all fought like devils, but our men fell fast on every side; the -Royals lost two lieutenants, and several soldiers whose scalps were -torn from their bleeding skulls in a moment. Our regiment, though -steady under fire as a battalion of stone statues, now fell into -disorder, and the brown warriors, like fiends in aspect and activity, -pressed on with musket and war-club brandished, and with such yells -as never rang in mortal ears elsewhere. The day was lost, until the -Highlanders came up, and then the savages were routed in an instant, -and cut to pieces. 'Shoot and slash' was the order; and there ensued -such a scene of carnage as I had not witnessed since Culloden, where -His Royal Highness, the fat Duke of Cumberland, galloped about the -field, overseeing the wholesale butchery of the wounded. - -"We destroyed their magazines of powder and provisions; we laid the -wigwams in ashes, and shot or bayonetted every living thing, from the -babe on its mother's breast, to the hen that sat on the roost; for as -I had made our commander aware of all the avenues, there was no -escape for the poor devils of Cherokees. Had the pious, glorious, -and immortal King William been there, he would have thought we had -modelled the whole affair after his own exploit at Glencoe. - -"All was nearly over, and among the ashes of the smoking wigwams and -the gashed corpses of king's soldiers and Indian warriors, I sat down -beneath a great chestnut to wipe my musket, for butt, barrel, and -bayonet were clotted with blood and human hair--ouf, man, why do you -shudder? it was only Cherokee wool;--all was nearly over, I have -said, when a low fierce cry, like the hoarse hiss of a serpent, rang -in my ear; a brown and bony hand clutched my throat as the fangs of a -wolf would have done, and hurled me to the earth! A tomahawk flashed -above me, and an aged Indian's face, whose expression, was like that -of a fiend, came close to mine, and I felt his breath upon my cheek. -It was the visage of the sachem, but hollow with suffering and almost -green with fury, and he laughed like a hyæna, as he poised the -uplifted axe. - -"Another form intervened for a moment; it was that of the poor Indian -girl I had so heartlessly deceived; she sought to stay the avenging -hand of the frantic sachem; but he thrust her furiously aside, and in -the next moment the glittering tomahawk was quivering in my brain--a -knife swept round my head--my scalp was torn off, and I remember no -more." - -"A fortunate thing for you," said Ewen, drily; "memory such as yours -were worse than a knapsack to carry; and so you were killed there?" - -"Don't sneer, comrade," said Wooden-leg, with a diabolical gleam in -his eye: "prithee, don't sneet; I was killed there, and, moreover, -buried too, by the Scots Royals, when they interred the dead next -day." - -"Then how came you to be here?" said Ewen, not very much at ease, to -find himself in company with one he deemed a lunatic. - -"Here? that is my business--not yours," was the surly rejoinder. - -Ewen was silent, but reckoned over that now there were but thirty -days to run until the 26th of April, when the stipulated year would -expire. - -"Yes, comrade, just thirty days," said Wooden-leg, with an -affirmative nod, divining the thoughts of Ewen; "and then I shall be -off, bag and baggage, if my friends come." - -"If not?" - -"Then I shall remain where I am." - -"The Lord forbid!" thought Ewen; "but I can apply to the sheriff." - -"Death and fury! Thunder and blazes! I should like to see the -rascal of a sheriff who would dare to meddle with me!" growled the -old fellow, as his one eye shot fire, and, limping away, he ascended -the stairs grumbling and swearing, leaving poor Ewen terrified even -to think, on finding that his thoughts, although only half conceived, -were at once divined and responded to by this strange inmate of his -house. - -"His friends," thought Ewen, "who may they be?" - -Three heavy knocks rang on the floor overhead, as a reply. - -It was the wooden leg of the Cherokee invader. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT--THE MIDNIGHT MARCH. - -This queer old fellow (continued the quartermaster) was always in a -state of great excitement, and used an extra number of oaths, and -mixed his grog more thickly with gunpowder when a stray red coat -appeared far down the long green glen, which was crossed by Ewen's -lonely toll-bar. Then he would get into a prodigious fuss and -bustle, and was wont to pack and cord his trunk, to brush up his -well-worn and antique regimentals, and to adjust his queue and the -black cockade of his triple-cornered hat, as if preparing to depart. - -As the time of that person's wished-for departure drew nigh, Ewen -took courage, and shaking off the timidity with which the swearing -and boisterous fury of Wooden-leg had impressed him, he ventured to -expostulate a little on the folly and sin of his unmeaning oaths, and -the atrocity of the crimes he boasted of having committed. - -But the wicked old Wooden-leg laughed and swore more than ever, -saying that a "true soldier was never a religious one." - -"You are wrong, comrade," retorted the old Cameronian, taking fire at -such an assertion; "religion is the lightest burden a poor soldier -can carry; and, moreover, it hath upheld me on many a long day's -march, when almost sinking under hunger and fatigue, with my pack, -kettle, and sixty rounds of ball ammunition on my back. The duties -of a good and brave soldier are no way incompatible with those of a -Christian man; and I never lay down to rest on the wet bivouac or -bloody field, with my knapsack, or it might be a dead comrade, for a -pillow, without thanking God----" - -"Ha, ha, ha!" - -"--The God of Scotland's covenanted Kirk for the mercies he -vouchsafed to Ewen Mac Ewen, a poor grenadier of the 26th Regiment." - -"Ho, ho, ho!" - -The old Cameronian took off his bonnet and lifted up his eyes, as he -spoke fervently, and with the simple reverence of the olden time; but -Wooden-leg grinned and chuckled and gnashed his teeth as Ewen resumed. - -"A brave soldier may rush to the cannon's mouth, though it be loaded -with grape and cannister; or at a line of levelled bayonets--and rush -fearlessly too--and yet he may tremble, without shame, at the thought -of hell, or of offended Heaven. Is it not so, comrade? I shall -never forget the words of our chaplain before we stormed the Isles of -Saba and St. Martin from the Dutch, with Admiral Rodney, in '81." - -"Bah--that was after I was killed by the Cherokees. Well?" - -"The Cameronians were formed in line, mid leg in the salt water, with -bayonets fixed, the colours flying, the pipes playing and drums -beating 'Britons strike home,' and our chaplain, a reverend minister -of God's word, stood beside the colonel with the shot and shell from -the Dutch batteries flying about his old white head, but he was cool -and calm, for he was the grandson of Richard Cameron, the glorious -martyr of Airdsmoss. - -"'Fear not, my bairns,' cried he (he aye called us his bairns, having -ministered unto us for fifty years and more)--'fear not; but remember -that the eyes of the Lord are on every righteous soldier, and that -His hand will shield him in the day of battle!' - -"'Forward, my lads,' cried the colonel, waving his broad sword, while -the musket shot shaved the curls of his old brigadier wig; 'forward, -and at them with your bayonets;' and bravely we fell on--eight -hundred Scotsmen, shoulder to shoulder--and in half an hour the -British flag was waving over the Dutchman's Jack on the ramparts of -St. Martin." - -But to all Ewen's exordiums, the Wooden-leg replied by oaths, or -mockery, or his incessant laugh,-- - -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" - -At last came the long-wished for twenty-sixth of April! - -The day was dark and louring. The pine woods looked black, and the -slopes of the distant hills seemed close and near, and yet gloomy -withal. The sky was veiled by masses of hurrying clouds, which -seemed to chase each other across the Moray Firth. That estuary was -flecked with foam, and the ships were riding close under the lee of -the Highland shore, with topmasts struck, their boats secured, and -both anchors out, for everything betokened a coming storm. - -And with night it came in all its fury;--a storm similar to that of -the preceding year. - -The fierce and howling wind swept through the mountain gorges, and -levelled the lonely shielings, whirling their fragile roofs into the -air, and uprooting strong pines and sturdy beeches; the water was -swept up from the Loch of the Clans, and mingled with the rain which -drenched the woods around it. The green and yellow lightning played -in ghastly gleams about the black summit of Dun Daviot, and again the -rolling thunder bellowed over the graves of the dead on the bleak, -dark moor of Culloden. Attracted by the light in the windows of the -toll house, the red deer came down from the hills in herds and -cowered near the little dwelling; while the cries of the affrighted -partridges, blackcocks, and even those of the gannets from the Moray -Firth were heard at times, as they were swept past, with branches, -leaves, and stones, on the skirts of the hurrying blast. - -"It is just such a storm as we had this night twelvemonths ago," said -Meinie, whose cheek grew pale at the elemental uproar. - -"There will be no one coming up the glen to-night," replied Ewen; "so -I may as well secure the toll-bar, lest a gust should dash it to -pieces." - -It required no little skill or strength to achieve this in such a -tempest; the gate was strong and heavy, but it was fastened at last, -and Ewen retreated to his own fireside. Meanwhile, during all this -frightful storm without, Wooden-leg was heard singing and carolling -up-stairs, stumping about in the lulls of the tempest, and rolling, -pushing, and tumbling his chest from side to side; then he descended -to get a fresh can of grog--for "grog, grog, grog," was ever his cry. -His old withered face was flushed, and his excited eye shone like a -baleful star. He was conscious that a great event would ensue. - -Ewen felt happy in his soul that his humble home should no longer be -the resting-place of this evil bird whom the last tempest had blown -hither. - -"So you leave us to-morrow, comrade?" said he. - -"I'll march before daybreak," growled the other; "'twas our old -fashion in the days of Minden. Huske and Hawley always marched off -in the dark." - -"Before daybreak?" - -"Fire and smoke, I have said so, and you shall see; for my friends -are on the march already; but good night, for I shall have to parade -betimes. They come; though far, far off as yet." - -He retired with one of his diabolical leers, and Ewen and his wife -ensconced themselves in the recesses of their warm box-bed; Meinie -soon fell into a sound sleep, though the wind continued to howl, the -rain to lash against the trembling walls of the little mansion, and -the thunder to hurl peal after peal across the sky of that dark and -tempestuous night. - -The din of the elements and his own thoughts kept Ewen long awake; -but though the gleams of electric light came frequent as ever through -the little window, the glow of the "gathering peat" sank lower on the -hearth of hard-beaten clay, and the dull measured tick-tack of the -drowsy clock as it fell on the drum of his ear, about midnight, was -sending him to sleep, by the weariness of its intense monotony, when -from a dream that the fierce hawk eye of his malevolent lodger was -fixed upon him, he started suddenly to full consciousness. An uproar -of tongues now rose and fell upon the gusts of wind without; and he -heard an authoritative voice requiring the toll-bar to be opened. - -Overhead rang the stumping of the Wooden-lag, whose hoarse voice was -heard bellowing in reply from the upper window. - -"The Lord have a care of us!" muttered Mac Ewen, as he threw his kilt -and plaid round him, thrust on his bonnet and brogues, and hastened -to the door, which was almost blown in by the tempest as he opened it. - -The night was as dark, and the hurricane as furious as ever; but how -great was Ewen's surprise to see the advanced guard of a corps of -Grenadiers, halted at the toll-bar gate, which he hastened to unlock, -and the moment he did so, it was torn off its iron hooks and swept up -the glen like a leaf from a book, or a lady's handkerchief; as with -an unearthly howling the wind came tearing along in fitful and -tremendous gusts, which made the strongest forests stoop, and dashed -the struggling coasters on the rocks of the Firth--the Æstuarium -Vararis of the olden time. - -As the levin brands burst in lurid fury overhead, they seemed to -strike fire from the drenched rocks, the dripping trees, and the long -line of flooded roadway, that wound through the pastoral glen towards -Culloden. - -The advanced guard marched on in silence with arms slung; and Ewen, -to prevent himself from being swept away by the wind, clung with both -hands to a stone pillar of the bar-gate, that he might behold the -passage of this midnight regiment, which approached in firm and -silent order in sections of twelve files abreast, all with muskets -slung. The pioneers were in front, with their leather aprons, axes, -saws, bill-hooks, and hammers; the band was at the head of the -column; the drums, fifes, and colours were in the centre; the -captains were at the head of their companies; the subalterns on the -reverse flank, and the field-officers were all mounted on black -chargers, that curvetted and pranced like shadows, without a sound. - -Slowly they marched, but erect and upright, not a man of them seeming -to stoop against the wind or rain, while overhead the flashes of the -broad and blinding lightning were blazing like a ghastly torch, and -making every musket-barrel, every belt-plate, sword-blade, and -buckle, gleam as this mysterious corps filed through the barrier, -with who? Wooden-leg among them! - -By the incessant gleams Ewen could perceive that they were -Grenadiers, and wore the quaint old uniform of George II.'s time; the -sugar-loaf-shaped cap of red cloth embroidered with worsted; the -great square-tailed red coat with its heavy cuffs and close-cut -collar; the stockings rolled above the knee, and enormous -shoe-buckles. They carried grenade-pouches; the officers had -espontoons; the sergeants shouldered heavy halberds, and the coats of -the little drum-boys were covered with fantastic lace. - -It was not the quaint and antique aspect of this solemn battalion -that terrified Ewen, or chilled his heart; but the ghastly expression -of their faces, which were pale and hollow-eyed, being, to all -appearance, the visages of spectres; and they marched past like a -long and wavering panorama, without a sound; for though the wind was -loud, and the rain was drenching, neither could have concealed the -measured tread of so many mortal feet; but there was no footfall -heard on the roadway, nor the tramp of a charger's hoof; the regiment -defiled past, noiseless as a wreath of smoke. - -The pallor of their faces, and the stillness which accompanied their -march, were out of the course of nature; and the soul of Mac Ewen -died away within him; but his eyes were riveted upon the marching -phantoms--if phantoms, indeed, they were--as if by fascination; and, -like one in a terrible dream, he continued to gaze until the last -files were past; and with them rode a fat and full-faced officer, -wearing a three-cocked hat, and having a star and blue ribbon on his -breast. His face was ghastly like the rest, and dreadfully -distorted, as if by mental agony and remorse. Two aides-de-camps -accompanied him, and he rode a wild-looking black horse, whose eyes -shot fire. At the neck of the fat spectre--for a spectre he really -seemed--hung a card. - -It was the Nine of Diamonds! - -The whole of this silent and mysterious battalion passed in line of -march up the glen, with the gleams of lightning flashing about them. -One bolt more brilliant than the rest brought back the sudden flash -of steel. - -They had fixed bayonets, and shouldered arms! - -And on, and on they marched, diminishing in the darkness and the -distance, those ghastly Grenadiers, towards the flat bleak moor of -Culloden, with the green lightning playing about them, and gleaming -on the storm-swept waste. - -The Wooden-leg--Ewen's unco' guest--disappeared with them, and was -never heard of more in Strathnairn. - -He had come with a tempest, and gone with one. Neither was any trace -ever seen or heard of those strange and silent soldiers. No regiment -had left Nairn that night, and no regiment reached Inverness in the -morning; so unto this day the whole affair remains a mystery, and a -subject for ridicule with some, although Ewen, whose story of the -midnight march of a corps in time of war--caused his examination by -the authorities in the Castle of Inverness--stuck manfully to his -assertions, which were further corroborated by the evidence of his -wife and children. He made a solemn affidavit of the circumstances I -have related before the sheriff, whose court books will be found to -confirm them in every particular; if not, it is the aforesaid -sheriff's fault, and not mine. - -There were not a few (but these were generally old Jacobite ladies of -decayed Highland families, who form the gossiping tabbies and -wall-flowers of the Northern Meeting) who asserted that in their -young days they had heard of such a regiment marching by night, once -a year to the field of Culloden; for it is currently believed by the -most learned on such subjects in the vicinity of the "Clach na -Cudden," that on the anniversary of the sorrowful battle, a certain -place, which shall be nameless, opens, and that the restless souls of -the murderers of the wounded clansmen march in military array to the -green graves upon the purple heath, in yearly penance; and this story -was thought to receive full corroboration by the apparition of a fat -lubberly spectre with the nine of diamonds chained to his neck; as it -was on that card--since named the Curse of Scotland--the Duke of -Cumberland hastily pencilled the savage order to "show no quarter to -the wounded, but to slaughter all." - -Such was the story of our old Highland Quartermaster. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE LAST OF DON FABRIQUE. - -A week or two after our return from Seville to Gibraltar, Jack -Slingsby received a note from a Spanish officer, who commanded a -detachment of the Grenadiers of Jaen, to the effect that the famous -bandit Fabrique de Urquija had been taken, and was condemned to die -by the spirited Alcalde of San Roque; that his execution was to take -place on the day after to-morrow, and that if we wished to behold the -mode of punishing such criminals in Spain, it would afford him much -pleasure if we joined his party, which was ordered to assist in -guarding the scaffold. - -Though neither of us were animated by a love of cruelty or taste for -the morbid, we were somewhat curious to see how this romantic -vagabond, who so pitilessly had meted out death to so many others, -would encounter his own terrible doom, and availing ourselves of the -Spanish officer's polite offer, we procured a day's leave, rode over -to breakfast with him, and marched with his detachment to San Roque, -a little town, which lies, as I have elsewhere said, about six miles -from our garrison on the Spanish side. - -As we proceeded, the Spanish capitano told us the little episode of -Don Fabrique's capture. - -It happened thus. - -The Alcalde of San Roque was reputed to be immensely wealthy, and to -have in a secret place a strong box full of yellow doubloons and rich -silver duros, piled up in shining pillars to its brim, like the -treasure chests which the Moors are supposed to have hidden in all -the old castles and ruined atalayas in Spain, and all of which are -occasionally visible to those who have the fortune of being born on -Good Friday, as every Spaniard knows. - -The rumour of this wealth could not fail to reach the ears of Don -Fabrique, and to excite the cupidity of that enterprising gentleman; -but concealing his intentions from his band, whom he intended to -leave, as he proposed to himself a little trip to Paris or Peru, if -he relieved the Alcalde of those cares which are inseparable from the -possession of wealth, he reconnoitred the house, and found an -entrance to a room wherein he secreted himself beneath a bed, which -stood in an alcove off it. In this bed the portly alcalde and his -buxom wife were wont to take their repose; so Don Fabrique had not -been very long in this place of concealment, when the lady came in -with a lamp in her hand, and placing it on the toilet table, -proceeded to divest her charming person of her habiliments. - -She threw the fag end of her cigar into the brassero; hung her wig -upon a knob of the mirror, et cetera. She then dipped a finger into -the little font of holy water which hung at the head of her bed, and -stepped in, to await the coming of her worthy spouse, who was -lingering over the 'Heraldo' and a glass of Valdepenas in the -dining-room below. - -Now as the bed had a canvas bottom like a hammock, and the lady -therein was equal in size and weight to three ordinary women, Don -Fabrique, with natural consternation, reflected on what he should -have to endure, when the gorbellied alcalde was added to the -superincumbent load of the señora. - -"Demonio!" thought he, "what is to be done? I shall be suffocated -before that brute the señor patron is half asleep!" - -The panting robber stirred uneasily, and the stout lady above him -started. - -"Madre de Dios, what is that!" she whispered to herself. - -There was no response; but on Fabrique stirring again, the señora -fairly sprang in terror from her bed. Fabrique dared not breathe, -but with one hand on his stiletto and the other on his lips, he lay -still as death. The lady now obtained a glimpse of his foot. and -uttering one of those shrill cries, which most women can utter at any -time, she rushed from the chamber to seek her husband; but first she -took the precaution of double-locking the door. - -Finding himself discovered, and aware that all was over now, Fabrique -hastened to escape by his place of entrance, the window. Alas! it -was now secured by a shutter crossed by iron bars on the outside, and -these resisted all his efforts. There was no chimney; again he -rushed to the door. It was firm--fast as a rock, and he might as -well have rushed against the stone wall. He heard the clank of feet -and of halberts as the hastily-summoned alguazils came into the room -below; true, he had his dagger; but what would that avail him against -so many? The perspiration burst over his brow and he cursed the -avarice which brought him on such errand unassisted by that faithful -and determined band he was about to leave for ever. - -Fertile in expedients, he at last thought of one. - -He threw off all his clothes and popped into the bed of the señor -alcalde, and scarcely had he tucked himself cosily in when the door -was burst open, and in marched the portly patron, his eyes dilated -with vengeance, and his paunch swollen with official dignity and -purple valdepenas, while the grim alguazils with pointed halberts and -cocked trabujas came behind, and with them was the terrified lady in -her night-dress, holding a candle in one trembling hand, her rosary -and a case of reliques in the other. - -Fabrique gazed at them with well-feigned surprise, which was -reflected in the faces of all on beholding the place of his retreat, -though it soon turned to resentment in the wife of the alcalde; her -eyes flashed; her plump cheeks and bosom became crimson with anger. - -"How now, señor raterillo," thundered the alcalde; "what am I to -understand by all this?" - -"By what, most worthy señor," whined the robber, with affected -simplicity and shame. - -"Why--your being here--here, señor--in the bed of the señora--in my -bed?" continued the alcalde, gathering courage from the loudness of -his own voice; "speak, rascal--why are you here?" - -"Ask the señora, who invited me," replied Fabrique. with the coolest -assurance in the world. - -"Morte de Dios, what is this I hear?" muttered the overwhelmed -alcalde. - -"Yes, ask her, for I did not come here unexpected, believe me, most -worthy and much-injured Señor Patron," continued the cunning rogue as -he leaped out of bed, and assisted by the tittering alguazils, put on -his garments with all haste, while the wife of the poor alcalde gazed -upon him speechless with rage at the inference and his accusation, -while the magistrate himself was baffled and blanched by a new and -vague sense of shame and consternation. - -"My dear señora," said Fabrique, in a bland tone, as he tied on his -sash and assumed his sombrero, "I regret extremely that you are weary -of me--that my company is no longer pleasing to you, as of old; but -it is very cruel of you to bring the neck of a poor lover so faithful -as I into such deadly jeopardy, and I shall treasure this lesson of -female perfidy, revenge, and caprice to my latest hour. Muchas -gracias, señora, much good may your trick do you." - -The lady was choking with anger and unmerited shame, while the -cunning rogue continued,-- - -"Most worthy Señor Alcalde, most faithless and fickle señora, and -you, most paltry and pitiful señores alguazils, I have the honour to -wish you all a very good evening." - -With a low bow and a mocking smile, he was about to depart, when one -of the alguazils exclaimed,-- - -"Stop--seize him; by Santiago, 'tis Fabrique de Urquija!" - -The face of the robber became black with fury; he drew his stiletto -and rushed upon his discoverer, but was soon beaten down by the -halberts and clubbed blunderbusses of the officials, by whom he was -bound with cords and dragged to prison without delay. - -He was soon tried in due form, and though the whole town rang with -his terrible exploits, and the women praised his handsome figure, his -reckless courage, and the great tact and skill by which he had so -nearly eluded the pot-bellied Alcalde, he was sentenced "to be -garotted at twelve o'clock to-day." - -Such was the detail given to us by the Spanish officer. - -As we neared San Roque, we found great crowds from remote parts of -the judicial partido, all clad in the picturesque and antique -costumes of the province, ascending the mountain on which the town is -situated, and all anxious to behold the dying demeanour of the most -famous of Spanish bandits--the greatest since Manuel Francisco was -shot at Cordova two years ago. - -The mountain of San Roque stands at the head of a beautiful bay of -the same name; and on looking back as we ascended, we had a charming -view of the sea, with several large Xebecques floating like gigantic -white birds with wings outspread upon its shining azure surface. - -A clear and brilliant morning sun poured a flood of light athwart the -picturesque plaza of San Roque, into which, as one may easily -imagine, the whole male population of the town--about eight -thousand--were crowded. This plaza resembled a sea of human heads -covered with black or brown sombreros; though there were many who -wore only their own coarse black hair in netted cauls, and a few had -scarlet forage caps. Above this crowd glittered the bayonets and the -glazed shakoes of a battalion of Infantry of the Spanish line, from -the adjacent barracks. These surrounded the high wooden platform of -the garotte. Within their line were the poor old ecclesiastics of -the two suppressed convents and three hospitals of San Roque, wearing -the remarkable monastic costumes of a past age. - -The principal place was occupied by the commandant of the fortified -camp of San Roque, who, upon our appearing among the crowd in our -British uniform, sent his aide-de-camp, with a polite invitation for -us to join his staff, which we immediately accepted. - -On the centre of the platform, which was about twenty feet square, -and covered with black cloth, sat the fallen Fabrique de Urquija upon -a little wooden stool, with his back placed against the upright post -of the garotte, the iron collar of which encircled his brawny naked -neck. His broad low brow was black as a thunder cloud; his eyes were -fierce and keen, and with a lowering glance of scornful pride, he -surveyed the masses who crowded on every inch of space that afforded -footing. His ancles were chained to an eyebolt on the floor of the -platform. Near him stood the old confessor José de Torquemada of -Medina, barefooted; his cowl thrown back; in his wrinkled hands an -ivory crucifix, which ever and anon he placed to the quivering lips -of the doomed man in the interval of prayer. - -Poor Urquija! I forgot all his atrocities and the evil he would once -have done to Slingsby and myself; and now I felt only pity for his -terrible situation. - -"I saw your glance of commiseration," said Jack quietly, as he -prepared a cigarito; "but be assured, Ramble, you may as well feel -pity for a bruised wolf. I have not forgotten the Rio de Muerte, and -that night on the hills above Trohniona." - -"Noble Caballeros--buenos Christianos," said a venerable Franciscan, -placing before us the wooden platter on which he was receiving the -reals and pence of the faithful; "por neustra Señora Santissima, one -little medio for the sinful soul of Fabrique de Urquija." - -Jack and I--though believing but little in monk or mass--were taught -as soldiers to respect the religious prejudices of all men; thus we -were touched by the honest piety of these old pillars of a dying -creed---dying at least in Spain; and we each threw in a gold coin. -This raised an approving murmur among the people, and the prisoner -gave us a glance full of recognition and gratitude. We had paid -enough for fifty masses! - -The church bell now began to toll a passing knell. - -Then the alguazils, who wore the cavalier costume of other times--the -broad hat, the long locks, the white vandyke collar over a little -shoulder mantle, the short knee-breeches and buckled shoes, of the -days of Cervantes, advanced their halberts and ascended the scaffold, -accompanied by the executioner, who was dressed in the deepest black. -All present now murmured and looked round, and several officers drew -their swords, for rumours of a projected rescue were current in San -Roque and its vicinity. - -The confession was ended, and if all the horrors which rumour -ascribed to the unhappy Urquija were true, what a revelation it must -have been! What a volume it would have made! - -José Torquemada remained on his knees beside the penitent, who turned -to him ever and anon, anxiously and hurriedly to pour into his ear -some newly-remembered act of guilt, or perhaps to spin out the thread -of life a little--a very little longer. - -Meanwhile the solemn bell continued tolling; the people around the -scaffold were nearly all upon their knees, and the grasp of the -executioner was laid upon the iron wrench or screw of the garotte. -The face of the culprit flushed as he did so, and then grew pale as -marble. - -The hand of the church clock indicated the hour of noon; then a -cannon pealed from the fortifications of San Roque and the priest -pointed with his crucifix to Heaven, while the executioner, at that -instant, gave the screw a vigorous twist, and the head of Urquija -fell suddenly on his breast. It heaved a little, and all was over. - -A "viva" mingled with the prayers of the people; but the dead man -remained motionless and still, under that bright sunshine of noon; -and then rose the hum of many voices as if a load had been taken off -every breast; while the bayonets flashed and the sharp brass drums -beat merrily, as the Spanish Infantry wheeled from hollow square into -open column of companies, and marched by sections through the Plaza -to the fortified camp of San Roque; then the crowd, who, up to the -last moment had foretold and expected a rescue from the band of -Urquija, who were hovering and vowing vengeance on the Sierra de -Ronda, began to disperse. - -Such was the last act in the terrible career of Fabrique de Urquija, -the student of Alcala; and such was the last episode of Jack -Slingsby's Spanish adventures and mine. - -We dined with the Commandant at the fortified camp of San Roque, and -in the evening rode back to Gibraltar, where we found the garrison in -a buzz of excitement. - -"What is the matter?" I asked of a sentinel at the lower -fortifications as we rode in; "and for what reason was that heavy -cannon fired after sunset?" - -"The Himalaya has come in, sir, with Sir Henry Slingsby and a -detachment of the Guards on board; she is at anchor in the roads, and -your regiment is ordered to embark for the Crimea by gunfire -to-morrow." - -"Hurrah!" cried Jack, and we dashed at full speed to our barracks, -where the clusters of our soldiers in the square, laughing and -talking gaily, the colonel's orderly running after the adjutant, the -adjutant calling for the Serjeant major, and the evident excitement -and satisfaction visible in every face, corroborated the information -of the sentinel, and impressed upon us the necessity of immediately -packing our baggage; but before doing so, I dispatched at once to -press these little tales and episodes which have lightened and -beguiled our mess-table in old Gibraltar; and if they please my -readers, and win from them but half the praise they won from my light -hearted and brave brother officers, my task in collecting them will -be more than recompensed. - - - -WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM REGIMENT *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td style='padding:0'>Title:</td><td style='padding:0'>The Phantom Regiment</td></tr> - <tr><td style='padding:0'></td><td style='padding:0'>or, Stories of "Ours"</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James Grant</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 20, 2021 [eBook #65393]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Al Haines</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM REGIMENT ***</div> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - THE<br /> - PHANTOM REGIMENT<br /> -</h1> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - OR<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - STORIES OF "OURS"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - JAMES GRANT<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF<br /> - "THE ROMANCE OF WAR"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON<br /> - GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS<br /> - BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL<br /> - NEW YORK: 9 LAFAYETTE PLACE<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> - JAMES GRANT'S NOVELS,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - Two Shillings each, Fancy Boards.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - THE ROMANCE OF WAR<br /> - THE AIDE-DE-CAMP<br /> - THE SCOTTISH CAVALIER<br /> - BOTHWELL<br /> - JANE SETON; OR, THE QUEEN'S ADVOCATE<br /> - PHILIP ROLLO<br /> - THE BLACK WATCH<br /> - MARY OF LORRAINE<br /> - OLIVER ELLIS; OR, THE FUSILIERS<br /> - LUCY ARDEN; OR, HOLLYWOOD HALL<br /> - FRANK HILTON; OR, THE QUEEN'S OWN<br /> - THE YELLOW FRIGATE<br /> - HARRY OGILVIE; OR, THE BLACK DRAGOONS<br /> - ARTHUR BLANE<br /> - LAURA EVERINGHAM; OR, THE HIGHLANDERS OF GLENORA<br /> - THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD<br /> - LETTY HYDE'S LOVERS<br /> - CAVALIERS OF FORTUNE<br /> - SECOND TO NONE<br /> - THE CONSTABLE OF FRANCE<br /> - VIOLET JERMYN<br /> - THE PHANTOM REGIMENT<br /> - THE KING'S OWN BORDERERS<br /> - THE WHITE COCKADE<br /> - FIRST LOVE AND LAST LOVE<br /> - DICK RODNEY<br /> - THE GIRL HE MARRIED<br /> - LADY WEDDERBURN'S WISH<br /> - JACK MANLY<br /> - ONLY AN ENSIGN<br /> - THE ADVENTURES OF ROB ROY<br /> - UNDER THE RED DRAGON<br /> - THE QUEEN'S CADET<br /> - SHALL I WIN HER?<br /> - FAIRER THAN A FAIRY<br /> - ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED<br /> - MORLEY ASTON<br /> - DID SHE LOVE HIM?<br /> - THE ROSS-SHIRE BUFFS<br /> - SIX YEARS AGO<br /> - VERE OF OURS<br /> - THE LORD HERMITAGE<br /> - THE ROYAL REGIMENT<br /> - THE DUKE OF ALBANY'S HIGHLANDERS<br /> - THE CAMERONIANS<br /> - THE SCOTS BRIGADE<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - CONTENTS<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - I. <a href="#chap01">The Romance of a Month</a><br /> - II. <a href="#chap02">The Guarda Costa</a><br /> - III. <a href="#chap03">Jack Slingsby</a><br /> - IV. <a href="#chap04">The Venta</a><br /> - V. <a href="#chap05">The Regiment of San Antonio</a><br /> - VI. <a href="#chap06">La Posada del Cavallo</a><br /> - VII. <a href="#chap07">The Halt in a Cork Wood</a><br /> - VIII. <a href="#chap08">The Alcalde</a><br /> - IX. <a href="#chap09">The Tertulia</a><br /> - X. <a href="#chap10">Don Fabrique</a><br /> - XI. <a href="#chap11">The Raterillo</a><br /> - XII. <a href="#chap12">La Rio de Muerte</a><br /> - XIII. <a href="#chap13">Pedro the Contrabandista</a><br /> - XIV. <a href="#chap14">The Spanish Steamer</a><br /> - XV. <a href="#chap15">The Circassian Captain</a><br /> - XVI. <a href="#chap16">Osman Rioni</a><br /> - XVII. <a href="#chap17">The Hussars of Tenginski</a><br /> - XVIII. <a href="#chap18">Zupi</a><br /> - XIX. <a href="#chap19">We Reach Head-Quarters</a><br /> - XX. <a href="#chap20">St. Floridan; or, the Adventures of a Night</a><br /> - XXI. <a href="#chap21">The Widow; or, the Adventures of a Night</a><br /> - XXII. <a href="#chap22">Perez, the Potter; or, the Adventures of a Night</a><br /> - XXIII. <a href="#chap23">The Major's Story</a><br /> - XXIV. <a href="#chap24">"Estella"</a><br /> - XXV. <a href="#chap25">A Legend of Fife</a><br /> - XXVI. <a href="#chap26">The Phantom Regiment—The Quartermaster's Story</a><br /> - XXVII. <a href="#chap27">The Phantom Regiment—The Unco' Quest</a><br /> - XXVIII. <a href="#chap28">The Phantom Regiment—The Midnight March</a><br /> - XXIX. <a href="#chap29">The Last of Don Fabrique</a><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT; -</p> - -<p class="t3b"> -OR, -</p> - -<p class="t2"> -STORIES OF "OURS." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -THE ROMANCE OF A MONTH. -</h3> - -<p> -"Adios, Señora Paulina—adios, mi Señora Dominga." -</p> - -<p> -"Adios, Señor Don Ricardo," replied a sweet voice -from the depths of the old Spanish coach. -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya usted con Dios, y que no haya novedad -Señoras," said I, making a vigorous effort with my -best Castilian; and with these words, and one bright -parting glance from two black Andalusian eyes, so -ended my little romance of a month, as the -old-fashioned coach, which was doubtless the production -of some cunning workman of Seville or Jaen, rolled -slowly, pompously, and heavily away towards the -Spanish lines, from the north gate of Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -And this farewell took place exactly this day twelve -months ago. -</p> - -<p> -The coach which bore away the old lady who -rejoiced in the euphonious cognomen of Donna -Dominga de Lucena y Colmenar de Orieja, and her -daughter the pretty Paulina, was a genuine old -Castilian contrivance of the true caravan species; and, -though still in use, in this our age of luxury and -invention, had been constructed, perhaps, before folding -steps were conceived; for a three-legged stool, to -facilitate ingress and egress, hung near the door. -The roof was shaped like the crust of an apple-pie, -and the lower carriage, like that portion of a -triumphal car. It was drawn by a pair of fat sleek mules, -which seemed to have grown old with the vehicle, and -with Pedrillo, the little postilion, who floundered -away on a demi-pique saddle, with a gigantic cocked -hat surmounting his dark visage; and his lean spindle -legs lost in two gigantic jack-boots, which belonged -to the beforesaid saddle rather than to his own person. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the antediluvian vehicle which bore away -the pompous old Donna and her daughter the -charming Paulina, who, for the past month (during -which she had resided in Gibraltar), had turned all -the heads of "Ours;" and was boasted by the -Spaniards as the fairest belle in las Cuatros Reinos—yes -in the three mighty little kingdoms of Seville, -Cordova, Jaen, and Granada, which are now -conglomerated into the beautiful province of Andalusia. -</p> - -<p> -And so, without other escort than the redoubtable -Pedrillo, who wore a trabujo or blunderbuss slung -across his back, and strong in their belief in the -virtues of the Santa Faz of Jaen, a picture of which -was hung in the back of their coach, these two Spanish -ladies, on the conclusion of their visit, departed -on their return to Seville, their native city; and from -the British fortifications, which frown in solid tiers -towards the Spanish lines, I watched the venerable -carrozzo as it rolled across the low sandy Isthmus, -which is known as the neutral ground; and it -disappeared just as the sun began to fade upon the -beautiful masses of the Serrania de Rondo, which -rose in piles against the golden clouds, and as the -evening gun pealed like thunder among the Moorish -peaks of Jebel Tarik; and then I turned away with -a sigh as I thought of the winning smile I should -never see again. -</p> - -<p> -"It's all over now, Ramble," said my friend Jack -Slingsby, who was the subaltern of my company, -and who had been my chum at Sandhurst; "it is all -over, Dick," he continued, with a laugh and one of -those rough slaps on the shoulder, which no one -ventures to give but an Englishman; "and so, instead -of airing your sorrows here, 'sighing to the evening -breeze' and all that sort of thing, you may as well -come with me and knock the balls about a little—or -join Shafton, the colonel, and some of "Ours" who -have proposed a pool to-night—and meanwhile solace -yourself with another of my 'very superior' cabanas." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps it is as well she is gone, Jack," said I, -endeavouring to imitate his light-hearted indifference; -"had she remained among us another week, I would -certainly have booked for her, and so have bedevilled -myself, as you said yesterday." -</p> - -<p> -"For Donna Paulina?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of course—had you any doubts as to which?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why—no. I certainly did not think that you -were in love with the mother." -</p> - -<p> -"Well," said I, impatiently. -</p> - -<p> -"Paulina is very beautiful, no doubt; she has those -Andalusian eyes and ancles which all the world talk -about, but which all the world must see to feel the -full effect of either. She has a charming manner—a -glorious 'espiêglerie'—yes, that's the word! full of -pretty repartee, and all that sort of thing—you -understand me, Dick, or Don Ricardo, as she called you; -but withal, I assure you, I should not like to enter -for a Spanish wife, of all women in the world; no, -no—what does the song say?" and as we reascended -to the higher parts of the fortress, this careless fellow -sang aloud a scrap of a popular mess-table song, -somewhat to this purpose:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "No fair fräulein or demoiselle, nor donna with her smile,<br /> - Shall ever teach me to forget the dear ones of our isle;<br /> - And when I seek a heart and hand among the fair and free,<br /> - Still constant in my faith, I'll say an English girl for me."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"That is the mark, Dick,— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "——an English girl for me!"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Besides, half of the young fellows in garrison here -ran after Paulina; and at every mess-table she was as -well known as the big drum, or the regimental -snuff-box, or that great ram's head with its devilish horns, -with which those highland fellows of the 92nd -decorate their table, after the cloth is removed. At every -jail, field-day, and tertulia—at church, and on the -promenade, a crowd of admirers surrounded her, like -flies round honey, and she seemed to be equally -delighted with all." -</p> - -<p> -"That was one of the peculiar charms of her -manner, Jack," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Peculiar, indeed!" said he, letting out a cloud of -smoke from his well-mustachioed lip. -</p> - -<p> -"In public, she distinguished none in particular, -but was alike gay with all." -</p> - -<p> -"And in private, who was said generally to be the -happy Lothario?" -</p> - -<p> -I made no reply, but knocked the ashes away from -the 'very superior' cabana, with which he had just -favoured me. -</p> - -<p> -"It was said to be a certain person known as Dick -Ramble of 'Ours'," continued Slingsby, in his -bantering way; "but I am deuced glad it is all over, like -any other flirtation, and you are 'free to win and free -to wed another;' I don't like Spaniards—and never -shall. In fact, I have hated them ever since that -unpleasant adventure I had at Malaga last year, and -about which I shall tell you some other time; but -here come Shafton, Morton, and some more of 'Ours,' -and as soon as we leave the mess, we shall adjourn to -the billiard table." -</p> - -<p> -What this 'unpleasant adventure,' to which Slingsby -referred—and to which I had often heard him -refer before—might have been I cared not then to -inquire; but walked on, more chilled than consoled by -his rattling manner and by that mess-room raillery, -which I have known to laugh many a wiser man than -your humble servant, out of an honest and sincere -passion; while it has also been the saving of many -an inflammable "Newcome," or unfledged, but -amatory ensign, from the lures of those passé garrison -belles, whose feathers are beginning to moult, and -whose brilliance is beginning to fade, after a long -career of close flirtation, round-dancing, supper-crushes, -cold fowl, ices, pink champagne, affectionate -farewells in the grey morning, when the drowsy -drum-boys beat reveillie, or when the route arrived, -and each lover—a lover alas! but for the time—departed -with his regiment to return no more. -</p> - -<p> -Of Paulina de Lucena (such a pretty name it is!) -I had seen much during her short residence in -Gibraltar, and had become—what shall I term it, for -'Ours' were not marrying men—charmed by her -sweetness of temper and piquant manner, as well as -by her acknowledged beauty. -</p> - -<p> -Jack Slingsby stigmatised this under the denomination -of "being spooney;" but as I have a proper -abhorrence of all that slang phraseology which is -peculiar to the university, the barrack, the clubhouse, -and the turf, I believe I shall quote honest Jack no -more, but proceed in my own fashion. -</p> - -<p> -She was the only daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel -Don Ignacio de Lucena, a Knight of San Ferdinando, -an officer of Lancers in the service of the Queen of -Spain, in one of whose battles he was taken prisoner -by Cabrera, and shot in cold blood with fifty of his -soldiers: for this ferocious Carlist behaved with such -barbarity to the Constitutional Army that one of its -officers, who had been a prisoner, assured me that -at Valencia he and his comrades were subjected to -such cruelty by their captors, that after a thousand -sufferings, on being denied food, they were driven to -the dreadful necessity of devouring the body of a -fellow captive.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* A work published in Valencia positively asserts this. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The profession of her father, together with the -circumstance of one of her brothers being in the -Spanish sea service, and another in the army of -Portugal, caused her to view with a favourable eye all -who have the honour to live by the sword; and my -small smattering of Spanish, which I picked up in -those idle hours of a garrison life that otherwise -must have hung heavily over me, gave me every -facility for cultivating a friendship which had in it -everything that might serve to dazzle and charm a young -man; for with the idea of Andalusia and Spanish -beauty we are apt to conjure up so much of love -and of romance that the imagination gets the better -of the senses; besides, those rogues of travellers and -romancers have always given us such exaggerated -pictures of Spanish loveliness. -</p> - -<p> -In regularity of feature and fairness of complexion, -Donna Paulina was inferior to many a pretty girl I -have seen at home. Her most glorious attractions -were her dark glossy tresses and her black eloquent -eyes—brilliant, sad, subduing, ever varying, but ever -black, and under their long, long fringes, ever -melting. In beauty of form and grace of movement -she was unmatched out of her own province, and I -can assure the reader that the first time her very -striking figure appeared among the promenaders in -the Alameda of Gibraltar with her drapery of black -lace falling from a high pearl comb, her mantilla, -her close-fitting dress, her pretty feet in their -Cordovan slippers, and her large fan, the unhappy bones -of which were ever in a state of flutter and excitement, -and between which she shot her most dangerous -glances, it occasioned much marvel, curiosity, and -speculation at all the mess-tables of Her Majesty's -forces stationed on the rock. -</p> - -<p> -To such a companion imagine the charm of acting -cicerone about the fortifications of old Gibraltar; -imagine our evening rambles round Rosia Bay and -along the new mole, where the ships of the British -and Yankees, the French, Spaniards, Portuguese, -Italians, Turks, Greeks, Moors, Arabs, and Jews, -with all their varieties of ensigns, costume and rig, -are riding at anchor, and where many a grim mortar -and cannon gun frown over the new bastion; imagine -the transition from the sunny Alameda to the deep -cool galleries which are hewn in the heart of the -living rock, and which are now turned to such -war-like purposes as old Pomponius Mela, who first wrote -of them, could never have conceived, and where we -wandered for many an hour, the pretty donna forgetting -the starched customs of her country so far as -to grasp my arm with both her hands at times, for the -aspect of these places filled her with timidity and -awe. -</p> - -<p> -To these subterranean batteries there is admitted -but a dim and dubious light that steals through their -embrasures, glinting on the damp slime of their -walls and roof of rock; and on the heavy -ordnance—sixty-eight pounders some of them—which stand -on frames of metal, on piles of balls and bombs, and -on doors studded with iron, that lead to other and inner -vaults full of missiles and unknown terrors. -</p> - -<p> -On, on would we wander, through grim batteries, -gloomy magazines, and far-stretching galleries, that -seemed to be without end, obtaining at times through -the vaulted embrasures a glimpse of the town, then -basking in the glare of the noonday sun, or of the -sea, shining under a brilliance in which the vessels -on its bosom became lost, while we heard only the -sound of our own voices, the twang of a bugle, or -the sharp rat-tat of a drum in the barracks, the faint -boom of a breaker on the cliffs, or the fainter sound -of voices in the town, far, far down below, where all -the races of the world were mingling; for there, in -its streets, might be seen the smart Greek in his -scarlet fez and ample kilt; the hideous Afric Jew in his -black and white striped cowl; the slow and solemn -Turk; the bare-kneed Scottish soldier; the lively -Italian sailor, and the puffing, perspiring, and -grumbling John Bull. -</p> - -<p> -I saw Paulina daily, and garrison life became one -long and enchanting dream! -</p> - -<p> -In the batteries of the rock we promenaded often -when the heat became too great in the sunny -Alameda, and with such a companion, while wandering -through the subterranean and twilight shades of -Saint George's Hall, or the Windsor Gallery, how was -it possible to escape from loving her.—A coquettish -Andalusian, who, whenever I ventured to become a -little more tender than usual, would tap me over the -fingers with her fan, or give me one brilliant, flashing -and fascinating glance, as she closed her screen of -black lace, and threatened to leave me, while she -sang, with the most charming grace in the world, -"Pues por besarte Minguillo," the English of which -is somewhat to the following purpose:— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Give me swiftly back, thou dear one,<br /> - Give the kiss I gave to you;<br /> - Give me back the kiss, for mother<br /> - Is impatient—prithee do!<br /> - Give me that, and take another,<br /> - For that one, thou shalt have two."<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -And where, the while, the reader may naturally -enquire, was the cautious, suspicious, and lynx-eyed -Spanish mother therein referred to? -</p> - -<p> -Now old Donna Dominga had conceived a vehement -friendship for me since the first evening on -which I had the pleasure of meeting her at the -residence of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief; -and where I supplied her with ices when she was -warm, adjusted her mantilla when she was cool, held -her fan, snuff-box, and poodle, and brought her a -cigarillo and orange-water dashed with the smallest -taste of brandy; and, discovering her sympathies and -antipathies, soon learned to anathematise Cabrera -and the Conde de Montmolin, to express a vague -belief in miracles in general, and the verity of the -Holy Face of Jaen in particular. I "turned" the -old lady's flank, and established myself safely under -the wing of her prejudices. -</p> - -<p> -She always accompanied Paulina and me in our -rambles; but I generally contrived, by a little -successful manoeuvring, to leave her to the care of -Dr. MacLeechy, our senior surgeon, after Jack Slingsby -had very disobligingly revolted against this duty; -and as the doctor and the Donna were either -somewhat pursy, or disposed to prose and linger, we -usually left them far in the rear and lost sight of them -altogether. -</p> - -<p> -Now the doctor, who quoted Kelaart as if he had -been his own father, and expatiated to the old lady -on geology (with mineralogy, botany, and Scottish -metaphysics), was so very particular in explaining the -leaves, fibres, and various properties of the <i>Iberus -Giberaltarica</i>, the only plant peculiar to the rock, -that the stout Donna Dominga, who deemed all this -but the language of the flowers, and viewed -everything through the medium of gallantry, became -troubled in spirit, and would occasionally blush behind -the sticks of her fan, or ogle and look unutterable -things at our poor unconscious medico. She would -sigh tenderly when he plucked the soft palmetto -which grows in the rocky crevices, or tremble over -the white polyanthus, and was ready to drop like a -ripe pumpkin into his arms, when he grew eloquent -upon the various species of the cacti. -</p> - -<p> -This was all very well while it lasted, for while the -ponderous old donna thought that our quiet, canny, -and discreet Galen, who signed himself M.D. of -St. Andrews, and F.E.C.S. of Edinburgh, was a lover of -her own, she forgot to look too narrowly after us; -and believed that she had found a most agreeable -mode of passing the month in Gibraltar, which, for -change of air, had been recommended by some -sangrado of Seville, as her health had become -somewhat impaired by ease and good living. -</p> - -<p> -I was so dazzled and delighted with the charming -Paulina, and her pretty little ways, that I had really -begun to prepare my mind for repelling the banter -of the mess, and for waiting with due solemnity -upon Donna Dominga to confer with her alone, -upon settlements and so forth, when a terrible -denouement took place! Having rashly boasted of -her imaginary conquest over our doctor, to a lady -whom she met at the house of a rich Spanish -merchant in the Alameda, there ensued between them -an immediate scene; for this unlucky communication -(given with all the coy triumph with which -the plump old lady could invest it) was made to no -other than the doctor's wife, who had just arrived -from Dublin; and as it had never entered the head -of Donna Dominga to inquire whether our -unsuspecting medico was a Benedick—bond or free, as -they say in Australia—a storm was the consequence. -</p> - -<p> -Now, Mrs. Leechy MacLeechy, our Scotch doctor's -better half, was a strong-minded Irish woman, who -wore a species of turban, and was the terror of the -regiment; on each of her fat wrists she wore a -bracelet of blood-encrusted medals, torn, as she said, -"off Rooshian breasts," and sent to her from -Sebastopol by her brother, who was "the matchor—the -saynior matchor—devil a less, or the foighting -eighty-ayth;" and so this lady, in her deep Galway -patois, poured on the Spaniard a broadside that -would have sunk the Santissima Trinidad. -</p> - -<p> -Finding her love affair at an end, the cruel donna -resolved to cut short mine. Within an hour after -this meeting, Pedrillo was summoned; the old -Spanish coach was brought forth; the baggage packed, -and her farewell cards—P.P.C.—dispatched to the -governor and his military secretary; to the aides-de-camp -and staff colonel; to the officers commanding -regiments, and all the great folks of the place. The -old lady and the pretty Paulina got into the depths -of the ponderous 'carrozza;' the three-legged stool -was strapped to the door; Pedrillo clambered into -his bucket-like boots, and muttered many 'carajos!' -as he applied his latigo to the sleek sides of the -dapple mules, and while their proprietrix was sulking -and fuming at Gibraltar and all the heretics who -dwelt therein, the huge conveyance crawled along -the narrow causeway which forms the communication -between the town and the isthmus, and, for the -present, thus ended, as I have said, my pleasant -little Spanish romance of a month. -</p> - -<p> -A recollection was all that remained to me of -Paulina, and of that flirtation which was fast -maturing into something of a better and more lasting -nature. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -THE GUARDA COSTA. -</h3> - -<p> -During the two preceding months we had been -daily expecting orders to embark for the Crimea, -and this expectation formed almost our sole topic at -mess; but days became weeks, and weeks became -months, yet we heard no more of it than what passed -among ourselves. -</p> - -<p> -Transports laden with troops—horse, foot, and -artillery—touched daily at the Rock, and steamed -on into the bright blue Mediterranean, with -spirit-stirring cheers rising from their crowded decks. -Regiments junior to ours were withdrawn from the -Rock and dispatched to that scene of bravery and -bloodshed, of mismanagement and disaster, towards -which all our thoughts, our hopes, and hearts were -turned; but the route never came for "Ours," and -we grew decidedly peevish, and found the dull -routine of duty among the endless batteries, bastions, -curtains, magazines, and casemates of that mighty -fortress which was so long boasted (before the days -of steam) as the key of "the great French lake," -sufficiently tedious; for we felt that we were merely -playing at soldiers like militiamen, while our -comrades of the line were engaged in desperate work, -and played the great game of war, with the eyes of -all the world upon them. -</p> - -<p> -One evening, about a week after the departure -of the ladies, I was captain of the guard at the New -Mole Fort, and Jack Slingsby was my subaltern. -We had just finished the dinner which had been -sent to us, hot and smoking, from the mess-house, -in a conveyance for the purpose; the windows of -the officers' guardroom were open, and with a box of -contraband cigars, a few periodicals from the -garrison library, a telescope to watch the passing ships, -and a bottle or two of very choice mess claret, we -were dozing the sunny evening of Andalusia very -comfortably away. -</p> - -<p> -The last dispatches from the Crimea had been -read and discussed by us; the last lists of killed, -wounded, frozen, or missing in the trenches had -been conned over for some familiar name, which -brought vividly before us some fine fellow we should -never see again; but whose sudden fate was the -more interesting to us, because it soon might be -our own. -</p> - -<p> -Whether it was the result of the good dinner, the -good wine, the sultry atmosphere, or our own thoughts -that oppressed us, I know not; but we sat long -silent, and gazing at the varied scenery and -glittering waters of the bay. -</p> - -<p> -My thoughts were still wandering after Paulina, -and I was endeavouring to imagine what she might -be about at that precise moment. -</p> - -<p> -Slingsby had lost a very heavy and very absurd -bet, on an interesting race run at Grand Cairo -between an Irish mare and an Arab horse belonging -to Halim Pasha, when the former beat the latter "all -to nothing," as Jack phrased it, and he had to hand -over 500<i>l.</i> to Morton, our colonel, for booking on -a horse which neither of them had ever seen. -The same race was offered for the last two years -against all England, for ten thousand sovereigns, -and, as all the sporting world know, the challenge -was not accepted. Blue-devilled by his loss, Jack -Slingsby sipped his claret in silence and made wise -resolutions which he never intended to keep, with -moral reflections which he never could practise, and -longed for the Crimea, insensible to the charms of -this delightful climate, where, even in January, the -narcissus-polyanthus hang in white clusters from the -rocks; where the purple lavender flowers in large -beds and parterres; where the palmetto spreads its -fan-like foliage to the sun; where the gigantic aloe -puts forth its leaves, and the prickly pear expands -its ponderous bunches, while the wild tulip and the -damascus-tree are in full blossom under the gloom -of the solemn pine, or the lighter foliage of the -cork-tree—and where all is verdure, fragrance, and joy! -Yet, amid all this, Jack Slingsby, like the rest of -"Ours," sighed for the frozen camp, the battered -trenches, and the misery of Sebastopol. -</p> - -<p> -"So you have not got the better of your Spanish -fancies, eh?" said he, for lack of something -better to talk about; "the charming Paulina—that -most rotund of elderly females, her mamma, and all -that sort of thing?" -</p> - -<p> -"What leads you to think so?" I asked languidly, -as I lay stretched at length on the Windsor chairs, -watching the smoke which ascended from my lips to -the ceiling. -</p> - -<p> -"It is quite plain, dear Don Ricardo." -</p> - -<p> -"You cannot mimic her, so don't attempt it, Jack; -but how is it plain, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"As clear as when the right is in front, the left is -the pivot." -</p> - -<p> -"A technical reply." -</p> - -<p> -"Dick Ramble, my boy, you are quite sad about -her, and there is no use in attempting to conceal it," -continued Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Not sad, exactly," said I, making an effort to -look brave; "never was I fool enough to be sad -about any woman yet; there are as good fish, &c., -and as for the Spanish girl—try another Cuba, the -box is beside you." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks—about this Spanish girl?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fill your glass, and push across the decanter; -has not that bottle been a little corked, think -you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps—about this Spanish girl?" continued -Jack doggedly. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, what the deuce about her?" -</p> - -<p> -"You were just on the point of remarking some -thing." -</p> - -<p> -"Only that her eyes were very fine, were they not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very, but I prefer blue— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'No fair fräulein nor dem——-'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"For heaven's sake, Jack, don't begin that -ever-lasting ditty!" said I, pettishly; "yes, Paulina's -eyes were beautiful; they seemed, as the Spaniards -say, to be in mourning for the murders they committed." -</p> - -<p> -"A stale compliment," was Jack's retort to my -interruption of a song with which he had favoured -the mess every night since we left Southampton, for -a small amount of vocal talent will go a long way -to charm a mess-table; "she murdered you, -however, with very little compunction; but to think of -the doctor's botanising with the mother being -mistaken for love-making—was it not glorious, Dick?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have sometimes thought of a month's leave, -just between musters," said I, without joining in -Jack's boisterous laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"Leave! for what purpose?" -</p> - -<p> -"A ride into Spain—say, as far as Seville; what -do you think of it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Seventy miles or more to help you to continue -a flirtation begun in the casemates of Gibraltar. -Thank you, Ramble; I would rather hold myself -excused. I had a little adventure in Spain once -before, and its devilish concomitants quite cured me -of all taste for another; though if I had not lost this -unlucky 500<i>l.</i> perhaps—" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, why the deuce did you not let Halim -Pasha and his nag alone? What did their race -matter to you?" -</p> - -<p> -"But lend me the telescope—what is that puff—a -gun?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is a smuggler running right for the harbour, -pursued by a Spanish guarda costa; bang! there -goes another gun from the Don." -</p> - -<p> -"And right through the felucca's sail too!" -</p> - -<p> -"Hollo! they will be within gunshot of us ere -long," said I, springing up: "and this will be work -for us. Sentry, call the gunner of the guard." -</p> - -<p> -"Gunner of the guard!" reiterated the sentinel, -who stood, bayonet in hand, under a sunshade, at -the guard-house door. -</p> - -<p> -The solitary artilleryman, who was attached to my -guard, appeared in an instant with his sword by his -side, and a lintstock in his hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Get ready a gun," said I; "for there is a Spanish -guarda costa in pursuit of a smuggler, and we must -protect our friend." -</p> - -<p> -"An 18-pounder, or a 24, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, give him a twenty-four, and take a file of -the guard to assist you." -</p> - -<p> -While the smuggler, with her long sweeps out, -and every stitch of canvas crowded on her long and -tapering masts and whip-like yards, was straining -every nerve to escape from the Spanish cruiser, -which plied away with her bow guns, and bore after -her close-hauled, and rushing through the shining -waves till they seemed to smoke under her, it may -be necessary to inform the reader that the -manufacture and smuggling of tobacco and cigars at -Gibraltar is a never-failing and never-ending source -of angry discussion between the Governments of -Spain and Britain; for, by the former, tobacco has -long been reckoned a royal monopoly. Now, in -Gibraltar, almost every second house is a cigar-shop, -and more than two thousand men are daily employed -in the manufacture of these articles of luxury, -without which a Spaniard would be, as some one says. -like a steamer without a funnel. Three-fourths of -the British exports from Gibraltar to the three United -Kingdoms are also smuggled, and to such an extent -is the contraband trade carried, that the annual -importation of tobacco into that fortified town, says -Mr Porter, in his "Progress of the Nation," "amounts -to from six millions to eight millions of pounds, -nearly the whole of which is purchased by smugglers." -</p> - -<p> -The boats of the contrabandistas are generally -rigged as feluccas, and painted black; they are built -sharp as a pike-head, and carry a heavy brass gun, -which, in harbour, is usually concealed under a pile -of old boxes and casks, with a tarpaulin thrown over -it, while in cases of emergency, various pistols, pikes, -and cutlasses, make their appearance in the hands of -the brown-visaged, black-bearded, red-sashed, and -rather pictorial-looking ruffians, whose chief -occupation is to sleep and lounge about their decks by -day. -</p> - -<p> -To look out for these lads of the knife and pistol, -the Government of Her Most Catholic Majesty maintains -a number of fast-sailing revenue craft, called -guarda costas, commanded by brave and vigilant -officers. These are the abhorrence of the contrabandistas, -whose operations are greatly facilitated on -land by the concurrence of the corrupt Spanish officials; -and those guarda costas, in their zeal, had, of -late, been rash enough to pursue their prey into those -waters which are under the jurisdiction of the -Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Gibraltar; and -in three instances had boarded them with pistol and -cutlass, shot the crews, or driven them overboard, -and thereafter cut the feluccas out from under the -very guns of Her Britannic Majesty's fortress. -</p> - -<p> -This, however, was not to be tolerated again, and -strict orders had been issued that every guarda costa -who ventured into troubled waters should be fired -on. John Bull is consistently absurd and unjust in -all things, and, with all his boasted justice, is the -most veritable bully in the world—except, perhaps, -his thriving son Jonathan; he would no doubt cut -his own smugglers out of any port in the world, and -in the same moment would deny the poor Spaniards -the right to do the same; for John is a man full of -honour and liberality, or a man of neither, just as -may suit his own particular purpose for the time; -but to return,— -</p> - -<p> -On came the felucca in question, running straight -for the anchorage, which was protected by the heavy -guns of the New Mole Fort where we were on guard. -and the parapet of which was lined by the soldiers, -all eager to witness the result of that most exciting -of all things, a chase—a struggle between a strong -party and a weak one. On came the guarda costa -in pursuit, plying her bow-chaser, cleaving asunder -the clouds of white smoke which ever and anon it -rolled ahead of her, and riding over the waves, then -shining in all the rosy brilliance of a Spanish -sunset, while astern waved the large ensign with the -red and yellow horizontal bars of Castile and Leon. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly the little felucca ran up British colours; -a sharp patter rang over the water, and a wreath of -smoke rose from her stern as the devil-may-care -contrabandistas gave the cruiser a dose of small -arms. -</p> - -<p> -Boom again! The don gave another shot from -his brass gun, and this time an angry shout arose -from our own vessels in the roadstead, for the ball -had crossed the forefoot of a Newcastle collier. -</p> - -<p> -"Ramble, this will never do," said Slingsby; "that -Spanish craft is too near by half—much nearer than -our standing orders permit." -</p> - -<p> -"Now, gunner, is that 24-pounder ready?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"All ready, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Then bang at her." -</p> - -<p> -We all watched the shot with breathless interest, -for to us, the whole affair was merely a race, a game -of hazard, like any other. The sullen roar of the -24-pounder shook the solid parapet of the New Mole -Fort, and pealed in repeated echoes round all the -shore to the extremity of Rosia Bay; and as the -cloud of light smoke curled away from before us, we -saw the shot whipping the water far astern of the -guarda costa, and a flush of annoyance spread over -the honest face of the artilleryman; for, as all our -eyes were bent upon his performance, he had been -most anxious to excel, and this very anxiety had -probably defeated its object. -</p> - -<p> -A muttered exclamation of impatience escaped him. -</p> - -<p> -"Run back the gun," said he to the guard. -</p> - -<p> -Back went the carronade, and home went the -sponge, as he set his teeth, and, with hasty -determination, proceeded to reload. -</p> - -<p> -"Quick, quick," said I; "for if she hauls her wind, -gunner, there will barely be time to give another -shot." -</p> - -<p> -"I'll toss you for it, Señor Capitano," said Slingsby; -"bet you a bottle of champagne that I will hit -the guarda costa." -</p> - -<p> -"Done," said I; "toss for the first fire." -</p> - -<p> -We tossed, and it fell to Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"Take care that you don't hit the felucca." -</p> - -<p> -"Miss the pigeon and hit the crow—eh, Dick?" he -said, while, laughing, he applied his eye to the sites -on the breech, and proceeded to adjust the screw, to -the evident annoyance of the gunner, who, while he -could not decline to relinquish his place to an officer, -was piqued on being deprived of a chance of retrieving -his name as a professional marksman; and now he -stood by, with his match lighted, in the earnest hope, -doubtless, that Jack Slingsby would send his shot as -wide of the mark as possible. Cigar in mouth, Jack -glanced coolly—almost carelessly—along the gun, -and on covering his object, cried—"fire!" -</p> - -<p> -Again the lintstock fell on the touch-hole; again -the gun-shot rolled along the echoing shore, and -pealed away to seaward; a large white splinter was -seen on the gunwale of the guarda costa; her sails -shivered and flapped in the wind, as the ball struck -her, and suddenly backing her mainyard, she lay to, -heaving like a wounded seabird, on the long glassy -ridges of the ground-swell, ere the burst of applause -with which our soldiers greeted Slingsby had died -away—for my friend Jack was one of their most -favourite officers. -</p> - -<p> -"You did for her, there, sir," said the gunner, -approvingly, as he rammed home the sponge. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but as you fired when she was much further -off, remember that I have the less credit in hitting," -replied Jack, as he gave the gunner a crown-piece to -console him. -</p> - -<p> -By this time the felucca, with a shout of derision -rising from her deck, ran into the harbour, ducking -her colours thrice to us in salute, as she passed the -New Mole Fort. -</p> - -<p> -I had not been looking for more than a minute -through the spy-glass at the guarda costa, when I -became assured that some one on board had been -wounded severely, either by the shot or its splinters. -The crew—all save the man at the wheel—were -grouped amidships; many were kneeling on the -deck, and, once or twice, clenched hands were fiercely -shaken in menace towards the battery; then we saw -a man borne carefully aft between several others. -</p> - -<p> -"Some one has evidently been killed or wounded -desperately," said I, handing the glass to Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Good Heaven! do you say so?" cried Jack; "well, -it would seem so—poor fellow—you know, Ramble, I -did not exactly anticipate such a thing—so it is—so -it is! There is a man stretched on the deck!" he -added, passing the telescope to our soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -"We have only obeyed a standing garrison order," -said I; "and the responsibility thereof, if any, does -not lie with us, but with those who issued it. Come -back to the guard-room, Jack, and my servant shall -go to the messman for that bottle of champagne you -have won so well." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh! deuce take the champagne, and all that sort -of thing," said Jack, looking still at the guarda costa. -</p> - -<p> -For a time an evident confusion and indecision, -seemed to reign among her crew. She lay heaving -and tossing, rising and falling on the long and ridgy -rollers, with the setting sun glaring full upon her -white mainsail, which lay flat to the mast; the light -of day soon sank in the west, behind the upper peak -of the rocky mountain, from which a myriad rays -shot upward and played on the masses of floating -cloud; the strait was still bathed in the amber glory -of evening, and each glassy billow of the slow ground-swell -as it rolled away from west to east, rose like -a bank of gold from a plain of brilliant blue; and all -the amphitheatre of the town, which stretches along -the base of the rock, and rises gradually from the -shore in the most delightful manner—mingling in -picturesque confusion, the lofty and airy Spanish -caza, with its flat roof, verandah, and sun-shaded -windows, the close, compact English house, the solid -rampart, and the flimsy wooden storehouse—all were -bathed in the warmest tints, and every casement and -window flung back the gleams of radiance, as if they -had been illuminated by lamps of crimson and gold. -</p> - -<p> -Soon after the departed sun had shed its last ray -on the bare scalp of the sugar-loaf, the crew of the -guarda costa, as a protection probably, hoisted British -colours, and crept past us into the harbour, and -immediately on dropping her anchor, sent a boat ashore. -</p> - -<p> -We supposed that this visit could only be for the -purpose of lodging a complaint against the officer in -command at the New Mole Fort—to wit myself, a -complaint which we knew would be unavailing: but -we were mistaken; for my servant, on returning from -the barracks with the bottle of champagne and other -&c. requisite to enable Jack and me to pass the night -on guard agreeably, brought us the unpleasant -information that the shot had carried away both legs of -the unfortunate Spanish lieutenant who commanded -the guarda costa, and that doctor M'Leechy of "Ours" -had at once gone off to the vessel to succour the -patient, who—poor fellow!—had died under his -hands. -</p> - -<p> -This catastrophe proved a great damper to us, and -to Jack in particular, for he was one of the -best-hearted fellows in the service; so we had more -champagne brought from the mess-house, and we talked of -the guarda costa and her poor lieutenant almost till -the morning gun was fired; and the affair furnished -me with a special paragraph for that "column of -remarks" in the guard report which seldom contains -memoranda of greater importance than a notice of -"the cracked pane of glass, handed over by Captain -O'Brien of the 88th;" or, "the poker, handed over, -broken, by the last guard under Lieutenant Smith, -of the Buffs," and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -In the morning we found that the guarda costa had -sailed in the night, taking her dead commander with -her; and long before the end of the week we had -ceased even to speak of the circumstance at mess, -and I forgot the affair as the image of Paulina came -before me again, and thoughtless Jack Slingsby was -as gay as ever. -</p> - -<p> -But I must mention, that on being relieved from -guard at the New Mole Fort, I found waiting me, at -my quarters, Pedro de Urquija, a well-known -contrabandista, and king of the smugglers of Gibraltar, -who gave me a profusion of thanks "for saving his -little felucca, La Buena Fortuna, from that devil of -a guarda costa," saying it was the closest run he had -ever experienced in twenty years of arduous smuggling; -and he insisted upon my acceptance of several -boxes of prime Cubas and some dozen yards of -magnificent lace, worked by the nuns of Cadiz and the -poor sisters of Santa Theresa at Estrelo, and we -parted the best friends in the world: but a heavy rod -was in pickle for Jack and me; and the affair was -destined to cost us more danger, trouble, and anxiety, -than we could ever have calculated on risking. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -JACK SLINGSBY. -</h3> - -<p> -The killing of the Spanish lieutenant revived among -our diplomatic people the ever-rankling quarrel about -the contrabandistas, and the captain-general of -Andalusia wrote an angry letter to the governor of -Gibraltar, remonstrating with him on the conduct of -the officer in charge of the battery at the Mole Fort, -in daring to fire upon a Spanish government cruiser, -and requesting that the said Don Ricardo Ramble -should be given up to the Spanish authorities to be -sent to the galleys at Barcelona probably, or to be -otherwise disposed of. -</p> - -<p> -This absurd demand, however, the old general -commanding waived politely; but the correspondence -was prolonged until the military secretary became -bored to death on the subject, and lost all patience -at the very mention of it. Now as the Queen of -Spain designates herself sovereign lady of Gibraltar, -and as the alcalde of San Roque, a little town which -has sprung up within the last hundred and fifty -years, still styles himself in all official documents -Alcalde of San Roque and of Gibraltar, and holder of -supreme authority therein, the tone assumed by the -capitan-general, who was on a visit to Jaen, was -pompous, high, and mighty; for no explanation we could -give in writing could make the irritable old Castilian -hidalgo see that the lieutenant of the guarda costa -had been in the wrong. -</p> - -<p> -One evening, on entering the mess-room, I was -startled by Colonel Morton acquainting me that by -directions just arrived from the Foreign Secretary he -had been requested to send the two officers who were -on guard in the new Mole Fort into Spain. -</p> - -<p> -"Without hostage or guarantee—the devil!" said -I, shrugging my shoulders; "and to whom?" -</p> - -<p> -"To this obstinate old bore by habit, and boar by -nature, the captain-general." -</p> - -<p> -"As prisoners, colonel?" cried Slingsby, with an -astounded air from the other end of the table, and -pausing with his hand on a wine decanter; "you -don't mean to say as prisoners?" -</p> - -<p> -"Prisoners—not at all; how could you think of -such a thing?" said the colonel, laughing, for he was -a hearty old soldier, at whose name stood P.W. and -K.H., and C.B. in <i>Hart's Army List</i>; "you go -merely to explain the late affair in person; and it is -the more necessary for you both to go as the two -aides-de-camp of the governor are on the sick list. It -is only a ride of some seventy or eighty miles into -Spain—wish 't were I who had the duty to do." -</p> - -<p> -"And where does the captain-general live?" -</p> - -<p> -"At Seville, to which place he is now returning -from Jaen." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, indeed, Seville," said I, reviving, as I filled -my glass with Moselle, and Slingsby stuck his glass -in his remarkably knowing eye. -</p> - -<p> -"You'll take good horses; but be careful of -rogues, raterillos, and footpads by the way. I can -lend you a pair of pistols with spring bayonets." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, colonel, I have my revolver," said I, -laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"What! you smile, Ramble?" said the colonel; -"and believe me to have the bandittiphobia; but I -know Spain well, having marched over every foot of -the Peninsula under Lord Lyndedoch, and fought my -way from the Black Horse Square at Lisbon to the -banks of the Nive, so I know pretty well, that in -peace as in war armed desperadoes, whose hands are -against all men, are, as a certain traveller says, -'the very weeds of the Spanish soil.' Right well do -I know the land of Los Espagnols as we used to call -them in the old fighting 5th Hussars. I was in the -cavalry then, and had I not grown stiff in the joints, -and lost all relish for adventures by day, fleas by -night, and the resinous taste of vino out of a skin at -all times, I would have saved you the trouble of the -journey and gone myself; but my instructions from -home say that Captain Ramble and Lieutenant -Slingsby must go, so there is the end of it. Major, -Mr. Vice, another bottle of wine to drink 'bon -voyage' to Ramble and Slingsby." -</p> - -<p> -"With all my heart; sergeant Slopper, a fresh -allowance of wine," said the major. -</p> - -<p> -"Wish I were going with you," said Shafton, the -captain of our light company; "a ride to Seville! -the very name of the place conjures up a sunny -vision of orange trees and glowing grapes, of black -mantillas and taper ancles, and different duty from -trenching in the Crimea as we might have been, and -ought to have been by this time." -</p> - -<p> -"Aye," quoth M'Leechy the doctor, who although -married (as he knew to his cost) was dining that day -with the mess; "and a pleasant change after our -dull routine of garrison life, during which we have, -as 'Punch' says— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Contentedly eat ration beefs and muttons,<br /> - Contentedly drank ration rums and waters;<br /> - Darned our own socks, and sewed our own buttons,<br /> - Fried in summer, and froze in winter quarters."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"A fine upon the doctor," said Shafton; "colonel, -Mr. Vice, gentlemen, he vilely satirises Her Majesty's -service, a bottle of champagne from the doctor." -</p> - -<p> -"You will remember us all most affectionately -to Donna Dominga and to the bewitching Paulina—you -will see them of course," said some one from the -foot of the table. -</p> - -<p> -"The doctor must prepare some of the rarest -specimens of those remarkable cacti with which he -subdued the heart of the plump widow," said Slingsby, -taking up the chorus of banter, "and have them -ready by to-morrow; we start to-morrow, I presume, -colonel." -</p> - -<p> -"As early as you please," said Morton. -</p> - -<p> -"We shall have some glorious fun in Seville—eh, -Ramble? You'll envy us, gentlemen." -</p> - -<p> -"If the captain-general does not garotte you," -snarled the doctor; "or treat you as Don Ramon -Cabrera, the Conde de Morella, treated the husband -of Donna Dominga." -</p> - -<p> -"But for that gentle sigh, doctor, I would have -considered you quite a bear," said Slingsby, "but -pass the wine, M'Leechy." -</p> - -<p> -"If you find Seville dull," retorted the doctor, -"you had better play the same little prank you -played at Kilkenny when you were in the Sixth." -</p> - -<p> -"What did he do when in the Sixth?" inquired a -dozen voices at once. -</p> - -<p> -"What did he not do you should ask," continued -the doctor, while Jack smiled faintly and filled up his -glass. "Once when we marched into Kilkenny we -found there had been a quarrel between the Rapparees -of the district and the first battalion of Scots -Royals. It was in the time of high Repeal -enthusiasm, and nothing was thought of but an Irish -Republic, so the people looked darkly at the -redcoats. Now Slingsby had never been in Ireland -before, and as he received over the barrack-guard -from one of the Royals, with bayonets fixed and -drum beating, he asked how the inhabitants liked -the troops. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ill enough,' answered the Royal, 'since we -shot some of them in a tithe business near Roscrea: -they have been as cold as charity, and the devil a -dinner or ball have we had since last muster day, and -you be here till you are mouldy without seeing such -a thing as a waltz or white kids—ices and fowl, trifle -and champagne.' -</p> - -<p> -"Whereupon Mr. Jack Slingsby, being an Englishman, -and knowing no better, believed he might play -pranks upon the Irish; and seating himself in his -quarters next day, he assumed his pen and dispatched -the following card to every house in the town:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"'Lieutenant Slingsby, of H.M.'s 6th Foot, presents -his compliments to the ladies of Kilkenny, and -takes the earliest opportunity of announcing his -arrival. He begs to inform them that he can play -whist, casino, and every game on cards known in -Christendom; that he flirts to admiration, and can -polk, waltz, and dance the varsovienne ditto, that -generally he can accommodate himself to every -whim-wham of the charming sex, and is always to be -heard of at his residence in the infantry barracks.' -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Among others he rashly sent one of these precious -circulars to Mrs. Towler, the wife—I beg her -pardon—the lady of the major-general of the district, -who wickedly handed it to her husband at breakfast; -so poor Jack's production brought him before a -general court-martial. It went very hard with him, -for the irascible general deemed that his wife and -her ten highly-eligible daughters were grossly -insulted; but our hero escaped with a reprimand, and -the colonel was directed to watch his conduct in -future, but he became thereafter the lion of Kilkenny -and Carlow to boot, and all the district from Roscrea -to Clonmel. After that, an evening party without -Jack, would have been like a bell without a clapper." -</p> - -<p> -"But the general never forgave me for that prank," -said Jack, good-humouredly; "and he was always on -the watch for me afterwards." -</p> - -<p> -"You remember how nearly he had you booked -for another court-martial on a race day?" -</p> - -<p> -"And how nicely I outflanked and outwitted him! -It was the day of the principal races; I had a horse -to run, and more than half the regiment had made a -heavy book on him, and a great amount of paper -was expected to change owners on the issue. The -lord-lieutenant was to be there, and I was all anxiety -to be present at the race, when, as the devil or the -adjutant would have it, I found myself in orders the -day before—orders for guard! Everybody was going -to the course, and not a soul for love or money would -take my duty; so with a heavy heart I paraded in the -morning; and as the time for the start drew near I -saw all our fellows bowl out of barracks in drags and -cars attired in sporting mufti and in high spirits. -Then came old General Towler, commanding the -district, in his blue frogged coat, and with the sabre -which he had wielded at the passage of the Bidassoa, -Mrs. General Towler, several Misses Towler, all -demoiselles of mature age, and the A.D.C. Horatio -Towler, captain of a regiment which he never saw, -for he wisely preferred his mamma's drawing-room in -Kilkenny to broiling on Cape Coast. They all scampered -out, then the barrack gates were shut, and all -became very quiet and still. -</p> - -<p> -"No sound stirred in the empty parade-yard, for no -one was abroad; the sun was scorching and the -sentinels stood in their boxes. I thought of the buzz, -the glitter, the fun and frolic, the cold fowl, the iced -champagne, the brandy and soda-water, the flirtation -on the roof of a drag, on the rumble or the dickey—all -the excitement and enthusiasm of the races, and -more than all, I imagined how my nag would look -when the exulting grooms drew his cloths off, the -jockey in blue and white colours, and fancy painted -him scouring like a whirlwind round the smooth -green course, and beating Flying Dutchman, Lady -Fanny, Albert, and all the rest of them hollow. -As the time of the start drew nigh, my excitement -and longing increased, but I knew too well the danger -of absenting myself from a guard. I knew, moreover, -that old Towler, who spent half his life in laying -traps for subalterns (ensigns being his peculiar -aversion), was daily furnished with a card, whereon -were written the names of the officers on garrison -duty, and he had seen me on guard as he passed -out. The barracks are so empty, I'll never be missed, -thought I, and may steal to the course in the crowd. -So, as the distance was short, I hurried off on foot -and in full uniform just as I had paraded for duty, -with my sword, white belt, and shako. Lost amid -the wilderness of tents, stalls, thimblers, and rolypoly -men, carriages, gigs, cars, and vehicles of every kind, -I reached the grand stand, or rather its vicinity, and -was eagerly looking about for my horse as the bell -had rung at the starting-point, and the race had begun -long since, when I heard a tremendous cheer, and -saw my own jockey borne past me, shoulder high. -Blue and white had won! In my excitement and -confusion I forgot all about my uniform, and was -pushing, jostling, and fighting my way through the -delighted mob, when the basilisk expression of two -fierce grey eyes that peered from under their shaggy -brows arrested me. -</p> - -<p> -"Heavens and earth! I was close to the carriage of -old General Towler, and there he sat, sullen as Jove -upon his throne of thunder clouds, scanning me and -his card,—the fatal detail card, alternately. -</p> - -<p> -"'I am done for!' was my first thought; 'I have -won the race, but lost my commission; he has -nailed me at last!' and my heart sunk, as I thought -of the too probable consequences of a second -court-martial. -</p> - -<p> -"'To the barracks,' I heard him say imperiously, -and I knew in a moment that he was deliberately -driving off to turn out the main guard, and thus to -prove me absent therefrom. I felt that I was lost—that -my commission, the pride of my heart, was gone; -and had not a happy thought seized me, I should not -have been here to night. Just as the carriage turned -round, I sprang up behind it, and stood there -unseen, but stooping low, because the roof was open. -</p> - -<p> -"'You're sure it is that impertinent fellow, Slingsby, -of the Sixth?' said Mrs. Towler, with a smile of -malicious satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sure as you are beside me, my love,' growled the -general; 'bad example to the soldiers—very! subversive -of all discipline—I'll smash him now—absent -from guard—a general court-martial——' -</p> - -<p> -"'A saucy jackanapes,' said Miss Towler. -</p> - -<p> -"'Gross dereliction of duty!' -</p> - -<p> -"'He was most impertinent to Maria at the last -ball,' said Mrs. Towler. -</p> - -<p> -"'Violation of the articles of war,' growled the -Major General; 'but here we are close on the -barracks—now we shall have him!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Guard turn out!' cried the sentry, presenting -arms, and facing his post. -</p> - -<p> -"'Stop, coachman,' cried the general, as the carriage, -with wheels flashing and its steaming bays at full -gallop, dashed up to the guard house, where they -reared back on their haunches, as the guard formed -line, opened ranks, and the drum gave the single -customary ruffle, just as I dropped unseen from the -foot-board behind, drew my sword, and took my place -coolly at the head of my men. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sergeant,' roared the general; 'where's the -officer of the guard—where's that infernal—where is -Mr. Slingsby?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Here, general,' said the astonished noncommissioned -officer. -</p> - -<p> -"'I am here, sir,' said I, haughtily lowering the -point of my sword. -</p> - -<p> -"'Here—you!' he exclaimed with a glance of -astonishment and perplexity, as he fumbled with his -confounded detail card; 'what the deuce—I thought—that -will do, however; guard, turn in, sir; coachman, -drive on!' -</p> - -<p> -"And the carriage, with the general and all his -daughters, with their fringed parasols, rolled away. -Old Towler never discovered how I circumvented -him, though he assured his son, the aide-de-camp, -that he could have made his affidavit on seeing me -at the races, and in ten minutes after found me -at the head of my guard more than two miles -distant." -</p> - -<p> -Next day Slingsby and I left the garrison on our -mission to Seville. He accompanied me with some -reluctance, for he disliked the Spaniards, having been -frequently among them, and being one who possessed -a strange facility for getting into all kinds of scrapes -and broils. Before starting we received from the -military secretary all the papers connected with the -affair of the guarda costa; and, what was of more -importance to us, we received from the paymaster a -necessary portion of "the soul of Pedro Garcias," -and taking with us only our undress uniform and grey -great-coats, our swords and revolvers (for one might -as well travel without brains as without arms in Spain; -besides, Fabrique de Urquija, a devil of a fellow, -haunted the Sierra de Ronda), a valise with six shirts -each, a box of cubas, and a John Murray, we crossed -the isthmus, passed through the Spanish lines about -an hour after the morning gun was fired, and with the -gorgeous sunrise of a beautiful Spanish day took the -wild and lonely road into Andalusia, with well-filled -purses, good nags under us, light hearts and thoughtless -heads, and in such a frame of mind, that, in pursuit -of adventure, we would have faced anything, from a -black beetle to a mad bull. -</p> - -<p> -I thought of Donna Paulina (when did I not think -of her?) and as the strong ramparts of Gibraltar -lessened in our rear, I hummed "Pues por bisarte -Minguillo," her coquettish little song of "The Kiss." -</p> - -<p> -Poor Paulina! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -THE VENTA. -</h3> - -<p> -We had left the dull world of matter-of-fact behind -us, and were now in the land of romance, where, save -the invention of cigars and musket locks, all was -unchanged since the days of Charles V.; for while -all the world moves around her, Spain alone stands -still, torpid and unchanging as her unclouded sun and -mighty mountain Sierras. -</p> - -<p> -On reaching Castellar we expected to receive an -escort from the officer commanding a troop of cavalry -quartered there, a necessary protection against the -banditti of Fabrique de Urquija, whose name was now -a terror to Andalusia. -</p> - -<p> -It was a Spanish day; the air was clear, ambient, -and pure as light; the sky was cloudless, and -exhibited a deep immensity of blue, rendering the most -distant objects visible in the blaze of the soaring sun, -that whitened the rocks and the narrow horse path -we pursued; while the dark pine branches and -the light cork trees were unstirred by a breath of -wind. -</p> - -<p> -We passed through San Roque, a town of some -importance to Spain, since Sir George Rooke in 1704 -took Gibraltar, which was almost the only acquisition -of the English arms until the union with Scotland, -and consequent consolidation of the naval and military -resources of the two kingdoms. After leaving it, our -route lay through that beautiful forest of cork trees -which spreads over a great part of the country, and -borders on the bay of Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -At Venla we passed several strings of galley slaves, -who were chained together, and at work upon the -road. As we trotted past, they paused to glare at us, -and their dark sparkling eyes shone through the tangled -masses of their jetty hair, which was the sole covering -of their heads alike under the winter rain and the -scorching summer sun. -</p> - -<p> -At Castellar we were disappointed in our expected -escort, as the cavalry had marched to Seville, so we -halted at a venta, or inn, and were strongly advised by -the hostalero, or keeper, to tarry with him awhile, for -the approaching night at least, as several outrages had -lately been committed in the neighbourhood, and a -band of broken Carlist soldiers and runaway galley -slaves had hovered for some time in the Sierra de -Ronda, making themselves the terror of all the country -from Cortes to Vente Quemada. -</p> - -<p> -"Disparate," said I; "nonsense!" -</p> - -<p> -"A sly trick to get us to stay over night," said -Slingsby, as he took a long draught of Xeres and cold -water, and renewed his attack on the boiled fowl, -which was all the patron could as yet provide -for us. -</p> - -<p> -"Madre maria purissima!" said the latter, -turning up his glossy black eyes; "may you be -forgiven your incredulity; but, señores, did you not -remark the number of crosses by the wayside as you -came along?" -</p> - -<p> -"We did," said Jack; "and what then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Each one marks the scene of some 'novedad.'" -</p> - -<p> -"Novelty—a new term for a murder, Señor Patron?" -</p> - -<p> -"And the poles, with robbers' heads on them?" -</p> - -<p> -"I observed one," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"And singular to say, a bird had built its nest in -it," added Jack; "it was a mere skull." -</p> - -<p> -"One—madre de Dios—are there not a hundred? yet, -señores, you could not ride without an -escort, even so far as Alcala—the thing is not to be -thought of." -</p> - -<p> -"What think you of all this sort of thing, -Ramble?" asked Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -Before I could reply, a loud cracking of whips, the -creaking of ill-greased wheels, and the clamour of voices -were heard. On this the hostalero cried,— -</p> - -<p> -"It is the convoy already—the convoy from -Marbella to Medina—your graces will excuse me." -</p> - -<p> -He hurried away, and in a minute after came -breathlessly back with intelligence that it had -been fired on by Don Fabrique with at least fifty -thousand banditti, at Benelauria, near the foot of the -Sierra, and but for a case of reliques carried by a -padre of Medina, every soul must have perished; but -would not the noble señores come down stairs, and -count the bullet-holes in the pannels? -</p> - -<p> -"The bullet-holes!" -</p> - -<p> -"By Jove, this affair becomes interesting," said -Slingsby, and we descended to the inn-yard, where -we found ourselves amid a Babel of tongues and dire -confusion. Let the reader imagine four calessos, all -painted in bright stripes of red and yellow, the royal -colours of Spain, each with pannels full of glaring -flowers and absurd miraculous pictures, a body like a -cabriolet, supported on a ponderous under-carriage -with high wheels, all splashed with mud. Each calesso -was drawn by two mules, the collars and bridles of -which were covered with clear jangling bells. These -were each driven by a Jehu who wore all the brilliant -colours of the rainbow in his jacket, sash, breeches, and -embroidered leggings. These four calessos were full -of passengers. There were soap-boilers and potters -of Seville, sleek, well fed, and in easy circumstances; -the old padre, José Torquemada, the curate of Medina, -in a broad hat and long black cassock buttoned to the -throat; over his shoulders he wore a broad cape, and -in his hands were his beads, breviary, and the case of -reliques which had just been of such signal service. -There were several cotton manufacturers on their way -to Cadiz; but all—save a military man who wore a -green surtout and forage cap laced with gold—most -unwarlike personages to meet a party of robbers in a -Spanish sierra. -</p> - -<p> -The drivers, we were told, were singing merrily, -the bells were jangling, the passengers all smoking, -chatting, and laughing, as they entered a defile in -the hills, when suddenly the rocks and trees which -overhung the rough path were found to be manned— -</p> - -<p> -"Don Fabrique de Urquija!" was the cry, shots -were fired—maladito! and the escort, which consisted -of a sergeant and four dragoons of the Spanish army, -turned their horses and fled at full speed, leaving -the convoy to the mercy of the outlaws, who captured -the rear calesso, cut its springs, shot the driver, -and had retained it with all its contents and -passengers. The other four had escaped, and came -thundering down the narrow path to Castellar with -all their passengers shouting with terror, the mules -galloping, the bells jangling, and every vehicle -plunging like a ship in a storm. -</p> - -<p> -"Morte de Dios!" added the military personage, -whom they called Don Joaquim, and from whom we -had this account; "it was a narrow escape, for -Urquija is a very Tartar—a blood-drinker! You belong -to the British service, señores, I presume?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"To the garrison in Gibraltar, of course?" -</p> - -<p> -"Of course; we have no other garrison in Spain." -</p> - -<p> -"And you are on leave, señores?" -</p> - -<p> -"Si, señor, on leave, and going to Seville," said -I, conceiving that to tell our real object to this -inquisitive officer might not be conducive to the -cultivation of mutual good-will. -</p> - -<p> -"I also am an officer," said he, bowing; "and -belong to the Portuguese service—Major in the ancient -Regiment of St. Anthony." -</p> - -<p> -"But you are a Spaniard," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor is right; but my father was tied to a -post one fine morning, and shot by Don Ramon de -Cabrera; it gave me a disgust at Spain, for I saw it -done, so I entered the service of Portugal. Come, -hombres, I am glad to meet two brothers of the -sword; we shall have a fresh bota of Xeres, and be -comfortable for the night. After this devilish piece -of work, the convoy cannot proceed without an -escort; it must halt till morning, so let us all be happy -together. I shall be in Seville myself ere long, and -hope to have the pleasure of meeting you there." -</p> - -<p> -Don Joaquim seemed to be about thirty-five years -of age; in figure he was somewhat short and punchy, -his face was round and good-humoured, though at -times it became stern, sinister, and almost fierce, if -anything excited him. His hair was shorn short, -but his moustaches were long and lanky, and hung -over his mouth like black leeches, imparting to -his face an aspect not unlike the old portraits of -Philip II. His light-green military surtout, like his -scarlet trousers, was edged with gold lace, and he -wore an enormous sabre, which clattered in a -scabbard of polished brass. At a button-hole hung a -little order of merit; the bag, or end of his -forage-cap, drooped upon his right shoulder; his mouth -was never without one of those paper cigaritos of -which he was constantly employed in the manufacture -from a little paper book and tobacco bag; and -now I hope the reader sees before him, or her, Major -Don Joaquim of the Regiment of St. Anthony, otherwise -styled of Lagos. -</p> - -<p> -The hostalero was in high spirits at the arrival -of so much good company, and being assured of -their detention for at least a night or two before the -escort could join them, he bustled about, applauding, -vociferating, and directing, while getting their -baggage, portmanteaux, and bales under cover, ever and -anon pausing to count or draw attention to seven or -eight bullet perforations which had been made in the -calesso panels, to the great perturbation of the -"easy-going" soap-boilers and "well-to-do" cotton merchants, -who had no taste or predilection for such matters, and -could not see how or why Don Joaquim considered -it such "a capital joke," that one had received a -bullet through his hat; another had received one -through the collar of his coat; and that a third had -his cigar—demonio—the very cigar carried out of his -teeth! -</p> - -<p> -Soon we were all grouped together, some thirty or -so of us, in the large apartment of the venta, some -seated on stools, others on chairs, but many on piles -of baggage; bottles of vinto tinto, and skins of the -common wine, were set abroach; fresh cigars were -made up from those little pouches and paper books -which every Spaniard and Turk carry about with -him; Don Joaquim produced his guitar, and -favoured the company with a song. To my surprise -it was Paulina's—"Pues por bisarte Minguillo"—and -we all became merry and noisy. The soap-boiler -forgot the hole in his sombrero; the potter, -the dangerous mode in which he had lost his cigar, -even the old padre José relaxed his grim solemnity, -and slily relaxed the lower buttons of his long -cassock, to make more room for supper and the purple -contents of the thrice-blessed bota; while the -patrona, a buxom dame in a short skirt and scarlet -stockings, and wearing large silver ear-rings, -superintended the cooking of a vast dish of ham and -eggs—'huevos y tocino'—from which the fragrant steam -went hissing up the chimney, while the drivers in -their gaudy jackets sat near the glowing hearth, -chewing biscuits and bacalao, or roasting the sputtering -chestnuts, joining in our jokes and stories, while the -happy hostalero bustled about, superintending -everything and everybody. -</p> - -<p> -The company of the convoy soon recovered from -the terror of their late adventure, and anxious -speculations or terrible surmises as to the fate of their -captured friends, sobered down into hopes that they -would soon join us; but the ruddy evening deepened -on the beautiful mountains of the Ronda; the darkening -peaks threw their shadows on the vine-clad plains, -the stars began to gleam in the dark blue vault, and -the last slice of ham and egg had sent its fragrance -up he wide chimney, but no fugitive reached the now -closed and barricadoed gate of the venta at Castellar. -</p> - -<p> -As one may easily suppose, the late occurrence -caused the conversation to run very much upon -robbers and their exploits; thus we heard stories -of wanton cruelty sufficient to make the hair of a -well-regulated Briton stand erect on end; but as -these tales closely resembled the common stock of -robber narratives, especially such as we are told by -romancers, who have been smitten with what has -been termed the bandittiphobia, I will not attempt -to rehearse them all. One or two of these relations -struck me as having something peculiar in them. -</p> - -<p> -"I was once passing through Antequera," began -the venerable José Torquemada, "that city so famed -for robbers and picaros— -</p> - -<p> -"Ay de mi! señor padre," said a goatherd of Honda, -"it was once famed lor something better." -</p> - -<p> -"True, my child," replied the old priest, approvingly; -"for it was there Don Ferdinand the Just, -the valiant Infante of Castile, in the fifteenth century, -founded the noble order of the Jar of Lilies, in -honour of our Blessed Lady, by whose aid his good -and valiant knights stormed the city from the Moors, -and slew fifteen thousand of those God-abandoned -infidels. Ah mi hijo! it was something to be a -Spaniard then! But to return; I was once passing -through that same city of Antequera, when I had an -adventure with Don Fabrique— -</p> - -<p> -"With Fabrique de Urquija?" exclaimed all, -drawing nearer the padre and lowering their voices. -</p> - -<p> -"Ave Maria!" exclaimed Don Joaquim, "this -must indeed be something worth hearing." -</p> - -<p> -"The more so, as I realised a pretty round sum -by it," continued the priest. "You all know -Antequera, señores, a handsome town on the plain -between Granada and Seville, and situated in a land -that teems with oil and wine. One night when the -hour was late, and no moon had risen, I was passing -through the great street which leads to the old -Moorish castle, and counting ever and anon in the -pocket of my cassock three poor pistareens, which -were all I possessed, but which I was hastening to -bestow upon a poor widow. Her husband, a brave -guerilla, had been taken in a skirmish at the Pena -de los Enamorados (or Lover's Rock), which stands -a league from Antequera, and, after a brave -resistance, had been bound with cords, and shot that -morning in the Plaza—" -</p> - -<p> -"By the Count de Morella?" cried Don Joaquim. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, by Cabrera." -</p> - -<p> -"Bah—I thought so," said the major, grinding his -teeth; "proceed, reverend padre." -</p> - -<p> -"The little pistareens were all I had in the world, -and when I thought of the poor widow and her six -children weeping by the corpse of their unburied -father, and unable to buy masses for his sinful soul, -I paused to gaze at the old castle of the Moors, and -sighed to know the secret of the treasures that lay -hid among its ruins; and then I craved pardon of -Madonna for the thought, as all the gold of the -infidels is buried under the spell of such -enchantment as no man may break and live. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, señores, I was just thinking of these -strange things when a hand was laid heavily upon -my shoulder; I turned, and by the light of a shrine at -the corner of a street, saw a dark face and a tall figure -girdled by a scarlet sash full of daggers and pistols. -</p> - -<p> -"'Who are you,' I asked fearlessly. -</p> - -<p> -"'Fabrique de Urquija.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Go, go,' said I, feeling my heart leap at the -name; 'I am but a poor priest, and can give you -nought but my blessing.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Your blessing be hanged! señor padre, hand over -all you possess, or by the Holy Face of Jaen,'—and -grinding his teeth he grasped a poniard. -</p> - -<p> -"'As I live I possess nothing but my cassock and -these poor little pistareens which are for a widow and -her starving children.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Then off with the cassock, and give me the -pistareens to boot. Your garment I must have, for I -mean to play the priest to-night, and visit a dame -whom I may make a widow, too, some of these days.' -</p> - -<p> -"In vain I begged him to leave me the pistareens, -but this demon of avarice only laughed, and touching -his pistols said,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Quick, quick, and here take my jacket and -maldito, begone without looking behind you.' -</p> - -<p> -"The exchange was soon made; with a hoarse -laugh the robber thrust himself into my threadbare -cassock, and with loathing I drew on his old velvet -jacket, which was tattered and full of holes. He then -bade me farewell with mock solemnity; and glad to -escape so easily I hastened away, but had not gone -many yards when I heard the voice of the terrible -Urquija commanding me to 'stop;' and believing -that, repenting of his clemency, he only meant to -poniard me, I turned and fled with all the spaed of -my poor old legs, fervently invoking the saints, and -praying to Madonna that the vision of the sacrilegious -pursuer might be obscured, and that I might -escape. -</p> - -<p> -"'Come back, padre, come back, there is a mistake,' -I heard him crying; 'por vida del demonio, -stop, or it will be the worse for you!' -</p> - -<p> -"But, blessed be Heaven, I escaped and reached the -humble house of the widow, where her little ones -gathered round me, and sought to clutch as usual -the long skirts of my cassock; but, ay de mi, they -were gone, and with them my pistareens, so that I -was without the means of buying bread for the -children of the dead guerilla. -</p> - -<p> -"What shall I do!" thought I, and mechanically -felt the pocket of the jacket; it contained -something hard: what is this! I pulled it forth, and -Madre Maria! found the sudden cause of the robber's -oaths, pursuit, and vociferations, for by the exchange -of our apparel I had become the possessor of one -hundred golden pistoles! -</p> - -<p> -"I had never held so much money in my hands -before; find for a long time I was quite bewildered -how to dispose of such a treasure. First I made the -hearts of the widow and her little ones glad, and the -rest I bestowed on the poor old nuns of St. Theresa, -who had just been stripped of all they possessed in -the world, and were begging their bread in the public -streets of Antiquera—thanks to the liberal Government -of Spain." -</p> - -<p> -The idea of the robber so egregiously outwitting -himself occasioned great satisfaction among all the -listeners; the goatherd was so delighted that he -thrice flung his hat up to the ceiling, and aloud 'viva' -greeted the old padre as he finished his little story. -</p> - -<p> -"I once had a more narrow escape than yours, -Padre José," said the Major Don Joaquim, "and but -for the intervention of the blessed St. Anthony of -Portugal whose brother officer I have the felicity to -be, I had not had the happiness of addressing you -all to-night, or enjoying these roasted castanos, or the -most excellent vino tinto of the worthy señor patron." -</p> - -<p> -"Through the intervention of San Antonio," exclaimed -all present; "do tell us, señor oficial, all about -this." -</p> - -<p> -"You have heard of St. Anthony, señores?" said -the major to us. -</p> - -<p> -"One of the seven champions of Christendom, -who broke enchantments, fought with giants, and did -all that sort of thing," said Slingsby; "of course, -who has not heard of him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, who, indeed?" said the major. -</p> - -<p> -His words smacked of a miracle, and every one -present became at once interested. Lighting a fresh -cigar, and replenishing his wine-horn from the -big-bellied leathern bota, the major pushed his red -forage cap a little more on one side, fixed his dark -eyes on the glowing embers, and, with all the air -of a man who is rallying his forces to tell an -interesting narrative, began in the following words. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -THE REGIMENT OF SAN ANTONIO. -</h3> - -<p> -You must know, Señora patrona, and señores, my -friends, that Saint Anthony, the patron of Portugal -and patriarch of monks, though born at Heraclea in -Upper Egypt, on the borders of Acadia, so long ago -as the third century, is now a member of the -battalion in which I have the honour to hold the -commission of major; and that he has been many times -visible in its ranks, mounting guard, and always when -under fire, or engaged with the French or Spaniards. -Under Wellington in the last war he was frequently -seen among our men, clad in a cloak of white wool, -and wearing an inner garment of hair-cloth, with a -bell tied to his neck, and a pig trotting beside him, -for it was his favourite animal when he was hermit -near the village of Coma. When our esteemed regiment -was first embodied about a century and a half -ago at the city of Lagos, in the ancient kingdom of -Algarve, the blessed St. Anthony was enrolled in the -muster-book thereof, as a private soldier, that he might -be its especial patron and protector, even as he is the -patron of the whole Portuguese nation. -</p> - -<p> -He conducted himself with such fidelity, valour, and -distinction, that he soon passed through the ranks of -corporal and sergeant, and having restored, no one -exactly knows how, the colours of the regiment, after -they were lost at the battle of Almanza in 1706, he -was appointed captain, and his pay, together with four -marevedis from each soldier, were devoted to buy -masses for the souls of our comrades who die on -service—a very pretty perquisite, padre José, for mother -church. -</p> - -<p> -It would be a vain task in me to attempt enumerating -the miracles performed by St. Anthony during -the one hundred and eighty seven years he has -belonged to the valiant regiment of Lagos in the -kingdom of Algarve; for in danger, doubt, difficulty, -or death, his comrades have never sought his aid in -vain. -</p> - -<p> -Our colours have been thrice lost in battle, after -prodigious slaughter you may be sure—being Portugese -colours; and were thrice restored to us, being -found quietly in the colonel's tent the next morning, -with the naked footmarks of a man and a pig—the -blessed pig of course—impressed upon the turf! -At the passage of the Guadalquiver, our drum-major -was swept away and would have been drowned beyond -a doubt, had he not called upon St. Anthony; and -lo! an old man of most venerable aspect, clad in -skins like this shepherd beside us, but with a long -beard and leathern water-bottle hanging at his girdle, -suddenly appeared among the reeds by the river side, -and stretching out his crook, fished up the ponderous -Anibale Pintado lightly as a straw, though he was at -that moment in heavy marching order, with knapsack, -blanket, great-coat, sword and his canteen, which was -full of brandy. Then to think of the wounds that -have been closed, the bullets that have been extracted, -the bones that have been set, the sick made whole -and fit for service, by our soldiers merely thinking on, -or praying to, the glorious St. Anthony, would occupy -all the paper in the kingdom of Algarve; but his -crowning miracle was the birth of a child of the -regiment, for one of our soldiers' wives being in labour, -during the siege of Roses, and calling upon the saint -in her pain, to the astonishment of the whole allied -armies was delivered of a little drummer boy in the -uniform of the battalion of Lagos! I hope I have -now said enough to convince you that the regiment, -and every member of it, are under the peculiar -protection of the saint, and this, as I am about to have -the honour of telling you, I experienced myself, -although not a Portugese, but a native of the fair city -of Seville; and as a further proof of what I have -adduced, I will take the liberty of reading to you from -my pocket-book, the following certificate of the -military service performed by the saint—which -certificate I copied fairly from the books of the noble -regiment of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, being -the document which was forwarded by one of my -predecessors, then in command of the battalion, when -recommending the blessed saint to further promotion -from the rank of captain which he had held since the -year 1706. (With this long and pompous flourish, -the Spaniard opened his pocket-book, and read a -translation from the Portugese, which ran as follows.)* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See notes at end -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Don Herculeo Antonio Carlos Luiz, José Maria -de Albuquerque e Arajo de Magalhaens Homem, noble -of Her Majesty's household, cavalier of the sacred -order of St. John of Jerusalem, and of the most -illustrious the military order of Christ, lord of the -towns and partidos of Moncarapacho and Terragudo, -hereditary alcalde-mayor of the ancient city of Faro -by the sea, and Major of the Regiment of Infantry of -the noble city of Lagos in the kingdom of Algarve, -for her most faithful majesty, Donna Maria, Francesco -Isabella the first; whom God and the Blessed Virgin -long preserve, &c., &c., &c. -</p> - -<p> -"I hereby attest and certify to all who shall see -these presents, signed at the bottom with my sign-manual, -and the broad seal of my family arms a little -to the left thereof, that the Lord St. Anthony of -Lisbon (commonly and most falsely called of Padua) -has been enlisted, and has borne a place in this -regiment since the 24th of January, ever since the year of -our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ 1668. -</p> - -<p> -"I do further certify, upon my word of honour, as -a noble, a knight, and a good Catholic, what hereunder -followeth. -</p> - -<p> -"That on the said 24th of January, 1668, by order -of His Majesty Don Pedro II. (whom God hath in -glory), then Regent of the valiant kingdoms of -Portugal and Algarve for Don Alphonso VI.,—St. Anthony -was duly enlisted as a private soldier in this Infantry -Regiment of Lagos, when it was first formed by command -of the same illustrious prince; and of that holy -enlistment there is a register extant in vol. i. of the -records of the said regiment, page 143, wherein he gave -as security or caution for his good conduct, the queen of -angels, who became answerable to the colonel that he -would never desert his colours, but always behave as -became a good Portugese grenadier. Hence did the -saint continue to serve and do duty as a private until -the 12th of March, 1683, on which day the same Prince -Regent became King of Portugal by the death of his -brother Don Alphonso VI., when he was graciously -pleased to promote St. Anthony to the rank of Lieutenant -of Grenadiers in the said regiment, for having, -a short time before, valiantly put himself at the head, -of a detachment of the regiment which was marching -from Jurumenha to the garrison of Olivença, both in -the province of Alentizo, and beat off four times their -number of Castilians who had been lying in ambush -for them, with the intention of carrying them all -prisoners to the castle of Badajoz, the enemy having -obtained information by spies, of the march of the -said detachment, every soldier of which saw our -blessed patron, visibly, and to all appearance in the -body, and attended by his pig. -</p> - -<p> -"I do further certify, that in all the above-cited -registers, there is not any note of St. Anthony being -guilty of bad conduct, disorder, or drunkenness; -frequenting taverns, or other improper places; nor of -his ever having been flogged or sent to the guard-house -when a private: Thus during the whole time -he has been an officer, now about one hundred and -nine years, he has constantly done his duty with the -greatest alacrity, at the head of the grenadiers, upon -all occasions, in peace or war, conducting himself like -an officer and a gentleman of good breeding; on all -these accounts I hold him most worthy of being -promoted to the rank of aggregate-major to our noble -regiment of Lagos, with every other favour Her Majesty -may be graciously pleased to bestow upon him. In -testimony whereof, I have hereto affixed my name, at -the Castle of Belem, this 25th day of March, in the -year of our redemption, 1777. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"MAGALHAENS HOMEM." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -(Thus ended this wonderful certificate, the contents -of which, together with the pompous gravity of the -reader, made Jack and I almost choke with -suppressed laughter. The major then continued)— -</p> - -<p> -Hereupon Her Most Faithful Majesty, who reigned -at that time—now seventy-eight years ago—was pleased -to promote the saint to the rank prayed for, and he is -now our lieutenant-colonel by brevet. Once in each -year it is the custom to send an officer to Lisbon to -receive the pay and perquisites of St. Anthony from -the royal treasury, and in the course of last year this -most honourable duty devolved upon me. -</p> - -<p> -We were then quartered at Barbacena in the jurisdiction -of Elvas; and to this place I travelled alone -from Lisbon, with the pay of the saint, which was to -be given to the care of our chaplain. Being in -moidores, it was not very bulky, but its value was -great—its sanctity greater; and after traversing in -safety the whole province of Alentijo, it was with -some anxiety I saw the mountain Sierra, which lay -between me and my destination, rising in my front, -about sunset. The hope of being able to get across -those rocky hills before the approaching night set -fairly in never occurred to me. I found myself in a -solitary spot, without shelter near, or any place where -information of the right way could be gathered, and -my horse was growing weary. -</p> - -<p> -The sunlight died away behind me, and shed its -last rays on the white walls, the square campanile -and tall cypresses of a convent which crowned a -height on my left; and on the red round towers of -an old castle that topped a rock on my right; but -both were in ruins and desolate, as the wars of the -infidel Moors, ages ago, had left the first, and the -desolating retreat of Marshal Massena had left the -second. The older fragments of a Roman aqueduct -lay between, and half hidden among wild shrubs. -The pathway was rugged; untamed goats scrambled -about; snakes hissed in the long grass, and eagles -screamed in mid air. Ave Maria! it was impossible -to conceive a place more dreary and desolate; but the -way became still wilder, and as I progressed into the -gorge of the Sierra, even the ruined works of man -and the traces of his feet disappeared. I was in a -desert, and, save the faint crescent moon, without a -light or guide. -</p> - -<p> -As I rode slowly on, thinking of the bright golden -moidores of our Lord St. Anthony, with which my -pouch was blessed, and reflecting on the prize they -would be for any sacrilegious picaros who might be -hovering in this dark wilderness, ever and anon -humming a song, muttering an ave, and feeling the -percussion caps on my pistols, I suddenly met a strange -figure in the dim moonlight—a goat-herd, as he -seemed to me. -</p> - -<p> -He was clad in a zamarra of sheepskin, which he -wore with the wool outwards; his white hair hung in -tangled masses upon his shoulders; a bota was slung -at his girdle, and he carried a stout Portuguese cajado, -with a little cross stick nailed thereon, to give it more -the aspect of a pastoral staff, than a weapon of defence. -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya usted con Dios, Señor Major," said he. -</p> - -<p> -"God be with you," I reiterated, a little scared on -finding that this stranger knew my name; "you have -the advantage of me, Señor Pastor." -</p> - -<p> -"Hombre, do you think so? but do not be alarmed, -for I am an old Christian, without stain of Moor or Jew -in my veins. I am no enchanter——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ave Maria, I should hope not!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yet I know that you have in your pouch the pay -of St. Anthony of Lisbon, whom rogues and fools -style of Padua—what the devil should he have to do -with Padua?—in your left breast pocket, all in fair -round moidores of gold—eh, señor?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very true, pastor," said I, slipping a finger into -my near holster, and keeping my horse well in hand -and beyond the reach of his cajado; "but how came -you to know me?" -</p> - -<p> -"I know every officer and soldier in the regiment -of Lagos as well as if I had made them—and you -especially, Señor Major." -</p> - -<p> -"Well—and about the moidores," said I, uneasily; -"you know of them, and what then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Merely this, Señor Don Joaquim; that if you -would arrive at Barbacena to-morrow with the pay of -the patron of the regiment of Lagos——" -</p> - -<p> -"In the kingdom of Algarve," suggested Jack -Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Si, señor; and would hand it over safe and sound -to the reverend chaplain," continued the old man, in -a manner so impressive that a chill came over me, the -more so as I saw his sunken eyes shining in the dim -moonlight like two bits of green glass; "you will -beware, my son and comrade, how you taste the wine -of Xeres to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"The wine of Xeres, father pastor," said I, with a -loud laugh; "Heaven forgive you for the tempting -thought; I am not likely to taste aught to-night but -the chilling dew; yet if a good cup of Xeres did come -my way——" -</p> - -<p> -"Avoid it as you would poison, or by the soul of -St. Anthony you will repent it." -</p> - -<p> -At that name I raised my hand to my cap in salute, -like a good soldier of the regiment of Lagos; while -waving his hand authoritatively, the old man hobbled -up the slope of the mountain pass and disappeared. -As he did so I heard the tinkle of a bell, and for the -first time perceived a little pig trotting by his side as -he vanished in the shadow of the mountain and its -moonlit rocks. -</p> - -<p> -The scales fell from my eyes; por el Santo de los -Santos, he was no other than our Lord Saint -Anthony, whom I had seen. Who but he would have -termed me "son and comrade?" sinner and fool that -I was. The hair of my flesh stood up, as the -Scripture says, and with a prayer on my lips I gored my -poor nag with the spurs and dashed along the pass of -the Sierra for two leagues more until the poor animal -almost sank beneath me; but perceiving rest necessary -for him, I reined up at the door of a lonely wayside -inn, in a part of the country which was entirely -unknown to me, and which seemed to be overshadowed -by mountain peaks and masses of rock, the features -and outlines of which were strange, and to me gloomy -and fantastic. In my excitement, and the holy terror -under which I laboured, I had evidently lost the path, -and thus mistaking my way, had ridden, Heaven and -St. Anthony alone knew whither. -</p> - -<p> -Solitary, dark, and desolate as this posada seemed,—and -it was just the kind of place we so often read -of in romances as being a rendezvous for robbers, and -for having a landlord in their interest, with trap-doors -under the beds, stains of blood upon the floors, old -skeletons in the cellars, and a terrible reputation for -mysterious appearances and unaccountable -disappearances—it was a welcome halting-place for one so -weary, so thirsty, and anxious as I was then, and so -full of supernatural fear, as I never, for an instant, -doubted having seen the blessed patron of our -regiment, and to me at that time the human countenance -even of a robber had been thrice welcome. -</p> - -<p> -Though the hour was late the hostalero had not -gone to bed. He seemed a civil and respectable -man, and smiled with good-humour when he saw me, -with all the care of an old traveller and the suspicion -of a true Spaniard, transfer my pistols from their -holsters to my girdle, a movement which seemed to -fill with alarm the miserable and drabbish-looking -Maritornes, who seemed to be the sole assistant of the -patrona. Vague fancies and a sense of alarm were -floating uppermost in the current of my thoughts; -and being most anxious to start betimes when day -broke, I left the saddle on my horse, as I stabled -him in the lower apartment of the posada, for you -may know, señores, that the Portuguese inns are -constructed exactly like those among us here in Spain, -the lower story being entirely one vast and -clay-floored chamber, appropriated to the cattle and -baggage of travellers. I merely relaxed the -saddle-girth and curb-chain, but left my Andalusian jennet -all ready for marching, when the morning came, and -then ascended by a wooden trap-stair to the upper -story, where the patrona had a steaming supper of -ham and eggs, just such as we have had, well -seasoned with pepper and garlic, spread for me, with a -bunch of raisins and a choice flask of—ah, demonio! my -heart leaped when I saw it—the wine of Xeres de -la Frontierra. -</p> - -<p> -A prayer rose to my lips, I thought of St. Anthony, -but felt strong and composed, believing that I -was under the peculiar care of that blessed patron of -the regiment of Lagos. I would have left the little -venta and betaken myself once more to the road, but, -if any snare was really laid for me, such a movement -might only render me more liable to an open and -deliberate attack. -</p> - -<p> -"I will be wary," thought I; "let me watch well, -even as our holy patron watches me. Xeres! ouf, -I would rather drink the salt lake of Fuente de la -Piedra than touch a drop of it." -</p> - -<p> -I felt morally certain that it was poisoned or drugged -for some fatal purpose, and that in the tasting of it -lay the main part of my danger. I finished the rasher -of ham and the fragrant huevos; and to lull all -suspicion asked my host to join me in discussing the -bottle of Xeres as he uncorked it. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor would, perhaps, excuse him. Xeres -always made him ill, maldito—yes, and there was no -doctor nearer than Elvas or Abrantes; but he would -take a glass of aguadiente to my health and -successful journey." -</p> - -<p> -"Rascally picaro!" thought I; "you have other -reasons for declining the Xeres, but I shall mar them -yet." -</p> - -<p> -I might have forced him with my sword at his -throat to drink a cupful; but I dissembled, and filling -out a bumper from the leathern beta, raised it to my -lips, pretending to taste. I saw, then, the slow -stealthy eyes of the hostalero watching me keenly. -</p> - -<p> -"It has a peculiar flavour," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Flavour, señor?" he asked, anxiously. -</p> - -<p> -"But not unpleasant." -</p> - -<p> -"It is from the grapes of Puerto de Santa Maria, -like those of Tribujena, as the Señor Caballero will -perceive; they have a peculiar flavour—sharp, is it -not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but as I said before, not unpleasant," continued -I, placing my pistols on the table, and availing myself -of an opportunity to pour the whole of my bumper -back into the bota, and this I achieved unseen. Some -grounds which remained at the bottom of the crystal -glass assured me that the wine was drugged. -</p> - -<p> -"I have a pigskin full of wine from the grapes of -Don Carlos, or rather I should say of my Lord the -Marquis de Santa Cruz, who now owns the vineyard; -and if your grace——" -</p> - -<p> -"Many thanks," said I, pouring out a second -bumper, so that the wine frothed in the glass; "but be -assured I shall content myself with this most excellent -bottle of Xeres," and taking another opportunity, -while the patrona was telling her beads near the fire, -and the worthy patron was below pretending to groom -my horse—but no doubt to appraise its furniture which -he expected to possess before morning—I repeated the -manoeuvre, and poured the wine back into its leathern -receptacle; thus my deluded entertainers were led to -believe that I had taken enough to drug a regiment -of Asturians. -</p> - -<p> -I scrutinised my hostess; she was a swarthy and -dark-skinned Portuguese; her hair, which was coarse -and thick as the mane of a steed, she had knotted -in a coronet round her head, and over this she wore a -yellow shawl. Her features were square, massive, and -repulsive; and her arms and legs, which her scanty -garments fully displayed, were disgustingly powerful -and muscular. -</p> - -<p> -"Are you not somewhat lonely here, señora?" I -asked, when her orisons were over. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; but then we are never disturbed. Once, -indeed, some drunken contrabandistas, riding to -Gibraltar, made a noise at our door; but my husband -shot one with his escopeta, the rest fled, and we have -never been molested since. But erelong the new -railway from Lisbon to Abrantes will change -everything—for so the priests predict." -</p> - -<p> -"You talk of this little shooting affair with delightful -coolness," said I, "and just as if that devil of a -contrabandista had been a crow. Ah, and so he was -shot?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and buried about a mile beyond this," replied -the woman, over whose dark eyes there passed a -savage gleam; "perhaps, caballero, you observed the -cross as you came along?" -</p> - -<p> -"You forget that I came this morning from Montemor -o Novo, where I wish I had stayed with all my -heart." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, our caza is a very poor one, señor," growled -the host, with a glance at my glass and another at the -bota: "but none ever complain of it after they leave us." -</p> - -<p> -"I believe you, my lad," said I, with a glance at the -cuchillo in his sash; madre mia! it was at least twelve -inches long in the blade. He detected my expression -and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"I am always well armed, Señor Caballero, for my -little wife, our niece, and I, are the only inhabitants -here. They are apt to be timid at times; thus I -always keep my escopeta loaded, and six junkets of -lead in that old brass-mouthed trabujo over the -mantel-piece; so with my knife and strong bolts, bars -and shutters, we could stand a very good siege, even -if Don Fabrique de Urquija and all his band were -assailing us. One glass more of the Xeres before you -retire, señor—no?—well, how such a sober Caballero -belongs to the regiment of Lagos surpasses my—a -thousand pardons, señor; I meant no offence; but a -poor man must have his little joke as well as a rich -one, and I am sure a noble Caballero will excuse it. -So you won't take one glass more of the Xeres before -retiring, well, well—this way, señor, up this stair—take -care of the step, and now, señor, Bueno noches, -and may all good attend you." -</p> - -<p> -I was alone. I was in my sleeping apartment, a -miserable loft, to which I had ascended by means of -a trap-door and trap-stair. The bed was poor and -shabby; a thousand discolorations, the combined -result of damp and dirt covered the ill-plastered walls -and bare wooden floor. A small and ill-glazed -window opened to the dark mountains, behind which the -moon, a pale crescent, was just sinking, and to the -deep black gorge which yawned between their peaks -like some vast Titan's grave. There was not a sound -upon those solemn hills, or in that savage pass through -which the roadway wound; there was no sound in -the posada below me, and as I set down the candle -and listened, I heard only its sputtering and the -beating of my own heart. -</p> - -<p> -I knelt down, and drawing forth my beads and -crucifix, said my prayers like a good Catholic, and -solemnly invoked the protection of St. Anthony. -After this, apprehension almost vanished. -</p> - -<p> -If any attempt was made upon me in the night, I -had but one man to oppose—the hostalero, and surely -I was a match for him. But then there was his wife, -a powerful Asturian termagant, who had doubtless the -cunning of a fox with the strength of a bull. I looked -about for something wherewith to secure the trapdoor, -but found nothing; my bedstead was the only -piece of furniture, and it was too weighty for removal. -I might have lain down and slept above the trap; but -the idea did not then occur to me; and at times, as -my candle burned low, such is the weakness of the -human heart, that I began to mistrust even the -protection of my Lord St. Anthony, and think I was -unwise in not quitting this unblessed posada, instead of -retiring to a bed-chamber, as the hostalero might be -joined by others more ruffianly than himself, and -thus overpower me. -</p> - -<p> -"No, no," thought I; "no others will come; the -rascal trusts in his Xeres, and I shall soon see the -sequel." -</p> - -<p> -I drew off my boots and flung them heavily on the -floor, as one might do who was undressing; and -having thus, as I supposed, deceived any one who was -listening, drew them carefully on again; tightened -the buckle of my waist-belt, and loosened my good -Toledo sabre in its sheath. I then examined my -pistols; ay de mi! what were my emotions on finding -the percussion caps removed, and that my pouch, -with the remainder, was in my holsters below! -</p> - -<p> -My heart stood still on beholding this, and an -emotion of rage shook my heart, for I now -remembered having laid them on the table beside me in -case of accident, for I once had a friend who was -killed by a pistol exploding in his belt. The patrona, -while laying the supper table, or bustling about me, -had adroitly—but the saints alone know how—removed -the caps. -</p> - -<p> -Twenty times I searched every pocket, in the faint -and desperate hope of finding a stray one. Not -one—they were all below with my holsters. -</p> - -<p> -"Ass that I am!" thought I, replacing them with a -sigh in my belt; "this will be a lesson of prudence -that may cost me dear." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment the candle-end sank down in the -iron holder; it shot one red flush upwards on the -cobwebbed ceiling and damp, discoloured walls; on -the ill-jointed trap-door which led to the lower story, -and expired. I was in darkness at last, with no -companions but my Toledo and my own thoughts. -The first was silent—the second sufficiently -uncomfortable. -</p> - -<p> -Sleepless and watchful, I lay on the miserable -pallet for more than an hour, till the silence began -to oppress me, and in spite of myself, my eyes were -closing. Could it be the drug—could it be the wine -that slowly was sealing them up? Nonsense; I had -but put it to my lips, and I struggled to shake off -the coming sleep. Yet, I must have closed my eyes -for a moment, for I started suddenly, like one who -dreams he is on the brink of a precipice. A strange -shivering—a minute, pricking sensation ran all over -me from head to foot, and from a state of drowsiness, -I sprang all at once to the sharpest wakefulness, and -grasped the hilt of my drawn sabre. -</p> - -<p> -A dim light was now ascending from the floor of -the apartment, and I perceived the trap-door was -lifted up, and the round bullet-head of the hostalero -appeared, with his deep-set stealthy eyes, scanning -the bed and its occupant, myself, who affected to be -sound asleep. Up, up he came, step by step, until -he stood by my side, with one hand grasping his long -cuchillo, and a finger on his coarse, blubber-like lips, -as if he would impose silence on himself, and still -his very breathing. -</p> - -<p> -Mueran del Demonio, what a moment it was! I -would not endure it again for a million of reals. He -came close to the bed; he stooped over me, the knife -was lifted up, and I saw its baleful gleam; but at the -same instant there was an upward flash, as I swept -my sabre round me, and one stroke cut off three of -the robber's fingers, and cleft a fair slice off his right -temple—a stroke which stretched him without a cry -at my feet. Desperate and furious as a wild beast—half -blinded with his own blood, he sprang upon me -and we grappled in the dark; but as his wife, that -diabolical Asturian, rushed up the trap-stair, armed -with a ponderous cajado, to his aid, I flung him on -the bed, for he was weak as a child now. Seeing a -figure struggling on the miserable pallet, the woman, -who was as furious as an enraged tigress, and who, in -the uncertain light, believed that figure to be mine, -whirled round her head the cajado—which is the -favourite staff of the Portuguese, and is usually seven -feet long, with a leaden knob at one end of it—and -by one blow dashed out her husband's brains as -completely as a cannon-ball would have done. -</p> - -<p> -Madre mia, some of that frightful mess flew over -me, and that blow ended the matter, for I uttered a -cry of horror, and plunging down the trap-stair, threw -myself on my horse, and galloped away. On, on I -rode, with no wish but to leave that scene of crime -behind me, and at the very place where I was met -by that venerable shepherd, whom, until my dying -hour, I will maintain to be no other than our blessed -St. Anthony, but for whose warning I had drunk that -poisoned Xeres, and perished—I overtook a troop of -the Carbineros of Alentejo, to whom I told my late -adventure. -</p> - -<p> -A party was sent to the little inn, where they found -the hostalero brained, as I have said, in that miserable -loft, and the hostess almost bereft of her senses, such -as they were. But the dragoons placed her on a -troop horse, and brought her before the Alcalde of -Vimiero, which is the nearest town, and before the -next day's noon, she had been garotted and buried -by the wayside; and you may still see her grave, one -mile beyond the gates, on the side of the way that -leads towards Estremoz and the mountains. -</p> - -<p> -Two days after, I reached Barbacena, our headquarters, -in safety, and paid over to our Father Chaplain, -the purse of moidores, containing the pay of -our extra Lieutenant-Colonel, the blessed St. Anthony. -Only a month ago, we marched through the -pass of the Sierra, and I found the old posada roofless -by the roadside, for it is shunned like that place -of horror, the Rio de Muerte; the grass has grown -on its floor, and the wild vine overtops its chimney; -the merriest muleteer becomes silent as he passes -the place, and whips his lagging team down the -mountain side, without looking once behind him. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -————— -</p> - -<p> -The major of the noble Regiment of Lagos now -paused, and looked round with the air of a man who -thinks his story has rather made an impression; for -he had told it well, and with much gesture and -spirit, and completely succeeded in arresting the -attention of all in the venta; but of none more than -my matter-of-fact friend Jack Slingsby, who had -listened to the narrative with a degree of attention -which I thought unusual in one so volatile and heedless. -</p> - -<p> -"Your story, major, has had a peculiar interest for -me by its striking and close resemblance to an -adventure of my own," said Jack, "an adventure to which -I can never recur without an emotion of horror." -</p> - -<p> -"Is this the Spanish story you so often refer to, -Jack?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"The story our mess could never get out of me?—yes." -</p> - -<p> -"And shall we hear it now?" -</p> - -<p> -"With pleasure; because it will interest all here, -whereas among our own bantering fellows at Gibraltar -it would only have subjected me, perhaps, to jibes and -jokes, and all that sort of thing, from those who were, -perhaps, more thoughtless than myself. Señora -patrona, please to have the wine replenished; give us -more cigars, and stir up the fire, Ramble, while I -prepare to tell you a story—aye, a marvel of a story, in -which I had the misfortune to be a principal actor not -very long ago." -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo!" muttered every one. -</p> - -<p> -All were provided with a fresh supply of wine, new -cigars were lighted, and Jack found himself the centre -of a circle of dark, gleaming, and intelligent eyes, -while every ear was waiting for the promised narrative; -for among the romantic, adventurous, and marvel-loving -Spaniards, as among the wandering Arabs, a story-teller -is at all times the principal person in company. -</p> - -<p> -It would be scarcely possible to find a scene more -remarkable, or a group more picturesque, than the -great apartment presented, in which we were all -congregated. -</p> - -<p> -A large fire blazed on its broad hearth, and shed a -ruddy glow upon the rough architecture and ill-squared -beams of the chamber, from the roof of which hung -innumerable bunches of raisins, strings of the garlic -onion, pigskins of wine, hams, baskets, and other -etcetera. The flood of steady red light that gushed -from the hearth glared on the striking forms and -foreign faces of the listening group, among whom -were the well-conditioned potters and soap-boilers of -Seville in their black velvet jackets and gaudy sashes; -our patrona, a plump and pretty paisana of Valverde, -in her provincial costume, a dark blue skirt, the -scantiness of which displayed her well-turned legs and -handsome feet encased in little shoes of untanned -leather, while the gathered masses of her smooth -black hair shone in the glow of light; there, too, sat -the old padre José of Medina in his sable cape and -long cassock, and a grisly goatherd of the Honda clad -from neck to knee in sheepskins, with a weatherbeaten -sombrero slouched over his sallow visage; a knife and -bota, castanets and flute, at his girdle, to which descended -his snow-white beard, giving him the aspect of -St. Anthony in the major's story; then there was the -major himself in his light green frock-coat, scarlet -cap and trowsers, with a cigar glowing like a hot coal -in the centre of his heavy thick mustache; then there -was an old unhoused Franciscan, begging for that -subsistence of which the new Government had deprived -his order; a charming young Gitana, tall and beautiful -in form, with a clear olive complexion and magnificent -eyes; and by her side sat a free, jolly Catalan reaper, -whom in defiance of all gypsy rule and immemorial -custom she had taken as her spouse; so it must be -acknowledged that if Jack's audience was not select, it -had at least the merit of being so remarkable in -costume and character, that a painter or novelist would -have been delighted with the whole group, its -background, and accessories. -</p> - -<p> -"In many of its features," said Slingsby, "my story -is so similar to the one just related by the major, that -I am assured you cannot fail to be struck with the -resemblance. The adventure made a deep impression -upon me; and though several months have passed -since it occurred, the whole affair is as fresh in my -mind as if it had happened only yesterday. On -leaving the 6th Regiment," continued Jack, turning to -me, "I went for a few months into the Highlanders, -but, being an Englishman, I never felt at home in the -kilt, so I exchanged into our present corps, which will -account for my being in the Mediterranean at the time -referred to.—So now for the story." -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo, señor!" said the major of the regiment -of Lagos; "you speak Spanish like a good Christian. -We are all attention." -</p> - -<p> -Jack bowed, stuck his glass in his eye, tipped the -ashes off his cigar with the nail of his forefinger, and -began the following story, which deserves an entire -chapter devoted to itself. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI -<br /><br /> -LA POSADA DEL CAVALLO. -</h3> - -<p> -In the summer of last year, I was proceeding home to -Britain on leave of absence from my regiment, the —th -Highlanders, which were then, and are still, lying in -garrison at Malta. Favoured by the friendship of her -commander, and my good friend and old school-fellow, -Lieutenant John Hall, I had a passage given to me in -Her Majesty's Sloop Blonde, of twenty-six guns; and -after a pleasant run for a few days, a smart breeze, -which we encountered off Almuneçar, when sailing -along the coast of Spain, brought down some of our -top hamper, and we ran in to Malaga to repair the -damage. -</p> - -<p> -It was a beautiful and sunny evening when our -anchor plunged into the shining waters of that deep -bay which presents so superb a line of coast, and the -background of which is formed by the undulating -line of the Sierra de Mija towering into the pure blue -sky of Spain, and bounding, in the distance, the flat -and fertile Vega. -</p> - -<p> -From the quarter-deck of the Blonde, we had a -magnificent prospect of Malaga, with its stately -mansions, its domes, its spires and snowy kiosks, bathed -in a warm yellow tint as the sun's rays faded along -the Vega, and the shadows deepened on its hills, -clothed with vineyards and plantations of orange, -almond, lemon and olive trees. The gaudy Spanish -flag descended from the dark ramparts of the old -Moorish fortress of Gibral-Faro as the evening gun -was fired from the guard-ship; and then, as the sun -set behind tha mountains, the bells tolled for vespers -in the lofty steeple of the square Cathedral, and a -red lambent light began to glimmer on the tall brick -chimneys of that extensive iron-foundry, which (alas -for romance!) a thoroughly practical Scotsman has -built in Malaga, where it finds food and work for -hundreds, in smelting the ore of the adjacent hills, while -it pollutes the cerulean sky of Granada. -</p> - -<p> -Bent upon a ramble or adventure, the second-lieutenant -(Jack Hall) and I took our fowling-pieces, -and, leaving our swords behind us—at least I took -only my regimental dirk—were pulled ashore in the -dingy, which landed us at one of those piers that -project from the city into the sea, forming part of that -noble mole which measures seven hundred yards in -length. -</p> - -<p> -Leaving our guns and shooting apparatus at our -hotel, we wandered about the town; visited the -Alcazaba, which must once have been a fortress of vast -strength; then the old Roman Cathedral and Bishop's -Palace; but we lingered longest in the Alameda—that -beautiful promenade—which is eighty feet wide, -and is bordered by rows of orange and oleander trees, -and in the centre of which a magnificent marble -fountain was tossing its sparkling waters into the -starry sky. -</p> - -<p> -Here we saw some bright-eyed Spanish women in -their dark mantillas and veils, and not a few in tha -homely and assuredly less graceful bonnet and shawl -of London and Paris, whose fashions are gradually, -and, I think, unfortunately, superseding the more -captivating dress of old Spain; we saw too, -ferocious-looking soldiers in dark dresses, weaving yellow -sashes, red forage caps, and enormous moustaches; -old priests gliding stealthily along, with an aspect of -meekness, and apparently crushed in spirit; for the -Government presses with a heavy hand on the -ecclesiastics; citizens clad in light stuffs of bright -colours, with red sashes and low-crowned hats, having -black silk tufts at each side; queer-looking Caballeros -in large brown cloaks like that of Don Diego de -Mendoza's "Poor Hidalgo," and wearing hats 'à la -Kossuth.' As every man was smoking as if his salvation -depended upon his doing so with vigour, the whole -air was redolent of cigars. -</p> - -<p> -I had on my undress, a forage cap, and plain red -jacket, with tartan trews, my sash and dirk; for I -have found that the British uniform always ensures the -wearer attention and respect in every part of the globe. -</p> - -<p> -We wandered long in that lovely Alameda, until -the last of its fair promenaders had withdrawn; and -then we returned to our hotel rather disappointed, -that of all the black eyes we had seen flashing under -veils of Madeira lace, not one had given us a glance -of encouragement; that of all the pretty lips, which -had been lisping dulcet Spanish mixed with the Arabic -of Granada, none had invited us to follow; that of -all the sombre cavaliers, not one appeared to be an -assassin or a Grand Inquisitor; and that, of all the -hideous old duennas whom we had seen cruising -about us, not one had approached, and with finger on -her lip, and an impressive glance in her eye, placed a -mysterious note into either of our hands, and -"disappeared in the crowd." -</p> - -<p> -Nothing remarkable happened, save that Hall had -his pocket picked of his handkerchief and cigar-case, -and we returned like other men to our hotel, where -we supped on devilled turkey and the wine of the -district, Tierno and Malaga; after which we turned -into bed, warning the waiter to summon us early, and -have a guide to lead us toward the neighbouring hills, -where we intended to make some havock among the -game next day. -</p> - -<p> -Punctually at five o'clock in the morning the mozo-de-cafe -roused us, and, after coffee, we shouldered our -double-barrelled rifles, and accompanied by a young -'gamin' named Pedrillo, for whose fidelity the -waiter pledged his "honour," we departed on our -ramble. -</p> - -<p> -If ever you saw the Spanish beggar-boys, as -depicted by Murillo in his famous picture, which is -now in Dulwich College, they will know perfectly the -aspect of Pedrillo, our little guide. -</p> - -<p> -He was about twelve years old; but, hardened by -indigence and sharpened by privation, his perceptive -faculties were keener than those of many a man. His -sallow little visage was stamped with more of the -animal than the intellectual being; his eyes were -black, glossy, and glittered alternately with cunning -and intelligence. His sole attire consisted of a -dilapidated shirt, a pair of knee-breeches, and a cowl, -which confined his luxuriant black hair; he had zinc -rings in his ears, and bore altogether the aspect of a -little Lazzarone. -</p> - -<p> -He was intelligent withal, and he told us a vast -number of anecdotes, which increased in wonder and -ferocity as we paid him one peseta after another; but -he dwelt particularly on the achievements of a certain -Juan Roa, otherwise styled de Antequera, who was -then prowling in that savage range of mountains, from -whence he descended sometimes alone, sometimes -with many followers, especially when the Solano blew -from Africa, to commit outrages among the quiet -quintas and villages of the fertile Vega, where he was -said to be in league with every posada-keeper for forty -miles around Malaga. -</p> - -<p> -About mid-day we rested under the cool shadow of -a cork wood, about ten miles from the city; it was a -beautiful place, where the sward was soft as velvet, -and where a thick border of blushing rose-trees, and -wild hydrangias flourished near us. Here we shared -our provisions with a paisano and two armed -contrabandistas whom we met, and who shared with us their -wine in return. The two smugglers had strong and -active horses, and carried blunderbusses and pistols to -guard their bales of chocolate, soap, tobacco, and -cigars; they were fine, merry fellows, gaudily dressed, -and full of fun and anecdote; for in Spain the -contrabandista is a species of travelling newspaper. Now -all their news were of the last feat or outrage of Juan -Roa. -</p> - -<p> -"I would give a guinea to meet this interesting -vagabond; the interview would tell famously in -some of the monthlies," said Hall, with a heedless -laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"I think I should know him," said I; "for we saw -at least twenty coloured prints of him in the shops on -the Alameda, last night. He is a ferocious-looking -dog!" -</p> - -<p> -The contrabandistas looked round with alarm, and -then laughed immoderately. -</p> - -<p> -"Ferocious? Indeed, señor?" said the paisano; -"I beg to differ from you, having myself seen Juan -of Antequera face to face; and so think him quite -like other men." -</p> - -<p> -I gazed at the speaker, whom, by his green velvet -jacket, adorned by four dozen of brass buttons, his -sombrero, with its broad yellow ribband, his black -plush breeches, red scarf and shoe-buckles, I -supposed to be the substantial farmer of one of the -adjacent quintas. He had a fine dark face, a powerful -figure, and two black eyes that seemed to be always -looking through me. Over one eyebrow, he had a -large black patch. He carried a riding switch, had a -knife in his girdle; and altogether, as he lolled on -the sward, smoking a paper cigar and sipping red -wine, I thought he would make a fine and striking -sketch, and equal to any by Pinelli. -</p> - -<p> -"Juan Roa," said he, "has committed great -outrages in the Vega of Granada. The Duke of -Wellington has there an estate, having on it about three -hundred tenants, who yield some fifteen thousand -dollars of rental; but Juan has thrice drawn every -duro of it from the old abagado, who acts as steward -to the duke." -</p> - -<p> -The contrabandistas again laughed at this immoderately. -</p> - -<p> -"You have seen this Juan of Antequera, have you -not?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Face to face—often, señor." -</p> - -<p> -"And so have I," said little Pedrillo. -</p> - -<p> -"You! and when was this, my little fellow?" said -Jack Hall. -</p> - -<p> -"On the night old Barradas, the muleteer, was -murdered." -</p> - -<p> -The Spaniard with the patch knit his brows. -</p> - -<p> -"Caramba!" said he; "ah! I remember that." -</p> - -<p> -"Tell us about this murder," said Hall. -</p> - -<p> -"You must know, señors," said Pedrillo, "that at -the foot of the Sierra de Mija, about five miles from -this, there stands a wayside inn, called La Posada -del Cavallo, for the keeper, Martin Secco, had a great -horse painted on his signboard. This man is the -uncle of Juan Roa, or of Antequera. He has a -wife, and had two daughters. The place is lonely; -and it often happens, that those who put up there for -the night forget the right path; for they are lost -among the mountains, or fall into the sand-pits—at -least, they are seldom heard of after. You -understand, señors?" -</p> - -<p> -The Spaniard with the patch smiled grimly, and -played with his knife. -</p> - -<p> -"One night last year, I guided Pedro Barradas, the -Cordovan muleteer, to the posada, when it was dark -as pitch. Pedro was very old, and half blind, and -had never been that way before. A storm came on, -and he desired me to remain with him, saying he -would pay me well; old Barradas was rich; he had -made money in the war of independence, and in the -last civil war between the Carlists and Christines; -and had given three silver images to the church of -his native puebla in Jaen. -</p> - -<p> -"We supped on baccallao, raisins, and plain bread, -for the season was Lent. While we were at supper, -in the common hall of the posada, I heard the rain -pattering on the wooden shutters (there is not a glass -window in the house); I heard the thunder grumbling -among the hills, and the wind howling as it swept -over the fields and vineyards of the Vega. It was a -lonely place for a poor boy who had neither father -nor mother, señors; but, then, I was not worth -killing, though many fears flitted through my mind; for -Martin's wife—an ugly and wicked-looking Basque -provincial—put some very alarming questions to old -Pedro Barradas. She told him that the neighbourhood -was infested by bandidos and contrabandistas; -and asked if he was a heavy sleeper. -</p> - -<p> -"'No,' said Barradas, 'in the war against Joseph -Buonaparte I learned the art of sleeping lightly.' -</p> - -<p> -"'But what will you do if attacked?' -</p> - -<p> -"'That is as may be; but I have only twenty -duros, and so shall sleep soundly enough.' -</p> - -<p> -"These questions alarmed me very much; visions -of murder and slaughter came before me. I crept close -to Barradas, who, as I have said, was very old and -very frail; but his presence seemed a protection to -me for a time. -</p> - -<p> -"When the hour for bed arrived, we, who were the -only guests, were somewhat imperatively requested to -retire to our rooms by the wife of Martin Secco. -</p> - -<p> -"Barradas saw, perhaps, his danger, and said that -I should sleep in the same room with him. -</p> - -<p> -"But Inez Secco told him roughly that he must be -content to sleep alone. Then the poor old man was -half-led and half-dragged away. As for me, I was but -a boy; so they thrust me into a dark closet, where -some straw lay on the floor, and, desiring me to sleep -there and be thankful, left me. -</p> - -<p> -"I lay down on the straw, and finding it wet, arose -in horror, fearing that it was blood; and so I -remained in the dark, praying to our Lady of the Seven -Sorrows, and trembling and listening to the howling -of the storm for more than an hour, when all the -other sounds in that terrible posada died away. -</p> - -<p> -"I was just beginning to dose when a ray of light -streamed through the keyhole of my door; I heard it -opened, and lo! Martin's wife, Inez Secco, appeared -with a long and sharp cuchillo in her hand. A man -accompanied her. He was Juan Roa de Antequera! -Terror paralysed me; and she believed me to be -asleep, for she felt all over my clothes—that is, my -poor shirt and breeches-pockets, from which she -took two quarter-duros—all I possessed in this world; -and then, passing the light thrice across my face, to -assure herself that I slept, the hag went away -muttering— -</p> - -<p> -"'Caramba! only a half-duro; this little wretch is -neither worth lodging nor killing.' -</p> - -<p> -"Immediately after this I heard them whispering -with Martin Secco; and then they knocked at the -door of old Pedro Barradas, who, like a cautious man, -had fastened it on the inside. -</p> - -<p> -"'Get up,' said they, 'Señor Barradas—get up—you -are wanted.' -</p> - -<p> -"But old Barradas either slept like a top, or he was -too wary to open; for he heeded them not. -</p> - -<p> -"Then I heard Juan and Martin muttering curses -as they deliberately forced open the door; next there -came a terrible cry of— -</p> - -<p> -"'Help! Pedrillo, help! Ayuda, por amor de -neustra Señora Santissima!' -</p> - -<p> -"This was followed by sounds like those made by -a sheep when the knife of the carnicero is in its -throat; and, in the meantime, Martin's two daughters -were singing as loud as they could, and dancing a -bolero in the passage, to conceal these terrible sounds, -which froze the blood within me." -</p> - -<p> -Here Pedrillo paused. -</p> - -<p> -"Go on," said Jack Hall, impatiently; "and how -did you escape?" -</p> - -<p> -"If the noble señors would help me to refresh my -memory——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, I comprehend," said I, tossing a peseta to -him; "now fire away, Pedrillo." -</p> - -<p> -"You should not encourage this young picaro, -Señor Caballero," said the Spaniard, whose face was -now darkened by a terrible frown; "for it is my -belief that he was the mere decoy, who led poor old -Pedro Barradas to that villanous posada." -</p> - -<p> -Instead of being angry, Pedrillo lifted up his -hands, and prayed that Heaven and our Lady of the -Seven Sorrows would forgive the speaker for his vile -suspicions. -</p> - -<p> -"I never closed an eye that night. In the morning -I was told by Inez the Patrona, that old Barradas had -departed across the hills of Antequera without me. -Martin Secco asked me how I had slept? I said, -like a dormouse; and as soon as I was free, I ran -like a hare back to Malaga; and to make up for the -loss of my last night's rest, slept like a torpedo under -the trees of the Alameda." -</p> - -<p> -"You acquainted the magistrates—the alguazils, -of course," said Hall, knocking the ashes from his -third cigar. -</p> - -<p> -"I was only a poor, ragged, little picaro," -replied Pedrillo, in a whining voice; "and who would -believe me? Besides, old Barradas was a stranger -from Cordova or Jaen; and a man, more or less, is -nothing in Granada; but since that time Martin's two -daughters have been sent to the galleys at Barcelona, -by the captain-general of the kingdom, for intriguing -in many ways with the contrabandistas of Jaen. -Now, señors, the noon is past; and if it please you, -'t is time we were moving, if you wish to reach the -Sierra." -</p> - -<p> -While we were placing fresh caps on our rifles, -and preparing to start, the Spaniard with the patch, -who had listened to Pedrillo's story with great -impatience, now seized that young gamin by the arm, -and grasping it like a vice, gave him a savage scowl, -and said something in Spanish; but so rapidly, that -I could only make out that he was reprehending him -severely for telling us "a succession of falsehoods." -</p> - -<p> -So I thought at that time; afterwards I was -enabled to put a different construction upon his -indignation, at which Pedrillo seemed to be -considerably alarmed. -</p> - -<p> -Bidding adieu to him and the contrabandistas, we -departed under Pedrillo's guidance, and (sans leave) -shot all along the sides of the mountain range, on -the slope of which stands the small but ancient city -of Antequera, so noted for the revolt of the Moors in -the sixteenth century; and had some narrow escapes -from falling into those remarkable pits, where the -water settles in the low places, and is formed into -salt by the mere heat of the sun. -</p> - -<p> -We did not see much game, but knocked over -a few brace of birds, and with these, and two red -foxes, our little guide Pedrillo was quite laden. So -he seemed to think; for, taking advantage of the -concealment afforded him by some olive groves, and -the scattered remnants of an abandoned vineyard, -among which we had become entangled, the young -rogue slipped away with our game and made off, -either towards Malaga or Antequera; at least we saw -no more of him, or of his burden at that time. -</p> - -<p> -This was just about the close of the day, when -Hall and I were draining the last drop of our flask, -and surveying from the mountain slope the magnificent -prospect of the verdant Vega, spreading at our -feet like a brightly-tinted map, having that warm and -roseate glow, which well might win it the name of -Tierra Caliente. Malaga, the ancient bulwark of -Spain against Africa, was shining in the distance, -with its towers and gates, its flat-roofed houses, and -vast cathedral; its Moorish castles and gothic spires, -all bathed in a warm and sunny yellow; while beyond -lay the broad blue Mediterranean, dotted by sails, -and changing from gold to purple and to blue. -</p> - -<p> -This was all very fine: but our pleasure was -lessened by the conviction that our little rascal -Pedrillo was absconding with our game; and we -knew that it would never do to relate to the gun-room -mess how we had been outwitted, on returning to the -Blonde next day. -</p> - -<p> -The foreground of this beautiful panorama was -broken by innumerable small hillocks and clumps of -wood of many kinds; but principally olive, pine, and -cork trees, that grew on the slope of the great -Sierra; and though the sky and landscape darkened -fast after the sun set, we instituted a strict and angry -search for Pedrillo, shouting and whistling as we -stumbled on, we knew not very well whither, looking -for our lost spoils—two foxes, with gallant brushes, -and eight brace of birds. -</p> - -<p> -No moon had risen: the wind began to whistle -among the groves and hollows; the night was very -dark. -</p> - -<p> -"What, if we should meet Master Juan of Antequera?" -said I. -</p> - -<p> -"If he had our game, I should be very well -pleased," replied Hall; "but I wish that Pedrillo -had been with old Scratch when we hired him -yesterday. If I had the little lubber on board the -Blonde, I would show him the maintop." -</p> - -<p> -"Spain is a land of mishaps and events," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Yesterday we were wishing for an adventure." -</p> - -<p> -"And to-night we have one with a vengeance!" -said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Belay; I see some one moving in that hollow. -Let us jump down—ahoy below there!" -</p> - -<p> -"But we may lose the track," I urged. -</p> - -<p> -"True; so do you remain where you are, while I -go down into the hollow. Hollo now and then, to let -me know your whereabouts." -</p> - -<p> -With his rifle in his hand, Hall, who was a fine -active fellow, sprang down into a ravine that -suddenly yawned before us, and I remained with my -rifle cocked, and stooped low to watch what might -follow. Hall disappeared in the obscurity below. I -halloed; but the night wind tossed back my own -shout upon me. Then I thought I heard his voice, -and sprang after him; but fell upon a point of rock, -and sank, completely stunned, to the earth. -</p> - -<p> -There I lay for nearly a quarter of an hour, unable -to move, or rally my senses. When I arose, I found -myself at the bottom of the hollow, and upon a -narrow mule track; the moon was rising brightly at -the south end of the ravine, silvering the masses of -rocks, tufts of laurel-trees, and wild vines that grew -in the clefts of the basalt. I shouted, but received -no reply; and after a long and fruitless search could -discover no trace of Hall in any direction. -</p> - -<p> -Considerably alarmed for his safety as well as my -own—for to lie at night upon those hills of Antequera, -with the devilish stories of Pedrillo and the -contrabandistas haunting one's memory, was anything but -pleasant—I tried the charges of my rifle, looked again -to the percussion-caps, and set off in that direction -where, by the rising of the moon, I knew that Malaga -must lie; but frequently paused to hollo for Jack -Hall, and received no reply save the echoes of the -rocks. -</p> - -<p> -The ravine descended and grew more open. Again -I saw the Vega sleeping at my feet in the haze; and, -on turning an angle of the road, found myself close -to an inn or taberna, which I approached with joy, -concluding that my friend Jack must have gone that -way, and would probably be there. -</p> - -<p> -Like all Spanish inns, it was a large and mis-shapen -edifice, the lower story of which was nothing better -than a great open shed, for mules and vehicles; and, -ascending from thence by a stair, I reached a gallery, -at the door of which I was received by the host, who -carried in his hand a stable lantern. -</p> - -<p> -"Entrar," said he, bowing profoundly; "entrar, -señor." -</p> - -<p> -"I have been shooting on the mountains," said I, -"and have lost my companion, a British naval officer. -Has he passed this way?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, señor," replied the host, (whose face I could -not yet see,) as he led me up another stair. -</p> - -<p> -"Then get supper prepared; for he must soon be -here, as I have no doubt he knows pretty well the -direction of Malaga. And now," said I, drawing a -long breath, as I seated myself, "what place is this?" -</p> - -<p> -"La Posada del Cavallo." (!) -</p> - -<p> -"Eh! ah—and you?" I asked, in a thick voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Martin Secco, at your service, Señor Caballero!" -</p> - -<p> -"Here was a dénouement! -</p> - -<p> -"Good Heavens!" thought I, mechanically resuming -my rifle; "if the stories of Pedrillo should be -true." -</p> - -<p> -I scrutinised my host and hostess. -</p> - -<p> -Martin had a broad and open visage, with keen eyes, -and a black beard as thick as a horse-brush; a wide -mouth, that frequently expanded in grins; but in those -grins no radiance ever lit up his glassy eyes. The -mouth laughed; but they remained immovable—invariably -a bad sign. His forehead receded, and his -ears were placed high upon his head. At the first -glance, I concluded that my señor patron was an -unmitigated brute. His figure was somewhat portly, -and encased in a brown jacket, brown knee-breeches, -and black stockings; he wore his hair confined in a -caul, and had a yellow sash round his waist. -</p> - -<p> -His wife was, as Pedrillo had described Inez Secco, -a Basque, for her Spanish was almost unintelligible; -and her coarse black hair was plaited in one thick tail, -which reached to her heels. Her gown was of rough -red cloth, with tight sleeves and a short skirt, -displaying a pair of yellow worsted stockings and leather -sandals, fastened by thongs above the ancle. Her face -was coarse and bloated; but the expression of her eye -was terrible. It hovered between the bright ferocious -glare of a snake, and the glazed orb of an arrant sot. -She scanned me closely; and I thought the old devil -(she was a Spanish woman, and past forty,) was -accurately appraising the value of all I had on. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, señora patrona," said I, "what can I have -for supper?" -</p> - -<p> -"The señor has come at a bad time, for we have -little or no provisions in our larder." (The larder of -every Spanish inn has been in the same condition -since the days of Cervantes and Gongora.) "For -now this road between Malaga and Antequera is but -little frequented after noon-day, owing to the terrible -robberies and the four assassinations committed by -Juan Roa, during the last Solano. Caramba! 't is -very hard that we should suffer for him." -</p> - -<p> -"What can I have, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"A roasted galina, dressed with a few beans," said -the patrona. -</p> - -<p> -"And a glass of good aquadiente," added the host; -"our Tierno has soured in the wine-skins." -</p> - -<p> -"'T is poor fare this, for hungry men. I have said -that I expect my friend's arrival momently." -</p> - -<p> -The host gave a cold smile, and said, "We have -had nothing ourselves, for a week past, but Indian -corn and boiled garbanzos (beans); but the best we -have is at the disposal of the señor caballero." -</p> - -<p> -The inn was old and crazy; the wind came in at -one cranny, and whistled out by another. The roof, -walls, and floor of the large apartment in which we -three were seated, consisted of a multitude of beams -and boards, placed horizontally and diagonally, -without skill and without regard to design or appearance. -There was but one candle in the house (as the host -assured me), and it was rapidly guttering down in the -currents of air. The patrona transferred it from the -lantern to an iron holder, and it was placed on the -table to light the room and my supper. -</p> - -<p> -An ostler, or nondescript servant, wearing fustian -knee-breeches, without braces, with a muleteer's -embroidered shirt, and having a yellow handkerchief -tied round his head, spread a (not over-clean) cloth on -the table; knives, forks, and covers were laid for two, -with a cold fowl, a loaf of white bread, a dish of -beans, garlic, and a bottle of aquadiente. -</p> - -<p> -I observed this wild-looking waiter frequently -glancing at my rifle, and the jewelled dirk that dangled -at my waist-belt; I became suspicious of everything. -</p> - -<p> -"You are well armed, señor," said he. -</p> - -<p> -"It is natural; for arms are my profession," said I. -</p> - -<p> -I looked at my watch: the hands indicated eleven -o'clock! Two hours had elapsed since Hall and I -had separated; still there was no appearance of him. -Twenty times I opened the shutters of the unglazed -windows, and listened intently; but the night wind -that swept down the dark ravine in the Sierra, brought -neither shout nor footstep; so I resolved to sup, go -to bed, and trust to daylight for discovering Jack, if -he did not arrive at the posada before morning. -</p> - -<p> -I had just concluded supper, when the last remains -of the last candle in this solitary inn, sank into its -iron socket, and left us in darkness; at least with no -other light than the red wavering glow that came -from the hearth, where a few roots of pine and -corkwood smouldered beside the brown puchero, in which -the amiable patrona had boiled the beans for my repast. -</p> - -<p> -"Here is a pretty piece of business!" said Martin -Secco; "we have not another candle were it to light -a blessed altar; and the señor Caballero must go to -bed in the dark." -</p> - -<p> -"Heed not that, señor patron," said I; "for I am -a soldier, as you may see, and am used to discomfort." -</p> - -<p> -"'T is well; for I am sure that the señor has -experienced nothing but discomfort in our poor posada. -When I am rich enough, señor, I hope to have an -hotel in the Alameda; and then should the Caballero -ever come to Malaga again, he will remember Martin -Secco." -</p> - -<p> -At this remark, I heard the patrona utter a low -chuckling laugh; but whether at the prospect of the -fine hotel, or the doubtful chances of my ever again -visiting Malaga, I could not say. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, señor patron," said I, rising and taking up -my rifle, "I should like to reach the town betimes -to-morrow; so show me to my chamber, and should my -friend arrive, fail not to call me." -</p> - -<p> -"Will you not leave your gun here?" suggested -the host. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you—no," said I, while my undefined -suspicions grew stronger within me. "Do you lead -the way, señor, and I shall follow. Good night, -señora patrona." -</p> - -<p> -"Bueno noche, señor," said she, stirring up the -embers; and we separated. -</p> - -<p> -To follow Martin was perhaps the most unpleasant -part that I had yet acted; for I had to grope my way -after him along a dark passage, about forty feet long, -at the end of which he ushered me into a room, -where there was no other light than that given by the -moon, which shone through a small window glazed -with little panes of coarse glass. Here he bade me -"Bueno noche;" and, after many apologies for my -miserable accommodation, left me. -</p> - -<p> -The apartment was small. In one corner stood a -French bed, having light-coloured curtains; this, with -a basin-stand, two chairs and a mirror, made up the -furniture. Like a true soldier, I turned to secure the -door. -</p> - -<p> -Destitute of lock or bolt: it had only a small -thumb-latch! -</p> - -<p> -Dismounting the ewer and basin, I placed the stand -end-wise between the bed and the door, firmly fixing -it, and thus forming a barricade, which none could -force without awaking me. To make all sure, I again -dropped the ramrod into each barrel of my rifle, -passed a finger over the caps, unbuckled the belt at -which my dirk dangled; and, without undressing, for -every moment I expected to hear Jack Hall hallooing -outside the house; in short, to be prepared for -anything, I threw myself down on the coverlet, and -weary and worn by a long day's ramble among the -mountains, prepared to sleep. -</p> - -<p> -For a long time a species of painful wakefulness -possessed me; the moans of the passing wind, the -flapping of a loose board in the external gallery, the -wavering shadows thrown by the moonlight on the -damp and discoloured walls; even the ticking of my -watch disturbed me, and kept me constantly thinking -of poor Hall's unaccountable absence, with many a -fear that he might have fallen into the hands of Juan -of Antequera, and not a few reproaches for my having -perhaps too easily relinquished my search for him. -</p> - -<p> -These thoughts completely obliterated any sense of -my own immediate danger; but I was about to drop -asleep when something moist that oozed over my -neck and face aroused me. I started, fully awake in -a moment; and, passing a hand across my cheek, -looked at it in the moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -"Blood!" said I, springing off the bed, while a -thrill ran through me. I had not been wounded or -cut by my fall; then from whence came this terrible -moisture? I examined the pillow, and found the -lower part of it quite wet; I turned it, and lo! it was -saturated with blood! -</p> - -<p> -This was the reason, that Martin Secco had -declined to give me a candle. My heart beat thick and -fast; apprehension of something horrible came over -me, and I remembered the stories of Pedrillo. I -also recollected that I had some excellent Spanish -cigar fusees, and tearing three or four blank leaves -from my note book, I twisted them together, lit them, -and surveyed the dingy chamber. The boards in -front of the bed were marked by recent spots of -blood; I raised the little fringe or curtain, and, -guided by some terrible instinct, looked below, and -saw—what? -</p> - -<p> -Poor Jack Hall lying there in his naval uniform, -with his epaulette torn off, and his throat literally -cut from ear to ear! -</p> - -<p> -He had found his way here before me, and been -assassinated. -</p> - -<p> -Almost paralysed, I continued for half a minute to -gaze at this terrible spectacle, till the paper burned -down to my fingers and expired. I heard my heart -beating; and my head spun round as I tightened my -belt and grasped my loaded rifle. Before I could -adopt any plan of operations, I heard a rustling and -whispering in the passage near my door; and, looking -through a crack in the panels, saw, within a yard -of me, Martin Secco, bearing in one hand the rifle of -my poor friend, and in the other a lighted candle, -although he had made to me so many apologies, -about two hours before, for not having another in the -house. As he approached, he handed it to a boy, in -whom I discovered Pedrillo; and then the light -flashed upon two other men, in one of whom I recognised -the ostler, and in the other, our acquaintance -of the noon, with the patch on his face, and wearing -the green velvet jacket and sombrero. This worthy -had a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. -The patrona was also there, with her wolfish eyes -and enormous Basque queue. -</p> - -<p> -Outrage and assassination were impressed on the -hard lines of all their cruel and savage visages; and -I perceived at once that without a vigorous effort I -was lost—that my life was forfeited; and all the -anticipations of newspaper paragraphs; "a mysterious -disappearance" in the "Times" and "Military Gazette," -flashed upon my mind. I had youth, a noble -profession, many kind friends, my regiment, and -home, with "the best of expectations," as old -dowagers say, on one hand; a horrible and sudden death—a -lonely scene of unknown butchery, on the other! -</p> - -<p> -I cocked the locks of my rifle, and resolutely -removed the barricade from the door. -</p> - -<p> -"Take time, Juan Roa," said the patrona. -</p> - -<p> -"Hold your tongue, old perra; I know well enough -what I am doing," growled the personage in green, -whom I now knew to be that terrible outlaw, who -since the Carlist war, had laughed at the carabineros -and alguazils, and kept all Malaga, the Sierra de -Mija, and the Vega of Granada astir and in -terror. -</p> - -<p> -Including the patrona, and the treacherous young -rascal Pedrillo, I had five desperate enemies, and only -two bullets at their service. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us prove whether the Inglese is asleep, before -we enter," said the patron, knocking at the door -gently, and placing the candle behind him. -</p> - -<p> -"No answer—he is certainly asleep," whispered -the patrona. -</p> - -<p> -"Knock again," growled Juan Roa. -</p> - -<p> -A smart blow was then given; but still I made no -reply. Then the patron applied his hand to the -latch; but before he could open the door, I fired -right through the slender panels, and shot him dead -by one bullet, knocking over the ostler by the other, -which he received through his neck and shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -Clubbing my rifle, I then rushed out; and charging -them in the smoke and confusion, dealt Juan Roa a -tremendous blow with the butt end, which levelled -him beside the two ruffians who lay bleeding in the -narrow passage. Escaping a pistol shot from Juan, -but receiving two desperate cuts from the termagant -patrona and the wasp Pedrillo, I reached the end of -the passage, sprang through the common hall, and -found the outer door fastened. By main strength I -tore it open, and reached the external gallery, over -which I dropped, though it was fully twelve feet from -the ground; and, just as I did so, the boy Pedrillo -fired one of Juan's pistols after me; but I escaped -it, and ran down the mountain slope, loading my -rifle as I went, and driving a bullet home into each -barrel. -</p> - -<p> -Grey morning was spreading along the east, and -the red flush of the coming sun was brightening -behind the dark towers of Gibral-Faro, and sparkling -on the lattices of Malaga. The aromatic plants were -putting forth their sweetest perfume, and the light -foliage of the sugar-cane, the cotton plant, and the -citron tree, were shaking off the heavy dews of night. -The air was clear and cool; after the toils of the -past day, the sleepless night and its terrors, the -fresh dewy atmosphere revived me, and, dashing down -the lonely mountain-side, I reached a little puebla, -and reported the whole affair to the officer who there -commanded a party of the carabineros of Antequera. -</p> - -<p> -A sergeant and twenty troopers galloped away to -the posada, which they found completely deserted by -all its living tenants; but they hung the body of the -patron upon a tree, burned the house to the ground, -and conveyed the mangled remains of poor Jack Hall -to Malaga, where they were interred next day, with -all the honours of war, in that corner of the Campo -Santo which is appropriated for the burial of -strangers; and there the marines of the Blonde fired -three volleys over the grave, where as noble a heart -as Her Majesty's service possessed was committed to -the earth of Spain. -</p> - -<p> -An hour's examination before a magistrate, who -swore me across my sword as to the particulars, was -all the judicial inquiry ever made; we sailed next day, -and reached Portsmouth, after a fine run, and without -any other mishaps; but I shall never forget that -terrible night among the mountains of Antequera, -Martin Secco, his wife's tail, and the horrors of La -Posada del Cavallo. -</p> - -<p> -Jack's adventure elicited a burst of applause, and -was voted the story of the evening, notwithstanding -the great spice of the miraculous and holy, which -had seasoned the narrative of the Major Don Joaquim. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII -<br /><br /> -THE HALT IN A CORK WOOD -</h3> - -<p> -Next morning betimes we left the venta of Castellar -where, overnight, we had spent so many pleasant -hours. The Major Don Joaquim was very curious to -know the object of our mission to Seville, of which -he announced himself a well-known citizen; but we -declined to state the reason of our visit in uniform -to that far-famed city; neither did we mention that -our business lay with no less a personage than the -captain-general of Los Cuatros Reinos. -</p> - -<p> -In a country like Spain, where the people are so -jealous of their national honour and so revengeful, -we did not conceive that it would be conducive to our -safety to state that we were the identical officers -whose affair with the guarda costa had caused so -much heartburning for some weeks past, and so much -correspondence between our governor and the -minister Espartero; so, somewhat piqued by our -reserve, the major gave us a formal bow, and clambered -into the vehicle which was to convey him to Medina. -We separated, the convoy of calessos got into motion -after much noise and vociferation on the part of the -drivers, the stable-boys, the hostalero, and the -passengers, who were all gabbling at once in full-toned -Spanish as they rolled away under the escort of a -party of very ill-appointed dragoons in the service of -Donna Isabella la Catolica, while we rode off in the -opposite direction towards Alcala de los Gazules, a -small town, which lies on the Seville road, and through -which we passed soon after. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us push on," said I, to interrupt Jack, who -had been rallying me pretty smartly about Donna -Paulina, and vowing that all this affair of a trip to -Seville had been foreseen and preconcerted by me for -the purpose of meeting her again and continuing a -flirtation which was a source of great merriment to -the regiment. "Let us push on, Jack, for I feel very -anxious——" -</p> - -<p> -"To reach Seville, of course; but it won't run -away; we shall find it in its proper place on the left -bank of the Guadalquiver." -</p> - -<p> -"You mistake me. I was thinking how awkward -it would be for us if the Himalaya was to come round -during our absence; and if on our return we should -find the whole regiment embarked and steaming -away for the Crimea." -</p> - -<p> -"Awkward! I should think so, rather; but it is not -likely they can decamp in such a hurry. After all -we heard last night about the restless habits of the -good people in these mountains, and their vague or -peculiar ideas regarding property, together with the -eccentricities of this Don Fabrique, do we not run a -little risk in proceeding without an escort?" -</p> - -<p> -"There is risk, certainly; but our return is not to -be thought of till the duty is done." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course not—what would the regiment say?" -</p> - -<p> -"And what should we think of ourselves?" -</p> - -<p> -"We are, I hope, a match for any six Spaniards, -with our swords and revolvers, in fighting; and with -these good nags under us I should think we are more -than a match for them in flying. But the noon is -becoming so hot that I propose we should halt under -that grove of cork-trees and there take a siesta." -</p> - -<p> -We halted accordingly at the base of a steep -mountain chain, between the cleft peaks of which a -noonday-flood of yellow light was gushing. Sterile, -abrupt, and bare above us rose the ridgy rocks: the -little valley at the base was teeming with verdure and -fertility, but it was silent and solitary, for not a sound -was heard save the murmur of a stream which bubbled -from a fissure in a vine-covered cliff. It -meandered between meadows of aromatic plants, and -sought deep pools over which the oleander and the -bay threw their branches, and the cool shady thickets -of the dark wood of olive and cork-trees. -</p> - -<p> -Just where we dismounted, we found a personage -lounging on the grass. He was smoking a cigar, and -had a long gun beside him. Without rising for a -minute nearly, he scrutinised us and our horses with -marked curiosity. His costume was somewhat gay, -being in the highest style of the bull-ring, or that of -a majo or dandified Spanish ladrone, whose free -aspect and gallant air make him the admiration of the -dark-eyed paisanas and the envy of their more -peaceful male relatives; for the majo is the bravo of -our own time. -</p> - -<p> -This personage wore an ample brown cloak, which -hung loosely about his shoulders, a black velvet -sombrero, with a large tuft of black plush on one side -thereof, and under its deep rim his coal-black hair -fell in heavy locks, and his flashing eyes watched all -our motions, with an indescribable expression of -stealth and suspicion. A long knife and a pair of -brass-butted pistols were in his gaudy sash; he wore -leathern gaiters, and was playing with the blade of a -navaja, or clasp-knife, about ten inches long—a deadly -instrument, which the Spaniard is never without, for -therewith he cuts his 'carne' and bread, or his -bacallao in Lent, slices his melon in summer, and slashes -the face of any person with whom he may chance to -differ in opinion. Indeed, the visage of this lounger -bore the very unmistakable mark of a long slash -which had once laid it open from eye to chin. -Beside him stood a beautiful Andalusian jennet, high -of head, and bold in chest; its gaily-fringed bridle -was thrown over the branch of an olive tree, and -it was accoutred with a high-peaked saddle of antique -form, covered by a piece of white sheepskin, which -was spread also over a pair of holsters. -</p> - -<p> -"Buenos dias, señor," said I; "a good morning—I -fear we are disturbing you." -</p> - -<p> -"Not at all, señores—the greensward, the shadow -of those trees, and the waters of this stream, flowing -from yonder sierra, belong to us all in common. Sit -down, señores, and halter your horses, as you see I -have haltered mine. You belong to the Gibraltar -garrison, I presume—right—you are Inglesos." -</p> - -<p> -"No, Brittanicos," said I, with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -"And whither go ye?" -</p> - -<p> -"To Seville." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, would I were going with you: it is a place of -joy and merriment, Seville. The sun shines on it once -every day of the year; yet I go there but seldom. -Allow me to make you each a cigarillo." -</p> - -<p> -"With pleasure." -</p> - -<p> -To have declined would have been an affront as -great as to refuse a proffered snuff-mull in the -country of the clans. Our Spaniard produced one of -those little books of soft blank paper (almost the only -volumes used in Spain), and tore out three leaves; he -then took tobacco from his silk pouch and made up -three little cigars very neatly and adroitly; but twice -during the operation I detected his stealthy eyes -scanning us from under his bushy eyebrows. -</p> - -<p> -My little box of patent lights excited his wonder -and admiration, as he was about to exert his patience -by having recourse to the antiquated flint and steel. -Then Jack Slingsby produced his travelling flask; I -brought forth mine, and the Spaniard had a capacious -bota of wine, a drinking cup of leather, a piece of -bacallao and biscuits; and we were just proceeding -to lunch, when his Andalusian jennet pricked up its -ears and neighed uneasily. -</p> - -<p> -"Maldito!" said our companion, as a scowl came -over his visage and his hand fell mechanically on the -lock of his gun; "some one approaches." -</p> - -<p> -"An old woman on a donkey, and nothing more," -said Slingsby, carelessly; "amigo mio, you look as -much alarmed as if you expected the terrible -Fabrique de Urquija, or Juan Roa of Antequera." -</p> - -<p> -The keen eyes of the Spaniard flashed, and he -looked at Jack as if he would have pierced him -through. -</p> - -<p> -"I fear neither Don Fabrique nor any other man," -said he gruffly; "a woman on a burro—oh—it must -be poor Sister Santa Veronica, of Estrelo, a town -about a league distant." -</p> - -<p> -"How is she named so?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"After the blessed Santa Veronica who wiped the -pale face of our Lord, when dying upon his cross," -replied the Spaniard, lowering his head; "and as she -did so, on her kerchief there became impressed the -most wondrous of religious miracles—the Santa -Faz—the holy countenance of Jaen, where it is still -preserved in our cathedral, and from which the portraits -of our Saviour are all taken; hence it is that his sad -and upturned face, with its crown of bloody thorns -and curling heard, and the long yellow hair parted -over the smooth pale brow, are so well known over -all the Christian world." -</p> - -<p> -As he spoke, an elderly woman, habited like a nun, -in a coarse and well-patched dress of black serge, -with a hood of spotless white linen folded across her -brow and chin, and having its long ends drooping -lappetwise down her withered cheeks, rode up to us -on a donkey, which displayed—what one seldom sees -in a Spanish ass—evident signs of being ill-fed and -ill-groomed. The nun, who had a careworn, grave, and, -though stern, not unpleasing expression of face, -carried a covered basket on her arm. Our companion -sprang to his feet, and, doffing his sombrero, hastened -to meet her and to hold the bridle of her animal. -</p> - -<p> -She was abroad, as she told us, begging alms and -food for the sisters of her convent—ten ladies—all of -whom were of noble rank, but the most of whose -kinsmen had fallen in battle under Don Ramon de -Cabrera, and thus left them friendless. They were -now, by the confiscation of the ecclesiastical revenues, -and the seizure of those sums which they had paid -as a dowry into the convent treasury, reduced to -extreme penury in their old age, and were driven from -their pleasant convent in the beautiful vega of Jaen; -since then they had endeavoured to perform the duties -of their order, and to serve God, in a poor and -half-ruined house, which belonged to a noble, charitable. -and religious lady, Donna Dominga de Lucena, y -Colmenar de Orieja, at Estrelo; and now would not -the noble Caballeros give something to the poor -ladies of Santa Theresa, however small, for the love -of God and of blessed charity? -</p> - -<p> -All this, which she prettily told, was addressed to -us, rather than to the stranger, at whom she glanced -uneasily from time to time, although he stood -bare-headed, with the deepest respect, and holding her -burro by the bridle. -</p> - -<p> -The circumstance of the sisterhood being -befriended by the mother of Donna Paulina would -have sufficed to interest us, if the wrong done them -by the present Government of Spain had failed to do -so. Our purses were at once produced, and we -respectfully raised our caps on presenting the poor nun -with a few pillared dollars, which no doubt she little -expected from two heretical Brittanicos. -</p> - -<p> -They had been robbed of everything, she continued—at -least, all save their cases of reliques and -the bones of Santa Theresa, which they had borne on -their shoulders in sad procession from Jaen to -Estrelo; and, moreover, they had lost the wonderful -portrait of their patroness, which had been seized -and sold by those hijos de Luiz Philipe, the men of -the new administration; but it was no fault of the -present Queen of Spain, for poor Isabella la Catolica -had wept her eyes out in the cause of the poor monks -and nuns. The señores had, no doubt, heard of the -wonderful portrait of the blessed Theresa? -</p> - -<p> -In great sorrow we professed our ignorance thereof. -</p> - -<p> -"Madre Mia! It was said to be an Alonzo Cano, -and had narrowly escaped the clutches of the -Marshals Soult and Massena, when they swept away the -golden moidores of the Portuguese and the divine -Murillos of the Spaniards. It belonged to the chapel -in which the saint was baptized, and was quite as -veritable and wonderful as the holy countenance of -Jaen, and was usually placed over the great altar; -but one day when the chapel was undergoing repair, -it was placed at the porch, where it was seen by a -certain ruined gamester—a savage and desperate -fellow, worse than Juan Roa or Don Fabrique, as he came -past that way. In a fit of mad despair, having just -lost everything, he struck his dagger into the bosom -of the picture, from which there immediately gushed -out a torrent of blood in the sight of the terrified -people; while a faint cry was heard in the air, as of -one in pain afar off." -</p> - -<p> -"And the gamester?" -</p> - -<p> -"Went raving mad and died, chained like a wild -beast in the Gaza de Locos of Jaen." -</p> - -<p> -To our gift, our companion added a doubloon, a -present so valuable that it excited our surprise and -kindled the fear of the poor nun, who accepted it with -reluctance, and, with abundance of genuflections -and thanks, whipped up her burro, which trotted -away. -</p> - -<p> -"Shall I not have the honour of escorting you to -Estrelo, reverend señora?" cried our friend, hurrying -after her. -</p> - -<p> -"Muchos gratias—no, no! a thousand thanks, -señor," she replied, hurriedly; "no one will molest a -poor sister of Santa Theresa." -</p> - -<p> -Her ill-concealed repugnance to receive his alms -evidently impressed the Spaniard, who seated himself -in silence, and smoked with a sullen expression, as if -somewhat depressed by the whole affair; but Jack -Slingsby, who hated silence more than anything in the -world, began to make some casual inquiries as to -whether or not the famous Urquija had been heard of -hereabout, and where he was generally to be found. -</p> - -<p> -"Found," reiterated the Spaniard, with a frown of -surprise; "he is often found by those who least like -such a discovery." -</p> - -<p> -"So it seems," replied Jack, "and by the accounts -we heard of him at the—how do you name it?—the -venta last night, he seems to be ripe fruit for the -gallows." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed," said the Spaniard, quietly making up -another cigarillo, "you are very loud, Señor Viajador, -(traveller), in condemning this poor son of Andalusia, -this Don Fabrique; but you do so simply because -you know nothing about him; being, like most Englishmen, -totally ignorant of every country except your own -portion of Britain, and, believing that whatever is not -English must be radically, physically, and morally -wrong, you have come among us predisposed to -ridicule and to condemn." -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce!" said Jack, with an air of pique; "I -beg to assure you, my fine fellow, that I could tell you -a story of a posada——" -</p> - -<p> -"Enough, señor," replied the other, waving his hand -with great dignity of manner, while a savage gleam -shot over his stealthy eyes; "but allow me to inform -you that a bandit—I do not mean a pitiful picaro who -steals purses and pocket-handkerchiefs on the prado, -or a swindling raterillo who cheats at cards, but an -armed robber (and here his hand struck the butt of -his escopeta)—is a modern Spanish hero, and the -pretty paisana and the bluff muleteer sing of his -exploits in the same breath with those of Rodrigo de -Bivar, the Cid Campeador, Hernando de Cordova, and -the chiefs of the war of Independence, when we saw -the fields of Vimiero, of Talavera and Rorica; lend a -new lustre to the names of Mina, of Murillo, and of -Wellington!" -</p> - -<p> -"Very likely; but this Don Fabrique commits such -devilish atrocities, and all that sort of thing," urged -Jack, closing with his incessant phrase. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you know why poor Fabrique took his gun -and stiletto, and went to the mountains?" -</p> - -<p> -"Shall I tell you?" -</p> - -<p> -"If you please." -</p> - -<p> -"Listen. There was an abogado, a lawyer of Jaen, -named Jacop el Escribano, who married the aunt of -Fabrique—an aunt who had been a mother to him -after his own died, or rather was murdered by the -Chapelgorri's. She tended him, reared him, loved -and educated him at Alcala, and he was to be her -heir, for she was rich, and had mines of quicksilver -and cinnabar on the confines of Murcia; and her -heir he had every right to be, for other kindred she -had none. Well, this good aunt fell sick; those who -were more than usually acute, or more than usually -evil-minded, said that the abogado had poisoned her -mentally and bodily. At all events he wrote out her -will, which bequeathed all her property to himself, -whom failing, to a certain Gil Jacop, his son by a former -marriage, and to poor Fabrique, the son of her dead -brother, not a peseta, not a pistareen! This limb of -Satan and the law, succeeding in all his ends and -objects, poisoned her ears against the poor student of -Alcala. Well, the aunt died. Full of sorrow Fabrique -hastened to his home to find the door of it shut in -his face, and the malicious abogado in possession of -everything, even to his aunt's snuff-box and armed -chair. Our poor student rushed to the Alcalde, who -heard him with a smile of incredulity—why? because -he was the cousin of the abogado, and he, too, shut his -door in the face of Fabrique. Bursting with indignation -he sought the corregidor, to pour out anew the -story of his wrongs; but, ay de mi! the corregidor, a -Commander of the Knights of Calatrava, was to dine -that day with the abogado, who had invited half the -city to feast, and weekly gave a magnificent tertulia in -the house of the dead woman. -</p> - -<p> -"Fabrique lost all patience and, swore a dreadful -vow of vengeance, so the wise, just, and most illustrious -corregidor expelled him from the city, and by the alguazils -he was driven forth by the Audujar gate. His last -money was in his pocket; so he bought a dagger and -musket, and shaking the dust off his feet at the puerta -de Audujar, he gathered together a band of gallant -spirits who had followed Juan Roa, and betook -himself to the mountains, leaving the abogado in -possession of his aunt's house and her mines upon the -Murcian frontier." -</p> - -<p> -"And did he enjoy them long?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -The Spaniard smiled grimly, and took a long quaff -of the bota. -</p> - -<p> -"You wish to know, señor?' -</p> - -<p> -"Exceedingly." -</p> - -<p> -"Listen. A week after these events our abogado -disappeared from Jaen, and no man knew whence he -had gone, and few cared. A month after, a poor -wretch, half crazed and in rags, emaciated, pale and -hollow-cheeked by hunger, illness, agony, and -wandering, and whose vision had been destroyed by the -simple application of a red-hot ramrod, was found -near a village of the Sierra de Ronda. It was Jacop -el Escribano—whose scribbling was at an end, and -whose eyes were closed on the world for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"And his son, Gil Jacop?" -</p> - -<p> -"Was found shot one fine morning at the corner -of that road, just where you see a rough wooden cross, -erected by the curate in memory of the affair, and to -beg a prayer of every passer-by for the dead man's -sinful soul. The corregidor has thrice been robbed of -all he possessed—his rents, fees, and the revenue of -his commanderie; and the alcalde has quite as often -been beaten to the very verge of death. Evil-disposed -people lay those things to the charge of Don -Fabrique; but I say nothing, having no opinion on -the subject." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you are afraid of him?" said Jack, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"Afraid—ha, ha!" said the Spaniard, taking up his -long gun; "no—not so much as you were afraid of -Juan Roa and Martin Secco, on that night in the -'Posada del Cavallo' at Malaga. -</p> - -<p> -"How know you of that affair?" asked Jack, -starting to his feet. -</p> - -<p> -"Did I not hear it told at full length last night in -the venta at Castellar?" -</p> - -<p> -"Were you there?" I inquired, with surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"You saw a goatherd present—an old fellow with -a sheep-skin dress, a long beard, a crook, and bota." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"'T was I. Last night I was a goatherd, because it -suited my purpose to appear so, and to laugh at the -terror of those miserable soap-boilers on hearing the -whistle of bullets in the Sierra; to-day I am -Fabrique de Urquija, the friend of poor Juan Roa; and -had you been less kind to that poor nun than you -were, it was my intention to have shot and robbed -you both, which I could easily have done, despite your -swords and revolvers, your English impudence and -cool assurance. Vaya usted con Dios, and may you -have a pleasant ride to Seville; but attend more to -the rules of common politeness when next you speak -of Urquija beyond the security of your own lines at -Gibraltar. I am not a bad fellow, señores, at times, -though more apt to take the advice of a curer of fish -than a curer of souls in Lent." -</p> - -<p> -With these words he leaped on his horse, and -slinging his long gun by his right leg, galloped into -the cork wood, and disappeared. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><br /> -THE ALCALDE. -</h3> - -<p> -This rencontre, by illustrating the danger of lingering -and of making chance acquaintance—dangers for -which no credit would be given by the Horse Guards, -and against which we found no hints afforded by our -"John Murray"—caused us to hasten through Estrelo -without paying a visit to the nuns of Santa Theresa, -which (on the base of our acquaintance with Sister -Veronica) we had proposed to do; and a ride of ten -miles further, through a fruitful and beautiful district, -brought us to the ancient ducal town of Medina -Sidonia, where the Spanish commandant invited us -to dinner, and where, finding ourselves in safe -quarters, we spent a pleasant evening, and with cigars -and Ciudad Real, Tresillo and Monte, whiled away the -hours until we retired to our posada, where we slept -undisturbed by rats or robbers, as quietly as if we -had been in the best hotel in London. -</p> - -<p> -We crossed a stream next day, and arrived at Arcos -de la Frontierra, a picturesque little town, situated -upon a lofty rock, almost insulated by the Guadalete, -and so difficult of access on the south and west that -we had some trouble in discovering an entrance to it -anywhere. -</p> - -<p> -The aspect of the place, with all its flat-roofed or -red-tiled houses clustering on the summit of a steep -and abrupt rock; its two large parish churches, with -the square campanile of Santa Maria, and the façade -of the palace of the reverend the vicar-general to the -metropolitan of Seville, all lit up by the flush of a -Spanish setting sun, and throwing a huge broad -shadow across the girdling Guadalete, and that rich -undulating country which stretches far away beyond -it, pleased me so much that, dismounting at the foot -of the eminence, I seated myself among some fallen -walls and prostrate columns—doubtless fragments of -the ancient Arcobriga—to make a little sketch of the -place. -</p> - -<p> -Reclined against a mass of vine-covered ruin, Slingsby -of "Ours" had fallen fast asleep with his horse's -bridle buckled over his left arm, and both he and the -nag occupied a prominent place in the foreground of -my view, and a wayside cross, covered with rich -creepers, and having a sulky-looking raven seated on -its summit, was in the middle distance. My labours -proceeded rapidly and greatly to my own satisfaction -when they were suddenly interrupted by a heavy hand -being roughly laid on my shoulder. I looked up. -Four men, muffled in the inevitable, invariable, and -eternal dirty brown cloak, in which we always see -the mysterious characters stride, swagger, and swell -on the boards of minor theatres, and which a -Spaniard is never without, under any circumstances, -appeared beside me. Two had drawn swords, and -two cocked blunderbusses. -</p> - -<p> -"The señores will understand that they are our -prisoners?" said one. -</p> - -<p> -"Who the deuce are you—comrades of Don -Fabrique, I suppose?" -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven forbid! we are honest men—alguazils of -Arcos, and the Caballeros must both come before the -señor alcalde." -</p> - -<p> -"For what purpose?" I demanded hastily. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor will soon be informed," said one. -</p> - -<p> -"To his cost, perhaps," added a second. -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya, come along," growled a third, "or it may -be the worse for you." -</p> - -<p> -Finding expostulation vain, I roused Jack, who -after revolving in his own mind whether or not he -ought to revolve them—for his pistol had six barrels, -we took our horses by their bridles, and accompanied -the bravo-like alguazils, whose good-will we sought -to cultivate by being liberal with our cases of -cheroots. -</p> - -<p> -The alcalde, a bustling little manufacturer of Cordovan -leather, received us in his office, stuck his -barnacles on his nose, summoned his escribano, and -opened the case with an air of awful pomp and chilling -consequence; but he seemed to be about as well -qualified for the office of lawgiver as Mr. Justice -Shallow. -</p> - -<p> -"The señores, who seemed to be British officers -belonging to the garrison of Gibraltar, of which her -Most Catholic Majesty Donna Isabella is sovereign, -whatever Queen Victoria may assert to the contrary, -were found making a sketch—a military sketch, no -doubt—of her ancient city of Arcos, in the province -of Andalusia; and the señores, of course, knew the -law framed by the Cortes on that point." -</p> - -<p> -"Of sketching the city of Arcos?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"What then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Any city," returned the fussy little alcalde. -</p> - -<p> -"But this is not a fortified town." -</p> - -<p> -"But it might be fortified." -</p> - -<p> -"No doubt—but it is not fortified at the present -moment." -</p> - -<p> -"Tonto de mi! what does that matter?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why you stupid old——" Jack Slingsby was -beginning, but I placed a hand upon his mouth, and -the irritable little alcalde continued. -</p> - -<p> -"For what purpose was the sketch—this sketch -made?—answer me that, señor." -</p> - -<p> -"To please myself and to show my friends." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course, a likely story truly," he sneered, as he -deliberately tore my poor production into several -pieces, threw them into the brassero of charcoal -which glowed in the centre of the apartment, and -watched until every fragment was entirely consumed. -I gazed at him in silence, but feeling an emotion of -considerable disgust; for although well aware that to -sketch any fortified place or garrison town, barrack, -or citadel, was strictly forbidden, it never occurred to -me that the restriction could apply to the miserable -conglomeration of Spanish huts and crumbling -Moorish hovels which clustered round the churches -on the rock of Arcos; but in their ignorance of the -arts the Spaniards, like the Turks, cannot see a -difference between a little artistic sketch and a regular -plan drawn for the most desperate military purposes. -</p> - -<p> -"So we are suspected of being spies," said Slingsby; -"I am glad that sketching was omitted in my -education, and that I never could draw aught but a -cork or a bill in my life." -</p> - -<p> -"But this may prove no matter for laughter, Jack," -said I, as the alcalde, with awful gravity, after duly -entering our names and designations in a huge tome, -turned to another part thereof, wiped his spectacles -and addressed us. I must own to feeling some -uneasiness, having once had a brother officer who went -on sick leave to Cadiz, where he was shot as a -Christino priest; he was our senior lieutenant, poor Bob -Rasper, and was as much like a priest as the great -Mogul. I had an uncle who was very near being -strangled by an alcalde, who was persuaded he was -Don Carlos; and we all know that Lord Carnarvon -was well nigh murdered in mistake for Don Miguel, -while Captain Widrington was about to be garotted -by another official, who thought he might be an -agent of Marshal Baldomero Espartero, now first -minister of Donna Isabella II. These instances of -Spanish justice, clearness, and legal acumen were -floating before me when the little ruffian of an -alcalde curled up his mustachios and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"The señores will have passports, no doubt?" -</p> - -<p> -"No passports," I replied. -</p> - -<p> -"Demonio!" ejaculated this Andalusian Solon, -while the alguazils (having finished their cheroots) -began to clank their sabres and cock their ominous-looking -trabujos. "Then you must both be sent to -prison in irons, and kept under guard until we -communicate with Espartero." -</p> - -<p> -We lost alike our patience and temper at this piece -of intelligence. -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, señor alcalde," said I, "for the very -person you have named may send you to the galleys for -this insolent interference. We are two British officers -going on public duty to Seville, and being passed -through the Spanish lines by the officer commanding -there, require no other passports than our swords and -our uniform, which you had better respect, or we may -play a mischief with you. Our ambassador at -Madrid——" -</p> - -<p> -"Vaya usted a los infernos!" exclaimed the alcalde, -in a towering fit of official indignation; "I shall show -you how we treat those who enter our city of Arcos -without proper credentials, and I verily believe you -to be a couple of pitiful raterillos. Search and secure -them!" -</p> - -<p> -How this affair might have ended, I have no means -of knowing; but nothing saved us from much trouble -and perhaps danger, but the sudden discovery of a -letter, which was found by one of the alguazils who -rudely plunged a hand into one of my pockets. It -was addressed in high-flowing terms to the most -illustrious señor, the captain general of Andalusia, -and bore the great official seal of the Governor of Her -Britannic Majesty's garrison of Gibraltar. On -beholding this, the countenance of the alcalde fell. This -human bladder, which was inflated by so much wrath -and Jack-in-office pride, suddenly collapsed. His -manner changed at once; he was profuse in his -apologies, and on a wave of his hand, those alguazils who, -a moment before, were ready to drag us to some foul -prison and rudely too, like ruffians as they doubtless -were, slunk aside and withdrew; and in five minutes -after we were mounted, clear of Arcos, and trotting -along the road which ascended from the banks of the -Guadalete. -</p> - -<p> -"Those Spaniards will never change," said Jack; -"they will ever be bullies or cravens; so cudgels -or cannon shot are the only means of argument with -them." -</p> - -<p> -We then laughed at the whole affair—at the absurd -pomposity of the alcalde, and the idea of our being -arrested as spies. -</p> - -<p> -At a trot we traversed the little town of Alcantarilla. -It lies not far from the Guadalquiver, a stream that -wanders through a fertile hollow, which in the days -of the Cæsars was a hopeless march. We crossed -the bridge which was built by the hands of the -Romans, who placed a tower at each end for defence. -Slingsby, with a waggish smile, recommended me to -make a sketch of these interesting remains; but a -wholesome terror of the alcalde of Arcos was yet too -fresh in my mind, so we pushed on towards Los -Palacies, in company with a long train of mules from -the seaport of San Lucar de Barameda. Their drivers -were gaily attired, and were all sturdy and hearty -fellows, who beguiled the way with stories, laughter, and -songs of love and wine, or legends of the Avalos, the -Moors of Ronda, and of Bravonnel the Moor of -Zaragozza and his ladylove Guadalara, while they sung -to the cracking of their whips, the merry jangle of the -mule-bells, and the thrum of a guitar. With all this, -they were prepared for every emergency, having -poniards, blunderbusses, and other weapons—being -armed to the teeth, in fact; and with them we travelled -until Seville rose before us, with the fretted spires -and gothic pinnacles of its cathedral and Alcazar, -and the gigantic tower of La Giralda, rising above -the domes of the Mohammedan times and the befrays -of the Christians; and all steeped in the unclouded -blaze of an Andalusian sunset, with the Guadalquiver -winding through a low valley in the foreground, -bordered by groves of the orange and citron, and the -green undulating ridges of the Sierra towering in the -distance, with a golden vapour resting on the -mellowed peaks, which bound a landscape that, in the -days of Alfonso the Wise, was studded by a hundred -thousand cottages and oil-mills. -</p> - -<p> -But the Guadalquiver seemed as muddy as the -Thames, where it approaches the ancient fane of St. John -of Alfarache, and there its turgid tide was lashed -and beaten by the steamers from San Lucar; and we -could see them ploughing their way (with red lights -hanging at their fore cross-trees) into the evening haze -that settled over Seville. -</p> - -<p> -Our passports were demanded by the officer commanding -an ill-accoutered guard at the gate: but our -letter addressed to the captain general freed us from -further question, and he politely directed us to an -hotel. -</p> - -<p> -We rode through the grass-grown streets of the -lazy Sevillanos, I reflecting on stories of Pedro the -Cruel and the past glories of the Arab city—Jack -Slingsby reflecting on the thoroughfares, which he -said "were remarkably dingy, devilish dirty, and all -that sort of thing," until we discovered the hotel de -la Reyna near the Lonja, or Exchange, and close to -the far-famed cathedral church. There we took up -our quarters for the night. -</p> - -<p> -"At last we are in Seville!" said I, as I threw myself -into a down fauteuil, after tossing off a glass of -iced Valdepenas, and flung aside the last week's -Madrid papers, the 'Heraldo' and 'España;' "in -Seville, where Trajan, Adrian, and Theodosius were -born, and where——" -</p> - -<p> -"You shall flirt with the pretty Paulina to-morrow," -said Jack; "pass over the decanter; thanks; -I can take you off your stilts in a twinkling, my boy." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX. -<br /><br /> -THE TERTULIA. -</h3> - -<p> -In the morning, after coffee, a devilled bone and a -cigar, we sallied forth to deliver the dispatch of our -Governor to the captain general, and resolved, soon -after, to bid farewell to Seville; for Jack was full of fears -that the whole corps would be off, bag and baggage, to -fight the Russians before we could return. The hour -was somewhat early, so we rambled about the beautiful -city; but I do not mean to inflict upon the reader -a description of all we saw—of the gay crowds who -thronged the Plaza de Toros and the Alameda, with -fan and mantilla, sombrero and mantle; of the -cathedral of Santa Maria, with its carved buttresses and -stupendous spires; of the Alcazar or palace of the -Moorish kings, with all its arabesques and oval arches; -of the Lonja and the huge tobacco factory. I beg -my reader to imagine them all, for I could easily -devote five several chapters to describing these five -several edifices. It is enough that the Sevillanos have -an ancient proverb, that he who never saw Seville has -never seen a wonder; to wit— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Que en no ha visto Sevilla,<br /> - Ne ha visto Maravilla."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -As we issued from the cathedral, Jack's loquacity -was somewhat stilled by the grandeur of that stupendous -pile and its dark Murillos, the chief of which -is the adoration of the Saviour by St. Anthony of -Padua—I beg pardon—of Lisbon and of Lagos—and -full of thoughts, which were rather solemn for -such fellows as we are, we walked slowly on with our -eyes fixed on the far-famed tower of the weathercock—the -Giralda—which rises at the north-east angle of -the church, when a personage, whose eyes were raised -to the same altitude, came somewhat violently against -us, and then we poured forth mutual apologies. -</p> - -<p> -"Maldito—come esta, señores; well met." -</p> - -<p> -"Come esta, señor major—who would have thought -of meeting you here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why so?" asked Don Joaquim, for he proved to -be our friend of the noble regiment of Lagos; "I -think that I mentioned Seville as my native city—so -you have reached the end of your journey?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and mean to leave this to-morrow," said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"So early! Maldito—a short visit. Is your -business so soon concluded?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is not yet begun; we have a dispatch for the -captain general." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" said he, with wonder in his face. -</p> - -<p> -"Where is his palace? We were just about to -inquire the way." -</p> - -<p> -"You must pass the Lonja, our famous Exchange, -a triumph of the genius of Juan de Herrera—the -architect of the Escurial; well, you must pass it, and -cross the Plaza de Toros; but allow me to have the -pleasure of escorting you." -</p> - -<p> -"Many thanks." -</p> - -<p> -"None are necessary, señores—hut this dispatch -for the captain general—Maldito! I am bursting -with irrepressible curiosity to know what it is about. -Are we going to war with Russia too?" -</p> - -<p> -"Then, señor," said I, "we may as well inform -you that it concerns the killing of a man on board of -a Spanish government guarda costa, by a chance shot -from the Mole Fort at Gibraltar." -</p> - -<p> -"He was in pursuit of a contrabandista, I presume?" -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly so." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, those rascally contrabandistas! It is too bad -of your Government to protect them—quite as bad as -making war on the Chinese because they would not -poison themselves with opium. I heard that some -of your people had shot at a guarda costa, and killed -some one on hoard. It has excited considerable -animosity, and been much spoken of." -</p> - -<p> -He led us through several dark and narrow streets, -so narrow, indeed, that people could easily have shaken -hands from the windows on each side of these quaint -old Moorish thoroughfares. Issuing suddenly into -the full Haze of the scorching Spanish sunshine, we -found ourselves before a handsome palace decorated -by Corinthian pilasters, and having its lofty windows -covered by external shades of brilliant red and white -striped stuff. Two sentinels of the line stood at the -portal under sunshades, with their muskets "ordered;" -and they stared at our uniform with black and -lacklustre eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"The palace of the captain general," said Don -Joaquim, bowing; "he has just returned from -Jaen, having gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy -Face." -</p> - -<p> -"We must have the pleasure of meeting you again," -said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Our hotel is the Queen's—de la Reyna—near the -Exchange," added Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I know the place very well," replied the Don, -producing his card, a token of civilisation little known -in Spain; "my mother gives a tertulia to-night, and -we shall be delighted to see you—her reception hour -is eight—Donna Dominga de Lucena—Calle del -Alcazar." -</p> - -<p> -"You are the son of Donna Dominga, whom we -had the pleasure of knowing in Gibraltar?" -</p> - -<p> -"The same, señores. Are you the gentlemen who -were so kind and attentive to her? It is quite a little -romance this meeting. How odd, to think that we -sat a whole night in the venta of Castellar and knew -nothing about this! Then, doubtless, one of you -must be that accomplished cavalier, Don Leja Mag -Leja, concerning whom she wrote me so many letters -when I was at Lagos." -</p> - -<p> -With some laughter, we professed that neither of -us was the portly Leechy Mac Leechy, to whose -name the Donna had given somewhat of a Castilian -character in her epistles to the major. -</p> - -<p> -"But about the tertulia? we have no full uniform," -urged Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"Full uniform—bagatella!—stuff—come just as -you are; but as your business here is about that -unlucky guarda costa, 'tis as well my brother Hernan -has not arrived; for he is in our naval service, and -might feel piqued on the subject. Well, addio—I -shall see you at eight to-night—don't forget, the -street of the Alcazar," and with a salute he left us. -</p> - -<p> -The sentinels at the door "handled" their arms as -we ascended the flight of marble steps which led to -the door of the captain general's palace. -</p> - -<p> -"The last general officer with whom I had the -honour of an interview was old Towler, of the Kilkenny -district," said Slingsby; "I have no idea what -manner of man our Spaniard may be." -</p> - -<p> -As the interview with the captain-general and all -the various pros and cons thereanent—as a Scotsman -would say—may have appeared already among the -public intelligence of "our own correspondent," who -most likely was not in Seville, and knew nothing -about the matter, I will only state that we were -received with great urbanity and politeness by the -Spanish officer who held the important post of -Governor of the four kingdoms. He was a fine old -cavalier, and in earlier years had served in the -Peninsular war; he told us that he had commanded a -regiment under Cuesta; a brigade of Cazadores under -Hill, and a division under Murillo; that he had been -wounded at Vittoria in attacking the heights of La -Puebla, and had received the Grand Cross of the -Bath from the hand of the Duke of Wellington, and -latterly the Order of Carlos III., which devoted him -"to the pure conception of the blessed Virgin Mary," -from the Queen and the Patriarch of the Indies, at -the solemn chapter held in 1853. The old fellow's -eyes kindled with pleasure as he invited us to -lunch, and to share with him a bottle of choice -Valdepenas, saying that he loved the sight of the -red coat for the memory of the olden time that -would never come again—the poor red coats—he had -often seen them lying thick enough on many a Spanish -plain, and in many a crumbling breach and trench—at -Badajoz, at Ciudad Rodrigo, San Sebastian and -Tarifa. -</p> - -<p> -Here, at least, was one noble old Spanish soldier—one -true cavalier—whose lively recollection of those -great campaigns (which are second to none the world -has seen) and whose sense of what his country owed -to ours, formed a strong contrast to that cold -ingratitude which desecrated the tomb of the Scottish hero -of Corunna, and ploughed up the graves of our brave -men, who were buried in the little field beneath the -ramparts of Tarifa; and for the repose of whose -bones our Government had to pay a sum to Spain. -</p> - -<p> -We received from him a letter to the Governor of -Gibraltar, stating that our explanations of the affair of -the guarda costa had perfectly satisfied him; and on -our rising to retire he made us an offer of a cavalry -escort as far as San Roque, which lies within a few -miles of our garrison; but being aware that we should -be obliged to maintain both the horses and the men, -and to make them a handsome donation at parting, I -declined, saying that we had an idea of returning by -San Lucar de Barameda, and would there take the -steamer for Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -"But remember there is that restless gentleman, -Don Fabrique de Urquija," said the general, smiling; -"he makes the roads very unsafe, and does not hesitate -to commit such outrages as have not been known in -the land since Marshal Massena marched through it." -</p> - -<p> -We assured him of our being without fear in the -matter; on which he laughed, saying that he knew -"los Brittanicos, of old, and that, like our fathers -who fought under Wellington, Hill, and Grahame, we -also were without fear," and we parted, highly -flattered and delighted by our interview with this old -Castilian hidalgo. -</p> - -<p> -We lounged long in the Alameda, where the notice -our uniform attracted was rather an annoyance. -After dining at the hotel and making the most of -our costume that our light marching order would -admit, we appeared at the door of Donna Dominga's -residence in the Calle del Alcazar, just as the -cathedral clock struck eight; for the Spaniards are too -well bred to esteem any one the more for being late -at a conversazione, for such is a tertulia in fact and in -effect. -</p> - -<p> -A number of sedans, borne by servants in livery, -were standing about the steps of the mansion; and -the links and torches flared on the coats of arms that -decorated the panels and the collars of Santiago -and Calatrava which surrounded them. Various -long-visaged and spindle-shanked representatives of -the pure did blood of los Cuatros Reinos, untainted -by the stain of Moor, or Jew, or heretic, were -stalking through the vestibule with due gravity and -grandeur. -</p> - -<p> -We were ushered forward by one servant, and -were announced by another on entering the saloon, -where our old friend Donna Dominga sat with fan -and snuff-box in hand receiving her guests; and as -her son had prepared her for our visit, she was in a -prodigious flutter, with her fat round face forming -the apex of a pyramid of black satin and black Cadiz -lace; for her veil, which was of the finest texture, -fell over all her person. -</p> - -<p> -By her side sat the pretty Paulina on a rich low -tabourette, gracefully as a Spanish lady sits at mass, -or a Moorish maiden on her little carpet, for it is -from their Arabian conquerors that the low seats of -the Spanish dames are borrowed. -</p> - -<p> -The major, who wore the blue uniform and massive -silver epaulettes of "the noble Regiment of -St. Anthony," and who had the order of St. John of -Portugal on his breast, hurried forward to meet and -to present us. Then the younger donna blushed -crimson, while the elder wished very much to do so -too, and dropping her eyelids, fanned herself, and -affected to be much agitated. We bowed very low -and then stepped back, as it is not the custom in -Spain to shake hands. After a few of those -complimentary remarks and those commonplaces, which -are customary in every country, we should have withdrawn -a little to make way for other tertulianos, had -not Donna Dominga especially invited us to remain -beside her; and while the presentation continued, -and all that were noble (being rich or beautiful went -for nought in Seville) appeared in succession, and -while caballeros and grave and solemn hidalgos, with -the red cross of Calatrava, and the little sword of -San Jago dangling at their button-holes, advanced -slowly, and with a faint smile and courtly bow laid a -hand on their heart and lisped the usual and invariable -"A los pies de usted, señoras" (I am at your -feet, ladies), and then retired; I was chatting gaily -with Paulina, who had now become more assured, -and who overwhelmed me with a thousand inquiries -about Gibraltar and her friends. Meantime that -rogue Jack Slingsby poured into her mother's ear -pretended messages from MacLeechy, our doctor—messages -so tender and so pitiful that the old lady -relented and forgave him being married, saying it -was "his misfortune, not his fault, poor man;" Jack -asserted his belief that the doctor was quite of her -opinion; and then the bulbous-shaped fair one made -a vigorous use of her fan and snuff-box, as she -conjured up the image of the "gay deceiver." -</p> - -<p> -The saloon was a large apartment; the floor was -of polished oak, and was varnished until it shone -like glass; the ceiling was of cedar, and divided into -deep, dark panels; the walls were painted white, and -were hung with several dusky pictures, principally of -religious subjects; one of these was by Roelas; -another by Murillo, and both had narrowly escaped -abstraction by the French, during the War of -Independence, for Messrs. Soult, Suchet, and Co., made -everything march over the Pyrenees that was neither -too hot nor too heavy. -</p> - -<p> -Our garrison evening parties in Gibraltar had -shown Donna Dominga that considerable improvements -might be made upon the solemn gravity of -the Spanish tertulia; thus the company were pressed -to stay longer than usual in honour of us; we had -a few airs on the piano—a very antique instrument, -said to have been found among Joseph's baggage at -Vittoria, and in no way calculated to give full effect -to the compositions of Donizetti, Verdi, or Orsini, -which Paulina and her companions attempted to -give us; but then they had their guitars, and the -lively songs of old Spain, and legendary ballads of -the brave Avalos of the Ronda, which if destitute -of science, had at least the merit of being full of -music and melody. -</p> - -<p> -Every sound was hushed as Paulina sang the song -which was wont to turn the heads of half Her Majesty's -garrison. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Since for kissing thee, Minguillo,<br /> - Mother's ever scolding me;<br /> - Give me swiftly back, O dear one,<br /> - Give the kiss I gave to thee!"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Either by chance, or an irresistible inclination, -our eyes met just as she sang these very tender -and pointed words, and a soft tinge shot over her -pure white cheek. My own heart filled with a tumult -of emotion, for the aspect of this noble Spanish -girl, as she sat on the low tabourette, in an attitude -full of grace, with her high proud head and the long -veil of black lace that fell from it over her back and -shoulders, was so bewildering, that I felt convinced -my peace of mind would require an explanation with -her before my bantering mentor and I turned our -horses' heads once more towards Gibraltar. -</p> - -<p> -We had now a little waltzing, and a quadrille or -two, with plenty of groseille and fleur d'orange. -</p> - -<p> -I had a thousand things to tell Paulina; but -when she was the centre of almost every eye in the -room, it was no easy matter to be tender; besides, -whenever I looked round, the comical eye of Jack -Slingsby, with a glass stuck in it, was sure to meet -mine; for whatever he was about, in the waltz, the -quadrille, in a quiet two-handed flirtation (which, by -the way, made the old hidalgos of Seville, who are -not wont to tolerate such things, shrug their shoulders -and elevate their eyebrows) in the middle of a tender -speech, when handing fleur d'orange, restoring a -fallen fan, or reclasping a bracelet, he seemed to -watch all my proceedings with a species of amused -interest—so that nothing passed between Paulina and -me but the merest commonplaces. -</p> - -<p> -"The moment so ardently wished for has arrived -at last," thought I; "she is beside me, and I have -not one word of interest for her." -</p> - -<p> -"And you leave Seville to-morrow?" said she, to -break an awkward pause. -</p> - -<p> -"No, señora, in two days." -</p> - -<p> -"A short visit—there are so many things to see -here. There is the great tower of Cabildo with its -enchanted weathercock, a Pallas with a standard which -always indicates the quarter from which an enemy is -approaching Seville." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah—yes; I remember in the adventure of Don -Quixotte with the Knight of the Wood, the latter -boasts, that among other deeds done in honour of his -mistress, he 'had challenged the famous fighting -giantess, La Giralda of Seville, who is strong and -undaunted as one who is made of brass.'" -</p> - -<p> -"And who without changing place is the most -inconstant woman in the world. Oh, Don Quixotte, he -is charming! And then in Seville we have the letters -of Francisco Pizzaro, of Columbus and the valiant -Hernan Cortes; and more than all, we have the cathedral -with its Puerta de Perdon, which was the work -of a Moorish necromancer, and was all built by a spell -between the night and morning. In two days you -can never see all these things." -</p> - -<p> -"Your own presence, Donna Paulina, is more than -enough to detain me here for ever." -</p> - -<p> -"Then why go so soon?" she asked, with her pretty -Spanish lisp, while her long lashes drooped. -</p> - -<p> -"Go I must, señora, for, being a soldier, I have -nothing to urge; but——" -</p> - -<p> -"But what?" -</p> - -<p> -"The stern necessity of obedience." -</p> - -<p> -"Ay de mi!" said she, gazing fully and honestly at -me; "I am so sorry to hear all this." -</p> - -<p> -"I am full of gratitude to hear you say so, señora; -but there is no remedy." -</p> - -<p> -"Señor," said she, smiling, "para todo hay remedio -sino para la muerte." -</p> - -<p> -"True, there is a remedy for everything but death, -it is a good old Spanish proverb," said I; "but is not -absence from those we love but a living death? so -when I am far from Seville I shall have but the memory -of one most beautiful face, and one bright happy -night." -</p> - -<p> -"Take this rose," said she, disengaging one from -her bouquet; "it will be a memento, though a small -one." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, señora; but the rose will wither and fade." -</p> - -<p> -"So will the memory of the beautiful face and the -one happy night," said she, with a winning smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Never, never Paulina—you are so charming—so -gentle and so good, that——" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush, Dios Mio! the people are observing us, -and—but ave Maria purissima! what is the matter -with my mother?" -</p> - -<p> -During this brief conversation, the servant Pedrillo -had delivered a note to Donna Dominga, who, on -hurriedly glancing at its contents, uttered a faint cry and -fell upon the sofa, where all the ladies crowded in an -excited manner round her. Don Joaquim snatched -up the letter and read it with flaming eyes. -</p> - -<p> -"What, in Heaven's name, is the matter?" I asked, -pressing forward. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter has come from the captain of the guarda -costa, stating that the son of Donna Dominga, his -lieutenant, had been killed by a shot from the garrison of -Gibraltar," said Slingsby, in a rapid whisper. "The -absence of the captain general at Jaen prevented the -Sevillanos from learning that the person slain was a -townsman. I find we are in a mess here, and think -we had better be off, my boy." -</p> - -<p> -Though Spain had a post-office in those days when -James III. of Scotland was fighting the battles of the -people against his traitorous nobility, and when the -brutal Henry of England was murdering his wives -and burning Catholics and Protestants together at -Smithfield, she has so far receded in the arts of peace -that this unfortunate letter had been all these many -weeks in finding its way from the sea port of Malaga -to Seville. -</p> - -<p> -Don Joaquim now said something to Paulina, who -turned upon us with eyes full of grief and dismay. -</p> - -<p> -"'T is my brother Hernan you have slain," she -exclaimed, in tones that went through me like a sword; -"O madre mia, madre mia! they have murdered our -dear, dear Hernan!" and she threw herself beside her -mother. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, señores," said Don Joaquim, folding up the -letter with an air of sombre ferocity; "her accusation -is right, you have heard her; 't is my brother Don -Hernan who was killed by your accursed shot from -the mole fort of Gibraltar,—Hernan, lieutenant of the -guarda costa, and this letter is from his captain, -detailing the circumstances of that outrage on the Spanish -flag—an outrage of which I have heard so much since -I left Portugal; but which I little thought—O Dios -Mio! how little indeed, that it would bring such sorrow -to my own house, and to hearts to me so dear. My -poor boy brother, Hernan! So, señores, you it is, -who were the perpetrators of this foul act? Fit men -you were, and proper too, to detail it to our blockhead -of a captain general, who was worshipping an old rag -at Jaen, when he should have been seeking vengeance -at Madrid. But look ye, señores, I'll have it, sure and -deep, and as certainly as there is a saint in heaven, -sure as my name is Joaquim de Lucena of the regiment -of Lagos!" -</p> - -<p> -"Mueran los gabachos—death to the miscreants!" -growled a number of voices, and I laid a hand on -my sword. It was a natural impulse. -</p> - -<p> -The ladies clustered like a brood of terrified doves -round Donna Dominga and her daughter; the gentlemen -drew round her son; Slingsby and I were left -together in the middle of the large saloon. -</p> - -<p> -"A pleasant predicament this!" said Jack, shrugging -his shoulders: "Ramble, I think we had better -retire." -</p> - -<p> -"To remain is useless, for these people are alike -past listening to explanation or apology," I replied; -and with an emotion of mortification and sorrow, which -the reader may easily imagine, we took up our -swords, made a profound bow to this ungracious -company (none of whom responded), and quitted the -house. -</p> - -<p> -"Awful business this," said Jack, "is it not, Dick -Ramble?—speak—have you lost your tongue?" -</p> - -<p> -"A strange combination of unfortunate circumstances! -To find ourselves the honoured guests of -the very woman whose son we slew! In what light -will Paulina view us, and Don Joaquim too?" -</p> - -<p> -"As an officer he ought to be aware that we did -but our duty," urged poor Jack, who felt himself the -most guilty party; "but I did not half like the -expression of his eyes as we left the saloon." -</p> - -<p> -"How?" -</p> - -<p> -"I read in them more of hatred and malice, than -of horror for the event, or natural grief for his brother's -fate." -</p> - -<p> -"You think so?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am sure of it!" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, the man is a Spaniard." -</p> - -<p> -"And being so, will not let us off easily." -</p> - -<p> -"We shall have a message from him in the morning, -challenging us both to fight, you think?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Not at all; your Spaniards don't fight duels; he -will lay some desperate snare for us between this and -San Roque; so, depend upon it, the sooner we make -ourselves scarce in Seville the better. But here is -the hotel—for Heaven's sake let us have some iced -champagne, for this horrid business has made me as -thirsty as if I had crossed a whole county in the -hottest hunting season." -</p> - -<p> -I must own that though I was pretty well assured -of the truth of Jack's surmises and suspicions, fear -for my own safety was quite a secondary emotion to -my sincere sorrow for the bereavement we had -occasioned to poor old Donna Dominga and the lively -Paulina. As for that stormy fellow Joaquim, I felt no -compunction for him in the least; his grief was too -noisy, and his sudden hostility too deep to leave much -room for natural sorrow; and so, while surmising, -considering, revolving, and talking the matter -threadbare, we finished several bottles of champagne; -through the medium of these we easily came to the -conclusion that we were the most injured parties; -that we had been grossly insulted somehow, over -night—that the usual satisfaction was necessary; and -then we retired to bed in a state of just and proper -indignation at the malevolent threats of Don Joaquim -and his friends, to whom the affair formed a notable -subject for discussion at those morning meetings, -which are so dearly prized by the Spaniards, who then -debate everything from a ballet girl's ancle to a rising -in Catalonia; and for these gossips, the place of -rendezvous in Seville is the Plaza de San Domingo. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X. -<br /><br /> -DON FABRIQUE. -</h3> - -<p> -We were awake betimes in the morning, and breakfasted -early, in the true Spanish style, on good stiff -chocolate with fried eggs, purple wine, and -snow-white bread; but no hostile message came from Don -Joaquim. The hours stole on, and the sunlit streets -threw the shadows of their picturesque façades -against each other. The events of the last night, -and their probable consequences, had given us a decided -distaste for prowling about the streets of Seville. -We were both somewhat thoughtful, and said little, -or conferred only on the nearest route by which we -could reach Gibraltar, in coming from which, we had -made somewhat of a détour; and Jack hinted that we -should probably have some more brawls with alcaldes, -rows at posadas, skirmishes with banditos, and other -pleasant adventures, before we reported ourselves "as -just arrived" at head quarters. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter for El Señor Capitano Don Ricardo," -said the waiter, approaching. -</p> - -<p> -"A letter for you, Dick," said Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"So it has come at last," said I, breaking the seal. -</p> - -<p> -"Will it be an affair of knives or pistols?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hush!" said I, as the waiter retired. -</p> - -<p> -"Slugs in a saw-pit, and all that sort of thing—a -triangular duel, eh? But an officer should have -brought it." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, had it been that for which you seem so very -anxious." -</p> - -<p> -"Anxious! not I, believe me." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, this is from a lady." -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce—you quite interest me. I can perceive -that it is penned on pink paper, a little -flourished, but without signature. It is from Paulina, -poor girl! I can imagine her writing it, and as -Byron says— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'How tremulously gentle, her small hand—'"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"How can you run on thus?" I asked, imploringly. -"Fie upon you, Jack, after all the misery we have -wrought to these poor people." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, perhaps you are right and I am wrong. I -beg pardon; but the letter—what is it about?" -</p> - -<p> -"Only the safety of our lives." -</p> - -<p> -"Our lives—indeed—how so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Read it." -</p> - -<p> -The note ran thus:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"SENOR DON RICARDO. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -"In the name of the Blessed Mother of God, I -implore you and your friend to leave Seville on receipt -of this, and to take the nearest road for San Lucar -de Barameda, where you can reach a steamer, which -sails direct for Gibraltar. Don Joaquim vows to -have a terrible revenge for the death of our dear -brother Hernan; and, last night, was seen in -conference with Fabrique de Urquija on the old Alameda. -The road you came will be beset—his band are, -doubtless, now in hire to waylay you. El santo de -los Santos, forgive you the misery you have caused to -those who never wronged you, and may it deliver -you from the snares of death that lie in your -homeward path." -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"More melodramatic than pleasant," said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"It is from Paulina, no doubt.—how considerate!" -</p> - -<p> -"Kind and gentle too," added Jack. "Well, all -things duly considered, I think we should take her -advice—mount, and be off." -</p> - -<p> -"Poor—poor Paulina!" -</p> - -<p> -"Deuce take it, Dick, don't be faint-hearted. -'T will be all one when the route comes for the -Crimea, and sell or sail is the word." -</p> - -<p> -"Not among "Ours," I hope." -</p> - -<p> -"The San Lucar road be it." -</p> - -<p> -"Then the sooner we leave the better, for we have -much to lose and nothing to gain by lingering here." -</p> - -<p> -"For there is neither law, justice, nor honour -among these Spaniards," said Slingsby, making a -smart application to the bell-rope. -</p> - -<p> -"What! you say so in the face of this charming -letter?" -</p> - -<p> -"Charming, indeed, to be told that a captain of -robbers—a picturesque ruffian in a steeple-crowned -hat and red garters, has been bribed to cut your -throat—to 'do' for you in the flower of your youth -for a hundred pistoles." -</p> - -<p> -The letter raised a glow of sad, of kind, and -regretful emotions within me; but I stifled them all, -and, calling for the bill, settled with the landlord -in person. -</p> - -<p> -"What manner of magistrates have you here in -Seville?" asked the unwary Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"How, señor?" -</p> - -<p> -"When they permit thieves to prowl about your -streets at night." -</p> - -<p> -"Thieves, señor—Ave Maria!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, thieves, señor patron. Fabrique de Urquija -was on the old Alameda last night with a -well-known bravo from Portugal." -</p> - -<p> -"Don Fabrique," reiterated our host, aghast at the -name; "ah, he is too great a man to be easily -arrested, señor." -</p> - -<p> -"Is he not a mere ladrone?" -</p> - -<p> -"True, Caballero; but then his band is numerous. -Yes, señor; Ave Maria purissima!—tiene con -exercito de 10,000 hombres—all determined men, and -armed to the teeth." -</p> - -<p> -"Ten thousand men—nonsense! A hundred, -more probably." -</p> - -<p> -The host felt his veracity impugned, and he called -upon all the saints in the calendar to witness the -truth of his assertions; and while we had a decanter -of wine before starting, he told us a vast number of -anecdotes, descriptive of the cruel and unscrupulous -character of the so-called Don Fabrique. Two of -these occurred to me as being peculiarly diabolical in -their nature. -</p> - -<p> -On one occasion he plundered the house of a -wealthy merchant near Estephana, a town on the -Grenada coast; and because the unfortunate -proprietor would not yield up the alleged treasures of -his strong box, and sign bills on his bankers in -Seville, Fabrique snatched up a camphine lamp from -a marble side-table, and, with a dreadful oath, poured -the contents over the hair and whiskers of his -prisoner. He then deliberately applied a lighted candle -thereto, and in a moment the whole face and head of -the miserable man were enveloped in flames. His -skull was roasted like a large castano, and he died in -great misery—his head being literally burned off! -</p> - -<p> -Another amiable little trait of Don Fabrique was -the strange way he took to remove his predecessor -from the command of the troop. This was a rough -old guerilla, who in his youth had fought in the -campaigns of Wellington, under Don Julian Sanchez, -the famous Captain Harelip, as our soldiers named -him, and latterly in the service of the Carlists, under -the banished Conde de Morella. -</p> - -<p> -The robber captain—Gomes el Guerilla—having -incurred the animosity of Fabrique, that worthy -procured some gun-cotton (which our patron believed to -be a preparation by the devil himself), from a -drug-chest, when investigating the shop of a botarico -(apothecary) at Castellar; and some of this he placed -in the folds of Gomes' neckcloth in the night, and for -three days the old and unsuspecting sinner wore this -dreadful thing under his well-bearded chin. On -the third, Fabrique, who began to lose patience, and -vow to have vengeance on the botarico, said, "Come, -señor, let us make up a little cigar;" so the cigar -was made, and they proceeded to smoke, until some -sparks fell on the breast of the old guerilla; and -then, Madre de Dios! there was a dreadful flash and -explosion like that of a cannon; and to the consternation -of all his band, the head of Gomes was blown -right off his shoulders, and not a vestige of it was -ever seen again. -</p> - -<p> -"The noble Caballeros," continued our host, "have -no doubt heard of the great robber-chief, Manuel de -Cordova, who in January, 1853, killed the commandant -of the civic guard of Bute?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"He was betrayed by Don Fabrique, and shot to -death by a platoon of infantry, in the Plaza of -Cordova. Oh, señor, the saints deliver us from the -devil and Don Fabrique!" -</p> - -<p> -"So say I," added Jack, as the landlord left us, and -thus, being impressed alike by these communications -and that of Donna Paulina, we resolved to change -our route and avoid this formidable personage who -took such an interest in our proceedings. -</p> - -<p> -To deceive any person who might be watching -about the hotel, or be bribed by Fabrique, or the -major, we made particular inquiries of the patron, -the waiters, and stable-boys concerning the road to -Gibraltar by the way of Puerto Serrano; and having, -as Jack said, "completely thrown dust in their eyes," -we took the route to San Lucar and left Seville at a -rapid trot about an hour after noon, pausing only to -give a peseta to a poor Franciscan who begged from -us at the city gate. -</p> - -<p> -I looked back to Seville as we galloped away. -</p> - -<p> -The tower of La Giralda and all its spires were -sinking in the sunny haze and lessening in the -distance. -</p> - -<p> -"So ends an intimacy that might have ripened into -something better," thought I. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI. -<br /><br /> -THE RATERILLO. -</h3> - -<p> -Passing Coria del Rio, a little province and partido, -after a twenty miles' ride we halted to dine at -Lebrija, which is so famed for its oil of olives, and -there we got some prime Xeres, which bore the -private mark of the señores Gonzalez and Dubose, the -famous wine merchants; and now we enjoyed the -hope that our acquaintance Fabrique de Urquija and -his "ten thousand hombres" (or whatever their -number might be) were sunning themselves on the -mountains, and lying in wait for us on the dusty road by -Puerto Serrano; and any anxiety we might have felt -to reach the coast unmolested began to lessen when -we set forth again, while the evening sun was verging -towards the western sierras of the province, and -pursuing an old and narrow path, so old that perhaps -the Christian knights of King Ferdinand might have -traversed it to battle with the Emirs of Granada, of -Seville, and Cordova, we rode on, amid varied scenery, -where luxuriant creepers almost veiled the granite -rocks like natural curtains, where large fields of maize -surrounded ancient villages left ruined and roofless in -the late civil wars, where herds of half wild cattle -browsed on the green mountain slope; where the -dead man's cross, the wayside chapel, the groves of -cork, of olive or orange trees bordered the devious -path, and the shattered atalaya that whilome watched -the frontiers of Mohammed of Cadiz, towered over all, -a landmark to the Guadalquiver. -</p> - -<p> -Charmed by the scenery, we allowed the reins to -fall on the necks of our horses, and careless as to -whether or not we found quarters for the night in an -olive wood or in Trohniona, which we were now -approaching, and the little spire of which we saw -peeping above its bright green groves and tipped with a -fiery gleam, we rode on slowly until near a well -which flowed into a stone basin, under a rude -representation of our Lady of Assistance—a wayside -chapel, in fact—a turn of the path brought us -suddenly upon two armed Spaniards, who were seated on -the sward playing with cards in the twilight, for the -time was evening now. -</p> - -<p> -One of these, by his gay attire, his embroidered -jacket with its silver clasps, his sash of red and -yellow stripes and his velvet hat, as well as by the -horse which stood near him, well laden with packages, -and having a long gun slung at its demipique -saddle, I perceived to be a professed smuggler; and -on our nearer approach we both recognised our old -friend Pedro el Contrabandista, who supplied our -mess with cigars, and whose unlucky pursuit by the -guarda costa had been the source of so much -travelling, turmoil, and inquiry to Slingsby and to -myself. -</p> - -<p> -There was no mistaking the other as a raterillo—that -is, "a little rat," or pickpocket, on whose -cloth the regular armed bandit who robs convoys, -fights the carabineros, and burns a village -occasionally, looks down as the line do on the militia, or -as the militia do on the yeomanry. The only weapon -of the raterillo is his knife, and perhaps a concealed -pistol. Polite almost to servility to the armed man, -the raterillo is usually a bully to the peaceable, and -to those who are too poor to carry that long musket -which is the constant companion of the provincial -Spaniard. -</p> - -<p> -He doffed his threadbare sombrero and bowed with -great humility as we reined up beside them to greet -honest Pedro, who received us with a hearty shout of -welcome. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, amigo mio," said I, "we were not aware -that you did business by land as well as by sea." -</p> - -<p> -"True, señor, I should have been a woman, for I -am never constant to anything; I am glad to meet -two noble cavaliers of the garrison travelling here—but -why so far from Gibraltar, and without an escort?" -</p> - -<p> -"All owing to you, Pedro, my valiant contrabandista, -and your troublesome affairs." -</p> - -<p> -"Pardon, señor, I do not comprehend." -</p> - -<p> -"That devilish shot from the Mole fort." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, yes—ha, ha! it cut in two halves Don -Hernan de Lucena, and enabled me to run my little -felucca safe into Gibraltar—eh." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, but we had to visit the captain general at -Seville, and to explain the affair to him in person. So -we are here." -</p> - -<p> -"On your way back." -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly so." -</p> - -<p> -"I owe you a thousand thanks for that little piece -of attention from the Mole fort, señores; but for -that, I should now, perhaps, have been chained to an -oar in the Queen's galleys at Barcelona, for I was as -sure of being taken as there is a saint in heaven. -Well, señores, we shall sup together to-night at -Trohniona—see, yonder is its spire shining like a red -star in the sunset; I have my guitar, and shall sing -to you the newest seguidilla and some jovial romances -about the Granadine Moors, the Castilian Caballeros, -or the Carlists, and enchanters; but, meantime, I -must finish a game to which I was challenged by this -traveller, on whom I shall have, proper revenge, for -he has already won from me forty duros; and you -the while will do me the favour to accept some of my -best cigars." -</p> - -<p> -There was no resisting this jolly contrabandista; -so, as we had before arranged to halt for the night -at Trohniona, we were the better for the companionship -of another man, who knew the country, and was -doubtless a favourite with the people, and who, -moreover, was well armed, stout, and determined. -We watched the game between him and the raterillo, -who won dollar after dollar with a facility that soon -left no doubt whatever in our minds that he was -cheating poor Pedro, so Jack and I exchanged -frequent glances. -</p> - -<p> -"Whose cards are these?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"The señor travalero's," said Pedro, "and I begin -to think he knows the backs better than the fronts of -them." -</p> - -<p> -The raterillo, whose quick eyes rolled in a restless -manner, laughed as he pocketed three other duros of -Pedro, who began to lose all patience and to flush, -while a dark gleam shot over his eyes; and on -detecting in his adversary some real or suspected -piece of foul play, he dashed the cards full in his -face, crying,— -</p> - -<p> -"You are a rogue and a thief—a pitiful little rat, -and if you do not yield back every peseta you have -won, 'por el nombre de Dios,' I will be at you with -my Albacete knife!" -</p> - -<p> -"Then the knife be it," retorted the raterillo, -crushing his well-worn hat over his eye-brows; "shall -we have our feet tied together?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, we shall fight it out on the grass, and I will -have your black blood and my hard-won dollars -together," cried Pedro, who was choking with sudden -passion; and quick almost as thought, they confronted -each other, their dark faces contorted by ferocity, their -eyes flashing fire, their feet planted on the turf, their -bodies bent forward ready to spring, and their cuchillos -held firmly in the right hand, the thumb being pressed -upon the blade in such a manner as to enable them -to stab or to cut with equal facility. -</p> - -<p> -Several blows had been given and skilfully eluded -before Jack and I, who had drawn our swords, could -dismount and interfere; but just as we pressed in -between them, at the peril of our lives, we heard a cheer -like a yell ringing in the hollow, and saw a crowd of -armed men rushing down the sloping banks which -bordered the road-way. -</p> - -<p> -"Ladrones—ladrones—fly, señores!" cried Pedro, -as he leaped on his horse and dashed at full speed -towards Trohniona, followed by several musket-bullets, -while the raterillo vanished in the twilight as -if the earth had swallowed him up. -</p> - -<p> -In a moment we were surrounded by a crowd of -armed banditti—oh, there was no mistaking them!—I -was collared and pinioned just as my foot was in -the stirrup, and poor Jack Slingsby was knocked off -his horse by the butt-end of a long Spanish gun; -our swords and revolvers, our watches, rings, purses, -and cigar-cases; our horses and valises, all in a -moment became the spoil of the Egyptians, and we found -ourselves prisoners at the mercy of—Fabrique de -Urquija! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII. -<br /><br /> -LA RIO DE MUERTE. -</h3> - -<p> -Dark-visaged and black-bearded, with long sable hair -hanging over their collars from under their battered -sombreros, or gathered up in net-work cauls, the -robbers presented every picturesque variety of Spanish -costume. Some wore jackets of black or olive-coloured -velvet, richly covered with needlework on the breast -and seams; their waists were girt by bright-coloured -sashes, and their legs encased in velvet small-clothes -and leathern gaiters; while others were sans shirts -and sans shoes; scantily attired in rough zamarras -of sheepskin, with tattered breeches—their brawny -legs and muscular chests being bare. All were well -armed with muskets, Albacete knives, and pistols, and -all were ferocious, resolute, and reckless alike in spirit -and in aspect. A glance showed me all this, as we -were dragged by them through an olive thicket, where, -upon the prostrate column of some old Roman -temple, we found their leader seated. -</p> - -<p> -The moon had now risen brightly above the mountains, -and in the sashed and armed figure before me, -with a jacket glittering with embroidery, his carbine -resting in the hollow of his right arm, I recognised -our former acquaintance whom we had met by the -wayside between Castellar and Estrelo, and with whom -we were hobbing and nobbing over a cigar and bota, -when poor sister St. Veronica came to ask alms of us. -</p> - -<p> -The cruelties of which, on that occasion, he had so -freely avowed himself guilty, and those other traits -of character, such as the affair of the camphine lamp -and the neckcloth so pleasantly padded with guncotton, -occurred to us; and I must own, that when we -found ourselves bound as prisoners and confronting -the cold, stern and impassible visage of this celebrated -Spanish outlaw, a restless anxiety made our hearts -throb with new and undefined emotions. In all -things his bearing and disposition were similar to -those of his friend* whom he betrayed in 1853, and -whose atrocities have been published, like his own, at -length in the columns of the "Heraldo de Madrid." Neither -Slingsby nor I had ever been in such a desperate -predicament before, as the reader may easily -conceive; thus we could scarcely realise it, and, -naturally enough, indignation was uppermost in our -minds. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Francisco Manuel de Cordova. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The intellectual part of Fabrique's face, though -exceedingly handsome, was immovable as that of a -statue, his two black eyes remained fixedly regarding -us, and even when his bearded mouth relaxed into a -grim smile, one-half of his face remained unmoved. -He seemed calm and pale in the white moon-light—but -the cicatrised wound which traversed his cheek -was of a deep and dusky red. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, señor," said I, briskly, "are you fully -prepared to answer for the attack you have made -upon us?" -</p> - -<p> -"Answer," he reiterated, with something between a -frown and disdainful smile; "to whom?" -</p> - -<p> -"The captain general of Andalusia." -</p> - -<p> -"I have so many things to answer for already to -that illustrious Caballero of Seville, that he will -be very apt to forget your little affair among others." -</p> - -<p> -"But the Governor of Her Brittanic Majesty's -garrison at Gibraltar will refresh both his memory -and yours, rascal!" said poor Slingsby, whose face -was streaming with blood. -</p> - -<p> -"Stuff, señores. Our Lady Donna Isabella II. alone -is Queen of Gibraltar, whatever you may believe -to the contrary." -</p> - -<p> -"Then there is our ambassador at Madrid," said I, -swelling with passion. -</p> - -<p> -"Let the Señor Embajador come hither to seek -you, if he chooses," replied Fabrique, with a scowl, -while his band made the wooded hollow ring with -their laughter. -</p> - -<p> -"For what reason, and with what purpose, is this -outrage committed upon us?" asked Jack, more -calmly. -</p> - -<p> -"The reason is here," said Fabrique, throwing -up a heavy purse. "From the noble Don Joaquim, -Major in the service of the young king Don Pedro -V., I have received one thousand duros to intercept -you——" -</p> - -<p> -"And the purpose?" -</p> - -<p> -"To avenge his brother's death." -</p> - -<p> -"In what manner?" -</p> - -<p> -"By taking your lives, that is all; blood for blood, -you know; an eye for an eye, a limb for a limb, and -a life for a life, are law and justice all the world over. -If my friend the blind abagado of Jaen were here, -he could not explain the law better." -</p> - -<p> -Zumalacarregui, when giving a light from his own -cigar to the Carlist prisoners he was just about to -shoot, could not have spoken more coolly. -</p> - -<p> -"And so, fellow, you have received a thousand -duros to murder us?" said Jack, abruptly. -</p> - -<p> -"One thousand, señor," was the quiet reply. -</p> - -<p> -"Conduct us to the harbour of San Lucar, and I -will give you my word of honour that two thousand -shall be sent to you." -</p> - -<p> -"You would not break your plighted word?" -</p> - -<p> -"I would rather die!" -</p> - -<p> -"Then bear in mind that I have pledged mine; -and that I also would rather die than break it. No, -señores; all the gold in Madrid would not save you." -</p> - -<p> -After a pause,— -</p> - -<p> -"How came you to discover us so readily on this -road?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"Easily. I had spies planted at every gate of -Seville. A Franciscan begged alms of you at the -Puerto of the San Lucar road." -</p> - -<p> -"To whom I gave a peseta." -</p> - -<p> -"'T was I." -</p> - -<p> -"You! I wish that I had recognised you then." -</p> - -<p> -"Muchos gratias, señor—my own mother would -not have known me. I took care of that, and now I -shall take care of you." -</p> - -<p> -"It is incredible that a companion so jovial as the -Major de Lucena could contemplate this intended -atrocity," exclaimed Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"Have you not his sister's letter here?" asked -Fabrique, displaying that little document, of which -his searchers had deprived me; "you Inglesos would -doubt the holy face of Jaen, even if it were placed -before you! I received a thousand dollars to shoot -you down like dogs or wild pigs, and here we are -chattering away like so many magpies. Vamos -alla—to the mountains—cammarados, basta!" -</p> - -<p> -"We are not, then, to be shot?" I asked, as a -gleam of hope brightened before me. -</p> - -<p> -"No," said he, with an icy smile, as his dark fierce -face came close to mine, like that of a handsome -spectre in the moonlight and as the whole band -began to move; "we will give you to drink of the -Rio de Muerte." -</p> - -<p> -The River of Death!—our blood ran cold at these -words; but no time was left us for expostulation, as -we were hurried up the hills, over wild and furzy -banks, where the laurel, the vine, and the fair yellow -paunch of the gourd grew together in luxuriance; -and among rocks, where the nimble goat browsed, -and the untamed porker flew before us, squeaking -from his lair, among the aromatic plants, the long -reedy grass, the giant fern, and the broad-leaved dock. -Up, up we went, alternately clambering, or being -pushed and dragged, until we gained the brow of a -steep hill, from which we saw beneath us in the -broad, clear, liquid moonlight, the waters of the -Guadalquiver winding away between groves of the -orange and the olive, to San Lucar, and in the -middle distance, but far down below us, the white -houses of Trohniona clustered round their little -church. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII. -<br /><br /> -PEDRO THE CONTRABANDISTA. -</h3> - -<p> -After a painful and anxious hour elapsed, and we -had traversed about two miles of a steep and craggy -ascent, until we reached a part of the mountain -range which was entirely covered by a little forest of -laurels. Above us, in the dark blue sky, the moon -was hanging like a large silver globe, and the flood of -clear cold light it diffused over the distant landscape -enabled us to distinguish objects with great -minuteness. Thus I could trace the gleaming course of the -Guadalquiver, as it wound down from Seville past -Borminos, the mouth of the Guadamar, and the hills -that overhang Dos Hermanos; while other sierras in -the distance undulated afar off, like the waves of a -petrified sea, if such a simile may be allowed me. -Light glinted at times upon the river. It came from -a passing steamer. Down there in the valley was the -civilisation of our own time; yet we were about to -perish by the hands of outlaws, whose bearing and -character were worthy of the middle ages, or the -mistier time that lies beyond them. -</p> - -<p> -Jack Slingsby and I had scarcely spoken during -our steep and rapid clamber, but our thoughts were -the same; anxiety—intense anxiety—for our fate; -repugnance for our captors, and a natural horror -of dying a barbarous death at their hands, on these -remote and lonely mountains; far from help, far -from justice and from civilisation; a death, of which -our friends, our relations, and our comrades would -never hear—would never know; for our fate would -become a mystery, which all the captains general, the -ambassadors, the chargés des affaires, and even the -correspondents of the "Times" would be unable to -clear up or unravel,—as it was the purpose of these -wretches, whose prey we had become, to hide for -ever our remains, and the very means of our death, -as completely as if we had been flung into Mount -Etna. -</p> - -<p> -In this sequestered part of the mountain chain, -hidden among the thickly-twined laurels, the wild -and straggling vines, and the densely-matted jungle -of gourds, and other luxuriant creepers, there -suddenly yawned a chasm in the granite rocks—a black -profundity of unknown depth. The gaping rent was -about twenty feet broad by some hundred in length, -but its mouth was greatly diminished by the bordering -foliage and wild plants that overhung it. Far down, -perhaps five hundred feet below (for the bottom was -unseen), there rolled with a deep, hoarse, roaring -sound the Rio de Muerte—the River of Death—a -subterranean tributary of the Guadalquiver; and its -strange and hollow voice as it gurgled, surged, and -bellowed through the clefts and fissures in the heart -of the mountains, filled me with a pang of horror. -Here we paused, and our captors muttered one to -another under their thick beards, smoked their paper -cigaritos, and leaned leisurely on their short -escapetas, or long-barrelled muskets, and seemed to await -the approach of Fabrique de Urquija, who was some -yards behind us, and came up very much at his ease. -</p> - -<p> -"My God!" said my friend, "if it be their -purpose to—to——" -</p> - -<p> -"To throw us down there, you would say? My -dear Slingsby, such seems indeed to be their -dreadful purpose, and I see here but little hope of -mercy or of charity, where bribes greater than those -of that infamous major have failed before a savage -idea of honour and the fulfilment of a villanous trust." -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven help us!" -</p> - -<p> -"If these are not your prayers, señores," said one -fellow in Spanish, with a slight Murcian accent, -"you had better betake yourselves to them, for in -less than ten minutes you will be at the bottom of -this terrible place, and be swept through the bowels -of the mountain towards the Guadalquiver." -</p> - -<p> -The man spoke gently and with some emotion; it -was evident that his dreadful life had not yet -obliterated every remnant of civilisation and humanity. -There was, moreover, something terribly impressive -in his words, when heard amid the hoarse rush of -that deep and subterranean torrent, whose waters -came we knew not from where, and traversed depths -and caverns, of which we could have no conception, -in their way to the valley below. -</p> - -<p> -There was a refined cruelty in bringing us to such -a place, and to die such a death; for the mind -"shrunk back upon itself and trembled," when -contemplating the dark profundity through which this -mysterious torrent poured. -</p> - -<p> -"Pray, good señores, pray," said this man, kindly -again, as he touched me on the shoulder, "down -upon your knees, for here comes the capitano, and -he never tarries with his prisoners on the brink -of the Rio de Muerte, or the Cima de Cabra." -</p> - -<p> -"What does the fellow say?" asked poor Slingsby, -who looked a little pale, and whose nether lip was -tightly clenched. -</p> - -<p> -"He bids us lose no time, but to pray." -</p> - -<p> -"Pray!" reiterated Jack, fiercely; "I pray to -Heaven only that my hands were loose for one -moment, that I might strike a blow for life or for -revenge." -</p> - -<p> -"Threats are absurd, señor," said Fabrique de -Urquija, throwing the end of his cigar with perfect -deliberation into the chasm that yawned before us: -"and bribes are alike useless——" -</p> - -<p> -"Can it be, brave Spaniards," said I, becoming -desperate, and encouraged by the evident sympathy -of one to endeavour to soften the rest; "can it be -that you will prove so cruel and so merciless to two -unoffending strangers, who——" -</p> - -<p> -"Silence, señores!" exclaimed Fabrique, in a voice -of thunder, while drawing a pistol from his belt; -"in attempting to tamper with my followers you but -anticipate your fate. Iago Pineda—Stephano el -Corcovado, over with them! dost thou hear me? presto! or -by the mother of God, this bullet shall see -the brains of some of you." -</p> - -<p> -He ground his teeth; his eyes shot fire, and his -broad nostrils seemed to dilate as he gave this savage -order. -</p> - -<p> -Stephano the humpbacked, and the other who -was named Iago Pineda, and who was no other than -our sympathetic friend, threw down their escopetas -and grasped me. They were powerful and muscular -men—aye, men of iron frames and iron hearts, and -a sickening emotion rose within me as their hands -were roughly laid upon my pinioned arms. The -moonlit mountains and the far-stretching Vega swam -around me; the forms of our murderers were multiplied -a thousandfold; the perspiration fell heavily -from my brow, and a half-arrested cry to Heaven for -that pity which men denied us here, arose to my lips -as they were about to hurl me downward; when, lo! -Pineda paused, looked back, and listening, -relinquished my right arm. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you think, do you dare to disobey?" cried -Fabrique, as he levelled a brass-barrelled pistol full -at his head; "to work at once, vile mutineer, or por -vida del demonic——" -</p> - -<p> -"Hold—para—detenedos!" cried a breathless -voice, and a man mounted on horseback, and armed -with a long gun, dashed his jennet at full speed -through the laurel bushes into the midst of the free -company. -</p> - -<p> -"Who cries hold?" demanded Fabrique, almost -choking with passion, while turning his pistol against -the intruder; and all his people cocked or clubbed -their muskets in high alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"I do—I, your brother Pedro the contrabandista." -</p> - -<p> -"Oho, and what seek you here?" -</p> - -<p> -"The safety of these two Caballeros, who at -Gibraltar saved me from the guarda costa of Hernan -de Lucena in the first place, and from the chain and -the scourge in Her Majesty's galleys in the second -place." -</p> - -<p> -"How! was it you, brother Pedro, whose felucca -was concerned in this business?" asked Fabrique, -with an altered voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Fabrique, it was my little craft, La Buena -Fortuna, which the Lieutenant De Lucena pursued -till a shot from the Mole fort shortened him by two -feet. I claim their lives, for they are my friends -and patrons, and would have supped with me to-night -at Trohniona had not your devilish fellows -came upon us like a herd of wild cats, just when I -was kicking and cuffing yonder rascally raterillo, who -has made off with all my dollars. So I fled from the -wayside-well, for I knew not whose free company -your lads had the honour to be, and feared they -might relieve me alike of life and all care for my -packages." -</p> - -<p> -Jack and I now began to breathe a little more -freely; for as all this took place in less time than I -have taken to write it, there was some difficulty in -realising the conviction that we had been waylaid, -doomed to death and saved, with such rapidity: yet -so it was, and so ended the scene of that night to -which I can never recur without a chill of awe and -horror, blended with a very decided sensation of -anger and just indignation. -</p> - -<p> -Notwithstanding the alleged solemnity with which -his word was plighted to the malevolent major of the -sainted regiment of Lagos, "in the kingdom of -Algarve," Fabrique relinquished his cruel purpose, -unbound us at his brother's request, and restored to -us our arms, horses, and little baggage—everything, -in short, not even excepting the letter of poor -Paulina. He gave us cigars, a hearty quaff from his bota, -and then a bow so low that his black velvet sombrero -almost swept the dewy sward. He then drew off -with all his band towards the Sierra de Honda, and -in two hours afterwards we were comfortably seated -by the kitchen fire in the posada of Trohniona, at -supper with his brother the contrabandista, who was -en route for San Lucar. -</p> - -<p> -For some time after, throughout the night in which -these startling events occurred, in fancy I saw before -me the cold, stern visage and fierce glaring eyes of -Urquija, and above all other sounds I seemed to hear -the deep hoarse rush of the subterranean Rio de -Muerte. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIV. -<br /><br /> -THE SPANISH STEAMER. -</h3> - -<p> -Whatever may have been the emotions with which -we regarded the formidable relative of our contrabandista, -we spared him the humiliation of listening -to the just appreciation we had of the character of -Fabrique; and enlivened by those songs and stories -with which the honest fellow endeavoured to raise -our spirits and efface the terrible recollection of that -hour upon the hills of Trohniona, we supped upon a -guisado and bottle of valdepenas. -</p> - -<p> -Now I may inform the uninitiated that the aforesaid -guisado was a stew, such as can only be made in -a real Spanish pipkin. It consisted of two chickens, -a plump partridge, and a hare, well seasoned with oil, -garlic, pepper, and saffron all simmered together -When hot and steaming, the giblets, &c., are fished -up from the depths of the savoury pipkin, with just -such a wooden spoon as paunchy Sancho used, when -diving therewith into his beloved flesh-pots at the -wedding of Camacho. -</p> - -<p> -Supper over, and a fresh bota ordered, Pedro -assumed his guitar, and while we cleaned and examined -our swords and pistols, and all the people of the -posada, the patron and patrona, the waiteresses, the -stabler, and the little half-naked muchaco who cleaned -the boots and turned the spit, crowded near, he, the -jovial contrabandista, turned his dark eyes and -well-bearded visage towards the dusky wooden ceiling, -and while his swarthy cheek glowed in the light of -the kitchen fire, struck up one of those lively seguidillas -which are the delight of the Spaniards, and skilfully -he brushed the strings with his finger-points in -a manner which I believe is peculiar to the Andalusians. -</p> - -<p> -A very amorous love ditty succeeded, and when -the roguish eyes of Pedro wandered knowingly from -one person to another, the patrona blushed with -pleasure, and all the waiteresses simpered and spread out -their short but full-flounced skirts, or displayed their -handsome red stockings, to let their well-shaped legs -be seen, as well as their pretty zapatas; for the roving -and romantic contrabandista, whose habits are so -full of life and energy, is ever a welcome guest at the -wayside inns of Spain, and to none more than their -fairer inmates. -</p> - -<p> -Now Pedro's gaudy brown jacket, all covered with -silver bell-buttons, bright silken lace, and spangles; -his ample breeches of gay velveteen; his brilliant -sash and broad hat placed a little over the right eye, -made him a welcome visitor to all the women, while -the stories, news, or fibs which his incessant -perambulations afforded him ample means of collecting, -made him equally acceptable to the men; thus, like -other bold contrabandistas, who by sea and land set -the laws of the Cortes at defiance, Pedro was always -sure of the brightest smiles, the oldest wine in the -cellar, the best fowl in the larder, the warmest corner -by the kitchen fire, and the most snug cama in the -posada, while pretty hands stroked his docile jennet, -and readier ones removed his corded packages, and -placed his guitar and loaded gun by his bedside for -the night. -</p> - -<p> -Pedro's songs, and the stories he told during the -single night we spent with him, would fill a volume; -but the time passed rapidly away; we were up -betimes, mounted and armed to ride; and with -something of real satisfaction, Jack and I turned our -backs on those hated mountains, where a thicket of -green laurels, diminished to a black speck by the -distance, indicated the locality of the Rio de Muerte. -</p> - -<p> -Trotting pleasantly, we passed Isla-mayor, which -lies about twelve miles from the mouth of the -Guadalquiver, and abounds in fruit-trees, which were -then in full blossom. -</p> - -<p> -By this time, Paulina, her dark eyes, and her -witchery were alike forgotten, and her little note on -pink paper had been smoked away in cigaritos. The -keen interest taken in our affairs by the major had -completely cured me; so much for Spanish romance -contrasted with Spanish reality. -</p> - -<p> -"And you have decided on taking the steamer at -San Lucar, señores?" said Pedro. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and happy shall we be to find ourselves safe -on board of her," said I; "we have had too many -devilish scrapes among you Spaniards to wish for -more travelling in the saddle. It is no joke to escape -being hanged as a spy by a blundering alcalde one -day, and a terrible death the next by drowning, at -the hands of——" -</p> - -<p> -"My brother Fabrique," said he, good-humouredly, -closing a sentence, the termination of which might -have proved unpleasant. "Well, señores, my little -felucca the 'Buena Fortuna'—you know her, with -her long brass gun and lateen sails—is lying -concealed in a solitary creek near Carbonera. I have -run her in there, because a fleet—yes, maldito—a -whole fleet of guarda costas are at anchor in the -harbour of San Lucar; but we must put to sea -to-morrow night, and if you will so far honour me, -Caballeros, as to accept a passage with me to -Gibraltar, the best valdepenas and the noblest Xeres -that ever came out of a madre-butt shall be at your -service. Ah, you shake your head, Señor Don -Ricardo, and think you have had enough of me and -my poor little craft——" -</p> - -<p> -"Right, Pedro, and wish to have no more affairs with -a guarda costa," said Slingsby; "besides, if you were -attacked and taken at sea, after a fight, you would -fight, of course——" -</p> - -<p> -"To the death, Señor, guerra al cuchillo, as the -old guerillas say." -</p> - -<p> -"Well—what would be our fate?" -</p> - -<p> -"True, señor. If not killed, you would be sent to -the galleys at Barcelona, and so might as well have -taken a dip in the Rio de Muerte. Well, I will cease -to urge you. Here is the gate of Bonanza, which -may be termed the port of Seville, though the city is -fifteen leagues distant; yonder is its castle, with the -Spanish flag flying, and here is the quay, where all -large vessels laden with goods discharge their cargoes, -as the shallowness of the Guadalquiver will not permit -them to ascend higher—you understand, señores?" -</p> - -<p> -Here at this small town we bade farewell to Pedro, -who promised to visit us as soon as he came round to -Gibraltar; and pushing on, after a trot of a mile or -two over a dreary and sandy waste, we found -ourselves amid the sunny and bustling streets of San -Lucar de Barameda, where we sought at once its -harbour, the quays of which were, as usual, piled -chin deep with boxes of oranges, of raisins, and of -prunes, casks of salt, of wine, and of brandy; while -the flags of all nations—the stars and stripes of North -America, the eagles and tricolours of the South, the -union jack and the crosses of Scandinavia—were -waving among a forest of masts; in short, we found -ourselves amid all the noise and lively stir of a -Spanish seaport, where the splash of the screw -propeller furrowed the waters of the Guadalquiver, and -the steam, as it escaped at times, was like music to -us, who had just eluded the fangs of Fabrique's -mountain wolves. -</p> - -<p> -We soon found the boat for Gibraltar, "Neustra -Señora de Assistencia," and embarked ourselves and -our horses, which were taken on board in stalls, that -were slung from a whip at the yard-arm; and in an -hour after, muffled in our cloaks, with choice cubas to -solace us, we lounged on the paddle gangway as the -vessel steamed out of the harbour between the two -castles of San Lucar—the same fortresses which -saluted the little fleet of Columbus, when departing -in search of a western world—and passed the -roadstead and the dangerous entrance, where the wild -waves are ever beating in tumult; and thus we left -the port enveloped in a golden haze and diminishing -astern, as the sun set behind the mountain peaks of -Seville. -</p> - -<p> -The bay of Cadiz soon opened on our larboard -bow, and the city itself, with all its lights and spires, -and then the Isla de Leon arose before us, white and -glimmering in the moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -The silver waves seemed to toy with the golden -sand, as their coy riplets chafed the beach; but in -other places the moonlit sea dashed its spray like -showers of diamonds and prisms against the abutting -rocks. -</p> - -<p> -Overhead, the dark blue sky was clear and cloudless, -save where a long black pennon of wavy smoke -streamed far astern from the glowing funnel of "Our -Lady of Assistance," and all was still save the -ceaseless and monotonous dashing of the paddle-wheels, -and the measured clank of the engines, as we ploughed -along the lovely Spanish shore, and towards midnight -saw that point of land on which no Briton can gaze -without an emotion of pride, the Cape of Trafalgar. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XV. -<br /><br /> -THE CIRCASSIAN CAPTAIN. -</h3> - -<p> -On board the steamer our attention had been -repeatedly attracted, and our interest—mine, at -least—excited by a fellow-passenger, whose manner, -costume, and bearing were too remarkable to escape notice. -</p> - -<p> -His figure was tall and handsomely formed; his -features, pale and like marble, were cast in the most -pure and severe model of classic beauty; his nose -was long and straight; his black eye-brows nearly met -over it in one unbroken line; a fierce mustache stuck -out on each side, giving great expression to a mouth, -the lips of which were generally compressed, and in -expression stern. -</p> - -<p> -Altogether, his face had in it more of pure intellect -and pictorial manly beauty than any I had ever seen. -His costume was a scarlet forage cap, the tassel of -which drooped on his right shoulder, and a loose -tunic of dark green cloth, the cuffs, collar, and skirts -of which were trimmed with sables; but this peculiar -garment, like his long military boots, seemed well -worn, or as Jack said, "decidedly shabby." -</p> - -<p> -He remained very much aloof from the passengers, -and either sat or walked apart, communing apparently -with himself, and smoking a huge pipe, the aspect of -which was as foreign as his own. -</p> - -<p> -A figure so melo-dramatic on board of a steamer—even -a Spanish one—was too remarkable in the present -day to escape notice, and I repeatedly drew Slingsby's -attention to him; but honest Jack had not quite -recovered the effect of the start given him last night on -the hills of Trohniona, and replied briefly,— -</p> - -<p> -"An interesting foreigner, eh! that will sound very -well to the ears of a novel-reading miss at home; but -such personages excite a very different feeling in me. -A seedy sharper! I am sick, Ramble, of your interesting -foreigners; they are invariably swindlers, refugees, -and all that sort of thing, unless we except the poor -monkeys in the Zoological gardens," and so Jack -assumed a sulky air of reserve, while our voyager in -the furs and long boots smoked his huge meerschaum -to leeward, and all unconscious that he was an object -of remark or interest to any one. -</p> - -<p> -On visiting our horses in the stalls, we found that -our fellow-traveller had also a nag, and that this -animal seemed the object of all his cares; for he was -by its side almost every half hour, stroking its sleek -coat and slender legs; tickling its square nostrils and -pointed ears, or wiping its fine liquid eyes with his -white handkerchief, and feeding it from the palm of -his hands, which were white and muscular, while he -spoke caressingly in a barbarous language, which the -horse—a noble Arab-steed, with a magnificent head, -and limbs as slender as a girl's wrist—seemed to -understand. There was something so peculiar in all this, -and especially in the man's strong and tender regard -for his horse, that Slingsby's John Bullism began to -relax, for the proverbial crustiness of his country -little became a frank fellow like him; so he ventured -a few remarks in English on horses in general, and -this fine barb in particular. -</p> - -<p> -The foreigner shook his head, and smiled pleasantly, -as he articulated with difficulty that he scarcely knew -a word of English; whereupon Jack turned his remarks -into very choice Spanish. -</p> - -<p> -Again the stranger smiled and bowed, showing under -his close and thick mustache that he had a set of -teeth our brightest belles might envy, as he said in -the language of our allies,— -</p> - -<p> -"I beg your pardon, sir, but I speak only French -with my native language; and it maybe a little—Russ." -</p> - -<p> -"Russ—indeed!" said I, with fresh interest; "are -you a Cossack?" -</p> - -<p> -"No," said he, with a sudden air of haughty reserve, -"do I look like one?" -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say," said Jack, "as I never saw one." -</p> - -<p> -He was about to withdraw, as if our notice was -displeasing to him, when it chanced that a puff of wind -opened my cloak, and below it he perceived the -scarlet shell jacket, which was the undress of "Ours." Then -his bold dark eye lighted up with new animation, -and raising his forage cap, he said, smilingly, in -French, which he spoke with great fluency and a good -accent,— -</p> - -<p> -"Officers, I perceive, and, better than all, British -officers! Would that I had known this sooner, we -might have had a pleasant evening together; but now -our voyage is nearly half over, as the captain has just -told me. I am so glad to meet you, gentlemen, for I, -too, have had the honour to wear a sword." -</p> - -<p> -"May I ask in what service?" said Jack. -</p> - -<p> -"The Russian, latterly." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" -</p> - -<p> -"You are surprised," he said, with a sigh. -</p> - -<p> -"Rather." -</p> - -<p> -"It was the result of fate, or rather the fortune of -war, that placed me in their ranks. I was taken in -battle, and had no alternative but to serve in the -imperial cavalry, or drag a chain over the snows of -Siberia; and thus I accepted the former, resolving to -escape to my own dear mountains on the first -opportunity. I am a Circassian, and fought under the -heroic Schamyl, though latterly I held the rank of -captain in the Tenginski hussars; but tyranny and -misfortune drove me from the Russian ranks before a -proper opportunity for escape had come; and I have -wandered over many lands with no companion save -my horse—my dear Zupi," he continued, caressing the -Arab, which rubbed its fine head upon his cheek, as if -understanding the reference its master had just made; -"my beloved Zupi, who has shared with me many a -day of peril, and has thrice saved my life from -Russian bullets and from drowning; for there is no horse -like thee, Zupi, between the Kuban and the Caspian -Sea." -</p> - -<p> -"He is quite a Mazeppa, this," said Jack, in English. -</p> - -<p> -"And you are now going to Gibraltar?" I asked. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, gentlemen; but I merely make a visit there, -and at Malta, on my way home through Turkey; as -I have a letter of introduction to an officer of your -garrison." -</p> - -<p> -"May I ask his name?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is here: John Slingsby, Esq., Lieutenant, -H.M. —th Foot—perhaps you know him?" -</p> - -<p> -"The deuce! It is for me; I am Slingsby of -the —th," said Jack, in astonishment, for he was -puzzled to remember what friends he had among the -Tenginski hussars, or on the shores of the Caspian Sea; -"devilish odd, sir! I really don't know any one in -Circassia, or any one who ever was there, or likely to -be so." -</p> - -<p> -"I received this letter in London," said the stranger, -with a soft smile; "at a clubhouse of the Guards, for -the officers of the Household Brigade were more than -kind; being, indeed, as fathers to me, and treating me -as if I had been their own son, instead of what I -am—a poor waif, floating on the current of events." -</p> - -<p> -"I am the man," said Jack, tearing open the letter -which the Circassian produced from his breast-pocket, -and delivered; but with the slightest possible shade -of anxiety on his fine but saddened face. Poor -fellow! he had doubtless been so often deceived and -misused, that he was learning to mistrust every one, -and his eyes were riveted on the face of Slingsby, -who suddenly shook him by the hand, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"This meeting is most remarkable; your letter -of introduction to me and to our mess is from my -brother." -</p> - -<p> -"Bismillah, is it possible!" -</p> - -<p> -"From my brother, Sir Harry Slingsby, of the -Grenadier Guards. I am most happy to meet you, -Captain Rioni, and with my friend, Captain Ramble -of "Ours," will do all in my power to assist you." -</p> - -<p> -Jack handed his brother's letter to me. It ran -thus:— -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -MY DEAR JACK,— -</p> - -<p> -Allow me to introduce to you and to your -brother officers of the old —th Captain Osman Rioni -(late of the—I am sorry to say it—Russian service), -who has been for some time in London teaching our -Life Guards the lance exercise, and who for the last -three months has been the lion of the club-houses. He -arrived among us a staid and respectable Mohammedan, -very prone to sit cross-legged on the floor, to dip -his fingers in the gravy, and to grasp his knife if you -gave him a slice of ham with his fowl; but he leaves us -much addicted to balls, vingt un, champagne suppers, -the polka, and the waltz. In short, in one season, we -have polished him up in good style, and completed -an education which had been somewhat neglected -during his rural life among the Caucasus. You, -perhaps, know the history of himself and his horse—for -the morning papers get hold of everything. Conyers -of the Blues offered him £500 for the nag; but he -won't sell it for any known amount of the ready. -Look at its legs and chest; I never saw such an -animal! The captain has been an honorary member -of our mess while in London—a hint this, for your -fellows. He is now on his way home to the Kuban -(wherever the devil that may be), and so you gentlemen -of the Line in Gibraltar must look to the state -of his exchequer, and pass him on to the next station, -as Conyers has given him letters to some of the Rifles -at Malta. I could easily have procured him a troop -in our new Turkish contingent; but home he must -and shall go, he says, and his own story will best let -you know why. To-morrow our battalion will change -its quarters, and commence the arduous march from -St. John's Wood Barracks to those in Portman-street, -and from thence to Trafalgar-square, and I shall -follow in my cab; but you may see me ere long, for I -am to sail with the next draught of ours for the -Crimea, where the shiny splendour will be taken out -of our Brahmins in the muddy trenches—ugh! Give -my remembrance to Dick Ramble—ask him what his -next book is to be about; and so, my dear Jack, -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -I remain, &c., &c. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -The wishes of Sir Henry, and the efforts he and -his brother officers of the Grenadier Guards (most of -whom will remember the affair I allude to) made it -imperative upon "Ours" not to be behind them in -kindness to this stranger. -</p> - -<p> -Jack and I promised to leave nothing undone to -serve him on our arrival at Gibraltar, and assured him -that we would see sufficient funds raised to send him -either to Malta, or by steamer straight to -Constantinople. His ignorance of English and Spanish had -sadly puzzled the brain of our poor Circassian, who -had landed with his horse and baggage at San Lucar, -believing it to be Gibraltar, and had thus lost several -days, and, what was of more consequence, much of -his money; so that his mind was full of anxiety as -to the future, and how his horse—his Zupi—for they -seemed one, like a centaur, were to reach that mighty -mountain range that lies between the Euxine and the -Cape of Alpcheron; and which, with all its black -forests, wild rocks, and snowy peaks was his beloved -home; the altar of oriental independence—the -barrier of the Eastern world against the encroaching -Kuos. -</p> - -<p> -We supped together in the cabin; and while the -Spanish passengers were all smoking or asleep on -the benches and lockers, we prevailed upon the -Circassian, over a bottle of good wine, to inform us how -he came to serve in the Russian cavalry, and why -he declined Sir Harry's apparently advantageous offer -of a Captain's commission in our Turkish contingent—a -service for which he seemed so admirably fitted, -and in which he might have won honour and distinction; -at least such distinction as John Bull awards -to those who are not on the staff, and have no -ministerial interest. -</p> - -<p> -He shook his head sadly, as I said something -to this purpose, and bowing, gave me a pleasant -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"When you have heard me, you will understand -more fully that the only place for me is my native -land—that home which is now so far off, that when I -trace upon a map the extent of sea and shore that lie -between its hills and me, my heart grows faint and -sick; but patience yet awhile, and one day I shall -stand again an the black rugged mountains of Kushaa, -and see at my feet far down below, the fertile plains of -Georgia and Mingrelia. Zupi will snuff the pure -air of these Alpine peaks, and toss his proud mane -on the wind; strong warriors, in their shirts of mail, -will be riding by my side; the Albanian musket and -the Tartar bow will be there, as we survey the long -dark lines that mark upon the green summer fields, -or it may be the winter snow, the columns of the -Russian Emperor—columns that advance but to -defeat and death; for in thousands, yea, hundreds of -thousands, have they come to war against us, and to -perish on the Circassian hills, until the very soil has -been drenched in their blood, and fattened by the -bones of men and horses! But my emotions carry -me away, gentlemen, and I am forgetting my own -story." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah—yes, the story," said Jack, refilling the -stranger's glass, and pushing the decanters towards -me, while our new friend began, as nearly as I can -remember, in the following words. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVI. -<br /><br /> -OSMAN RIONI -</h3> - -<p> -Bismillah! there is but one God, and Mohammed is -His prophet; and on earth He is the powerful hand -of Him who moveth the stars, who giveth light to the -sun, and throweth darkness on the souls of the -Russian unbelievers. -</p> - -<p> -I am a Circassian, and, consequently, a Mohammedan, -being a native of those districts of the Caucasus -which have waged a ceaseless war with Russia—I -mean that portion of our mountains which lies -between Tamrook and the strong fortress of Anapa, -whose ramparts are washed by the waves of the -Euxine Sea. We are all soldiers from our birth; thus, -out of a population of three hundred thousand souls, -our tribe can at any time muster fifty thousand -warriors, well mounted on fleet Caucasian horses, and -well armed, after our own fashion, in coats of mail, -with musket, bow and pistol, sabre, dagger, and -cartridge box; men, brave and handsome, and stubborn -as their native rocks—men to whom danger is a -pastime, and death but the door to Paradise. -</p> - -<p> -Thus the mountaineers of the Caucasus, though -mustering only about two millions of souls, have -never stooped before a conqueror; but, in the face of -all the world, have hurled back the legions of the -Russian Empire, and maintained against it a struggle -for fifty years—a struggle which, when our valour and -disparity of numbers on one side are contrasted with -the ferocity and overwhelming force on the other, -has no parallel in the history of the modern world. -The Russians name us the Tcherkesses, which means -literally "those who bar the way;" for never did -a foreign host leave their cursed foot-prints, on the -summits of the Caucasus. -</p> - -<p> -Our mountains have become the ramparts of -Turkey and of Persia, as our Declaration of -Independence asserts; but they will become—unless we -are supported by Western Europe—the avenue to -both! We voluntarily submitted to the khans of the -Crimea, and afterwards to the sultans of Constantinople; -but, alas! we have lost the chiefs, whose -banners could have summoned a hundred thousand -warriors; yet now are we all, as one man, united in a -deep and undying hatred of Russia! She has built -forts on our territory, but dare her soldiers venture -a foot beyond their cannon? In short, sirs, Circassia -is free and independent; for neither the lying -maps of Russia, which are spread throughout the -world, and which mark the Caucasus as her territory, -nor words, nor arts can enslave us. Arms may do -it, but the steel has never yet been forged, nor the -cannon cast, that will make the proud Circassian -stoop his crest before the barbarous Russ! -Bismillah! The wild Tcherkesses are still free as the -stormy wind that sweeps from Azov down the -Euxine. -</p> - -<p> -My father Mostapha was a chief; the head of one -of those princely houses which are of Kabardian -descent; his will was a law to his people; and the -booty he took in his wars with the fierce Tartars and -faithless Muscovites was the reward of their fidelity. -We were Christians once—many ages ago—but it -pleased God to open our eyes to the blessed precepts -of Islam, and now we turn our faces to the Kaaba -when we pray. Many nobles followed the banner of -my father, whose territories extended along the base -of the mountain steppes, from Marinskoi to the banks -of the Kisselbash River; but one night, in the year -1807, the Russian General Goudivitch, with ten -thousand cavalry, burst among us; stormed Anapa, -and gave our men to the sword, our roofs to the -flames, and our children to the wolf and the eagle. -</p> - -<p> -My father fought long and nobly; the war was -desperate; the Russians impaled their prisoners, and -my father roasted his; but the tide of battle turned -against us. All our possessions became a prey to the -Russ, and our most beautiful damsels were given as -wives or handmaidens to those brutal Cossacks, -whom the merciless Goudivitch had brought from the -banks of the Don. Azrael spread his dusky wings -over our beautiful country; all the land was burned -up, and black as night—being waste as a garden -whose fruits have been gathered. -</p> - -<p> -Then the new chain of forts was built along the -Kuban. These marked the extended boundary of -the Russian territory, and the land of my father was -lost for ever; his bones lay unburied, where he had -fallen, sword in hand, on the threshold of his own -door, pierced by the same bayonets that slew his -faithful wife; and their three children, myself and -two brothers, sole heirs to his hopes and his harvest -of vengeance, received the bread of charity from -another Circassian tribe, the friendly Abassians, who -dwell between the mountains and the Euxine. -</p> - -<p> -Time rolled on, and from tending the flocks of the -Abassians as shepherd boys, my brothers Selim and -Karolyi grew strong and hardy men. The Abassians -told us of our father's fate, and we longed to avenge -it, and to recover our lost patrimony. Day after day -we spent our time in acquiring the perfect use -of arms, in talking of our hopes, our projects, and -desires; and often we looked with kindling eyes -towards those mountains, from whose summits the -Muscovite outposts were visible by the waters of the -Kuban; for dear as war and vengeance are the honour -of his race and country to the proud and free -Tcherkesse. -</p> - -<p> -We could soon ride the wildest Arab steeds, and -gallop them without bridle or saddle along giddy -rocks, and through the untrodden forest. None surpassed -us in the use of the sabre, the poniard, or the -pistol; few equalled Selim in handling the heavy -Albanian musket; while Karolyi was matchless in the -use of the Circassian sling; and in my hands, the -bow was as unerring as the best Frankish rifle. I -was older than my brave brothers by a few years, and -thus became, in somewise, their preceptor. We were -poor, but ardent and full of enthusiasm; we worked, -begged, and bartered—we were never satisfied until -each of us was possessor of a fleet and active barb, -a bright steel coat of mail; a helmet of tempered iron, -such as our warriors wear, and which covers all the face, -except the eyes and nose; a curved sabre of keen -Damascus steel; an Albanian musket; breast cases -to receive our cartridges; a sharp Circassian dagger, -and a Tartar bow: and when thus accoutred, our -hearts would swell with fierce emotion, as we reined -up our steeds upon the hills above Anapa, and shook -our lances in defiance at the Russian steamers and -frigates in the Euxine, while we longed for the time -when the war-cry of Islam would ring among the -hills, and we should behold the Sangiac Sheerif, the -green banner of our confederated princes, with its -three golden arrows and twelve white stars, unfurled -against the barbarous Emperor Nicholas Romanoff. -</p> - -<p> -We loved each other strongly, dearly, and devotedly, -my two brothers and I, for we were alone in the world, -the last of all our race. Being the eldest, they -frequently importuned me to marry, that I might have -children, and perpetuate our family; but I told them -to remember that it was the custom of our people for -a prince to wed the daughter of a prince; a noble to -wed the daughter of a noble; a tocar to wed the -daughter of a tocar; and the poor serf to wed the -daughter of a serf. That I was neither prince nor -tocar, noble nor serf, and could not marry, being too -poor to wed one in the rank of my father, and too -proud to stoop to a maiden beneath it. "Besides," -I told them, "we have other duties to perform than -espousing wives, which are ever a barrier to freedom -of thought in peace, and bravery of action in war; -for the blessed Prophet said, that wives and children -were barriers to the performance of great deeds. -God knoweth all things, and will direct the heart of -Osman. I will not marry yet awhile, my brothers; -for it is written that marriage disturbs a man from his -duty—the wedded care for the things of this world, -even as the unwedded care for those of heaven; and -so we must watch and pray for our country, to defend -her from the infidel Russians, who, like accursed -locusts, blacken all the shores of the Kuban." Then -my brothers Selim and Karolyi kissed me on both -cheeks, applauding my resolution; and once more -we shook our gauntletted hands in fierce menace -towards the ramparts of Anapa. -</p> - -<p> -But ere long there occurred circumstances which -altered my resolution; for before the eyes of a -beautiful woman the strongest heart is weak as -water. -</p> - -<p> -One evening I was riding on the mountain slopes -that overlook the waters of the Euxine. The last -rays of evening were lingering on their peaks, and -shedding a golden tint upon the waves that rolled -away towards the cliffs of the Crimea. At my feet -lay Sundjik Bay, glittering in the blaze of light that -steeped sea, sky, and shore. The snow-white walls -of Anapa, which crown rocks a hundred feet in -height, were gleaming in the yellow sunshine, and -grimly the black iron cannon peered through the -stone embrasures, or over the ramparts of -smoothly-shorn grass. -</p> - -<p> -The flat-capped Russian sentinels, muffled in their -gray great-coats walked to and fro upon their posts; -and each time they turned I saw their bayonets flash -above the two square towers that guard the great -arched entrance. Over all was the white flag with -the Muscovite cross, but there was no wind to spread -its folds upon the evening sky, and it hung about the -staff listlessly and still; not a blade of grass stirred -on the mighty plain of the Kuban, which spread far -away towards the north, silent as a land of the dead. -Under my iron helmet, grimly I surveyed Anapa and -the rocks of Taman, and panted for the time when -the standard of the twelve confederated princes of -Circassia would be planted there, and when the -black cross of the God-abandoned Russ would be -torn down and steeped in the blood of its defenders. -</p> - -<p> -My heart was full of fierce and fiery thoughts, when -suddenly the cry of a woman, ringing upon the clear -air of the hot summer eve, fell on my ear, and I reined -up my horse—the same winch I have now on board -with me—my noble Zuyi, to listen. -</p> - -<p> -"Yani, Yani!" cried a despairing voice, which in -our language means "mother, mother!" -</p> - -<p> -I spurred Zupi over a hillock, and perceived four -Russian soldiers of the Tenginski infantry, then -garrisoning Anapa, dragging along a Circassian woman, -who made no resistance, but cried piteously for -mercy. -</p> - -<p> -Uttering a shout of anger and defiance, I lowered -my lance, and rushed upon them without a moment of -hesitation. -</p> - -<p> -They immediately relinquished their prey, who sank -senseless on the ground, while they betook them to -their muskets, crying,— -</p> - -<p> -"Death to the Tcherkesse! down with the unbeliever!" -and all four fired upon me at once; but God, -the common father of all mankind (except the -Russians) protected me. One bullet tore the plume from -my helmet, another was turned by the fluted pockets -which (in lieu of cartridge boxes) we wear across our -breasts, the others whistled harmlessly past me, and -before one of these soldiers could reload or club his -weapon I was upon them. The first two I speared, -and hurled to the earth like ripe pumpkins; a third, -I trampled under the hoofs of Zupi; and afterwards -slew at my leisure; the fourth sprung over a ruined -wall and escaped me, but for a few minutes only, as I -pinned him to the earth by an arrow, but he rose and -staggered away. This man was named Archipp -Osepoff, of whom more anon. -</p> - -<p> -I now dismounted, and, throwing the bridle over -the neck of my docile Zupi, approached the insensible -female I had rescued. -</p> - -<p> -She was attired in the richest fashion of our Circassian -damsels. A robe of costly silk open in front, -and confined at her slender waist by a glittering -girdle of silver; trowsers of the finest pink muslin; -and the red slippers on her pretty feet were -embroidered with gold; a turban, composed of the most -delicate shawl, fell in graceful folds over her small -and beautiful neck, and a large veil of lace entwined -with silver, enveloped her whole person, and floated -like a white mist about her. -</p> - -<p> -This I dared to draw aside that the air might play -upon her face, and so revive her. Oh, Mahmoud -resoul allah! the beauty of our women is proverbial, -and as you know, gentlemen, the world acknowledges -it; but how shall I describe the loveliness of this -Circassian damsel, who proved to be the flower of the -Abassian maids? Her complexion was of the purest -white, the result of excessive delicacy, and perhaps of -that seclusion which was necessary to conceal her from -the prying eyes of the Russian soldiers, or of the -trading Turks; and this paleness of skin, when -contrasted with the blackness of her massive braids of -hair, was almost startling. Her eyes were also dark, -but beautiful and dove-like in expression, for a -languishing gentleness was in every feature, and over all -her form. She was but a girl; yet so full, round, and -tall, that for the house of the sultan I had seen many -thousand piastres paid for an odalisque, who was -unfit to kiss even her slipper. Basilia was among -the most beautiful of our Circassian maids, or, as -Schamyl calls them, the daughters of the rocks and -streams. -</p> - -<p> -She soon recovered on perceiving that she was free -and that the protecting arm of a Circassian was -around her; but she tremblingly drew the veil over -her face, as I led her by the hand from the spot where -her late capturers lay dead on the sward, with their -blood congealing beneath them. -</p> - -<p> -"It pleased the Prophet to send me to your aid, -fair damsel," said I; "are there any other means by -which I can serve you?" -</p> - -<p> -For a time she could only reply by incoherencies -and with profuse thanks, for her mind was bewildered -by terror and agitation. -</p> - -<p> -"Fear nothing, maiden," said I, "for a strong hand -and a stout heart are at your service. I am Osman, -whose people dwelt by the Kisselbash River; you have -heard of me, perhaps?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Aga——" -</p> - -<p> -"Alas! no Aga am I; but a poor outcast, whose -sword and bow are his sole inheritance; yet you have -heard of me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and of your two brothers, Selim and Karolyi, -for to them and to you the people look as leaders when -war is made on the Muscovites." -</p> - -<p> -"As soon it must be, maiden; and then I hope -to see the ramparts of yonder fortress of Anapa -flung into the Euxine. But may I ask your -name?" -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia," she replied, in a low voice, and drew her -veil yet closer. -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia, the daughter of Abdallah ibn Obba, the -rich merchant of Soudjack Kaleh, who is said to be -making pyramids of gold by trading with Tartars of -the Crimea, and exporting from Sampsoon the copper -of Tocat, and the silks and fruit of Amasia?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am the daughter of Abdallah, and, rich though -he is, I assure you he is yet poor in his own idea; for -neither the Prophet nor the santons can bound my -father's idea of wealth; but convey me to him, and -for the good deed of to-day, he will reward you, noble -Osman, by the most gorgeous suit of armour, the -richest weapons, and the noblest horse a Tcherkesse -warrior ever possessed." -</p> - -<p> -"I seek no reward; let the horse and armour be -given to some poor patriot who is without them; I -seek no reward, Basilia," I continued, with enthusiasm, -"beyond your own approbation and the memory that -I have this day done a kind, and, it may be, a gallant -deed, in rescuing you from the fate which those sons -of the devil had in store for you; but how came you -into their hands?" -</p> - -<p> -"We had gone on a pilgrimage to the tomb of the -Santon Seozeres among the mountains, when we fell -in with these marauders; my father's aged hands were -unable to protect me; he was struck to the earth; -his reverend beard was spat on, and his turban torn -off and flung in his face, while I was dragged from -the arms of my terrified attendants; but see, Osman -Rioni, they are now approaching us, and behold my -father." -</p> - -<p> -She uttered a cry of joy, and rushed to meet the -old merchant Abdallah ibn Obba, who now came forward -on horseback, with rage, alarm, and grief in his -eyes, and his great turban awry. He corroborated -her story, saying, that having a large ship, which had -long been delayed on her voyage from Stamboul, he -had paid a propitiatory visit to the tomb of Seozeres, -the most famous and powerful of Circassian Santons, -and the object of especial reverence by all merchants, -seamen, and dwellers on the coast; for the waves and -winds are reputed to be under his subjection, and the -storm and the thunderbolt are alike at his disposal; -thus we celebrate his festival in the early days of -spring, and when on this mission had Abdallah and -his daughter fallen among the Russians. -</p> - -<p> -He gave me innumerable promises of remembrance -and regard (which he took especial care to forget), -and made his horse curvet several times over the dead -Russians, which seemed to console him mightily, and -smoothing his ruffled beard, he muttered,— -</p> - -<p> -"Death to them! death to them! the unbelievers, -the dogs, the infidels! They shall be destroyed like -the wicked people of Noah and of Lot, and like the -army of Abraha, lord of the Elephant; and their -false gods and pretended saints of brass and of silver -shall perish with them! Unless a fear of the Russ -prevent thee, Osman Rioni, I shall be glad to see -thee in Soudjack Kaleh, where a carpet and pipe, -with a cup of such coffee as Basilia alone can -prepare, will be at the service of her preserver; and -so, God and Merissa take thee into their holy keeping." -</p> - -<p> -With these words we separated; the old merchant -and his daughter remounted on her own horse, rode -slowly away until they disappeared in the deepening -shades of evening; while I remained motionless, and -watching them, with a wild, sad beating in my heart, -for the face of Basilia seemed yet before me, and her -voice was lingering in my ear. -</p> - -<p> -She was gone, but my soul went with her. -</p> - -<p> -Full, round, and red as a Tartar shield, the moon -rose above the Isle of Taman to light the waters of -the Euxine; the mountains flung their black shadows -upon each other; the lurid glow-worm glittered on -the dewy grass, and the snakes began to hiss among -the long reeds; while the fierce vultures hovered in -the starry sky, with their keen eyes fixed on the grim -banquet I had made for them; and I heard their -hoarse croak of impatience, for I lingered long on the -spot where Abdallah and his daughter had left me. -</p> - -<p> -Several days passed away. Men spoke much of -the coming struggle with the Russians; my brave -brothers were as usual training their horses, -tempering their weapons, casting bullets, and pointing -arrows; I alone was silent, and full of soft, sad -thoughts—melancholy, happy, and anxious by turns; -for my whole breast was filled by the image of Basilia. -</p> - -<p> -I visited her father by stealth, for this old man was -one who had temporised with the Russians, and paid -them a tribute that he might dwell in peace under -the cannon of Soudjack; but I found him gloomy, -thoughtful, and discontented; his ship had been -stranded on the Isle of Serpents, in the Black Sea, -and sunk with all her crew, and what was of more -importance to Abdallah, with her rich bales of Indian -silks, of cashmere shawls, of amber pipes, and other -valuables with which she was freighted. This isle, -the only one in the Euxine, is infested by serpents of -enormous size, say our voyagers. These guard its -boundless treasures and devour all who attempt to -land; thus Abdallah ibn Obba abandoned in grief all -hope of recovering a vestige of his property. -</p> - -<p> -He received me morosely, and after smoking a pipe -and drinking with him a cup of coffee, which we -received from the white, gentle hands of Basilia, who -was enveloped as before in her veil of lace, I departed, -happy that I had seen but the tips of her dear fingers -once again; happy that I had been under the roof of -her father, and happy that for one brief hour I had -shared a corner of his carpet, and breathed the same -atmosphere with one so beautiful and so well-beloved -as she. -</p> - -<p> -Again and again I came to visit Abdallah; for -alas! I no longer sighed for the unfurling of our -green standard against the Russ; I only counted the -days and hours till again I should visit the house of -the merchant at Soudjack. -</p> - -<p> -Secluded as the old man kept Basilia—for he -deemed her his last and most valuable estate—a piece -of property on which he could at any time realise a -thousand piastres in the Stamboul market—we had -nightly interviews; for what are the difficulties that -love cannot surmount? I had discovered that her -chamber window opened into old Abdallah's garden; -its wall was easily crossed, and then three notes on my -lute were the signal which brought Basilia to me; -but she was beyond arm's length, and I never dared -to climb, though, had the wealth of Ormuz been mine, -I had given it all to have kissed but once her hand. -Yet, until she was bestowed upon me by her father, -what hope had I of ever doing so? -</p> - -<p> -In the wild and half-civilised countries of the East, -a lover invests his mistress with a thousand imaginary -attributes, such as a lover of Europe or the West can -never do. The seclusion in which we keep our -women, the danger and risk of approaching or even -speaking of them to their nearest relations, all -enhance the charm, the secresy, and the romance of an -Oriental love; and thus, with such a heart as mine, it -became an all-absorbing and engrossing passion, in -which to be without hope was to be without life. -Hourly I exclaimed to myself,— -</p> - -<p> -"Bismillah! oh, Osman, happy thou to win a heart -like hers!" for Basilia responded as warmly as she -dared, or as I could have desired. -</p> - -<p> -Nightly we conversed in whispers, and had our -interchange of love-letters; not that poor Basilia wrote, -or that I then could write; alas, no! Our letters -were simply flowers, tied together with a ribband, -and in this symbolical language we conferred. It is a -language lovers easily learn, and the Circassian sooner -than all. I ransacked the bazaars of the Armenians -and Muscovites for gaudy trinkets and perfumes, as -presents for Basilia; and fearless of the Russ, I daily -caracoled my horse—my Zupi—before her father's -house, that she might see me attired in the glittering -arms and splendid costume of a Circassian cavalier; -and happy was I—oh, how happy! if but once I saw -the muslin-veiled form of my beautiful Basilia. At -her feet I laid the shawls of Cashmere and the beads -of Bokhara. She gave me a waist-belt embroidered -by herself, and a morocco breast-pocket to hold my -cartridges, in return. -</p> - -<p> -Summoning up courage, I one day put on my most -splendid habiliments; my coat of mail, which shone -like water in the sun; a helmet of steel, damascened -by my own hands; and I armed myself with weapons -which, like every Tcherkesse warrior, I had tempered -and ornamented with silver and precious stones, all -by my own skill. Bathed, perfumed, and anointed, -I rode up to the door of Abdallah ibn Obba; and -while my heart trembled and died away within me, -and my colour came and went like that of a woman -under the bowstring, I asked his daughter in -marriage. He heard me in ominous silence. -</p> - -<p> -"May God be with thee, Abdallah," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"With thee be God," said he, and paused again, -on which I timidly rehearsed all I had said. -</p> - -<p> -The old merchant, who was seated on a rich carpet, -with his legs folded under him, and a split reed, -ink-horn, and piles of papers and accounts on one side -of him, and his fragrant narguillah on the other, -heard me without moving a muscle of his solemn -visage; and after smoking for some time, drew the -yellow mouthpiece from his mustachioed lips, and -shaking his bushy beard, replied to me, slowly,— -</p> - -<p> -"May you be saluted, O Osman Rioni! No—no, -Osman, this cannot be! The son of a prince weds a -prince's daughter, even as a slave weds the daughter -of a slave. Thus, the rich give their children in -marriage only to the rich, and thou, Osman, art very -poor. Remember, that this daughter may yet be a -mine of wealth to me." -</p> - -<p> -I knew what the old wretch meant by these -words—the market of Stamboul—and my blood ran cold. -</p> - -<p> -"Her beauty," he resumed, "is a miracle, and her -birth was also a miracle; hence sho was born for -great purposes, and may yet be a source of delight to -him who wears the sword of Omar, our Lord the -Sultan Abdul Medjid—who can tell? She was born -of my first wife, Tsha; when she was old, stricken in -years, and hopelessly barren, on seeing a hen feed her -chickens one day, her heart was moved; she wept and -prayed the holy Prophet to give her a little child in -her old age, whereupon she had Basilia in the fulness -of time; so thus I tell thee, she was born for great -things. Enough, enough, Osman Rioni, go thy ways, -for thou art very poor." -</p> - -<p> -"True, father," said I, while my heart became -chilled with despair; "I am poor, and my brothers -Selim and Karolyi are also poor, for we have no -inheritance but the name of our father, and what we -can wrench in combat from the enemies of our -country, and for every meal of food we have to fight -the convoys of the Russ on the mountain, or the wild -beasts in the forest; but a time is at hand when I -shall have all my father's patrimony again, when the -forts of the Kuban shall lie in ruins by its shore, -while the wolf shall batten on the bones of their -defenders. A time shall come when I may ride from -the grassy steppes of Marinskoi to the reedy flow of -the Kisselbash River, lord of all the land my father -bequeathed to me, with this sword, when the Russian -bayonets were clashing in his heart!" -</p> - -<p> -"God is great," replied the merchant, calmly; -"when that time comes return, and seek my -daughter, but not till then." -</p> - -<p> -He replaced the amber tube of the narguillah in -his mouth, waved his hand to indicate that he wished -to hear no more on the subject, and dismissed me, -with a heart swollen by grief and mortification. I -felt how low the son of Mostapha was fallen when a -miserable trader despised his alliance! God of -Mohammed, had we come to this? -</p> - -<p> -As I rode slowly back to the poor village where -with my brothers I dwelt on the hills above Anapa, -I revolved a thousand schemes of daring and conquest; -for Basilia was now to me a light—a star—a -guide; but between us I saw the dark battalions -and the strong ramparts of the abhorred Russians, -and worse than all, the cunning and the avarice of her -selfish father. Could I repel one, or bound the -other? -</p> - -<p> -When riding slowly on I saw a raven in my path, -and shuddering at the bird of ill omen, turned aside, -for I knew it was a sign of coming evil; because -there is an old tradition in the countries of the East, -that Cain, after committing fratricide, became sorely -troubled in mind, and bore about with him for many -days the dead body of his brother, until Heaven -taught him how to bury it, by the example of a raven, -which after killing another in his presence dug a little -pit for it by beak and talon; and so scraping a hole -with his hands, Cain interred his brother at the foot -of a palm, whose branches heretofore erect drooped -mournfully for ever after. Then the murderous -raven which had perched itself on a branch thereof -flew away to Adam, and croaked huskily in his ear -that his youngest born was now slain and buried, and -from that hour the raven has been a bird of evil -augury to all the world. And now my heart became -a prey to a thousand dark and gloomy forebodings. -The bird had not come to me for nought. -</p> - -<p> -I prayed Merissa, the mother of God, to take Basilia -under her protection, for, like the Christians, we -believe in the intercession of a woman, though, -perhaps, her name is but a remnant of the faith that was -first preached to the Circassians before the banner -of the blessed Prophet swept the gods of error from -the shores of the Caspian Sea. -</p> - -<p> -Night was closing as I ascended the mountain, -when suddenly from a gorge there rose that wild and -terrible yell which is the war-cry of Circassia; and -led by Schamyl, the conquering, the holy Murid -Schamyl, a host of mounted warriors, all clad in -shirts of shining steel and round helmets, armed -with lance and musket, bow and sabre, each with a -bag of millet and bottle of skhou slung at his saddle -for service, dashed their fleet horses through the -narrow way, and above their heads waved the green -standard of the confederated princes with its three -golden arrows and twelve white stars—the Sangiac -Sheerif—the sacred banner of our people, for green -is the colour of the Prophet. -</p> - -<p> -Selim and Karolyi were among them, and they -sprang to my side with joy and ardour. -</p> - -<p> -A vast Russian army of horse, foot, and artillery, -they told me, had just passed the shores of the -Kuban, and entered among the mountains; Schamyl, -the holy murids who devote themselves to death, and -all our confederated princes, had summoned the land to -battle, and every man between the straits of Yenikale -and the Mingrelian frontier was in arms for Circassia -Thus opened the Christian year 1840, so memorable -to us by the capture of all the frontier forts of the -Russians by our arms, but chiefly those of Mikhailov -and Nikhailovska. -</p> - -<p> -The excitement, the glory, and the splendour of -our mountain host equipped for war, with the hopes of -conquest and of triumph, filled my soul with such -ardour and exultation that my emotion nearly overcame -me. The hope of winning back in this war, if -it was successful, the land, the home, and the grave -of my forefathers, and with these the flower of the -Abassian maids for my bride, made me pant for the -hour of battle with such ardour as never bridegroom -awaited the unveiling of his new-made wife. -</p> - -<p> -The great Dervish Mohammed Mansoor, from the -misty land of Daghestan, had foretold our triumph -when he died at Anapa, and we never doubted we -should be victorious. -</p> - -<p> -Over my father's fugitive people a command was -assigned me by the confederated princes; my -brothers, Selim and Karolyi, rode by my side; all who -followed us shared our ardour, and we were brave -even to ferocity: thus, pouring down from the -snow-capped Alps of the Caucasus towards the hosts of the -Russ, then blackening and desolating the banks of -the Kuban, while their fleets of three deckers and -steamers scared the golden dolphins from our shores, -we commenced the desperate war of 1840. -</p> - -<p> -I was full of delicious hope, and the last words of -Basilia, for I had visited her in secret before we -marched, were ever in my ears,— -</p> - -<p> -"Hope for everything from Heaven, O Osman. -The angels of Mohammed will deliver you from the -swords of the Russians, and like all, my beloved, -who fight against the spirit, they shall wither and -perish!" -</p> - -<p> -Her prophetic words inspired me with new ardour. -</p> - -<p> -"Farewell, Basilia," I exclaimed, as I grasped the -mane of Zupi; "we go to teach those Muscovite -liars who mark our country in their maps that the -Circassians have no masters save God and the -Prophet." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVII. -<br /><br /> -THE HUSSARS OF TENGINSKI -</h3> - -<p> -How we swept the land of Kisliar, continued the -Circassian captain; how we baffled the foe beneath -the towers of Dargo; how Schamyl the Immortal did -prodigies of valour at Unsorilla and destroyed the -army of Count Woronzoff, the Governor of New -Russia, one hundred and fifty thousand in number, -whose bones yet lie in the forest of Itzkeri; how we -fought with desperation, neither asking nor giving -quarter, and how we hurled the Russians from the -slopes of the Caucasus back upon the shores of the -Kuban, where they lay unburied save by the jaws of -the wolf and eagle, torn and disembowelled by -hungry dogs, all Europe knows full well; and how -successive armies, full of barbarous pride and military -and religious enthusiasm, horsemen, artillery, and -infantry—hussars and Cossacks, Kurds and Tartar -hordes, who had stooped their necks to Russia's iron -yoke, entered the valleys of Circassia, valleys which -seem but dark chasms or fissures where the branches -of the Koissons roar and leap from rock to rock -in northern Daghestan, and there they perished, too, -beneath the bullet and the arrow, the spear and sling -of the unconquerable Tcherkesses. It was my -brother Selim who slew General Woinoff; it was -Karolyi who stormed the redoubts and spiked his cannon: -and it was I who hewed off the head of the gallant -soldier Passek, and bore it for three days on my -spear. -</p> - -<p> -In this year of the Christians, 1840, I commanded -that portion of the Circassian troops which besieged -the Russians in the fort of Mikhailov. They -defended themselves with the blind fury of men who -foresaw their doom was death! Selim pressed them -with three thousand men on one side; Karolyi, with -the same number, pressed them on the other; while -I, with a chosen band of four thousand archers, -slingers, and musketeers, plied them from every -quarter with incessant missiles. Selim cut off the -sluices which supplied them with water, and Karolyi -stormed their outworks, tore down their stockades, and -beheaded every defender whom they caught by the -lasso. -</p> - -<p> -But Heaven has put much valour into the hearts of -these infidels; hence, though reduced to the verge of -starvation (having picked the bones of their last horse, -and stewed their boot-tops and leather shakoes), their -commander, Ivan Carlovitch, colonel of the Tenginski -Hussars, resolved to make one gallant effort to -escape, for his soldiers had with them several old -standards, which the Russians regard as almost holy. -</p> - -<p> -His garrison was composed of the 37th or Tenginski -Grenadiers; the 38th or Novoginski Regiment, -which carried the famous banner of St. George, the -same that had been with their predecessors at the -passage of the Alps, and which waved on the field of -Trebbia, where they fought under Suvaroff. He -had also two battalions of the Imperial Guard, whose -tattered and shot-riven standards had waved on many -a bloody plain, and been clenched in the dying grasp -of many a gallant man. -</p> - -<p> -Their desire of preserving these trophies was only -second to the hope of escape; for the standard is -ever the palladium of a regiment, even as the -National Insignia are the palladium of a free people, -and, as such, should be preserved from degradation. -</p> - -<p> -Perceiving that, fearless of his cannon—those -terrors of the simple Circassians, who name them the -great pistols of the Czar—I had made every disposition -for an assault, which must have been successful, -the valiant Ivan Carlovitch led out his shattered -garrison among us, sword in hand; and, favoured by a -dark and tempestuous night, escaped with a few, but -a few only; for by sabre and by musket we made a -fearful slaughter among the soldiers of the Novoginski -Regiment, and taking their famous banner of -St. George, tore it to fragments, and spitting upon -these, trampled them to the earth in blood and mire. -</p> - -<p> -Thanks to the Prophet and to my coat of mail, -uncounted balls and bayonets touched me without harm. -Above the roar of that red musketry which lit the -darkness with its streaky gleams; above the howling -of the wind, which tore through every mountain -gorge; above the cheers of the desperate, and the -shrieks of the dying, the wild, shrill, and unearthly -war-cry of the Circassians ascended to the throne of -Mohammed; and the approach to the breach was like -the bridge of hell, as we rushed through the battered -gates to take possession of the fortress; but at the -moment that the 'enceinte,' or interior wall which -surrounded the place, and was composed of bastions -faced with brick, was crowded by our flushed and -exulting warriors, a tremendous explosion was heard -the earth gaped, and rocked, and rent; then it rose -beneath our feet; a broad, hot, scorching blaze of fire -surrounded me, and blown up by a concealed mine of -powder, the whole fort of Mikhailov, with more than -two thousand Circassians, was torn from its -foundations, and swept on the whirlwind along the -mountain slopes. -</p> - -<p> -Struck down by a stone in the moment of victory -I became senseless, and remember no more of that -night of horrors! -</p> - -<p> -Heaven, I have said, has put great valour into the -hearts of these unbelievers. -</p> - -<p> -Archipp Ossepoff, the same grenadier of the -Tenginski Regiment whom I had wounded by an arrow -and from whom I had rescued Basilia, volunteered to -remain behind his comrades; and in order to prevent -the fort from being of service to the confederated -princes, laid his hands solemnly on the standard of -St. George, and promised to Ivan Carlovitch, that he -would fire the magazine—a noble act of self-sacrifice -and military enthusiasm. This man of course perished -with Mikhailov, and with our people; but in order to -commemorate this act of valour and devotion, the -Emperor Nicholas ordained that his name should be -continued on the muster-roll of the Tenginski -Grenadiers; that it should be called daily on parade, and -that on the sergeant summoning "Archipp Ossepoff," -the next grenadier on the list should answer— -</p> - -<p> -"Dead at Mikhailov for the glory of Russia!" -</p> - -<p> -When I recovered, I found myself lying on the hillside, -many yards from the fort, the site of which -resembled the crater of the volcano; for it seemed as if -the powder had rent, torn, and blackened the bosom -of the earth, in its efforts to efface the fort for ever. -The free soft wind of the Caucasus was passing over -the ruins; above me the sky was bright, and blue, and -sunny; the birds were twittering among the mangled -bodies of the slain; and about those ghastly heaps, -or between their piles of arms and limbered -field-pieces, the Russian soldiers (whom the flight of our -people had left in possession of the locality) were -laughing and singing, as they drained their canteens -of sour quass, and prepared to cook their breakfasts, -and to bury the dead. -</p> - -<p> -Around us, the scenery was beautiful; there were -summer woods in all their heavy foliage; the terraced -vineyards of lighter green, screened by the dense and -wiry pine; little cottages and pretty mosques, with -gilded minars shining in the sun; bright streams -dancing down the rocks; the sea, blue as the sky and -rippling gently in the wind; while in the back-ground -of all, rose hills piled up on hills, until their steeps -reached Heaven, and every peak was capped with -pure white snow, or tipped by a golden gleam. -</p> - -<p> -Close by me a group of Russian officers were -seated around one, who, by his dark green uniform, -his heavy silver epaulettes and jack-boots; his -varnished leather helmet surmounted by an eagle; his -enormous mustache and cruel expression of eye, I -knew to be Ivan Carlovitch; and I lay still and feigning -death, believing that my fate would be sealed, if -life was discovered in me. -</p> - -<p> -They were loud in their praises of the Circassian -leader—myself—and expressed a great desire to capture -me; others added their less friendly hopes that I -had perished in the explosion. -</p> - -<p> -"It is fortunate, however," said Carlovitch, "that -we have taken his two brothers, Selim and Karolyi; -they, at least, have a long march before them towards -the north; and, believe me, that among the snows -there, with a chain to drag, and the occasional prick -of a Cossack lance in the rear, their hot rebellious -blood will soon be cooled in Siberia, and rendered -mild as commissariat quass." -</p> - -<p> -Under their shaggy beards the officers laughed at -this poor joke, which made my heart almost die -within me, for it acquainted me, that my two brothers, -Selim and Karolyi, were captives, and that Siberia -would be their doom. -</p> - -<p> -A soldier now approached to announce that the -body of Archipp Ossepoff had been found, shattered, -scorched, and sorely mangled, but still recognisable -by the medals which he had won in the Polish war. -</p> - -<p> -"Then let him be buried apart from all the rest," -said Carlovitch, "with all honour, and let a cross -mark the spot; but first, let us put all these fellows -who are lying about here under ground, before the -sun attains its noon-day heat." -</p> - -<p> -While lying there, receiving an occasional kick -from the passing soldiers, who had long since stripped -me of my splendid arms, armour, and ornaments, how -terrible were my thoughts when the fierce, rough, -and merciless Cossacks proceeded to open a trench -beside me, and dug it deep to receive the dead. I -endeavoured to stifle reflection, believing that my last -hour had come; and after praying—for prayer is the -pillar of religion, even as the sword is the true key -of paradise—I bent my thoughts upon Basilia, who -was far away at Soudjack Kaleh, and seated then -perhaps in her rose garden, fanning herself with -feathers, and weeping for the poor Osman she would -never again behold on earth. -</p> - -<p> -At last the grave was finished, and one by one the -dead were flung therein, and laid in rows head and -foot alternately; how heavily they fell, with their -lifeless limbs and clanking accoutrements! Suddenly I -felt myself seized by the neck and heels, and before -I could utter a sound, they flung me into that ghastly -trench on the gashed and bloody heap below, and -then the shovelled earth flew fast over me. -</p> - -<p> -"Stop—halt!" cried Ivan Carlovitch, who was -sitting on the sward close by, smoking a magnificent -pipe; "by St. George, that uppermost Tcherkesse is -alive yet!" -</p> - -<p> -"A matter easily repaired, my colonel!" said a -Russian, raising his shovel like a battle-axe to cleave -my head. -</p> - -<p> -"Beware, I say!" thundered Carlovitch, and at his -voice the bearded soldiers cowered like slaves before -a king; "fling him out, lay him on the sward, and -bring here a canteen of quass." -</p> - -<p> -This sharp, bitter draught revived me, and my -native pride coming to my aid, I stood erect, and -boldly confronted the imperialist. -</p> - -<p> -"Who the devil are you?" he asked -</p> - -<p> -I replied, proudly,— -</p> - -<p> -"Osman Rioni, the son of Mostapha. I might -have concealed my rank, but I scorn to lie, even unto -a race of liars." -</p> - -<p> -Joy flashed in the cruel and cunning eyes of Carlovitch -at this announcement; his surprise and satisfaction -at the importance of his third prisoner were -too great to leave space for anger at my speech. He -smiled, and said,— -</p> - -<p> -"Tcherkesse, your wants and your wounds, if you -have any, shall be faithfully and kindly attended to; -when in better humour I shall see you again, having -a little message to you from the emperor. Take him -away." -</p> - -<p> -I was conducted to an ancient tomb, under the dome -of which I found a Cossack guard, surrounding my -two brothers Selim and Karolyi, with several other -Circassians, who were all suffering more or less from -wounds or scorches ha the explosion. All were -dejected, and my appearance among them increased -their unhappiness. We communed in whispers, and -formed our plans for flight on the first opportunity. -</p> - -<p> -All that night we remained in the cold and dreary -tomb, which before morning some of our poor companions -exchanged for an actual grave, for they died -of their undressed wounds; but about sunrise, we -were drawn out by the Cossacks, who truncheoned us -with their lances, driving us like a herd of cattle; and -then their pioneers proceeded to dig a grave under -the dome, which was the resting-place of an ancient -king, a proceeding which we beheld with horror, for -every strict Mussulman deems sacred for ever the -little spot of earth which forms the last resting-place -of a departed being. -</p> - -<p> -Then the sound of muffled drums rolled upon the -wind and the wail of the Muscovite dead march, as -the funeral of Archipp Ossepoff approached; the -solemnity of the scene impressed us deeply, and we -forgot that it was by the mingled treachery and stern -devotion of this determined soldier we had lost -Mikhailov and our liberty together. -</p> - -<p> -Six grenadiers of the Tenginski Regiment bore on -their shoulders the coffin, the lid of which was off; -a veil of fine linen covered the body, which was -dressed in uniform, with cross-belts, boots, gloves, -epaulettes of red worsted and copper medals. The -head was borne forward, not the feet, as in other -countries. Then came four soldiers, bearing the -coffin lid, on which lay the leather helmet, the musket, -and knapsack of the deceased; then followed the -regiment of Tenginski Grenadiers, marching with -their arms reversed, and preceded by a grand military -band of brass trumpets and muffled drums. In front -of all marched a priest of the Russian Greek Church, -attired in magnificent vestments of muslin, gold, and -embroidery. His aspect was venerable; his white -beard was full and flowing; he chaunted as he went, -and sprinkled frankincense upon the path. -</p> - -<p> -A prayer, a roll upon the drums, and a flourish of -instruments with three volleys closed the ceremony, -and there lies Archipp Ossepoff in the tomb of a -Circassian prince; but his memory as a brave grenadier -is still cherished, as I have related, by the orders of -the emperor, and in the traditions of his comrades. -God rest that gallant spirit; he died for his country, -even as I would have died for mine. -</p> - -<p> -Pining for freedom and for the presence of Basilia, -dreading I scarcely knew what—but banishment to -Siberia more than anything else, for that had been -but a living death and a separation for ever from my -country and my love—three dreary months rolled -over me, and with my two brothers I still found -myself a prisoner with the Russian army of the Caucasus, -which marched along the left bank of the Kuban -towards the Sea of Azov, and consequently nearer to -my home. -</p> - -<p> -One day Colonel Carlovitch sent for me, and again -his face wore that deep and cunning smile which so -closely resembled a leer; for his eyes were cold and -snaky, even as his heart was stern and cruel. -</p> - -<p> -"I have sent for you, my valiant Tcherkesse," said -he, politely, "to make you a tempting offer from our -beneficent father the emperor. It is this. If you -will enter the Russian service, all your father's -possessions from Marinskoi to the mouth of the Kisselbash -River will be restored to you, with the title of -prince—neither of which can you ever hope to regain by the -impious sword you have drawn against the house of -Romanoff and the cause of Holy Russia." -</p> - -<p> -I rejected the offer with the scorn it merited, and -reminded the tempter, in the words of our "Declaration -of Independence," how many of our children had -been stolen; how many of our princes had thus been -lured away; how many sons of nobles taken as -hostages, and then butchered in cold blood; how -many noble houses had been reduced and crushed by -Russian treason and by Russian treachery; and lifting -up my hands, while I turned my face towards Mecca, -I was about to take a solemn vow, when interrupting -me, he said, with an icy smile,— -</p> - -<p> -"Enough, Osman Rioni—swear not—'t is needless! -To-morrow you and your brothers will commence the -long, long march to Siberia." -</p> - -<p> -At these words my soul trembled, and my head fell -upon my breast. The Russian officer still smiled and -continued to polish the eagle on his helmet, with his -leather glove, while whistling the popular waltz of the -Duchess Olga. -</p> - -<p> -Siberia! -</p> - -<p> -With that name, hope, love, liberty, my country -and her cause sank, and snow-covered wastes, with -chains and stripes, despair and death, rose up before -me. -</p> - -<p> -If once I reached Siberia, I should live the life of -the hopeless, and die the death of the despairing; -and my brothers—my poor brothers! The alternative -was terrible, but in the Russian service we should -daily have chances of escape to our native mountains; -so I accepted his offer in the name of myself, Selim, -and Karolyi. -</p> - -<p> -"I knew that you would think better of it," said -Carlovitch, sitting down in his tent, and writing a -memorandum; "thenceforward from this day, you are -a captain in the Tenginski Hussars, and your brothers -shall be the lieutenants of your troop. Allow me to -present you with a horse which was taken at -Mikhailov. You shall fight against the Tartars, not your -own people; but to-morrow I have a piece of service -to propose to you. Come here after morning parade -or at noon, and I shall tell you all about it—meantime -adieu." -</p> - -<p> -With a heart full of bitterness I left him, and careless -of the Cossacks, who still watched me, I took up -a handful of gravel and flung it towards his painted -tent, spying, as Mohammed did at Bedr,— -</p> - -<p> -"A curse upon thee, Muscovite—and a curse be on -every hair of the cur that begot thee! May thy face -be confounded for ever!" -</p> - -<p> -Whichever way I turned, his cold smile seemed -before me; but when I reached the tent in which my -brothers were confined, great was my pleasure to find -my favourite charger Zupi led up to the door by a -hussar, and I kissed and embraced my old friend, for -we Mussulmen deem the horse as the noblest of -animals next to man; and the Koran says, that the -beasts which traverse earth and air are creatures like -ourselves—they are all written in the Book, and shall -appear at the last day; so when I die, I hope to take -my faithful Zupi with me to paradise, even as Ezra -took his ass, after she had ceased to bray for a -hundred years. -</p> - -<p> -Like myself, at the first proposition of taking -service under the abhorred emperor, my brothers were -full of fierce scorn; but when I had calmly placed my -views before them, showing that we had no alternative -but military service, with its chances of escape on one -hand, and perpetual slavery, with its stripes on the -other, they condescended to accept the lieutenantcies -of my troop; and the next day—oh, may it be -accursed!—saw us attired in the green uniform of the -Tenginski Hussars, and on parade with Menschikoff's -division of the Caucasian army. -</p> - -<p> -In camp around us were bivouacked thousands of -the Russian infantry in their long great-coats and -flat round caps; the Cossacks of the Don with their -fleet, rough, and active horses, and all armed with long -lances; the horse regiments of Tchernemorski glittering -with jewels and embroidery, and the Imperial -Guard in their magnificent uniform. Around us rang -the clank of the armourer's anvil, the springing of -ramrods and fixing of flints; the limbering of -artillery and powder-waggons; the galloping of aides-de-camp; -the hewing down of palisades, and the plaiting -up of fascines, all of which told us of preparations -making for the subjugation of our country, and -we were amid it all, attired in the Russian uniform! -</p> - -<p> -At noon I sought the tent of Carlovitch. -</p> - -<p> -"My colonel," said I, veiling my boiling hatred -under a calm exterior, as with a solemn salaam I -raised a hand to the front of my fur hussar cap; -"you had a duty to propose to me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, my stubborn Tcherkesse; I am glad to find -that you have so easily learned the task of obedience, -as without it an army sinks into a rabble. Well, the -duty is this. There is an old fellow at Soudjack -Kaleh, who for some time past has traded with the -Tartars in various ways, and latterly with Turks in -salted fish and pretty women, both of which commodities -he exports largely to Stamboul, to the ancient -city of Trebizonde, and to Sinope." -</p> - -<p> -My heart began to leap at these words. -</p> - -<p> -"You mean Abdallah ibn Obba." -</p> - -<p> -"The same; but you start—do you know him?" -</p> - -<p> -"Intimately," said I; "and your purpose, O son of -a slave!" I had almost added. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, Captain Rioni, this respectable old Tcherkesse -is now bargaining for the sale of a cargo of -slave girls for the Turkish market, and a small -Stambouli craft, which has long baffled the pursuit of our -steam corvettes and the row-boats of our Kreposts, is -now concealed in some creek near Mezip. Unfortunately -all our vessels are over on the Crimean side, -otherwise they would soon have found those Turkish -swine, who come to steal the subjects of our father -the emperor." -</p> - -<p> -Carlovitch gave another of his cold smiles, for he -perceived how my hot Circassian blood revolted on -hearing my people called the subjects of his emperor -I asked haughtily,— -</p> - -<p> -"Your orders, Colonel Carlovitch?" -</p> - -<p> -"You will select fifty of the Tenginski Hussars, and -as you and your brothers must know the country well, -search every creek and cranny of the coast until the -Turkish ship is found. She will be safely beached -somewhere, and when discovered, burn her; cut the -throats of the Turks, and bring the cargo of girls -here. You shall have a couple of the prettiest for -your trouble. The daughter of old Abdallah is -among them—Basilia, commonly known as the flower -of the Abassians. Archipp Ozepoff nearly brought me -that girl once before, but some rascal pierced him by -an arrow. Take especial care of her, for I am -resolved that no great bison of a Turk shall ever call -her slave. No, no, her bright eyes will sparkle all -the brighter among the green uniforms and silver -epaulettes of our Tenginski Hussars. See to all this; -you march in an hour, and till you return, farewell." -</p> - -<p> -Taking up a pen he resumed a dispatch which my -arrival had interrupted; and after standing for some -time, overwhelmed by confusion and the misery of -my own thoughts, I withdrew to the foot of a tree, -and sat down to reflect on the strange duty I had to -perform, and the startling tidings I had just heard. -</p> - -<p> -The image of my beautiful Basilia—for I assure -you, gentlemen, that the Circassian maid is the most -perfect and lovely creation of God—a prisoner, a -slave on board of a slave ship, and consigned a helpless -victim of the lust of the licentious Osmanli filled -my soul with a horror so great that I forgot my -present situation in my anxiety to discover this secret -ship, to free her, and to put to the edge of the sword -all who were concerned in a transaction so infamous. -I saw the whole affair now. The loss of the rich -argosy on the Isle of Serpents had brought the -difficulties of Abdallah to a crisis, and to retrieve his -broken fortune he had sold his only daughter to the -Turks! I invoked the curse of the Prophet, and of -the twelve Imaums on his avarice; and now my only -fear was great that the Turks might launch their -boat and escape me: thus it was that with an ardour -such as I never thought to feel at the head of Russian -troops, I rode from the camp at the head of fifty -hussars, with my two brothers by my side; and we -galloped along the sea-shore, with all our brilliant -appointments glittering in the splendour of the setting -sun of Asia. -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia, my pure, my beautiful! this night may -make thee mine," thought I; "one stroke of a sabre -may give what thy father would not have sold to me, -perhaps, for a million of piastres." -</p> - -<p> -I am ashamed to own that our Circassian beauties -too often exchange with joy the penury of their -fathers' cottages and the hardships of their frugal -mountain homes, for the luxury and delight of the -Stambouli Kiosks and seraglios. From early childhood -their ears are filled, and their warm imaginations -fired, with ideas of the riches and pleasure of these -places, and by the stories of their mothers, or more -generally their aunts, who have returned (when their -Osmanli lords grew weary of their faded charms) -loaded with magnificent jewels, with purses of sequins, -and wardrobes of the richest stuffs the world can -produce, and with many a tale to tell of the -distinguished part they had played by their native -superiority of intellect over the ponderous and dreamy -Asiatic. To purchase our girls the Turkish vessels -row by night along the shore, and seek some wooded -creek where they lie concealed from the steamers and -cruisers of the Russian Black Sea fleet, and from the -squadrons of Cossack row-boats attached to the -Kreposts; then the bargain is concluded, and the girls, -who are always the most beautiful daughters of serfs -and freemen, are embarked, after a month, perhaps, -has been spent in bartering and chaffering between -the merchants on one hand, and their parents on the -other.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* It is calculated that one vessel out of six is taken. In the -winter of 1843-4, twenty-eight ships left the coast of Asia -Minor for Circassia, to purchase girls; twenty-three returned -safely; three only were burned by the Russians, and two were -swallowed by the waves.—WAGNER -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -As the distance increased between us and the -Russian camp my brothers looked with longing eyes -towards our native hills, between whose misty peaks -a flood of golden light was falling on the waving -woods and on the rolling sea; and now they began to -whisper and exchange glances of intelligence. Their -minds were full of the pledge we had lately made to -ourselves, that we would fly the hated yoke of -Russia on the first opportunity; but this was no easy -task, believe me, watched as we were by our own -suspicious soldiers. At this time my whole soul was -full of Basilia, and in the hope of freeing, of winning, -and of loving her, even Circassia and her wrongs -were forgotten for a time—God of the Prophet, but -only for a time! -</p> - -<p> -By a telescope I could see afar off the wild woods -in which I had wandered when a boy, and the familiar -mountain peaks up which I had clambered when -fighting with the Muscovite riflemen, or hunting the -boar and jerboa. I could see the bright gleam of -steel and the flashing of chain armour between the -shady oaks; for there armed bands were hovering, and -there the Tartar bow, the Albanian gun, the Circassian -lance, and the crooked sabre, awaited the Muscovite -invader; and there the holy banner of the twelve -stars waved above the tent of the glorious Schamyl. -Watched as we were by the very men we led, flight, as -I have said, was hopeless; but then I had no thought of -flight even when within a cannon-shot of armed -Circassian bands which we could see with their camels -laden with women, children, and household goods, -clambering up the hills to avoid the Kalmuck scouts -and Cossack foragers. -</p> - -<p> -As the night darkened we saw lurid flames shooting -up between the mountain clefts; and while our fierce -hussars muttered in guttural Russ and laughed under -their matted beards, the hearts of my brothers and -myself grew sad, for we knew that the Tchernemorski -lances were spreading woe and desolation in the -homes of our people. -</p> - -<p> -We searched every little bay, inlet, and river as we -passed along the beautiful coast from Anapa to Soudjack -Kaleh, a fortress which was then half in ruins, as -General Williamoff had left it after storming its defences -at the head of fifteen thousand men. It seemed now -so lonely and so silent that no one could imagine the -roar of war had once awoke its echoes, for the flowers -of the arbutus, the rhododendron, and many other -plants, most of them aromatic, filled the air with -perfume as they grew in luxuriance on its battered walls, -or twining round the old cannon's mouth as it lay -half sunk among the stones and grass, or wreathing -the bare skulls and white ribs of the dead on whose -unburied bones, bleached by the sunshine and the -storm, devouring dogs and mountain wolves had -battened. -</p> - -<p> -Evening had closed when we bivouacked near the -beach, unbitted our horses, lighted our pipes, and sent -round our cups of quass to wash down the black ration, -bread and salt beef broiled among the embers till it -was encrusted with ashes and brine; and we were -just composing ourselves for the night, when my -sergeant, a cunning and active Cossack, who had crept -a mile or two along the shore alone, announced to -me that he had seen some suspicious lights in a little -creek of the bay of Koutloutzi. "Mount and march," -was the order, and favoured by a brilliant moon, -beneath whose light the Euxine rolled like a flood of -silver at the base of the steep Circassian hills, we rode -round the margin of this circular bay, and ascended -the beautiful vale of Mezip, towards where my -sergeant asserted he had seen the lights. -</p> - -<p> -Halting our party he and I dismounted, and, taking -only our swords and pistols, crept cautiously through -a thicket towards where a river entered the bay, and -such a place we knew would be the most probable -rendezvous of the Turks with the slave merchant. -The foliage was dense and dark overhead, for in -this district the sturdy oak, the beech, and the -chestnut grew to the water's edge, and the cherry-tree, -the fig, and the wild olive were all in full -bloom. It was a savage place. Toads croaked -among the reeds, and rearing serpents hissed among -the sedges of the river, which brawled over a ledge -of rocks and fell into the bay, while the -yellow-coated and weasel-like suroke whistled on the -branches of the pine, and the fleet jerboa fled -before us from its lair like an evil spirit. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly we saw a gleam of light, and heard the -sound of voices. A few paces more brought us to -the brow of a wooded bank, at the base of which we -saw a number of Turkish sailors seated round a fire, -smoking, drinking raki, and making merry, while one -of their number, a little humpbacked fellow, with a -hooked nose and enormous beard, sang to them, and -twangled on a lute. They were sixteen in number -(I counted them carefully), and all fierce-looking -fellows, with enormous noses and mustachoes. Large -trowsers, dirty red tarbooshes, and red shawl-girdles -stuck full of daggers and pistols. Most of them had -cuts and scars or patches on their dusky faces, and all -had a savage and sinister aspect, as the red gleams of -the pinewood fire fell on them. The captain was -particularly happy; as he believed, that if the Sultan -Abdul-Medjid did but once see Basilia, the fortunes of -all who had a share in bringing such loveliness -to gladden his sublime eyes would be made for ever. -</p> - -<p> -In the back-ground, and drawn far up on the beach, -lay their vessel, with its large angular sail stowed on -deck; the yard struck, and the mast and rigging -covered by green pine branches, the better to elude -the observation of scouts, and to blend its outline -with the surrounding trees, while heaps of branches, -with dry leaves spread over all, were piled against the -sides. But over the gunnel we saw several Circassian -girls sitting very quietly, gazing at those rough and -noisy guardians, who were to convey them to that -brilliant Stamboul, which they had been taught to -believe was an earthly paradise. -</p> - -<p> -On that little deck, and apart from all the rest, sat -one who did not seem to share the placidity of her -companions, or to share their joyous anticipations. -Her form was enveloped in her veil, and her head -was bowed upon her hands, her eyes were sad, and -fixed on vacancy. My breath came thick and fast. -There was a swelling in my throat, as if my heart -was there, for I knew that lonely weeper was Basilia. -</p> - -<p> -As thirty or forty girls are usually deemed a good -cargo and only ten were visible, it was evident to us -that the Turks had no intention of putting to sea for -some days; thus my sergeant, who had frequently -been on expeditions of this kind, politely -suggested—as we had ridden a long way—the expedience of -sleeping quietly for that night, and slaughtering the -Turks at our leisure in the morning; but my -impatience would brook of no delay. -</p> - -<p> -Again we mounted: I divided my party into two -troops, and ascending the valley of Mezip for a mile -or so, descended from different points towards the -head of the Bay. -</p> - -<p> -"Spur and sabre!" was the cry. -</p> - -<p> -There was a brief but sharp discharge of pistols, a -gleaming of knives and flashing of sabres, and in five -minutes the surrounded Turks were all trampled -under hoof, shot and headless beside the fire which -had lit the scene of their jollity, not one of them -escaping save their deformed messmate, who dashed -his lute at the head of Selim, sprung into the sea, and -disappeared. The captain I sabred with my own -hand; but not before he gave me this wound by a -pistol shot, which grazed my left cheek like a hot -iron. -</p> - -<p> -Inspired anew by love and triumph I sprang up -the side of the vessel, and sought the lonely figure—it -was as my heart divined—Basilia. I knelt before -her, and took her hand in mine, trembling as I did so, -for never until that moment had I touched even the -hem of her garment. My soul was in my tongue, and -weighed it down with words of love and joy, but one -alone found utterance,— -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia!" -</p> - -<p> -She gave a cry of wonder, and as she gazed at me, -her large black eyes dilated and flashed with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"Basilia," said I, "do you not remember me?" -</p> - -<p> -"No," replied she, while trembling; "who are you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Osman, the son of Mostapha, your own Osman, -who saved you at Anapa." -</p> - -<p> -"It is false," she answered, with eyes full of anger -and sorrow; "Osman was a brave Circassian warrior, -and I loved him; oh! how dearly and how well; but -he fell in battle at Mikhailov. Thou art either a -base Muscovite, or some fiend in the shape of -Osman; a ghoul it may be, a son of Ifrit; begone, and -leave me." -</p> - -<p> -I could have wept at these stinging words, which -sank like poisoned arrows in my heart, and I feared -that grief had disordered her intellects; but I did -injustice to Basilia, for her language was the first -prompting of honest grief and indignation to find me in the -uniform of the Tenginski Hussars, and false, as she -deemed, to my country and to her. For so she told -me, when more composed, and when she heard my -story, as we sat side by side under a broad chesnut -tree with the plunder of the Turkish ship around us, -and the flames of its burning timbers to light our -little bivouac. When we fired it, with all the -branches and withered leaves that were piled over it, -the flames burned bravely, and shot above the copse-wood, -as they licked the mast and its well-tarred cordage. -</p> - -<p> -I sat at the feet of Basilia, my heart teemed with -joy, half the objects of existence seemed accomplished -now, and I could no longer believe that fortune had -greater favours in store for me. -</p> - -<p> -In the language of our own beloved country, we -formed innumerable projects of happiness, or whispered -plans of escape from the toils of the Russians, -and I had resolved in the night, if possible, to elude -my own sentinels, to mount Basilia on Zupi, and to -depart by the vale of Mezip towards the wilderness -of mount Shapsucka, when my sergeant, with a dark -and singular expression in his eye, came to inform -me that my brother "the Lieutenant Selim was -nowhere to be found." -</p> - -<p> -Karolyi, who was sitting beside us, looked up, and -gave a deep smile as the Cossack spoke. -</p> - -<p> -In short, after seeing the last Turk cut down, Selim, -while our dismounted hussars were overhauling the -ship, had turned his horse's head towards the mountains -and escaped. -</p> - -<p> -I rejoiced at this for a time. -</p> - -<p> -"But brother Osman," said Karolyi, "Selim has -done us a wrong in this; we should all have fled -together, for thou and I will now be watched with -double suspicion, and have our simplest actions -subjected to the severest scrutiny." -</p> - -<p> -"Remember, there is the maiden, whom I cannot -leave behind; so let us rejoice that Circassia has one -brave warrior more." -</p> - -<p> -Karolyi made a gesture of impatience. -</p> - -<p> -"Circassia," said he, "has maidens enough and to -spare; but for every warrior on her hills, she requires -at least a hundred. This is no time for wedding or -acting the lover, for twangling on the lute and -kneeling on the verge of a pretty maid's carpet." -</p> - -<p> -"These were my own words, Karolyi, when urged -by you and Selim to wed ere Schamyl rose in arms." -</p> - -<p> -"True, brother, true," replied Karolyi, "and in -truth, this little maiden is a miracle of beauty. My -soul and sword are at her service, command them; -but in the name of Merissa think not of escape -to-night. Another and perhaps more favourable -opportunity may soon occur." -</p> - -<p> -The night passed quickly away. I watched Basilia -while she slept in my mantle. I was sleepless, but -silent and happy, for my mind was full of love and -her. -</p> - -<p> -Next day I placed her on Zupi, and we set out for -head-quarters amid the maledictions of the ten rescued -slaves, who saw all their anticipated delights of a -seraglio life suddenly cut short, and who knew that -fate would now consign them to high-cheeked Kalmucks, -or the rough, greasy Cossacks, in lieu of the -wealthy Osmanlis, the luxurious Pashas, and turbaned -Agas, whom they had hoped to have as masters; and -they consoled themselves by reviling me as a renegade, -and invoking on my head all the ills that fell on the -God-abandoned Thamudites, and on the offspring of -Saba, the son of Yarab. -</p> - -<p> -On arriving at head-quarters, I presented my -prisoners, and the right ears of fifteen Turks to Colonel -Carlovitch. The ears he flung to his dogs, and the -ten girls, not finding favour in the sight of the officers -who crowded about them, were given to Cossacks, to -make wives or whatever they pleased of them, for -such is the law of the Russian military colonies on -the Kuban; and to himself, despite my prior claim by -love and capture; despite my rage and grief, my -entreaties and ill-smothered threatenings—to -himself—this accursed Muscovite assigned Basilia as a -hand-maiden! -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -(Here the Circassian, who had related this part of -his narrative in short and broken sentences, paused, -and ground his teeth, while the veins of his fine pale -forehead swelled like rigid cords, and his keen dark -eyes became glazed with the ferocity, fire, and grief -that filled them.) -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVIII. -<br /><br /> -ZUPI. -</h3> - -<p> -Ivan Carlovitch, he resumed, was a soldier -insensible alike to pity and to danger. His cold and -rigid sternness had first brought him under the notice -of his imperial master, who raised him from the -humblest rank in the army. He had a strict and -almost absurd idea of the implicit obedience which -should be rendered by the soldier to his superior; -and wild as I was then with passion and grief on -finding that I had only saved Basilia from one -degrading condition to deliver her over to one still more -cruel and terrible—to be the mistress, the plaything -of a wretched Russian—I had sufficient tact to see -that resistance would only serve to destroy my own -hopes of a dreadful vengeance, and of achieving her -freedom. On the first symptom of disobedience, -Carlovitch would have brought me before a general -court-martial. From this tribunal in Russia, the way -to the knout or the grave is short and rapid, -especially to a poor Pole, or a captive Tcherkesse warrior. -</p> - -<p> -It is related that early in life, Ivan Carlovitch, the -son of Carl, a porter of Moscow, was a soldier in -General Ouchterlony's battalion of the Imperial -Guard, and was one day a sentinel on the private -gate of the palace at St. Petersburg, when a sudden -inundation of the Neva spread terror among the -inmates of the edifice, and forced them to retreat to the -upper stories. -</p> - -<p> -The Empress Alexandrina was surveying the rising -waters from a balcony, when she perceived Carlovitch -standing at his post motionless, and mid leg in the -water. In great alarm she desired him to retire -within doors. He "presented arms" when Her -Majesty addressed him, but respectfully declined. The -flood increased. Trees were swept away, railings -and balustrades, vases of flowers, dead cattle, boats, -and logs of wood were surged and dashed against the -palace walls; again and again the Empress and her -ladies called in great agitation to the sentinel, -desiring him to abandon a post so perilous; but with -admirable coolness he replied, that he "dared not until -properly relieved or withdrawn by an order from the -captain of the guard." That officer had by this time -clambered to the roof of the guard-house, from -whence he sent the corporal, a good swimmer, to -bring off this obstinate sentinel, who was now up to -his neck in water. -</p> - -<p> -For this act of bravado or insensibility to danger, -Carlovitch was appointed a captain in the Infantry -Regiment of Tenginski, and marched with it against -the Circassians. In due time he was appointed -colonel of the Tenginski Hussars (for there are two -corps, one of horse and the other of foot, so named), -and as such I found him when misfortune cast me in -his way. -</p> - -<p> -He was a man without mercy, and often brought -his bravest soldiers to the knout for the most trivial -fault; but he never broke into gusts of passion, and -though constantly using among the soldiers, the serfs, -and prisoners a heavy rattan, every blow of which -brought away a stripe of flesh, he always addressed -them with a cold and cruel smile, which filled those -who knew him with fear and repugnance. -</p> - -<p> -Oh, how I loathe his memory and the recollection -of that fiendish leer, which I can picture so distinctly -at this moment! -</p> - -<p> -But what of Basilia, you would ask me? -</p> - -<p> -Fain would I draw a veil over her fate; but a few -words will relate it. -</p> - -<p> -The insulting advances, the bold declarations of a -love the most repugnant to a heart so pure, the -caresses and the presents of Carlovitch she received -with disdain. For three days and three nights tears -were her only protection; entreaties for mercy her -only weapon; but at last even they failed her. One -night Carlovitch, flushed with wine and fury on leaving -a banquet given by Prince Merischikoff, assailed -her in his own tent, and to escape him, the miserable -Basilia pierced her throat with a poniard, and died -at his feet! -</p> - -<p> -Her pure, fair, beautiful form was wrapped in a -horse-rug, and buried by the rough hands of Cossack -pioneers, at the foot of a rock on the left bank of the -Kuban. -</p> - -<p> -The grave of my love lay but a pistol shot distant -from the tent of her destroyer; yet his iron heart -never smote him, and never reproached him with his -cruelty; he smoked, he drank the wine of the -Tcherkesses, and played at cards and chess, and with his -brother officers sang as merrily as ever, and no more -regarded the death he had caused and the misery he -had wrought, than the ashes of his last cigar. -</p> - -<p> -Where then was I? -</p> - -<p> -Forced to lead my troop against my own people, -and watched by a chosen few of my own soldiers, I -had been sent towards Azov in pursuit of fugitive -Circassians. One whom we had tracked the livelong -day, riding over steep mountains, through pathless -forests and deep rivers, was taken at nightfall by his -horse falling under him. He was brought in, exhausted -with fatigue and faint with hunger, covered with blood, -with scars, brambles, and heavily fettered. The poor -fugitive we had pursued so long, and taken at last, -proved to be my brother Selim, who had failed to -reach the camp of our confederated princes, and had -wandered long on the Russian side of Mount Shapsucka. -</p> - -<p> -I was filled with new dismay. It seemed that I -required but this to complete my misery. I rent my -beard, and threw myself on the ground; I cursed -myself and Ivan Carlovitch in the same breath, and -daringly upbraided the Prophet with injustice to a -Mussulman so devout as I. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Selim heard my words with terror. He raised -me from the ground; he kissed me on both cheeks, -and besought me to be composed, and then we were -separated. I had to continue my march towards the -shores of the sea of Azov, while Selim, the miserable -Selim, was dragged before Carlovitch, who tried him -as a deserter, had him degraded, and his sword and -commission trodden under foot; after which he was -sentenced to die—to die under the knout—"a terror -to other Tcherkesses who trifled with the service of -their beneficent lord and father the emperor." -</p> - -<p> -Three weeks afterwards I heard of his fate, and to -nerve my soul for the coming vengeance, I drank in -the terrible description of the poor boy's dying scene. -I was told by my sergeant how the troops were -formed in a hollow square—ten thousand Russian -slaves, misnamed as soldiers, with bayonets fixed and -colours flying; I was told how the noble prisoner -stood amid them, with the kingly air of a true -Circassian cavalier, though stripped of every article of -attire, save a pair of tattered drawers; how he was -bound by the wrists, the neck, and ancles, to a large -gun-carriage, and how the executioner, a gigantic -Kalmuck, stood six feet distant to give his infernal -weapon a swing more full and heavy. I was told how -Selim—for he was the youngest of us—screamed in -agony as each successive blow fell on his bare and -quivering shoulders, from which the flesh was torn in -pieces by every lash of the dreadful whip; how -between every stroke this giant Kalmuck dipped its -bloody ends in brimstone, and how the victim sank -beneath the strokes, until at last their sound came -dull and dead, for poor Selim had expired with four -words on his lips; they were, "My brothers—my -brothers." -</p> - -<p> -I did not shed a tear for him; a fiend seemed to -possess me; a devilish joy swelled within me, as I -lay that night in the bivouac beside the feet of Zupi, -rolled in my mantle, with my sword and pistols at -my side. -</p> - -<p> -"Woe to thee, whining cur of the Czar, woe!" I -repeated again and again; "to-morrow I will see -thee, Carlovitch—to-morrow shall thy soul answer to -heaven and to hell for these atrocities; and to-morrow -Mostapha's son shall cease to be the serf of this dog -Emperor, Nicholas Paulovitch!" -</p> - -<p> -The sunny morrow came, and loud and shrill rang -the trumpets which summoned the Hussars and -Grenadiers of Tenginski to a general parade. I -examined my saddle girths, my bridle, and my arms, -with scrupulous exactness, for this would be the last -parade I was ever to attend. I threw away everything -that might serve to encumber my motions or -overload my horse, and by my advice Karolyi did the -same. -</p> - -<p> -We were now with that portion of the Russian -army which had fallen back from the Circassian -Mountains to recruit and reform after their defeats -by Schamyl; and which, after recrossing the Don, -was cantoned principally in the Ukraine. The -division to which we belonged occupied Poltava, one of -the richest and best parts of the adjoining province -for pasturing cavalry horses. -</p> - -<p> -On the very day after we halted at Poltava, a grand -parade was formed before Prince Menschikoff, and as -I had marched with the baggage guard, I saw Carlovitch -for the first time since these atrocities had cast -a horror on my soul. The Prophet alone knows -what were my emotions at the sight of him. The -voices of Basilia and of Selim were rising from their -graves—they were ever in my ears whispering -"vengeance," and I rode amid the troops like one in a -stupor. The parade was a magnificent one. -</p> - -<p> -There were present the Imperial Guard, under -General Ouchterlony, a Scotsman, and his three sons, -all colonels of battalions; these men were the flower -of the Russian army; the six Grenadier battalions of -Prince Frederick of Hesse Phillipesthal; the veteran -regiment of Moscow, commanded by Prince Frederick -of Mecklenburg; the Cuirassiers of the Grand -Duchess Olga, and the gorgeous Hussars of the -Princess Maria Paulowna (sister of the Emperor), -whose trappings far eclipsed those of the two Tenginski -corps of Hussars and Infantry. But Karolyi and -I laughed at the splendour of these idolaters, and -scorn grew with hatred in our hearts; for it is of -these, and such as these—eaters of hogs'-flesh and -drinkers of brandy—that our Prophet spoke, when he -said, "lo! they are like no other than brute cattle," -and they shall perish like the people of Irem, of -Thamud, and those who, as the Koran tells us, dwelt -in al Rass. -</p> - -<p> -The review passed before me like a dream, for my -mind was full of other thoughts, and I saw only the -mangled and bleeding body of Selim bound to the -field-piece, and the poor remains of Basilia asleep in -that uncouth grave where the Russian pioneers had -buried her, when suddenly my name resounded along -the glittering ranks; Carlovitch summoned me to the -front, when all the cavalry were formed in line to -deliver a general salute. -</p> - -<p> -Something had gone wrong. I know not what, but -I had neglected my troop when deploying from close -column into line, and Carlovitch, usually so grave and -impassible, was choking with passion. He called me -"a dog of a Tcherkesse," and smote me on the face -with his rattan. -</p> - -<p> -The blow went straight to my heart! -</p> - -<p> -For a moment I felt as if a thunderbolt had struck -me; but transported with fury, I uttered the yell-like -war cry of Circassia, and buried my sharp sabre—the -noble steel of far-away Damascus—in his dastard -heart! -</p> - -<p> -Again I thrust it to the hilt, as tottering he drooped -upon his holsters, dying and gushing of blood, and -then I spurned the corpse with my feet as it fell. I -slew him on the spot, in the face of fifty thousand -men! May the curse of mankind fall upon the turf -which wraps the dog who begot him! -</p> - -<p> -I brandished my sabre, and shouted wildly to -Karolyi,— -</p> - -<p> -"To the hills—away, away! Tcherkesse! Tcherkesse!" -</p> - -<p> -Goring his horse with the spurs, he sprang from -the ranks, as the roar of a thousand voices ascended -from them, on witnessing this act of justice; together -we dashed at a furious pace towards the nearest -mountains, and had already placed a deep and rapid -torrent between us and the Russians, before they had -recovered from their astonishment, or made proper -arrangements for a pursuit. -</p> - -<p> -The most accomplished rider in Europe is acknowledged -to sit his horse like a clown when contrasted -with a Circassian cavalier; and fortunate it was for -Karolyi and me, that we—both men and horses—were -bred and reared on the slopes of the Caucasus; as -we were hotly and fiercely pursued by relays of -mounted men despatched fresh and lightly accoutred -from the innumerable military posts we passed. The -wild Tchernemorski Cossacks, with their long lances, -and wiry little horses; the Tenginski and Paulowna -Hussars, and even the heavy, helmeted, breast-plated -and jack-booted Olga cuirassiers spurred after us; but -among the deep rocky gorges, the tangled brakes, the -shifting mosses, and the fordless rivers, we soon rid -ourselves of the latter, and most of the others, save -the Cossacks, who followed us like spirits of evil, -unrelenting and unwearying, for many a day and many -a night. -</p> - -<p> -In desperate hope to reach the Prussian frontier, we -had already crossed the Dnieper, and traversed the -palatinate of Minsk, where for days we rode over a -flat country, of which we were ignorant, and where, -in despair, we were frequently about to abandon the -hope of escape, when we found ourselves involved in -the mazes of a wild forest and dreary morass that lie -on the banks of its rivers. But our native hardihood -preserved us; for a cleft in a rock, or the branch of a -tree with a sword for a pillow, is home enough at any -time for a Tcherkesse warrior. -</p> - -<p> -However, we now began to experience a serious -difficulty in procuring a knowledge of the route to be -pursued. We knew little of the language; our aspect -was jaded, wan, and terrible; our uniform hung about -us in rags; our horses were sinking, and that we -were deserters was evident to every observer. And -now the people of Lithuania joined in the pursuit, -and one evening, just as we were about to cross a -river named the Swislocz, our Tchernemorski Cossacks -came upon us, and their wild shout of joy at the -termination of that flight, which to them had been a -long and exciting chase, rang in the air above us, -as they reined up their horses on the rocks that -overhung the stream, and brandished their spears. -</p> - -<p> -We were about to plunge in, when one more bold -or more freshly mounted than his comrades, wounded -Karolyi by a lance thrust. -</p> - -<p> -"May demons defile thy beard, and their plagues -fall on thee and thine!" exclaimed my brother in a -gust of fury; but now he had dropped or broken every -weapon save his dagger, so with that quickness which -is peculiar to the Circassian, he dismounted, rushed -upon the Cossack's horse, drove the weapon into its -breast, and bearing it back at the same time by the -bridle, he hurled the snorting steed over upon its -rider, and crushed him to death in an instant. -</p> - -<p> -Vaulting again into his own well-worn saddle, he -plunged with me into the stream, and gallantly we -breasted it—while the carbines of the Tchememorski -Cossacks—the only soldiers in the Russian service -who can at all compete with our people—rang on -every side, as they commenced a simultaneous -discharge upon us, and their bullets flattened on the -rocks, or raised incessant water-spouts around us. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly I heard a low cry and a choking gurgle -that filled my heart with misery. I looked back; -Karolyi, struck by a bullet, had sunk from his saddle, -and a spurred boot alone was visible, as horse and -rider was swept over a cataract, and borne away -towards the Dnieper. -</p> - -<p> -So perished my second brother! -</p> - -<p> -Forcing Zupi up a bank where the reeds grew at -least twelve feet high, I still rode recklessly on; but -brave as they were, not one of the Cossacks dared to -cross that foaming torrent in pursuit. Night came -down to shroud my flight; there was no moon. I -reached a wood, and flung myself down exhausted in -mind and body. I was now dead to the fear of -discovery, and I cared not for wolves, or other wild -animals. -</p> - -<p> -The presence of Karolyi, his companionship and -our brotherly love, had alone sustained me thus far; -now he was gone, and I was alone in the world; but -there was at least one consolation: he had died the -death of a warrior, with one hand on his bridle, and -the other on his weapon; he had fallen, like his -father's son, in battle with the enemies of his country, -but he had found a tomb far from his father's grave, -and far from the banks of the Kisselbash River. -</p> - -<p> -Three days I lay without food, save a little wild -honey, and without repose in that Lithuanian forest, -and careless whether I lived or died; for want, misery, -privation and mental agony had broken my spirit, and -destroyed alike every purpose, hope, and reflection. -There I prayed to the only Prophet of God, and -remembered with growing trust that in the blessed -Koran, he enjoins us to seek aid with perseverance; -and I implored him to deliver me, even as the Lord -divided the sea of Kolzom with his hand to let his -people pass, and thereafter drowned the Egyptian -host; and the Prophet heard me; for even while I -prayed with my bare head in the dust, there chanced -to pass that way a poor Tartar who dwelt on the -skirts of the forest, and who had come hither to cut -wood. -</p> - -<p> -He heard me address the Prophet, and remembering -the faith of his fathers, felt his heart moved within -him; so he had compassion upon me, and took me -to his hut, which, like all the Tartar dwellings, was -little better than a rabbit-hole, burrowed on the face -of a hill, with a rude verandah in front. Fortunately -it lay in a wild and secluded place; so I dwelt for -some days in safety with this good man, who guided -me across the plains of Grodno, until I passed the -Prussian frontier, when I knelt with my face to the -east, and gave thanks to Heaven—thanks that I was -safe from Russia, although eight hundred miles lay -between me and the hills of my beloved Circassia. -</p> - -<p> -Zupi, my horse, the noble animal which had borne -me this incredible distance, was my first care, and to -procure new garments in lieu of the tattered uniform -of the Tenginski Hussars was the second; and -intent only on reaching Britain, which was about to -declare war against Russia, I travelled through part -of Prussia by railway, a mode of locomotion, which I -there saw for the first time, and which filled me with -wonder and awe. -</p> - -<p> -On reaching that kingdom, I thought my troubles -were at an end; but there, alas! I found myself -accused of a murder, stripped of the little sum I had -about me, separated from Zupi, cast into prison, and -in danger of being hanged; or what was worse, sent -back to the Russian General Todleben, who -commanded at Grodno. It happened thus. -</p> - -<p> -I travelled towards Dantzig in a second-class -carriage, in which the only other passenger was a pale -and careworn young man, whose profusion of beard, -braided coat, and small cap, with its square peak, gave -him somewhat the aspect of a student. Taciturn and -thoughtful, and being full of astonishment at the -speed with which we swept over plain and valley, -across rivers and under mountains—travelling as it -were on the skirts of a whirlwind—I did not address -my companion, who after smoking a large pipe for -some time, covered his head with his cloak, and threw -himself at full length along the seat, where he lay, -long, as I thought, asleep. A jolt of the train threw -him on the floor, and perceiving that he lay motionless -and still, I hastened to lift him; but how great -was my emotion, to find my hands covered with blood—for -this silent fellow-passenger was a suicide, who -had cut his throat from ear to ear, by a knife, which -he grasped in his now rigid hand. -</p> - -<p> -I endeavoured to lower the windows, but I knew -not the way; so I dashed one to pieces, and cried -aloud to the guards or drivers—I know not which you -name them; but I was unheeded, and still this -apparently infernal vehicle, in which I was enclosed -with the bloody corpse, swept on, screaming, whistling, -jarring, clanking, smoking, and whirling over -wood and plain, over the roofs of towns, past the -weathercocks of churches, and the tops of lofty trees, -with a speed and din that would have carried terror -and dismay to the hearts of a Circassian host, and -would have swept Kurds and Kalmucks to the furthest -confines of Asia. -</p> - -<p> -At Dantzig the train arrived in due time, and the -doors were opened by the conductors. I was found -with "the murdered man;" my recent cries were -attributed to him; the broken windows to his dying -struggle, for my hands were cut and covered with -blood! The Prussian gallows threatened me on one -hand and the Russian knout upon the other. I was -a poor unfriended foreigner, in a land of spies, -suspicion, and police agents; and in my own defence -had not one word to urge, for I was ignorant of the -language. But fortunately next day, a letter was -found on the person of the deceased, who proved to -be a French artist, announcing his intention of -destroying himself, and adding, that "when he had no -longer a sou, it was thus a Frenchman should -die—Vive la France! Vive le diable!" -</p> - -<p> -This relieved me, and explained the whole affair; -but the Prussian gens-d'armes kept my purse, as they -said, to pay "all contingencies;" and had not the -captain of a large French ship taken pity upon me, and -brought me and my horse to London—the capital of -Europe—I must have begged for bread in the streets -of Dantzig, and had to sell my beloved Zupi to save -the noble animal from starvation. -</p> - -<p> -Finding myself in the great city of London, I was -likely to be in greater distress than when in the vast -forest of Lithuania; for in London the whole population -live in an atmosphere of snares, suspicion, and -mistrust, every man viewing his neighbour as one who -has a design upon him. Again I was starving, for -the little sum with which the French captain supplied -me was spent upon Zupi, by whose side I always -slept at night in an old cart-shed. But remembering -that by birth and habit I was a soldier, I applied to -the officers of the Household Brigade; some of these -smiled, and shook their heads doubtfully, until Sir -Henry Slingsby laid before them my commission in -the Tenginski Hussars; it was fringed with silver, -and signed by the Emperor Nicholas Paulovitch. -Then they had a fellow feeling for me, and treated -me with a kindness, the memory of which fills my -soul with gratitude; for never, to the last hour of my -life, shall I forget it, or omit to pray for the good and -brave Ingleez. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIX -<br /><br /> -WE REACH HEAD-QUARTERS. -</h3> - -<p> -Such was the story of the Circassian captain, and it -occupied the greater part of the time during which -the San Lucar packet steamed along the south-west -coast of Andalusia, passing Cape Plata, and entering -the Straits of Gibraltar, had rounded the promontory -which is crowned by towers and ramparts of Tarifa, -after which a run of seventeen miles brought us into -the harbour of the great rock, where the babble of -Spaniards, Moors, Italians, French, and Gitanas was -ringing in our ears again, as we landed with our -horses on the quay. -</p> - -<p> -Taking our new friend with us—for we could not -but have a lively interest in a brother patriot of the -valiant Schamyl—the Washington of the Caucasus, -the Wallace of Circassia, we repaired at once to -headquarters, and related the success of our visit to Seville, -reserving future relations until we went to mess in -the evening. -</p> - -<p> -We introduced Captain Osman Rioni to Morton, -our colonel, who immediately spoke to him of service -in the Turkish Contingent, urging it upon him the -more vehemently, as there were then in the harbour -six transports full of French and British troops en -route to Sebastopol. But Osman thanked the good -colonel, and shook his head, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"Mohammed was the first Prophet of God, and -the holy Murid Schamyl is the second! Our destiny -is written on our foreheads; may it be mine to die in -the ranks of war! Every man hath his part in life -allotted to him; may it be mine to fight for my -country, and fight again I shall! Is not her blood -red on the Russian bayonets? I will carry a lance -under no flag but the green Sangiac Sheerif of -Circassia. Would to heaven I saw it now with the twelve -stars of the confederated tribes, for then I should see -the Abassian peaks and the wilds of Daghestan, the -warriors in their mail of links, and the linden trees -that shade those cottage doors from which our women -bless us, and we ride to war against the Buss. Yes, -yes; I will return to Circassia on her shore alone to -fight with Schamyl against the foes of God, and to -see once more the snowy rocks of Elbrus, where -the ark of Noah first rested before it lay on Ararat." -</p> - -<p> -His story, his peculiar language and bearing, his -horse Zupi, and his love for that gallant animal made -him quite a seven days' wonder with "Ours," and he -was the lion of the mess table. Every one who had -any pretension to be a connoisseur in horse-flesh had -visited, criticised, and caressed Zupi, which was a -long-bodied, wiry, and, to our taste, somewhat short-legged -nag, with small ears, a noble head, full chest -and flanks, compact and close. -</p> - -<p> -"A hundred times and more he has stood still as -a stone wall, and allowed me to fire my long Albanian -gun between his ears, using his head as a rest," said -Osman; "courage, brave Zupi—courage! Ere long -thou shalt snuff the air in woody Daghestan, and -drink of the foaming Koissons." -</p> - -<p> -We raised a handsome subscription for him in one -night at our mess table, and procured him a passage -in a French cavalry transport; so he left us, with lips -that quivered as he said "farewell," and a heart that -yearned with gratitude. He said that one day -we should hear of him when Schamyl and his -host marched towards the shores of the Sea of -Azov. -</p> - -<p> -Whether Osman reached his own wild and war-like -country we have yet to learn; for since the day -on which the "Napoleon III." steamed away past the -New Mole fort, with her deck crowded by Zouaves, -and our Circassian among them waving his red cap -in adieu to us, we have heard no more of him; for -the tidings of the Caucasian strife that reach Europe -are meagre, doubtful, and vague, as those that came -from the Holy Land of old. -</p> - -<p> -Slingsby and I were complimented in garrison -orders for the manner in which we had accomplished -our little diplomatic trip to Seville, and were praised -for the dangers we had encountered and escaped. -</p> - -<p> -Our adventures, with those of Osman Rioni, -infected the mess with a desire to "spin yarns," and -the result was, that from being the most matter-of-fact -fellows in the world, every one of "Ours" had a -romantic story to tell. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, gentlemen," said the colonel, one evening -when I had brought my narrative down to the happy -epoch of our embarkation on board the steamer at -San Lucar de Barameda, "how much more pleasant -and entertaining has all this been to us than the -usual absurd chit-chat which reigns supreme at a -mess table; the everlasting quiz about the curl of -Ramble's mustachios; the banter about Bob's whiskers, -or Slingsby's bay mare, and how Shafton craned -at the hedge in the steeple-chase; the odds on the -Derby; the last new singer; the latest ballet -importation, with the shape of her ancles, and so forth; -the last novel or polka, or belle, or piece of humbug; -now is it not so?" -</p> - -<p> -Hereupon all those whose constant topics the -colonel had just enumerated, warmly assented that it -was, and that the narrative had proved immensely -interesting. -</p> - -<p> -"Deuced instructive, too!" yawned the most stupid -fellow at the table. -</p> - -<p> -"Might spin three volumes out of it, Ramble. -'Men and Manners in Andalusia!'" said another. -</p> - -<p> -"No banter now, gentlemen!" said the colonel; -"pass the bottles, Shafton. Mr. Vice-President, another -allowance of wine; I have a proposal to make. We -have been—that is, the most of us—have been in all -the quarters of the globe, and have seen life in all its -phases and varieties. Therefore, I beg to move that -each of us who has a story to tell should forthwith -tell it for the amusement of the mess, under the -penalty of a dozen of wine." -</p> - -<p> -"Bravo," said every one. -</p> - -<p> -"I beg to second the motion," said Jack Slingsby. -</p> - -<p> -"With an amendment," added Shafton, "that the -colonel should tell the first story himself, the said -amendment to be inserted in the minutes of the mess -committee." -</p> - -<p> -It was carried unanimously, amid much fun and -laughter. -</p> - -<p> -Our colonel, who is a fine, frank, and brave-hearted -old fellow, had no idea that he was so suddenly to find -himself in his own trap. He laughed and reflected a -little, as he stroked the wiry, grey mustache which, in -compliance with the late general order, he had just -begun to cultivate after forty years of close shaving; -and then he smoothed his thin white hair, for he was -an old soldier, and (but for the favouritism of the -Horse Guards) would have been a general twenty -years ago, being one of the few survivors of that army -which gave battle to France on the shores of Aboukir, -where, as he was wont to say, "he had carried the -colours of Geordie Moncrief's lambs—the old -Perthshire Greybreeks." He had also been through the -whole Peninsular war, and served in the Fifth Hussars, -with Sir Colquhoun Grant's brigade under Wellington -in Flanders. -</p> - -<p> -"I have seen much in my time, gentlemen," said -he, good humouredly, as he tossed off a glass of -claret, "but have no adventures of my own to relate—at -least none that are at all worth your attention. I -can, however, tell you the story of another, whose -scrapes were somewhat remarkable, and were in some -respects—as far as Spanish robbers were concerned—like -those of Ramble and Jack Slingsby. They were -told me by a French officer, a gay fellow, but a -regular candle-snuffer at twelve paces, whom I met at -Paris when the allies were there; by this you will -perceive that the affairs I refer to happened many a -year ago." -</p> - -<p> -The glasses were filled; the cracking of nuts -ceased; the heavy crystal decanters were slid -noiselessly over the long smooth mess-table, the -well-polished surface of which reflected the red coats -around it, and all was hushed as our grave and -gentle old colonel began the following narrative, to -which I beg leave to devote my next three chapters. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XX. -<br /><br /> -ST. FLORIDAN; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -The night was dark, and the lamps of the Rue du -Temple had nearly all been extinguished by a high -wind; there was no moon visible. -</p> - -<p> -It was in the month after the capture of Paris, in -1815, that the adventures I am about to relate -occurred. -</p> - -<p> -The defeat at Waterloo, the rapid advance of the -British troops, the capture of Cambray by Sir Charles -Colville, of Peronne, by the Brigade of Guards under -Major-General Maitland, and, last of all, the seizure -and military occupation of the great and glorious city -of Paris—the citadel of Napoleon—the heart of -France, had exasperated the French, and excited -their animosity against us. Every citizen greeted us -with darkened brows and lowering eyes. -</p> - -<p> -No officer of the allied army could pass through -the streets of Paris in perfect safety without being -armed, and few went abroad from their billets or -cantonments after nightfall, unless in small parties -of three or four, for mutual protection. On many -occasions we were openly insulted and severely -maltreated in the more solitary streets or meaner suburbs -of the city; while in the taverns and restaurateurs -our quarrels were frequent with the old men of the -Revolution, who had witnessed the decapitation of -Louis, and the demolition of the Bastile; but still -more so with the soldiers of Buonaparte, who were -swarming in every part of Paris, in plain clothes, or -in the rags and remnants of their uniform. -</p> - -<p> -Those French officers whom we met at the promenades, -on the Boulevards, in the Jardin des Plantes, -at the theatres, or in the salons and billiard rooms, -sought quarrels with us quite as frequently as their -men; but these, of course, ended in hostile -rencontres, and for the first weak or two a morning -seldom passed without a French, or British, or -Prussian officer being borne dead, or wounded, -through a mocking crowd at the barriers, from the -Bois de Boulogne. -</p> - -<p> -In all these wanton quarrels and street assaults the -republicans eminently distinguished themselves, and -often vented their pitiful spleen by spitting at us -from the windows; by hissing and railing at us -in language that would have disgraced the denizens -of the infamous faubourg St. Antoine; but after -a time, when it became generally known that their -great emperor had surrendered himself to Captain -Maitland, of the Bellerophon, and submitted to the -clemency of Britain, their virulence abated, and their -manner became somewhat changed towards us: -though their hatred of the Russian troops, sharpened -by the bitter memories of the retreat from Moscow, -was undying and inextinguishable. -</p> - -<p> -It is an old story now; but Lord Wellington had -taken every means to insure the tranquillity of the -city, and to repress any armed outbreak, which must -assuredly have ended in its utter destruction; for the -Black Eagle of Hapsburg soared above Montmartre, -and the Union of Britain waved over the splendid -garden, the winding walks, and leafy groves of the -Champs Elysées; the brass cannon of Blucher were -planted at every barrier-gate, loaded with grape and -canister, to rake the streets at a moment's notice; -while by night and by day, his artillerists, in their -blue great coats and bearskin caps, remained by their -guns, with swords drawn and matches lighted. A -regiment of Scottish Highlanders occupied the -Tuileries; the Prussian advanced guard was in -position on the road to Orleans, cutting off the -remnant of the French army who had survived the -18th of June, and still obeying the baton of Davoust, -were lingering on the banks of the Loire. Every -approach to Paris was guarded by our infantry, and a -strong division of the Allies were encamped in the -Wood of Boulogne, and along the right bank of the -Seine, so far as St. Ouen. -</p> - -<p> -Never was Paris, the glory of France, more -completely humbled since Henry of England unfurled -his banner on its walls! -</p> - -<p> -My regiment, the Fifth Hussars, were in the third, -or Sir Colquhoun Grant's cavalry brigade. We were -quartered at Ligny, a small town on the Marne, about -fifteen miles from Paris, where we occupied the -ancient Benedictine monastery, which had been -founded in the eighth century by St. Fursi, a Scot, as -the old curé of the place informed me; and there, -with an irreverence for which the public utility, the -chances of war, and the orders of the quartermaster-general -must plead our excuse, we stabled our horses -in the church, and stored our rations and forage in -the chapel of Our Lady of Compassion. -</p> - -<p> -It was while matters at Paris were in the state -I have described, that I obtained leave from parade -one day, hooked on my pelisse and sabre, and rode -from Ligny to visit the city of sunshine and gaiety, -bustle and smoke, music and wine, intending to -return to my billet, which was in the house of the -curé near the bridge over the Marne. -</p> - -<p> -I was in time to see the Russians reviewed by the -Emperor Alexander, and passed the day very agreeably, -visiting the Champ de Mars, the Tuileries, where -the soldiers in the garb of old Gaul were keeping -guard, as in the days of the Ancient Alliance; the -site of the Bastile, the Hotel des Invalides, where -many an old soldier of the Empire saluted me with -more of sternness than respect in their aspect: the -temple where the hapless Louis had been confined, -and the noble gallery of the Louvre, on the lofty -walls of which were many a blank where the officers -of the Allied army had torn down and conveyed -away the artistic spoils of their several nations—spoils -wrested from every city in Europe by the -invading armies of Napoleon. -</p> - -<p> -I dined at a restaurateur's on a beefsteak à l'Anglais -and kickshaws, a bottle of tent dashed with brandy, -and walked forth to enjoy a cigar on the Boulevards, -where several of our bands from the Champs Elysées, -and those of the Austrians from Montmartre, were -playing divinely for the amusement of the thousands -crowding those magnificent promenades, which, as all -the world knows, or ought to know, encircle the good -city of Paris, and were shaded by many a stately -plane and lime tree, that was levelled to form the -barricades of the last revolution. -</p> - -<p> -There were the officers of the Allies in all uniforms, -the scarlet of Britain, the white of Austria, the blue -of Prussia, and the green of Russia, with all the -varieties of their different branches of service, horse, -foot, artillery, and rifles; Calmucks, Tartars, Scots, -Highlanders, and English guardsmen, jostling and -mingling among moustachioed students of l'Ecole de -Medicine, French priests in their long plain surtouts -and white collars, and Parisian dandies in their puckered -trousers, short frock coats, and little hats; while -the ladies, seated on camp stools, formed each the -centre of a circle, in which revolved a little world of -wit and chat and laughter; and the vendors of cigars, -of bon-bons, hot coffee, and iced lemonade, pushed -their way and a brisk trade through the crowd -together. -</p> - -<p> -I had tired of all this, and was thinking of my -fifteen miles ride back to Ligny, through a rural -district to which I was a stranger, though I had my -sabre and pistols, and luckily the latter had been -loaded by my groom. Nine o'clock was tolling from -the steeples of Paris; the crowds on the Boulevards -were dispersing; the bands had all played the old -Bourbon anthem, 'Vive Henri Quatre!' and with the -troops had repaired to their several cantonments. -The trumpets of the Austrians had pealed their last -night call from Montmartre, and the English drums -from the Champs Elysées, and the shrill Scottish -pipes from the Tuileries had replied to them. The -lighted portfires of the Prussian artillery were -beginning to gleam at the barriers. The streets were -becoming deserted and still. -</p> - -<p> -Turning down the Rue du Temple, as I have -stated, from the Boulevard St. Martin, I endeavoured -to make my way to the stables of the hotel where I -had left my horse. -</p> - -<p> -The darkness had increased very much, and the oil -lamps in the thoroughfares were few and far between, -and creaked mournfully in concert with many a -signboard as they swung to and fro to the full extent of -the cords by which they were suspended in the -centre of the way. -</p> - -<p> -Aware that the streets of Paris were then far from -safe after nightfall, and that the knife of the assassin -was used as adroitly within sound of the bells of -Notre Dame as on the banks of the Ebro—with my -furred pelisse buttoned up, and my sabre under my -arm, I hurried on, anxious to avoid all rencontres -with chevaliers d'industrie and other vagrants, who -from time to time, by the occasional light of the -swinging lanterns, I could perceive lurking in the -shadows of porches and projections of the ancient -street. -</p> - -<p> -I soon became aware that two of these personages -were dogging or accompanying me, on the opposite -side of the way; increasing their pace if I quickened -mine, and lingering when I halted or stepped short. -Anxious to avoid brawls, for on that point the orders -of the Duke of Wellington were alike stringent and -severe, I continued to walk briskly forward, keeping a -sharp eye to my two acquaintances, whose dusky -figures seemed like shadows gliding along the opposite -wall, for the cold and high night-wind had extinguished -so many of the oil lanterns, that some of the -streets branching off from the Boulevard du Temple -and the Rue St. Martin, were involved in absolute -darkness and gloom. -</p> - -<p> -I was somewhat perplexed after wandering for -a considerable distance, to find myself on the margin -of the Seine, which jarred against its quays, flowing -on like a dark and waveless current, in which the -twinkling lights of the Quai de Bourbon, and the -gigantic shadows of the double towers of the church -of Notre Dame were reflected. -</p> - -<p> -My followers had disappeared; but my uneasiness -was no way diminished, being well aware that the -clank of my spurs might mark my whereabouts; -and I was conscious that the gorgeously-laced hussar -pelisse and jacket of the Fifth were more than -enough to excite cupidity. I shrunk back from the -Seine, on thinking of the ghastly Morgue (with its -rows of naked corpses spread like fish on leaden -trays), and the five francs given by the police of -Paris for every body found in the river at daybreak. -</p> - -<p> -A low whistle made me start. -</p> - -<p> -I turned round, and at that moment received a -blow from a bludgeon, which would infallibly have -fractured my left temple, had not my thick fur cap, -with its long scarlet kalpeck, saved me. I reeled, and -immediately found myself seized by four ruffians, -who flung themselves upon me, and endeavoured -to pinion my arms, and wrench from me my sabre, -while they dragged me towards the edge of the Quai -de la Grève. -</p> - -<p> -Strong, young, active, and exasperated, I struggled -with them desperately, and succeeded in obtaining -the hilt of my sabre, which I immediately unsheathed, -for the fellow who had been endeavouring to drag it -from my belt, grasped it by the sheath only; and an -instant sufficed to level him on the pavement, with -his jaw cloven through, and there he lay, yelling with -rage and pain, and blaspheming in the style of the -Faubourg St. Antoine. Upon this his companions -fled. -</p> - -<p> -Solitary as the quay had appeared, the cries of the -wounded bravo brought around me a swarm of vagrants -from house stairs, from nooks in the parapets -of the Pont Notre Dame, and from all the various -holes and corners, where they had been nestling for -the night, or hiding from the patrols of the -gensd'armes; and recognising me at once as an officer of -that detested Allied army, which had swept their -vast host from the plains of Waterloo, and prostrated -the eagle and tricolour, they assailed me with every -epithet of opprobrium that hatred and malice could -suggest; and there was an almost universal shout of -"A la lanterne! à la lanterne!" in which, no doubt, -my first assailants joined; and immediately I saw a -lamp descend, as the cord was unfastened from the -wall of the street, and lowered for my especial -behoof. -</p> - -<p> -Alarmed and exasperated by the danger and insult -with which I was menaced, I endeavoured to break -through the press, by threateningly brandishing my -sabre, but though the circle around me widened, still -I was encompassed at every step, and made the -mark at which a pitiless shower of mud, stones, and -abuse poured without a moment's cessation. -</p> - -<p> -While some cried "à la lanterne!" others shouted -for the gensd'armes and accused me of murder. I -could perceive, to my no small concern, that the -knave I had cut down lay motionless upon the -pavement; and most unpleasant ideas floated before me, -that even if I escaped immolation at the hands of -these enraged Parisians, I might have to encounter -the greater humiliation and graver terrors of -Monsieur le Duc de Quiche—the Cour Royale de Paris—the -Chamber of Appeals—the Correctional Police, -and heaven only knew what more. -</p> - -<p> -At this perplexing crisis, a young French officer, -in the scarlet uniform of the Garde du Corps of -Louis XVIII., broke through the crowd, exclaiming.— -</p> - -<p> -"Halt! hold—in the name of the king—down -with you, insolent citizens! Is it thus you treat our -allies? Nom d'un Pape! but I will sabre the first -that lays a finger upon him. Permit me—this way, -Monsieur Officier;" and he put his arm through mine. -</p> - -<p> -We were now in a low quarter of the city; the -crowd of squalid wretches was increasing around us -every moment; lights flashed at the opened windows -of the neighbouring houses, and I could perceive the -glittering bayonets, and the great cocked hats of a -sergeant and six gensd'armes hurrying along the -lighted quay, either to my rescue or capture, but -which was dubious, for the vagabond women and -rag-pickers continued to yell incessantly,— -</p> - -<p> -"Arrest! arrest!—seize the English murderer! away -with him to the concierge!" -</p> - -<p> -My heart beat quick; but my new friend of the -Garde du Corps seemed to be quite 'au fait' in -the management of such affairs, by the admirable -tact and decision he displayed. Calling lustily for -the gensd'armes, he suddenly grasped half-a-dozen -of the foremost men in succession, and rapidly—for -he was a powerful fellow, threw them in a heap over -the wounded man, thus increasing the tumult, the -rage, and the confusion. -</p> - -<p> -Then seizing me by the hand, he said hurriedly, -"Monsieur will pardon me—but come this way, or -you will be torn to pieces!" and half leading, half -dragging me, he conveyed me down a dark and -narrow street. "Nom d'un Pape! I could not see -a brother of the epaulette maltreated by these rascally -citizens," he continued, laughing heartily at the rage -and confusion of the bourgeois. "Ha! ha! follow -me! I know how to escape. There are deuced few -outlets, holes or corners, byeways or sallyports in -Paris, that I don't know. Ah corboeuf! didn't they -all tumble delightfully over like so many ninepins? -Ha! ha! but hark! they follow us. Hasten with -me, Monsieur Officier, and remember that a brawl in -this neighbourhood may prove infinitely more -dangerous to you than to me." -</p> - -<p> -I was too well aware of that to resist his guidance -and advice; and having no ambition to suffer, like -St. Stephen, at the hands of a mob, or (escaping -that) to figure next morning before the correctional -police, and in the evening endure a reprimand from -Wellington, I fairly turned, and, accompanying my -guide, ran at full speed along the dark alley, -laughing heartily at the affair. Gathering like a -snowball, as it rolled along, the multitude came on, -puffing and shouting, and swearing and yelling -behind us. -</p> - -<p> -"This way," cried my guide, who laughed -uproariously, and seemed one of the merriest fellows -imaginable; "this way—Vive la joie! we are all -right now!" -</p> - -<p> -"Where are you leading me, in the name of all -that is miraculous?" I exclaimed, as my companion, -laying violent hands upon my sash, almost dragged -me down a flight of steps, which apparently led into -the bowels of the earth. The appearance of the -vast depth to which they descended being increased -by a few hazy oil lamps that twinkled at the bottom. -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, Monsieur," said I; "what the mischief—'t -is a strange den this! I will go no further!" -</p> - -<p> -"Courage, mon brave! courage! why we have -only descended about a hundred steps or so;" -replied the Frenchman, still continuing to descend. -"You will find this an old and odd place too; but -if you would escape an enraged rabble, the claws of -the police, the maison de force, the prison, and the -devil, follow me, and trust to my honour. I am -Antoine St. Florian, Captain of the Garde du Corps, -and late of the 23rd Grenadiers under the Emperor. -You are safe—I know every nook in this subterranean -world, for I have found a shelter in its ample -womb many a time before to-night." -</p> - -<p> -He still continued to speak as he descended, but -the sound of his voice became lost in the vast space -of the hollow vaults; my curiosity was excited: I -still kept my sabre drawn, prepared for any sudden -surprise or act of treachery, and continued to descend -some hundred steps, to a depth which I afterwards -ascertained to be 860 feet. -</p> - -<p> -"This way, Monsieur; on—on yet!" exclaimed -my conductor, hurrying me forward through a gloomy -vault, and at that moment I heard the uproar of the -multitude, and the buzz of their mingled voices -resounding afar off, and high above us at the mouth of -the lofty staircase. -</p> - -<p> -The aspect of the place in which I so suddenly -found myself was so strange, so novel, so grotesquely -horrible, that for some moments I was unable to -speak, and gazed about me in astonishment. The -whole place seemed hewn out of the solid rock, and -the height of its roof was about twelve feet from the -floor, which was uniformly paved. In every direction -caverns were seen branching off lighted by lamps -which vanished away in long lines of perspective -till they seemed to twinkle and expire amid the -noxious and foggy vapours of this wonderful place, -which appeared like a vast subterranean city, or the -work of enchantment. The atmosphere was cold as -that of a winter day, and I was sensible of the utmost -difficulty of respiration. -</p> - -<p> -Myriads of human skulls, grim, bare, and fleshless, -with grinning jaws and eyeless sockets, piles -of human bones, gaunt arms and jointed thighs, -basket-like ribs and ridgy vertebræ, were ranged in -frightful mockery along the sides of the vaulted -alleys or avenues of this subterranean city of Death. -The ghastly taste of some grim artist had arrayed all -these poor emblems of mortality in the form of -columns with capitals and arcades of intertwisted -arches, but from every angle of which the bare jaws -grinned, and the empty sockets looked drearily down -upon us, producing an effect that, when viewed by -the dim and uncertain light of the oil lamps, was -alike wondrous and terrible. I was now in the -Catacombs of Paris, that place of which I had heard so -much. -</p> - -<p> -To me, who had but recently left the Peninsula, -the appearance of these remnants of the men of other -years was less striking than it would prove to -visitors generally; for many a time and oft, I had -bivouacked where the dead of France and Britain lay -unburied; and I thought of Albuera and the plains -of Salamanca, where we had encamped within twelve -months after battles had been fought there—and -pitched our tents and lighted our camp fires on -ground strewn, for miles and miles, with the -half-buried skeletons of the brave who had fallen there, -producing an effect that was never to be effaced from -the memory. There the triumphs of death were -calculated to impress the mind with melancholy; but -here it was too grotesquely grim and horrible. -</p> - -<p> -Scraps of verses from Ovid, Virgil, and Anacreon, -appeared over the entrances of these caverns or -crypts, in gilt letters that glimmered through the -gloom; while, with a strange incongruity, but in true -keeping with the morbid taste of the French, large -red and yellow bills, the advertisements of the -theatres, the fashionable hotels, concerts, and tailors, -&c., appeared on different parts of the walls. -</p> - -<p> -At a little distance there bubbled up a sparkling -fountain, the plash of which rang hollowly in the -vast vaults, as it fell into a large basin, where a -number of gold fish were swimming. Over it shone -the legend, in gilded letters— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "THIS IS THE WATER OF OBLIVION."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"They are strange and frightful places, these -Catacombs, Monsieur St. Florian," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"True, mon ami," he replied, pausing to take -breath; "but famous for the growth of asthmatic -coughs, and all diseases of the lungs. Peste! What -an uproar these bourgeois make. The affair has -quite sobered me, for I was somewhat unsteady -before. My face is scratched, I think. Does it -seem so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Rather." -</p> - -<p> -"Mille baionettes! do you say so? and I shall -be for guard to-morrow at the chateau—and with -this swollen face. Morbleu! what will the ladies -think?" -</p> - -<p> -"I regret very much, Monsieur le Capitaine, that -for me——" -</p> - -<p> -"Pho! my dear fellow, no apologies; I care not -a sous about it," said my new friend, whom I could -now see to be a tall and handsome fellow, whose -scarlet uniform, faced and lapelled with blue, fitted -him to admiration. His face was prepossessing in -its contour, and was very much "set off," or -enhanced, by his sparkling dark eyes, his jet -moustache, and smart red forage-cap; but he had quite -the air of a 'roué,' and the unmistakable bearing of -a man about town. "Ha! ha!" he continued, "how -messieurs the bourgeois were rolled over each other; -that was indeed a coup de grace—the trick of an -old routier! Ah! 't was poor Jacques Chataigneur -taught me that." -</p> - -<p> -"How hollow our voices sound in these vaults," -said I, after a pause; for the Frenchman's merry -tones and light remarks seemed strange to me amid -the deathlike stillness of a place so sad, so gloomy. -"The echoes seem to come from an amazing distance." -</p> - -<p> -"Oui: I will vouch for it, Monsieur never saw a -place like this before. The Parisian dead of a dozen -centuries are piled about us, and afford fine scope for -philosophy and moralising. Diable! what an uproar -there will be among all these separated heads, legs, -and arms, when the last trumpet sounds; and many -a hearty malediction will be bestowed on Monsieur -Lenoir, of the Correctional Police, who, to please the -morbid taste of the good bourgeoisie of Paris, made -all this ghastly display. Corboeuff! the skulls are all -piled up like cannon balls in the arsenal—there were -more than two millions of them at the last muster. -But, hark!" -</p> - -<p> -At that moment we heard a distant cry of "A la -lanterne! Death to the Englishman!" and a rush -of footsteps down the long staircase followed. -</p> - -<p> -"We had better secure our retreat," said the French -captain; "all the avenues are closed, save that at the -Val de Grace; and if messieurs the gensd'armes -possess themselves of it, we shall be captured like mice -in a trap. The lieutenant-general ordered all the -other outlets to be closed, because they afforded safe -and sudden retreats for chevaliers d'industrie, and -other worthies, who, after nightfall, become thick as -locusts in the streets of this pious and good city of -Paris. Nombril de Belzebub! behold! our friends -have been reinforced." -</p> - -<p> -I looked back, and could see a party of about -twenty gensd'armes advancing, but at a great distance, -and their fixed bayonets flashed like stars in these -misty caverns. The mob were in hundreds behind -them, and the clatter of their feet and their cries rang -with a thousand reverberations through the vast -vacuity of these echoing catacombs. We could see -them all distinctly; for though a quarter of a mile -distant, the lamps burned brightly where they were -passing. -</p> - -<p> -"I have my sabre, and will confront these rascals," -I exclaimed, becoming inflamed with sudden passion; -"they dare not lay hands on me, as a British officer." -</p> - -<p> -"Peste!" he replied, laughing; "I think you have -seen whether they will or not. 'T is better not to trust -them; a bayonet stab I do not mind, but think how -unpleasant for a gentleman to be captured at the -instance of a few rascally citizens. 'T will never do! -We are not far now from the Val de Grace. This -way, up the steps, and I will lead you to a secret -doorway, near a nice little house that I know of, and where -a pretty face will welcome us with smiles." -</p> - -<p> -By the hand he conducted me up several flights of -steps, along an excavated corridor, where the cold -wind blew freely in my face, and from thence by a -doorway, the exact locality of which seemed well -known to him, ushered me into a dark and quiet -street, in a part of Paris quite unknown to me. -</p> - -<p> -"My friend, we are safe; that is the Val de Grace," -said my frank captain, pointing to a large mass of -building; "there is the Rue Marionette, and that -large street still full of open shops, light, and people, -is the Rue du Faubourg St. Jacques, which leads -straight across the river. We can mingle with the -crowd, and there all traces of us will be lost." -</p> - -<p> -"Any way you please," I replied; "never having -been in this part of Paris before, I am quite -bewildered. Lead on, if you please; it is a dark place, -this." -</p> - -<p> -"The Russians have probably been passing this -way. It is well known in Paris that these piggish -Muscovites never return to their camp from a ball or -café without drinking up the contents of every lamp -within their reach; nor can all the alertness of the -gend'armerie prevent them." -</p> - -<p> -On gaining the main street of the faubourg, the -blaze of the lighted shops, the long lines of lamps, -the gaiety and bustle which were seen on every side, -together with the free healthy breath of the upper air, -were a pleasant exchange for the dark and silent -caverns we had quitted, where breathing was almost -impossible, and the mind was oppressed by the gloom -of surrounding objects. -</p> - -<p> -"Vive la joie!" exclaimed Captain St. Florian, -almost dancing as he took my arm; "how delightful is -the free air of the streets after leaving that pestilent -pit. Ouf! I shall never trust myself down there again. -But now we must sup together at a restaurateur's. -Come to the Oriflamme; 'tis down the Rue de -Bondy; Merci! there is a pretty waiteress there—a -perfect Hebe. Her smart lace cap and braided apron—her -red cheeks and roguish eyes will quite vanquish -you." -</p> - -<p> -"Well then, the Oriflamme be it." -</p> - -<p> -"You will behold teeth and eyes that some of our -dames in the great world of fashion would give fifty -thousand francs to possess." -</p> - -<p> -Turning down the street, we entered a restaurateur's, -on whose sign the Eagle of Napoleon had -lately given place to the ancient ensign of the Bourbons. -</p> - -<p> -A very pretty girl who sat within the bar with a -handkerchief over her head, tied en marmotte, arose -and welcomed us with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, entrez Antoine St. Florian," said she, raising -her arched eyebrows with a true Parisian expression -of pleasure and familiarity; "entrez, Monsieur." -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian called her his 'belle Janette,' and -saluted her cheek with all the freedom of an old -friend, as she ushered us along a corridor, on each -side of which were neat little chambers, or cabinets, -each having a single table and two chairs. -</p> - -<p> -That appropriated for us, had a lustre with two -lights, and the walls were decorated with coloured -prints of Jena, Marengo, Leipsic, and other -hard-fought battles, on which St. Florian soon began to -comment with all the ardour and enthusiasm of a -French soldier; and by his sentiments soon revealed, -that though poverty or policy had compelled him to -assume the scarlet trappings of King Louis' guards, -his heart was still with the fallen Emperor—the idol -of a hundred thousand soldiers. -</p> - -<p> -"And so your old regiment was the 23rd?" said I. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, the 23rd of the Emperor," he replied with a -sigh, while his eyes lighted up at the name. -</p> - -<p> -"I remember that we charged your regiment at -the passage of the Nive, where I was on the very -point of sabreing a young officer, before I fortunately -perceived that the poor fellow's sword arm was tied -up in a sling, and that he was quite defenceless." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed, how singular! and you saved him from -your troopers, and conducted him out of the press——" -</p> - -<p> -"For which he gave me a draught of country wine -from his canteen." -</p> - -<p> -"The same. Ah, monsieur, my friend, I am that -officer, and I owe you eternal thanks." -</p> - -<p> -We shook hands with ardour. -</p> - -<p> -"I had been severely wounded by the poniard of a -villanous Spanish peasant, and was still suffering -from its effects. Ah, it was quite a story, that affair; -my evil eye brought it all about." -</p> - -<p> -"Your evil eye?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah," he replied, laughing; "you would not -think I had one, to look at me—I seem so innocent; -but so I have, or, at least, had when I was in Spain; -ha! ha! You have often heard the Spaniards speak -of the Evil Eye—the Malocchio of the Italians? and -how the women will veil themselves, cover up their -children, and mutter a prayer if a stranger but glances -at them." -</p> - -<p> -"I have heard of that superstition, when on the -borders of Estremadura; but your affair—" -</p> - -<p> -"Listen, and fill your glass with the champagne—I -call it 'The Evil Eye.'—'T is a perfect romance, -and was well known to many a brave fellow of the -23rd, who has found his grave at the foot of Mont St. Jean." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXI. -<br /><br /> -THE WIDOW; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -"I was quartered with my company of grenadiers at -El Puerto, a wretched village in Andalusia; a poor -place it was, that had been rifled by our foragers a -dozen times, and we very unwisely made it still more -miserable, by burning the best cottages before we -were ordered to quit it. -</p> - -<p> -"I quartered myself on the best casa in the village, -a red-tiled hut, that belonged to a strange-looking -fellow, whose long visage and long legs, great black -eyes, yellow trunk breeches, green doublet, and -sugar-loaf hat, made him seem half muleteer, half gitano. -I believe, from his superstitious observances, that he -was the latter wholly. You will know, doubtless, how -famous Andalusia is for its women and horses. Ha! -I wish you had seen the wife of my long-legged -patron. She had the beautiful eyes and olive skin -of her native province, with teeth like pearls, lips -like cherries, and a face full of the sweetness of the -mildest Madonna. Ha! ha! I am growing quite -poetical! but wine or love always make me so. -You will never see, even on our Boulevards, and that -is a bold assertion, a pair of more superb ankles, -than the short red petticoats of that Andalusian -woman revealed to the pure gaze of your most -obedient servant. Peste! I was quite enchanted with -my pretty patrona, and determined on sending her -husband, tied across a mule, as a spy to the British -lines, that so I might be rid of him for a time, or for -ever. -</p> - -<p> -"They had a child, too, a merry little brat, with -which I often played and toyed, to please its mother, -whose heart was quite won by the bonbons I gave it; -while her tall ghostly don of a husband stood sullenly -aloof, smoking a paper cigar, and regarding me from -beneath his broad sombrero, with eyes full of jealousy -and malice. Now, as the devil would have it, the -little brat had long been ailing, and seemed very -likely to die at the time we came to El Puerto; and -as she watched her sleeping infant, the mother's eyes -were often suffused with tears. This, you may be -aware, served but to make the charming Spaniard -more interesting; for her melting black orbs seemed -to be ever steeped in the most delicious languor. -</p> - -<p> -"One evening I became very much aware of this; -and after toying a little with the sickly infant, by -tickling its neck with a braid of the mother's long -black hair, while I lisped soft nothings from time to -time, I departed to look for Jean Graule, my sergeant, -to hold a consultation about the safe transmission of -the señor patron to the British lines, and with my -compliments to the officer commanding the nearest -out-picquet. -</p> - -<p> -"The evening was rather gloomy; I missed my -way, and strolled into one of those underground -vaults, bodegas, as they are called, where the peasants -keep their wine in Andalusia. There I amused -myself probing the pigskins with my sword, and -imbibing the cool balmy wine from the orifice, till, -somehow, a heaviness stole over me, and I fell fast asleep. -</p> - -<p> -"About midnight I awoke, and found myself alone -in the dark bodega, drenched with the wine that had -flowed from the wounded skins; and feeling very -cold, with the agreeable accompaniments of an -aching head and sore bones. -</p> - -<p> -"By the moonlight which struggled through a -grated window, I sought my way out of the vault, -up the stair, and gained the street of the silent -Puebla, where I stood still for some time to rally my -scattered faculties, and recollect where I was. While -this passed, a man, who had been concealed under -the shadow of a vine trellis, rushed upon me, and -furiously struck at my breast with a knife or dagger. -My shoulder-belt saved me from the stroke; 't was -lucky that I had it on, otherwise I should not have -been enjoying monsieur's society, and this glorious -wine, to-night. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah, mouchard, vagabond!' I exclaimed, and -closing in a desperate struggle with the would-be -assassin, succeeded in striking him to the earth; -where, holding my sword at his throat, I demanded -his reasons for assailing me thus. -</p> - -<p> -"'To have slain you!' he growled. -</p> - -<p> -"'For what, you base rascal?' -</p> - -<p> -"'To have revenged the loss of my child,' replied -the fellow, whom I now recognised to be no other -than my worthy patron, the long-legged paisano. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ouf!' said I. -</p> - -<p> -"'Dog of a Frenchman! on the day you first came -into my poor cottage the child was well and strong, -for it was under the protection of the Blessed Virgin; -but you turned an evil eye upon it, and, lo! it -sickened; day by day it grew worse, and to-night it died: -not even romero at its neck, nor the agua bendita on -its brow, could shield it from your evil influence. Son -of Satan, I spit upon you!' -</p> - -<p> -"'A pest upon your brat, you insolent madman,' -said I, almost laughing, for the wine of the bodega -had still its influence over me: 'had you said that I -cast evil eyes on your wife, there might have been -some truth in the matter; but your child—ha, ha!' -and I laughed till the street of the Puebla rang again. -'Halloo, Sergeant Graule—quarter guard—ho, there!' -and a dozen of my grenadiers rushed from a tavern -to my assistance. -</p> - -<p> -"To Jean Graule's care I recommended the señor, -and in five minutes, at the end of a tent cord, he -swung from the chimney of a neighbouring house. -</p> - -<p> -"'Now, señor rascal,' said I, making him a mock -bow, on leaving him in the grasp of the soldiers, 'I -will go and console your pretty wife for the loss of -her child, and more particularly that of her amiable -spouse. Both are so easily replaced, that I would -recommend you to die in peace, my jovial pagan.' -</p> - -<p> -"'My wife, my wife!' said he, in a terrible voice, -striking his breast and looking upwards. 'El Santo -de los Santos—Holy of Holies, forgive me.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Console yourself, my friend,' said I, while Jean -Graule and the soldiers laughed till their belts nearly -burst. 'Console yourself, señor paisano, for your -little wife shall laugh and be merry to-night.' -</p> - -<p> -"'She waits you,' said he, with a frightful smile. -Diable! methinks I can see his white face, as he -grinned, like a shark, in the moonlight; 'She awaits -you.' -</p> - -<p> -"Graule dragged him off. -</p> - -<p> -"I hurried to the cottage of the paisano; but, -mon Dieu, what a sight awaited me! -</p> - -<p> -"On her bed, a miserable mat, lay the beautiful -Andalusian girl, stone dead; stabbed by a poniard -thrice in the neck, and her little infant, also dead, lay -in her arms, pressed to her crimson bosom. In the -first gust of my fury I rushed out to slay the jealous -perpetrator of this horror; but he had, as I have -already said, paid the debt of nature, and his dying -form was wavering in the moonlight from the -gable-end of a neighbouring house. -</p> - -<p> -"Bah! there is always something in this reminiscence -that makes me dismal—but let me think no -more of it." -</p> - -<p> -And draining his glass of champagne, the gay -St. Florian began to hum an old camp song, beating time -with his fingers on the well-polished table. Though -this episode of his life rather decreased my admiration -for this gay fellow, still the jaunty manner in -which he related it somewhat amused me. -</p> - -<p> -With the pretty Janette he appeared to be an -old-established friend; and a great deal of flirting, and -that kind of conversation which consists of pretty -trifles, ensued each time she appeared on the ringing -of the bell. But the ci-devant grenadier of Napoleon -was doubtless on the same easy footing with all the -waiteresses and shop-girls in every warehouse, cabaret, -and café in and about Paris. -</p> - -<p> -As the night was rather chilly, I proposed that we -should have some mulled port, spiced with cloves and -sugar, in a mode I had often had it prepared at Madrid -by an old patrona on whom I was billeted. -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian's countenance changed at the mention -of the mulled wine, and with ill-concealed disgust -and precipitation he protested against it, swearing by -the head of the Pope, that although he never drank -water when anything better could be had, he would -rather drink it out of a ditch, after a brigade of horse -had passed through it, than taste mulled wine of any -kind. -</p> - -<p> -"And why so?" I asked, astonished by his vehemence. -</p> - -<p> -"Sacre nom—'tis another long story; but Chataigneur, -of the 23rd, and I, were as nearly brought -to the threshold of death as may be by some muddy -liquor called mulled port, and I never could look -upon it, or think of it, with any degree of patience. -You will find the story in all the French and Spanish -newspapers. Ouf! it made a devil of a noise in the -army." -</p> - -<p> -"I should be glad to hear it," said I, touching the -bell-rope; "but in the meantime——" -</p> - -<p> -"We will have some more champagne. Yes, the -champagne of the Oriflamme is delicious. I have -drunk a tun here, I believe—aye, in this very room, -with Jacques Chataigneur. There are some -caricatures of Monsieur Vellainton which he chalked on -the wall. Poor Jacques! a shot from that cursed -Chateau of Hougomont passed through his heart, -when, sword in hand, he was leading on the -grenadiers of the great Emperor to conquest or to death. -He fell within a yard of me, prone over his horse's -crupper, and his last words were—'To the charge, to -the charge! Vive l'Empereur!' If true courage and -bravery are rewarded in heaven—but, ma foi! I am -growing quite pathetic. Where is the wine? Janette," -he cried, down the passage, "Janette, my princess!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah oui, monsieur—me voila!" replied the girl, -running in. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear girl, let us have some champagne, a few -more cigars, and a nice little tray of grapes, or -bon-bons; but let the wine be bright as your own eyes, -my wanton." -</p> - -<p> -The girl was tripping away. -</p> - -<p> -"But halt, Janette," he added, catching her by the -skirt; "how long is it since a rough moustache has -been pressed to that pretty cheek of yours?" -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur St. Florian, you are pleased to be very -rude." -</p> - -<p> -"Come, coquette, do not affect to mistake pure -admiration for rudeness. Now you owe one salute, -my pretty Janette, for remember how you fled from -me last night on the Quai de la Conference." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, one only," said she, tendering her -cheek, which was slightly rouged. -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian stole three. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah treacherous!" exclaimed the girl, striking him -playfully with her hand, and skipping away. -</p> - -<p> -"Peste!" said the captain, twirling his moustache; -"but your little fingers smart, my pretty one." -</p> - -<p> -"Now for the other story, Monsieur St. Florian," -said I, when the bright wine sparkled in the tall -glasses, and our fair attendant had withdrawn. "I -would fain learn why an old soldier dislikes any sort -of wine. I have often drank ditch-water on the line -of march, and have gladly filled my canteen from the -ruts of the artillery wheels——" -</p> - -<p> -"And so have I a thousand times, but my dislike -to mulled port arises from something more than mere -prejudice—bah! this is worth an ocean of a muddy -drench, boiled in a kettle with sugar and cloves. See -how it sparkles when the glass is raised to the light. -Ma foi! 't is like a glass full of diamonds. We shall -drink to the emperor." -</p> - -<p> -"I have no objection." -</p> - -<p> -"I hope the door is closed, though. Paris is such -a city for espionage, police, and informers: Ouf! but -'Vive l'Empereur Napoleon!'" and he drained his -long glass, while his dark eyes flashed with -enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -"Long life to him!" said I, with a frankness that -won the Frenchman's heart; "and now let me know -the cause of this horror of mulled wine." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps you have already heard it. I well -remember that it made a deuced noise at the time it -occurred, and, save the maid of Zaragossa, there -never was a woman so extolled by the Spaniards as -she of whom I am about to speak,— -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "THE WIDOW OF MADRID;"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -for so he named the following story. -</p> - -<p> -"It was in the month of December, when the -immortal emperor and the victorious army of France -captured Madrid, that Jacques Chataigneur, four officers -of the Imperial Guard, and myself, were quartered, -or rather, according to the unceremonious custom of -war in the like cases, took the liberty of quartering -ourselves, on a house in one of the most fashionable -streets in the city. -</p> - -<p> -"Every place within the walls was full of our -troops; horse and foot were swarming in tens of -thousands; the red rosette and the banner of Castile -and Leon had disappeared; the French eagle soared -in triumph over the capital of the Spaniards. Every -house, from the great palace of the Duke d'Ossuna -to the poorest casa on the margin of the Manzanares, -was undergoing a strict investigation, to discover -where Messieurs the Spaniards had hid their doubloons -and other valuables, for which the pouches and -haversacks of our soldiers were yawning. -</p> - -<p> -"Our fellows were rather riotous, especially about -the cafés and wine-houses, where every man drank -his fill, without being at the expense of a single sou. -The city was involved in chaos and uproar. Merci! 't -was such a hubbub as you in all your service can -never have witnessed; for, what with disarming the -men, and running after pretty women, searching for -wine, provisions, and plunder, our soldiers had quite -enough of business on their hands. -</p> - -<p> -"The house which we honoured with our presence, -on this auspicious occasion, was a handsome mansion, -with broad balconies, and lofty saloons, having gilded -ceilings, tiled floors, and rich furniture; and you may -imagine how acceptable the splendid bed-chambers -were to us, who had been under canvas for months. -</p> - -<p> -"It belonged to Donna Elvira de Almeria, whose -family had just been reduced to one daughter, by the -unexpected deaths of her husband and three sons, -who had fallen on the previous day sword in hand, as -she told us, like true cavaliers, defending the palace -of the Betiro, which had been breached by the cannon -of the Marshal Duke of Belluno; but the ghastly -gap had been defended with admirable resolution and -bravery by the Spaniards; so the soldiers of the -emperor, petulant at all times, were somewhat -exasperated in consequence. -</p> - -<p> -"We, ourselves, were ripe for mischief, and I cannot -rehearse all the fine things we did in our ramble -through the city that night: I beseech you to suppose them. -</p> - -<p> -"The household of the Donna Elvira were, as -may be imagined, overwhelmed with terror and grief -by the misfortune which war had brought upon them; -and their condition was in no way soothed or -ameliorated by our appearance among them, blackened with -powder and smoke, and bespattered with blood and -dust, for we had hewn our way in by the breach at -the Retiro. -</p> - -<p> -"The ladies were both handsome, but more especially -the daughter Virginia, a timid girl of about -fifteen; and at these years a Spaniard is almost a -woman. Her tears, I blush to say, made little -impression on me, but her beauty had a great effect on -as all. However, drunk as we were, we remembered -Chataigneur was our senior officer, and that his -pleasure must be known before the officer next in -rank presumed to open the trenches; or, in other -words, address the ladies in the language of gallantry. -</p> - -<p> -"Jacques was a child of the revolution, an -iron-hearted soldier, penetrable only to steel and -lead—half fox, half wolf; to anything soft or sentimental, -he was immovable as a cannon-ball. It was said in -the 23rd, that he had done some terrible things in La -Vendée, and certainly his more recent campaigns in -Holland and Italy had taught him to view with the -coolness of a stoic the blood of the bravest men and -the tears of the most beautiful women. -</p> - -<p> -"Peste! he was a true philosopher, and one might -march from Dunkirk to Damascus without meeting -such another. He was never troubled with any -unpleasant qualms of conscience—not he, because, like -most of those fierce soldiers, who had been trained -and nurtured amid the horrors of the revolution, he -believed in neither God nor devil, heaven nor hell, -and, consequently, cared not a straw for any of -them." -</p> - -<p> -"A pretty picture of your friend and comrade," -said I, with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Peste! yes. He should have appointed me to -write his epitaph. Chataigneur was the man it was -a pleasure to follow to the breach or battle-field; for -he cared as little for riding headlong on the charged -bayonets of a solid square, or manoeuvring his -regiment under a storm of grape-shot, as for handing his -partner through the figures of a quadrille. But, to -return. The ladies, on perceiving us enter their -mansion uninvited, gave us a specimen of Spanish -hauteur, by retiring to a distant apartment, and -leaving us to provide for ourselves. -</p> - -<p> -"This we were not long in doing. The servants -had fled; but Chataigneur ordered three grenadiers -of the 23rd, who were in attendance upon us, to break -down the doors of the cellars and other repositories: -thus, in the twinkling of an eye, we had the sherry, -the Malaga, and the Ciudad Real of the old beldame -in abundance. -</p> - -<p> -"We installed ourselves in the finest saloon of the -mansion, while messieurs our servants possessed -themselves of the kitchen, where they stripped off -their accoutrements and coats, piled half-a-dozen -shutters, a door, and a chair or two on the hearth; -and so zealous were they in preparing a repast for us, -that the rascals nearly set the house on fire. All the -pantries were laid under contribution, and large -conscriptions were levied on the poultry-yard, and we -were soon as merry as magnificent quarters, a -plenteous supper, and wine ad libitum, without having a -sou to pay for them all, could make us. We drank -deadly bumpers in honour of the emperor, to the -success of his armies, to ourselves, to the continuation of -the war, to the girls we had left behind us in -beautiful France, and the devil alone knows what more. -Oh, the exquisite delights of living at free quarters in -an enemy's country! Vive la joie! I need not -expatiate upon them to you, for I heard of your pretty -doings after Badajoz fell." -</p> - -<p> -"They could not compare with yours at Madrid." -</p> - -<p> -"You shall hear. 'In the ardour of our attack -upon the savoury viands,' said the Chevalier de -Vivancourt, a gay sub-lieutenant of the guard, 'we are -quite forgetting the ladies!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Mon Dieu! yes—what negligence!' said one -or two ironically. -</p> - -<p> -"'I shall make amends for our ungallantry,' said -Chataigneur, starting up and staggering unsteadily; -for he had enough of Ciudad Real under his belt to -have served even a German. 'Hola! Pierre, Jean -Graule, where are the ladies, just now—eh? the -sour-visaged madame and plump little mademoiselle?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Shall I have the honour of conducting them to -the presence of monsieur?' said our sergeant, giving -his military salute. 'The mother——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh the devil take the mother, or you may have -her yourself, honest Jean.' -</p> - -<p> -"The sergeant bowed, and grinned. -</p> - -<p> -"'But sabre de bois! 't is the little daughter I -want,' said Chataigneur. -</p> - -<p> -"'They are at prayer in their little oratory, I -believe,' urged the chevalier, who was the least wicked -among us. -</p> - -<p> -"'Praying!' reiterated Jacques with intense -disgust; 'I shall soon change their cheer. Are there -any guitars or mandolins here? The girl—what's -her name? Virginia shall bear us company in a -merry chorus, or shall ride the cheval de bois with a -vengeance.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Let us have her by all means,' said one of the -Imperial guardsmen; 'we must teach this young -creature the first rudiments of love and coquetry.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Will some of you lend a hand to undo the clasp -of this infernal sword-belt?' grumbled Jacques, who -was very tipsy. 'Avaunt, Jean Graule, thou art -drunk, man! Vivancourt, most redoubtable chevalier -of the immortal legion of honour, lend me thine aid. -Corboeuf! I am swollen like a huge tortoise with -Ciudal Real. Now, messieurs, remember that I am -the senior officer here, and that whoever follows me -does so at his peril.' -</p> - -<p> -"And half-dancing, half staggering, he swaggered -out of the room accompanied by Jean Graule. -</p> - -<p> -"We continued to enjoy ourselves with supreme -nonchalance, for the Imperial Guard and the 23rd -Grenadiers were the most reckless routiers in the -army. Believe me, we were too much accustomed to -storming to trouble ourselves much about the little -Spanish girl; but I am forgetting that you are not a -Frenchman; so, fearing to shock your cold British -prejudices, I will, as the novelists say, draw a veil -over what passed;" and M. de St. Florian smiled -complacently as he emptied and refilled his glass. -</p> - -<p> -"Is it possible!" I exclaimed, with something of -incredulity in my manner; "is it possible that brave -soldiers, and gentlemen of France—France, once so -famous for its spirit of honour and chivalry—could -behave thus?" -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, my word is never doubted," replied -the other good-humouredly; "how could you expect -us to behave like saints or apostles, or perhaps -like the cool stoics that compose a regiment of -kilts? -</p> - -<p> -"Chataigneur was absent with Jean Graule about -an hour, during which time we scarcely missed him, -so closely did we pay court to the glittering decanters -and bloated pig-skins, which we laid under contribution -without mercy. The wax lights, were becoming -double; the saloon was beginning to swim around us; -and we were in the very midst of singing the carmagnole -in full chorus, at the utmost pitch of our lungs, -each having his drawn sabre in his right hand, and a -mantling cup in his left, when the door was dashed -open and Jacques Chataigneur entered, with Donna -Elvira supported on one arm, and her daughter -Donna Virginia on the other. -</p> - -<p> -"With a triumphant and scornful air, he led or -rather half dragged them in, and forced them to sit -down at table with us. -</p> - -<p> -"Although being so tipsy that I could scarcely -know whether my head or heels were uppermost, I -can still remember the terrible expression depicted in -the faces of these two ladies. The mother's wore the -fury and rage of a tigress; the blood seemed to boil -in the swollen veins of her temples, and her large -black Spanish eyes shot fire from time to time as she -surveyed us. Her daughter's appeared the very -reverse, and her face expressed only the darkness of -despair. -</p> - -<p> -"She was very beautiful; her long black hair was -loosened from its braids, and hung matted in -disorder about her shoulders, and half concealed her -face, which was pale as death. Her eyes—you will -remember the splendid eyes of the Spanish girls—her -eyes were bloodshot and red with weeping; their -expression was wild, wandering, insane; and there -was a chilling air of desolation and abandonment in -her grief that had, indeed, a very considerable effect -on me (for I am not altogether such a bad fellow as -monsieur may suppose me), although her utter despair -had none on Chataigneur and my more intoxicated -companions. -</p> - -<p> -"Her lips were quivering, and her graceful Spanish -dress, her long veil particularly, was torn to ribands. -</p> - -<p> -"'Messieurs,' said Chataigneur, bowing with an -air of mock politeness; 'I am permitted to have the -high honour of introducing you to the notice of -Donna Elvira de Almeria, widow of a very brave -Caballero y Procuradore of new Castile, and her -daughter the enchanting Virginia, whom, as I have -two ladies who equally claim the title of Madame la -Colonel, I shall advance to the ancient Spanish -dignity of being my Barragano,* which will square all -matters between us, so Vive la joie! let us drink and -be merry!' -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* See "Essayo Historico Critico on the Ancient Legislation, -&c., &c., of Castile and Leon," 4to., Madrid, 1808, for this term. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"The eyes of the Spaniards absolutely glared as -he spoke." -</p> - -<p> -"The scoundrel!" I exclaimed, becoming excited -by this revolting narrative. "Would to heaven that -I had been there with a few of my English hussars." -</p> - -<p> -"That would have availed little," replied St. Florian, -pouring out his wine with slow sang froid; -"every street and house within the trenches was -swarming with our soldiers; and such scenes as that -I have described were innumerable." -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, Monsieur le Capitaine; but I must -pronounce your comrade to have been a finished -rascal." -</p> - -<p> -"Peste!" muttered the Frenchman, half angrily; -and then he continued, while laughing and twirling -his moustache, "Opinion is the queen of the world—'t -is a proverb we have, and a true one. But poor -Chataigneur is gone now, and I must not hear him -abused. -</p> - -<p> -"But, to continue. The excitement of the -preceding day's fighting, and the quantity of wine we -had drunk, rendered us insensible to the distresses of -these poor women; and with shame and sorrow I -now remember that we permitted Chataigneur, by -dint of many a savage threat, to compel them to -assume their guitars and sing in accompaniment, -while we chaunted a bacchanalian ditty suited only -for the meridian of the lowest cabaret in the faubourg -St. Antoine. -</p> - -<p> -"What they sang Heaven only knows, for, nom -d'un Pape! my comrade, the horrible catastrophe to -this little supper has fairly driven all minor incidents -from my memory. And there they sat and sang to -us—sang with shame on their brows, and rage, and -grief, and agony in their hearts—while a husband -and three sons, a father and three brothers, were -lying dead in their harness by the walls of the Retiro. -</p> - -<p> -"We drank bumpers to Virginia, and made the -ceiling shake with our mad laughter and revelry. In -the midst of this, unluckily, the Chevalier de -Vivancourt called for a bumper of mulled port. What -fiend prompted a request so useless I cannot imagine: -but we all joined in his demand vociferously; and the -old dame, who appeared to have somewhat recovered -her equanimity, desired her daughter to prepare it. -She spoke in Basque Spanish, which we did not -understand, but which should have been sufficient to -kindle our suspicions; and I could perceive that a -wild and almost insane expression flashed in the eyes -of the little Donna Virginia as she flung aside her -guitar and rose to execute the order. -</p> - -<p> -"With some trouble she extricated herself from -Chataigneur, whose arm was round her waist. He -was very angry, and growled like a bear at the -chevalier, swearing by the sabre de bois that he would -put him under arrest for the trouble he occasioned. -</p> - -<p> -"While he was yet speaking, Virginia returned -with the prepared wine in a crystal vase, from which, -with her own fair hands, she filled our long, carved -glasses. We drank to her, draining them to the -dregs; and, with a grim smile on her pallid lips, our -youthful cupbearer replenished our glasses. The -flavour of the wine was so exquisite, that Chataigneur -embraced Virginia with drunken ardour, and desired -her to bring us more. -</p> - -<p> -"'You will require no more!' she cried, with a -shriek, as she flung the vase from her hands, and it -was dashed into a hundred pieces. -</p> - -<p> -"We rose in alarm, but instantly sank again on -our seats; and at that moment a peculiar and horrible -sensation came over me. Sacre! methinks I feel it -yet. I looked upon my companions of the carousal, -but read in their faces an expression that yielded me -anything but comfort. Three had dropped their -glasses, and reclined upon their chairs, with open -mouths and fixed eyes, which gleamed with the vacant -wildness of insanity. The Chevalier de Vivancourt -sank prostrate on the floor, while Chataigneur, who -seemed also about to sink, turned and stared with a -powerless aspect of rage and alarm at Donna Elvira. -</p> - -<p> -"Virginia had sunk upon her knees and hid her -face in the skirt of her torn dress; but her mother -stood erect, and, with her arms outstretched towards -us, shrieked in a frightful voice between a moan and -a yell, while a murderous rage, alike fiendish and -terrible, caused her tall form to tremble, her proud -nostrils to dilate, and her large dark eyes to gleam -like those of a rattlesnake. -</p> - -<p> -"'At last we have avenged ourselves! Perros y -ladrones! Frenchmen, dogs, and murderers, let me -scream into your dying ears, that we are Castilian -women, and have avenged our wrongs! I have lost -my brave husband and his noble sons—by numbers -you destroyed them, and side by side they fell on the -palace threshold of the kings of Castile. Oh, -bloodhounds—worse than devils in the form of men, ye -murdered them, and now—my daughter (her voice -became choked), my innocent little daughter—but we -are revenged—revenged—revenged! Oh, Santa -Maria, Virgin, y Madre de Jesu! let us be forgiven—but, -fiends, the sure, cold hands of death are upon -you—you are dying, for the wine you have drunk is -poisoned!' -</p> - -<p> -"Mon Dieu!" said St. Florian, pausing while the -perspiration almost suffused his forehead, "still the -screech-owl voice of that detestable hag seems to ring -in my tingling ears! -</p> - -<p> -"Inspired by terror and rage, I made an effort to -spring up, to draw my sabre, to run her through the -heart; but the moment my hand touched the hilt, a -deadly numbness crept over me; I staggered -backward, and while sleep and despair came over my -soul, sank prone and insensible on the corpses of my -comrades!" -</p> - -<p> -St. Florian paused again for an instant, for he -really seemed considerably excited by the -recollection of the adventure. -</p> - -<p> -"Parbleu! 'twas a most unpleasant denouement—a -devil of a winding-up. Next morning I found my -self lying prostrate on the chilly floor of the Church -of the Conception, which, with many others, had -been converted into a temporary hospital for the sick -and wounded. I was sick for seventeen days, and -my head ached as if it had been crushed in a vice; -while my miserable throat was skinned by the stomach -pump and other engines of the medical science, which -the staff surgeon had kept at work on me, as they -afterwards said, for two consecutive hours. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Jacques Chataigneur was in the same -wretched condition, and lay opposite to me, kennelled -on a bed of straw, under the gothic canopy which -covered the grave perhaps of some long-bearded -hidalgo of old Castile. -</p> - -<p> -"We alone recovered. -</p> - -<p> -"The gay Chevalier de Vivancourt and his three -comrades of la Garde Imperiale died; so did poor -Jean Graule and all our servants; for the little fury -Virginia had administered part of her infernal potion -to them too. So to this hour, my friend, I entertain -such a horror of all kinds of prepared wine, that I -may safely say, 'tis not in the power of man, or even -woman, with all her superlative cunning and witchery, -to make me taste a single drop that is not pure as -when it came from the wine-press." -</p> - -<p> -"And the ladies—what became of them?" -</p> - -<p> -"Donna Elvira," continued my garrulous friend, -"disappeared from Madrid on that very night, taking -with her the unlucky Virginia, and for a time we -heard no more of them, save in the columns of the -'Moniteur' and 'El Espanol,' where, the Lord knows, -our malheur made more than noise enough! May -mischief dog their heels as two revengeful vixens. -But I afterwards learned that the girl assumed another -name, and, bestowing her hand on a certain hidalgo -of Alava, actually had the happiness to give me shelter -one night on the retreat from Vittoria. My whiskers -had grown, and she did not recognise me; sacre bleu, -if she had! I was never discovered, and blessed -my stars that I was sound, wind and limb, when I -left her mansion in the morning—Ouf! let me think -no more of it, for altogether 't is a story that makes -me shudder." -</p> - -<p> -"Excuse me, Captain St. Florian," said I, when he -had ceased; "but on my honour, you make me blush -for the army of France." -</p> - -<p> -"Morbleu!" said he; "they were only Spaniards." -</p> - -<p> -"But I have heard many an episode of horror -blacker even than that of Donna Elvira, for I was -one of those who followed up the retreating army of -Massena, from the frontiers of Portuguese Estremadura, -through desert fields and desolate cities, -marked by fire and blood, and all that the wantonness -and wickedness your devastators could inflict -on a poor, a prostrate, and a defenceless people. I -am warm, monsieur, but I pray you pardon me——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! he was a stern old routier, Massena, and -handled the dons so roughly, that the Emperor named -him rightly the 'child of rapine.' I care not for being -his apologist, as I never either loved or admired him, -and once positively hated the old pagan, for -reprimanding me in general orders, because, on our -retreat from the lines of Torres Vedras, I neglected to -destroy the house of a poor old hidalgo near -Santarem, who had been so kind to me, that I omitted -him in the list of devastations to be made by my -foragers. Ouf! I got a lecture that was printed in -the 'Moniteur,' and read at the head of every -regiment in the division. But in revenge, that very -night I affixed a scroll to the door of the marshal's -quarters, saying— -</p> - -<p> -"'This is the residence of the mighty Massena, -Prince of Essling and Duke of Rivoli, who has made -more noise in the world by beating the drum than -by beating the British!' -</p> - -<p> -"Corboeuf! what a frightful rage the old Turk was -in, but he could never discover the author of the -pasquil, which made him the laughing-stock of the -whole army. But the sparing of that hidalgo's -mansion and family was a most fortunate circumstance -for me, as it was the means of saving my life three -days after." -</p> - -<p> -"In what manner?" -</p> - -<p> -"He ransomed me for a hundred dollars from -some rascally frontier guerillas who had captured -me, and were on the point of putting me to death. -Ouf! 'twas a devil of an adventure that. Shall I tell -it you?" -</p> - -<p> -"If you please," said I, lighting a fourth cigar. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, then, listen, though perhaps it is not so -much my story as that of a poor peasant whom the -Estremadurans named Perez the Potter." -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXII. -<br /><br /> -PEREZ, THE POTTER; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A NIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -"When Massena retired before the impetuous -advance of Lord Wellington, and left behind the -boasted lines of Torres Vedras, you may remember -that he selected the position of Santarem as one -admirably adapted to keep in check the advance of -your troops through the Portuguese frontier. While -his division occupied their trenches on the hill above -the Tagus, I was one day despatched on duty to the -officer commanding the Cuirassier Brigade at Torres -Novas, a town five leagues from Santarem, situated in -the middle of a beautiful plain. It is surrounded by -walls, and is overlooked by the castle with the nine -towers, from which it takes its name. -</p> - -<p> -"I rode without an orderly, or other followers, for -the whole country was covered with our troops, and I -had no dread of molestation, though desired by -Marshal Massena to take with me a section of -dragoons, as part of the country through which I had to -pass was rendered very unsafe by the residence and -outrages of a certain Don Julian d'Aviero, a half-mad -student of Alcala, who had gathered a band of -deserter guerillas, and become a captain of robbers -in the woods of Santarem. There his name had -become terrible through all the Spanish and -Portuguese Estremaduras, Alentejo and Beira. His -midnight expeditions and attacks upon the detached -houses and solitary quintas of friend and foe were -characterised by singular and wanton cruelty; and in -a state of warfare, where the country was possessed -by two hostile armies, the pretexts of treason and -espionage were never wanting. -</p> - -<p> -"A wild yell informed the inmates that their -dwelling was surrounded by the banditti of Don -Julian; the doors were dashed in; the men, half-starting -from their beds, were hewn to pieces; their -wives and daughters were dragged away to suffer -worse than death; the houses were pillaged, and -then reduced to ashes. And many of these atrocities -were doubtless attributed by us to you, and by you to -us. Captives were carried off daily, but they were -generally ransomed; if not, a shot from a carbine, -or a stab from a poniard, and all was over! -</p> - -<p> -"I thought of all these things as I pursued my -solitary way by the foot of the mountains that skirt -the plain of Torres Novas; but it was with less of -alarm than pleasure. To me there seemed something -charming in the lonely and knight-errant-like -fashion in which I had thus ridden forth, in a strange -country, among dangerous ways, and an unscrupulous -people, with neither friend nor ally save my sabre -and horse. -</p> - -<p> -"The sun was verging towards the darkening -mountains of Alentejo; but the atmosphere was still -exceedingly close and sultry, for, hot and bright, the -rays of the western sun were poured from a clear -and cloudless sky, scorching with their warmth the -waving corn, and the myriads of wild flowers that -covered the beautiful plain of Torres Novas. -</p> - -<p> -"I was still far from the lines of Massena: the -country seemed desolate and depopulated. I had no -guide, and became apprehensive of losing my way, -and wandering towards the British outposts. Once -or twice I questioned a passing peasant, but was -provoked by their sullenness and ignorance of their -own locality. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor,' said I, to a paisano, whom I met driving -two mules harnessed in a rude cart, which was simply -composed of the rough stem of a tree, from which -two branches in the form of a fork rested, one on -each wheel, and formed the axle—'Señor, how many -leagues is it from this place to Santarem?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Three, señor Caballero,' replied the man, -holding up three fingers. -</p> - -<p> -"'Bueno! are they long or short?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Short, señor.' -</p> - -<p> -"There is, I know not why, a difference in the -length of the Spanish leagues, as many a time and -oft we found on the long line of march. After riding -four or five miles further, and, being still uncertain, -on meeting another peasant driving a borrico (an ass), -laden with kid-skins of the mountain-wine, I inquired -of him the distance from Santarem on the Tagus. -</p> - -<p> -"'Five long leagues, señor,' he replied, displaying -four fingers and a thumb. -</p> - -<p> -"'Diable!' I muttered, and spurred on, for the -sun had now sunk behind the blue waving line of the -western Sierra. -</p> - -<p> -"Near a roadside fountain I passed the bodies of -three or four French soldiers, who had been wounded -in a recent encounter with the outlaws of Julian -Aviero, and had crawled there to quench their thirst -and die. They had been completely stripped by the -Spaniards, and their gory but honourable scars were -blackening in the heat of the sultry day. -</p> - -<p> -"On the velvet turf that bordered the road I softly -drew up my horse, on observing behind the pedestal -of the fountain a villanous son of Israel practising -dental surgery, by robbing the jaws of the dead; for -the soldiers being generally young men, their teeth -brought a good price in the dentist shops of Paris -and Madrid. I had frequently heard of this revolting -practice, but never till that moment had ocular proof -that such existed. -</p> - -<p> -"The operator was a man about forty, lean and -hollow-visaged, with the brow of a villain, the eyes of -a snake, the nose of an eagle, and beard like a -cossacque; he was enveloped in a loose blue gown, and -his head was surmounted by a steeple-crowned -sombrero, that had long lost every trace of its original -colour. Near him lay a square mahogany box, like a -pedlar's wallet, in which he carried his instruments -and stock of dental wares. -</p> - -<p> -"He was so busy with the relaxed jaws of a -young soldier that he did not perceive my approach. -</p> - -<p> -"You know how jealous we soldiers are of the -treatment given to the remains of our dead comrades. -Maladetto! my blood boiled. Dashing spurs -into my horse, I plunged him right upon the dog of -an Israelite; a kick from a hoof laid bare his skull, -and stretched him prostrate on the earth. As he fell -backwards I obtained a glimpse of his wallet, which -bristled with poniards and pistols, from which I -concluded him to be a robber of the living as well as of -the dead; and I soon discovered my conclusions to -be just. -</p> - -<p> -"This rencontre occurred near a great olive wood, -which was known to be the haunt of Aviero; and I -rode as fast as possible to leave it behind before -nightfall; but I had not gone half-a-mile from the -fountain, when a sharp rifle shot whistled from a -grove of olives on my right. My horse gave a snort -of agony, and fell heavily forward, stone dead. A -bullet had pierced his brain. I disengaged myself -from the stirrups, and drew my sabre, but ere I -could strike one blow in my defence, a hundred -hands were upon me, and I was a prisoner, in the -power of a band of savage frontier guerillas—half -soldiers, half robbers, and wholly demons. Diable! my -life hung by a hair. -</p> - -<p> -"Some wore broad hats, embroidered jackets, and -yellow scarfs, with plush breeches; others had little -other garment than their olive skins, and wore their -flowing hair of the deepest black, gathered in netted -cauls; but all were armed with rifles, daggers, and -pistols, or with all manner of military weapons -gathered from the fields of those battles which were -every day fought in their vicinity. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Monsieur! what a moment of misery was -that when I found myself so completely at the mercy -of those ruffian Spaniards, whom I equally despised -and abhorred. -</p> - -<p> -"Many a knife was drawn and many a blow -struck at me; but in their very fury and anxiety -to destroy me these wretches retarded, impeded, and -wounded each other. -</p> - -<p> -"'Down with him! down with the Frenchman! -Death to the Buonapartist! Maladetto!' was the -cry on every side. -</p> - -<p> -"'Caramba!' cried one in a voice of thunder, -'I will blow out the brains of the first that injures -him. Frenchman and dog as he is, our laws must -be respected. Away with him to the mountains, for -Don Julian d'Aviero must decide his fate.' -</p> - -<p> -"Aviero! my heart sunk; I was then quite in the -power of the devil. -</p> - -<p> -"Amid a storm of growling and swearing, and -even fisticuffs, I was conducted through the wood, -which was almost pathless and covered the face of -the Sierra by which we ascended, to an old and ruined -villa, belonging to the Duke of Aviero. It stood on -the edge of a precipice that overhung the Tagus, and -there Don Julian had for the present established his -head-quarters. A recent attempt had been made, by -a detachment of ours, under Jacques Chataigneur, to -dislodge him; these had been repulsed with great -slaughter; and on approaching the villa, I could -discern vivid traces of the conflict—traces which its -amiable and philosophical inmates cared not to -trouble themselves as yet in removing. -</p> - -<p> -"This noble residence of Don Julian's ancestors, -with its marble vestibule and stately portico, its -frescoed chambers and arcades of columns, round which -the vine and the rose were clambering, had been -no way improved by his occupation thereof. A -balustraded terrace encircled it, and within and around it -the dead French and guerillas were lying across each -other in scores—many of them yet grasping their -adversaries, just as they had fallen, without their -hold relaxing, or the fierce expression which -distorted their features at the hour of death passing -away. -</p> - -<p> -"Many of these men were my comrades, grenadiers -of the 23rd, whom I could recognise, notwithstanding -the alteration of their features. -</p> - -<p> -"In the assault and defence, the doors and windows -of this beautiful villa had all been blown to -pieces; the walls were studded with bullets and -spattered with blood, which appeared to have run -like a rivulet down the staircase, to mingle with the -waters of a shattered jet d'eau in the vestibule. At -the head of the stair a barricade had been formed by -a sideboard, a piano, and other furniture, wedged with -bolsters and pillows, and books; and this point of -assault had been fought for, like any breach in the glacis -of Badajoz. Everywhere the bills and axes of the -pioneers had been at work; but Chataigneur had -been repulsed, and Don Julian remained impregnable -and triumphant. -</p> - -<p> -"In a noble apartment, the windows of which -overlooked the Tagus and the vast plain that spread -in its beauty towards the castle and city of Torres -Novas, the ramparts of which were tipped with the -last gleam of the set sun, Don Julian, with several -of his desperadoes, sat over their cups of country -wine, muffled in their mantles, and enjoying paper -cigars, while their feet rested on a great copper -brassero of charcoal that stood in the centre of the -marble floor. -</p> - -<p> -"Don Julian, a remarkably handsome young man, -but with a bold, reckless, and ferocious cast of -features, received me with a low bow, which I could -perceive to be partly ironical. His jacket of green -velvet was richly brocaded and fastened with silver -clasps; his breast was displayed by an open shirt, -and had a crucifix engraven on it by gunpowder. He -wore yellow breeches girt by a sash, red stockings -and abarcas; but had no weapons save his sabre. -</p> - -<p> -"When he addressed me, I expected to hear but -my death warrant; judge how agreeably I was -surprised by his saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor, though you are a Frenchman, and I -might this moment put you to death as an invader -of Spain, and as a revenge in some sort for the recent -attempt made by your ruthless marshal on my -residence here, I know you to be the officer who spared -the mansion of old Don Juan Lerma, when -empowered by your orders to destroy it. Don Juan is -the only man for whom a lingering feeling of -humanity has left in my breast an atom of regard, for -he loved the old cavalier, my father, well. Being -anxious to requite to you the kindness so lately done -to him, and to prove whether his gratitude surpasses -that of a robber, I request that you will write to him -from this, my Villa of Aviero, and beg the ransom of -one hundred dollars to free you from my troop, as I -question very much if the state of Massena's -commissariat will enable you to have so much loose cash -about you.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You are right, señor; a hundred dollars! -Diable! I never had so much money at any time. But -what if the cavalier Lerma refuses?' -</p> - -<p> -"'You must die.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Morbleu!' said I, shrugging my shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -"'Such is the law of capture to which we have -bound ourselves, by such oaths as men seldom hear. -You will be accommodated with writing materials; -address a letter to the Cavalier Don Juan Lerma, -and one of my people will convey it immediately to -the city of Santarem.' -</p> - -<p> -"Upon this, I wrote a hurried but anxious note to -the old hidalgo, begging him to consider the -kindness I had done him, the danger by which I was -menaced, and pledging my honour to repay the -hundred duros out of my first prize money. This -system of kidnapping and extortion had become so -common that, being doubtful of the answer, I saw -the messenger depart with an anxiety which I -laboured in vain to conceal by folding my arms and -planting my feet on the brassero, by smoking a cigar, -sipping the Lisbon vino, and joining in the half -frivolous and wholly ruffian chit-chat of Don Julian -and his squalid myrmidons. -</p> - -<p> -"In the midst of this I was a little startled to find -my acquaintance, the Jew dentist, enter, with his -box under his arm, a bloody cloth encircling his -head and half concealing his basilisk eyes, which -bent on me a demoniacal scowl of recognition; and -I discovered to my consternation that this worthy, in -virtue of being a greater fiend than his fellows, was -no other than the lieutenant of Julian d'Aviero. But, -without seeming to observe me, he advanced to the -side of the latter, and whispered a few words in his -ear. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ha,' said Don Julian, 'is it so? then our -hellish compact must be observed. I am sorry for -the little paisana, but there is no remedy. Hold, -there, cammarados! bring in the prisoners of -Santarem—the potter Perez and the girl who was -captured with him last night by our worthy Teniente -Isacco Zendono.' -</p> - -<p> -"'The girl is his sister,' growled the Jew robber, -in husky Spanish, as he threw off his blue gown and -revealed his gaudy Spanish dress, and sash bristling -with pistols and knives, 'and a fair sample of mother -Eve's flesh she is—Bueno!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Curses blast you! bring them in, or'—and -Julian, who always assumed the blustering ruffian to -his own people, grasped a pistol. -</p> - -<p> -"The lieutenant quitted his presence; but almost -immediately returned, dragging in a stout peasant -about three or four and twenty years of age. He had -all the lofty air, the well-knit and erect figure of those -peasantry on frontiers where the Portuguese are -improved by intermarriage with the Spaniards. He -wore a brown vest with loose sleeves, and breeches of -bright yellow cotton, tied about the middle by a red -silk scarf. His long raven hair was gathered in a -wide silk netting, and hung in a heavy mass upon his -neck. His hands were tightly pinioned by a cord, -but he gazed about him with an air of reckless defiance, -which, however, failed to intimidate the thieves, -or to encourage his sister, a pretty-looking girl of -sixteen, or thereabout, who clung to his arm in the -utmost terror. -</p> - -<p> -"Her coal-black hair was plaited somewhat after -the fashion of the Basque women, in two gigantic -braids, and reached below the flounces of her yellow -skirt, which was short enough to expose, half-way up -to the knee, her very handsome legs, encased in -bright scarlet stockings which were elaborately -covered with white braiding. Her little feet and -ankles were equipped with open cut abarcas, -interlaced with thongs of morocco leather, like the hose -of your Highland soldiers. Her teeth and lips were -a miracle, and her terror made her dark eyes glitter -like diamonds. Ah! merci, monsieur, she was -excessively captivating, that little paisana. -</p> - -<p> -"Though such a little beauty is not uncommon in -Spain, the robbers of Don Julian gazed upon her -with gloating eyes of evil admiration and longing; -many of them licked their huge blubber lips with -grim and grotesque glee, as if anticipating kisses; -while the poor sinking girl shrunk from their bold -and villainous gaze, as she would have done from the -eyes of so many serpents or fiends. -</p> - -<p> -"'Teresa, hold up your head, my dear girl; do not -droop before these base ladrones, stained as they are -by a thousand atrocities. Dios! should innocence -quail before guilt?' said the young peasant with a -fearlessness that at once gained him my sympathy -and admiration; and for a time I forgot my own -troubles in those of the strangers. 'Be bold of heart, -my sweet sister! We are possessed of that which can -touch even the hearts of these bad men, and unlock -the doors of their prison-house.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You are mistaken in this idea, Señor Perez el -Cantarero,' said Don Julian, with a quiet sneer, while -his band crowded round with lowering brows and -gloating eyes. 'Quite mistaken, allow me to inform -you. Your honest uncle, the abagado (O most honest -lawyer of Santarem!) has refused to ransom you. Our -messenger, the very reverend rabbi, Isacco Zendono, -has come back just now empty-handed.' -</p> - -<p> -"The girl shrieked and hid her face in the bosom -of her brother, who gazed around him with a look of -rage, astonishment, and stupefaction. -</p> - -<p> -"Isacco, the Jew, burst into an uncontrollable fit -of laughter, in which Don Julian and his comrades -joined. -</p> - -<p> -"'Out upon ye, villains,' exclaimed Perez the potter, -shaking his clenched hand at them. -</p> - -<p> -"'O Perez, por amor de mi,' urged his sister, in a -breathless voice. -</p> - -<p> -"'Teresa, my poor Teresa,' muttered the brother -through his hard-set teeth, 'I had doubts, dreadful -doubts; but I expected not this. Answer, Señor Don -Julian d'Aviero, does this black-hearted slave of -Mammon, this villain of an abagado, forget that he -retains in his repositories the inheritance left us by -old Gil Perez, the alcalde of Santarem?' -</p> - -<p> -"'In truth, most blustering señor, most valiant -cavalier of crocks and cans, your father's honest -brother has not forgotten that important fact,' replied -Julian d'Aviero, in his cool, dry way. 'The abagado -will act true to his trade, by deceiving those who trust -him. His trade! May the great Devil confound it, -for it has stripped me of as fair an heritage as ever -came from a miserly sire to a spendthrift son. Well, -Señor Perez, in short, to possess himself of your two -thousand dollars, and practise a little profitable -conveyancing, your relative the lawyer has stoutly -declined to ransom you, saith our messenger, swearing -by the bones of St. James, he would not yield the -hundredth part of a pezzo to save you from the jaws -of hell.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Be it so,' muttered Perez, between his clenched -teeth; 'in the world that is to come, he will meet with -his reward.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Were it but to provoke the abagado, I would -willingly set you free, Señor Potter; but the laws of -this free community say nay.' -</p> - -<p> -"'But my sister——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Has found no more favour than yourself. Santos! -You are a strange fellow, Señor Perez. Who the -devil ever expects to find an apostle in the carcase of -an abagado?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Madre de Dios! my poor Teresa!' said the -young man, folding his sister to his breast; while she -responded by an agony of grief and terror, such as I -had never before witnessed. -</p> - -<p> -"On her knees she bent before Julian d'Aviero, -imploring him to spare her only brother, and to slay -her, if he pleased; but her piteous cries and -supplications, rendered yet more plaintive by the beautiful -language of Spain, were drowned by the brutal -jests, and whoops, and yells of the Portuguese robbers. -</p> - -<p> -"When the hubbub subsided, 'Señor Cantarero,' -said Don Julian, in his wonted cold and sarcastic -manner, 'I have said that your ransoms are -refused.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And what then, Señor Ladrone?' asked the -paisano sternly. -</p> - -<p> -"You must die—that is all," replied the captain, -quietly knocking the ashes from his fragrant cuba. -</p> - -<p> -"'Die!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Si, morir, Micer Perez el Cantarero,' said he, -with an ironical bow. -</p> - -<p> -"''T is hard to die thus, and unrevenged,' said the -peasant, looking round as if for a weapon; 'but I am -content, so that you release my sister, and swear upon -the crucifix that she shall receive no harm.' -</p> - -<p> -"At this demand there was another horrid laugh; -and the Jew, turning up his eyes, swore something in -Hebrew at a request so unreasonable. -</p> - -<p> -"'Keep your mind quite at ease, Perez, amigo -mio,' said Julian d'Aviero, whose potations were now -affecting his brain, and imparting to his manner a -strange mixture of ferocity and jocose cruelty—'do -not be alarmed; your sister shall not die. Maladetto! dost -think we have no taste or discrimination?' -</p> - -<p> -"'The Holy Virgin thank you!' said the potter, -with an odd mixture of fervour and ferocity; 'my -dearest Teresa, will——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Fall to the lot of the fortunate rascal to whom -the happy dice assigns her,' said the Jew lieutenant of -the gang, pushing forward and jostling me, with such -insolence that I had some difficulty in keeping my -hands from his throat. -</p> - -<p> -"'Hark you, Master Potter,' he continued, in his -husky Spanish, which I cannot imitate. 'We cast -lots for the women we capture, if they be young and -handsome. The men we poniard, if they cannot -ransom their heads and hides, and then we bury them -honourably in the chasm of the Tagus. The bones -of some stout fellows are bleaching there, so you will -find yourself in good company, I promise you I owe -you a grudge for the stroke your 'cajado' dealt on my -pate yesterday, and so claim the first blow to-day. -Arrojarse, camarados! fall on!' -</p> - -<p> -"He unsheathed his poniard and grasped the potter -by the collar of his buckram doublet; but the -descending blow was arrested by the uplifted arms of -Teresa, who hung upon the villanous dog of Israel -with the determination, if not with the strength, of a -tigress, and poured forth a succession of cries and -threats, which astonished even the intended assassin; -then, sinking upon her knees, the winning girl -pressed the murderer's hideous paw to her beautiful -lips, beseeching him, in those accents to which a -woman in deadly terror can alone give utterance, to -spare her brother, her Perez, her dear and only -brother, and she would become the servant, the slave, -of the robber for her whole life. -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh, spare my brother; spare him! O Señor -Judio; O Señor Don Julian, Caballeros, gracias, -bandidos, por Nuestra Señora Santissima!' -</p> - -<p> -"'My slave? Demonios!' chuckled the ruffian -Jew; 'that you may be at all events, or I may make -short work with you, and so disappoint some honest -fellow here. Off, off with you!' and he shook her -from him with so much violence, that on sinking -to the floor, the blood gushed from her mouth and -nostrils. -</p> - -<p> -"The Jew again raised his dagger, but Perez, filled -with fury at the treatment of his sister, snapped, as if -it had been a straw, the cord that bound him, and, -grappling with the athletic ruffian, dashed him on the -floor where he placed a foot upon his breast, and trod -him down as one would do a serpent. The blood of -the potter was up; grasping another by the sash, he -hurled him back with such force that the bandit was -instantly slain; for, on staggering, his head came so -violently in contact with an angle of the wall, that in -a moment his brains were dashed out, and he presented -a dreadful spectacle as he lay, breathless and -quivering, with his battered skull empty, as if struck -by a grapeshot, and his blood and brains forming an -oozy pool beside him. -</p> - -<p> -"Even the banditti seemed struck with horror for -a moment, and a stillness ensued. They glared at -their dead comrade and at each other, heedless of the -groans and struggles of the half-stifled Zendono. -The voice of the girl was again heard supplicating, -for I had raised her up; and she implored me to save -her brother, for he had done no wrong, but shed -blood only in his own defence, and now remained -motionless and terrified at his own temerity. The -faint and half-articulate voice of Teresa recalled the -band from the spell which, as I have said, their -comrade's death had cast around them; and -simultaneously they rushed with their knives upon the poor -potter, and, pierced at once by innumerable and -reiterated wounds, he sunk lifeless among their feet; -and long after the last vital spark had fled, they -continued to stab and slash, and otherwise mutilate -the corpse until its bloody garments hung about it -in tatters. -</p> - -<p> -"'Tonnere!' thought I, 'if my friend the hidalgo -has neither the cash nor the inclination to ransom -me, I shall be in a bad way.' -</p> - -<p> -"By order of Don Julian, who had watched this -scene of butchery with folded arms and an immovable -aspect, the body was tossed over the window, -from whence I heard it falling heavily from rock to -rock before it reached the deep, dark water of a -tributary of the Tagus, that struggled through a -chasm in the cliffs, two hundred feet below. -</p> - -<p> -"While the half-drunken banditti cursed and -yelled like fiends, they cast the dead body of their -comrade after that of the unfortunate potter, then -wiped and sheathed their poniards; and all traces of -the horrible occurrence disappeared, save the red -blood gouts upon the floor, which these European -Thugs never thought of cleansing; but trampled to -and fro among that frightful puddle as heedlessly -as if it had been so much spring water spilt by -accident. -</p> - -<p> -"Teresa had swooned, and hung on my arm in a -happy state of insensibility. -</p> - -<p> -"Isacco Zendono, who had suffered severely in -the melée, during his prostrate position on the floor, -now scrambled up, his heart burning with fury, and -his body smarting with pain. He was plastered -with the gore of the slain men; and its dripping -from his sable beard and matted hair no way -improved his personal appearance, or increased the -benevolence of his features. -</p> - -<p> -"Growling at the weight of his comrades' heels, -he demanded in a stentorian voice that lots should -be cast for possession of the Señora Teresa; a -proposition at once acceded to. -</p> - -<p> -"Dice were produced, and the beetle-browed banditti -crowded round a table, where they rattled and -threw the dice in succession. -</p> - -<p> -"The Jew uttered a yell. -</p> - -<p> -"He had won! -</p> - -<p> -"Diable! how like a victorious fiend he seemed, -as, with a shout of villanous joy, he snatched the -poor insensible victim from my arms, and with his -poniard menacing any man who dared to follow, -bore her off, bent double over his left arm, as easily -as he would have done a folded mantle. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Teresa! she was so slight and young. -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, I am not quite such a bad or wild -fellow as, perhaps, you may think me; and I do assure -you that I then felt my impetuous blood tingling in -every vein. I sprang after the dog Zendono, but -was restrained by the powerful and perhaps friendly -arm of Don Julian d'Aviero. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor!' he exclaimed, in a whisper, 'are you -mad? Remember your life is at stake, and ponder -well on the helplessness of your condition among -us.' -</p> - -<p> -"The truth of this came bitterly home to my -heart; I gave the speaker a fierce and reproachful -glance, and folded my arms in silence. -</p> - -<p> -"My heart bled for the unhappy girl. -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * * -</p> - -<p> -"Frequently in that long and dreary night, when -the mountain blast howled drearily through the -shattered villa of Aviero, and moaned in the gorge -through which the Tagus wound, I heard the cries -and lamentations of the miserable girl, and the -oaths and revelry of those to whom she was now -abandoned. -</p> - -<p> -"Ere daybreak her cries had ceased. Mille -Baionettes! they nearly drove me mad. -</p> - -<p> -"What became of her I know not, as I never saw -her again. -</p> - -<p> -"Next day, an old Padre of Santarem came with -a message from the hidalgo Don Juan Lerma, whose -mansion I had spared. The priest had volunteered -on this errand of mercy, as no other man in -Santarem would venture within the reach of the terrible -Aviero, to whom he paid two hundred pillared -dollars, and I was conducted to within a few toises of -the advanced sentinels of our out-piquets, by Don -Julian in person, and we bade each other adieu with -a very good grace, but without either tears or regret -on my side, as may be well assumed; and so ended -my mal-adventure in the wood of Santarem." -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -————— -</p> - -<p> -The Captain St. Florian concluded his story. -</p> - -<p> -"Parbleu!" said he, "how dry my throat is with -speaking so long, and I dare say I have tired you to -death. But let us have one more bottle of Janette's -champagne, and then we shall decamp soberly to -look for more adventures. But I must be cautious, -being for guard at the chateau to-morrow. You -cannot mean to return to Lagny to-night?" -</p> - -<p> -"I must; and 't is high time we were off, Captain -St. Florian; besides, I see Janette is decidedly -sleepy." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! poor girl, yes." -</p> - -<p> -"My horse is at an hotel in a street leading from -the Champ Elysées." -</p> - -<p> -"Ouf! a devil of a way from this. There is a -church clock striking five. Nombril de Belzebub, -'t is morning!" -</p> - -<p> -We hurriedly rose to depart. Janette had fallen -fast asleep in the bar, and St. Florian kissed her -brow as he passed and deposited the reckoning in -her lap. The portière of the cabaret let us out, and -we sallied through the street to find my hotel. -</p> - -<p> -At the chateau, as the Parisians name the palace, -I bade adieu to the captain, and getting forth my -horse, rode off. -</p> - -<p> -The trumpets of the Austrian cavalry and the English -drums were ringing on the early morning wind, -as the reveille roused the soldiers of the allied host -in their several camps and cantonments. -</p> - -<p> -The patrols of the gensd'armes were retiring to -their quarters; the sun was coming up in his glory, -and ruddily in his morning light, amid the morning -smoke of Paris, shone the huge façade of Notre -Dame, and the burnished dome of the Hotel des -Invalides. -</p> - -<p> -Paris, with its tented parks and guarded barriers, -was left behind; and I dashed at full gallop along the -dusty road that under the shadow of many a vine -trellis, and many an apple bower, led to my -cantonments at Lagny on the Marne. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap23"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIII -<br /><br /> -THE MAJOR'S STORY. -</h3> - -<p> -On the Colonel concluding, there arose a contention -between our surgeon, Mac Leechy, and the senior -major, as to who should tell his story first; for "the -steam" was now fairly up; but the matter was adjusted -by seniority, like choice of quarters, or having -the best bed in a billet, and the right of first -mounting a breach, and other little contingencies of a -military life. -</p> - -<p> -"I was once nearly hanged by Wellington," said -the Doctor to tempt us to listen; "for when I first -joined the service, it was as an ensign, though I had -my diploma of M.D." -</p> - -<p> -"Hanged?" said Slingsby; "then you proved a -King's bad bargain, Doctor?" -</p> - -<p> -"Not half so bad as you, Jack," retorted our old -medico; "but I'll tell you in a few words how it -came to pass. When our troops were falling back -from Quatre Bras, upon the village of Waterloo, on -that stormy 17th of June, which preceded the great -battle, I was sent forward with sixteen men of the -Scots Brigade to take possession of the principal inn -as quarters for the Great Duke and his staff, and -to save the house from being plundered or forcibly -seized by any one else. We entered the village -double-quick: I soon found the inn, and after -posting my sentinels in front and rear, preceded to -investigate (from motives of personal interest) the -contents of the pantry before the Duke arrived. In -twenty minutes afterwards we heard musket-shots; -I rushed out of the kitchen (where I had been -consoling the terrified landlady, and deviling a -drumstick,) to find my fellows firing at the French -tirailleurs, who were now at the end of the village where -they had lined a stone wall. We peppered them -briskly; but four of my men had just fallen, when -a Belgian officer, all covered with stars and lace, -galloped up to me, crying, as he took the road to Brussels, -</p> - -<p> -"'Fall back—fall back—Waterloo is surrounded, -and you will be cut off!' -</p> - -<p> -"I drew out my men and left the village double -quick. At the other end of it, I passed a mounted -general officer with his staff, who were sitting quietly -and composed in their saddles; but he called to me -with a loud voice,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Halt, sir—halt your men, and come here!' -</p> - -<p> -"I obeyed, and lowered the point of my sword. -Oh, there was no mistaking the keen grey eagle eyes, -the high nose and white neckcloth; the little blue -cloak and brass sabre of this personage. It was -Wellington himself. -</p> - -<p> -"'In God's name, sirrah,' said he, fiercely, 'why -have you abandoned your post?' -</p> - -<p> -"'The village is surrounded——' -</p> - -<p> -"'It is not surrounded—a few sharpshooters fired -a shot or two at our cavalry, but they have been all -killed or taken.' -</p> - -<p> -"'A Belgian officer— -</p> - -<p> -"'Cowardice—rank cowardice,' said Wellington. -'and at a time like this! Provost Marshal—where -are the Provost Marshal and his guard? A rope—get -a rope, and hang this young fellow from the -nearest tree.' -</p> - -<p> -"I was in deadly terror, for I was then a raw lad, -and did not perceive that this was, perhaps, only to -frighten me; but at that moment Sir Denis Pack -dashed up with some intelligence which was of more -importance to Europe than the hanging of Ensign -Mac Leechy, so Wellington troubled himself no -more about me; I shrunk away to pick my -half-devilled bone and to rejoin the Scots Brigade, who -were bivouacked in a field near the Brussels road. -</p> - -<p> -"Soon after Waterloo, I exchanged my ensign's -commission for a medical one, and have never since been -in terror of being hanged by a Provost, or shot by a -court martial." -</p> - -<p> -"Tush," said the major, "I was once nearer being -hanged than you, doctor; for I was tried, and -sentenced, and, moreover, only escaped one noose to be -caught by another—for I got my wife by it." -</p> - -<p> -Our major was a jolly and cozy old fellow, who was -addicted to a little flirtation with married dames of -mature age, and to making downright love to widows -(if his good lady was absent), and invariably opened -the trenches by affecting to consider them the sisters -of their handsome daughters. He was a great -favorite with us all; but, being married, he never dined -at mess, unless when specially invited by some one. -Thus we warmly welcomed our old major's story, -which he began without further preamble. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap24"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIV. -<br /><br /> -"ESTELLA." -</h3> - -<p> -"I entered the service," quoth the Major, "when -the Peninsular War was at its height, and my -commission was signed by the first gentleman in Europe, -then Prince Regent; truly we had queer ideas of -what constituted a gentleman in those days, -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - "'In my hot youth, when George III. was king.'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"I joined our first battalion in Spain, and had more -than enough of marching, fighting, and starving in -the desolate province of Estremadura, where Marshal -Macdonald and General Foy never gave us a moment -to spare. I was wounded at La Nava, and at the -storming of Almarez. When I scrambled over the -palisades, with my sword-arm in a sling, I remember -a voltigeur officer rushing upon me with his sabre -uplifted; but, on perceiving my wound, he lowered -his weapon gracefully in salute, and passed on to -encounter another. We took the garrison prisoners, -blew up the works, and threw the guns into the -Tagus. At night, when we buried the dead, by -flinging them into their own trenches, I was shocked -to perceive my generous and gallant voltigeur among -them—cold and stiff—slain by a shot in his heart, -and with his right hand still grasping the hilt of the -same sabre with which he had threatened and so -chivalrously spared me. I was at the defence of -Alba, and with the covering army at Badajoz, and I -fought at Victoria, where our colonel, the gallant -Cadogan, was killed, and where we put up a statue to -his memory; but so unlike him, that I am sure if -the good man ever looks at it out of Heaven, he will -never recognise himself. -</p> - -<p> -"We had always hard fighting, for I belonged to -the light troops; and so far as the head was -concerned in those days, I was very well adapted for -that branch of the service. -</p> - -<p> -"My regiment, the Highland Light Infantry, belonged -to the first brigade of the second division of infantry -(Sir Rowland Hill's), and at the time when this little -narrative opens was quartered at Aranjuez, a small -town of Toledo, about twenty miles south of Madrid, -on the left bank of the Tagus. Though we had -been for some months in quarters of refreshment on -the Portuguese frontier, and had there received -several supplies of clothing, &c., from Britain, in -consequence of the rapid movements of the army, -which, by turning the positions on the Ebro and -Douro, had driven back the French under Joseph -and Jourdan, making them to traverse the whole -length of Spain in one short month, and the -incessant activity of the light troops, my uniform was -reduced to a mere mass of rags. My cap, a kind of -Highland bonnet, checquered, but without feathers -(like that still retained by the 71st and 74th -Regiments), was worn into many holes, and the rain came -through upon my head. My epaulettes, or wings, -were reduced to black wire; my coatee, turned to -purple and black, was, like my Tartan trews, patched -with cloth of every hue; my sash had shrunk to -a remnant; the pipeclay had long disappeared from -my shoulder-belt, and the sheath of my claymore was -worn away until six inches of the bare blade stuck -through it And such was the general appearance of -the officers of our regiment, as, with our canvas -haversacks, our blankets and cloaks slung in our -sashes, and carrying wooden canteens, similar to -those of the privates, we marched into Aranjuez, and -defiled, with pipes playing and drums beating, -towards the great summer palace of Philip II., which -occupies a little island formed by the Tagus and -the Xarama, and is surrounded by the most beautiful -pleasure-grounds. -</p> - -<p> -"In one hand I carried my sword, in the other -a ham, which I had picked up when overhauling -a French caisson. My lieutenant had a small -wine-skin, and my ensign a round loaf under his arm; -thus, we, the officers of the 1st company, looked -forward, to what we deemed, in those hard times, a -sumptuous repast, on halting in the quadrangle of -the vast and silent palace, from which Joseph and his -court had fled but a few hours before, leaving behind -many a sign of their hasty departure. Here lay -Turkey carpets half torn up; there, velvet hangings -but half torn down; in one room were bales of -furniture, ornaments, and plate, packed but abandoned; -in another lay the remains of a sumptuous feast, -the wine was yet in the half-emptied glass; the fork -remained in the breast of the turkey; the ashes -of a large fire yet smouldered in the vast kitchen, -and in each apartment of these long and magnificent -suites, which traverse the whole palace of -Philip II., were splendid Parisian clocks, with their -gilt pendulums yet wagging under crystal shades, -and all remaining in statu quo, just as the French -fugitives had left them, on the approach of our -advanced guard. -</p> - -<p> -"We chose our apartment, seized utensils, and, after -a bath in the sandy Xarama to refresh us after our -long and dusty march, we sat down to a supper on -my ham, the ensign's loaf, and the lieutenant's skin -of the country wine. Fresh from the royal gardens -we took fruit in abundance; for the season was -summer, and the purple grape, the golden apple, and the -ruddier orange, with the ripe pomegranate, were all -to be had at arm's length from the tall, painted -windows. Nor were cigars wanting: for, when -investigating the contents of a certain press, I found -several boxes, from which we supplied ourselves, and -gave the remainder to the men of our company, who -were solacing themselves in the adjacent apartments, -and lounging on the velvet sofas, down ottomans, and -satin fauteuils, on which the fair demoiselles of the -usurper's court had sat but the day before. -</p> - -<p> -"The quarter-guards were set; the out-pickets had -been posted in the direction of the enemy; in the -palace court, our ten pipes had sounded for the tatoo, -and, wearied to excess, we lay down, some on beds, -and some on benches, but many more on the hard -floor, where we slept soundly, and heedless of the -advancing, the marching, and skirmishing of the -morrow; for we light troops had always our full share of -the latter. -</p> - -<p> -"I was in this luxurious state—for dry quarters, -and a sound sleep after a hearty meal, are great -luxuries to the campaigner—when I was shaken by the -shoulder, and I heard the devilish voice of our -sergeant-major saying— -</p> - -<p> -"'I beg your pardon, Captain ——; the first officer -for duty is required to take convalescents to the rear -They march an hour before daylight, and the adjutant -sent me to warn you, sir, and say, the piper will blow -the rouse in twenty minutes.' -</p> - -<p> -"He retired, having delivered his orders; and then, -as a pleasant sequel to them, I heard the rain—the -heavy rain of Castile, where every drop is the size of -a walnut—pattering on the long range of palace -windows which faced the east. No man ever left a warm -down bed more unwillingly than did I the hard tiled -floor of the sala. I rolled up my cloak and blanket, -slung them with my haversack and canteen, and then -groped about for a small portmanteau which contained -all my goods and gear; and, without disturbing my -two comrades to bid them 'good-bye'—for, poor -fellows! after so long a march as that of yesterday, to -have done so would have been positive inhumanity—with -half-closed eyes, I hurried along, stumbling -over the sleeping soldiers, muskets, knapsacks, and -broken furniture with which the vast halls and suites -of chambers were encumbered. After losing myself -for a time in that famous apartment of mirrors, where -Godoy and the Queen were wont to perform fandangos, -I reached the bridge of Toledo, as it is named -from the road which crosses it; and there I found -the convalescents assembling, in the dark of a cold -and rainy morning, for daylight was yet an hour -distant, and I heard the heavy drops battering the tarred -canvas covers of the wretched caissons, wherein the -sick and wounded lay. I heard the rain also lashing -on the parapets of the bridge, and raising bubbles on -the rapid stream which swept below its arches. -</p> - -<p> -"There were not less than thirty waggons or bullock-cars -filled by officers alone, many of them sick, or -suffering from diseases produced by hardship and -starvation; others from wounds, and the amputation -of legs and arms, by the stupid apothecaries' boys, -who composed almost wholly our medical staff in the -Peninsula. In rags and misery, almost shirtless and -shoeless, they lay closely packed in the caissons -among a little straw; and one—the weakest and -most reduced—was the famous Irish assistant-surgeon, -Maurice Quill, of the 31st Regiment. I had -one officer of the 1st Dragoon Guards, who, being mad -as a March hare, had an entire waggon to himself, and -I heard him bellowing like a wild bull, above the -rushing rain and the howling wind as I approached -this mournful assemblage on the old bridge of Toledo. -</p> - -<p> -"I received the lists and commissariat papers, &c., -in the dark, from the brigade-major, who carried a -lantern under his cloak, and, in bidding me adieu, -bade me beware of Barba Roxa, or Red-bearded -Sancho, a thief, whose exploits were then making some -noise in Toledo and La Mancha. The few soldiers -who accompanied me were also convalescents, on -their way home to be discharged, and, consequently, -were barely able to carry their arms. I had a French -troop horse, captured in the scramble at Arroyo del -Molino, and by my side rode the only effective man -in the detachment, my orderly dragoon; who, for the -good service he rendered me by his inborn bravery -and fidelity, I shall ever remember with gratitude, -Darby Crogan, a private of the 4th, or Royal Irish -Dragoon Guards, and when I say he was every inch -a true Irish soldier, further comment is needless. -</p> - -<p> -"Though we had enough and to spare of fighting, I -own that it was with no ordinary feeling of dissatisfaction -I departed on this duty, leaving my comrades -to push on towards the south, to fight and win the -great battle of Vittoria, and drive the French from -Spain; while I had the foreknowledge that there was -never an instance known of an officer leaving the -army, in charge of convalescents, without being -involved in the most serious quarrels with the Spanish -authorities, both civil and military. But there was -no alternative for me; so, muffling myself in my -cloak, after sharing with Darby Crogan a glass of -brandy from a certain convenient flask, which hung -at my waist-belt, and after a good deal of galloping -to and fro, swearing at muleteers and bullock-drivers, -the cars were put in motion, and the march began -just as the first streak of dawn glimmered dimly -above the distant sierras. -</p> - -<p> -"A company of Les Chasseurs Brittaniques (who, -though French deserters and ragamuffins of every -kind, wore the red British uniform), under a Captain -H——, marched also for Ciudad Real, and nearly at -the same time, but were ordered to pursue a route -apart from mine, by Santa Cruz de la Zarza, and down -the other side of the mountains, by Corral de -Almuguer and Madridejos. -</p> - -<p> -"The morning had broken clear and cloudless, -when, passing through an open tract of country, we -reached Yepes, and the summer sun of Castile came -up in all his burning glory. I generally rode about -fifty yards in front of my party to avoid the incessant -complaints and cries of the sick and wounded, whose -ailments or sores were exasperated by the increasing -heat and pitiless jolting of the bullock-cars, which -had neither springs nor iron axles. The day was -cloudless and scorching; the plain hot, dry, and -dusty, all vegetation being burned out of it. No -breeze came from the distant mountains; but a vast -swarm of black flies, which floated like a vapour -about us, gave incredible annoyance. -</p> - -<p> -"A poor young officer (lieutenant in an English -light cavalry regiment) expired under the pain of his -mortifying wounds and accumulated sufferings. This -event caused a temporary halt. By the side of the -mule-track, which crossed that arid plain, we hastily -made a little grave, about a foot deep, and laid him -down, yet warm, in his uniform, and coffinless. A -little of the blood-stained straw from the waggons was -spread over his face, and then we covered him up, -heaping the dry dusty soil over him by our feet, by -the butts of muskets, and blades of bayonets, to keep -the wolves from disturbing his rest. Near this lonely -grave there flowed a little fountain from a rude stone -duct, which had been made in the days of old, 'en -tiempo antique,' as a mule-driver told me. In twenty -minutes after, we were all again en route, with the -mule-bells jangling and the wheels jarring, as if -nothing had happened; but his place in the waggon -was soon supplied, as every hour some of my -convalescent guard became unable to endure the weight of -their trappings, and had to be placed among the sick. -Thus our progress was so slow that night was closing -before we entered La Guardia, a small town, about -sixteen miles from Aranjuez. -</p> - -<p> -"As we clambered and toiled up the rocky ridge -which it crowns, on the right bank of the Cedron, -Crogan and I, who rode in front, were surprised to -find the little town almost deserted, and that a few of -the inhabitants who had lingered until we were close -at hand, were retiring from it on the other side, some -on foot and others on mules, but all bearing away -their goods and chattels, beds and furniture. -Entering, we found it empty; and as there were neither -alcalde nor alguazils to go through the farce of -distributing billets, we quartered ourselves wherever we -best could. After conveying all the wounded from -the waggons into the great convent (I carried Dr. Quill -on my back, for he was weak as a child), there we -laid them, in rows, on the tiled floors; and, after -filling their canteens with water, left them to warm -themselves the best way they could, for we were -wearied almost to death by the slow loitering march -of the past day, under a scorching Castilian sun. -</p> - -<p> -"La Guardia is surrounded by a strong but ruinous -fortified wall, which was built in the olden time to -defend the district from the incursions of the Moors; -and at each end it had a gate, whereon I posted a -guard of a corporal and three men; for as the whole -country swarmed with thieves and guerilla deserters, -I knew not what picaros might be lurking in the old -gypsum quarries near the Cedron. -</p> - -<p> -"Darby Crogan and I took possession of a deserted -house in the main street. He lighted a fire, and -being scarce of fuel, made pretty free use of the -doors and shutters, chairs and tables; and we broiled -on a ramrod, or boiled in a camp-kettle, our poor -ration beef, sprinkling it with flour, and eating it -without salt, for that was a commodity extremely -scarce among us in Spain; hence, the flavour of our -commissariat beef, after being carried in a canvas -haversack, on a long day's march, under a burning -sun, would have driven Soyer or his majesty of Oude -into fits. -</p> - -<p> -"We had scarcely concluded this miserable meal, -which we shared fraternally—for on service, though -discipline is never forgotten, the officer and private -are more blended together, as real soldierly sentiment -replaces empty etiquette—when we were startled -by the report of two or three muskets in our -immediate vicinity. -</p> - -<p> -"'Hollo!' said Crogan, springing to the door -of the house, 'the inimy 'ill be on us before we can -say peas!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Some guerillas, or picaros, or perhaps, Barba -Roxa,' said I, setting down my flask of aguardiente, -to listen. -</p> - -<p> -"'Darby Roxy!—sure it 'ill be pleasant to meet a -namesake.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Not if he beats up our quarters, when we are in -so poor a condition to resist any who might attempt -it; and the watches and rings, &c., of so many sick -officers are booty enough for a few enterprising -Spaniards, who might try to knock the guard on the -head. Look to our pistols, Crogan; bring up the -horses, and we will ride forth to reconnoitre.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Right, yer honour—I'm the man,' replied the -active Irishman, as he looked to the priming of our -pistols, loaded his carbine, and hurried to the shed -close by, where our horses were chewing their -rations of chopped straw; he saddled, and brought -them to the door; and thus, in three minutes, we -were both mounted. Meanwhile, the guards at each -gate of the little town had turned out; and, leaving -word to get the whole party under arms in the street, -accompanied by Crogan, I rode at a rapid trot -towards that direction in which the flashes had been -seen by our sentinels. -</p> - -<p> -"La Guardia lay buried in obscurity; the night was -dark, and a thin vapour veiled the stars; but no -moon was visible, though at times a red meteor -flashed across the sky. As the warm night-wind -passed over the vast tracts of waste and untilled -land, it was laden with the rich aroma of those -innumerable little plants like mignionette, which -flourish by the wayside in all the wild parts of -Spain. -</p> - -<p> -"'Soft ground, sir,' said Crogan, as his horse -stumbled among the dry-scorched soil; 'by the -holy! this is just like still-hunting, only the bog, bad -luck to it! is as dhry as a bone.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Hush!' said I, reining in my horse; 'do you -not hear something?' -</p> - -<p> -"'By my troth I do,'replied Darby; and as he -spoke, a musket flashed about a quarter of a mile -distant; and then we heard a faint cry, like a -woman's. -</p> - -<p> -"'There are no French in this neighbourhood,' -said I, surprised. -</p> - -<p> -"'But plinty of thaves and robbers, sir; and a nice -meetin' it 'id be for us.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward!' said I; 'we must just take them, like -our wives, Crogan, for better or worse.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And, like the wives, a sorry takin' it may be for -some of us,' said Darby, with a reckless laugh, as we -rode on in the dark; and reaching the skirt of a -cork wood, found a large Spanish coach, drawn by two -mules—such a turn-out as one might have met in -those days on the prados of Seville or Madrid—being -ransacked by five or six ruffians, armed with -pistols, knives, and carbines. A man lay dead among -the long grass, near the trees; the mules were kicking -and plunging in the traces; and while one -ruffian dragged out two ladies, the others were cutting -open and emptying their portmanteaus. I drew my -a word. -</p> - -<p> -"'Make your horse rear, sir, the moment we are -fired at,' cried Crogan, who was a practised trooper—' -'twas by not doing so that Corporal Lanigan, of -ours, got a ball in his chest, at Talavera—his first -battle too.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward!' cried I, 'cut them down!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Whoop—hubaboo! this baste ov mine 'ud clear -the rock of Cashel at one spring!' exclaimed Crogan, -who uttered an Irish yell, as we fell suddenly on the -marauders; and though we were but two to six, -routed them in a moment. Three shots were fired -at us: I cut one fellow across the hand, and severed -his fingers, which grasped the barrel of his musket; -Darby stretched another among the grass, and, -whether scared by his Irish shout, our sudden onset, -or the dread that there were more of us, I know not -but in a twinkling they had vanished into the wood, -and we sprang from our horses to assist the ladies. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay de mi! señor oficial!' cried the younger, -grasping me by the left arm; 'a thousand prayers -and thanks.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay! mi señor Caballero, muchias gracias,' added -the elder, making a stately, but profound curtsy to -Crogan. -</p> - -<p> -"'Why, mam, you make a regular Irish dip,' said -he, raising his hand to the peak of his helmet -'But, sure you've dhropped something,' he added, -picking up a flask. 'Oh, it can't be this, at -all—aggadenty, the thafe! Hurroo! it's like raal Cork, -but out of a bran-new cask.' -</p> - -<p> -"The old lady now turned to me, perceiving that -I was the officer, and prayed 'el santo de las santos,' -and all the saints in heaven might bless us, for -our courageous and timely succour. -</p> - -<p> -"'We are on our way to Ciudad Real from -Madridejos, and were attacked in the wood. My señor -escudero was shot, our outriders fled; and the -ladrones would undoubtedly have maltreated me—not -that I cared for myself, señor, but my dear little -goddaughter—la nina—the child—la nina Estella. -It was all for her that I trembled'—and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -"By the moon, which glinted for a time through -the hazy clouds, I could perceive that the speaker -was a middle-aged lady, very dark complexioned; and, -though not handsome, possessing a tolerably good, -even stately presence; and that her goddaughter, -whose features were blanched by terror, had fine -dark Spanish eyes, and a graceful figure, though -somewhat undersized. -</p> - -<p> -"I begged of them to be no longer alarmed. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señoras,' said I, 'my detachment is at La -Guardia, close at hand; allow me to offer my escort -to you, so far as Ciudad Real, for that, also, is my -destination.' -</p> - -<p> -"'We owe you a thousand thanks, señor oficial,' -replied the gentle voice of la nina Estella, who -seemed to be somewhere about eighteen. 'Oh, I -shall never forget that fellow's red beard! Madre de -Dios, what a size and colour it was!' -</p> - -<p> -"'O ho! then our friend was Sancho himself.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah, señor,' said the old lady, 'how happily we -will avail ourselves of your kind offer.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Good—I shall have pleasant companions for -the remainder of this most unpleasant journey,' -thought I, beginning to repack the half-rifled mails. -</p> - -<p> -"'We are travelling in great haste,' said the señora. -'Is your detachment composed of horse or foot, -caballero?' -</p> - -<p> -"'It partakes of both, señora; being thirty -waggons of sick and wounded.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sick and wounded! O madre de Dios! 'tis -quite a travelling hospital; thirty waggons—a -lazarretto—and I have lost my priceless relic of -St. Margarida the Scot. Oh, señor valaroso, we owe -you a million of favours, but will rather proceed -alone. And here is this rogue, Pedro, come back -with his mule. Ah, false coward, to leave your -young mistress in such peril. I will have you well -beaten when we reach Ciudad Real; I will, sir. -What would have become of us, but for the -miraculous arrival of the señor oficial?' -</p> - -<p> -"While I assisted the trembling Pedro to restrap -the portmanteaus, and put the mules in order, a -colloquy was proceeding between Darby Crogan, and -the Spaniard whom he had levelled when the fray -first began. -</p> - -<p> -"'Silence, now,' I heard him say, while striking -the butt of his carbine to shake the priming; 'it -will soon be all over wid ye; so die aisy—do, and -don't be bothering me.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay, por amor de Dios, Señor Inglese,' implored -the Spaniard on his knees. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor Inglese, indeed!' said Darby, testily, as -the aquardiente mounted into his brain; 'is it an -Englishman you'd call me, you rascally Spaniard, -and I, praise God! a dacent Irishman, like my -father and mother before me?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay de mi, Señor Dragone——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Dragon, is it, now! I have a name, Mr. Spaniard, -as good as your own, for lack of a better, and that is -Darby Crogan, ould Widda Crogan's boy, at the four -cross roads, near the bog of ——; but what am I -prating about? To make a long story short, -prepare for your wooden surtoo, and make a clane -breast you spalpeen of the earth, you!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Come, come, Darby,' said I, 'let him go; he is -only a poor rascal of a Murcian.' -</p> - -<p> -"'It's only makin' game of him I am, your -honour; but sure I am that his being, as you say, a -marchent won't make him feel dyin' a bit more,' -replied Darby, uncocking his carbine with an air of -discontent. 'Richly he desarves to die, for he fired -his pistols at me twice; the curse of Cromwell be -on him!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Away now,' said I, pointing to the wood; -'vayan usted con Dios, or demonic, if it suits you -better; and see, villain, that we meet no more!' -</p> - -<p> -"With a dark gleam in his eye the disarmed robber -slunk away, and I saw that his face, where not streaked -with blood from Darby's sword cut, was ghastly pale -with hate, fear, and fury. -</p> - -<p> -"We placed the ladies in their antique caravan-looking -coach; buckled their baggage on the pyramidal -top thereof; furnished Pedro and another servant -with the arms and ammunition of the two robbers; -promised to see the unfortunate escudero interred, a -promise which we never performed; and after escorting -them some miles beyond the cork wood, bade -them adieu, receiving a pressing invitation to visit -them at Ciudad Real, 'where every one knew Donna -Emerenciana de Alcala-de-los-Gazules,' which name I -give myself no small credit for remembering. We -then returned to La Guardia, and for a time thought -no more of the affair. -</p> - -<p> -"I had ordered the drum to be beaten before daylight, -but it was not until two hours after it that the -whole of the sick and wounded were again stowed -into their waggons, and en route; for in the -back-garden of the convent we had to bury those whom -we found dead. -</p> - -<p> -"Then again began that melancholy chorus of -groans and cries of pain, mingled with curses in -English and Spanish, the cracking of whips, and -jingle of bells, as the obstinate mules and lazy -bullocks, which drew the rude cars, were urged to motion; -and over wretched roads we departed from La Guardia, -towards the mountains. -</p> - -<p> -"Passing over the ground of the last night's -adventure, Crogan picked up something which glittered -amongst the grass; it proved to be the portrait of a -young lady, in a veil, flowing over a high comb; and -in her well-arched eyebrows, fine dark eyes, roguish -mouth, and fascinating smile, I recognised Donna -Estella. -</p> - -<p> -"'Bravo! a delightful souvenir of La Guardia,' -said I; and, after admiring it for a time, consigned it -to my breast-pocket. 'Darby, I will owe you a dollar -for this when I draw on the paymaster.' I gazed at -it frequently on the march, and every time I did so -ray interest in the original increased (but bah! do -not think I was fool enough to fall in love with a -mere miniature), and I resolved that if she was to be -found in Ciudad Real I would certainly discover and -visit her. -</p> - -<p> -"Again a black cloud of flies covered the whole of -us; several cars broke down; and such was the terrible -nature of the road that one fell entirely over a -precipice, bullocks, wounded, and all; and then so -great was the delay occasioned by the various -casualties, that evening came on before we reached Mora, -which is only ten miles from La Guardia. So the -reader may have some idea of the tedium of our progress. -</p> - -<p> -"Mora I found also abandoned by its inhabitants, -who fled at our approach, carrying with them all -provisions and everything else which could be borne -away. Many of the houses appeared to have been -recently burned, for flames were yet smouldering in -three of them, and in another two men were lying -dead; one shot, the other bayoneted. Being certain -that there were no French in the neighbourhood, or -nearer than Burgos and Navarre, I was at a loss to -comprehend the source of this terror and outrage: -but, influenced by anxiety to be nearer Ciudad Real, -and to have my defenceless detachment disposed of -for that night, I pushed on, in hope of reaching a -small village, which, as my 'route' indicated, lay -about ten miles further off. -</p> - -<p> -"Descending from Mora, we traversed a plain which -lies between two sierras that terminate at Porzuna, in -La Mancha: and if our progress was slow by day, it -was slower still by night. The heat was yet -excessive; a thick impalpable dust floated about us; the -air was close and still; there was not a breath of -wind. Our thirst was intense, and a murmur of -satisfaction arose from my mournful cavalcade when the -blackened sky, and the croaking of the frogs, -announced rain; and when it did come, it came in -torrents. Then, raising the covers of the waggons, the -wretched patients thrust out their pallid faces and -trembling hands to catch the heavy drops. The -dusty plain soon became transformed into a sea of -mud, and the poor convalescent guard sank above -their ankles at every step, while, deeper still, the -mules went above their fetlocks. -</p> - -<p> -"Anxious and impatient, accompanied by my orderly, -I rode forward a few miles, but failed to discover -the said village; the whole district was desolate, -and being without a guide, I feared that we had -lost the way. On returning I found matters still -worse; for, taking advantage of my absence, the -villanous Spaniards, by a preconcerted arrangement, -had simultaneously cut the traces of their mules and -bullocks, and (though my guard shot a few of them -in the attempt) had fled, leaving the sick and wounded -to die in the wilderness. -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot say whether anger or despair was my -prevailing emotion; but to be left thus, with three -or four-and-twenty waggons (for their number was -now reduced), full of sick and dying men, among the -mountains of Toledo, without provisions, and without -a medical officer, was not very pleasant. Though -the rain was still falling, as it falls only in Spain -(like one ceaseless and tremendous shower-bath), -Crogan and I departed at a gallop after the runaways, -but could only overtake one; and, as he would -neither halt nor obey us, we fired at him with our -pistols, and, breaking his leg, left him in the same -condition he had left so many of our comrades. -</p> - -<p> -"Aware that not a moment should be lost in -procuring a fresh team, we turned in the direction of -Toledo, and ascended the sierra, half blinded by the -rain which lashed in our faces, and, by swelling the -streams from the hills, was fast making the valley -between them a sheet of water -</p> - -<p> -"'A fine thing it will be, your honour,' said -Crogan—'for I'm just in the mood to be savage—if we -fall in with the Rapparees that rummaged over the -ould lady, last night, and sacked Mora and La -Guardia.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Never mind, Darby, my boy, you will die in the -bed "of honour" then.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Divil a one of me cares—though, by my sowl,' -he added, as our horses plashed fetlock-deep in -water, 'I would like that same bed of yer honour's -to be a dhry one.' -</p> - -<p> -"'So would I, Darby, but remember— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'Why should we be melancholy, boys,<br /> - Whose business 'tis to——die?'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"'By the hokey! that ditty sounds very like as if -the man that made it, sir, had been up to his neck in -a bog at the time. But there are lights!' -</p> - -<p> -"'And the rain is abating, too.' -</p> - -<p> -"To be brief. After a ten miles' ride, we reached -Almonacid de Zorita, a small town of New Castile, -where we roused the alcalde from his bed. He -summoned his alguazils, and they, after an infinite deal -of trouble, collected by impress all the cattle in the -place, amounting to about twenty mules, and as -many bullocks. The alcalde assisted us with -ill-concealed reluctance, and told me that he and the -alcalde of Mora had that morning transmitted to the -commandant at Ciudad Real an account of certain -outrages, and lawless impressment of mules, -committed by a British detachment, at Mora and La -Guardia.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You must mistake, Señor Alcalde,' said I, -angrily, for I was drenched to the skin at the time; -'the only plunderers of La Guardia, if I may judge -from personal experience, are true Castilians.' -</p> - -<p> -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz shall judge,' said -the alcalde, showing us to the door. 'Adieu, -señores.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Good-bye, old gentleman, and bad manners to -you,' said Crogan, as we leaped on our horses, and, -recrossing the sierra reached the waggons about -daybreak: and though sleepless and exhausted, I was -but too happy when the new team was traced to them, -and the whole were once more on their way towards -La Mancha. -</p> - -<p> -"Slowly and wearily we toiled on by the banks of -the Algador, and again crossing the mountains, near -a lake into which it flows, reached Guadalerza, all -but overcome by heat and fatigue. I remember that -near the lake (which was literally alive with adders -and small snakes) there stood a solitary convent; -and as we passed its walls, the fair recluses waved -their handkerchiefs from their narrow gratings, with -many a cry of 'viva los Inglesos,' so long as we were -within hearing. From Guadalerza, fortunately, the -inhabitants had not fled, and they answered promptly -and readily the piteous cries of our sufferers for -water, which was supplied to them in crocks and -jars, that were filled and emptied as if to quell a -conflagration. -</p> - -<p> -"The village of Fuentelfresno, which overlooks -those sands from whence the Guadiana is supposed -to spring, was our next halting-place, but its -miserable and impoverished inhabitants were totally -unable to afford us rations of any kind; and there -several of the wounded, whose sabre-cuts or -gun-shot wounds, by the jolting of the waggons, had -broken out afresh, expired. There were two officers -and four soldiers, whom we buried in one hole (alas! I -cannot call it a grave), under an old orange-tree, near -the Jarama. Finding that it was useless to halt in a -place where we were in danger of starving, we went -further on, and bivouacked nine miles beyond it. -near a little runnel of spring water, on a fine green -plain. The soundest sleep that ever closed my eyes -was enjoyed there, on that soft grassy sward, beside -my horse's heels; but I cannot omit to mention the -terror by which it was broken. -</p> - -<p> -"My charger snorted, reared, and tried madly to -break away from the peg to which I had picketted him. -</p> - -<p> -"I raised myself on inv elbow, and looked around -me. The waggons were all closely drawn up side by -side: the escort were sleeping among their piled -arms, and, muffled in their great-coats, our four -sentinels stood motionless, about three hundred yards -distant. The moonlight was clear and beautiful. -Suddenly something reared its head close beside me; -I shrunk under my blanket, and, lo! a frightful -snake, nearly fifteen feet long, passed over the whole -bivouac, hissing and gliding; but, fortunately, without -biting any one, it disappeared into a little thicket -of laurels and underwood which grew near us. -</p> - -<p> -"'Och, this Spain!—snakes, too—divil mend it!' -I heard Crogan muttering in his sleep; 'more ov it -yet! and I have never had a raal good potato down -my throat since I came into it.' -</p> - -<p> -"Next day, the sun-burnt plains of La Mancha lay -before us; but ere the intense heat of noon, we -reached Fernancaballero, in the partida of -Piedrabueno; and there (so exhausted were my soldiers, -and so terrible the complaints of the wounded), -though my route permitted me to tarry but one night, -I was compelled to halt for two additional days, an -indulgence which nearly cost me my life. In the -early morning, when visiting the quarters of the sick -and wounded, to render them any assistance in my -power before marching, I became aware that a person -was following me through the dark, muddy, and -unpaved streets of the mountain Puebla. -</p> - -<p> -"As a soldier, habitually cautious, and, as a -campaigner, aware of the Spanish character, I grasped -the hilt of my Highland sword, and walked watchfully on. -</p> - -<p> -"This man, by whom I had certainly been dogged -and followed for some time, was now joined by two -others, and the three accompanied my steps, remaining -close behind. Crogan was looking after our -horses, and I had no other orderly or attendant; but -resolving that if their intentions were bad to anticipate -them, I halted, and confronting the trio, said, as -if without suspicion.— -</p> - -<p> -"'Señores, que hora es?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Son los quatro, Caballero,' replied one, gaping at -me with surprise on being so suddenly accosted; but -I saw the ominous gleam of two knives, as they were -secretly drawn from the broad worsted sashes of his -companions, who skilfully endeavoured to conceal the -act. Quick as lightning, drawing a pistol from my -belt, I fired a bullet right at the head of one, whose -enormous red beard the flash revealed to me. The -hall tore open his cheek, and carried away his left -ear. His comrade rushed upon me, but I received -him by thrusting the muzzle into his mouth, and -hurling him furiously back. On this they all took to -flight; but not before I perceived that the wounded -man had his left hand swathed in a bandage. -</p> - -<p> -"'O ho, Señor Sancho, la Barba Roxa!' said I, -recognising the robber whom I had maimed at La -Guardia; 'I thought your voice was not unfamiliar -to me.' -</p> - -<p> -"I hurried to the muster-place, in a frame of mind -that struggled between wrath at my narrow escape, -and triumph at the victory I had won; but, in ten -minutes after, the drum beat, and, replacing the sick -in the waggons, we moved off. -</p> - -<p> -"Our march of fifteen miles from Fernancaballero -we got rapidly over; for Crogan and I having found -no less than twenty-five mules grazing near the -Alzuer, which there flows through a fertile, plain, -many of them bridled, as if just abandoned by their -riders, we yoked them to the waggons, and entering -Ciudad Real, the capital of La Mancha, passed at a -rapid pace through its broad, straight, and well-paved -streets, to the great Plaza, or principal square. -</p> - -<p> -"'The Lord be praised!' thought I, as the train -halted, and I gave in my papers to the Spanish -town-major, Don José Gonzales y Llano, a field-officer of -that regiment of Leon, which fled, en masse, from the -field of Vittoria. 'My duty and my troubles are -over together.' -</p> - -<p> -"But I was grievously mistaken, as I might have -augured from the manner of the town-major, who -curled his mustaches, and shifted from one foot -to the other, like a man who has something -unpleasant to say, but dares not. -</p> - -<p> -"While the occupants of the waggons were being -conveyed to hospital by fatigue-parties of Spanish -soldiers, and my guard joined a detachment of -convalescents, who, under another officer, were on their -march towards the castle of Belem. I soon became -aware that I was an object of marked attention to -the denizens of Ciudad Real. A vast crowd had -gathered in the Plaza, and I saw many men, particularly -paisanos, gesticulating violently, and pointing -to me, while the muttering gradually rose into shouts -of 'Maldetto! mueran los Inglesos! Perro! ladrone! bandido!' -</p> - -<p> -"'What the devil is the meaning of all this?' -thought I; and indignantly pushed my horse right -through them. On this the cries redoubled, and the -crowd increased so fast, that I was fain to ride at a -trot towards the house of a guantero (a maker of -those gloves for which Ciudad Real is famous -throughout Spain), on whom I had been billeted. There I -found Darby Crogan awaiting me, breathless, exasperated, -and carbine in hand, for he, too, had been -followed in the same manner by a mob, who shouted, -yelled, threw mud, stones, and rotten melons, with -every missile which the uncleaned streets so readily -afforded. We were perfectly at a loss to comprehend -the cause of treatment so unusual and so unmerited. -</p> - -<p> -"'El guantero, our patron, is as cross as two -sticks, or a bag of ould nails, devil mend him! and -unless your honour has a coin about you, it's but a -cowld supper we'll have,' said Crogan, as we entered -the sala, or principal apartment of the house. -</p> - -<p> -"'I have not had a peseta since we left Mora,' said -I; 'but here is the patron at supper, on a cold fowl, -too! we are just in time.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sure he'll ask us to ate wid him—Och! for the -smallest taste in life!' sighed poor Darby, for our -food had been principally roasted castanos during -the two previous days, so miserably was the Spanish -commissariat conducted. The patron was certainly -at supper; but, instead of welcoming us to his house -as the deliverers of Spain, who had driven the -usurper from Torres Vedras to the Douro, from the -Douro to the Ebro, and from thence towards the -Pyrenees, he barely bestowed a bow upon us, and -desired his servant to conduct me to one room and -Crogan to another. Amazed at the coldness of this -reception within, which corresponded so exactly with -the ungenerous treatment of the mob without, a -storm of indignation gathered in my heart; but -being aware that a strong Spanish garrison occupied -the citadel, and that the Dons were lads who did not -stand on trifles, I pocketed my wrath and turned -away, resolving on the morrow to discover Donna -Emerenciana and la nina Estella. -</p> - -<p> -"'Blue blazes!' grumbled Darby; 'are we not to -have a ration of something to-night? Lord, sir, you -don't know how hungry I am, for the two insides o' -me are sticking together. I wish we had hould of -that darling pullet.' -</p> - -<p> -"'So do I, Crogan, and that the old guantero had -hold of the horns of the moon.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Wid his fingers well greased, the ould thief! -Never mind, sir, wait till they're all asleep, and if I -lave a place unransacked, I am not the boy of ould -Widdy Crogan, at the four cross-roads.' -</p> - -<p> -"The sulky looks of the glover were reflected by -those of his wife and servant, a buxom Basque -woman, who wore her coal-black hair plaited into one -long tail, which overhung her thick woollen petticoat -of bright yellow. Her stockings were scarlet; and I -saw Crogan squinting at her well-turned ankles, -cased in their neat leather abarcas, as she tripped -before us, up the steep wooden stair that led to my -apartment. The brown-cheeked Basque bade us -'good-night,' in bad Spanish, set down the light, -and on being told that one room would do for the -soldier and myself, withdrew. Crogan placed a few -chairs against the door, and near them lay down on -the floor, with his carbine loaded and half-cocked. -Without undressing, I threw myself on the bed, with -my drawn sword beside me, for the uproar still -continued in the street; but long before its din had died -away, we were both buried in profound sleep—the -deep and dreamless slumber of long weariness and -toil. -</p> - -<p> -"From this happy state I was aroused about midnight -by a loud noise. Sword in hand, I sprang up, -and Darby's promise to overhaul the patron's pantry -flashed upon my mind. But, lo! a lantern glared -into my eyes; and I saw the brown uniforms, red -facings, silver epaulettes, bronzed features, and -enormous mustaches of several Spanish officers, who -surrounded me with drawn swords. Among them I -recognised Don José Gonzalez y Llano, the town-major, -by whose orders I was roughly seized and disarmed. -The lantern was held rudely before my face, -then to my belt-plate and the buttons of my coat. -</p> - -<p> -"'The seventy-first regimento infanteria de Escotos,' -said one. -</p> - -<p> -"'La division de Don Roland Hill,' said another. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señores, what is the meaning of this intrusion, -and how dare you lay hands thus upon me?' -</p> - -<p> -"'The Marquis of Santa Cruz de la Zarza will tell -you that,' said the little major, insolently. -</p> - -<p> -"'Then where is the marquis?' asked I, furiously. -</p> - -<p> -"'At his palace, where he waits you, and requires -your presence,' said a young officer, who wore the -cross of St. James and the splendid uniform of an -Ayudante de Campo. 'Come with us, señor,' he -added, politely. 'I beg to assure you that resistance -is worse than useless; so permit me, for the present, -to receive your sword.' -</p> - -<p> -"I handed the young aide-de-camp my belt and -scabbard. -</p> - -<p> -"'Gentlemen, I beg you to remember that I am -an officer bearing his Britannic Majesty's -commission.' And without saying more, I accompanied -them from the house of the glover, under escort of -four Spanish soldiers, who surrounded me with fixed -bayonets. In silence we traversed various streets, -which were buried in darkness and obscurity; and I -saw nothing of Crogan (for I had been seized while -he was on his exploring expedition); yet though -anxious and perplexed, I maintained a haughty -silence, and disdained to question my conductors. -</p> - -<p> -"The bell of the cathedral tolled midnight as we -entered the great Plaza, and saw before us the stately -palace of the marquis brilliantly illuminated, for he -was giving a magnificent fete in honour of his patron -saint, whose festival had occurred on the day that -had passed. From the lofty latticed windows, -four-and-twenty lines of variously-coloured light fell across -the great Plaza of the bull-fights, and shed their -prismatic hues on its plashing fountains. A flight of -marble steps led us to the vestibule, where a Spanish -guard of honour was under arms, with fixed bayonets; -and, passing between their ranks, we ascended -to the grand saloon of the palace. -</p> - -<p> -"In that magnificent apartment, decorated in the -florid and profusely-gilded style of Charles the Fifth's -time, filled with a deluge of light from crystal -chandeliers, and over a slippery floor of clear and -tesselated marble, I was led by my conductors through the -glittering crowd of guests. On every hand I saw the -brown uniforms, red facings, and silver epaulettes of -the Spanish line, the blue and silver of the -Portuguese, the green of the Cazadores, and the black -velvet suits of old-fashioned cavaliers, wearing the -crosses of St. James and of Calatrava. The ladies -wore, almost uniformly, dresses of black or white, but -with a profusion of the richest lace. Many of them -looked like beautiful black-eyed brides, for their -brows were wreathed with flowers, or they had one -fresh red rose among their dark glossy hair, placed -just beside the comb, from which fell that sweeping -veil which like a gauzy mist floated about their superb -figures. For years I had not looked on such a -scene. -</p> - -<p> -"'Madre de Dios! what an officer!' 'O! Santos! that -a British officer!' 'Morte de Dios! he a cavalier!' -were the exclamations in every varying tone. -I was led along the saloon; the music ceased in the -gilded gallery; the dancers paused, mingled, and -crowded about us; then reflecting that I had come -straight from the camp and field, where my -comrades were facing danger and death for these same -Spaniards, I thought the exhibition made of me by -the Major Don José Gonzalez, of the regiment of -Leon, alike scurvy and ungrateful. Our division of -the army had not received a farthing of pay for six -months at that time, and many a brave fellow fell at -Vittoria and the Pyrenees without receiving his -hard-won arrears, which, more than probably, his relations -never obtained either. -</p> - -<p> -"I was in the same plight in which I had marched -from Aranjuez; my wings worn to black wire; coat -purple, and patched with grey and blue at the elbows; -my Tartan trews a mass of darns; scabbard, as I -have said, six inches too short for the claymore; shoes -all gone at the toes; and my last shirt all gone too, -save the wrists and collar. But I was weatherbeaten -as a smuggler; and I looked more like a soldier -than the pomatumed Dons of the Spanish line, or -the Cavaliers of Calatrava, who turned up their -mustaches and muttered 'basta!' as I passed them, to -where the Marquis stood, with a lady leaning on his arm. -</p> - -<p> -"Don Christoval, of Santa Cruz, was a tall, gaunt -man, with a long Castilian visage, black lack-lustre -eyes, and a solemn air of lofty pomposity. His -mustaches were curled up to his ears. He had an -enormous basket-hilted toledo depending from a -sling-belt, and carried his handkerchief stuffed into -the hilt thereof. He wore the uniform of a Spanish -lieutenant-general, and had various little gold and -silver ornaments sparkling on his breast. I was -aware that a graceful and bright-eyed young girl, in -white lace, with her head wreathed by a superb tiara -of brilliants, leaned on his arm; but so solemnly -severe was the brow of the Marquis and so brief his -greeting, though in the old style of Castilian courtesy, -that he riveted my whole attention. Besides, I was -not a little indignant at the unceremonious manner -in which I had been brought before him, and made -a spectacle to his guests. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor Don Christoval,' said I, 'for what am I -brought—I may say dragged—hither from my billet, -after a tedious march, and after having duly delivered -over my detachment, according to my orders from -head-quarters?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor official,' replied the Marquis, with a look -of grave severity, 'you are charged with murdering -two Spaniards, carrying off twenty mules from La -Guardia, and levying other contributions in the -partida.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Who dare to be my accusers?' I asked, thunder-struck -at such a charge. -</p> - -<p> -"'The alcalde of La Guardia, whose brother is one -of the slain; and Alonzo Perez, a master-muleteer of -Fuentelfresno, whose mules you carried off.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Marquis, on my honour as a British officer and -gentleman, I deny this.' -</p> - -<p> -"The Marquis smiled coldly, as he replied,— -</p> - -<p> -"'To-morrow we will confront you with the worthy -alcalde; and as for the mules, the owner recognised -them this morning, drawing your waggons into Ciudad -Real. Each animal has a private notch in its ears.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Marquis, I beg to assure you——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sir—no more. Here I cannot listen to explanations. -I might place a guard over you, but nevertheless -consider yourself a prisoner, and believe that -any attempt to escape will be deemed but a proof of -guilt. Retain your sword—partake of our hospitality; -and I hope, señor, that the morrow will find -you prepared to refute these dark charges.' -</p> - -<p> -"He waved his hand with such an air as a Castilian -noble could alone assume, and with a lofty gait strode -away: then in his daughter, who swept on by his -side, for the first time I recognised the young lady -I had rescued at La Guardia, the original of the -portrait Darby had found, and which at that moment I -had upon my person. -</p> - -<p> -"Her large dark eyes dilated with astonishment, and -then sparkled with the recognition, which the -punctilio of the place or her father's pride and severity, -together with my tatterdemalion aspect, prevented her -avowing; and thus, though I had saved her life—yea, -more than her life—at the risk of my own, this -dazzling creature passed away and left me, without a -word of thanks or courtesy. -</p> - -<p> -"I do not remember that I felt either the alarm, -horror, or astonishment that might be supposed -consequent to an accusation so startling as murder and -marauding. I can only account for this by the -deadness of feeling and of all sense of danger which -results from actual service and warfare. But there was -one emotion which I felt deeply—an angry pride; -aware that I was an object of aversion and suspicion -to the gay guests of the Marquis, among whom the -fat and ferocious little town-major made himself very -conspicuous in laying down the Spanish military law -on the enormities I had committed. The hidalgos -gazed at me indignantly through their eye-glasses; -the dark-eyed donnas peeped timidly through the -openings of their veils, and 'matador, borrachio, -Inglese ladrone,' were the gentlest of the epithets I -heard muttered by many a pretty lip. My heart -swelled with rage, and instead of joining the dancers, -or aiding in the onslaught made upon the viands -which covered the long tables of an adjoining saloon, -between lofty epergnes and vases of crystal and -silver, filled with summer flowers, I stood aloof with -folded arms, and felt the smarting of a wound -received but a few months before—and that wound -was received for Spain, and on Spanish ground! -</p> - -<p> -"At a little distance I saw the Donna Estella -whispering to her father's aide-de-camp. A minute -afterwards he approached me. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor,' said he, 'if you will pardon the advice -of a friend, I beseech you to retire to your quarters, -for all here view you with hostile eyes; and, as a -brave soldier, to whom my little cousin owes (as she -has told me) her life, I cannot afford to see you thus -misused. To-morrow, I hope, will see these clouds -dispelled; meantime, allow me to accompany you. -I have here a spare apartment, to which you are -welcome.' -</p> - -<p> -"All places were alike to me; I accepted his offer -with gratitude; and, as we descended to the vestibule, -the first person I met was honest Darby Crogan, -with his sword under his arm, and his keen grey -Irish eyes sparkling with rage; and he pushed the -laced lacqueys right and left. -</p> - -<p> -"'I have heard it all, sir,' said the brave fellow, -who had been anxious about me; 'and mighty hard -it will go wid you. It was all the doin' of that -capthin of the Chaseers Britaneeks, who came out of -his own route into ours, ransacked La Guardia, and -carried off the mules (bad cess to them!). They were -found with us, and the owner is ready to swear by -this and by that, and by everything else, that you -are the man, and these are his mules, as he knows -by the holes punched in their ears, and to these -holes he is as ready to swear as to his own two eyes.' -</p> - -<p> -"'True, Darby; but how is all this to be explained -to these hostile and obstinate Spaniards?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Kape your mind aisy, sir; there are four good -hours till daybreak yet, and if I don't astonish them -thaving Dons, I am not Darby Crogan of the 4th -Dragoon Guards.' -</p> - -<p> -"On the terrace of the palace, which had anciently -been the head-quarters of that celebrated fraternity, -the Santa Hermandad, founded in 1249 for the -suppression of robbers, I walked to and fro for half an -hour with the aide-de-camp, enjoying a cigar, talking -of the war, my own mishap, and longing to ask a -few questions about his dark-eyed cousin, with whom -her miniature had made me so intimately acquainted. -The glorious moon was rolling through an unclouded -Spanish sky, pouring a flood of silver light into the -Plaza and court of the palace, on the towers of the -great church, and the magnificent hospital of -Cardinal Lorenzana, the good and wise Archbishop of -Toledo. The gardens of the Marquis were all lighted -up by the same white radiance; the foliage of the -citron trees was edged with silver and laden with -perfume; the rose-trees hung their dewy blossoms -over the marble fountains, the clear waters of which -plashed and sparkled in the moonlight. After a -pause, I ventured to ask— -</p> - -<p> -"'What is the name of the—the Marquis's daughter?' -</p> - -<p> -"'My cousin—la nina—Estella de la Zarza.' -</p> - -<p> -"'A pretty one enough; and she is about to change -it, I presume?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Change it!' reiterated the Ayudante de Campo, -who did not perceive that I was fishing for a certain -information. 'Oh! I see—marriage. She is about -to marry, Corpo de Baccho! yes, but our Spanish -ladies do not change their names when they marry.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And who is the happy man—yourself, señor?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Nay, nay—we Catholics cannot marry our cousins. -Next week she is to wed old Don José Gonzalez.' -</p> - -<p> -"'What! that old beer-barrel, the town-major?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Si, señor,' replied he, twirling his mustaches, -with a doubtful look: while I felt that I was -beginning to abhor that town-major immeasurably. -</p> - -<p> -"About eight o'clock next morning I saw sixteen -Spanish officers in full uniform, with their swords -and belts, preceded by the said Don José, marching -in file through the court of the palace, at the -side-door of which they entered. A few minutes -afterwards my friend, the aide-de-camp, came to acquaint -me, that "the court-martial, by which I was to be -tried, was constituted, and awaited me." Without -any futile protestation against the illegality and -rapidity of this measure, I followed him to a spacious -apartment, having four large windows, which opened -clown to the floor, and overlooked a grass park which -lay behind the palace. The members of the court, -over which the town-major (who, from the first, had -constituted himself my deadly enemy) presided, were -solemnly sworn across their swords; they promised -to administer justice according to the laws of war, and -so forth, and then the prosecution proceeded. -</p> - -<p> -"I was charged with murdering, or causing to be -shot, two peasants; robbery, in levying contributions; -blasphemous sacrilege, in destroying a statue of the -Blessed Virgin. My horizon was now black as it -could be! I knew very little of the language. Save -Crogan, who remained beside me in court, I had not -a friend or a comrade near me; for the whole of my -guard had marched for Belem four hours before, -while Maurice Quill, and the other sick officers, could -neither defend nor succour me. I perceived in a -moment, that, as Crogan said, I had been accused of -outrages committed by les Chasseurs Britanniques (who -wore scarlet uniform); but I resolved, that unless -matters went hard with myself, not to criminate their -officer, who, by leaving his own proper route, and -relaxing his discipline, had become guilty of the -acts for which I was that day to suffer. The three -principal witnesses against me were, the alcalde, the -muleteer, and a farmer from the partida of La -Guardia. -</p> - -<p> -"The first—old, stupid, half-blind, and obstinate—swore -to my face that I was the officer who had -ordered his dear brother Vincentio, the abogado, to be -shot on his own threshold, and another man to be -bayoneted. In vain I drew his attention to the Highland -cap of the 71st, and to my tartan trews, assuring -him that I was an Escoto. He shook his head—I -wore a red coat—I was the very man! -</p> - -<p> -"Then came the muleteer, a sturdy Catalonian, clad -in a fur jacket and yellow cotton breeches, wearing a -broad sombrero, under which his black hair hung in -a red net. He, too, swore across his knife, that I had -carried off his train of mules, or at least, that at the -bayonet's point, my soldiers had done so, to travel -more at their ease. -</p> - -<p> -"'He did not see me, neither did he then see any -waggons of sick, but he knew his mules as well as if -he had been the father of them, the moment they -appeared in the streets of la Ciudad Real.' -</p> - -<p> -"'You will swear to your mules, hombre?' -</p> - -<p> -"'By the marks in their ears, Don José, as readily -as I would swear to my own nose.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Lead forward some of those mules to the window, -and let the witness see them.' -</p> - -<p> -"An uproar of voices was heard in the park, and the -witness, who went to the window, uttered a cry of -dismay. The ears of his twenty mules had been -shred off close by the bone! -</p> - -<p> -"'Morte de Dios!' growled the officers, twirling -their mustaches; 'these Inglesos are devils!' -</p> - -<p> -"'It was murtherin cruel for the poor bastes,' -whispered Darby Crogan; 'but it was all to save your -honour's life I cropped them; and sure it is worth a -bushel of mules' ears; for it was a good bushel ov -'em I buried this blessed morning. The Lord reward -Misther Quill, for it was his best docthor's knife he -lint me, to make croppies of them all.' -</p> - -<p> -"The little Major Don José was bursting with wrath. -</p> - -<p> -"'Call the next witness,' he exclaimed, furiously. -</p> - -<p> -"A tall, powerfully-formed, and fair-complexioned -man, who, contrary to the Spanish custom, was closely -shaven, now came forward, and stated himself to be a -farmer, or jardinero, at Mora and La Guardia. He -had a large patch on his cheek, and kept one hand -constantly thrust into the red and yellow sash which -girt his waist. -</p> - -<p> -"Confronting me boldly and vindictively, with all -the glare of hate a cold grey eye can pour, he accused -me of destroying for firewood a statue of the Virgin -at Mora, and swore to having seen the act committed. -A growl of anger followed his evidence; and I found -that shooting an alcalde's brother, and carrying off -twenty mules, were mere jokes, compared to this. I -was startled by his voice, which, assuredly, I had -heard before—but where? What could be the origin -of a charge so false, so strange, as sacrilege? I -turned to question him, but he was at that moment -ordered to withdraw. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señor Ayudante de Campo,' said Don José, -'read from the RECOPILACION of the military -penalties the first article.' -</p> - -<p> -"'El que blasfamare el santo nombre de Dios, de la -Vergén ó de los Santos, será immediamente preso y -castigado por la primero vez con la,' &c. -</p> - -<p> -"'Read the fourth article, concerning outrage to -divine images, for the prisoner has been alike -sacrilegious and blasphemous.' -</p> - -<p> -"'El que con irreverencia y deliberation cannocida -de desprecio ajare de obra las sagradas imagenes, -ornamentos ó cualquierro de las casas dedicados al -Divino culto, ó las hurtare, servá ahorcado,' &c. -</p> - -<p> -"'The plot thickens,' thought I. -</p> - -<p> -"In short, they sentenced me to be hanged. -</p> - -<p> -"The Marquis, as Governor of Ciudad Heal, dared -to confirm this unjust sentence, which he directed -should be put in execution in the Plaza, at eight -o'clock on the following morning. -</p> - -<p> -"Far, far from aid and my comrades; wholly at the -mercy of men, whose hearts the cunning charge of -the last witness had totally closed against me; aware -of the futility of denial and defiance, and the -hopelessness of rescue or escape, I sat in a grated room -of the public carcel, or gaol, of the town, almost -stupefied by the suddenness, the shame, and -opprobrium of my impending fate. 'Poets and painters,' -says a certain writer, 'have ever made the estate of a -man condemned to die one of their favourite themes -of comment or description.' By heavens! I never -met one of either which came within a thousand -degrees of the agony I endured that night at Ciudad -Real. I, a gentleman, a soldier, bearing on my -person three wounds, won on that accursed Spanish -soil; innocent of all they alleged; young, with a long -life and rapid promotion before me, to be cut off -thus—strangled like a garotted villain—hanged like a -dog, to glut the noonday frenzy of a Spanish rabble! -Horrible! I had often faced death without shrinking; -but now, like a coward's, my whole soul shrunk from -such a death as that which these Spaniards meted -out to me. -</p> - -<p> -"The night came on: I sat in darkness, revolving a -myriad futile plans of escape. I was to die to-morrow, -and that conviction seemed palpably before me. I -heard it, saw it, felt it; there was a dull sound -humming in my ears—a tingling in my heart. I -recollected, with remorse and shame, how coldly, calmly, -and unmoved I had seen the provost-marshal's guard -hang six soldiers on the retreat from Burgos. I -remembered their struggles, their agonies, and -wondered how they felt. I passed a hand over my throat, -compressed it a little, and shuddered. -</p> - -<p> -"And now, in the man who had accused me of -sacrilege, I suddenly remembered Barba Roxa, the -robber, and the hand I had maimed was that which -he retained in his sash. -</p> - -<p> -"'Fool! fool! that I am,' I exclaimed, bitterly; -'where were my eyes, my ears, my faculties, that -knew him not before? This is his revenge—his -Spaniard's triumph.' -</p> - -<p> -"Even my friend, the aide-de-camp, seemed to have -abandoned me; and could it be that the pretty -daughter of the Marquis had not pleaded, or said one -kind word to save the poor officer who had so freely -risked his life for hers? -</p> - -<p> -"All at once my stupor left me. I sprang to the -bars of the window, and from their solid sockets, -madly strove to wrench them with a tiger's strength. -I felt every corner; the vast iron lock of the door, -the door itself moveless as a wall of adamant. Vain, -vain! I was to die to-morrow, and my swollen heart -almost burst with emotion, when I thought of my -friends, my family, and my regiment, all canvassing -the various causes of a death so ignominious. -</p> - -<p> -"A face appeared suddenly at the window, which -was raised. -</p> - -<p> -"'Don't be alarmed, yer honour, it's only me,' -said a voice. -</p> - -<p> -"'Crogan—you!' I exclaimed, in the confusion of -my thoughts; 'are you not dead—in heaven?' -</p> - -<p> -"'In heaven—the Lord forbid! I'm here, standing -on my two feet, not that I think people there stand -on their heads; but don't be spakin' in that doleful -way, sir, at all, for you must prepare to lave this place -in less than no time. Do you hear the knockin' of -hammers? It's them thavin' Spaniards puttin' up -the dancin' post in the Plaza—blazes take that -same!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Leave this! Crogan; but how?' -</p> - -<p> -"'By the door, to be sure. It will be opened in -ten minutes; and horses are waitin' for the three of -us, I hope, at the corner of the sthreet.' -</p> - -<p> -"'The three of us, Darby?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ay, sir, just the three of us; for isn't there a -darlin' young lady goin', too?—but I must be afther -lookin' to the girths and straps of our cattle.' -</p> - -<p> -"He was scarcely gone when the door of the room -opened, and the daughter of the Marquis stood -before me, together with a man bearing a light; and in -that man I recognised the under carcelero, or turnkey. -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh! señora,' I exclaimed, my heart bounding -with gratitude and joy, 'you have not forgotten -me—or abandoned me to this cruel and unmerited death.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Hush, señor; not a word of thanks or of transport, -for that would spoil all,' she replied, with -calmness and decision. 'I do, indeed, owe you a -debt of gratitude; but the mention of that to my -father, and more than all to Don José——' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah, you shudder at that name.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Would but accelerate your fate. I have bribed -the carcelero,' she whispered, 'and he will sleep -sound. His deputy is about to join the guerillas of -the great Don Julian Sanchez, and for twenty dollars -will guide you to Madrid, sent by my cousin, the -ayudante; your horses are waiting at the corner of -the Plaza. No more,' she added, shortly, when I -attempted to kiss her hand, which the thick folds of -her ample veil concealed. -</p> - -<p> -"In a minute we had left the detested prison-house, -and crossed the garden which lay between it and the -Plaza. Again the glorious moon was rolling in its -silver splendour over Ciudad Heal; and as I gazed -on my fair companion, the interest I felt for her -returned vividly, and became stronger, as the moment -approached when I should leave her for ever. I saw -her magnificent eyes sparkling through her veil. -</p> - -<p> -"'Señora,' said I, with hesitation, as our attendant, -by hurrying on before, had left us for one instant -alone—'Señora,' I continued, urged by a kind, a -grateful, and a stronger impulse than I could at that -time analyse, 'though to remain here is remaining -but to die, I leave Ciudad Real with the most sincere -sorrow.' -</p> - -<p> -"'And why?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Because I may never see you again.' -</p> - -<p> -"'But I also am going to Madrid—and this night, too.' -</p> - -<p> -"I remembered the words of Crogan; I knew alia -Spanish love was capable of; my heart leaped within me. -</p> - -<p> -"'Madrid!' I reiterated. -</p> - -<p> -"'With you and your brave dragoon. Ah, señor, -do not refuse to escort me. My father is bent on -marrying me to Don José——' -</p> - -<p> -"'What!—that rascally old town-major? My dear -señora, I beg you not to think of it.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah! I have thought a great deal of it, and wept -for it too.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Then,' said I, drawing my breath more freely, -end seeing a prospect of vengeance on the -pot-bellied major, 'you do not love him?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh no; I hate, abhor, detest him; and to avoid -him, am about to retire to Madrid, where my aunt -lives. She is reverend mother at our Lady of Attocha. -You know the great convent where the little Jesus is -that works the miracles, and looks so beautiful, a -love of an infant, on the altar of the Hundred Lamps. -My aunt will save me from this detested union if you, -señor, will but afford me your escort. I am friendless,' -she continued, weeping; 'for such is the terror of -my father's name that there is not a man in Ciudad -Real whom I can trust. Yet I shall confide in your -goodness; indeed I am sure—I know—I think, I -may. The British officer has a high sense of chivalry -'and honour, but Ay de mi! el Espanol no tiene -nada.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Madam,' said I, touched to the heart by the -compliment, and her confiding nature, 'trust to me, -and while life remains, by heaven, and that honour, -I will see you safely to Madrid.' -</p> - -<p> -"Crogan, with three saddle-horses, stood at the gate. -We mounted, the fair Estella springing on her jennet, -à la cavalier, in the fashion of Old Castile. We left -Ciudad Heal by the northern gate, and then put our -horses to their mettle, as we avoided the direct route -to Madrid, and struck off into the mountains towards -Carrion de Calatrava. -</p> - -<p> -"I might spin my story beyond the limits allotted to -me, but surely it requires no conjuror to guess the -sequel! The interest begun by the miniature, so -fortunately found, the charming society, confidence, -and generous spirit of the original strengthened and -confirmed. In four days we reached Madrid, in four -more we were married in the convent chapel of -Attocha. -</p> - -<p> -"The Marquis sent the Major Don José expressly -to Wellington, requesting him to hang and behead -me. His grace declined to accede, but the name of -Captain ——, of Les Chasseurs Britanniques, was -struck out of the army-list. My head is still safe on -my shoulders, though somewhat powdered by time. -Thanks to his Grace of Richmond, I have got my -medal with eight clasps, and La Señora Estella (now -known by another name) is, though somewhat old like -myself, one of the dearest and most affectionate wives -in the world, and I crave a bumper in her honour, -gentlemen." -</p> - -<p> -Such was the story of our worthy major, whose -toast I need scarcely say was drunk with enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -Our doctor was the next, and like every one who -has a story to tell he had listened with considerable -impatience to the adventures of the major, and the -moment his toast had been duly honoured and -silence was restored, he began his tale without further -preface, and was then followed by our rough old -Highland quartermaster. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap25"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXV. -<br /><br /> -A LEGEND OF FIFE. -</h3> - -<p> -I can only give you an old Scottish story of the last -century, with the incidents of which I became -familiar in my student days when attending the ancient -university of St. Andrew's, where I worked my -way manfully through the classes of chemistry, -anatomy, and natural philosophy; and felt as proud of -my academic gown as I have done in later years of -my red coat and epaulettes, and perhaps as happy, -too, for some of the most joyous days, and certainly -the most uproarious nights of my past life, have been -spent in the auld East Neuk of Fife—God bless it! -</p> - -<p> -And now for my legend. -</p> - -<p> -It was a cold night in the March of the year 1708. -The hour of ten had tolled from the old Gothic -collegiate church; beating on his drum, the -drummer in the livery of the burgh had proceeded from -the Market-cross to the ruins of St. David's Castle, -and from thence to the chapel of St. Rufus, and -having made one long roll or flourish at the point -from whence his peregrination began, he adjourned -to the "Thane of Fife" to procure a dram, while the -good folks of Crail composed themselves for the -night, and the barring of doors and windows -announced that those who were within had resolved to -make themselves comfortable and secure, while those -unfortunate wights that were without were likely to -remain so. -</p> - -<p> -Hollowly the German Sea was booming on the -rocks of the harbour; and from its hazy surface a -cold east wind swept over the flat, bleak coast of -Crail; a star peeped at times between the flying -clouds, and even the moon looked forth once, but -immediately veiled her face again, as if one glance -at the iron shore and barren scenery, unenlivened by -hedge or tree, were quite enough to prevent her from -looking again. -</p> - -<p> -The town-drummer had received his dram and -withdrawn, and Master Spiggot, the gudeman or -landlord of the Thane of Fife, the principal tavern, -and only inn or hostel in the burgh, was taking a -last view of the main street, and considering the -propriety of closing for the night. It was broad, -spacious, and is still overlooked by many a tall and -gable-ended mansion, whose antique and massive -aspect announces that, like other Fifeshire burghs -before the Union in the preceding year, it had seen -better days. Indeed, the house then occupied by -Master Spiggot himself, and from which his sign -bearing the panoplied Thane at full gallop on a -caparisoned steed, swung creaking in the night wind, -was one of those ancient edifices, and in former days -had belonged to the provost of the adjoining kirk: -but this was (as Spiggot said), "in the auld-warld times -o' the Papistrie." -</p> - -<p> -The gudeman shook his white head solemnly and -sadly, as he looked down the empty thoroughfare. -</p> - -<p> -"There was a time," he muttered, and paused. -</p> - -<p> -Silent and desolate as any in the ruins of Thebes, -the street was half covered with weeds and rank -grass that grew between the stones, and Spiggot -could see them waving in the dim starlight. -</p> - -<p> -Crail is an out-of-the-way place. It is without -thoroughfare and without trade; few leave it and still -fewer think of going there, for there one feels as if -on the very verge of society; for even by day, there -reigns a monastic gloom, a desertion, a melancholy, -a uniform and voiceless silence, broken only by the -croak of the gleds and the cawing of the clamorous -gulls nestling on the old church tower, while the sea -booms incessantly as it rolls on the rocky beach. -</p> - -<p> -But there was a time when it was otherwise; when -the hum of commerce rose around its sculptured -cross, and there was a daily bustle in the chambers -of its Town-hall, for there a portly provost and bailies -with a battalion of seventeen corpulent councillors -sat solemnly deliberating on the affairs of the burgh, -and swelling with a municipal importance that was -felt throughout the whole East Neuk of Fife; for, in -those days, the bearded Russ and red-haired Dane, -the Norwayer and the Hollander, laden with -merchandise, furled their sails in that deserted harbour -where now scarcely a fisherboat is seen; for on -Crail, as on all its sister towns along the coast, fell -surely and heavily that decay of trade which -succeeded the Union in 1707. -</p> - -<p> -On the sad changes a year had brought about, -Spiggot pondered sadly, and was only roused from -his dreamy mood by the sudden apparition of a -traveller on horseback standing before him; for so long -and so soft was the grass of the street that his -approach had been unheard by the dreamer, whose -mind was wandering after the departed glories of the -East Neuk. -</p> - -<p> -"A cold night, landlord, for such I take you to -be," said the stranger, in a bold and cheerful voice, -as he dismounted. -</p> - -<p> -"A cauld night and a dreary too," sighed poor -Boniface, as he bowed, and hastened to seize the -stranger's bridle, and buckled it to a ring at tha -door-cheek; "but the sicht of a visitor does gude to -my heart; step in, sir. A warm posset that was -simmering in the parlour for myself is at your service, -and I'll set the stall-boy to corn your beast and -stable it." -</p> - -<p> -"I thank you, gudeman; but for unharnessing it -matters not, as I must ride onward; but I will take -the posset with thanks, for I am chilled to death by -my long ride along this misty coast." -</p> - -<p> -Spiggot looked intently at the traveller as he -stooped, and entering the low-arched door which -was surmounted by an old monastic legend, trod -into the bar with a heavy clanking stride, for he was -accoutred with jack boots and gilded spurs. His -rocquelaure was of scarlet cloth, warmly furred, and -the long curls of his Ramilies wig flowed over it. -His beaver was looped upon three sides with -something of a military air, and one long white feather -that adorned it, floated down his back, for the dew -was heavy on it. He was a handsome man, about -forty years of age, well sunburned, with a keen dark -eye, and close-clipped moustache, which indicated -that he had served in foreign wars. He threw his -hat and long jewelled rapier aside, and on removing -his rocquelaure, discovered a white velvet coat more -richly covered with lace than any that Spiggot had -seen even in the palmiest days of Crail. -</p> - -<p> -According to the fashion of Queen Anne's courtiers, -it was without a collar, to display the long -white cravat of point d'Espagne, without cuffs, and -edged from top to bottom with broad bars of lace, -clasps and buttons of silver the whole length; being -compressed at the waist by a very ornamental belt, -fastened by a large gold buckle. -</p> - -<p> -"Your honour canna think of riding on to-night," -urged Boniface; "and if a Crail-capon done just to -perfection, and a stoup of the best wine, at least, -siccan wine as we get by the east seas, since that -vile incorporating Union——" -</p> - -<p> -"Vile and damnable! say I," interrupted the -stranger. -</p> - -<p> -"True for ye, sir," said Spiggot, with a kindling -eye; "but if these puir viands can induce ye to partake -of the hospitality of my puir hostel, that like our -gude burrowtoun is no just what it has been——" -</p> - -<p> -"Gudeman, 'tis impossible, for I must ride so -soon as I have imbibed thy posset." -</p> - -<p> -"As ye please, sir—your honour's will be done. -Our guests are now, even as the visits of angels, -unco few and far between; and thus, when one -comes, we are loath to part with him. There is a -deep pitfall, and an ugly gulleyhole where the burn -crosses the road at the town-head, and if ye miss -the path, the rocks by the beach are steep, and in a -night like this——" -</p> - -<p> -"Host of mine," laughed the traveller, "I know -right well every rood of the way, and by keeping to -the left near the Auldlees may avoid both the blackpit -and the sea-beach." -</p> - -<p> -"Your honour kens the country hereawa, then?" -said Spiggot with surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"Of old, perhaps, I knew it as well as thee." -</p> - -<p> -The gudeman of the Thane scrutinised the traveller's -face keenly, but failed to recognise him, and -until this moment, he thought that no man in the -East Neuk was unknown to him; but here his -inspection was at fault. -</p> - -<p> -"And hast thou no visitors with thee now, friend -host?" he asked of Spiggot. -</p> - -<p> -"One only, gude sir, who came here on a brown -horse about nightfall. He is an unco' foreign-looking -man, but has been asking the way to the castle -o' Balcomie." -</p> - -<p> -"Ha! and thou didst tell of this plaguey pitfall, I -warrant." -</p> - -<p> -"Assuredly, your honour, in kindness I did but -hint of it." -</p> - -<p> -"And thereupon he stayed. Balcomie—indeed! and -what manner of man is he?" -</p> - -<p> -"By the corslet which he wears under his coat, -and the jaunty cock of his beaver, I would say he -had been a soldier." -</p> - -<p> -"Good again—give him my most humble commendations, -and ask him to share thy boasted posset -of wine with me." -</p> - -<p> -"What name did you say, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"Thou inquisitive varlet, I said no name," replied -the gentleman, with a smile. "In these times men -do not lightly give their names to each other, when -the land is swarming with Jacobite plotters and -government spies, disguised Jesuits, and Presbyterian -tyrants. I may be the Devil or the Pope, for -all thou knowest." -</p> - -<p> -"Might ye no be the Pretender?" said Spiggot, -with a sour smile. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, I have a better travelling name than that; -but say to this gentleman that the Major of Marshal -Orkney's Dragoons requests the pleasure of sharing -a stoup of wine with him." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, it mattereth little whether you give your -name or no," replied the host bitterly; "for we are -a' nameless now. Twelve months ago, we were true -Scottish men, but now——" -</p> - -<p> -"Our king is an exile—our crown is buried for -ever, and our brave soldiers are banished to far and -foreign wars, while the grass is growing green in the -streets of our capital—ay, green as it is at this hour -in your burgh of Crail; but, hence to the stranger; -yet say not," added the traveller, bitterly and proudly, -"that in his warmth the Scottish cavalier has -betrayed himself." -</p> - -<p> -While the speaker amused himself with examining -a printed proclamation concerning the "Tiend -Commissioners and Transplantation off Paroch Kirkis," -which was pasted over the stone mantlepiece of the -bar, the landlord returned with the foreign -gentleman's thanks, and an invitation to his chamber, -whither the Major immediately repaired; following -the host up a narrow stone spiral stair to a -snugly-wainscotted room, against the well-grated windows -of which a sudden shower was now beginning to -patter. -</p> - -<p> -The foreigner, who was supping on a Crail-capon -(in other words a broiled haddock) and stoup of -Bourdeaux wine, arose at their entrance, and bowed -with an air that was undisguisedly continental. He -was a man above six feet, with a long straight nose, -over which his dark eyebrows met and formed one -unbroken line. He wore a suit of green Genoese -velvet, so richly laced that little of the cloth was -visible; a full-bottomed wig, and a small corslet of -the brightest steel (over which hung the ends of his -cravat), as well as a pair of silver-mounted cavalry -pistols that lay on the table, together with his -unmistakable bearing, decided the Major of Orkney's -that the stranger was a brother of the sword. -</p> - -<p> -"Fair sir, little introduction is necessary between -us, as, I believe, we have both followed the drum in -our time," said the Major, shaking the curls of his -Ramilies wig with the air of a man who has decided -on what he says. -</p> - -<p> -"I have served, Monsieur," replied the foreigner, -"under Marlborough and Eugene." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! in French Flanders? Landlord—gudeman, -harkee; a double stoup of this wine; I have found -a comrade to-night—be quick and put my horse to -stall, I will not ride hence for an hour or so. What -regiment, sir?" -</p> - -<p> -"I was first under Grouvestein in the Horse of -Driesberg." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you were on the left of the second column -at Ramilies—on that glorious 12th of May," said the -Major, drawing the high-backed chair which the host -handed him, and spreading out his legs before the -fire, which burned merrily in the basket grate on the -hearth, "and latterly——" -</p> - -<p> -"Under Wandenberg." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! an old tyrannical dog." -</p> - -<p> -A dark cloud gathered on the stranger's lofty -brow. -</p> - -<p> -"I belonged to the Earl of Orkney's Grey -Dragoons," said the Major; "and remember old -Wandenberg making a bold charge in that brilliant -onfall when we passed the lines of Monsieur le -Mareschal Villars at Pont-a-Vendin, and pushed on to the -plains of Lens." -</p> - -<p> -"That was before we invested Doway and Fort-Escharpe, -where old Albergotti so ably commanded -ten thousand well-beaten soldiers." -</p> - -<p> -"And then Villars drew off from his position at -sunset and encamped on the plain before Arras." -</p> - -<p> -"Thou forgettest, comrade, that previously he took -up a position in rear of Escharpe." -</p> - -<p> -"True; but now I am right into the very melée -of those old affairs, and the mind carries one on like -a rocket. Your health, sir—by the way, I am still -ignorant of your name." -</p> - -<p> -"I have such very particular reasons for concealing -it in this neighbourhood, that——" -</p> - -<p> -"Do not think me inquisitive; in these times men -should not pry too closely." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur will pardon me, I hope." -</p> - -<p> -"No apology is necessary, save from myself, for -now my curiosity is thoroughly and most impertinently -whetted, to find a Frenchman in this part of -the world, here in this out-o'-the-way place, where -no one comes to, and no one goes from, on a bleak -promontory of the German Sea, the East Neuk of -Fife." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur will again excuse me; but I have most -particular business with a gentleman in this -neighbourhood; and having travelled all the way from -Paris, expressly to have it settled, I beg that I may be -excused the pain of prevarication. The circumstance -of my having served under the great Duke of Marlborough -against my own king and countrymen is sufficiently -explained when I acquaint you, that I was -then a French Protestant refugee; but now, without -changing my religion, I have King Louis' gracious -pardon and kind protection extended to me." -</p> - -<p> -"And so you were with Wandenberg when his -troopers made that daring onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, -and drove back the horse picquets of Villars," said -the Major, to lead the conversation from a point -which evidently seemed unpleasant to the stranger. -"'T was sharp, short, and decisive, as all cavalry -affairs should be. You will of course remember that -unpleasant affair of Wandenberg's troopers who were -accused of permitting a French prisoner to escape. -It caused a great excitement in the British camp, -where some condemned the dragoons, others Van -Wandenberg, and not a few our great Marlborough -himself." -</p> - -<p> -"I did hear something of it," said the stranger in -a low voice. -</p> - -<p> -"The prisoner whose escape was permitted was, I -believe, the father of the youths who captured him, a -circumstance which might at least have won them -mercy——" -</p> - -<p> -"From the Baron!" -</p> - -<p> -"I forgot me; he was indeed merciless." -</p> - -<p> -"But as I left his dragoons, and indeed the army -about that time, I shall be glad to hear your account -of the affair." -</p> - -<p> -"It is a very unpleasant story; the more so as I -was somewhat concerned in it myself," said the Major, -slowly filling his long-stemmed glass, and watching -the white worm in its stalk, so intently as he recalled -all the circumstances he was about to relate, that he -did not observe the face of the French gentleman, -which was pale as death; and after a short pause, he -began as follows:— -</p> - -<p> -"In the onfall at Pont-a-Vendin, it happened that -two young Frenchmen who served as gentlemen -volunteers with you in the dragoon regiment of Van -Wandenberg, had permitted—how, or why, I pretend -not to say—the escape of a certain prisoner of -distinction. Some said he was no other than M. le -Mareschal Villars himself. They claimed a court-martial, -but the old baron, who was a savage-hearted -Dutchman, insisted that they should be given up -unconditionally to his own mercy, and in an evil -moment of heedlessness or haste, Marlborough consented, -and sent me (I was his aide-de-camp) with a written -order to that effect, addressed to Colonel the Baron -Van Wandenberg, whose regiment of horse I met -'en route' for St. Venant, about nightfall on a cold -and snowy evening in the month of November. -</p> - -<p> -"Snow covered the whole country, which was all a -dead level, and a cold, leaden-coloured sky met the -white horizon in one unbroken line, save where the -leafless poplars of some far-off village stood up, the -landmarks of the plain. In broad flakes the snow fell -fast, and directing their march by a distant spire, the -Dutch troopers rode slowly over the deepening fields. -They were all muffled in dark blue cloaks, on the -capes of which the snow was freezing, while the breath -of the men and horses curled like steam in the -thickening and darkening air. -</p> - -<p> -"Muffled to the nose in a well-furred rocquelaure, -with my wig tied to keep the snow from its curls, and -my hat flapped over my face, I rode as fast as the deep -snow would permit, and passing the rear of the -column where, moody and disarmed, the two poor -French volunteers were riding under care of an escort -I spurred to the baron who rode in front near the -kettle drums, and delivered my order; as I did so, -recalling with sadness the anxious and wistful glance -given me by the prisoners as I passed them. -</p> - -<p> -"Wandenberg, who had no more shape than a huge -hogshead, received the dispatch with a growl of -satisfaction. He would have bowed, but his neck was too -short. I cannot but laugh when I remember his -strange aspect. In form he looked nearly as broad -as he was long, being nearly eight feet in girth, and -completely enveloped in a rough blue rocquelaure, -which imparted to his figure the roundness of a ball. -His face, reddened by skiedam and the frost, was -glowing like crimson, while the broad beaver hat that -overshadowed it, and the feathers with which the -beaver was edged, were encrusted with the snow that -was rapidly forming a pyramid on its crown, imparting -to his whole aspect a drollery at which I could -have laughed heartily, had not his well-known acuteness -and ferocity awed me into a becoming gravity of -demeanour; and delivering my dispatch with a tolerably -good grace, I reined back my horse to await any -reply he might be pleased to send the Duke. -</p> - -<p> -"His dull Dutch eyes glared with sudden anger -and triumph, as he folded the document, and -surveyed the manacled prisoners. Thereafter he seized -his speaking trumpet, and thundered out,— -</p> - -<p> -"'Ruyters—halt! form open column of troops, trot!' -</p> - -<p> -"It was done as rapidly as heavily-armed Dutchmen -on fat slow horses knee deep among snow could -perform it, and then wheeling them into line, he gave -the orders— -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward the flanks, form circle, sling -musquetoons! trumpeters ride to the centre and dismount.' -</p> - -<p> -"By these unexpected manoeuvres, I suddenly found -myself inclosed in a hollow circle of the Dutch -horsemen, and thus, as it were, compelled to become a -spectator of the scene that ensued, though I had his -Grace of Marlborough's urgent orders to rejoin him -without delay on the road to Aire." -</p> - -<p> -"And—and you saw——" -</p> - -<p> -"Such a specimen of discipline as neither the devil -nor De Martinet ever dreamed of; but thoroughly -Dutch, I warrant you. -</p> - -<p> -"I have said it was intensely cold, and that the -night was closing; but the whiteness of the snow -that covered the vast plain, with the broad red circle -of the half-obscured moon that glimmered through -the fast-falling flakes, as it rose behind a distant spire, -cast a dim light upon the place where the Dutchmen -halted. But deeming that insufficient, Van -Wandenberg ordered half-a-dozen torches to be lighted, for -his troopers always had such things with them, being -useful by night for various purposes; and hissing and -sputtering in the falling snow flakes, their lurid and -fitful glare was thrown on the close array of the -Dutch dragoons, on their great cumbrous hats, on the -steeple crowns of which, I have said, the snow was -gathering in cones, and the pale features of the two -prisoners, altogether imparting a wild, unearthly, and -terrible effect to the scene about to be enacted on -that wide and desolate moor. -</p> - -<p> -"By order of Van Wandenberg, three halberts -were fixed into the frozen earth, with their points -bound together by a thong, after which the -dismounted trumpeters layed hands on one of the -young Frenchmen, whom they proceeded to strip of -his coat and vest. -</p> - -<p> -"Disarmed and surrounded, aware of the utter -futility of resistance, the unfortunate volunteer -offered none, but gazed wistfully and imploringly at -me, and sure I am, that in my lowering brow and -kindling eyes, he must have seen the storm that was -gathering in my heart. -</p> - -<p> -"'Dieu vous bénisse, Officier,' cried the Frenchman -in a mournful voice, while shuddering with cold -and horror as he was stripped to his shirt; 'save me -from this foul disgrace, and my prayers—yea, my -life—shall be for ever at your disposal.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Good comrade,' said I, 'entreat me not, for here -I am powerless.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Baron,' he exclaimed; 'I am a gentleman—a -gentleman of old France, and I dare thee to lay thy -damnable scourge upon me.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ach Gott; dare—do you say dare? ve vill zee,' -laughed Van Wandenberg, as the prisoner was dragged -forward and about to be forcibly trussed to the -halberts by the trumpeters, when, animated to the very -verge of insanity, he suddenly freed himself, and -rushing like a madman upon the Baron, struck him -from his horse by one blow of his clenched hand. -The horse snorted, the Dutch troopers opened their -saucer eyes wider still, as the great and corpulent -mass fell heavily among the deepening snow, and in -an instant the foot of the Frenchman was pressed -upon his throat, while he exclaimed— -</p> - -<p> -"'If I slay thee, thou hireling dog, as I have often -slain thy clodpated countryman in other days,' and -the Frenchman laughed fiercely, 'by St. Denis! I -shall have one foeman less on this side of Hell.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Gott in Himmel! ach! mein tuyvel! mein -Gott!' gasped the Dutchman, as he floundered -beneath the heel of the vengeful and infuriated -Frenchman, who was determined on destroying him, till a -blow from the baton of an officer stretched him -almost senseless among the snow, where he was -immediately grasped by the trumpeters, disrobed of his -last remaining garment, and bound strongly to the -halberts. -</p> - -<p> -"Meanwhile the other prisoner had been pinioned -and resolutely held by his escort, otherwise he would -undoubtedly have fallen also upon Van Wandenberg, -who, choking with a tempest of passion that was too -great to find utterance in words, had gathered up his -rotund figure, and with an agility wonderful in a man -of his years and vast obesity, so heavily armed, in a -buff coat and jack boots ribbed with iron, a heavy -sword and cloak, clambered on the back of his horse, -as a clown would climb up a wall: and with a visage -alternating between purple and blue, by the effects -of rage and strangulation, he surveyed the prisoner -for a moment in silence, and there gleamed in his -piggish grey eyes an expression of fury and pain, -bitterness and triumph combined, and he was only -able to articulate one word— -</p> - -<p> -"'Flog!' -</p> - -<p> -"On the handsome young Frenchman's dark curly -hair, glistening with the whitening snow that fell -upon it, and on his tender skin reddening in the -frosty atmosphere, on the swelling muscles of his -athletic form, on a half healed sabre-wound, and on -the lineaments of a face that then expressed the -extremity of mental agony, fell full the wavering light -of the uplifted torches. The Dutch, accustomed to -every species of extra-judicial cruelty by sea and land, -looked on with the most grave stolidity and apathetic -indifference; while I felt an astonishment and indignation -that rapidly gave place to undisguised horror. -</p> - -<p> -"'Flog!' -</p> - -<p> -"The other prisoner uttered a groan that seemed -to come from his very heart, and then covered his -ears and eyes with his hands. Wielded by a muscular -trumpeter, an immense scourge of many-knotted -cords was brought down with one fell sweep on the -white back of the victim, and nine livid bars, each -red, as if seared by a hot iron, rose under the -infliction, and again the terrible instrument was reared -by the trumpeter at the full stretch of his sinewy -arm. -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur will be aware, that until the late -Revolution of 1688, this kind of punishment was -unknown here and elsewhere, save in Holland; and -though I have seen soldiers run the gauntlet, ride -the mare, and beaten by the martinets, I shall never -oh, no! never forget the sensation of horror with -which this (to me) new punishment of the poor -Frenchman inspired me; and, sure I am, that our -great Duke of Marlborough could in no way have -anticipated it. -</p> - -<p> -"Accustomed, as I have said, to every kind of cruel -severity, unmoved and stoically the Dutch looked on, -with their grey, lacklustre eyes, dull, unmeaning, and -passionless in their stolidity, contrasting strongly -with the expression of startled horror depicted in -the strained eyeballs and bent brows of the victim's -brother, when after a time he dared to look on this -revolting punishment. Save an ill-repressed sob, or -half-muttered interjection from the suffering man, no -other sound broke the stillness of the place, where -a thousand horsemen stood in close order, but the -sputtering of the torches in the red light of which -our breaths were ascending like steam. Yes! there -was one other sound, and it was a horrible one—the -monotonous whiz of the scourge, as it cut the keen -frosty air and descended on the lacerated back of the -fainting prisoner. Sir, I see that my story disturbs -you. -</p> - -<p> -"A corpulent Provost Mareschal, with a pair of -enormous moustaches, amid which the mouth of his -meerschaum was inserted, stood by, smoking with -admirable coolness, and marking the time with his -cane, while a drummer tapped on his kettledrum, -and four trumpeters had, each in succession, given -their twenty-five lashes and withdrawn; twice had -the knotted scourge been coagulated with blood, and -twice had it been washed in the snow which now rose -high around the feet of our champing and impatient -horses; and now the fifth torturer approached, but -still the compressed lips and clammy tongue of the -proud Frenchman refused to implore mercy. His -head was bowed down on his breast, his body hung -pendant from the cords that encircled his swollen -and livid wrists; his back from neck to waist was one -mass of lacerated flesh, on which the feathery -snowflakes were melting; for the agony he endured must -have been like unto a stream of molten lead pouring -over him; but no groan, no entreaty escaped him, -and still the barbarous punishment proceeded. -</p> - -<p> -"I have remarked that there is no event too horrible -or too sad to be without a little of the ridiculous -in it, and this was discernible here. -</p> - -<p> -"One trumpeter, who appeared to have more -humanity, or perhaps less skill than his predecessors, -and did not exert himself sufficiently, was soundly -beaten by the rattan of the trumpet-major, while the -latter was castigated by the Provost Mareschal, who, -in turn for remissness of duty, received sundry blows -from the speaking-trumpet of the Baron; so they -were all laying soundly on each other for a time." -</p> - -<p> -"Morbleu!" said the Frenchman, with a grim -smile, "'t was quite in the Dutch taste, that." -</p> - -<p> -"The Provost Mareschal continued to mark the -time with the listless apathy of an automaton; the -smoke curled from his meerschaum, the drum continued -to tap-tap-tap, until it seemed to sound like -thunder to my strained ears, for every sense was -painfully excited. All count had long been lost, but -when several hundred lashes had been given, Van -Wandenberg and half his Dutchmen were asleep in -their saddles. -</p> - -<p> -"It was now snowing thick and fast, but still this -hideous dream continued, and still the scourging -went on. -</p> - -<p> -"At last the altered sound of the lash and the -terrible aspect of the victim, who, after giving one or -two convulsive shudders, threw back his head with -glazed eyes and jaw relaxed, caused the trumpeter to -recede a pace or two, and throw down his gory -scourge, for some lingering sentiment of humanity, -which even the Dutch discipline of King William -had not extinguished, made him respect when dead -the man whom he had dishonoured when alive. -</p> - -<p> -"The young Frenchman was dead! -</p> - -<p> -"An exclamation of disgust and indignation that -escaped me woke up the Baron, who after drinking -deeply from a great pewter flask of skiedam that -hung at his saddlebow, muttered "schelms" several -times, rubbed his eyes, and then bellowed through -his trumpet to bind up the other prisoner. Human -endurance could stand this no more, and though I -deemed the offer vain, I proposed to give a hundred -English guineas as ransom. -</p> - -<p> -"'Ach Gott!' said the greedy Hollander immediately -becoming interested; "but vere you get zo mosh -guilder?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh, readily, Mynheer Baron,' I replied, drawing -forth my pocket-book, 'I have here bills on his Grace -the Duke of Maryborough's paymaster and on the -Bank of Amsterdam for much more than that.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Bot I cannot led off de brisoner for zo -little—hunder ponds—dat ver small—zay two.' -</p> - -<p> -"If one is not enough, Mynheer Baron, I will -refer to the decision of his grace the captain-general.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ach, der tuyvel! vill you?' said the Dutchman, -with a savage gleam in his little eyes which showed -that he quite understood my hint, 'vell, me vont -quarrel vid you; gib me de bills and de schelm is -yours.' -</p> - -<p> -"Resolving, nevertheless, to lay the whole affair -before Marlborough, the moment I reached our -trenches at Aire, I gave a bill for the required sum, -and approaching the other Frenchman requested him -to remain beside me; but he seemed too much -confused by grief, and cold, and horror to comprehend -what I said. Poor fellow! his whole soul and -sympathies seemed absorbed in the mangled corpse of his -brother, which was now unbound from the halberts -and lay half sunk among the new-fallen snow. While -he stooped over it, and hastily, but tenderly, proceeded -to draw the half-frozen clothing upon the stiffened -form, the orders of Van Wandenberg were heard -hoarsely through his speaking-trumpet, as they rang -over the desolate plain, and his troopers wheeled -back from a circle into line—from line into open -column of troops, and thereafter the torches were -extinguished and the march begun. Slowly and -solemnly the dragoons glided away into the darkness, -each with a pyramid of snow rising from the steeple -crown and ample brims of his broad beaver hat. -</p> - -<p> -"It was now almost midnight; the red moon had -waned, the snow-storm was increasing, and there -were I and the young Frenchman, with his brother's -corpse, left together on the wide plain, without a -place to shelter us." -</p> - -<p> -"Proceed, Monsieur," said the Frenchman, as the -narrator paused; "for I am well aware that your story -ends not there." -</p> - -<p> -"It does not—you seem interested; but I have -little more to relate, save that I dismounted and -assisted the poor Frenchman to raise the body from the -snow, and to tie it across the saddle of my horse, -taking the bridle in one hand, I supported him with -the other, and thus we proceeded to the nearest town." -</p> - -<p> -"To Amientieres on the Lys," exclaimed the -Frenchman, seizing the hands of the Major as the -latter paused again; "to Armentieres, ten miles west -of Lisle, and there you left them, after adding to your -generosity by bestowing sufficient to inter his brother -in the Protestant church of that town, and to convey -himself to his native France. Oh! Monsieur, I am -that Frenchman, and here, from my heart, from my -soul, I thank you," and half kneeling, the stranger -kissed the hand of the Major. -</p> - -<p> -"You!" exclaimed the latter; "by Jove I am -right glad to see you. Here at Crail, too, in the East -Neuk o' Fife—'t is a strange chance; and what in -heaven's name seek ye here? 'T is a perilous time -for a foreigner—still more, a Frenchman, to tread on -Scottish ground. The war, the intrigues with -St. Germains, the Popish plots, and the devil only knows -what more, make travelling here more than a little -dangerous." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, I know all that; the days are changed -since the Scot was at home in France, and the -Frenchman at home in Scotland, for so the old laws of -Stuart and Bourbon made them. A few words -will tell who I am, and what I seek here. Excuse my -reluctance to reveal myself before, for now you have -a claim upon me. Oh! believe me, I knew not that -I addressed the generous chevalier who, in that hour -of despair, redeemed my life (and more than my life), -my honour, from the scourge, and enabled me to lay -the head of my poor brother with reverence in the -grave. You have heard of M. Henri Lemercier?" -</p> - -<p> -"What! the great swordsman and fencer—that -noble master of the science of defence, with the fame -of whose skill and valour all Europe is ringing?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am he of whom Monsieur is pleased to speak -so highly." -</p> - -<p> -"Your hand again, sir; zounds; but I dearly love -this gallant science myself, and have even won me a -little name as a handler of the rapier. There is but -one man whom Europe calls your equal, Monsieur -Lemercier." -</p> - -<p> -"My superior, you mean, for I have many equals," -replied the Frenchman, modestly. "You, doubtless, -mean——" -</p> - -<p> -"Sir William Hope, of Hopetoun." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! Mon Dieu, yes, he has indeed a great name -in Europe as a fencer and master of arms, either with -double or single falchion, case of falchions, -back-sword and dagger, pistol or quarter staff; and it is -the fame of his skill and prowess in these weapons, -and the reputation he has earned by his books on -fencing, that hath brought me to-day to this remote -part of Scotland." -</p> - -<p> -"Zounds!" said the Major, shaking back the long -powdered curls of his Ramilies wig, and looking -remarkably grave; "you cannot mean to have a bout -with Sir William. He hath a sure hand and a steady -eye; I would rather stand a platoon than be once -covered by his pistol." -</p> - -<p> -"Monsieur, I have no enmity to this Sir William -Hope, nor am I envious of his great name as a -fencer. Ma foi! the world is quite wide enough for -us both; but here lies my secret. I love Mademoiselle -Athalie, the niece of Madame de Livry——" -</p> - -<p> -"How—the old flame of the great Louis!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oui," said Lemercier, smiling; "and many say -that Athalie bears a somewhat suspicious resemblance -to her aunt's royal lover; but that is no business of -mine; she loves me very dearly, and is very good and -amiable. Diable! I am well content to take her and -her thirty thousand louis-d'or without making any -troublesome inquiries. It would seem that my dear -little Athalie is immensely vain of my reputation as a -master of fence, and having heard that this Scottish -Chevalier is esteemed the first man of the sword in -Britain, and further, that report asserts he slew her -brother in the line of battle at Blenheim, fighting -bravely for a standard, she declared that ere her hand -was mine, I must measure swords with this Sir -William, and dip this, her handkerchief, in his blood -in token of his defeat, and of my conquest." -</p> - -<p> -"A very pretty idea of Mademoiselle Athalie, and -I doubt not Hopetoun will be overwhelmed by the -obligation when he hears of it," said the Major of -Orkney's, whose face brightened with a broad laugh, -"and so much would I love to see two such brisk -fellows as thou and he yoked together, at cut-and-thrust, -that if permitted, I will rejoice in bearing the -message of M. Lemercier to Sir William, whose -Castle of Balcomie is close by here." -</p> - -<p> -"Having no friend with me, I accept your offer -with a thousand thanks," said Lemercier. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir William did indeed slay an officer, as you -have said, in that charge at Blenheim, where the -regiment of the Marquis de Livry were cut to pieces by -Orkney's Scots' Greys; but to be so good and amiable, -and to love you so much withal, Mademoiselle Athalie -must be a brisk dame to urge her favoured Chevalier -on a venture so desperate; for mark me, Monsieur -Lemercier," said the Major, impressively, "none can -know better than I the skill—the long and -carefully-studied skill—of Sir William of Hopetoun, and -permit me to warn you——" -</p> - -<p> -"It matters not—I must fight him; love, honour, -and rivalry, too, if you will have it so, all spur me on, -and no time must be lost." -</p> - -<p> -"Enough; I should have been in my stirrups an -hour ago; and dark though the night be, I will ride to -Balcomie with your message." -</p> - -<p> -"A million of thanks—you will choose time and -place for me." -</p> - -<p> -"Say, to-morrow, at sunrise; be thou at the -Standing-stone of Sauchope; 't is a tall, rough block, -in the fields near the Castle of Balcomie, and doubt -not but Sir William will meet thee there." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks, thanks," again said the Frenchman, -pressing the hand of the Major, who, apparently -delighted at the prospect of witnessing such an -encounter between the two most renowned swordsmen -in Europe, drank off his stoup of wine, muffled himself -in his rocquelaure, and with his little cocked hat -stuck jauntily on one side of the Ramilies wig, left the -apartment, and demanded his horse and the reckoning. -</p> - -<p> -"Then your honour will be fulehardy, and tempt -Providence," said the landlord. -</p> - -<p> -"Nay, gudeman, but you cannot tempt me to stay -just now. I ride only through the town to Balcomie, -and will return anon. The Hopetoun family are -there, I believe?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; but saving my lady at the preachings, we -see little o' them; for Sir William has bidden at -Edinburgh, or elsewhere, since his English gold coft -the auld tower from the Balcomies of that Ilk, the year -before the weary Union, devil mend it!" -</p> - -<p> -"Amen, say I; and what callest thou English gold?" -</p> - -<p> -"The doolfu' compensation, o' whilk men say he -had his share." -</p> - -<p> -"Man, thou liest, and they who say so lie! for to -the last moment his voice was raised against that -traitorous measure of Queensbury and Stair, and now -every energy of his soul is bent to its undoing!" -replied the Major, fiercely, as he put spurs to his horse, -and rode rapidly down the dark and then grassy -street, at the end of which the clank of his horse's -hoofs died away, as he diverged upon the open ground -that lay northward of the town, and by which he had -to approach the tower of Balcomie. -</p> - -<p> -The Frenchman remained long buried in thought, -and as he sipped his wine, gazed dreamily on the -changing embers that glowed on the hearth, and cast -a warm light on the blue delft lining of the fireplace. -The reminiscences of the war in Flanders had called -up many a sad and many a bitter recollection. -</p> - -<p> -"I would rather," thought he, "that the man I am -to encounter to-morrow was not a Scot, for the -kindness of to-night, and of that terrible night in the -snow-clad plain of Arras, inspire me with a warm love -for all the people of this land. But my promise must -be redeemed, my adventure achieved, or thou, my -dear, my rash Athalie, art lost to me!" and he paused -to gaze with earnestness upon a jewel that glittered -on his hand. It was a hair ring, bound with gold, -and a little shield bearing initials, clasped the small -brown tress that was so ingeniously woven round it. -</p> - -<p> -As he gazed on the trinket, his full dark eyes -brightened for a moment, as the mild memories of -love and fondness rose in his heart, and a bright -smile played upon his haughty lip and lofty brow. -Other thoughts arose, and the eyebrows that almost -met over the straight Grecian nose of Lemercier, -were knit as he recalled the ominous words of his -recent acquaintance— -</p> - -<p> -"Mademoiselle Athalie must be a brisk dame to -urge her favoured Chevalier on a venture so -desperate." -</p> - -<p> -One bitter pang shot through his heart, but he -thrust the thought aside, and pressed the ring to his -lips. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Athalie," he said, in a low voice, "I were -worse than a villain to suspect thee." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment midnight tolled from the dull old -bell of Crail, and the strangeness of the sound -brought keenly home to the lonely heart of Lemercier -that he was in a foreign land. -</p> - -<p> -The hour passed, but the Major did not return. -</p> - -<p> -Morning came. -</p> - -<p> -With gray dawn Lemercier was awake, and a few -minutes found him dressed and ready. He attired -himself with particular care, putting on a coat and -vest, the embroidery of which presented as few -conspicuous marks as possible to an antagonist's eye. -He clasped his coat from the cravat to the waist, and -compressed his embroidered belt. He adjusted his -white silk roll-up stockings with great exactness; -tied up the flowing curls of his wig with a white -ribbon, placed a scarlet feather in his hat, and then took -his sword. The edge and point of the blade, the -shell and pommel, grasp and guard of the hilt were -all examined with scrupulous care for the last time; -he drew on his gloves with care, and giving to the -landlord the reckoning, which he might never -return to pay, Lemercier called for his horse and rode -through the main street of Crail. -</p> - -<p> -Following the directions he had received from his -host, he hastily quitted the deserted and grass-grown -street of the burgh (the very aspect of which he -feared would chill him), and proceeded towards the -ancient obelisk, still known as the "Standing Stone -of Sauchope," which had been named as the place of -rendezvous by that messenger who had not returned, -and against whom M. Lemercier felt his anger a little -excited. -</p> - -<p> -It was a cool March morning, the sky was clear -and blue, and the few silver clouds that floated -through it became edged with gold as the sun rose -from his bed in the eastern sea—that burnished sea -from which the cool fresh breeze swept over the level -coast. The fields were assuming a vernal greenness, -the buds were swelling on hedge and tree, and the -vegetation of the summer that was to come—the -summer that Lemercier might never see—was springing -from amid the brown remains of the autumn -that had gone, an autumn that he had passed with -Athalie amid the gaieties and gardens of Paris and -Versailles. -</p> - -<p> -At the distance of a mile he saw the strong square -tower of Balcomie, the residence of his antagonist. -One side was involved in shadow, the other shone -redly in the rising sun, and the morning smoke from -its broad chimneys curled in dusky columns into the -blue sky. The caw of the rooks that followed the -plough, whose shining share turned up the aromatic -soil, the merry whistle of the bonneted plough-boys, -the voices of the blackbird and the mavis, made him -sad, and pleased was Lemercier to leave behind him -all such sounds of life, and reach the wild and -solitary place where the obelisk stood—a grim and -time-worn relic of the Druid ages or the Danish wars. A -rough mis-shapen remnant of antiquity, it still remains -to mark the scene of this hostile meeting, which yet -forms one of the most famous traditions of the East -Neuk. -</p> - -<p> -As Lemercier rode up, he perceived a gentleman -standing near the stone. His back was towards him, -and he was apparently intent on caressing his charger, -whose reins he had thrown negligently over his arm. -</p> - -<p> -Lemercier thought he recognised the hat, edged -with white feathers, the full-bottomed wig, and the -peculiar lacing of the white velvet coat, and on the -stranger turning he immediately knew his friend of -the preceding night. -</p> - -<p> -"Bon jour, my dear sir," said Lemercier -</p> - -<p> -"A good morning." replied the other, and they -politely raised their little cocked hats. -</p> - -<p> -"I had some misgivings when monsieur did not -return to me," said the Frenchman. "Sir William -has accepted my challenge?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, monsieur, and is now before you," replied -the other, springing on horseback. "I am Sir -William Hope, of Hopetoun, and am here at your -service." -</p> - -<p> -"You!" exclaimed the Frenchman, in tones of -blended astonishment and grief. "Ah! unsay what -you have said. I cannot point my sword against the -breast of my best benefactor—against him to whom -I owe both honour and life. Can I forget that night -on the plains of Arras? Ah, my God! what a mistake: -what a misfortune. Ah, Athalie! to what have -you so unthinkingly urged me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Think of her only, and forget all of me, save that -I am your antagonist, your enemy, as I stand between -thee and her. Come on, M. Lemercier, do not forget -your promise to mademoiselle; we will sheathe our -swords on the first blood drawn." -</p> - -<p> -"So be it then, if the first is thine," and -unsheathing their long and keen-edged rapiers, they put -spurs to their horses, and closing up hand to hand, -engaged with admirable skill and address. -</p> - -<p> -The skill of one swordsman seemed equalled only -by that of the other. -</p> - -<p> -Lemercier was the first fencer at the Court of -France, where fencing was an accomplishment known -to all, and there was no man in Britain equal to Sir -William Hope, whose "Complete Fencing Master" -was long famous among the lovers of the noble science -of defence. -</p> - -<p> -They rode round each other in circles. Warily and -sternly they began to watch each other's eyes, till -they flashed in unison with their blades; their hearts -beat quicker as their passions became excited and -their rivalry roused; and their nerves became strung -as the hope of conquest was whetted. The wish of -merely being wounded ended in a desire to wound; -and the desire to wound in a clamorous anxiety to -vanquish and destroy. Save the incessant clash of -the notched rapiers, as each deadly thrust was -adroitly parried and furiously repeated, the straining -of stirrup-leathers, as each fencer swayed to and fro -in his saddle, their suppressed breathing, and the -champing of iron bits, Lemercier and his foe saw -nothing but the gleam, and heard nothing but the -clash of each other's glittering swords. -</p> - -<p> -The sun came up in his glory from the shining -ocean; the mavis soared above them in the blue sky; -the early flowers of spring were unfolding their dewy -cups to the growing warmth, but still man fought -with man, and the hatred in their hearts waxed fierce -and strong. -</p> - -<p> -In many places their richly-laced coats were cut -and torn. One lost his hat, and had received a -severe scar on the forehead, and the other had one on -his bridle hand. They often paused breathlessly, -and in weariness lowered the points of their weapons -to glare upon each other with a ferocity that could -have no end but death—until at the sixth encounter, -when Lemercier became exhausted, and failing to -parry with sufficient force a fierce and furious thrust, -was run through the breast so near the heart, that he -fell from his horse gasping and weltering in blood. -</p> - -<p> -Sir William Hope flung away his rapier and sprang -to his assistance, but the unfortunate Frenchman -could only draw from his finger the ring of Athalie, -and with her name on his lips expired—being actually -choked in his own blood. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the account of this combat given by the -horrified Master Spiggot, who, suspecting "that there -was something wrong," had followed his guest to the -scene of the encounter, the memory of which is still -preserved in the noble house of Hopetoun, and the -legends of the burghers of Crail. -</p> - -<p> -So died Lemercier. -</p> - -<p> -Of what Sir William said or thought on the occasion, -we have no record. In the good old times he -would have eased his conscience by the endowment -of an altar, or foundation of a yearly mass; but in -the year 1708 such things had long been a dead -letter in the East Neuk; and so in lieu thereof, he -interred him honourably in the aisle of the ancient -kirk, where a marble tablet long marked the place of -his repose. -</p> - -<p> -Sir William did more; he carefully transmitted -the ring of Lemercier to the bereaved Athalie, but -before its arrival in Paris she had dried her tears for -the poor chevalier, and wedded one of his numerous -rivals. Thus, she forgot him sooner than his -conqueror, who reached a good old age, and died at his -castle of Balcomie, with his last breath regretting -the combat of that morning at the Standing Stone of -Sauchope. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap26"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVI. -<br /><br /> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT—THE QUARTERMASTER'S STORY. -</h3> - -<p> -Though the continued march of intellect and -education have nearly obliterated from the mind of the -Scots a belief in the marvellous, still a love of the -supernatural lingers among the more mountainous -districts of the northern kingdom; for "the Schoolmaster" -finds it no easy task, even when aided by -all the light of science, to uproot the prejudices of -more than two thousand years. -</p> - -<p> -I was born in Strathnairn, about the year 1802, and, -on the death of my mother, was given, when an -infant, to the wife of a cotter to nurse. With these good -people I remained for some years, and thus became -cognizant of the facts I am about to relate. -</p> - -<p> -There was a little romance connected with my old -nurse Meinie and her gudeman. -</p> - -<p> -In their younger days they had been lovers—lovers -as a boy and girl—but were separated by poverty, -and then Ewen Mac Ewen enlisted as a soldier, in -the 26th or Cameronian Regiment, with which he saw -some sharp service in the West Indies and America. -The light-hearted young highlander became, in time, -a grave, stern, and morose soldier, with the most -rigid ideas of religious deportment and propriety: -for this distinguished Scottish regiment was of -Puritan origin, being one of those raised among the -Westland Covenanters, after the deposition of king -James VII. by the Estates of Scotland. England -surrendered to William of Orange without striking a -blow; but the defence of Dunkeld, and the victorious -battle of Killycrankie, ended the northern campaign, -in which the noble Dundee was slain, and the army -of the cavaliers dispersed. The Cameronian Regiment -introduced their sectarian forms, their rigorous -discipline, and plain mode of public worship into -their own ranks, and so strict was their code of morals, -that even the Non-jurors and Jacobins admitted the -excellence and stern propriety of their bearing. -They left the Scottish Service for the British, at the -Union, in 1707, but still wear on their appointments -the five-pointed star, which was the armorial bearing -of the colonel who embodied them; and, moreover, -retain the privilege of supplying their own -regimental Bibles. -</p> - -<p> -After many years of hard fighting in the old 26th, -and after carrying a halbert in the kilted regiment -of the Isles, Ewen Mac Ewen returned home to his -native place, the great plain of Moray, a graver, and, -in bearing, a sadder man than when he left it. -</p> - -<p> -His first inquiry was for Meinie. -</p> - -<p> -She had married a rival of his, twenty years ago. -</p> - -<p> -"God's will be done," sighed Ewen, as he lifted -his bonnet, and looked upwards. -</p> - -<p> -He built himself a little cottage, in the old highland -fashion, in his native strath, at a sunny spot, -where the Uisc Nairn—the Water of Alders—flowed in -front, and a wooded hill arose behind. He hung his -knapsack above the fireplace; deposited his old and -sorely thumbed regimental Bible (with the Cameronian -star on its boards,) and the tin case containing his -colonel's letter recommending him to the minister, -and the discharge, which gave sixpence per diem as -the reward of sixteen battles—all on the shelf of the -little window, which contained three panes of glass, -with a yoke in the centre of each, and there he -settled himself down in peace, to plant his own kail, -knit his own hose, and to make his own kilts, a grave -and thoughtful but contented old fellow, awaiting the -time, as he said, "when the Lord would call him away." -</p> - -<p> -Now it chanced that a poor widow, with several -children, built herself a little thatched house on the -opposite side of the drove road—an old Fingalian -path—which ascended the pastoral glen; and the -ready-handed veteran lent his aid to thatch it, and -to sling her kail-pot on the cruicks, and was wont -thereafter to drop in of an evening to smoke his pipe, -to tell old stories of the storming of Ticonderago, and -to ask her little ones the catechism and biblical -questions. Within a week or so, he discovered that the -widow was Meinie—the ripe, blooming Meinie of -other years—an old, a faded, and a sad-eyed woman -now; and poor Ewen's lonely heart swelled within -him, as he thought of all that had passed since last -they met, and as he spake of what they were, and what -they might have been, had fate been kind, or fortune -roved more true. -</p> - -<p> -We have heard much about the hidden and mysterious -principle of affinity, and more about the -sympathy and sacredness that belong to a first and -early love; well, the heart of the tough old Cameronian -felt these gentle impulses, and Meinie was no -stranger to them. They were married, and for fifteen -years, there was no happier couple on the banks of -the Nairn. Strange to say, they died on the same -day, and were interred in the ancient burying-ground -of Dalcross, where now they lie, near the ruined walls -of the old vicarage kirk of the Catholic times. God -rest them in their humble highland graves! My father, -who was the minister of Croy, acted as chief -mourner, and gave the customary funeral prayer. -But I am somewhat anticipating, and losing the -thread of my own story in telling theirs. -</p> - -<p> -In process of time the influx of French and -English tourists who came to visit the country of the -clans, and to view the plain of Culloden, after the -publication of "Waverley" gave to all Britain, that -which we name in Scotland "the tartan fever," and -caused the old path which passed the cot of Ewen to -become a turnpike road; a tollbar—that most -obnoxious of all impositions to a Celt—was placed -across the mouth of the little glen, barring the way -directly to the battle-field; and of this gate the old -pensioner Ewen naturally became keeper; and during -the summer season, when, perhaps, a hundred -carriages per day rolled through, it became a source of -revenue alike to him, and to the Lord of Cawdor -and the Laird of Kilravock, the road trustees. And -the chief pleasure of Ewen's existence was to sit on -a thatched seat by the gate, for then he felt -conscious of being in office—on duty—a species of -sentinel; and it smacked of the old time when the -Generale was beaten in the morning, and the drums -rolled tattoo at night; when he had belts to -pipeclay, and boots to blackball; when there were wigs -to frizzle and queues to tie, and to be all trim and in -order to meet Monseigneur le Marquis de Montcalm, -or General Washington "right early in the morning;" -and there by the new barrier of the glen -Ewen sat the live-long day, with spectacles on nose, -and the Cameronian Bible on his knee, as he spelled his -way through Deuteronomy and the tribes of Judah. -</p> - -<p> -Slates in due time replaced the green thatch of his -little cottage; then a diminutive additional story, -with two small dormer windows, was added thereto, -and the thrifty Meinie placed a paper in her window -informing shepherds, the chance wayfarers, and the -wandering deer-stalkers that she had a room to let; -but summer passed away, the sportsman forsook the -brown scorched mountains, the gay tourist ceased to -come north, and the advertisement turned from white -to yellow, and from yellow to flyblown green in her -window; the winter snows descended on the hills, -the pines stood in long and solemn ranks by the white -frozen Nairn, but "the room upstairs" still -remained without a tenant. -</p> - -<p> -Anon the snow passed away, the river again flowed -free, the flowers began to bloom; the young grass -to sprout by the hedgerows, and the mavis to sing on -the fauld-dykes, for spring was come again, and -joyous summer soon would follow; and one night—it -was the 26th of April—Ewen was exhibiting his -penmanship in large text-hand by preparing the new -announcement of "a room to let," when he paused, -and looked up as a peal of thunder rumbled across -the sky; a red gleam of lightning flashed in the -darkness without, and then they heard the roar of -the deep broad Nairn, as its waters, usually so sombre -and so slow, swept down from the wilds of Badenoch, -flooded with the melting snows of the past winter. -</p> - -<p> -A dreadful storm of thunder, rain, and wind came -on, and the little cottage rocked on its foundations; -frequently the turf-fire upon the hearth was almost -blown about the clay-floor, by the downward gusts -that bellowed in the chimney. The lightning -gleamed incessantly, and seemed to play about the -hill of Urchany and the ruins of Caistel Fionlah; the -woods groaned and creaked, and the trees seemed to -shriek as their strong limbs were torn asunder by -the gusts which in some places laid side by side the -green sapling of last summer, and the old oak that -had stood for a thousand years—that had seen -Macbeth and Duncan ride from Nairn, and had outlived -the wars of the Comyns and the Clanchattan. -</p> - -<p> -The swollen Nairn tore down its banks, and swept -trees, rocks, and stones in wild confusion to -the sea, mingling the pines of Aberarder with -the old oaks of Cawdor; while the salt spray -from the Moray Firth was swept seven miles -inland, where it encrusted with salt the trees, the -houses, and windows, and whatever it fell on -as it mingled with the ceaseless rain, while deep, -hoarse, and loud the incessant thunder rattled across -the sky, "as if all the cannon on earth," according -to Ewen, "were exchanging salvoes between Urchany -and the Hill of Geddes." -</p> - -<p> -Meinie grew pale, and sat with a finger on her -mouth, and a startled expression in her eyes, listening -to the uproar without; four children, two of whom -were Ewen's, and her last addition to the clan, clung -to her skirts. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen had just completed the invariable prayer -and chapter for the night, and was solemnly depositing -his old regimental companion, with "Baxter's -Saints' Best," in a place of security, when a -tremendous knock—a knock that rang above the -storm—shook the door of the cottage. -</p> - -<p> -"Who can this be, and in such a night?" said -Meinie. -</p> - -<p> -"The Lord knoweth," responded Ewen, gravely; -"but he knocks both loud and late." -</p> - -<p> -"Inquire before you open," urged Meinie, seizing -her husband's arm, as the impatient knock was -renewed with treble violence. -</p> - -<p> -"Who comes there?" demanded Ewen, in a -soldierly tone. -</p> - -<p> -"A friend," replied a strange voice without, and in -the same manner. -</p> - -<p> -"What do you want?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke!" cried the other, giving the -door a tremendous kick; "do you ask that in such a -devil of a night as this? You have a room to let, -have you not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Well: open the door, or blood and 'oons I'll bite -your nose off!" -</p> - -<p> -Ewen hastened to undo the door; and then, all -wet and dripping as if he had just been fished up -from the Moray Firth, there entered a strange-looking -old fellow in a red coat; he stumped vigorously on a -wooden leg, and carried on his shoulders a box, which -he flung down with a crash that shook the dwelling, -saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"There—dam you—I have made good my billet at last." -</p> - -<p> -"So it seems," said Ewen, reclosing the door in -haste to exclude the tempest, lest his house should -be unroofed and torn asunder. -</p> - -<p> -"Harkee, comrade, what garrison or fortress is -this," asked the visitor, "that peaceable folks are to -be challenged in this fashion, and forced to give -parole and countersign before they march in—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is my house, comrade; and so you had better -keep a civil tongue in your head." -</p> - -<p> -"Civil tongue? Fire and smoke, you mangy cur! -I can be as civil as my neighbours; but get me a -glass of grog, for I am as wet as we were the night -before Minden." -</p> - -<p> -"Where have you come from in such a storm as this?" -</p> - -<p> -"Where you'd not like to go—so never mind; but, -grog, I tell you—get me some grog, and a bit of -tobacco; it is long since I tasted either." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen hastened to get a large quaighful of stiff -Glenlivat, which the veteran drained to his health, -and that of Meinie; but first he gave them a most -diabolical grin, and threw into the liquor some black -stuff, saying,— -</p> - -<p> -"I always mix my grog with gunpowder—it's a -good tonic; I learned that of a comrade who fell at -Minden on the glorious 1st of August, '59. -</p> - -<p> -"You have been a soldier, then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Right! I was one of the 25th, or old -Edinburgh Regiment; they enlisted me, though an -Englishman, I believe; for my good old dam was a -follower of the camp." -</p> - -<p> -"Our number was the 26th—the old Cameronian -Regiment—so we were near each other, you see, -comrade." -</p> - -<p> -"Nearer than you would quite like, mayhap," said -Wooden-leg, with another grin and a dreadful oath. -</p> - -<p> -"And you have served in Germany?" asked Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Germany—aye, and marched over every foot of -it, from Hanover to Hell, and back again. I have -fought in Flanders, too." -</p> - -<p> -"I wish you had come a wee while sooner," said -Ewen gravely, for this discourse startled his sense -of propriety. -</p> - -<p> -"Sooner," snarled this shocking old fellow, who -must have belonged to that army, "which swore so -terribly in Flanders," as good Uncle Toby says; -"sooner—for what?" -</p> - -<p> -"To have heard me read a chapter, and to have -joined us in prayer." -</p> - -<p> -"Prayers be d—ned!" cried the other, with a shout -of laughter, and a face expressive of fiendish mockery, -as he gave his wooden leg a thundering blow on -the floor; "fire and smoke—another glass of grog—and -then we'll settle about my billet upstairs." -</p> - -<p> -While getting another dram, which hospitality -prevented him from refusing, Ewen scrutinised this -strange visitor, whose aspect and attire were very -remarkable; but wholly careless of what any one -thought, he sat by the hearth, wringing his wet wig, -and drying it at the fire. -</p> - -<p> -He was a little man, of a spare, but strong and -active figure, which indicated great age; his face -resembled that of a rat; behind it hung a long -queue that waved about like a pendulum when he -moved his head, which was quite bald, and smooth -as a cricket-ball, save where a long and livid -scar—evidently a sword cut—traversed it. This was -visible while he sat drying his wig; but as that process -was somewhat protracted, he uttered an oath, and -thrust his cocked hat on one side of his head, and -very much over his left eye, which was covered by a -patch. This head-dress was the old military -triple-cocked hat, bound with yellow braid, and having on -one side the hideous black leather cockade of the -House of Hanover, now happily disused in the -British army, and retained as a badge of service by -liverymen alone. His attire was an old threadbare -red coat, faced with yellow, having square tails and -deep cuffs, with braided holes; he wore knee-breeches -on his spindle shanks, one of which terminated, -as I have said, in a wooden pin; he carried -a large knotted stick; and, in outline and aspect, -very much resembled, as Ewen thought, Frederick -the Great of Prussia, or an old Chelsea pensioner, -or the soldiers he had seen delineated in antique -prints of the Flemish wars. His solitary orb -possessed a most diabolical leer, and, whichever way -you turned, it seemed to regard you with the fixed -glare of a basilisk. -</p> - -<p> -"You are a stranger hereabout, I presume?" said -Ewen drily. -</p> - -<p> -"A stranger now, certainly; but I was pretty -well known in this locality once. There are some -bones buried hereabout that may remember me," -he replied, with a grin that showed his fangless -jaws. -</p> - -<p> -"Bones!" reiterated Ewen, aghast. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, bones—Culloden Muir lies close by here, -does it not?" -</p> - -<p> -"It does—then you have travelled this road -before?" -</p> - -<p> -"Death and the Devil! I should think so, -comrade; on this very night sixty years ago I marched -along this road, from Nairn to Culloden, with the -army of His Royal Highness, the Great Duke of -Cumberland, Captain-General of the British troops, -in pursuit of the rebels under the Popish Pretender——" -</p> - -<p> -"Under His Royal Highness Prince Charles, you -mean, comrade," said Ewen, in whose breast—Cameronian -though he was—a tempest of Highland -wrath and loyalty swelled up at these words. -</p> - -<p> -"Prince—ha! ha! ha!" laughed the other; "had -you said as much then, the gallows had been your -doom. Many a man I have shot, and many a boy -I have brained with the butt end of my musket, for -no other crime than wearing the tartan, even as you -this night wear it." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen made a forward stride as if he would have -taken the wicked boaster by the throat; his anger -was kindled to find himself in presence of a -veritable soldier of the infamous "German Butcher," -whose merciless massacre of the wounded clansmen -and their defenceless families will never be -forgotten in Scotland while oral tradition and written -record exist; but Ewen paused, and said in his quiet -way,— -</p> - -<p> -"Blessed be the Lord! these times and things -have passed away from the land, to return to it no -more. We are both old men now; by your own -reckoning, you must at least have numbered four-score -years, and in that, you are by twenty my better -man. You are my guest to-night, moreover, so we -must not quarrel, comrade. My father was killed at -Culloden." -</p> - -<p> -"On which side?" -</p> - -<p> -"The right one—for he fell by the side of old -Keppoch, and his last words were, 'Righ Hamish -gu Bragh!'" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke!" laughed the old fellow, "I -remember these things as if they only happened -yesterday—mix me some more grog and put it in -the bill—I was the company's butcher in those days—it -suited my taste—so when I was not stabbing and -slashing the sheep and cattle of the rascally -commissary, I was cutting the throats of the Scots and -French, for there were plenty of them, and Irish -too, who fought against the king's troops in -Flanders. We had hot work, that day at Culloden—hotter -than at Minden, where we fought in heavy -marching order, with our blankets, kettles, and -provisions, on a broiling noon, when the battle-field was -cracking under a blazing sun, and the whole country -was sweltering like the oven of the Great Baker." -</p> - -<p> -"Who is he?" -</p> - -<p> -"What! you don't know him? Ha! ha! ha! -Ho! ho! ho! come, that is good." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen expostulated with the boisterous old fellow -on this style of conversation, which, as you may -easily conceive, was very revolting to the prejudices -of a well-regulated Cameronian soldier. -</p> - -<p> -"Come, come, you old devilskin," cried the other, -stirring up the fire with his wooden leg, till the -sparks flashed and gleamed like his solitary eye; "you -may as well sing psalms to a dead horse, as preach -to me. Hark how the thunder roars, like the great -guns at Carthagena! More grog—put it in the -bill—or, halt, d—me! pay yourself," and he dashed on -the table a handful of silver of the reigns of George -II., and the Glencoe assassin, William of Orange. -</p> - -<p> -He obtained more whiskey, and drank it raw, -seasoning it from time to time with gunpowder, -just as an Arab does his cold water with ginger. -</p> - -<p> -"Where did you lose your eye, comrade?" -</p> - -<p> -"At Culloden; but I found the fellow who pinked -me, next day, as he lay bleeding on the field; he -was a Cameron, in a green velvet jacket, all covered -with silver; so I stripped off his lace, as I had seen -my mother do, and then I brained him with the -butt-end of brown-bess—and before his wife's eyes, -too! What the deuce do you growl at, comrade? -Such things will happen in war, and you know that -orders must be obeyed. My eye was gone—but it -was the left one, and I was saved the trouble of -closing it when taking aim. This slash on the -sconce I got at the battle of Preston Pans, from the -Celt who slew Colonel Gardiner." -</p> - -<p> -"That Celt was my father—the Miller of -Invernahyle," said Meinie, proudly. -</p> - -<p> -"Your father! fire and smoke! do you say so? -His hand was a heavy one!" cried Wooden-leg, -while his eye glowed like the orb of a hyæna. -</p> - -<p> -"And your leg?" -</p> - -<p> -"I lost at Minden, in Kingsley's Brigade, -comrade; aye, my leg—d—n!—that was indeed a loss." -</p> - -<p> -"A warning to repentance, I would say." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you would say wrong. Ugh! I remember -when the shot—a twelve-pounder—took me -just as we were rushing with charged bayonets on -the French cannoniers. Smash! my leg was gone, -and I lay sprawling and bleeding in a ploughed -field near the Weser, while my comrades swept over -me with a wild hurrah! the colours waving, and -drums beating a charge." -</p> - -<p> -"And what did you do?" -</p> - -<p> -"I lay there and swore, believe me." -</p> - -<p> -"That would not restore your limb again." -</p> - -<p> -"No; but a few hearty oaths relieve the mind; -and the mind relieves the body; you understand -me, comrade; so there I lay all night under a storm -of rain like this, bleeding and sinking; afraid of -the knives of the plundering death-hunters, for my -mother had been one, and I remembered well how -she looked after the wounded, and cured them of -their agony." -</p> - -<p> -"Was your mother one of those infer——" began -MacEwen. -</p> - -<p> -"Don't call her hard names now, comrade; she died -on the day after the defeat at Val; with the Provost -Marshal's cord round her neck—a cordon less -ornamental than that of St. Louis." -</p> - -<p> -"And your father?" -</p> - -<p> -"Was one of Howard's Regiment; but which the -devil only knows, for it was a point on which the -old lady, honest woman, had serious doubts herself." -</p> - -<p> -"After the loss of your leg, of course you left the -service?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, I became the company's butcher; but, fire -and smoke, get me another glass of grog; take a -share yourself, and don't sit staring at me like a Dutch -Souterkin conceived of a winter night over a 'pot de -feu,' as all the world knows King William was. Dam! let -us be merry together—ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, ho! and -I'll sing you a song of the old whig times." -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'O, brother Sandie, hear ye the news,<br /> - Lillibulero, bullen a la!<br /> - An army is coming sans breeches and shoes,<br /> - Lillibulero, bullen a la!<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'To arms! to arms! brave boys to arms!<br /> - A true British cause for your courage doth ca';<br /> - Country and city against a kilted banditti,<br /> - Lillibulero, bullen a la!'"<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -And while he continued to rant and sing the song -(once so obnoxious to the Scottish Cavaliers), he beat -time with his wooden leg, and endeavoured to outroar -the stormy wind and the hiss of the drenching rain. -Even MacEwen, though he was an old soldier, felt -some uneasiness, and Meinie trembled in her heart, -while the children clung to her skirts and hid their -little faces, as if this singing, riot, and jollity were -impious at such a time, when the awful thunder -was ringing its solemn peals across the midnight sky. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap27"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVII. -<br /><br /> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT.—THE UNCO' QUEST. -</h3> - -<p> -Although this strange old man baffled or parried -every inquiry of Ewen as to whence he had come, -and how and why he wore that antiquated uniform, -on his making a lucrative offer to take the upper -room of the little toll-house for a year—exactly a -year—when Ewen thought of his poor pension of -six-pence per diem, of their numerous family, and Meinie -now becoming old and requiring many little comforts, -all scruples were overcome by the pressure of -necessity, and the mysterious old soldier was duly -installed in the attic, with his corded chest, scratch-wig, -and wooden-leg; moreover, he paid the first six -months' rent in advance, dashing the money—which -was all coin of the first and second Georges, on the -table with a bang and an oath, swearing that he -disliked being indebted to any man. -</p> - -<p> -The next morning was calm and serene; the green -hills lifted their heads into the blue and placid sky. -There was no mist on the mountains, nor rain in the -valley. The flood in the Nairn had subsided, though -its waters were still muddy and perturbed; but save -this, and the broken branches that strewed the -wayside—with an uprooted tree, or a paling laid flat on -the ground, there was no trace of yesterday's -hurricane, and Ewen heard Wooden-leg (he had no other -name for his new lodger) stumping about overhead, -as the old fellow left his bed betimes, and after -trimming his queue and wig, pipeclaying his yellow -facings, and beating them well with the brush, in a -soldier-like way, he descended to breakfast, but, -disdaining porridge and milk, broiled salmon and -bannocks of barley-meal, he called for a can of stiff grog, -mixed it with powder from his wide waistcoat pocket, -and drank it off at a draught. Then he imperiously -desired Ewen to take his bonnet and staff, and -accompany him so far as Culloden, "because," said he, -"I have come a long, long way to see the old place -again." -</p> - -<p> -Wooden-leg seemed to gather—what was quite -unnecessary to him—new life, vigour, and energy—as -they traversed the road that led to the battle-field, -and felt the pure breeze of the spring morning -blowing on their old and wrinkled faces. -</p> - -<p> -The atmosphere was charmingly clear and serene. -In the distance lay the spires of Inverness, and the -shining waters of the Moray Firth, studded with sails, -and the ramparts of Fort George were seen jutting -out at the termination of a long and green peninsula. -In the foreground stood the castle of Dalcross, -raising its square outline above a wood, which terminates -the eastern side of the landscape. The pine-clad -summit of Dun Daviot incloses the west, while on every -hand between, stretched the dreary moor of -Drummossie—the Plain of Culloden—whilome drenched in -the blood of Scotland's bravest hearts. -</p> - -<p> -Amid the purple heath lie two or three grass-covered -mounds. -</p> - -<p> -These are the graves of the dead—the graves of -the loyal Highlanders, who fell on that disastrous -field, and of the wounded, who were so mercilessly -murdered next day by an order of Cumberland, which -he pencilled on the back of a card (the Nine of -Diamonds); thus they were dispatched by platoons, -stabbed by bayonets, slashed by swords and -spontoons, or brained by the butt-end of musket and -carbine; officers and men were to be seen emulating -each other in this scene of cowardice and cold-blooded -atrocity, which filled every camp and barrack -in Continental Europe with scorn at the name of an -English soldier. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen was a Highlander, and his heart filled with -such thoughts as these, when he stood by the grassy -tombs where the fallen brave are buried with the -hopes of the house they died for; he took off his -bonnet and stood bare-headed, full of sad and silent -contemplation; while his garrulous companion -viewed the field with his single eye, that glowed like -a hot coal, and pirouetted on his wooden pin in a very -remarkable manner, as he surveyed on every side the -scene of that terrible encounter, where, after -enduring a long cannonade of round shot and grape, the -Highland swordsmen, chief and gillie, the noble and -the nameless, flung themselves with reckless valour -on the ranks of those whom they had already routed -in two pitched battles. -</p> - -<p> -"It was an awful day," said Ewen, in a low voice, but -with a gleam in his grey Celtic eye; "yonder my -father fell wounded; the bullet went through his shield -and pierced him here, just above the belt; he was -living next day, when my mother—a poor wailing -woman with a babe at her breast—found him; but an -officer of Barrel's Regiment ran a sword twice through -his body and killed him; for the orders of the -German Duke were, 'that no quarter should be given.' This -spring is named MacGillivray's Well, because -here they butchered the dying chieftain who led the -Macintoshes—aye bayonetted him, next day at noon, -in the arms of his bonnie young wife and his puir -auld mother! The inhuman monsters! I have been -a soldier," continued Ewen, "and I have fought for -my country; but had I stood that day on this Moor -of Culloden, I would have shot the German Butcher, the -coward who fled from Flanders—I would, by the God -who hears me, though that moment had been my last!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" rejoined his queer -companion. "It seems like yesterday since I was -here; I don't see many changes, except that the -dead are all buried, whereas we left them to the -crows, and a carriage-road has been cut across the -field, just where we seized some women, who were -looking among the dead for their husbands, and -who——" -</p> - -<p> -"Well?" -</p> - -<p> -Wooden-leg whistled, and gave Ewen a diabolical -leer with his snaky eye, as he resumed,— -</p> - -<p> -"I see the ridge where the clans formed line—every -tribe with its chief in front, and his colours in -the centre, when we, hopeless of victory, and thinking -only of defeat, approached them; and I can yet -see standing the old stone wall which covered their -right flank. Fire and smoke! it was against that -wall we placed the wounded, when we fired at them -by platoons next day. I finished some twenty rebels -there myself." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen's hand almost caught the haft of his skene -dhu, as he said, hoarsely,— -</p> - -<p> -"Old man, do not call them rebels in my hearing, -and least of all by the graves where they lie; they -were good men and true; if they were in error, they -have long since answered to God for it, even as we -one day must answer; therefore let us treat their -memory with respect, as soldiers should ever treat -their brothers in arms who fall in war." -</p> - -<p> -But Wooden-leg laughed with his strange eldritch -yell, and then they returned together to the tollhouse -in the glen; but Ewen felt strongly dissatisfied with -his lodger, whose conversation was so calculated to -shock alike his Jacobitical and his religious -prejudices. Every day this sentiment grew stronger, and -he soon learned to deplore in his inmost heart having -ever accepted the rent, and longed for the time when -he should be rid of him; but, at the end of the six -months, Wooden-leg produced the rent for the -remainder of the year, still in old silver of the two -first Georges, with a few Spanish dollars, and swore -he would set the house on fire, if Ewen made any -more apologies about their inability to make him -sufficiently comfortable and so forth; for his host -and hostess had resorted to every pretence and -expedient to rid themselves of him handsomely. -</p> - -<p> -But Wooden-leg was inexorable. -</p> - -<p> -He had bargained for his billet for a year; he had -paid for it; and a year he would stay, though the -Lord Justice General of Scotland himself should -say nay! -</p> - -<p> -Boisterous and authoritative, he awed every one by -his terrible gimlet eye and the volleys of oaths -with which he overwhelmed them on suffering the -smallest contradiction; thus he became the terror of -all; and shepherds crossed the hills by the most -unfrequented routes rather than pass the toll-bar, -where they vowed that his eye bewitched their sheep -and cattle. To every whispered and stealthy inquiry -as to where his lodger had come from, and how or -why he had thrust himself upon this lonely tollhouse, -Ewen could only groan and shrug his shoulders, or -reply,— -</p> - -<p> -"He came on the night of the hurricane, like -a bird of evil omen; but on the twenty-sixth of -April we will be rid of him, please Heaven! It is -close at hand, and he shall march then, sure as my -name is Ewen Mac Ewen!" -</p> - -<p> -He seemed to be troubled in his conscience, too, or -to have strange visitors; for often in stormy nights -he was heard swearing or threatening, and expostulating; -and once or twice, when listening at the foot -of the stair, Ewen heard him shouting and conversing -from his window with persons on the road, although -the bar was shut, locked, and there was no one -visible there. -</p> - -<p> -On another windy night, Ewen and his wife were -scared by hearing Wooden-leg engaged in a furious -altercation with some one overhead. -</p> - -<p> -"Dog, I'll blow out your brains!" yelled a strange -voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke! blow out the candle first—ha, -ha, ha! ho, ho, ho!" cried Wooden-leg; then there -ensued the explosion of a pistol, a dreadful stamping -of feet, with the sound of several men swearing and -fighting. To all this Ewen and his wife hearkened -in fear and perplexity; at last something fell heavily -on the floor, and then all became still, and not a -sound was heard but the night wind sighing down -the glen. -</p> - -<p> -Betimes in the morning Ewen, weary and unslept, -left his bed and ascended to the door of this terrible -lodger and tapped gently. -</p> - -<p> -"Come in; why the devil this fuss and ceremony, -eh, comrade?" cried a hoarse voice, and there was -old Wooden-leg, not lying dead on the floor as Ewen -expected, or perhaps hoped; but stumping about in his -shirt sleeves, pipe-claying his facings, and whistling -the "Point of War." -</p> - -<p> -On being questioned about the most unearthly -"row" of last night, he only bade Ewen mind his -own affairs, or uttered a volley of oaths, some of -which were Spanish, and mixing a can of gunpowder -grog drained it at a draught. -</p> - -<p> -He was very quarrelsome, dictatorial, and scandalously -irreligious; thus his military reminiscences -were of so ferocious and blood-thirsty a nature, that -they were sufficient to scare any quiet man out of his -seven senses. But it was more particularly in -relating the butcheries, murders, and ravages of -Cumberland in the highlands, that he exulted, and there -was always a terrible air of probability in all he said. -On Ewen once asking of him if he had ever been -punished for the many irregularities and cruelties -he so freely acknowledged having committed,— -</p> - -<p> -"Punished? Fire and smoke, comrade, I should -think so; I have been flogged till the bones of my -back stood through the quivering flesh; I have been -picquetted, tied neck and heels, or sent to ride the -wooden horse, and to endure other punishments which -are now abolished in the king's service. An officer -once tied me neck and heels for eight and forty -hours—ay, damme, till I lost my senses; but he lost -his life soon after, a shot from the rear killed him; -you understand me, comrade; ha, ha, ha! ho, ho, -ho! a shot from the rear." -</p> - -<p> -"You murdered him?" said Ewen, in a tone of horror. -</p> - -<p> -"I did not say so," cried Wooden-leg with an -oath, as he dealt his landlord a thwack across the -shins with his stump; "but I'll tell you how it -happened. I was on the Carthagena expedition in -'41, and served amid all the horrors of that -bombardment, which was rendered unsuccessful by the -quarrels of the general and admiral; then the yellow -fever broke out among the troops, who were crammed -on board the ships of war like figs in a cask, or like -the cargo of a slaver, so they died in scores—and -in scores their putrid corpses lay round the hawsers -of the shipping, which raked them up every day as -they swung round with the tide; and from all the -open gunports, where their hammocks were hung, -our sick men saw the ground sharks gorging -themselves on the dead, while they daily expected to -follow. The air was black with flies, and the -scorching sun seemed to have leagued with the infernal -Spaniards against us. But, fire and smoke, mix me -some more grog, I am forgetting my story! -</p> - -<p> -"Our Grenadiers, with those of other regiments, -under Colonel James Grant of Carron, were landed -on the Island of Tierrabomba, which lies at the -entrance of the harbour of Carthagena, where we -stormed two small forts which our ships had -cannonaded on the previous day. -</p> - -<p> -"Grenadiers—open your pouches—handle grenades—blow -your fuses!" cried Grant, "forward." -</p> - -<p> -"And then we bayonetted the dons, or with the -clubbed musket smashed their heads like ripe -pumpkins, while our fleet, anchored with broadsides to -the shore, threw shot and shell, grape, cannister, -carcasses, and hand-grenades in showers among the -batteries, booms, cables, chains, ships of war, -gunboats, and the devil only knows what more. -</p> - -<p> -"It was evening when we landed, and as the -ramparts of San Luiz de Bocca Chica were within -musket shot of our left flank, the lieutenant of our -company was left with twelve grenadiers (of whom I -was one) as a species of out-picquet to watch the -Spaniards there, and to acquaint the officer in the -captured forts if anything was essayed by way of sortie. -</p> - -<p> -"About midnight I was posted as an advanced -sentinel, and ordered to face La Bocca Chica with -all my ears and eyes open. The night was close and -sultry; there was not a breath of wind stirring on -the land or waveless sea; and all was still save the -cries of the wild animals that preyed upon the -unburied dead, or the sullen splash caused by some -half-shrouded corpse, as it was launched from a -gun-port, for our ships were moored within pistol-shot -of the place where I stood. -</p> - -<p> -"Towards the west the sky was a deep and lurid -red, as if the midnight sea was in flames at the -horizon; and between me and this fiery glow, I could -see the black and opaque outline of the masts, the -yards, and the gigantic hulls of those floating -charnel-houses our line-of-battle ships, and the dark -solid ramparts of San Luiz de Bocca Chica. -</p> - -<p> -"Suddenly I saw before me the head of a Spanish -column!" -</p> - -<p> -"I cocked my musket, they seemed to be halted -in close order, for I could see the white coats and -black hats of a single company only. So I fired at -them point blank, and fell back on the picquet, which -stood to arms. -</p> - -<p> -"The lieutenant of our grenadiers came hurrying -towards me. -</p> - -<p> -"Where are the dons?" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"In our front, sir," said I, pointing to the white -line which seemed to waver before us in the gloom -under the walls of San Luiz, and then it disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -"They are advancing," said I. -</p> - -<p> -"They have vanished, fellow," said the lieutenant, -angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"Because they have marched down into a hollow." -</p> - -<p> -"In a moment after they re-appeared, upon which -the lieutenant brought up the picquet, and after -firing three volleys retired towards the principal fort -where Colonel Grant had all the troops under arms; -but not a Spaniard approached us, and what, think -you, deceived me and caused this alarm? Only a -grove of trees, fire and smoke! yes, it was a grove -of manchineel trees, which the Spaniards had cut -down or burned to within five feet of the ground; -and as their bark is white it resembled the Spanish -uniform, while the black burned tops easily passed -for their grenadier caps to the overstrained eyes of a -poor anxious lad, who found himself under the heavy -responsibility of an advanced sentinel for the first -time in his life." -</p> - -<p> -"And was this the end of it?" asked Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Hell and Tommy?" roared the Wooden-leg, "no—but -you shall hear. I was batooned by the lieutenant; -then I was tried at the drumhead for causing -a false alarm, and sentenced to be tied neck and -heels, and lest you may not know the fashion of this -punishment I shall tell you of it. I was placed on -the ground; my firelock was put under my hams, -and another was placed over my neck; then the two -were drawn close together by two cartouch-box -straps; and in this situation, doubled up as round -as a ball, I remained with my chin wedged between -my knees until the blood spouted out of my mouth, -nose, and ears, and I became insensible. When I -recovered my senses the troops were forming in -column, preparatory to assaulting Fort San Lazare; -and though almost blind, and both weak and -trembling, I was forced to take my place in the ranks; -and I ground my teeth as I handled my musket and -saw the lieutenant of our company, in lace-ruffles -and powdered wig, prepare to join the forlorn hope, -which was composed of six hundred chosen grenadiers, -under Colonel Grant, a brave Scottish officer. -I loaded my piece with a charmed bullet, cast in a -mould given to me by an Indian warrior, and marched -on with my section. The assault failed. Of the -forlorn hope I alone escaped, for Grant and his -Grenadiers perished to a man in the breach. There, -too, lay our lieutenant. A shot had pierced his head -behind, just at the queue. Queer, was it not? when -I was his covering file?" -</p> - -<p> -As he said this, Wooden-leg gave Ewen another of -those diabolical leers, which always made his blood -ran cold, and continued,— -</p> - -<p> -"I passed him as he lay dead, with his sword in -his hand, his fine ruffled shirt and silk waistcoat -drenched with blood—by the bye, there was a pretty -girl's miniature, with powdered hair peeping out of it -too. 'Ho, ho!' thought I, as I gave him a hearty -kick; 'you will never again have me tied neck-and-heels -for not wearing spectacles on sentry, or get me -a hundred lashes, for not having my queue dressed -straight to the seam of my coat." -</p> - -<p> -"Horrible!" said Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"I will wager my wooden leg against your two of -flesh and bone, that your officer would have been -served in the same way, if he had given you the same -provocation." -</p> - -<p> -"Heaven forbid!" said Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" cried Wooden-leg. -</p> - -<p> -"You spoke of an Indian warrior," said Ewen, -uneasily, as the atrocious anecdotes of this hideous -old man excited his anger and repugnance; "then -you have served, like myself, in the New World?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke! I should think so, but long -before your day." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you fought against the Cherokees?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"At Warwomans Creek?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; I was killed there." -</p> - -<p> -"You were—what?" stammered Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Killed there." -</p> - -<p> -"Killed?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, scalped by the Cherokees; dam! don't I -speak plain enough?" -</p> - -<p> -"He is mad," thought Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"I am not mad," said Wooden-leg gruffly. -</p> - -<p> -"I never said so," urged Ewen. -</p> - -<p> -"Thunder and blazes! but you thought it, which -is all the same." -</p> - -<p> -Ewen was petrified by this remark, and then -Wooden-leg, while fixing his hyæna-like eye upon -him, and mixing a fresh can of his peculiar grog, -continued thus,— -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, I served in the Warwomans Creek expedition -in '60. In the preceding year I had been taken -prisoner at Fort Ninety-six, and was carried off by -the Indians. They took me into the heart of their -own country, where an old Sachem protected me, -and adopted me in place of a son he had lost in -battle. Now this old devil of a Sachem had a -daughter—a graceful, pretty and gentle Indian girl, whom -her tribe named the Queen of the Beaver dams. She -was kind to me, and loved to call me her pale-faced -brother. Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Fire and -smoke! do I now look like a man that could once -attract a pretty girl's eye,—now, with my wooden-leg, -patched face and riddled carcase? Well, she -loved me, and I pretended to be in love too, though -I did not care for her the value of an old snapper. -She was graceful and round in every limb, as a -beautiful statue. Her features were almost regular—her -eyes black and soft; her hair hung nearly to her -knees, while her smooth glossy skin, was no darker -than a Spanish brunette's. Her words were like -notes of music, for the language of the Cherokees, -like that of the Iroquois, is full of the softest vowels. -This Indian girl treated me with love and kindness, -and I promised to become a Cherokee warrior, a -thundering turtle and scalp-hunter for her sake—just -as I would have promised anything to any other -woman, and had done so a score of times before. -I studied her gentle character in all its weak and -delicate points, as a general views a fortress he is -about to besiege, and I soon knew every avenue to -the heart of the place. I made my approaches with -modesty, for the mind of the Indian virgin was timid, -and as pure as the new fallen snow. I drew my -parallels and pushed on the trenches whenever the -old Sachem was absent, smoking his pipe and -drinking fire-water at the council of the tribe; I soon -reached the base of the glacis and stormed the -breastworks—dam! I did, comrade. -</p> - -<p> -"I promised her everything, if she would continue -to love me, and swore by the Great Spirit to lay at -her feet the scalp-lock of the white chief, General the -Lord Amherst, K.C.B., and all that, with every other -protestation that occurred to me at the time; and so -she soon loved me—and me alone—as we wandered -on the green slopes of Tennessee, when the flowering -forest-trees and the magnolias, the crimson strawberries, -and the flaming azalea made the scenery beautiful; -and where the shrill cry cf the hawk, and the -carol of the merry mocking-bird, filled the air with -sounds of life and happiness. -</p> - -<p> -"We were married in the fantastic fashion of the -tribe, and the Indian girl was the happiest squaw in -the Beaver dams. I hoed cotton and planted rice; -I cut rushes that she might plait mats and baskets; I -helped her to weave wampum, and built her a -wigwam, but I longed to be gone, for in six months I -was wearied of her and the Cherokees too. In short, -one night, I knocked the old Sachem on the head, -and without perceiving that he still breathed, pocketted -his valuables, such as they were, two necklaces of -amber beads and two of Spanish dollars, and without -informing my squaw of what I had done, I prevailed -upon her to guide me far into the forest, on the skirts -of which lay a British outpost, near the lower end of -the vale, through which flows the Tennessee River. -She was unable to accompany me more than a few -miles, for she was weak, weary, and soon to become a -mother; so I gave her the slip in the forest, and, -leaving her to shift for herself, reached head-quarters, -just as the celebrated expedition from South -Carolina was preparing to march against the Cherokees. -</p> - -<p> -"Knowing well the localities, I offered myself as a -guide, and was at once accepted— -</p> - -<p> -"Cruel and infamous!" exclaimed honest Ewen, -whose chivalric Highland spirit fired with indignation -at these heartless avowals; "and the poor girl -you deceived——" -</p> - -<p> -"Bah! I thought the wild beasts would soon -dispose of her." -</p> - -<p> -"But then the infamy of being a guide, even for -your comrades, against those who had fed and -fostered, loved and protected you! By my soul, this -atrocity were worthy of King William and his Glencoe -assassins!" -</p> - -<p> -"Ho, ho, ho! fire and smoke! you shall hear. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, we marched from New York in the early -part of 1760. There were our regiment, with four -hundred of the Scots Royals, and Montgomery's -Highlanders. We landed at Charleston, and marched -up the country to Fort Ninety-six on the frontier of -the Cherokees. Our route was long and arduous, for -the ways were wild and rough, so it was the first of -June before we reached Twelve-mile River. I had -been so long unaccustomed to carry my knapsack, -that its weight rendered me savage and ferocious, and -I cursed the service and my own existence; for in -addition to our muskets and accoutrements, our sixty -rounds of ball cartridge per man, we carried our own -tents, poles, pegs, and cooking utensils. Thunder -and blazes! when we halted, which we did in a -pleasant valley, where the great shady chestnuts and the -flowering hickory made our camp alike cool and -beautiful, my back and shoulders were nearly skinned; -for as you must know well, comrade, the knapsack -straps are passed so tightly under the armpits, that -they stop the circulation of the blood, and press upon -the lungs almost to suffocation. Scores of our men -left the ranks on the march, threw themselves down -in despair, and were soon tomahawked and scalped -by the Indians. -</p> - -<p> -"We marched forward next day, but without perceiving -the smallest vestige of an Indian trail; thus -we began to surmise that the Cherokees knew not -that we were among them; but just as the sun was -sinking behind the blue hills, we came upon a cluster -of wigwams, which I knew well; they were the -Beaver dams, situated on a river, among wild woods -that never before had echoed to the drum or bugle. -</p> - -<p> -"Bad and wicked as I was, some strange emotions -rose within me at this moment. I thought of the -Sachem's daughter—her beauty—her love for me, and -the child that was under her bosom when I abandoned -her in the vast forest through which we had -just penetrated; but I stifled all regret, and heard -with pleasure the order to 'examine flints and -priming.' -</p> - -<p> -"Then the Cherokee warwhoop pierced the echoing -sky; a scattered fire was poured upon us from -behind the rocks and trees; the sharp steel -tomahawks came flashing and whirling through the air; -bullets and arrows whistled, and rifles rung, and in a -moment we found ourselves surrounded by a living -sea of dark-skinned and yelling Cherokees, with -plumes on their scalp locks, their fierce visages -streaked with war paint, and all their moccasins -rattling. -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and fury, such a time it was! -</p> - -<p> -"We all fought like devils, but our men fell fast on -every side; the Royals lost two lieutenants, and several -soldiers whose scalps were torn from their bleeding -skulls in a moment. Our regiment, though steady -under fire as a battalion of stone statues, now fell into -disorder, and the brown warriors, like fiends in aspect -and activity, pressed on with musket and war-club -brandished, and with such yells as never rang in mortal -ears elsewhere. The day was lost, until the -Highlanders came up, and then the savages were routed -in an instant, and cut to pieces. 'Shoot and slash' -was the order; and there ensued such a scene of -carnage as I had not witnessed since Culloden, where -His Royal Highness, the fat Duke of Cumberland, -galloped about the field, overseeing the wholesale -butchery of the wounded. -</p> - -<p> -"We destroyed their magazines of powder and -provisions; we laid the wigwams in ashes, and shot or -bayonetted every living thing, from the babe on its -mother's breast, to the hen that sat on the roost; for -as I had made our commander aware of all the avenues, -there was no escape for the poor devils of Cherokees. -Had the pious, glorious, and immortal King William -been there, he would have thought we had modelled -the whole affair after his own exploit at Glencoe. -</p> - -<p> -"All was nearly over, and among the ashes of the -smoking wigwams and the gashed corpses of king's -soldiers and Indian warriors, I sat down beneath a -great chestnut to wipe my musket, for butt, barrel, and -bayonet were clotted with blood and human hair—ouf, -man, why do you shudder? it was only Cherokee -wool;—all was nearly over, I have said, when a low -fierce cry, like the hoarse hiss of a serpent, rang in -my ear; a brown and bony hand clutched my throat -as the fangs of a wolf would have done, and hurled -me to the earth! A tomahawk flashed above me, and -an aged Indian's face, whose expression, was like -that of a fiend, came close to mine, and I felt his -breath upon my cheek. It was the visage of the -sachem, but hollow with suffering and almost green -with fury, and he laughed like a hyæna, as he poised -the uplifted axe. -</p> - -<p> -"Another form intervened for a moment; it -was that of the poor Indian girl I had so heartlessly -deceived; she sought to stay the avenging hand of -the frantic sachem; but he thrust her furiously -aside, and in the next moment the glittering -tomahawk was quivering in my brain—a knife swept -round my head—my scalp was torn off, and I -remember no more." -</p> - -<p> -"A fortunate thing for you," said Ewen, drily; -"memory such as yours were worse than a -knapsack to carry; and so you were killed there?" -</p> - -<p> -"Don't sneer, comrade," said Wooden-leg, with a -diabolical gleam in his eye: "prithee, don't sneet; -I was killed there, and, moreover, buried too, by the -Scots Royals, when they interred the dead next day." -</p> - -<p> -"Then how came you to be here?" said Ewen, -not very much at ease, to find himself in company -with one he deemed a lunatic. -</p> - -<p> -"Here? that is my business—not yours," was the -surly rejoinder. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen was silent, but reckoned over that now -there were but thirty days to run until the 26th of -April, when the stipulated year would expire. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, comrade, just thirty days," said Wooden-leg, -with an affirmative nod, divining the thoughts of -Ewen; "and then I shall be off, bag and baggage, -if my friends come." -</p> - -<p> -"If not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Then I shall remain where I am." -</p> - -<p> -"The Lord forbid!" thought Ewen; "but I can -apply to the sheriff." -</p> - -<p> -"Death and fury! Thunder and blazes! I should -like to see the rascal of a sheriff who would dare to -meddle with me!" growled the old fellow, as his one -eye shot fire, and, limping away, he ascended the -stairs grumbling and swearing, leaving poor Ewen -terrified even to think, on finding that his thoughts, -although only half conceived, were at once divined -and responded to by this strange inmate of his -house. -</p> - -<p> -"His friends," thought Ewen, "who may they be?" -</p> - -<p> -Three heavy knocks rang on the floor overhead, -as a reply. -</p> - -<p> -It was the wooden leg of the Cherokee invader. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap28"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE PHANTOM REGIMENT—THE MIDNIGHT MARCH. -</h3> - -<p> -This queer old fellow (continued the quartermaster) -was always in a state of great excitement, -and used an extra number of oaths, and mixed his -grog more thickly with gunpowder when a stray -red coat appeared far down the long green glen, -which was crossed by Ewen's lonely toll-bar. Then -he would get into a prodigious fuss and bustle, and -was wont to pack and cord his trunk, to brush up -his well-worn and antique regimentals, and to -adjust his queue and the black cockade of his -triple-cornered hat, as if preparing to depart. -</p> - -<p> -As the time of that person's wished-for departure -drew nigh, Ewen took courage, and shaking off the -timidity with which the swearing and boisterous -fury of Wooden-leg had impressed him, he ventured -to expostulate a little on the folly and sin of his -unmeaning oaths, and the atrocity of the crimes he -boasted of having committed. -</p> - -<p> -But the wicked old Wooden-leg laughed and swore -more than ever, saying that a "true soldier was -never a religious one." -</p> - -<p> -"You are wrong, comrade," retorted the old -Cameronian, taking fire at such an assertion; -"religion is the lightest burden a poor soldier can -carry; and, moreover, it hath upheld me on many a -long day's march, when almost sinking under hunger -and fatigue, with my pack, kettle, and sixty rounds -of ball ammunition on my back. The duties of a -good and brave soldier are no way incompatible with -those of a Christian man; and I never lay down to -rest on the wet bivouac or bloody field, with my -knapsack, or it might be a dead comrade, for a -pillow, without thanking God——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha!" -</p> - -<p> -"—The God of Scotland's covenanted Kirk for -the mercies he vouchsafed to Ewen Mac Ewen, a -poor grenadier of the 26th Regiment." -</p> - -<p> -"Ho, ho, ho!" -</p> - -<p> -The old Cameronian took off his bonnet and lifted -up his eyes, as he spoke fervently, and with the -simple reverence of the olden time; but Wooden-leg -grinned and chuckled and gnashed his teeth as Ewen -resumed. -</p> - -<p> -"A brave soldier may rush to the cannon's mouth, -though it be loaded with grape and cannister; or at -a line of levelled bayonets—and rush fearlessly -too—and yet he may tremble, without shame, at the thought -of hell, or of offended Heaven. Is it not so, -comrade? I shall never forget the words of our chaplain -before we stormed the Isles of Saba and St. Martin -from the Dutch, with Admiral Rodney, in '81." -</p> - -<p> -"Bah—that was after I was killed by the Cherokees. Well?" -</p> - -<p> -"The Cameronians were formed in line, mid leg -in the salt water, with bayonets fixed, the colours -flying, the pipes playing and drums beating 'Britons -strike home,' and our chaplain, a reverend minister -of God's word, stood beside the colonel with the -shot and shell from the Dutch batteries flying about -his old white head, but he was cool and calm, for he -was the grandson of Richard Cameron, the glorious -martyr of Airdsmoss. -</p> - -<p> -"'Fear not, my bairns,' cried he (he aye called us -his bairns, having ministered unto us for fifty years -and more)—'fear not; but remember that the eyes -of the Lord are on every righteous soldier, and that -His hand will shield him in the day of battle!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Forward, my lads,' cried the colonel, waving his -broad sword, while the musket shot shaved the curls -of his old brigadier wig; 'forward, and at them with -your bayonets;' and bravely we fell on—eight -hundred Scotsmen, shoulder to shoulder—and in half -an hour the British flag was waving over the -Dutchman's Jack on the ramparts of St. Martin." -</p> - -<p> -But to all Ewen's exordiums, the Wooden-leg replied -by oaths, or mockery, or his incessant laugh,— -</p> - -<p> -"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" -</p> - -<p> -At last came the long-wished for twenty-sixth of -April! -</p> - -<p> -The day was dark and louring. The pine woods -looked black, and the slopes of the distant hills -seemed close and near, and yet gloomy withal. The -sky was veiled by masses of hurrying clouds, which -seemed to chase each other across the Moray Firth. -That estuary was flecked with foam, and the ships -were riding close under the lee of the Highland -shore, with topmasts struck, their boats secured, and -both anchors out, for everything betokened a coming -storm. -</p> - -<p> -And with night it came in all its fury;—a storm -similar to that of the preceding year. -</p> - -<p> -The fierce and howling wind swept through the -mountain gorges, and levelled the lonely shielings, -whirling their fragile roofs into the air, and -uprooting strong pines and sturdy beeches; the water was -swept up from the Loch of the Clans, and mingled -with the rain which drenched the woods around it. -The green and yellow lightning played in ghastly -gleams about the black summit of Dun Daviot, and -again the rolling thunder bellowed over the graves of -the dead on the bleak, dark moor of Culloden. -Attracted by the light in the windows of the toll house, -the red deer came down from the hills in herds and -cowered near the little dwelling; while the cries of -the affrighted partridges, blackcocks, and even those -of the gannets from the Moray Firth were heard at -times, as they were swept past, with branches, leaves, -and stones, on the skirts of the hurrying blast. -</p> - -<p> -"It is just such a storm as we had this night -twelvemonths ago," said Meinie, whose cheek grew -pale at the elemental uproar. -</p> - -<p> -"There will be no one coming up the glen to-night," -replied Ewen; "so I may as well secure the -toll-bar, lest a gust should dash it to pieces." -</p> - -<p> -It required no little skill or strength to achieve -this in such a tempest; the gate was strong and -heavy, but it was fastened at last, and Ewen -retreated to his own fireside. Meanwhile, during all -this frightful storm without, Wooden-leg was heard -singing and carolling up-stairs, stumping about in -the lulls of the tempest, and rolling, pushing, and -tumbling his chest from side to side; then he -descended to get a fresh can of grog—for "grog, -grog, grog," was ever his cry. His old withered face -was flushed, and his excited eye shone like a baleful -star. He was conscious that a great event would -ensue. -</p> - -<p> -Ewen felt happy in his soul that his humble home -should no longer be the resting-place of this evil -bird whom the last tempest had blown hither. -</p> - -<p> -"So you leave us to-morrow, comrade?" said he. -</p> - -<p> -"I'll march before daybreak," growled the other; -"'twas our old fashion in the days of Minden. Huske -and Hawley always marched off in the dark." -</p> - -<p> -"Before daybreak?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fire and smoke, I have said so, and you shall -see; for my friends are on the march already; but -good night, for I shall have to parade betimes. They -come; though far, far off as yet." -</p> - -<p> -He retired with one of his diabolical leers, and -Ewen and his wife ensconced themselves in the -recesses of their warm box-bed; Meinie soon fell into -a sound sleep, though the wind continued to howl, -the rain to lash against the trembling walls of the -little mansion, and the thunder to hurl peal after peal -across the sky of that dark and tempestuous night. -</p> - -<p> -The din of the elements and his own thoughts -kept Ewen long awake; but though the gleams of -electric light came frequent as ever through the little -window, the glow of the "gathering peat" sank lower -on the hearth of hard-beaten clay, and the dull -measured tick-tack of the drowsy clock as it fell on the -drum of his ear, about midnight, was sending him to -sleep, by the weariness of its intense monotony, when -from a dream that the fierce hawk eye of his malevolent -lodger was fixed upon him, he started suddenly -to full consciousness. An uproar of tongues now rose -and fell upon the gusts of wind without; and he -heard an authoritative voice requiring the toll-bar to -be opened. -</p> - -<p> -Overhead rang the stumping of the Wooden-lag, -whose hoarse voice was heard bellowing in reply from -the upper window. -</p> - -<p> -"The Lord have a care of us!" muttered Mac -Ewen, as he threw his kilt and plaid round him, -thrust on his bonnet and brogues, and hastened to -the door, which was almost blown in by the tempest -as he opened it. -</p> - -<p> -The night was as dark, and the hurricane as -furious as ever; but how great was Ewen's surprise -to see the advanced guard of a corps of Grenadiers, -halted at the toll-bar gate, which he hastened to -unlock, and the moment he did so, it was torn off -its iron hooks and swept up the glen like a leaf from -a book, or a lady's handkerchief; as with an unearthly -howling the wind came tearing along in fitful -and tremendous gusts, which made the strongest -forests stoop, and dashed the struggling coasters on -the rocks of the Firth—the Æstuarium Vararis of -the olden time. -</p> - -<p> -As the levin brands burst in lurid fury overhead, -they seemed to strike fire from the drenched rocks, -the dripping trees, and the long line of flooded -roadway, that wound through the pastoral glen towards -Culloden. -</p> - -<p> -The advanced guard marched on in silence with -arms slung; and Ewen, to prevent himself from -being swept away by the wind, clung with both -hands to a stone pillar of the bar-gate, that he might -behold the passage of this midnight regiment, which -approached in firm and silent order in sections of -twelve files abreast, all with muskets slung. The -pioneers were in front, with their leather aprons, -axes, saws, bill-hooks, and hammers; the band was -at the head of the column; the drums, fifes, and -colours were in the centre; the captains were at the -head of their companies; the subalterns on the -reverse flank, and the field-officers were all mounted -on black chargers, that curvetted and pranced like -shadows, without a sound. -</p> - -<p> -Slowly they marched, but erect and upright, not a -man of them seeming to stoop against the wind or -rain, while overhead the flashes of the broad and -blinding lightning were blazing like a ghastly torch, -and making every musket-barrel, every belt-plate, -sword-blade, and buckle, gleam as this mysterious -corps filed through the barrier, with who? -Wooden-leg among them! -</p> - -<p> -By the incessant gleams Ewen could perceive -that they were Grenadiers, and wore the quaint old -uniform of George II.'s time; the sugar-loaf-shaped -cap of red cloth embroidered with worsted; the great -square-tailed red coat with its heavy cuffs and -close-cut collar; the stockings rolled above the knee, -and enormous shoe-buckles. They carried grenade-pouches; -the officers had espontoons; the sergeants -shouldered heavy halberds, and the coats of the little -drum-boys were covered with fantastic lace. -</p> - -<p> -It was not the quaint and antique aspect of this -solemn battalion that terrified Ewen, or chilled his -heart; but the ghastly expression of their faces, -which were pale and hollow-eyed, being, to all -appearance, the visages of spectres; and they marched -past like a long and wavering panorama, without a -sound; for though the wind was loud, and the rain -was drenching, neither could have concealed the -measured tread of so many mortal feet; but there -was no footfall heard on the roadway, nor the tramp -of a charger's hoof; the regiment defiled past, -noiseless as a wreath of smoke. -</p> - -<p> -The pallor of their faces, and the stillness which -accompanied their march, were out of the course of -nature; and the soul of Mac Ewen died away within -him; but his eyes were riveted upon the marching -phantoms—if phantoms, indeed, they were—as if by -fascination; and, like one in a terrible dream, he -continued to gaze until the last files were past; and -with them rode a fat and full-faced officer, wearing a -three-cocked hat, and having a star and blue ribbon -on his breast. His face was ghastly like the rest, -and dreadfully distorted, as if by mental agony and -remorse. Two aides-de-camps accompanied him, and -he rode a wild-looking black horse, whose eyes shot -fire. At the neck of the fat spectre—for a spectre he -really seemed—hung a card. -</p> - -<p> -It was the Nine of Diamonds! -</p> - -<p> -The whole of this silent and mysterious battalion -passed in line of march up the glen, with the gleams of -lightning flashing about them. One bolt more brilliant -than the rest brought back the sudden flash of steel. -</p> - -<p> -They had fixed bayonets, and shouldered arms! -</p> - -<p> -And on, and on they marched, diminishing in -the darkness and the distance, those ghastly Grenadiers, -towards the flat bleak moor of Culloden, with -the green lightning playing about them, and -gleaming on the storm-swept waste. -</p> - -<p> -The Wooden-leg—Ewen's unco' guest—disappeared -with them, and was never heard of more in -Strathnairn. -</p> - -<p> -He had come with a tempest, and gone with one. -Neither was any trace ever seen or heard of those -strange and silent soldiers. No regiment had left -Nairn that night, and no regiment reached Inverness -in the morning; so unto this day the whole affair -remains a mystery, and a subject for ridicule with -some, although Ewen, whose story of the midnight -march of a corps in time of war—caused his examination -by the authorities in the Castle of Inverness—stuck -manfully to his assertions, which were further -corroborated by the evidence of his wife and children. -He made a solemn affidavit of the circumstances I -have related before the sheriff, whose court books -will be found to confirm them in every particular; -if not, it is the aforesaid sheriff's fault, and not mine. -</p> - -<p> -There were not a few (but these were generally old -Jacobite ladies of decayed Highland families, who -form the gossiping tabbies and wall-flowers of the -Northern Meeting) who asserted that in their young -days they had heard of such a regiment marching by -night, once a year to the field of Culloden; for it is -currently believed by the most learned on such subjects -in the vicinity of the "Clach na Cudden," that on -the anniversary of the sorrowful battle, a certain place, -which shall be nameless, opens, and that the restless -souls of the murderers of the wounded clansmen -march in military array to the green graves upon the -purple heath, in yearly penance; and this story was -thought to receive full corroboration by the apparition -of a fat lubberly spectre with the nine of diamonds -chained to his neck; as it was on that card—since -named the Curse of Scotland—the Duke of Cumberland -hastily pencilled the savage order to "show no -quarter to the wounded, but to slaughter all." -</p> - -<p> -Such was the story of our old Highland Quartermaster. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap29"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIX. -<br /><br /> -THE LAST OF DON FABRIQUE. -</h3> - -<p> -A week or two after our return from Seville to -Gibraltar, Jack Slingsby received a note from a -Spanish officer, who commanded a detachment of the -Grenadiers of Jaen, to the effect that the famous -bandit Fabrique de Urquija had been taken, and was -condemned to die by the spirited Alcalde of San -Roque; that his execution was to take place on the -day after to-morrow, and that if we wished to behold -the mode of punishing such criminals in Spain, it -would afford him much pleasure if we joined his party, -which was ordered to assist in guarding the scaffold. -</p> - -<p> -Though neither of us were animated by a love of -cruelty or taste for the morbid, we were somewhat -curious to see how this romantic vagabond, who so -pitilessly had meted out death to so many others, -would encounter his own terrible doom, and availing -ourselves of the Spanish officer's polite offer, we -procured a day's leave, rode over to breakfast with him, -and marched with his detachment to San Roque, a -little town, which lies, as I have elsewhere said, about -six miles from our garrison on the Spanish side. -</p> - -<p> -As we proceeded, the Spanish capitano told us the -little episode of Don Fabrique's capture. -</p> - -<p> -It happened thus. -</p> - -<p> -The Alcalde of San Roque was reputed to be -immensely wealthy, and to have in a secret place a -strong box full of yellow doubloons and rich silver -duros, piled up in shining pillars to its brim, like the -treasure chests which the Moors are supposed to have -hidden in all the old castles and ruined atalayas in -Spain, and all of which are occasionally visible to -those who have the fortune of being born on Good -Friday, as every Spaniard knows. -</p> - -<p> -The rumour of this wealth could not fail to reach -the ears of Don Fabrique, and to excite the cupidity -of that enterprising gentleman; but concealing his -intentions from his band, whom he intended to leave, -as he proposed to himself a little trip to Paris or -Peru, if he relieved the Alcalde of those cares which -are inseparable from the possession of wealth, he -reconnoitred the house, and found an entrance to a -room wherein he secreted himself beneath a bed, -which stood in an alcove off it. In this bed the -portly alcalde and his buxom wife were wont to take -their repose; so Don Fabrique had not been very long -in this place of concealment, when the lady came in -with a lamp in her hand, and placing it on the toilet -table, proceeded to divest her charming person of her -habiliments. -</p> - -<p> -She threw the fag end of her cigar into the brassero; -hung her wig upon a knob of the mirror, et cetera. -She then dipped a finger into the little font of holy -water which hung at the head of her bed, and stepped -in, to await the coming of her worthy spouse, who -was lingering over the 'Heraldo' and a glass of -Valdepenas in the dining-room below. -</p> - -<p> -Now as the bed had a canvas bottom like a -hammock, and the lady therein was equal in size and -weight to three ordinary women, Don Fabrique, with -natural consternation, reflected on what he should -have to endure, when the gorbellied alcalde was added -to the superincumbent load of the señora. -</p> - -<p> -"Demonio!" thought he, "what is to be done? I -shall be suffocated before that brute the señor patron -is half asleep!" -</p> - -<p> -The panting robber stirred uneasily, and the stout -lady above him started. -</p> - -<p> -"Madre de Dios, what is that!" she whispered to -herself. -</p> - -<p> -There was no response; but on Fabrique stirring -again, the señora fairly sprang in terror from her -bed. Fabrique dared not breathe, but with one hand -on his stiletto and the other on his lips, he lay still -as death. The lady now obtained a glimpse of his foot. -and uttering one of those shrill cries, which most -women can utter at any time, she rushed from the -chamber to seek her husband; but first she took the -precaution of double-locking the door. -</p> - -<p> -Finding himself discovered, and aware that all was -over now, Fabrique hastened to escape by his place of -entrance, the window. Alas! it was now secured by -a shutter crossed by iron bars on the outside, and -these resisted all his efforts. There was no chimney; -again he rushed to the door. It was firm—fast -as a rock, and he might as well have rushed against -the stone wall. He heard the clank of feet and of -halberts as the hastily-summoned alguazils came into -the room below; true, he had his dagger; but what -would that avail him against so many? The perspiration -burst over his brow and he cursed the avarice -which brought him on such errand unassisted by that -faithful and determined band he was about to leave -for ever. -</p> - -<p> -Fertile in expedients, he at last thought of one. -</p> - -<p> -He threw off all his clothes and popped into the -bed of the señor alcalde, and scarcely had he tucked -himself cosily in when the door was burst open, and -in marched the portly patron, his eyes dilated with -vengeance, and his paunch swollen with official -dignity and purple valdepenas, while the grim alguazils -with pointed halberts and cocked trabujas came -behind, and with them was the terrified lady in her -night-dress, holding a candle in one trembling hand, -her rosary and a case of reliques in the other. -</p> - -<p> -Fabrique gazed at them with well-feigned surprise, -which was reflected in the faces of all on beholding -the place of his retreat, though it soon turned to -resentment in the wife of the alcalde; her eyes -flashed; her plump cheeks and bosom became -crimson with anger. -</p> - -<p> -"How now, señor raterillo," thundered the alcalde; -"what am I to understand by all this?" -</p> - -<p> -"By what, most worthy señor," whined the robber, -with affected simplicity and shame. -</p> - -<p> -"Why—your being here—here, señor—in the bed -of the señora—in my bed?" continued the alcalde, -gathering courage from the loudness of his own -voice; "speak, rascal—why are you here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ask the señora, who invited me," replied Fabrique. -with the coolest assurance in the world. -</p> - -<p> -"Morte de Dios, what is this I hear?" muttered -the overwhelmed alcalde. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, ask her, for I did not come here unexpected, -believe me, most worthy and much-injured Señor -Patron," continued the cunning rogue as he leaped -out of bed, and assisted by the tittering alguazils, -put on his garments with all haste, while the wife of -the poor alcalde gazed upon him speechless with rage -at the inference and his accusation, while the -magistrate himself was baffled and blanched by a new and -vague sense of shame and consternation. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear señora," said Fabrique, in a bland tone, -as he tied on his sash and assumed his sombrero, -"I regret extremely that you are weary of me—that -my company is no longer pleasing to you, as of old; -but it is very cruel of you to bring the neck of a poor -lover so faithful as I into such deadly jeopardy, and I -shall treasure this lesson of female perfidy, revenge, -and caprice to my latest hour. Muchas gracias, -señora, much good may your trick do you." -</p> - -<p> -The lady was choking with anger and unmerited -shame, while the cunning rogue continued,— -</p> - -<p> -"Most worthy Señor Alcalde, most faithless and -fickle señora, and you, most paltry and pitiful señores -alguazils, I have the honour to wish you all a very -good evening." -</p> - -<p> -With a low bow and a mocking smile, he was about -to depart, when one of the alguazils exclaimed,— -</p> - -<p> -"Stop—seize him; by Santiago, 'tis Fabrique de -Urquija!" -</p> - -<p> -The face of the robber became black with fury; he -drew his stiletto and rushed upon his discoverer, but -was soon beaten down by the halberts and clubbed -blunderbusses of the officials, by whom he was bound -with cords and dragged to prison without delay. -</p> - -<p> -He was soon tried in due form, and though the -whole town rang with his terrible exploits, and the -women praised his handsome figure, his reckless -courage, and the great tact and skill by which he had -so nearly eluded the pot-bellied Alcalde, he was -sentenced "to be garotted at twelve o'clock to-day." -</p> - -<p> -Such was the detail given to us by the Spanish -officer. -</p> - -<p> -As we neared San Roque, we found great crowds -from remote parts of the judicial partido, all clad in -the picturesque and antique costumes of the province, -ascending the mountain on which the town is situated, -and all anxious to behold the dying demeanour of the -most famous of Spanish bandits—the greatest since -Manuel Francisco was shot at Cordova two years ago. -</p> - -<p> -The mountain of San Roque stands at the head of -a beautiful bay of the same name; and on looking -back as we ascended, we had a charming view of the -sea, with several large Xebecques floating like gigantic -white birds with wings outspread upon its shining -azure surface. -</p> - -<p> -A clear and brilliant morning sun poured a flood -of light athwart the picturesque plaza of San Roque, -into which, as one may easily imagine, the whole male -population of the town—about eight thousand—were -crowded. This plaza resembled a sea of human heads -covered with black or brown sombreros; though there -were many who wore only their own coarse black hair -in netted cauls, and a few had scarlet forage caps. -Above this crowd glittered the bayonets and the -glazed shakoes of a battalion of Infantry of the -Spanish line, from the adjacent barracks. These -surrounded the high wooden platform of the garotte. -Within their line were the poor old ecclesiastics of -the two suppressed convents and three hospitals of -San Roque, wearing the remarkable monastic -costumes of a past age. -</p> - -<p> -The principal place was occupied by the commandant -of the fortified camp of San Roque, who, upon -our appearing among the crowd in our British uniform, -sent his aide-de-camp, with a polite invitation for us -to join his staff, which we immediately accepted. -</p> - -<p> -On the centre of the platform, which was about -twenty feet square, and covered with black cloth, sat -the fallen Fabrique de Urquija upon a little wooden -stool, with his back placed against the upright post -of the garotte, the iron collar of which encircled his -brawny naked neck. His broad low brow was black -as a thunder cloud; his eyes were fierce and keen, -and with a lowering glance of scornful pride, he -surveyed the masses who crowded on every inch of space -that afforded footing. His ancles were chained to an -eyebolt on the floor of the platform. Near him stood -the old confessor José de Torquemada of Medina, -barefooted; his cowl thrown back; in his wrinkled -hands an ivory crucifix, which ever and anon he -placed to the quivering lips of the doomed man in -the interval of prayer. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Urquija! I forgot all his atrocities and the -evil he would once have done to Slingsby and myself; -and now I felt only pity for his terrible situation. -</p> - -<p> -"I saw your glance of commiseration," said Jack -quietly, as he prepared a cigarito; "but be assured, -Ramble, you may as well feel pity for a bruised wolf. -I have not forgotten the Rio de Muerte, and that -night on the hills above Trohniona." -</p> - -<p> -"Noble Caballeros—buenos Christianos," said a -venerable Franciscan, placing before us the wooden -platter on which he was receiving the reals and pence -of the faithful; "por neustra Señora Santissima, one -little medio for the sinful soul of Fabrique de -Urquija." -</p> - -<p> -Jack and I—though believing but little in monk -or mass—were taught as soldiers to respect the -religious prejudices of all men; thus we were touched -by the honest piety of these old pillars of a dying -creed—-dying at least in Spain; and we each threw in -a gold coin. This raised an approving murmur -among the people, and the prisoner gave us a glance -full of recognition and gratitude. We had paid -enough for fifty masses! -</p> - -<p> -The church bell now began to toll a passing knell. -</p> - -<p> -Then the alguazils, who wore the cavalier costume -of other times—the broad hat, the long locks, the -white vandyke collar over a little shoulder mantle, -the short knee-breeches and buckled shoes, of the -days of Cervantes, advanced their halberts and -ascended the scaffold, accompanied by the executioner, -who was dressed in the deepest black. All -present now murmured and looked round, and several -officers drew their swords, for rumours of a projected -rescue were current in San Roque and its vicinity. -</p> - -<p> -The confession was ended, and if all the horrors -which rumour ascribed to the unhappy Urquija were -true, what a revelation it must have been! What a -volume it would have made! -</p> - -<p> -José Torquemada remained on his knees beside the -penitent, who turned to him ever and anon, anxiously -and hurriedly to pour into his ear some newly-remembered -act of guilt, or perhaps to spin out the -thread of life a little—a very little longer. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile the solemn bell continued tolling; the -people around the scaffold were nearly all upon their -knees, and the grasp of the executioner was laid upon -the iron wrench or screw of the garotte. The face -of the culprit flushed as he did so, and then grew -pale as marble. -</p> - -<p> -The hand of the church clock indicated the hour -of noon; then a cannon pealed from the fortifications -of San Roque and the priest pointed with his -crucifix to Heaven, while the executioner, at that -instant, gave the screw a vigorous twist, and the head -of Urquija fell suddenly on his breast. It heaved a -little, and all was over. -</p> - -<p> -A "viva" mingled with the prayers of the people; -but the dead man remained motionless and still, -under that bright sunshine of noon; and then rose -the hum of many voices as if a load had been taken -off every breast; while the bayonets flashed and the -sharp brass drums beat merrily, as the Spanish -Infantry wheeled from hollow square into open -column of companies, and marched by sections through -the Plaza to the fortified camp of San Roque; then -the crowd, who, up to the last moment had foretold -and expected a rescue from the band of Urquija, who -were hovering and vowing vengeance on the Sierra -de Ronda, began to disperse. -</p> - -<p> -Such was the last act in the terrible career of -Fabrique de Urquija, the student of Alcala; and such was -the last episode of Jack Slingsby's Spanish -adventures and mine. -</p> - -<p> -We dined with the Commandant at the fortified -camp of San Roque, and in the evening rode back to -Gibraltar, where we found the garrison in a buzz of -excitement. -</p> - -<p> -"What is the matter?" I asked of a sentinel at -the lower fortifications as we rode in; "and for what -reason was that heavy cannon fired after sunset?" -</p> - -<p> -"The Himalaya has come in, sir, with Sir Henry -Slingsby and a detachment of the Guards on board; -she is at anchor in the roads, and your regiment is -ordered to embark for the Crimea by gunfire to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -"Hurrah!" cried Jack, and we dashed at full speed -to our barracks, where the clusters of our soldiers in -the square, laughing and talking gaily, the colonel's -orderly running after the adjutant, the adjutant calling -for the Serjeant major, and the evident excitement -and satisfaction visible in every face, corroborated -the information of the sentinel, and impressed upon -us the necessity of immediately packing our -baggage; but before doing so, I dispatched at once to -press these little tales and episodes which have -lightened and beguiled our mess-table in old -Gibraltar; and if they please my readers, and win from -them but half the praise they won from my light -hearted and brave brother officers, my task in -collecting them will be more than recompensed. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> -WYMAN AND SONS, PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHANTOM REGIMENT ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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